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JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL
Isaac Hovers Over Gulf Coast
Aired August 29, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM MORET, HOST: Good evening. I`m Jim Moret from "Inside Edition," filling in for my friend Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Tonight, we are following breaking news as Isaac pelts the Gulf Coast, hammering the area with high winds and heavy rain. We`re bringing you very the latest developments as we track this storm with live coverage from our correspondents on the scene. Plus, we`ll talk live to someone who`s riding out the storm and a heroic rescue worker in one of the hardest hit areas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORET (voice-over): Tonight, Hurricane Isaac relentlessly pounds the Gulf Coast, slamming states with massive amounts of rain and winds gusting up to 100 miles an hour. Many are scrambling to escape the rising water as officials warn for some it`s not even half over. We`ll have the dramatic rescues and firsthand accounts tonight. Plus, reporters in the middle of this torrential storm will bring us the very latest.
Then, a beautiful mother shot to death in her bedroom sends cops on a frantic search for her killer. Police arrest her ex-boyfriend, who they call a person of interest, on unrelated charges. But many are wondering, could he be behind the gruesome murder? The deceased mother`s attorney says she spent the last year of her life living in fear. He`ll tell us why tonight. And I`m taking your calls.
Plus, shocking new details revealed in the case of missing teen Gabby Swainson. Cops charge a 52-year-old man, who recently did some work in the family home, with the teen`s kidnapping. Is this the same man her mom called a close friend on this very show? Are there more victims out there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s it like back there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s horrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First we were going to try to leave, and then we didn`t cause we had nowhere to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flood waters are rising in Louisiana and across the Gulf states.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The wind is just whipping these trees. A huge danger of flying debris. I`ve got to kind of keep an eye out.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the water creeps closer to where we are, it`s hard to keep this door open. But this is the storm surge.
We`ve seen a dramatic -- excuse me. The wind speed increased dramatically here in the last few minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some, who chose not to evacuate, are awaiting rescue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How bad was it back there? How high is the water?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How high? It`s about 15 feet, maybe 16.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody`s house is gone. Nobody`s got a house there.
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH: There`s a lot of people need to be rescued.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lose your home in Katrina, too?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you`ve lost the same home twice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wind has picked up very dramatically here. And the rain is like kind of painful when it runs into your face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I feel like I`m being attacked by a swarm of bees. The rain is coming in really strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s it like back there now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad. Water`s over the top of the roof. We had to break through the ceiling and come through the attic.
NUNGESSER: I have more damage for this storm than I did for Katrina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We left for Katrina. But that`s it. Had enough. I ain`t coming back no more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MORET: Breaking news tonight as Isaac rips through the Gulf Coast, leaving wreckage in its path. The tropical storm is still hovering over Louisiana. Many people are feeling the devastating effects, and rescue crews have been working around the clock to save stranded residents caught in this morning`s Level 1 hurricane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First we were going to try to leave and then we didn`t. Cause we had nowhere to go. Then, they come on the TV and said that every house blew off and that a breach in the levee. So then we were trying to leave, but trying to drive in the car it was -- you couldn`t see your hand in front of your face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s it like back there now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad. Water`s over the top of the roof. We had to break through the ceiling and come through the attic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Today Isaac was downgraded from a Level 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, but officials warn that it is far from over. Meteorologists say the pounding rain and wind could go on for another 30 hours at least. Some parts of the Gulf Coast are facing the possibility of 20 inches of rain. This on the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NUNGESSER: No one thought this storm was going to do what it did to Plaquemines Parish. I myself, it doesn`t matter damage to a home, but to give you an idea, I have more damage from this storm than I did for Katrina. And I rode out Katrina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Residents in that area of Plaquemines -- Plaquemines Parish are under a mandatory evacuation after a levee was overtopped, causing severe flooding. And this is what the parish president told us just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NUNGESSER (via phone): Just as we speak, I got word that another levee in South Plaquemines on the west bank has been overtopped. And this will be the third area of the west bank that is now under water to add to the east bank troubles where we`ve been rescuing people all day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: We`re taking your calls on this. Call me at 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out now to HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen in New Orleans.
Bob, two things stand out. And that is 30 hours and 20 inches. This is far from over clearly.
BOB VAN DILLEN, HLN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. That`s the first thing. You`re absolutely right. Now that the winds have started to die down, the rain has been continuous. And it has been steady. The reason why this thing is moving so slowly is because generally a hurricane is steered by other forces around the continent. Usually a cold front moving in will pick it up and move it away or get caught up in the Westerlies; they`ll push it away.
We`ve had high pressure dominating right around the middle part of the country. It actually aimed for a weakness in that high. And that is just not a fast steering flow. So we`re watching this storm gradually move to the northwest at about six miles per hour. That`s the reason why we`re seeing so much rain.
In fact I`m standing right now in Jackson Square, which is the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans. A couple of blocks away, Audubon Park, 17 inches of rain so far, and that was taken the last hour and a half. So we`ve seen even more than that around here.
If you look around me right now right in this square things are starting to pick up a little bit. People are coming back on out. There is actually a curfew in the city of New Orleans from sundown to sun up tomorrow morning. So, yes, people should be starting to clear the streets pretty soon.
This building right here is the Louisiana State Museum. I`ve only seen a few windows smashed out, but they`re on the top floor and they`re wrapped around the other side of the building. And that happened when we were doing some live shots this morning with a particularly strong burst of wind that came on. We heard them both fall out the window, smash to the ground. You could hear the glass twirling in the air. That was a pretty scary time. That`s what we have over here.
Then you look down this pike right over here. Beautiful trees, live oaks that have been here for centuries. Not much damage. These things could take a punch, but look at all the pruning that was done overnight last night, this morning, into the afternoon. A lot of sweeping going up.
So where is the storm now? It`s headed towards Baton Rouge. LSU, your school is canceled again tomorrow, all your classes. Also, New Orleans Airport not getting any flights out tomorrow either, Jim.
MORET: Thank you. That`s Bob Van Dillen, meteorologist for HLN, in Jackson Square, New Orleans.
Let`s go now to John Zarrella, our CNN correspondent in Gulfport, Mississippi. What`s the latest there, John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, about the same as it`s been for the last 18, 19 hours now. Just this relentless wind and rain, tropical-storm-force winds. It`s -- there is training as they call it, you know, the meteorologists, coming off of the Gulf of Mexico. And we seem to be continuously in this one really intense squall line that`s being pulled up over the Gulf of Mexico and on top of us here in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Now, I can tell you that earlier today -- well, take a look if you can. You can see the Gulf of Mexico back there behind me. Highway 90 runs right down there, the beach road. And earlier today, Jim, the Gulf of Mexico literally just rose up with high tide. You had that storm surge. You had high tide and that wall of water, that dome of water, just moving ashore. And much of Highway 90 in spots all through Mississippi is under water.
We drove down about a mile and a quarter to the east of us, could not go any further. The waves -- the water was as high as the seawall. Waves coming over the seawall. Water covering the roadway. Debris covering the roadway. There were timbers the size of railroad ties on the roadway. Sand covering it. And we understand that large stretches, if not completely inundated like we saw, some other areas are washed out.
So portions of Highway 90 in Mississippi are in serious trouble. And you can see, Jim, now we`re in that intense squall line again and again and again -- Jim.
MORET: And, John, I saw a truck going behind you. So it looked like the water level was fairly low. But I see by the way you`re standing that it looks like you`re bracing for heavy winds.
ZARRELLA: Yes. Again, these tropical-storm-force winds -- you`re right. The water`s receding because of -- well, receding from the standpoint that the tide is out. So the storm surge is not an issue now. And the wind direction has shifted again. It`s not directly from the south to the north. It`s more from the south you know to the southwest. So moving to the northwest. So we`ve had a little change in wind direction which is keeping some of the wave action off.
But inland there`s terrible flooding here. And this storm is much, much worse than anyone expected from the standpoint that it`s lingered so long. We`ve had more than 20 inches of rain here in the Gulfport area, we`ve been told, already. And as you can see, it is still piling on. And likely to go probably for a good another 12 hours -- Jim.
MORET: Good enough. John Zarrella, thank you for that report. We`ll continue our coverage of Tropical Storm Isaac on JVM right after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORET: Welcome back. I`m Jim Moret from "Inside Edition," filling in for Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Officials say more than 150 calls came into from 911 from people waiting to be rescued in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. A 70-year-old man in that area was trapped in his attic with his dogs. He said that the water came up so quickly he had very little time to get to safety. He lost his home seven years ago in Hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I didn`t think it`d happen again. I got two trucks, two boats (ph), never used.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you here for Katrina?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We left for Katrina. But that`s it. Had enough. I ain`t coming back no more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lose your home in Katrina, too?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So now you`ve lost the same home twice?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Ed Lavandera, CNN correspondent, has been in Grand Isle, Louisiana, since yesterday when the storm first touched down. Ed, what`s the situation like now?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jim. Well, it seems like 24 hours ago when we were talking, I kind of feel like we`re back where we started.
Here in Grand Isle we are still pretty much confined to this house that we have been using as shelter here throughout the storm. And this is where we`ll have to remain for another night, because many of the roadways, if not all of them here on the island, are still very much impassable.
The water right below us here on the ground level probably got to be about four to five feet deep. In fact, right over here I can show you this is where we were, I think, last night when we were talking, Jim. You can see a couple of the lines of the bricks there on the foundation of the home.
Well, if you move up above that brick line and then two of those panels along the siding there, that`s how high the water got to where we were, which covered up this all -- this fenced-in area, this metal fenced- in area. You couldn`t even see that. All of this was under water just a few hours ago.
So even though we are still sensing these tropical storm conditions, the heavy winds and the rain bands continue to come through, which is just simply amazing, considering that this is where we were 24 hours ago. I`ve covered many of these storms. Usually, it blows through relatively quickly. The fact that we`re still having to deal with this is just exhausting, quite frankly.
But the good news is, despite this, the water levels are slowly receding here. And that will give people here on the island, especially the emergency officials and city officials, the opportunity to kind of go around and start surveying.
From our vantage point and the main thing I think people want to know about, where we look at structural damage, and we can see dozens of homes here in our -- in our surrounding areas as we kind of walk around. I haven`t been able to see any kind of structural damage here in Grand Isle where any homes have collapsed. I mean, everyone builds up on these -- on these stilts to let the water, the storm surge pass underneath. That is very typical on islands -- barrier islands like this all along the Gulf Coast. I haven`t seen that structural damage, which is good news.
There are several homes that have roof damage. And we have heard reports of that up and down various parts of the island here in Grand Isle. So people will be dealing with that.
But the important thing, and I think what people want to see happen as quickly as possible, is for these roadways to clear away from water. And that would give people the opportunity to either start coming back or give the emergency crews the opportunity to start driving the roadways. But I still think we`re probably a day away from that, Jim.
MORET: Thank you. That`s Ed Lavandera who is in Grand Isle. I want to underscore what he`s said. He`s basically trapped in that area. We`re able to get out a picture, but Ed himself and his crew are not able to get out right now.
Jackie Grosch has been riding out this storm in St. Bernard Parish. And I believe we have him on the phone.
Mr. Grosch, can you hear me?
JACKIE GROSCH, ST. BERNARD PARISH RESIDENT (via phone): Yes, I can.
MORET: Oh, is that Jackie? I`m sorry. Jackie, can you hear me?
GROSCH: Yes, I can.
MORET: How are you doing? How are you doing, Jackie?
GROSCH: Oh, we`re faring OK. Still raining. Lots of wind. Just a gloomy day. We`ve been fighting this rain and wind all day long. We lost...
MORET: Are you trapped? Are you trapped where you are, Jackie? Jackie, are you trapped? Where you are?
GROSCH: No, we`re not. We`re not trapped. But you -- you know, it`s really not safe to get out on the highway to go anywhere.
MORET: Why did you stay?
GROSCH: Well, we left for Katrina. And this time it was just a tropical storm. We survived Katrina. We did lose everything, but this time it was just a tropical storm. And it wasn`t supposed to be this bad. And then it turned into a, you know, Hurricane 1. And, you know, Katrina was much more than that.
We just decided to stay. It was just a decision that we made this time. And I don`t think we`ll do it again, though.
MORET: And surveying as much as you can right now, is the damage worse or as bad as Katrina in your area?
GROSCH: No. For Katrina, I had nothing left when I came back. I lost everything. Cars, house, clothes -- I mean, anything that we ever owned. All my children`s past, we lost everything. So no, it`s not that bad. But it`s just -- it`s just -- you know, it`s just bad. And I don`t know if you know about hurricane insurance. It`s quite expensive. And we had maybe a $10,000 deductible before we even get started to get someone to help us repair what we have. So...
MORET: I know. It`s extremely costly.
Jackie, thank you so much for letting us check in with you.
I know that Jackie is talking to us on her cell phone. She is without power. We wish her and the other residents who are still there the best, certainly, as the days pass and they start to dry out.
We`ll be back with more of our continuing coverage of Tropical Storm Isaac right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MORET: That is Gulfport, Mississippi, you`re looking at. I`m Jim Moret filling in for Jane today.
Tom Sater, our meteorologist in Atlanta, can fill us in on what to expect over the coming hours.
Tom, what does the situation look like? This is -- we`re hearing 30 more hours and 20 inches total.
TOM SATER, HLN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
MORET: And it`s just devastating for that area. We just heard one resident in Bernard Parish saying that she stayed in her house.
SATER: Right.
MORET: Because she thought, well, how bad could it be, but it was pretty bad.
SATER: Yes. Jim, if there`s one lesson to learn here, just one, it`s that it doesn`t matter if it`s a tropical storm or Category 1. In this case it really put on the brakes.
Sometimes we see these systems make landfall. And when they lose that warm water, it`s like cutting the fuel line. And this one bogged down. We even saw the eye of Isaac wobble a little bit overnight and get knocked to its knees. It could never catch its feet again, and it`s moving slow.
I want to show you a comparison between the track of Katrina in blue here, and then in white, of course, this is Isaac. Now Katrina got into a core of deep depth area in the center of the Gulf where the waters were really warm, exploded to Category 5 at one point. That warm water was too shallow for Isaac a little bit off to the east.
Both Katrina and Isaac made two landfalls. Katrina moved into Plaquemines Parish about 5 in the morning. On this anniversary, keep in mind, 1,800 people lost their lives today seven years ago. It made a second landfall in Bay St. Louis at 8:30 in the morning.
Isaac moved in 6:45 p.m. Central Time. And then actually made its way over an inlet, a water area, and made landfall a second time.
But what I really want to point out, look at the spacing between these observations from the National Hurricane Center. These are the same tides that we`re getting from Isaac. But the problem -- what you`re seeing here, this is a greater speed. That forward direction with Katrina was much faster. Each one of these small little reports here is just putting on the brakes.
Yesterday we talked about that, if you were an avid runner and you could run a nine-minute mile, that you could run from one end of the state to the other and keep up with this. No, actually, you could outrun it. You could outrun this system.
Now we`re going to watch this still take its sweet time moving through Louisiana. In fact, it`s not going to leave until late tomorrow.
We back this up. This is an 18-hour loop now. And I`ve highlighted where you see Plaquemines Parish here. And you can just see the bands and the heavy rainfall. Some of the areas of yellow here and orange, those bands, they were about 130 miles long. And they`re dropping rainfall at two inches an hour, maybe even some higher rainfall rates. You can see the eye slowly sliding to the west/northwest.
Now, that eye, what is left of it, is about 65 miles well to the west of New Orleans. But we`re going to see rainfall rates continue to be staggering. And that`s why we continue to have somewhat of a storm surge. In fact, in Waveland, Mississippi, reporting a seven-foot storm surge even now.
So as you see the core leave, Jim, you can start to notice the wind speeds, at least the core start to lose somewhat of its punch. But it was never about the strong winds. It was for dropping the power. I mean, when this made landfall we had 50,000 without power. Within one hour time it tripled. Within two hour times it doubled again. Now we`re over 800,000. It`s going to get over a million before this thing is said and done.
MORET: Thank you, Tom. Tom Sater, meteorologist in Atlanta. Underscoring one thing he said very important, it does not matter that it`s no longer a Category 1, a tropical storm is still dangerous and still potentially deadly.
We`ll be back with more coverage later in the show. More with Jane right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Detectives say Ikari (ph) was murdered, and now they`re calling Gould a person of interest. She says Gould shattered a window in her home. His probation for stalking her was then revoked. Ikari (ph) wrote that Gould, quote, "tried to run me over with his truck" and that he threatened, quote, "I will kill you, you will die."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: I`m Jim Moret from "Inside Edition," filling in tonight for Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Tonight a beautiful Florida mother is found murdered in her bedroom while her 2-year-old son is just steps away. Investigators say they responded to a home alarm and round (ph) up 43-year-old Georgette Koresh (ph), found her riddled with bullet wounds, dead with her 2-year-old son unharmed but nearby.
Her family clearly devastated. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVIANE ACARIE, VICTIM`S SISTER: My sister is going to walk to me any time and just hug me and just be back in life and I know that`s not going to happen. And that hurts me so bad -- hurts me so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Cops immediately launched a manhunt for Acarie`s ex-boyfriend, Kristofer Gould. Acarie wrote in a police report, quote, "Now I`m scared he`ll come back and kill me and kill my baby." look at her face in these photos. This is just some photos taken after an alleged altercation with Gould.
Acarie told police she had been living in fear for over a year. And Gould was on probation for aggravated stalking. Police records show that they visited her house -- get this -- 50 times in two years.
Just hours ago police found Gould asleep on a beach, arrested him on unrelated charges including giving a false name, carrying a concealed firearm.
What do you think? Call me at 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to Eben Self attorney for Jorgete Acarie in Orlando. This is just a horrible, horrible situation and one that when you`re watching at home you think couldn`t this have been avoided?
EBEN SELF, ATTORNEY FOR JORGETE ACARIE: Absolutely. And thanks for having me. It`s one of those situations when you think the system clearly has more holes in it than it does opportunities to save victims just like this.
MORET: With 50 calls to 911, what else could she have done?
SELF: Well, we don`t think she could have done anything. And one of the things that concerns us the most is that in those 55 phone calls that she had to 911 where she was asking for help because Mr. Gould was breaking into her house, stealing her car, battering her, stalking her -- doing all of those things, we would hope that the system would have taken these charges more seriously.
Ultimately they did -- they charged him with aggravated stalking, misdemeanor stalking and violations of domestic injunctions or restraining orders, as they`re called sometimes. So we were hoping that the system could have protected her. But in this case it didn`t. And her premonition about Mr. Gould doing something harmful to her clearly came true.
MORET: How horrible. We see on screen Viviane Acarie, Jorgete`s sister. You have our deepest sympathies, Viviane. Your family must be going through just a horrendous situation. You, I understand, told -- you begged Jorgete not to spend the night alone, didn`t you?
ACARIE: I did. And also her friend did too. But she was leaving last year like just so scared of this guy that she could see a car on the street, she was shaking. We are going to talk to the police all the time. They say they could not do anything because it was a civil blah, blah, blah. And then ended up that she`s dead.
At one point she could not take anymore because she said "Now I`m going to be strong for this guy because I`m scared that run away from him I am going to put him in jail. And I`m going to have my life back. I`m going to live again. I`m not going to let this guy see my baby. I`m not going to let his family see my baby. I`m going to leave now because I`m living in hell. And I`m going to be strong." And she`s just that.
MORET: We`re showing on the screen right now a picture of Kristofer Gould, who was Jorgete`s ex-boyfriend. We want to make it clear that at this point, even though he`s under arrest for unrelated charges and being held in custody, he`s not officially been named a suspect.
Mr. Self, Eben Self, attorney for Jorgete Acarie; I guess a lot of folks are concerned about Jorgete and Kristofer`s child, the two-year-old who was in the house at the time and I fear must have seen some horrific things.
SELF: Yes. In fact one of the things that concerns us greatly is that young Kristopher, the baby who`s a little more than 2 years old, clearly at the dependency hearing on Monday was covering his ears. He had clearly expressed some thoughts that he heard some sort of bang or explosion. He spoke in Portuguese and said words to the effect of that "Dad hurt mom." And so that`s -- in fact, today when he was at one of the doctor`s visits for part of that dependency process, he saw a window and he pointed to the window and said "Dad."
So our concern is that he did see something. And Viviane and the family are making sure that he gets any appropriate medical attention or care or psychiatric attention during this critical time.
MORET: And what do you do, Mr. Self? At this point you want to move forward, you want the police investigation to move forward. And I suppose at this point you would like charges to be officially filed, correct?
SELF: Absolutely. And we have full faith in the Orange County sheriff`s homicide detectives that we`ve been talking to that they are following all the leads that they have forensically taken care of the crime scene, that they are gathering the evidence that will be necessary to bring the charges against Mr. Gould for the crime that we think he committed and that we think the evidence shows that he committed.
MORET: Joe Gomez is an investigative reporter with KRLD in Dallas, joining us now. Joe, what`s the next step in this investigation from your vantage point?
JOE GOMEZ, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, I mean the next step I guess is to try to find, you know, some sort of motivation here. What`s striking here is the progression of events that happened. I mean, just a week before Jorgete was brutally shot dead in her home, this man had allegedly thrown a brick through her window in the middle of the night while she was in the bathroom, screaming outside of her house.
Before that we know for about two years there were cases of assault and battery going on, domestic abuse involving Jorgete and this individual. Why would she even fall in love with this man? Look at her. She`s a gorgeous, beautiful woman. What could she have seen in this guy?
It just puzzles me to find out how things could have gotten so bad. How could she have not picked up on any warning signs or anybody else to maybe step in and say, hey, back off. Get the cops to get this guy and get him away from Jorgete.
MORET: Well, I want to point something out. On Thursday Jorgete went to get paperwork for yet another restraining order. She tried to turn it in at 3:05. The court didn`t accept it because it closed at 3:00 so she missed the deadline. Eben Self, attorney for Jorgete, let`s face it even if she had gotten this restraining order, the fact is it`s a piece of paper at that point. If somebody wanted to harm another person, they could do it.
SELF: Absolutely. Pieces of paper don`t prevent bullets from hitting their mark. But what those pieces of paper do, do sometimes, is prevent people from acting in the way that they`re going to act. The concern in this case was last week there was the incident that happened on Monday, the 20th, where the rock was thrown through her window. There was a police report that was filed -- that was used to form the basis of a violation of probation. So there was actually a warrant out for Kristofer`s arrest.
Later in the week we had encouraged Jorgete to go file that injunction. She got the paperwork on Thursday. She missed the deadline on Friday. And then on Saturday Kristofer broke into her house again at 8:00 or 9:00 at night. There was another police report made. She was told by Viviane and other family members not to stay in the house that night.
But she said she was not going to live her life in fear and that she was going to stay in her house. That morning -- the next morning at 5:00 in the morning -- is when this awful event took place. But there was already arrest warrants out for Mr. Gould at the time that this event actually took place.
The restraining orders can help let police officers make arrests for misdemeanor events like battery and stalking that happen outside their presence where they would otherwise not be allowed to make an arrest.
MORET: Right.
SELF: But in this case there was already that warrant out there.
MORET: We`re going to continue coverage of this story on the other side of the break. We will also be taking your calls. Stay with us on JVM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: People say it`s too expensive, too complicated to eat healthy -- nonsense. I am here at a farmers market in midtown Manhattan of all places. Take a look at the gorgeous veggies.
We`re talking about a fifth generation farm from upstate New York. So this is locally grown, locally produced. Now, if you want to find a farmers market in your area, just Google "Farmers Markets USA" and a whole directory will pop up. You put in your zip code and look, all the farmers markets in your area will appear. Check it out.
Healthy mind, healthy body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Much more on this heartbreaking case of a murdered Orlando mom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACARIE: I think he don`t have God in his heart. I think he`s evil. He don`t care about anybody. I just don`t understand why nobody stopped this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: That`s Viviane Acarie, Jorgete Acarie`s sister. Jorgete was shot multiple times with her two-year-old son nearby. Police have arrested her boyfriend, Kristofer Gould, but on unrelated charges.
Let`s go out to Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor in Atlanta. I can`t stress enough he`s not yet named a suspect, nor is he arrested for this case, but he is in custody. Holly, what do you do if this is your client?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, if this is my client -- I wouldn`t have taken him quite frankly, Jim, because of the history, because of the pattern. And I have to jump in here because I feel so bad for this family. The breakdown in the system was not with the police officers. They went and arrested him. She went and took the injunction. She did everything right.
The problem, Jim, is we have the laws on the books, but the judges are not sentencing. He was on probation for aggravated stalking -- why wasn`t he doing ten or 20 years in the prison system? That is what would have saved her life is if the judge had sentenced appropriately.
You know, the police officers can only do so much. They arrest him, take him to jail. There was a probation warrant that was issued for him saying, yes, he messed up again. We revoke his probation. He was on GPS. How did they not know where he was?
So, you know, at this point --
MORET: And Holly, one thing --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: -- in time --
MORET: -- one thing that`s so frustrating -- one thing that`s so frustrating, I`m watching this and thinking to myself, wait a minute, if this is my sister, if this is my friend, and I say you do everything you can, she did everything she could. She called 911 55 times.
HUGHES: She did. Absolutely did.
MORET: She got a restraining order.
HUGHES: Right.
MORET: What are you supposed to do?
HUGHES: Right. That`s the problem. That`s what I`m saying. The breakdown here was at the sentencing level, Jim. Somebody, some judge should have sentenced him to ten or 20 years and then this woman would have been safe because to be perfectly frank, and it`s a frightening thought, but if a stalker wants to get you, they`re going to get you because nobody`s looking over their shoulder. Nobody`s locking them up. They`re letting them out on probation with an ankle monitor.
That`s nice, but guess what, he breaks into their house and shoots you it takes five minutes by the time the ankle monitoring company is notified, you`re dead. This poor woman did everything right. The police officers who, you know, went out there and took the reports and filed the warrants, they did it right. The probation officer who said, fine, I`m going to issue a warrant and revoke him. They did it right.
But when it got to the judicial system, some judge did not take this seriously. If you violate a restraining order 50 different times, every single one of those phone calls, Jim, could have been charged as a new count of aggravated stalking.
MORET: Wow. Thank you, Holly Hughes. Viviane Acarie, Jorgete`s sister, I want to give you the final word. What do you want people to remember about your sister?
ACARIE: That she`s an amazing woman. That she`s an amazing mother -- so sweet, a helpful person. If she sees anybody needs anything, she`d go for them. She did everything to make her kids safe and happy and putting food on the table. She was the mother, she was the daddy. She was everything for those kids. And then --
MORET: Viviane Acarie, Eben Self -- I`m sorry, we`re out of time. But thank you so much. We will not give up on our coverage of this case. We will continue to follow it here.
Thank you all and stay with us. We`ll be back with more right after this.
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MORET: Time for a very special "Pet of the Day". I hope my kids are watching -- my very own Maxwell the wonder dog. Send us your hlntv.com/Jane. Hi, Maxwell.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest nightmare that you can ever have as a parent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe she is still alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of volunteers are going door to door. Missing 15-year-old Gabrielle Swainson --
SHERIFF LEON LOTT, RICHLAND COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: We do know who is responsible for kidnapping her from her house (inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The girl whose mother has no clue how her daughter vanished or where she is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t see her on her bed. And I panicked, I froze at that moment.
LOTT: A monster came in that morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Chilling new developments in the disappearance of a 15-year- old girl who police say was abducted right out of her South Carolina home. They have arrested a suspect, a career criminal, but the girl is still missing.
Gabby Swainson vanished in the early morning hours of Saturday August 18th. Her mom left Gabby asleep in her bed while she went to work for a few hours. When she returned then, the bed, she said, was empty. Police say that gabby was abducted by a career criminal named Freddie Grant. He was a family friend.
Investigators say he initially raised suspicions when he was completely uncooperative with the search for Gabby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON: We can say for certainty that Gabby left the home that morning, with Grant. Grant took her to his house. We have found blood on duct tape. We haven`t determined yet how he got into the house. He was there earlier that day on Friday evening. Cutting the grass and doing yard work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Gabby`s mom was a guest on this very show last week. Days before Grant`s arrest, Jane wondered if Gabby may have been kidnapped by somebody that the family knows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Has there been anyone in your life, anybody hanging around, doing yard work for example, or a friend that you feel like, I`m not so is sure about this person.
SYLVIA SWAINSON, MISSING TEEN`S MOTHER: Well, I do have a close friend that was helping me with some remodelling in my house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORET: Joe Gomez, investigative reporter with KRLD in Dallas; what`s the latest that you can bring us?
GOMEZ: Well, Jim, this is a very chilling story, you know. This 52- year-old yard hand that apparently the family knew, according to police staked out the house, knew exactly when 15-year-old Gabby was going to be alone. That he went into the house, this is according to police, kidnapped her and then took her to his place.
Now it`s been over 10 days, we still haven`t found Gabby. But what`s very terrifying about this Jim is they found pieces of duct tape inside this man`s home with blood on it. Yes, that`s right, duct tape with blood on it. Furthermore, investigators are now looking at a junkyard right across from this person`s home. It`s terrifying, truly Jim.
MORET: Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor in Atlanta, this is yet another case where there`s a suspect in custody that knew the victim and that`s often what police look for, isn`t it?
HUGHES: Absolutely because this young lady, she`s 15, she`s old enough to know better than to just go off with a stranger. This is somebody who lulled her into a false sense of security. For all we know, he just knocked on the door and said can I come in and get a drink of water, this young woman would have known to trust him because he had been around.
MORET: Nancy Grace will have much more on this case in just a few minutes. Join Nancy at the top of the hour, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on HLN.
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MORET: We`re down to our last 30 seconds. Let`s check in to Bob Van Dillen to get the very latest on what to expect with tropical storm Isaac.
BOB VAN DILLEN, HLN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, thanks a lot Jim.
Right now, the latest out of New Orleans; winds 30-35 miles per hour sustained, gusting still at 50, but the heaviest rain the biggest winds are in Mississippi, in towards northern Louisiana on the way to Arkansas, that`s the problem, all that rain -- Jim.
MORET: Thank you Bob. I`m Jim Moret from "Inside Edition", thanks for watching.
Nancy Grace coming up next.
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