The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
TRANSCRIPTS


 

Return to Transcripts main page

CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Mother's Day Murders; Bad Bosses; Justice for Precious Doe; Big City Back-Up

Aired May 11, 2005 - 06:29   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the small community of Zion, Illinois, people are coming together to mourn the deaths of two little girls. The second graders, best friends who lived on the same street, were found stabbed to death on Monday. The father of one of the victims has now been charged in the killings.
CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now from Zion, which is north of Chicago. He has the latest for us.

Good morning -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Here, we are waiting for Jerry Hobbs to appear in court. He is due in court later this morning, and that's for a bond hearing. And it's also going to be where prosecutors say they will present more of their evidence. They were a little cagey yesterday when they announced that they had arrested Jerry Hobbs and that he would be charged with the murders of the two little girls. Now, they say later this morning they're going to bring out a lot more of the evidence when it comes time to set his bond.

COSTELLO: Well, I know, Chris, they were looking at some relatives' clothing. I would assume that his clothing was in the mix.

LAWRENCE: Yes, relatives confirmed to us that they did -- the police did take some of his clothing when they came to the house to search the house.

And interestingly, the police say Jerry Hobbs was someone they at least had their eye on, at least wanted to look at even before the bodies were found, even initially when the girls were just reported missing and they thought, well, maybe this is just a missing person's case, just because of his long criminal record. He's got a criminal record going back to around 1990. Most recently, he was convicted of aggravated assault.

And we checked with court records and spoke with the D.A. in Texas who kind of handled that case. That involved him getting into an argument with Laura's, his daughter's, mom, and then chasing other people around with a running chainsaw. And he had to be subdued.

He was convicted of aggravated assault, spent a couple of years in jail, and was just released about four weeks ago, and then moved here to Illinois. Because of that history, the police say they had wanted to at least check him out, keep an eye on him. And then, when he actually found the bodies, they asked him to go over his story again. They asked him to bring them back to the crime scene. And they said something about his story just didn't check out. A day later, that led to his arrest.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll await more word from prosecutors later today. Chris Lawrence reporting live from Zion, Illinois.

In other stories across America this Wednesday, California police are investigating the deaths of six people at a ranch in Garner Valley. Three children, their mother, grandmother and father all found shot to death, all of them were in their beds except for the father, who was an investigator for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. Authorities say they are treating the case as a homicide, but not ruling out murder-suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BOB DOYLE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: To give you an idea of how methodical these situations are, we have processed up to Mr. McGowan at this point. OK. Now, there is no obvious note or any kind of documentation. Does that mean that one doesn't exist? No. We may find one. But we have not processed that entire home yet and the people that are in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: At the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, a collision between two planes. One Northwest Airlines plane was heading to the gate when it hit another plane that was backing away from the terminal. An airport commission official says it appears the incoming plane had steering control problems. No serious injuries reported.

And we've been telling you about the Baptist preacher in North Carolina who is accused of kicking out nine parishioners for not supporting President Bush. Well, Reverend Chan Chandler (ph) has resigned. Parishioners who supported him cried and vowed to leave the church, too.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, your office may not be a playground, but that doesn't mean there aren't bullies around. We'll talk about the problem and what you can do to stand up for yourself without getting fired.

Also ahead, traffic, traffic everywhere, and not a drop of relief. We'll talk about why it's not just a problem for big cities anymore.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The international markets are on a downslide this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei is lower by 39 points almost. The London FTSE is down almost 15 points. The German DAX is down almost 3. You've probably talked about this around the water cooler: job security. Do you feel that your job is safe? Well, a new survey suggests an improving job market is also improving employee confidence. The survey asked workers what they think the chances are they could lose their job in the coming year. Fifty-two percent say no chance, 27 percent say not very possible, and 20 percent are on shaky ground. They say there is a strong or moderate chance.

It brings up this question: Have you ever worked for someone that was just -- well, just a bad boss? Not, of course, those wonderful, kind people here at CNN, because, of course, we all love our managers, don't we, J.J. Ramberg?

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. Yes, keep saying, we do, we, do.

COSTELLO: Because, you know, job security is great in the field of broadcasting, yes.

RAMBERG: In this industry. Exactly. Well, today, we're going to focus on bosses that bully actually, because if you have a bad boss who sexually discriminates or who harasses you in some way, sexually harasses or physically abuses you, that's easy. It's a problem. We know what to do with this. We've seen you can go to lawyers. You can sue. But if you have a boss that just bullies, that's not illegal.

And so, people get into this quandary, what do I do if my boss is just yelling at me, right? I mean, that's a huge problem.

And so, one of the first things you have to do when this happens is recognize that it's a problem, because it's very common for people to think this boss is yelling, I must have done something wrong, I'm incompetent, there's something wrong me, and that, frankly, is just not the case. There is no excuse for bosses to bully you, and there is no excuse for you to be able to take that.

COSTELLO: And so, what do you do? Do you yell back? You can't yell back.

RAMBERG: No. Well, it depends. I mean, it's such a personal thing, because it's so personality-driven. But there's a whole list of things that you need to do. But first, in talking about recognizing the problem, you should think, what's happening here so I know that I'm actually being bullied? And there's kind of a list of things of telltale signs.

One of them is you have to see, are you being abused verbally, repetitively, in front of people for things that aren't your fault and objectively...

COSTELLO: I've been there, not in this job, but yes.

RAMBERG: All right. Things that are not your fault, Carol.

COSTELLO: I feel better now, because they fired me. OK, next one. RAMBERG: Colleagues have been told to ignore you. So, not pay attention to your ideas, not listen to you, not talk to you is a clear sign that you're being bullied.

Do you feel like you're being exploited? You're shaking your -- clearly, you're being bullied here.

COSTELLO: No, this was in another place. But all of these fit, so keep going.

RAMBERG: OK. You are asked to work later than others and you're given more busy work that other people. And then, finally, does it look like your boss' personal agenda is undermining legitimate business?

COSTELLO: Oh.

RAMBERG: So, his or her, sort of exercising their power over you just to exercise their power over you.

COSTELLO: OK. So, since I got fired because I didn't react in the right way to that bullying boss, what are the correct -- yes, exactly.

RAMBERG: All right. Well, the first thing, as we talked about, recognize the problem, that's the biggest thing, so that you know how to deal with the problem. After that, stand up for yourself, and by standing up for yourself, it doesn't necessarily mean yell back, because they have the power. And if you yell back, it might not be so good.

COSTELLO: Especially if you use bad language that just doesn't work.

RAMBERG: Yell back in front of a whole room. They don't like that very much. But things you can do subtly to stand up for yourself are body language. Don't slump. Don't look like you're a coward. Stand up for yourself. Or just dismiss yourself. So maybe, you know, interrupt the venom. Get out of the room. I have a phone call. I have to go stock something, something to just stop this.

And then, if you want you can confront your boss, but never in front of other people. And try not to confront them with their language. Confront them with a task. So, it's not that you can't speak to me like that. But it's I'm being yelled at for a report. Well, what can I do to make that report better? So, you try and address it one by one.

Then, keep a journal of everything that's going on. And have it in a safe place just in case something happens to you.

And then, finally, expose the bully. If you can't deal one on one, with the person one on one, either go to human resources or you can go, people suggest, the boss' boss, because just going to the boss is -- or, yes, the boss...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: The immediate boss usually has hired that person.

RAMBERG: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Because I did that.

RAMBERG: It didn't work out so well for you.

COSTELLO: I got fired. It made it interesting.

RAMBERG: (INAUDIBLE) bad example of what not to do. That's tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much. I wish I had had this advice before, although I wouldn't be here.

RAMBERG: We're happy to have you here. Thank god for that bully.

COSTELLO: That's a great way to look at it. J.J. Ramberg, thank you.

All right, was it a threat on President Bush's life or was it something else? "AMERICAN MORNING" has more on this story. Bill Hemmer is here with a preview.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

We're getting these reports from Georgia. That was the last stop for the president's trip overseas. We're told that a grenade, an old Soviet-style grenade found near the stage, maybe 100-200 feet away from where the president was speaking yesterday. It's raising questions about security today. Why did the Georgian officials, if true, wait until after the president left in order to tell the U.S. Secret Service? Also, were there other security details that are now being called into question? We'll talk to a former Secret Service agent about that.

Also, Carol, this story we talked about yesterday. There's a guy out in Arizona, right? He picks the four winning horses in that order for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. It's worth about $800,000 to the person who picks the correct four. He loses his ticket. The next day, the cashier who sold it to him finds a receipt for that ticket. He's back in the money. They're both with us this morning. I'm a little skeptical about all of this.

COSTELLO: I know. You were talking about that yesterday.

HEMMER: You can hear it in my voice. But they're going to tell us about how he cashed in right now, and how they went about finding the ticket. I guess the maintenance folks came through, and they cleaned up the entire area, threw away his tickets. He couldn't find them. A mad search under way. And the next day, she finds them. COSTELLO: See? You are being far too cynical. I just wonder how much money he's going to give her.

HEMMER: Not cynical, just skeptical.

COSTELLO: Cynical.

HEMMER: See you later. Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, does the worst part of your day come before you even get to work? America's battle with traffic. We'll talk about what can be done to help.

But first, a look at some famous people. It's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A Missouri judge has entered not guilty pleas for the mother and stepfather charged with murdering a little girl known to the world as Precious Doe. The two were moved from Oklahoma for their first court appearance in the case this week.

Precious Doe is actually Erica Michelle Marie Green. But that wasn't found out until recently.

Joining us now with more on this case is Rod Walton with the "Tulsa World."

Good morning, Rod.

ROD WALTON, "TULSA WORLD": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: What more can you tell us about this couple?

WALTON: Well, this couple has been in a lot -- prior to this, had been in a lot of legal trouble in various jurisdictions. They had been dating for some time.

Now, Erica was born in 1997 while her mother was in prison. She was born in a hospital in Oklahoma City. Shortly after that, she was taken in by a woman who is a friend of the child's paternal grandmother.

The surprising thing about it, with the case, was that even though the mother was in prison at the time on a larceny count, the state Department of Human Services or the State Department of Corrections didn't do anything to track where the child was. She was basically handed over to this family friend. And she lived there most of her life until her mother picked her up before they went to Kansas City.

COSTELLO: And that's when this murder allegedly happened.

WALTON: Right.

COSTELLO: This couple was staying with a friend named Lawanda Driscoll (ph).

WALTON: That's right.

COSTELLO: And supposedly the stepfather was high on PCP at the time.

WALTON: Yes.

COSTELLO: And hit the child.

WALTON: That's right, according to his police statement he gave last week. Now, he was the boyfriend of Michelle Johnson at the time. They went to look for work in Kansas City, they said. He was high on PCP. Erica would not stop crying, and allegedly he then kicked her in the head, and she lay there for about more than a day.

COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this, because the woman they were staying with, Lawanda Driscoll (ph), says she heard a loud noise upstairs when this supposedly happened.

WALTON: That's right.

COSTELLO: She said she didn't see the child for two days. The child didn't go to the bathroom. The child didn't eat. Suddenly, the mother appears with this child in a baby cart, and the child is sleeping. Lawanda Driscoll (ph) doesn't notice that there is anything wrong. That just doesn't sound right to me.

WALTON: Well, the statement that Lawanda Driscoll (ph) gave is at odds with what the police statements that Michelle and Harold Johnson gave. At one point in their statements, they talked about sneaking the child out of the house so nobody could see the baby. And they...

COSTELLO: Well, I was just wondering about Lawanda Driscoll (ph). She'll probably be a witness for the prosecution, but, you know -- and at one point in this article, you say that the mother of this little girl is showing her picture around Kansas City asking people for help in finding her? Or was it another child she was showing the picture of?

WALTON: No, I don't know that. Now, Lawanda Driscoll (ph), she very well could testify for the prosecution. One of the questions that has come up in Kansas City is, why isn't she being charged?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

WALTON: Yes. And what the Jackson County prosecutor's office has said is that their mandatory reporting laws deal with specific types of people, such as parents, clergy, school officials. What they would have to prove, the spokesman told me, was that Lawanda Driscoll (ph) knew specifically that something bad had happened, and that she did not report it even though she...

COSTELLO: Well, let me play devil's advocate, because they had an artist rendering of this little girl's face in newspapers across the country. This was very public in Kansas City. Didn't Lawanda Driscoll (ph) recognize these drawings of this girl?

WALTON: You know, you could say -- I agree with what you're saying. And you could say this about any number of people. I mean, this went on for four years, obviously.

COSTELLO: Such a sad case.

WALTON: Yes.

COSTELLO: Rod Walton joining us from the "Tulsa World" this morning. Thank you.

You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Big traffic is not just a problem in big cities anymore. There are more and more areas where drivers are delayed at least 20 hours a year. There are 51 such places now compared to just 5 in 1982. Among the newer entries: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; New Haven, Connecticut; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Cincinnati, Ohio.

So, what is causing all of the brake lights? And is there any cure?

Joining me now is Mantill Williams with AAA.

Good morning.

MANTILL WILLIAMS, AAA DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, this was our e-mail question of the morning in our 5:00 hour. Nobody had a good solution.

WILLIAMS: Well, yes, you're right. I mean, unfortunately there is no silver bullet. There is not a one-size-fits-all answer.

Basically, we have to do a number of things. We found that the communities that have dealt with traffic congestion, what they do is they have a smorgasbord, or they give a transportation planner a number of things in their toolbox, such as, of course, we need roads, because 9 out of 10 of us use the roads to travel to work. But we also have to look at public transportation. We also have to look at telecommuting.

And now, we actually look at signal timing. If you just adjust the signal timing, sometimes that even increases the flow of travel.

So, basically...

COSTELLO: Let's go back for a moment -- let's go back a moment to building more roads, because doesn't that just invite more cars? I mean, are people really getting together to carpool that much? WILLIAMS: Well, I think, Carol, there is sort of a misunderstanding with that. People think that, well, if you build it, then they will come. But the reality is, if you don't build it, guess what? They're still going to come, because of the increase in population, because of our land use pattern, because of the increase of our growing economy.

So, you have to make road-building at least a part of the problem. But, you're right. Road-building won't solve it completely. But you do have to make it at least part of the solution.

COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about effectiveness of -- like the HOV lane. Do those things really work?

WILLIAMS: Carol, it's interesting. A lot of us have been traveling in the non-HOV lanes, and we don't have an extra passenger. We've been frustrated to see that there are not a lot of people in those HOV lanes. And that's because HOV...

COSTELLO: Why? Because nobody carpools!

WILLIAMS: Exactly. So, what we have discovered is that HOV doesn't work in all situations. HOV only works in a very specific circumstance, when you have a large number of people traveling to large employment centers.

So, what other commuters are starting to do is trying to open up those HOV lanes to what they call high-occupancy toll lanes. And that gives the motorist the opportunity to travel in that particular lane if they pay a fee for an improved service.

So, we're starting to look at utilizing some of those underutilized HOV lanes.

COSTELLO: OK. So, in a nutshell, how long will it take for us to have a solution to our traffic woes? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?

WILLIAMS: Well, this study is actually very timely, because Congress is right now debating the transportation bill. And if the Congress completes its work and passes the transportation bill, what that means is that we'll have money going to the states, and we'll actually be able to direct this traffic congestion that we're working with. But just keep in mind, you know, there is no silver bullet. Each community has to look at a variety of methods to address their particular situation.

COSTELLO: Staying home and not driving. That's a good solution. Mantill Williams from AAA. Thanks for joining us this morning.

You are watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News." Iraq has been rocked by six more bombings this morning. Fifty- four Iraqis are dead, nearly 100 wounded. It's the latest in a string of deadly insurgent attacks. Officials say many of the dead were lined up to join the Iraqi army.

An $82 billion spending package has sailed through the Senate. Most of the money goes to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the bill also requires states to establish uniform standards for driver's licenses. Critics are calling it a national ID card system.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.