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I had hoped the weekend would be quiet since we were on the road, minus sleep, crisscrossing the country since last Sunday morning. Rest was needed. As luck would have it, we got word early Saturday of a new arrest in the Holloway case. We were told that it would probably not be of great significance — an arrest like GVC — but we had to dig deep into it to find out who, why and where. We could not simply ignore it. We did learn the arrest was in Holland on Wednesday of a man who was a dealer at the casino in the Holiday Inn where Natalee stayed and where she met Joran. He was questioned last summer. I am sure we will talk more about it tonight on the show.
As we made millions of calls to sources about the arrest in Holland, we were told there may have been another arrest on Saturday in Aruba. I have not confirmed this second arrest, but will be back working sources today. (It may be confirmed by others as today progresses.) So… stay tuned.
Today, I posted many pictures from our trip to Durham, North Carolina, to cover the hearing of Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann. (I hope to post the pics from the alligator coverage on Friday in tomorrow's blog.) The pics are an effort to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the people who work for FOX and how we do our work. We work hard, we cover serious matters, but from time to time there is some levity.
The hearing was on Thursday afternoon, but before the hearing we — the FOX crew — went out to lunch. As we returned we ran into Reade Seligmann and his lawyer arriving (there is a pic). The New Black Panther Party was at the courthouse and you will see a few pics of them outside the courthouse. Joe Cheshire, who represents indicted player Dave Evans is shown in one pic leaving the courthouse with a box of documents (about 1300 pages) resting on his shoulders. The documents are the discovery given the defense by D.A. Mike Nifong.
As you may know, we did our show Thursday from inside the very courtroom where the hearing was held earlier in the afternoon. I have posted lots of pics to give you the inside look of the setting up process as well as the courtroom where all the hearings are held. Setting up takes hours and lots of work. While setting up, we ordered the usual media dinner — pizza (producer David Lewkowict is shown carrying in the stack of pizzas). My guess is that the entire media survive on pizza... not just those of us who work at FOX News Channel.
Once again I must thank the staff and county for letting us use the courtroom for the show. I think it is important that viewers get as close to a story as possible and simply seeing the courtroom gives you a better idea of the story we are covering. It is not a huge advance in the story, but a small helpful one. I know that when I go to the scene of the stories I cover I get a much better idea of the matter — including the people involved.
Now for some e-mails:
E-mail No. 1
Fred is a female cat.
Marcia Ann Chambers
E-mail No. 2
Hi Greta,
I was just watching the piece on the alligator attacks in Florida. Here in Australia we have crocodiles in tidal rivers in the Northern Territory. Your piece mentioned that standing up gives you a measure of safety because you look bigger. WRONG! We too frequently hear of people standing in water up to their ankles getting "taken" by crocodiles. The rule is that unless it is posted "safe to swim," unless you are told by a ranger it is safe, assume it is unsafe. As far as I know, it is even unsafe to stand next to water where a croc may be. If you want more information, perhaps contact the national parks here in Australia, but personally, I didn't put too much weight in what your guest had to say.
Best,
Nancy Cohen
Sydney, Australia
E-mail No. 3
May 19
Greta,
Have not followed your show for a long time. After tonight, I will never give you another second of my time. From interviewing a family member praying that their loved one may still be alive to an analysis on whether or not the victim committed suicide. Your body tempature (sic) has to be below 0. Greta = A statute that can talk with no heart or soul.
John Haugen
Minneapolis, MN
E-mail No. 4
Dear Greta,
As forensic pathologists we are trained to be suspicious. The occurrence of 3 deaths in one week supposedly due to gators is statistically surprising. According to your program only 17 known gator deaths have occurred in several decades. Also it is an interesting coincidence to note that these 3 are all young attractive females (as noted by the pictures on your program). Certainly it is possible. It is also possible that these are drownings or asphyxial deaths and the alligators were only postmortem scavengers. These types of deaths are difficult to assess. Were the bodies decomposed? This also creates difficulty. It can be difficult to assess whether injuries are antemorten or postmortem if bodies have been in water some time. The first victim was supposedly depressed. Is she a suicide? Are any of these deaths homicides that have been masked by gator activity? Are the areas of death in proximity? Are some of these deaths the work of "copy cats"?
Give a gator a body and the gator will probably chomp on it.
Just something to think about.
George E. Thomas
Jill Cobb
Jacksonville, OR
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