star does not exactly have your typical day jobs. she spends her days maintaining manson's social media web sites. he's serving a life sentence. tragic. be sure to follow me on facebook or twitter. that's it for "the lead." i turn you over now to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now -- proof of death. isis e-mails evidence to the family of a young american hostage kayla mueller, as the white house pushes for new authority to carry out the war against isis. embassy evacuation. after the fall of an ally the u.s. prepares to abandon a key outpost as a region spirals out of control. security lapse. a serial stowaway sneaks aboard a flight as warnings grow about terrorists working to sneak undetectible bombs on airliners. and first degree murder? charges are filed against a

suspect in the killing of university of virginia student hannah graham. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." breaking now with united states confirming the death of the young american hostage kayla mueller president obama is pledging that her isis krapt captors will be tracked down as he prepares to ask congress to give him new specific authority to carry out the war against the terror group. that would be the first such vote in more than a decade. after a private message and photos sent by isis to the family of kayla mueller, u.s. officials concluded that she was in fact killed. they don't know how or when, but they dismiss the isis claim that she died in an air strike. all this comes as the u.s. suspends all services at a key embassy in the middle east and prepares for a possible evacuation. our correspondents and analysts are standing by along with rear admirable john kirby. let's begin with our senior

white house correspondent jim acosta with the very latest. >> the president is vowing the u.s. will make isis pay for the killing of american hostage kayla mueller. that promise from the white house comes as the md administration is going to ask congress to help. it was the sad confirmation of what was widely feared that american hostage kayla mueller is dead. the president said in a statement, no matter how long it takes, the united states will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for kayla's captivity and death. an emotional arizona senator john mccain whose state mueller called home choked up as he paid tribute to the fallen aid worker. >> she will never be forgotten. >> the white house rejected claims from isis that mueller was killed in last week's air strikes that came after the terrorist grouped burned to death a jordanian pilot. >> the information we have is there's no evidence of civilians in the target area prior to the

coalition strike taking place. ke back the president is expected to officially ask congress as soon as tomorrow to back a measure to authorize the war on isis. it would replace the more open-end 2002 authorization for the war in iraq. sources say the current proposal would be specific for the fight against isis and expire in three years. but the sticking point is whether it would limit u.s. boots on the ground something republicans may not accept. >> i'm not talking about an iraqi invasion of 100,000 american troops. that would hold the territory. i'm not talking about an occupying american force. i'm talking about a force to supplement the regional forces that exist today. if you took american combat power off the table in terms of ground troops, i'd voest against it. >> a sign the administration could fight an uphill climb, dennis mcdonough roaming the hall of congress trying to whip up support. one thing the white house is

ruling out is any coordination with syria over air strikes. even though that country's leader bashar al assad told the bbc his government is speaking to the u.s. through third parties. >> through third party more than one party, iraq and other country, sometime they convey message, general message, but there's nothing tactical. >> there has been no coordination as it relates to our military operations in syria. >> the white house said publicly today there is at least one more american hostage being held in the middle east. that's an indication that americans may be held by groups other than isis but that they could be transferred to that terrorist organization. as for that authorization of force, wolf the president's request for three years could conceivably tied hands of his successor. wolf? >> jim acosta thank you. we're also learning about more about how the united states confirmed the death of kayla mueller. let's bring in pamela brown, our justice correspondent. pamela/. >> just a few minutes ago a very emotional press conference with

family and friends of kayla mueller wrapped you. they talked about the 26 26-year-old dedicating her life to others. one friend said she did ordinary thing to extraordinary measures. she found freedom even in captivity. through tears, her grieving aunt said kayla brought joy to everyone around her. >> the world grieves with us. the world mourns with us. the world wants to be more like kayla. and if that is her legacy and the footprint that she leaves on the world, then that is a wonderful thing. in kayla's letter to marsha and karl she wrote, i have come to see there is good in every situation. sometimes we just have to look for it. and right now that's what we're all trying to do.

>> and her family releasing that letter that kayla wrote to them this last spring. officials i've been speaking with say the fact that kayla may have been able to gain favor with her captors could be why her death was handled differently. in other cases isis has exploited their deaths as propaganda. there may have been concern in kayla's case that murdering a woman and publicizing her death could offend others impacting isis' fund-raising and recruiting efforts. wolf, we know right now the intelligence community is trying to figure out how and when kayla died. >> though theyconfirmed that she is in fact dead. they want the specifics. pamela, thanks very much for that. after the fall of a key u.s. ally, the takeover of yemen's capital by rebels the u.s. embassy is suspending consular service and preparing for a possible shutdown. let's get the latest from our

chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. >> as you say, shutting down consular services is the latest in the steps of reducing the diplomatic presence on the ground in yemen. there was a meeting this week we hear discussing the security situation on the ground there, discussing next steps there. wire services reporting that on the table is shutting down the embassy completely. state department officials saying they are closely monitoring the situation with paramount being the safety and security of u.s. personnel, including military forces on the ground there in that embassy. i've spoken to a senior u.s. military official that says even if the decision is made it will not shut down u.s. counter terror operations there, which is of course drone strike chz are keeping the pressure in the kourn part of the country in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. wolf, this is key because it if a decision is made to shut down the diplomatic presence in yemen you have now think of this four countries, major

countries, in the region where you will not have a u.s. embassy libya, syria of course with the war there, somalia as well and these four countries, failed states in fact in many ways and are a key concern if not the key concern for u.s. counter-terror to have so many at once. it is a loss not to have a u.s. diplomatic and military presence in those place that's goes to not only political contact there but certainly intelligence gathering, military operations et cetera. so in this region here certainly a major loss particularly if the u.s. goes ahead and decides to shut down yemen as well. >> four key diplomatic outposts for all practical purposes shut down. jim thanks very much. let's dig deeper now. joining us, rear admiral john kirby from the pentagon. admiral thanks for joining us. are the u.s. marines who guard the u.s. embassy in sanaa yemen, are they packing their bags? are they out of there? what's the status?

>> they're still very much part of the embassy outfit. that's standard. and i won't get ahead of decisions that the state department may or may not make but we share the state department's deep concern over the safety of u.s. personnel military personnel as well, in sanaa. we're just watching this very closely. we'll see how if unfolds. >> how many american military personnel are in yemen right now? >> well we don't want to get into specific numbers, wox ill wolf. we have as you know a special operations presence in yemen working with yemeni security forces on counterterrorism forces. that number fluctuates month to month. it's hard to put an exact figure on it. we wouldn't want to get into that. >> yemen is so important because that's the base of aqap al qaeda in the rarian peninsula, which arguably is one of the most threatening al qaeda affiliates out there, maybe the most threatening, even more so than isis as far as the u.s. homeland and europe are concerned. isn't that right? >> they're a very dangerous

group. they do want to threaten western interest, including u.s. interests, and we do consider them a threat to the united states of america. we're watching them very closely. >> and so if the u.s. pulls out of yemen shuts down the embassy in sanaa as the u.s. shut down its embassy in somalia, in syria, in libya, what happens? those drone strikes will continue, but they'll have to be launched from some place else oman, saudi arabia, is that right? >> what i can tell you, regardless what the state department may decide to do here, there is still a u.s. military presence inside yemen. we are still capable of conducting counterterrorism operations in yemen and frankly we'll of wolf, there's counterterrorism training still ongoing even as we speak today with yemeni security forces. now obviously, we're watching the political situation there unfold. it's unstable and unsure. we understand that. it's always easier to have an effective partner in a region like that when you're trying to do counterterrorism operations

wext hope that kind of partnership can continue. but i'd be less than honest if i said that there hadn't been some adjustments already made because of the political uncertainty. we'll just have to watch it closely. >> it looks like an awful situation in yemen, pro-u.s. government basically removed, the pro-rainian houthi shiites for all practical purposes in charge right now. this is a disaster and it's so surprising because it wasn't all that long ago the president was citing the u.s. operations in yemen as a success right? >> well, the counterterrorism operations that we conduct in yemen have been very successful and we have put pressure on aqap. not vaiing it's been completely eliminated. you rightly characterized the threat that they still pose. but we are still capable of conducting those in yemen and certainly hope to continue to have that capability there. >> basically, i want to wrap it up on yenl yemen, you're still waiting for an official statement from the state department as far as the status

of the u.s. embassy is concerned. if they do in sanaa, yemen, what the u.s. did in tripoli, libya, for example, all u.s. diplomats civilians, the marines who guard the embassy will be leave, right? >> i don't want to get ahead of the state department's decision. but in any case, in any individual country, if the diplomatic presence is withdrawn and removed, certainly the military personnel attached to that presence would go as well. >> because we're all concerned about the safety obviously of not only the diplomats but the military personnel. we hope those marines and the other u.s. military personnel who are there are safe. as of right now, do you think they are? >> look, nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of our personnel. we're comfortable. those marines know how to defend themselves. more critically, they know how to defend the people they're there to protect. they're skilled and trained. >> let's talk about kayla mule eshgs the 26-year-old humanitarian aid american worker. you've confirmed she is dead. does the u.s. government know when she was killed, how she was

killed? >> well, first, i want to express on behalf of all the men and women of the defense department our deepest condolences. we are thinking and praying for the mueller family right now and for all her friends back home. we don't have any greater detail or knowledge right now around the circumstances of her death. yes, we do believe we know that she is dead but the exact circumstances when and how, remain unclear. >> and you believe she's dead based, what, on a photograph that isis e-mailed to her family? is that right? >> i really don't want to get into specifics on the evidence. i can just tell you that the intelligence community has determined and concluded that she is in fact, dead. >> do you believe she was treated differently the year and a half almost two years she was held hostage than the male hostages, the americans specifically we know that a few much them were beheaded? >> i see no evidence or indication of how she was treated, wolf. i think that's a question only isil can answer. what i can tell you, though, is they took her, they kept her

captive hostage, and they are responsible for her death. >> so what is the u.s. going to do about that? >> well, we're going to continue to press the campaign on isil from a military perspective. there's no doubt that air strikes are having an effect on this groupsyria. there's no question that pressure continues to be put on them on the ground from iraqi and kurdish forces. nothing will change about the focus of the united states military as a result of this on isil. >> we assumed she was the last american hostage held by isis or isil as you call it. but the white house today acknowledged at least one other american and maybe more are still being held hostage. are they being held hostage by isis or other terror groups? >> all i can tell you is we know at least of one other hostage being held in syria. >> is isis holding that individual hostage? >> i won't go any further than i just did, wolf. look, isil this is a tactic

they use, holding people hostage putting their lives in danger, in harm's way. and then of course executing and killing them as a result of some of that captivity. this is a reminder of just the brutal ideology that this group spouses and how dangerous they remain. >> is the american being held hostage in syria a man or a woman? >> i really don't want to go into any more detail. we know there's one american hostage in syria. i'll tell you another thing, wolf. we don't lose focus on this. we monitor as close as we can. as you well know, if the intelligence is there and the capability is there, the united states military will and will continue to mount rescue operations if they're needed. >> so the u.s. will have rescue operations to go after this one individual? is that right? >> we always have that capability and we never stop focusing on these folks. i won't get ahead of operations that haven't been decided or conducted. i'm telling you we're watching it very very closely.

if the opportunity presents itself and you've seen us do this, we can and we will make rescue attempts. >> i just want to be precise. you don't believe that kayla mueller was killed in that jordanian air strike in raqqa. >> we have no evidence. there's no indication that tells us that there were civilian casualties as a result of that particular air strike. there's just nothing that would indicate that. >> i want you to stand by, admiral kirby. the u.s.-led war against isis is expanding, more coalition partners now involved. much more with the pentagon press secretary right after this. like, literally ran into him. [rambling]. this story had 30 minutes left... until kim realized that stouffer's mac and cheese is made with real cheddar aged to perfection for 6 long months.

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breaking news coming into "the situation room." a senior official telling cnn more than 20,000 foreign fighters have joined isis in syria and iraq. we're back with rear admiral john kirby, the pentagon press secretary. you've seen that number 20,000 foreign forces volunteers, if you will have joined isis in iraq and syria, beyond the syrians and the iraqis who have joined isis. that number accurate? >> we don't have any reason to doubt it. i think the range we've seen is somewhere around 20,000. that's actually remaining sort of consistent over the last couple of months. but this is one of the real threats about this group, the foreign fighters. these are folks that come in with other passports, visas, and then perhaps can export some of this terror back to their home countries which is another reason why we have to take the threat so seriously. >> in addition to the 20,000 foreign fighters, how many local

fighters do you estimate that isis has? >> it varies a lot wolf. it's hard to pin it down on any -- with any specificity on any given day. our estimates are somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 total people have joined isil. now, it varies every day. they get some people that come and fight and then leave. but they still have the ability to recruit and to resource themselves with manpower. >> jordan is clearly stepping up its air strikes and maybe getting ready for some sort of ground strikes. is that right? >> i wouldn't speak for another military. wouldn't want to get future operations -- as we all know the jordanian air force conducted a series of other air strikes just in the recent days. they are a valued member of the coalition and we appreciate their appreciation. >> the uae is joining jordan. they've deployed a squadron ever 16 fighters to join. they're launching air strikes as

well, right? >> they are. they are back in the air tasking order. they're back flying air strikes and we welcome their contributions as well. >> any other arab countries part of that group? >> there are several arab country that's have participated in this effort at varying levels. the saudis are hosting training equipped missions. the bahrainis have participated. qatar has participated. it varies day to day. but there are arab members in the coalition. we think that's critically important. >> what do you think of the syrian president bashar al assad, what he told the bbc, that syria is sort of coordinating indirectly with the u.s. on these air strikes through third parties? >> i said it just a little bit ago. there is no communication or coordination direct or indirect with the assad regime from a military perspective. there just isn't. >> he seems to be given the sense that maybe through iraq which of course has the baghdad government has relations with

the united states and iran and iran is very close to bashar al assad. >> well i don't know to what nation or other entity he was referring. again, i would just tell you we're not indirectly certainly not directly communicating or coordinating with the assad regime on military operations. >> on the military authorization that the president is now seeking from congress through legislation, will that completely close the door to the use of u.s. ground forces combat troops on the ground to fight isis as some of these reports are suggesting? >> i want to be careful not to get ahead of language that hasn't been submitted, proposed legislation. you'll please excuse me for not getting into too much detail. but i will say that secretary hagel of the defense department welcomes the new authorization of military force that is tailored and more specifically tailored and better capable of helping us go after a group like isil. this is the time for it and we look forward to working with congress to get to that as an end state and a goal.

>> rear admiral john kirby, thanks for joining us. >> thanks. coming up the latest fears al qaeda's bomb makers are perfecting a device that can be snuck onto an airplane. we have new information coming into "the situation room." it could've been brenda. [meow mix jingle slowly and quietly plucks] right on cue. [cat meows] ♪meow, meow, meow, meow...♪ it's more than just a meal it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people? why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance

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are talking about. she has made it past airport security and on to planes twice. now she's claimed to have done it again, putting airport security at our nation's airports back under the microscope. and if this serial zoe stow away has done it again the question is how. investigators aren't quite sure just yet. >> i certainly don't want to do it again. >> she has the face of an innocent grandmother. but 63-year-old marilyn jean hartman's collection of mug shots continues to grow. her m.o.? getting through airport security and boarding flights for free. she was arrested in florida sunday for checking into someone else's villa at this luxury resort. the so-called serial stowaway also told police she flew from minneapolis to jacksonville without a ticket. hartman has successfully pulled off the same stunt before. in august she pleaded no contest in california for stowingstowe stowing away on a flight from

san jose san jose to los angeles. >> it is stupid and something i don't want to repeat. >> she bypassed tsa and airline document checkers without a plane ticker. hartman was arrested upon landing. and just six months earlier, she was arrested again after she got by security in san francisco. she was seated on a hawaii-bound plane when the passenger whose seat she was in arrived. >> the fact is we don't have good security. you do have to have a boarding pass to get into the security line. how did she manage to do that? you've got to have a boarding pass to get on an airplane? how did she manage to do that? i don't have answers to that. we do have one answer. she was able to dao it on multiple occasions, which says our system isn't layered. our system is like swiss cheese. >> the tsa says it's reviewing airport surveillance video to confirm whether hartman's most recent stowaway claim is true. but she's not the only one who successfully breached airport security. this 15-year-old california boy

caught on surveillance video didn't get a seat on the plane but managed to stow away in the wheel well of this hawaii-bound plane. officials say he snuck onto the tarmac at san jose international and alluded detection for six hours before crawling into the wheel well. >> airport security is everyone's responsibility right on down to the janitor all the way up to the airport director. but overall aviation security is directed by the transportation security administration. it is their responsibility to make sure everyone is doing their job. and in cases that we've seen in the last several weeks, they're not doing their job. >> last year the serial stowaway said her law-breaking days were over. >> they'll be on the watch for me so i wouldn't dara tempt this again. >> the question now is will airport security be able to stop her from striking again? we do know how hartman pulled off this stunt in the past. at two different airports she

slipped pass tsa document checker whz their heads were down looking at other documents. tsa said it changed its setup at those airports after those incidents. wolf? >> i hope so. rene, thanks vch. joining us to they'reshire insight on u.s. airport security concerns, cnn terrorism analyst paul cruickshank, cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes and cnn justice reporter evan perez. guys, i just want you to stand by for a moment. we've got to take a quick break. we're getting some new information. much more on airport security new threats from aqap al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, supposedly developing bombs that could go through scanners. of more right after this.

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latest arrest of a woman accused of repeatedly sneaking onto airlines taking free flights, raising security at airports especially worrisome in light of new warnings al qaeda may be close to perfecting a bomb that could pass undetected through airport security. evan, how does something like this happen, a 63-year-old woman multiple times gets on board a plane without a boarding pass. >> this is a humerus story in some ways, but it's really serious that she keeps getting by. and it raises questions as to how airport security is functioning at some of these airports. now, these are smaller airports that she's been flying.

i think she flew to jacksonville. in this case i think the officials would say, look, we're looking for specific people, and that's what they're doing. that's what they're focused on. so a grandmother getting through is not something that they particularly -- obviously they'll fix it, but it's not something they worry about. but it raises a question whether somebody can just fake their papers, their boarding passes and so on to get on planes. >> tom, it does raise serious question bz the broader security at these airports. >> it sure does. even if they profile her out of additional scrutiny saying, well, she's a little old lady nice looking grandmother. if you had a grandmother who one of her grarnd children was kidnapped and was being held and was ready to be beheaded and said, carry this package for us they'd prooblly do it. that's one of the reasons profiling is not supposed to be done in these situations because they could get someone who looks like her to go on and do something bad. >> very worrisome development.

paul, yesterday senator angus king, a member of the intelligence committee told me that aqap al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, in his words is pretty close to building a bomb that could get through airport security that would be very hard if not impossible to detect. this is an enormous concern, isn't it? >> it's a very significant concern, wolf that the al qaeda in yemen bomb maker and his team of explosive experts are believed to be building increasingly sophisticated devices including new versions of the underwear device and a new version of a shoe bomb device looking at new ways to seal and conceal explosives so they can beat the latest generation of airport security systems. a lot of concern that they may also be sharing this technology with the correspondursen group in

syria which is an a-team also mrotdplotting attacks with western recruits in syria up to 3,500 westerners believed to go to syria. >> senator king toild me yesterday, tom, they're working on new techniques to try to detect these hard to detect bombs. he wouldn't get into specifics. but apparently there's new opportunities there. >> they're working on newer techniques but the truth is they've already had a bomb undetectible going through airport xusht. tntn is virtually undetectible. if it's packaged right, the censors don't detect it that's how abdullah ma tall ub took that bomb onto the plane in detroit. he had messed up the chemistry of the bomb for 10 15 hours. that's why it didn't go off, though explosive experts told me later who examined it if he lit that bomb nine out of ten times it would have gone off. >> what are you hearing from your sources? >> the fact that these guys are also trying to perfect bomb

that's can hide in device that's we commonly take on board thshgs is the reason why the tsa recently changed way it's doing this. now randomly they're asking people to turn on their devices because they hope that this is one way they can catch something that may be able to pass through. >> stand by. this is obviously a very very disturbing development. coming up there's other news we're following including the man accused of kidnapping the university of virginia student hannah graham now accused of murdering her. jesse matthew may not face the death penalty, though. surprising new details. stand by. 6ing new details. stand by. 5ing new details. stand by. 565ing new details. stand by. 265ing new details. stand by. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. [ m'm... ] [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today.

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following a dramatic break in the abduction and death of hannah graham. jesse matthews, the man seen in the videos from the night she disappeared has been indicted for murdering her. brian todd is in charlottesville charlottesville. tell our viewers how it went. >> reporter: well woxlf, the timing of this announcement was a bit of a surprise given there's a separate rape case against jesse matthew in fairfax county that could go to trial soon. stale the announcement of charges today is a crucial step in a case that has horrified this community now for five months. she was the subject of the largest missing persons search in virginia's history. when she was found near this creek bed a month after her disappearance, all that was left of university of virginia student hannah graham was her skull and some bones. tonight the prime suspect in the case is formally charged. >> jesse matthew jr. was

indicted inable indicted. >> jesse matthew was one of the last people seen with graham early september 13th. they before spotted outside tempo a bar in the downtown mall in charlottesville. graham had been captured on surveillance cameras before that. police and prosecutors won't discuss what evidence they have against matthew, but charlottesville criminal defense attorney scott goodman believes it's a strong case. >> they have the evidence that she was seen with mr. matthew, also the evidence that he fled from the scene. you have the car. there could be blood evidence. >> reporter: matthew has been charged with the 2005 rape and attempted murder of a woman in fairfax county virginia, also. he's pleaded not guilty in this case, which will likely go to trial later this year. and authorities say he's linked forensically to the 2009 disappearance of virginia tech student morgan harrington whose

body was found not far from where graham's was discovered. despite the brutal nature of all three cases, the prosecutor says she's not seeking the death penalty for graham's murder and she wouldn't say exactly why. >> understand that a great deal of serious thought went into this determination, including the impact on the community, the grahams, and the need to provide mr. matthew with a fair trial. >> reporter: we asked the trial if a deal was made with jesse matthew to have him avoid the death penalty. she said they've had no discussions with matthew or his lawyer about that. we contacted jesse matthew's lawyer jim cam bloes. he would not comment on the murder charge and hannah graham's parent could not be reached for their response to the decision not to seek the death penalty or matthew's charge. >> in the fairfax, virginia case survived. sh . >> absolutely wolf. the prosecutor in fairfax has said how crucial of a witness

she is. she is coming all the way from india to testify against jesse matthew in that case. that case was slated to begin in march but it's now been delayed and may not begin until this summer. >> brian todd, thanks very much. the timing of jesse matthew's indictment is a surprise and it's surprising that he's charged with first-degree murder but not capital murder. that opens the possibility that matthews could get the death penalty. let's bring back the former fbi assistant director tom fuentes and coy barefoot. you're in charlottesville. remind our viewers what led up to this point. this is an extremely unusual case isn't it? >> reporter: it is, wolf. listen there's so many moving parts to this story.

but here's the takeaway from today and here's what people need to understand. jesse matthew objected hannah graham he stole her from her family and from this community. he brutally murdered hannah graham and dumped her body like it was nothing but garbage in the woods south of charlottesville. that's what police investigators and prosecutors believe what happened the night hannah graham disappeared. this coming friday night, it will be five months since hannah graham was last seen in downtown charlottesville, barely able to stand on her own in the clutches of jesse matthew and her remains were found five weeks later. and ever since she went missing, we've wanted two things. we've wanted to know what happened to her and we've wanted justice if any crimes were committed. and what we know today that we didn't know yesterday is that the authorities here in virginia are certain that they know what

happened the night hannah went missing and they intend to bring jesse matthew to justice for the horrific crimes that they believe he committed. >> right. as you say, these are allegations. these are the charges. he's obviously innocent until he's proven guilty. but were you surprised, as far as the timing of the charges, the charge itself that he's being charged with first-degree murder in the hannah graham case not capital murder? >> wolf i was blindsided by this announcement. i'll be honest with you. i was not expecting this. all of my sources have been saying for months there's plenty of time we have another trial going on in fairfax, we'll wait until that's over and then what happened is the police wrapped up and the prosecutor said why wait? and it was a pretty quick decision and they moved on it. and so we get the announcement today. as for no death penalty, that was a bit of a surprise. but i guess it shouldn't be. the last time i think anyone was executed for a crime committed

in central virginia was actually interestingly enough was 110 years ago today, february 10th 1905 when a former mayor was hung to death for beating his wife to death in the bathtub in charlottesville and he was the last man executed by hanging in virginia and it took place here. i don't think anyone has been executed for a crime committed in central virginia since that time. >> all right. so jeffrey, what's your analysis? is that the explanation of why they are not going for the capital murder charge? >> the key thing is, we don't know what the forensic evidence is whether there's any dna evidence or other evidence tieing him to the crime. because simply basing a case on his being seen on a video, it's suggestive but i don't know if that is enough to get a conviction much less the death penalty. this plays into one of the less discussed facts about the death

penalty in the united states. it is down all over. it's down in texas. prosecutors are asking for it less jurors are approving of it less. prosecutors probably thought they couldn't get it. >> but usually in a case like this you ask for the death penalty and maybe the guy will plead guilty death without the possibility of parole and there won't be a trial or anything like that. they seem to be foregoing that right? >> well normally. but the prosecutors could change their mind. it's not set in stone that they are not going to ask for the death penalty. in the last few months they've linked him to the crime scene to be able to say that they were together. they have the hairs, fibers dna showing that they had been together that night. that's not the issue. because he could say he dropped her off and she was fine when he

left her. they must have something at the crime scene, where the skeletal remains were found or maybe he took a trophy from the murder and they found that in his home or car. >> he has not yet been charged in the murder of a virginia tech student. that's a separate case. >> guys, thanks very much. isis e-mails, evidence to the family that the american hostage kayla mueller leading them to believe that she died in captivity. president obama phones the russian president vladimir putin with an urgent appeal. meet the world's newest energy superpower.

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happening now, new isis instructions. the terrorists are sharing secrets with recruits to help them sneak into syria. heartbreaking e-mail. new details on the message sent from isis to kayla mueller's family confirming kayla's death. the united states is preparing to evacuate another volatile embassy. and as the fighting in ukraine intensifies, president obama urges vladimir putin to end his aggression and agree to a deal. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

breaking now, u.s. officials are increasingly concerned that isis is moving forward with a plot to kidnap more westerners to replenish their dwindling supply of hostages this after confirmation that the last american held by isis is indeed dead. the white house says there's no evidence that she was killed by a jordanian air strike but the administration says there's no doubt that the terrorists are to blame for her death. after six months of u.s. military action against isis, president obama is about to formally ask congress to authorize the use of force, the first war vote in more than a decade. peter king is standing by. we also have our team of correspondents and analysts. they are all covering the news that is breaking right now. first, let's go to our justice correspondent pamela brown. pamela we just heard from president oembama in a new

interview. >> that's right. president obama said not paying ransom is as hard as anything i do. apparently they don't reveal how or when kayla mueller died but one official i just spoke with says the u.s. intelligence community is close to knowing those details. calling themselves heartbroken, the family of 26-year-old kayla mueller said today they've received confirmation that their daughter is dead. her emotional aunt says she brought joy to everyone. >> the world grieves with us. the world mourns with us. the world wants to be more like kayla. and if that is her legacy and the footprint that she leaves on the world, then that is a wonderful thing. >> reporter: captors sent the family a private message over the weekend, including pictures that were used by forensics examiners to verify her death.

>> they are stopping short of saying isis murdered her and one way or the other, isis is responsible for her death. >> reporter: the new information does not clarify how or when mueller died though isis claims mueller was killed in a jordanian air strike last friday. at the time it offered no proof other than the remains of a building. the white house makes it clear that isis is responsible for her death. >> there is no evidence of civilians near the area prior to the coalition attacks taking place. >> reporter: kayla dedicated her life to international causes and what brought her to the syrian city of aleppo when she was kidnapped in august 2013 remains a mystery. >> some people told us that kayla tried to teach the guards crafts to make little peace

cranes. and that they told each other stories and sang each other songs. >> reporter: the mueller family today released a letter that kayla wrote in the spring of 2014 while in captivity. "if you could say that i suffered at all in this experience it is only knowing how much suffering i have put you all through." >> she wrote, i have come to see that there is good in every situation. sometimes we just have to look for it. and right now that's what we're all trying to do. >> we learned that president oem obama called the mueller family to send his condolences. i've wondered why isis did not parade her around in videos like they have with the other hostages. they said it's perhaps fundraising and recruiting efforts. >> pamela brown, thanks very

much. we're just getting in the recording of president obama's new comments about the u.s. hostage kayla mueller. listen to this. >> my immediate reaction is heartbreak. you know i've been in touch with kayla's family. she was an outstanding young woman and a great spirit. and i think that spirit will live on. i think the more people learn about her, the more they appreciate what they stood for and how it stapdsnds in contrast with the barbaric organization that held her captive. but i don't think it's accurate then to say that the united states government hasn't done everything that we could. we devoted enormous resources and always devote enormous resources to freeing captives or hostages anywhere in the world. and, you know i deployed an

entire operation at significant risk to rescue not only her but the other individuals that had been held. and probably missed them by a day or two. precisely because we had that commitment. the one thing that we have held to is a policy of not paying ransoms. with an organization like isil. and the reason is once we start doing that not only are we financing their slaughter of innocent people and strengthening their organization but we're actually making americans even greater targets for future kidnappings. so you know it's as tough as anything that i do having a conversation with parents who understandably want by any means necessary, for their

children to be safe. and we will do everything we can short of providing an incentive for future americans. >> that interview, the president just granted ben smith of buzzfeed speaking out on this horrible horrible death of this 26-year-old young woman. isis terrorists are distributing a how-to handbook. we're also told that they give very specific instructions. it's yet another chilling aspect of the group's strategy including a new plot to kidnap yet more western hostages including more americans. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is joining us. you're getting a new estimate jim, of isis' overall strength. >> that's right. this is from a senior intelligence officer. they are up to 20,000 up from 19,000 last month. 18 the previous.

so going up still incrementally but still rising despite, of course the u.s.-led air campaign and greater efforts to stop the flow of fighters in. the concern of some u.s. intelligence officials is that isis will try to replenish the numbers by carrying operations outside of syria. >> i'm john cantlie. >> reporter: british hostage john cantlie is one of the last western hostages held by the terror group. the others from american journalist james foley now to aid worker, kayla mueller, dead while in isis' hands. new concerns that isis may attempt to replenish its hostages by abducting foreigners outside of syria. >> it would be very easy for isis members to go up to these refugee areas, target a westerner, a journalist or aid

worker and try to conduct a kidnapping within those refugee camps and pull them back into syria. >> reporter: as u.s. coalition and warplanes continue to strike isis fighters in syria, syria's president bashar al assad says he will not stand in the coalition's way. in an exclusive interview, assad hinted at some limited cooperation, saying that his country receives information about u.s. operations over syria via third parties, such as iraq. >> through a third party, more than one party. sometimes they convey a message, a general message but there's nothing technical. >> so they don't tell you, we're going to be bombing at raqqa at 10:00 this evening, please be out of the way. >> before the campaign started. >> reporter: they vehemently denied any communication. >> let me try to be real clear here. we are not communicating and

coordinating. our military operations with the assad regime. we're not doing it directly and we're not doing it indirectly. >> reporter: a senior u.s. intelligence official tells cnn that the number of foreign fighters in iraq and syria is now more than 20,000 up from 16,000 in november. despite efforts by neighboring countries to stem the flow of militants. a new isis manual tells potential recruits how to evade detection when crossing the border avoid looking nervous, shaking hands, rapid breathing, cold sweats and lack of eye contact could be portrayed as nervous behavior by trained security officials. look around and if the coast is clear, then run as fast as they can into syria. now on to yemen, the u.s. embassy is suspending all counselor counselor services on the ground. yemeni officials saying that

meetings were heldoday to discuss embassy safety. the u.s. is moving to push down the embassy state department only saying that they are closely monitoring the situation. a senior military official said if that is shut down counter terror ops will continue there. if yemen shuts down this will now be four countries within the region syria, libya, yemen and somalia without any u.s.embassies present. four failed states with no u.s. presence. that would be a major handicap in the region. >> it certainly is and there could be more down the road as well. what a region it is right now. jim sciutto, thank you. let's get some more. joining us is congressman peter king the chairman of the subcommittee on counterterrorism

and intelligence. it's a disaster what is going on in yemen. it's so bad for the united states because that's home of the aqap sophisticated bomb makers. that's a huge threat to the united states and if the u.s. has to shut down that embassy and pull out, it would be a disaster. >> it would certainly be damaging and this is the country that president oembama commented about being a success. aqap is more of a threat to the united states than isis. they have been fighting for years to get into the u.s. explosives into the u.s. by planes and finding ways to get around the detection systems. >> they have the bomb maker there building bombs that can go through systems. yesterday, senator angun king told me that they are close to that. how close are they? >> aqap has been working on this for years. they have certainly made it clear, from our intelligence

gathering, they want to find ways to get around u.s. security u.s. intelligence. and aqap the underwear bombing in 2009 the cartridge attempted bombing in 2010 they definitely want to attack the mainland. >> and so if the u.s. has to pull out of yemen, drone attacks will continue but they will be launched from another area not from yemen, if there's a totally hostile regime there. >> they cannot be as effective as if we were working in cooperation with the yemeni government. this is a real failure. it's a real loss and it's going to definitely hurt us. >> what can you tell us about the way this 26-year-old young woman was killed presumably by isis although isis claims she was killed in a jordanian air strike, kayla mueller, what do you know about that? >> first of all no matter how it happened, isis killed her. they are the ones that had her there and they are responsible.

i can't get into how she died or where she died. >> were you briefed without necessarily releasing classified information, were you briefed on when she died or how she died? >> i have not been. >> so they haven't told your committee or anything like that. >> not yet. i just came back about an hour ago. >> we are close to getting that information. they have confirmed she's definitely dead. they told the family that they have confirmed that. they are not saying how she was killed or when she was killed but they are getting close to learning that. there were these rescue operations to get her and another american hostage but those rescue operations failed clearly. >> one of the problems we have wolf is we have very little intelligence on the ground in that region and that's one of the consequences of president oem with obama withdrawing all of our troops from iraq. so that means we virtually have nothing on the ground in iraq or syria and as a result of that that's why it's so difficult to launch these operations.

>> is isis losing? you hear some individuals insisting they are on the run in iraq they lost kobani. what is your assessment about where this war against isis stands right now? >> beyond where it was back in august. >> what does that mean beyond? >> they have gained. >> they are stronger now? >> i think they are stronger now, yes. there are more fighters than before. secondly while they have been stopped right now in iraq they are still gaining territory in syria. the fact is they have more fighters 16,000 a year ago, 20,000 now. that's a 25% increase in foreign fighters. >> there are a lot of local fighters. >> yes. >> do you have any idea how many syrians and local iraqis have joined isis? >> they have a good number. that's why this is such a different -- this is almost a nation state that isis controls. >> they say they are the islamic state, the caliphate, if you

will. but they have a lot of cash too, right? >> they have cash. that's slowed down a bit but the oil reserves that they were plundering the banks that they were robbing, they would bring in loads of money every day. when you think in terms of a few thousand dollars to sponsor the attacks on 9/11 and you think of the billions of dollars that isis has, we know what we're up against. >> we know that the kurds are up against isis. jordanian military king abdullah very angry over the brutal murder of that jordanian f-16 fighter pilot. the uae is involved. but do you have confidence in the new prime minister? >> king abdullah deserves all of the credit. what an ally. as far as iraq no. iraq is not cooperating the way they should. that's why we need a military presence in iraq to have leverage of pressure on iraq to

make sure for instance they are cooperating with the kurds, to make sure that the weapons that we send to baghdad go to the kurds. >> are you going to vote for the authorization of military force that the president as early as tomorrow will put forward? >> i will not vote for anything that put restrictions on the president. i'm not going to vote for any legislation that says we cannot use ground troops. that to me takes away the constitutional right of the commander in chief and no president should want to give up that right. once we do that to me we're acknowledging ultimate defeat. >> what are you hearing about that legislation, about the language that the president will propose? does it rule out the possibility of u.s. ground troops combat ground troops so-called boots on the ground getting involved in this war on isis? >> i know the many democrats in the house and senate are insisting that language be in there. as republicans, i doubt if many republicans, though, would vote for that. i don't know what the white house is going to do. to me it's taken the president a long time to get that to us and to me it follows up when he

said the other day when he was being interviewed, he said that the terrorists are not a threat that some people think it is. after what happened to that poor young woman, how can he say that climate change is more important than this? the president's job is to protect the american people and protect the world against vicious people like isis. stand by. new developments coming into "the situation room" right now. much more with peter king, the congressman, right after this.

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we're back with congressman peter king leading member of the house homeland security committee. congressman, we're getting new information about the crisis in ukraine, the last-ditch effort to get some kind of cease-fire going. president obama made a phone call to russian president vladimir putin. stand by for a minute. i want to go to nic robertson

joining us from belarus. nick, set nic, set the scene for us. >> reporter: president obama has told president putin it will be a cost for russia if they continue to support the russian-backed separatists in eastern ukraine, that he's got to stop supporting them with troops with money, with weapons. he said that the these talks are an opportunity to do that. he said that the territorial integrity of ukraine is pair paramount, that this is an opportunity for a peaceful solution. what we've had here in the last few hours is a low-level meeting between the ukrainians the russians and separatists and those who monitor the situation in ukraine. now, a little while ago, the russian state news agency said that there was a cease-fire agreement. that has subsequently been

knocked down. that very much if you will set the tone of russia sort of trying to already set the agenda here before the real talks get under way later today, wednesday here you have the german chancellor angela merkel arriving here later today. french president hollande and what we are hearing is there are a lot of worries and concerns about this and the foreign minister, just like president obama, telling all parties that this is an opportunity to get these but they've got to come at it in good faith, wolf. this is a long way, a long way from being done. wolf? >> and the ukrainian president, petro poroshenko will be there as well as putin. nic, thanks very much. you think the president is being tough enough with putin right now? >> he has not been up until now. i would hope that after the phone conversation today that

if the russian president doesn't listen that the president provides weapons to the ukrainians. we owe it to them. and to me -- and finding more and more -- it's not just republican. i believe they -- >> angela merkel oppose it is. >> i'm surprised of that. we can't let our policy be decided by angela merkel. we're the leaders of the free world. whether it's king abdullah in jordan angela merkel in europe we have the major role to play and the president does not play it. >> the argument against supplying arms is that the ukrainian army cannot stand up against the russian separatists and then the weapons wind up in the hands of the pro-russian

separatists. >> theby arming the ukrainians they can make it difficult for the russians make them suffer make them pay a price. assuming those weapons are lost russia is not going to be any stronger than it is today. >> peter king thank you for joining us. so why did isis provide private communication to the family of kayla mueller rather than posting online gruesome details? that's next. why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience? why innovate for a future without accidents? why do any of it? why do all of it? because if it matters to you it's everything to us. the xc60 crossover. from volvo. lease the well-equipped volvo xc60 today. visit your local volvo showroom for details.

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grim confirmation today from the white house of the death of the american isis hostage kayla mueller. president obama says explaining to families that the u.s. will not pay ransom is one of the hardest things he does. let's get more from bob baer paul cruickshank, military analyst mark hertling and philip mudd. philip react to peter king the congressman, what he just told me here in "the situation room." he thinks the air strikes are not working that effectively. he believes isis is stronger today than it was six months ago. >> i disagree from a couple of

respects. we saw isis push back and now we have the kurds saying that they are going to obtain the ground offensive against isis. let's go to something equally important and that's the isis ideological message. they made the mistake of murdering the jordanian pilot and now they've made the mistake of murdering an innocent female. if you contrast it to where we were last summer if you're standing around in an isis camp campfire you cannot say that you're doing well. >> general hertling the president said that it was thought that kayla mueller, the humanitarian aid worker who was killed had been present at the site of a failed rescue attempt, that they probably missed the u.s. special operations forces missed them her and another american maybe by a day or two. are you surprised that the president is coming out and saying this? >> i'm a little surprised at that wolf. i think those kinds of operations should remain very secretive but all of us who have been associated with those kinds

of operations know the jackpot when you get the target are much fewer than the dry holes. and in this particular case they came across a dry hole. and it's just because it's so extremely difficult to get into a location and have everything go right and have it go perfectly and i am a little surprised that the president talked about that. >> paul cruickshank, what's behind isis' thinking only sending proof to the mueller family that their daughter is dead rather than posting a video that they have done with so many of the men that they have kidnapped and killed? >> wolf it's difficult to tell. but it might have been a way to try and back up their claims that they made last week that she was killed. they are claiming that she was killed in that strike. of course there's been a lot of skepticism about that and apparently this photo doesn't prove one way or the other how she was killed. i think there's been some reluck stance by isis in putting women

on video and murdering them on video. we just haven't seen them -- seen that yet from this terrorist group. they may be calculating whether that would backfire with some of their subpoenapporters. >> bob baer there may be one or more american hostages held in syria. we know two americans are being held some place in syria. the fbi has missing persons posters on austin tice kevin patrick doss taken in 2012 in syria. based on everything that i've learned, they are being held by someone. these are two americans presumably in syria right now. >> if there's any good news in this i doubt that they are

being held by an islamic state and tice could be held by the regime. that accusation has been out there. there's a lot of small islamic groups that could be holding him and may, in fact be negotiating to release them through arab governments for money. remember that as we've said over and over again, syria is pretty much when it comes to intelligence a black hole and a lot of it is speculation and a lot of guessing. the cell phone systems are down. it's hard to get people in there. and it's such a quickly moving situation that intelligence is virtually impossible to collect. >> the fbi describes austin tice as a freelance photo journalist and kevin patrick doss as a foet photographer. philip mudd the photos of kayla

mueller sent to the parents from isis they don't know when she was killed or how she was killed. what's going on here? >> i think this is an indication of the struggle isis is having to try to figure out how to justify the murder of an innocent woman. contrast to where we were last fall isis is trying to energize the fringe in places like europe and the united states who might be trying to decide which group to go out and join in a place like syria and iraq. so isis gets on air with highly publicized videos of the murder of innocent men. in this case isis just a week ago is trying to claim, through what i think is a fallacious argument that a woman was killed. the only woman killed in an air strike by a jordanian air strike. i think what we're seeing is the white house getting quiet justification or confirmation of the killing by isis and isis is sitting back and when i watch terrorists they watch the media as much as we do. isis is sitting back and saying wow, we can't figure out how to dig ourselves out of this hole

so let's validate or let's confirm the murder privately but let's say nothing publicly because we can't figure out how to justify this one. >> bob baer do you think this young woman was treated differently by isis because she was a woman? >> it sounds like she was. some of the hostages that have been released and have been held with her said that she tried to be friendly with the guards. in fact she pretended to have converted to islam and they would be reluctant to torture, if you'd like an american woman. but at the end of the day, i agree with phil that they probably killed this woman. i doubt that she died in an air raid and now they are trying to backfill and not make themselves look so bad. they are psychopaths but they are not 100% crazy. we're getting new details on how the united states confirmed the death of the american isis hostage kayla mueller.

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president obama and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu have a profound disagreement. he's doubling down on his plan to share his views before the united states congress a move

that is set to infuriate top officials at the white house. our global correspondent elise labott is in jerusalem. she's watching what is going on. very strong words from the prime minister today. in effect attacking the president of the united states for this latest proposal to iran. elise? >> reporter: well that's right, wolf. and he's talking about an agreement that hasn't really been reached yet, although he's heard enough to know that he doesn't like it. and he said today that while he does not want to seek a confrontation with the president, he feels he needs to visit washington and speak to congress because of an obligation to protect the israeli people. take a listen. >> what we do have today, a profound disagreement with the united states administration and the rest of the p5 plus 1 or the offer that's been made to iran. this offer would enable iran to threaten israel's survival. >> reporter: now, wolf very strong words, as we said but he did try to soften the blow by

saying that this is not about a personal issue between him and president oembama. he said that he does appreciate what president obama has done for israel but that congress has a very important role to play and he feels he needs to come and address it wolf. he did leave himself some wriggle room. he did say he may do something short of a full address to the joint session of congress. maybe he has a press conference at a speech somewhere outside of that. certainly he is intent oncoming to washington and making his point on the iran nuclear issue which is a very important campaign issue for him here in israel. something speaking to his base. and that in effect will booster his credibility here at home, keeping that issue alive, deflecting a little bit from the issue in the campaign where he's not so strong. >> he said lastly i intend to speak about this issue before the march 24th deadline. and i intend to speak in the

united states congress -- in the united states congress because congress might have an important role on a nuclear deal with iran. all right. elise in jerusalem, thanks very much. joining us now is dana bash and our chief political analyst gloria borger. very strong words. >> really. >> of the prime minister of israel saying in effect this proposal -- it's an offer been made to iran and offered the president and other members of the p5 would enable iran to threaten israel's survival. >> right. >> tough words. >> a neighbor of iran the united states of america. those are really strong words and if i were the president of the united states i wouldn't take the bait. you know if he were to take the bait he'd be playing right into netanyahu's hands. and this is a fight that netanyahu, quite frankly, probably wants to the president of the united states who is not popular. his position is popular on iran and sanctions against iran and

so if i were the president, i would say what he said at the press conference the other day, which is we have profound disagreements here but these are disagreements between friends and i would never do anything to endanger the security of the state of israel. but i wouldn't bite. i wouldn't bite. >> the president was upset with netanyahu before and he's going to be even more upset because netanyahu is basically accusing the president of undermining israel's very survival. >> that's right. i mean the fact that israel as you well know believes that iran is an existential threat and the president is putting israel in a bad position. look it's very clear that the concept of playing to the base is an international phenomenon. netanyahu is doing that in israel because of his election and this is as elise was pointing out, this concept of pushing back negotiations with iran is very popular with the people who would potentially

vote for him. having said that it is something that also connects him to the republicans here in washington which is how this whole concept of netanyahu coming to washington speaking to a joint session of congress a republican-led congress happened in the first place. >> but he's pushing against an open door. because of this whole controversy, there isn't going to be a vote before the march 24th deadline. the president came out and said that the march 24th deadline is the deadline. this may well have pushed him to that by the way. so the president doesn't have any wriggle room there. netanyahu is coming here to avoid something that isn't going to happen. >> the other vote that will be taking place sooner rather than later is the authorization for war. he's going to ask congress to authorize the use of military force in this war against isis. and there are division already

emerging not only among republicans but democrats. >> unbelievable. i just came from capitol hill walking the halls, i talked to democrats. they think what the president is going to send out probably tomorrow is too broad when it comes to what congress would authorize when it comes to u.s. troops and republicans think it's too restrictive. john mccain said something along the lines of i will fight this until my last breath. it's kind of ironic we very rarely see a president of the united states ask for authority that limits his own authority. but that just speaks to the kind of commander in chief barack obama has wanted to be. >> you heard peter king say -- he's not going to vote for it if it rules out the use of combat ground forces. >> right. and i think this is threading the needle here and i do have to give the administration some credit because his chief of staff, congressionally ace liason have been consulting because they don't want an embarrassment of

syria and the use of force there in 2013. they want to avoid that at all costs. you have to thread the needle here because people want to give the president some authority but particularly on the democratic side of the aisle, they don't want to give him a blank check. >> absolutely. >> and that's the problem. >> which is what they think congress did back in 2002 that allowed for the iraq war and then you know presidents have used that -- the use of force since -- president obama has even used it on what's going on now. >> it will be interesting to see how the senators and maybe some house members who are thinking of running for the democratic and republican presidential nominations, how they will vote on this. >> yeah. the whole debate right now and the tension that we already see before this even comes to capitol hill is case in point why the democratic leaders didn't want to vote on this before the election. remember this is a mission that has been going on for six months without the authority. and the reason is because politically this is a very tough vote. just the fact that there is such debate about how to actually

frame this authorization. >> right. >> it's going to have to be bipartisan because you're not going to get it with the left wing and the democratic party. you're just not. there are going to have to be bipartisan agreement here on just how to frame the scope of the authorization. >> we'll see how that works. the president presumably going there's. >> we'll see how that works out. we'll be all over that. thanks very much. we're following the breaking news the death of the american isis hostage, kayla mueller. it's not confirmed. what proof did isis provide? ignoring them in your body? even if you're treating your crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis an occasional flare may be a sign of damaging inflammation. and if you ignore the signs, the more debilitating your symptoms could become. learn more about the role damaging inflammation may be playing in your symptoms with the expert advice tool at crohnsandcolitis.com. and then speak with your gastroenterologist.

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a family of four murdered and buried in a desert. a close friend is charged with killing them all, but did he do it? we hear from the man behind bars in a cnn special "chasing a killer inside the mcstay family murders". >> he was on top of the list. >> detectives are taking a close look at his business relationships. >> i was the last person who saw them so i was a person of interest. >> did detectives ask you did you kill joseph mcstay and his family? >> i don't recall them asking me that. >> nothing that direct.

>> hmm? >> not that directly. you passed the polygraph. >> i kind of assumed that resolved any issues that may be looking at with me. >> randy is joining us now with more. in this interview, was there really any sense he could have been involved. he was his best friend right? >> he was. he was polite and soft spoken. he was the last person to see him. he also lived about 20 miles away from where the family's remains were found about four years later. there were 100 pieces of

evidence, including dna that was taken from those shallow graves found in the desert. he was also the first person at the house. we know he was there. we know the d.a. believes the family was killed with blunt force trauma and there would have been blood splatter. the sheriff's department didn't get into there until two weeks after the family disappeared. the d.a. is looking to see if someone got in the house and cleaned it up. >> what's next? >> he goes back to court april 7th for another preliminary trial. he's representing himself. he got rid of his lawyer. he believes he has congestive heart failure. he doesn't believe he has more than six or eight months to live. he wants to get this trial overwith. we spoke to the grandfather of the little kids in the case. he said regarding chase merit represents himself that he who represents himself has a fool for a client. >> that sounds crazy to be

representing yourself in a case like this. what is he thinking? >> absolutely. this could be a death penalty case. they haven't decided whether or not they will seek the death penalty against him. this is a pretty serious case on the table. he could end up cross examining people he has been pointing fingers at. >> it sort of starts off regularly, crazy but gets weirder and weirder. >> it does. we interviewed friends and family. we know the home was open for two weeks. it was never declared a crime scene. there were mistakes made. much earlier on in this. we know that the joseph mcstay's mother went to the house and cleaned up the food left on the counter and threw away dirty diapers. his brother went to the house and got a lap top computer.

maybe there were finger prints. there was a lot of mistakes made early on. >> how many years has this been going on? >> last week was five years that the family had gone missing. they were treating it like a pliszing person's case. it wasn't until this past november that they made the arrest but found the remains in the desert a year before that. >> all right. what a story it is. it's an amazing dm ri. i'm so glad that you did it. our special report chasing a killer inside the mcstay family murders airs later tonight. there's the promotion. 9:00 p.m. eastern. i think our viewers will want to watch this. check it out. you can also follow us on twitter. tweet me @wolfblitzer.

join us tomorrow in "the situation room." you can watch us live or dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room". breaking news. president obama vowing that isis will pay for the death of kayla mueller while defending his controversial policy of not paying ransom for hostages let's go outfront.