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Grand Jury Returns Charges for All 6 Baltimore Officers; ISIS Scores Huge New Gains in Syria and Iraq; Police Hunt Suspects on D.C. Quadruple Murder; Inside the Kingdom of Kim. Aired 5-6:00p ET

Aired May 21, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. The Freddie Gray case, the Baltimore prosecutor is about to hold a news conference on new developments in the death and custody case that tore her city apart. We are going to bring that to you live.

Military meltdown. ISIS advances further in Iraq and captures an ancient city in Syria, but President Obama says the U.S. and its allies are not losing the war against the terror croup. We'll get a reality check from Baghdad.

Murder suspect, an East Coast manhunt for the suspect in the gruesome murder of a Washington, D.C., family as DNA found on the pizza crust puts police on his trail.

Kim unveiled. An insider takes us behind the scenes of one of the most brutal and dangerous regimes on earth. And why North Korea is like a personal kingdom for Kim Jong-un.

Wolf Blitzer is on assignment. I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KEILAR: Now we have breaking news. There are new developments in the investigation of Baltimore's Freddie Gray death in custody case. This specifically pertains to the grand jury. State's attorney Marilyn Mosby is about to hold a news conference. We're standing by to bring that to you live.

Our correspondents, our analysts and our guests are also standing by with full coverage.

And I want to go first now to CNN's Miguel Marquez. He's in Baltimore. Miguel, tell us what we're learning. Do we have a sense of what to expect from Marilyn Mosby when she begins?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do. We are in the room where the press conference will be held any moment now. The Baltimore city state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, we believe is going to announce that the grand jury has come back with charges. What we don't know is how many charges there are or against which police officers those charges exist. The one thing that is very significant about this is that on the

27th, next week, we are supposed to have the first hearing in this case. That now, given this new development, won't go forward, and it will be a new process for moving forward.

Marilyn Mosby coming under great pressure from the police union here in Baltimore, from police officers, and many people from across the country. What they say is her handling of this case. If she comes back with charges from the grand jury, clearly, this will change the trajectory of this case. Would give her a much sort of surer foot to stand on as they move forward with this very, very difficult case -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Miguel. We are standing by with you. We're going to discuss what we're expecting here and get back to you in a moment when this does get underway.

Joining me now in THE SITUATION ROOM to talk a little more about this, we have CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes. We have CNN correspondent Brian Todd, our justice reporter, Evan Perez. We have anchor Don Lemon, and we are going right back to Baltimore, where officials are walking into that room and we will discuss it as we come out of this news conference. Here's Marilyn Mosby.

MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE CITY STATE'S ATTORNEY: As I previously indicated, my office conducted an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident with the death of Freddie Gray.

On May 1, our investigation revealed that we had sufficient probable cause to bring charges against six police officers. As our investigation has continued, additional information has been discovered, and as is often the case, during an ongoing investigation, charges can and should be revised based upon the evidence.

These past two weeks my team that been presenting evidence to a grand jury that just today returned indictments against all six officers for the following offenses.

Officer Cesar Goodson Jr., second-degree depraved heart murder. Involuntary manslaughter. Second-degree negligent assault. Manslaughter by vehicle and gross negligence. Manslaughter by vehicle, criminal negligence. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding safety of a prisoner. Reckless endangerment.

Officer William Porter, involuntary manslaughter. Second-degree negligent assault. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding the safety of a prisoner and reckless endangerment.

Lieutenant Brian Rice, involuntary manslaughter. Second-degree negligent assault. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding safety of a prisoner and an illegal arrest. Reckless endangerment. Officer Edward Nero, second degree intentional assault. Misconduct in office for an illegal arrest. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding safety of a prisoner; and reckless endangerment.

[17:05:14] Officer Garrett Miller, second-degree intentional assault. Misconduct in office for an illegal arrest. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding the safety of a prisoner; and reckless endangerment.

Sergeant Alicia White, involuntary manslaughter. Second-degree negligent assault. Misconduct in office for failure to perform a duty regarding safety of a prisoner and reckless endangerment.

Now that the grand jury has also found probable cause to charge the aforementioned officers based upon the evidence, these officers who are presumed innocent until proven guilty are now scheduled to be arraigned on July 2.

Thank you. Thank you all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you recuse yourself from this case, Ms. Mosby...

KEILAR: State's attorney Marilyn Mosby there in Baltimore, making some big news. Not taking questions there, but this, of course, pertaining to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. I want to go ahead and bring in first Don Lemon.

You're listening to this. We learned that these six officers, Don, have been indicted. In that a grand jury said there is evidence to go ahead and arraign them. Right? So how big of a deal is this? Is this what we expected?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This is a big deal. Many people expected that it would change, because as previously as Miguel pointed out, Marilyn Mosby has been under significant pressure regarding the charges. Many people said that her indictment, her statements in the indictment did not support the charges. She is saying now, having done that independent investigation since 5-1, she said that now she has sufficient cause to indict these officers. Additional information, she said, came in. The charges had been revised in some way.

And she's saying now that Cesar Goodwin -- Goodson, excuse me, secretary-degree depraved heart. Again, these are charges that some have been revised somewhat, but mostly the same charges. Still very serious charges, and that second-degree depraved heart murder is the most serious one of them all.

But again, she's now saying she has sufficient evidence. There was a bit of a controversy earlier in the week regarding the knife. Because according to city officials, according to city police officers, folks who were representing police officers saying that the knife was illegal. Therefore, making the arrest legal. The knife illegal, making the arrest legal.

She is saying the knife was legal, making the arrest illegal. And so -- and then came back last week and said it was not that important when it came to the indictment and the charges against these officers.

But now, again, all six officers now indicted. July 2, they will be arraigned. That is big news. That's serious news, Brianna.

KEILAR: Justice reporter Evan Perez. You were listening to these charges and what the grand jury has said about them. So actually, the grand jury changed? They found evidence of greater charges?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, she changed some of the charges, and really, what the grand jury does is bring the charges that the state prosecutor asks them to bring. They're not operating on their own. They're bringing charges that she's asking.

KEILAR: And she adjusted. That's what she said, that it's often -- charges are revised based on the evidence.

PEREZ: Clearly, Brianna, she's heard the criticism about the knife. She's heard the criticism that under Maryland law, what she was saying was that the knife was legal. So these officers had no reason to arrest or to pursue Freddie Gray.

And so what she's done now is that she's made it more about the conduct of the officers with regard to the transportation of the -- of Freddie Gray in the prisoner van. Also in their treatment of him.

And so what she's now made it less about the knife and more about what they did, whether they rendered aid properly to him, which obviously, they did not, because he died. And so now -- the second- degree murder, depraved heart murder, which is against the driver of the van. That remains. That's the most serious charge.

But the most significant thing that's happened now is that she has made it less about this controversy over the knife and more about the failure to render aid to Freddie Gray, and causing his death, because they simply did not treat him properly.

KEILAR: I want to bring in Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Senator, this happening in your state. You -- I hope you were able to hear the press conference that Marilyn Mosby just gave. Certainly, you've been able to hear some of the analysis here so far and the explanations of it. What's your reaction to what you heard?

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D), MARYLAND: Well, I don't think we're surprised. The state's attorney has made the presentation to the grand jury. It's now up to the criminal justice system to deal with these issues. As the state's attorney said, the officers have a presumption of innocence. I don't think any of us are surprised by today's announcement.

What we're doing in Baltimore, we started a healing process. And yesterday, we had a meeting at the White House with our congressional delegation, looking at ways that we can help Baltimore rebuild, not only the businesses that were destroyed and damaged, but also the core problems in our city. So I know that we're all very much focused on making sure there's

justice, justice for Freddie Gray. And I think the state's attorney today brought forward what was expected, and now it's up to our court system to process this.

KEILAR: Marilyn Mosby, Senator, has been, some critics, especially in the corner of some of these officers, their lawyers, is really what I'm talking about. They've criticized her saying there's a conflict of interest. Whether it's that her husband is a city council member in the ward where Freddie Gray lived, or whether it's that she appeared after the riot at a concert onstage with Prince, or that she has talked to "Vogue" magazine. And some critics say that this is sort of a chance for her to capitalize in a way that helps her career.

What do you say to those critics who say there's a conflict of interest?

CARDIN: Well, I think the state's attorney has brought forward, with the information she had -- she did an independent investigation. She's brought forward her best judgment as to proceedings. We will see what happens in the courts.

But I think that it's not unusual for those who have been charged with crimes to take a look at how objective the person who's in the state's attorney office may be. I think at the end of the day, the people of Baltimore want justice for Freddie Gray. They want our police department and our community to work together.

So we understand we have problems. Now it's up to the court system, and I don't think it's about any one person including the state's attorney. It's about justice prevailing. And it's about the officers having their right of presumption of innocence, but also there's a responsibility. And we want to make sure that the court system works.

KEILAR: Do you think the officers, I wonder -- actually, let me ask you this. The ATF has released at this point several screen shots of suspects that they think intentionally set several fires in Baltimore during the riots. Do you have any information about who they might be looking for? Are these believed to be local residents?

CARDIN: We don't know. We know that, at least initially, the violence and damage in our community had something to do about trying to find drugs.

We also know that there was a small group of people that participated in the looting. We know that there were tens of thousands of Marylanders who took to the streets in a responsible way, to try to preserve peace and order in our city.

We love Baltimore. And we obviously want to find out what happened. We want to make sure there's justice, but we also want to make sure that our city's future is moving forward in the right way. And that's what we did yesterday in the White House with secretaries of major departments at the federal level to help rebuild our city. KEILAR: Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. Thanks so much for

chatting with us, really appreciate it.

CARDIN: Thank you.

KEILAR: I want to bring in CNN legal analyst, I should say HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

So Joey, you watched this press conference, and now what we're seeing is something that comes out of some criticism, and debate back and forth, over the last days. This issue of the knife that Freddie Gray was carrying when he was arrested. Is it a legal knife? Is it an illegal knife? Does it really matter?

And it seems like Marilyn Mosby going in the direction of, you know what? Whether that knife was legal or illegal or the arrest was legal or illegal, the concentration certainly rhetorically more on how he was treated once he was in custody?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: It appears so. Good evening, Brianna. Absolutely. We should talk about what an indictment is all about.

Now, understand, as defense lawyers love to point out, an indictment is an accusation. And what it really means, is there were 23 members assembled. And we all should keep in mind that the state's attorney is the one who delivers that evidence.

In the grand jury they conduct the whole proceeding. There is no judge; there is no defense attorney. And there's no real cross- examination as to the witnesses.

And so what the state's attorney did was present the evidence, just enough evidence, Brianna, to establish that there's probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, and that these specific officers committed it.

And so based upon that presentation, the grand jury of which there are 23, a majority of which, not unanimous like a trial jury, but a majority. That is, 12 of the 23. We don't know the count in the grand jury, but they've concluded that there's probable cause to believe a crime was committed and they committed it.

On terms of the issue of the knife, is it significant? Of course. Every bit of evidence is significant. However, it certainly does move the discussion away from was the knife legal? Was the knife illegal? Was he falsely imprisoned, too? He's dead. What was the cause of that? Was there criminal negligence involved? This grand jury believes yes.

And of course, as to the driver, the grand jury believes it's more than criminal negligence. That is, you know, failing to perceive a risk, carelessness. They believe that there was depravity. That is, you knew someone was dying and what did you do? You went and you sought another passenger to get in the car instead of assisting the partner or rather Freddie Gray who was in there. So a lot of it will be unveiled as we move forward.

KEILAR: Joey can I ask you, you said with "depraved." That they must have known -- you knew somebody was dying, is sort of what they're saying, especially to the driver. Could it be that you knew somebody was hurt, not just that you knew someone was gravely injured?

JACKSON: Well, it has to can do with the gravity of the injury, because in the event, Brianna, that someone is simply ailing and you don't believe that ailing to be significant, then it doesn't move the needle to the charge of depraved indifference.

Because, remember what needs to be established. What needs to be established is a that you knew that this person was under serious distress. You knew that this person needed dire medical attention, and you just didn't care. Why? Because you were inhumane. Because you lacked compassion. That you lacked all human emotion to actually assist them.

And so it has to be more than, oh, they may have needed some help. You knew they need help. And you went and picked up another passenger instead of rendering aid, and it took you 40 minutes instead of the two minutes to get to the precinct.

And so a lot will be said moving forward. The attorneys for the defense, and coming up we know that there's an arraignment, where the officers will be officially apprised of what the charges are. There may be changed, the conditions, or there may not be changed, but certainly, the defense will have an opportunity to dispute the evidence moving forward.

KEILAR: Joey, we'll talk more about this ahead.

Everyone stand by. We're getting a lot more information into THE SITUATION ROOM on this indictment of the six officers in the Freddie Gray case. We will have much more breaking news after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:24] KEILAR: We're following breaking news right now. Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby of Baltimore just announced that a grand jury has indicted six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray. These officers are scheduled to be arraigned on July 2.

Gray's death last month in police custody set off rioting and days of tense demonstrations in Baltimore. And I want to bring in now CNN anchor Don Lemon.

And Don, I'm curious what you thought about Marilyn Mosby and sort of how she delivered this announcement. She's someone who's not really known, I think, for a neutral delivery of an announcement. But having spoken with her and met with her, what did you take away from this?

LEMON: Well, you know, I saw the initial press conference. Remember, when she first announced that these officers would be arrested. Right? That charges would be brought against these officers.

And then minutes after that I found myself sitting in her -- at her office, not in her personal office, but at her office doing an interview with her.

But listen, it should not be underestimated and we should not give short shrift to the body language and to how emphatic she was today in talking about these indictments.

KEILAR: And let me stop you. I said -- I said she's not known for giving a neutral delivery. I mean in tone. She's not sort of tamped down. She's got this definite. You know, she's got a little bit of an edge to her.

LEMON: Yes. And I know what you're saying, and I understand you don't want it to be misconstrued; and I understand that. I think, though, that she was very emphatic. She says, listen, additional information is discovered, and she says as is normal, paraphrasing here, however she said it.

She gets very emphatic about it: "I have heard the criticism of me, and I'm over it. I'm not dealing with it. I'm not changing this because of your criticism. What I'm doing is normal. I'm announcing these charges. I'm changing some of the charges, because additional information has been discovered." It was almost defiant.

And so this is the Marilyn Mosby that the people who are representing the officers will have to deal with going forward. Also, Brianna, as you know, the motion that was filed that said that she had too many conflicts of interest, that there was a conflict of interest and that her charging statements didn't support the charges that she had. And then another state's attorney saying that that was frivolous, and it was premature. And that the night that Freddie Gray was arrested long before they even knew he had a knife.

She's not backing down, and she also has the support of other people in office and government there. This is going to be a tough slog ahead for the officers and for her.

Brian Todd, you were watching this press conference. What was your takeaway?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I thought she really came across as being very confident here. She feels the grand jury is going to really bolster her case.

Very interesting that she add added a charge to I think the cases of each officer. She added the charge of reckless endangerment. Evan and I were talking. Evan says that this may be a way of moving attention away from focus on the knife.

But still defense attorneys have been trying to poke holes in that argument: the arrest was illegal because of the knife that Freddie Gray carried, according to the prosecutor, was legal.

Well, the defense attorneys for the officers are trying to make a case that the knife was, in fact, illegal. They're going to probably continue to try to make that case.

And also, the depraved heart murder charge, we talked about that. Joey Jackson talked about how tough that's going to be to prove. WE talked to legal analysts, including veteran criminal defense attorneys in Baltimore who say that's going to be the toughest charge for her to get a conviction on. She's got to not only prove that he knew this person was in distress, as Joey said. She's got to prove that the officer in question here, Cesar Goodson, knew that this person could die and still behaved in a certain way.

These defense attorneys in Baltimore, who have a long history of dealing with cases like this, have told us that's going to be her toughest charge to get a conviction on.

[17:25:14] PEREZ: Brianna, we know, as reported before, that the police investigation was headed in a different direction. It doesn't necessarily back up everything that she has brought here in court, and certainly before this grand jury. So that's the other challenge that she has, which is, that the police investigation, which the homicide investigation, we've got seasoned investigators who have been working on this for weeks. And they arrived at some different conclusions.

Now she says she had investigators doing independent work. Something that I think the defense attorneys are going to try to figure out is who are those people? How much work did they actually do? I believe she's also relying on some of this police work. And that's going to be an opportunity...

KEILAR: How do you mix using the independent and the police work?

PEREZ: Exactly.

KEILAR: Let's talk about the knife, because there is this question of whether -- so he runs away from police. Freddie Gray does. Police pursue him. They detain him. They discover he has a knife.

At first it appeared that it was an illegal knife. Then when Marilyn Mosby came out, they were saying, no, it wasn't a switchblade. It was actually a legal knife, so there wasn't a basis for arrest.

Now it seems like she's kind of saying, knife illegal or not illegal, doesn't matter. What really matters is how he was treated in custody. You think differently? Why do you think differently?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No. It does matter. That's the foundation of this case why he was even taken into custody ins first place. If she didn't get that right, what else didn't she get right? And that's why I think the rest of the case could have a domino effect if she loses that part of it. Either that knife was legal or illegal. That shouldn't be that big of a dispute. It is or it isn't.

KEILAR: Is it?

FUENTES: I don't know. Why isn't it?

LEMON: Here's the thing. Here's what another state's attorney in her office is saying, because that was brought in, a motion on May 8. A rebuttal to a motion on May 8, to have her recused. And here's what it says.

He said instead -- now this is another state's attorney. He says the state attorney asserted that the statement of probable cause against the officers makes clear that Mr. Gray was arrested well before the arresting officers knew he possessed a knife. That is where you're going to get into legality there.

It may not be if the knife, the spring-loaded knife, whether it was big enough or small enough or legal. It's whether or not the officers knew he had the knife before or after he was arrested. That's where it's going to...

FUENTES: I don't think he was arrested first. I don't think that's correct to say it that way. They have the right under Supreme Court rulings to chase him down when he runs away from them. Then they have the right to frisk him for a weapon or contraband. At that time, when they find the knife, they place him under arrest.

In that sequence of events, if that knife is illegal, what they've done is not wrong. Now the original charges she brought a couple weeks ago, false imprisonment...

KEILAR: Yes.

FUENTES: ... that's pretty serious to get wrong.

KEILAR: We'll leave it there just for the moment. Gentlemen, much more ahead.

Don, thank you so much. Brian, Evan, Todd, thank you.

Coming up, an East Coast manhunt for the suspect in the gruesome murder of a Washington, D.C., family. We're learning how DNA allegedly found on a pizza crust put police on his trail.

And an insider takes us behind the scenes of one of the most brutal and dangerous regimes on earth. Why North Korea is like a personal kingdom for Kim Jong-un.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Breaking news, a stunning new victory for ISIS. The terror group claims full control of an ancient Syrian city. Its fighters are reportedly going door-to-door beheading government loyalists. The United Nations officials there fear that ISIS will destroy the city's 2,000-year-old ruins. A rights group says ISIS now controls more than half of Syria.

And ISIS is also advancing in Iraq pushing out of the captured city of Ramadi on the road towards Baghdad, as frightened refugees pour into the capital. Under harsh criticism from lawmakers, President Obama calls Ramadi a setback but he says he doesn't think the U.S. is losing the war against ISIS.

I want to go live now to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, with the latest -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, President Obama may be saying the U.S. is not losing to ISIS. But the question may be, how much is ISIS gaining?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): An intense fighting near this 2,000-year-old ruins, activists say executions are already under way. The ancient city of Palmyra now firmly in the grip of ISIS. The world holding its breath worrying ISIS may destroy these priceless ruins. It's already destroyed artifacts in Iraq.

ISIS now controls 50 percent of Syrian territory, an activist group says. The State Department and the U.S. intelligence community now focusing on how to get Ramadi back and save Anbar Province in Iraq, a key approach to Baghdad. Pressure is mounting after the administration's earlier somewhat unconcerned views on the fall of Ramadi.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I am absolutely confident in the days ahead that will be reversed.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Are we going to light our hair on fire every time that there is a setback?

STARR: Congressional Republicans heavily disagree.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: ISIL's victory gives it the appearance of strength and boosts its ability to recruit more fighters.

STARR: U.S. intelligence officials are looking for any new indications ISIS could attempt to assault Baghdad.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), FORMER AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: We have to do everything in our power to stop the momentum from going forward for ISIS.

[17:35:02] STARR: But Ramadi's fall, another disturbing failure of Iraqi forces. Ripping holes in the U.S. assertion ISIS is on the defensive.

LEIGHTON: There is no way that the reality of the battlefield conforms with that world view. What we have here is an ISIS that is very much on the offensive.

STARR: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, says ISF was not driven out of Ramadi. They drove out of Ramadi. In other words, quit, despite a 10-1 troop advantage over ISIS. The Pentagon believes Iraqi troops had poor morale and thought

U.S. airstrikes were not coming through. U.S. officials say they were. The plan now, rush new weapons to Iraqi forces, including 1,084 shoulder-fired tank rounds. Capable of destroying ISIS suicide vehicle bombs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now Pentagon officials tell me they will step up reconnaissance and airstrikes over Ramadi in the coming days to help those Iraqi forces get back in control, but the Iraqi forces have to be able to stay and fight -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, they certainly do. That's the question.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you.

And joining me now, we have CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd, a former CIA official, and we have CNN national security analyst Fran Townsend. She's the former Homeland Security adviser to President Bush.

So we see what's happening now in Syria, ISIS controls half of it, Phil. This includes this key Syrian border crossing. We know that the airstrikes aren't enough, that there needs to be boots on the ground. But the full solution was to have moderate rebels be those boots on the ground.

Where are they in this training process and is it going to be enough?

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: We're not too far along in this process. They've started modest training. But you've got to look at two timelines that are not synchronized. The president, Bashar al-Assad, of Syria has started talking in more serious tones about the opposition he's facing. Something we haven't seen in the past years. We have an insurgency that's several years old. We have the militants that we don't like, the radical Islamists taking towns. And now years into the insurgency we're now starting to say that with some partners we're going to train.

The timeline for the demise of Assad has accelerated. The timeline the U.S. is using to train people is slow. They're not synchronized.

KEILAR: Not synchronized.

MUDD: Not enough.

KEILAR: Fran, I wonder the residences in these areas where ISIS is pushing into. Is there a point they will reject ISIS and maybe rise up?

FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, you know, what they need to see is that U.S. support is there for them. So while the administration has been defensive in saying that we were doing airstrikes in Iraq and around Ramadi, they clearly weren't doing enough of them and they weren't sufficiently effective or Ramadi wouldn't have fallen. And so if you want the indigenous population to rise up and take on some of this, they've got to know that somebody's got their back.

Some of that rests with Iraqi Security Forces, who, as General Dempsey said drove out and gave up, those are not forces that the U.S. trained. So there's a bunch of problems here. There's a lack of U.S. training. As Phil says, it's not fast enough. Whether that's in Iraq or Syria, and the level of effort that we're putting in, including with the airstrikes, has clearly been insufficient. And it's pretty outrageous to call this a mere tactical setback, as the president does, when we should have been doing more to prevent it from happening in the first place.

KEILAR: Real quick, Fran, before we go, we have just a few seconds here. As we see ISIS expanding further, what does that do to the threat on the homeland, to the U.S.?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, Senator McCain made the point, you played the clip. This -- the successes that they're enjoying on the battlefield will increase recruitment, it will encourage foreign fighters to run to the fight and to join the fight. And of course, once they're there and have experience, the threat to the homeland and to our allies in Western Europe in particular increases.

KEILAR: Yes. Increases.

Fran Townsend, thank you. Phil Mudd, thanks.

And coming up, DNA on a pizza crust. It leads to a big break in a baffling murder case. Stand by for breaking news on that manhunt.

And later, a rare insider's look at North Korea where unquestioning loyalty to Kim Jong-Un comes before all else.

[17:39:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We're following breaking news in a horrifying murder case. Police along the East Coast are searching for a killer blamed for the deaths of four people whose bodies were found in a burning mansion. The suspect got away with tens of thousands of dollars. But thanks to DNA evidence on a pizza crust police not only identified their suspect, according to law enforcement sources, investigators now have spoken with his girlfriend.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is at the scene of the crime here in Washington, D.C. -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, according to law enforcement officials we've been speaking with, investigators believe that 34-year-old suspect, Daron Wint, took a bus from the D.C. area to Brooklyn to visit his girlfriend and he apparently told his girlfriend that he was going to turn himself in. That has not happened yet. That information coming from an interview that police had with the girlfriend today. So a massive manhunt is still under way for Wint.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says he is armed and dangerous. Here's what she said at a press conference today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CATHY LANIER, DC METROPOLITAN POLICE: Right now you have just about every law enforcement officer across the country that is aware of his open warrant and are looking for him. I think even his family has made pleas for him to turn himself in and I would just reiterate that it's much easier if he just turns himself in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:45:13] BROWN: D.C. Police say Wint is the suspect in a brutal slayings of Amy and Savvas Savopoulos, their 10-year-old son Philip and their housekeeper. But police said today that this was not a random crime. He apparently worked at the family-owned company, the American Iron Works, where Savvas Savopoulos was the CEO of that company. He had worked there some time in the past, but we don't know exactly when.

Police at this stage are not giving a motive, but we've learned from sources that someone dropped off $40,000 to the home while the family was being held hostage. So it's believed that money at least played a role as a motive.

Also, a big break in this case came on Wednesday from a pizza crust, the DNA of Wint was found on that pizza crust. Apparently a pizza was ordered during the time the family was held in hostage. So that really was key here. That DNA recovered by ATF forensics specialists. Again this manhunt still under way and D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said she is not ruling out that more suspects may be involved -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Pamela Brown in Washington. And we'll have more on the story next hour. Thank you.

Coming up, life in one of the world's most isolated nations where unquestioning devotion to a seemingly irrational leader is a daily demand.

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[17:50:59] KEILAR: We continue following this hour's breaking news. A prosecutor announcing a grand jury has indicted six Baltimore police officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.

Also tonight, an insider is giving us a closer than ever look at one of the most paranoid and brutal regimes on the planet. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is believed to have executed 15 top officials so far this year.

CNN's Will Ripley who just returned to Tokyo from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang has been in touch with an expert who's made more than 50 trips into North Korea.

And Will, you're learning some interesting new things about the power structure there in this very secretive county.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. Han Park is perhaps one of the few Americans who's actually witnessed Kim Jong- Un in action, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, in action. You may remember him as the man who helped negotiate the release of two American journalists detained in North Korea, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. But he revealed some very, very interesting information about how exactly this regime is run.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): North Korean propaganda urges hatred for America. And undying love for the divine supreme leader.

PROF. HAN S. PARK, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: And North Korea is a kingdom.

RIPLEY: The kingdom of Kim Jong-Un, often described as a socialist monarch like his father and grandfather. Ruling a militarized nation with a long history of dynasties.

PARK: The leader is not chosen. The leader is given.

RIPLEY: We met Han Park in Pyongyang. He's the director of the University of Georgia's Department of International Affairs. He was born in China and is now a U.S. citizen and he's made more than 50 trips to North Korea in the last 35 years.

PARK: If we understand North Korea, we have to understand the system.

RIPLEY: Park knows Pyongyang's elite inner circle.

(On camera): Who controls North Korea?

PARK: The party.

RIPLEY: Not Kim Jong-Un.

PARK: No.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Three years in power, Kim commands nearly 25 million North Koreans who have no individual freedom. But Park says experienced and knowledgeable party leaders influence most decisions.

PARK: Kim Jong-Un used to ask them -- still I think he is asking questions -- about factual information about the world outside here.

RIPLEY: Royal intrigue can be a bloody business. South Korea's spy agency says top advisers who fall out of favor, including Kim's own family, are at risk.

PARK: The fact that this young man executed his uncle, I really don't know how to explain that.

RIPLEY: Kim is accused of ordering at least 15 executions this year alone. Allegations a top North Korean insider told me are malicious slander, though not denying executions take place.

Kim projects himself as the people's leader, building water parks, hospitals. An orphanage among many projects in the showcase capital of Pyongyang, where the elite and most loyal citizens live. But even there infrastructure remains poor and such luxuries are non- existent in the rest of the country where daily survival can be a struggle.

Despite all of the praise and propaganda videos, remarkably few details of Kim's life are shared. His own people don't know he was educated for several years abroad. They don't know the names of his brothers and sisters or that he has a child. Even Kim's age is a mystery.

But North Koreans don't ask questions. The Kim dynasty continues to project an image of absolute power, demanding the people's absolute devotion.

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RIPLEY: There is trouble, though, in the kingdom of Kim Jong-Un. Even the elite who are living in the capital Pyongyang have to deal with food rations and power shortages and those farther out in the country, well, Park tells me as many as half of North Koreans are going hungry, Brianna. So even though he projects this image of power and bestows these gifts upon people in the capital, there are a lot of people in his country who are really struggling in a big way.

[17:55:22] KEILAR: A great peek inside. Thank you so much, Will Ripley.

And coming up we have much more breaking news. A Baltimore grand jury indicts all six police officers accused in the death in custody of Freddie Gray. One of those counts is second degree murder.

And an East Coast manhunt. His DNA allegedly found on a pizza crust puts police on the trail of a suspect in the gruesome quadruple murder in Washington, D.C.

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