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CNN NEWSROOM

Stars to Shine in Oklahoma; 10-Year-Old Girl Fights for Life

Aired May 29, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: After a Marine goes on a shooting spree, a chilling discovery inside his motel room.

The longer this American mom stays in a Mexican jail, the harder it will be to get her out. So says a lawyer who has been through this.

Plus, the mysterious death of a former NFL quarterback whose last known phone call is raising eyebrows.

And --

SARAH MURNAGHAN, 10 YEARS OLD (singing): Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

BALDWIN: -- a 10-year-old girl with weeks to live is being denied a transplant because of her age -- now her parents' urgent fight to change the rules.

JANET MURNAGHAN, MOTHER OF SARAH MURNAGHAN: I'm not going to tell her she's dying because she's 10.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And we continue on, hour two. Thank you for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We begin with nasty weather, dangerous storms breaking out right now in the Plains. We are going to chase that weather live.

Chad Myers, you know. Chad Myers, our CNN meteorologist, he is out and about in Kansas. Actually, now I'm told he's in the Panhandle of Oklahoma, before then heading to Texas, chasing these storms. He's with this team, you know, following this. We're going to see what they're seeing and, Chad, depending on if he's able to help on the cell phone and we can hear him because of the storms, he can walk me through some of this.

But first let me just walk you back to yesterday and these pictures, this giant twister. Look at this. This thing was on the ground for half-an-hour. It skirted the small town of Corning, Kansas, thank goodness didn't do too much damage there. Again, this was yesterday.

Today, want you to see this. You see all the red there? The red means danger. More than three million people are under the gun right now, including Chad Myers.

So we also have Samantha Moore standing by in the Weather Center.

And we're working to get Chad up on the phone.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: I know the ingredients are not what people in that area want to hear, but it is perfect for storm chasers. And we know Chad Myers, he will be calling in momentarily to talk us through what exactly he's seeing as he's chasing this thing on the ground from Oklahoma.

There is a host -- speaking of Oklahoma, a host of stars coming together tonight for this huge benefit concert to help the victims of the tornado that leveled so much of Moore, Oklahoma, last week, that EF-5 tornado. Look at these faces. You have Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Usher among those invited native Oklahoman Blake Shelton.

So we are there and we talked to these two performers today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBA MCENTIRE, MUSICIAN: It's going to be songs that people can just get away from what is outside that door, just being here and have a good time.

DARIUS RUCKER, MUSICIAN: That's the one thing about tragedies like this, is it shows how great of a place America is, because we all just pull together. You all put aside your differences and all this stuff and just try to pull together to help. And that's one of the things I love about our country, always willing to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was Nischelle Turner talking to some of those artists. She's there for the concert tonight in Moore. The televised concert begins at 9:00 Eastern. Proceeds will go to the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund.

Police say the Marine who was killed by West, Texas, authorities after a shooting spree may have also killed his wife; 23-year-old Lance Corporal Esteban Smith was killed by authorities Sunday after he went on a two-hour rampage. One person was killed. Five others were injured. And now police say the body of Smith's wife was discovered in a motel near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina; 21-year-old Rubi Smith was apparently stabbed to death, gruesome, gruesome details coming out today.

Sara Ganim joins me with more.

Awful story all the way around, but so many questions still. What appears to have happened?

SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Right.

What authorities are saying, Brooke, is this appears to be a killing spree that took place over 1,500 miles. BALDWIN: Wow.

GANIM: It actually takes 24 hours to drive from Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, North Carolina, to Concho County, Texas, where these shootings took place.

It ended with a shoot-out between Lance Corporal Marine Esteban Smith, but it started before that. He had shot at, at least six people, injuring a sheriff's deputy and killing one person. And just -- I just want you to listen to what some of these people who were shot inside their cars at random had to say.

BALDWIN: Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASIMIRO SOLIS, VICTIM: I wouldn't wish this on anybody. For somebody just to come in and opening up on us for no reason, they don't even know us, and just leaving us for dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: Now, police did tell me it appears to be random shootings. What they do know is that an assault rifle was used. There was a handgun was found and hundreds of rounds of ammo.

But the problem here is the evidence is so far apart, like I said, 1,500 miles, so some of the evidence that's relevant to the murder investigation of Rubi Smith is actually in Texas. Some of the Texas shooting evidence is actually in Jacksonville, North Carolina. So, they're trying to bring it all together and pursue this investigation.

BALDWIN: So what is the connection? Is there any connection that police know of between these two different locations?

GANIM: If they know at this point, they're not talking about it. As far as they tell me at this point, they don't know a motive.

And, you know, what is interesting is, he's not even from Texas. There is no clear link at this point to Concho County, Texas. And Esteban Smith is actually from California.

BALDWIN: Stay on it. We will follow it with you. Sara Ganim, appreciate it.

And coming up next, this emotional story about this 10-year-old girl. She has weeks to live. She's waiting for a lifesaving lung transplant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. MURNAGHAN: I used to go to school before I got oxygen. I got to go to school and play and act like all the normal children.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Oh. This little girl is having a tough time getting a lung, all because of her age. We're going to tell you more of her story and then I will talk live with her mother next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: At 10 years of age, there's a Pennsylvania girl named Sarah Murnaghan. And she already knows what it takes to succeed. Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. MURNAGHAN: I'm not going for easy. I'm just going for possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Life has been far from easy for Sarah. She has cystic fibrosis that has absolutely ravaged her lungs to the point that she now lives in a pediatric ICU in Philadelphia.

And as she fights to breathe, Sarah's parents are fighting as well to get their daughter a lung transplant that they say is unfairly out of reach because of their daughter's age. And time is running out.

CNN's Zain Asher tells their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

S. MURNAGHAN (singing): Twinkle, twinkle little star.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten-year-old Sarah Murnaghan wants to be a singer. Her mother says, if she gets a new pair of lungs in the next few weeks, her dream could one day be a reality.

J. MURNAGHAN: I'm not going to tell her she's dying because she's 10.

ASHER: Sarah was born with cystic fibrosis, an illness that has damaged her lungs beyond repair.

S. MURNAGHAN: I used to go to school before I got oxygen. I got to go to school and play and act like all the normal children.

FRAN MURNAGHAN, FATHER OF SARAH MURNAGHAN: We knew at some point she would need new lungs. We had hoped it would be much, much further down the road. But over the years, her disease has progressed.

ASHER: If Sarah was 12 years old, she would have a higher chance of receiving adult lungs. But since she's only 10, she primarily has access to children's lungs, which are in much shorter supply.

J. MURNAGHAN: That's insane. It shouldn't be about their age. If she's the sickest person, she should qualify.

ASHER: Under the rules, the only way Sarah could receive an adult's lung to save her life is if all the other patients in her region who were age 12 and older turned it down first.

DR. STUART SWEET, UNITED NETWORK FOR ORGAN SHARING: It tugs at my heart. It is not a perfect system. There is no perfect system. It is the best we can do right now.

ASHER: Dr. Stuart Sweet is a board member at the United Network for Organ Sharing. He helped write the pediatric transplant rules.

SWEET: If I change the system to give Sarah an advantage, there is another patient, very likely an adolescent, who then gets a disadvantage. We built a system that we try to be as -- tries to be as fair to everyone as possible.

ASHER: Sarah now has three to five weeks to live.

J. MURNAGHAN: So hard to get pediatric lungs.

ASHER: Her mother is still working on a solution. Her options, though, are limited.

J. MURNAGHAN: Maybe it is too late for Sarah. I don't know. But it is not it is not right. I'm going to fight for the next person's kid.

ASHER: Sarah still has hope.

S. MURNAGHAN: I'm not going for easy. I'm just going for possible.

ASHER: The possibility of living, of maybe one day realizing her dreams.

Zain Asher, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: What a story.

Sarah's father, Fran Murnaghan, now joins me live from Philadelphia.

Fran, I hate that I'm talking to you. I hate the circumstances, but I got to tell you, your 10-year-old is a pretty eloquent young gal. As a dad, your daughter is dying, but you and your wife have chosen not to tell her, and that has to be incredibly difficult.

F. MURNAGHAN: Yes, it is. I mean, she continues to fight. And she wants to fight. And she's always been a fighter. And we're going to stand next to her and fight all the way.

BALDWIN: Tell me again, just how long does she have?

F. MURNAGHAN: The doctors -- and we're taking it day to day, but her lungs have deteriorated significantly. And we're saying a few weeks. So if we don't receive a pair of lungs in the next few weeks, then she will die.

BALDWIN: So I'm hearing you. It is not just one lung. She needs a pair. She needs two. F. MURNAGHAN: Yes, which -- yes, she needs the set, correct.

BALDWIN: And I know that your story, you have gotten worldwide attention. I was just curious if anyone has heard your story yet, anyone trying to reach out, trying to donate a pair specifically designated for your daughter?

F. MURNAGHAN: Well, what we have been receiving from people, the gifts, the notes, it has been wonderful.

But in our situation and the way that the lungs work, obviously, we need a specific blood type and size, so the best chance for us is to get one through the process. And we're reaching out now to the secretary of health and human services, who has the ability to make change or to adjust the system as needed to make sure that children are not in the back of the line, that they have the opportunity to be equal as the other adults to receive a lung.

BALDWIN: So just so I understand this clearly, and so our viewers understand the predicament you're in, she can't -- she could receive a pediatric pair of lungs. But the -- that is incredibly rare to get another child's set of lungs to give to Sarah.

Instead, she would need adult lungs. But she's not of the adult category; therefore, she is at the -- basically part of the end of the line to receive those. Is that correct?

F. MURNAGHAN: She's at the very end of the line. So, being as she's only 10 and under the age of 12, how the system works is, if there is an available set of lungs from an adult, they go through the entire adult list, no matter what severity the various adults are at, and then once everyone on the adult list has passed them up, then they're offered to the children.

BALDWIN: So, as, Fran, you point out that you have weeks left, and a lot of ifs here, what is your next step?

F. MURNAGHAN: Our next step, and a lot of -- we have been getting a lot of support from congresspeople now.

Congressman Pat Meehan has sent a letter to the secretary of health and human services. Congressman Toomey -- and there's others who have been coming out today and the last few days to give us the support that we need so that we can have the folks in Washington look at the situation.

BALDWIN: I hope the folks in Washington are hearing your pleas. I hope that the next time I talk to you, we're talking about Sarah with this new set of lungs, but I have to ask, have you or at what point do you, once you -- you know, you have done so much already.

At what point do you accept the fact that you, despite your fighting as a parent, have run out of options?

F. MURNAGHAN: Yes. Well, that's something that, you know, as we progress day to day, and we work with our doctors -- but, I mean, outside of that, we're never going to stop for this cause, because we know many other families, many other parents who are in the same situation as us.

So it needs to be changed. It needs to be looked at. So no matter what our outcome may be, and we do realize we may be late, too late, this is something that we will continue to push for.

BALDWIN: That is an incredibly selfless answer.

My heart goes out to you. Please tell Sarah hello. And, again, I would love to have you back on, hopefully with a wonderful, wonderful outcome. Fran Murnaghan, best to you and your wife.

And, as I mentioned, Sarah's parents are urging officials to change the current policy. They have set up a petition. You can check it out. You can go to Change.org. just search Sarah Murnaghan -- that's M-U-R-N-A-G-H-A-N -- at the top of the page for more information.

Wow.

An Arizona mother of seven in prison in Mexico for a week gets her chance before a judge in a matter of hours. Police say she tried to smuggle 12 pounds of marijuana across the border. But her family says she was set up. What will the judge decide? We will talk about that "On the Case" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: An Arizona mom spent another day behind bars in jail in Mexico.

Yanira Maldonado's nightmare began on a bus ride back home to the United States after being down in Mexico attending a funeral with her husband. She was arrested, right here, at this checkpoint. The Mexican military is saying they found 12 pounds of marijuana under her bus seat. Thing is, her family is convinced she was set up, that she was framed, and they're hoping she will be released at a hearing this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA SOTO, DAUGHTER OF YANIRA MALDONADO: I have some family members there yesterday, and we have high hopes, so I'm just looking forward to that. Hopefully, Friday, I'm praying that she -- she will be home and be set free, released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Casey Wian talks the strength of the allegations against her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, all we know in terms of the case that they have built against her, if you can really call it a case, is the fact that marijuana was allegedly found underneath this -- her bus seat on a commercial bus.

Witnesses have testified that she and her husband got on that bus and they weren't carrying anything. Initially, according to Yanira's family, they arrested Gary Maldonado, her husband. They said it was under his seat. They then let him go, then arrested his wife, sent her off to prison before he says he could gather the money together to pay the bribe, $5,000 bribe is what he says he was asked to pay to secure her release, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, experts saying perhaps she was a softer target than her husband. And you know the deal in Mexico. It is kind of like you're guilty until you're proven innocent.

Let me ask you, though. What kind of contact has she had with her family members, with the United States?

WIAN: Limited contact with family members. They visited her briefly over the weekend in prison, very heart-wrenching, difficult experience for her daughter, who we spoke to about that yesterday. Her husband was in touch with the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, and consular officials say through the State Department that they have been in touch with Mexican authorities.

They haven't told us if they're actually inside this courtroom, this small courtroom monitoring the proceedings. They say that any comment on this case needs to come from either Mexican authorities or Yanira's attorney in Mexico.

We should also point out, though, that U.S. Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona is monitoring the situation, has been in contact with Mexican officials, as well as the family, Brooke.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: That was Casey Wian reporting in Arizona.

I can tell you that at this hearing this afternoon, Mexican military officers are expected to testify and be cross-examined by her attorney.

A former college football star sets out on a fishing trip, but turns up dead. Cullen Finnerty's body was found, but it wasn't next to his boat. And just this afternoon, police got preliminary autopsy results. We will tell you what has been revealed thus far about his death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to this mysterious death of former football college star Cullen Finnerty. Police say Finnerty, who was briefly with the NFL Baltimore Ravens, apparently set out to go fishing just this past Sunday in Michigan, but he disappeared, his body found last night in the woods about a half-mile from where he left his boat.

Want to bring in Alina Cho in New York, who has been working this one for us today.

And so I know you have seen the preliminary autopsy reporting just a short time ago. What did it say?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, that preliminary autopsy report did come back this afternoon. It came back inconclusive, meaning no determined cause of death just yet, but no signs of foul play either.

Now, the family had expressed some concerns to investigators about concussions. So there will be a round of brain tests conducted and a final autopsy will be released tomorrow, but we should mention that our own CNN medical unit says that it is highly unlikely that even in this final autopsy report there will be any indication if concussions played a role in Finnerty's death -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Finnerty, as we mentioned, had left for this fishing trip over the weekend. Tell me about that.

CHO: That's right, and, again, so much we don't know. But what we can tell you is this.

He apparently was supposed to meet a friend at a campground. His parents apparently had a cabin nearby. That friend he was supposed to meet apparently never showed up. And the last time that anyone heard from him was on Sunday, when he placed a call to a family member. Now, in that call, he said he was uncomfortable, he wanted to come off the river. And he added that he was leery about something. But he would not say what that was.

Now, as a person, Finnerty was just 30 years old. He was married with two young children, a star quarterback in college. After that, he joined the Baltimore Ravens for a short time. He also was briefly with the Denver Broncos. But he really was a big star in college. This was at Grand Valley State University.

The university, by the way, did put out a statement, Brooke, saying in part: "All of our thoughts and prayers go out to Cullen's family. You can tell by the outpouring of support and now grief just how much this young man means to the Grand Valley community."

One of his former coaches actually said he's a big character kid, had a lot of friendships. And that was evident this weekend. Imagine this. A lot of current and former football players, teammates, coaches, even other alumni were among those actually searching for Finnerty's body, which, as you mentioned, Brooke, was found just about a half-mile from his boat on that dock -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Hopefully, the family can get some answers as to what happened soon.

Alina Cho, thank you.

CHO: You bet.