http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1111/30/ddhln.01.htmlDR. DREWGary Giordano Released from Aruban Jail; Concerns about Arsenic in Apple Juice
Aired November 30, 2011 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST: Here we go.
The suspect in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner is back in the U.S. tonight. Her friends are here and they aren`t happy.
::snipping2::
Let`s get started.
Welcome. And tonight, Gary Giordano, the man suspected in the disappearance of his travel companion, Robyn Gardner, is a free man. He`d been in custody in Aruba for nearly four months now. Prosecutors apparently did not have enough evidence to hold him any longer. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The man held in Aruba in connection with a Maryland woman`s disappearance is now free and probably headed back to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That leaves no one in custody for the presumed death of Robyn Gardner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apparently, this guy would go online, get to know women in their late 40s who were in good shape, attractive women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was erratic. He was a little violent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He and Robyn Gardner visited Aruba last summer together. Investigators say he told them they were snorkeling when she disappeared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should they decide to extradite him, Gary`s not going to run from anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he remains, prosecutors say, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PINSKY: Gardner vanished in Aruba over the summer. Aruban authorities say Gary Giordano is the prime suspect. Giordano`s back in the United States tonight.
Joining me to discuss this, Criminal Defense Attorney, Mike Eiglarsh; Richard Forrester, Robyn Gardner`s boyfriend, and with us by phone, Reece Armstrong, she`s a good friend of Robyn.
Reece, do you have an initial reaction to Gary`s release?
REECE ARMSTRONG, FRIEND OF ROBYN GARDNER, FREDERICK, MARYLAND (via telephone): I mean, obviously, it angered all of us. We definitely know that he`s guilty, so, you know, it`s pretty disappointing.
PINSKY: Here`s Chris Lejuez, attorney for Gary Giordano talking about Gary`s reaction to being released. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS LEJUEZ, GARY GIORDANO`S ARUBA ATTORNEY: His first reaction was that he couldn`t believe it, because he has been, in the meantime, lost all expectations and confidence in our system. His second was an emotional reaction, whereby when I asked him what he really feels about his release, he started to cry, and asked me to excuse him for a few minutes, which I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Now, Reece, you knew both Robyn and you also knew Giordano, is that correct?
ARMSTRONG: No, I never met Gary.
PINSKY: Never met him. Do you feel the Aruban authorities did everything they could to find Robyn?
ARMSTRONG: You know, their laws are very different from ours, so I can`t blame Aruba from what happened. Definitely with Gary, his stories don`t add up at all. So I feel that there could have been more done. You know, it`s someone that we love, so of course we`re going to feel that way.
PINSKY: Reece, I don`t in any way want to disparage Rob - the memory of Robyn, but the people are just trying to figure this out. What was she doing down there with that guy? And I think - and have you and I spoken before, Reece?
ARMSTRONG: I believe so, yes.
PINSKY: Yes. And it`s the same kind of question I had for you last time, which is, we`re all shaking our head going, come on, what was going on there? And does Robyn have any culpability here, and is some innocent man being held down there for four months? What do you say to people who think that way?
ARMSTRONG: I can understand why people think that way, for sure. I mean, like I said before, you know, Robyn was going through a hard time, she just lost her job, and, you know, Gary, a trusted friend of hers, not a boyfriend, a friend, had offered her that I have this trip, you know, do you want to go on a trip? And so she went to clear her mind, I guess.
PINSKY: Now, we know now - we know, as you said, that apparently they were friends, but they apparently met on a website, we`re hearing? I`m hearing lots of rumors, so I want to try to toss them out here. I don`t know what`s fact and what`s fiction, but one thing I`m hearing is they found one other on an adult website, friendfinder.com, and we also hear that very inappropriate, you know, pornographic-kinds of pictures of Robyn were found on Giordano`s camera.
Look at the Aruba Solicitor General Taco Stein on NBC`s "Today" Show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, CO-ANCHOR, NBC`S "TODAY" SHOW: There are reports this morning I`d like you to comment about that photographs have been found on the digital camera belonging to Mr. Giordano that have been described by some as beyond pornographic.
TACO STEIN, ARUBA SOLICITOR GENERAL: I can admit that a camera has been confiscated and is looked at presently by the police to see what`s on it and whether or not it has bearing on our investigation. Well, you understand that I`m not in the position to comment upon what`s upon the camera, what kind of pictures those are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: Richard, I`m going to echo my friend Matt Lauer and ask you to comment on that observation or that alleged story.
RICHARD FORESTER, ROBYN GARDNER`S BOYFRIEND: Sure. You know, I couldn`t - didn`t see the pictures, I don`t know what context they were taken in. Certainly, I`ve got my own questions about it, but, you know, if those pictures were being taken, I`ll guarantee that those were not voluntarily, you know - she didn`t do it with - under her own free will or she didn`t know that they were happening. That`s really all I could say about it. She would never stand for something like that.
PINSKY: So, Richard, that`s the part, again, I want you to help us -
FORESTER: Sure.
PINSKY: -- again, all the people that are out there, hearing this story, hearing it again, shaking their head, trying to figure out how this happened.
FORESTER: You know - you know, Dr. Drew, you know -
PINSKY: Yes, please?
FORESTER: -- here`s the thing. There`s all these rumors, there`s all this BS drama that`s going on, and it`s exactly that. It`s BS. It has nothing to do with anything. You know, the fact is that he got out, yes, he got out of prison. Well, Aruba dropped the ball there, OK. Robyn`s missing.
PINSKY: Yes.
FORESTER: That`s the bottom line there. There`s rumors and there`s rumors about Robyn, there`s rumors about me. There`s rumors about everybody, but none of it matters. None of it pertains to anything.
PINSKY: All right. But Richard - Richard, I love the path you`re going down here. And you`re absolutely right. I think we don`t have a body, we don`t have a story. We have a guy that`s out, held appropriately or inappropriately. We have no idea. We know - we know really no more than we did when this all started.
But do me a favor. Put the rumors to rest. Come on. Let`s do it right now. What have you heard about you, what have you heard about her, and address them right now?
FORESTER: Well, there`s rumors about Robyn that, you know, she had - she was, you know, taking these pictures. Well, she would never stand for that, OK? There`s rumors about me that I`m an accomplice. I mean, come on. Really? There`s rumors about me -
PINSKY: I`ve heard -
FORESTER: Go ahead.
PINSKY: I don`t mean to interrupt you, I`ve heard rumors, and these are really - you know, they`re mean rumors that she was some sort of escort and you didn`t know it. Have you heard those?
FORESTER: I`ve heard that and I laugh at that. That`s ridiculous. Dr. Drew, she spent when she wasn`t at work 95 percent of her time with me. She and I drove to work together. She worked. She and I met each other after work. We went home together. So, you know, that - those rumors are ridiculous. Those are absolutely ridiculous.
PINSKY: Reece - Reece, I`m going to go back out to you and give you a chance to respond to them as well.
ARMSTRONG: I mean, honestly, Dr. Drew, look at the situation. You know, she traveled to Aruba with Gary. There`s video footage of him going to his car, getting cups of what he claims (INAUDIBLE) are orange juice, and all of a sudden she`s gone.
I mean, honestly, it`s pretty obvious to me that he had some kind of drugs involved. So I can`t imagine what else he has on her, or what he did to her.
PINSKY: Wow.
::snipping2::
PINSKY: And Richard, last word to you, 15 seconds, what do you hope, going forward?
FORESTER: I hope they find her. I hope they concentrate more on finding her and track her down somewhere. First of all, remember, she`s missing, and, second of all, we don`t know if she`s dead or not. We can hope and pray, but we - we don`t know.
(texasmom)
