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CNN NEWSROOM

Finding out More About the Boston Bombers; Interview with Adrianne Haslet-Davis;

Aired April 22, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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


ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Two sources telling CNN that the bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is communicating with officials.

The 19-year-old was shot in the neck, is under -- is unable to speak at this time. He's been hospitalized since the capture, of course, on Friday.

We're told the communication has been in writing. The exact nature of the communicating, how communicative he's being, whether he's answering questions, we do not know at this point.

We're awaiting word of when authorities set charges against the teenage suspect. A Justice Department official tells CNN that that could happen soon.

He is expected to face federal terrorism charges and possible -- possible -- state murder charges.

Boston's police chief said evidence suggests that Tsarnaev -- that the brothers were planning another attack before the shooting with police that left the older brother dead.

Twenty-six-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev had explosives strapped to his body when he died.

Also happening this hour, a private funeral service begins for Krystle Campbell. She, of course, is the 26-year-old who was killed in the marathon finish line explosion, also along with six-year-old -- excuse me -- eight-year-old Martin Richard.

Now Bostonians are getting back to work today after a terrible Friday, a terror lockdown that had much of this city completely shut down.

The surviving suspect is in hospital, as I said, right now, handcuffed and under 24-hour guard. And, even though he's in serious condition, he is communicating with authorities.

Let's check in with our Don Lemon. He is outside the hospital, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.

Don, what's the latest you're hearing on his injuries and how communicative he's being?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, what we're injuries is the injury you described to his neck, that is the only injury for sure that people -- that we know about, that sources have told us about.

We're not sure, as we have been asking investigators and people with knowledge of this investigation -- we're not sure if it was self- inflicted or if it was because of the gun battle that he had with police during that standoff.

But, again, he is here at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He is still in serious condition.

And what we are -- one way that he may be communicating, Anderson, is because of what's known as a sedation holiday.

Because we knew that he was sedated and that he was intubated, but one method they may be using is a sedation holiday where they ease off on the drugs so that he does regain consciousness.

And, if investigators are in there questioning him, and even the doctors about how he's healing, that he is aware of to communicate with them.

And we're hearing, again, that he is communicating, not by speaking, because he has that neck injury, but by writing things down on a pad or on a white board.

And that's the latest on his condition. Still serious, but we're hearing, according to CNN sources, that he is communicating with investigators.

COOPER: That is certainly good news. Again, the exact nature of that we're not clear on.

What do we know about charges against Tsarnaev that he may face when they might be filed?

LEMON: He will more than likely face federal terrorism charges, possibly state murder charges.

And, again, federal terrorism charges, and could face the death penalty even though there's no death penalty in Massachusetts, federal death penalty, as well. And that's all on the table.

He could be arraigned as early as today, but we're not exactly sure. It depends on how communicative he is and how aware he is.

But a whole host of charges, and, also speaking to some of my sources, they say he could face a number of local, state, and federal charges just for what he did after Monday's bombing.

They don't even really need that to convict him because of what happened during that standoff and what transpired after the bombing, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Don, appreciate that, right outside the hospital where the suspect is in custody and being treated.

And bottom line there, he is communicating with law enforcement personnel via writing. He's not able to speak.

We are getting new information about the wounded suspect. Let's go to New York and Deborah Feyerick for that.

Deborah, what are you hearing from your sources?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson.

Well, I'm being told by sources being briefed on the investigation that the 19-year-old suspect is on a ventilator and heavily sedated, as you heard Don mentioned, but every several hours in the care of doctors -- because that's right now who's supervising -- in the care of doctors, an interview team goes into the room to ask the suspect questions.

Now these questions are pretty much focused, according to my source, on public safety. For example, are there any other bombs? Are there any other bomb stashes? Are there any other weapons? And was anyone else helping them?

Now he has been on a ventilator and he is restrained, in part because they simply don't want him to come and rip the tube out of his throat, which is the natural instinct to do.

So we've been hearing that law enforcement has been communicating in writing, but what we do know is that he is nodding, that the responses he is giving are being given by him nodding.

Now the injuries, we are told by the source, include -- were to the lower half of his body. It appears some sort of a wound to his leg, and that caused, it appears at this point, the majority of blood loss.

And he did have, as you heard Don mention, a wound to the back of his neck, but it is not clear at this point exactly how that wound was inflicted, either how or when that wounds was inflicted.

We do know that when he emerged from the boat, and we're seeing that sort of photo of him sitting on the boat, that he fell, that he fell about six-to-seven feet, and that's where law enforcement handcuffed him after he sort of tumbled from the side of the boat there.

You also have to keep in mind, as you look at those pictures, that law enforcement was using these flash-bang grenades. Now those are about 180 decibels. They are really, really loud and, so, hearing tissue may have been damaged during the course of this. So, it's unclear, also, just how much he is hearing.

So not only is he sedated, but he's on a ventilator and there may have been significant hearing loss. So clearly not an ideal situation for investigators.

Doctors are really trying to prevent any unnecessary stress to the body. And that's why right now -- look, the investigators, they're only secondary to what the doctors are trying to accomplish, which is to save this individual so that they really can question him and really can sort of go into great detail about what he knows and how this all played out, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Deb Feyerick, good information there. Appreciate the update on that, Deb Feyerick reporting on the suspect.

Now we have learned a lot more, obviously, about these two suspected bombers in the week since the tragedy, but one question and one person that we have not heard a lot about yet is Katherine Russell.

She's the 24-year-old wife of the suspect who was killed in the police shootout, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. They do have a daughter who just a toddler.

Chris Lawrence has been talking to Katherine Russell's attorney. Chris joins us now live from North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Chris, what did he say?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, basically, Anderson, he said that she learned about all this from the news reports and at no time knew about what her husband was doing before this happened.

We also learned that, basically, she is distraught. He says she's been crying a lot. He said she feels very, very strongly and badly about what happened to the victims of the Boston marathon. And she's also dealing with the loss of her husband and the father of their very young daughter who we believe to be about two to three years old.

We're told that, basically, she understands why federal law enforcement has tried to reach out and talk to her. She said she understands that it is a matter of national security.

But he said, right now, the family is working through him, the attorney, to speak with those federal agents.

Anderson?

COOPER: Chris Lawrence, I appreciate that update.

Obviously, we're trying to find out as much as we can and will be for the next week and months about these two suspects.

We do know, according to neighbors of the wife, Miss Russell, that she had undergone a change in recent years in the style of dress that she wore in the wake of her relationship with her husband.

Exactly, though, what she might have known, and you heard from the attorney saying she didn't know anything about his plans, we're still trying to find out more information about their relationship.

Right now investigators are searching for answers. Prosecutors are, obviously, building their case in the bombing attacks. Boston police commissioner says it is likely the suspects were planning more attacks. He says the explosives and the firepower officials found suggest they intended to cause more mayhem.

Hear what Commissioner Ed Davis said on CNN earlier this morning. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE: The two suspects were armed with handguns at the scene of the shootout, and there were multiple explosive device, including a large one that was similar to the pressure cooker device that was found down on Boylston Street.

I saw that with my own eyes. I believe the only reason someone would have those in their possession is to further attack people and cause more death and destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So were additional attacks planned? That's the big question. What about the older suspect's ties to radical Islam, and what is the latest on the investigation?

We turn now to Juliette Kayyem, a CNN national security analyst and a "Boston Globe" columnist. She's also a former Homeland Security official for the U.S. and the state of Massachusetts.

Let's talk about this arsenal that the suspect allegedly had. It certainly seems to indicate other plans or -- what does it indicate to you?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, "BOSTON GLOBE" COLUMNIST: It does. It can indicate a number of things.

One, it could indicate that they actually didn't have tremendous backing, that it was just them. And the reason why people like me in counterterrorism believe this is because sophisticated terrorist attacks have multiple points of attack, like what we saw on 9/11.

If these two individuals acted alone, then they had everything with them. And I want to put this in context of what happened Thursday night.

One of the reasons why we went into lockdown was because they had so much weaponry which they were throwing out of the cars, with the guns, and that's clearly what animated Ed Davis and the governor.

COOPER: In terms of the investigation, what are the big questions right now? I mean, obviously, what else did they plan, but also, who did they have contact with? Was this something that had some sort of foreign connection? Were there other suspects involved here, domestically?

KAYYEM: So that's -- the key questions now with the investigation are going to be, obviously, this percolating issue about the FBI and their surveillance a couple of years ago.

The second issue's going to be foreign contacts and what happened on that trip to Russia.

COOPER: It was six months in Dagestan, also perhaps a visit to Chechnya.

KAYYEM: Right. And then a question I'm wondering about is you're hearing the Russians saying, hey, we told you so, we told you so.

Were they investigating him or profiling him when he was in Russia? And if not, why not?

Because one of the questions that a lot of us, looking at the evidence right now, have is how many people did the Russians ask for us to look at? If it was thousands, then he was no different than any other.

And so those are the questions for the investigation. Of course, the U.S. attorney is right now preparing a case. It is going to go through a civilian -- a normal Article III court, terrorism charges.

And, so, the big question now, I think, is going to be, is there going to be a change of venue, given what this city went through? And we saw this with Oklahoma City. This city went through so much, can you find -- once we get to that point, can you find an objective jury?

COOPER: What will be interesting, also, to learn is did they do practice runs, not only the scene, but did they actually explode devices previously?

I know over the weekend there have been reports that there were some local unexplained explosions in various areas around here, but it is not clear whether or not they actually tested these devices.

KAYYEM: Exactly. And, so, there's a couple of pieces going on right now and so we think it's over, but it's not.

First of all, just to make it clear, there is recovery going on in this city, which is actually great to see as a Bostonian. The tent is down. The turnpike is open. All sorts of activity to get this city back to life.

And that's important for people's sense of civility. And then people will work with the FBI, will work with citizens and others about what they knew when.

I mean, we heard a lot from the high school peers, other peers, trying to figure out was there a moment, was there a point in which there was no turning back for these two brothers.

And trying to piece that together is helpful not only for this case, but also to figure out radicalization processes in the future.

COOPER: We're also learning more about the relationship between the two and the family dynamics, all of which come into play, to see who was sort of the dominant brother, who was actually leading this.

It certainly seems like, all the indications, that it was the older brother who was less well adjusted, whereas the younger brother who's now in the hospital, seemed to fit in more, but seemed under the sway, from all his friends reporting -- was sort of under the sway of his older brother. KAYYEM: And that's no uncommon in crime waves. The 9/11 hijackers, several of them were brothers. We saw in Columbine, they weren't brothers, but there was the dominant figure and the less dominant figure.

And, so, it may be that the younger brother is willing to communicate -- we're not sure how he's communicating right now -- because he was the sort of more isolated, more weak character, and essentially is facing a pretty strong case against him.

COOPER: Deb Feyerick reporting from a law enforcement source that most of the questions that the investigators are now asking Dzhokhar Tsarnaev relate to public security -- are there more devices, things like that.

With so much attention focused on the suspected bombers, we do want to, of course, remember the victims in this tragedy.

The funeral mass is being held at this hour for Krystle Campbell, the 29-year-old killed while watching the Boston marathon with a friend near the finish line.

Campbell went to the marathon almost every single year. She never wanted to miss it.

She'd been called hardworking, a popular restaurant manager who was more than willing to get her hands dirty and support her staff.

Her grandmother says she was always smiling, a big help always to her when she recovered from medical procedures.

These are new pictures outside of St. Joseph's church in Medford, Massachusetts, as Campbell's casket was carried out just moments ago.

Her family has asked that cameras not be allowed inside.

Hundreds of people showed up for Campbell's wake yesterday with a line stretching around the block.

She died a few weeks shy of her 30th birthday.

One of the victims of last Monday's attack is a dancer instructor who lost part of her leg. She vows not only to dance again, but to run a marathon as well.

This extraordinary woman joins me right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: There's a global search for answers and the search for answers stretches all the way to the Russian Republic to see suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's aunt in Russia is expressing shock. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATEIMAT SULEIMANOVA, SUSPECTS' AUNT (through translator): It is strange to me that it was him who adopted Islam. Not his mother, not his father, but himself. Bit it's not so strange nowadays children study Islam and teach their parents. That's exactly how it turned out with him. They hadn't prayed before they went to America. Nobody taught him. He learned everything himself. At the same time, we were happy about it because he didn't start doing drugs or alcohol and adopted the path to Islam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Our correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh is in Dagestan now investigating this. Were you surprised to find this kind of disbelief from the family? I mean, we often hear this from family members that say look, I can't believe my loved one would do this. What else did they say?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is common, in this part of the world, to have a mistrust of what law enforcement officials say to you because of the human rights abuses and corruption here. That disbelief isn't too surprising. And of course the family is going to struggle comprehend that the people they've known and loved all their lives would be capable, if that is the case, of what happened in Boston.

What struck us from speaking to the aunt were a few more details about what exactly Tamerlan did when he returned here for about six months last year. Interestingly, U.S. officials say he arrived in Russia in January, but the aunt didn't see him until roundabout March, bit of a gap there and we're not quite sure what he was necessarily doing. And then when he was here, he seemed peaceful, calm, talking a lot. Mostly what you heard, suddenly a devout follower of Islam. She said he went to America and we were worried about him drinking and doing drugs but he was now devoted to his faith, it being central to his life. Him, also saying, her saying that he wouldn't actually look women he wasn't related to necessarily in the eye, considering that to be a violation of his faith. So a substantial change and she also points out that during that period of time, he did go to Chechnya twice to see relatives. Chechnya is calmer now than it's been in the past, but details helping us piece together his state of mind in the past year, Anderson.

COOPER: Is there any evidence at this point that you've been able to find of him having any contact with extremist elements in Dagestan? Because there has been a history of that in Dagestan.

WALSH: Certainly. There's no evidence of contacts, but there is certainly a very interesting link between his Youtube channel, which he posted the video of an extremist here in Dagestan. That link was taken off the Youtube channel. We're not sure when. We found the video, and the video is quite specifically of this man. He was killed by Russian special forces not far from where I'm standing, actually, in an exceptionally violent fire fight in December of last year, which killed perhaps as many as six. A reasonably well-know militant here, we don't know if these men ever met. It is interesting Tamerlan Tsarnaev would post that video on his social media of a man who he was probably in the same town over the same time, and a militant who basically functioned in the home town of his father, time. Anderson. COOPER: Still a lot to find there. We appreciate that. One of the victims of last Monday's attacks is a dance instructor. And the horror of this is she lost part her leg. Her husband, just back from Afghanistan helped save her. They're going to join me as well as her mother are going to join me just after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. We have heard so many stories of bravery and selflessness from that horrible day, one week ago today, the horrible attack at the marathon finish line and everything that's come after it.

I want you to meet three more remarkable people. Take a look at this. It is the cover of the "Boston Herald." "I'll dance again." Adrianne Haslet-Davis is a dancer and a dance instructor. She suffered a terrible injury in the marathon bombing, but she vows to keep on dancing. Her husband, Airforce Captain Adam Davis, is with her in the hospital right now. They're joining us by phone from Boston, and Adrian's mother is also here with us. Adrianne, first of all, let me ask you how are you doing? How are you feeling today?

ADRIANNE HASLET-DAVIS, INJURED DANCE INSTRUCTOR: Today, Anderson thank you so much, I'm feeling -- feeling good. I had a really good night's rest. A lot of thanks to the medication and also thanks to just becoming more familiar with the loss of my leg and sort of moving into this next chapter of my life and becoming more comfortable with where it's going. I'm feeling good today.

COOPER: Adrianne, do you remember the bombing?

HASLET-DAVIS: I do. I remember everything. I remember the first bomb going off and holding on to Adam, my husband, and thinking, oh, my gosh. I know there's never just one. I just knew that something was about to happen, and I started screaming, oh no, oh no and the second bomb went off and it went off directly in front of us. I remember everything. I remember falling backwards because of the impact and falling into sort of a pretzel. We came out thinking I was going to be okay because I didn't feel any pain. And then he held out my foot and we both thought it was over. I completely lost, I would say, 80 percent of my bone and muscle and just of my foot and ankle in general. I was bleeding profusely. It was very scary.

COOPER: And you remained conscious?

HASLET-DAVIS: I was. I was conscious through the whole thing. Yes, I never passed out. I never blacked out. I never had moments of that. I was conscious through the whole thing, and I immediately just knew that I needed to get to a clean spot because I needed to save my foot. I was going to dance again and I was going to keep my foot. I was determined to move to an area that was clean. I crawled on my elbows off the sidewalk and into a bar or restaurant. I haven't been back to it, I don't really recollect which one it was. And I went in there and started trying to open the door with my elbow and crawled in as the door was trying to close behind me and then crawled in to try to find people. Adam was covered in shrapnel and I wasn't ware if he could move or not. But I knew my foot was bleeding so badly I needed to find help. And I found some help with some people after a little while. And they used their belts as tourniquets to stop the bleeding.

COOPER: Even in the midst of that horror, you were thinking about saving your foot so you could dance again?

HASLET-DAVIS: I was. I was determined to save my foot. I knew what it meant to not have it. My version of an amputee, unfortunately -- I just didn't know much about it. I know a lot more now, but my version was just sitting in a wheelchair and sitting at home at not doing anything. I wasn't going to be that person. I obviously know now that's not the case. There is many things people can do after losing a limb. I was headstrong on not losing it. I also know I had two choices. I could either fight it or lay on the sidewalk and bleed out. That sounded awful, painful, and horrible. So I wasn't going to choose that way.

COOPER: I know you only have one phone. If you could give the phone to your husband Adam, I want to ask him a question as well. Adam you just returned from Afghanistan. You thought you were coming home to a peaceful country and then this bombing. Tell me, when the bomb went off, you just heard your wife explaining you were there. What was it like for you?

ADAM DAVIS, INJURED DANCE INSTRUCTOR'S HUSBAND: Very similar to what Adrianne said. We heard the first bomb go off, turned around, saw it, grabbed each other. My thoughts are like, all right. Not good. Don't panic. And our feet being knocked out from underneath us.

COOPER: And you tried to take care of Adrianne in the moments after the blast. Tell me what you did.

DAVIS: I mean, you heard her describe it. She was dragging herself to the bar. (INAUDIBLE) I could walk a little bit. I hobbled up behind her. We got to the bar/restaurant about 10 feet ahead. We put our heads on the stairs. I got my belt off and around her legs and then just at that point some more of the panic set in for me, and it was like what do I do? What do I do?