Harvard Student Arrested for Bomb Threat; Family Fighting to Keep Girl on Life Support
BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY. A Harvard University sophomore is due in court today facing charges that he's behind a bomb hoax that left students in panic on Monday -- really the entire school in panic. The 20-year-old is accused of e-mailing threats saying there were explosives on the campus. CNN's Jean Casarez is joining us with more. So Jean, you gotta tell me, what was the motive?</s>JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: This is so serious, the motive was, and they know this because the FBI confronted him Monday night, gave him his Miranda rights, he signed a waiver and he said, "I did it. I acted alone. I didn't want to take an exam." He also told him them that he sent the e-mails at 8:30 at the morning. His exam was set for 9:00. He went to the classroom where his exam was to be.</s>BOLDUAN: So he showed up.</s>CASAREZ: He showed up. At 9:00, the fire alarm went of. They told everybody to evacuate, and he said, "My plan worked." Well, it didn't work because he got a fake e-mail address, temporary and a temporary IP address. He thought he was going to be anonymous, sent it, but he sent it over the Harvard wireless network. And so, the FBI and police found that a student had accessed the way to do that temporary internet access, and that's how they got to him. And now today is going to be his first appearance in court.</s>BOLDUAN: It sounds to me like he should have been spending more time -- this time, that he was spending -- trying to get this plot all together, he could have been spending it studying for his exam.</s>CASAREZ: He chose --</s>BOLDUAN: And he would have been much better off.</s>CASAREZ: -- his words very carefully. We want to show everybody exactly what those e-mails said. The title was, "Bombs placed around campus." That was the subject line to officials at Harvard including their police department. "Shrapnel bombs placed in the Science Center, Sever Hall, Emerson Hall, Thayer Hall, 2/4. Guess correctly. Be quick for they will go off soon." And he told authorities he used the terminology shrapnel to elevate it, to make it more serious. And he said guess where? They're going to go off soon, so it would take longer periods of time for them to find and then evacuate the entire campus.</s>BOLDUAN: This makes absolutely no sense and he clearly has some lessons to learn, and now he's facing some very serious legal charges.</s>CASAREZ: He's facing five years in prison. This federal statute comes from the Atomic Energy Act in the 1950s. Facing five years, but I think his attorneys will be concerned for his future -- because to be convicted of this and you are innocent until proven guilty.</s>BOLDUAN: We'll see. Want to make sure everybody knows that. A reminder. Thanks.</s>CUOMO: Even when you admit it.</s>CASAREZ: Even when you admit it. That's right. Because there can be a mental defense.</s>CUOMO: That's right. A little more than a week ago, 13-year-old Jahi McMath was in a California hospital for routine tonsil surgery. This morning, her mother is fighting with the hospital just to keep her on life support. The hospital says the procedure went horribly wrong and the 13-year- old is now legally dead. Her mother says she isn't; she's just trapped in her body and will make up. Stephanie Elam is following developments for us from Los Angeles. Stephanie?</s>STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris, Kate and Michaela. It's every parent's nightmare that your child goes into the hospital but doesn't come back out. At this point, the family is hoping against hope for a miracle.</s>ELAM (voice-over): It was a simple operation that was supposed to improve her quality of life. Instead, Jahi McMath lay brain dead just hours after surgery.</s>NAILAH WINKFIELD, MOTHER OF JAHI MCMATH: I don't even any tears no more because I'm all cried out. I'm angry.</s>ELAM: The 13-year-old was admitted to Oakland's Children's Hospital on December 9th for a tonsillectomy, which doctors prescribed to correct her sleep apnea. Jahi was alert after the surgery her family says, but then went into cardiac arrest after being moved to the Intensive Care Unit. The medical team worked to revive her. Blood had filled her lungs and stomach.</s>WINKFIELD: Nobody called the doctor until it was too late. That's the problem. My daughter drowned on her own blood.</s>ELAM: The next day, a CT scan showed that two-thirds of Jahi's brain was swollen. By Friday, further testing by the hospital confirmed that Jahi was medically dead. Her death was reported to the Oakland coroner's office, which was scheduled to take the girl's body Tuesday. But the family who wants to keep Jahi on life support, handed the hospital a cease and desist order.</s>CROWD: Don't pull the plug.</s>ELAM: Jahi's mother, Nailah Winkfield wants more time for her child to show signs of brain activity.</s>WINFIELD: And I went in there and cried to this man and said, "Just check her brain one more time." I asked him, "Do you have children?" He said yeah. "Well then, you should know how it feels."</s>ELAM: As for the hospital, the chief of pediatrics gave CNN this statement, "We can say that, as whenever we see a medical or surgical complication, we are reviewing her case very closely. Our hearts go out to her family, and we want to support them during this extremely difficult time."</s>WINFIELD: I feel her. I can feel my daughter. I just kinda feel like maybe she's trapped inside her own body and she wants to scream out and tell me something. That's why every time I go in there I let her know I would not let them take you to the coroner's office, Jahi. I won't.</s>ELAM (on-camera): And the result of another test yesterday show the same status for this young child. So at this point, though, the family has gotten a little bit of a breathing room here, the coroner's office, as well as the hospital have backed off of rushing to try to get this child removed from the hospital, now giving the family time to figure out what steps they're going to take next. Chris and Kate?</s>BOLDUAN: All right.</s>CUOMO: Boy, oh boy. Having to fight with the hospital just so that you then have the right to deal with what is absolutely the worst situation you can imagine.</s>BOLDUAN: Terrible situation. Thanks so much. Coming up next on NEW DAY, no one from the first family is going to the Olympics this year, but the delegation the president tapped to replace them is sure to send a clear message to Vladimir Putin. We have the details coming up in our political gutcheck.</s>CUOMO: And George Zimmerman, the artist. Six figures in the offing for this. Is it even an original? We have someone who will say what it's worth and why.