NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system
the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups,
the police who investigate crime
and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
I had a lady once.
Swore a rat rolled a wheel of parmesan
right out the fridge while she was sleeping.
(CHUCKLING) All right.
It's the super. I got the exterminator here.
Anybody home?
Miss Knowles?
(RATTLING DOORKNOB)
Having some trouble, here?
(MOANING) Oh, God.
Oh! Oh! Get help.
Oh, you're gonna be all right. You'll be okay.
Victim's Cecilia Knowles. She's 36 years old.
She was a mess. Clothes were ripped. Eyes glazed over.
EMS rolled her to Mercy Trauma.
What'd the neighbors have to say?
Downstairs apartment heard noises sometime after midnight.
Didn't think it was anything to worry about.
Or worth getting out of bed for. Thanks.
No, no, the only other person we saw up here this morning was 6J.
And he left about 7:15.
His work number is on his rental application if you need it.
That'd be a help. How about Ms. Knowles? You know her very well?
She moved here from Albany a few months ago.
I fixed her closet once.
She lived alone? Uh-huh.
Boyfriend? I haven't noticed anyone.
I'd like to see her rental application.
Sure. I'll get it.
MARGO: The attack started here, and then finished in here.
BRISCOE: Mmm.
Looks like some night baseball got out of control.
MARGO: We're bagging and tagging the linens.
BRISCOE: Nice looking family.
No family names in here.
Business cards,
from all over the country.
NICK: Here's her application.
Thank you.
She moved in five months ago.
Any next of kin?
Fly-Away Travel. That's what she wrote.
East 47th street.
Yeah. She's a travel agent.
She put her boss as next of kin?
Might as well die alone.
She almost did.
Ligature marks on her neck. Bruising on her inner thighs.
Rape kit's been sealed and sent to your lab.
When will she be able to talk?
She's in a coma. Neurology's been called in to take a look.
So, you don't know when?
Or if. She presented with anoxic brain injury.
From the strangling?
Well, that's one possibility.
What's the other?
An allergic reaction to Demerol.
We found trace amounts of it in her blood.
Are you sure? Because we didn't find any pills in her place.
Well, how about a syringe?
This bruise here, right in the middle, there's a needle mark.
The Demerol was injected.
There's no syringe in her apartment.
The doer doped her up?
Sometime between midnight and 2:00 a.m., according to the doctor.
And that's on top of the couple of drinks she had before that.
Cocktails. No forced entry. Could be date rape.
Who was this girl seeing?
We've been looking through her phone book.
A lot of disconnected numbers in Albany, answering machines.
Local numbers are nail salons, take outs, airlines.
Apparently, Ms. Knowles was married to her work.
Then try co-workers.
Well, I'm pretty sure she wasn't seeing anybody.
We were just talking the other day how hard it is to meet people.
What hospital is she at? Mercy.
Oh, I should get flowers.
She's in a coma.
Oh, well, I mean, still.
I mean, if Cecilia wakes up, and there's nobody there.
Oh, this is so awful.
Is this her sister?
Yeah, Julie, her kid sister.
Any idea where we can find her?
Well, Cecilia said she passed away a few years ago.
Any other family?
Um... She said her parents died when she was still in college.
And there's an ex-husband. Steven Knowles. She said he was a drunk.
Do you know where we can find him?
I don't know. It sounded like she hadn't spoken to him in years.
Anyone else you can think of?
She said she'd been in love once, not with the ex.
You might try where she used to work, up in Albany.
The State Travel Division.
She mention any plans she had for last night?
Well, I had some plane tickets to drop off at the Mayflower Hotel
for a client, and she offered to take them.
Was that on her way?
Well, actually, no. But she said she didn't mind.
Yes. She was in last night with a package for one of our guests.
The Gilberts.
She left it at the desk about 10:00 o'clock.
That late? You sure?
I was just about to go off duty.
She with anybody?
Well, she was wearing a cocktail dress.
Maybe someone was waiting for her outside.
Well?
I didn't see anybody. She just came out. I offered to get her a cab.
She said no. Then she went across the street to the Swanson.
Thanks.
MIKE: Sure, I remember her.
Glass of merlot. She sat at a table in the back.
By herself?
Couple of guys tried to buy her a drink.
But she told me she was waiting for an old friend from Albany.
You see what the guy looked like?
No. I notice the ladies.
The guys in the business suits, they all look the same to me.
ED: Maybe if we check the credit card receipts.
I doubt the guy had time for a drink.
I looked over, and bang, she was gone.
Okay I get back to work?
Yeah, go ahead.
Our little wallflower blooms at night.
Old friend in a business suit. Maybe if we check her business card collection.
Hong Kong. Some guys have all the fun.
I wouldn't know from Hong Kong.
My old man took me.
What'd he do, work for the National Geographic?
Oil business. Petro-chemical engineer.
A brainiac.
I'm sure this is just what he had in mind for you.
Yeah.
Right. Stuart Ruskus.
Oh, I see. Sorry for your loss. Thanks.
Guy croaked a year ago.
Kenneth Taylor. Deputy press secretary
for the New York State Comptroller. Come on down.
Hi, Kenneth Taylor, please.
I'm Detective Ed Green of the New York Police.
He did?
Do you have that address?
Thank you very much.
Kenneth Taylor moved down from Albany last summer.
To an apartment two blocks from the Swanson Hotel.
Knowles, the name sounds familiar.
So, you have no idea why she had your card in her bedroom?
No. I can't place her. Sorry.
Taylor.
She used to work in the state
government travel division up in Albany.
That's right. That's right.
She handled some travel arrangements for me awhile ago. Yes.
Now you remember?
Yes, now I remember. And now I have to get back to work.
Before you do that, you mind telling us where you were Tuesday night?
I was at home working on the press campaign
for the audit of the Hudson River
Small Crafts Navigation Program.
I'm filling up with anticipation And after that?
I ordered a movie on pay-per-view.
And I fell asleep before it ended.
ED: Any phone calls?
My brother, asking me to go sailing with him.
And my fiancée called just after midnight.
She's at a conference in California. Now can I go?
And other than that one time in Albany,
you've had no contact with Cecilia Knowles?
That's right.
Now you can go.
Thank you.
Check his IUDS?
And hers.
Cable company confirms Taylor ordered a movie at 20 past midnight.
Shakespeare In Heat. Cause and effect.
I don't know about the effect.
Rape kit was negative for seminal fluid.
Phone records. His and hers.
New York and Albany. No calls in either direction.
But there are these calls she made to Queens from Albany.
She called the 116th precinct?
Couple of times a month before she moved here.
Checking on the crime rate?
She was calling about her sister. Julie Gorham.
Gorham. From three years ago?
The one and the same. Missing, presumed murdered.
Girl flies in LaGuardia from Albany to visit her boyfriend.
Hasn't been seen since.
Boyfriend a suspect? Uh-huh.
Stormy relationship, but we could never make a case.
Worst part of the job having no answers for the family.
When's the last time you talked to Cecilia?
Month ago. Very upset.
She ran into the boyfriend in the city.
You got the file? Yeah.
She was always convinced the guy did her sister.
If we'd been able to take the gloves off...
Why didn't you?
Guy's some mucky muck in state government.
Yeah, right.
Our film buff, Kenny Taylor.
Yes, you're right. I lied.
I was stalling you so I could talk to my lawyer.
I learned my lesson about dealing with you people.
What lesson's that? That we're as stupid as we look?
I've been through this circus before when Julie disappeared.
That's where you learned to lie?
There. That's what I mean. You just twist everything.
All right, Ken, you don't have to get into it with them.
I'm okay.
Just ask your question.
We just want to verify a few things.
Now, you said you hadn't seen Ms. Knowles since you moved to the city.
Right.
Well, she told the detective in Queens
that she ran into you about a month ago.
Okay, sure. Um, on my lunch hour. It was in midtown.
What'd you talk about?
Nothing. I tried to be polite and get away from her as fast as I could.
She's still laboring under the delusion I killed Julie.
A lot of people have that delusion.
Next question.
We read the investigators' reports on Julie Gorham.
The one thing everyone remarked on was your temper.
You trying to bait me?
Just stating the facts.
You have a thin skin. That's why Julie was breaking up with you.
That's why she came down to New York.
That's according to Cecilia.
The truth is, we were making a fresh start.
I had the hotel room ready. I had champagne, flowers. She never got to the hotel.
And that's according to you.
It's what happened.
They have a record of her getting on the plane, Ken.
What, she jumped out over Poughkeepsie?
Damn it, I didn't kill her!
See, it still gets to you, doesn't it?
You thought you had it all put behind you
when you came down from Albany,
and bang, you run into the big sister.
I've got better things to do than worry about a crazy woman.
A guy like you? I don't think you'd just walk away from it.
You wanted to reason with her, you know, have a little sit down,
bury the hatchet There was no reasoning with her.
But you tried anyway, didn't you?
You met up with her at the bar at the Swanson Hotel.
Maybe you didn't get the satisfaction you wanted.
You went home, you stewed about it.
No, no!
And you went to her place, you gave her some bull, and she let you in.
That's enough. And you did to her
just what you did to her sister, didn't you?
No! I never laid a hand on her!
CHARLES: Ken. I know my rights.
I know where I stand.
I've talked to them as much as I have to. I'm leaving.
Next time you want to talk to him,
you'd better bring a subpoena or a warrant.
We showed his picture around the Swanson bar. No takers.
None of the neighbors either.
Well, if she was meeting with the man who murdered her sister, it's a big thing.
You'd think she would've told someone.
Who? Her nail salon or the Chinese take-out?
Did you get any call backs from those numbers in Albany?
Three. None of them had talked to Cecilia in at least a year.
They got tired of watching her grind the same ax.
Well, she used to work for the state travel division.
Have you tried up there?
Have a nice drive.
You believe in family curses?
I didn't.
Then I met Cecilia.
Parents go in a car accident,
then Julie.
(SIGHING) Now this.
ED: You knew Julie?
Very sweet person.
She was in management at one of the TV stations in town.
Cecilia was so proud of her.
Then along came Ken Taylor.
Had you talked to Cecilia recently?
No. Not since she moved.
ED: Anybody else she might've talked to?
I don't think so. It's been difficult.
Julie's death just ate at her.
While she was here, was she ever in contact with Taylor?
Well, a couple of months before she moved,
she had a run in with him at a function.
She accused him,
said she'd never let him forget what he did to Julie.
How did he react?
Well, she started having our secretary screen her calls.
Gave her specific instructions not to put Taylor through.
Did he ever try to call her?
I don't know.
But Cecilia always made sure one of us
walked her to her car in the evening.
She ever go to the police?
I told her she could get a restraining order. I don't know if she ever went.
And then she moved.
Just a month before Taylor did.
He moved after she did?
Yes. I heard about it through the grapevine.
I left her a message to warn her.
But she never called back.
He signed his lease July 12th, moved in July 30th.
She signed hers June 24th.
Could be a coincidence.
Yes, I'm still here.
Okay.
No, no, no, no, I'm not hanging up.
Computer company from hell.
I've been on hold a half an hour.
I sent my kid's computer in to get fixed, and they lost it.
I told you those gizmos were trouble.
You talk to the Albany police?
Yeah, she filed a complaint. Said he followed her, waited outside her apartment.
But without any proof...
They did nothing.
Her bad luck he didn't beat the crap out of her in front of witnesses.
Check this out.
DMV records show Taylor was pulled over a year ago, DWI, in Loudonville,
just outside Albany.
Loudonville, isn't that where she lived?
Could've been cruising her neighborhood.
Call Albany. Check on the disposition.
No, you don't want me to come down there.
Taylor said he had dinner at a friend's house. Charges dismissed.
His lawyer argued the glass of wine he drank
interacted with the medication he'd taken.
Let me guess, he ate a breath mint.
He has a bad back from a skiing accident in college.
He's been on pain killers ever since.
One more guess, Demerol?
It doesn't say. (PAGER BEEPING)
It's Medill in Forensics.
We found one pubic hair that didn't belong to her.
There's no root, you can forget about DNA.
Next time, we'll take our bad news over the phone.
Well, there is some good news.
Two drops of seminal fluid on the top sheet. Very small drops.
Tadpoles in the fluid?
Well, enough for a sample.
There's also a drop in the carpeting next to the bed.
Drop here, a drop there The guy tried to clean up after himself?
No, there was spermicide in the fluid.
More likely he used a condom,
then had some spill off when he removed it.
You take his blood, you let him stew in jail for two days,
if you don't bring him up for arraignment by tonight...
Three years I've put up with this campaign of harassment.
When does it stop?
It's up to you. It can end right now.
How? By telling you what you want to hear?
Is that what you'd like?
Oh, you don't want to know what I'd like right now.
Are you trying to provoke me, is that it?
We don't want to do that. We need you calm and focused.
We've got a lot of ground to cover.
Okay, okay.
Let's start with this DWI in Albany.
In Cecilia's neighborhood.
I was nowhere near her.
You were drunk, you might not remember.
I was not drunk. I take painkillers.
Scotch always killed my pain.
For my back. I take Demerol.
Demerol.
Your fiancée is a doctor, is that right?
An oncologist. What does that have to do...
In her office, she keeps swabs, syringes, things like that.
Yes, of course.
What're you writing?
You and your fiancée use condoms?
What the hell? He's not going to answer that.
Isn't he curious as to why we're asking?
Yes, I am.
Whoever raped Cecilia used a condom.
Except some of his little guys got away from him.
Like on the rug, on the bed.
That's why we took your blood, Taylor.
That doesn't concern me one bit.
We're giving you the straight dope.
Let's move on. (DOOR OPENING)
Sorry to interrupt.
We have the blood test results, Mr. Taylor.
Your DNA matches what we found at the scene.
Boo! You should've been a little more careful
when you took off your party hat.
It's not possible.
O.J. or no O.J., DNA don't lie, my man.
Would you like to make a statement at this time, Mr. Taylor?
It is not possible!
I'll take that as a no.
Mr. Garnett, I've notified the D.A.'s office.
We're ready to take your client over for arraignment.
This can't be happening. Charles, do something!
Yeah, Counselor, why don't you click your heels three times
and say, "There's no place like home"?
CARMICHAEL: You plead to the assault on Ms. Knowles.
You plead to the murder of her sister.
You serve concurrent sentences of 25-to-life.
JACK: Two for one, Mr. Taylor.
This is why we're here?
The rape and attempted murder alone will get you 25 years.
In the meantime,
the police would continue to investigate Julie Gorham's murder.
They turn up anything, you'd face another 25 years.
You'd be 80 before you saw daylight.
But I'm innocent.
Ken, we don't have to give them an answer right away.
I don't have to think about it.
I spent two days in prison before I got bail. I'm not going back.
Mr. Taylor, once you're indicted, it's too late.
Oh, to hell with this. You deal with them. I'll be downstairs.
Ken...
Mr. Garnett, if you haven't explained the facts of life to your client...
I had the talk with him.
But he tells me he's innocent. What am I supposed to do?
When are you presenting to the grand jury?
CARMICHAEL: Day after tomorrow.
He wants to talk to them.
About what? His political connections?
He'll sign the waiver of immunity whenever it's ready.
KEN: Ms. Knowles was convinced I killed her sister.
Of course I was the obvious suspect.
The police investigated me thoroughly.
They searched my hotel room in New York,
they searched my home in Albany.
They searched my parents' home, my brother's boat,
his home, our cars.
But they didn't find one shred of evidence. Not one.
But that didn't change Ms. Knowles' mind.
She just kept on after me.
I think she'd do anything to harm me.
JACK: Even put herself in a coma?
I'm sure she didn't plan on ending up in a coma.
But she staged this assault. There's no other explanation.
She lied to the police about you harassing her?
Yes. I never harassed her. I never called her. I never followed her.
You moved to New York City one month after she did.
That's a coincidence.
JACK: It's also a coincidence that Ms. Knowles was injected with Demerol?
Julie knew I took Demerol. I'm sure she told Cecilia.
And Cecilia injected herself.
And the ligature marks and the bruises on her thighs?
They were self-inflicted?
They had to be.
And the semen?
Mr. Taylor, two laboratories independently confirmed
your DNA matched the semen found at the scene.
They must've made a mistake.
Is that your best answer?
No.
(SIGHING)
I had two sexual encounters the week before Ms. Knowles was attacked.
While your fiancée was out of town?
Yes.
I met the women through an escort service, Private Encounters.
I saw one on Saturday, the other one on Monday night.
Are you suggesting Ms. Knowles
used a prostitute to obtain your semen?
She had to.
Can you produce either of these women to corroborate this theory?
No. I don't know their real names.
This is a heck of a story, Mr. Taylor.
No wonder you were so anxious to tell it to the grand jury.
I came here because I have nothing to hide.
I admitted cheating on my fiancée.
An admission without consequence,
since, as I'm sure your attorney explained to you,
grand jury transcripts are sealed.
Do you think it's easy for me to sit here
in front of all these people?
I think you lie as effortlessly as I breathe.
I am not lying! I am being framed!
By a woman in a coma?
She's crazy. She was obsessed with me.
JACK: Mr. Taylor.
Ask her friends. She was even seeing a shrink.
Mr. Taylor, your statement is over.
(BELL RINGING)
Rape one, assault one, attempted murder two.
Round one to you. See you in motions court.
The tried and true, when you have no case, file motions.
Let's not be too smug.
Taylor has two potential witnesses
who have a track record of doing anything for money.
The prostitutes?
Shouldn't we find them before he does?
If they exist.
Any mention he was a suspect
in Julie Gorham's death would be inflammatory.
People v. Molineux, prior bad acts are admissible to establish motive.
The fact Cecilia Knowles blamed him for her sister's death
is the reason he tried to kill her.
Pure speculation.
It's an issue of fact.
I agree. The jury can make the call.
I'm going to let them hear about Ms. Gorham's death. Next up.
Speaking of prior bad acts,
I want to present evidence of gross negligence
by the labs used for DNA testing.
Any problems at the labs have long since been resolved.
These incidents occurred just two years ago.
Oh, please! Motion denied. What else?
This so-called harassment of Ms. Knowles.
Ms. Knowles made a report to the Albany police.
Your Honor,
how am I supposed to cross examine a police report?
JACK: Thanks to his client, Ms. Knowles
is unable to testify about the terror he visited on her.
This report is the next best thing.
As long as he can authenticate it,
I don't see a problem here, Mr. Garnett.
Motion denied again. Next item.
That's it. I have no more motions.
Then we're done. I'll see you gentleman at trial.
(SIGHING)
ED: It took some doing, but we found the guy that runs the escort service.
He's cooperating? Oh, we're nominating him
for Citizen of the Year.
Taylor put his horizontal hula classes on his credit card.
There's a charge for the Saturday before Knowles was attacked.
We talked to the girl. She met Taylor at his place
at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon.
At 5:00, she was on a plane out of Newark.
She went to Vegas to work a garment convention.
She didn't return until the following weekend.
What about Miss Monday Night?
There's no record Taylor had a date.
He could've paid cash, but the service would have a booking slip.
Doesn't make sense he'd lie about this one and not the other.
Our Citizen of the Year's arranging for us to talk to the booker,
the girl who handled the phones that Monday.
Good. As soon as you know anything...
You don't actually swallow Taylor's cock and bull story.
It's a matter of what he can get a jury to swallow.
His lawyer wants to meet with us tomorrow.
If you hear anything by then, let me know.
It's become obvious to us that no matter how unjust,
we have no hope of prevailing at trial.
So, we'd like to talk about a plea bargain.
You know our terms.
They're unacceptable. We might as well take our chances with a jury.
We're prepared to accept 15-to-25
on a plea to the assault on Ms. Knowles.
We're not admitting anything on the Gorham murder.
Fifteen years, he'll be out, and Ms. Knowles most likely
will still be in a coma.
I know what judges have been handing out for this kind of offense.
Fifteen years is well within the ballpark.
I talked to Ms. Knowles' social worker.
At the present standard of care,
she'll exhaust her medical insurance in two years.
After that, things get very bleak.
All right, what do you want?
He forfeits all his assets to cover her medical expenses.
Anything beyond that comes out of his future earnings.
Oh.
That's the deal.
It's outrageous! Ken, wait.
All right, let's split the difference.
The minimum sentence here is 12 and a half years.
He does that, plus the medical expenses. Okay?
Ken, it doesn't mean we'll stop trying to prove your innocence.
Okay.
CHARLES: Send us the paperwork.
I want all his financials by the end of the week.
We didn't tell them the cops are talking to the escort service.
We're under no obligation. It isn't exculpatory.
It isn't up to us to do their work for 'em.
We don't know what they'll find.
(SIGHING)
Abbie, he confessed.
Case over.
You count it as a touchdown.
I'll wait for the instant replay.
I can't believe the service gave you my name.
They tell you all I do is answer their phones?
And book the appointments.
Okay, sure, I do that.
So, you want me to give the money back or something?
Somebody we're looking at claims he got a girl from your service last month.
On the night of the 12th, a Monday.
Every call gets a booking slip.
CARMICHAEL: This one didn't. The name's Ken Taylor.
On 57th. He's booked with you before.
We get a hundred calls a night.
The author wants portly pandas. They look portly to you?
What's the deal, Michelle?
You make appointments off the books, split the cash with the girls?
I got a deadline here.
We know Taylor called the service that night.
We can show you the phone records.
We can send a copy to your boss, if you'd like.
Please don't do that.
I need the job.
Then play ball.
This girl I know, Tina,
she called me asking if Taylor ever booked with us.
I told her, "Sure." She say why?
She said he owed her money.
You have Tina's number?
She had a pager but it got disconnected.
How else will we find her? Through another service?
No. She finds clients at the hotels.
I know she spends a lot of time in the bar at the Swanson.
The bartender at the Swanson told us you're there at least three nights a week.
Ms. Knowles was there the night she was attacked.
The night after you saw Ken Taylor.
I don't know Ken.
ED: Oh, I'd bet he remembers you.
We put you in a line up, even blindfolded he'd pick you out.
So, the way to go here,
is nice and easy.
Okay, we go that way.
What kind of charges?
Don't cooperate, and you'll find out.
(SIGHING)
Cecilia approached me
at the Swanson, a couple of weeks before.
I wasn't the first girl that she'd talked to.
She told me that this guy, Taylor, had been bothering her.
And that she wanted to get something on him.
She knew he called the escorts.
She said she'd pay me to find out which service.
Is this something you've done before?
(SIGHS) No.
But I know girls who've done it, for wives, girlfriends.
I called some bookers that I knew.
I got the information Cecilia wanted.
And then she offered me more money to arrange to meet him.
ED: And to get a semen sample?
Yeah.
I made sure he used a condom.
And I gave it to her the next day.
Did she say what she was gonna do with it?
She told me Taylor killed her sister.
She said she was gonna make him pay for it.
She got wind he was moving to New York
when his office sent a housing request to the travel division.
It gave her time to sign a lease before he did.
So, this harassment was a work of fiction.
Along with everything else.
One of her co-workers at the travel agency takes Demerol.
The only thing she didn't count on was the allergic reaction.
Have we told Mr. Taylor?
CARMICHAEL: We told his lawyer.
(SIGHING)
Well, you got an innocent man to confess to a crime he didn't commit.
Maybe this job's getting too easy for you.
I know. I know.
I was going to say I'll get started on the dismissal notice.
A man so self-absorbed, so arrogant.
It never occurred to me he might be innocent.
Or that Cecilia Knowles might be so desperate.
Ninety percent of cases are circumstantial.
We can only go where the best evidence leads us.
And if we stumble across justice along the way, great.
You see Julie Gorham's file on the table?
Yes.
Look in the search inventory.
A barn on 5 acres of farmland in Schoharie County
belonging to the Taylor family.
No barn, no farmland.
It was on the list of assets
Taylor sent over for the plea bargain.
Jack, they searched every piece of property
Taylor and his family owned to find Gorham's body.
Why didn't they search this barn?
Maybe he bought it recently.
Let's have the police look into it.
BRISCOE: Taylor's old man was a lawyer.
A client gave him the barn six years ago as payment for services.
But the title was never transferred until after the old man died last year.
Well, maybe Taylor wasn't aware his father owned it until then.
Well, Ma and Pa Kettle next door
remember Taylor and his dad being out here five years ago.
It's over here.
She's in some kind of canvas bag.
CARMICHAEL: We have a manner of death?
ED: Skull's crushed in on the left side.
BRISCOE: What's that label say?
Marine Plus. Could be a sail bag.
Taylor's brother keeps a boat for City Marina.
These are dirt marks on the sail bag
that held the remains of Julie Gorham.
This is a section of the deck of your brother's boat.
The characteristics of the non-skid pattern are uniquely consistent
with the marks on the sail bag.
The only patterns that matter are my client's fingerprints.
Which I assume you didn't find.
We were wrong once, Mr. Garnett. We're not wrong this time.
KEN: Why are you doing this to me?
I didn't kill Julie. It's Cecilia. It's all Cecilia!
I guess that means we can forget about a plea.
I don't make the same mistakes twice either.
I'm going to enjoy putting your client in jail.
Blame the woman in a coma. Hell of a strategy.
What a weasel. Yeah,
and the jury better not hear about it.
It's absurd.
And so is hiring a prostitute to extract evidence from Mr. Taylor.
From Taylor's lawyer. He wants Cecilia's psychiatric records.
Uh-huh.
Ms. Knowles had been seeing her shrink
for seven years before moving to the city.
I believe those records contain evidence of her obsession with my client,
and of her culpability in the death of her sister.
She was obsessed with him because he killed her sister.
Her obsession with him predates her sister's death.
Your Honor, he thinks he can say anything he wants
because Ms. Knowles isn't here to defend herself.
That's why I'm here. Mr. Garnett, those records are privileged,
unless Ms. Knowles or her legal guardian waives it.
There's no legal guardian.
She's in a coma, with little hope of regaining consciousness.
I mean, what am I supposed to do?
Without those records, my client is swinging in the wind.
Sorry, Mr. Garnett. You can't have the records.
All right, Your Honor.
Then I want to present evidence Ms. Knowles
tried to frame my client for attempted murder.
Fine, then I'll present the jury with Mr. Taylor's offer to plead guilty.
And neither of you will present anything about those incidents to the jury.
Your Honor, you're denying my client
the right to offer an alternate theory of the crime?
You can present your theory. Just not with this evidence.
O'MALLEY: Except for a call from his hotel room
to the airline at half past midnight,
we couldn't verify the whereabouts of Mr. Taylor
from the time Ms. Gorham's plane landed in LaGuardia at 9:00 p.m.
until 7:30 the next morning.
We did establish he had a rental car at his disposal.
What theory did you form as to Ms. Gorham's disappearance?
Mr. Taylor picked her up at the airport. They had an argument,
possibly over her decision to break up with him.
Mr. Taylor killed Ms. Gorham, drove to the hotel
to call the airline to establish an alibi.
He got a sail bag from his brother's boat
and buried her in the bag in his barn upstate.
Thank you.
Detective, did any witness positively identify
Ms. Gorham on the flight from Albany?
Positively? No.
But her boarding pass was used.
The stewardess saw a woman occupying her seat.
Do you know how Ms. Gorham got from her home to the Albany airport?
O'MALLEY: We assume she took a cab.
Did you find the cab that drove her?
No.
Hmm.
Who told you that Ms. Gorham decided to break up with my client?
Her sister, Cecilia Knowles.
But we had other witnesses who saw your client
and Ms. Gorham fighting in public.
Did you verify Ms. Knowles' whereabouts that night?
She said she was at home in Albany.
We didn't verify it. She wasn't a suspect.
Isn't it possible she drove her sister to the airport?
I suppose.
Isn't it possible she got on the plane, and not her sister?
Anything's possible. I don't see what you're getting at.
What I'm getting at
is Ms. Knowles killed her sister
on the way to the Albany airport,
left the body in her car,
and then flew to New York in her place.
Isn't that possible?
No. It isn't. Because your client killed Julie Gorham.
You never searched Ms. Knowles' car, did you?
No.
Defense 12, from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Would it surprise you she traded her car in
one month after her sister's murder?
Objection. This is irrelevant and inflammatory.
It's evidence. JUDGE: Approach.
The fact that Ms. Knowles got rid of her car doesn't prove anything.
There are dozens of possible reasons.
And I have an absolute right to present my reasons to the jury.
He's taking advantage of the fact Ms. Knowles can't explain her actions.
This is exactly the sort of thing we asked Your Honor to prevent.
The jurors aren't babies, Mr. McCoy.
They can decide whether to accept or reject Mr. Garnett's theories.
Objection overruled.
Every time my brother was in town, Kenny would bring Julie down to the boat.
A few times they brought Cecilia.
They were trying to fix me up with her.
One time I asked her to come sailing with me. Just the two of us.
CHARLES: How did she respond?
Objection. Hearsay.
Res gestae, Your Honor. It's foundational.
I'll allow it. Answer his question, Mr. Taylor.
She said she wasn't interested in me that way.
That she had her eye on Kenny.
Did you tell your brother?
No. I didn't want to cause him any problems with Julie.
Did you and your brother ever mention
your father's barn in Ms. Gorham's presence?
Yes, a few times.
We talked about buying the land next door and building a country house.
Did you ever talk about it in front of Ms. Knowles?
I mentioned our plans, yes.
No more questions.
You love your kid brother very much, don't you, Mr. Taylor?
Yes.
I'm sure he feels very kindly toward you right now.
When Ms. Gorham disappeared,
did you mention Ms. Knowles' feeling toward your brother to the police?
No. It didn't seem relevant.
But it seems relevant now?
Yes. Because it suggests
someone else had a reason to kill Ms. Gorham?
Yes.
Someone other than the kid brother you love very much.
Withdrawn.
I'm not sure I understand your question.
I mean, my own sisters and I don't always see eye to eye.
It doesn't mean anything.
Your Honor, request permission to treat as hostile.
Go ahead.
Ms. Wehner, weren't you present
during an argument between Ms. Knowles and her sister,
two weeks before Ms. Gorham's disappearance?
Yes.
And wasn't the argument over Ms. Gorham's relationship
with my client? Yes.
And didn't Ms. Knowles express the opinion
that my client was the wrong man for Ms. Gorham?
Yes. And he was.
I didn't ask for your opinion, Ms. Wehner.
Seven years ago,
wasn't there an incident between Ms. Knowles
and a married co-worker in your office?
Yes, but...
She made unwanted advances to him, sent him inappropriate letters.
Objection. Relevance.
Overruled. Answer the question, Ms. Wehner.
Yes, she did that.
And after this man complained to you,
you had a conversation with Ms. Knowles. What'd you tell her?
I told her she should see a therapist.
Thank you.
To your knowledge, did Cecilia ever hurt or threaten her sister?
No.
Julie was everything to Cecilia.
Ever since their parents died.
Cecilia worked to support Julie,
to pay for her college, her books.
She sacrificed so much for her.
Mr. McCoy wants you to put your brains on auto pilot,
to blindly accept that of course
Ken Taylor had a bad temper,
of course Julie was breaking up with him,
of course she landed at LaGuardia,
of course
he killed her
and dumped her body in his barn.
Of course, of course.
Mr. McCoy
doesn't want you to concern yourself
with another perfectly reasonable theory.
That it was Cecilia Knowles who was jealous of Julie Gorham,
who killed her, took her place on the plane.
Took the sail bag from the boat
and buried her in Mr. Taylor's barn.
And Cecilia did this
because she was obsessed
with my client.
She wanted to possess him. Control him.
Where's the proof?
I wanted you to hear what she told her therapist
but Mr. McCoy had those records suppressed.
Objection. Facts not in evidence.
Mr. Garnett, you've made your point. Move on.
Cecilia Knowles set out to frame my client. And it worked.
She fooled Mr. McCoy.
He's as much a victim of her machinations as my client.
Your Honor.
It's summation, Mr. McCoy. He's allowed to argue his case.
Goon.
Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't the first time
Mr. McCoy has been fooled by Cecilia Knowles.
He doesn't want you to know, but she's done this before.
Objection. Facts not in evidence.
Sustained. Wrap it up, Mr. Garnett.
That's not good enough. Side bar, Your Honor.
Denied. Mr. Garnett.
He's bringing up facts not adduced at trial.
I want Your Honor to instruct the jury to...
Sit down, Mr. McCoy.
Your Honor made rulings. The People relied on them.
I want his summation stricken from the record.
I'll do no such thing.
Your Honor, you're leaving us with no remedy.
If you won't uphold your own rulings...
Be quiet, Mr. McCoy.
Now, sit down.
So,
even if you don't believe
Cecilia Knowles killed her own sister,
you must admit it's possible she did.
And that's reasonable doubt.
Cecilia Knowles isn't here today
because, as you know, she's in a coma.
You haven't been told why she's in a coma.
Mr. Garnett alluded to the reason.
I'm going to tell you why.
Objection. She did it
in a desperate, crazed attempt...
Sustained. ...to call attention
to the fact that Mr. Taylor
had gotten away with the murder of her sister.
I said sustained, Mr. McCoy.
She was so convinced of his guilt,
she was ready to put herself in jeopardy
to see this vicious killer brought to trial.
(STERNLY) Mr. McCoy. And while she lies
in a hospital bed, this court has seen fit
to allow the defense to speculate about her state of mind!
That's enough.
And hold her up as a patsy for Mr. Taylor.
And since this court
doesn't have the guts to protect the rights
of the weak and voiceless... (JUDGE POUNDS GAVEL)
You're in contempt, Mr. McCoy.
...It's for the jury to see justice done.
And justice in this case
is holding Ken Taylor, and only Ken Taylor, responsible for the death
of Julie Gorham. (POUNDING GAVEL) That's it.
I am declaring an immediate mistrial.
Oh, Your Honor...
Sit down, Mr. Garnett You opened the door for this.
Ladies and gentlemen, you're dismissed.
With my apologies on behalf of counsel.
We're adjourned. (POUNDS GAVEL)
(BEEPING)
CARMICHAEL: Your assistant said you were here.
I had to sign a release for Cecilia Knowles' possessions.
The hospital didn't know what to do with them.
We'll get another shot at Mr. Taylor.
Maybe not.
I asked the police to track down her car.
It turned up in Ohio.
Forensics found two strands of Julie Gorham's hair.
They were friends. I'm sure she rode in her sister's car.
In the trunk?
Of course,
the hairs could've come off of a blanket or some luggage.
We'll ask her,
when she wakes up.