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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Peter King; Bomb Suspect Using Instagram; Wing from 9/11 Plane Discovered; 8-Year-old Girl Found Stabbed to Death

Aired April 29, 2013 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Jake, thanks so much. The FBI enters the family home of the bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow. Just ahead, we go live to Boston for the latest on the investigation into the deadly Boston marathon attacks.

Plus, authorities interviewed the so-called man Misha. Is it the same mysterious figure some members of the suspect's family alleged may have inspired the massacre?

And Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as we've never seen him before. You're going to hear his voice for the first time in gripping new video that just surfaced online.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: The FBI descends on the family home of the bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow as the search for answers continues exactly two weeks since the deadly Boston marathon attacks. CNN national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, is in Boston. She's joining us now with the very latest on the investigation. Susan, what do we know about what the feds were doing inside the home?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you this, Wolf. We know that they spent several hours there at her home, getting there early this afternoon. Now, the FBI is not saying specifically what they are doing there, but of course, acknowledging what everyone can see with their own eyes, that they have arrived there, that they're asking her questions.

And our sources tell us that this is a woman who remains obviously someone of very high interest to investigators as they try to find out what she can tell them about her husband. Of course, she's a widow now, but did she have any information leading up to the bombing attack? Did she know anything afterwards? Did she help anyone hide?

These are questions they want to find out as much background from her, about any travels he made, how much did she know about his trips to Russia, for example, in 2011 and in 2012. So, there are a multitude of things they're trying to find out. She has a lawyer. She has been meeting with him as well for the past several days.

And she is, for now, spending time with her parents up there in Rhode Island. So, that part of the investigation remains very intense as the lead investigators on this case, the FBI, try to get as much information from her as she is willing to give.

BLITZER: Susan, what more are we learning about those pressure cooker bombs, the two that were used at the end of the Boston marathon to kill and injure all those people and the one that was apparently thrown by the suspects at police? What are we learning about those pressure cooker bombs?

CANDIOTTI: Right. They're trying to get as much information about the contents of it, how it was put together, as you know, still trying to find out whether they can locate detonators and where those ingredients came from. Of course, the key thing now is they're still trying to find out, where these were put together, whether they were tested.

Presumably, they were put together here, but there's no information so far, no evidence so far, as to whether they were tested here in the United States as well as training. Was he self-trained when the bomb makers put these together, presumably Tamerlan? Or, did he receive training overseas during any of those trips to Russia from any militants over there?

Of course, we know that there have been intense interest in, for example, the al Qaeda-based "Inspire" online magazine that provides all kinds of manuals about how to make a bomb. But again, so far, Wolf, no evidence as to whether that bomb was tested here in the United States. It may have been elsewhere. And of course, they're also paying particular attention to what the mother knew as well as what the widow knew.

The mother of the two bombing suspects. As we've reported extensively starting this weekend, they're looking into, for example, a wiretapped information -- wiretapped conversation that one of her sons made to her while she was in Russia in 2011. But we know that it was a conversation that only vaguely mentioned jihad. No word on whether they were talking about a religious struggle.

No word as to whether there were any specifics when the word "jihad" was mentioned. And, the Russians only recently revealed this information to the FBI. So, if they had had that information earlier in 2011, that might have helped them as they tried to look at Tamerlan to see whether he knew anything about or had any plans in mind for any attacks in the United States or possibly elsewhere -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I know over the weekend, they wrapped up a search of a landfill. I suspect they were looking for that laptop. Did they find anything useful?

CANDIOTTI: My source tells me -- this is a source with knowledge of the investigation -- that they did not find the laptop that they were looking for during two days of searches of that landfill. Now, can they go on with the investigation without obviously all good information that they could have retrieved from there? Yes, they can move on, but it's something they certainly would have like to get their hands on.

They had investigative leads that indicated that someone either -- this is from the suspect himself, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who remains in that prison hospital, and they also had other investigative leads that led them to believe that that computer was ditched probably in a dumpster that in turn was taken to the landfill. Now, whether they retrieved other evidence at the landfill, that's still unclear -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Susan Candiotti in Boston with the latest, thanks very much.

Let's dig a little deeper into this investigation, the Republican congressman, Peter King, of New York is joining us. He sits on both the Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees. Congressman, thanks very much for coming in. Based on everything you know right now -- and I know you're well briefed -- do you believe that there were other people directly involved in the planning of this terrorist attack?

REP. PETER KING, (R) HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Wolf, I think it's fair to say that no one knows for certain, but it's very unlikely that they could have carried this out here in the United States without some assistance from someone. For instance, the fact that they put those bombs together and they all went off. You know, generally, bomb makers almost always have a missing finger.

And the reason I'm saying that it shows how difficult it is. So, they had to be tested somewhere, I would think. Someone had to assist them. Someone had to train them. Again, unless these two are absolute geniuses, it's impossible to believe that this was done, almost impossible to believe this was done without assistance here in the U.S.

It's also very unlikely that there was not some assistance or training overseas. And I think the general consensus of people working on the case is whether or not there's any rock-hard evidence right now. The operating belief is that there almost had to be some training overseas, some direction from overseas, and there's just too many parts here which add up to something larger than just two people being involved.

BLITZER: Who are some of the other people out there, maybe some of them aren't even suspects, that the FBI really wants to talk to?

KING: Wolf, I can't go into that, other than to say that obviously they have associates, people they've been dealing with, people in their world, which would be the same in any criminal investigation. But I think in this one , there are some who are felt to be closer than others. But I really can't go beyond that. It wouldn't be right to do it. But I mean, there's no doubt there are certain people that are being looked at very carefully, very closely.

BLITZER: As you know, the FBI went into Katherine Russell, Tsarnaev's house. She's the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev at Rhode Island. They went in there today to collect presumably some evidence. Is she fully cooperating with law enforcement?

KING: There's been some level of cooperation, but, again, I would just say, again, from my own instincts and talking to some people involved, it's -- to me, it certainly raises questions that the bomber has a wife, one child and a relatively small apartment and is able to put these explosives together, able to obtain all of these materials, able to move about without really having a job, to back to Russia and -- you know, go to Russia and come back without the wife having some knowledge of what he was up to.

But again, I don't have evidence for that. I can't tell you what she's been telling the FBI or whether it's -- what lawyer she has or anything like that, other than to say that I would certainly, if I were involved in the investigation and I'm not for her involvement, I would certainly, you know, question the wife as she is being questioned to find out, if nothing else, to find out who the husband was in contact with, about his comings and goings, who could have radicalized him.

But also, again, probably the larger issue, does she have any knowledge whatsoever of any of the explosives or explosive precursors or any of the weapons at all that we used by either of the brothers?

BLITZER: It's unclear to me and I wonder if it is to you if she's actually answered any questions posed by the FBI yet directly.

KING: Wolf, I really can't go into that. I mean, obviously, I've heard some things, but I cannot go into that other than to say that, obviously, the FBI, you know, is interested in what she has to say and what she knows.

BLITZER: There was a one box, at least one box, that was taken out of that house, her parents' house, in Rhode Island that said DNA -- I guess, it's a DNA evidence, if you will. do you know what that was all about?

KING: Again, no. As far as that particular -- no, I do know the FBI would certainly be checking the DNA to the extent they can of anyone involved, you know, with these brothers in any way, to see if there's any link between them and the explosives or any other weapons. But again, that's part of any investigation. It's a normal part of any investigation, certainly one as intense and vital as this one.

BLITZER: Do you know anything about this Canadian boxer, a Canadian boxer turned militant around the same time, apparently, as Tamerlan Tsarnaev who was a boxer himself? He returned to Dagestan. Do you know anything about this Canadian boxer?

KING: I think I only know what you do as far as the press reports, and I'd rather leave it at that, Wolf. I'm not trying to be talking (ph) your question. You know, this is a very, very sensitive investigation. I don't want to be indicating I know something or don't know something. Fact is that, you know, obviously, there have been questions about what happened to him, but I can't go any further than that. BLITZER: What about this so-called Misha, this Armenian who converted to Islam and some of the family members of the suspect say he brainwashed Tamerlan into becoming a radical. What can you tell us about Misha?

KING: Again, Wolf, I have to -- my understanding is they do know who he is. They are talking to him. I can't go beyond that as to whether or not he did have this Svengali-like influence over him as some of the family members are complaining or if he was just someone who was an associate who spoke with him. That's all part of the investigation that's going on now.

BLITZER: As you know, the Russians say they intercepted a phone conversation between the mother in Dagestan and presumably one of the sons in the United States in which they suppose, according to these reports, of jihad. What can you tell us about this?

KING: Well, there's no doubt that there was, which has become public, there was communication involving the mother where she made it clear that she thought her son was a confirmed jihadist or certainly a confirmed Islamist radical who would be willing to die or certainly who was willing to carry out whatever he was asked to do. That at least is the tone and the thrust of the communication.

Now, exactly what form of communication it is, I don't know if I'm really at liberty to say that. The fact is no doubt that the mother had -- made statement like this or had indicated this. The Russians are aware of it, and the Russians did not give it to the FBI back in 2011. If they had, I think it definitely would have changed the whole tone of the investigation and it well could have led to a very different result.

And all of us wish that the Russians had provided that information to the FBI when the FBI did ask for additional information and the Russians did not respond to them.

BLITZER: Are they cooperating better now, the Russians, with the U.S. in this investigation?

KING: My understanding is they are. The Russians also see this as an opportunity to have America realize the importance of the whole -- or the danger of the whole Chechen movement. And, so, I think it serves the Russians' purposes right now. However, there's always going to be a certain level of distrust between the U.S. and Russia, between our intelligence agencies and theirs. So, they will give us, I think, whatever helps them.

They will not give us anything which is going to reveal any of their sources and methods. But they're certainly being much more forthcoming. And I think both sides seen this as an opportunity now, both the United States and Russia, see this as an opportunity to make progress, certainly as far as this case is concerned and also as far as international terrorism is concerned.

BLITZER: OK. Have you been briefed on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's condition? He's in that prison hospital right now outside of Boston, about 40 miles or so outside of Boston. A maximum security facility there. Is he recuperating? Is he talking? What's going on?

KING: First of all, I have not received any recent briefings. What I learn is from just sources and people that I know that are involved in the intelligence community or the law enforcement community. There really has not been an official briefing since we left Washington on Friday. At least for me there hasn't been. So, what I'm getting is from sources that I have.

My understanding is that he is certainly out of danger. He certainly was able to communicate. He had an operation in the -- some kind of surgical procedure in the middle of his interrogation and he's doing -- you know, fortunately or unfortunately, he's doing fairly well.

BLITZER: Bottom line, then I'm going to let you go, bottom line, should we be bracing for more arrests anytime soon?

KING: I would just say the investigation is ongoing, and without giving any inside information, my belief is that there has to be others involved, one way or the other, whether they were knowing, unknowing, whether they were actual conspirators, whether they were facilitators, whether they knew something was wrong and were willing to help cover it up but didn't actually know the details of it or if they were actually definitely involved.

I think all of that will be coming out. But, again, it's just a sort of semi-educated guess on my part that I think we will be seeing others named one way or the other at some level or another.

BLITZER: Peter King is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, thanks very much for joining us.

KING: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: When we come back, the bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, covered in blood. Just ahead, a chilling firsthand account inside the hospital just moments after he was captured and brought in.

Plus, you're going to hear from Dzhokhar for the first time in his own words playing with his little niece in riveting new video that has just surfaced online.

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BLITZER: President Obama and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, spoke by phone today and agree to keep in close touch about the Boston bombings.

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Jay carney, white house press secretary: We have an ongoing conversation with Russian officials on this specific matter, the bombing in Boston. As you know, we have been cooperating with the Russian government on travel from the embassy by team of Americans to investigate down in Dagestan, the trip that Tamerlan Tsarnaev took, and that cooperation continues.

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BLITZER: Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is here in the SITUATION ROOM. Gloria, they may be cooperating a little bit better now, but recently, they weren't necessarily on the same page.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: No. Cooperation with the Russians is not something that the American government has been talking about as it pertains to this case, Wolf. Look, you just heard Congressman King talk about the fact that the Russians had secretly taped a conversation between Tsarnaev, the elder brother, and his mother, vaguely mentioning jihad.

We know that the FBI, we know that the CIA were -- had been alerted to this gentleman, and they were not told about that taped phone conversation. We know that the FBI went back to the Russians and said, can you give us more information? And they got stonewalled. So, we know that there wasn't any cooperation there. I've been talking to a couple of intelligence sources who say to me, this is what you expect from the Russians, that there's a lot of suspicion, he said.

There's no guarantee that they would ever share their source information with us. In fact, we presume that they would never share their source information with us, which they did not. And so, the outstanding and most important question is, did they ever, when they were asked, provide the why.

Why should we be concerned about Tamerlan? And the answer to that is an unequivocal no. So, now, the president is talking to Putin, obviously, but before that, absolutely not.

BLITZER: You know, we're hearing increasingly some criticism of the way the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the CIA may have dealt with certain aspects of this case before the Boston bombings, but you're finding out -- I know you're doing some serious reporting on this. It's not necessarily cut and dried.

BORGER: None of these things are ever cut and dried. First of all, the fact that we did get a heads-up from the Russians about something should have raised a huge red flag because this is not -- they are not the British. They are not the French. This doesn't happen every day. So, that is a problem. When the CIA and the FBI are both investigating the same person, another red flag.

Did the FBI share what it knew with state and local authorities? There are lots of questions about that because the FBI, very often, doesn't like to do that. Now, when you talk to people in law enforcement, they will say to you, look, the FBI is under certain very strict guidelines about what it can and cannot do in regards to somebody who is, say, here with a green card, or in the case of the younger brother, as we now know, he's a citizen.

But somebody who is here legally with a green card, can they just go and wiretap him? Unless, they have real cause. And the answer to that is, of course not. However, again, questions will be raised. We knew that he was going to Dagestan. We lost track of him. We didn't know when he was coming back.

And, by the way, we need to know the answer to the question and we may be getting it, what did the Russians do about watching him when he was over back in Russia?

BLITZER: He was there, Tamerlan, for six months last year.

BORGER: I presume someone was watching him.

BLITZER: Yes. I assume, knowing the Russians and Dagestan, I'm sure they were, but we'll see what happens.

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: I hope there's going to be a full-scale commission of inquiry not necessarily for recriminations but to learn from what happened to make sure these kinds of mistakes don't happen again.

BORGER: And by the way, that's Congress' job, Wolf. Oversight is Congress' job, and they should do it.

BLITZER: They should -- they did in 9/11 --

BORGER: Exactly.

BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much.

Just ahead, has the FBI finally found the notorious Misha that members of the bombing suspect's family blame for allegedly inspiring the Boston marathon attacks?

And a riveting firsthand account of the bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, covered in blood and moaning in a great deal of pain just after being rushed to the hospital.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's new information just coming in to CNN right now about a possible link between the bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and a young Canadian boxer turned jihadist. Let's bring in our national correspondent, Deborah Feyerick. She's got some details. What are you picking up, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, U.S. investigators are very interested in seeing whether, in fact, there was a link between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and this young Canadian. He was a Canadian boxer turned jihadi. His name is William Plotnikov (ph). He and six others were killed in the Dagestan region back in July of 2012. This was the very same time that Tsarnaev was also in the region.

The source says that Plotnikov's body was brought from where he was killed up in the mountains down into the mosque where the body was prepared. That was on July 14th. And then, two days later, Tsarnaev left the region to return to the United States.

And what's so interesting about this and why investigators want to see whether there was any sort of connection is because of the fact that Tsarnaev was actually in Dagestan waiting for a Russian passport, and he left without ever obtaining that particular passport. He left very quickly, it would appear, after the death of that young Canadian. What's interesting is that Tsarnaev came back to the United States. He initially had told Russian authorities that the reason he needed a passport was because he had lost his passport, but he did arrive into the United States.

And to get in, he would have had to have both a passport and his U.S. alien registration card, both of those documents, for him to be allowed back into New York which is where he flew into. They are also, investigators are looking into a connection between Tsarnaev and another young jihadist, an 18-year-old by the name Mahmoud Monsur Nidal (ph). He was killed in May of 2012.

So, you have these sort of two killings, the one in May 2012 and in July 2012 by Russian security forces who were cracking down in that region. And so, they want to know whether Tsarnaev left that region without his new passport because, perhaps, of a growing concern. All that now under investigation, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. He didn't bother to even pick up that passport. He just rushed out of the country, which is raising a lot of suspicions right now. I know you're looking at this part of the story, Deb. Thanks very much.

When we come back, a riveting firsthand account of the bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, described as being covered in blood and moaning in a great deal of pain just moments after being rushed to the local hospital.

And Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in his own words as you've never seen or heard him before, purportedly playing with his niece in brand-new video that just surfaced online.

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BLITZER: We're getting some new information just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now about Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his body. Ashleigh Banfield is getting the information for us. She's in Boston. What are you learning, Ashleigh?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the state medical examiner here in Massachusetts has confirmed to CNN that they have determined a cause of death for Tamerlan, but they are not releasing it at this time. It's sort of a legal glitch, so to speak, because the way the state law works here is that once a family or a loved one claims a body, that's when they actually file a death certificate with the local clerk's office.

But I think we all know the story right now that this family is extraordinarily disparate in that one is incarcerated, and parents of Tamerlan Tsarnaev are over in Russia right with no immediate plans to come here to claim this body or visit with their younger son, who's facing some pretty severe charges in relation to the Boston bombings. But there you have it. They've determined, the state medical examiner here is saying - Terrell Harris, the spokesperson -- is confirming that they have indeed determined a cause of death. Of course, all of that, Wolf, you'll remember (INAUDIBLE) response to the shootout and the intense gun battle with police a week-and-a-half ago.

BLITZER: And I know you're also getting information about the younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, when he was brought to the hospital after that shootout with police. What are you learning?

BANFIELD: Yes. We're getting some extraordinary details about what it was like that night at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital when the ambulance came in with paramedics. A senior hospital employee has confirmed to me it was quite a remarkable evening. He had direct view of that suspect coming in. He reports to me that Dzhokhar was covered in blood, head to toe, he said. In fact, his face was very bloody. He was wrapped in gauze, a great deal of field gauze. It appeared to him that he had lost a great deal of blood and that he was semiconscious and his eyes were closed. He wasn't making any sounds, Wolf, as he came to that ambulance bay at Beth Israel.

But when he got taken upstairs to the red zone trauma area, that's when he was beginning to make a great deal of noise, in fact, moaning quite loud. It appeared that he was in a great deal of pain. When I asked if he was saying anything, if he was saying anyone's name, if he was asking anyone for help, muttering any words that made sense, the response was no. He was just muttering moans in a great deal of pain.

But before he got up there, the local police wanted to establish some kind of a crime scene investigation at that ambulance, and they were told in no uncertain terms that the FBI would be handling this. I'm told, this is a quote, "the discussion was a quick one." The FBI stayed by his side throughout the entire treatment.

And let me tell you how it happened. When he was rushed to that red zone trauma area, that's the area in an emergency that's separated by curtains. There were other patients being treated there. I was told none of them was a bombing victim, and that the FBI were in that staging area as he was stabilized. He was then sent down to the area where they do the CT scans and the x-rays. He got both, and then was taken right away to the O.R. where he was operated on. Once again, FBI agents staying very close by. Other law enforcement also outside the room, everyone from the Boston police to the FBI agents within very close proximity during all of this treatment.

Then after that, it was only a matter of two to three hours, Wolf, he was rushed out of that O.R. and taken to that secure facility. Last week, we reported to you exclusively that we had discovered on an upper floor of Beth Israel he was taken to an ICU that they had locked off, no other patients. In fact, I can now report to you because the security risk is gone that that was on the sixth floor, Wolf, and that's where he remained as he actually gained strength rather quickly. My source says it was remarkable how quickly he recovered and he was, quote, "in a lot better shape than many of us thought." BLITZER: Yes, well, 19-year-old, healthy, strong, 19-year-old. They can recover from these kinds of injuries relatively quickly. Thanks very much, Ashleigh, with the latest from Boston.

For the first time, we're now also hearing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in his own words, seeing a side of him we haven't necessarily seen before. Some gripping video now circulating online showing the Boston bombing suspect playing with what appears to be his niece. It's believed to have been uploaded to his Twitter page back in March. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV, BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT: You burped in my face. Get out!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No go!

TSARNAEV: Get out of my room.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No!

TSARNAEV: I said get out.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No get out.

TSARNAEV: Get out.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No!

TSARNAEV: I said get out.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No.

TSARNAEV: Look at me. Get out!

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No get out.

TSARNAEV: Look at me. I said get out! Oh, give me a kiss. No, give me a kiss. Atta girl. Now get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Yes, we blurred the child's face deliberately from that video, but you hear him playing with his niece there back in March.

We're getting more information now about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's condition in that prison where he is recuperating right now. It's a tiny 10 x 10 foot cell.

An incredible find between two buildings in lower Manhattan. We now know what part of the plane it came from and that it came from the type of plane used in the 9/11 attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains inside a 10x10 foot cell at the Federal Medical Center outside of Boston where he was moved last week. A prison spokesman says he is now able to speak and has been interacting with staff there.

CNN's Don Lemon is just outside this prison facility. He's joining us now with more. What else are you learning, Don?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPODNENT: We're learning -- as you're said, he is talking because, Wolf, when you and I were here last week, we heard about the wound he had in his neck. He wasn't able to speak. But apparently it's gotten better and now he's talking, talking to medical staff about his condition but not speaking to investigators.

And what we said, you know, a 10 x 10. When you actually look at it, we have a 10-foot tent here. This is about the size of the room he's in, of the cell. It's actually a lot smaller space to move around in, a 10 x 10 because he's got a small bed in one corner, a sink and then what would be a toilet in the other corner. So it's a very small space.

But, again, he is speaking to medical staff, not speaking to investigators right now. And after he was read his Miranda rights. So, no more information for now unless it comes through his attorneys, Wolf.

BLITZER: And when you say he's speaking to the medical personnel, he has stopped cooperating completely after he received his Miranda rights. That's based on everything we're hearing. I assume you're hearing the same thing outside the prison there.

LEMON: We're hearing not that he stopped cooperating completely, but he's not giving as much information as he was before the Miranda rights. And anything that has to do with the investigation or anything that could incriminate him has to go through his attorneys first. So, if they want to speak to him, they have to ask the attorney, and the attorney must be present. And I think that's a distinction.

BLITZER: Don, thanks very much. Don Lemon just outside that prison in Massachusetts.

We're also getting some new information on that mysterious piece of 9/11 plane wreckage just discovered in New York City. Why an intense search is just starting now.

Plus, a manhunt underway in northern California as police search for the killer of an eight-year-old child.

And two weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, the hunt for the mysterious Misha could be over. The focus on a Rhode Island apartment. We're live there when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: (INAUDIBLE) could learn more about the bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from what's believed to be an Instagram account that he deleted. CNN Money's tech correspondent Laurie Segall reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deleted Instagram account that sources say belonged to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Unlike the rest of his digital lie, it hasn't gotten much attention since his arrest. Close friends say Dzhokhar used the name J. Meister but it was removed before the April 15th bombing. But a digital trail still shows images that he liked in the past. Several include references to Chechnya that are marked with dozens of hash tags. One showed the Chechen warlord who masterminded terrorist attacks against Russia but was killed in 2006.

Several showed Dzhokhar interacting with other users. An expert on Chechnya says they show an understanding of Chechnya and its struggle for independence from Russia. The close friend tells CNN Money from what they saw he used Instagram for social purposes. So how were we be able to resurrect them? Here's how it works.

SAM ALTMAN, PROGRAMMER/TECH ENTREPRENEUR: So we're looking at a photo from Instagram on a site called Statagram. And this is the copy as it exists on the Web today. And we can see that these users, these nine users have liked it, and we can see there are six comments on the photo. And here are the hash tags. However, we can also go back in time, thanks to the Google Web cast.

Here's some other data around that, back in April 10th of the same photo. So we can see that there's the same six comments that there are today. And here is a list of users that liked the photo. Most of which are already on there. And there have been some new ones since they put on and liked it as well. But there's one that liked it in the April 10th version of the page. J. Meister 1 that is not, you can see, on the current version.

SEGALL: Law enforcement experts like Juliette Kayyem say the deleted account is likely to get a close look from investigators.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: If I were an investigator right now, obviously the platform he deleted matters the most. Were there clues embedded in the combination of images that can tell us something about what Dzhokhar was thinking? Because some of those pictures are very benign. Some of them standing alone, don't mean anything.

SEGALL: Digital footprints continue to get bigger as people become more and more willing to put their lives online.

Laurie Segall, CNN Money, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Get back to the Boston bombing investigation shortly but there's other news we're following including the fact that we're learning now new details about a large piece of a plane which has apparently been wedged between two lower Manhattan buildings since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Mary Snow is on the scene for us.

And, Mary, what are you learning?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you can imagine, there's a state of shock here in lower Manhattan. And you might be able to see there are white trucks behind me, they are from the city's medical examiner's office. We're told the city's medical examiner's office is doing some safety precautions and protocols today and they plan to begin testing for human remains as early as tomorrow morning.

And meantime, the police department has been working with Boeing and they said they have no reason to question that this wreckage came from the September 11th attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): It sat unnoticed for more than 11 years. Police believe this plane wreckage is part of a wing from one of the two hijacked planes that hit the World Trade Center on September 11th. The piece was discovered last week wedged in an 18-inch alley just blocks from ground zero.

And Lillia Tahlov who works across the street says she's been crying ever since.

(On camera): Did it all come back in an instant?

LILLIA TAHLOV, WORKS NEAR GROUND ZERO: In one second, I'm telling you. Like this week here, what happened, and they just -- everybody, me and my husband, it was there. And everything -- you know, shocked.

SNOW (voice-over): The wreckage is identified as part of the trailing edge flap from beneath the wing from a Boeing 767. It's not clear which of the two planes it belongs to. Police say surveyors found it at a construction site behind a building that is no stranger to headlines. In 2010, it generated protests when a developer wanted to build a mosque and Islamic community center at the building.

Opponents said it was too close to the site of the attack. A piece of landing gear crashed through the building's roof on September 11th. This just discovered wreckage measures five feet long, four feet wide, and 17 inches deep. And now the city's medical examiner will search the site for possible human remains.

Rosaleen Tallon says that's something long overdue. Her brother Sean Patrick was killed on September 11th. Her family did get receive remains but she questions the thoroughness of the search.

ROSALEEN TALLON, BROTHER KILLED ON 9/11: So calls into question to me the search and the cleanup operation that was done in the years after 9/11, especially for all the families that have no remains of their loved one, not even a finger, nothing. So I wonder if you can find a piece of plane, what else can be found down there?

SNOW: But this new discovery didn't come as a total shock to the city's police commissioner, who spoke about it late last week. COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: If you see how confined this space is and you realize the chaos that existed down here on this street, I think it's understandable. Not that surprising. Very, very confined. And no construction worker went on or no cleanup went on in this 18-inch space between the two buildings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And, Wolf, the police department says it can't recall the last time wreckage like this was found beyond the weeks and months of the September 11th attacks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, in lower Manhattan for us, thank you.

When we come back, a killer on the loose in northern California. We'll have the very latest on a search for someone who stabbed an 8- year-old girl.

Plus, investigators zeroing in on the people who knew the Tsarnaev brothers best. CNN is in Rhode Island as FBI agents search the home of the slain suspect's widow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A manhunt is under way in northern California for the killer of an 8-year-old girl. Leila Fowler was pronounced dead Saturday after her brother found her with severe stab wounds. It all happened while their parents were out of the house.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Valley Springs, California for us.

What are you learning, Paul?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Wolf, I just got off the phone with the assistant coroner here and he tells me that now the official cause of death, somewhat predictable, is shock and hemorrhaging due to multiple stab wounds.

Also, they are holding back the number of stab wounds and where because they're key piece of evidence. We're also learning just now that little Leila died at Mark Twain Medical Center in San Andreas at 1:01 p.m. Saturday, just six minutes after she arrived. All of this just stunning this community and leaving many people here frightened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Sheriff's deputies on foot and in patrol cars made their present scene at Jenny Lind Elementary School. This is where Leila Fowler, the 8-year-old girl stabbed to death in her Valley Spring home over the weekend, attended third grade. Some classmates held flowers for Leila, their parents held on to fear.

WENDY CONVERSE, VALLEY SPRINGS PARENT: I'm scared for my kids and for the family. It's horrible. He was friends with her in the class, they're classmates, they sit together at school. It's very sad. Things like that don't happen here. VERCAMMEN (on camera): And, Elijah, tell us about what you have and why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sad. She was -- I didn't want her to die.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Leila's mother told CNN via Facebook, "We are devastated. And she was so full of life. Look at our baby girl, she didn't deserve this."

Police say Leila and her 12-year-old brother were home alone Saturday when he saw an intruder leaving the house. He then found his sister stabbed, severely wounded. She later died. Since then, police have been running down leads but have no specific suspect.

CAPT. JIM MACEDO, CALAVERAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We're searching, you know, extensively into attics and storage sheds. It is a difficult area to search, it's rural, remote. The grass is tall right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are a lot of empty homes and outbuildings around here, a lot of huge rock proppings where somebody can hide in.

VERCAMMEN: Authorities have combed the home and the neighborhood for evidence.

MACEDO: We did collect some fingerprints during that search and we also collected what we believe to be DNA. Those prints and that DNA will hopefully be processed within the next week.

VERCAMMEN: Michael Range lives near the Fowlers and heard of Leila's deadly stabbing from a neighbor boy.

MICHAEL RANGE, VALLEY SPRINGS PARENT: And I took my kids instantly and locked the doors, and waited to find out what happened. So it was scary. I mean, we've been inside all weekend.

VERCAMMEN: A lot of residents here feel trapped, pinned down after the mysterious death of Leila Fowler, who would have turned 9 in June.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN: And Leila's mother tells us that they were a blended family, meaning there are half brothers and half sisters. She said that Leila had five siblings here in this Valley community and another three outside the state.

Wolf, a lot of people move here to these foothills for the peace and tranquility and right now they say that has been shattered.

BLITZER: Certainly has been. All right. Thanks very much, Paul Vercammen, reporting.

Happening now, a new FBI search in the Boston bombing investigation. Did an agent snag critical evidence from the home of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's in-laws? Plus, the Tamerlan -- the Tsarnaev brothers and the Misha mystery. The Feds have tracked down their elusive friend, but now Misha's trail appears to have gone cold.

And the new suspect accused of sending a poison letter to the president of the United States. He appears in court today. We're learning more about him and his bizarre feud with an Elvis impersonator.

I'm Wolf Blitzer, and we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.