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Kidnapped Idaho Children; Missing Girl Suspects; G8 Summit

Aired July 05, 2005 - 08:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New surveillance videotape to show you from Idaho. A convicted sex offender with little Shasta Groene just hours before she was rescued by police at a Denny's restaurant. The alleged kidnapper faces a judge today.
Violent protests are already disrupting this week's G8 summit. Scottish police warning a robust response. We've got a live report from Edinburgh, Scotland, just ahead.

And warnings and watches in effect all along the Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Cindy takes aim. But it's another storm way out in the Caribbean that has forecasters' attention. Will it become the season's first hurricane? We're tracking both for you on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good to you have with us this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, we should mention we have the very latest on the Natalee Holloway case out of Aruba. Two suspects were released from custody on Monday. One is still being held. Lawyers on both sides are expected to appeal.

The question, of course, where is the investigation right now? We'll take you live to Aruba for an update.

M. O'BRIEN: But first, headlines with Carol Costello.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," more violence against diplomats in Iraq. A convoy carrying a top diplomat from Pakistan coming under fire this morning. No injuries reported there, but officials in Bahrain say they are closing their mission in Iraq after its top diplomat was shot and wounded in a western Baghdad neighborhood. These incidents come just three days after gunmen kidnapped Egypt's top envoy in Iraq.

A tsunami warning was issued for parts of the Indian Ocean this morning after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The epicenter was more than 200 mimes south of Banda Aceh. The Indonesian city devastated by a tsunami last year. Officials say the possibility of a tsunami is small, but they are not taking any chances.

Two men have died while trying to rescue a 10-year-old boy at a New Hampshire beach. The incident took place late in the day on Monday. No lifeguards on duty at the time. Officials say riptides are especially severe this season because of strong storms in May.

New York is making a last-minute push to host the 2012 summer Olympics. New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Singapore this morning. She's joined by boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Big Apple Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The winner will be announced tomorrow, and we will carry that live from Singapore at 7:30 Eastern, 4:30 Pacific Time.

And as you know, Paris is said to be the likely choice, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

At least six people were injured while checking out the fireworks in Flagler Beach, Florida. Take a look at this.

Fire officials say a rocket from a fireworks display, of course it malfunctioned. It apparently skipped across the water and then exploded on the beach where everybody was watching the fireworks display. Police say the injured were treated for minor burns and released. And then the fireworks show continued without interruption.

I think I would have left by that time. That would have been enough for me.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. That looked scary.

COSTELLO: Oh yes.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm sure at first people were thinking, is this part of the show?

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: And then it gets...

S. O'BRIEN: Until it lands near you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. And that's not -- it's a little close there.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe not.

COSTELLO: Until you go, "Ow!" But for those injured, they're going to be OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. That's nice to hear.

M. O'BRIEN: Glad to hear that.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol. Well, authorities in Idaho now say all signs indicate 9-year-old Dylan Groene is dead. Investigators are awaiting the results, though, of DNA tests to determine whether possible human remains which were found on Monday in Montana are in fact Dylan's.

Dylan's 8-year-old sister Shasta was found on Saturday with suspected kidnapper Joseph Duncan. Duncan is expected to make a court appearance today.

Rusty Dornin is live for us in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Good morning, Rusty. What's the latest on the case?

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, we have another tiny piece of the puzzle about where Shasta Groene was with Joseph Duncan before she arrived at that Denny's at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday. There are some surveillance photos of Shasta and this man, Joseph Duncan, getting out of the red Jeep Laredo, going inside a convenience store.

The video is rather disturbing in the sense that you see the suspect reading the newspaper and you don't see the little girl around anywhere. Wondering why she perhaps didn't alert someone, or call for help, that kind of thing, whether she feared her kidnapper enough that she did not want to go to anyone and say, look, please help me, this man won't let me go.

But she was with him. She doesn't look disturbed. It's very quiet.

She doesn't speak to anybody while she's in the store. They're in the store for a little while, and then go back into the car and leave. And presumably, they come -- this was taken in Kellogg, Idaho -- presumably then they come back to the Denny's here in Coeur d'Alene.

You see some pictures now, recent pictures of Shasta with her father, smiling. He's saying that she's very happy she's in the hospital. Investigators are saying she has provided them with some valuable clues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: She's visited with our investigators a couple of different times for quite a long period of time. She's been a great asset for us. And combing her talks with the investigators, she's -- with the physical evidence, she's -- it's been a great benefit for us. And really focused our investigation and gives us some great direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: They were able to focus their investigation. They went to a certain site she talked about in Montana. That's where they discovered these remains. It's going to be 72 hours before they will be able to confirm whether or not it is Dylan Groene. Meantime, of course, Joseph Duncan will be here for his initial appearance on kidnapping charges and also two outstanding warrants -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, so many unanswered questions in this case. It will be interesting to hear exactly how investigators put all of this evidence together. All right. Rusty, thanks a lot.

In just a few minutes, we're going to be talking to Mark Lunsford. He's been campaigning for tighter controls over sex offenders ever since his own daughter was abducted and killed -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: To Aruba now and the Natalee Holloway case. A pair of possible appeals to tell you about.

The judge in the case of missing teenager Natalee Holloway released two suspects yesterday. Prosecutors could appeal that. The other appeal could come from the one suspects still in custody.

Chris Lawrence, live once again in Palm Beach, Aruba.

Chris, how long do they have to file those appeals?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, if the prosecutor or Joran Van Der Sloot doesn't agree with the judge's decision, they have three days to file an appeal. So we'll have to wait and see whether they elect to do so. Right now, Van Der Sloot is the only suspect still in custody after his two friends walked out of prison on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The cameras nearly crushed Deepak and Satish Kalpoe Monday as the brothers arrived home after 25 days in jail.

NADIRA RAMIREZ, MOTHER: I can't even explain how I'm happy to see them, to hug them.

LAWRENCE: Nadira Ramirez welcomed her sons home, but she says she keeps praying for Natalee Holloway's mother and hopes she's reunited with her daughter soon.

RAMIREZ: She is in a more difficult situation than us, because she don't know where her daughter is.

LAWRENCE: On Sunday, police had the suspects reconstruct what happened the night Natalee disappeared. They went to different points on the island to show investigators where they took her.

In a written statement, prosecutors said their stories are not supported by other evidence or witness statements. Prosecutors also say there are phone calls, e-mails and text messages that point to those suspects. They argued all three should be detained another two months, but an attorney for one of the brothers says the longer you keep someone in jail, the stronger your evidence should be.

RUDY OOMEN, DEEPAK KALPOE'S ATTORNEY: My client's case was the other way around. The longer they stayed in detention, the more proof came out that they didn't have to do anything with the disappearance itself.

LAWRENCE: The Kalpoes' mother's said her son later admitted they lied to police about where they dropped off Natalee, but only did so to protect their friend. Joran Van Der Sloot is the last suspect still in custody, and the question of what happened to Natalee Holloway remains unanswered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, prosecutors didn't say exactly why the judge decided to release the Kalpoe brothers, other than that he felt there wasn't enough evidence to hold them. Now, the family of Natalee Holloway obviously disagreed with that decision, and we expect to the hear from them in the next few hours -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence in Aruba. Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, President Bush is on his way to Europe right now. He left Washington just about an hour ago on his way to tomorrow's meeting with the leaders of the world's most powerful economies. These groups of eight summits draw lots of protesters as well. This one in Scotland no exception.

Paula Hancocks live for us in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on the eve of the G8 leaders' arrival for the summit.

Paula, good morning to you. Are the protesters, one has to imagine, out in full force again today?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, now, Soledad, it's a much quieter day today. I'm here in the Murrayfield Stadium, where the protests will actually end. This is the end of the long walk to justice.

The four days of music, Live 8 concerts and protests will end up here on Wednesday evening. Bob Geldof, Annie Lennox, many of the artists will be here.

It's called Edinburgh 50,000 so that we will remember the 50,000 people that will die unnecessarily on that day. So it is a peaceful day in Edinburgh today. It's business as normal. But it was a very different situation on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): It was billed as a carnival for full enjoyment. This is how it ended: hard-core protesters throwing bottles and stones at police in certain areas of Edinburgh, riot police responding in force.

Large areas of the city center were closed off by lines of police. They then disbursed demonstrators. Many bystanders being caught up in the chaos.

Police say approximately 90 protesters were arrested. More than two dozen treated for minor injuries, including some police.

Many criticized the police for heavy-handed tactics. The police say their actions were justified.

TOM HALPIN, ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE: What we've seen today is behavior that's absolutely irresponsible and unacceptable. The police response to that has been measured in proportion. Indeed, I would say that we've been professional in how we've engaged with the protesters.

HANCOCKS: Earlier Monday, in western Scotland, more than 400 protesters blocked the entrance to the major naval base that houses Britain's nuclear-armed Trident submarine fleet. Some areas of Edinburgh managed to maintain a carnival atmosphere, protesters making their voices heard through song and dance, some spelling it out for the G8 leaders meeting next week 40 miles north from here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: Soledad, 10,000 police officers are around, about in Scotland, ready for the protesters. Also, it's thought that 500 more will be brought in from England and Wales. The police I spoke to a few minutes ago said that they will facilitate peaceful protests, but they will not hesitate in taking harsh action if people do make trouble -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: One expects that it will only get worse. All right. Paula Hancocks for us this morning. Paula, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: If you live near the coast, and Mississippi and Louisiana, listen up. Tropical Storm Cindy is headed your way, and what could soon be christened as Dennis is following along. Chad Myers watching it all from the CNN weather center this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: More on one of our top stories next. Shasta Groene's alleged kidnapper had a rap sheet a mile long. So why was he walking the streets?

We'll talk to Mark Lundsford. His daughter Jessica was allegedly killed by a repeat sex offender. What he thinks lawmakers need to do to keep better track of predators.

S. O'BRIEN: And another diplomat from an Arab country targeted in Iraq. Is this a new strategy for insurgents?

M. O'BRIEN: And thanks to new innovative new technology, officials in Baltimore are successfully reducing street crime, but some residents say the tools are an invasion of privacy. We'll take a look at that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) S. O'BRIEN: A convicted sex offender is due in an Idaho courtroom in just a few hours. Joseph Duncan suspected of kidnapping two children after he was found on Saturday with one of the kids, 8- year-old Shasta Groene. Police say they believe that Shasta's brother Dylan is dead.

Joining us this morning from Davie, Florida, is Mark Lunsford. You'll recall his daughter Jessica was kidnapped and murdered. A convicted sex offender is accused of killing the little girl. Lunsford is now lobbying for tighter controls over sex offenders.

Thanks for talking with us, Mark. It's nice to see you again.

I have to imagine that whenever you hear a story like this one it kind of takes you right back. What went through your mind when you heard that Shasta Groene had actually been located and recovered and was found safe?

MARK LUNSFORD, DAUGHTER MURDERED: I was very happy for her father. I wished -- I hope things work out for him.

I've listened to the news this morning about her brother, and I'm sorry, dude. I'm really sorry. And I wish lawmakers would do more to tighten things up.

Our laws ain't strict enough, federal laws. And I think more states and the federal government should take a good look at Florida's new laws for sex offenders.

S. O'BRIEN: Before we get to the specifics of the law that you're pushing for that's named for your daughter, Jessica, I want to talk about the guy who's suspected in the case, Duncan. I mean, here's a guy who's been in prison since he was 16.

When he was 16 he raped a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint. He has a long rap sheet, was on parole. He's a level-three offender, which, of course, as you know, is the worst of the worst.

What do you think is the biggest obstacle in keeping guys like this and the many others like him off the streets?

LUNSFORD: I really don't understand why they turned him loose. I mean, at gunpoint raped a 14-year-old boy? What better reason do you need to lock these people up forever?

They can't be trusted. They're raping kids. We're turning them loose six years later. Why?

S. O'BRIEN: The judge in the case said he was not aware or is not sure that he was aware exactly of the history of Duncan. Have you seen that in the work that you've been doing, that often judges, because of the movement of pedophiles often from state to state, that no one really has a really good, complete picture of what's going on here with an individual?

LUNSFORD: Yes, I've seen that with judges, with probation officers. Couey's probation officer didn't even know Couey was a sex offender.

S. O'BRIEN: John Couey, of course, is the man who's now charged in the abduction and murder of your daughter.

How would the bill, the Jessica Lunsford Bill change things?

LUNSFORD: Well, here in Florida, you know, your first offense would be 25 years to life. Lifetime monitoring, you'll be on a registration form forever.

It just -- it closed up a lot of loopholes and cracks. And, I mean -- and, I mean, our lawmakers went to work hard and fast for that.

Senator Argenziano, Sheriff Dean, all of these people worked real hard on that. And there's people in Washington working hard -- Chairman Sensenbrenner, Mark Foley. Mark Foley's got a really strong bill.

We need stuff like this. And we need to make it just as tough as we can. We don't need to water it down, now. I don't mean put these people so they can register for 10 years and then walk away from it.

They need to register the rest of their lives. They can't be trusted.

S. O'BRIEN: When you consider that this man was, apparently, according to investigators, within sort of a 100-mile area of where the children were kidnapped, it almost seems, in some cases, that sex offenders are kind of walking around with impunity, not really worried. And it comes down to the people in the community being alert and keeping an eye out for -- for children in danger.

It just must make you incredibly angry and frustrated where things stand right now.

LUNSFORD: It's pretty sickening, that they can live that close to us, and where they can reach our children. And, I mean, that's not the way it should be. And I don't -- I really can't understand why lawmakers on a federal level, up in Washington, would let things like this take place.

Like I said, you've got good people up there. We've got good lawmakers, and they need to tighten this stuff up, because it's not fair. It's not fair to us and it's not fair to our children.

Our children are our future. Don't you think we need to hang on to them and protect them?

S. O'BRIEN: We'll see what they do in Washington, D.C. Mark Lunsford joining us this morning. Thanks for talking with us. We certainly appreciate your time.

LUNSFORD: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: A short break and we're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: It's an issue that's facing most American cities: what can be done to make the streets safer? In Baltimore, Maryland, local leaders say they have one promising solution, to use cameras to try to catch criminals.

National Correspondent Kelly Wallace traveled to Baltimore. More on that, what's going on there.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Baltimore following the lead of other cities, such as Chicago. But with about 180 cameras first and many more to come, local leaders are hoping to create one of the most extensive real-time surveillance police networks in the country. Some residents, though, say this is absolutely the wrong way to go to fight crime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You shoot down to -- towards (INAUDIBLE) and there are two number one males, one has a striped shirt on.

WALLACE (voice-over): In Baltimore, a police officer spots potential trouble miles away thanks to new surveillance cameras in select areas of the city recording what's happening 24 hours a day. One of those cameras is just blocks from where Betty Harris lives.

(on camera): What was this area like before the cameras?

BETTY HARRIS, BALTIMORE RESIDENT: Terrible. Drugs everywhere. Terrible. It's much better now.

WALLACE: You say drugs everywhere.

HARRIS: Everywhere.

WALLACE: You could walk any time of day?

HARRIS: Any time. Any time.

WALLACE: And now?

HARRIS: Look at it. Oh! Thank you, Jesus!

WALLACE (voice-over): Betty knows firsthand. She says she used to buy drugs here, but has been clean for the past six years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so good that we can actually pick up the license plate number of a car.

WALLACE: Extra eyes on the streets working to prevent crime and nab offenders when a crime takes place, like in this case, where cameras catch a man who police say is preparing to do drugs. Minutes later, officers move in.

Ironically, this all happened just as Baltimore's mayor was holding a news conference back in May unveiling the new cameras. He says they're already making a difference.

MAYOR MARTIN O'MALLEY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Just in the first month here we've seen a more than double-digit reduction of violent crime, even in this area of downtown, which is generally safer than most anyway.

WALLACE: But back in Betty's neighborhood, some residents are concerned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What it is, is an evasion of privacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't even come and sit on your own step no more. A lot of police pulling up in front of your door, talking about, "Why you all out here? What you all doing?"

WALLACE: Leonard Hamm has served on the police force 22 years and was appointed police commissioner in November.

(on camera): You've heard the critics who say, "It's like big brother is watching. It's impacting my privacy to have cameras watching you 24/7." What do you say to that?

LEONARD HAMM, BALTIMORE POLICE COMMISSIONER: I say, before we put cameras up, we go to the community and say, "This is what we want to the do. What do you think?" And they say, "Give them to us." And every community we go into, they want more and more and more.

WALLACE (voice-over): And some of the cameras are on the move. Officers take them to areas with high crime rates. They are designed to deter. Commissioner Hamm says it's all about giving Baltimore streets back to the people.

HAMM: It allows them to live their life, sit on the steps, to ride their bicycles, to go to the store. That's what citizens want.

WALLACE: That is what Betty wants.

HARRIS: It's the saving of our neighborhood. Not the hood, the neighborhood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Clearly, you can see this is an issue that definitely sparks debate, debate about privacy, whether African-Americans are being disproportionately targeted, and also the cost. Because, Soledad, the city has spent more than $5 million on the camera so far. About $2 million coming from the federal government in the form of homeland security grants to fight terrorism. Some critics think that money could be better spent to prevent a terrorist attack.

S. O'BRIEN: It will be interesting to see one year out, two years out, three years out, if it really brings down crime in a way that's -- that they can really follow and see. You know, a noticeable way in Baltimore.

WALLACE: Exactly, because some of the critics will point to studies. Some studies have been done in England, and in cities around the United States, and say that they do not, these cameras do not prevent crime. In Baltimore they say, you know, in one month they have a double-digit decrease in some serious crimes. Again, over time we'll have to see how it goes.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. Kelly, thanks.

WALLACE: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come in the program, do you know what a rainbow party is? If you're parents, you better listen up. Your teenage daughter might know. She's reading about it in a sexually explicit young adult novel that puts an emphasis on "adult." to say the least. The editor of "17" magazine fills us in.

Stay with us for AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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