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Police to Reveal Details in Alleged UVA Rape; Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial; First Number 1 Gets Knocked Out of Tournament. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 22, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


[07:30:00] SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But police have always left open this possibility that Jackie was raped somewhere else or on different night.

Now, it's important to remember that the police investigation is separate from the University of Virginia's internal investigation into whether they handled Jackie's claim and other reports of sexual assaults correctly -- Victor and Christi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Sara, thank you so much.

Joining me now is CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter.

Brian, good morning to you.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, Brianna, if the "Rolling Stone" article turns out to be completely false, and everything we hear from police tomorrow is -- it refutes what the magazine reported, what are the ramifications for "Rolling Stone"?

STELTER: Well, there could be editorial changes at the magazine. There could be editors or fact checkers or other people who would be looking for new work. But we know there has been an investigation going on for "Rolling Stone" by Columbia University. "Rolling Stone" reached out to Columbia's journalism school back in December and asked it to conduct a thorough review of what went wrong with this story. That investigation is going on more than three months now.

So, it is expected to wrap up soon, probably weeks after this press conference that is happening tomorrow. So, first, we will hear the police's account of what happened and then we will hear the magazine's fact checkers account of what happened. All throughout this, Victor, one of the mysteries to me is where is the reporter or the writer who actually interviewed Jackie, who interviewed these other people, but never reached out to the alleged rapists?

She has always remained silent. The writer has never responded to interview requests and so we have never heard her side of the story, nor have we heard anything from Jackie since this became a national controversy back in December. I think the police press conference tomorrow will begin to answer these questions that are ongoing, including whether there was some sort of trauma that she experienced. I mean, Jackie had some horrific memories of what happened to her back in 2012. Many people believe something terrible did happen to her, though some of the details were in dispute. So, in other words, the article wasn't entirely wrong, but maybe was exaggerated or embellished in some way. Those are the questions that might begin to be answered tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: So, Brian, there has been an apology and "Rolling Stone" has accepted responsibility. Has there been any explanation of why there is a full retraction?

STELTER: They would say because they are continuing to have this Columbia Review going on. It was ordered up by the publisher of the magazine, Jann Wenner. That means it went over the head of the top editors there like Will Dana. I checked in with Will Dana, the editor of the magazine, a couple of weeks ago, he said we think the Columbia Review will be done soon and don't know anything more than that.

So, they say they are in the dark like the rest of us are. It was a terrible journalistic blow for "Rolling Stone" at the time and for them to publish the findings of this review might be the first step toward regaining credibility.

BLACKWELL: All right. Brian Stelter for us this morning, thank you, Brian.

STELTER: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Now, listen, reports of hazing, racist chants, sexual assaults have really become the ugly face of college fraternities over the past few weeks. Sigma Alpha Epsilon's racist chant at the University of Oklahoma, that may have been one of the biggest scandal just this week. We covered the suspension of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity at Penn State who that allegedly used a Facebook account to post compromising photos of women, including some who appeared to be asleep or passed out.

But even more allegation of criminal activity at fraternities have left a lot of people wondering whether the Greek system itself is the problem. Let's talk with criminal defense attorney Page Pate about this.

Clearly, we want to point out these acts are not representative of all fraternities by any means. But, Page, do you think that the concept of Greek life is in trouble on college campuses?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think so. I mean, what we have to be concerned about here is not just public perception or insensitivity but criminal actions. In the real world, outside of the Greek system, outside of these colleges, if there is an allegation of criminal conduct, it's going to be investigated first by law enforcement.

And that's not what's happening here. They try to take these students, Greek organizations, and non-Greek students and give them an opportunity to resolve these things within the school. And that's not appropriate. We end up in situations like we have with "The Rolling Stone" article which I think should have first been investigated by law enforcement way before it was reported and way before we had this crisis.

PAUL: But it's not unusual for someone who allegedly is a victim of sexual assault to not want to go to police. So in "The Rolling Stone" case when we were talking to Brian about consequences, are there possible legal consequences for "Rolling Stone"?

PATE: I think absolutely. It's very difficult to bring a defamation lawsuit against a media outlet like "Rolling Stone", CNN, anyone, unless you can show that they literally went into this with an agenda to report something false. And I think this particular reporter made it clear that she was looking for the right fraternity, the right school where the story would fit and maybe her message is important.

[07:35:05] I mean, obviously, it's important. But to use this story to make it fit her article, I think, was inappropriate, without checking all of the facts and without doing the kind of interviews that a true legal criminal investigation would have done.

PAUL: You know, if these scandals continue. I'm kind of wondering how can schools defend fraternities and should they?

PATE: Well, I think it is difficult but if you're a school sanctioned organization like a fraternity, you have to follow their rules. What we have seen recently with Martese Johnson I think has something to do with this.

There have been many complaints about the use of alcohol, fraternities, with kids on campus and off campus.

PAUL: Yes.

PATE: So, you've seen the ABC, alcohol control folks being more aggressive. But perhaps instead of looking outside of the campus, look inside the campus. Send these folks into the fraternities, find out how much drinking is going on. Because it is, for the most part, illegal for these folks who are under age.

PAUL: That's good point. Page Pate, appreciate your perspective.

PATE: Thank you.

PAUL: Thanks for being here.

BLACKWELL: The eighth week of testimony begins tomorrow in the Aaron Hernandez case. Why the prosecution is trying to show that dirty dancing proves the former NFL star was not in a good place just days before the murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Tomorrow is day 32 in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. The former football star is accused of killing his friend Odin Lloyd. Prosecutors have no murder weapon so they have been building their case with blocks of circumstantial evidence, including lots of surveillance tape.

[07:40:04] As our Susan Candiotti reports, some of it is not video he would want his fiancee to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It may not be the most crucial three-minute video of the trial, but it could be one of the most memorable.

(voice-over): Is it more than dirty dancing? For prosecutors, it suggests motive. Aaron Hernandez standing against a wall, while a female dance partner does a bump and grind.

KASEY ARMA, CLUB PROMOTER: He told me his name was Rock.

CANDIOTTI: It's two nights before Odin Lloyd is killed. He's in a club with Hernandez. That's Lloyd wearing a hat.

Club Promoter Kasey Arma testifies Hernandez asked her to dance and she does and then his mood suddenly takes a turn.

ARMA: He seemed irritated and kind of just aggressive. He just seemed a lot more agitated, like on edge.

CANDIOTTI: Another witness also tells jurors he sees Hernandez appearing angry inside the club, as Lloyd talks to a friend and angry again when Hernandez leaves the club, his right arm gesturing in the air. On cross, defense attorneys challenged those witnesses' credibility. Attacking a female bar patron and her behavior, saying she bragged about 50 men coming on to her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty guys grabbed you that night inside Rumor?

ARMA: I was exaggerating but a lot of men did approach me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that was an exaggeration?

ARMA: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: It's not clear how the aggressive questioning played with the jury, nor how Hernandez's behavior may play with his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins who has not been in court for two weeks. She has been given immunity to testify for the state.

Prosecutors played video of a car they say shows the very moment Lloyd arrives at the crime scene driven by Hernandez. The car leaves three minutes and forty seconds later. Another video shows the same car pulling into Hernandez's driveway less than a mile away without Lloyd. That same afternoon, the three defendants are at Hernandez's home in his man cave playing with his baby and around his backyard pool.

Hours later, shaking hands and getting back into the car heading to a rental agency.

(on camera): At about the same time, Hernandez returns that rental car, a jogger find the bullet-riddled body of Odin Lloyd at the industrial park.

Still to come, a ruling on whether the state can play jailhouse conversations with Hernandez and including one with his former college teammate Mike Pouncey, who is on the state's witness list.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Fall River, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Thank you, Susan.

Listen, a mysterious box has emerged on the antique market that could provide the first physical evidence of Jesus Christ's existence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:46] PAUL: The first physical evidence that Jesus of Nazareth existed may have been found.

BLACKWELL: Yes. A box called the James ossuary mysteriously appeared on the antiques market. And there's an inscription on it that said, "Jacob, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus." These are common names for the time, but some say the ossuary was referring to Jesus of Nazareth.

PAUL: Let's bring in Christopher Rollston. He specializes in Northwest Semitic languages and literature at Georgia Washington University.

Professor Rollston, thank you so much for being with us.

First of all, help us understand, what exactly is an ossuary?

PROF. CHRISTOPHER ROLLSTON, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me here.

An ossuary basically is a box used for secondary burial of bones. In essence, normally the way that it worked for families is that the body would be place inside a tomb and then after about a year, perhaps two years, the bones would be collected and plays in an ossuary.

PAUL: OK. This whole thing is coming up in our next episode of "FINDING JESUS." So, you have suggested, I understand, that the words of the brother of Jesus are most likely the work of a modern forger.

What makes you say that?

ROLLSTON: The first thing I would say is dramatic claims require decisive evidence. We simply don't have it here. This ossuary box did, indeed, as you stated, appear on the antiquities market, that is to say it wasn't found on a scientific expedition. And then the words "brother of Jesus" are written in a script that is slightly different from the rest of the inscription. The depth, the clarity is different on those final words.

Of course, it's those words that would make this potentially significant.

PAUL: Because?

ROLLSTON: In essence, many have suggested that this would, indeed, be the bone box of the brother of Jesus.

BLACKWELL: So, how would this be authenticated then?

ROLLSTON: It's really difficult to authenticate these sorts of things. That's why it's especially useful when inscriptions such as this are found on expeditions, scientific expeditions and this one simply wasn't on.

BLACKWELL: So, what would be the motive for someone do you think to produce a modern forgery, as you're suggesting?

ROLLSTON: There are all sorts of motives. One of the motives that's paramount is really economy, that is to say an ossuary in and of itself is not worth a great deal of money. And even an ossuary with an inscription on it is not worth a great deal of money, a few thousands of dollars, maybe tens of thousands of dollars.

But, of course, an ossuary that refers to the brother of Jesus of Nazareth could potentially be worth a great deal of money.

PAUL: All righty. Professor Rollston, we so appreciate it. Thank you for being with us.

ROLLSTON: It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

PAUL: Thank you.

And remember, you can learn so much more about this in the new episode of "FINDING JESUS." It's tonight at 9:00, right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: All right. March Madness. Cinderella team gets bumped from the tournament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:50:01] RON HUNTER, COACH: I told them not to be sad. What a great week. Unbelievable. There's nothing to be sad about, especially for me. I'll be honest with you, the greatest week of my life. The greatest time I've ever had to be a father.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, he's so happy, but we'll find out why this news conference ended in tears.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: You see there, President Obama in the crowd for an NCAA women's tournament. It's a game between Princeton and Green Bay. The president there to support his niece, freshman Leslie Robinson, who plays for Princeton.

PAUL: Can you imagine that moment? That's my uncle in the stands, the president.

Princeton went on to defeat Green Bay, 80-70, moving on in the tournament and keeping their record a perfect 31-0. Congratulations to them.

All right. Let's talk about the men's side of things. March Madness, a mighty number one seed has fallen. More brackets have busted. Hearts are broken here.

BLACKWELL: This is personal. Do you see?

PAUL: Because you know what, it's the only time I probably will be able to do so.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: And you were laying it on be pretty thick yesterday.

PAUL: Thank you, sir.

BLACKWELL: Why you're going to bring up old stuff?

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: Hey, guys, listen, 30 years after winning a national championship March Madness turned into March sadness for number one seed Villanova, and for all of us who have them advancing in our bracket.

The NC State Wolfpack was crossing Nova on the court like that and now people are crossing the Cats off their brackets. It was a shocking 71-68 upset. Even President Obama had Villanova in his national title game.

[07:55:01] Now, N.C. State, the last win they had against the number one seed came in 1983 in the championship game. They're going to move on to Syracuse, New York, and play the winner of the Louisville, Northern Iowa game.

Now, in the last game of the day yesterday, Notre Dame and Butler, two schools separated by just 136 miles, delivered a good one. The Fighting Irish fought their way past the Bulldogs in overtime, 67- 64, advancing to the sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.

It will be a bit of a bittersweet 16, if you will, for head coach Mike Brey. He revealed to his team after the game even though he knew before it that his mother, Betty Brey, had passed away earlier that morning of a heart attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BREY, NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH: It was kind of a tribute to her. It's really a special night. She's 84. Former Olympic swimmer, an unbelievable woman, a woman ahead of her time and probably the real driving force, you know, behind everything I've done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I know his kids are going to be fighting hard for him and the passing of his mother. They'll honor her as well.

Now, the Irish, they're going to be watching Kansas and Wichita State game later today to see who they're going to face in the sweet 16 on Thursday.

One of the nation's favorite Cinderella stories, Georgia State, sadly came to an end. The Panthers became the tournament darlings after knocking off number 3 seed Baylor on Thursday. Head coach Ron Hunter, he had a quirky sound byte waiting to happen. He had that torn Achilles celebrating with his team. He was coaching from a chair with wheels on it. He broke his cast while falling out of that chair.

But Georgia State fell yesterday. Xavier beat them, 75-67. But after the game, coach Hunter gave us another great emotional moment when he talked about his son, star guard R.J. Hunter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER: As a coach, best time of my life but as a father, whew. I love this kid, man. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Powerful moment there, coach. We love you too, man.

Speaking of awesome moments, Kentucky is the first team in college basketball history to reach a perfect 36-0. The Wildcats shellacked the Cincinnati bearcats to advance to the sweet 16. Kentucky only needs four more wins to complete the perfect season and to win that national title.

Next challenge will be Thursday against the winner of West Virginia and Maryland.

So, we're going to kick our feet up at the couch or belly up to a bar, however we're going to do it later today. Eight more games. A chance for Victor to make a comeback. It starts at 12:10 Eastern on CBS.

Don't forget, you can watch all the games all day on our Turner Sports sister stations, TBS, TrueTV and TNT.

Victor, I brought this for you because, you know --

BLACKWELL: No!

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: OK, now listen, I think he's saying this because yesterday if you watched us you might remember Victor sitting here all yesterday.

WIRE: I remember.

BLACKWELL: I never do that. I never do this. By the way, I do during the breaks.

PAUL: Yes.

OK, so he was doing that because he was ahead of me. Well, look who is in number one place today, my friend. I shared that with Chris Cuomo, Jake Tapper, Jennifer Gray, Alisyn Camerota, Sanjay Gupta, and I'm going to take it in because you know what? I fully admit to all of you, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I'll admit it.

Chad Myers in 7th. Carol Costello in 9th.

Where's Victor? Where's Victor?

WIRE: Somewhere at the bottom. There he is.

PAUL: Oh, he's got a 1-1.

BLACKWELL: OK. All right. I'll take 11th place.

Coy, where are you?

WIRE: Come on now. You have to scroll a little further but I still have four horses in the race. I still have a chance. So, we'll see. More trash talking to come.

PAUL: I could be out by tomorrow so I'm going to milk it while I can.

Thank you, Coy. Good to have you here.

WIRE: You're welcome.

PAUL: And thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: We've got a lot to come. Next hour of your NEW DAY starts right now.

(MUSIC)

PAUL: Good morning, everybody. So glad to have you with us as always. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: Good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell. Now, 8:00 here on the East Coast.

This morning the U.S. is insisting it will actively monitor any terror threats to this country coming from Yemen.

PAUL: That's even though right now, all U.S. Special Operations Forces and personnel have been pulled out of the tiny yet volatile nation. Dramatic new video into CNN this morning we want to share with you, that really underscores the terror threat Yemen itself is facing.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BLACKWELL: That's video from inside one of the mosques targeted by suicide bombers on Friday. Now, at least 137 people were killed there. More than 330 wounded. ISIS is claiming responsibility for those attacks.

PAUL: The U.N. Security Council is meeting today regarding this chaos that's unfolding there in Yemen. In addition to the terror threat, rebel fighters this morning have also seized parts of Yemen's third largest city, we're learning.