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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Michael Mooney of 'Modesto Bee'

Aired July 14, 2002 - 11:33   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The man accused of killing three tourists at Yosemite National Park three years ago goes on trial starting tomorrow. Cary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. Stayner received a life sentence for Armstrong's murder.

Cary Stayner isn't eligible for parole, so some are questioning why the courts are being burdened with the time and expense of yet another trial. Reporter Michael Mooney of the "Modesto Bee" has been following the story since it began, and he joins us now from Sacramento with some answers.

Thanks for joining us.

MICHAEL MOONEY, MODESTO BEE: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: Well, he first admitted to the crime, but now he has pleaded innocent and insane. So, what kind of physical evidence do the prosecutors have to try and nail him for these three murders?

MOONEY: Well, probably the most damning evidence the prosecution has are Stayner's own words. They have a confession that he gave to the FBI shortly after his arrest in July of '99, and also a confession he gave to a television reporter from the San Francisco Bay area.

WHITFIELD: But aren't they trying to throw that out, his attorneys?

MOONEY: His attorney's tried a number of times during the pretrial hearings to get both those confessions thrown out, but were unsuccessful. And so at this point, those confessions are in and the jury will hear them.

WHITFIELD: OK, so if found guilty but insane, he could spend life in a mental institution. He's currently serving life in a federal prison for the Joie Armstrong murder. So, if he is found guilty, what would they -- you know, where would he be, I mean, where would he be held?

MOONEY: Well, this trial will have now three phases potentially. They will go through the guilt and innocence phase. Assuming he's found guilty, the jury then will have to decide whether or not he was insane at the time that these murders were committed. If they were to come back with an insanity finding, then he would be, in all likelihood, committed to a mental institution for the rest of his life.

However, if they do not find him insane, we would go on to the penalty phase, where they would be asked to, you know, impose a sentence of death.

WHITFIELD: So, prosecutors claim they've got some 153 witnesses. Who are they? Among, you know, a few, to mention, if you are able too.

MOONEY: Well, there will be various law enforcement witnesses. There also will be members of the families, and also people who associated with Stainer.

WHITFIELD: But none of these people are able to say they witnessed the crimes?

MOONEY: Correct. However, there are people who can help fill in the gaps on when and where, you know, where he was and at what time he was in these places. One of the more interesting witnesses will be a taxi cab driver from Sonora, who drove Stayner from near where he left the car that was rented by the victims back to Yosemite, and then he caught a bus there and went to a hotel where he was living.

WHITFIELD: Something else that is unusual about this case, or at least the trial -- a PET scan might be used against him -- Stayner -- if the judge then approves it. What is the likelihood of that, and exactly what would this PET scan prove?

MOONEY: Well, the defense is trying to argue that there are abnormalities in Stayner's brain that in all likelihood have been there since birth, or perhaps even before birth, and these abnormalities are consistent with various psychological disorders -- obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and psychosis.

The prosecution challenged this in -- during a pretrial hearing, saying that PET scans have not, you know -- there's not an extensive history for using PET scans in this way. However, that -- those -- that psychological component of this will be important when they're trying to decide, you know, the sanity phase, and it will also have a bearing potentially on the guilt phase.

WHITFIELD: And quickly, just a -- if you could paint a picture of the feeling in the community where this trial is taking place. Is it likely that they could find an impartial jury? I mean, who doesn't know about this case -- which is the point of the change of venue.

MOONEY: Well, then -- and that's a point that has been raised by Stayner's defense, and has been raised again very recently on Thursday of last week. The defense renewed its motion for another change of venue.

They have argued that Santa Clara County, where the trial will be held -- too many people are familiar with the case and too many people have already made up their minds about Stayner's guilt. They -- a survey that was done by the defense found that 92 percent of potential jurors in the county had heard of the case, either by reading or hearing on television about it, and 69 percent had actually decided that Stayner was either probably or definitely guilty.

WHITFIELD: All right. From Sacramento, Michael Mooney. We'll all be watching beginning tomorrow -- with the case of Cary Stayner beginning in court. Thanks very much.

MOONEY: Thank you.

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