Enki
Active member
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: The crime occurred in North Carolina, but the family all joins us where they now live in Munster, Indiana. They are Rose Syriani, the oldest child of the Syriani family. She was in her early teens when her father fatally stabbed her mother. Also there is Sara Syriani Barbari, the Rose's youngest sister, John Syriani, who was 10- years-old when he witnessed his dad stabbing his mother and Janet Syriani, the baby of the family. She was only 8-years-old at the time of the murder. She's currently a sophomore in college.
Here's the Syriani family story. It is summer 1990, Rose, Sara, John and Janet's father Elias stabs their mother 28 times with a screwdriver. The mom Theresa died 25 days later. They testified for the prosecution at trial. And their dad was sentenced to die. Now 15 years later and just days from the scheduled execution, November 18, they're hoping that North Carolina governor Mike Easley will reverse the death sentence.
Let's start with Rose. Why do you want your father to be commuted to life?
ROSE SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: Well, I have to start off by telling you the past 15 years has been a struggle. And recently in the last two years, we have been able to put to peace, some sort of peace, you know, by having some sort of contact. And this miracle that's happened by forgiving our father.
I can't stress enough this has been such a difficult time for us. And the days leading up to the execution date, we're just hope hoping that this execution does not get carried out. For my own reasoning -- I feel that at some point now I'm able to close the book, close a piece of my past that was always a black hole, that was always a black hole in my heart. And I've been trying so hard to move on.
And these past 14 years before meeting my father, before forgiving my father, before seeing his sorrow and his love for us, I was just an absolute wreck. I mean, I just wanted so bad for my own personal self just to close the chapter. And I'm just -- I can't imagine this happening to us right now. I mean it's just so important and...
KING: John -- finish, dear.
John, you were 10-years-old. You witnessed the stabbing, right?
JOHN SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: Correct.
KING: Why do you want to forgive?
JOHN SYRIANI: Well, basically before this happened, me and my father were best friends. We were inseparable together. We were always going fishing. He was basically always guiding me the right way.
God taught us to forgive. And that's exactly what I did.
I love my father. He's my flesh and blood. I just thought about it and put it in my heart to forgive my father for what he has done. Basically, I just want to let everybody know that I had to put in my heart to forgive my father.
And I know that it's a time of peaceful, and we need to basically get over this hump that we're going through right now. And we're just blessed with God. And we just want to wish that the governor can hear us and accept our plea.
KING: Sara, why did he murder his wife?
BARBARI: To be honest, Mr. Larry King, that's not a question that I could answer. I know from talking with my father that he lost it. Like I said, I really cannot explain. That's a question that would probably be more appropriate for my father.
ROSE SYRIANI: One thing, Larry.
KING: Go ahead. Anybody could chime in.
ROSE SYRIANI: I'm sorry. Yes. This is Rose.
You know, one thing that we want to share with you is the first day that we actually went in and decided to confront my father. All of us, you know, at some point were thinking about it for some time and we decided simultaneous -- we decided that all four of us would go and confront this man.
There were so many feelings that I personally had. I was angry and, you know, just scared of him. And, you know, so many of my emotions growing up as a teenager and not understanding where they came from and just by the grace of God we've stuck together, the four of us. And we've been able to get through this. For the past 13 years we've done it on our own.
And now this is the opportunity to save the only -- the sole parent that we have left. You know we had...
KING: Rose, did you want them to execute him originally?
ROSE SYRIANI: You know, Larry, we were kids. At the time I was 13. I was angry and upset and scared of him. And you know, there -- I can't really answer that. Because I just feel that, you know, the time that we've had now to kind of think about our family and...
KING: Let me get in a question in for Janet. Then we'll take a break and come back with more.
Janet, you were a baby at the time, only 8-years-old. How do you feel about all this? Do you have memories of your mother?
JANET SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: I have vivid memories because of my siblings. They tell me stories. And now I just feel like I have the parent that I've always wanted. I was so young. I was only 8, obviously. So I just now need the parent figure that I've longed for all these years.
KING: How often do you see your dad? How often do you see him?
JANET SYRIANI: Since the past two years, about six, seven times. We try to go a few times a year.
KING: Let me get a break. We'll talk about the clemency hearing, what they plan to do. The Syriani family, an amazing story. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIAS SYRIANI, MURDERED WIFE: Almost all day, I am with my wife and my children all day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In your mind?
ELIAS SYRIANI: Yes, and when I sleep sometime even I dream I wake up and I stay like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE SYRIANI: We're just right now, living day by day, just trying to do what we can to stop this from happening. We're just begging that this does not carried out. And again, I mean, I said this is four lives. Four lives that will be destroyed.
KING: Sarah, when is the clemency hearing?
BARBARI: Thursday, November 9th. KING: That's this Thursday?
BARBARI: Tenth, I'm sorry.
KING: That's in North Carolina?
BARBARI: Yes, in Raleigh.
KING: Do you know who will appear supporting the idea of lethal injection?
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, we believe that we have the support of...
KING: No, no, not your support. Who's going to be on the other side?
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, you know, I'm not sure. I mean, as far as the prosecuting side?
KING: Yes.
ROSE SYRIANI: We're hoping, we've been told that they are willing to share their time with us. You know, this is a very unique case and in our opinion, it's not black and white. You know, we're not up here, you know, trying to save the world, you know, at this time.
This is something that is very personal to us that you know, we just want to be able to speak with the governor directly. At this moment, we don't have...
KING: Is the governor at the hearing?
ROSE SYRIANI: He will be at the clemency hearing. You know, the prosecuting side has some time and the defense side has some time. And we're hoping that he would share his time with us and, you know, allow us to speak and just share some of our feelings and, you know.
KING: John, what about your mother's family? Is anyone going to appear on -- is her sister living, your aunt or uncle or anyone?
JOHN SYRIANI: Right now, Larry, I'm not aware of who is going to be there. But, I really couldn't answer that question for you right now.
ROSE SYRIANI: It is important to mention that, my mother's side supports her children. We are the ones that have been hurt the most. And Larry, we're nervous up here, but this is really an extraordinary story. And it should be shared with everyone. And at this point, we're just hoping that our healing process is not stopped and that we regress another 15 years.
I mean, this is going to devastate us. And this is something that was a gift from my mother and a gift from God. I mean, my mother doesn't want us to fear, to hate. You know, we've been grieving for all this time. I know this is from her. And there's not a day that goes by that we don't think about her. And now for the past two years, we've been able to move on without feeling such grief. And we're just hoping that the governor will please look at this as a unique case and we're able to regain our past.
I mean, we have memories that my father is able to share with us. We don't get to see him very often, but my sister Janet, every day, she runs to the mailbox to see. He's able to watch over us, as much as he can. He'll send my brother a letter and he'll tell him, your sister is having a hard time in school, watch over her. I know we have limited time, but there's so many beautiful stories.
KING: I'm trying to not -- I'm trying to see that you don't get repetitive. You're making your point very well. I want to bring in some other members of the family as well, so we can hear from them.
Janet, what is it like when you talk to your father?
JANET SYRIANI: I have a father-daughter relationship now. He calls me his baby. You know? I have that emotional side that I've been wanting for so long. And like my sister said, you know, I was having problems with school. And just everyday life, you know. And he would write me letters and tell me that I was going to make it and I was going to make his dream come true.
KING: That's great.
Is he remorseful? Is he remorseful over the killing?
JANET SYRIANI: I mean, it's just unbelievable the way...
ROSE SYRIANI: For someone to hurt their child, I think has be.
KING: Hold on, let me get a break. I'll come back, hold it, let me get a break.
We'll be back with the Syriani family.
"ANDERSON COOPER 360" has moved to a new time. It's two hours in length. It's at 10:00 Eastern, following this program. And there, he's not in a jungle somewhere. He's got a tie and a shirt and he's in a studio.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I know, I dressed up nice for you. I dressed up nice for you, Larry.
KING: I appreciate it.
COOPER: About 15 minutes from now, 10:00 Eastern, a two-hour edition of 360. CNN is now live until midnight. Here is what we have tonight.
The White House is in trouble on several fronts, but Democratic leaders don't seem to be reaping the benefits. We'll talk with former Senator John Edwards about what the Dems need to do for 2008. Also at 10 tonight, the ice man. That young flier who died 63 years ago, found frozen in the Sierra Nevadas. We'll have the latest on who he is.
And a cruise ship mystery. A woman disappears on an Alaskan cruise. The ship never notified her family. We'll find out why and what's the latest on that.
That story, all the late-breaking news, some good conversation, and a few surprised tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Larry?
KING: Thank you so much. Welcome to late night, Anderson. It's fun having you with us.
COOPER: I'm looking forward to it.
KING: "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at the top of the hour. We'll be back with more. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SYRIANI: I've always thought of him as a murderer that took my mom. But when I saw him for the first time, waving and smiling, like a kid in Disneyland, I saw my dad.
KING: Sarah, will your main argument at the clemency hearing be, we forgive him, therefore the state of North Carolina should forgive him?
BARBARI: I wouldn't go that far. I'm just hoping that more than anything that Governor Easley will look at these four lives and realize that it is us that is going to suffer.
My father has come to terms with his fate and what could happen to him. And the only fear that he has is that his children's hearts are going to break once again. And he's right, that is exactly what will happen.
I mean, it took us so long to come this far. You know, from hate and anger to forgiveness and love. It is just the most powerful thing that has entered our lives.
And just so much good has come out of it. I mean, we're all different people now and could live our lives whole and in peace and we just feel...
KING: Is this...
BARBARI: ...that if this is carried out that we are going to take a step back.
JANET SYRIANI: 15 years back. It was a long healing process.
KING: Rose, is this the last chance, this hearing? ROSE SYRIANI: Yes. Yes, it is.
KING: No appeals, everything's gone.
ROSE SYRIANI: At this point, today, today we do not have, you know, an actual time with the governor. And we're just hoping that, you know, everyone that has supported us has been wonderful. And, now, we just -- we're reaching out. And we're just asking if the governor's watching tonight to just please just allow us to hear from us, that, you know...
KING: If he attends -- does he -- he's part of the clemency board, right, in North Carolina?
ROSE SYRIANI: Yes, he is.
KING: So he will be there Thursday.
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, he will be there Thursday right. But from my understanding with the governor's counsel.
BARBARI: We are requesting a face-to-face visit with the governor. As of now, we don't have that scheduled. So we're hoping that he will allow us to come in to, you know the conference room and meet with him face to face to hear us out, to know each individual. And, you know, to hear where we're coming from.
So as of right now, we don't have an actually one on one visit with Governor Easley. We're hoping that he'll change his mind.
KING: If he sits on the board, he will hear from you, will he not? If he's a member of the board? Do we know?
ROSE SYRIANI: That's what we're hoping. That's what we're hoping for, that we will have that face-to-face with him.
KING: Let me get a break. We'll be right back with more on this addition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE SYRIANI: We cry because we lost our mother. We cry because we lost our father. And we're blessed that we have these two people in our lives at the moment important time, where I learned so much from my father as the oldest and taking charge of the family and no matter what hard time we go through, we stick together as a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARI: That first meeting with him, all of these hurt and anger and feelings just like floated away from me. JANET SYRIANI: I was looking through letters that he had written my brother and there was something that said, your sister is having a hard time. He's still trying to protect us.
ROSE SYRIANI: I don't think anyone can go from absolute hate to love in a split second if it didn't come from some place else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Sarah, you are pregnant, are you not?
BARBARI: Yes, I am. Five months.
KING: So if we keep him alive, it will be his first grandchild, right?
BARBARI: Yes, it will.
KING: I guess he's excited. Are you at all prepared -- Rose, we're running close on time. Rose, are you prepared for the worst?
ROSE SYRIANI: At this moment, we are focusing all of our energy and trying to do what we can to stop this. You know, I have to mention -- I have to say that it's very important. Fifteen-years-ago the state of North Carolina was protecting us. They saw these four children heartbroken, but 15 years later a miracle happened. And now we're asking the state of North Carolina to protect us again. I just -- I'm sorry.
KING: John, are you hopeful?
JOHN SYRIANI: Yes, Larry, I am very hopeful. I just pray every night before I go to sleep that God will listen to my prayers. And he's answered my prayers once before of getting all four of us and reuniting with my father. He answered that prayer for me. So, I'm hoping he'll do the same with this. I feel very positive about it and I just pray every night.
KING: Wish you the best. Janet, are you hopeful?
JANET SYRIANI: I'm definitely hopeful. Definitely. I can't wait to come and visit him and finally tell him that I made his dream come true and I've become a college graduate.
KING: Do you know if they let you know right away, Sarah, at the hearing or do they get back to you?
BARBARI: Well, to our understanding, just the way that Governor Easley has handled things in the past, I don't know how soon we'll find out.
KING: We'll stay right on top of it all day Thursday. Thank you all. And best of luck to you.
BARBARI: Thank you.
JOHN SYRIANI: Thank you very much, Larry.
KING: Thank you, guys. Good luck.
KING: The crime occurred in North Carolina, but the family all joins us where they now live in Munster, Indiana. They are Rose Syriani, the oldest child of the Syriani family. She was in her early teens when her father fatally stabbed her mother. Also there is Sara Syriani Barbari, the Rose's youngest sister, John Syriani, who was 10- years-old when he witnessed his dad stabbing his mother and Janet Syriani, the baby of the family. She was only 8-years-old at the time of the murder. She's currently a sophomore in college.
Here's the Syriani family story. It is summer 1990, Rose, Sara, John and Janet's father Elias stabs their mother 28 times with a screwdriver. The mom Theresa died 25 days later. They testified for the prosecution at trial. And their dad was sentenced to die. Now 15 years later and just days from the scheduled execution, November 18, they're hoping that North Carolina governor Mike Easley will reverse the death sentence.
Let's start with Rose. Why do you want your father to be commuted to life?
ROSE SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: Well, I have to start off by telling you the past 15 years has been a struggle. And recently in the last two years, we have been able to put to peace, some sort of peace, you know, by having some sort of contact. And this miracle that's happened by forgiving our father.
I can't stress enough this has been such a difficult time for us. And the days leading up to the execution date, we're just hope hoping that this execution does not get carried out. For my own reasoning -- I feel that at some point now I'm able to close the book, close a piece of my past that was always a black hole, that was always a black hole in my heart. And I've been trying so hard to move on.
And these past 14 years before meeting my father, before forgiving my father, before seeing his sorrow and his love for us, I was just an absolute wreck. I mean, I just wanted so bad for my own personal self just to close the chapter. And I'm just -- I can't imagine this happening to us right now. I mean it's just so important and...
KING: John -- finish, dear.
John, you were 10-years-old. You witnessed the stabbing, right?
JOHN SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: Correct.
KING: Why do you want to forgive?
JOHN SYRIANI: Well, basically before this happened, me and my father were best friends. We were inseparable together. We were always going fishing. He was basically always guiding me the right way.
God taught us to forgive. And that's exactly what I did.
I love my father. He's my flesh and blood. I just thought about it and put it in my heart to forgive my father for what he has done. Basically, I just want to let everybody know that I had to put in my heart to forgive my father.
And I know that it's a time of peaceful, and we need to basically get over this hump that we're going through right now. And we're just blessed with God. And we just want to wish that the governor can hear us and accept our plea.
KING: Sara, why did he murder his wife?
BARBARI: To be honest, Mr. Larry King, that's not a question that I could answer. I know from talking with my father that he lost it. Like I said, I really cannot explain. That's a question that would probably be more appropriate for my father.
ROSE SYRIANI: One thing, Larry.
KING: Go ahead. Anybody could chime in.
ROSE SYRIANI: I'm sorry. Yes. This is Rose.
You know, one thing that we want to share with you is the first day that we actually went in and decided to confront my father. All of us, you know, at some point were thinking about it for some time and we decided simultaneous -- we decided that all four of us would go and confront this man.
There were so many feelings that I personally had. I was angry and, you know, just scared of him. And, you know, so many of my emotions growing up as a teenager and not understanding where they came from and just by the grace of God we've stuck together, the four of us. And we've been able to get through this. For the past 13 years we've done it on our own.
And now this is the opportunity to save the only -- the sole parent that we have left. You know we had...
KING: Rose, did you want them to execute him originally?
ROSE SYRIANI: You know, Larry, we were kids. At the time I was 13. I was angry and upset and scared of him. And you know, there -- I can't really answer that. Because I just feel that, you know, the time that we've had now to kind of think about our family and...
KING: Let me get in a question in for Janet. Then we'll take a break and come back with more.
Janet, you were a baby at the time, only 8-years-old. How do you feel about all this? Do you have memories of your mother?
JANET SYRIANI, MOTHER FATALLY STABBED: I have vivid memories because of my siblings. They tell me stories. And now I just feel like I have the parent that I've always wanted. I was so young. I was only 8, obviously. So I just now need the parent figure that I've longed for all these years.
KING: How often do you see your dad? How often do you see him?
JANET SYRIANI: Since the past two years, about six, seven times. We try to go a few times a year.
KING: Let me get a break. We'll talk about the clemency hearing, what they plan to do. The Syriani family, an amazing story. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIAS SYRIANI, MURDERED WIFE: Almost all day, I am with my wife and my children all day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In your mind?
ELIAS SYRIANI: Yes, and when I sleep sometime even I dream I wake up and I stay like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE SYRIANI: We're just right now, living day by day, just trying to do what we can to stop this from happening. We're just begging that this does not carried out. And again, I mean, I said this is four lives. Four lives that will be destroyed.
KING: Sarah, when is the clemency hearing?
BARBARI: Thursday, November 9th. KING: That's this Thursday?
BARBARI: Tenth, I'm sorry.
KING: That's in North Carolina?
BARBARI: Yes, in Raleigh.
KING: Do you know who will appear supporting the idea of lethal injection?
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, we believe that we have the support of...
KING: No, no, not your support. Who's going to be on the other side?
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, you know, I'm not sure. I mean, as far as the prosecuting side?
KING: Yes.
ROSE SYRIANI: We're hoping, we've been told that they are willing to share their time with us. You know, this is a very unique case and in our opinion, it's not black and white. You know, we're not up here, you know, trying to save the world, you know, at this time.
This is something that is very personal to us that you know, we just want to be able to speak with the governor directly. At this moment, we don't have...
KING: Is the governor at the hearing?
ROSE SYRIANI: He will be at the clemency hearing. You know, the prosecuting side has some time and the defense side has some time. And we're hoping that he would share his time with us and, you know, allow us to speak and just share some of our feelings and, you know.
KING: John, what about your mother's family? Is anyone going to appear on -- is her sister living, your aunt or uncle or anyone?
JOHN SYRIANI: Right now, Larry, I'm not aware of who is going to be there. But, I really couldn't answer that question for you right now.
ROSE SYRIANI: It is important to mention that, my mother's side supports her children. We are the ones that have been hurt the most. And Larry, we're nervous up here, but this is really an extraordinary story. And it should be shared with everyone. And at this point, we're just hoping that our healing process is not stopped and that we regress another 15 years.
I mean, this is going to devastate us. And this is something that was a gift from my mother and a gift from God. I mean, my mother doesn't want us to fear, to hate. You know, we've been grieving for all this time. I know this is from her. And there's not a day that goes by that we don't think about her. And now for the past two years, we've been able to move on without feeling such grief. And we're just hoping that the governor will please look at this as a unique case and we're able to regain our past.
I mean, we have memories that my father is able to share with us. We don't get to see him very often, but my sister Janet, every day, she runs to the mailbox to see. He's able to watch over us, as much as he can. He'll send my brother a letter and he'll tell him, your sister is having a hard time in school, watch over her. I know we have limited time, but there's so many beautiful stories.
KING: I'm trying to not -- I'm trying to see that you don't get repetitive. You're making your point very well. I want to bring in some other members of the family as well, so we can hear from them.
Janet, what is it like when you talk to your father?
JANET SYRIANI: I have a father-daughter relationship now. He calls me his baby. You know? I have that emotional side that I've been wanting for so long. And like my sister said, you know, I was having problems with school. And just everyday life, you know. And he would write me letters and tell me that I was going to make it and I was going to make his dream come true.
KING: That's great.
Is he remorseful? Is he remorseful over the killing?
JANET SYRIANI: I mean, it's just unbelievable the way...
ROSE SYRIANI: For someone to hurt their child, I think has be.
KING: Hold on, let me get a break. I'll come back, hold it, let me get a break.
We'll be back with the Syriani family.
"ANDERSON COOPER 360" has moved to a new time. It's two hours in length. It's at 10:00 Eastern, following this program. And there, he's not in a jungle somewhere. He's got a tie and a shirt and he's in a studio.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I know, I dressed up nice for you. I dressed up nice for you, Larry.
KING: I appreciate it.
COOPER: About 15 minutes from now, 10:00 Eastern, a two-hour edition of 360. CNN is now live until midnight. Here is what we have tonight.
The White House is in trouble on several fronts, but Democratic leaders don't seem to be reaping the benefits. We'll talk with former Senator John Edwards about what the Dems need to do for 2008. Also at 10 tonight, the ice man. That young flier who died 63 years ago, found frozen in the Sierra Nevadas. We'll have the latest on who he is.
And a cruise ship mystery. A woman disappears on an Alaskan cruise. The ship never notified her family. We'll find out why and what's the latest on that.
That story, all the late-breaking news, some good conversation, and a few surprised tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Larry?
KING: Thank you so much. Welcome to late night, Anderson. It's fun having you with us.
COOPER: I'm looking forward to it.
KING: "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at the top of the hour. We'll be back with more. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SYRIANI: I've always thought of him as a murderer that took my mom. But when I saw him for the first time, waving and smiling, like a kid in Disneyland, I saw my dad.
KING: Sarah, will your main argument at the clemency hearing be, we forgive him, therefore the state of North Carolina should forgive him?
BARBARI: I wouldn't go that far. I'm just hoping that more than anything that Governor Easley will look at these four lives and realize that it is us that is going to suffer.
My father has come to terms with his fate and what could happen to him. And the only fear that he has is that his children's hearts are going to break once again. And he's right, that is exactly what will happen.
I mean, it took us so long to come this far. You know, from hate and anger to forgiveness and love. It is just the most powerful thing that has entered our lives.
And just so much good has come out of it. I mean, we're all different people now and could live our lives whole and in peace and we just feel...
KING: Is this...
BARBARI: ...that if this is carried out that we are going to take a step back.
JANET SYRIANI: 15 years back. It was a long healing process.
KING: Rose, is this the last chance, this hearing? ROSE SYRIANI: Yes. Yes, it is.
KING: No appeals, everything's gone.
ROSE SYRIANI: At this point, today, today we do not have, you know, an actual time with the governor. And we're just hoping that, you know, everyone that has supported us has been wonderful. And, now, we just -- we're reaching out. And we're just asking if the governor's watching tonight to just please just allow us to hear from us, that, you know...
KING: If he attends -- does he -- he's part of the clemency board, right, in North Carolina?
ROSE SYRIANI: Yes, he is.
KING: So he will be there Thursday.
ROSE SYRIANI: Well, he will be there Thursday right. But from my understanding with the governor's counsel.
BARBARI: We are requesting a face-to-face visit with the governor. As of now, we don't have that scheduled. So we're hoping that he will allow us to come in to, you know the conference room and meet with him face to face to hear us out, to know each individual. And, you know, to hear where we're coming from.
So as of right now, we don't have an actually one on one visit with Governor Easley. We're hoping that he'll change his mind.
KING: If he sits on the board, he will hear from you, will he not? If he's a member of the board? Do we know?
ROSE SYRIANI: That's what we're hoping. That's what we're hoping for, that we will have that face-to-face with him.
KING: Let me get a break. We'll be right back with more on this addition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE SYRIANI: We cry because we lost our mother. We cry because we lost our father. And we're blessed that we have these two people in our lives at the moment important time, where I learned so much from my father as the oldest and taking charge of the family and no matter what hard time we go through, we stick together as a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARI: That first meeting with him, all of these hurt and anger and feelings just like floated away from me. JANET SYRIANI: I was looking through letters that he had written my brother and there was something that said, your sister is having a hard time. He's still trying to protect us.
ROSE SYRIANI: I don't think anyone can go from absolute hate to love in a split second if it didn't come from some place else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Sarah, you are pregnant, are you not?
BARBARI: Yes, I am. Five months.
KING: So if we keep him alive, it will be his first grandchild, right?
BARBARI: Yes, it will.
KING: I guess he's excited. Are you at all prepared -- Rose, we're running close on time. Rose, are you prepared for the worst?
ROSE SYRIANI: At this moment, we are focusing all of our energy and trying to do what we can to stop this. You know, I have to mention -- I have to say that it's very important. Fifteen-years-ago the state of North Carolina was protecting us. They saw these four children heartbroken, but 15 years later a miracle happened. And now we're asking the state of North Carolina to protect us again. I just -- I'm sorry.
KING: John, are you hopeful?
JOHN SYRIANI: Yes, Larry, I am very hopeful. I just pray every night before I go to sleep that God will listen to my prayers. And he's answered my prayers once before of getting all four of us and reuniting with my father. He answered that prayer for me. So, I'm hoping he'll do the same with this. I feel very positive about it and I just pray every night.
KING: Wish you the best. Janet, are you hopeful?
JANET SYRIANI: I'm definitely hopeful. Definitely. I can't wait to come and visit him and finally tell him that I made his dream come true and I've become a college graduate.
KING: Do you know if they let you know right away, Sarah, at the hearing or do they get back to you?
BARBARI: Well, to our understanding, just the way that Governor Easley has handled things in the past, I don't know how soon we'll find out.
KING: We'll stay right on top of it all day Thursday. Thank you all. And best of luck to you.
BARBARI: Thank you.
JOHN SYRIANI: Thank you very much, Larry.
KING: Thank you, guys. Good luck.
