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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Plea Deal for Child Murderer, Michael Adkins; AirBNB Guest Finds Camera. Aired 6-8p Et

Aired December 5, 2017 - 18:00:00   ET

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


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the rest put together. OK. Thanks for joining us, Crime and Justice with Ashleigh Banfield is next.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST, CRIME AND JUSTICE: Tonight, a plea deal for a criminal like no other, convicted of rape, incest, his victim, just 11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For someone to force it on you, and make threats to you not to tell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Even getting her pregnant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...the abortion to cover up the incest?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: You`d think the judge would send them away for life, but, no, he`s not going to jail. He`s getting therapy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: How could a convicted felon face only five years probation? We knew he was living a double life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Franklin, do you have anything to say?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A married dad, a successful dentist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ll get you started giving you a beautiful smile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Accused of beating his girlfriend`s baby to death then helping himself to some pizza. The video shows Franklin making a violent kicking

motion, slamming him into the ground head first. So, what he`s been up to while behind bars?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s something wrong with him like he is a monster.

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BANFIELD: Because now, he`s accused of trying to have that girlfriend killed, too.

Cops say an Alabama mom left her baby in the company of young children, so she could go out for a night on the town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Katerra Lewis was at a nightclub with a friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Did her one-year-old girl die at the hands of her roommate`s eight-year-old boy?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eight-year-old got extremely agitated because the one-year-old refused to stop crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, now, she`s paying the price.

A man finds a funny looking motion detector an Airbnb bedroom. But it was no motion detector. It was yet again a hidden camera. What you need to

look out for in your next rental that could be hiding in plain sight and recording your most intimate moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your eyes are all red. You look like you`ve been crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A Thanksgiving fight amps up.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car. You`re under arrest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But the person at the business end of the taser...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: ...ends up being the cop`s partner.

BANFIELD: Good evening everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is Crime and Justice.

And tonight, in West Virginia, a convicted felon is walking around free, and it isn`t just any kind of felon either. It`s the kind who commits

incest, has sex with an 11-year-old child, getting her pregnant. But he`s not going to spend any time in jail, not one day and everybody wants to

know how on earth can that happen in this day and age.

Take a good look at Michael Adkins. Feast your eyes. Get to know his look well in case you run into him, because he`s out walking with just five

years probation, five years, part of a plea deal after allegedly getting this child pregnant and forcing her to have an abortion. And local

reporters were eager to get some answers to this story not just from him, but also from his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything you`d like to say in your defense? We want to hear your side of the story. I mean, we don`t want to just -- Right now,

we only know (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, there`s only one side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s your chance to balance it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the abortion to cover up the incest?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Michael Adkins` victim is now 18 years old and she`s apparently still haunted by what happened to her. Family members saying that she

can`t even go to the bathroom without thinking that he might be hiding around a corner and waiting for her.

Adkins in the meantime is going to have to register as a sex offender. He`s going to have to go to therapy for his crimes and he`ll be closely

watched, too, for the next 50 years. That`s 5-0. But the judge in this case reportedly told him, "I hope you screw up during those 50 years so

that I can send you to prison."

Courtney Hessler is the courts and police reporter for the Herald Dispatch. She joins me from Huntington, West Virginia. Courtney, the big question is

if a judge is so angry as to say, "I hope that you screw up during your 50 years supervisory period, I hope I can send you to prison," why didn`t the

judge send him to prison in the first place when he had him right there in his courtroom?

COURTNEY HESSLER, REPORTER: Well, I would agree that is a big question and I`m still looking for answers to figure that out. This sentencing was

based on a plea bill that was reached between prosecutors and his defense attorney. And I guess he just has one great defense attorney.

Basically, this case, we`ve been following it for five years. It has a long history, but Adkins had entered a plea before another judge, and after

a pre-sentence investigation was complete surrounding his background and just doing some - just evaluations on if he was as a high risk offender,

that judge didn`t feel comfortable with allowing him out on probation and he recused himself from the case.

And the big question turned out to be...

BANFIELD: So, wait. Wait. Stop right there. Stop right there, Courtney. Let me just sort of drink that all in. Judge number one has no interest in

this probationary period. He doesn`t like this deal at all and says, "No go, not on my watch," but then recuses himself. Do we know why?

HESSLER: I can`t really explain it. I think the big question was if after Adkins had entered that plea deal, he entered a plea, I think the big

question was if a judge had to go through with what the plea deal was. And this first judge, Judge Alfred E. Ferguson, felt like he did not have to go

through what the plea deal was after the plea was entered.

BANFIELD: OK.

HESSLER: Yes.

BANFIELD: So, it sounds like this was one of those frustrating things for non-legal folks across the country who just have to suck it up when the

system doesn`t seem to work for the rest of us. And I get it. I know why plea deals are usually reached. It`s because you might be able to have all

the evidence you want for a sure fire conviction, or it might be because you don`t want to put victims through testifying, et cetera, but, Courtney,

it`s my understanding that this victim, this child at 11 years old who`s been raped repeatedly over a four-month period in her own home had

apparently already testified.

So, now I`m just flummoxed. I can`t understand if you`re not protecting this young girl and she`s testified as to what happened and she`s allegedly

- I don`t even know why I have to say "allegedly" because it`s part of the court record that she was forced to have an abortion to cover up for the

incest. What more do you need for a conviction to lock someone up for the rest of his life?

HESSLER: You`ve got me. Maybe that`s just a flaw in the West Virginia law, but I am just as baffled as everyone else about it. And Adkins even

entered a Kennedy plea or an Alford plea. So, he didn`t have to testify to anything that he did and he didn`t even really have to take the guilt.

BANFIELD: Can you tell me this, Courtney? Does he get to move back home into this cushy surroundings where this victim is within arm`s length?

HESSLER: Yes. He`s back in his own personal home. I think he`s on lock down, home confinement.

BANFIELD: So, my guess is now that - so, this victim is 18 years old. She`s probably off on her own somewhere else trying to deal with these

terrors that she suffers. Was he ever allowed to just head on back home and be in the home after raping an 11-year-old? Was he ever allowed to go

back home during this whole process and be in the same home as her again?

HESSLER: See, I don`t have the data in front of me, but he only spent a short amount of time in jail, and I`m talking maybe a month at the most

before he bonded out waiting for trial. She had lived in a home and was removed from the home as soon as the investigation opened up. So, she

hasn`t had to live with him or had contact with him since and it seems like she`s doing as well as you can expect somebody in this situation to be.

BANFIELD: You can also imagine what the people who have to stomach this investigation have to read through and have to sort through and have to

live through themselves. In fact, the West Virginia State Police Crimes Against Children Unit, one of its members named Corporal Marley Moore had

some pretty choice words for what this poor young girl must have gone through with a forced abortion.

Don`t forget. She was impregnated, 11 years old, incest, and then forced to have an abortion and this is what Corporal Moore said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARLEY MOORE: It`s very disheartening. It`s very sad that a 12-year-old, I just don`t know how she would be able to cope with that. As an adult, I

don`t think I could. It would be a heavy decision to make. And then, for someone to force it on you and make threats to you not to tell and have

this done, it`s just an indignity to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in attorney, incest survivor, Sherry Kearney, she joins me from Los Angeles.

Sherry, let me make sure I have your name right. Is it Sherry?

SHERRY KEARNEY, ATTORNEY AND INCEST SURVIVOR: Yes.

BANFIELD: OK. It`s important that we get names right because this is sensitive stuff.

KEARNEY: It is.

BANFIELD: And knowing that you`re speaking to me publicly about what you`ve been through, I know that you`re a definitive source on what this

then-11-year-old, now 18-year-old victim of incest and impregnation and forced abortion is probably living through. But you might also be the

definitive source in trying to help me get my head around how the man walks. Can you explain any of this to me?

KEARNEY: You know, Ashleigh, unfortunately, I`m not baffled by this case, because our legal system protects perpetuators and throws the victims away.

And the problem is why was in this case a Kennedy plea even available.

The situation is, we`ve been looking in the news all over the country about women who are victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault. Now, we have

an 11-year-old child who is a victim of incest. We still don`t protect her. She still can`t come forward. These judges should have done one of

two things. They should have refused in my opinion the plea deal if they could, and this child should have been given justice and restitution.

This woman, once an 11-year-old little girl, is going to need therapy. She`s holding the damages of what happened to her. She`s serving a

lifelong sentence while Adkins goes off scot-free. And I would be more baffled but I`m seeing this in the state of a legal system and the laws in

place. We don`t believe children. We don`t protect women. We force 11- year-olds to have abortions but we don`t jail their incest aggressor. This is not OK.

BANFIELD: So, let me ask you this, Sherry. And again, since you`ve lived this and you know that the pain and suffering of having to sort of come out

publicly, you`re doing it now because you`re helping others, but when this was all new to you and your whole world was upside-down, what`s worse,

putting an 11-year-old up on trial for everyone?

I mean, the trauma of seeing someone that young have to recount these horrors of what was happening at the hands of our own family, or letting

her live her life without having to do that. You know where I`m getting, does the plea deal help her but harm the rest of us?

KEARNEY: I know. I do. But I think that 11-year-olds will grow up and feel like we didn`t protect her, we didn`t help her, we didn`t believe her.

And if we put a legal system in place that protects an 11-year-old when they testify and when they get evidence and let them only have to, let`s

say, testify once and we record it, we have to let our children, our women, our victims know we`re going to protect them. We`re going to take care of

them.

Yes. It is extremely painful, very humiliating. It produces a lot of guilt. Victims like myself and everyone blame themselves. We feel

responsible. We don`t want to speak up. We feel intimidated. It`s shameful. It was something sexually done to us not at our choice, not at

our control. It`s humiliating. But do we not institute a legal system that listens to children, that believes women, that stops sexual harassment

because we don`t want to put the victims through it.

I know what you`re getting at. My heart says to me that that child will grow up and know and feel the pain anyway.

BANFIELD: Yes. No. I hear you.

KEARNEY: So, maybe it will do something.

BANFIELD: Maybe there`s something that she can take solace in and those are the words - I mean, the judge agreed the plea. However, this judge,

Paul T. Farrell, of Circuit Court of Bell County, West Virginia said these words, I`m going to read them out loud because I want to know if this makes

you feel any better, Sherry, this is the judge in the case and he said, "I am just going to be blunt. I hope you screw up during those 50 years so I

can send you to prison," he said.

"If you violate any of the terms and conditions in the next 50 years then the court can send you to prison and I`m hoping that`s the case because you

should go to prison for what you did," just quickly, is there any solace in that, Sherry?

KEARNEY: Yes and no. Yes, I`m glad he feels like he`s empathetic toward the survivor where there was no justice. But why didn`t this man go to

prison? I don`t understand why this judge was powerless.

BANFIELD: So, maybe Randy Kessler can answer it. He`s a trial attorney. He`s here with me live as well. Sherry, stand by, if you would.

I want to bring you in on this, Randy, get me off the ledge. Get me off the ledge because I feel like there was enough evidence. I get plea

bargains.

RANDY KESSLER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Right.

BANFIELD: I get them. Sometimes, you just can`t get the result you want. You can`t get the conviction, so you go with the plea bargain.

KESSLER: Right.

BANFIELD: Or, you spare the victim the testimony. In this case, she testified. There seems to be a lot of evidence. Maybe not a slam-dunk,

but it seemed to be pretty strong, in a - I mean, a probation?

KESSLER: I`m going to give you off the ledge.

BANFIELD: Not even any year in prison.

KESSLER: I`m going to put you on a different ledge.

BANFIELD: OK.

KESSLER: The ledge should be against the prosecutor. Now, I can`t empathize, I`ve not been through what Ms. Kearney has been through. I

don`t relate to that. So, it`s sort of I`m not as confident as she is to talk about the feelings. But the system has to work in general, and

there`s a system and this is the macro system, the big system.

If the prosecution thinks that they can`t get a conviction but they think this is the best deal they can get, there`s a reason. You got to trust

your prosecutor. There`s a special relationship between judge and prosecutor. The prosecutor says, "Judge, in this case, this was the best

deal we could get." The judge has to respect that to some degree for a lot of reasons.

What if the judge says, "No, I`m not going to take your recommendation, Mr. Prosecutor", well, if I`m the criminal defense lawyer on the next case and

the prosecutor says, "If your client pleads guilty, we`ll give him three years in jail," I don`t trust you anymore because last time, the judge

didn`t go along with it. There`s a special relationship, and there`s some reason out there that this prosecutor thought this sentence was

appropriate. They couldn`t win the case. There`s a witness that would either be impeached or wouldn`t show up. I don`t know what the reason was.

BANFIELD: Five years` probation.

KESSLER: But you`re blaming the judge and the prosecution recommended the sentence.

BANFIELD: No. I`m blaming the system. I`m blaming the system.

KESSLER: OK.

BANFIELD: I`m angry. I think a lot of people hear this sentence and...

KESSLER: We should be.

BANFIELD: ...we all should be angry. This little kid, she belongs to all of us and she is...

KESSLER: But, you know, prosecutors talk to the victims. They talk to the victims and who knows what this victim wanted. You don`t know what they

said.

BANFIELD: She was 11. Oh, god, she was 11. She has no idea. She`s a baby.

KESSLER: By the time the prosecution came forward, she was older, right?

BANFIELD: OK. Don`t go anywhere. I`ve still got a bunch of questions for you, Randy, if you will.

Up next, a married dentist sitting in an Oklahoma jail accused of killing his mistress` baby. So, you thought that was the story. Now, he`s facing

some big new charges because he allegedly decided to hire a hit man while in prison to kill that baby`s mother.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: You know, we thought this story was over but there is an unbelievable new charge against a dentist who was apparently living a

double life. His name is Bert Franklin. He`s a married father of four, but yes, he had a girlfriend and that girlfriend had a baby of her own.

And this dentist is accused of killing that baby.

He was first locked up after he was actually caught on surveillance camera at his girlfriend`s house dropping this little baby named Lewis right to

the floor, head first, and then he was seen winding for a pretty dangerous kick, too.

In a video impossible to forget, remember this, he`s seen minutes later with the limp little body in his arms reaching for a slice of pizza. Yes.

You guessed it. Here we are, caught on the camera, just an unthinkable action for which he seemed to have zero explanation at court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, did you have anything to do with the death of an infant? Anything at all? Now is your chance if you want to say anything.

You`re a prominent dentist here in Tulsa, a lot of people are wondering what`s going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Bert`s girlfriend seemed to have an idea about what was going on because during an appearance with Dr. Phil she called that dentist a

monster, saying that he thought of her baby as an obstacle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he thought maybe if this happened I would sleep hard all night long and we wouldn`t wake up until morning. At

that point Lincoln would probably have already been gone for a few hours, so it would probably be harder to pin point when it happened. And with him

being a doctor and us just being normal people, maybe it wouldn`t get investigated or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But it was investigated and it is going to trial and that trial surprisingly though has just been postponed, during jury selection in fact.

And all of this is because something pretty shocking has just come to light about this dentist. As if everything I just told you wasn`t pretty

shocking, but there`s now a brand-new charge against him. And apparently it happened while he was actually locked up waiting for this trial.

The authorities at Bert`s jail say that he`s been conspiring to have this beautiful woman, his mistress to have her murdered, arranging for this

murder while he`s been locked up, again, locked up for allegedly killing her child. So you got that straight? Locked up, waiting for trial for

killing a baby and behind bars conspiring to kill the mom, all the allegations out there tonight.

And joining me from Oklahoma City Scott Mitchell the host of Mitchell Talks. Tell me I have this wrong, tell me this isn`t actually happening on

the eve of his trial for the murder of this baby? He is now been accused of trying to hire a hit-man from behind bars to take out the mother.

SCOTT MITCHELL, HOST OF MITCHELL TALKS: It appears to be happening. (inaudible) mentioning sociopathic behavior, after you are accused of

killing a baby, you hire a hit-man in the county jail for 300 bucks. That`s what got this all off track earlier this week, for $300 he is

accused of trying to commit a capital murder or arrange for a capital murder to take out the mother of the child who he had been accused of

killing for $300.

BANFIELD: So is there a reason, I mean, first of all there`s a video tape. It seems to me like they`ve got a lot of this evidence on camera, was she a

star witness of some kind? Was she the linchpin to his first degree murder case?

MITCHELL: Well, the video, as well as the lady that you are talking about, she obviously was a witness for the prosecution and this is why allegedly

he was working, manipulating his wife from behind bars, having her put money, and by the way before you say it, the wife was not an accomplice to

this, she had no idea what was going on.

BANFIELD: So she has no idea that the 300 bucks that her dentist -- her dentist husband who is locked up and awaiting for killing his mistress`

child, let`s just get that straight again, this wife of his puts the $300 into the account of another inmate and has no clue what she`s doing this

for?

MITCHELL: Well, that`s what the prosecution says. And based upon the facts from the year and a half ago you wonder how more clueless she could

be, apparently, very.

BANFIELD: And doing as he says, I wonder who is paying for his defense too. So let me go on to the sinister plan for which he is now facing huge

stack of paperwork in the way of another charge, this one conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He`s already facing first-degree murder, now

conspiracy for this alleged hit-man plan.

OK, Scott, how did he do it and how did they catch him?

MITCHELL: Well, if you`re going to hire a hit-person you probably should not hire a snitch of the prosecution. So apparently what happened was he

starts talking to his jailhouse buddies about how to rub this woman out and he unfortunately for him, fortunately for the mother, I mean, just think

about this, fortunately for the mother of this dead child, the person he contacts was an informant for the prosecution. So he was able to -- this

informant runs right to the prosecutors, outs the whole plan and then they moved forward with the sting.

BANFIELD: So he has not -- you know, he`s not been talking. We see these pictures of mother and child in such happy times. She`s just lovely and

it`s so horrifying to think of what she`s gone through, and then to have this added indignity of now hearing that she`s allegedly the target of a

former inmate who was supposed to off her if the plan went according, you know, to what was orchestrated allegedly on a cellphone.

You know, Bert is not talking but if you`re interested in hearing what kind of guy he presents himself as, all you had to do was watch TV because

apparently he produced a TV commercial wanting you to have straight, pretty teeth and nice braces. And this is what he looked like before he got

messed up in all this stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERT FRANKLIN, DENTIST: My name is Bert Franklin from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I practice in mostly cosmetic, implant dentistry and now I`m a proud provider

of Fast Braces. Well, Fast Braces are the original new technology braces certified by the inventor and made in the USA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I think it`s a pretty safe bet that he`s not a provider of Fast Braces anymore.

Roxanne Lewis-Randall is that woman in the photograph that you were seeing who lost her child, and might have lost her life if in fact it hadn`t been

an informant that was part of the plan to off her, as the allegations outline. This was her on Dr. Phil talking about the crime that cost her

baby`s life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROXANNE LEWIS-RANDALL: Bert carried him down the steps. And Lincoln had his pacifier in his mouth. And he walked back into the living area, handed

Lincoln his bottle on the ground, stepped over him and walked back just a couple of steps. And then he turned around and you can see him on camera,

he makes a violent kicking motion that you can`t see the bottom part of his body, but you can see the top. And he walkesback into the living room and

got a piece of pizza and then he walks, he`s back in the living room, picks up Lincoln and makes like a violent throwing motion to the floor where he

slammed the head first into the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I want to bring in retired FBI Special Agent Bobby Chacon, who joins me live now from Los Angeles.

Bobby, it never fails to amaze me when someone is facing charges this serious as what you just heard Roxanne Randall outlined. They would be so

brazen, so stupid or both, as to start talking to other inmates and making secret plans as though there`s honor among thieves, but apparently that`s

what the prosecutors are alleging, he did just that, as a dentist, an educated man with more degrees than a circle. Does it surprise you that

they do this?

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, no, I think it`s a measure of arrogance and maybe desperation. I mean when we look at his history as

a dentist. First of all he has outstanding fraud charges against him as a dentist, writing fraudulent prescriptions as a dentist.

One patient filed a complaint that he had improper sexual conversations with her while she was in his dentist`s chair. So he`s not the, you know,

he`s the dentist of the year in Tulsa as well. So this guy has problems, behavioral problems and obviously he`s a monster, carrying that child

around like that after, you know, violently kicking him and dropping him on his head causing a skull fracture. I mean it doesn`t surprise me that this

guy will go to any length to get himself out of the jam that he`s in. It doesn`t surprise me at all.

BANFIELD: OK. I want to bring in Randy Kessler again on this one, a trial attorney. Here`s something that`s interesting with the snitch. Apparently

they arranged for the cell phone. This guy is a jailhouse informant, unrelated, that`s the best part, unrelated on another case, just happens to

catch on to what`s going allegedly with Bert Franklin, Dr. Franklin.

But at one point in one of those cell phone calls that Franklin was making, he`s not sure that he wants anything to happen.

KESSLER: Right.

BANFIELD: Now that`s huge to me because whenever you have these things, these things, they need to be ironclad. You can`t be backing out for a

minute. Now, he didn`t withdraw his efforts to have the hit-man go and finish the job. Nor does he try to stop anything, he actually moves the

plan forward slightly, even though he said he wasn`t sure that he wants anything to happen to her.

KESSLER: So to play devil`s advocate, what kind of deal did the snitch get? I mean there are a lot of people in jail that are going away for a

long time that would rather be in jail for a shorter time. If you can catch somebody attempting to commit murder, you`re going to get a reduction

of sentence. I mean nothing -- it didn`t happen.

I also want everyone to know they`re going to try both of these cases together and that`s it for the defendant. So if you`re in court for

killing a kid and for killing, attempting to kill the mother...

BANFIELD: Then everyone hates you.

KESSLER: Everyone thinks that, well, why were you trying to knock out the mother if you didn`t do it to the child. So he`s in a lot of trouble.

BANFIELD: Yes, that`s a good point. All right. Thank you to Scott Mitchell and Bobby Chacon.

And, Randy, I`m asking you to stay if you can.

Breaking news we have out of Little Rock tonight police are investigating a triple murder after the bodies of a woman and her two young children were

found inside a home. The identity of the victims not yet released but the police say the woman was just 24 years old. The kids were a four-year-old

boy and a five-year-old girl. We don`t have any details yet on how they died, but the Little Rock police say it appears to be foul play.

We`ll stay with the story and update you with any new development just as soon as we get them as well.

And there is outer outrage in Alabama, baby girl killed after police say her mom leaves her at home to go on out clubbing. The alleged killer is an

eight-year-old boy she was left with, but it was the mom who was just in court pleading guilty. We`ll explain what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Moms deserve a night off every once in a while, but part of being a good parent is finding a good sitter. And one mother in Alabama is

paying a painful price for cutting corners.

Police say that Katerra Lewis left her beautiful one-year-old baby behind so that she could go clubbing with her roommate. And who did she leave

that baby with? With her roommate`s kids, all five of them, all of them who were under the age of eight, the youngest just two, two years old. Police

say those two moms didn`t get home until 2:00 AM. But it wasn`t until the next morning that Katerra Lewis called about baby Kelci, saying that she

found her unresponsive in her crib, suffering severe head trauma and major internal organ damage.

Police say her fatal injuries were the result of an attack by her roommate`s son, an eight-year-old who had become annoyed by her crying and

beat that child to death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I`m saying her punishment is going to be something that she`s going to have to live with for the rest of her life. And so,

her actions that night, she was in the club over taking care of her one- year-old is going to stick with her the rest of her life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But now mom is losing more than her baby, she`s pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter. Joining me now is syndicated radio host David

Mack who is live with me from Birmingham, Alabama.

Reckless manslaughter, that`s what Katerra Lewis is going to plead to. Dave, what does that mean in terms of the kind of the punishment she`ll

get?

DAVID MACK, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST, ALABAMA: It`s a travesty. It means that she`s going to get 28 months in prison but it`s a split sentence, 24

months of her 28 month sentence is going to be served in community corrections.

BANFIELD: So did anybody sort of express utter outrage at this? I mean, it`s one thing to have an accident happen among kids, that stuff happens.

But not when you decide at 11:00 o`clock at night that you want to go out with your pal and you decide that five children ages two through eight are

the best babysitters around.

MACK: Yes, everybody involved in this, from the district attorney at that time to the investigators all pointed out that not only did she go out

clubbing at 11:00 o`clock at night and leave her daughter with somebody they knew was dangerous with ADD and other issues and had been violent with

other children, but she didn`t even check on them when she got home at 2:00 AM. They went straight to bed. Had she checked on her own baby when she

got home from clubbing with her roommate, that baby would still be alive to this day.

BANFIELD: So let`s talk a little bit about that roommate. First of all, you know, she`s got a one-year-old, right?

MACK: Right.

BANFIELD: Katerra Lewis has a one-year-old in the picture here. That`s little Kelci who`s now no longer with us.

And the roommate has five, five kids ages two through eight. The roommate also decides to go clubbing here, Dave, and decides that I guess the eight-

year-old is an appropriate sitter. But I`m not hearing about any charges for that roommate. Why?

MACK: She`s not going to be charged. And, you know, the reason is, this was a really tough case for them to even bring, you know, they did get it

in front of a judge a while back. And the judge said, she actually dismissed it at the time because there`s a lack of probable cause, now, you

know the legal aspect of this. A judge made that decision and she told the prosecutors at that time, "you all take it to the grand jury," that`s a

direct quote which is exactly what they did. That`s how they got her re- indicted.

So it was tough enough take care of Lewis to face charges. The roommate is not going to face any. And the reality is they were not only

irresponsible, but the decisions that these women made directly contributed to the death of her own child. I don`t know not all charged and how the

kids aren`t in foster care getting help.

BANFIELD: Well, I can`t believe there`s not a charge for the roommate for, you know, endangering these other five.

I want to bring Randy Kessler on this one as a defense attorney, as a trial attorney. There`s another victim in all of this, the eight-year-old.

KESSLER: Sure.

BANFIELD: That boy who is apparently and I`ve got to watch my language here. He`s accused of juvenile delinquency. That`s the language that one

has to use in Alabama. They don`t charge a child with murder or some kind of violent offense. They accuse them of...

KESSLER: Unless they`re old enough and they make an exception, but that`s rare.

BANFIELD: Well, eight-years-old, my god, I mean, eight-years-old, that kid probably still wets his bed for god`s sake. And that child`s life is

destroyed.

KESSLER And the other children that witnessed it and the children that are a part of it and maybe that`s why there was a plea deal and a closure

instead of a more public trial where it just goes and the child becomes a witness.

BANFIELD: But do you understand anything about why this roommate would escape on facing charges? How is this?

KESSLER: So a defense lawyer`s best friend is reasonable doubt and intent. They would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this roommate

knew...

BANFIELD: But having--

KESSLER: But did she think that maybe the mother was on her way home, did the roommate go...?

BANFIELD: They went out together.

KESSLER: I don`t know if that...

BANFIELD: They left six kids under the age of eight together.

KESSLER: It sounds to me like a jury would have said put them away for life if they had gone to a jury trial...

BANFIELD: I mean, I think everybody watching feels that way. I mean, how on earth did this happen?

KESSLER: The prosecutor didn`t feel that way. The prosecutor obviously didn`t feel that way.

BANFIELD: Who the hell are these people?

KESSLER: Well, the first judge knew something that we don`t know because the first judge says I don`t think there`s probable cause. I didn`t know

what it was. Maybe the witnesses were not going to testify, maybe a jury would have said she`s punished enough, she`s going straight to hell for not

protecting her child.

BANFIELD: I don`t think that roommate is punished enough.

Hold that thought for a minute. I have another update from Dallas, Texas. We`ve been following the story of Sherryn Mathews and the parents of that

little three-year-old.

Apparently they are not going to be regaining custody of their four-year- old, their biological child who is right now in the care of Child Protective Services. That`s Sini Mathews and Wesley Mathews, they were in

court today and they were in shackles for the hearing, and they refused to answer any questions about what happened to their adopted daughter Sherryn.

But a child abuse specialist testified about broken bones and other injuries that were in various stages of healing before Sherryn mysteriously

disappeared and then was found in a drainpipe. And a Child Protective Services worker also described how Sini Mathews was "eerily calm", those

were her words, "eerily calm," when their four-year-old daughter was removed from their home. And that no one in the home mentioned Sherryn`s

name even though she was apparently still supposed to be missing at the time.

Sini and Wesley Mathews are both faces charges of child endangerment. But wait, because there are still no charges related to Sherryn`s death that

have been filed. So watch this space on that one.

And before you get too comfortable in that house that you rented for your holiday vacation that`s coming up, I want you to make sure that you take a

really good look around because you never know that someone could be watching you. These two people figured it out. They spotted the camera as

it spotted them. And we just found out that this is happening a lot, but we also have weapons that you can use to protect yourself and find those

sneaky little cameras before you go strutting your stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you knew Scott and if you knew Lacey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you describe what you did see?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were the epitome of the perfect couple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw what appeared to be a badly decomposed human remains.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The couple everybody wanted to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then it all changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lacey Peterson was last seen wearing black pants and a white pullover shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember thinking to myself, missing. I mean, missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not normal to not have leads. That`s when the question really started. And that was just a traumatic time. It`s

heartbreaking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want the animal responsible for this heinous act to pay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t care what people think of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: When you`re are looking for a rental home you are going to want it to be safe, right, so a device like a motion sensor to detect burglars

should leave you feeling better. But when that motion sensor has a camera hidden inside it and it happens to be in the bedroom? Hmm. And when that

camera can stream live footage to the internet, safe is pretty much the last thing you`re going to feel. And that is exactly what a man reportedly

found recently, right there in the bedroom of an Airbnb.

Unknown location, sorry, I don`t have it for you. I can`t tell you. But the company says the owner of that rental has now been banned, whew, adding

that and this is kind of one of those, yes, we know, cameras are never allowed in the bathrooms or bedrooms. And any other cameras must be

properly disclosed to guests ahead of time, right? Those are the official rules.

Apparently people aren`t always doing that. That creepy discovery comes right after an Airbnb owner in Florida who we told you about a couple of

months ago has now been slapped with a whole new set of felony charges for video voyeurism. Thanks to that adorable couple that looked up and noticed

his hidden camera in a smoke detector. His excuse for it because he said, I film sex parties when my house isn`t being rented. But then why do you

need to have it hidden?

Apparently, more victims have been coming forward as well. I want to tell you about a couple of things. I want to show you first, if you didn`t see

the segment before I want to show you some of the cameras and how hard they are to spot. Just so you know what you`re up against if you`re going to

rent a place, if you`re even going to be in a hotel room, you might want to look around.

An oscillating fan, that is a camera. I don`t know if you can spot it. I sure can`t. And that cost about 400 bucks, so that could be in your room

somewhere. Clock radio, that looks like any clock radio but apparently that also has a hidden camera. And that`s only about 200 bucks.

House plant, can you spot the camera? Would you suspect that that house plant is streaming your nudie shots walking around in the bedroom or

bathroom or living room? Back up to the inter-webs? Because there`s a camera in there, and apparently it only costs about 400 bucks if you go to,

you know, the Google.

A wall outlet, that doesn`t look like anything other than a normal wall outlet but it can spy on you, and it`s actually a lot cheaper than the

other things, about 130 bucks. And then there is the coffee machine. Now, I hope that`s not going to be in your bedroom but a lot of hotels do have

coffee machines, usually they`re pretty standard, but somewhere in that coffee machine at the price of about 329 bucks is a hidden camera.

Do you helpless yet? Because when I saw those I felt utterly helpless to protect myself. I mean for all I know there could be a camera in that,

right? So if you need some weapons I have them for you.

First of all there`s something that you can get called like a wireless RF signal detector. It can detect hidden cameras. It costs about 14 bucks.

Not only does it detects bugs, it detects spy devices, it detects broadcast signals, it`s cute to look at, it can also help spot camera lenses. So

that`s a wireless RF signal detector, 14 bucks can save you a lifetime of agony.

Here`s another very cheap tip, it doesn`t cost you a penny. Just turn off the lights in the room, go totally dark and then look around, because a lot

of time this might have actually LED lights, they`re red and green, sometimes they blink or shine. So do the visual inspection of your room

and see in the dark if you can notice anything, but if you can`t, you might want to check the mirrors because the mirrors sometimes in your room might

be a one-way glass, right?

There`s a way that you can do it. Apparently you put your finger up to the mirror. And if you can see space between your finger and what your finger

matches, that`s good, if you see no space, that`s not good. And if I had that backwards someone in the control room needs to tell me.

And then there`s your good old-fashioned cellphone, you know how you turn on the light, the spotlight, watch, I won`t be able to do it in time.

Apparently there`s a really good way of doing this around your room and it will pick up the reflection of some of those tiny little camera lenses.

Like if you are looking at the plant and you did that at the plant you might actually be able to spot the reflection of the camera lens in the

coffeemaker, or the plant, or the fan, or whatever else those slimy buggers use to try to get you in your skivvies.

You`re welcome. I want to make sure you`re protected, and so are your privates.

It`s the holidays and your home could be a target for burglars. The one thing that you can do to protect all of those gifts, and this is how fast

you can do it. Let me tell you what it is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: One more thing tonight, the bad guys know that at this time of year that your home is filled with Christmas or other holiday gifts, so how

can you avoid becoming a target? It turns out it is really, really easy, because according to SafeWise.com, you just need to lock your doors,

friends.

They say that 34 percent of burglars actually just waltz right through your open front door. Come on, now. It is really simple. Lock your front

door, 34 percent of the crooks won`t actually get through. Once again you`re welcome.

So, we`re going to move on to the next hour and this is a story that should never have to reported on television or anywhere, the tragic death of a

three-year-old little girl. But when Mariah Woods disappeared, we certainly did fear the worst from her. And unfortunately, those fears were

justified.

Tonight, what the sheriff himself has told us about this investigation into the three-year-old`s death including new details on how Mariah was

found. The next hour of Crime and Justice starts right now.

BANFIELD: A new detail. In the death of little Mariah Woods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have recovered what we believe are the remains of little Mariah Woods --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANS MILLER, ONSLOW COUNTY SHERIFF: We`ve recovered what we believe was a remains of little Mariah Woods.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: How the police found her in that creek and what the child was wearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: I don`t feel like he just got up and walked out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: This as the sheriff weighs in on those tears the mom shed as her little girl was missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: We are not ruling anything out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And the evidence is pouring in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: We`re still investigating the case. Is this an active investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: About the man accused of sexually abusing her before allegedly covering up her death. We knew he was living a double life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Franklin, do you have anything to say?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A married dad, a successful dentist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ll get you started, giving you a beautiful smile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Accused of beating his girlfriend`s baby to death than helping himself to some pizza. The video shows Franklin making a violent kicking

motion, slamming him into the ground head first. So what`s he been up to while behind bars?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s something wrong with him. Like he`s a monster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Because now he`s accused of trying to have that girlfriend killed too. Cops say an Alabama mom left her baby in the company of young

children so she could go out for a night on the town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Katerra Lewis was at a night club with a friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Did her one-year-old girl died at the hands of her roommate`s eight-year-old boy?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eight-year-old got extremely agitated because the one-year-old, she needs to stop crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well now she`s paying the price. A man finds a funny looking motion detector in an Airbnb bedroom, but it was no motion detection, it

was yet again a hidden camera. What you need to look out for in your next rental that could be hiding in plain sight and recording your most intimate

moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your eyes are all red, you look like you`ve been crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A Thanksgiving fight amps up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car, you`re under arrest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But the person at the business end of the taser --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: -- ends up being the cop`s partner. Good evening everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield and welcome to the second hour of Crime and Justice.

Tonight, more answers to a question that the entire country has been asking, what exactly happened to little Mariah Woods.

That`s the little girl who had been missing for nearly a week before a dive team made the grisly discovery of what authorities believe was her body in

a local creek. But what she went through in the 15 miles between her bedroom and that creek, well, that`s starting to come to light. The

sheriffs` deputies have been incredibly tight lipped about their investigation and for good reason too, they want to protect the case.

But tonight, we do have some insight into the terror that that little girl might have experienced because we got some answers from the sheriff himself

who`s been working tirelessly to find the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: As we go on, just this little girl Mariah, she`s on her line because that`s what we`re working for, we work for the victim. We are not

ruling anything out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: We are learning tonight that little Mariah was found clothed, that`s how they found her body in the water. They also found items of

interest around her, lots of them, according to the sheriff. The FBI is still processing items. We don`t know if they`re connected to her or not,

we also don`t know how she ended up dead in that creek or who is responsible for her death, but investigators are continuing to follow up on

every clue and every tip that they say continue to come in.

One thing we did learn more about the man arrested for concealing her body, the mother`s live-in boyfriend, who has a rap sheet that goes back 12

years, and child protective services accusations to that do not bode well for that man`s future. Jacksonville Daily News Reporter, Amanda Thames

joins me now live. Amanda, one of the things the sheriff said to me quite definitely to is, "We believe we know what happened" and yet he is

unbelievably tight-lipped.

They`re so worried about protecting the pristine nature of this case, the forensics in this case, they just don`t want to compromise anything. Are

you finding anything out closer to the scene?

AMANDA THAMES, REPORTER, JACKSONVILLE DAILY NEWS: Not really at this point. To be honest, I`ve spoken with people outside of law enforcement to

get a lot of information. Most of it is still speculation at this point, but our law enforcement here are going to say it`s absolutely fantastic at

what they do. They are often tight-lipped when it comes to bigger investigations like this, but it all does come out in the trial and I know

that they`re doing it with good intentions.

BANFIELD: Sheriff Hans Miller, I`ll tell you, that guy is -- I interviewed him for an hour, I grilled him for an hour, I did everything in my power to

find out information that wouldn`t even compromise. I mean honestly, this is information that`s just sort of standard in a lot of -- he is so careful

and just so cautious.

He told me a couple of things, I want you to hear how measured he is when he tells me about how this little girl was found when I pressed for

details. Here`s Sheriff Miller, the Onslow County sheriff, answering that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Was Mariah clothed when she was found?

MILLER: Yes, she had clothing on her.

BANFIELD: Were there any visible signs of injury or trauma?

MILLER: That will be -- I know the answer but that will be official when we get the autopsy report.

BANFIELD: Do you also know how long she had been in the location where her body was found?

MILLER: I don`t know that, I would have to take a look at the -- what the forensic pathologist will tell us in the autopsy report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So one of the other obvious questions is that Earl Kimrey has been arrested and brought in not on murder, not yet, that`s for sure but

there is just a laundry list of stuff they`re charging him with, they created him into court in the orange jumpsuit and hidden underneath.

Amanda Thames, you were clever enough to spot the vest, they were worried about his safety, probably for good reason.

He`s facing concealing a death, obstruction of justice, possession of stolen property, felony larceny, and when I asked Sheriff Miller about

murder, this was the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: We`re still investigating the case, it is an active investigation and we cannot predict what will happen in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Amanda, one of the reports that came out in local press today was that there`s no love lost between the two families here. The mother

living with her Earl Kimrey, her live-in boyfriend who`s facing these other charges, no love lost between her and her ex.

And there have been accusations flying between the two of them. Now those accusations so that mom is trying to deflect the blame unto her own 10-

year-old as to having caused this death. Listen Amanda, the sheriff, "Listen, I`ve heard lots of things, people say lots of things" but he won`t

confirm that. Are you hearing anything more about that theory?

THAMES: I`ve definitely heard the speculation on that as well and I have not confirmed anything of that nature. The only thing that the sheriff

would confirm for us is that they do not have anything else in custody right now and no one else has been charged in connection with Mariah`s

disappearance.

BANFIELD: And it was also clear to say that, "I don`t have a prime suspect right now, but I will articulate but everybody could be a suspect and we`re

keeping an open mind as the evidence rolls in." He also said that every person in this investigative section is on this case and albeit it`s a

smaller group under 10, but everybody`s working on this case at this point.

Amanda, you spoke with Alex Woods and that is little Mariah`s father. He has been just completely brokenhearted overall of this, but walk me through

what he told you today.

THAMES: It was the most difficult interview of my career, especially these, the past two years that I`ve been there. He came in and he was

broken, we met at the memorial site and there are hundreds of stuffed animals and mementos that people have left, notes from strangers that

didn`t know Mariah.

And he came over, he and his fiance Heather Craft, spoke with me today and I really wanted to talk to them and get know who Mariah was and talk about

her personality, so they laughed for a bit and I was really glad to see them smile a little, talking about her mannerisms and how she used to sit

in the car seat in the backseat and she fell asleep and have these cheese dust all over her, all over her face, all over her clothing and she`d fall

asleep like that while her brother`s kind of stealing her snacks and this good song would come on the radio and she`d wake up and kind of start

bopping her head along with it. And it was just -- it was really nice to hear a different side of Mariah from what`s been in the news lately.

BANFIELD: His heartbroken appearances lately just on the verge of tears and then in tears most of the time when he`s speaking to reporters or on

television. We all thought the same thing of Kristy Woods as well because that mother within 24 hours of her baby so-called disappearing, went on

television and looked at though she was completely broken to bits. I want to play a moment of that and there`s a good reason, have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTY WOODS, MARIAH WOODS MOTHER: She was like an angel, I had my (inaudible) on each side I found out I was pregnant with her. So we call

her our little angel, she`s got the personality of, make you laugh, she`s goofy, outgoing, talkative, she knows how to make your day brighter. A lot

to this community and people that are here looking for her love her to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That was before we found out that there was a child protective services document that was about to hit the desks of everybody alleging

that inside the home where Kristy Woods was watching over, the two little boys, brothers of Mariah reported to authorities that that live-in

boyfriend, Earl Kimrey who`s behind bars right now had been molesting little Mariah and beaten the hell out of those little boys.

Those are allegations from those little boys to authorities in official documents, and now we`re all wondering if those documents say that Kristy

Woods knew all about that and failed to protect those children, their words not mine, how on earth could she have been so astounded and shock and

wondering where her little girl was? And I asked the sheriff that, too, I actually said, "Do you believe that that emotion was genuine? Here`s his

answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: Well as an investigator, former investigator, I have never been able to get into somebody`s mind. Now, I can have a belief, I can have a

suspicion, I can have a probability but you cannot predict what goes in somebody`s mind unless you were that person yourself. So I don`t know what

the cause for her emotion was. That is only an answer that that person can answer herself.

BANFIELD: But I think it`s telling if you say, "I don`t know what the cause for her emotion was, right?

MILLER: Well, that`s probably something that she can answer for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: This is probably a good time to bring a retired special agent, FBI, Bobby Chacon joins me live now from Los Angeles. You heard the

sheriff, you heard his tone, he`s a measured man, but I could feel that he didn`t believe Kristy Woods was genuine in that emotion, especially given

facts and the patterns that he`s been witnessing for the last week.

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI AGENT: Sure. Because he`s been there from minute one of this case and he`s privy to all the insight information that

we don`t know, and while he can`t tell you the information, it obviously will have an impact on him emotionally, spiritually, whatever.

And so as he`s talking to you, those emotions, he`s fighting them, there`s a battle inside him. He can`t tell you the information, but it`s clear

that in that particular answer to you in the question that you`re referencing, it`s impacting him. He knows although he can`t tell us, he

knows what you and I both suspect, and that`s having an impact and you`ve seen that impact in his measured tone. He would like to probably tell us

and he will tell us in due course when it`s legally possible for all that to come out. But it`s not --

BANFIELD: He actually did say that. Bobby, you read his mind, his words, he said, "I know the answer and it will come out in due course." Those

were his words. Real quickly, he even said, "The public needs to be patient on this one, I know they`re hungry for answers, I know they are

upset but this is a little child who couldn`t walk properly, who was so innocent, three-year-old, who allegedly was being sexually abused by the

man who`s in custody according to those brothers."

Real quickly, when he said there`s lots of evidence, he said they were able to get a lot of evidence where they got Mariah in the stream. He wouldn`t

quantify how much, he wouldn`t say what it was, he did said they have to assess if it`s related. And I can only imagine what you would find at a

scene like that. What would they pick up? What would they process at a death scene like that and send to Quantico.

CHACON: Sure. Well as you know I established the FBI`s underwater forensic program, I was a dive team leader of the FBI dive teams in New

York City and in Los Angeles and we traveled all over the world doing these cases. I`ve been involved in far too many child recoveries underwater. I

can tell you exactly the environment that they may have found this child in.

Well, the first thing they`re going to do is look out whether the child was placed there or thrown there and mainly whether the child was weighted

down, when people deposit children in the water, they something weight them down with something so that they don`t float off and they`re not found. So

that`s the first thing they`re going to be looking at. Were they pushed out with a stick, was the child caught up? So you`re going to look at the

scene around them, how the person approached and forgive me, this can seem a little coarse but you`re going to look at how the person may have

approach the water and gotten the child in the water.

Did they place them out, tried to place them in the middle of the water, or was the child closer to the edge of the water? So all of these things are

going to come in, was there something tied to the child? What the child was wearing? All of this comes into play in how the child got there and

who did it.

BANFIELD: All right. I want to bring Defense Attorney Randy Kessler who`s live with me now. Standby Bobby, don`t go anywhere. Real quickly, the

sheriff did tell me he`s talking to his lawyer because what I wanted to know if he`s invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege. If he`s lawyered up

and stopped cooperating. All the sheriff would say is, "The family`s cooperating" but wouldn`t zero in an answer whether the suspect now in

these other crimes, Earl Krimrey, is talking.

RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s got to be. I mean, you don`t even have to read between the lines. I mean, any lawyer that passed the bar

will tell him, "Do not talk," I mean, they haven`t charged you yet with this, all you can do is go out and give them a reason to charge you. You

get caught lying about something else, you something, you lie about a little detail, and boom, you`re now a liar and you`re really going to go

down.

BANFIELD: I got one minute left. But when someone`s missing, when a child`s missing, a lot of times you just break all the rules because they

want to find the kid. And then they can`t use that stuff later.

KESSLER: Right. Right.

BANFIELD: Is that why it might be taking a little bit of time to file charges on this guy?

KESSLER: It could be but I think we know by now that he`s the one who brought them to the body if that`s what they`re saying. That maybe he got

a little bit of credit for that, they`re not going to charge you with murder if you show us where the body is. But if you`re in the family`s

position, God help any of us if we`re in that position.

You might say that`s OK because I now have my child -- I don`t know, it sounds like he`s going to end up being charged with murder, that`s what

we`re all thinking what the sheriff seems to be saying.

BANFIELD: Well if the parallel investigation the sheriff tells me, the abuse, the sexual assault, and the murder, all of that is all one

investigation. So obviously, a lot more questions that should still be answered in due time. Randy Kessler, thanks so much, appreciate it. Bobby

Chacon, thank you as well and Amanda Thames, my thanks.

Coming up next, a married dentist sitting in an Oklahoma jail accused of killing his mistress` baby and now facing charges he tried to kill her too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We thought this story was over but there is an unbelievable new charge against a dentist who is apparently living a double life. His name

is Bert Franklin, he`s a married father of four but, yes, he had a girlfriend and that girlfriend had a baby of her own. And this dentist is

accused of killing that baby.

He was first locked up after he was actually caught on surveillance camera at his girlfriend`s house dropping this little baby named Lewis right to

the floor head first and then he was seen winding up a pretty dangerous kick too. In a video impossible to forget, remember this, he`s seen

minutes later with the limped little body in his arms reaching for a slice of pizza. Yes, he gets it, there you are, caught on the camera, just an

unthinkable action for which he seem to have zero explanation at court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, did you have anything to do with a death of an infant? Anything at all? Now is your chance if you want to say anything.

You`re a prominent dentist here in Tulsa, a lot of people are wondering what`s going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Bert`s girlfriend seemed to have an idea about what was going on because during an appearance with Dr. Phil, she called that dentist a

monster saying that he thought of her baby as an obstacle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROXANNE LEWIS-RANDALL, BERT FRANKLIN GIRLFRIEND: I think that he thought maybe as this happen, I would sleep hard all night long, not -- we wouldn`t

wake up until morning, at that one point, (INAUDIBLE) have already been gone for a few hours and so it probably be harder to pinpoint when it

happened. And with him being a doctor and us just being normal people, maybe it wouldn`t get investigated or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But it was investigated and it is going to trial and that trial surprisingly though has just been postponed, hearing jury selection in

fact, and all of this is because something pretty shocking has just come to life about this dentist as if everything I just told you wasn`t pretty

shocking.

But there`s now a brand new charge against him and apparently it happened while he was actually locked up waiting for this trial. The authorities at

Bert`s jail say that he`s been conspiring to have this beautiful woman, his mistress, to have her murdered, arranging for this murder while he`s been

locked up. Again, locked up for allegedly killing her child.

So you got that straight? Locked p, waiting for trial for killing a baby, and behind bars conspiring to kill the mom. All the allegations out there

tonight and joining me from Oklahoma City, Scott Mitchell, the host of "Mitchell Talks." Tell me I have this wrong, tell me this isn`t actually

happening on the eve of his trial for the murder of this baby. He`s now being accused of trying to hire a hitman from behind bars to take out the

mother.

SCOTT MITCHELL, HOST, MITCHELL TALKS: Oh, it appears to be happening as -- I mean, what I mean (INAUDIBLE) pizza-munching sociopathic behavior after

you`re accused of killing a baby, you hire a hitman in the county jail for 300 bucks, that`s what got this all off track earlier this week, for $300,

he`s trying to commit a capital -- arrange for a capital murder to take out the mother of the child who he`s been accused of killing.

BANFIELD: So is there a reason -- I mean, first of all, there`s videotape, it seems to me like they`ve got a lot of this evidence on camera, was she a

star witness of some kind? Was she the linchpin to his first degree murder case?

MITCHELL: Well, the video and as well as the lady that you`re talking about. She obviously was a witness for the prosecution and this is why

allegedly he was working, manipulating his wife from behind bars, having her put money, and by the way, authorities say the wife was not an

accomplice to this, she had no idea what was going on.

BANFIELD: So she had no idea that the 300 bucks her dentist -- her dentist husband who`s locked up and awaiting trial for killing his mistress`s

child, let`s get that straight again. This wife of his puts the $300 into the account of another inmate and has no clue what she`s doing this for?

MITCHELL: Well, that`s what the prosecution says and based upon the facts from a year and a half ago, you wonder how more clueless she could be,

apparently very.

BANFIELD: And doing as he says. I wonder if she`s paying for his defense too. So let me go on to the sinister plan for which he`s now facing a big

huge stack of paperwork in a way of another charge, this one conspiracy to commit first degree murder. He`s already facing first degree murder, now

conspiracy for this alleged hitman plan. OK, Scott, how did he do it and how did they catch them?

MITCHELL: Well, if you`re going to hire a hit person, you probably should not hire a snitch of the prosecution. So apparently what happened was, he

starts talking to jailhouse buddies about how to rub this woman out and he -- unfortunately for him, fortunately for the -- I mean just think about

this, fortunately for the mother of this dead child, the person he contacts was an informant for the prosecution. So he was able to -- this informant

runs right to prosecutors, outs the whole plan, and then they moved forward with the sting, and then --

BANFIELD: So he has not -- he`s not been talking -- we see these pictures of mother and child in such happy times, she`s just lovely and it`s so

horrifying to think of what she`s gone through and then to have this added indignity of now hearing that she`s allegedly the target of a former inmate

who was supposed to off her if the plan went according to what was orchestrated allegedly on a cellphone.

Bert`s not talking, but if you`re interested in hearing what kind of guy he presents himself as, all you had to do was watch TV, because apparently he

produced a TV commercial wanting you to have straight, pretty teeth and nice braces. And this is what he look like before he gotten messed up in

all this stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERT FRANKLIN, DENTIST: My name is Bert Franklin from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I practice in mostly cosmetics, implant dentistry, and now I`m a proud

provider of fast braces. Well, fast braces are the original new technology braces certified y the inventor and made in the USA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: I guess it`s pretty safe that he`s not a provider of fast braces anymore. Roxanne Lewis-Randall is that woman in the photograph that you

were seeing who lost her child and might have lost her life if in fact it hadn`t been an informant that was part of the plan to off her as the

allegations outline. This was her on Dr. Phil talking about the crime that caused her baby`s life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS-RANDALL: Bert carried him down the steps, Lincoln had his pacifier in his mouth, and he walked back into the living room area, handed Lincoln

his bottle on the ground, stepped over him and walked. It was just a couple of steps, and then he turned around and you can see him on camera,

he makes violent kicking motion that you can`t see the bottom part of his body, but you can see the top part.

And he walks back into the living room and got a piece of pizza and then he walks back in the living room, picks up Lincoln and makes like a violent

shoving motion to the floor, he slammed him head first into the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Want to bring in Retired FBI Special Agent Bobby Chacon who joins me live now from Los Angeles. Bobby, it never fails to amaze me when

someone is facing charges this serous as what you just heard Roxanne Randall outline. They would be brazen, so stupid, or both as to start

talking to other inmates and making secret plans as though there`s honor among thieves, but apparently, that`s what the prosecutors are alleging, he

did just that, as a dentist, an educated man with more degrees than a circle. Does it surprise you that they do this?

CHACON: Well, no. I think it`s a measure of arrogance and maybe desperation. I mean, when we look at his history as a dentist, first of

all, he has outstanding fraud charges against him as a dentist, writing fraudulent prescriptions as a dentist.

One patient filed a complaint that he had improper sexual conversations with her while she was in his dentist chair. So he`s not the -- he`s not

the dentist of the year in Tulsa as well. So this guy has problems, behavior problems and obviously he`s a monster. Carrying that child around

like that after violently kicking him and dropping him on his head, causing a skull fracture. I mean, it doesn`t surprise me that this guy will go to

any length to get himself out of the jam that he`s in, it doesn`t surprise me at all.

BANFIELD: OK. I want to bring in Randy Kessler again on this one, a trial attorney, here`s something that`s interesting with the snitch. Apparently,

they arranged for the cellphone, this guy is a jailhouse informant, unrelated, that`s the best part, unrelated on another case, just happens to

catch on to what`s going on allegedly with Bert Franklin, Dr. Franklin.

But at one point in one of those cellphones calls that Franklin was making, he`s not sure that he wants anything to happen. Now, that`s huge to me,

because whenever you have these things, these stings, they need to be ironclad. You can`t be backing out for a minute. Now he didn`t withdraw

his efforts to have the hitman go and finish the job, nor does he tried to stop anything, he actually moves the plan forward slightly, even though he

said he wasn`t sure that he wanteds anything to happen to her.

KESSLER: So to play devil`s advocate, what kind of deal did the snitch get? I mean, there are a lot of people in jail that are going away for a

long time, they would rather be in jail for a shorter time. If you can catch somebody attempting to commit murder, you`re going to get a reduction

in sentence.

I mean, I`m not saying it didn`t happen, I also want everyone to know, they`re going to try both of these cases together, and that`s it for the

defendant because if you`re in court for killing a kid and for killing -- attempting to kill the mother --

BANFIELD: Then everyone hates you.

KESSLER: Everyone thinks that -- well, why would you try and knock out the mother if you didn`t do it to the child? So he`s in a lot of trouble.

BANFIELD: All right. Thank you to Scott Mitchell, and Bobby Chacon. And Randy, I`m asking you to stay if you can. Breaking news we had out of

Little Rock tonight, police are investigating a triple murder after the bodies of a woman and her two young children were found inside a home, the

identity of the victims not yet released but the police say the woman was just 24 years old, the kids were a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old

girl.

They don`t have any details yet on how they died but the Little Rock police say it appears to be foul play, we`re going to stay with the story and

update you with any new developments just as soon as we get them as well.

And there`s utter outrage in Alabama, baby girl killed after police say her mom leaves her at home to go on out clubbing. The alleged killer is an

eight-year-old boy she was left with but it was the mom who was just in court pleading guilty. We`ll explain what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Moms deserve a night off every once in a while, but part of being a good parent is finding a good sitter. And one mother in Alabama is

paying a painful price for cutting corners.

Police say that Katerra Lewis left her beautiful one year old baby behind so that she could go clubbing with her roommate, and who did she leave that

baby with? With her roommate`s kids, all five of them. All five of them who were under the age of eight, the youngest just two, two years old.

Police say those two moms didn`t get home until 2:00a.m. but it wasn`t until the next morning that Katerra Lewis called them about Baby Kelci

saying that she found her unresponsive in her crib suffering severe head trauma and major internal organ damage.

Police say her fatal injuries were the result of an attack by her roommate`s son, an eight-year-old who`d become annoyed by her crying and

beat that child to death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think her punishment is going to be something she`s going to have to live with for the rest of her life. And so, her actions

that night, choosing the club over taking care of her one-year-old is going to stick with her the rest of her life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: But now mom is losing more than her baby, she`s pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter. Joining me now is syndicated radio host David

Mack who is live with me from Birmingham, Alabama. Reckless manslaughter, that`s what Katerra Lewis is going to plead to. Dave, what does that mean

in terms of the kind of punishment she`ll get?

MACK: It`s a travesty. It means that she`s going to get 28 months in prison but they could split the sentence, 24 months of her 28 months

sentence is going to served in community corrections.

BANFIELD: So, did anybody sort of express utter outrage at this? I mean, it`s one thing to have an accident happen among kids, that stuff happens,

but not when you decide at 11:00 at night that you want to go out with your pal and you decide that five children ages two through eight are the best

babysitters around.

MACK: You know, everybody involved in this from the district attorney at the time to the investigators all pointed out that not only did she go out

clubbing at 11:00 at night and leave her daughter with somebody they knew was dangerous with ADD and other issues and had been violent with other

children but she didn`t even check on him when she got home at 2 AM. They went straight to bed. Had she checked on her own baby when she got home

from clubbing with her roommate, that baby would still be alive to this day.

BANFIELD: So, let`s talk a little bit about that roommate. First of all, she`s got a 1-year-old, right?

MACK: Right.

BANFIELD: Katerra Lewis has a 1-year-old in the picture here. That`s little Kelci who`s now no longer with us. And the roommate has five kids,

ages two through eight. The roommate also decides to go clubbing here, Dave, and decides that I guess the 8-year-old is an appropriate sitter, but

I`m not hearing about any charges for that roommate. Why?

MACK: OK. She`s not going to be charged and the reason is this was a really tough case for them to even bring. They did get it in front of a

judge a while back and the judge said -- she actually dismissed it at the time because she said there`s a lack of probable cause, you know the legal

aspects of this. A judge made that decision and she told the prosecutors at that time, "you all take it to the grand jury," that`s a direct a quote

which is exactly what they did. That`s how they got her re-indicted.

So, it was tough enough to get Katerra Lewis to face charges; the roommate is not going to face any. And the reality is they were not only

irresponsible but the decisions that these women made directly contributed to the death of her own child. I don`t know how they`re not all charged

and how the kids aren`t in foster care getting help.

BANFIELD: Well, I can`t believe there`s not a charge for the roommate for endangering these other five. I want to bring in Randy Kessler on this one

as a defense attorney, as a trial attorney, there`s another victim in all of this, the eight-year-old.

KESSLER: Sure.

BANFIELD: That boy who`s apparently -- I`ve got to watch my language here -- he`s accused of juvenile delinquency. That`s the language that one has

to use in Alabama. They don`t charge a child with murder or some kind of violent offense. They accuse them of juvenile...

KESSLER: Unless they`re old enough and they make an exception, but that`s rare.

BANFIELD: Well, eight years old, my God, it, eight years old, that kid probably still wets his bed for God`s sake. And that child`s life is

destroyed.

KESSLER: And the other children that witnessed it and the children that are part of it. And maybe that`s why there`s a plea deal and a closure

instead of a more public trail where it just goes on and the child becomes a witness.

BANFIELD: But do you understand anything about why this roommate would escape on facing charges? How is this?

KESSLER: So, a defense lawyer`s best friend is reasonable doubt and intent. They would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this

roommate knew.

BANFIELD: They went clubbing.

KESSLER: But did she think that maybe the mother was on her way home? Did the roommate go? Did she think there`s going to be a babysitter?

BANFIELD: They went out together.

KESSLER: I don`t know.

BANFIELD: They left six kids under the age of eight together.

KESSLER: It sounds to me like a jury would have said put them away for life if they had gone to a jury trial but...

BANFIELD: I think everybody watching feels that way, like how on earth did this happen?

KESSLER: The prosecutor didn`t feel that way. The prosecutor obviously didn`t feel...

BANFIELD: Who the hell are these people?

KESSLER: Well, the first judge knew something that we don`t know because the first judge says I don`t think there`s probable cause. I don`t know

what it was. Maybe the witnesses were not going to testify. Maybe a jury would have said she`s punished enough, she`s going straight to hell for not

protecting her child.

BANFIELD: I don`t think that roommate is punished enough. Hold that thought for a minute. I have another update from Dallas, Texas. We`ve

been following the story of Sherin Mathews and the parents of that little three-year-old apparently are not going to be regaining custody of their

four year-old, their biological child who is right now in the care of child protective services.

That`s Sini Mathews and Wesley Mathews. They were in court today and they were in shackles for the hearing and they refused any questions about what

happened to their adopted daughter, Sherin.

But a child abuse specialist testified about broken bones and other injuries that were in various stages of healing before Sherin mysteriously

disappeared and then was found in a drainpipe. And a child protective services worker also described how Sini Mathews was eerily calm -- those

were her words, eerily calm -- when their four-year-old daughter was removed from their home and that no one in the home ever mentioned Sherin`s

name even though she was apparently still supposed to be missing at the time.

Sini and Wesley Mathews are both facing charges of child endangerment but wait, because there`s still no charges related to Sherin`s death that have

been filed. So watch this space on that one.

And before you get too comfortable, in that house that you rented for your holiday vacation that`s coming up, I want you to make sure you take a

really good look around because you never know if someone could be watching you. These two people figured it out. They spotted the camera as it

spotted them. And we just found out that this is happening a lot, but we also have weapons that you can use to protect yourself and find those

sneaky little cameras before you go strutting your stuff. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: When you`re looking for a rental home you are going to want it to be safe, right, so a device like a motion sensor to detect burglars

should leave you feeling better. But when that motion sensor has a camera hidden inside it and it happens to be in the bedroom? Hmm. And when that

camera can stream live footage to the internet, safe is pretty much the last thing you`re going to feel. And that is exactly what a man reportedly

found recently, right there in the bedroom of an Airbnb.

Unknown location, sorry, I don`t have it for you. I can`t tell you. But the company says the owner of that rental has now been banned, whew, adding

that and this is kind of one of those, yes, we know, cameras are never allowed in the bathrooms or bedrooms. And any other cameras must be

properly disclosed to guests ahead of time, right? Those are the official rules.

Apparently people aren`t always doing that. That creepy discovery comes right after an Airbnb owner in Florida who we told you about a couple of

months ago has now been slapped with a whole new set of felony charges for video voyeurism. Thanks to that adorable couple that looked up and noticed

his hidden camera in a smoke detector. His excuse for it because he said, I film sex parties when my house isn`t being rented. But then why do you

need to have it hidden?

Apparently, more victims have been coming forward as well. I want to tell you about a couple of things. I want to show you first, if you didn`t see

the segment before I want to show you some of the cameras and how hard they are to spot. Just so you know what you`re up against if you`re going to

rent a place, if you`re even going to be in a hotel room, you might want to look around.

An oscillating fan, that is a camera. I don`t know if you can spot it. I sure can`t. And that costs about 400 bucks, so that could be in your room

somewhere. Clock radio, that looks like any clock radio but apparently that also has a hidden camera. And that`s only about 200 bucks.

House plant, can you spot the camera? Would you suspect that that house plant is streaming your nudie shots walking around in the bedroom or

bathroom or living room? Back up to the inter-webs? Because there`s a camera in there, and apparently it only costs about 400 bucks if you go to,

you know, the Google.

A wall outlet, that doesn`t look like anything other than a normal wall outlet but it can spy on you, and it`s actually a lot cheaper than the

other things, about 130 bucks. And then there is the coffee machine. Now, I hope that`s not going to be in your bedroom but a lot of hotels do have

coffee machines, usually they`re pretty standard, but somewhere in that coffee machine at the price of about 329 bucks is a hidden camera.

Do you feel helpless yet? Because when I saw those I felt utterly helpless to protect myself. I mean for all I know there could be a camera in that,

right? So if you need some weapons I have them for you.

First of all there`s something that you can get called like a wireless RF signal detector. It can detect hidden cameras. It costs about 14 bucks.

Not only does it detect bugs, it detects spy devices, it detects broadcast signals, it`s cute to look at, it can also help spot camera lenses. So

that`s a wireless RF signal detector, 14 bucks can save you a lifetime of agony.

Here`s another very cheap tip, it doesn`t cost you a penny. Just turn off the lights in the room, go totally dark and then look around, because a lot

of time this might have actually LED lights, they`re red and green, sometimes they blink or shine. So do the visual inspection of your room

and see in the dark if you can notice anything, but if you can`t, you might want to check the mirrors because the mirrors sometimes in your room might

be a one-way glass, right?

There`s a way that you can do it. Apparently you put your finger up to the mirror. And if you can see space between your finger and what your finger

matches, that`s good, if you see no space, that`s not good. And if I had that backwards someone in the control room needs to tell me.

And then there`s your good old-fashioned cellphone, you know how you turn on the light, the spotlight, watch, I won`t be able to do it in time.

Apparently there`s a really good way of doing this around your room and it will pick up the reflection of some of those tiny little camera lenses.

Like if you are looking at the plant and you did that at the plant you might actually be able to spot the reflection of the camera lens in the

coffeemaker, or the plant, or the fan, or whatever else those slimy buggers use to try to get you in your skivvies.

You`re welcome. I want to make sure you`re protected, and so are your privates.

It`s the holidays and your home could be a target for burglars. The one thing that you can do to protect all of those gifts, and this is how fast

you can do it. Let me tell you what it is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: One more thing tonight, the bad guys know that at this time of year that your home is filled with Christmas or other holiday gifts, so how

can you avoid becoming a target? Actually, it`s pretty simple because according to safewise.com, all you need to do is lock your door.

Lock your front door. I`m not kidding. You see, 34 percent of burglars walk right in through you unlocked front door. Again, it`s simple, but

lock your door because it could deter many crooks.

Thanks so much for watching tonight. We`ll see you right back here tomorrow night at 6 o`clock Eastern for Crime and Justice up next. And CNN

special report about the mysterious death of a Texas beauty queen the Catholic priest that police say did it. Beauty and the priest begins right

now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END