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Neighbor's Report Led to Murder-Plotting Teen's Arrest; Malaysia Sends Ships to Bay of Bengal; New Album with Unheard Michael Jackson Songs; Nigerian School Girls Sold; More Legal Problems for Amanda Knox

Aired May 02, 2014 - 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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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

To our top story, this plot of mass murder, arson and school bombing in the state of Minnesota.

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BALDWIN: Face video of John David LaDue. Minneapolis affiliate, KART, reports Ladue took guitar lessons, but it's what he alleged taught himself that has police, the school and his family absolutely horrified. They say this teenager learned to make bombs, was planning to murder his family, set fires as a diversion, go to school, set off multiple devices, be shot and killed -- quoting court documents -- as many students as he could.

And I want you to listen to this here. This is the police captain talking about the boy. This is what he says the boy told investigators when officers first approached him when he was spending a little too long at a storage unit.

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CAPT. KRIS MARKESON, WASECA, MINNESOTA POLICE: He did tell us in an interview if he had had a firearm with him, he would've shot at the officers who responded at his storage unit.

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BALDWIN: What led police to the storage unit in the first place? That is where my next guest comes in.

On the phone with me now, Katie Hard, one of the two women who helped police arrest LaDue.

Katie, thank you so much for calling in. And we need more of you in the world, astute, paying attention, called police. Just begin with the first thing you saw. Your friend came to you about someone outside behaving strangely?

KATIE HARDY, NEIGHBOR OF LADUE (voice-over): Yeah. She was upstairs, I live below her. And she saw the kid walking through our backyard full of these puddles, she called me and was like, come up here and watch this kid. So we watched him go over to the storage units and tried to get into them for like 10 minutes. We thought for sure he was breaking in. And he had a back pack. We thought he was going to stay in there. So he finally got it open. And he, quick, shut the door. My cousin, Chelsea, she was going to go knock on the door. And I told her not to. So she called the cops and then, 10 minutes later, he was being arrested. Yeah.

BALDWIN: And that was that. And now all the details are coming out about this very intricate plot he apparently was planning. So just so I'm hearing you. So you and your cousin are thinking he's breaking into this storage facility, and that's what made your gut, that antenna go off, is that right? It wasn't something about what he said or the way he was dressed. You thought he was breaking in.

HARDY: Yeah. It took him so long to get in.

BALDWIN: So now that you have heard, Katie, everything that was found inside of this storage unit and these journals that were kept under lock and key inside his guitar case and everything else, how are you feeling when you hear that?

HARDY: It's scary. We're both really glad we did call. If we just shrugged it off. We both have little brothers that go to the high school. We know a lot of kids that go there. It's scary. It's sad.

BALDWIN: Your little brother attends the high school where he was planning to potentially use these rifles, use these bombs.

HARDY: Yeah, yeah. My brother's a senior, and my cousin, he's a freshman.

BALDWIN: Have you talked to them? How have they reacted to hearing the news? And especially your involvement?

HARDY: They're just happy -- happy that we were paying attention and called.

BALDWIN: I think many people beyond you and your cousin and your brother are happy you did.

HARDY: Katie Hardy, thank you so much. See something, say something. We hear that all the time, and you did exactly the right thing. Thanks, Katie.

Malaysian officials now say they may send a ship to the Bay of Bengal to search for MH370, although they're confident they won't find anything there. This is after that Australian company says they spotted what they think could be an airliner, could be this 777 in those waters. Let's talk about with this CNN aviation correspondent, Richard Quest.

And, Richard, you know this, a lot of questions around this company's credibility. GeoResonance is the company's name. One expert telling CNN, quote, "I cannot think of any way that someone can use that approach to see through meters and meters of water to locate a boat, plane or satellite." Why take a look? Why waste their time?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Oh, because you dare not. We would be the first people to be shrieking if we didn't go and have a look at what was there. Yes, the acting minister for transport in Malaysia's made it quite clear he thinks it's a waste of time. He's also said he's -- you know, when they go and they find nothing. And people will be questioning them why they bothered and what have they lost by doing it. But they have no choice. If somebody comes up and says we've got 23 scientists, including 12 PhDs, and we believe that this is -- we've found the plane, you've got to go and investigate. And you've got to go and do it in as damage limitation way as you possibly can.

BALDWIN: Even though this may be another huge false positive for these families?

QUEST: It's even worse than a false positive. May just be false.

BALDWIN: Yeah.

QUEST: But what's the alternative, Brooke? The alternative is for the authorities to say that we think this is a load of total nonsense, it's absolutely no way and we're not going to. And what happens when the families in Beijing -- right now they're being sent home. But the families in Beijing say, how dare you not at least go and have a look. So what I'm guessing, and what I know is they are doing the barest possible necessary to go and check this out.

BALDWIN: We'll see what they find, if anything.

Richard Quest, thank you, sir.

QUEST: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, the king of pop, Michael Jackson, he died almost five years ago. But now, a brand new, never-before-heard song, first recorded some 31 years ago, is out. We have it. We'll play it for you. You be the judge on how you think it is. We talk to a former MTV V.J., coming up next.

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BALDWIN: It has been now nearly five years since Michael Jackson died. But there is a new album by the king of pop featuring never- before-heard songs. And so how is it? You be the judge. Roll it.

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BALDWIN: I know, it's hard not to, like, move your head a little bit. I still can't believe he's gone, five years ago.

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, BLEACHER REPORT CORRESPONDENT & FORMER MTV V.J.: Oh, man. I can't believe it.

BALDWIN: I should formally introduce you. Forgive me. Brian McFayden, now a full-time member of the Bleacher Report team, HLN. Welcome to the family, by the way. Former MTV V.J. is how we all know your face. Awesome having you on the show. But --

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MCFAYDEN: Thanks for having me on.

BALDWIN: Moving and grooving. What's the back story? Because this recording is like 31 years old, right?

MCFAYDEN: Well, yeah. The new album "Escape" is dropping May 13. It's been a long, long time. The back story is this. He wrote the song in 1983 and produced it with Paul Anka. And you never heard anything like this before.

BALDWIN: Wow!

MCFAYDEN: You've got that same '80s vibe. You remember that '80s sound mixed in with what kids are listening to today. This will be a song you'll hear all the time in the clubs. I can ask my son, who's Michael Jackson? But he knows who Bruno Mars is. Oh, yeah, that sound.

BALDWIN: If we're talking about recordings from the early '80s, we're talking specifically about this one album, Brian, could we have more albums? We all want a little bit more M.J.

MCFAYDEN: Yeah. You know, the chairman of epic records, he signed a long-term deal with the Michael Jackson estate. And we're going to be hearing -- I guess there's hundreds of hours of recorded music we've never heard of before.

BALDWIN: What?

MCFAYDEN: I'm so stoked to hear a little bit more. And there's eight songs on this current album that none of us have heard. And I'm looking forward to hearing that, as well.

BALDWIN: What did you think of the song? And I appreciate usher's moves, but I love they let the song breathe.

MCFAYDEN: It's a feel good song. One of the songs if you want to be in a great mood, why not throw it on? I was jamming out to it in the green room and right when you played it now. I'm digging it. That's definitely a song we all can hear and listen to.

BALDWIN: Awesome.

Brian McFayden, thank you so much for popping in front of a camera for us. Nice to have you and welcome to the family again.

MCFAYDEN: Thank you. I can't wait to come on your show again.

BALDWIN: I can't wait.

Brian, thank you so much.

Still ahead here on CNN, Amanda Knox reveals what she and her roommate did days before Meredith Kercher's murder. Here exclusive and candid interview with CNN.

Also ahead, hundreds of schoolgirls studying for exams when suddenly they vanish, abducted in the night by armed men. Why isn't the world paying attention? My next guest is begging everyone to listen during the race to find them. That's coming up next.

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BALDWIN: Armed terrorists storm the secondary school in the middle of the night forcing 276 girls to board a convoy of trucks. Those trucks were last seen driving into the rugged jungles of northern Nigeria. Some of these girls have managed to escape, but 223 are believed to still be missing. And now, a sickening development because we are hearing reports from villagers in the area. They say they are being sold as child brides for $12 apiece. The men who took them some 18 days ago, members of al Qaeda, one of the most brutal terrorist groups around, predominantly based in the unstable northern part of this country, they ascribe to Sharia Law. They have a hatred for the West. In fact, just learning here their name "Boko Haram" translates to "Western education is forbidden or Western education is sin." They've killed hundreds of students by attacking and burning schools.

A Nigerian student spoke to CNN.

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WHITNEY IGURE, NIGERIAN STUDENT: It's disheartening to know that young girls like you, like us were being held captive somewhere. And just the idea that Western education is wrong.

The situation is very critical. And it's getting worse by the day. And because they know that nothing is being done, more things are being done.

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BALDWIN: Joining me now to talk about this, Makmid Kamara, researcher for Amnesty International and World Affairs; and Frida Ghitis, columnist for the "Miami Herald" and "World Politics Review."

Welcome to both of you.

And, Frida, you wrote this very candid, very appropriate opinion piece on CNN.com. And your lead line is, "It would have happened anywhere else, this would be the world's biggest story." I agree with you. I say shame on us. We need to change the conversation starting today. Tell me why Americans need to care.

FRIDA GHITIS, COLUMNIST, MIAMI HERALD & WORLD POLITICS REVIEW: We have more than 250 girls now. There's been so little attention that we're not even sure how many girls are still being held by these terrorist kidnappers. The world has been absorbed with the story of the missing plane. Fine, it's a legitimate story, there are other things happening in the world. These lives are at stake right now, these are human beings, there are great geopolitical repercussions. But the urgent need is to save these girls, to rescue them. They are lost. It's been almost three weeks. Their families, you can imagine, their families are desperate.

BALDWIN: I can't imagine.

GHITIS: And the government of Nigeria is really not doing a very good job. We need to have international pressure and international assistance to save these girls.

BALDWIN: I want to get to that and how someone needs to step in. Clearly, it's not that the government there, nothing's changed.

Makmid, to you, we know last night they reportedly struck again, this group, blowing up this bus station, 18 killed. You say they are getting increasingly sophisticated. What demands are they making? And how are they getting this money?

MAKMID KAMARA, RESEARCHER, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Well, they're making a lot of demands. Thank you very much, first of all, for having me on this program. The Islamist groups in Nigeria, Boko Haram, have made lots of demands. One of the major demands, it's for the Nigerian states to use Sharia Law. And formally, many of the states in the north are Sharia Law in practice. They also want their members who have been detained to be released and for those officers who legitimately kill their leader in 2009 and to be brought to justice and tried. But that's just one of the -- a couple of the demands. There are a lot of other issues. There are a lot of issues on social, political problems that are being experienced by people in the north. There's a huge problem of poverty and corruption and social injustice.

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BALDWIN: But this isn't new. Makmid, this group has been around for quite a while, yes?

KAMARA: They have been around for quite a while. They were formed in 2002. And they became more radical in 2009 when their leader was killed in police custody. And since then, the attacks have been deadly and sophisticated and Amnesty International and human rights organizations have made demands on the Nigerian authorities to ensure the suspected gunmen in Nigeria are brought to justice.

BALDWIN: With the government, Frida, they had apparently told the world they'd rescued most of the girls. That's not the case. So who needs -- who else is helping? Other than -- let's put the Nigerian government aside. Who else is stepping in?

GHITIS: Well, we heard that the United States has made some vague offers of assistance. But I think it's useful to think about the contrast with the Malaysian airplane. The international community put enormous pressure on the Malaysian government and moved in there to do everything that could be done. Here we have these girls that are, as far as we know, we think they're still alive. They can still be saved. It's true Nigeria has so many problems. It's a country of enormous, enormous problems, especially in this northeastern region that has Boko Haram. It has so many issues to deal with. But right now, right now, the issue is saving lives. And if we focus on all the other problems that Nigeria has, it would be like saying a plane has crashed, the passengers are trying to swim ashore and we're worrying about aviation safety. Right now, we need to get the passengers that are still trying to survive, we need to help get them out of the water. Right now, these girls are still alive. The United States needs to step in, offer drones, intelligence, strategic advice, technical advice, tactical support and try to save these girls.

After that, there are a lot of things that need to be done in Nigeria, a lot. The government, as you noted, it has made incorrect reports initially, said that it had rescued all the girls, and that was not true. It had said a while back it had killed the leader of Boko Haram, that was not true. The government is not reliable. I think it is a government that should feel international pressure to take action.

BALDWIN: I feel your passion across the table. And I promise we'll have you back and we'll stay on the story.

Frida, thank you so much. Read her op-ed on CNN.com/opinion.

Makmid Kamara, thank you so much, sir, as well. We appreciate it. We will stay on it.

Coming up next, Amanda Knox sits down with CNN, makes some candid statements about the night her roommate was murdered.

Plus, inside a teenager's alleged plot to carry out one of America's worst school attacks. We will talk live with a serial-killer expert about why the suspects are usually male.

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BALDWIN: Amanda Knox, the young American studying abroad who was accused of murdering her roommate in 2007. She was tried in Italian courtroom convicted of that crime, but that conviction was overturned by a judge in 2011. A free woman, she returned to the United States where she now lives. But her legal troubles are far from over. The Italian court has launched yet another retrial, and now Knox has one final appeal. She says there is nothing that puts her at the scene of the crime that night. No hair, no footprints, no fingerprints, no evidence at all to show she was there. All she wants, she says, is peace. "New Day's" Chris Cuomo sat down with Amanda Knox for her one and only reaction.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CO-HOST, NEW DAY: If the case is affirmed by the supreme court, if you are found guilty in final fashion, but the United States decides not to extradite, your life goes on. You can live here. You can be in the United States. But will you ever really be free?

AMANDA KNOX, ACCUSED OF MURDER IN ITALY: No. Absolutely not. No. That's not a livable -- that's not -- especially since right now me and Raphael, together, are fighting for our innocence. And I -- like I said, I truly believe that can happen. It's only speculation that convicts us. It's evidence that acquits us. And I'm holding -- I'm holding firm to that, in hopes that what you're suggesting might happen doesn't.

CUOMO: You're holding out hope?

KNOX: Yeah.

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BALDWIN: Hear the entire interview with Chris tonight, 10:00 eastern, "CNN Special Reports: The Trials of Amanda Knox."