Court TV Host: We're going to be joined by writer Lois Duncan Arquette and Crimescene.com's Tom Arriola in just a little while. They were both on Court TV's Crier Today program today. Lois Duncan Arquette talked about her family's tragedy: her daughter was killed in a drive-by shooting. Police said it was a random act of violence. Lois Arquette and her family feel otherwise: they think that it was a deliberate murder. But they couldn't get the police to investigate it that way. So she wrote abook: "Who Killed My Daughter?" One of the things that the Arquette family did was to set up a website, www.iag.net/~barq/kait.html The website is also part of a site known as www.crimescene.com It's a way for people to use all sorts of detection skills on fictional crimes. The man who created that site is Tom Arriola, and he's going to be here with us as well.

Court TV Host: Both our guests are here. Welcome, Lois Duncan Arquette and Tom Arriola

Tom Arriola: Hello all!

Lois Duncan Arquette: I'm glad to be here.

Court TV Host: Let's take the first question from the audience...

honey_crash asks: I am so sorry about your loss, has there been any progress in the official investigation into your daughter's murder?

Lois Duncan Arquette: The official investigation by the police was discontinued in 1991. All further investigation has been done by our family and outside investigators.

tvchick_us asks: Has the APD given ANY sign of re-opening the case since the petition went out?

Lois Duncan Arquette: The APD has stated that they will never reopen the case and they will not review any of our new information.

Court TV Host: What reason do they give?

Lois Duncan Arquette: They don't give any one specific reason, they just say they're finished with the case.

Court TV Host: Tom Arriola, let's bring you into this...can you tell us about your website, www.crimescene.com, and how it relates to solving crimes?

Tom Arriola: We solve mostly fiction on crimescene.com What we offer Lois is, #1, an audience of web sleuths. #2, we offer technology -- our message system in particular. I've been glad to help.

tweetycml asks: Lois, why did you decide to tell about your daughter's death?

Lois Duncan Arquette: When the police dropped off Kait's case, this was the only way I could think of to prevent the facts of the case from being buried forever.

warhorse46 asks: Lois, what do you think is the reason for the alleged cover up by the police?

Lois Duncan Arquette: I don't know the specific reason in this particular case, but I do know common reasons for police cover-ups: #1 The crime was committed by a cop or a friend or relative of a cop. #2, The crime was committed by a snitch who was protected by a cop. #3, Particular police officers were involved in protecting criminal operations connected to the murder. We don't know which of these might apply in this case

icy_blue_tear_drop asks: How old was your daughter when it happened(I haven't got a chance to read the book yet)

Lois Duncan Arquette: Kait was 18 and was just breaking up with her Vietnamese boyfriend. She said that night, "If he calls trying to find me, don't tell him where I am." She went to a girlfriend's house. When she left her friend's house driving in the direction of our house, she was shot to death in her car. We later discovered that the boyfriend and his group of cronies were involved in organized criminal activities that Kaitlyn was preparing to expose.

tweetygurl_2000_2001 asks: Do you think her boyfriend had something to do with the murder?

icy_blue_tear_drop asks: Did you ever suspect her boyfriend of the crime?

Lois Duncan Arquette: I don't personally believe that the boyfriend killed Kaitlyn. But I think that he told her too much about too many things. And that knowledge is what got her killed.

Court TV Host: The next question is for Tom Arriola...

chc94 asks: Tom -- how are cases placed on crimescene.com?

Tom Arriola: We work with writers and police experts to create the cases. Each case runs about 2 months, and they take nearly that long to plan -- those are the fictional cases. Now for the non-fiction, it's different of course. I set up a special site for true cases. It's www.realcrimes.com We just added a new case. We would add any reasonable case to that page. It's a matter of having family members who can do a lot of the legwork. Lois and her family did a remarkable job on her site. She'll tell you it took time. So then, if anyone in the audience has a real case for us Let me know via email at toma@sonic.net

Lois Duncan Arquette: It was a family project. Kaitlyn's father and I, and our four surviving children, helped to construct the page. There is no information on that page that has not been verified by private investigators.

Tom Arriola: How long did it take to do the page, Lois?

Lois Duncan Arquette: The page is a work in progress. We continue to add new information as we acquire it. It's ongoing.

Court TV Host: How did it happen that Kaitlyn's case ended up on crimescene.com. Tom?

Tom Arriola: One day I got an email from a mother who wanted my help. I told her we only did fiction -- but she was pretty insistent that it would do good. That lady -- of course -- was Lois. So it was a mother's plea that won my attention. I'll keep that case there till it's solved.

Lois Duncan Arquette: The exposure Tom has given us opened doors for us in many ways.

NOTE: We received a question from online about whether the police ever talked to Kaitlyn's ex-boyfriend and his friends.

Lois Duncan Arquette: The police have no interest in questioning them. And we as private citizens don't have the right to question them if they don't want to talk to us.

tvchick_us asks: Was "Crier Today" a result of Holly's petition? Also, have you heard from any other programs? Lois: Crier Today came first to Tom, and Tom requested that I be included on the show. Holly's petition has not yet been submitted to any TV shows. We are still gathering names.

tvchick_us asks: I know another one of my favorite authors, Ann Rule, mentions your website on hers. Has she been able to help you at all?

Lois Duncan Arquette: Ann is a personal friend and she has provided a lot of moral support. She is horrified at the way Kaitlyn's case has been handled by the police.

chc94 asks: Has Kait's friend with whom she had dinner contacted you with any information?

Lois Duncan Arquette: That friend has fled the state in stated fear that the people who killed Kaitlyn will also kill her.Because of information that Kaitlyn could have given to her on her final evening.

warhorse46 asks: What first got you interested in a crime site on the web?

Court TV Host: Tom?

Tom Arriola: I was working for John Grisham when "The Pelican Brief" came out. I thought it'd be cool to be able to read the actual brief -- in addition to the book. So the idea of a story contained in a "file" came to me. This was about the same time as the OJ thing--in '94. And I thought it'd be a great way to tell a crime tale. So I created a file for the Valerie Wilson murder. That was Jan 15, 1995, and it's been updated weekly since then. Unlike a book, crimescene.com requires more time and thought. It's not for everyone.

honey_crash asks: Did you like your daughter's ex-boyfriend, before this?

Lois Duncan Arquette: I never felt I knew him well because he had a great deal of trouble speaking English. I had no reason to dislike him and was very sympathetic to his situation as a foreigner in a strange land.

chc94 asks: Have you had any more leads re: the "Ninja Bandit"?

Lois Duncan Arquette: The Ninja Bandit was an Albuquerque police officer who was arrested one week before Kait was shot for multiple bank robberies and murder of a witness. His real name is Matt Griffin -- and he hung out with a group of other questionable cops at an auto body shop. The body shop was one block north of where Kait was shot. After the shooting, witnesses saw a VW bug race from the crime scene up the street and try to take refuge in the parking lot at that chop shop. The suggests to us that some of these cops may have been involved with the people who shot Kait. Tipsters continue to provide us with additional information about activities at that shop and the individuals who were involved in them.

Court TV Host: I'd like to ask both of you about the kinds of tips and leads that can come from the internet. What leads or tips have you gotten in this case?

Lois Duncan Arquette: We have heard from a number of people with bits and pieces of important information that are fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. These people include former friends and lovers of people related to the case, witnesses to criminal activities related to this case, and informants within the Albuquerque police department who do not wish their names to be revealed and wish to keep them confidential.

Tom Arriola: I'd have to defer to Lois here -- the leads come to her, not me.

Court TV Host: Tom, how about information in other cases?

warhorse46 asks: Do you know of any crimes solved by sites in the cyberworld?

Tom Arriola: We had one case on realcrimes get solved as we were posting it. It was a bizarre case about a woman who was drugged, sold into a sex ring, filmed in a porn video, and sexually mutilated. It was awful. I worked with the victim for a year to get her online. Just as we were getting complete, she located the perpetrator. She told me it was organizing the info for the site that lead to the identity. I don't know of any case that has been solved by cyber-detectives yet maybe kait's will be the first!!

jeezlepeezle asks: If there is a CA connection, and insurance fraud, can't the FBI be asked to help?

Lois Duncan Arquette: The FBI can investigate and is investigating the criminal activities that Kait's boyfriend's group were involved in. Particularly interstate insurance fraud and drug trafficking; however, since homicide is not a federal crime, the FBI cannot investigate Kait's murder unless APD invites them into the case. APD told them to 'butt out.'

icy_blue_tear_drop asks: Mrs.Duncan, was it hard for you to write about your daughter's death, and did you use any of the elements you write about in your other books to try to find your daughter's killer?

Lois Duncan Arquette: Writing the book was not hard, because it seemed to write itself. I had been keeping journals from day one, so that I would not forget any of the facts of the case. When I sat down to write Kait's story, the material was already there. And it was almost as if the story itself was being channeled from somewhere else, and I was just the instrument setting it on paper.

Court TV Host: Tom, aside from people online who are interested in crime, do any law enforcement individuals or agencies use your site?

Tom Arriola: Many agencies use the site -- to train officers, detectives, etc. In fact, a teacher is writing a crime scene investigation textbook based on our Purity Knight case. In addition, we have several classes that follow the site as homework I got get a lot of email during finals.

Court TV Host: We're running out of time...before we go, though, any closing thoughts? Tom?

Tom Arriola: I'd like to say that the most important thing on crimescene.com is Kait's case. I feel a bit silly talking about fiction... I hope you all take a look. Someday someone is going to see the thing we all missed. Good luck Lois!

Lois Duncan Arquette: I'm very grateful to Tom for all he has done to bring the light of truth to Kait's case. As we and far too many other parents of murdered children have learned the hard way, there is no way to force a police department to investigate a case that they don't want to solve. And the only way to go over the head of the local police department is through the media. The internet is probably the most important type of media we have at our disposal because you can say whatever you want to say and nobody can gag you. I hope that many other families in our situation will take advantage of Tom's RealCrimes.com Website

Court TV Host: Thanks to you both for being our guests today. Before we go, I thought Lois Duncan Arquette might like to see this comment from a member of our online audience:

brandilynn1991 asks: Mrs. Duncan: I read your book and I think you are a very brave and strong person to do what you did: I mean writing down for the world to see and experience partially with you. I just wanted to say thank you, and I hope you find all you are seeking in the end.