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CNN Saturday Morning News

Adam Moss to Make First Court Appearance

Aired September 01, 2001 - 08:01   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin with a serious story, and that is a court appearance that's scheduled today for the 23-year-old man accused of killing seven people in Sioux City, Iowa.

CNN's Jeff Flock is in Sioux City and joins us now with the latest from there -- hi, Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, to you, Kyra. Good to see you.

Indeed, a court appearance today, but not a court appearance on the seven allegations regarding the murders. Adam Moss will be in court today not far from where I stand here now outside police headquarters. But he will be there to answer charges of stealing a vehicle in connection with those murders. So the formal charges on the murders expected to come some time next week.

Now, let's give you a picture of Adam Moss as he was taken into custody yesterday. Really put this town in some state of frenzy for a bit because he was on the loose overnight after the seven murders had been discovered. Moss brought into custody. And I'll tell you, I want to pause in our showing you that and give you a sense of the headlines this morning. This is the headline in the "Sioux City Journal" this morning, "Suspect In Custody," obviously people very concerned about his apprehension overnight. The "Omaha World Herald" paper this morning talked to the family of Adam Moss. The quote from his mother is their headline. His mother, Mary Moss, quoted by the newspaper now saying that the killings did not surprise her. She said, "Drugs Make Him Go Crazy." Nothing in our investigation about Moss yesterday, by the way, turned up anything with regard to drugs.

Let's take you out to the crime scene because it is perhaps the most brutal crime in this state's history. As we said, a total of seven murders, one woman and five of her children, as well as another man across town, the local police chief here describing the scene as extremely brutal, a lot of blood, a lot of evidence there. Autopsies took all day yesterday, blood soaked evidence coming out of that building.

Now, onto our investigation about who is Adam Moss and what perhaps led him to all of this in terms of being charged or being alleged to have committed these crimes. He has a long criminal record here. CNN poked through that yesterday here at Woodward County, Iowa. Found a total of 34 separate charges against him over time going back to juvenile days, some of them reasonably minor charges, others ranging up to assault as well as robbery and burglary. Nothing, though, with any kind of violence associated with anything like he is expected to be charged next week.

And again to recap, he will be in court today but just briefly and not on the murder charges. Those formal charges expected some time next week.

That is the latest from here, Kyra, in Sioux City, Iowa. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Jeff, real quickly before we let you go, by working your sources, did you find out what the relationship was between Adam Moss and this woman?

FLOCK: It is believed by people we talked to who knew the family that there was some sort of romantic involvement. Children we talked to that went to school with some of the dead children said that Mr. Moss apparently lived with Ms. Aguilar, the dead woman, for a time. The people that we talked to said they felt like it was a romance gone sour but no one can explain what may have led Mr. Moss, if, in fact, he did, to commit the crimes in this manner -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jeff Flock in Sioux City. Thanks so much, Jeff.

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