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Nancy Grace
Malaysian Airlines Plane Down in Ukraine; Judge Chosen for Hot Car Death Case; Stepmom and Dad in Court for Boy Found in Basement; Living Next Door with Murderers; Woman in Meth Tries to Choke Cop
Aired July 17, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news. Another Malaysia Airlines plane goes down, hundreds on board believed to be dead,
the investigation under way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Malaysian Airlines flight, a Boeing 777, has crashed in a fiery explosion, fireball, flames, a plane carrying 295
people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And the tragic death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris, left to die in a baking hot car. The state is anticipating a murder trial, as we learn
a trial judge has now been assigned. But you will not believe what we have uncovered about the new judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trapped in a safety seat for close to seven hours in 90-plus-degree heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several marks on the child`s face.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Hoping the child would have been given Benadryl, anything to lessen the torture he went through!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And new developments in the case of a 12-year-old boy, Charlie, missing for 11 days and then found alive in his father`s basement. This
just in tonight. The father and the stepmother went to court today and are insisting, We want Charlie back. We demand a jury trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And you`re telling us that you searched your basement and your wife searched your basement?
CHARLES BOTHUELL IV, FATHER: I searched my basement. My wife searched my basement.
GRACE: "She says she doesn`t F-ing like me and will F-ing murder me. I know where the sharp knives are. I can make them disappear."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And the killer next door. Two brothers shoot and kill their parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion. Tonight, we talk to a neighbor
of the Menendez brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my dad!
911 OPERATOR: Pardon me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my dad!
911 OPERATOR: Were they shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: (INAUDIBLE) shot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These people were cold-bloodedly slaughtered by their two sons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just burst through the doors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just a walk into the room. I just start firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He came home and found two shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) mom and dad!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us.
We do begin tonight with breaking news and the plane crash of a Malaysia Airlines from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia Airlines is saying they
lost contact with flight 17 as it was over the Ukraine. We are learning tonight there were Americans on board that aircraft.
Out to NANCY GRACE producer Justin Freiman. Justin, we are hearing tonight that there are bodies all over the fields where this plane went down.
There is luggage, there are passports, there are clothes that are torn off the passengers. What else do you know about what happened at this point,
Justin?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Jean, we know that this plane was traveling at about 32,000 feet above the ground when it came
crashing down. And now we`re seeing all this debris and body parts and other belongings of those passengers scattered all over the area.
CASAREZ: Joining us tonight is Captain David Funk. He is a pilot and retired international captain of Northwest Airlines joining us. Thank you
so much. Captain, one thing we`re hearing is that there is a lot of looting going on at this point because all of the personal effects of these
people are there on the ground, along with the passengers themselves and their bodies.
There will be an investigation in all of this. The looting that may be going on, taking parts of that aircraft as a souvenir -- how does that
impact the investigation that will ultimately begin in this?
CAPTAIN DAVID FUNK, PILOT AND RETIRED INTERNATIONAL CAPT.: Well, the important things that will probably not be looted are, of course, the
flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder and most of the major components. Every time we have a tragedy, every time we have an airplane
crash, whether it`s in a populated area or a remote area, we always seem to face the challenges of looters. And until you get a perimeter established
around the crash site, it`s going to happens.
It`s just human nature. Particularly in part of the world like the eastern areas of Ukraine that are economically depressed, people will grab whatever
they can grab if they think there`s value there. So unfortunately, we`ve seen it before and we`ll probably see it again.
CASAREZ: And the reports are that this is a very desolate area. This is a very rural area, that local agencies are trying to aid in the investigation
at this point, which is a very -- very small level. What can the black box and the flight data recorder -- what can they actually tell us about what
happened?
FUNK: Quite a little bit, actually. The cockpit voice recorders, the microphones actually act like miniature accelerometers or little G meters.
And we can hear the blast. If it was a missile that shot the airplane down, which is what`s being generally reported in the open sources right
now, we`ll have a pretty good idea of what the breakup sequence was of the airplane, what its forward speed went -- was right at the time it stops
recording.
Remember, when all the power is cut, we`re going to lose both. But in that last few fractions of a second, we learned not only on TWA 800 but going
back to Pan Am 103, we can collect an awful lot of data from just a few short milliseconds as far as the shock waves and the airframe and what
occurred.
And of course, we can combine that with the debris field and get a pretty good idea how far the airplane flew, did it go straight in, did it go in at
an angle. And of course, this turned out to be a missile system, the BUK system, which NATO calls the SA-17, as I understand. You`ve got a couple
hundred pounds potentially of warhead.
This airplane literally probably stopped right there and fell straight to the ground.
CASAREZ: You know...
FUNK: And the videos that I saw earlier on "Anderson Cooper" would -- show would indicate that.
CASAREZ: And Captain, we are looking right now at this debris field. And we want to tell everyone, this is so ironic, but today is the 18th
anniversary of the crash of TWA flight 800 that crashed off the coast of Long Island, an ironic date to have this crash happen, too.
Captain, I want to ask you one more thing while I have you in regard to just the evidence that the black box, the flight data recorder -- will it
be able to capture, if that plane exploded in the air and plummeted 32,000 feet versus just fell 32,000 feet and crashed?
FUNK: Well, we`ll know a lot -- if it exploded, there`d be a sudden cutoff in the power and the data recorder would stop recording. If for some
reason the airplane just lost control and fell to the earth but was still powered, the data recorder keeps collection the information. So if it
turns out that our CIA is able to -- and Defense Department are able to pick out the missile plumes that came up from the ground, if that`s what
happened, hit the airplane, we`ll have a pretty good idea it was an external explosion not only based on the data that`s in the data recorder
but what the debris looks like before it hit the ground.
CASAREZ: And we do have...
FUNK: It`s hard to make that explosive residue and fragmentation go away.
CASAREZ: You know, we do have for everyone a picture of the actual plane before this tragedy happened. This is a Facebook posting that one of the
passengers took the picture, posted it to Facebook before the plane took off, saying, "In case it disappears, this is what it looks like." That is
the plane. You are looking at what this passenger is saying is the actual plane that has now crashed in the area of Ukraine.
And joining us tonight is Dr. Tim Gallagher, a medical examiner, forensic pathologist. You know, the passengers on this -- and we understand there
were quite a few Americans on that plane. But if that plane exploded midair, would they have felt anything? Would they have suffered, or would
it all have just been over so fast?
DR. TIM GALLAGHER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST (via telephone): No, there would be no suffering at all, Jean, at that altitude. The cabin
pressure that goes to -- atmospheric pressure is instantaneous, and they will die almost immediately. There`d be no suffering at all.
CASAREZ: Well, and this, of course, will be part of the investigation, but if that plane plummeted 32,000 feet with passengers alive, what would have
that been like for them?
GALLAGHER: The emotional distress would be paramount, as you could imagine. You know, the traumatic injuries would also be instantaneous and
instantaneously fatal. There would be no physical suffering during the accident.
CASAREZ: Back to Justin Freiman. Justin, what are we learning about the debris scene right now? Because what I`m hearing is that the passengers
are all over the fields in this very rural area, and that some passengers have their phones half in and half out of their pocket, and the phones are
cracked. There are actually headphones all over near the passengers because so many were listening to music or just the entertainment system as
that flight was going to Kuala Lumpur.
What are you hearing?
FREIMAN: I`m hearing that there`s a lot of debris scattered all over, Jean, as you were saying. And it`s a time where a lot of people are
traveling in that region on holidays, on vacations. So there`s all types of belongings out there. You`re not just talking about business travelers
or people just going home. There`s people that are even flying this plane to then catch another plane to go elsewhere.
CASAREZ: And once again, there are Americans on board that flight. The exact number is still being tallied at this point. But what we`re learning
-- this is just coming in now -- is that the bodies are, by locals, trying to be put into particular fields in the area.
To Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner. Should those bodies be touched right now? I mean, this is a crime scene. This is an airline aeronautics
crime scene. Should people be touching the bodies?
GALLAGHER: No, the bodies should not be touched by now because we need to positively identify each one, and intermingling of the parts of the bodies
would make that job a lot more difficult.
CASAREZ: And as you are looking right there on your screen, you`re seeing the debris. You`re seeing parts of the plane. You`re seeing people
climbing up on parts of the plane. And right now, although the theories are extensive as to what happened to this plane, there is going to be an
intensive and extensive investigation. And the touching and the taking and the looting will only impede authorities.
One last thing I want to ask captain David Funk, who is a pilot and retired international captain -- this is just all too coincidental. That Malaysian
Air flight 370 went down, never to be found, and it`s a 777 Boeing, and this is the same airline and it`s also a 777. What do you make of that?
FUNK: Just Malaysia Airlines operates a pretty big fleet of Boeing airplanes, and in this day and age, with Boeing 777s flying millions of
hours literally a year, if you`re an international traveler, you`re very likely to be on one of these airplanes.
You know, there`s nothing really to be drawn here, other than if it turned out to be a missile strike, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The question is, you know, who were the actors involved? Unlikely it was a terrorist group. It`s hard to hit an airplane at that altitude with a
shoulder-fired missile.
So had to be something relatively sophisticated. If it turns out it was the BUK system, that`s going to take state-level actors, at least from a
training standpoint, to be able to take this airplane down. It`s a chip shot for that missile, but it still takes somebody knows what they`re doing
to launch it.
CASAREZ: And I think the one thing that we cannot deny...
FUNK: And more than one person.
CASAREZ: ... is that this is quite a coincidence, same model of plane, same manufacturer and same airline. Thank you to all of our guests.
Coming up later, the killer next door. Two brothers open fire on their own parents in their Beverly Hills home, an inside look at what it is like to
live next to the Menendez brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just played with me. I just told him that I didn`t want to do this and -- and that it hurt me! And he said that he didn`t
mean to hurt me, that he loved me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: And we turn now to the tragic death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris, left to die in a baking hot car by his father. The state is
anticipating a murder trial, as we learn a trial judge has been assigned, but you will not believe what we have uncovered about that new judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The death of little Cooper Harris.
GRACE: Daddy`s story is riddled with inconsistencies. The daddy and his secret Internet double life. Abrasions on the back of his head as he bangs
back and forth to escape, nothing to lessen the torture in that baking hot car!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And you are watching video from Red Castle Productions.
Out to CNN national correspondent Nick Valencia. Nick, you have been on this case from the beginning. You are right there in Atlanta. What is the
pulse of the Georgia community at this point? Because we are waiting to, we believe, to have a grand jury assembled. Is the community still
interested? Do they still have questions? And do they still want answers in this case?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Georgia community is not the only ones interested in this story, Jean. This is really capturing the
attention of those nationwide. In fact, I ran into a co-worker just a couple of days ago who said she was visiting from San Diego, and all his
community there could talk about was this case.
Leanna Harris, the wife of Justin Ross Harris, who you`re looking at there, who`s charged with his child`s murder, has stood by her husband for weeks.
She`s said very little publicly and has appeared only a few times publicly, one of those appearances I was at, at the funeral of 22-month-old Cooper
Harris in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
And some would characterize her behavior, Jean, as odd. Now, in a statement that she has released by her attorney, they go after those that
have characterized her behavior since her child`s death as anything but normal. Some of that has read in part that newspapers, television, and on-
line media have fostered a poisonous atmosphere.
They say that they are criticizing every word of Leanna and all her actions or her failure to cry in front of a crowd. And it also compares her to
Richard Jewell. And for those at home wondering who Richard Jewell might be, in 1996, Olympic Park bombing here in Atlanta, Georgia, Richard Jewell
was a hero. He saved countless lives.
But initially, he was named a person of interest by the FBI, and he was really raked through the mud by the media. He inevitably ended up suing
those media outlets and winning a lot of money in those defamation and slander lawsuits. This statement by Leanna Harris`s attorney associates
his client with Richard Jewell and says that she`s living every parent`s nightmare.
Now, Leanna Harris has not been officially charged as part of this investigation or as a suspect in this investigation. She`s also, according
to investigators, Jean, not under investigation. She`s only part of this investigation. And I should re-emphasize this, that she`s not been
formally charged with any crime -- Jean.
CASAREZ: All right. Nick, it`s such valuable information you give us because I think so often in today`s day and age, people want to make
judgments. And as I cover trials around the country, I mean, my brain is always focused on, You`re innocent until proven guilty, and I want to hear
the other side. I just it makes it more interesting, and I think it`s a more intellectual conversation when you think about and listen to both
sides.
But Michael Christian, NANCY GRACE producer, one thing that Nick said -- this case has captured the country, and people are going to have opinions
and people have strong opinions. But what I`m interested in are the opinions in Georgia, in the Atlanta area, because that is where the jury
will come from and the jury pool is there in that area.
And Michael, I understand that we already have a trial judge?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): We do, Jean. This woman, her name is Judge Mary Staley (ph). She has been a judge in
Cobb County since 1992. She was most recently reelected in 2012. She ran unopposed and she was reelected with 99.6 percent of the vote. So she`s
very popular.
And it`s very possible that Justin Ross Harris will never be, you know, indicted by a grand jury, in which case, this case will never go forward.
But should it go forward, she is the judge who has been chosen to hear it. And according to the court, she was chose at random. There`s no specific
reason, they just choose their judges at random through some sort of rotation system. She`s the one who`s been chosen for this case.
CASAREZ: Well, now, Michael, now I have to ask you about another thing very, very quickly before we go to break. And if you have young children,
cover their ears right now. But she was involved in some controversy some years back about inappropriate chocolates?
CHRISTIAN: In 1993, Jean, she covered a murder case of a man named Marcus Wellens (ph). He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. But
apparently, at some point during the trial, some -- one or some of the jurors sent the judge a chocolate that was a piece of genitalia. A bailiff
also got a pair of chocolate breasts.
And the thing was that she did not reveal any of this to the attorneys in the case. So after this defendant was convicted and sentenced to death,
his attorneys found out about it and said, Well, listen, she should have told us so that we could have, you know, had a hearing about this because
this could be a problem in a death penalty case.
Ultimately, this case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. They indeed decided in a 5-to-4 decision that there should have been a hearing
about this. They sent it back down to a lower court. The lower court had a hearing, but decided ultimately that...
CASAREZ: So long story short, Michael, she`s still presiding, she`s still a judge. And it was 23 years ago. Thank you, Michael.
You know, coming up next, everybody, the Menendez brothers, convicted in the murders of their own parents. What was it like living next to Erik and
Lyle Menendez, the killer next door?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When you were around Erik and Lyle, you never felt threatened. You felt that, if anything, they were the victims of their parents?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I only thought that they were going to kill us, and at that last moment to kill them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A foul order or stench.
GRACE: The damning smell evidence -- create this horrific stench.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that video is from Red Castle Productions.
I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace.
Straight out to Ninette Sosa, who is reporter with 106.7 news talk radio. Ninette, you are right there in the heart of it, in the Atlanta area. What
is the latest that you`re hearing?
NINETTE SOSA, NEWSRADIO 106.7 (via telephone): A couple of things, is the high -- the high-profile on other similar situations that are happening.
It seems as if, like, an epidemic, where parents are just leaving their children in the car. Now, the situation in Norcross that happened, a mom
was there, left four children, one even as young as 1 month old, while she went into Walmart to buy an air gauge for a bike tire.
Then you had down in Jacksonville, Florida, another dad who went in to work, left his 7-year-old son asleep in the car -- and both these
incidents. So is it just almost like a growing epidemic?. But it just continues, and there`s more evidence. Even here in Atlanta, a father ran
into a pawn shop just yesterday, left his child in the carseat, or rather in the car, with the car on, AC on, and then his car was carjacked and
found a few blocks down. So...
(CROSSTALK)
CASAREZ: ... Ninette, what is really happening here is the neighborhood watch. People are watching. People are looking in cars like they never
have before, and they are saving lives. Thank you to our guests.
Coming up next, the killer next door, living next to Erik and Lyle Menendez, AKA the Menendez brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They certainly weren`t grieving at all. They were unstoppable at spending money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I walked into the room, I was panicking. And I just fired every shot I had. I didn`t stop to take a look at what I was
doing after each shot. I just fired until there was nothing left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes it very suspicious.
CASAREZ: And we do have more breaking news in the plane crash of Malaysia Flight 17.
Out to NANCY GRACE producer Justin Freiman.
Justin, we are hearing that bodies are in all of the fields, that their clothes are ripped, clothes are off, suitcases, passports, personal debris
everywhere.
What are you hearing, Justin?
FREIMAN: I`m hearing the same thing. And not only is there a lot of stuff there on the ground. The other concern is there`s other people on the
ground that are moving items and even taking items from the scene.
CASAREZ: And, you know, we do understand, Justin, that there were Americans on board that flight. At this point, though, in this very rural
area, there has not been an official designation of a debris scene, a crime scene, a recovery scene at all. But this has to be an international
investigation -- Justin.
FREIMAN: That`s correct. A lot of countries have already stepped forward and said they`re willing to help. The question is, if they can get there
and how much help they`ll be allowed to give.
CASAREZ: And we will give you more information as it does come in tonight. But going on right now, we`re going to switch gears. And we want you to
take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: According to these documents, that day the stepmother is the one making him do these horrific workouts and she said to
him, unlike you, I know where the sharp knives are, little boy, and I can make you disappear. Now get in the basement. And she, according to him,
the child, she`s the one that barricaded him down there and wouldn`t give him anything to eat.
How could your son be alive in your basement?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Out to Charlie Langton, reporter with WWJ News Radio 950.
Charlie, the parents were in court today. What happened?
CHARLIE LANGTON, REPORTER, WWJ NEWS RADIO 950: Well, there was a probable cause hearing but they waived it so now they are asking for a jury trial on
the issues. Also, the judge continued, no visitation with little Charlie. And a court official said today that little Charlie was doing very well
living with bio mom.
CASAREZ: To the lawyers, Paul Henderson, former prosecutor joining us from San Francisco. There is going to be a trial in this case because the
Department of Human Services wants to terminate the parental rights.
And here is, Paul, what the defense are saying. They are saying that under law corporal punishment can be allowed. This is what it was to little
Charlie, not abuse. How far will that go?
PAUL HENDERSON, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, they are going to look at the facts and circumstances in this case. My understanding in this case was
that he had actual bruises on him and bleeding from actually being punished with a pipe. Now that goes beyond what is contemplated in allowable
corporal punishment. So in a case like this where we have a child that was in fear, as this child was.
And in addition to the punishment, we have facts and circumstances where he wasn`t being fed regularly, where he may have been forced to exercise at
those excessive and ridiculous circumstances and (INAUDIBLE), those are the kinds of things that the court is going to be contemplating.
And just so we`re aware and clear, the dependency issues, which have to do with custody, are going to bleed into possible criminal charges if it`s
determined --
CASAREZ: And Alex Sanchez, here`s the point. OK. All of these issues that they have -- and there`s going to be a trial. There`s going to be
witnesses. The father wants to have a meeting with his son Charlie. He wants a visitation. How can that happen, Alex, if there are going to be
witnesses really on opposite sides right now?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: First of all, even if all of the allegations are true and the father and the mother admit that this is
exactly what happened, that`s not going to result in the complete severing of parental rights. Maybe the parents will have to go through some type of
a training program, a parental program, or maybe their rights might be suspended temporarily. But to completely sever their rights from here for
the rest of the child`s life, until they`re 18 or 21, that`s simply not going to happen.
In terms of the father trying to see the child, that`s not likely to happen any time soon. And anything he says in that family court hearing could
result in being used during the criminal proceedings, by the way.
CASAREZ: No question.
Randy Kessler, what I find very interesting in all of this is the state is asking for termination of parental rights. Have they gone too far?
Because normally parents take classes, there is supervised visitation. You work to (INAUDIBLE) ultimately maybe having your rights terminated. Should
they be at this point?
RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t think they should be at this point but the state acts as what we call parents patriarch. The state has
to check out and look after children when the parents aren`t doing so. But right now, there`s a mother and the mother is going to get custody. The
mother is going to be the one taking care of these children and long term, maybe there may be a reunification plan. All that matters now is that
these people are not allowed near this child until it is guaranteed they won`t cause any more harm.
CASAREZ: All right.
KESSLER: Termination or not is irrelevant.
CASAREZ: Thank you so much.
Coming up next, the "Killer Next Door." What was it like living next to sibling murder suspects Eric and Lyle Menendez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You indicated that your father said no as you entered and started to shoot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did your mother ever say anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, she never said a word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t have a chance to say anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: The Menendez brothers, their trial making national headlines. Erik and Lyle Menendez, just 18 and 21 years old, when they ambush, then
shoot and kill their own parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. But what was it like living next to the sibling murder suspects?
Tonight, "The Killer Next Door."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Private security guards have surrounded the Menendez`s mansion. They said they are here to protect the couple`s two
sons, Erik and Lyle, because, quote, "the killers may come back for the boys."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, 911 emergency.
LYLE MENENDEZ, ACCUSED OF KILLING OWN PARENTS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s the problem?
L. MENENDEZ: We`re the sons of --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s the problem?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police department received a frantic call from Lyle Menendez.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The night his wealthy parents were murdered in Beverly Hills.
L. MENENDEZ: Someone killed my parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pardon me?
L. MENENDEZ: Someone killed my parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were they shot?
L. MENENDEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were shot?
L. MENENDEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saying that his parents have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?
L. MENENDEZ: Erik, shut up. Erik, shut up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These people were cold-bloodedly slaughtered by their two sons.
L. MENENDEZ: We just burst through the doors.
I don`t know, I wasn`t here. I just came home.
ERIK MENENDEZ, ACCUSED OF KILLING OWN PARENTS: I just walked into the room. I just started firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You came home and found who shot?
L. MENENDEZ: My mom and dad.
I started firing.
E. MENENDEZ: I started firing.
L. MENENDEZ: Things shattering and the noise was phenomenal. We fired lots, many, many times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did you do after you reloaded?
L. MENENDEZ: I ran around, shot my mom. You could hear things breaking and you could hear the ringing noises from the booms. It was the smoke
from the guns. Just chaos.
GRACE: Alicia Hoerts, you were neighbors with double murderers. Why would they kill Kitty and Jose Menendez?
ALICIA HOERTS, NEIGHBOR: Perhaps an accumulation as we now say of post stress disorder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In court defense attorneys presented nude pictures of Lyle Menendez and his brother Erik which were allegedly taken by their
father.
L. MENENDEZ: In the bedroom we have what we called the object sessions. And just slide my pants down or take my pants off. Sometimes it would be a
short for a period of time, sometimes longer. Lay me on the bed. He would have a tube of Vaseline and he just played with me. I just told him that I
didn`t want to do this and that it hurt me. And he said that he didn`t mean to hurt me. And he loved me.
GRACE: When you were around Erik and Lyle, you never felt threatened. You felt that, if anything, they were the victims of their parents?
HOERTS: Oh no. Yes. And the victims of other kids bullying them perhaps because they were so different. So, so different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Menendez had not wanted to have children at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And for how long a period of time would you have to remain in the closet after she had put you there?
E. MENENDEZ: Until she let me out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how long would that sometimes be?
E. MENENDEZ: Sometimes it would be an hour, sometimes it would be all day when she left, seven hours, sometimes I fell asleep in there overnight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said your mom made it sound like the worst thing in the world. Did your father make that gay jokes?
E. MENENDEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did your father call you a particular name associated -- a negative name for --
E. MENENDEZ: Yes. He called me a faggot. He hated gay people. And he absolutely refused to accept that what was happening between us. He just
said that it wasn`t any of that.
GRACE: Do you remember the dinner party? Jose Menendez started showing you child pornography? That`s what really surprised me.
HOERTS: Well, after dinner, that was their entertainment.
GRACE: You described it as racy pornographic video of children engaged in sex acts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What part of your body did he shave? Or what hair did he shave?
E. MENENDEZ: My pubic hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you feel at 18 about the fact that your father was having sex with you?
E. MENENDEZ: I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. He threw me on the bed and went to get a knife and put it up my throat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put the knife to your throat?
E. MENENDEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And was there sex with your father that day?
E. MENENDEZ: Yes.
GRACE: A lot of people think that because they ran out and bought so many luxury items with their parents` money after they killed them that it was
all about money. But I don`t know if that was not a manifestation of their hatred of their parents.
HOERTS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You indicated that your father said no as you entered and started to shoot?
E. MENENDEZ: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you mother ever say anything?
E. MENENDEZ: No, she never said a word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t have a chance to say anything?
E. MENENDEZ: I guess not.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prosecutors say self-defense was not the real reason the brothers killed their parents. They hated the wealthy couple,
according to prosecutors, and wanted to get their hands on their money.
E. MENENDEZ: I felt like I just killed my parents and now I was getting all of their money. And I felt, I felt sort of guilty about that.
HOERTS: The kids would have had a lot of money if they had left everything alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They certainly weren`t grieving at all. They were unstoppable with spending money.
E. MENENDEZ: When I walked in the room, I was panicking and I just fired every shot I had. I didn`t stop to take a look at what I was doing after
each shot. I just fired until there was nothing left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Erik said he looked in, and saw his parents sitting on the couch, and Lyle swung the door open and shot his father, and looked at
Erik and said, shoot mom, and Erik said he shot his mom as she was standing up and yelling.
GRACE: Did you ever imagine that Erik and Lyle Menendez had murdered their parents before they were actually arrested?
HOERTS: No, I could not, Nancy. I could not.
E. MENENDEZ: I saw my dad on this side of the coffee table leaning forward. I saw my mom on the other side, and then I saw smoke and the fire
of my gun. I only thought that they were going to kill us. At that last moment I killed them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Stunning surveillance video shows a female suspect slipping out of her handcuffs and attacking an officer all while getting booked at the
local police station. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) Police arrested Jeannie Poff. Little did they know she would try to take a cop`s life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While she was waiting to get booked, she had approached from behind officer --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At some point Poof was able to slip off one of her cuffs and made a move toward the officer right after she had her mugshot
taken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Approached Officer Rodriguez from behind and tried to choke her. At which time the officer went down.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Two cops ran to the officer`s help but had to tase Poff to get her to comply.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Out to investigative reporter, Meredyth Censullo.
Meredyth, this started simply enough with this woman being charged, booked, coming in for possession of marijuana, giving a false name. But then it
just seemed to escalate.
MEREDYTH CENSULLO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Right. And what Jeannie Poff is saying is that she was on crystal meth, she blanked out. She had no
idea what she was doing. But you can see on the tape that she actually slipped out of one of those handcuffs and attacked that police officer. So
now she`s facing an attempted murder charge as well as up to 24 years in prison because of all this.
CASAREZ: Yes, attempted murder in Florida is a life term right there. It sure can.
Dr. Tim Gallagher, forensic pathologist, medical examiner, with us. She took one of the handcuffs that she was able to get out of and put it
against the neck of this female officer. In doing that, if we consider this a potentially deadly weapon, what are you cutting off in someone`s
blood flow?
GALLAGHER: Well, you`re cutting off the blood flow that goes to their head, you know, you only need about 12 pounds of pressure on the neck to
stop the blood flow from going to the head.
CASAREZ: You know, to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, what she`s saying is that I wasn`t trying to escape when I did this. I don`t think you`re
going to agree with that, right, Bethany?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Oh, Jean, I mean, what we see with crystal meth and these types of drug oriented crimes
is we typically see overkill, we see heads being chopped off, people being tied. Remember the guy last year we covered that he literally bit and
ripped the skip skin off of a homeless man`s face? So it was a different kind of but a related sort of drug.
So I think what happened is she may have been in some kind of what we call a drug psychosis accompanied by enormous amounts of rage, hatred and
energy.
Now she may not remember what happened but she can still have intent from the standpoint that they were hateful murderous thoughts at the time.
CASAREZ: All right, Alex Sanchez, for some reason I just think you`re going to disagree with that.
SANCHEZ: I mean, the tape is a damning tape. And she should be charged with some form of assault. But attempted murder? I mean, she wasn`t like
-- how did we know she was trying to kill her? Maybe she was trying to escape. But when you`re on drugs and your mind is distorted, you know, you
could be doing anything.
CASAREZ: Alex, the -- the reason we know that there was allegedly intent to kill is because of those handcuffs.
Clark Goldband, I think you`ve got some handcuffs right there? And we all know that anything can be a deadly weapon. Anything can be -- Clark, show
up your handcuffs.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Jean, we`ve got some handcuffs right here. And what`s fascinating is, you know, they lock them
on, boom. So now the cuffs are locked. This woman somehow wiggles out of one of the cuffs. At that time that`s when her arm is free. You can see
the cuffs behind her back right there. She somehow wiggles out of the cuffs.
But, Jean, I just want to point something out. Take a look at the floor. On part of the floor it looks like there`s some sort of mat but the other
part of the floor, Jean, rock, hard, cement concrete foundation, the kind you see at a warehouse store.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Breaking news in the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, hundreds on board believed to be dead. We do have some new information.
The United States government is concluding, based on communication with a senior U.S. official, that this flight was shot down. Repeat, a senior
U.S. official is telling CNN that the flight was shot down.
To NANCY GRACE producer Justin Freiman, what more can you tell us on this revelation at this time?
FREIMAN: Well, according to the U.S. official, one radar system saw surface-to-air missile system turn on and track an aircraft right before
the plane was shot down.
CASAREZ: To Captain David Funk, joining us, a pilot and retired international captain. I have to ask you, sir, with this revelation that
the U.S. has concluded based on information that this flight was shot down from -- 32,000 feet up into the air, what is that telling you?
CAPT. DAVID FUNK, PILOT AND RETIRED INTERNATIONAL CAPTAIN: Well, it`s obviously a dangerous neighborhood. And we`re going to see a lot of
flights no longer operating across that eastern part of Ukraine. It`s going to have an economic impact on the Ukrainians, maybe on the Russians
in that part of the world. It`s going to cause a lot of consternation among airline management to make sure that they route the aircraft around
in a safe fashion. It`s a pretty serious situation. The question is who are the actors.
CASAREZ: And we also may know from this that if that plane exploded midair that the passengers may not have suffered as much.
We do remember tonight American hero, Army Specialist Sergio Abad, 21 years old from Miami, Florida. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart.
His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. And he loved animals, he loved karate. He leaves behind his loving family, Lorie, Paul, Marilyn and
Steve. His three sisters and two brothers, his fiancee Kristina, his daughter Lorelei.
Sergio Abad, American hero.
Dr. Drew is coming up next. Good night, everybody.
END
