Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY

Preventing Genetic Diseases; Remembering Kayla Mueller; A Profile on American Sniper's Killer, Eddie Ray Routh

Aired February 11, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.

President Obama expected to ask Congress to authorize military force against ISIS while intelligence officials say more than 20,000 foreign fighters have joined the extremist ranks in Iraq and in Syria.

European leaders meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin today, trying to broker a cease-fire in Ukraine, a lasting one. Meanwhile, on the front lines, violence has not stopped.

The United States, the U.K. and France all pulling embassy staffers out of Yemen, suspending all operations amid concerns the security in that troubled region continues to spiral.

Opening statements today in the American sniper murder trial. Suspect Eddie Ray Routh's lawyers say they plan to raise an insanity defense. He is accused of fatally shooting Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, in 2013.

NBC has suspended Brian Williams for six months without pay for embellishing events that occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003.

Also big news, "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart announcing he's going to leave his show, "The Daily Show," later this year.

We always update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Mic.

Having a child born with a fatal genetic disease is just heartbreaking, but imagine finding out that the disease was preventable. A Georgia couple is sharing their story to save other families. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that in this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which paper do you want?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Golds (ph) may look like a typical family, but look closer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, look at me. Look at this paper.

GUPTA: Six-year-old Eden (ph) can't walk, talk, or do most anything a girl her age should be doing. She has a progressive neurological disorder called Mucolipidosis Type IV or ML4. It's a rare genetic disorder more common among Ashkenazi Jews, people of eastern and central European Jewish decent. Eden's development stopped at 18 months. Doctors say she'll be blind by age 12 and will probably not live beyond early adulthood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every dream that we had for our daughter was just ended with one phone call.

GUPTA: The Golds thought they were thoroughly screened for genetic diseases before they got married. Their first child was born healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My doctor tested me for a total of eight diseases and Randy's doctor tested him for a total of two diseases. Neither one of our doctors tested us for ML4.

GUPTA: The couple didn't want other families to suffer the same fate. They started an online education screening program for genetic diseases, common among Ashkenazi Jews. At-home screening kits are mailed out and a genetic counselor delivers the results over the phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: J Screen's (ph) mission is to make sure that parents know that they should be screened for genetic diseases before they get pregnant. We can provide them information on having healthy children of their own.

GUPTA: Just like the Gold's, who added another daughter to their family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eden is here for a purpose. She saves lives every day.

Oh, my goodness.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: What a great story.

Well, back to one of our top stories now, remembering Kayla Mueller. Why did her captivity grab so few headlines? Her friend and former professor on why her life depended on secrecy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Kayla Mueller's death at the hands of ISIS is having a profound impact. This selfless 26-year-old risking her life and then ultimately losing it just trying to help others suffering in Syria. Now earlier we spoke with Carol Thompson. She was Kayla Mueller's friend, she was a former professor, and she worked with her on humanitarian causes. We spoke about how Kayla's family and friends were able to keep her captivity a secret for so long and why they had to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL THOMPSON, KAYLA MUELLER'S FORMER PROFESSOR: I was part of that. In other words, there were various teams organized to quietly network from religious leaders, to human rights groups, to politicians. And it was an absolute demand from the hostage takers. The minute her name hits the media in any way, and that includes the social media, that includes Twitter, she's executed. So every time one of the hostages was executed, we all held our breaths because we were afraid that Kayla's name would come out in those, again, horrific circumstances. So, yes, it was a demand by ISIS and the parents honored that demand and so did hundreds of people who have been working for Kayla for 18 months honor that. And I would also congratulate the media. They knew her name and they did not use it.

CUOMO: It was easy to accommodate the wishes of the family, obviously. But do you think that it's also a little bit of an insight into just how craven, how cowardly this terrorist organization is? They knew that word of a kid like this being held captive would be bad for them, even with their low level of ethics. They say they care about women, that it would have been bad, but do you think that they were trying to cover themselves with this type of request for secrecy?

THOMPSON: I don't begin to understand ISIS. And all Kayla would say to us is that it's our job to work to understand them. And I'll leave it at that.

CUOMO: A tough job to be sure. Needs the head and heart of someone like Kayla to even begin a task like that.

THOMPSON: Yes.

CUOMO: Were you aware of all the different attempts that were made, supposedly we're being told by the government, to try to rescue her, including sending someone there to pose as her husband?

THOMPSON: Yes. I'm aware of most of the steps taken. And, obviously, always after the fact. But, yes, I'm aware of most of those steps in the 18 months.

CUOMO: And you believe that the government did what it could?

THOMPSON: Again, I'm not privy to the, let's say, confidential story, certainly not as the family is. I would respond by saying that it is my understanding that the family was accepting all of the efforts the U.S. government was making. And it wasn't just the U.S. government, it was several governments, many human rights organizations, many specialists who work with hostage takers - I mean, you know, work for the hostages. So it's hundreds of people. And the Muellers were totally generous and appreciative of all of that help. CUOMO: Professor, again, thank you very much. Good luck to you with

your -- I know you're on sabbatical right now, but thank you for joining us and thank you for helping us see Kayla in a different way than just what we've learned from her captors.

THOMPSON: And thank you very much for giving her voice. It's very important. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Wow, what a remarkable young woman. I mean, truly special.

PEREIRA: I get - I keep getting a lump in my throat when I see the picture of her in front of the Kiwanis sign. You know, there are these little snapshots of her and I think about, you know, Kiwanis and the work they do around the world. It's a - you know, a great group that a lot of communities have. She could be the girl that I went to high school with, went to college with. In college, you remember, you're suddenly aware of the world around you. You want to go out and save it. She actually followed up on just the passion. She went.

CAMEROTA: Yes. It is comforting to know how many people tried to rescue her, because we were in the dark --

PEREIRA: We don't know.

CAMEROTA: And the family insisted, for security reasons, on secrecy. It's felt as though, just when we learned about her, she was killed, but there were lots of efforts, and that makes --

PEREIRA: It's comforting, isn't it?

CAMEROTA: I think hopefully the family feel better.

CUOMO: Kayla and her family were among those who believe that things happen for a reason. It's hard to accept in situations like this.

PEREIRA: Hard to understand that here, yes.

CUOMO: But, you know, maybe, when you look at the contrast of who this young woman was and who the people are who took her captive, the contrast, in terms of what motivated their actions and what they were about, maybe it sends the strongest message that we have about which idea should prevail in the ongoing war. But it is such a price for her family to play it - to pay here. It really is.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. Great to hear from that professor and friend.

All right, meanwhile, he is accused of killing American sniper Chris Kyle and his friend, but who is Eddie Ray Routh? We'll take a look at the suspected killer and his downward spiral.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The man suspected of killing real life American sniper Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield goes on trial one hour from now. Marine vet Eddie Ray Routh plans to mount an insanity defense, though not everyone is convinced that is true.

Let's bring in Laura Beil; she's a contributing editor for "Men's Health" and she documented Eddie Routh's mental health decline in a book called, "The Enemy Within". Laura, great to have you on New Day.

LAURIE BEIL, WROTE PROFILE ON EDDIE RAY ROUTH: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: You are, as I understand it, the only journalist to have spoken to Eddie Ray Routh's family because, since then, a judge has put a gag order on the family speaking about Eddie Ray Routh during the course of this trial. And what you profile in this "Men's Health" magazine is fascinating. You talk about how, originally, Eddie Ray Routh was a teenager. He was a little sort of wayward. He was a mediocre student. He was a partier. But then he decided to join the Marines and that gave him needed structure and discipline, and it went well for a while --

BEIL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- and then what happened?

BEIL: I can't speak about his war time activities, because I talked to his family and my article was concerned about the events that happened after he came home, but I can tell you that his family and friends that I talked to, they did notice a different person after he got home from the war than before he left.

CAMEROTA: Some people have said that he didn't see actual combat in Iraq, but it sounds as though he was deeply affected, based on your reporting, from earthquake relief in Haiti, that he changed after going there.

BEIL: That's what his family said. And I didn't get any indication from his family that he had experienced direct combat.

But, yes, when I talked to them and they were relaying their conversations that they had had with Eddie Routh, and the thing that they talked about most that appeared to affect him was Haiti. He had also given his dad some indication that he had shot a child. Again, this is -- these are conversations that he had had with his parents and so, you know, who's to say exactly what affected him most? But it was the impression of his family that something about his experience in Haiti really affected him deeply.

CAMEROTA: You write, "Throughout that first year home after he left the Marines, the Rouths were growing increasingly concerned with his behavior. Some days he was the same good-hearted Eddie who offered his time to anyone in need. At the same time, his family noticed he often had a hair-trigger temper and he was always hitting the booze and pot. His imagination seemed over amped as well."

What does that mean?

BEIL: You know, he had been a partier before he left, but his mom said after he got home the drinking and, you know, smoking marijuana, it got to be worse. She said sometimes he would -- especially when he was unemployed and depressed, he would get up in the morning and he would drink a beer. And his drinking had become a lot heavier. And I think throughout the two years before the murders that he was home, they were very concerned about the level of drinking that he had done.

And he also had a temper. You didn't know if something would set him off. And this was unusual for him. It seemed out of the level of anger that he would show, from time to time, seemed out of character with what they had known.

CAMEROTA: Does his family believe that he had PTSD?

BEIL: He was -- oh, yes. And I saw in his medical record that he was -- his diagnosis of PTSD. This was one part. I talked to his mother and after she had gotten his medical record, and I said, you know, people are questioning whether he really did have PTSD. I need to see that. I need to know that he did. And so she took a picture of the medical record that had the -- that discussed his PTSD diagnosis and sent it to me.

I haven't seen the entire medical record but I did see that part and I can tell you that it did discuss a diagnosis of PTSD. Whether he had other issues, I don't know, but I did see a PTSD diagnosis.

CAMEROTA: OK, that is good to know that it was an official diagnosis.

BEIL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: His mom tried to take him several times to the VA for help. What went wrong?

BEIL: His family never felt like he was seen as an individual there, he was just kind of one of the masses, and he -- they never felt like he was given the kind of individual attention that he really needed. He would go in and he would be part of the crowd. He would be given prescriptions and he would be sent home. He was hospitalized on more than one occasion, but they never -- they never felt like anyone was paying close attention to him. And, sadly, the first person who looked at his mother and said I'm going to do everything I can to help your son was Chris Kyle.

CAMEROTA: That part is so tragic. And the mom sought Chris Kyle out. She worked at the school where Chris Kyle's kids went because she thought that here was finally a savior who could help her son, who she didn't feel was getting the right treatment elsewhere. You want to make it clear that the family is not using any of this as an excuse?

BEIL: Right. They were very reluctant to talk to me. They weren't talking to the journalists. And there were a number of reasons: one, they were completely devastated, as you can imagine. But the other is they were very sensitive to seeming like they were making excuses for murder. They were sensitive to being respectful to the Kyle and Littlefield families. And they didn't want talking about Eddie and concern about him and talking about his mental health issues to seem like they were saying it was somehow OK, what had occurred.

CAMEROTA: Well, the article and profile of him is a fascinating read. People can see it for themselves in "Men's Health" magazine. Laura Beil, thanks for sharing it with us.

BEIL: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go to Chris.

CUOMO: Alisyn, there are so many out there doing harm; we need more good. Guess what, we have it. Up next, meet the kid going on a job interview who went to Target for a tie and, boy, he got so much more. That's why it's the Good Stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Love this song but not the best example of well dressed men. All right, so we got the Good Stuff for you. This young man was about to go on his first job interview recently. He goes to Target for a tie. He wanted a clip-on because he didn't know how to tie it. Turns out the Target down there in Raleigh, North Carolina, doesn't sell clip-ones, so they said go to Wal-Mart. No, they didn't. A worker brought him to the tie rack, taught him how to tie a tie, then bought him the tie and gave him interview advice.

PEREIRA: I like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make sure you look them in the eye. And I'm saying, make sure you give him a stern handshake. And she showed him. He tucked his shirt in and tied his shoes.

CATHY SCOTT, TARGET TEAM MEMBER: He was saying, yes, ma'am. And he's just soaking it all in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A fellow shopper saw what was going on and decided to share it with the world.

PEREIRA: Yay.

CUOMO: Guess what, young Yasir Moore (ph) got past the first round. He's so excited. He and his mom went back to Target to thank the people who helped him.

CAMEROTA: That's so great. Great story. I love the head fake in Good Stuff too. That's great. Not Wal-Mart.

CUOMO: Because are so ready for the negative, you know?

All right, lot of news out there. Let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" and Ms. Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": Good morning. Thanks so much.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.