CNN just decided to take a chance and reported it anyhow as news. It doesn't matter a whit if they were just "reporting they recieved an email" because anyone can fake an email or make a crank phone call. It was completely unprofessional for them to *assume* this was legit and make it breaking news.
Try emailing CNN that you shot some famous actor or found their body dumped and see if they make it breaking news that "we've recieved a report that so and so is now dead." And if there was already a tense hostage situation with said actor they would be even less likely to run with it. Whoever made the decision this time should be fired.
The other emails could just as easily been faked. Regardless, the premise of this thread is that CNN stated ... STATED that Danny Pearl was dead. That is not true. They did not say Pearl was dead. A little reading comprehension goes a long way.