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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Texas Pair Arrested for Child Abuse; LA Terror Threat; Mom Shot and Killed While Putting Kids to Bed; Man Punches Kangaroo to Save Dog; Search for Robber who Slugged Woman, Stole Purse; Jury Chosen in Dippolito Trial; Kidnapped Jogger Mom and Family Leave Town. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired December 6, 2016 - 20:00   ET

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


[20:00:00[ (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST: Seven kids with special needs and adopted discovered imprisoned in a filthy Texas home, malnourished and packed into

a locked closet. All this as their so-called mother was pulling in near $5,000 a month in government checks!

An anonymous caller has warned people in LA and close to Universal Studios they better watch out just weeks before Christmas. Just how seriously

should we take tips about a terror attack?

A pre-school teaching assistant starts a neighborhood watch to make things safer and then ends up fatally shot while at home putting her babies to

bed.

A mom of two on her way home after a charity fund-raiser vanishes without a trace.

And this may not be kangaroo court, but a little justice was served up with a right hook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Hi, everybody. I`m Ashleigh Banfield.

Tonight, a prayer that seven adopted children who lived through hell on earth feel a little bit safer tonight after being rescued from what can

barely be described as a home. The children, ranging in age from 13 to 16, had been locked in this tiny filthy room upstairs from a cringeworthy adult

group home. There was just one single blow-up mattress and a toddler bed for all seven of them to sleep. The kids had never been to school, were

malnourished and suffered injuries from a wooden paddle.

One of the adult residents who lived downstairs talked about the mysterious faces he would sometimes see peering down from above.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WILLARD, RESIDENT: I started seeing the children once in a while. They would come out to the railing and look down and around, looking for

signs of life. And I was never introduced to the children, never told anything about the children and it was none of my business. I was told not

to speak to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Two adults have been arrested in this tragic mess, Paula Sinclair, the woman who adopted the children but didn`t even live with

them, and Allen Richardson, a 78-year-old man who did live in that house. And to make matters worse, Paula Richardson (sic) has been collecting

government money to look after these kids. All seven of them were handicapped.

Detective Juli Johnson is with the Fort Bend sheriff`s office crimes against children and elderly division. Detective, thanks so much for

joining us. What did the police find when they showed up there?

DET. JULI JOHNSON, FT. BEND CO. SHERIFF`S OFFICE: Well, Ashleigh, when we ran the search warrant on the house, we entered and went upstairs to where

the children had been locked. The initial odor that confronted us was feces and urine. When we stepped into the room, there were soiled sheets,

soiled clothing, clothing packed in bags. The carpet was pulled up, the metal tacks exposed. There was black mold on the air vents in the

ceilings. The windows were boarded up. It was a mess.

BANFIELD: And did it appear as though those children were truly prisoners in that one room, in that filthy squalor?

JOHNSON: Yes, it did. Normally, where your doorknob would be on the main door, it had been removed and there was a deadbolt key lock that was only

accessed with a key on that door, the closet door and the adjoining bathroom door.

BANFIELD: So they had no way of gripping any kind of door handle from the inside to get out. They virtually had no escape from that room.

JOHNSON: No, they did not.

BANFIELD: And is it true that they were locked in an even smaller confine within the pictures that we`re seeing on the screen, an actual closet

within the room, when any of the adults left the home?

JOHNSON: That is true.

BANFIELD: And what was the circumstance? Like, what did -- what was that -- that closet like, and could it possibly have fit seven bodies?

JOHNSON: Seven bodies that would probably have to have been, basically, one on top of the other because the closet was extremely crowded and

overflowing with boxes and clothes. So the space was even smaller than what a normal closet would be.

BANFIELD: It`s so remarkable. There is a report that the children would be left in that closet for periods of time that were long enough for them

to not be able to hold their bladders and that they would soil themselves because they just physically could not hold on any longer.

JOHNSON: That`s true. The children were unable to give a determination on how long they were in the closet, just for extended period of time. Like I

said, it was hard for them to tell time, day or night, because most of the windows were boarded up.

[20:05:08]BANFIELD: Is all of the information you`re going on, Detective, from the kids? Because it seems like the neighbors really had no contact

with them.

JOHNSON: The neighbors didn`t know that the Sinclairs -- or Ms. Sinclair or Mr. Richardson even had children in the house. So basically, all of our

information has come specifically from the children and from some outside sources.

BANFIELD: So there is a -- there was this "Houston Chronicle" article that was written back in 2007, which it will probably make people`s blood boil

to read the interview that was given by this woman, who is the adoptive mother who has been receiving all of these checks, who is now under arrest.

And this is what she told them in a glowing article about all these adoptions.

She said, "I just couldn`t see these children doing well in foster care system because they were so badly injured and had so many special needs. I

feel like this is what God called me to do, to take care of these babies. I wanted to get these children out of the CPS system because I saw it fail

some of these types of children. I do what I do because it is a gift that God has given me. Each second, a child is being abused somewhere, and I am

here to help them have a life."

I want to introduce Dr. Charles Sophy. He`s the medical director for the Los Angeles County department of children and family services. Dr. Sophy,

I can only assume in the basically that you do, the line of work that you`re in, you might not be surprised by an article and an interview given

like that, that this is something you may have seen before. Is it?

DR. CHARLES SOPHY, LA COUNTY DCFS: Absolutely. Many times, we have people who really bite off more than they can chew, for lack of better

understanding. They think they`re going to save the world, they`re going to help these children. But at the end of the day, they don`t realize all

the work that goes into it. And so they become more abusive than the system they were in.

BANFIELD: Well, that sounds fairly innocent. And I dare I say I`m not quite that Polyanna about this. I`m wondering if people actually treat

this like a business.

SOPHY: Oh, absolutely. We do have people who do that, as well. They get paid per child. So the more children you have, the more money a month you

get until you then adopt them and they`re basically like your family. So then you`ve got to take them on financially. And maybe that`s what started

some of this, as well, to get it to this point.

BANFIELD: So at this particular point, I do want to put up the financials on this because this woman had adopted all seven of these children, in fact

had adopted eight and one has since died. For each of the children, even after adoption because the were special needs, she did get government

assistance at $545 per child per month. So if you add that up, that is $3,815 per month, and if you multiply that by 12, it`s a grand total of

$45,780 per year to care for these children.

But honestly, Charles Sophy, the conditions that you saw those children living in, it really looked as though they were barely getting a dime of

that.

SOPHY: Absolutely. They were more abused in this woman`s home than they were in the foster care system, if that`s what she thought. But that`s why

these children are in a system like ours because we need those catchpoints because these children need help and assistance, especially special needs

kids.

BANFIELD: Detective Julie Johnson, the issue about them getting the money after the adoption -- from what we`ve been able to investigate, there are

no check-ups. It`s not as though CPS has to keep going and making sure that everything is going well. It`s an adoption. This is now a mother.

They don`t come to my house every day. So presumably, they`re not going to her house every day. And yet they still get the government assistance. Is

there a disconnect that I`m finding here?

JOHNSON: Well, apparently, there is because they are not required, once they are legally adopted and these people are their mother and father, that

there is no longer need. Of course, that -- you can look at the manpower issues and everything else that they get to have to handle and investigate,

but that`s too much for one department`s plate. And unfortunately, the children are the ones that suffer. So once they are legally adopted, they

are no longer wards of the state.

BANFIELD: And then, Detective, obviously, the foreboding question that is lingering here is that one of these children has since died. The adoption

was actually eight of these children, all special needs. One is dead, apparently died back in 2011, I believe.

JOHNSON: Yes.

BANFIELD: Is this now something that might be re-opened? Is there a possibility that a child died because of the conditions we`re seeing the

surviving seven living in?

[20:10:06]JOHNSON: Well, it`s certainly a possibility. We`re in discussions with the district attorney on whether or not it`s something

that we can re-open and look at. The issue that we have is at the time of the child`s death, the physician signed off on the death warrant (ph), and

I don`t know what the cause of death actually was, but a physician did sign the death warrant. And so therefore, it was not investigated at the time.

BANFIELD: Very distressing on all levels. And I wish you and your department the best of luck as you continue to investigate this story. It

need a thorough look and a prosecution, I dare say, as well. Thank you for being with us.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Got a couple of other stories I`m following for you, as well, tonight. Investigators in Oakland are almost finished their work at that

Ghost Ship warehouse. And they say they don`t expect the death toll now to rise any higher, but they have reached 36. That means 36 people all died

when the fire gutted that building on Friday night.

And among the victims recovered was a group of people who were found hugging one another. The mother of one of the victims says that her

daughter texted her at the time of the fire and said, quote, I`m going to die, Mom.

The manager of the Ghost Ship spoke out this morning and apologized to the victims` families while defending himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERICK ALMENA, OAKLAND WAREHOUSE MANAGER: I didn`t do anything ever in my life that would lead me up to this moment!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask you if...

ALMENA: I`m an honorable man. I`m a proud man. No, I`m not going to answer these questions on this level!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you worried that you would be charge?

ALMENA: I`d rather get on the floor and be trampled by the parents! I`d rather let them tear at my flesh than to answer these ridiculous questions!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Almena...

ALMENA: I`m so sorry! I`m incredibly sorry! What do you want me to say? I`m not going to answer these questions!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then we will -- we will call this...

ALMENA: I`m just going to say that I am sorry!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: He may be sorry, but it`s not clear yet if he`s going to face criminal charges for all of this. The Alameda County DA is trying to

determine whether there is any criminal liability, and if so, who might be responsible.

Tomorrow morning in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, residents will be allowed to move back to this, the community that was just devastated after last week`s

wildfires. The authorities are warning evacuees to use caution if they go in and out of any of the burned-out areas. Fourteen people lost their

lives. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed. The city of Gatlinburg plans to reopen to the public on Friday.

This was one ominous phone call, a terror plot simply called in like a tip to an actual tipline. And an entire city, one of the nation`s largest,

leapt into action. What city, and why does this matter to you? Two words. It`s Christmas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:16:52]BANFIELD: Planning for the holidays usually means shopping lists and parties and travel plans, but it doesn`t typically involve bracing for

a terror attack -- until today. California police are warning of a plot to blow up a commuter rail station in America`s second largest city, LA, and

worse yet, nearby to a popular holiday destination, Universal Studios.

Even the president talked about this threat today, reminding us that every day brings new dangers, whether it`s New York, Los Angeles or everywhere in

between.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But the pain of those who lost loved ones in Boston and San Bernardino and Ft. Hood and Orlando --

that pain continues to this day. The terrorist threat is real and it is dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So with this information, the security is heightened right across Los Angeles. This specific tip warned of an imminent bombing on the

Metro`s red line`s Universal City Station. It was called into a tipline, but here`s this. It was run by an unidentified foreign government, that

tipline. It also prompted local and federal law enforcement to ramp up security system-wide.

CNN`s correspondent Kyung Lah joins me live from Los Angeles. And the day is not over yet, Kyung. So what`s the security posture look like right

now?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it`s still continuing, Ashleigh, and it`s actually going to continue all the way through the holidays. You used

the word there, that it`s a holiday season. That`s something that`s echoing in the minds of all those officers that you were seeing in that

video. So what we`ve seen throughout the day along the Metro red line specifically, because that were -- is that was where the threat was -- that

was the target, and specifically at Universal City. That`s the train stop.

What you saw was random bag searches. You saw authorities asking people to weave through TSA-type lines before they got onto the train stop. So

definitely a heightened presence, Ashleigh, and that`s going to continue all the way through the holidays.

BANFIELD: I want to just play something that was said today by Anthony Lemieux, who is an investigator with the national -- or rather, no, by

Deirdre Fike, who`s an FBI assistant director in charge, with regard to the threat posture, what the holidays typically mean because, I mean, it --

honestly, Kyung, anybody could just pick up the phone and say something like that, but it doesn`t necessarily translate into the stuff that you

were showing me.

So watch this and listen to what Deirdre Fike said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEIRDRE FIKE, FBI LOS ANGELES ASSISTANT DIR. IN CHARGE: There was a potential threat from an anonymous phone call that was made on a public

safety line regarding the red Metro line that stops at the Universal Studios here in Los Angeles. The threat has some specificity, so we wanted

to be able to run it down.

And as you know, during the holidays, we tend to get an increased threat posture. And so this threat, because of the specificity and the imminence

of the threat, we felt it was important that we provide this information to the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Anthony Lemieux is an investigator with the National Center for the Study of Terrorism. He`s live with me now from Atlanta. So Anthony,

that notion of an imminent threat and yet an anonymous threat coming from a tipline to a foreign -- it just seems like it`s just too easy to pick up

the line and have that much of an effect. But there must be something more to it.

[20:20:10]ANTHONY LEMIEUX, TERRORISM EXPERT: Well, I think when it`s something that`s this specific and this credible in this case, or at least

perceived to be, you have to act accordingly and you have to really use an abundance of caution, which is how this was positioned. So I think in this

case, it was compelling enough that -- and specific enough that it had to be acted upon.

BANFIELD: And what about just the notion of other places? I mean, this was a transit station. What about all the other places that are so

frequented at holiday time? I`m thinking about the thousands and thousands of us who are planning tonight, tomorrow and over the weekend to go to our

local malls.

LEMIEUX: I think we go. I think we go and we have a good time and I think we live our lives. And I think, you know, of course, you know, I don`t

mean that kind of glibly. But in fact, you`re at much more risk when you`re on your way to the mall, when you`re driving to the mall than you

are when you`re actually there.

And I think we- you know, we want to be vigilant. We want to make sure that we`re aware of our surroundings and things that seem out of place in

our environment. At the same time, you know, terrorism really only works when we let it fundamentally change how we act and who we are.

BANFIELD: Christine Grillo`s a former prosecutor. Gary Casimir is a defense attorney.

Guys, there are a lot of people who would balk at the idea of being stopped anywhere in public and have some law enforcement member say, Let me look in

your bag, but they can.

GARY CASIMIR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, they can. Usually, there`s some system put in place, like every 20th person, especially here in New

York City. The subways are full of people. How do you decide who to stop...

BANFIELD: What if I`m in Kansas, though?

CASIMIR: ... who has bags?

BANFIELD: What if I`m in Kansas and I`m going to the bus stop, Christine? Do I have to just submit to this everywhere now?

CHRISTINE GRILLO, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yes, and I think you should. Think about what would happen if we didn`t just take these threats seriously.

Something must have happened for them to raise the security level, put out more police officers to do more work, and to -- yes, to infringe on

people`s rights. But in doing that, you have to understand, or really look at why we`re infringing on those rights because of that chance, that what

if that backpack, what if something that we`re looking through does have something that can hurt the mass (ph)?

BANFIELD: Anthony Lemieux, real quickly, can you tell me if I`m watching this program tonight and I`m planning to go through my holidays as an

average American doing my thing, is there something I can do differently to help, to be more vigilant just in the way I go about my business?

LEMIEUX: Oh, I think it`s -- again, it`s just noticing those things that seem off and seem out of place and speaking up, you know, saying something.

There`s been a big campaign about, if you see something, say something, trying to, you know, give people the skills and the capacity to do that. I

think that that is a really effective way. And as, you know, we talked about in this case in LA, where the public is a forced multiplier, it

allows law enforcement to really do their job more effectively by having that cooperation, that partnership.

BANFIELD: All right. Thanks so much to all of you. And I dare say merry Christmas. And I hate to have to say that after a segment like that, but

we should all go about our business the way we want to.

This next story will leave your shaking your head, a woman tucking her young children into bed for the night in her home hit by gunfire from

outside the home. And lest you think, Well, that happens to everybody else, that doesn`t happen to me, this woman possibly one of the least

likely targets you can imagine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:27:32]BANFIELD: A California mother is tucking her young children into bed when gunshots ring from outside the house and pierce the bedroom walls,

26-year-old Arianna Jones (ph) struck and killed, again, inside her own home. She was a pre-K teaching assistant. And she had just started a

neighborhood watch program, a crime watch program after several robberies had hit that area. And of course, she was the mother two beautiful young

children who will never know life as it was meant to be before this awful tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It broke my heart. I mean, I thought about my kids instantly. If I`m scared -- I mean, I`m scared for my kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Christine Grillo, Gary Casimir, defense attorney Danny Cevallos joining me now.

So this is one of those bizarre, random crimes. Who knows if they`ll be able to actually solve it. But witnesses think between seven or eight

shots were fired from outside this house. If they catch someone, what can they do with this?

CASIMIR: First of all, I don`t think it`s so -- might not be so random. We have to look at the idea that she started up a neighborhood watch,

whether that -- you know, whether she focused on anyone who was committing crimes in the neighborhood, whether she called people up. Maybe this was

targeted. Maybe they meant to scare her. But clearly, they put a lot of lives in danger.

(CROSSTALK)

GRILLO: ... maybe they meant to scare her, which I hear the defense coming. I hear it, that they didn`t mean to kill her. This is clearly --

this is clearly intentional murder because it`s depraved indifference to shoot how many times, seven or eight times, into a house, into a home. You

can almost always assume someone`s going to be home. And there...

BANFIELD: She`s a pre-K teacher who has two little kids.

DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, the classic law school exam question is depraved heart murder, where somebody shoots a gun

closing their eyes or into a crowd. They may not have intended to hit someone in their heart, but they were substantially certain to kill

somebody by doing something so reckless as to shoot into a home. So really, making a case for murder in a situation like this will not be that

difficult.

BANFIELD: So two of the neighbors talked about what they heard. And there`s very little to go on here other than what was heard, and if they

can find surveillance video. So have a listen to what one of the neighbors said about the shots that they heard rang out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was about, like, four quick shots, and then, like, three or four right after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sister came and darted through the yellow tape and came back crying and said her sister was shot in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And that`s Arianna Jones. And you know what? Whenever this happens, people have a tendency to just sort of brush it off as another

crime.

[20:30:00] But this young woman was a pretty remarkable young woman. She didn`t have an enemy to be found. And those who are at her preschool,

again, she`s a preschool teaching assistant, those at her preschool had a lot to say about the kind of person that she was. Have a listen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a pretty amazing girl. That joy is not going to be here anymore. It`s just -- it`s devastating to us. She was so loved in

this community and touched so many lives. We just can`t -- we can`t deal with losing her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And let`s hope they actually do end up finding the people who did that, who took that life away from everyone just weeks away from the

holidays.

A young mom heading home after attending a holiday fund-raiser, a charity fund-raiser, but she never makes it. And there are virtually no clues. It

is almost like a vanishing.

[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A night on the town has turned into a very bizarre search for a Nevada woman. A 28-year-old mom of two, Kristy Porter, went with her

husband, Paul, out Friday night to a fund-raiser, a charity fund-raiser but she left early and went home by herself, but she didn`t make it all the way

home.

So, one moment, here she is at the fund-raiser, smiling for this photo at the event. And it wouldn`t be an hour later that she would vanish without a

trace.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

KEN GALLOP, OFFICER, SPARKS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have a member of our community who is somebody`s family member, whose a wife, whose a mother,

whose a neighbor, whose a friend, a co-worker. And we need to find this person. We have a lot of people out there who are concerned about locating

her. That includes us. We want to find this lady and make sure she`s okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Kristy`s husband who stayed behind with his friends from work said that she jumped into a taxicab, but then the rest is absolutely a

mystery. And if you go by what the Officer Ken Gallop who you just heard talking has to say with the Sparks P.D., there is basically this time line

that you`re about to hear and not a whole lot else. Let`s see if there is something you can find as he walks you through the time line.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

GALLOP: Ms. Porter attended an event with her husband on November 11th at the Peppermill Casino in Reno, Nevada. She was due to head home after that

event just before 8:00 p.m. It was reported to us that she took a taxicab home.

November 24th, 2016, Ms. Porter was actually reported as a missing person to the Sparks police. She left the Peppermill with friends and family at an

event. That was on the 11th. Reported to us on the 24th. The case has been assigned to detectives for the follow up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: You heard him say she left the Peppermill. If you`ve never been to the Peppermill, it`s really fancy. I mean, it is a really fancy, fancy

place. It`s a big old casino. When I say big old, take a look. It is spectacular. This is the kind of place that I would want to go for every

one of my vacations. It`s spectacular, beautiful, ritzy. Not the kind of place that you think somebody just disappears from.

And you would also think when you look at digs like these, they got to have cameras everywhere. They have got to be able to see some trail that Kristy

Porter took after leaving that fancy party, that fund-raiser for the boys and girls club at this Peppermill resort.

Marcella Corona is the breaking news reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. Marcella, I`m going to be honest with you. I have not seen pictures of the

Peppermill until this story. But it is not what I expected when I heard the circumstances in the disappearance of Kristy. I`m really mystified. Is it

just me or am I missing something here?

MARCELLA CORONA, REPORTER, RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL: It is a little strange because the Peppermill is a really popular casino. If you look at it, it is

a very nice looking casino. There are a lot of events that are held there. And Kristy and her husband were there for the Barrels & Bites fund raising

event which is supposed to benefit the boys and girls club of Turkey Meadows.

So it`s a little unusual, you know, that this -- this happened. And from I have read from the social media, from what her family has posted, you know,

it wasn`t unusual for her to take a taxi alone. Her husband stayed behind at the event. When he arrived home, she was missing. So, you know, I spoke

to Officer Gallop as well and again, he also said it wasn`t unusual at all for her to take a cab alone.

BANFIELD: Can I ask you, this is the only thing that stood out to me. And it might be a big red flag. And that is that police say that she was

reported missing, not that she went missing, but she was reported missing November 24th. But the day of that party when she actually went missing was

November 11th.

That`s a long -- that`s two weeks. That`s one day shy of two weeks. The family says that they reported her missing just a couple days afterwards.

So let`s say a couple is four. We`re still looking at more than a week until she was reported. Is there something to this?

CORONA: Well, you know, I did ask the Officer Gallop about that today actually because I also thought it was a little strange, you know, that she

was last seen on November 11th and then she was reported missing on the 24th. The only thing that the police department was able to release was

that there was some factors involved that caused this delay.

[20:40:00] But that information wasn`t released to the media. And the only thing that Officer Gallop could say was that the police department is

looking into those factors and following up on some leads.

I did see though again from what the family has posted, they created a Facebook page dedicated to Kristy Porter. And on there, the family has

stated that they had reported it to police before and have been looking for her since her disappearance on the 11th.

BANFIELD: Marcella, hold on for one second because the first thing I thought of when I saw those pictures, again, of the casino was that they

have to be loaded with surveillance. This is a high-end operation. Inside the casino they always have those surveillance cameras. I dare say outside

they would as well.

So Christine, Gary, Danny are back with me right now. And all I can think of is that first of all, the police must have a very rich series of pieces

of evidence from outside the casino as to what cab she might have gotten into, where that cab might have taken off. I mean, there`s got to be a lot

to work with here.

CASIMIR: Yeah. I mean, the husband reported that at this event they had vouchers to take people home and that he filled out a voucher for her to

use, for her to go home. So I think the first step is where did the cab take her to. Where did she end up? And where did she -- you know, where the

cab dropped her off? There`s got to be some trail.

BANFIELD: I`ve got breaking news. I`ve got some breaking news. We`re just getting in from the police telling a local station out there, KOLO, that

she may have just been found. This actually might be wrapping up as we are live on the air. That Kristy Porter may actually have just been found.

And if you go back to November 11th, that means she`s been missing for a long time. We don`t know anything about what the circumstances might have

been, whether she disappeared of her own volition. Whether she`s been missing because she wanted to be missing.

GRILLO: There were reports that she had gone missing before but not for this long period of time. But that she had absented herself from her

husband before.

CASIMIR: A few days at a time.

GRILLO: Yeah, few days at a time.

BANFIELD: She`s got two kids. Not little either. They needed baby sitting while they went to this holiday -- this fund-raiser for the boys and girls

club.

CEVALLOS: It`s a critical fact. If she`s gone missing before, that`s something that the police probably considered. And there were some reports

that they weren`t exactly concluding foul play yet. So this may just be a case of somebody who tends to go on walk about.

BANFIELD: Not sure that this has ever happened before literally within the four minutes that we start a segment about a missing woman that`s she`s

reported found. But it looks to be that`s what happened. KOLO T.V. saying that police are telling them, 28-year-old Kristy Porter has been found.

Last seen in Reno, Nevada.

Apparently found somewhere nearby. Again, if there is more to this mystery, we`ll certainly let you know if we find out in the next 18 minutes or so of

this program. Otherwise, we are going to follow the story on kind of what the heck happened to Kristy for the last three weeks.

Some of the biggest boxing matches happen in Las Vegas as you are well aware with people putting down big money for winners. So, can you guess the

odds of this match up?

[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We realize this could get dangerous. Let`s go. The other dog`s coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Since this is a show about justice, I just couldn`t resist. Sometimes we have street fights and sometimes people get hurt and sometimes

in Australia in Province of New South Wales, that happens.

I just want to alert everyone to the source of that video. It was called Viral Hog because apparently this was a, I don`t know, wild boar hunting

expedition. The kangaroo has this guy`s hunting dog in his grasp. See. It was a dog.

GRILLO: I missed that part. I missed that part.

CASIMIR: He got a shot.

BANFIELD: Look at the stance. It`s not over yet. Wait, it`s not over yet.

CASIMIR: Let`s get the dog guy.

BANFIELD: Not over yet.

CEVALLOS: It`s not.

BANFIELD: Now it`s over. I think he yells something at the kangaroo too, like, stay out. Watch the posture. It`s a little crazier when you learn as

they stand off, that`s actually a guy who works at a zoo.

GRILLO: Maybe he knew then. He might have known.

CEVALLOS: He did it with love.

GRILLO: He knew how to land it.

(LAUGHTER)

CASIMIR: I don`t know. The dog was free.

CEVALLOS: It`s not his finest right cross but it did the job. That`s what counts.

BANFIELD: I`d have been scared to get near the things. Those things -- they get up on their tails and they kick you. They can do some really huge

damage.

CEVALLOS: I`d say overall a win for the kangaroo.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Okay. There`s that.

CASIMIR: Kangaroo abuse there.

BANFIELD: That one is one you can laugh about. This next one is when you get angry about. Because whenever -- sort of a little old lady, you know,

gets hit by some really nasty guy for her purse, I get mad. When you get video of it, you can get even. Watch this guy. Upper east side New York. He

already had her purse and he decided to do that.

So, obviously, the police want to find this guy because he was hell bent on just, you know, doing some serious damage to this woman. He had the purse,

don`t forget. He had the purse already. She puts her hand up defensively. If they get him, how long does he go away for? Please tell me it`s a nice

long time.

GRILLO: It`s not going -- there`s no -- no, no, no, there`s no armed robbery. If she didn`t have substantial injury, this is going to end up

being a misdemeanor.

BANFIELD: She did. She has a cut under her eye, bruised face.

[20:50:00] GRILLO: But it`s not that -- it`s not that...

BANFIELD: Seriously?

GRILLO: . severe, the injury. It`s not serious enough. It`s not serious physical injury to rise to the level of a felony.

BANFIELD: That guy, by the way, what a loser, 5`4", 40 to 45 years old. That`s what he chooses to do with his 5`4" of barely there humanity.

They`ll find him.

CASIMIR: What`s disgusting is he had the bag already. You could tell. She gave it to him.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Desperate.

CEVALLOS: New Yorkers will put up with a lot of horrible things. Most of them on the C train. But this is going to be -- this, we will not stand

for.

BANFIELD: We will stand for it. You might think it`s normal even to -- by the way, upper east side, fancy, upper east side. It`s typical for them.

All right. There is this story that just continues to confuse us and all the rest. This young woman, she`s the one who the police say planned to

kill her husband, plotted, actually hired the hit man. The hit man was actually the cops.

And when she was caught in a sting, the cops set up this whole fake murder scene and then videotaped her when they fake told her her husband was dead.

Do we have that sound bite? Let`s listen to the reaction again. They`re all faking it but her.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disturbance at your house and there were shots fired. Is your husband, Michael? Okay, I`m sorry to tell you, ma`am, he`s been

killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been killed, ma`am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.

BANFIELD: Yeah. Look at the other cops. They`re all in on it. They`re almost bored. They`re like -- oh, this woman. We have to go through the

motion. We`ll listen to her. We know this is fake. She doesn`t know this is fake. Good acting. That`s what they`re saying. Of course it`s an

accusation. She did go through a trial, though. The trial result was tossed out. She has to be tried again.

Guys, can you have video like that that`s been on the air nonstop all through trial number one, all through pretrial number two, and now they

don`t want the jurors to see this. They just seated a jury. Who`s not gonna be affected by that stuff?

CASIMIR: I don`t think anyone won`t be affected by that. I think the defense has very right to say that the jury should move the trial, should

be moved, so that she can get a fair trial. I mean, there were several witnesses, prospective jurors who said yes, I knew about it, talked about,

went on the web.

GRILLO: The question then becomes if you`re going to let it affect your deliberation. If these jurors can look at these attorneys and say it`s not

going to and convince them and convince the judge that they`re telling the truth and that they can and we can have faith in our jury system then.

CASIMIR: You and I both know you can ask that question a million ways.

GRILLO: Sure, sure.

BANFIELD: We`ll watch for it. They did seat the jury. We`ll see how round two goes for Miss Dippolito.

And we still wonder what`s going on with Sherri Papini, waiting every day for some explanation about what happened to this jogger, this woman in

Redding, California, who was abducted, tortured for three weeks, burned, branded and thrown out on the side of the road, those beautiful blond locks

hacked off.

Apparently now the sheriff is saying the husband, Keith, has not been ruled out as a suspect. All at same time, they have amscrayed from their home.

They left something behind. And it`s not something you would typically leave behind. That`s next.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: So it will be about, by my count, two weeks since Sherri Papini was found, that horrible situation, abducted for three weeks, tortured, you

know, beaten and branded, and then thrown out on the side of the road. Here we are looking for, again, two Hispanic women and very few details from the

police.

Every day, a drib and a drab. And today`s drib and drab is that the police have told the New York Post, at least the sheriff has said, that Keith

Papini, the husband, has not been ruled out as a suspect. Are you surprised?

GRILLO: I am surprised. I don`t think he is a suspect. I think it was more along a sex trafficking gone bad and that when they realized that they

couldn`t use her or these women who abducted her couldn`t get the money for her, they had to get rid of her. She became a liability, and they had to

get rid of her.

BANFIELD: And then there`s this other strange detail. Loo, when you`re under the microscope like they are, they`ve taken off, they left their

home. People close to them say they never want to come back. They left their dogs behind.

GRILLO: They left in a hurry. They`re scared.

BANFIELD: It`s a little weird to leave your dog -- a neighbor was apparently seen -- Danny, you got that look.

(CROSSTALK)

CEVALLOS: We live in an era of dog loving to the degree that I just shared my airplane with somebody`s rottweiler. And -- so I`m stunned at the idea

that somebody would actually leave their dogs behind. That really, to me, suggesting something is afoot.

Now, in this case, really, here is what we know. Here is what I think the authorities know. It`s a rule almost of law that if you talk to people long

enough, as long as the police have had with these two, eventually they`re going to get the full story. And some day we`ll have it, too. I just don`t

think we know it.

BANFIELD: While there are people out there who are this dangerous, should we, the public, not have more of the full story? I get it, they`re trying

to investigate. But aren`t they also trying to find the bad guys?

CASIMIR: Sure. Yeah. Because why is it only her susceptible to this kidnapping if it`s what you say happen? Any pretty blond walking around.

GRILLO: But that`s a known fact that that area right in there, in Redding, that area has been known for abductions for sex trafficking.

BANFIELD: They`re desperate for more details because none of it makes sense. That we don`t know more at this time when apparently there`s very

dangerous people out there who are willing to do just about anything for whatever reason. Eventually, it will.

CASIMIR: But if the husband is responsible.

BANFIELD: Oh, there you go again.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: There you go again. Thank you all. Appreciate it. And thank you for watching, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. It`s been nice to have you

with us. We`ll see you back here at 8:00 tomorrow night for PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

In the meantime, this is a really good time to recommend social media because we put out a lot of these clips for you. Log on, sign up, like us

and there are also some little surprises all day long, trust me. In the meantime, stay tuned because FORENSIC FILES comes right now.

[21:00:00]

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