Transcripts For KGO Nightline 20170506

Privilege. Forever in vogue. Free your mind with one of the most popular r b vocal groups of alltime. What to expect from their new summer album. But first the nightline 5. Allergy muddlers, are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool . Try zyrtec. It starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it the next day. Stick with zyrtec and muddle no more. You get used to food odors. You think it smells fine but your passengers smell this. New febreze car with odor Clear Technology cleans away odors up to 30 days. Smells nice. Breathe happy with new febreze. Number one in just 60 seconds. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. It was a brutal double murder in a luxurious tropical getaway. A couple found strangled in the caribbean, highlighting the dangers of some glamorous destinations. What they dont put in the brochure is that this country has among the highest murder rates in the world. Tonight the investigation into their deaths. White sand beaches. Turquoise waters. Belize is a tropical oasis attracting vacationers and expats from around the globe. But sometimes theres trouble in paradise. It was this postcardperfect town, corozal, that captivated 52yearold francesca of canada and her boyfriend drew from the u. S. Both owned vacation homes here. We think that theres probably about 3,000 pats living in the corazal area. Most people are happy here. I enjoy it. Reporter this idyllic community is about to be shaken. The smiling couple vanishing into the caribbean night. Thursday evening the couples last seen at this local bar, celebrating a final night together before each flying home. Francesca, to her kids in toronto. And drew, back stateside. The next morning when a friend goes to pick francesca up, something is off. The gate was locked. It appeared the home was locked. Her car was gone. Reporter but she isnt home. Drews motorcycle is out front but hes nowhere to be found. Their phones going straight to voice mail. I was calling francescas phone. And i had people who had drews number calling him. I came back here. Went inside. And i seen francescas suitcase sitting there. Reporter inside, luggage, cash, and her passport left behind. Fear and suspicion mounting as a desperate search begins. Shes a person full of life. Were really hoping that well find her. Its been horrible. Its just been horrible. Reporter back in america, drews family desperate for answers in the former marines disappearance. We dont know anything. We dont know where he is or whats going on. Talking with everybody down there, its a complete mystery. Reporter but that mystery was about to take a tragic turn. Sunday afternoon, police find francescas car abandoned in a sugar cane field near the mexican border. Next day, ten miles from that field, their bodies are found. Facedown, tape tied around their wrists. The cause of death, strangulation. Knowing he was with her, it just makes me feel better. It wasnt him by himself. And they were together. Reporter police now calling this a murder investigation. Detaining two people in connection with their deaths. One a canadian national. They were residents. This isnt like tourists there for a week or two. They have links into the community. So im going to guess this has some tie to their relationship with people who live in belize. We have one person that we believe can assist us in our investigation. Reporter this a reminder that behind the tranquil beauty, a more sinister reality. Crime and mayhem for this small nation. A population of less than 400,000, yet belize ranks among the top five murder rate in the world. Twice that of chicago. Far higher than any American City per capita. They have a homicide conviction rate between 3 and 10 . A 3 solve rate. Thats not optimistic. Reporter compare that to the u. S. Where more than 60 of murders are solved. People let their guard down where theyre in an idyllic destination. They think what can happen in paradise . Well, a lot of bad things can happen in paradise. Some paradises are safer than others. Reporter but paradise, beware. In the past two years alone, there have been a number of murders in this caribbean hot spot. Indiana native paul seniorino and a friend killed in an attack using a machete and guns. A canadian Film Producer found stabbed to death. Last year, ann sweeney, a producer at wls. The abc news 7 station in chicago, brutally murdered at this upscale horseback riding resort. She felt safe there. We felt safe letting her go alone. A very, very outdoor person, loves to ride. Thats what she came to do. Reporter they were one horse short so ann stayed behind to do yoga as others went riding. When they returned, she was gone. Did a quick search and she wasnt around. We notified the police. Reporter the next day, her body was found in a nearby river. Shed been strangled to death. There were bruises around her neck. And on either side of her head, laceration. Reporter in chicago her tightknit newsroom heartbroken. Everyone was stunned. There were tears in the newsroom. But at that moment, we knew in the Investigative Unit that we would be going to belize very soon. In this part of the world, the most popular places for americans reporter her death prompting her news team, led by chuck goudie, into action. This is a few days after anns murder. We went to the place where ann had been staying and where she ended up being killed. The roads are bad. The people live without very much. So this is walking with the owner down to the river where anns body was found. The people who were there were incredibly encouraging. Wanted the case solved. But the authorities and the people who were involved in the Tourism Industry i think saw us as somewhat of a threat. Putting out the word that there are problems in belize. Reporter a year and a half later, the 39yearolds murder still unsolved. The fbi and the police in belize continue to investigate. Swaennys friends still hopeful for resolution. Ive covered a lot of murders over the years in chicago, unfortunately. Its a whole different feeling when youre covering the death of somebody that you know. Reporter now with summer fast approaching, travel experts saying, better be safe than sorry. If youre going to a place thats iffy securitywise, do your homework. Research the crime rates. Go in a group. Do a group tour. Go with a Tour Operator that has a great reputation. Reporter while the state department hasnt issued a travel warning for belize, they do advise signing up for their Smart Traveler Program which helps assist visitors in case of emergency. In corazol, growing concern in the wake of this weeks tragedy. People feel unsafe. And i think they just have to be more aware of their surroundings. Especially at night. When youre out walking about. Reporter the fbi now on the ground investigating. And back home, friends and family are still searching for answers. I hope for more information and to be able to find out exactly what happened and who did it. Thats what im hoping for right now. Up next, campus controversy. Miss black university of texas responds to criticism that she isnt black enough. And later hold on hold on, the ladies of en vogue are on their way. And we meet the fresh face swinging on their new album. Depression is a tangle of multiple symptoms. Thats why theres trintellix, a Prescription Medication for depression. Trintellix may help you take a step forward in improving your depression. Tell your healthcare professional right away if your depression worsens, or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior or thoughts of suicide. Antidepressants can increase these in children, teens and young adults. Do not take with maois. Tell your healthcare professional about your medications, including migraine, psychiatric and depression medications, to avoid a potentially lifethreatening condition. 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The number one ingredient in it is beef. einstein the beef is fantastic becky he has enough energy to believe that he can jump high enough to catch a bird. vo and now try new beneful grain free, simply made with wholesome ingredients, and no grain. To take advantage of this offer on a volvo s90, visit your local dealer. It all started when she won the Miss Black University of texas beauty pageant. Thats the good news. The bad news is, her crowning glory triggered something unexpected hurtful twitter comments taking aim at her skin tone for not being black enough. Its reignited a longsimmering hotbutton issue. Nightline welcomes abcs adrienne bankart. College senior rachel mallenson soaking up every last moment of her senior year at university of texas austin. Im so excited, im ready to graduate. Reporter earlier this week the 22yearold was crowned miss black ut. When they announced my name, the first thing i honestly thought was, wow. Reporter but her celebration has been sidelined by controversy. One moment im on cloud nine. People agreed that i was worthy enough to win the title. The next minute, im not black enough, and i dont deserve this. Reporter just hours after receiving the crown a vocal group of people took to twitter saying rachel, who is biracial, should not have won. Because she isnt black enough. One tweet says, shes clearly the lightest damn near whitelooking black woman, and she won over others. Quit playing dumb, guys, it looks sketchy. Reporter one writing, of course they choose the most whiteskinned, least blacklooking person there. Another saying, they should have pulled out the brown paper bag test. The pageant, in its 35th year, hosted by the historically black Fraternity Kappa Alpha psi. Qualification being someone of africanamerican heritage. The fraternity stands by rachel saying she is completely deserving of the crown. I was raised by a mother whos white, who loves me so much, who has helped me become the confident woman i am. I was raised by a black dad who loves me so much he helped raise me. How could i not identify with those sides of them . Frankly ridiculous. Her father is africanamerican, shes a biracial woman. Although you dont first thing, is she black . You dont know what ethnicity but if her fathers black, shes black. I think that the issue with rachels win has been politicized. And rachel represents an issue of colorism. Its not necessarily her personally, even though shes being personally attacked. Reporter the issue of colorism is explored in depth in the new Netflix Series dear white people. What if i wanted to join them . Why do people assume im not down . Dear halfway person, youre just not black enough for the union. Reporter we spoke to the shows creator Justin Simeon about these issues. Having to prove your blackst is a universal thing among black people. Wake up to your white privilege, man. Uh, im black. You dont want to feel like youre participating in this system where the light her you are, the better you are. Some people do want to participate in that system and want to take advantage of it, but it really does create this kind of identity crisis of the soul. And its a tricky thing to navigate. Reporter biracial student sam and her darkercomplexioned friend coco are shown confronting different experiences as black women. Imagine the reaction if your divisive, revolutionary drivel were coming from the mouth of a real sister. A real sister . You get away with murder because you look more like them than i do. Thats your white skin privilege. As a biracial woman, she sort of feels as if shes kind of caught between two worlds and feels as if she kind of has to double down on as pecks of her blackness to feel as if she belongs around black people, frankly. And these are the kind of things that she sort of keeps in private but they sort of come up in kind of dramatic ways in the series. Yall sound ridiculous. I do not have a preference for lightskinned people. Reporter a recent episode of abcs blackish explores the complexity of skin tone. I wouldnt know they were black. Guten free. Yeah. Thats milky right there. Reporter coworkers accusing him of preferential casting. Beige rage. I do not. What that is . Means he has a clear preference of light skin over dark skin. Ive always seen it. And its always hurt. Reporter growing up multiethnic, rachel says her identity began being questioned from an early age. I remember at 9 years old, people were like, are you his pan nick they asked me that so much i thought i was lying when i said no, im black and white, thats how i identify. But today i realize that its not this awful thing, i actually am blessed to be able to be an example of that. Those stereotypes are not true. Black women, biracial women, come in all different shades, different hair textures. We all identify but we all look different. Im so thankful that im able to be a walking example. Reporter she says at times it was hard to know where she fit in. I wouldnt say that ive felt a certain privilege for being white. Because i feel there comes a greater confusion for me. We live in a society where the lighter you are, the more closer you are to the standards of beauty. European standards of beauty. The better you are in society. So theres this resentment within the community of like, oh, you think youre too good. But the truth is these people are kind of caught in between a rock and a hard place. Youre sort of like playing this line in the middle. Reporter in hollywood theres been a demand for inclusion. Many arguing lightskinned women continue to be shown as the beauty standard. From red carpets to magazine covers. Some publications have come under fire for allegedly lightening celebrities with d k darker skin tones. Something that Media Companies have denied. On the big screen, the recent biopic nina came under fire for casting lighterskinned zoe saldana to play a darkerskinned nina simone. Until recently a woman who was of darker skin was relegated to a maammy role, a best friend role. She wasnt the center. She wasnt the love interest. Were just now getting to the point where women like lupita and viola are Getting Center stage. Reporter for rachel, despite the controversy, she hopes she can be a role model to young women in every shade. A lot of people who know me, those who dont know me, started having my back and really truly supporting me and telling me that i deserve that title. Its turned into a beautiful thing thats reminding me that i have the ability to impact people in a positive way. Reporter for nightline, im adrienne bankart in new york. Up next, dont let go, super Group En Vogue is back. Will their new album stay true to their signature sound . When youre close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment . If you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. Taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. With taltz, up to 90 of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. In fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. Do not use if you are allergic to taltz. Before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. Taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. Inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz. Including worsening of symptoms. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Nows your chance at completely clear skin. Just ask your doctor about taltz. You know, if it were up to me, en vogue would have been in vogue for nearly three decades. And this summer theyre back. In action. Heres abcs Mara Schiavocompo. Hold on to your love you got to hold on reporter they had a hold on the music charts in the 90s. The iconic en vogue. Never gonna get it never gonna get it reporter updating the glamor of girl groups with songs like my loving and free your mind. Free your mind and the rest will follow reporter paving the way for groups like the spice girls, destinys child, fifth harmony. Youve had more than 20 million album sales which is just amazing. What is the secret to such longevity and success . It is just loving what we do. We really enjoy performing. We enjoy writing and creating new music. As long as our fans want to come out and have a good time and hear our music, were willing to come out there and meet them. Reporter these days the group looks a little different. Original members cindy and terri are joined by rona bennett for a new album due this summer titled electric cafe. What can fans expect from this new en vogue . They can expect the signature en vogue harmonies. Its eclectic, the evolution of en vogue, but still that signature sound. Reporter a new tour launches next week. Theres this sort of a resurgence of 90s music, people want to come and hear it. Were just going to have a good time with our fans and enjoy ourselves. Reporter bringing the funky divas back into the lives of fans who dont want t dont want to let go reporter fans like me. Never gonna get it never gonna get it never gonna get it never gonna get it whoo whoo never gonna get it never done that get it never gonna get it never gonna get it never get it reporter for nightline, Mara Schiavocompo in new york. Im pretty sure she got the it. That was awesome. Thank you for watching abc news. As always, were online at abcnews. Com. And our Nightline Facebook page. Good night, america. Have a great weekend. Food. Water. Internet. We need it to live. But what we dont need are surprises, like extra monthly fees. I see you, fee, played by legendary actress anjelica huston. You got me, mark. We just want fast internet for one, simple rate. For all the streaming and the shopping and the newsing, but most of all. For the this. Internet for one everyday simple price and no extra monthly fees