[Berman:] We are learning more about the murder of a 21-year- old college student who got into a car she thought was an Uber. A New Jersey town will hold a candlelight vigil tonight to remember Samantha Josephson. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is live in Columbia, South Carolina, where this murder happened with the very latest. Dianne.
[Dianne Gallagher, Cnn Correspondent:] And, John, late yesterday evening we received some more information on how Samantha died. According to a summary of the autopsy report, she was killed with trauma due to sharp objects. Now, they have not gone into any details on exactly what weapon may have been used to kill her. But we'd learned earlier that she had wounds all over her face, her head, her neck, upper body, down to her feet. And if you remember, inside that car that you she her getting into in the surveillance video on early Friday morning, they found Samantha's blood in the trunk and in the passenger compartment area, along with cleaning supplies and her cell phone. Now, here in Columbia, they're still kind of trying to gather their grief while staying vigilant about ridesharing apps. In her hometown in Romeoville, New Jersey, they're going to hold a vigil tonight and then her family will lay her to rest tomorrow. Again, just 21-years- old. She should have been graduating from the University of South Carolina in about a month and a half and then going on to Drexel University Law School. Her father has said he wants to make rideshare safety his life's mission. And here in South Carolina, they want to work on that. Not only responsibility of the rider, but they want to focus on the companies themselves. And so today they're going to introduce two different lawmakers the Samantha Josephson Rideshare Safety Act. And the goal of that is to make sure that rideshares are visibly marked. And so they want to make sure there's an illuminated that it is required by law, illuminated signage on rideshares letting you know this is, in fact, an Uber or a Lyft or whatever app it is that you are using, instead of the optional way to use those in this manner right now. And so, John, Alisyn they're working to make sure, again, that other students don't potentially make the same mistake that so many of us commonly did. But unfortunately, for Samantha, it cost her, her life.
[Camerota:] Dianne, it is really remarkable how quickly her father has been able to, in his grief, shift the focus to helping other people. Thank you very much for all of the reporting. So Samantha Josephson's murder is raising questions about what you and all of us can do to stay safe when we're getting into cars with strangers, as so many of us do nowadays. So joining us with some life-saving tips is Robert Siciliano, he is the security awareness expert and CEO of safer.me. Great to have you here, Robert. Thank you so much. You have a list of things that we can do. And I just want to start with how frightening a story this is for so many of us because we are now using we're getting into cars with strangers all the time. Something that we didn't do, obviously, decades ago. And so I have learned through this horrible tragedy that I have to always check the license plate now of the Uber that I'm getting into, OK? Now, in South Carolina, they don't have a front license plate, so that's a tough one. You'll have to walk around to the back of the car. I also find it too small, frankly, on the Uber app sometimes to see. But, OK. What else do you recommend beyond checking the license plate?
[Robert Siciliano, Security Awareness Expert:] Well, so there's a number of things to do. But it's really important to understand right here and now that this is not a rideshare issue. This is this is not a rideshare problem. This is a predator problem. I don't think that Americans realize there are 859,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. 859,000. That's an average of 17,000, 18,000 per state, an average of 40 to 50 per town. These are living, breathing predators that live amongst us. There was an actual Uber driver in Boston that raped somebody just last week. So whether it's a rideshare or a non-rideshare, it's a predator problem. And people need to understand what their options are regarding self-defense and how to physically debilitate a bad guy in the unlikely event because it's unlikely
[Camerota:] Yes.
[Siciliano:] But when and if and when it does happen, you got to know how to defend yourself.
[Camerota:] Well, that's a really good point. Again, as I said, I mean, we are just getting into cars, whether it's taxis, Ubers, whatever, with strangers more than we used to. And so you recommend, beyond doing all of your due diligence, when you get into the car and checking the drivers name and checking the license plate, you recommend carrying a device.
[Siciliano:] Yes.
[Camerota:] Can you show us what that is?
[Siciliano:] Well, you have options. You know, first of all, your brain is your best defense weapon. Knowing how to physically defend yourself is first. Second, if you're going to carry a device, pepper sprays can be pretty good, but you take you should take definite training on that. And this right here is called a tactical pen. It's made of an aluminum alloy. It's designed so you can grip it and it can break glass also. Right there, that's a bad guy, OK? Right here, that's what you do to the bad guy. That's how you impale them. This goes right into their brain and it debilitates them to the point of no return. That's how you defend yourself. That's how you take down a bad guy. Otherwise, you end up as a victim. Prayers thoughts and prayers, candlelight vigils don't solve problems like this. The only thing that solves the problem is changing the fraternity culture. We live in a society where it's OK where a president says it's OK to grab a woman by her genitals. That is a problem.
[Camerota:] Yes. Look, I mean
[Siciliano:] This is how you solve that.
[Camerota:] OK. I I would like to believe that in a life and death situation I could puncture somebody's skull with that pen that I would carry, but I think it would help if I had some training. And so what are you recommending that everybody do?
[Siciliano:] So there are a number of self-defense classes out there that you can take that teach you how to impale somebody. Teach you how to break bones. Teach you how to take care of yourself. And when you understand life-saving techniques like that, every other decision in life is relatively simple. It gives you an enormous amount of life- saving perspective. You can protect yourself and you can protect others. We live in a Me Too culture where violence has become normal. Almost 900,000 sex offenders. It needs to change right here and now from the top down.
[Camerota:] I'm doing it. I'm going to call for a self-defense course. Honestly, I've been thinking about it for months. And so this is just a good way to light a fire. You also say use the buddy system. So what does that mean, that after some point at night we shouldn't get into a car alone?
[Siciliano:] Look, soldiers in the battlefield, they don't leave men behind. They don't leave women behind. Never ever separate. Look at, in the day that my daughters go out into the world and they're out there with their friends and they're at the bars, the rule is, you do not leave anyone behind ever. You always stick together. There's always strength in numbers.
[Camerota:] Last, we're out of time, but you also say security theater. And I just want to very quickly explain to people what that is. When you get into a car alone, pretend you're on a phone call, even if you're not.
[Siciliano:] Yes.
[Camerota:] So, in other words, just quickly, tell us how you simulate that.
[Siciliano:] Get on the phone and say, listen, I'm with an Uber driver, I'm in with a Lyft driver. Listen, we're going down main street. He's taking a left. I don't know where he's going. Listen, I just went by the McDonald's on main street. Something's wrong here. Maybe you maybe you should call for help for me or hit an app on your mobile phone that has GPS in it that can tell all your friends and family of your location so they can send law enforcement your way.
[Camerota:] Robert Siciliano, thank you very much for trying to get all of our attention this morning with your safety tips.
[Siciliano:] Thank you.
[Camerota:] John.
[Berman:] He got it.
[Camerota:] Absolutely.
[Berman:] He got my attention, that's for sure.
[Camerota:] Absolutely.
[Berman:] All right, we're not even four months into the year and already the number of measles cases has topped all of last year and it's approaching record modern levels. Why? Why the surge? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us next.