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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Troubled Skies?; Caught on Video; Smugglers Blues; Markeith Loyd Case; Shocking Sex Trial Verdict; Death Investigation; CNN Heroes

Aired April 27, 2017 - 20:00:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

D.J. CREATO, FATHER CHARGED WITH MURDER: No! No! No! No!

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): A father breaks down as police tell him his missing child is dead.

CREATO: No! No!

BANFIELD: But is he a grieving father or a heartless killer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) apartment.

BANFIELD: Police say there was no one else, just him and an underaged girlfriend who didn`t like kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Another passenger booted off a flight, this time for using the bathroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It all escalated so fast.

BANFIELD: He said he held it as long as he could.

KIMA HAMILTON, DELTA PASSENGER: And the plane wasn`t moving, you know, so -- but you know, my bladder is.

BANFIELD: But that delay on the tarmac was just too long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Beautiful, married and a mother of three, this teacher is accused of a threesome with a student. So why would a judge clear her

since she`d `fessed up before? Could it be her dad is a judge?

A 16-month-old girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s my only little girl.

BANFIELD: Missing for hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All indications at that time pointed that the child was outside and wandered off.

BANFIELD: Friends, family, the FBI all searching for little Samage (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want my baby home!

BANFIELD: But where they found her was not where the mom said she lost her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house is in very deplorable condition.

BANFIELD: Found amid the squalor. Why hasn`t anyone been arrested since up to 15 people live there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, what you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I seen him pull his gun out, and they were shooting at each other like a Western movie.

BANFIELD: The day Sergeant Debra Clayton (ph) died and the details this woman saw as that officer took her last breath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was really trying to get rid of her, like it was something personal.

BANFIELD: Her gripping account of the moment a beloved cop was allegedly murdered by a foul-mouthed felon.

And get a load of these pants, more importantly, what was under them, snagged at Customs trying to smuggle 23 pounds of cocaine by wearing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

When a child is murdered, the obvious, the obvious first question is, who did it. It`s usually followed by, why did they do it. And when the third

question often is, Was it the parents, you know you`re going in a different direction.

But one accusation you just never hear is the dad`s 17-year-old girlfriend didn`t like kids. Such is the case against David Creato, the young man

from New Jersey now on trial for that very scenario, accused of murdering his own 3-year-old boy, Brendan, and then dumping his body in the woods not

far from his apartment.

Mr. Creato is in the middle of that trial now, and jurors have heard a lot of damming evidence so far, including a police interrogation in which he

talked about that teenage girlfriend of his and might have let the cat out of the bag.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CREATO: (INAUDIBLE) She doesn`t like kids. She doesn`t want to be part of kids and family. She`s, like, it`s not a good idea (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So let`s back that up for a second to the night that little Brendan disappeared. He`d been staying with his dad, and that dad says

when he woke up, his boy was just missing. So he called 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CREATO: I just woke up, and he wasn`t in my home. I don`t know if he wandered out or what happened. I don`t know where he is. The door is

locked. I guess he unlocked it and left.

911 OPERATOR: OK, we already have the police on the way, sir. What is your name?

CREATO: My name is D.J.

911 OPERATOR: D.J. Your last name?

CREATO: Creato.

911 OPERATOR: Spell for me.

CREATO: C-R-E-A-T-O.

911 OPERATOR: All right, sir, do me a favor. Just hold on. I already have the police on the way. Don`t hang up.

CREATO: All right. Thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It wasn`t but a few hours later the police dog that was looking for little Brendan found him, found his lifeless body slumped over a rock

in a creek not far from the apartment. When Brendan was found, David was already with the police, and you can judge for yourself his reaction when

the officers told him that his little boy was dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

CREATO: Oh, no! No! No! No! No!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was found along the shore...

CREATO: No! No! (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s deceased.

[20:05:00]CREATO: No! No! No! No! No! No! You didn`t tell me this!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Jesse Weber is a host on Lawnewz.com. He joins me now live. You`re following this gavel to gavel. Look, I -- I`m a fan, as anyone is,

of a reaction when you suspect a parent might be involved, but I also know everybody grieves differently. Is that all they have?

JESSE WEBER, LAWNEWZ.COM HOST: No. This is -- look, motive is not an element of first-degree murder, but it certainly does help the

prosecution`s case here. When you look at what the motive here is, it maybe makes sense. People have killed for far less.

What you have is a man who is obsessed with his girlfriend. He was jealous of her. He`s admitted it. And the fact that she absolutely hated

children, and more importantly, hated the idea of Brendan being in their life -- I have some Tumblr posts that I`d like to read for you.

BANFIELD: Oh, they found those, did they?

WEBER: They found them. This was read by one of the lead investigators in the case. This is what his girlfriend had wrote.

"He is still a mistake," meaning about Brendan. "He`s still a mistake, your mistake." That was written about 10 weeks into their relationship.

She follows it up, "I think I legit love you. I can see myself having a future with you. But you`ll never get a kid from me, ever. Not happening.

One is more than enough, in my opinion."

And if you put this statement in the mind of a person who might not be mentally stable, who knows what could happen.

BANFIELD: So one of the things in the interrogation that was fascinating was sort of about that dynamic. You got the 17-year-old girlfriend, and

exactly how does she feel about kids? What would you do for her? And this is how the interplay went. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CREATO: She`s, like (INAUDIBLE) she doesn`t want -- (INAUDIBLE) I`ll always have him in my life and I wouldn`t get rid of him for her

(INAUDIBLE) so it`s that situation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

CREATO: So that she wouldn`t come down here -- she wouldn`t come down here or hurt him or she wouldn`t do anything. Like, she was (INAUDIBLE) leaving

if she felt it was something that I was...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes you think your son (INAUDIBLE)

CREATO: Because I don`t see him as walking out the door and just leaving. (INAUDIBLE) so unlikely to me. How he ended up at Cooper`s, blowing my

mind. I don`t understand. (INAUDIBLE) for him to leave my apartment (INAUDIBLE) and end up down there. It doesn`t add up in my head. I don`t

understand and (INAUDIBLE) that`s where there`s something wrong. (INAUDIBLE) my apartment (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: OK, Jesse, a couple things there. He`s suggesting, you know, maybe there`s a boogeyman. I`ve seen it. Elizabeth Smart was taken by the

boogeyman, so I`ve seen it happen. But he`s also, at the beginning of that interaction, talking about how, you know, it`s almost been breaking us up,

me having this kid.

But what about the mom of the child or what about the 17-year-old girlfriend? I would think they would be key witnesses here to give us an

indication of what the relationship between Dad and child was.

WEBER: Well, number one, there`s a couple of things to break out. His girlfriend was ruled -- they looked at the evidence and they were able to

pinpoint her location at the time of his disappearance. She was in college. So she`s out.

They used Samantha Denoto, which is his -- the mother of Brendan. They put a wire. They secretly recorded David Creato. And the reason was -- and

this is what the defense is saying -- You already came to the conclusion that David Creato was the suspect, and we`re going to do everything in our

path (ph) to try and find the evidence there.

And when you look at what happened with David Creato -- his -- he was -- basically said to her when asked, What do you think happened to Brendan, I

thought maybe spirits might have guided him out and taken him, and maybe when he went outside, someone took him.

BANFIELD: This is what this guy who`s getting loaded into the wagon tells the mother of the dead child, spirits might have taken him?

WEBER: Yes, I`m telling you, his defense attorney said that he might be a weird guy. He believes in spirits. He has a spiritual nature about him.

Creato`s mother even admitted that. But that might be enough. He might be a weird guy, but that doesn`t mean he`s a murderer.

Having said that, what kind of excuse is it to say that a spirit took your son out into the woods.

BANFIELD: Is there any indication from anyone in this case that there`s something wrong between Dad and son? Because I can`t find anything. All I

see is a dad with a kid. He seems to be a good dad. He`s never had any issues. Mom`s never complained before. You don`t just snap like that and

kill your kid because you`re jealous that your girlfriend doesn`t like him.

WEBER: And that`s a great point because that`s exactly what the defense is saying. This is a guy who when his girlfriend had gotten pregnant, he

wanted her to keep the baby. He was a supportive father.

BANFIELD: This is the mom of Brendan.

WEBER: This is the mother -- the mom of Brendan. He did nothing in those three years to indicate that he would be a danger to Brendan at all.

BANFIELD: He never wanted to get rid of Brendan...

WEBER: Ever!

BANFIELD: ... before he even knew Brendan.

WEBER: And he made the point to his girlfriend at the time that, He`s a part of may life. I`m not getting rid of him. So this does help the

defense in saying, I don`t -- all of a sudden, he decides that he`s going to kill his 3-year-old son -- it doesn`t make sense, in the defense`s eyes.

[20:10:00]BANFIELD: A good thing that you brought up the defense`s eyes because I have the defense`s eyes. Richard Fuschino, Jr., is David

Creato`s attorney, and he joins me live from Philadelphia.

Richard, thank you so much for being on the program. I think a lot of people are saying your client has an uphill battle, but I am going to play

devil`s advocate alongside with you, I think. I`m not so sure. Do they have physical evidence tying your client to the death of this little boy?

RICHARD FUSCHINO, JR., CREATO`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So far, a week into trial, there is no physical evidence. There`s no forensic evidence,

scientific evidence, DNA evidence that the prosecution has presented in court whatsoever. It`s all circumstantial, and -- I`ve submitted this

before -- very loosely circumstantial.

BANFIELD: Well, I will say this about circumstantial. It can sometimes be extraordinary and ofentimes, you don`t get a great physical evidence case

and circumstantial can be plenty for a jury, and plenty of people have been convicted on circumstantial evidence. Very strong.

That said, it`s weird what your client said about spirits taking their son to the mother of that child. It`s just weird. Most jurors are not going

to like that. But then again, who else? Who else is the prosecutor pointing at?

FUSCHINO: An hour...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Who else are you pointing at? I apologize.

FUSCHINO: Forty minutes into an hour-long recorded conversation, where he has talked to his ex, the mother of this boy, about could he have gotten

out, why would he get out? I know he doesn`t go out. I don`t think somebody would break in. We live in this sleepy, beautiful little town. I

don`t know what happened. Forty minutes into it, he starts talking about how maybe there`s something else. Maybe there is some other power, some

other spirit.

I am Roman Catholic, and on Sundays, I go and eat Christ`s body and drink Christ`s blood, and I think some people find that weird. He`s a spiritual

person. His mother has already testified that they go to psychics and mediums. I think a person grieving with his own personal spiritual

religious believes being expressed to the mother of his child going through that same grieving process is being taken entirely out of context in this

conversation.

And I think the jury was able to hear the 40 minutes before that, where he went beating himself up over what possibly could have happened.

BANFIELD: OK, fair point. He did suggest this little boy maybe at some point during the night let himself out. Again, you know, Brendan is 3.

Let himself out, went downstairs, out of the apartment building and walked about a half mile, which is a marathon for a 3-year-old, all the way down

to that creek. I think it`s called Cooper River Park.

And yet when the homicide investigator got on the stand, he said Brendan`s socks were clean. There is no child who can walk a half mile down to a

riverbed and have clean socks. How do you explain that?

FUSCHINO: Well, first, if you listen to the conversation that he had in the 12 hours he was with investigators, he actually says, I don`t think he

could walk that far. That`s too far for him.

More than that, while they do have these allegedly clean socks on Brendan, the tests that they`ve done to show that his socks were clean were done two

weeks later, after rain, with no accounting for the differences between the time on October 13th when he went missing and the time on October 26th when

they took these photographs of socks.

More than that, as a defense attorney and as a cynic by nature, I`m very curious about the path that the child that they had walk in these socks

took, and the fact that they show these socks in the way that only they put the evidence together. It really -- it is the job of the prosecutors to

build a case, and they were building this case from day one against Mr. Creato.

BANFIELD: Real quickly, is that girlfriend going to make an appearance in this courtroom, do you think?

FUSCHINO: I know she`s on the witness list, but I can`t speak for the prosecutor and how they`re going to put their case on.

BANFIELD: All right. Richard Fuschino, Jr., thanks so much for being with us. Do appreciate it. Jesse Weber, thank you, as well. And we`ll

continue to watch the story. Good work.

WEBER: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Remember when air travel was exotic and glamorous and Leonardo DiCaprio-esque (ph)? I don`t, either. It seems like all we hear about

these days is passengers behaving badly or airlines behaving badly. And the latest is a man whose bathroom emergency got him kicked off the plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMA HAMILTON, DELTA PASSENGER: And the plane wasn`t moving, you know, so -- but you know, my bladder is. Don`t want to be in this situation. If I

didn`t really have to, I wouldn`t have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So we cannot help but wonder what is happening in our troubled skies. And by the way, what rights do you have?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:19:12]BANFIELD: You just can`t escape it. Every time you check your Facebook or you watch the TV, somebody somewhere is being removed from an

airplane. Sometimes, it`s the passengers behaving badly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, watch out. Be careful (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got some Hillary (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on here! Donald Trump! It`s your president, every (EXPLETIVE DELETED) one of you!

If you don`t like it, too bad!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m being so impolite, aren`t I. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It is not always the passengers at fault, however. We`ve seen some pretty gnarly airline reps, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:20:08]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Come on!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just kill me. Just kill me. Kill me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) fly the airplane. Don`t worry, I`m going to let my co-pilot fly it. If you don`t feel safe, get off the airplane,

but otherwise, we can go. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you just give me back my stroller, please?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do that to me, and I`ll knock you flat!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stay out of this!

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don`t know what the story is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t care what the story is. No one`s hurting a baby!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A lot of big headlines there, and now a brand-new one. And it comes to us from a young man named Kima Hamilton. It is fair to say that

we have all been in his shoes before. You board a flight, and you got to go to the bathroom. But you know you can`t get up until the plane gets up

into cruising altitude, so you hold it.

Then the plane stops taxiing and there`s a delay. And now what? It can reach epic proportions, as it did for Kima, whose plane sat on the tarmac

for 30 minutes. He had asked to use the restroom but was denied. And when it got to be an emergency, he used it anyway. And this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

HAMILTON: I need more information, sir. I haven`t done anything. I`ve paid for this ticket, and I actually have to be home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

HAMILTON: I`m not really clear why I`m being asked to leave this plane. I purchased a ticket. I had an emergency. I had to pee. (INAUDIBLE) I

tried to hold it the first time (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He had to get off the plane, and he did not get to his destination on that aircraft. I want to bring in Kima Hamilton, the

passenger on that Delta flight.

Kima, you are smiling now, but I cannot imagine this was a good experience for you. How did you end up getting to where you needed to go?

Kima, can you hear me? Rats, I don`t think Kima can hear me. I`m going to try one more time. Kima, can you hear me? It`s Ashleigh at HLN.

HAMILTON: Yes, yes.

BANFIELD: I got you!

HAMILTON: Hello, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Hi, hi! OK, so we just -- if you couldn`t hear before, we basically showed the tape of what happened to you after you got booted off

that flight. How did you get to where you were going?

HAMILTON: I was rebooked through another airline and was able to make it home later that evening.

BANFIELD: So you had to pay all that money for a same-day ticket. Did this airline give you any money back for the ticket you bought for this

flight?

HAMILTON: Well, yes. (INAUDIBLE) the second half refunded, yes. So It was a round-trip ticket, so the second half minus fees was -- you know, was

put back on my credit card.

BANFIELD: So I think the thing about this story, Kima, is that people are seeing it from different perspectives. Some people are saying, Hey, no

matter what, we all know you just can`t get up until that seatbelt light goes off. If you`re on an active runway, every knows you can`t get up.

Other people are saying, I have -- you know, I have been in dire straits, too, and I have done that, too.

How do you think the rest of those passengers felt about what we`re seeing in this video?

HAMILTON: I think the -- depending on your vantage point, yes, there are different ways to look at it. I can only speak from the perspective that I

was in, in this scenario. I think they hold -- the active runway language implies that we were actively taking off, and that`s -- you know, we

weren`t in the process of taking off.

So I -- you know, that part I think depending on the version of the events that you are processing might, you know, determine how you would look at

that act of going to the restroom, you know. And during -- you know, during a plane headed up in the air, that`s a different conversation, or

you know, actively taking off is a different conversation. But at, you know, the position that that plane was in...

BANFIELD: Sure.

HAMILTON: ... we weren`t -- you know, that -- that was...

BANFIELD: So Kima, are you angry? Because you know, I know that the rest of those passengers, they were all delayed for two hours because of this.

You got kicked off the flight, had to buy a whole new ticket on another airline. Are you angry? Have you even heard from anyone at the airline?

Where does this whole thing stand right now?

HAMILTON: Well, I haven`t -- you know (INAUDIBLE) Am I -- first question, am I angry? I`ll say that I have worked through -- I am working through

the emotions that come with having this experience. You know, it was outrageous, so you know, it has created those types of feelings.

[20:25:14]But you know, I`ve had the blessing, I think, of having -- you know, being able to (INAUDIBLE) then get buried in my work, which, you

know, has helped me be able to process this from a healthier space. And so I would say I`m moving through, you know, or working towards moving away

from that -- the emotion that would make it, you know, something that could be unhealthy for me, and hopefully, moving into a space where we can create

opportunities for these broader conversations. You know, I think...

BANFIELD: Broader conversation. I am so glad you said the broader conversation, Kima, because a lot of people are wondering -- I would have

done the same thing, and other people are saying, I don`t think I would have.

I want to actually get the other side on this for a moment. Permit me, if you will. I want to bring in Sara Nelson. She`s the international

president of the Association of Flight Attendants. She joins me now live, as well.

OK, Sara, I think -- you know what? You heard me say it. I think a lot of people watching are really angry. Kima took one minute. It was a human

necessity. If you`ve been sitting on that taxiway and you`re not moving for half an hour, what else are we supposed to do?

SARA NELSON, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: Well, you know, Kima seems like a really reasonable guy. And I just want to be really clear that I

can`t make any definitive determinations about this particular instance because we don`t have all of the details of everything that happened.

But what I will tell you is that flight attendants deal with these issues almost every day, and of course, we do -- we are charged with keeping order

in the cabin. We`re charged with maintaining the safety and security protocols that keep everyone safe. And so it is important that passengers

are following those instructions.

But I will tell you that we also have to deal with human beings, and we do this in a way measuring the actual circumstances taking place, the

subtleties of what`s happening. We would typically be asking the flight deck if it`s possible for a passenger to go to the restroom and try to get

that cleared.

And so I don`t know what else was going on here. But the assumption actually that it may only take a minute may not be the correct assumption

because the plane may have been getting ready to move into position and could lose that position if it didn`t move right then.

Now, that`s not to say that you wouldn`t make the accommodation for someone to be able to go to the restroom.

BANFIELD: Right.

NELSON: But these are issues...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Here`s what I want to ask you. OK. All of that I get. Let`s just say the incident happened. The bathroom has been used. He`s back in

his seat. Those passengers all want to go.

Did they have to go so far as to say, Let`s go back to the gate and kick this guy off and rearrange everybody for the next two hours? Was that

necessary?

NELSON: So maybe not. And this was a judgment call by people who are in a whole string of events, getting information from inside the cabin, not

necessarily firsthand information, and the flight attendants are not the ones who are making that judgment call about going back to the gate. So

they may have not been the ones who were actually saying that that should happen. I should make that really clear. This whole string of events --

these things have to happen in a short period of time.

And the one thing I will say is that I`m really concerned about what`s happening across the country. We talked about the broader conversation,

not necessarily just this event, but these -- this videotaping is concerning because it is actually against airline policy, and it`s been

good policy that has been put in place mostly since September 11.

We don`t want to be showing the inside of the cabin and what`s happening and the crew movement and how we`re interacting with the passengers and all

of that, and giving all of that up for people to study who may wish to cause harm.

BANFIELD: OK. That`s an interesting point. I actually want to jump in on that for a minute because I`ve got Mary Schiavo with us. She`s CNN`s

aviation analyst. She`s also the former inspector general for the Department of Transportation.

Mary, I have yet to hear -- and by the way, it`s nice to see you again. I have yet to hear an announcement made on a plane that I`m not allowed to

videotape or I`m not allowed to bring out my cell phone. Everybody brings out their cell phone. Everybody videotapes on a plane. Are we all

breaking a law?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: No, you are not. There is no federal law that prohibits the filming of -- taking out your cell phone and filming

anything on the plane in the air. The TSA says that you are not to film the checkpoint, but other than that, you can take it out.

And I encourage people to do that because, you know, cell phones capture both sides. Sometimes it captures the airline being kind of benevolent,

and sometimes it captures the passengers being mistreated by the airline. But that`s the best evidence, and there`s absolutely nothing illegal about

doing that.

And I have had cases where airline attendants and gate agents behaving badly have made the passenger show them their phone and have erased video.

And that`s not right, either.

BANFIELD: Oh! Yes, you can`t do that. Don`t touch my video.

SCHIAVO: No!

BANFIELD: So here`s my next big question. What is the actual rule, the federal law when it comes to being on an active taxiway? Even if the plane

is parked and not moving, can I stand up if the seatbelt is on? And if it`s an emergency, can I use the bathroom?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: I can`t believe that I actually get to give a solid answer as a lawyer (inaudible). Yes, if you are on a taxi way,

you must -- the federal aviation regulation say you must be seated and have your seat belt on because the plane has to follow the orders of air traffic

control and ground control, make an order to move at any time, for example, what if there is an emergency, what if you have to get out of way, what if

it is your time to go.

So that`s why people have to be belted in, even though they are not necessarily moving. However, we have all seen thousands of times where

someone had an emergency like this and they just kind of wait and hurry that person along and get them back into the seat and they don`t do it. And

that`s why people get angry. The sporadic enforcement of these rules and they always wonder, who is going to be the one out of the million that day

that get hit?

BANFIELD: Yeah. Real quickly, I want to bring in Randy Zelin and Misty Marris because today, guys, big news broke that Dr. David Dao who we saw

with the face bleeding and dragged off the United flight, they settled. They settled with him undisclosed amount, confidential, but all I can say

is, is that kind of now going to be the way of the world because these things are all over the news and they are real bad for the airlines?

RANDY ZELIN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CBSN CONTRIBUTOR: Common sense comes from the Latin term come on.

BANFIELD: Come on.

ZELIN: That is the bottom line, come on.

BANFIELD: Come on which one? Come on airlines or come on passengers?

ZELIN: Come on both. Come on both. We are all human beings, come on to both.

BANFIELD: What about Kima? What about Kima? Is he going to get a settlement if he decides to go after the airline? Because you heard what Mary Schiavo

just said.

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I did. And I think what she said though is that the federal regulations preclude movement, but there is some

discretion. I really don`t see a lawsuit here. As far as United, look, I could have seen that coming, when you have PR nightmares. But you have to

look at every single situation, the facts of that particular situation. So in this case, I think he conducted himself beautifully.

BANFIELD: I do too.

MARRIS: He was very polite. He handles himself well.

BANFIELD: I do too.

MARRIS: But.

BANFIELD: In Kima`s shoes -- Kima, are you still with me? If you can still hear me, are you planning to sue the airline over what happened to you? If

you`re still with me.

KIMA HAMILTON, PASSENGER REMOVED FROM DELTA FLIGHT: I mean, at this point, you know, there is a lot happening fast, right? I mean, my wife and I are

just sorting through it all, I guess, whatever. It`s like a conversation more than anything else but, you know, all options are on the table

(inaudible).

BANFIELD: Well, thank you for being part of the conversation. Thank you for coming on tonight. I really appreciate it. And good luck. You`ve given me a

reminder what I have to do before I get to the plane every time now. Kima, joining us live. Kima Hamilton.

HAMILTON: I hope that`s enough.

BANFIELD: Well, thank you. Man, you are big. You are a big dude for that. That was magnanimous. Thank you for that. I have some other news that I

want to get to as well tonight. Have you ever wondered what nearly $400,000 worth of cocaine looks like? Does that sort of, you know, titillate you?

Customs officials nabbed these two guys after they landed at JFK.

They were traveling from the Dominican Republic and the authorities they had about 23 pounds of cocaine strapped to their bodies. Both of the

suspects were arrested, and they turned over to Homeland Security. Clever, clever. In Florida, the Walmart employee who was an eyewitness to the

January shooting of Sergeant Debra Clayton is now describing to the Orlando Sentinel what she says she saw happen that day.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA PRIDGEON, WITNESS: Debra, as she`s walking towards the store, that`s where I heard her say hey, you. And to me all hell broke loose. And I`ve

seen him pull his gun out and they were shooting at each other like a western movie. All of a sudden, I seen Ms. Debra fall. I guess that`s when

she must have called, I got shot or something on her radio, on her walkie- talkie. She was on her back.

And as I got ready to run over there, Markeith Loyd just kept shooting at this lady while she`s on the ground. So I`m looking at her body literally

jumping off the ground from bullets, of course. He`s unloading, he shot at her five or six more times as she`s on the ground. And I just took off

running. I just took off running. If Markeith Loyd would have turned around, he would have shot me. That`s how close I was to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Incredible witness. Monica Pridgeon says that her hands were shaking so much while she tried to assist Officer Clayton, that she could

not even punch the code in to her phone so she could dial 911. She said she has been able to identify the shooting suspect as this man, Markeith Loyd,

and provide the police with the make and the model of his car as well as the tag on that car. Ms. Pridgeon says that after the shooting, she saw

Loyd calmly walked to that car. He quote is just like he was grocery shopping. She now works at a different Walmart.

[20:35:00] But she says she thinks about what she saw every single day. A high school English teacher has sex with one of her students, pleads guilty

to some of the charges against her, but was found not guilty of having a threesome with the teen and another teacher later on. How on earth does

that happen?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: At almost the same time last night, right here, different dress, I told you the story of Jessica Bennett, the mother of two from Oregon who

was busted for having sex with the teenage boy living next door. Six months later, arrested again, same charge, same boy. Maybe a different dress. I do

not know what is in the water, but tonight I got another one for you. Doozy. Mother of three in trouble for bedding a teenager.

[20:40:00] And she`s been arrested for it twice. But this one isn`t just a mom. She`s the teenager`s teacher. And it wasn`t just the two of them. The

allegation says there were three. Three. Meet Shelley Dufresne. Prosecutors say in Louisiana the sex between the kid and her went on for a month.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GLASER, KENNER POLICE CHIEF: We have an educator that`s, I guess, the responsibility is the safety and education of children. And when it

goes outside those lines, I do believe the community should be outraged. Nothing surprises me anymore, really. But I do believe it`s lack of a

better judgment. They should have known better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: An understatement. Dufresne was charged in two Louisiana parishes. In the first case, she admitted to what she did, pleaded to a

lesser and skated from jail. But in the second case, the prosecutor say, she had brought another teacher in for a threesome. I said it. You heard it

right. Another teacher. So you would think after admitting it once, it would be a slam dunk second time around. Turns out not so much.

The judge in the second case found Dufresne not guilty, saying the prosecutors failed to prove their case, especially that the teenager was

not credible. The teenager. Michelle Southern-Plumlee is the assistant news director for Louisiana Radio Network. She joins me live from Baton Rouge.

Michelle, why was she acquitted?

MICHELLE SOUTHERN-PLUMLEE, ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR FOR LOUISIANA RADIO NETWORK: Well, Ashleigh, I believe that she was acquitted specifically on

the second case because the prosecutors felt the need to put the victim on the stand and I believe that the judge felt like the prosecution didn`t

necessarily have the case in this second instance that preceded the evidence that they actually had enough evidence to prosecute.

And that he went on the stand and he felt like that his statements were not necessarily true. I mean, her exact words is she felt that he was, you

know, inconsistent specifically while he was on the stand and essentially that he felt like he was being somewhat pompous.

BANFIELD: Okay. So a pompous teenager, I`ve met a million of them. You rarely meet one who isn`t. I was one. But I do want to say something about

this teenager because the allegations against him are pretty ugly, too. Turns out the suggesting from authorities is that while he was with the two

teachers in relations, there was some drinking and one of them named Rachel Respess passed out and that he then used parts that shouldn`t be on video

of himself next to her face and videotaped that.

And then disseminated that in the locker room showing everybody what he was up to with the two teachers. So I can see how the judge might not like him

but he was not charged with any of that. So I don`t know that will ever be a adjudicated. But what about this other teacher, Rachel Respess, who was

allegedly part of threesome with Ms. Shelley Dufresne? What is going on with her, Michelle?

SOUTHERN-PLUMLEE: Well, Respess who was the other teacher, she has yet to be tried. She was only indicted for failing to report a crime because the

allegation in Jefferson Parish in the second case was that she was only present and that the victim and Ms. Dufresne had sex on several occasions

while in the apartment with Ms. Respess. And that she did not, you know, indicate to law enforcement what had actually happened between.

BANFIELD: But Michelle, she originally was charged with all the same things, felony, carnal knowledge of a juvenile, contributing to the

delinquency of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile. How did all those charges get, you know, knocked down to not reporting?

SOUTHERN-PLUMLEE: She was only indicted for failing to report the actual crime. And this is one of those cases where, you know, it`s just that he

said, she said kind of thing and since it was tried originally.

BANFIELD: He said, she said. He said, she said. Oh, Lord. Hold on, Michelle, for a second. Randy, real quickly, jump in quickly. I only got 30

seconds. What? Okay, the judge acquitted her. This person, Shelley Dufresne, her dad is a judge. Am I to expect that`s why she got an

acquittal?

ZELIN: Absolutely not. She was acquitted for a very simple reason. The defense took the thing which scares you most, which is a prior bad act

where a jury would convict on a propensity if you did it then, you did it now, and took that to the judge and the judge said you know what? You

didn`t give me any evidence that you did it now, you only gave me the evidence that she did it back then. She already pleaded guilty to that.

[20:45:00] That`s why she walked.

BANFIELD: And this whole business about the kid not being credible. Is that fair?

ZELIN: It`s life.

BANFIELD: Oh, Lord. Right. You`re up next. Start thinking.

MARRIS: I`m ready.

BANFIELD: Hold on. A Chicago toddler disappears. The mom says the 1-year- old wondered off, but then that 1-year-old is found and not where the 1- year-old should have been found. You`re going to find out where next and what it means for the family and all the other people that live there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A 16-month-old girl is reported missing outside of Chicago and it was all hands on deck in the search for Semaj Crosby. Cute, cute little

girl. So of course not only friends and family and law enforcement are there.

[20:50:00] The FBI jumps in too. And they look by air, they look all through the nearby fields. Divers get in there. They are looking through

multiple ponds, dozens of people, volunteers, people praying. They are all hoping to find Semaj safe. Mom, Sheri Gordon, even gets on television

begging for help.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

SHERI GORDON, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: My only girl. She`s my only girl. She`s my only little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: After exhausting all of the possibilities, the investigators decided they needed to start from scratch. They wanted to search the

child`s home one more time. Only this time, they needed to get permission from the family`s attorney. And it turns out that was a good call. Semaj

Crosby was in there. Not the way you want to know.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

RICK ACKERSON, WILL COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: At approximately 12:00 a.m., the body of Semaj Crosby was located within the residence. At this time

it`s an active investigation. This is being treated as suspicious as of this time. And we`ll continue to try and find out why this ended in such a

tragic way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So far no arrests. Semaj`s death is being treated as suspicious as you heard. They are waiting on the results of an autopsy. Rob Martier is

an anchor with WGN Radio. He`s live with me from Chicago. Any suspects at this point, Rob?

ROB MARTIER, ANCHOR, WGN RADIO: Not as of right now. The investigation is active. The Will County Sheriff`s Office is deep into this case. It`s been

very interesting up to this point over the last 48 hours. But the details are still sketchy.

There is not a whole lot known, at least that has been conveyed to us from authorities. And where we are right now is everybody is just kind of

shrugging their shoulders as to what specifically happened and how Semaj ended up back in her home.

BANFIELD: Okay. Is anyone saying where in the home the little girl was and what condition they found her?

MARTIER: You know, again, details very, very sketchy. The autopsy has been performed. It has been ruled inconclusive. There will be toxicology tests

run on Semaj`s body. That`s where they are right now as far as the coroner is concerned. What`s interesting about this story is that she was reported

as having been seen playing outside the home.

Apparently, there was family member or a friend working on a car as well. She was a toddler so she had just learned to work apparently. So they

figured she didn`t go far but again, we are now where we are, and the body was found inside the home.

BANFIELD: Ron, there is a report that there was a couch being brought out of the house covered up. Do we know anything about why they brought a couch

out of that house?

MARTIER: We don`t know. What we do know about the house is that authorities said it was in deplorable conditions. We know that anywhere between five

and 15 people would be in the house at any given time. Some of them were described as squatters, others were described as friends and family that

were kind of transient, they would be in and out.

There really were no residents, set residents that lived in that house other than Semaj and possibly her mother and maybe some other family

members. As far as the couch is concerned, that`s still a detail that we don`t know too much about.

BANFIELD: All right. Misty Marris, come in here on this one. They were stone walling and they need a lawyer, a lawyer`s permission to get into the

house to search while the child is still missing. Why would you have a lawyer while your child is still missing?

MARRIS: Well, it`s what you need to do to protect your rights, but in this case.

BANFIELD: No, you need to find your baby.

MARRIS: This is gonna be an interesting case though because did you hear that report? Five to 15 people in the house at any given time. This -- we

don`t know who could be responsible but rest assured, once there are more facts, anybody involved in that -- in the death or the cover-up.

BANFIELD: Here is a fact. Here is a fact. Department of Child and Family Services were there two hours before that baby was reported missing and

they left, and somehow baby is dead, and somehow today, Randy, the house is condemned. So how do you go from Child and Family Services visiting the

area and Semaj stays, and now today the house is condemned?

ZELIN: Either DFS did not do its job or they made a real big mess in a real short amount of time.

BANFIELD: Oh, I doubt that. I doubt they did that much of a mess. You can`t condemn a house just for the search tactics but that is one heck of a

story. We`ll continue to watch it. Rob Martier, thank you so much.

At 14, this week`s CNN hero is a tough name, Mariuma Ben Yosef. She was living alone on the streets. And after years of struggles, she did

something very few people can do. She turned it around. She turned it around so much so that she`s now helping other kids who are struggling on

the street by providing them a family.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MARIUMA BEN YOSEF, CNN HERO: To be homeless at a young age, it`s very lonely. What you don`t have your family, it`s almost like a black hole. I

know exactly what they are going through. I want children to breathe. I want them to feel alive. I want them to feel secure. I want them to feel

that they can be hugged.

[20:55:00] And they will not be in danger. We can see it in a different way and win life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: To see how Mariuma helps these young adults win at life, you can go to cnnheroes.com and while you`re there, please nominate somebody you

think should be one of our 2017 CNN heroes. We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:00:00] BANFIELD: My thanks to Misty Marris and Randy Zelin for being on tonight. And thanks to you for watching as well. Stick around. "Forensic

Files" is next.

END