New Lead In Serial Killer Case; Plan B Decision; "Blago" Gets 14 Years; Shoe-Ing In New Solutions
COSTELLO: It's 16 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. A significant development in the case of a missing sex worker in what could be a serial kill on the loose near New York City.</s>CHO: That's right. Police are searching on Long Island's south shore. They say that they found items belonging to the missing woman who's disappearance prompted a search that turned up those 10 bodies. Chris Knowles was on Long Island. He joins us now with the very latest. So what's going on here?</s>CHRIS KNOWLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. An incredible case even getting more interesting right now you could say. Police say over the last two days that they found a purse, clothes, and a cell phone, all belonging to Shannon Gilbert. Now Gilbert, who is from New Jersey, went missing in May of 2010 after she advertised sex services on Craigslist. Seven months later while searching for Gilbert police discovered the remains of 10 other people, all with ties to the sex trade. Police believe all 10 are the victims of one serial killer who has been operating on Long Island for the last 15 years. Police were able to more effectively search the area on Long Island's south shore because they found some draining equipment helping expose all those newly discovered items. Gilbert was last known to be in that area after she made an early morning 911 call saying someone was trying to hurt her. She also knocked on a door and screaming "help me, help me" and indicated that someone was chasing her, but she then ran off. Police believe they will find her remains there as well and plan to search again today starting at around 8:00.</s>CHO: She just came so close. It is a mystery as to why she ran off after -- asking for help, really frightening. So do police believe that her killer is the serial killer?</s>KNOWLES: No. Their story is -- no. It is interesting. Last few weeks, police have told us that they believe Gilbert is not connected to those others and here's how the local police commissioner explains all of that.</s>POLICE COMMISSIONER RICHARD DORMER, SUFFOLK COUNTY: This may be just a young lady that ran into the brush in a hysterical state and fell down and expired for some reason.</s>KNOWLES: So now police will dry out that pocket book and see what clues they may be able to get.</s>CHO: What?</s>KNOWLES: -- from the cell phone.</s>COSTELLO: She calls 911, she goes and knocks on someone's door for help and they believed she just tripped and died accidentally?</s>KNOWLES: Yes, it truly sounds unbelievable, but police say they believe this and this is what they are putting out there publicly. Remember, at first, they found a man and a toddler along with the victims and thought there was more than one killer. But the man was wearing women's clothes potentially tying him to the sex business as well. One of the women is related to the toddler that was found, possibly his mother. So these theories, you know, can change.</s>CHO: What I want to know, though, is if this -- if this latest case is not linked to the others then what does link all of the others together?</s>KNOWLES: You know, it is strange because they know the man that called Miss Gilbert, the girl that they were originally looking for out there. But police tell us that they cleared him.</s>CHO: Interesting. All right, Chris Knowles, thank you very much. The morning after pill will not be made available over the counter to young teens. It will stay prescription only for girls under 17. The secretary of Health and Human Services overruled an FDA recommendation saying more research and data needs to be done on plan B, the emergency contraceptive. The FDA found the pill to be safe.</s>COSTELLO: Three years ago, the U.S. attorney said the charges would make Lincoln roll over in his grave, remember that? Well, yesterday, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was finally sentenced to 14 years for trying to sell President Obama's old Senate seat. Blagojevich said he was sorry in court yesterday, but the judge said that apology sounded more like a politician or a lawyer, one, you know, that they would give.</s>CHO: Hard to believe that that saga is over, but maybe it is not. We will have to wait and see. On AMERICAN MORNING, don't mess with a guy from New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie heckles the hecklers in the crowd in Iowa. Watch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are used to dealing with jokers like this in New Jersey all the time.</s>CHO: Sound like a presidential candidate? He's said no, he's not running, but will he? We'll have more just ahead.</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Old can be new again. That's what Okabashi Brands is doing one shoe at a time.</s>BAHMAN IRVANI, CEO, OKABASHI BRANDS: Primarily one material. You can recycle them.</s>BALDWIN: The shoes are made from a patented blend of plastics called micro blast. They're 100 percent recyclable with scraps and rejects going right back into the hopper.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes in the grinder. It comes out the other end.</s>BALDWIN: Customers send their worn shoes back to the plant where they are cleaned, round up, and blended into a whole new pair.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing going in the landfills. Nothing in the garbage cans. Nothing floating in ocean or any of those things, we use 100 percent of all of our material. Obviously, we are keeping the planet clean and we are not wasting anything. Our costs are lower because of it.</s>BALDWIN: We had about 30 million sandals sold. Being green is paying off in more ways than one. Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.