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Jeffrey Fowle Released; Missouri News Conference; U.S. Teens Found; Serial Killer's Mind

Aired October 21, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Blitzer, thank you so much.

Great to be with all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Let's get to it.

Huge, huge news, breaking news into us here at CNN. American Jeffrey Fowle is finally free from the clutches of North Korea's communists. CNN has learned the 56-year-old tourist detained since May has landed in Guam aboard a U.S. government airplane. North Korea, listen to this, they freed him in the dark of night without saying why as it still holds those other two Americans convicted there of crimes. Fowle had been awaiting charges for leaving a Bible, which is forbidden in North Korea, in a nightclub. The timing here is curious, and we're going to talk about that. But first here is confirmation of Fowle's release from the White House. Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I am, Jen, in a position to confirm that Jeffrey Fowle has been allowed to depart the DPRK and is on his way home to rejoin his family. We certainly welcome the decision from the DPRK to release him. While this is a positive decision by the DPRK, we remain focused on the continued detention of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller and again call on the DPRK to immediately release them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, so a whole lot of ground here to cover, including what this signal from the super secretive nuclear armed North Korean government could possibly mean. Let me bring in North Korea expert Gordon Chang to walk me through some of this.

And so, Gordon, welcome to you.

I mean, to some, you know, here we are in the dark of night, as we mentioned, this release. It seemed to have happened totally out of the blue. But you say you expected it. Why?

GORDON CHANG, FORBES.COM COLUMNIST: Well, the North Koreans did not want any of these three to die in their custody. And clearly Jeffrey Fowle was the most sympathetic of the three. He was the one that they wanted to release. And I suppose that he's the one that many people wanted back the most. So although the timing was completely unpredictable, I expected him to be the first to be released from custody.

BALDWIN: Now, the last time you and I talked was when all of a sudden, you know, boom, North Korea allowed our CNN crews to interview all three Americans, I believe it was Labor Day. And so not too long ago. And so we heard specifically from Jeffrey Fowle, interviewed by our correspondent Will Ripley. Here's a reminder of that piece.

Do we have the sound, guys?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you tell us about the charges that you're facing as you've been told?

JEFFREY FOWLE, : The charges are the violation of DPRK law, which stems from me trying to leave a Bible up at the Siemens (ph) Club in Chongjing (ph) or on a rails trip of the DPRK. I've - it was a covert act and a violation of the tourist purpose, as well. And I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and I've also put in a request for forgiveness to the people and the government of the DPRK. And the legal process is ongoing right now and it's in the final stages of a preliminary investigation, the prosecutor's office and they say that the trial will be forthcoming soon. And so time is getting urgent. Within a month, I should be facing trial and sentencing will be right after this. And so --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So admitting the guilt, asking for forgiveness, Gordon, but talking about the trial. Do we know if he was tried?

CHANG: No, actually, we don't. But it really wasn't that important because he did admit his guilt in that statement and that really was the important thing. So if there was a trial, it was certainly a formality. Probably no more than an hour.

BALDWIN: What about the other two Americans? What about Kenneth Bae? What about Matthew Miller? How might this perhaps be a harbinger of things to come for them?

CHANG: Well, clearly North Korea is on this charm offensive because after its ruptured relations with Beijing, it's been reaching out to Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul and now to Washington. And these two other guys are certainly bargaining chips and they will eventually release. But it could take some time for a number of reasons. And one of them is that the North Koreans want to exact some revenge on Kenneth Bae because he was involved in missionary activities. And from their perspective, that really is a serious, serious offense. And so they want to make him pay to sort of serve as a lesson to others who want to proselytize in North Korea. So, yes, I expect him to be released, especially because he's in poor medical condition, but it's going to take some time. And it's going to be really dependent on international relations, how things go with Washington. BALDWIN: I know apparently an envoy was asked for, and according to

our reporting, it doesn't appear one was sent, as per North Korea's wishes. We'll watch it. We'll revisit the story later in the show. Gordon Chang, thank you so much.

Let me turn quickly now to St. Louis and go live to the governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, speaking out specifically on actions, apparently, the state is about to take in the wake of what happened in Ferguson in August. Let's take a look.

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: Good afternoon.

CROWD: Good afternoon.

NIXON: I'd like to thank Sloa Valley (ph) and the many elected officials, educators, business and civic leaders for joining with us today.

Throughout the history of our nation, we have struggled to treat all our citizens as equals. The same has been said of our democratic institutions and the men and women entrusted with their stewardship. Too often we have fallen short of the guiding principles on which our great democracy was founded. For too many, the promise of unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness rings hallow.

In the small Missouri town where I grew up, the railroad tracks were the dividing line. Whites on one side, blacks on the other. Separate and unequal. It was the way things were. Thankfully, we have come some distance since those days, but the journey is not over in 2014.

The protest set in motion by the events of August 9th in Ferguson echo others within our lifetime. Across the decades, those protests have been a cry from the heart, heard and felt around the nation and around the world. A cry for justice. A cry for change in the schoolhouse and the courthouse. A cry for change in the social and economic conditions that impede prosperity, equality and safety for all of us.

Where there has been a clear vision of a better future and a well- marked path for progress, protests have yielded lasting change. When there is only rage and despair, anguish and chaos follow.

Recently, one of the young Ferguson protesters said to an older protester, this is not your parents' civil rights demonstration. He wasn't wrong. The torch has been passed to the next generation to continue the unfinished work of creating a more just and equal society. The passion and energy of the young have been and continue to be a driving force in solving the shared problems we face. And they are shared problems.

I think of the mother of an African-American teenager as she kisses him good-bye each morning, hands him his backpack and watches him head off to school, knowing that he might never come home again. She lives with that fear every day.

I think about the wife of a cop, as she kisses her husband good-bye, hands him a cup of coffee and watches him drive off to work knowing he might never come home again. She lives with that fear every day.

That is the world we live in, too much violence, too little hope, too much fear, too little trust.

But as the smoke clears and the shouting dies down, the question that lingers in the air is this, what now? What will we do in this moment while the whole world is watching? What will we do to move forward after 73 days of civil unrest? How do we move on from shouting past one another in the streets, on the Internet and on the evening news? Some people would tell you that the choice is one thing or the other, trust or force, speech or silence, black or white. It is far more complicated than that.

Legitimate issues have been raised by thoughtful voices on all sides. Shouting past one another will not move us to where we need to go. Outsiders eager to grab the national spotlight and push their own agendas do not have the best interests of this community, this state or our nation at heart. We need to solve these problems ourselves and we need to solve them together. And we need to act now.

That is why today I'm announcing the creation of the Ferguson Commission. I'm asking for your help in identifying individuals in this region to serve in this important commission. I've planned to announce those selected early next month. My fervent hope -- and my belief -- is that we will find thoughtful people from every walk of life, ordinary citizens as well as empowered leaders in business, education, public safety and our faith communities, who are willing to serve their state when it needs them the most.

My charge to the commission through an executive order will be threefold. First, to conduct a thorough, wide ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions underscored by the unrest in the wake of the death of Michael Brown. Second, to tap the expertise needed to address the concerns identified by the commission, from poverty and education, to governance and law enforcement. And third, to offer specific recommendations for making this region a stronger, fairer place for everyone to live. The men and women selected to serve on this commission must be willing to come together in good faith, endure the fierce crucible of public opinion and lead the hard work of change.

BALDWIN: All right, there you have it, the governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, apparently appointing what he's calling a Ferguson Commission to help study, fix, heal what happened in that community back in August, that unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, shot and killed by that officer in Ferguson. And just, you know, we were just talking yesterday about these leaks that have come out in "The New York Times" on behalf of the officer speaking about some sort of struggle in that patrol car. Might that lead to a possible non-indictment for the officer? I mean we have continued to see protests. We'll watch to see, of course, how this unfolds in the coming weeks and months.

Coming up next, as investigators hunt for more victims in a possible serial killer case that could span decades, you are about to hear from the suspect's stepson. And I'll talk to one woman who has interviewed more than 130 serial killers. Plus, protests erupt over an opera on one of the world's biggest

stages. Hear why Rudy Giuliani is among the people in these crowds furious over this performance.

And breaking news today, three American teenage girls trying to enter Syria. And the reason, raising some eyebrows. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

More breaking news for you right now as authorities have tracked down three teenage girls who were allegedly bound for Syria to possibly fight with extremists. We are also hearing they have now been found in Germany. CNN's Ana Cabrera has been working this story for us today.

This is the first we're sort of getting this reporting on this, Ana. What do you know about these girls and, more importantly, what they were planning on doing?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, these girls are young, just 15, 16 years old. It's believed they apparently are Somali descent or at least African descent. But we do know they were living here in Colorado. They reportedly went missing several days ago. Family members became concerned and contacted local authorities, including the FBI. And we've learned it was the FBI who, over the weekend, were able to track down these three young ladies in Germany. They were detained in Frankfurt, we're told.

Now, sources are telling CNN that these girls had radical beliefs and had intentions of going to Turkey and then Syria, where they wanted to link up with Islamic extremists and join the fight on the ground there. But we're told that their plans really weren't fully developed. And at this point, nobody's facing any charges. No arrests have been made.

But, Brooke, it speaks to a larger issue here, the fact that Islamic extremists are finding a way to put out a message that is resonating with younger, more vulnerable populations, including westerners, in particular young women. This is reminiscent of another case that's ongoing here in Colorado. That of 19-year-old Shannon Conley, who just pleaded guilty last month to trying to aid ISIS after she met somebody online. So whether the fact that both of these cases have the Colorado connection is a coincidence or if there's a bigger link here, we don't know. We're working to get more information, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So, as you're saying, they want them younger, they want westerners. And you mention where are they now, in detention in Frankfurt?

CABRERA: They were detained in Germany. We've learned they have since been flown back to the U.S., presumably are now reunited with their family. But, again, because of their ages, they're just believed to be 15 or 16 years old, it is very difficult to get any further detail, especially because they aren't facing any charges at this point, Brooke. BALDWIN: Got it. OK, Ana Cabrera, thank you so much.

Coming up next on CNN, as investigators were hunting for more possible victims here in this potential serial killer case that could span decades, you're about to hear from the suspect's stepson and I'll talk to a woman who has interviewed more than 130 serial killers. Her take, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is now an expansive search for more victims in the case of a suspected serial killer in Indiana. Police say there is much, much more to this case spanning several states and possibly 20 years. Right now, there are seven bodies all discovered within just miles of one another. But what set all of this in motion was the discovery of 19- year-old Afrika Hardy. She was found dead in a motel room in Hammond, Indiana, over this past weekend.

Now, this man is who we need to talk about, Darren Deon Vann, the man charged in her death. Allegedly strangled her before placing her body in this bathtub in this motel room. Police say there were signs of a struggle. Hardy had recently moved to Indiana from Colorado after graduating high school and living with her mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORIA TOWNSEND, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I can't describe her. She's indescribable. She was - she was my rock. She was my best friend. She was my everything. When I didn't have anything, she was all I had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: In addition to that, we've heard from Vann's brother, Reginald Bald (ph). He talked to "The Chicago Tribune." And this was - this is what he told that paper. Quote, "to the victims, I'm sorry for their loss. I am a father of two daughters myself. This comes as a shock to us and our household. This is a painful moment for us, too."

Helen Morrison, Dr. Helen Morrison, forensic psychiatrist, I have been wanting to talk to you. I mean you have interviewed some 135 serial killers all around the world. You know all about patterns. You know what makes them tick. But before we get to that, with this guy in Indiana, Darren Vann, you say he made a huge mistake at that motel. What was that?

HELEN MORRISON, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: He managed to send a text using her phone to her friends and they began the very suspicious that she had not made the text and they went to find her.

BALDWIN: And they found her in the hotel, this motel -

MORRISON: Yes.

BALDWIN: Friday night. Traced the texts. Were able to find him. Recognize his car in front of the house. And, boom, here you have him now behind bars. MORRISON: Yes.

BALDWIN: And then he starts talking. We know that he's 43 years of age. And according to police, if this goes back to the mid-90s, I mean that takes him back to his 20s. Is that young?

MORRISON: Well, that's -- no, that's very typical for them to commit a crime starting in their 20s. Some start in their late teens and then they gradually commit more and more crimes over the years until they're finally caught. I mean, you know, he said, I made a mess. Well, a mess is not exactly what I would describe as a homicide. But it's his way of dehumanizing her.

BALDWIN: He was describing what he did to this young woman as a mess?

MORRISON: As a mess. I made a mess.

BALDWIN: It's one thing to murder. It is quite another to murder for -- if this is the case - for two decades. What separates someone from doing it once and over and over?

MORRISON: I wish I knew. I mean, I have -- it's still a big mystery of why. But it's a behavior that they've done and they continue to do, and it's the same behavior across years. And then they finally make a big mistake and get caught. They don't want to be caught. I think people --

BALDWIN: They don't. I was going to ask if they make the mistake because they really ultimately want to get caught.

MORRISON: No, they don't. They just intend to continue to do this. And it becomes such a habit that it becomes a very sloppy habit, so to speak.

BALDWIN: How about instead of the why, the how? We know several of these women were strangled. I was reading reports about a phone cord.

MORRISON: Yes.

BALDWIN: Do you read into that? Can you read anything there?

MORRISON: No, not really. You know, we try to make sense of them and we really haven't been able to. We studied them for over 30 years, and they are still as much a mystery as they were on day one of the first person we studied. We think that there is some biological thing, there's a genetic thing, and there's an environmental thing that none of the people in their family have any history of murder or any history of extreme violence and they stand out as being an anomaly in this crew (ph).

BALDWIN: As investigators are trying to piece this together, we at CNN are trying to talk to as many people as we possibly can. Let me just play this for you. This is my colleague, Ashleigh Banfield, she talked to this man's ex-wife's son earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) EDWARD MATLOCK, SON OF DARREN VANN'S EX-WIVE: First of all, I didn't like him, first of all. For her to marry a guy almost my age, number one. Number two, he was just a strange guy. I walk in, and I see him talking to himself and, you know, he (INAUDIBLE) a lot. And then she'd act like she'd never seen it. But I told her, the guy's a nut case. He is. And I - I'd watch him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, so he calls him a nut case. But when you read about this ex-wife and also multiple previous victims, he didn't kill or even hurt many women.

MORRISON: That's what happens is they start slowly and they gradually build up to murder. They may have been interrupted in Austin when he was strangling the woman for which he was convicted. He didn't kill her.

BALDWIN: Right.

MORRISON: But it's a matter of just timing.

BALDWIN: And unfortunate timing for potentially --

MORRISON: Unfortunate, yes.

BALDWIN: Multiple women.

MORRISON: Yes.

BALDWIN: Dr. Helen Morrison, thank you. I really appreciate you coming on.

MORRISON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Just ahead, a 17-year-old teenager threatening to raise the black flag of ISIS over the White House and Buckingham Palace. How does a young man from Sydney, Australia, end up in Iraq fighting for ISIS.

Also, Rudy Giuliani among those who are livid about this opera playing one of the world's biggest, most famous stages. We'll talk live with someone who helped get the performance just to New York City.

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