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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD
Teen Girl Abducted by Teacher?; War Machine Defense Rests; Dramatic Video; Divorce Court?; Double Murder Investigation; Mysterious Death; Caught on Camera. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired March 15, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[20:00:03] JOEY JACKSON, HLN HOST (voice-over): The search for a 15-year- old girl. Police believe she`s with her 50-year-old armed and suspended teacher. Why they feel she`s in real danger.
"The Hitman" testified for the War Machine during his attempted murder trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) doesn`t go out of his way (INAUDIBLE) like, Oh, like, What are you doing, you know, and freak out.
JACKSON: Showing the difference...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
JACKSON: ... between two types of chokeholds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is called a seatbelt harness.
JACKSON: The defense trying to show the former MMA fighter wasn`t trying to kill his porn star ex. But is it working?
Teenage friends found dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hurt. Yes. I cried a lot.
JACKSON: Their bodies dumped in a remote area by the side of a road.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first time I believe in the history of our office that we`ve seen a double homicide that included two juveniles.
JACKSON: Tonight, officers are trying to unravel the mystery of who killed them and why.
Cops ID a woman they believe drove off a boat ramp and into the water. They don`t believe foul play was involved, but can`t imagine how the 20-
year-old wound up in the river.
The surveillance video simply shocking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just looked at my girlfriend and hugged her and kissed her.
JACKSON: An out-of-control SUV slams into a gas pump causing a massive explosion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) something out of a movie.
JACKSON: What police say happened before the fireball erupted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JACKSON: Hello, everyone. I`m Joey Jackson, in for my friend, Ashleigh Banfield. And this is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
Now, I want you to take a look at your screen. Do you recognize either of these two? Now, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is searching for
15-year-old Mary Katherine Thomas -- she also goes by the name of as Elizabeth, you see her there -- and 58-year-old, Tad Cummins, a teacher at
her school. You see him there, as well.
Investigations have issued an Amber Alert after Thomas`s parents reported her missing on Monday. Now, they believe the girl is in danger and that
Cummins is armed with two handguns.
Now, despite nearly 100 tips, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents have not been able to track them down. But they have revealed that Cummins
now faces charged connected to an alleged sexual assault between him and Thomas at the school where he taught and where she was a student.
Officers believe that they`re traveling -- you see it right there -- in a silver Nissan Rogue. It has Tennessee tags. The tags are -- you see that,
as well, 976-Z as in zebra, P as in Peter, T as in Thomas. Have any information, please let the authorities know.
I want to go to Josh Devine. He`s a public information officer at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations. It`s good to have you with us. He
joins us from Nashville.
So Josh, I want to ask you right into it, what`s the latest in this missing search for this girl?
JOSH DEVINE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS: Sure, Joey. So we`re doing a couple of different things right now. And first and foremost,
we`re hoping to find this girl as soon as possible. We want her home. We want him behind bars.
But we`re also working to try to understand the relationship between the two, and we`re trying to piece together the details of the weeks that led
up to the Amber Alert that we issued yesterday.
JACKSON: And just as far as that`s concerned, how are you piecing it together? Have you spoken to her mom, for example, if you`re at liberty to
speak to us about that? Have you spoken to his wife -- that is, the person who`s holding her or traveling with her? Have you spoken to students?
Could you take us through what process you`re going to through to unearth information, to find her?
DEVINE: Sure. Well, as you can imagine, I can`t really go into specifics, but suffice it to say we`re doing anything and everything we can. We`re
talking to anyone who might potentially know either of these individuals.
We`re also putting boots on the ground. We`re going to businesses in Columbia, Tennessee. We`re trying to find surveillance video. We`re
trying to piece together every single minute that we can that leads us to, hopefully, finding these individuals as soon as possible.
JACKSON: Now, that`s important. And as we have this discussion, I just want to let the viewers know we have certainly a description as it relates
to her, the fact that she has -- we see her there. But we have a description. She has blond hair. She has hazel eyes. Her height is 5-
foot-5. She weighs 120 pounds. She last seen wearing a flannel shirt and black leggings.
In addition to that, we have the description of Tad Cummins. And his hair brown, eyes brown, his height 6 feet, weight 200 pounds. He`s believed to
be armed and also he has two handguns.
So Josh Devine, if I can ask you also -- we have reason to believe that there was a recent Amber Alert. Is there any authenticity to that, that
there was an alert that alerted to potentially where they were?
DEVINE: Sure. So we issued an endangered child alert, which in Tennessee is sort of a mid-level alert, where we have some concern for the child`s
wellbeing. We did that on Monday afternoon. Well, once we developed some additional information about this case, we escalated it to an Amber Alert,
and on Monday afternoon were able to place Thomas in Decatur, Alabama.
[20:05:05]But beyond that, we have no specific information about where they might have been since. So that`s why we have such a heightened urgency
right now.
JACKSON: And here we see sort of the description where she`s last seen, the approximate mileage, et cetera. But when you say that there was an
alert (INAUDIBLE) to Decatur`s (ph) there -- was there cell phone pinging? Could you give us any information as to how you did that and how can you
continue to potentially to track them, Josh, to other locations?
DEVINE: Sure. Again, I can`t really go into the specifics of how we developed that information.
JACKSON: I respect that.
DEVINE: But as you can imagine, we have a lot of resources at (ph) our capability when we`re trying to do this type of investigation. We`re
looking at anything. So we`re looking at cell phones. We`re looking at social media. We`re looking at anything that might help us piece together
the details as we need them.
JACKSON: And on that issue of social media, is there anything that you can share with us, Josh, that might lend (ph) you closer, anything she might
have said on social media, anything he might have posted on social media that might draw you closer to where they were going, why they were going
there, what he was doing?
DEVINE: Not really, at this point. You know, their social media profiles are pretty vanilla, you know, to use a common term. There`s really not a
lot of specific information that might lead us to believe that we`re able to determine where they are at this moment.
JACKSON: And what about the challenges -- and I just want to again direct the viewers -- we have the car that they`re driving in. We have the license
plate of that car. What about the challenges? It`s the understanding that may be using cash. And I know, you know, credit card would be preferable
because you might be able to track him there. What, if any, challenges are associated with that?
DEVINE: Sure. So there`s a lot of challenges that we`re facing right now. As you mentioned, he actually took out a title loan for one of his personal
vehicles several days before they disappeared. And so he walked away with about $4,500 in cash. And as you can imagine, that`s a fair amount of cash
if you`re trying to not be found.
Now, we don`t know that to be his MO for sure at this point. But suffice it to say we do believe that he has a fair amount of money with him. So as
you can imagine, trying to track him down -- that`s posing a bit of a problem right now.
JACKSON: And Josh, I just want you to stand by for a minute. I want to bring in the lawyers right now, Danny Cevallos, and Jonna Spilbor, my
colleagues and partners in crime.
So Danny, I`ll go to you. You know, there`s this charge involving some type of sex crime, or whatever. What do you think the prosecutors are
going to need to do in order to make that stick, number one? And number two, you have the consciousness of guilt here, right, because he`s sort of
in the wind with her.
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. Exactly. And you have to prove the actual sexual contact. But assuming they do, Tennessee grades
different levels of sexual contact depending on the age of the victim and the position of the adult in...
JACKSON: She`s young, right.
CEVALLOS: Is that person in custody of them, or a parent or a guardian? The sentencing can be pretty severe. It can range from two to ten years,
two to fifteen years, all depending on how the prosecutors in this case decide to charge it.
JACKSON: Listen, Jonna, she`s 15, right? He`s the teacher. He`s absconded with her. How do you begin to speak on his behalf in terms of
defending this type of conduct?
JONNA SPILBOR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. I know. Putting my criminal defense hat on, it`s hard to say right now because there`s just innuendo
about any sexual contact, although we can all sit here and say, Well, what would be the motivation for a 50-year-old suspended teacher who`s under
investigation for I don`t know what...
JACKSON: And who`s married, by the way.
SPILBOR: ... and who is absconding with a 15-year-old student? I mean, it doesn`t -- it`s not hard to connect those dots. But we don`t have any
proof of the reason why are Thelma and Louise-ing their way wherever they`re going at the moment.
JACKSON: And do you think -- I mean, all right, so there`s no proof, but certainly, there`s circumstantial evidence, right, Danny? And that
circumstantial evidence leads you to believe that a 50-year-old just doesn`t take off with a student and go to a location -- you have Josh
Devine here, who`s saying, We`re trying to track this guy down. The consciousness of guilt and leaving -- that`s critical here, is it not?
CEVALLOS: Circumstantial evidence allows you to draw an inference. And you`re right, there are a couple of different inferences. One is that she
went willingly. The other is that she is a victim. She`s a hostage of some kind. But either way, it doesn`t matter. A child of that age, that -
- that -- you know 15 years old, is most likely under any circumstances not there willingly, the way we think about consent.
SPILBOR: Oh, yes. His best case scenario is a kidnapping charge and an endangering charge if nothing sexual has taken place.
JACKSON: If. That`s a big if.
SPILBOR: It`s a big if.
JACKSON: And Josh Devine, you have reason to believe, do you not, that there was some type of sexual connection between the two?
DEVINE: Well, earlier today, the district attorney general in Murray County, Tennessee, which is where Columbia is located -- and that`s
relatively close to Nashville -- he indicated that this incident that occurred at the school several months ago did, in fact, involve this
teacher and this particular student. And this teacher who was fired by the district yesterday, as a matter of fact, now faces a charge of sexual
contact with a minor.
JACKSON: And Josh, just -- the bottom line here is what, if anything -- if someone sees these people -- again, we`ve been showing you the description
of the two, we`ve been showing you the SUV that they`re in, the license plate number -- what steps should they take? Is there a specific tip line
that they should call or anything of that sort?
[20:10:10]DEVINE: Certainly. And Jonna sort of hinted at this. This is the bottom line for us. She is a 15-year-old, he is 50 years old, and we
believe that she is in absolute danger right now. So if anyone knows anything about where these two individuals might be right now, we want them
to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
But by all means, if they`re driving down the interstate anywhere in this country and they find themselves behind that Nissan Rogue with the
Tennessee license plate that you mentioned, we want them to call 911 immediately.
JACKSON: Well, Josh, we are grateful and appreciative of you joining us. Certainly, we`re going to stay on top of this story, and anything we can do
to have our viewers weigh in and call, that`s going to be important here. Thank you very much, sir.
DEVINE: We appreciate your interest. Thanks.
JACKSON: Thank you.
An MMA fighter takes the stand in the War Machine attempted murder trial. But it was not the defendant, and apparently, it was demo time in that
courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPILBOR: OK. So (INAUDIBLE) choke is here...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get closer (INAUDIBLE)
SPILBOR: One arm comes around fully. This arm comes and grabs the biceps (INAUDIBLE) slides behind the head. And now when I apply pressure, I`ll be
taking away the oxygen (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Plus, a teacher charged with having sex with one of his students, but it`s the offer the judge said that -- made to the educators -- now,
that`s going to drop your jaw. Stay tuned for that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKSON: When a War Machine is on trial, you don`t know exactly what to expect. The former MMA star is on trial. He`s accused of trying to kill
his porn star ex and a friend. Now, we`ve heard about the brutal beating that Christy Mack -- that`s his girlfriend -- that she suffered, the
escalating violence in their relationship and their bizarre sex life.
But we didn`t expect to see this in the courtroom from the defense, and that`s a choke-out demo. Why the defense thought that was a good idea?
We`ll talk about it.
Plus, a bank robber storms a bank, firing as he enters. The security guard -- well, he`s hailed as a hero for stopping the guy in his tracks. And
it`s all caught on video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:06:42]JACKSON: Attorneys for the War Machine -- they`re pulling out all the stops. They`re trying to put doubt in the minds of the jurors in
his attempted murder trial. Now, the MMA fighter is charged with trying to kill his porn star ex -- that`s Christy Mack, you see her there with him --
allegedly beating her and a friend nearly to death in Las Vegas. And that was in August of 2014.
Now, Mack says she was choked to unconsciousness. Now, listen to this. She suffered bruises from head to toe, a broken nose, fractured eye socket,
missing teeth and a lacerated liver. Her friend, Corey Thomas, well, he got his nose broken, dislocated his shoulder and had bite marks on his face
from the beating.
And after damaging testimony like this for more than a week, wouldn`t you think the jury might want to hear from the War Machine himself?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTY MACK, VICTIM: He looks at me and he says, Now I have to kill you. I`ve gone too far. You can`t be seen like this. Everyone`s going to know!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you try to talk him down off of that?
MACK: Yes, I did!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: And with closing arguments expected to begin tomorrow, we`ve learned that the War Machine will not be taking the stand. The defense has
rested. Now, how smart of a move is that? We`re going to take about it right now. Rachel Stockman -- she`s the editor-in-chief of Lawnewz.com.
She joins us here.
So Rachel, you`ve sat through this case. You`ve listened to it. How`s the defense doing? Do they have a prayer?
RACHEL STOCKMAN, LAWNEWZ.COM: I don`t think they have a prayer. I think this was one of the worst defense cases mounted I`ve ever seen, and I`ve
watched quite a few trials. Could never figure out where they were going.
JACKSON: Let me stop you there. That you`ve ever seen? Really?
STOCKMAN: Well...
JACKSON: Wow.
STOCKMAN: ... I mean, in a while.
JACKSON: OK.
STOCKMAN: It didn`t seem to have a point. It went back and forth to various areas. I`m not to this day quite sure of what the defense strategy
was.
JACKSON: Now, I want to show you some sound, and the sound -- or we`re going to hear some sound. And that`s the drama of her and what happened to
her. And I just want to know how that would connect with the jury really, and ultimately, in listening to that, how the defense would overcome that.
And I`ll go to the lawyers on that in a minute, but let`s listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACK: My eyes were swollen shut. I could open my right one a little bit. My nose was broken in multiple places. One of my teeth was out. The other
one was halved. I had a large bruise that covered pretty much the entirety of my left leg. I had a lacerated liver, which was (INAUDIBLE) surgery,
but (INAUDIBLE) so it healed itself. I can`t think of any more right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you have a blowout fracture to your eye?
MACK: I did, an orbital blowout fracture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Jonna Spilbor, thinking about that, thinking about the effect that this would have on a jury, how do you overcome that?
SPILBOR: Thinking about that, looking at that poor woman in those pictures. And to Rachel`s point, you know, maybe the strategy here was to
not have a strategy because in Nevada -- I mean, really, because this woman is beaten so badly. But in this jurisdiction, unless the prosecution can
show that the defendant had an intent to kill, not simply to injure, the top count goes away.
JACKSON: Danny Cevallos, look at those pictures. I don`t know. Intent to kill? What does it say to you?
CEVALLOS: This was always a tough case from the beginning, and the defense in this case -- you know, they may have suffered from not coming up with a
theme, and that`s something that, you know, we probably all learned pretty early.
[20:20:06]JACKSON: It`s pretty important!
(CROSSTALK)
CEVALLOS: Well, you know, some defense views take the idea that, Hey, if we just chip away and everything, cross-examine here...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
CEVALLOS: ... and we just take a -- you know, take a little razor wire approach to the case, then we can win. But really, it helps to have a
theme, a story that you`re telling the jury, asking them to believe. What that was here, I`m not entirely sure.
JACKSON: And Rachel, what does it say when, you know, lawyers -- we`re talking about it. Danny Cevallos can`t tell you the theme, Right? Jonna
Spilbor is saying, What were they talking about? And you`re saying it`s the worst case ever. Now, what I want to do -- there`s also tweets that he
tweeted out.
STOCKMAN: Right.
JACKSON: I want to sort of look at those tweets and let`s talk about them after we see them.
"Look, I`ve offered to sign any number of plea agreements. I`ve begged for the opportunity to take a lie detector test. I`ve done everything in my
power to resolve the issue, but the DA wants a media circus." OK, that`s the first tweet.
Now, not as bad as the second one. Let`s look at this. "It`s no mystery. I found the woman I loved in bed with another man. I made some poor
choices, choices that I feel horrible for, regret and I know that I must be punished for. But I didn`t do all that crap they accuse me of. And
finally, I do not deserve the crazy amount of time being thrown at me."
Danny, you`re chomping at the bit.
(LAUGHTER)
CEVALLOS: I love this.
JACKSON: Why would you have the client tweeting this out? That`s an admission, in my view.
CEVALLOS: Well, let`s assume -- let`s give the benefit of the doubt to the lawyers and assume that they did not know that he was tweeting that...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please!
CEVALLOS: ... because...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) did not know.
CEVALLOS: Yes, let`s hope because this would be a really bad idea. I mean, you know, it used to be a bad enough thing if you said something out
loud. Nowadays with social media, you can create a transcript of all the dump things that you want to say out there.
And you know, look, it demonstrates in my view additional lack of remorse because he sort of says, I didn`t do half the -- what crap is he saying he
didn`t do? I mean, what is there to...
JACKSON: Jonna...
(CROSSTALK)
CEVALLOS: We have a beating. There`s nobody else that did it.
JACKSON: That`s an admission.
SPILBOR: All of that is an admission, and not for nothing but the woman that he loved slept with other men for a living, and this is the time that
he goes berserk? I mean, that doesn`t make any sense at all!
STOCKMAN: But I agree with that you said earlier, that I think the defense is trying to chip away at some of those more serious charges...
SPILBOR: Right.
STOCKMAN: ... like the attempted murder charge. And I think that`s their only prayer...
(CROSSTALK)
SPILBOR: ... one juror, one juror.
STOCKMAN: Exactly.
JACKSON: So Rachel, I want to get to these chokeholds that they demonstrated.
STOCKMAN: Yes.
JACKSON: And I want to ask you after we look at the demonstrations, what effect did that have or what did that do? Just -- let`s take a look at
this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, do you have experience when it comes to chokeholds with Mr. Koppenhaver?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever choked Mr. Koppenhaver unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has Mr. Koppenhaver ever choked you unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that`s happened on multiple occasions, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so we`re going (INAUDIBLE) choke is here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get closer (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One arm comes around fully. This arm comes and grabs the biceps (INAUDIBLE) hand slides behind the head. And now when I apply
pressure, I`ll be taking away the oxygen (INAUDIBLE) to the brain, which causes...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection, your honor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Sorry. I couldn`t quite tell what he was saying. Just describe what you`re doing and -- I guess just describe what
you`re doing and the goal of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me stop you for a second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now if you could just explain to the jury what the difference is between the bare (ph) naked (ph) choke that you just put on
me and the seatbelt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so the bare naked choke, as you saw, was around the neck completely, both arms (INAUDIBLE) elbow to elbow. Now, this is called
a seatbelt harness, what we use in jujitsu (INAUDIBLE) This comes over the top of the torso, by the neck. This comes under the bottom (ph). Now, we
call it seatbelt position because the way (INAUDIBLE) seatbelt in your car, comes across here and also comes across the abdominal. So we call this
position the seatbelt.
Now, like as I said before, it`d be hard to try to choke someone here because the arm is in the way. So when you do a bare naked choke, you`re
not on the arm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s nothing around the arm to block. The arm is closing in and taking the oxygen away from the individual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, now, if I try to choke him -- are you choking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you choking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I`m going to really squeeze...
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Rachel Stockman, editor-in-chief, Lawnewz.com, I have to ask you, what was the intent? What was the purpose? Why was the defense showing a
chokehold?
STOCKMAN: Honestly, I don`t know. We...
JACKSON: Isn`t that a problem?
STOCKMAN: We could not figure out why. And I think it actually helped the prosecution.
But I wanted to tell you one thing that you might not know.
JACKSON: Plus.
STOCKMAN: The guy in the purple shirt that you saw that he was demonstrating on, his name`s Brandon Sua (ph), and he is one of the
attorneys for War Machine. He is also a former MMA fighter himself, or involved in the world himself. So it`s interesting that this is the guy
that they used for the demonstration.
[20:25:15]JACKSON: I just -- I just think, Danny Cevallos, that you know, a means has to have an end. If you`re defending someone, it has to have a
theme. It has to have a theory. And when you have a chokehold in a case where she`s got lacerations, teeth missing, liver, everything else gone,
what`s the purpose. And does it aid you at the end of the day?
CEVALLOS: Possible -- and I`m throwing an idea to demonstrate to the jury this is the kind of guy that would put you to sleep, rather than take a
swing at you. I mean, you know, who knows? The problem -- the challenge for the defense is to come up with the theory of the case that is not only
viable but that also can be communicated to the jury in a very digestible way.
And if you leave a bunch of inferences to drawn, you really have to spoon feed them. And that`s not disparaging against juries. You have to show
them you story and make it very clear. This sort of abstract chokehold thing is not so clear. The jurors could go the other way (INAUDIBLE)
JACKSON: Jonna...
SPILBOR: We`ve got to confuse the heck out of them (INAUDIBLE) of the two.
JACKSON: And that`s certainly maybe something that does. Before we get to the next sound, though, just a quick question for you, Jonna. He didn`t
testify.
SPILBOR: Right.
JACKSON: What does he have to lose? Would you have put him on the stand?
SPILBOR: Oh, heck no!
JACKSON: You would not have.
SPILBOR: No! This man cannot testify. The prosecution would have had a field day with him. You can`t juxtapose whatever he was going to say,
especially given his tweets (INAUDIBLE) I`m just here because I don`t want to do so much time. Plus he has a prior felony conviction that he was on
probation for, I guess, when this happened. You can`t juxtapose her injuries against that kind of testimony.
JACKSON: Perhaps Rachel, he could, you know, Look, I didn`t mean to do it. He`s tweeting about the fact that he made poor choices. Maybe he looks the
jurors in the eye and he says, I made a poor choice.
STOCKMAN: Well, and what the defense have kept reiterating with the various witnesses is that he only threw two punches and that it really
wasn`t the brutal attack that the prosecution is trying to make it out to be.
JACKSON: Well, speaking of brutal attacks, let`s -- I just want to show you a last bit of sound. We`ll talk about that, and we`ll see what you
think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`ve never seen him, Mr. Koppenhaver, just go out and (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, what do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) let`s -- have you ever seen him...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve seen heated situations in the gym where, you know, because like I said, the training gets (INAUDIBLE) where we hit each other
and you get a little mad and you want to get him back. But that`s pretty much it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when he`s being attacked or when he`s in a fighting situation, then he can get enraged?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It depends. Anyone does. You know, even me myself, you know, like, when you`re with your training partners and maybe somebody
might have the upper hand (INAUDIBLE) like, you know, you`re better than them. But one day, they might just -- that`s their day, and you`re off and
they just kick your butt that day, and you know, you want revenge, so you just, like, (INAUDIBLE) Oh, I`m going to get them back...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Right. Exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when he`s just kind of hanging out at the poor or the beach or at dinner, you`ve never seen him just lose it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not that I`m aware of. He`s pretty calm, pretty...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty calm (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... unless you, like, antagonize him, like anyone else, then he`ll defend himself, you know? But he doesn`t go out his way, to,
like, Oh, you know, like, what are you doing, you know, like freak out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Rachel Stockman, I`ll go back to you. Closing arguments. What does the defense have to do to bring it home?
STOCKMAN: Well, I think what War Machine was alluding to in his text message, which we all agreed wasn`t the best idea, was the fact that, you
know, this attack wasn`t as brutal. Yes, the injuries in those pictures that you saw looked terrible, but the attack really wasn`t as bad as the
prosecution is making it out to be. Yes, I lost my control for a couple of minutes, but I never tried to murder someone. I never...
JACKSON: Danny Cevallos...
STOCKMAN: ... wanted to kill them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t believe your lying eyes.
CEVALLOS: I`m going to give it a try here, Joey.
JACKSON: Yes, please.
CEVALLOS: OK, ladies and gentlemen, this woman -- and I`m playing the part -- this woman and her boyfriend were engaged in rough play. It`s what they
did all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
CEVALLOS: She invited him over with the intent that she be found in flagrante delicto. And you remember that from law school, right?
JACKSON: Yes, I do!
CEVALLOS: And finally, he only hit her a couple times. And even that last one, I had a hard time saying with a straight face.
JACKSON: Jonna Spilbor`s not convinced. In two seconds or less?
SPILBOR: I think he`s trying to show that it`s normal for MMA fighters to horse around like this, and nobody intended to kill anyone or even hurt
anyone, but this is what MMA fighters do. And she happened to not be an MMA fighter. Oh, my God, I`m so sorry.
JACKSON: To which I say those injuries appear like more than horsing around. Rachel Stockman, thank you so much. You were in that courtroom.
You said it best, worst you`ve ever seen.
In any event, a dramatic bank robbery shoot-out. It`s caught on video. Here you see a masked gunman. Well, he walks into a bank in Rockford,
Illinois, and immediately -- you see it there -- he opens fire. He shoots into the ceiling. And the security guard is right there. The guard shoots
back, and he fatally hits the suspect.
It all happened in the blink of an eye as bank workers were ducking for cover after a homicide investigation. Now, authorities have cleared the
security guard after evaluating that and seeing that he acted properly.
[20:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no doubt in my mind that the actions of Brian Harrison saved the lives of those that are -- were employees in the Alpine
Bank location on that date and saved his own life.
DAN SHEA, ROCKFORD POLICE CHIEF: They are taught to generally shoot center mass in the body. This is a very dynamic, active situation, and he`s doing
what he trained probably for 30 years to do, which was to eliminate and take care of the threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: And that he did. Now, detective linked the suspect, Laurence Turner, you see him there, to three other armed robberies. No customers
were at the bank during the robbery and no employees were injured. Thank God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: A Miami teacher in court is accused of getting oral sex from one of the students. Now, he got more than a bond hearing as he stood before
the judge just this week. He and his wife got some unsolicited marital counseling. Take a look.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you, ma`am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m his wife.
MINDY GLAZER, JUDGE IN FLORIDA: Your wife is in court. You`re still his wife with these charges? You want the paper for divorce court? I`ll give it
to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Papers for divorce. We don`t know if the defendant`s wife took the judge up on that offer, but this is the first time that this judge, Mindy
Glazer, has made news from the bench. Just last summer, she unexpectedly reunited with a former classmate who appeared in her courtroom. Take a
look.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
GLAZER: Did you go to Nautilus Middle School?
ARTHUR BOOTH, RELEASED FROM JAIL, FORMER CLASSMATE OF JUDGE GLAZER: Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.
GLAZER: I`m sorry to see you here. I always wonder what happened to you, sir.
BOOTH: Oh, my goodness.
JACKSON: Now, Judge Glazer later met with Arthur Booth when he was released from jail and wished him the best of luck as he started his new life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: And now to a murder mystery in Colorado. Two teens` lives. They were cut tragically short. Their bodies found dumped on a rural road. A
look into what police say happened to these close friends.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKSON: Students who went to school with Derek Greer and Natalie Partida, well they say the two were very close friends. And now the teenagers are
linked in death.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: At the center of a murder mystery. Their bodies found on the side of a rural highway about 15 miles south of Colorado Springs. A passing
driver found Greer and Partida on Sunday morning. Sheriff deputies have not revealed exactly how they died or how they were killed. They only say that
their deaths have been ruled a homicide and they`re certainly aggressively investigating this case.
CLAIRE MURPHY, DEREK GREER`S FRIEND: I would like to know, like, what happened to him because like I said, he was one of my close friends and he
was a really great person. He`s really a nice kid, he really is. He`s funny. He`s sweet. He`s just a great kid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first time I believe in the history of our office that we`ve seen a double homicide that included juveniles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Kasey Kershner is a reporter with CNN affiliate KRDO. She joins us now from Colorado Springs. Now, Kasey, thanks for being here, number one.
What`s the latest? Do we have any information on how these teens were actually killed?
KASEY KERSHNER, REPORTER AT KRDO: You know, it`s a really tough situation because at this point, the El Paso County Sheriff`s Office is not releasing
any information about how these two might have been killed. I`m not sure if that`s an investigative tactic. But I did go to the coroner`s office
yesterday just to try to see what was going on with it and they told me that they don`t have any new information and that at this point it could
take four to six weeks for them to finalize the autopsies. We know that they had them working on that. So we might not get the answers for another
few weeks.
JACKSON: Any indication about whether they`re looking at the social media blueprint of the two children, who they are speaking to, any surveillance,
any leads, any tips, anything like that, Kasey, that we know of?
KERSHNER: Well, we have definitely I mean at least on our end, we definitely found their social media pages, found their Facebook, things
like this, so we know that they have a presence there. As far as the El Paso County Sheriff`s office, like I said, they`re really not releasing any
information about what`s going on in this investigation.
JACKSON: Okay, well, stand by, Kasey. We have Joseph Scott Morgan. I called him JSM, my friend, he`s a certified death investigator and a professor of
forensics at Jacksonville State University. So good to see you, Joseph Scott Morgan. Take us right into it. You`ve done too many of these things,
just so many. What exactly are they looking for? Do you have a hypothesis or theory where the bodies were dumped there, just what are your thoughts?
JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESIGATOR, PROFESSOR OF FORENSICS AT JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY: They`ve given us a big piece of information
here, joey. The fact that they`ve ruled this as a homicide, that`s the manner, is key. That means that they know that there is some kind of
causality here that brought about the death at these young people at the hands of another.
To your point relative to where the bodies are found, generally when you found bodies alongside of a roadway right here where they`re not really
obscured roadway where somebody can just find them, this is generally indicative of a dumping of the bodies. I find it very curious that we have
two young people as was stated earlier that have been
[20:40:00] dumped here together. I`m really wondering what the kind of social connectivity is here. Was there something else going on here? And
also, let`s think about this relative to the vehicle, Joey. We have to assume that there is some type of vehicle that`s involved in this.
I think my question here is, are they -- did they have a lead on a car or some type of other vehicle because therein is going to be a wealth of
evidentiary information as far as trace evidence, DNA, these sorts of things. So it`s not only just about working the scene and what you can find
there, but also what you can find in this vehicle is gonna be very, very critical to this case.
JACKSON: So, Joseph, I guess the issue with that is you have to get to that vehicle now, and I hope certainly the police do. Now, what about the bodies
themselves? What can that tell us and lead us to in terms of the DNA, any serology, any hair fibers or samples, anything that can be gleaned from
those bodies to assist in this investigation?
SCOTT MORGAN: Yeah, we work in a microscope world now, don`t we, Joey, in the area of forensics, this idea of touch, DNA, these types of things,
yeah. Depending upon how the bodies are cared for that is, are they protected from an evidentiary standpoint? Have they been protected? Has the
evidence been protected to the point where they can collect this whatever it might be there? Also this is important. The young lady mentioned just a
moment ago. They talked to the coroner is still waiting four to maybe six weeks before releasing information.
This is generally indicative of the fact they`re waiting for further testing like toxicology to come out. One big piece here, Joey, that we need
to keep in mind is, what they did before they were placed into a vehicle and brought to this location or were they killed in the vehicle. This is
going to be key. I hope that the police did their work to determine post- mortem interval at the scene. That is how long had these kids been dead when they were found. This is gonna be critical.
JACKSON: And, Joseph, very quick, would that give us an indication of whether they were killed at some other place and then the bodies brought to
this location?
SCOTT MORGAN: Yeah, absolutely. If the time scheme has been worked out appropriately from an investigative standpoint, and if you apply -- if you
applied solid forensic principles here moving forward in this case. Document, document, document, that`s the watch word here, and hopefully
they`ve done this effectively.
JACKSON: And I certainly hope so. Kasey Kershner, back to you, what if anything are the police asking the community to do in terms of resolving
this?
KERSHNER: So one of the things about this case specifically, the area that these bodies were found in is a very rural area. I mean, there is really
not a whole lot out there. So they`re really calling on the community, anyone who may have been in that area, anyone who saw anything. As far as
the time frame, you know, we know they`ve been talking to their friends and things, the young boy`s best friend actually was supposed to have him over
for a sleepover the night before.
JACKSON: Ah.
KERSHNER: . never showed up. Was talking to -- was texting him and at one point, he got a read receipt back, but we don`t know who opened it and so
it`s -- you know, the details leading up to it are really foggy. So they`re really hoping that the community can -- that someone saw something.
JACKSON: If you see something, say something. Kasey Kershner, we appreciate your reporting on this. Joseph Scott Morgan, thank you both so very much.
Let`s hope for the best. For six weeks, families members have remained positive as police search for a missing 20-year-old college student. But a
disturbing discovery might change that. What police think happened to Toni Anderson.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKSON: For six weeks, the family of a missing Kansas City woman, well, they`ve been very hopeful. Police say that Toni Anderson was last seen in
mid-January. Surveillance video shows her leaving a gas station, driving her black Ford Focus. Her disappearance brought weeks of searching.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN ANDERSON, TONI ANDERSON`S FATHER: It`s been six weeks, you have to recognize the fact that it may not be an outcome that -- that we want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Now, that`s until last week when Anderson`s car was pulled from the Missouri River and inside was a woman`s body. Today, police identified
Toni Anderson, you see her there, but how she got to the bottom of that river, well, that remains a real mystery.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It does begin to help us to go through that grieving process and begin to have possibly some final answers to things. Remember her and what
a beautiful child she is and/or was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: "Primetime Justice" producer, Michael Christian, you`ve been working that story all day. Michael, now, tell us exactly how that body was
found.
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, PRIMETIME JUSTICE PRODUCER: And wasn`t she a beautiful girl there, Joey?
JACKSON: Yes.
CHRISTIAN: The body was found at the bottom of the Missouri River by some divers. It was a not for profit diving team and they found her car. And
they actually found two cars, two vehicles. The other one was an SUV that police have said had nothing to do with this case or any local case. So
that`s not a player here. But they found the car, they waited a couple of days, and they were able to identify the body.
[20:50:00] JACKSON: And Michael, tell us about the fact that there was some indication that she knew how to swim very well. She was trained swimmer,
about her seat belt condition, about -- as you see the car there, about the condition of the windows. What do we know about that?
CHRISTIAN: Her window was rolled down and she was not wearing a seat belt. Now, there is a man named Pete Sanchez, he was her boyfriend. He says she
was an excellent swimmer. She had been a lifeguard. She had gone to swimming meets during high school. He says he finds it very difficult to
believe that in a situation like this, she would not have been able to swim away from that car.
JACKSON: Well, let`s talk about that. Michael, stand by. Joseph Scott Morgan, he is still here with us. So, Joseph, you know, they`ve recovered
unfortunately in this tragedy the body. Take us through what they`re going to be able to glean from the body. Will it give us any indication of
whether there was foul play, what are investigators looking for, apparently there was a bruise to her knee, how is that even possible so many weeks
later. Take us through it.
SCOTT MORGAN: Well, you know, I find it very curious. I just saw the video clip of that vehicle, and it`s quite telling that the roof of that vehicle
is significantly damaged. And if she was not belted in that vehicle, there is a high likelihood she could have sustained some type of blunt force
trauma over the entire surface of her body. Some questions I want to have answered in this particular case are, what type of physical condition was
she personally in? Was she suffering from any kind of physical malady, medical problems, were she on any kind of medication?
And I think the key here going down the road relative to the medical examiner`s office there in the Kansas City area is this idea of were they
able to draw tox on her. She`s been down there for a while now, Joey, almost six weeks, but the water is very cold, hopefully her remains have
been preserved to the point where they can take samples and determine what was going on with her chemically.
JACKSON: And Joseph, this many weeks later, would they still be able through toxicology to find out what`s in the system or would it be removed
in some way?
SCOTT MORGAN: Yes, it`s going to be compromised to a great degree. The only saving grace is it`s kind of cold up in that area of the country at this
point in time. Hopefully, her body and remains have been preserved to the point where they could do some sampling still at this point. I`m also gonna
want to know about the mechanical condition of this vehicle, and at what point and time or what point and location did she actually enter this
water? Are there other instances -- Michael had mentioned just seconds ago that there was another vehicle found in there.
Where are people entering the water on this thing? I understand there is a boat launched not too far from there. What were the conditions out that
night? What was the lighting like? All those sort of things. Was she upset in any way? Was she emotionally unbalanced at that point in time? Had she
received any kind of bad news? So there is a lot to be told relative to this going forward.
JACKSON: There certainly is. Michael, really quick back to you, any indication of what Joseph Scott Morgan is talking about, any reason to
believe she was upset, depressed, had some other issues in her life?
CHRISTIAN: We know that she had been stopped early that morning by some cops for a traffic infraction, for improperly changing lanes. That may have
shaken her up. Her mother believes that she was confused, she got into this little park where the boat ramp was by mistake, maybe tried to turn around,
somehow got into the boat ramp without meaning to, and it was so icy she just couldn`t get out of the car, and the car just literally slid into the
Missouri River.
JACKSON: Jonna Spilbor, any indication that this is foul play at all?
SPILBOR: Right now, there is no indication of foul play. What was very interesting to me is that she was stopped by police a little bit earlier
and they did not arrest her for say being under the influence. And I say that because when we see accidents like this, when somebody goes into a
river water body and died.
JACKSON: Yes.
SPILBOR: . they`ve either fallen asleep behind the wheel, they might have some alcohol on board, and then they end up in a tragic situation. But if
the cops stopped her and didn`t arrest her, did she not have anything in her system?
JACKSON: Unless they gave her a pass and let her go. We don`t know that though. Toxicology will reveal. A scary sight at the gas pump. You`re gonna
see it right here. But, you know what, look at that. That didn`t have anything to do with the high prices. A driver slammed right into a gas
station. He strikes the gas pump head-on, and you see the result. The story behind the huge fireball. That`s next.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKSON: In Seattle, police are investigating what caused this SUV to plow into a gas pump. Look at it there. And burst right into flames. Amazingly,
no one was seriously injured in the accident or in the subsequent explosion.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looked like something out of a movie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this fireball going through the air as it went into the gas station -- into the pumps actually.
JACKSON: Now police question the 60-year-old driver and took a blood sample from him. His female passenger was also treated for minor incidents. Thank
goodness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: But, that traumatic scene was not the only accident this driver was involved in on Monday night. Only minutes earlier, he hit a Honda
Accord, causing it to slide into a tree and split in half. You see it there. Wow! The driver of that Honda was taken to the hospital with serious
injuries. The driver of the SUV involved in both accidents hasn`t yet been charged. We`ll be right back.
[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JACKSON: Thanks to all of our guests. Of course, our partners in crime, Danny Cevallos and Jonna Spilbor.
END