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Terror Suspect Linked to Dead Man in Court; More Labs Received Shipments of Live Anthrax; DNA Evidence Links Suspect to Washington, D.C., Murders; Lawmaker Says Iraq Deal "Ludicrous" While Americans Detained. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired June 03, 2015 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:34:51] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN.
I can tell you in less than half an hour, a terror suspect linked to the deadly police shooting in Boston from yesterday morning will be in court and we may learn from that 3:00 p.m. eastern hearing how David Wright is connected to the 26-year-old man shot and killed by the FBI and Boston police early Tuesday morning. His family says Usaama Rahim was shot three times in the back. But police, FBI say Rahim, radicalized by ISIS, had come at -- had approached officers with a knife, a large, military-style knife. And some community leaders as well, who viewed the surveillance camera footage of this fatal encounter, they supported the police version of events as well.
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WILLIAM EVENS, COMMISSIONER, BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: At about 7:18, our officers went out there to only question the individual because the level of our concern rose to the level that we needed to question him. I think we never anticipated what his reaction would be and that he would pull out obviously a military knife and approach the officers. I think what we seen in the video was the officers walking up to the suspect in question, no weapons being drawn, just to speak to the individual. At that point, the video clearly shows these four, five officers backtracking away from the suspect as he's coming at them.
Now, the weapons aren't clearly displayed, but clearly by the officers' actions, all were back stepping as this individual was coming towards them. It's at some point when the suspect gets close enough to cause imminent harm to the officer that the officer discharged his weapon. Both the FBI and Boston both discharged. The individual was hit three times, and he passed away.
But, you know, the reason we spoke today, because there was a lot of misinformation out there about us, the individual at the bus stop being shot in the back. It was just to sort of calm down the emotions and again to explain to all our community partners that this is what happened.
CORNELL WILLIAMS, CEO, COLUMBIA URBAN LEAGUE: Because of the nature of the ongoing investigation, there are many questions we had that were not answered. The only thing we can tell you or share with you is that we did see a video. What the video does reveal to us very clearly is that the individual was not on the cell phone, the individual was not shot in the back, and that the information that was reported by others that that was the case is inaccurate.
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BALDWIN: Investigators also searched the home in Rhode Island in connection with this case.
Now to the white house fence jumper. U.S. Army veteran, Omar Gonzalez, we talked quite a bit about him a while ago. He was the one who hopped the fence at the white house. This was last year. He ran across the lawn, made it all the way through the front door of the executive mansion. Prosecutors say he was carrying a knife at the time. Now we know that not only did Gonzalez have a knife, but investigators also found this huge cache of weapons in his car after his arrest -- machete machetes, guns, knives, loads of ammunition. Gonzalez is set to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors are recommending he spend nearly two years, 21 months to be precise, in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Next, we now know exactly how many labs received mistaken shipments of live anthrax. We'll take you to the Pentagon for the latest twist in this one. Also later, evidence on a pizza crust and now a new clue in the brutal
murder of a Washington, D.C. family. How blood found on the suspect's shoe now could link him to the scene of the crime.
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[14:43:40] BALDWIN: Have to talk more now about anthrax. The Pentagon is still trying to figure out the scope of the problems. We first reported about 24 hours ago a lab on Pentagon grounds is now among the dozens of facilities that may have mistakenly received suspected live anthrax. We're just now getting word on concrete numbers, exactly how many labs were exposed.
Barbara Starr has been on anthrax beat for us for a while now. She joins us.
How many labs?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The numbers are growing, Brooke. A Pentagon news briefing for reporters ongoing at this hour. Let's circle back and tidy up some of the numbers here. It turns out --
BALDWIN: All right.
STARR: And they are changing every day because the Pentagon still does not know more than a week later the full scope of the problem. Right now, 51 labs in 17 states, plus the District of Columbia, plus three countries, have received suspect shipments. Even that Pentagon lab, which is located near the Pentagon, actually, suspect shipments that may be live anthrax. Because what they've discovered is when they sent these samples out all over the country, the anthrax had not been killed off in some cases. Two of them already confirmed to be live. But now 51 laboratories, 17 states. And they have to go back through everything they have. The Pentagon already saying they think those numbers will grow, that these shipments had been made almost to every state in the country. Many shipments overseas. So now they have to take -- it may take weeks at this point to understand the full scope of the problem. They have to go back through, test it all, see, once and for all, what is out there that is live anthrax, what is dead anthrax. Right now they do not know.
The Pentagon is saying there is no health threat to the general public, but they certainly have to figure out if any of the hundreds, if not thousands, of lab workers that came into contact with this material are facing any problems and already some 30 people are undergoing what the Pentagon says is precautionary medical treatment, some medications, vaccinations, that sort of thing.
So right now it's a story where it is continuing to grow every day. The scope of the problem, the Pentagon definitely struggling at this point to get a handle on it -- Brooke?
[14:45:43] BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much.
First, DNA on pizza crust, now a bloody shoe. I'm talking about the forensic evidence linking this one man to at least one victim in the grisly quadruple murder in our nation's capital. Suspect Daron Wint is charged with first-degree murder in last month's killing of a wealthy Washington businessman, his wife, his young son, and the family housekeeper. Investigators say Wint was wearing that bloody shoe when authorities arrested him. The family was laid to rest Monday in a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony.
Joining me now, former FBI profiler, Mary Ellen O'Toole.
Mary Ellen, you have the pizza, now this bloody shoe. I have to imagine -- and you tell me -- they can easily determine which victim's blood it would be on the shoe, then where do they go from there?
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER FBI CRIMINAL PROFILER: They can tell which victim's blood is on the shoe. There's probably going to be a lot more evidence that comes out that we don't know about right now but they'll being look at all of his other clothing to see if there's victims' blood on his other clothes. It's really interesting because you have behavior in this crime scene that suggests some evidence consciousness, like attempts to burn down the House. Then you have the guy wearing his shoes at the time he's arrested with blood on it, which really suggests a complete absence of knowledge about forensic evidence. So I think that's really pretty interesting right now.
BALDWIN: How do you take that as a profiler? That's an excellent point. All of that into consideration, this notion of covering one's tracks but at the same time ordering pizza.
O'TOOLE: Sometimes you see it when there are multiple offenders. One person can be very conscious about evidence, and someone else can be very sloppy. Other times you see offenders, they read about it or they've experienced it in the past. They're concerned about some types of evidence, but they just don't have the knowledge about other types of evidence. I think either one is possible right now, but I think there really is a consensus that there were multiple people involved.
BALDWIN: What about also behind closed doors of law enforcement as they're working this case? They let out the piece about the pizza crust, then the bloody shoe. Can you talk a little bit about the choreography of all of that and what more we could hear?
O'TOOLE: Sure. I think in the days to come we're going to hear a lot more. My sense is the reason we're not at this point is because if there are other suspects out there, they really have to protect that information so they can make those arrests. I think that once arrests have been made of other people who have knowledge or involvement in that case, then we're going to see a loath more evidence coming out. You cannot spend ten-plus hours in someone's home consuming a pizza, using the bathroom, killing four people, and not have massive amounts of physical evidence. That's what I predict will be the case here.
BALDWIN: Also, we know the victims were duct taped, especially this 10-year-old son. They talk about reports of torture and being stabbed. When you hear all of that, what would that tell you about the mind of one of these suspects or a motivation?
O'TOOLE: Sure. At least one of the offenders is showing us, displaying a type of violence that's very extreme, and it's on the extreme end of the continuum, to the point of calling it sadistic. That's what torture is, it's sadistic behavior. You don't see that frequently. I've seen thousands of homicide cases. That's still very unusual to have someone who's that sadistic. So that stands alone. So the question is, is the suspect that they have in custody, is that his behavior, or is that the behavior of someone that still has not been arrested yet? Then you compare that to eating a pizza during the midst of this violent crime. To me, that suggests that the offender or multiple offenders were completely detached from their victims. The victims would have been crying, scared, maybe throwing up, defecating. These people are so detached from their suffering they're able to eat a pizza. That's telling to me as well.
[14:50:21] BALDWIN: It's disgusting and so tragic.
Mary Ellen O'Toole, we'll be looking for more evidence coming out. Thank you so much.
O'TOOLE: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, a lawmaker says absolutely no deal with Iran with regard to nuclear negotiations if American hostages are not brought home. He'll join me live from Capitol Hill.
Also breaking now, rescue crews are cutting a hole in the capsized crew ship as the clock is ticking. We'll talk to a rescue diver about what they will find.
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[14:55:04] BALDWIN: Ludicrous, that's how some U.S. lawmakers are describing the prospect of striking a nuclear deal with Iran while the country is holding Americans hostage.
The heartbroken families of these four detainees on Capitol Hill pleading for their release.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While simply doing his job, Jason and his wife were taken without warning. He's now been detained in Evan Prison for 315 days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I stand before you today not as a lawyer or a politician -- I'm actually very scared of speaking in public -- but as a wife of a husband who's in prison in Iran because of his Christian faith.
SARAH HEKMATI, SISTER OF AMIR HEKMATI: For over three years our family has been living a nightmare. Every day, we wake up hoping that it is the day we find out Amir will finally be released and is returning home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not a day that goes by when we don't think of him, how much he must be suffering, and what we can do next to bring him home.
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BALDWIN: I have Texas Republican Representative Randy Weber joining me. Very instrumental in all of this.
Congressman, thank you for joining me.
REP. RANDY WEBER, (R), TEXAS: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I know that you have said no agreement, period, until Iran releases the American hostages. What indications are you getting that that will happen?
WEBER: Well, Brooke, as you all alluded to earlier from the Foreign Affairs hearing yesterday, the negotiations are continuing even as we have Americans languishing in jail, some as many as eight years. Former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, for example. Heart-wrenching stories yesterday. Real people, real families, real lives with real problems. Yet, the administration continues to negotiate with what I call the terroristic regime. It's not just me, Brooke. They have exported terrorism all around the world. Our intelligence agencies know that. I would argue Iran has been responsible for the deaths of more Americans in the last 10 or 12 years than any other country. We don't see the administration letting up.
BALDWIN: You're not getting any kind of indication? Because when you look at the calendar, we know the deadline for this Iran nuke deal is the end of this month. So questions obviously about potential leverage to get these Americans home really diminishing past June 30th.
WEBER: Yes, that's a fact. June 30th is the deadline. But Brooke, early on in this process, I had this conversation with Secretary of State John Kerry. We had a briefing with the secretary. They said they would not make this an issue at the negotiations. Not that they weren't pushing for it, but that they would not make it central to these negotiations. My take on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is very bipartisan. We've been trying to raise this story, elevate this story to the national media. We appreciate you all doing that as well because it's important. How do you negotiate, Brooke, with a terroristic regime where human rights and human lives mean nothing to them? If they have no regard for human life and human rights, why should we take them at their word for anything? So we continue to push. We're hoping the administration's paying attention, especially from the hearing yesterday.
BALDWIN: I was talking to our Jim Sciutto, who was there and talking about the frustrations as well, echoing everything you're saying.
You mentioned John Kerry. I'm curious if the deadline could be pushed at all because of his injury, which could buy, perhaps, you all a little more time. Do you have any indication that date might move?
WEBER: We have not received any indication that I'm aware of. Quite frankly, they've already extended the deadline so many times it's scary. The longer Iran has to keep their centrifuges spinning, the longer they have to do things I would argue in secret. Although, they're saying one thing, they're going to allow inspections, the supreme commander on the other hand saying no inspections. You don't know who to trust over there. The answer is you don't trust any of them. So I don't want to see them extend this deadline. I want to see them bring these negotiations to a close. America should be negotiating from strength. We had them at the table with the sanctions. I'd like to see the sanctions strengthened. I'd like to see the Iranian regime brought to its knees and made to negotiate by first releasing our American hostages as well as others.
BALDWIN: What about -- you know, you bring up the nukes. I wanted to ask you about the stockpiles. You have this back and forth between State and "The New York Times." State Spokeswoman Marie Harf was going off on "The New York Times" for its reporting on Iran's stockpile and how it has been growing and how "The Times" framed it.
Let me just play some sound. This is how the whole thing began.
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MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: I will say our team read that story this morning and was, quite frankly, perplexed because the main contentions of it are just totally inaccurate. This notion that somehow Iran is doing something that it's not supposed to be doing, again, it's just not accurate.
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