Confessed Killer Under Suicide Watch
COSTELLO: Just about 13 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now. We are remembering the men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. President Obama is spending Memorial Day honoring fallen troops. He will take part in the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns and later, he will mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War with a ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair denied he was ever cozy with Rupert Murdoch. Blair testified at an inquiry into phone hacking at Murdoch newspaper in Britain. Blair said his government had decided more issues against Murdoch's businesses than in favor of them. Blair's testimony was briefly interrupted by a protester who called the former prime minister a war criminal. Tropical Storm Beryl is leaving thousands without power in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. Jacksonville airport reports minor damage and a dozen outbound flights have been cancelled. The region is also bracing for serious flooding. A relative of the man charged with killing a missing New York City boy three decades ago apparently tried to warn police years ago. Pedro Hernandez is on suicide watch after confessing to choking 6-year-old Eton Patz to death back in 1979. One of Hernandez's family members tells CNN the police in Camden, New Jersey blew off the information about the case in the 1980s. We agreed not to identify that relative. The family member says there's no indication anything came out of that report. Joining me now is T.J. Ward. He is the president of Investigative Consultants International. He has extensive experience in missing persons' cases. Most recently, he worked with the Natalie Holloway family. Welcome.</s>T.J. WARD, PRESIDENT, INVESTIGATIVE CONSULTANTS INTERNATIONAL: Thank you very much, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: OK, so Mr. Hernandez is in Belleview. He is undergoing psychiatric test. His lawyer says he is schizophrenic and bipolar and he has hallucinations. Do you believe he is really ill mentally or could he be faking it?</s>WARD: Well, you know, 33 years ago, the anniversary date was Friday. Sometimes people who are not in the spotlight take the position to get back in the spotlight, and this may be the case. There are reports the FBI have gotten involved with this with missing and murdered children and they have doubts this individual was involved.</s>COSTELLO: Is there really any way for police to prove he did it? Because let's face it, the store where he allegedly abducted Etan Patz is gone now. The garbage bag where he said Etan Patz's body in, gone, I mean, where do you start if you're an investigator?</s>WARD: You need to go back and look at the evidence 33 years ago. The problem being is we don't have the technology as we do today with video cameras and technology. And also some of the investigators that were involved in the case are no longer around. Some of them were deceased. They will have to take the case file and go back through it and try to corroborate the evidence that is there, and to see if he can tie the pieces together of his involvement.</s>COSTELLO: So I would assume they are going back in there and interviewing members of Mr. Hernandez' family to see what kinds of stories he told through the years?</s>WARD: That's correct. They will have to do that. We have technology of layered voice analysis, 6.50, and if we had an opportunity to analyze the interview, we may be able to determine what is going on with his individual.</s>COSTELLO: Let's talk about the layered voice analysis. You worked with Natalee Holloway's family, and you used this type of analysis on Joran Vander sloot, and what did you find?</s>WARD: Well, we found out that he was lying and not telling the truth. He was fabricating the story about Natalee. And we were able to target in on some of the information and discredit some of his statements. We not only used it on him, but on Deepak and also Vander Sloot's father.</s>COSTELLO: But, I think the difference here is Joran Vander Sloot didn't suffer from mental illness like Mr. Hernandez allegedly does. So if Mr. Hernandez is having these hallucinations and he really believes he harmed this little boy in 1979, how do you disprove it or prove it?</s>WARD: We can see it in this investigative focus too with (inaudible). We can see if he has mental illness when we do the test just by his voice and by the rhythms that come up. This was a psychological tool unlike a tool being used as a polygraph, which is physical where they have to wire you up. We can take any voice transmission with this system in any language and I can tell you if you are lying or hiding something. If you have a illness or what is going on with you.</s>COSTELLO: You have this as an investigator, but did the New York City Police?</s>WARD: The New York City police are not using this. This was brought over here by the Israelis about 10 years ago, voice technology in Madison, Wisconsin. With the president, Lynn Robins and I both used this to assist law enforcement and the Department of Defense and prison systems to identify sexual offenders. So we could take the interview and look at it and assist the police and identify what this individual's problems are.</s>COSTELLO: Back to the case at hand. What percentage do you give police on ever proving that Mr. Hernandez had anything at all to do with Etan Patz's death.</s>WARD: Well, again, they would have to go back and corroborate the stories and the witnesses and what information they had at that time and to see if in fact he is involved. And if not, then, his defense attorneys are already saying that this would be a case where he would plea insanity if it went forth. It may have been premature as to the arrest of not corroborating a lot of information yet in this case. So I think that needs to be done, and going back to the case file before the formal charges are brought against him.</s>COSTELLO: Just a final question, why do you think New York City police decided to arrest Mr. Hernandez at this time? Why didn't they wait until they had all their ducks in a row?</s>WARD: Well, it may be based on the information they have and it maybe because of the anniversary of 33 years has come out to hurry and bring this case to a head and get what has got to go on. But again, they need to corroborate the evidence that they had 33 years ago with what they have today.</s>COSTELLO: T.J. Ward, thanks so much for coming in this morning. Appreciate it.</s>WARD: Thank you.</s>COSTELLO: Tough and outspoken, but even Megan McCain is having some sleepless nights because of internet bullies. Why she says people are harassing her.