there's question about why the justice department waited eight months to go public with the charges. >> i applaud what they're doing, but i condemn the timing. it's very clear that the timing has everything to do with the house of representatives holding eric holder in contempt. >> congressman issa went on to call monday's announcement another example, quote, of using politics over good policy. we asked jeffrey toobin about the time of -- timing of this, a former prosecutor. he said an eight-month gap between indictment and press conference is unusual, but jeff said there may be good reasons to keep indictments sealed that long, such as the one laid out by the u.s. attorney handling the case. >> when we are conducting covert operations, it benefits us to have the names of the defendants that we're looking for sealed and not available to the public. >> so were there good law enforcement reasons to keep these indictments sealed

eight months? possibly. was there also a political or public relations component to monday's announcement? also very possible. we have no clear answer to chairman issa's allegation tonight. nor for this allegation levelled by issa and iowan republican senator charles grassley. they say the atf has now put these two "fast and furious" whistleblowers, special agent shawn dodson and pete fraselli under a boss who threatened to take them down. in a letter, issa and grassley say their supervisor had it in for the pair. quote, we stated we need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys, the whistleblowers, and take them down. the letter also crites another incident in which it was allegedly said that atf needs to f these guys. with us now are brian terry's mom josephine and his cousin robert hire. josephine, our condolences for the loss of your son, i can't imagine what this last two years

having like, more than two years now. i wanted first of all to get your reaction to the recent indictments the u.s. attorney announced in san diego. >> i think it's a good thing. i'm pleased the way everything is going and i think laura duffy and her team are really doing an excellent job. and i think something good is going to come out of this. >> robert, has anyone from the department of justice given you an indication as to why the indictment is just now being unsealed? >> well, if you mean the department of justice, we talked with laura duffy and her team of prosecutors. we don't talk much with the department of justice in washington. and we have been consulted by u.s. attorney laura duffy and her team of prosecutors over the past year. they even flew to detroit to brief brian's parents, josephine and kent sr. on the status of the case. as we understand it, this

investigation has been ongoing with the primary goal of apprehending these four fugitives, and that is the reason that it has been delayed in being announced. >> josephine, as you know, congressman issa has been investigating all of this for some 18 months in his committee. we talked to him on this show a number of times. there's been a lot of political back and forth over "fast and furious." a lot of allegations from the left and the right. are you following that investigation very closely? and do you worry that people are playing politics at all with this? >> i think that the death of my son is being saddened from politics to racism. and that's not what it's all about. it's about getting justice for my son and nothing else. >> josephine, what do you want people to know about your son? >> brian was just an all-american kid growing up. he was fun to be around.

he was a very positive person. he always liked to be around positive people. he had friends that are true, true friends and are still true friends now. and he was just a person that -- he always wanted to make a difference. and he used to always tell me he wanted to make a difference. and i think all this coming out in the open with this "fast and furious," i think he is making a difference. >> yeah. robert, how soon did you, the family, start to understand what had gone on -- the back story of how these weapons ended up in the shootout? when did you start to be informed about this? it sounds like a lot of people knew about it maybe before your family knew about it. >> well, that's exactly the case, anderson. you know, through leaked e-mails, through the whistle-blowers. the family did not know that the weapons found at the murder scene were tied

into an atf gun trafficking investigation which eventually became known as "operation fast and furious" until two or three months after brian's death. >> wow, two or three months. >> that's correct. even then, it wasn't a government official that gave us that information. it was the whistleblowers going to the media and the reporters presenting this information. and then the congressional investigators looking into it and providing information to the family. and that was a very disappointing aspect. and no one has ever apologized to the family for that or ever explained why that was the case. >> josephine, i mean, losing a son is the worst possible thing for a mom, for a parent. to hear that there was this whole other aspect to it, the guns involved that were supposed to have been tracked and to have not been told that for months, what went through your mind when you heard that? >> i couldn't believe it. i was devastated. i just thought it was something that happened.

and when all of this came out in the public, i was in awe. i just couldn't believe that this had happened. >> for you, josephine, what's the most important thing now moving forward to happen in terms of the legal aspects of this? i mean, you want justice obviously for your son. >> yes, i do. that's about the most important thing. i want answers and i want to know why, and i don't want it to happen to anybody else's son. >> robert, are you satisfied with the way the investigation has been going? again, there's been a lot of accusations backable forth, political maneuvering, how do you see it? >> well, anderson, this has become a very partisan issue. and there shouldn't be. this is about right and wrong. operation fast and furious,

everybody concurs was a flawed operation in concept and execution. it was wrong. it was a huge public safety concern, and it remains a huge public safety concern. and just as josephine said, our worst fear is to open up a paper or to read a news story where another border patrol agent has been killed or injured with an "operation fast and furious" weapon. >> you're still worried those guns are out there? >> they're still out there. there were over 2,000 weapons that flowed from gun dealers in the phoenix area over a 15-month period, and it didn't end until brian was killed. and that's when the operation was put to a halt. and that's just truly a shame. you know, there's now stories out there that say atf did not intentionally want to walk weapons. well, that's baloney. all right. they could have shut down this operation at anytime due to public safety concerns. all right?

atf agents in phoenix, in headquarters, they do not work for the u.s. attorney's office in arizona. all right? u.s. attorneys office, yes, they prosecute the cases that are brought to them by atf, but at anytime, they could have shut this case down. and they knew that straw buyers were coming in, young kids, 20, 21 years old on public assistance with shopping bags full of cash to buy weapons for $50,000, $75,000. and these weapons, 100, 200 ak 47s at the time, were moving out the doors of the gun shop. >> without any way to track them down in mexico? >> well, and again, that's what the whistle-blowers were saying at the time. these agents who raised their concerns to management said we

can't allow this to happen, and they were told, discontinue their surveillance, let these guns walk. they're legal purchases is what they were being told. and our point is, it shouldn't have happened. although these were legal purchases, everyone knew these were trau buyers working for the criminal illment, namely the criminal elment, namely, the cartels in mexico, and these weapons were going to flow to the criminal element, creating a huge public safety concern. it ended up with on december 14, the man who got into the fire fight with brian and his team that night were carrying weapons from "operation fast and furious." they ended up killing brian that night. >> and you're setting up a foundation, the family set up a foundation to honor agent terry. our viewers can find that at honorbrianterry.com. and just so i understand, there's going to be a station named after your son? >> yes. i think it's frisbee.

they just built a new station and that's where brian worked and did all of his vortek traping and all that. and september 18 will be the dedication in the brian terry station. >> well, i'm so appreciative for you both coming on and talking about your son and talking about this investigation. we're going to continue to follow it, and we hope justice is finally done. josephine, thank you so much. and robert, thank you so much. >> thank you, anderson. >> thank you. >> let us know what you think. we're on twitter right now @andersoncooper. i'll be tweeting in the hour ahead. we've also got the breaking news as we told you, the office of congressman jesse jackson jr. is finally giving details about the medical issue he's facing and where he is right now. details on that ahead. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead.

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we mentioned at the top of the hour we were following breaking news. late tonight we got a comment jesse jackson jr.'s is receiving intensive medical treatment for a mood disorder. he's responding positive to

treatment and is expected to make a full recover. the following weeks of speculation calls for the family to go public. we're following the breaking developments and kate bolduan joins us now. do we know what that means, a mood disorderer? >> it seems to be vague. it's a vague detail. that could fit into many categories, anderson. there's more details, we hope, but there has not been a lot of information surrounding the congressman and his condition to this point. that's why the rumors and speculation has been flying for weeks now since he's taken his leave of absence, really from capitol hill all the way back to illinois in his district. so much so that even following the doctor's statement that you just read, his chief of staff made a point to add, in addition, the rumors of him being treated for alcohol or substance abuse are not true. so he's really trying to tamp down the rumors about what's

been going on about what's really going on with the congressman. pressure has been mounting, even among fellow democrats for the congressman and his family to come forward and disclose more detail about what the congressman has been facing because it's been pretty much an information blackout. listen here to two democrats who themselves said it's time to come forward. listen here. >> people get sick. and when people get sick they miss work, and everybody in america understands that, but i think the family would be well-advised to give you his constituents as much information as is appropriate. >> his health is a number one priority. as a public official, it reaches a point where you have a responsibility to tell people what you're facing and how things are going. >> and as you see right there from the senior senator from illinois, dick durbin, you're not going to find anyone who is more sympathetic and feeling for the congressman and his family.

but obviously everyone is just wishing him the best and for a full recovery, but this information is really big news coming out that they're finally disclosing what he's dealing with. >> yeah, members of the congress take medical leaves all the time. i guess this is different because there was really no information on what it was and he's been gone since june 10. >> absolutely. it's just really the mystery surrounding it all. not only has he been taking the leave of absence since june 10. i've been talking to people on the hill and he hasn't really been seen in committee meetings since late my. so it was really this information blackout that we were hearing from democrats -- i mean, you know, capitol hill is leaking like a sieve. so the fact that no one was hearing any details was very concerning a real mystery. i mean, even senior house democratic aides were critical of this information blackout. no matter what you're dealing with, you need to tell your constituents how you're dealing with it. >> kate, appreciate the update. "raw politics" now. mitt romney went looking for support at the naacp's convention today in houston.

members welcoming with applause but turning sharply skeptical at some of his claims if elected he would do more for african-americans than obama has. >> if you want a president who will do more for the african-american community, you are looking at him. you take a look. >> well, the crowd taking mild exception, i guess you could say to that claim. you can interpret it for yourself. but getting worked up over this. >> that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to eliminate and save -- [ booing ] >> i wouldn't characterize that reaction. you can decide for yourself. governor romney said he got hidden strength among african-american voters. >> i spoke with a number of african-american leaders after the convenient, and they said,

you know, a lot of folks don't want to say they're not going to be voting for barack obama, but they're disappointed in his lack of policies to improve our schools, disappointed in urban policy. disappointed in the economy. 14.4% rate of unemployment among african-americans today. >> he says he found hidden support. in the poll number, it's hard to find evidence of hidden support among african-americans. for perspective, john mccain got 4% of the african-american vote in 2008. the latest poll shows not much different today. frankly, just slightly more for mitt romney. let's dig deeper now on how this may play out in november. here's john king. anderson, imagine you get to run a lap or two before your opponent gets to start the race. or the game is football and you're spotted 15, 16-point lead before the game even starts. that is essentially what is happening, because of president obama's lopsided advantage among african-americans and other minority voters. the key battle ground as governor romney went to the

naacp. look at this from 2008, 13% of the electorate, the most solid african-american base. now president obama, only 4% for mccain. it's the most solid part of the president's base. 95% of the african-american governor romney is doing a bit better, but even his team would concede not good enough with african-americans. why does that matter? in north carolina, the african-american vote is critical in many of the most important battleground states. nearly a quarter of the electorate in north carolina, 20% in virginia, double digits in pennsylvania, florida, michigan and ohio. so if the president's getting 95% of this chunk of the vote in those states, guess what? it puts governor romney at a big disadvantage in very important states. now add in other minorities, anderson. this is where you see this is such an advantage for the president. the president is getting 95% of their votes. 10% latinos, that will be higher. that's the 2008 number. president gets 2/3. others, asians, native americans, the president is getting 2/3. if you add all of this up, 28% of the electorate, that's where

essentially you get a 15 or 16-point lead for president obama. the only way to offset that is for governor romney to try to dent those numbers big, and then to win huge among the white vote, limiting the president to 38% at most among whites to have a chance to win. anderson? >> all right. johns, thanks. interesting to look at that. let's turn to a democratic strategist and pollster for the obama 2012 campaign. also romney campaign adviser tara wald. appreciate you both being with us. tara, i want to go back to romney's speech at the naacp. he said he expected a rocky reception from the crowd. john mccain used a very different tone in talking about candidate obama four years ago. he got a pretty good reception from the crowd then. do you think if the governor had taken a similar approach, his policy message may have gotten a different, or, frankly, a better reaction? >> well, his policy message actually got overall a good reaction. there were snippets as you played that did elicit negative reaction on one or two

occasions. but overall, there were a number of occasions where his policies did elicit applause and general con sen is consensus of agreement. so i think he actually has a message that appeals. i think the bigger question or the bigger headline that should be addressed and that is the stark kind of elephant in the room, if you will, is the fact that president obama wasn't there to address the crowd. and i think there was disappointment that he wasn't there to address some of the issues that romney did. such as an unemployment rate of 14% that just jumped this last week alone. in fact, since 2008, has increased by 40%. so when you have governor romney who as the naacp welcomed and accepted and admitted that he was walking -- he was very courageous for coming and presenting. i think he was absolutely strong and solid and assertive. and at the same time, listened and made sure that all americans, should he become president, all americans

including the black community understand how he is -- his message and his policies are distinct and will help kick start this economy, grow jobs again, and get us back on track. >> cornell, i've read some, you know, african-americans worrying the president may be taking their support for granted. as tara mentioned, the unemployment rate, much higher than the country as a whole. the national rate held steady last month. the african-american rate rose. could that dampen support, and do you think mitt romney made any inroads? >> well, let's go back to governor romney at the naacp. look, naacp is one of the most storied and oldest civil rights organizations in this country. every american today, america is better today because of the naacp. you know, you had a lot of not just democrats but conservatives after mitt romney's speech saying that mitt romney seemed to be purposefully antagonistic. towards the naacp.

and when you look at sort of what he said -- >> that's absolutely not true. >> well, it's not me, it's david fromme. i didn't interrupt you. please, don't interrupt me. he was purposefully antagonistic towards the naacp. the question becomes, you know, why was governor romney using the naacp as a prop to have a conversation or to prove a point with conservatives who still don't trust him. because clearly he wasn't there to give a conversation to try to reach out and gain more support among a civil rights conversation. >> that's absolutely false. >> he was there as a prop and he was antagonistic. towards the organization that -- >> absolutely false. >> let him finish and then you can talk. >> sure. but it's false. >> going to the point that john made, it's also from a strategic point untenable. i mean, if you look at these sort of these states, virginia, north carolina, ohio, florida, and you go out west to the nevada, new mexico. it's untenable what's going on whip the republican party, where the cnn poll, 63% of minorities are now breaking for obama.

long term, it is suicide what republicans are doing. so what republicans are going to have to do sort of, you know, for their tea party base is absolutely suicide long term when you look at the growth of the minority populations, particularly in the battleground states. it makes no strategic sense. >> tara, there are those who say that getting booed at the naacp might help romney among some conservatives. do you think that he was being intentionally antagonistic? >> first of all, i think it's insulting that president obama himself did not come and address the crowd and address these very stark numbers that are impacting the black community, whether you're a republican or democrat. there are republican naacp members who are also there who also have positions, who also want to hear from governor romney, who also want to hear from president obama. that is what's insulting. i'm not sure what issue you take insulting with, if you're talking about the phrase obama care. president obama himself has used

that phrase. in fact, says he has no problem with it. the point was to say when governor romney was spelling out his policies, we fully acknowledged, and acknowledged ahead of time that we're not going to agree 100%. that's not the point to go there -- >> right, but you were very eager to jump on cornell -- >> the point is to address the community and he did that. >> terry, you were very eager to jump on cornell to say what he's saying is not true. i'm giving you the opportunity to just reiterate that. you say he was not being intentionally antagonistic? >> no, absolutely not. >> okay. >> tara -- appreciate it. cornell -- >> i would like to know -- i mean, how was he being intentionally antagonistic? >> how was he being intentionally antagonistic? >> he drew a lot of applause in fact, when he talked a lot about how he helped bridge the gap as governor between the education gap as governor of massachusetts, how he brought down crime, how he worked across the board, how he worked in a

bipartisan manner, how he talked about and agreed with how historic and important having the first black president elected to the united states, he talked about a number of things where he did draw -- >> no, he didn't. i think you're mistaking with what john mccain talked about a couple of years ago. >> the headline is misplaced in that if you want to focus on -- i'd like to ask, how many applause was there? how many time was there applause? you know, i think that's a relevant point to make. that's not the point you go to address the crowd. the point is, he showed up, president obama did not. i hope the media also will ask vice president biden tomorrow to explain that and to talk about why president obama -- >> cornell, why is obama not going and to the question, how wahe antagonistic? >> wow. well, again, it's not just me that saw him as being antagonistic. let's start with this. you go there and attack obama care. something that is wildly popular

among african-americans. some of that will give 7 million african-americans access to health care. i mean, don't play us stupid like we don't know you're being antagonistic and you talk about stowing away social net programs that have been historically important to this community. >> absolutely not. replace it is what he said. >> can i finish? and act like you're not being antagonistic. look, he wasn't there to have a conversation with the naacp. he was there to have a conversation with his republican base. and here's the problem. he's the one who has to change the dynamic. you know, when you're losing minority voters by 60-something points in this country, he's the one that has to change the dynamic. >> so cornell, why shouldn't president obama be there? >> not president obama. president obama is not the one who has to change the dynamic there. he's winning minority voters by 63 points. but the vice president is going to be there. >> i think there was a question there for me. if i could pick up on that.

actually, i think there has been actually been support lost -- look, president obama does not own the black vote. democrats don't own the black vote. i think it behooves any presidential candidate to not take any vote for granted. and, in fact, i don't believe that president obama can count on the same support he once had. certainly he will still get a majority, absolutely. and we acknowledge that, but at the end of the day, you know, i think that the point is to show up, and he has lost some support. i hear from these folks all the time. democrats and republicans supported him at one time that aren't going to support him this time. >> you were filibuster the conversation all want and that's what you've been trying to do. >> you're not used to being challenged. >> i'm challenged every day. the economic policies of mitt romney would not only be disastrous for middle class americans but particularly for african-americans. unless he can change dynamic. >> he will help all americans. >> he's going to continue to lose his vote. >> okay, let's not talk about -- >> we've got to the end it.

>> 63% of minorities give obama a good job approval. they're not foolish. they know exactly what the president is doing for them. >> okay. appreciate you both. thank you both as well. startling new details tonight about an apparent courtroom suicide of this man right here. you just see him right there in that video putting something in his mouth. well, we now belief we know what he swallowed. we'll tell you how we know that ahead on the program. you'd spot movement, gather intelligence with minimal collateral damage. but rather than neutralizing enemies in their sleep, you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account.

for several nights we've been working on finding out what killed many children.

welcome back. we have some good news to report. up close tonight -- parents and doctors in cambodia finally have an answer for a question that's haunted them for three months. a question we've been looking at all week. disease detectives have finally figured out what's caused dozens of young children in cambodia to fall desperately ill. more than 60 kids have died so far. doctors have been working around the clock to try to crack this medical mystery. our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is in cambodia tonight where he's following the investigation. he was at the lab where they tested samples of the victims. he broke the news today that the case has been solved. he joins me now with exclusive details. so what have you learned, sanjay? >> well, they found three separate pathogens, either viruses or bacteria, that were really at the root cause of

this. the context, anderson, as you well know, is that this is a part of the world where some pretty bad organisms have originated. avian flu, for example, came from here. sars as well. that was a concern for a long time. what they found were three pathogens that already exist in the world. they've known that they've existed in the world, and what they were trying to figure out was why they were behaving so aggressively. this intro virus 71, streptocaucus and dengue fever. they were literally dying within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital. now they have an answer to what was happening. >> this may be a dumb question. why were the kids getting steroids, and what about steroid medication would cause this kind of reaction when mixed with those particular pathogens? >> well, when someone gets very sick, sometimes from an infection, they can get corresponding inflammation in the body. they can get inflammation in the

brain. they can get inflammation in the lungs. sometimes the best way to try to treat that is using steroids. but here's the thing that a lot of people may not realize is that steroids can suppress your immune system. so your body's own natural defense is trying to fight the infection, but it just can't do it. what would otherwise be a dangerous infection can turn into a deadly infection. they get some short-term benefit from the steroids decreasing, but unfortunately, it also made these infections nearly 100% lethal, anderson, just the use of those steroids. >> well, my understanding was that a lot of these kids died before they collected samples. if they don't have all the facts, how can they close the case? >> you know, this is an interesting thing. sort of in the world of epidemiology and public health. once they get enough blood samples back from the blood samples, they could analyze. they basically create a clinical picture.

they say here's the symptoms the children had, here's how the pathogens were sort of behaving. once they see other kids that have that same scenario, they say look, we don't need to test every single child anymore, we know that this is what it is based on what we've already seen. you'll remember, anderson, even with avian flu and h5n1, they did the same thing. after a while, they stopped testing. they said we know what this is. we don't have to keep testing it. treat is symptomatically. >> we got a facebook question. sue asked, now that they know the cause of the deaths, can the children come into the hospitals be treated now and their lives possibly saved? that's the key question. >> yeah. i guess i would answer that question this way -- like a lot of other infectious diseases here in this part of the world, there's not specific treatments. there's not an anti-virus, for example, for some of these organisms. but getting back to the steroid issue, the world health organization is going to issue an alert to all doctors in the area to say refrain from using steroids.

do not use steroids. and i think that's going to have a significant impact. because, again, these infectious diseases are still going to be here, but the fact that they were turning into such deadly diseases, i think hopefully that part of it can stop. >> some good news at least in identifying it. sanjay, appreciate your reporting all week long. investigators in arizona believe they now know what substance a man appeared to put inside his mouth in the courtroom right after he had been charged guilty of arson. what he put into his mouth was a probable suicide. we're going to show you the tape and the back story. it's a fascinating story. we'll have that for you in a moment. but first, let's check in with isha sesay. the ambassador of syria has defected calling the regime criminals. in more violence today, 78 beam killed according to opposition authorities. a hazing incident at florida

a&m university that killed a drum major. the president announced he'll step down today. champion's death was ruled a suicide. roomed a homicide. 14 people are being charged. people behind the san diego fireworks fiasco are blaming it on a computer glitch. the end result was a huge boom and even a bigger bust. you may have heard the july 4th extravaganza last add whopping 15 seconds. anderson? a story both tragic and bizarre. a man appeared to swallow something inside a courtroom. you're about to see it right there. and he died shortly after in the courtroom. investigators now believe he poisoned himself and they're fairly sure what the substance was. the latest when we continue.

an explosion seen miles away. a fireball forcing evacuation of the heartland. details coming up.

tonight "360" followed a really bizarre story that we first reported last week. the apparent suicide of a man inside an arizona courtroom. the moments after the man was convicted of arson, he appears to slip something into his mouth. you see it happen there. a few minutes after that, he collapsed on the floor in convulsions. a short time later, he died. now key evidence we're going to reveal in just a moment about what it was he slipped in his mouth. investigators believe they now know what killed him. but first, we want to tell you the back story.

ed lavandera unravels this very complicated story that led to what happened in that courtroom. >> we the jury -- >> reporter: these were the final minutes of michael marin's story and life. >> we find the defendant guilty of arson of an occupied structure. >> reporter: how he got here is the a tragic and bizarre tale. after being found guilty of arson and facing 21 years in prison, marin covers his face and appears to swallow something. we'll come back to this scene. michael marin graduated from yale law school, had a lucrative career working for wall street investment banks, making several million dollars. he drove a rolls royce and flew his own plane. >> he was an engaging character. >> reporter: paul ruben profiled michael marin back in 2008 for the "phoenix newstime newspaper" spending hours talking to the eccentric millionaire.

>> he's the smartest guy in the room, the smoothest talker in the room. he gets all the girls. you know, he's that guy, and he ran into that brick wall. that just happens to these characters, eventually. >> reporter: marin bought this house in 2008 when the real estate market was collapsing. it came with an interest mortgage payment of $17,250 a month, but michael marin had long left wall street and had not worked in several years, and he was quickly running out of money. that's when prosecutors say he concocted a scheme to raffle off the house and in the process make $1 million for himself. the raffle was an oddly creative way to unload the house.

the proceeds would benefit the child crisis center. to generate proceeds, investigators say marin scaled mt. everest, doing interviews from the mountain with a television station. it all played into the marin mystique. >> we're climbing up to 25,000 feet. >> reporter: but they say it was all a sinister ploy. here's the forensic accountant who unravelled the plot for prosecutors. >> what happened is he paid $250,000 for the house and set up a couple of friends with his bogus second mortgage designed to increase the cost of the house for a second mortgage that really didn't exist. >> you think this raffle was just a scam to make $1 million, basically? >> yes. and at the same time be able to look like a very generous person who didn't make anything off of it. >> reporter: in april 2009, the arizona attorney general ruled the raffle was illegal. the plan fizzled. at this point, marin was six months away from having to make a balloon payment of roughly $2 million to lenders, or risk a

major jump in his monthly interest payments. marin's financial world was collapsing around him. >> i don't think that he really thought this thing through. he and his pals, and it ended up where he had to do something that was pretty wacky which was burn down his house. >> reporter: in the early morning hours of july 5, 2009, fire engulfed his biltmore home. he called for help from his upstairs bedroom. >> what's your emergency. >> my house is on fire. >> are you going to be able to get out? >> i've got one of those ladders. >> you have a ladder where? >> i'd rather work on that than talk to you. so let me get the hell out of here. >> reporter: marin emerged from the burning home wearing scuba gear that just happened to be ready to go in his bedroom. the fire investigators that handled the case. >> every firemen says you're not going to believe this guy. he came out wearing a scuba tank, a scuba mask and a snorkle.

yeah, you're right. i find that odd. >> marin even relived the escape from his hospital bed. >> i realized that i actually had some air left in that tank and that's what enabled me to get back to a window and get out. if i hadn't had those two thing, i wouldn't be talking. >> reporter: there was a long line of phone books supposed to help the fire spread, which brings us back to that phoenix courtroom. a jury convicted marin of arson. he's facing between 7 and 21 years in prison. after he appears to swallow something after the verdict is read, notice as he reaches down and appears to get something from his bag. he then wipes his face, swallows and appears to swallow again. he starts con valuesing and then claps. even though it's not officially determined what killed michael marin, it's believed he swallowed some type of poison. the swicted arsonist showed no

signs of preparing to commit suicide. >> it was a gigantic shock. i think it's fair to say that we certainly had no inkling that this was going to happen. i'm not aware that anybody did. >> reporter: ironically, it's jeff peabody, the fire investigator who built the arson case against michael marin who tries to help him. but peabody says there was no way to save him and his final moments played out in a dramatic fashion, just as michael marin had lived his life. >> if he's going to do something, then this would be the time that he would do it. sort of like escaping from his house in scuba gear. this was going to be his closure. but -- >> a grand finale exit. >> a grand finale exit, yeah. >> i find this story just stunning. to see it all on tape. the new evidence you uncovered, what can you tell us about it? >> well, anderson, as we took a closer look at that video at the time after he appears to have swallowed something. we took a closer look. at one point, you can see him reaching for some sort of phone,

a blackberry perhaps. and sheriff's investigators in phoenix say that indeed an e-mail was sent by him to his son. and in that e-mail according to investigators in phoenix, he told his son if things didn't go well the wills were in place and left directions as to where they could find his car. investigators got to the car and say they found a container of cyanide that was ordered online back in 2011 long before the trial had started. they believe -- investigators there in phoenix believe he had perhaps put that cyanide into capsule form or perhaps into some bottles that he had taken a drink from. and that's indeed how he killed himself. toxicologist official reports won't be back for several more weeks. that's what investigators are saying tonight. >> wow. so disturbing. thank you. whether it's a deadly courtroom drama or massive storm, so much of what happened today happens on camera. up next, your choices of the top television moments of the last 50 years. we'll be right back. and her family.

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electronics have released the results of a new survey. what are the top television moments in the last 50 years. here are some of them topping the list -- september 11, hurricane katrina, the o.j. simpson verdict in 1995. the chlg "challenger" space shuttle explosion and at number five, the death of osama bin laden. >> some big moments there. incredible shot of people reeling in a fish. and then take a look. >> he's got my line. >> oh [ bleep ]! >> can you believe that? >> wow. yikes. >> yeah. that is -- >> look at that again. yikes. >> that's my idea of a nightmare. >> amazing stuff. all right, we'll be right back. e the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try

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afraid the mitt romney's not backing down after getting booed at the naacp conference. new this morning, his defiant response. and more questions and answers about representative jesse jackson jr.'s health this morning as his office tries to explain his mysterious absence from congress.

a fishing trip takes a thrilling turn when a bull shark suddenly decides to crash the party. we'll show you more about that. good morning and welcome to "early start," i'm ali velshi. zz h zoraida sambolin has the day off. >> that is awesome. it's caught on camera. i'm ashleigh banfield. it's nice to have you with us every morning. it's 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. let's get started with this. go vote for someone else. how about that for a campaign pitch. fighting words for mitt romney after a pretty rough reception at the naacp convention. it was a tough sell to begin with though anyway. governor romney's really trying to convince african-americans that they'd be better served with him in the white house than with president obama. president obama has about 95ish percent support among african-americans. he misstepped when he referred to the president's health carrey forms as obama care. >> i'm going to eliminate every