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Suspect Named in Quadruple Homicide, Arson; 105,000 Gallons of Oil May have Spilled Off Coast; Social Media Reacts to Black Rhino Hunter; Cuba's Hot New Trend: Stars and Stripes. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired May 21, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:31:43] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

A potential break in the D.C. murder mystery and arson that left four people dead: police have named a suspect. This is the suspect. He's wanted on charges of first degree murder while armed. And now a manhunt is underway. CNN's Joe Johns has more from Washington. Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol. The suspect's name is Daron Wint. He is 32 years old. He's from Lanham, Maryland. Police first identified the suspect after forensics technicians at the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms isolated DNA on a pizza crust left at the house according to reporting from CNN's Pamela Brown.

Two pizzas were delivered to the house from a nearby Dominos Pizza before the fire and the bodies were discovered last Thursday. The pizza apparently was delivered at a time when authorities think the family was bound and duct taped.

Daron Dylan Wint of Lanham, Maryland, has a long arrest record. He has served time for assault. His last known address was in Lanham and that place was searched, we're told, last night. Authorities say an employee of the family delivered $40,000 in cash to the house on the day of the fire. When authorities got there, the $40,000 was gone -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Tell us more about this pizza and the DNA that police found on it.

JOHNS: Well, that's about all we know. We know there was a crust. We know the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms technicians isolated DNA on the pizza crust and matched it with that of Daron Wint whose DNA apparently was already in the system. We also know that the State of Maryland has been very aggressive about collecting DNA samples from individuals who were taken into the custody. In fact, the state of Maryland actually pushed through the Supreme Court case that made it allowable for police to use DNA on a wider scale -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So at some point during this terrible kidnapping drama, the suspect ordered pizza from Domino's and it was delivered?

JOHNS: That is what it sounds like. We have talked to Domino's Pizza. And they say they did deliver it. They also say they have been cooperating with authorities in the e investigation and declined to give us any further information. So it's pretty clear that Domino Pizza was delivered here before the fire started and before the bodies were found dead.

COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live from Washington, D.C. -- thanks so much.

Let's talk about this now. Pete Klismet is a retired FBI profiler and author of "The FBI Diary" series of books. Welcome -- sir.

PETE KLISMET, RETIRED FBI PROFILER: Welcome. Thank you.

COSTELLO: So what kind of monster tortures a family and then eats a pizza?

KLISMET: Well, that's a very good question -- Carol. In fact, in thinking about that, the way I would look at it would be from the perspective of why did that happen. And you know, obviously the easy answer was well, he was hungry.

[10:35:04] But yet if you take a look at the overall viewpoint of the whole thing, this whole thing was a job for the suspect or suspects. And presumably there's more than one. In other words there was really no emotion involved in this entire thing for them. And so consequently, it's very easy for them to just have something to eat and then kill four people with complete impunity. It's a very, cold, very calculated -- I guess I'd say -- lunch break while in the middle of a job, which happens to be a very violent crime.

COSTELLO: There are reports out there that the little boy, the 10-year-old boy was tortured while his parents watched. It's just hard to fathom.

KLISMET: That is very hard to fathom. And you know there's a couple of different ways to look at that. In fact not having my arms around the case and knowing enough about it, it would be really hard to say but, you know, to speculate would be to say that the suspect or suspects were simply trying to use that as a means to find out about this $40,000 where it was, or find out some other information that was important to them.

And what can you do that as a parent would be more frightening than to torture your own child right in front of you. I mean if it's my child, then I'm telling you everything you want to know about everything I do know.

COSTELLO: That's right. That's why it's so confusing to me because, you know, you would assume that the parents would say take anything you want, just let my kid go, but maybe there --

KLISMET: Yes. COSTELLO: -- and I'm talking in generalities now. If there was

more than one person involved in this, maybe it was just a crime that got out of control. What do you think about that?

KLISMET: Well I don't think so -- Carol. I really think it's -- well, I mean the first thing you have to look at is, this is a home invasion -- it's a home invasion robbery, but it takes it to another level. It appears -- you know, in a home invasion there are several logical motives. One -- they're doing it because it's a drug deal of some sort. Two -- they are doing it because of money, which maybe owed on a drug deal. Three -- they're doing it as a result of jealousy maybe revenge or something of that nature.

And in this case involving these folks, it involves money. Well then, what you've got to do is stand back and look at the why part of this which is what I look at as a profiler and say why did this happen in the way it did. There's no real violence up to a certain point and then the violence came about.

So the entire thing had to, in my mind, have been something these people knew about. I say these people -- the suspects had to have known something about this money having been there. Then the next question you might ask is why did they know something? That's going to be the important part of the investigation that's going to wrap the bow around the case, I think.

COSTELLO: All right. Pete Klismet -- thanks so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a big oil spill could ruin holiday plans for scores of beachgoers this Memorial Day weekend. We'll talk about the environmental cost next.

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[10:42:01] COSTELLO: -- American pipeline says clean-up crews will work around the clock.

CNN's Paul Vercammen, live near Santa Barbara right now. Good morning.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

You talk about those cleanup crews. Let's take a look at what they are doing right now because this is an integral part of their effort to get these beaches back open eventually.

That yellow strand, if you will, or string is called boom and it's tethered to a ship just offshore. On shore these workers now unfurling it. The idea is it allows them to collect and skim the oil from the waters here in Santa Barbara County.

I am now standing on Refugio State Beach. It is closed as is the beach just east of her, El Capitan for at least seven more days. A county supervisor openly saying that this is just devastating because we're headed into Memorial Weekend and this is a big part of the local economy; and of course, very concerned with the wildlife in this area.

I'll have to tell you that so far today I have not seen any birds or any fish coated in oil. I think that they are hoping that they are getting a handle on this as you pointed out. Most of the oil that spilled stayed on shore. This is one of those rare spills where it was a pipeline that spilled on shore, went into a culvert and then into the water.

COSTELLO: What could you tell us about the company that owns the pipeline?

VERCAMMEN: Plains All American is a huge company with huge profit. It has had some run-ins, if you will for lack of a better term, with the EPA and the Justice Department. In fact, back in 2010, Plains paid out a settlement of more than $40 million. That settlement was to improve some of its pipelines. Part of that settlement also $3 million in fines -- it was all connected to 10 spills in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Louisiana.

Plains right now being very apologetic about what happened here and saying they are now actively working to clean up the spill.

COSTELLO: All right. Paul Vercammen, reporting live from Santa Barbara this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a controversial hunt for the endangered black rhino sparks a social media firestorm.

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[10:48:00] COSTELLO: This story is getting a lot of response from you and from a number of celebrities as well. CNN cameras went along this week with Texas hunter Corey Knowlton, shot and killed an endangered black rhinoceros in Southern Africa. He paid $350,000 for the hunting permit and said he would donate that money to anti- poaching efforts.

But the hunt has still outraged a lot of people like for example comedian Ricky Gervais. He tweeted this criticizing Knowlton. We can't say exactly what Ricky Gervais said but Gervais did link to a Facebook post he wrote from last month. In that post he said, quote, "I'm sick of trophy hunters trying to excuse their grim sport by saying they provide a service."

We also heard from you on my Twitter page and Facebook page. Lizanne Lauts (ph) says she thinks Corey Knowlton succeeded in getting our attention to the plight of the black rhino but his method is unsettling. While Christie N. tweeted that quote, "Killing is not conservation."

CNN's Ed Lavandera is the only reporter who went on the hunt. He joins us live now. I'm just curious, what did Knowlton do with the rhinoceros.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the hide and head and horns still here in Namibia. He's going through the logistical process of getting that home where he'll have it sent off to taxidermy and have it mounted. Exactly where he's going to display it, he says he hasn't fully decided. But as you full well know and have shown, Carol, Corey Knowlton has undergone a scathing amount of criticism over the last 24 hours or so since we've been reporting the story this hunt, the black rhino kill.

But there's a group of people there in northern Namibia who were very happy to see Corey Knowlton after the hunt.

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LAVANDERA: Corey Knowlton's rifle blast sent a piercing sound through the Namibian air. And when it's all over, this black rhino is dead.

The idea that killing a black rhino, one of them, is benefiting the species -- how do you make that argument?

[10:50:03] COREY KNOWLTON, HUNTER: I think really easily.

There is -- you nor I nor anybody can grant a single animal eternal life. The animals die in one way or another. This way ensures its death benefits the rest of the species and furthermore benefits the community in the fact that they value that animal's life both alive and dead -- both.

LAVANDERA: What happened after the hunt is what Corey Knowlton says he'll never forget. Nearly a thousand pounds of rhino meat is loaded onto a trailer and delivered to a nearby village.

This is one of the villages they are going to bring the rhino meat to here.

The village is a desolate place. Running water and electricity is scarce.

This is home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, home.

LAVANDERA: It's where I meet John Mudi (ph). He shows me the homes of stones and straw he made with his bare hands for his wife and five children. When a truck full of meat rolls into town, everyone turns out.

What does it mean to you?

KNOWLTON: It means everything to me. It's a big part of being a conservationist and caring about the environment.

LAVANDERA: Giant slabs of rhino meat are unloaded as dozens watch smiling.

KNOWLTON: This whole village is going to live off this rhino meat for a while.

LAVANDERA: The village is so grateful that women start singing songs of joy for the gift that's been delivered.

What do you think of that?

KNOWLTON: I think it's a part of -- probably the most awesome part of what it means to be a hunter and provider.

LAVANDERA: Knowlton paid the Namibian government $350,000 to hunt and kill this rhino. But most rhinos are illegally slaughtered, 24 last year and already 60 this year according to Namibian authorities as poachers cash in horns now worth more than gold.

The illegal trade of rhino horns around the world is an on-going and growing problem. That's why Corey Knowlton hopes that the money that he gave to the country of Namibia to be able hunt this animal he hopes that it will go towards being able to protect them down the road. It's an ongoing fight. We don't really know the answer to that question here as we sit here today.

The rest of the rhino Corey Knowlton hunted in Namibia will eventually be brought back to the United States -- the trophy for a hunter that sparked a passionate debate about how to help save an endangered species.

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LAVANDERA: Carol, we've spoken with some conservationists here in Namibia who were very much against this hunt as well. They question whether or not the Namibian government is up to the task of spending this money properly. The government says that Corey Knowlton's $350,000 will be used to improve rhino security. But there are some people -- many people here in Namibia who wonder whether or not the government is up to that task -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ed Lavandera reporting live this morning -- thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, everyday Cubans embracing the United States right down to their clothes.

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[10:56:58] COSTELLO: Now that U.S.-Cuba relations are warming, stars and stripes are the hot new trend in Havana. Once banned the American flag is showing up on T-shirts, bandannas, even leggings. It's a promising sign, especially considering the two sides are set to begin the fourth round of normalization talks in Washington today.

Patrick Oppmann, live in Havana to tell us more. Good morning.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol.

Cuban and U.S. negotiators are meeting right now trying to hammer out a deal that would allow them to open up embassies in each other's countries for the first time in 54 years. Many Cubans we talked to aren't waiting to fly the flag.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) OPPMANN: American flags in Cuba. Once banned, they are now the

hot fashion item here -- U.S. flags on shirts, U.S. flags on bandannas, U.S. flags hardly on at all. Since the announcement last December that the U.S. and Cuba would restore diplomatic relations, suddenly the stars and stripes are everywhere.

Everywhere except the future site of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. American diplomats have fixed up the flagpole there. But the slow pace of negotiations means they can't raise Old Glory just yet.

Many Cubans like bicycle taxi driver Angel are already flying the American flag.

"People say that the Americans are going to do harm but I don't see it like that," he says. "I think the best thing that could have happened is that ties improve between Cuba and the U.S."

Since the 1959 revolution, Cuba's communist-run government has cast the U.S. as the island's mortal enemy. It wasn't that long ago that showing any kind of sympathy or support for the United States could get you in real trouble in Cuba.

Even wearing an American flag could lead to you being put on a list of ideologically suspect people. But now there are so many people wearing so many U.S. flags that that list would simply be too long for officials to keep track of.

U.S. flags are not easy to come by in Cuba. The Cuban government, at least officially, has the monopoly on clothing sales. State stores don't carry U.S. flag apparel. But Cubans get the clothes via the black market or relatives visiting from the U.S.

Despite the Cuban government's attempts to dial back expectations, many Cubans think renewed relations with the U.S. will lift Cuba's slumping economy. Optimism that Daymara (ph) wears as brightly as her red, white, and blue spandex. "I hope that things might improve" she tells me, "for the people, the economy, and many other things."

Just seeing these flags at all is a sign of change.

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OPPMANN: And Carol, if the announcement does come that the embassies will open today, then you know Cubans have the flags ready to go for those celebrations.

COSTELLO: They sure do. Patrick Oppmann, thanks so much. Patrick reporting live from Cuba.

[11:00:02] Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: A manhunt under way in the D.C. mansion murders -