we have no clear answer to chairman issa's allegation tonight. nor for this allegation levelled by issa and 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 the supervision of a boss who allegedly threatened to take them down. in a letter, issa and grassley make the case that his supervisor had it in for the pair. quote, he stated we need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys, the whistleblowers, and take them down. the letter also cites another incident in which it was alleged said that atf needs to f these guys. with us now are brian terry's mom josephine and his cousin robert hire. appreciate both of you being on with us. josephine, our condolences for the loss of your son, i can't imagine what this last two years have been 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 that he wanted to make a difference. and i think all this coming out in the open with the 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 whistleblowers, the family did not know that the weapons found at the murder scene were tied into a 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, because, again, there has been a lot of politics, a lot of accusations back and forth, a lot of political maneuvering. how do you see it? >> well, anderson, this has become a very partisan issue. and it 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 and 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 a time were leaving out the doors of the gun shop. >> without any way to track them down in mexico? >> well, again, that's what the whistleblowers 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, just continue the surveillance and let the 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 was straw buyers working for the criminal element, 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. josephine, i understand there is going to be a station named after your son? >> yes. the station in frisbee, i think it is frisbee, they just built a new station. and that's where brian worked and did all of his training and 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 very much. >> thank you, anderson. >> let us know what you think. we're on twitter right now @andersoncooper. i'll be tweeting in the hour ahead. also, the office of congressman jesse jackson jr. is finally giving some details about the medical issue he's facing and where he is right now. tonight's developments, also knocking down some rumors we have been hearing. details on that ahead. we mentioned at the top of the hour, we're following breaking news. we just got word about jesse jackson jr.'s medical condition. the son of the reverend jesse jackson has been on medical leave from congress for more than a month now. just before air time his office released the following statement from his doctor. the congressman is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder. he's responding positive to treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. this followed weeks of speculation today, calls for the family to go public. kate bolduan joins with us more. do we know what that means? a mood disorder? >> it seems to be vague. it's a vague detail. we don't really know. 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 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 rick ryan made a point to add, in addition, the rumors about him being treated for alcohol or substance abuse are not true. he's trying to tamp down the rumors that have been flying about what has been going on with the congressman. as you mentioned, 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. everybody in america understands that, but i think the family would be well advised to give his constituents as much information as is appropriate. >> his health is the number one priority. as a public official, though, there 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 isn't 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 may. so it was really this information blackout that we were hearing from democrats -- i mean, you know, capitol hill is leaky like a seive, so the fact that no one was hearing any details was very concerning a and a real mystery. i mean, even senior house democratic aides were critical of this information blackout. the fact that that no matter what you're dealing with, you need to tell your constituents how you're dealing with it. >> kate, appreciate the reporting. thanks for the update. "raw politics" now. mitt romney went looking for support at the naacp's convention today in houston. members welcoming him with applause, but turning sharply skeptical at some of his claims that if elected, he would do more finish african-americans than president obama has. >> if you want a president who will do more for the african-american community, you're looking at him. take a look. >> well, the crowd taking mild exception to that claim. you can interpret it for yourself. but getting worked up a lot over this comment. >> i'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program i can find. that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ booing ] >> i wouldn't characterize that reaction. you can describe it for yourself. on fox news, governor romney said he got hidden strength among african-american voters. >> i spoke with a number of african-american leaders after the event and they said, you know, a lot of folks still 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 said he found hidden support. if you look at the poll numbers, it is hard to find any evidence of hidden support among african-americans. john mccain got 4% of the african-american vote in 2008. latest polling shows not much difference today, slightly more frankly 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-american and other minority voters. let's take a look at african-americans, the key battleground today as governor romney went to the naacp. look at this from 2008, 13% of the electorate, african-americans. it's the most solid part of the president's base. 95% of the african american vote voted for then senator, now president obama. only 4% for john mccain. 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. if the president is 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 other minorities, this is where you see how this is such an advantage for the president. 13% of the electorate african american. the president is getting 95% of their votes. 10% latinos, that will be higher. that's the 2008 number. president gets two-thirds. others, asians, native americans, the president is getting two-thirds. if you add all of this up, 28% of the electorate, that's where 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 a bit, 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, john, 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. let's go back to romney's speech at the naacp. he said he expected a rocky reception from the crowd. obviously republicans haven't always gotten a warm welcome from the naacp. 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 better reaction? >> well, his policy message actually got overall a good reaction. there were snippets as you played, that did elicit negative reaction, and one or two occasions. but overall there were a number of occasions where his policies did elicit applause and ovation and general 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 governor romney did, such as an unemployment rate in the black community of 14.4% 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 he was walking in -- he was very courageous for coming and presenting, i think that 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. you look at 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. >> when you look at what he says -- >> that's absolutely not true. >> when you look at what he said -- 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. toward that organization in a way that was -- >> absolutely false. >> let him finish and then you can talk. >> sure. it is 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 state, virginia, north carolina, ohio, florida, and you go out west to nevada, new mexico, it's untenable, the republican party, the cnn's polling, 63% of minorities are 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. >> there are those who say getting booed at the naacp might help romney among some conservatives. do you think, according to cornell's point, he was being intentionally antagonistic? >> first of all, i think it's insulting that president obama did not come himself to address the crowd and address the stark numbers impacting the black community, whether you're republican or democrat. there are republican naacp members who are lifetime 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 is insulting. i'm not sure what issue you take insulting with, if you're talking about the phrase obama care. 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 ahead of time we're not going to agree 100%. it'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're saying he was not being intentionally antagonistic? >> no, absolutely not. >> okay. >> appreciate it. cornell belcher -- >> i would like to know -- i mean, how was he being intentionally antagonistic? absolutely not mp. >> how was he being intentionally antagonistic? >> he drew a lot of applause 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 would like to ask, how many applause were there. how many times were there applause? you know, i think that's a irrelevant 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 was he 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 obamacare, something that is wildly popular among african-americans. give 7 milon 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 tearing away social net programs that have been historically important to this community. >> absolutely not. replace it is what he said. >> can i finish? 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. >> why shouldn't president obama be there? >> president obama is not the one who has to change the dynamic there. he's winning minority voters by 63 points. in your own cnn polling. 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 support lost -- look, president obama does not own the black vote. he doesn't -- 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. we acknowledge that, but at the end of the day, you know, i think the point is to show up and he has lost some support. i hear from these folks all the time. >> look, you can filibuster this conversation all you want. democrats and republicans supported him at one time that aren't going to support him this time. >> one more point then we ooh got to go. >> you can filibuster the conversation all you want and that's what you're trying to do. >> you're not used to being challenged. >> i'm challenged every day. the truth of the matter is, the economic policies of mitt romney would not only be disastrous for middle class americans but particularly for african-americans. unless he can change that dynamic, he's going to continue to lose -- he's going to continue to lose his vote. >> he will help all americans. >> okay, let's not talk about -- >> 63% of minorities give obama a positive job approval in cnn's own polling. they're not foolish. they know what the president is doing for them. >> thank you. startling new details tonight about an apparent courtroom suicide of this man right here. you see him 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. >> several nights we've been reporting on disease detectives. we know what killed 60 children. dr. sanjay gupta has been on the front lines of an investigation. he joins me next. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. 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's 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. 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 they existed in the world. and what they were trying to figure out was why they were behaving so aggressively. this viral 71, streptococcus and the organism causing dengue fever. they found those organisms in conjunction with those kids getting steroids probably led to such an aggressive course where these children were literally dying within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital. now they have an answer to what was happening. >> 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 defenses trying to fight the infection 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, the inflammation, but unfortunately it also made the infections 100% lethal, anderson, just the use of those steroids. >> well, my understanding is 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? >> this is an interesting thing. in the world of epidemiology and public helt. once they get enough blood samples back 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 behavioring. 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'll treat is symptom atically so we don't have to keep testing it. >> we got a digital dashboard viewer question from facebook. 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. >> 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-viral, for example, for some of these organisms. but getting back to the steroid issue, what we're learning is the world health organization is going to issue an alert to all doctors and practitioners in the area to say refrain from using steroids. do not use steroids. and i think that's going to have a significant impact. the infectious diseases were going to be here, but the fact that they were turning into such deadly diseases, 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 know what substance a man appeared to put inside his mouth right after he had been found guilty of arson. what he put into his mouth was a -- led to his death. a probable suicide. we're going to show you the tape and the back story. it is really a fascinating story. we'll have that for you in a moment. but first, let's check in with isha with a "360" bulletin. >> the ambassador of iraq has defected calling the regime criminals. in more violence today, 78 people were killed. >> a 360 follow-up tonight to the hazing incident of florida a&m university that killed drum major robert champion. the president of the university, james h. ammons announced his resignation today. champion's death was ruled a homicide. 14 people face a variety of charges. the people behind san diego's fireworks fiasco are blaming it on a computer glitch. whatever caused all of the show's fireworks to explode at the same time, the end result was a huge boom and an even bigger bust. you may have heard the july fourth extravaganza lasted a whopping 15 seconds. anderson? new information on a story both tragic and bizarre. a man appears to swallow something inside a courtroom. you're about to see it. right there. dies shortly after. investigators now believe he poisoned himself. they're fairly sure what the substance was. the latest on that when we continue. >> an explosion seen ten miles away after a train derailed, the fireball forced an evacuation. details on that coming up. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. tonight, 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 happening right 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. we'll untangle this very complicated story that led to what happened in that courtroom. >> 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 was a tragic and bizarre tale. but before we tell this story, remember this moment, after being found guilty of arson and now facing up to 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 around the world for wall street investment banks, making several million dollars. he collected picasso art work. drove a rolls-royce and flew his own plane. >> he was an engaging character. >> reporter: paul reuben profiled marin back in 2008, for the phoenix new times newspaper. spent 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 happens to these characters eventually. >> reporter: the brick wall was this 10,000 square foot home in the biltmore estates, an exclusive phoenix, arizona, enclave. marin bought the house in 2008 when the real estate market was collapsing. it came with an interest only mortgage payment of $17,250 a month. but michael marin had long left wall street and had not worked in several years. he was quickly running out of money. and that's when prosecutors say he concocted a scheme to raffle off the house and in the process, make a million dollars for himself. the raffle was an oddly creative way to unload the biltmore house. raffle tickets would sell for $25, the proceeds would benefit the child crisis center. to generate publicity, he scaled mt. everest, doing interviews from the mountain with a local television station. it all played into the marin mystique. >> we're climbing up to 25,000 feet. >> reporter: but joe says it was a sinister ploy. here's the forensic accountant who unravelled the plot for prosecutors. >> he paid $2 million for the house and set up with a couple of friends of his a bogus second mortgage designed to increase the value of the house by $950,000 on a -- 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 whacky, 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: he emerged from the burning home wearing scuba gear that just happened to be ready to go in his bedroom. jeff peabody is the phoenix fire department investigator who handled marin's case. >> every firemen says you're not going to believe this guy. he came out wearing a scuba tank, a scuba mask and a snorkel. you're right, i find that odd. >> marin even relived the escape from his hospital bed. >> i realized i had air left in the tank and that's what enabled me to get back to the window and deploy that ladder. if i hadn't had those two things, we wouldn't be talking. >> he says he found four spots where fires were intentionally set and a long line of phone books to help the fire spread. >> reporter: now back to the 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 something and appears to swallow again. eight minutes later, marin starts convulsing and collapses. even though it's not officially determined what killed michael marin, it's believed he swallowed some type of poison. his attorney says the convicted 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. >> 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? >> as we take a closer look at that video and the time after he appears to swallow something, 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. toxicology reports won't be back for several more weeks. that's what investigators are saying tonight. >> wow. so disturbing. appreciate the update, thank you. whether it's a deadly courtroom drama or massive storm, so much of what happens today happens on camera. up next, your choices of the top television moments of the last 50 years. we'll be right back. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? 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>> wow. >> yikes. >> yeah. >> look at that again. yikes. that's my idea of a nightmare. >> pretty amazing stuff. all right, we'll be right back. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. [ dog ] we found it together.upbeat ] on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. the house passes a bill for the 33rd time that has absolutely no shot of going anywhere. one wmaker says he has a solution to fix congress. but is it really a solution or just another no-go gimmick? we'll ask him. mitt romney gets booed in front of a large audience. was this a miscalculation on his part to even take the stage? and the pentagon releases a report saying iran is dramatically upping the capability of some of its conventional weapons. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm tom foreman filling in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, fiddling in washington while bankruptcy burns across the nation. san bernardino, california, is the latest american town unable to pay its bills. the math is $46 million in debt. they've made drastic cuts in employees and services. and the city has only $150,000 in the bank. that's it. residents are coming unhinged saying, why wasn't this calamity headed off at the pass? >> what about two years ago when they took $10 million from the employees? what were they doing then? now the city is forced basically to file bankruptcy because they hahi