Mom and 8-year-old Son Suffered Multiple Stab Wounds Before House Fire; Family Outraged
BANFIELD: A mother and her 8-year-old son are found in a blazing inferno in Oklahoma City. Firefighters rushed inside that house after witnesses saw smoke pouring out. And inside, they found destruction, but they also found death, 41-year-old Julie Mason pronounced dead at the scene, her son, Keagan Bruce, died soon afterwards. Days later, police made a stunning announcement. The mother and the son didn`t just die in that fire, they suffered violent and gruesome deaths. And now an autopsy is revealing Julie had been stabbed more than 32 times in the head, the neck, torso, all over her upper body. Keagan`s autopsy reportedly shows he died from blunt force trauma across the body and stab wounds.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss my baby. I miss my baby girl so much. I`m scared it`s not going to get solved in time to save somebody else. Why would anybody want to hurt her? Why would anybody want to hurt an 8- year-old boy?</s>BANFIELD: Well, that was Grandma. Tonight, the investigators are trying to piece together the crime scene, the autopsy, and they`re trying to look for a killer. Joining me now from Oklahoma City, Scott Mitchell, the host of "Mitchell Talks." Scott, this is such a bizarre mystery. Do they have any leads? Do they know anything at all now three-and-a-half months after this has happened?</s>SCOTT MITCHELL, "MITCHELL TALKS" (via telephone): We don`t know of any new details in this, Ashleigh. It is so -- I think it`s telling that the police are so tight-lipped about this because this is the sort of violence, like a Manson family killing just, and it happened just before Christmas. And the fact that they`re are so tight-lipped about this leads people to believe in this town that maybe they`re on to something.</s>BANFIELD: OK. I`m glad you went there because that`s exactly where I was headed. I have covered a lot of ugly murders from JonBenet to Dr. Pettit, awful, awful crimes where the police and communities are so outraged, they will beg for media attention. They want that story out there. They don`t have a lead, they need help, and yet we couldn`t get an interview. We can`t get any feedback. We can`t get them to return our calls. We find this very fishy. Are you finding the same thing?</s>MITCHELL: I`m the same way. In my -- over the years, my looking at these crime scenes -- the fact that this murder was done in such a way, so graphic to even talk about, that`s a crime of passion, both for this little boy and for the mother. You know where they`re starting. They`re starting on the inside and working out, and the fact that they`re not asking -- although they`ve gone through the motions of saying we want the public`s help, but the fact that they`re not really putting a full court press on leads me to believe they have to have somebody as a person that they suspect.</s>BANFIELD: OK. Who`s Keagan`s dad? I`m not seeing any material on -- I mean, first thing you look at is immediate family. You said you look from the inside out. Who is the inside? Who is dad, and where is he?</s>MITCHELL: Cannot find any details, not on any reports. You Google this thing up. You look at TV reports. You look at print reports, nada, nothing, Ashleigh.</s>BANFIELD: Did Julie have a relationship? Was there anybody in her life? Were there any signs of acrimony or matrimony or anything like that?</s>MITCHELL: The only thing we see in the reports has been from the mom, the distraught mother and grandmother and from the sister, who say this woman, Julie Mason, did everything -- everything in her life revolved around this little boy. And that makes you think, was there a jealous angle somewhere? But no mentions from any place about boyfriends, dads, any of that. Just completely like, it`s like it`s wiped from the face of the earth.</s>BANFIELD: OK. What about robbery? Was there anything that the police have at least said was missing? Or Ruthie (ph), Grandma Ruthie -- she was about to move back into this home -- I think she was only two weeks away from moving back in with her daughter Julie and her grandson Keagan. Did she say anything was missing? Was that maybe the motive for this? Was it random, a robbery?</s>MITCHELL: Well, there`s no indication of that, either. And in fact, when you read the autopsy, it`s very clear that what happened is that there were two murders here, and the fire was set as a coverup.</s>BANFIELD: OK. So Scott, I`m not going to make any guesses about your town, but Oklahoma City is a big town. It`s a big city, and I can only imagine that people are upset. If something like that happens in a place close to me, I`m scared. Is that the case where you live?</s>MITCHELL: It`s an interesting question and I`m glad you ask it. It`s the timing. You know that there becomes a media blackout about the middle of December on until the first of the year. These murders occurred in the middle of December, and it`s almost like it didn`t happen until the autopsies were released this week by the medical examiner, and I think that has something to do with it. But yes, this is a sort of a graphic, horrible murder that people, if they are not, should be very frightened and making sure those doors are locked at night.</s>BANFIELD: OK. Don`t go anywhere, Scott. I want to bring in Dr. William Morrone, who`s a medical examiner. You know, Dr. Morrone, I want to read for our audience just so that they are real clear what happened to these two people, a mom and an 8-year-old son, because when Scott says this was a crime of passion and it was incredibly graphic and violent, that doesn`t even, like hit, you know, the tip of the iceberg. I`m going to give you the details from the autopsy, and then I need you to tell me what your expert eye tells you about this. Julie died from sharp force trauma and blunt force trauma across her body, at least 32 stab wounds, 25 stab wound to the back of her body, back of the head and the neck, six stab wounds were consistent with defensive type of wounds, the left arm, the left and right hand, one stab wound on her upper abdomen. She had a broken jaw. She had the tip of a sharp instrument found in a wound to her face. She had first degree and third degree burns to her body. Her death, of course, ruled a homicide. Moving on to Keagan Bruce -- this is her 8-year-old son -- he died from sharp force trauma and blunt force trauma across the body and smoke inhalation both, multiple stab wounds, five stab wounds to the head, four cut wounds to the left side of the face, seven cut wounds to the neck, one cut wound to the left arm and one cut wound to the right forearm. He suffered extensive thermal wounds from the fire ranging from first degree to third degree burns to his body. His death was also ruled a homicide. Dr. Morrone, Keagan was alive when they got to him. He was not dead. He was suffering through the fire. They got him to the hospital, and he died there. So whoever did this basically burned a young 8-year-old boy alive.</s>DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, MEDICAL EXAMINER: And based on the trauma from the autopsy and the soot, his mother was alive and breathing in the fire because they document soot in the nose, mouth and airway. So she took this tremendous blunt force injury and then sharp force injury. And as you noted, the tip of a weapon was found in the head. When you look at how many wounds she had on her back, they start three inches from the top of the head, and the autopsy documents</s>BANFIELD: It is astounding! It is absolutely astounding, the unbelievable amount of violence that mother and that child both endured. Scott Mitchell, button this up. Only Ruthie, Grandma Ruthie, seems to be offering any kind of incentive to get the public to help here, a $25,000 reward apparently out of her own pocket. Is that likely to change any time soon? Is there anyone else that`s going to get on the bandwagon to find this monster, whoever did this?</s>MITCHELL: Well, I hope so. This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I`ve ever seen, and Ruthie Mason is putting her own money out there and saying to the community, Help me find the killers of my loved ones. Please. She`s begging people to do it. And you know, I would beg people in the city of Oklahoma City, somebody who knows anything to contact police. Please, for the love of God, let`s find this person.</s>BANFIELD: Well, there is someone who knows something. There`s someone who watched all of this happen, the person who did it. Scott Mitchell, thank you. Dr. Bill, Morrone, thank you both. Appreciate it. Today marks the beginning of the fourth week in the search for a missing Tennessee high school teacher and the 15-year-old girl he is accused of abducting. Not long after the two went missing, his wife made a tearful plea for Tad Cummins to come home.</s>CUMMINS: Tad, this is not you. This is not who you are. Your family wants their Poppy back. Please do the right thing and turn yourself in to the police and bring Beth home!</s>BANFIELD: For 21 days, Tad Cummins has managed to elude authorities. Police say they have absolutely no idea where he nor Elizabeth Thomas are although he faces some pretty serious charges when he`s found. And there is also something else he`s facing, apparently family doesn`t want poppy back that much because Jill Cummins, the woman you just saw, has officially filed for divorce. Court documents, she is accusing her husband of quote, inappropriate marital conduct. And this isn`t the only recent development in the case. Just days ago, investigators released these images of the two at a Walmart in Oklahoma City. They were taken just two days after the pair disappeared where investigators say Tad Cummins used cash to purchase food items. Since then, the trail has seemingly gone cold. Tonight, the search continues, so if you recognize these images, look at her hair, it is very different. It is red. She seems to be wearing the same clothing, though, that shirt, that flannel checkered shirt. They ask you to call police if these two look at all familiar to you anywhere in the country.</s>BANFIELD: A woman carjacked at the gas pump. How she tried to fight the attacker off by spraying him with the fuel that she was using for her SUV. Did it work? We`re going to find out. And also, a woman and her young son gunned down in a domestic dispute.</s>BANFIELD: The family members are saying why did this happen? She called 911. Lots of people called 911 and those calls were ignored. We`re gonna talk to the Sanford Florida police chief about it next.