Escort Accused In Google Exec Death In Court
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. A prostitute accused of killing a Google executive is in court today. Police say Alix Tichelman injected Forrest Hayes with a lethal dose of heroine while on his yacht. Center of the case is surveillance footage, which police say shows Tichelman finishing a glass of wine and then stepping over Hayes' body as she leaves. Joining us now CNN legal analyst, Danny Cevallos and HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson. Gentlemen, good to have you both with us. Why don't we start with you, Danny? Good morning to you, darling, both of you. Her arraignment is today. How do you defend her, Danny?</s>DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the key is going to be the video. Without the video this is actually a defensible case because the prosecution is going to have to prove not only that she brought the heroin that she was holding, but that she somehow assisted him in injecting it. And I have to presume that the video must show that pretty clearly because I've read the criminal complaint, and the prosecution clearly feels confident they can prove that she injected, she was carrying and she possessed the heroin.</s>PEREIRA: Do you defend her the same way, Joey?</s>JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Here's what I would also do, Michaela. The fact is that the defense has to play big on the nature of this relationship. This was something that she didn't come there with any intent for this to happen. This is indulgence gone bad. This is a voluntary person, the defense will say, who came. The father said, look, I want to hire a prostitute. She voluntarily came. He voluntarily invited her on the yacht and as a result of that things went bad.</s>PEREIRA: Right.</s>JACKSON: And also with regard to her past conduct, you know, we want to get out if you're the defense any allegation of that Georgia issue. You heard, of course, not only California, but they are looking into allegations in Georgia. You want that out of any trial, and you certainly don't want the judge considering that. And finally, Michaela, regarding her closing the blinds and stepping over the body. The defense was to say how was she to know that he's dead and when you party and you're injected with heroin that's how people appear. My client had no idea he was dead.</s>PEREIRA: Super unsavory details emerging. There's an eerily similar situation in Atlanta, Georgia, a guy by the name of Dean Riopell overdosed on heroin. It was ruled accidental but those investigators are saying, wait, wait, wait, she was there and the one that called 911. Danny, it's hard to defend when you see a case very similar to that one.</s>CEVALLOS: Let's just play the numbers. First of all, the implication she's some kind of serial killer. Just numbers alone, serial killings are rare and female serial killers is even rarer. What's more likely we're dealing -- maybe she runs fast and loose with some bad heroin. There's been a lot of talk, Phetnol is a popular drug to cut heroin. It's very dangerous. People can't regulate the doses and often overdose. This may be a highly disorganized person who is carrying around a lot of bad heroin.</s>PEREIRA: You make a good point. Joey, on the other side, put your hat on for the prosecution. What do they have to do for a defense against Danny.</s>JACKSON: Well, what they are going to say is look we have a video. In that video, we see the injection. We see her callous actions. We see her stepping over the body. We see her looking to see if he's responsive. This is not her first rodeo. This is what she does. She knows when a person is unresponsive. We'll try to get that Georgia case in and establish prior conduct. How does someone leave and close the blinds so that nobody detects the body and how does somebody clean up the crime scene and sip a little bit of wine as they see someone is unconscious and just walked out. This is a person who knew exactly what was happening and therefore, says the prosecution be convicted of felony manslaughter.</s>PEREIRA: You know he means when he throws his shoulder in it. Joey, Danny, her arraignment, Alix Tichelman's arraignment is today. We have to see what happens. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.</s>JACKSON: Thank you, Michaela. Great day.</s>CUOMO: Good look at both sides there. Michaela, thank you for that segment. Coming up on NEW DAY, the phone call that can only be described as epic. A customer service rep does everything but cancel one guy's cable. Hear it coming up. You probably all had a call almost exactly like this.