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Boston Continues Recovery; Former Brother-in-Law of Suspects Speaks; Ricin Suspect Released

Aired April 24, 2013 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Anderson Cooper, reporting live in Boston.

There's lots to tell you about this in hour. Each day we are hear, we see more signs of the resilience in this city, and behind me, we see it today at the site of the bombing.

Boylston Street, the area where tragedy struck, is now finally open for business.

Here's the latest. The public is being allowed back to the site of the terror attacks. There's a strong police presence, obviously, but people are moving about freely.

We're also hearing for the first time from the suspect's former brother-in-law who was married to one of the sisters. He tells CNN that thinks the man identified as "Misha" may have been influenced the older brother who then influenced the younger one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELMIRZA KHOZHGOV, SUSPECTS' FORMER BROTHER-IN-LAW: I'm not sure if he inspired or taught him to be radical Islamist, but he surely did have influence and did teach him things that would make Tamerlan go away from the people and go more into the religion and maybe that's possible that he suggested to him some radical ideas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Again, the full identity of this "Misha" or what influence he may have had and what impact he may have had on the older brother is not clear.

A U.S. delegation from the U.S. embassy in Moscow has arrived in the Russian republic of Dagestan to try to interview the parents of the suspected bombers.

But first, that significant moment in Boston's recovery when the barriers came down on Boylston Street and the public was allowed back in, it happened early this morning.

Stores and other businesses reopened. Customers are returning. It, of course, isn't business as usual. The tragedy that unfolded there just nine days ago is still fresh in everyone's minds.

Brooke Baldwin joins us from Boylston Street. Brooke, in talking to people, what's the mood there this morning?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good morning.

I think normal still isn't quite the right word. We're just across the street from where you're standing there in Copley Square, and this is Boylston Street. If you know Boston, this is the heart of the Back Bay, and something I haven't seen in the week and a half I've been here, take a look, traffic, traffic here on Boylston now that it's reopened.

We're standing, Anderson, in the middle of this memorial which, initially, was just on the edge of Boylston because it had been shut down. And now take a look around.

We are surrounded by people, people who are Bostonians, people who just wanted to come here to pay their respects, flowers, Red Sox hats, running shoes and these three crosses for those three young lives lost in that blast explosion.

I'm going to just give you a quick lay of the land, as we are in the middle of Boylston Street. Just down the road is where those two blasts went off.

I personally walked it this morning, and we have some video we can show of, there now, workers laying down fresh concrete and working on the trees and replacing some of the shattered glass in some of the store windows.

But just out of respect for the lives that were lost at that location, I just don't want to walk around down there. But that's what's happening just a stone throw from where I am.

Walk with me this way. This is Amanda Goodhennessy, and I noticed you because this is emotional for you as it is emotional for so many people down here at this memorial site.

You live in Somerville just across the river. Why come down here today?

AMANDA GOODHENNESSY, BOSTON RESIDENT: I was in town for an audition, actually. My husband had been here like the day after and just felt it could be very moving and compelling to see what's happening now.

And it certainly is so touching. You're so overwhelmed and, as much as this has just been such a brutal time in so many ways and I think there are so many different emotions that come out, this is like overwhelming in like a sad way, but a really powerful way of love.

I mean, that's just the feeling, I think, just like all these people who probably didn't even know some of the people who were killed or injured, but like everything is pouring out.

So I feel like, as much as we are all emotionally hung over, which actually doesn't feel quite enough to say, but that the power of love here is really palpable. It's so touching.

I'm just imaging all the people who have left stuff, who've been here, who will come, and it does help some of the healing, I guess, or the beginning.

BALDWIN: I keep using the word catharsis. It seems like cathartic for people to come down here and write some of the messages here on the One Fund Boston sign.

You wrote, "You will not be forgotten." I'm asking all these different people, and especially as a Bostonian, when you see all these signs around town, now that Boylston Street's back open, "Boston strong," what does "Boston strong" truly mean for you?

GOODHENNESSY: I think it must mean something different now than maybe it did before. Maybe before it mean like, wow, amazing sports teams, yay, or, you know, amazing educational institutions, or amazing arts organizations.

But now I think it really -- just that feeling of community. I think the Northeast can get a rep for being maybe cold and frosty, and it is in the weather. I'm going to completely acknowledge that. We need some more weather.

But I think that, just in terms of that feeling of heart and reaching out and that we're in this together, and that I think that everyone near and far, particularly in this area, you are hit in some way, one degree or two degree or three degree of separation.

And so to have your heart open out of sadness, but then also to reach out out of love, I think is just -- I think that's what that strength means, like overcoming. I mean, I'm amazed at the financial generosity that's happened very, very quickly.

What were you saying? Is it $20 million?

BALDWIN: $20 million, we learned, because of the One Fund Boston, and if you want to give, it's OneFundBoston.org.

We heard from Mayor Menino. He was just across the street at the Fairmont last night, $20 million. It is the generosity from people here in Boston.

It's the generosity from people all around the world, trying to help, help so many of these victims who have now their lifetimes are totally changed.

Amanda, thank you.

GOODHENNESSY: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

Just walk with me here because, Anderson, I just want to show you. I'm going to speak a little quieter because people are -- they're writing and they're reflecting. But I noticed this one. Let me just kneel down. This is in green here, Bob, if you can see this. "I wouldn't change my hometown for anything in the world. Boston is my home and it will always be strong against adversity. Boston strong."

So people here are writing their messages, leaving their mark. Normal is not the right word, again, to use here, even though Boylston is back open and the stores are opening their doors.

But it is the beginning of the healing and it is the beginning of the moving forward.

Anderson?

COOPER: Brooke, appreciate that.

Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, he actually may be moving soon from the hospital. He is listed in fair condition in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here in Boston. Some of the bombing victims' families want him out of there.

Ashleigh Banfield joins us from the hospital with more on that. What are you hearing, Ashleigh, about the possibility that he may be moved because there are bombing victims who are in that hospital?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are 11 victims that are still here. The updates from the hospital this morning, Anderson, is that those 11 victims of the bombing who are here are not in serious or critical condition, so at least the conditions are improving.

But the district attorney for Suffolk County that covers Boston told me exclusively -- you'll have to excuse me. There are helicopters flying overhead, Anderson. They're Medevacs and they land right on the roof of the hospital.

(Inaudible). There is an echo chamber.

If you can still hear me, the D.A. told me that the families some of these victims who are here and being treated ...

COOPER: Hey, Ashleigh, we're having a real hard time hearing you.

Ashleigh, we're having a real hard time hearing you, so we're going to come back to you, obviously, because the helicopter overhead.

Ashleigh is outside the hospital where, as I said, some family members want the suspect to be moved from.

We continue to remember the victims of the tragedy, and today, an hour from now, MIT will hold a memorial service for campus officer Sean Collier. Family and friends have held a private service yesterday.

Authorities say he was ambushed by the bombing suspects while in his patrol car while on campus. Still not clear exactly why they targeted him. There's been a huge outpouring of wishes for him and for his family. Thousands of MIT faculty and students formed a human chain on Monday and paused for a moment of silence to remember Officer Collier.

He's been described as easy-going, protective, born to be a police officer.

In the next hour we'll take you live to the memorial to hear from students and to hear from faculty members on the campus.

The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev's America wife has promised to cooperate in the investigation.

But from all our reporting, it seems she hasn't actually sat down with the FBI. She has not spoken directly to the FBI yet.

We're going to find out when that might happen and we'll hear from one of her high school classmates.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Ashleigh Banfield is back with us. She is outside the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital where the suspect is in a hospital room, and also a number of victims are as well.

Ashleigh, you were telling me about the possibility that Tsarnaev may actually be moved.

BANFIELD: Yes. And I'm not sure if you could hear when the helicopters were overhead, but there are 11 of those victims still here, none of them in serious or critical, which is great news. That's the update today from the hospital.

But there is this consternation. The district attorney that represents Boston did tell me that there is some difficulties that some of the families of those victims are having, knowing that their loved ones are being treated at the same facility that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being treated at, the suspect in the bombings that injured them.

So with that in mind, the district attorney told me this, that it could be just in the next couple of days he could be moved elsewhere. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON CONLEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I don't have any direction communication with the United States attorney on this, but I've been told there is some concern that this defendant is being treated at the same hospital where victims are at, so that's natural.

You could see how victims and victims' families would be upset about that. So there is a possibility that before releasing the defendant into federal custody and the prison system perhaps, they'll release him to another hospital where victims and victims' families are not presently located.

BANFIELD: He could be moved to another hospital in this area before he ends up incarcerated awaiting trial?

CONLEY: We have a lot of great hospitals in this area. And I don't believe every single one of them is treating victims, so that's a possibility, I would think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley also telling me that if his condition, which right now is fair and has been fair now for the last two days -- if his condition is good enough, he may be able to leapfrog that second medical facility altogether and go straight to his incarceration location pending trial, which could be in the next twelve to eighteen months, according to this D.A.

And this is where he may end up, more than likely, according to the district attorney, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Plymouth. It is about 40 miles south of here.

It is a state facility, Anderson, but they do house federal prisoners there, especially ones who are awaiting trial, like the infamous convict, Whitey Bulger, who is currently there awaiting his additional trial.

So it should be a fascinating development once we see how they're going to move him, what kind of security they're going to use to move him and exactly if he will end up at the MCI Plymouth.

COOPER: Ashleigh, thanks very much.

The wife of the bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, according to her attorney, is going everything she can to help the investigation. Again, that's according to her attorney.

He says that Katherine Russell did not know anything about the bomb plot, but investigators obviously want to talk to her firsthand.

Erin McPike is in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, where the couple lived.

Erin, for now, Russell is talking through her attorney. Do we know why she hasn't actually met with the FBI to talk directly?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't actually now whether or not she has met with the FBI, Anderson.

I was in her attorney's office just this morning and they are being very tight-lipped. What they have said is that she wants to cooperate and they have spoken with the FBI, but whether or not she has yet, we just don't know yet, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes. And "wants to cooperate" is sort of lawyer speak, it sounds like, for has not actually met directly. But we have confirmed a report that the family was receiving welfare benefits as recently as last year and that the suspects' parents also got benefits over the years when the brothers were younger.

It -- I mean, it's -- it obviously is going to raise a lot of anger in this place that this man, who was allegedly plotting to kill Americans, is actually living off welfare with his wife.

Have the lawyers made any statement about that?

MCPIKE: The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services did release a statement to CNN this morning, Anderson, as you know; I'll read part of that to you.

"Both Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev received benefits through their parents when they were younger. Separately, Tamerlan and his family received benefits until 2012, when the family became ineligible based on their income."

That family they're referring to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, of course, and Katie (ph) Russell, whose parents live here behind me. Now Katie (ph) Russell was the one who was working full-time. We hear that she was working up to 75-80 hours a week as a home health care aide. And that's why they were getting benefits before. But as we know now, her income may have made them ineligible as of last year.

But until last year, yes, they were on those benefits.

COOPER: Do we know anything about why Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly could not find a job? I mean, this is a guy who seems, you know, perfectly capable.

Do we know why he wasn't working?

MCPIKE: We don't. All we know is that Katie (ph) Russell was working so much. And, Anderson, a little bit earlier this morning, I spoke to one of Katie (ph) Russell's friends from high school, and she said she was very surprised to have learned a few years ago that Katie (ph) Russell had dropped out of college, had become a Muslim and got married and had a child.

They said that she was just very much a member of this community, well-liked in high school, very into artwork and it's just caused a lot of surprise. This friend also said she wishes that this community here in Rhode Island would rally around Katie (ph). She's not seeing much of that right now, Anderson.

COOPER: Well, there are so many questions that still remain.

How can a guy who doesn't any income, doesn't have a job, leave for six months, leave his wife and infant child, go to Russia for six months and stay there for all that time? There's so many questions still remaining.

We have much more of the Boston coverage ahead. We're also just going to take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today, including a big development in the investigation of those ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and two other officials.

The man that police took in custody last week, he is now free. Police say new information has surfaced. They said basically they got the wrong guy. We'll go live in Mississippi for the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Hey, welcome back. We've got a lot more of our special coverage of the Boston bombings ahead. There is a lot to tell you about, but we do want to turn to -- our attention to some of the other stories making news right now, including a new development in the investigation of those ricin-tainted letters that were sent to President Obama, a U.S. senator as well as a judge.

Turns out the man who was accused of sending them, who was arrested in custody, may have been framed. That is according to him. All charges were dropped against Paul Kevin Curtis, an Elvis impersonator from Mississippi, after officials uncovered what they described as new information in the case.

Curtis is speaking about the ordeal and the man he thinks plotted to get him behind bars. Victor Blackwell has that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST (voice-over): When authorities released Paul Kevin Curtis, he was eager to set the record straight.

PAUL KEVIN CURTIS, ELVIS IMPERSONATOR: I respect President Obama. I love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to him or any other U.S. official.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Curtis was accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama, Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker in Washington, and a county judge in Mississippi. Charges were dropped. U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams says new information became available.

And in a bizarre turn, Curtis says he is a victim of a plot by a man holding a grudge against him. He told CNN's Piers Morgan they've been feuding for years.

CURTIS: He's been showing up on my radar. People in town coming to me, asking me, "Do you know this guy hates you? He's got it out for you." And I never knew why.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Curtis' attorney says information on social media was used to frame her client.

CHRISTI MCCOY, CURTIS' ATTORNEY: The government was able to basically find another suspect, who we believe is the true perpetrator of this heinous crime.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Curtis describes how he felt as he waited to learn his fate. CURTIS: Just being in a state of overwhelm is the best way I can -- I can describe it. When you've been charged with something, and you've -- you've just -- you never heard of ricin or whatever, I thought they said rice. So I said, "I don't even eat rice."

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Curtis is a father, political activist and Elvis impersonator. And he's ready to move on.

CURTIS: This past week has been a nightmare for myself and my family. My mother has suffered as well as my children. I would like to get back to normal, which, for me, means being the best father that I can be to my children, supporting my favorite charity, Save a Life Foundation and entertaining through my music.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: This is such a bizarre case. Victor Blackwell joins us now live from Tupelo, Mississippi.

So I understand, Victor, you saw FBI agents searching a home last night.

What did you see?

And are they making any public comments?

BLACKWELL: Yes, we went to this home here in Tupelo. And there were agents there in full body hazmat suits, searching the home. It went on for hours. It wrapped up at about midnight Eastern.

But the authorities here are not saying anything about the connection, that home or the owner of that home has to this ricin investigation.

Of course, we have asked those questions. The U.S. attorney's office, beyond saying that there's new information and the FBI for like the last 48 hours or so have not said anything about this investigation. Of course, still hoping to get more information about any possible connection between this house, its owner and the investigative into who sent those letters, Anderson.

COOPER: Victor, so we're hearing from this guy's attorney that he was framed, that he has this longtime enemy. We don't know for a fact if authorities actually buy that, if authorities are actually following up on that theory. That's -- all of that is coming from the attorney and this man who was falsely accused, correct?

BLACKWELL: That's correct. When she says that the government has found a new suspect, there's been no mention of a new suspect. She says that in defense of her client. But the officials here have not said that they have a new suspect or they believe that this person specifically that Kevin Curtis has said is the suspect is, indeed, involved at all.

COOPER: All right. I appreciate the clarification, Victor, thanks very much. Chris Cuomo is actually going to be talking to Paul Kevin Curtis and his attorney live. That's at 1:00 pm Eastern right here on CNN. That should be interesting indeed.

One of the men accused of planning an Al Qaeda-backed attack on a passenger train appeared in court today in Toronto in Canada. Police say the 33 -- the 30-year-old man and accomplice plotted to derail a train headed from Canada to New York by setting off explosives.

His alleged accomplice also appeared in court yesterday. Authorities have not released details about either suspect, including their nationalities or how long they'd actually been in Canada.

An eight-story building collapsed in Bangladesh, killing more than 70 people today. Hundreds more were injured. Rescue workers are digging, sometimes with their bare hands, looking for those who may still be trapped in the ruins. It is a grisly scene.

The building housed several garment factories and stores. It's the latest tragedy in the Bangladeshi garment industry. Five months ago, you may remember, a fire killed more than a 100 people, raising questions about safety and substandard building construction.

So Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent six months in Russia last year. We all know that by now.

The question is, did his trip have anything to do with last week's terror attack?

What was he doing there?

We are trying to figure out the exact timeline. We're going to take you to Dagestan to try to retrace some of his steps piece by piece right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back to a special edition of CNN NEWSROOM live from Boston. I'm Anderson Cooper.

Thousands of mourners are starting to gather on the campus of MIT for a memorial service honoring police officer Sean Collier. He was shot four to five times as he sat in his patrol car last Thursday, shot in the head and chest. Police believe Collier was ambushed by suspected marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Also happening right now, the street where the bombs exploded open for business. Authorities allowed the public back on Boylston Street today for the first time since the deadly terror attack. Business owners were allowed back briefly yesterday.

And we're hearing for the final -- the first time, I should say, from a man who used to be married to the suspect's sister. He tells CNN he thinks the older brother, Tamerlan, went from being an aspiring Olympic boxer to a self-radicalized jihadist after becoming friends with a mysterious and influential Armenian man named Misha. We're not sure if that's a nickname or that's his actual first name.