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Rick's List

Palin Presidential Buzz?; Connecticut Home Invasion Trial Continues; BY Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Carl Paladino's Scandalous Emails; Woman Lied About Black Woman Throwing Acid to Her Face; Horror of Deadly Home Invasion

Aired September 17, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, HOST: All right, let's get to the next hour now. As we begin this next hour, I want to welcome all of the men and women watching us right now from places like Korea and Afghanistan and Iraq. We love you guys. Thanks for doing this for us . Our American forces are watching on Armed Forces Network around the world. Here is your national conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Here's what's making the list on this day.

What? She actually poured acid on her own face? Yep. Police say she's a liar. And, oh, who do you think she blamed for it? A black person.

He e-mails this video making fun of Obama as an African warrior dancer.

CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I apologize to those that were offended.

SANCHEZ: But does he find it offensive? Revisiting candidate Paladino.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Check this out, CNN.

SANCHEZ: New York taken by storm, literally, thousands of commuters stuck in the city. How bad was it? What was it?

Big gator, small hunter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His head had to come out for me to shoot him.

SANCHEZ: Proving sometimes size doesn't matter.

The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.

Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez.

It's Friday. It's hour two. Time to pick up the pace of today's LIST for those of who are just now checking in with us. Politics and Sarah Palin. And here's why Palin is topping our LIST tonight.

The former Alaska governor and the vice presidential candidate has been out campaigning for others lately. But, tonight, we understand that she's set to address a political group that has some political watchers wondering if Palin just might be setting the stage for a White House run of her own.

Now, tonight, she is going to be addressing the Iowa GOP's Reagan Dinner. This is an annual event. Iowa just happens to be the home of the country's first caucus, as you know, and the state that can make or break a political career.

The question is, why has she been invited to this? Is it because of her rock star status, where they knew that she would be able to fill the house, which, by the way, she has, or really does it have more to do with the fact that Sarah Palin is now being considered a political heavyweight when it comes to the damage that she can done to Democrats -- that she can do to Democrats, I should say, this coming November, and perhaps, taking it even a step further, that she may have some presidential ambitions?

These are the questions that are being asked as we get in to the story. We have got a team of correspondents that have been following this story for us. We are going to be hooking up with one of our producers, Peter Hamby, in just a little bit. He's part of the CNN political team who is heading this up for us.

Peter, let me bring you in. You have been watching Palin since the McCain campaign. What are they saying tonight in Iowa about her appearance there? Is it, A, just an opportunity to use a famous name to sell a lot of seats, tickets, make a lot of money, or, B, this woman is a real political powerhouse and they're bringing her in because they think she's very valuable for not just this election and what she can do, but maybe future presidential elections?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Yes, it's a win/win for both parties here.

The Iowa GOP has raised over $100,000. This is the biggest Reagan Dinner they have ever had. Sarah Palin is riding high after right now a wonderful primary season for her. Her endorsed candidates have been winning. Her message seems to be connecting with Republican voters.

And this is the first really big political trip she's made to Iowa since she was a vice presidential candidate in 2008. And she knows exactly what she's doing. She knows -- she's a savvy user of the media. She knows people are going to be watching. The question is whether or not she's going to start coming back here after November. SANCHEZ: We have got some sound, as a matter of fact, from her. This is an appearance that she made yesterday I believe in Kentucky. Let's take a listen to that together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: I choose to endorse and help support as we head into these midterm where we can take it back, we can take back our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Take back our country. You heard what she's saying.

You know what's interesting about this is, we're hearing a lot of talk, but, you know, filling up an auditorium with somebody who's very famous, like Palin is, you know, if you look historically, this is the kind of stuff that people have been doing in politics for a long time.

So, I guess the question I'm getting at here, Peter, and it's a rather delicate one, is she being used because of her marquee name, or is she being sent to Iowa, is she being represented in Iowa because she's the real deal politically? Because there's a big difference between, you know, selling newspapers with stories about two-headed goats or selling newspapers or events with legitimate intellectual folks who come in to tell important stories.

HAMBY: Sarah Palin is the real deal.

A lot of people maybe a year ago didn't think she was running for president. I had coffee and lunch with a number of senior Republicans in Iowa who are sympathetic to potential rivals who believe she's going to run.

She -- the Iowa GOP had been courting her this whole year to come out here for this event. And the fact that she's out here in Iowa says a lot. She is definitely thinking about running for president. The people that staff her that I talk to say that she's thinking about running for president.

She doesn't, though, have to jump into this race if she does run for president for a long time. She can wait later than some of the other candidates that you are seeing stomping around Iowa, like Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Newt Gingrich. Because she has such a well of support and such loyal supporters, she can almost jump in halfway through next year if she decides to run and have that.

The question is, does she have the fire in her belly to wake up at 5:00 a.m. every day, read policy papers, make six campaign stops around the state, and really hit the stump and answer questions from voters? Because voters here in Iowa, like New Hampshire, like South Carolina, they want to talk to the candidate and meet them. Sarah Palin has wonderful retail skills. No one should doubt that.

SANCHEZ: No.

HAMBY: But we haven't really seen her on the stump for two years.

SANCHEZ: Well, that's exactly what I was getting at, the retail skills vis-a-vis the skills necessary to go out there and pound the pavement, as you said, reading six or seven policy papers each day.

There's obviously a lot of gamesmanship going on here. But I want the folks at home and I want you, Peter, to listen to this. This is the White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs. He's calling Palin a formidable force. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You stand up there with a microphone and you call on caucus-goers and answer their questions. And you have to build support and a following very methodically. It takes a lot of time. But I have no doubt that she is a formidable force in the Republican Party and may well be, in all honesty, the most formidable force in the Republican Party right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What's interesting beyond this, Peter, lately we have seen a lot of Sarah Palin with Glenn Beck as a result of that joint appearance they had in Washington. Is that something that is bound to help or hurt there in a state like Iowa, for example, Midwest?

HAMBY: That's only going to help her. Mike Huckabee came out of nowhere in 2008 and really banked a lot of votes with social conservative voters here.

That's similar to the base Sarah Palin has. What Robert Gibbs is trying to do there is what Democrats have been trying to do for the last year, which is sort of elevate Sarah Palin and make her the face of the GOP, thinking that she might turn off independent voters.

But I think Democrats might be doing that at their own peril, even with Sarah Palin, because as we have seen with this primary season, the message of small government is really what is energizing, not just Republican base voters right now, but independent voters as well.

In some states, two out of three voters are leaning toward the Republican Party -- independent voters -- excuse me -- are leaning toward the Republican Party. There's a poll in Ohio today from Quinnipiac that the president's approval rating is somewhere around 40 percent.

So, this is, again, a heady moment for Sarah Palin. Things seem to be going her way within the GOP and she has got another year to figure that out, because the next year of the presidential race is going to be a Republican primary. And if she's trying to capture the nomination, a lot of those voters are her voters.

SANCHEZ: Well, I will tell you, it will be interesting to watch. And I'm glad you're there keeping an eye on this for us, this Sarah Palin phenomenon. Peter Hamby, thank you once again for joining us.

Drama now in a Connecticut courtroom, as the story continues. Jurors are crying, breaking down, after hearing the most gruesome details of a home invasion robbery that we have heard in a long time, a mother and her two daughters tortured, murdered. I'm going to talk to somebody who's been watching everything unfold in this trial. That's coming up in a little bit.

Also, a terror plot uncovered during the pope's visit. Six men are in custody. Wait until you hear how this one unfolded. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: According to what we're hearing right now, the singer Kid Rock and part of his group have just lost a lawsuit in DeKalb County in Georgia. Apparently, he took the witness stand Thursday morning and had testified in this civil trial against him.

There you see him now talking about the fight that broke out. Let me tell you -- let me give you the background on this. Apparently, Kid Rock and part of his entourage were there at a waffle house when apparently a fight broke out.

These people say that Kid Rock and his entourage were violent and attacked them. Harlen Akins is the man who claims that Kid and his entourage did that. His lawyer says he tried to establish Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, as a man with a violent past. And then they created all kinds of background material for the jury on that.

Again, all of this still coming in. There was testimony about knives being grabbed, about who was actually at fault. Well, here is what the jury has apparently decided.

This is the surveillance tape, by the way, I'm being told now, from the waffle house. You might be able to make out there as the fight ensues who is doing what to whom. Obviously, you can't make that determination just from watching it here.

As the tape runs out, let me tell you what the decision has been or at least according to the preliminary information that we're getting now. The plaintiff -- that's Mr. Harlen Akins -- has been awarded $40,000 in compensatory damages. Compensatory obviously means stuff that he needs to do to take care of whatever happened to him. That's medical bills, hospitalization, whatever it is that he says he lost as a result -- $40,000 in compensatory damage.

This will be split among four people. Kid Rock himself has to pay 15 percent. So, this is the verdict in the civil lawsuit against Kid Rock out of DeKalb County in Georgia. We're glad we were able to bring you that information just now coming in.

Here's some other stories that we're following for you on this day. First, number one, finally promising news of the site of the mission to rescue those 33 men trapped far below the ground in Chile. An enormous drill bit that's been chewing through the earth to reach the miners did finally break through into the tiny space where those men have been trapped for more than a month.

There was a lot of cheering. The hole isn't wide enough, though, still, to haul the miners out. But it is enough to raise the hopes that we could soon see the rescue, maybe in just a couple of weeks, according to our reporters there on the ground.

Number two, Pope Benedict arrives in London. The ultra-high- security measures surrounding his visit got put to the test today after he arrived last night, when you saw him showing up here, reportedly connected to a threat of the pope's safety. The official itinerary didn't change. You're seeing now the pope's visit. This is, as you probably can tell, from past stories we have done, Westminster Abbey.

Here now, number three: developments deep underwater in the Gulf of Mexico and a milestone moment. The well that gushed more than 200 million gallons of crude oil in to the Gulf will likely be completely sealed tomorrow. Alas, that's the word from BP, that they're going to be pumping cement into the bottom portion of that plugged and capped well that ruptured in April. The cement is the final step needed to permanently cap it once and for all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIFFORD COOK, VANCOUVER POLICE CHIEF: During the interview, Ms. Storro admitted that her injuries were self-inflicted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A woman says that somebody just walked up to her and said, hey, pretty girl, you want to drink this and then tossed acid on her face and left her like that. Guess what, it's a lie. Police are saying she made the whole story up. Police are saying she threw the acid on her own face. Wait until you hear what else police are saying about who she blamed for this. Many of you won't be surprised.

Also, remember my interview with Tea Party favorite Carl Paladino? It got pretty confrontational, but at least he didn't send me a stink bomb. Wait until you here this one.

That's next. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

He's not politically correct and he never will be, that's what the republican candidate for governor of New York told me just the other day. Carl Paladino, he's been getting a lot of attention for some of the stuff that he's said and done. We had a pretty heated conversation, he and I, about the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero. You know about this conversation, you know about Ground Zero and the man behind it.

Now last night it was my colleague Anderson Cooper picked it up with Paladino. Anderson asks him about offensive, racist e-mails that he sends, specifically one referring to the president of the United States with video of an African warrior doing some kind of dance.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": You forwarded a number of X-rated e-mails, one even showing bestiality, a woman and a horse, to an e-mail list of your friends and associates. How does that jive with conservative values that you say you hold?

CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I apologize to those that were offended by me forwarding e-mails to a personal group of friends. I forwarded them, I did. I'm in the construction industry, we got all kinds of nonsense like that on a daily basis.

The real obscenity is Albany. The real obscenity is the high crimes and misdemeanors that we've allowed our political class to take and feeding at the public trust.

COOPER: Wait, you're saying you've apologized to those who found it offensive. I mean, don't you -- do you not find a bestiality -- an e-mail with a woman and a horse, you know, an X-rated video, isn't that offensive?

PALADINO: To be frank with you, I don't particularly remember that one. I remember some of the other ones that --

COOPER: You did send it, though?

PALADINO: -- I mean, yes.

COOPER: I mean, you're not -- you are saying that's offensive, isn't it?

PALADINO: I assume I did.

COOPER: It's offensive, though, isn't it?

PALADINO: Oh, it's definitely is offensive. Yes, of course.

COOPER: You also forwarded a number of racially offensive e- mails, one of them used the N-word and one that you said showed the rehearsal of President Obama's inauguration, which is basically images of I assume it's a tribal dance, I'm assuming, in Africa. You've said in the past that this is just humor, but I don't understand, why do you find it funny?

PALADINO: I look back on it and I say, yes, it probably was offensive to some people. I understand that and I apologize to those -- COOPER: But was it offensive to you? I mean, saying it's offensive to some people, that's not really saying it's offensive. Is that offensive?

PALADINO: Most of the time in sharing the e-mails back and forth, we were paying very, little attention in the heat of the day. It was careless, there's no question about it.

COOPER: But I mean are those e-mails offensive?

PALADINO: Of course they're offensive. Yes. I understand how they're offensive to people and I've apologized to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I can understand how they can be offensive to people. Paladino's latest attention-grabbing move, he sent out a mailer that stinks, seriously. You open up this mailer and it smells like garbage. The message? Something stinks in Albany.

Also ahead, the flier that is causing a stink, both for alligators and hunters in South Carolina. We're going to tell you about this one, or at least stinks according to some.

That is one big gator that we're going to be looking at in a little bit. How big? "Fotos" weighs in, in just a bit. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Some people in Michigan are saying this guy I'm about to introduce you to is really dumb. I'll let you decide.

Let's do "Fotos."

This is Ferndale, Michigan, and here is a crook with a creative disguise, a Darth Vader mask. The problem is, he put it on after walking past not one, but two -- no, wait, several security cameras. This gave police more than enough angles and opportunities to then come in and arrest him.

See? That's what he looks like without the Darth Vader mask on the right and that's Mr. Darth Vader on the left to you. Oh and by the way, he wielded in a butcher knife instead of a light saber. He's under arrest.

Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, the heavyweight in the prizefight was a 13-foot, 900-pound alligator. That's right. The challenge? She came in at 115 -- the challenger, I should say -- she came in at 115 and about 5'5". See the difference? The gator, the hunter. There she is. Size didn't matter, though. She stalked it, she caught it, she reeled it in. It was a big start for South Carolina's alligator hunting season. Now let's go to this, do you give Derek Jeter a break or do you just do what so many others are doing in calling him "Derek Cheater"? Because you see the ball right there, it's hitting the bat, not hitting him. But yet, he puts on this incredible performance making it sound like he's been hit.

They do this in baseball. It's really not news to anyone who's played baseball. You also steal signals, you do everything you can, to get an advantage, you try to convince the ump you're out or safe when you're just the opposite. Part of the game, folks, but some today are calling them "Derek Cheater." Fair, you decide?

That's "Fotos" and you can see them for yourself whenever you want at CNN.com/RickSanchez.

Let's stay with sports, shall we, because we're getting some information that's going to make some folks say, I'm going to miss him.

Joe Torre, that's right, that Joe Torre, longtime manager for the New York Yankees, is stepping down. The Skipper who is now with the Dodgers is retiring. Torre is the fifth winningest manager in major league history. He's in the final year of a three-year contract with the Dodgers. Things haven't exactly worked out with the Dodgers, and now we understand he's going to be replaced by a Yankee. Don Mattingly will manage the Dodgers in 2011 when Torre steps aside. Future plans to be determined, so say the Dodgers.

Here's a tweet from MLB, Major League Baseball, let me read it to you, "Don Mattingly to replace Joe Torre as the manager" and then there's a bunch of stuff I don't understand. Dodgertown USA for more from their front office. Just go there if you like and there's the article that we have been looking at coming in from Los Angeles.

OK, up next, Ed Henry will be joining us and he's going to tell us what's going on in the political ticker. There's a lot of political news going on and with each crossing day as we get closer to November, there will be more political news. He's going to take us through it as our list scrolls on.

I'm Rick Sanchez. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right. Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Time for the "CNN Equals Politics" update. And here's Ed Henry, one of the best on the team on television.

Ed, fill us in. What's cross -- where are you? You're at the White House?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Rick, I'm -- I'm just outside of the West Wing of the White House. We thought we'd bring you the latest political ticker from here because, as you know, President Obama is really kicking it into high gear. We're getting some new information from our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser that on Monday, the president is going to be headlining a huge Democratic National Committee fundraiser in the Philadelphia area, raising about $1 million.

Pardon me, a lot of construction going on here.

We already knew the president would be in Philly raising money for Joe Sestak, who's the Democratic Senate candidate in that race. Very interesting subplot, of course, President Obama initially opposed Joe Sestak getting in the primary. He knocked off Arlen Specter, of course.

Last night, the president is also out there fundraising. He was in Connecticut, standing up for Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, running in the race. Chris Dodd is retiring.

It's interesting. The president took a poke at Linda McMahon, the Republican nominee, because of her ties to professional wrestling and basically said, "Look, public service is not a game." Well, the McMahon campaign right now, the ticker is firing back, saying that the president shouldn't have been saying this and that Dick Blumenthal, the Democrat, would be a rubber stamp for policies, the Obama policies, coming out of Washington.

And, finally, we get -- the story in the ticker is pretty interesting about Christine O'Donnell, the Republican nominee you've been talking about all week who had the surprise victory in the Delaware Senate race. She's now going up against the Democrats in the general election. We've got an item about her. Her mother is on the campaign payroll, people raising questions about that.

We don't know how that race is going to turn out. I would not make a prediction at this point. But I will, I think I'm safe in predicting that there's going to be no shortage of items to talk about in that Delaware Senate race, Rick.

SANCHEZ: I'm just wondering with all that noise behind you, what they're doing. They decided to move the White House once again or something? Are they picking this up and taking it a couple of blocks?

HENRY: Well, I'm sorry. I missed the last part, Rick.

SANCHEZ: I'm just trying to figure out what are they doing with the White House? Are they moving part of it or something? The racket they're making behind you.

HENRY: They're digging all kinds of -- they're digging all kinds of holes here. There's rumors that there's a bunker or something. Officials insist that's not true. They're just redoing some of electrical stuff and the wiring. But you never know what's going on with that much construction.

SANCHEZ: Well, whatever they do, I hope they do right because you know who's paying for it? You and me.

HENRY: We are. Yes. SANCHEZ: Ed Henry, thanks so much.

Remember, for all of the very latest political news, all you got to do is go to CNNPolitics.com, on Twitter @PoliticalTicker.

Now, remember the story that we were all in such shock and sympathy for this 28-year-old woman. She had these horrible acid burns on her face. And she told police -- there she is -- told the story about how somebody came and did that to her. That's Bethany Storro.

Well, guess what? She made it up. Police said she lied. And who did she blame? Who do you think? It wouldn't be the first time.

We're going to take you through this story. It's one that many of you expect. Stay right here.

This is RICK'S LIST. This is your national conversation. We're coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let me just complete this story about Bethany Storro, because it has a lot of folks appalled. She's 28 years old. She decides one day that she's going to tell police that somebody who she didn't know threw acid in her face. And then she holds a news conference saying she's willing to forgive the woman who did that to her.

It turns out there were a couple of homeless people watching. They told police, hey, nobody did that to her. She was all by herself. She threw acid on her own damn face.

So, then police go back and call her a liar. They held a news conference yesterday.

And, of course, the folks are extremely disgusted today because not only did she make up a story, but she blamed it on a black woman. That's right, not the first, probably won't be the last. "It was a black person who did this to me," an out and out lie, somewhat racist to boot. And it's got a lot of folks out there extremely upset.

We're even hearing -- we're even hearing stories. Brook Baldwin is joining me now. We've been hearing stories throughout the day for people who are African-American who live in that community out there in Washington who --

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Who are afraid of walking around in that community for fear of being targeted.

SANCHEZ: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Right.

SANCHEZ: Because some just said, oh, my God, a black lady is going around and doing this to people. And it was a lie. BALDWIN: Right. But to me, that's only part of the story. The other part is I just wonder about this young woman. I mean, what's going on in her inner soul, if you will, to feel the need to douse herself with acid.

SANCHEZ: Well, I just -- because of what she was doing to -- you know, historically speaking, people in the house have been killed, lynched for people who have made up stories about black people. So, the idea that somebody would make up a story like this just doesn't sit well with many Americans.

BALDWIN: Yes. I remember the day she was talking about it, we're all riveted.

SANCHEZ: We're off -- we're off of this now.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: OK. We move on.

I got -- I have two real stories for you, OK? Let me -- let me tell you this one story. It's out of New York. Talk about causing a stink. Follow me here.

I'm talking about Carl Paladino, your great guest, right, from a couple of days ago, Republican gubernatorial candidate out of New York. He has sent out some really trashy fliers to his constituents. No, really, they smell like trash. When you unfold this thing, it smells like garbage.

And here's what it says, it says, "Something stinks in Albany."

SANCHEZ: Creative!

BALDWIN: Here we go. Pretty creative, Albany being --

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: -- the capital of New York, right? Features pictures of seven New York Dems who have been involved in some sort of political scandal. He was on with our own colleague, Anderson Cooper, last night. I watched the interview, and Anderson, right off the bat, asked him, "Why did you do it? How does it work?"

And here is his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I've been feeling my way through the political scene and somebody suggested that they have this type of thing available. So, we -- we looked into it and it's just basically a folder and then when you open it, the -- when the oxygen hits the card, the stink starts. The longer you keep it open, the worst the stink gets.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Did you notice, though, when he opened it, he made that kind of face like, ugh? Like even he reacted, like he used that kind of smell. Anderson also wondered if this would offend anyone and Paladino said he hadn't gotten a complaint as of yet.

SANCHEZ: In other words, it smells like.

BALDWIN: Good thing we didn't get smell-o-vision.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I tweeted people. I've said, hey, check your mail box. Let us know how bad the stink is.

Story number two: Natalee Holloway. I just say her name, you know her story, right? She's been -- she's been missing -- well, she's dead -- she died five years ago when she disappeared in Aruba. Her mother, Beth Holloway, just flew all the way to Peru to meet with Joran van der Sloot, the young Dutchman, who she believes knows precisely what happened to her daughter and how she was killed. That is according to her attorney, John Kelly, who I talked to on the phone today.

Kelly also confirmed to me that Beth Holloway did indeed go in to that Castro Castro, that's the Peruvian prison where Joran van der Sloot has been held for the last couple of months on a separate murder charge.

I know she talked to van der Sloot, what was said, how did he react, Kelly doesn't know. They had some intermittent phone calls.

But he did tell me -- here's the thing -- he did tell as he also told "The Today Show" this morning, that she went there to remind him that she is not going away.

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KELLY, BETH HOLLOWAY'S LAWYER: Of course, more to deliver the message that he might be in Peru, but she hasn't gone away. She's determined to get it in, that she wants to bring Natalie home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Kelly also told me, as we look at this video, this is the freshest video. This is either when they're coming or going out of the prison. There's this Dutch crime reporter who's also traveling with her. Her attorney confirmed that with me today. And they do have some sort of video camera.

Contrary, though, to some of the reports out there, her attorney did tell me, "Look, she didn't break any laws when she got in that prison. It was all above board."

And just briefly, just to recap, you know, Joran van der Sloot, he's also in that prison because he's charged of killing 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores in his Lima hotel room. He was also last seen with Natalee Holloway before she disappeared five years ago in Aruba. He also now faces charges -- all kinds of chapters in this story -- also faces these charges in trying to extort money from the Holloway family in return for the information about Natalee's disappearance.

SANCHEZ: You know, the question she probably asked him are probably pretty obvious -- did you kill my daughter? And if so, what did you do with her?

BALDWIN: I'm sure she asked many, many, many questions.

SANCHEZ: Apparently, she was with him for something like five minutes before they --

BALDWIN: That's what reports say. We don't fully know. But, you know, when I talked to John Kelly, I asked if she has -- does she harbor the ill will? He said -- he said, surprisingly, not. She is just convinced that he knows what is happened. He wouldn't go so far as saying she believes he did it.

SANCHEZ: What a story. Thanks so much. Appreciate it, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: There's an outrageous story that I want to tell you about. It's a prosecutor who defends victims of violent crimes, sends sexual text messages to one of the victims. And during the case, something else developed. This is the list you don't want to be on. I'm going to take you through it in just a little bit.

Stay right there. I'm Rick Sanchez. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back.

If you're the victim of a crime, reliving the nightmare in a cold courtroom is in itself a terrifying experience, especially when you have to come face-to-face with the suspect, the person you say did something to you, right? So, you should be able to feel safe around the people representing you, the state, the prosecutor, the lawyer.

Wait until you hear this story. Time now for "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: This is Ken Kratz. He's a prosecutor in Wisconsin. He's worked as an advocate for crime victims for two decades. Knowing his background, you're not going to believe what he did.

Let me set this up for you. A woman goes to police and complains that her boyfriend nearly chokes her to death, beats her up. She's a victim of domestic abuse. The boyfriend is charged. So the case goes to trial.

Kratz is the district attorney. He's the prosecutor, the guy who's prosecuting this guy of domestic abuse. There he is.

During the case he actually puts the moves on the victim, the woman. He allegedly sends her dozens of sexually explicit text messages. It's so outrageous, I want to read some of the texts, but not many, because -- well, here's one.

In one, Kratz asks her if she's " -- the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected district attorney." He also calls her a "hot, young nymph," says he wants her to be "so hot treat me so well that you'd be THE woman. Are you that good?"

I mean, Kratz says he's now embarrassed. Justice officials called his actions totally inappropriate -- you think? -- but say that he really didn't violate the law.

I should note here, the woman texted him back but did not engage him. She tells police that she felt totally intimidated by this, that if she hadn't responded, she worried that Kratz would have then throw the case out. After she complained, Kratz stopped working on this case.

One lawmaker and a state's District Attorney Association are right now calling on Kratz to quit. Also, many residents are furious. They're saying that he should sit in the same seat of the very criminals that he prosecutes.

He crossed the line, maybe not legally, but certainly, most agree, morally and professionally, which is why Ken Kratz finishes number one on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

By the way, when we come back, we're hearing more from Chad about what's going on or what did go on in New York City last night with some new pics that are coming in. We're going to be able to share those with you in just a little bit.

Stay with us. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

I want to bring you back up to date on some of the stories that we've been following for you. None more interesting perhaps for folks in the Northeast than the fact that many of their neighbors didn't come home last night. They got stuck in the city. Although, you know, if you've got to be stuck somewhere, New York City ain't so bad.

Here's Chad. He's joining me now to take us through this.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Oh, by the way, we want to thank you guys for helping us the way you always do. That story in the Northeast, we were able to report it first yesterday because you sent us pictures on Twitter.

So, to thank you for you helping us here on RICK'S LIST, I want to bring you a copy of my book. And every day we choose a different person for a different show.

Here's the winner: Angel de Jesus. Angel de Jesus, how's that, anglicized?

"Wow, look at Rick without a tie. Hey, there's no casual Friday for anchors. LOL."

Well, yes, there is Angel. Thanks so much. And you'll be getting a copy of "Conventional Idiocy." And you know what, we might even throw in one of these, because my kids think these are the coolest things in the longest time. They're taking them to school and using them with their friends.

I didn't know. The publisher apparently put those out.

THE LIST scrolls on. Stay with us.

And as we go to break, I want to show you some of the folks who come in and spend some time with us here on RICK'S LIST. There they are.

A big wave, folks. We're going to break. We'll be right back on this Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's go back to this case that we've been telling you about now for the last 48 hours. It's taking place in Connecticut.

The story here is so graphic, so horrible to imagine, especially if you're a parent, that it's difficult to not cringe as you listen to the information. It's a story of a man named Dr. William Petit.

One day he's at home when, suddenly, two men break into his house. His family is raped and murdered in his own home. This happened in 2007, but it's finally now come to court.

I've got to warn you, some of this evidence that we're sharing with you has left even some of the jurors who have been on this case, even some of the men, crying, bawling as they look at some of the video and look at some of the photos that have been coming in. He, by the way, managed to crawl away.

Police officers say that a man named Steven Hayes -- maybe I've got a picture of him here I can show you -- you'll see him on the left side of the screen -- raped and strangled the doctor's wife. Her name is Jennifer Hawke-Petit. He is currently on trial.

The other man, Joshua Komisarjevsky, allegedly raped and beat the youngest daughter, Michaela. Both of the men are accused in the death of the oldest daughter, 17-year-old Hayley. She died of smoke inhalation after the house was also set on fire. So they trapped them, they tied them up, they raped them, they killed them, and then they set them on fire. The dad, somehow, was in the house tied up while all of this was being done to his wife and his two little girls.

Many are wondering how this typical American family was targeted by these suspects who had lengthy rap sheets for petty crimes and robbery. It was all they had done in the past.

Joining me now is Michael Christian. He's the senior producer with "In Session" and truTV.

Michael, thanks so much for being with us.

MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, SR. PRODUCER, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Glad to be here.

SANCHEZ: Thanks. I'm looking forward to hearing the background on this story, because so many of us have so many questions.

First of all, why this family? How were they chosen? There was nothing about them that set them apart from any other family, was there?

CHRISTIAN: What we believe happened, what authorities believe happened here, Rick, is that Joshua Komisarjevsky, who's the younger of the two defendants -- now, he's not being tried right now. He'll be tried next year, at least according to the current schedule.

He was in a Stop & Shop parking lot in Cheshire, Connecticut, where this family lived. He just happened to be there -- it's just dumb, bad luck -- he happened to be there when Mrs. Petit, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and the two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, stopped by the supermarket to get some last-minute ingredients for dinner.

He apparently saw Michaela Petit, who was 11 years old, but maybe looked a little bit older, maybe 13, maybe 14.

SANCHEZ: Right.

CHRISTIAN: He had a history of liking young adolescent girls. Apparently, he liked what he saw. He followed the family home when the Petits left the store. And he decided, I'm going to target this house, and then he went back in the wee hours of the morning with his friend, Steven Hayes.

SANCHEZ: So then they go into this home, and one of the things that they decide to do is to rob this family. But like most of us, nobody keeps their money at home anymore. Most of our money is kept in the banks. So, they make the mom go to the bank and withdraw all of the family's money and bring it home.

What is so confusing to most of us is, why didn't -- or how was it that they were able to manage that situation to keep the mom from telling someone or making signs to police, or somehow just getting someone who was vigilant enough -- there's the shot of the mom talking to the teller. Now, apparently she said something to the teller, but it wasn't enough, right?

CHRISTIAN: Well, she told, basically, the teller what was happening. She was driven to the bank by Steven Hayes, the defendant in this case. And she told the teller and the bank branch manager that there were men in her home that had been holding her family hostage.

But what she said -- and this is so heartbreaking in retrospect -- according to the manager, is that she told them not to call 911 because she said that these people had actually been very nice to the family, and she knew if she got home to with the money, everything would be fine. They'd just take the money and they would leave.

SANCHEZ: Well, let me show you how not nice they were. We've got some pictures now. And we've been very careful not to show you the gruesome pictures, the ones that the jury saw.

You know, this is the pictures without the bodies. This is the bed -- apparently the bed the little girls were tied on, right?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, that one they're showing right now is Michaela's bed. The other bed is Hayley's bed, the two daughters.

And what's fascinating about these pictures is basically two things. First of all, you can see on some of the bedposts in the corners, there's some restraints. There's some ropes --

SANCHEZ: Yes. Those are the ropes.

CHRISTIAN: -- pantyhose, a scarf. That's what this family was tied up with, the three women.

And the other thing that's interesting about these photos is you can often see on the floor next to the bed marks. Now, I'm not an expert, but you can tell from these marks, those are accelerant marks. These people used gasoline, they poured it around these beds and set them on fire. And these two young girls, Hayley and Michaela, both died of smoke inhalation.

SANCHEZ: Michael Christian is a senior producer with "In Session" on truTV.

My thanks for taking us through this.

Here's "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.