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Nancy Grace
New Information on Charleston Shooter. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired June 22, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Charleston. A 21- year-old man universally described as a quiet loner enters Emanuel AME Methodist church, downtown Charleston, the jewel in the crown of AME
Methodist churches across the country.
He sits quietly during an hour-long prayer meeting in the fellowship hall, seen here on Snapchat video. Look at him. There he is. We are
isolating him for you with the red arrow. There he is sitting quietly for an hour, then erupts in deadly violence, gunning down, murdering nine
innocent people.
Bombshell tonight. We dig deep to uncover the truth about the Charleston church killer. Did he gun down and kill nine innocent people
over a girlfriend? And tonight, we learn his stepmother says he was a, quote, "good boy" and blames the murders on the Internet!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lone wolf mass murderer Dylann Roof.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you employed?
DYLANN ROOF, CHARGED WITH CHARLESTON MURDERS: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: a 2,000-word racist manifesto on a Web site registered to the suspect. Quote, "Someone has to have the bravery to take
it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I forgive you, and have mercy on your soul!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And South Carolina, a sheriff`s deputy`s wife shot dead in the head, laying in the bathtub in the family home, on the floor beside her
body, a wedding band torn in half, her husband covered in blood. But tonight, he`s only charged with involuntary manslaughter? He can walk with
straight probation?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started crying, like -- just like -- I still can`t wrap my head around it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Off-duty Aiken (ph) County deputy Matthew Blakely (ph) is accused of killing his wife, Candace (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They seemed happy and everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When officers got to the scene, they say, they found Matthew outside with blood on his hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. We dig deep to uncover the truth about the Charleston church killer. Did he gun down and kill nine innocent people
over a lost love, a girlfriend? And tonight, we learn his stepmother says he was, quote, "a good boy," and she blames the murders on the evils of the
Internet. OK, I don`t know how that logic works.
Straight out to Chris Spargo, Dailymail.com. Explain to me the theory that these shootings -- nine innocent people were gunned down because some
girl broke up with him?
CHRIS SPARGO, DAILYMAIL.COM (via telephone): Well, that`s what they`re saying now. So he already had severe racist leanings, but a cousin
of Dylann Roof`s is saying that he had a crush on a girl and that this girl did not return this and that she started dating another black man, and this
became the catalyst for this horrible event.
GRACE: OK, I don`t really understand that. Joey Hudson, WGTK, joining us, talk show host. Joey, I don`t understand that. So if you look
back on the Internet, you see he has been posting hate-filled discussions and photos for a long time.
So explain to me how this girlfriend rejecting him or this would-be girlfriend rejecting him to date an African-American male -- what -- how
did that trigger the whole thing, where the hate has been brewing a long time?
JOEY HUDSON, WGTK (via telephone): Well, Nancy, it does appear that this was a very hateful individual. And yes, he had been posting these
things for quite some time. You know, if you read his manifesto, he says that he wasn`t raised a racist, but he learned early on that there was a
difference between he and his black friends.
And he says that the trace -- the case with Trayvon Martin was what really woke him up about the injustice and the black-on-white murders that
were being -- that were happening around the country, and he appointed himself to do something about it.
GRACE: What`s interesting are new revelations that this entire shooting was triggered by a love rejection. Unleash the lawyers, Parag
Shah and Alan Ripka.
OK, first to you, Ripka. I know that somehow, you two are going to argue that this is insanity. But I mean, even if you go look and look at
Hinckley, for instance, who took a shot over a love, an unrequited love, that does not equal insanity.
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It absolutely does equal insanity because if you look back at his behavior, even if he felt this hatred
towards people, he did nothing about it. He`s got no history of violence whatsoever. He was not arrested for this kind of behavior. He sat through
an hour-long bible study before this all brewed inside him and he exploded, which is the elements of insanity.
[20:05:12]GRACE: Actually, insanity is not knowing right from wrong at the time of the incident. That is the element of insanity.
OK, we now are getting reports that this entire episode, this murderous episode, is over an unrequited love. Now new Snapchat video has
emerged. Let`s see it, Liz. And we have iso-ed Roof in the video with a red arrow.
This is the bible study. This is in fellowship hall down in the basement. And there you see 21-year-old Dylann Storm Roof sitting quietly.
For all I know, he`s holding a bible. This is how close he was to his victims. You`re seeing the inside of the fellowship hall. You`re seeing
how the victims were sitting so close to him.
There was really not even a chance for them to get away. Look at the inside. They`re surrounded by chairs. They`re sitting at tables. So once
he starts shooting, they`ve got to stand up, turn around, run into more tables and chairs to try to get out. There`s no way out for them.
Also, keep looking at the Snapchat video. If you could pull that back up again for me? Because what you`re seeing is how far away the doors are,
how far away they`d have to run to. A lot of these people were elderly.
Could they get away? No. They were like lambs to the slaughter, not having any idea that in his fanny pack, which was turned around to his
stomach, he was holding a Glock, a Glock weapon. He was holding it in his hands right there in bible study, waiting for the right minute. These
people had no idea what was about to happen.
Also, in the last hours, we have obtained new photos, photos of Dylann Storm -- look at this. Now, the stepmother is blaming the Internet and
the, quote, "evils of the Internet," but this is what her stepson is posting on line. Keep looking. Keep looking.
These are -- whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Stop right there! Take down the banner, please. Take that down. He has got his muddy shoes on the
American flag! Is that -- what is that in his mouth? Is that drool?
Right then, his parents should have just jerked a knot in his neck right then, to have your feet on the American flag. This is what he is
posting back in his room when he`s back in there, locked in for hours on -- look at this! Look at this!
Yet his stepmother is coming out saying, Oh, he was a good boy, except for -- there he is with the Glock. Look at that.
These are the photos that we have uncovered, and I want to show you a significant one. Hold that right there, and take down the banner. Look at
what he has written. It`s a 1-4-8-8. And I studied this to figure out, what is 1488? Was it a date in history? Is it something I don`t know
about?
Guess what it is. Put it in full, please. 1488 are numbers that are significant numerologically to the white supremacist movement, such as the
KKK. 88 -- 8 is the H -- the letter H, is the eighth letter in the alphabet, ergo, H-H, Heil Hitler.
Justin Freiman, what is the 14?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, the 14 is shorthand for 14 words that are very much associated with white
supremacists. Those 14 words would be, "We must secure the existence for our people and a future for white children."
GRACE: OK. Say that for me slowly please, Justin. It`s -- 14 means what?
FREIMAN: It stands for 14 words that are very popular with the white supremacist movement, and those words are, "We must secure the existence of
our people and a future for white children." These are very important to that movement.
GRACE: OK, please don`t say it any more. I want to hear the sound of this guy at his -- you see everybody`s got on bulletproof vests, carrying
this guy around. Let`s hear what he has to say in court. Roll it, please, Liz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your age?
ROOF: 21.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re 21 years of -- are you employed?
ROOF: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re unemployed at this time?
ROOF: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: There you see him in court, the judge asking your age and your occupation.
[20:10:03]Back to Joey Hudson, WGTK. So he`s 21 years old, what, living at home with his mom and dad? He obviously doesn`t have a job. Was
he working?
HUDSON: No. He explained that he was unemployed when asked about that by the judge in court.
GRACE: So let me understand this, Chris Spargo, Dailymail.com. The stepmother has referred to him as just another lazy kid in the, what, the
me generation? She blames this on the Internet. She said he would go in his room and stay in there, lock himself in his room seven or eight hours a
day, and was led astray by the Internet.
Well, what were the parents doing?
SPARGO: Exactly. She`s trying to make this seem like he just suddenly one day got on line and started reading all these misconstrued
statements, and that`s what caused him to shoot up. And he was motivated that after the Trayvon Martin murder, he started looking the all these
crimes that black people were committing on white people, and that`s what led to all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We welcomed you Wednesday night in our bible study with open arms. You have killed some of the most beautifulest (ph)
people that I know. Every fiber in my body hurts! And I`ll never be the same. Tywanza Sanders was my son, but Tywanza was my hero. Tywanza was my
hero. But as we say it in bible study, we enjoyed you, but may God have mercy on you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:05]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This cell phone video captured moments before the carnage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lone wolf mass murderer Dylann Roof behind bars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the victims were shot multiple times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You hurt me! You hurt a lot of people! But God forgive you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now everyone trying to determine why, why a 21-year-old man would unleash such hatred inside a church, gunning down nine innocent
people after sitting with them for at least a full hour in a bible study.
Take a look at this Snapchat video we obtained, and you can see how the victims in the church really couldn`t get away. They`re inside a
fellowship hall downstairs, obviously no window. The doors are a distance away. They are surrounded by tables and chairs.
Oh, by the way, bible study "knowledge planter" -- the planter is the person leading the bible study group. Then you see him. There is Roof.
We have iso-ed him with a big red arrow. There was nowhere for them to go.
Now we learn the shooting may have been as a reaction to a love rejection, a woman he had a crush on was or began dating an African-
American man and just threw him over the edge?
But what we have learned is many, many months of hatred spewing on line, an evil manifesto that he had written himself, horrible photos of him
with his feet on the American flag, his muddy feet, drooling, holding a gun that he had retooled for more destruction, numerology related to Hitler and
the neo-Nazi movement.
And now we`re learning that he wanted to dye all Jewish people blue? OK, what is that about, Justin Freiman, dye Jewish people blue? Explain.
FREIMAN: Well, his hatred spread across lots of different people and it did include the Jews, according to his manifesto. And one of the things
that he says he wanted to do was dye them blue for a day so there would be a mass -- what he calls a mass awakening, so people could differentiate
Jewish people from other whites.
GRACE: And let me ask you this, Joey Hudson, WGTK. Once Roof dyed Jewish people blue -- for what reason? To do what?
HUDSON: Well, he wanted them to stand out so that people would know that they are different from white people, his race. Just as he felt that
blacks were inferior, he felt that Jews are, too, not as much so as blacks are, though. So by being blue, at least you would know who the Jewish
people are around you.
GRACE: OK. Not saying I understand it, but I believe you, Joey Hudson.
We are also learning that he specifically had his Glock weapon retooled, I guess souped up, upgraded, so to speak, before he went on his
spree killing.
Chris Spargo, Dailymail.com, what did he do to this Glock weapon?
SPARGO: Well, he wanted to make sure he could get off as many bullets as possible so he could commit a massive crime like this. So he had it
tooled that way. And the crazy thing is that he had a felony drug charge, so he shouldn`t have been able to even get a gun.
GRACE: That`s why I don`t understand how the parents claim, Oh, he was such a good boy, a church-going boy. Well, you know what? That
doesn`t jive with hating black people and wanting to dye Jewish people blue, all right? So somewhere, there`s a missing link in the chain.
[20:20:12]Unleash the lawyers, Parag Shah, Atlanta, Alan Ripka, New York. Also with me, Dr. Tiffany Sanders, psychologist.
OK, Parag Shah, Ripka is already tuning up about the insanity defense. But this, especially going into the church, concealing the weapon,
retooling the weapon to include the laser aspect of it, putting the manifesto about hatred of black people, hatred of Jews, hatred of Hispanics
-- I mean, he spewed that in his manifesto for months ahead of this.
With all that in mind, Parag Shah, where`s your insanity defense? He clearly knew what was doing was wrong.
PARAG SHAH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think that does make the insanity defense difficult. But I think the focus in this case is going to
be at sentencing, seeing how this is a death penalty case, looking at the mitigating and aggravating factors. You said it yourself. There`s a
missing link. That is what the defense needs to focus on and put into context.
GRACE: No, I`m talking about...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I`m not talking about him.
(CROSSTALK)
SHAH: However the -- how he was influenced, his life experiences, that`s what made him who he was.
GRACE: Put him up!
SHAH: He wasn`t born -- I don`t believe people are born a racist. They become that way based on the influences in their life, the
circumstances.
GRACE: OK, you know what?
SHAH: And that goes to mitigating his circumstances.
GRACE: You`re getting nowhere.
SHAH: The goal is to save him from death.
GRACE: OK, can I remind both of you that the prosecution is not required to crawl into the mind of the killer, a racist killer, a KKKer.
It`s not the state`s duty to figure out their motivation. The state does not have to prove motive.
But what I am telling you is the state must defeat an insanity defense, as you well know. So telling me that he wasn`t born this way --
don`t care, all right? What I want to know is whether an insanity defense will work. And I`m telling you, it will not work, Parag Shah, because...
SHAH: There`s definitely some...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... took planning.
SHAH: There`s some mental issues with this kid. Until we get an evaluation, until we see that, we can`t make that judgment. I agree with
you that there are some issues that go against it, but until we get an evaluation, we can`t prejudge that right now.
GRACE: But Justin Freiman, his hatred was not isolated to African- Americans. He also hated Jews. He also hated Hispanics. What did he say about how much he hated Hispanics?
FREIMAN: He actually said Hispanics are, quote, "a huge problem for Americans."
GRACE: OK, to Dr. Tiffany Sanders, joining me out of Chicago. Dr. Sanders, pure, unadulterated evil or spewing hatred does not equal
insanity.
TIFFANY SANDERS, PSYCHOLOGIST: It does not. Dylann Roof is a racist. He`s a white supremacist who`s been consuming hate for years. And though
he has -- is a dropout and he has drug and alcohol charges against him, that does not correlate to mental illness completely.
What I look at -- when I look at Dylann Roof, I look at someone who has been in such a hateful state of mind, consuming all of this sort of
hateful propaganda, it`s no (ph) reason why we have this situation at hand.
GRACE: You know, another thing, Dr. Tiffany Sanders -- and Parag Shah, Alan Ripka, I hope you`re hearing Dr. Sanders because this is what`s
going to happen at trial.
Defense lawyers, no offense, just like you, are going to be in court arguing -- arguing mental defect or insanity. And some psychologists or
psychiatrist, like Dr. Tiffany Sanders, is going to be explaining to this jury why hate doesn`t equal insanity.
Another issue here, Dr. Sanders -- it`s not just African-Americans, it`s Jews, it`s Hispanics, probably women, everybody that`s not just like
him. My question to you is this. How can these parents say that he`s a good boy that was led astray by the Internet?
SANDERS: You know, what happened is the parents are turning a blind eye to their son`s behavior. Clearly, this was under their nose, and they
chose to ignore it. And I`m going to guess -- even though he says he never learned racist behavior from them, I believe he had heard this type of
rhetoric from them. So the parents want to make themselves look innocent, when in actuality, they saw this right under their nose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You took something very precious from me. I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again!
But I forgive you! And have mercy on your soul!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:29:04]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators dissect the 2,000-word racist manifesto linked to confessed gunman Dylann Roof.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "I have no choice. I am not in a position to alone go into the ghetto and fight."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nine lives who were lost in this terrible, terrible tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: As we wonder why, remember prosecutors do not have to prove motive in this case. They will be up against a sure-fire mental defect or
insanity defense. I believe that will be totally destroyed at trial. Hate does not equal insanity.
Greg Kading, former LAPD, author of "Murder Rap," how do you go about retooling a Glock to add a laser aspect?
GREG KADING, FMR. LAPD DETECTIVE: These components are readily available for hand guns. You can buy lasers and flashlights and those type
of components and actually just attach them to the guns. Retooling allows the gun to feed more efficiently, though, so that you don`t get jams. So
if he had, in fact, the gun retooled, it was to make it work more efficiently.
GRACE: You know, to hear Greg Kading talk about the Glock being worked more efficiently is heartbreaking. Not for prosecutors who are
going to use that aspect of retooling his Glock as evidence of planning, of intent to commit homicides, but to people like Reverend George McKain out
of Charleston, it`s heartbreaking, because that Glock was used on his friends. Joining me out of Charleston, Reverend George McKain, friend of
the victims and the national director of public affairs at the AME Zion Church.
Reverend George McKain, thank you so much for being with us. Could you tell us about your friends, Reverend Middleton, Myra Thompson and
Reverend Simmons.
REV. GEORGE MCKAIN: All jewels, all individuals, just shining lights. Myra, crazy -- just a jewel of outgoing personality. She attended the same
college I did, Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, is where she started her first two years. Reverend Simmons happened to be also in
the same fraternity I was in, Phi Beta Sigma, when I first joined and came to Charleston, met him, and because of our sharing an AME and Ame Zion
churches, two of the three historically black Methodist church, we shared kinship and worked programs together. Then Clementa Pinckney, everybody`s
guy. He was tomorrow`s leader today. And he just, you know, to work with him, to work around him, to see the energy, to feel the energy, he was --
he was definitely a -- a -- I can`t find the word to fully describe him in a short snap, but he was -- he was -- he was awesome.
GRACE: Reverend McKain, this guy, Roof, said he wanted to start a race war. What do you make of that?
MCCKAIN: Well, I heard what he said. And I just would have to borrow the line that our mayor, Joe Riley said, that he horribly failed, if that
was his goal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A sheriff`s deputy`s wife shot dead in the head, lying in the bathtub in the family home. On the floor beside her body there in the
bathroom, a wedding band torn in half. Her husband, covered in blood. But tonight, he could actually walk on straight probation. This deputy sheriff
charged only with involuntary manslaughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were always happy, even on Facebook, you know, always posting, you know, great pictures, always smiling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hard to believe about such a happy couple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in the military and she was, like, all the time, you know, worried about him and this, that. They seemed very
happy and everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Travis Highfield with the Augusta Chronicle. Travis, thanks for being with us. I can`t get my mind around the fact that
many people are arguing this was an accident, but what about the broken wedding band lying on the bathroom floor beside the dead body? How could
that be an accident? That`s extremely symbolic, Travis.
TRAVIS HIGHFIELD, AUGUSTA CHRONICLE: Well, thank you for having me, Nancy. Um, you know, not a whole lot`s been said about this case. We have
been trying to get more information. We have submitted open records requests. Here at the Chronicle, to get a little bit more about that. I
actually don`t even know who that wedding band belonged to, whether it belonged to Matthew Blakely or his wife, Candace Blakely, but that was just
one of the glaring things about this case that has generated a lot of interest over here in this area for sure.
GRACE: You know, unleash the lawyers, Parag Shah, defense attorney and author of "The Code," Alan Ripka, defense attorney out of New York.
Also with me, Tiffany Sanders, psychologist out of Chicago. First to you. Parag Shah, you want to tell me that the wedding band being torn or cut or
broken in half and -- first of all, I don`t know what you think is funny or --
SHAH: I already know where you`re going, because I know where you`re going. It doesn`t matter, it doesn`t matter.
GRACE: Why was the wedding band lying on the floor beside her dead -- did you say OMG? Because we don`t say that.
SHAH: No, I said it doesn`t matter.
GRACE: Well, let`s get back to the wedding band on the floor. The wedding band torn in half in itself is significant, but right beside her
dead body, how can that be a mistake, Parag Shah?
SHAH: It is an accident because the other deputy that was in there, Deputy Murphy, he corroborates it, he says it was an accident. That`s
evidence that other person --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You think he was in the bathroom with the wife naked in the tub? How would he know what went on in the bathroom?
SHAH: There`s no evidence to suggest this was not an accident. That broken ring doesn`t mean anything. Doesn`t mean anything.
[20:40:00]
GRACE: Could you answer the question? You know what, let me go to Ripka. Let me see if the second verse is same as the first with Alan
Ripka. So, how could this friend of the defendant`s, both of them on the sheriff`s department, how could he know what`s going on in the bathroom
with the woman, the wife, in the bathtub? How would he know what`s going on in there? You don`t think they had the door closed?
RIPKA: I think it is unlikely he was in there at the time of the shooting, and I think an officer or a law enforcement person who is trained
in firearm safety is going to have a very difficult time here that he had a loaded rifle inside a small bathroom.
GRACE: And another thing, what`s the cut on his head? Show me that shot again, please. Why does this guy have a cut on his head? How do you
get that from an accidental shooting? What about that? Do you know anything about that, Travis Highfield with the Augusta Chronicles?
HIGHFIELD: We haven`t been told anything about it, if there was any sort of struggle, we don`t even really know why Matthew Murphy was in the
house. Looking at the incident reports, she`s not listed as living at that residence. We don`t know if he was there at the time of the shooting, we
don`t know if he came after the shooting.
GRACE: Let me ask you another question. Stacy Newman, on the story, what time of the day or night did this happen?
NEWMAN: This was 7:30 on a Saturday night, Nancy.
GRACE: 7:30 on a Saturday night. All right, Stacey Newman, you already heard the defense attorneys tuning up, but how do you accidentally
kill your wife and shoot the wedding band in half with one accidental bullet?
NEWMAN: Well, here`s the other question, too. The rifle that was found in the bathroom is an M-4. This is a high-powered rifle that only
military men or women use. We know he served in the Marines, but why would an M-4 rifle be in the bathroom while she is in the bathtub?
GRACE: You know what, Stacy, you`re right. Greg Kading, former LAPD, author of "Murder Rap," explain to us why you would not have an M-4 in a
little bathroom.
KADING: Well, certainly, there`s no reason to have an M-4 in a bathroom for any reason that I can imagine, unless there`s a home invasion
and you`re defending yourself.
GRACE: Against who? Your wife in the bathtub, and the bar of soap?
KADING: Correct. I`m saying there is no justification that appears in this case. But this is not unusual. You know, military personnel and
cops ourselves, we get -- we handle guns so frequently that we get entirely complacent with them at times, and if this was, in fact, an accident, I can
guarantee that that`s what it was, it was a matter of complacency. Negligence.
GRACE: Put him up. Put him up, please. So let me ask you this, if it`s an accident, Greg Kading, then how come she`s dead and the wedding
band apparently has been shot in half? So, how do you do that with one bullet?
KADING: Has it been confirmed that it`s her wedding ring?
GRACE: Okay. So, you`re suggesting another person took a third wedding band, shot it in half, and left it on the rug by the wife`s naked
body?
KADING: Nancy, this is a high-powered rifle. A high-powered rifle, the mechanisms on these things are moving extremely rapidly. I`ve seen
people get their fingers cut off with these type of firearms.
GRACE: So, you`re saying -- I think where you`re heading with that line of thought is that he accidentally ripped his own wedding band off and
cut it in half as he was accidentally shooting her dead?
KADING: No, that`s not what I`m saying. It`s entirely possible that if it was an accidental shooting, that a mechanism could have ripped that
thing off of his hand and damaged it, if it`s his -- if it is, in fact, his -- his ring.
GRACE: All right. Let me find out some more about this. Dr. Michelle Dupre, forensic pathologist joining us out of Columbia. Dr.
Dupre, weigh in, please.
DUPRE: Nancy, um, this is very unusual. It may be the case that it is her wedding band and she was in a defensive posture, holding her hand up
to her head, and her ring was shot off at the time. I doubt it`s his wedding ring or a third party`s.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:48:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started crying, like -- I still can`t wrap my head around it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Off duty Aiken County deputy, Matthew Blakely, is accused of killing his wife, Candace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They seemed very happy and everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When officers got to the scene, they say they found Matthew outside with blood on his hands.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She loved him. She loved him with all her heart. We just want to know why. We want to know why it happened. He was
just an overall sweet, precious person. I wouldn`t wish this on a thousand enemies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Candace was shot and killed. The Aiken County sheriff`s office arrested her husband, deputy Matthew Blakely, saying he
accidentally killed her. Matthew Blakely joined the sheriff`s office in November as a road deputy. He was still in the academy, but in those seven
months, he had already been suspended and put on probation. His personnel file shows an incident in April where Blakely pulled out his gun while
quote, horse playing with another deputy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started crying, just like -- just like -- I still can`t wrap my head around it. They were always happy, even on
Facebook, you know, always posting, you know, great pictures, always smiling. I know that he was in the military and she was, like, all the
time, you know, worried about him and this and that. They seemed very happy and everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And as of right now, the husband can walk with straight probation on a minor charge of involuntary manslaughter? You are seeing
wedding photos of the then happy couple, Candace Blakely and husband Matthew Jordan Blakely, and in just the seven short months he had been a
deputy sheriff, he had already been suspended for horseplay with his weapon.
[20:50:00]
His wife found dead in the bathtub, a wedding ring torn in half on the floor beside her, dead from a gunshot wound. At this hour, the only charge
is a straight probation offense? I don`t understand this. I want to talk about another issue we have discovered. Straight out to Stacy Newman on
the story. We found out he had already been suspended for horseplay with a weapon. But we have also learned that all of the officers that finally
came to the scene after 911, he did not call 911, by the way, someone else did. They were wearing body cameras. So everything that happened once
they got there should have been on body cam video. That has not been released.
NEWMAN: No, it hasn`t, and neither has the 911 call. But all of that has been turned over to SLED (ph), who is now investigating this, Nancy,
because not only do you have the deputy husband who has been charged, you have the other deputy friend who was on the scene, his hands were covered
in blood, but he said he was doing chest compressions on the wife. He has not been charged at this time.
GRACE: A couple of other questions, to Travis Highfield with the Augusta Chronicle. Were there any other signs of the struggle? His
forehead has two cuts on it. What about her?
HIGHFIELD: The only thing that we know as far as injuries for her is she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. That`s the only thing. That was
actually (inaudible) by an autopsy that was performed in Newbury, South Carolina last week. As far as that goes, there`s no other mention of a
wound or any other thing like that on her body.
GRACE: OK. What about this? I`m interested in her hand. I`m wondering if like Dr. Dupre said, this torn wedding band could have been
the result of a defensive wound, where she holds her hand up. Do we know, Travis Highfield, was she clothed?
HIGHFIELD: We don`t know. We don`t know if there was water in the tub, we don`t know if she was placed in the tub. We don`t have any of that
information.
GRACE: Placed in the tub. Unleash the lawyers. Parag Shah, Alan Ripka. Also joining me, Dr. Michelle Dupre, forensic pathologist. Dr.
Michelle Dupre, question to you, what difference would it make, and this is very significant, if there was water in the bathtub and if she were
clothed.
DUPRE: Well, Nancy, it`s going to tell us what was happening right before the incident. We look at that totality of circumstances around the
scene. We want to make sure that the scene matches the evidence and the story we are told. If she was clothed and there was no water in the
bathtub, she probably wasn`t taking a bath. What were they doing in the bathroom? On the other hand, if there was water in the tub and she`s not
clothed, what were they doing in the bathroom with an M-4? It would answer a lot of questions.
GRACE: I want to go through what Dupre said. Parag Shah, Alan Ripka, let`s analyze what Dr. Dupre just said. If there is not water in the
bathtub and she was placed in the bathtub naked, that means the scene was posed. If she has on clothes and she is in a dry bathtub, that also would
suggest the scene was posed. If she has a defensive wound on her hand where her ring once was, that means she saw it coming. It`s not really an
accident. If she can raise her hand up, then that`s time for him to stand down, do you get my drift?
SHAH: I get your drift. What I`m getting at is, it`s circumstantial evidence. If there are multiple hypothesis, then that`s reasonable doubt.
That`s what you`re telling me right now.
GRACE: I didn`t tell you that.
SHAH: That`s what you`re telling me, there`s multiple scenarios. And therefore, there`s reasonable doubt. That`s what you`re telling me.
GRACE: Actually, what I`m telling you are the facts as they may stand. We don`t know all the answers yes. Stacy Newman, do we know
whether there was water in the tub, do we know whether she was clothed?
NEWMAN: No. They have not released that information yet at all. I would imagine if there was that information out, these charges could be
upgraded on whether she was clothed or whether she was actually taking a bath.
GRACE: Now, Travis Highfield, Augusta Chronicle, we know the autopsy report is done, where is it? Where is the autopsy report? Why are they
not releasing it or the body camera video?
HIGHFIELD: You know, that`s probably the best question that I don`t have an answer to right now, because we have requested all that
information. I know state law in South Carolina actually allows them to exclude body cam footage in some situations. We also requested dashcam
footage, because he was reported to the MVR (ph). We were kind of curious in seeing what the scene was like when everybody rolled up.
[20:55:00]
All of those information requests we have made, we have yet to get a response on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:59:20]
GRACE: Let`s remember American hero, New Orleans Police Officer Darrel Holloway, 45. Killed in the line of duty. Served 22 years mostly
Fifth District. Dedication to community, never met a stranger. You couldn`t be around him for three minutes without becoming his friend.
Leaves behind three children. Darrel Holloway, American hero. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night.
END
