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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Waitress Found Dead in a Lake; Pediatrician Killed by Own Boyfriend. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 22, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I loved her very, very much.
JEAN CASAREZ, HOST, HLN: A young waitress everybody loved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was welcoming and that type of warm personality.
CASAREZ: Savannah Gold murdered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s a great girl. And we`re going to miss her.
CASAREZ: Police say her killer wasn`t just a guy she used to date but a co-worker as well.
SHERRI GOLD, SAVANNAH GOLD`S MOTHER: I feel like he`s a sociopath.
CASAREZ: Police say a man called 911 telling dispatchers his girlfriend had been hit by a car. But when officers found her, something just didn`t
add up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re very suspicious of his statements.
CASAREZ: Now he is charged with murder in her death.
RAYMOND BLINN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, EAST PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Her injuries and loss of life were the direct result of his
actions.
CASAREZ: An 80-year-old grandfather found dead in his home, stabbed 41 times. The shocker? Police say the killer was his granddaughter.
Police say this is no delivery man carrying a package. Check out the video. As officers say he tried to rob a homeowner and force his way inside. What
happened when the homeowner tried to fight back, it will turn your stomach.
Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez in for Ashleigh Banfield. Thank you so much for joining us. This is Primetime Justice.
It is a text that would make any parent stop and do a double take. "I met a really great guy and we`re running away together." But Savannah Gold`s
parents would soon discover that what really happened to their daughter was much worse.
The 21-year-old was a popular server at the Bonefish Grill in Jacksonville, Florida. For regulars would come just for her. But the day her parents
reportedly got that text, she never made it inside for her shift even though her car was in the parking lot.
Three days the later, the unthinkable. Investigators found her body in a lake. And police say it was her co-worker who put her there. Savannah`s on
and off boyfriend, a manager at the grill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE GALLAHER, HOMICIDE LIEUTENANT, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF`S OFFICE: Leo Rodarte, he is the culinary manager of the Bonefish Grill. He confessed to
killing Savannah and disposing of her body in the lake. He did admit to killing her in the car in the parking lot that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Police say surveillance cameras captured Savannah getting into his car the last day of her life. There was some sort of a struggle inside,
and then Rodarte drove off. But it has been a mystery as to how Savannah died. And the release of her autopsy report doesn`t give us many clues.
According to the medical examiner, Savannah died from some type of homicidal violence. Her body was covered -- listen to this -- with second
and third degree burns. How did that happen? But Leo Rodarte or Rodarte he is not pleading guilty, he`s pleading not guilty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: I feel like he`s a sociopath because he expressed his concern over Savannah`s disappearance to Dan, to his face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: With me, Roger Henderson, he is the news director for WBOB radio in Jacksonville, Florida. Roger, this case started out as a missing
person`s case, but I notice it was missing persons homicide case at the beginning. What are the facts that we know that happened on the last day
that she was ever seen alive?
ROGER HENDERSON, NEWS DIRECTOR, WBOB RADIO: Yes, good evening, Jean. Tragically, several months ago, we received news that there was a missing
young lady. TV, newscasts posting her picture on the screen, people were calling the crime tips hotline, crime stoppers hot line giving information
on what they may know about it to hopefully find her.
And tragically, after the community became so invested, she could be anyone`s daughter, anyone`s sister, the girl next door, she had lost her
life several days earlier. Then to find out her that boyfriend, her ex- boyfriend Leo Rodarte confessed to taking her life only later to retract that confession and now he`s pleading not guilty.
CASAREZ: You know, Roger, her parents received a text. I think her father did, the night that she was last seen on surveillance camera in the parking
lot of the Bonefish Grill. A really popular chain restaurant. Let`s show everybody what that text said because her father read it.
[20:04:59] So this is what the family learned first. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you and mom I met a really great guy and we`re running away together.
I love him, and we`re leaving tonight." It`s all misspelled but that`s what he`s trying to say. "I`ll call you later when we get to where we`re going."
So, they tell authorities they think it`s a missing person`s case. This was done, this text was sent about 6.09 in the evening. Roger, let`s go through
the timeline right now. Because we want to show people exactly how this seemed to come down, OK?
It all starts about 5.15 in the evening. Savannah leaves her house and she drives to the Bonefish Grill because she`s going to start her shift as a
server for the evening. At 5.31, she arrives in the parking lot. And the suspect is already there, Rodarte is already there. He had gotten there 25
minutes earlier.
So she goes over to his car. First the driver`s side, then she walks around to the passenger side and she gets in. OK? Then at 5.45 -- so you can tell
there`s a little bit of something going on, talking or maybe arguing because there`s a possible struggle seen inside the suspect`s car at 5.45.
Now that`s evidenced by police say the car is rocking back and forth and the door is open and shut, open and shut, open and shut. So they see that.
And they believe that that`s an altercation. At 6.04, the suspect`s car is spotted leaving the parking lot and, Roger, isn`t it true that Savannah was
never seen getting out of that car when he left the parking lot at 6.04?
HENDERSON: No, she was not seen getting out of the car. Tragically, the next thing anyone heard relative to her whereabouts was that she lost her
life.
CASAREZ: Right.
HENDERSON: I think it`s important to mention right now that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but you know, you or I
didn`t sit down with detectives and confess that he did this. He did. And then he retracts his statement. You know, all this text messaging to the
parents saying that she found some other guy, my opinion, I think it may have been just trying to establish some type of explanation as to where
their daughter is in order to throw authorities ultimately off the trail...
(CROSSTALK)
CASAREZ: And you know, Roger?
HENDERSON: ... and that`s not going to work.
CASAREZ: Let`s look at the facts because the facts show that text came in about 6.09. That`s after his car wasn`t out of the parking lot. I want to
bring in Dr. William Morrone who is a toxicologist, forensic pathologist, medical examiner.
And doctor, this man who has now been charged with murder, when they finally got him in to talk to him because they saw the surveillance tape,
they could -- and by the way, he was the culinary manager of the Bonefish Grill.
But doctor, police are saying that he admitted that he killed her in the parking lot in his car, drove away with her in the car and then he put her
body in the lake. And that, doctor, is how they found out that it was not a missing person`s case. They found that body in the lake, but here`s what I
want to talk to you about.
They have now released the autopsy report. And she was burned 75 percent of her body. I want to ask you, in reading this autopsy report, do you see a
method or burning particular parts of her body or do you think he was just trying to destroy her corpse?
WILLIAM MORRONE, MEDICAL EXAMINER & FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: I don`t think he was trying to destroy her corpse. I think he was trying to inflict some
kind of wound that would lead to a possible death scenario, shock, electrocution. While these are thermal wounds, they`re classified as second
degree, which means you break down into the skin. It`s bluster like and it leaves it raw. This can put you into shock.
And if this is electrical, it could act to fibrillate the heart. These wounds, 75 percent of the body inflicting but they can also make the heart
very unstable.
CASAREZ: So, what kind of a device or what is just sort of the plethora of things that can cause thermal wounds, thermal injuries?
MORRONE: An electrical device that would be hooked up to something like a car battery or some kind of hair heating and curling device or a hot air
gun that would melt plastic and shrink wrap or flame.
[20:10:06] But if these are consistent with electrical burns, they could fibrillate her heart and fibrillation would knock out her circulation and
that`s why the four points in the autopsy don`t really give us a straight etiology. An unknown etiology means the violence, the homicide comes from a
source that`s unknown.
So we have to consider the burns can be thermal or they could be combustible. Those are the two sources of heat. And if it`s thermal, it
could throw her into a seizure. But if you`re burning the body, you decrease the stability of blood pressure and someone will go into shock and
that will fibrillate the heart.
CASAREZ: Yes. I read in the autopsy, the heart had no blood. Is that normal?
MORRONE: Well, in a postmortem setting, it would depend on the position of the body. But a heart that`s beating fills and ejects. If her heart`s
fibrillating, there`s no beating, that could be part of the clues to this but because you can`t test that days or weeks later, the body was very
decomposed.
There`s significant bacterial overgrowth of certain organs and it was very clear that there was postmortem body decomposition at such a high level
that there was actually an alcohol, an ethanol content that you would not ascribe to somebody drinking. It`s the breakdown products of a body in
decomposition that leads to that high level of alcohol.
CASAREZ: Right. This defendant, innocent until proven guilty, but charged with her murder. He said very quickly to them in a couple of days when they
spoke to him, that the body was in the lake. So it wasn`t there for like weeks or months, should the decomposition have taken effect that quickly
when she`s submerged in water?
MORRONE: Well, it`s all based on temperature. And a very specific line of autolysis, that means the body`s own internal bacteria, is what breaks down
part of the heart, part of the lungs, part of the kidneys, and part of the brain. The comments on the brain said that decomposition was so bad.
If it`s anaerobic decomposition what`s breaking the body down in the water is the body`s own natural own bacteria as opposed to bacteria that would be
in a field or in a roadside or body that`s partially buried in the woods. So bodies do decompose in the water, and it`s temperature dependent. And
this is in the south.
CASAREZ: So how often do you see thermal injuries such as you describe? Now we always hear about accelerants and gasoline but you`re saying that it
could be other things like a battery alive, battery cable and different things. I mean, how common is that?
MORRONE: That is very uncommon. And here`s what`s critical. That toxicology report, if he used accelerants on her skin, they`re absorbed in
the skin and they`re absorbed enough that they would be retested. In the drug test they would come off as toluene or gasoline or benzene or
formaldehyde or some other chemicals because this is a high grade toxicology lab.
And the fact that they`re thermal injuries without accelerant leads me to believe these could have an electrical origin.
CASAREZ: And could that have been done inside the car? Because, as you said, they don`t know the cause of death.
MORRONE: Right. They`re going to have to find a secondary crime scene murder weapon that would be related to something that would have some kind
of battery pack or charge of 6 volt or 12 volt or maybe even some kind of like diffuse taser of some kind.
So there`s also another interesting wound that it could be considered natural and it`s hard to tell. We have a thyroid and a hyoid bone in the
neck. And most of the bones of the skull are really hard. But in the neck, they`re very delicate. And the neck bones are demonstrated here by a
popular breadstick. And there`s a defect in it. And it`s a bloodless defect.
So we don`t know if it`s a postmortem trauma, a wound inflicted after the heart stopped, or whether it was a developmental genetic defect in the
bone.
[20:14:58] But it`s very rare to break this bone in the neck. Neck bones that break usually indicate also some kind of suffocation or blunt force
trauma with a heavy object because it has to break the bone.
CASAREZ: Very interesting. Troy Slaten, you`re joining us tonight from Los Angeles. You are a defense attorney. Hearing what Dr. Morrone is saying, I
mean, this makes it that much more heinous and I guess the thermal agent could have caused the death or it could have been to try to just disguise
the identity.
But that really is an aggravating factor here that will not fare well for him in the guilt phase or the sentencing phase if convicted.
TROY SLATEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Certainly not, Jean. If the jury thinks that this poor woman was tortured in addition to being killed, it
certainly won`t buy well for him. But a clever defense attorney may be able to use this for his defense. We don`t really know how she was killed.
There`s no weapon, there`s no motive. We don`t know why he would want to do this.
And jurors really like to wrap things up in a package. And although prosecutors don`t have to provide a motive, jurors really want that piece
of evidence.
CASAREZ: And without the surveillance tape, maybe so, but the surveillance tape that prosecutors will not release at this point in time shows him as
the last one that is with her and they also say that he confessed, although now he`s saying, you know what? I didn`t do it. And, of course a court of
law and a jury will decide. All right. Thank you so much.
Police say a man called 911 reporting that his girlfriend was hit by a car. But when police arrived, they say they quickly determined there was no
crash. Why that boyfriend is now charged with murder.
[20:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Around 4 a.m. one Saturday morning police in east Providence, Rhode Island, they got a call that a woman had been hit by a car. Forty-
one-year-old Jennifer Silva, a mother who loved her pets and worked hard in pediatrics, she was found in her own parking lot and she died after she was
taken to the hospital.
But not long after her death, police determined she was killed, they say, by a man and not by a car. Specifically, the man who called 911, Jennifer`s
boyfriend, Alan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINN: Her injuries and loss of life are a direct result of his actions. Those teams that initially responded were very suspicious of his statements
right off the bat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Alan Hanson was still on probation for assaulting a different woman with brass knuckles when he was arrested for killing his live-in
girlfriend, Jennifer. And now he is charged with her murder.
With us tonight, John DePetro, he is a radio host for WNRI in Providence, Rhode Island. John, you`re right there where it happened. This has twists
and turns that just are so unusual. Start from the beginning. It was 4 a.m. in the morning when police got the original call, right?
JOHN DEPETRO, HOST, WNRI RADIO: It was. And actually, then police did a great job by East Providence police, by the way, but when they arrived on
the scene, Alan was allegedly -- Alan Hanson -- covered in blood and immediately started changing his story. From that she had been hit in the
front and he was trying to carry her to his car and then maybe get her to the hospital.
He seemed concerned then quickly changed it to say she was -- she was hit in the back. The police could tell he was -- he was actually even
interfering, if you can imagine. The police respond to this horrific scene and instead, they started to realize that he was acting very suspicious.
And then in the back they found what certainly seems like what was just a brutal argument, domestic violence killing with -- I mean, this is just so
terrible what happened to Jennifer Silva.
(CROSSTALK)
CASAREZ: And that`s what they believe. But he is innocent until proven guilty.
DEPETRO: No question. He is.
CASAREZ: And he did call 911. He`s the one that called 911, right?
DEPETRO: He did call 911. But it seems that there was a delay before he did. And neighbors in the area said they thought they heard screaming and
arguing and then the police noticed that there was a third floor window that had the screen up.
And so covered in blood, doesn`t make sense -- I know Warren Avenue. I drove on it just yesterday. Granted, busy, but at that time, even though he
did call 911, he did not have the type of story that I think that is consistent with someone -- there was no markings, Jean, that someone had
actually been hit.
He was immediately a suspect, and then never mind when you go into Hanson`s past and you see that he was already out on parole, very serious charges of
allegedly 12 years ago when he was only 19, hitting then a girlfriend with brass knuckles where he actually did time.
CASAREZ: Right, 2006. So let`s picture this. It`s 4 o`clock in the morning. Police arrive. He`s saying a car hit her. Hit and run.
[20:25:02] DEPETRO: Yes.
CASAREZ: He`s extremely emotional. He`s down with her trying to give her chest compressions, police even have to peel him away so they can work on
her. And then he says, no, she got hit out in the street, not here. But they didn`t find anything, right, out in the street. They didn`t find any
blood, any debris, nothing.
So then it goes back to that and then they look up -- and this is the thing that is just very strange, middle of the night. The third floor window and
the screen is completely up. And directly beneath that is her body, is that correct?
DEPETRO: That is exactly right. With blood and then even tragically a piece of the building or awning even had broken off. So again, you`re
exactly right. Innocent until proven guilty, but it seems there had been a violent argument and her injures apparently consistent with head trauma.
I mean, seems sick but it seems as though he threw her out of this third story floor window. She then landed below...
(CROSSTALK)
CASAREZ: And this is the lady that was 41 years old in pediatrics. She was in the medical profession.
And joining us tonight is the lieutenant, Raymond Blinn, he is the public information officer for East Providence Police Department in Rhode Island.
Thank you for joining us.
When your people arrived at the scene, did you almost immediately say no, this isn`t right, she wasn`t hit by the car, there`s just something wrong
here?
BLINN: Yes. Thank you for having me. The original responding officers, based on what they`re being told by Hanson, found it very strange
considering the different versions of what he was saying on the scene. Then when I arrived about 4.45 in the morning they told me about the vehicle
striking her.
At one point it was in the back of the building, then later it was said to happen out front. I examine that with other detectives. There`s absolutely
no evidence whatsoever of a motor vehicle crash, let alone a pedestrian crash out front.
CASAREZ: Was there any surveillance video at all back there?
BLINN: We -- not there. In the surrounding neighborhood we did obtain some footage, but enough that also confirmed that no crash did occur out front
between Ms. Silva and her injuries.
CASAREZ: And at 4 o`clock in the morning, there were no witnesses, my guess?
BLINN: There are witnesses did recall hearing a female scream.
CASAREZ: Ear witnesses.
BLINN: There a couple bars not far by that they thought maybe some of the noises coming from that, but they did not call us.
CASAREZ: So when you looked up and saw the third floor window up and the screen up, and tell me her body was directly underneath that, her body from
what I`m reading in the legal documents, was very close to the foundation of this home and the cement, correct?
BLINN: No, her body upon arrival the first officers was moved across that parking lot. What we determined was that her body at some point had been at
the base of that house below the window. And she`d been moved approximately 63 to 65 feet across the parking lot. The largest pool of blood was
directly below that window against the foundation and the driveway.
CASAREZ: So is your working theory at this point -- and of course, the case is in the hands of prosecutor, but do you believe she went out that
window down three floors to her death?
BLINN: Yes. Yes.
CASAREZ: Now, what evidence is there to show she was pushed out the window and not an accident, something just tragically happened and she fell out
the window?
BLINN: Well, I can tell you this, it`s our belief that, you know, Ms. Silva suffered her injuries as a result of coming out of that window. And
she came out of that window as a result of Hanson`s actions. We did find evidence that is consistent with a violent struggle.
And with other evidence found I can`t really discuss about at this point, we`re confident that, you know, again, her injuries were sustained from a
violent altercation in coming out that window.
CASAREZ: And there was an autopsy?
BLINN: There was, yes.
CASAREZ: What was the cause of death?
The manner of death was undetermined. Why is it undetermined at this point?
BLINN (via telephone): It`s something again based upon what the medical examiner`s office said at the time, their determination. We`re not
concerned by that. We feel there`s enough evidence to show that this was a domestic violence, a very vicious assault.
CASAREZ: And the charge is domestic murder of this man. What is in Rhode Island, what`s the maximum sentence for domestic murder?
BLINN (via telephone): For domestic murder would be life in prison.
CASAREZ: And he`s already on probation.
BLINN (via telephone): Already on probation for an earlier assault that occurred and some other violations also.
CASAREZ: You know, domestic violence is rampant in our society. More women are hopefully coming forward, but it`s still something that you can hold
inside. Do you believe that police had been called before? Was there violence before in this relationship? He obviously was on probation using
brass knuckles with another woman 11 years ago. What`s the history of this couple?
BLINN (via telephone): It`s a tumultuous history. Unfortunately, in so many cases like this, tragedy, you know, we look now in hindsight and we can see
different things that occurred, but quite frankly, using the words of Gavin De Becker and his teachings on this, each piece, maybe a family member or a
friend may see it, each piece on its own is not a significant factor.
But once they`re all together, it creates this mosaic. The picture can be clearly seen. We`ve been able to piece that together and the picture we`ve
been able to establish with the good work of Detective (INAUDIBLE), the lead investigator, and the team of detectives that have worked with him.
I feel we`ve clearly established a picture of domestic violence and at least a relationship that, you know, many probably didn`t see coming. A lot
of people wanted to keep --
CASAREZ: Very sad.
BLINN (via telephone): -- Jennifer in their lives because she was such a wonderful person. And they tolerated Hanson. That`s what numerous people
have come forward to say, just to have her in their lives. It is a tragedy.
CASAREZ: Very sad. Very, very sad. All right. Thank you so much, lieutenant, for joining us tonight and giving us more insight on this
ongoing case right now in Rhode Island.
A woman in Pennsylvania is headed to jail after attacking a child over a Slim Jim in a bizarre and violent video. Surveillance footage captures the
12-year-old outside a convenience store. A man approaches her and, according to prosecutors, asked for some of her snack saying can I get some
of that?
She hands him a Slim Jim, and then a woman appears sending him away before shoving the girl in the face. You see that right there. The little girl,
she`s 12. She tumbles to the ground. And the woman stands over here before walking away as cool as can be.
According to local reports, she has expressed little remorse. The judge had to force her to say I`m sorry. And there are even reports that she reached
out to the girl`s family on Facebook saying the 12-year-old looked like a whore talking to her man. Now she`s looking at four to 20 months behind
bars.
He had lived in the same neighborhood for most of his life, when his granddaughter says she found the 80-year-old, he was lying naked in a pool
of blood. Now investigators say that granddaughter is also the killer of her grandpa.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: 911 dispatchers are used to getting calls from family members about elderly loved ones. But last week in Philadelphia, police got a call
from someone`s granddaughter that is still rocking the community. The 21- year-old caller said she came home to find her grandpa dead in the kitchen, lying naked in a pool of blood and stabbed multiple times.
Patricia Diocson and her grandpa were housemates, and they look close on social media on these pictures. But tonight police are saying that she is
the one who killed him, allegedly stabbing him 41 times, because they took a look at the neighbor`s security cameras and they saw that she was the
last person to enter the house.
Now, she`s charged with murder as well as possessing an instrument of crime. With us tonight, Solomon Jones. He is the morning host for Praise
107.9 FM in Philadelphia. You know, I`ve got to tell you, Solomon,
[20:40:00] this just absolutely, just the death of this man, he`s 80 years old.
SOLOMON JONES, MORNING HOST, PRAISE 107.9 FM (via telephone): Yes.
CASAREZ: These are his golden years. He`s in good health. Everybody loves him in the neighborhood.
JONES (via telephone): Yes.
CASAREZ: This is what happens to him?
JONES (via telephone): Just really a shame. And by all accounts, this is a good guy. A guy who sits on his porch and waves at the neighbors as they go
by, a guy that would give you the shirt off his back, a guy who everybody in the neighborhood knew and loved.
And really people thought including his neighbors that the granddaughter and he had a great relationship. The grandmother had just died last year.
And so when this happened, everybody in the neighborhood was really shocked especially five days later when the granddaughter is the one who is
charged.
CASAREZ: And he was a military veteran. I mean, on top of everything you`ve just said, a military veteran who just lost his wife a year or so ago, and
41 stab wounds is what they`re saying?
JONES (via telephone): Yes, yes. Forty-one stab wounds. And it`s odd because she`s the one who comes home. She works at a neighborhood grocery
store. She lives with the grandfather in this home on the eastern side of North Philadelphia. She comes home, claims that she finds him in this pool
of blood, but it just didn`t add up.
Police are looking through the house. They see no signs of forced entrance. They see no signs of robbery. They see that the pool of blood has led from
the bedroom downstairs. And, you know, the granddaughter`s story just isn`t adding up. As the investigation goes on, they find this white van outside
with this guy living in it. He has heroin.
They didn`t charge him with the murder, but the victim`s grandson, according to some reports, said that the grandfather had been arguing with
this guy. And so eventually they figure out that, in their view, it`s the granddaughter. And so, she --
CASAREZ: And it`s a surveillance video. You know, Solomon, I`ll tell you, the surveillance video. In every case, prosecutors can use it. It can help
the defense, tool, if it shows otherwise, but the surveillance video only shows her going into the home. And this white van is very interesting.
I want to bring in Troy Slaten, joining us tonight from Los Angeles. There`s a white van that was in front of the home. And officials say that
this man was living in that van. Well, that`s pretty weird. But they have excluded him because the surveillance video never showed him involved in
this at all.
TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Maybe he entered through another direction or through another entrance that wasn`t covered by the surveillance camera.
But I think, Jean, here, the defense is really going to concentrate on some sort of heat of passion. It looks like she`s already sort of set that up.
If she can show that she was somehow afraid for her life, it seems like quite a bit of a stretch based on all the evidence that we know about this
guy, what an incredible man he was in the community, a veteran. But if somehow the defense can paint a story that she was in fear for her life
because of some sort of abuse --
CASAREZ: Well, she said she was abused. Troy, she told authorities that she was abused by him. But does that fly in the face of 41 stab wounds? I mean,
how about 20? OK. And then you`re probably going to be safe. But 41?
SLATEN: Well, it certainly looks like there was some sort of anger issues there, to put it lightly. But battered woman syndrome is something that is
regularly recognized in court. It`s used as a defense.
I think that she`s going to have to show a lot more evidence than just that she felt abused or that he was, you know, talking to her in a nasty way.
But it looks like the defense is going to have a real uphill battle in this case, Jean.
CASAREZ: You know, there was blood on the stairway. Solomon told us about this. Blood droppings on the stairway up to his bedroom. Or down from his
bedroom. Forensic analysis will be important, crime scene analysis to see which way. But he was either running from her to safety or running for her,
which could actually help the defense if he`s injured, but continuing to try to get her.
SLATEN: That`s right, Jean. The forensic team is going to be able to tell from the blood spatter pattern exactly which direction the droplets fell.
They can get very accurate with regard to that. They`ll know exactly whether this came from him or this instrument of crime that we heard about
so far.
CASAREZ: Solomon Jones, since she told authorities that she had been abused by him, does that mean she`s confessing? Did she say she did this?
JONES (via telephone): There were some
[20:45:00] reports that said that she did confess to the crime, but that`s not universal in every report, and I didn`t see it in the police report,
but some reports did say that she confessed, yes.
CASAREZ: We do know that she has been charged with murder and possessing an instrument of crime. Troy, that has to be a knife, assuming it`s a knife
that made all those stabbing wounds. That`s the instrument of crime. But self-defense is out of here, right? I mean, you can`t claim self-defense
for 41 stab wounds.
SLATEN: Well, anyone can claim anything, just like I always say, anyone can sue anything.
CASAREZ: (INAUDIBLE) a winning defense, OK?
SLATEN: Right.
CASAREZ: A wining defense.
SLATEN: It doesn`t look like that`s going to be a winning defense. I mean, like you said, maybe a few stab wounds. And it will also depend on where
are those stab wounds. Do they seem like more offensive wounds or are they defensive wounds? That`s going to be able to be played out in the forensic
analysis here.
CASAREZ: She is being held without bail at this point in Philadelphia and the next court hearing will be early December. So, maybe we`ll get more
information in open court. All right, thanks so much.
SLATEN: Thanks, Jean.
CASAREZ: You know, you don`t want to get duped this holiday season, OK? Watch this carefully. I want you to see what can happen. Police say a
robber, he tried forcing his way into a home under the guise of delivering a package. You say, all right, look at this. What happened when the
homeowner fought back.
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Right now a man in New York is recovering from being shot on his own doorstep by men that are still on the loose tonight. But they`ve been
captured on camera, and you can help hunt them down.
First, you see a hooded man wearing all black pacing the sidewalk up and down with a package. Then he turns around and he seems to decide on this
particular house. He walks up, he rings the bell a couple of times it seems, right? And if you really look, that box is empty. You can just tell.
Now, when the resident answers, it`s a 12-year-old. The suspect rounds the door trying to enter the house, and that`s when the adult in the house
pushes him down the steps and out on to the sidewalk. The suspect grabs the package, but he`s got friends right there. And one of them, look at that.
He shoots the resident in the leg as he runs back toward the door.
The man is going to be OK because, believe it or not, wherever the gun was aimed, it hit his leg. That`s where he was shot, in the thigh. But New York
police are still looking for these violent doorstep suspects. Take a good look. If you know who they are, call police.
Troy Slaten, I`ve got to ask you, this is scary. And we`re in the time of year right now where a lot of packages are being delivered and you`ve got a
package, you`re at home, and they`re ringing the doorbell, maybe they need something signed. So you feel like, oh, I`m going to open the door. I mean,
in your experience, what should a person do? Because opening the door led to a gunshot wound.
SLATEN: Don`t open the door to strangers.
CASAREZ: Yes, I agree.
SLATEN: I mean, that`s what we`ve been told from the very beginning of -- you know, when you`re a little kid. So, I think that there are many things
that people can do to protect themselves in this situation. You can tell the delivery person, leave it on the doorstep.
You can -- if you are expecting a package, you can leave a note on your door, signed authorization to the delivery people to leave it there. You
can also go pick packages up from the delivery services themselves.
CASAREZ: Yes.
SLATEN: So, that`s not as convenient and most people aren`t going to do that, but you really got to train our children. The 12-year-old just opened
up the door to a stranger. We`ve really got to teach kids what to do in a situation like this.
CASAREZ: Yes. And these men are on the loose right now. It could happen again. And you just can`t be careful enough. And, you know, sometimes they
say you have to sign for something. And Troy, you were saying, you know, just go down and pick it up at the post office or wherever they would take
it back to.
And really, it`s a little more effort, but maybe it`s smarter. There are also delivery services now that are saying, you know, let us come into your
home, we`ll leave the package in the home since so many are stolen from the doorstep. That seems a little risky. Your choice. But better safe than
sorry, right, Troy? And just the season we`re in right now.
SLATEN: Yes, you don`t open up the door to anyone that you don`t know. I mean, most people have a relationship with their mailman. You know your
delivery people from all the different services. I know mine. And so I`m certainly not going to open up the door to anyone that I don`t know. We`ve
got to train children.
And what I think is also really important here is that we`ve got some really high definition surveillance video here. This homeowner had a very
clear camera going. And so that`s going to be very useful to authorities to not only prosecute when they do catch these people but also to find them.
CASAREZ: Good point. Excellent point. All right. Listen to this, if you love these holiday lights, our next story is going to have you saying bah
humbug. Why one couple says they`re not going to be putting up their massive display this year and it`s all because of their neighbors.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Christmas is the season for lights, tradition and coming together as one. But it`s going to be a bit dimmer this year in one Phoenix
community. I want to show you this video from Winter Wonderland PHX. And it`s what neighbors are complaining about. The couple who lives there
reportedly has been decorating their home for 30 years, spending $10,000 a season on the show, which features over 250,000 lights.
The spectacle draws crowds and even tour buses which means noise and traffic for the neighbors. You know where I`m going, right?
[21:00:00] And after a city meeting where they couldn`t resolve their issues, the homeowners decided to shut down the show. At least this year.
They`re reportedly meeting with city leaders to get the tradition back on track in 2018.
END
