.
- 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.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Bella Ross.
[cheers and applause]
- You were amazing.
- Thank you.
- You made it.
- How are you feeling?
- I'm good.
I feel really good.
I'll call you tomorrow.
[cheers and applause]
Good evening, everyone, and welcome.
[cheers and applause]
This is an important day for all of us,
a new beginning for a brand that's
been around for 27 years.
[cheers and applause]
I know, I know, that's a long time.
But I started the line when I was ten years old, so...
[laughter]
I'd like to introduce the new designer
and creative director of Bella Ross, Lorenzo Cain.
[cheers and applause]
- Thank you so much, Bella.
I will do my best to make you proud.
[applause]
My goal is to take this brand to new heights.
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat dance music playing]
- You look gorgeous.
Thanks for coming, sweetie.
- You are the most beautiful woman here.
- Please. - It's not even close.
- I'm too old for you. - You keep saying that.
- Because it's true.
- Well, if this is what too old looks like,
I'm in.
♪ ♪
- The victim took two to the chest.
Recovered both casings nearby. 9-mil.
Jewelry and phone still on her person.
- Got a name? - Bella Ross.
- The clothing designer?
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
Yeah. That's her.
- It's gonna be a lot of press. We got any witnesses?
- No, but we're out on the street asking questions.
- All right, good.
Let's make sure we pull any surveillance
we got around here, okay?
My wife dropped three grand on a Bella Ross wedding gown.
Worth every penny.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
The victim is Bella Ross, 53 years old,
lived pretty much her whole life here
in New York. Married, no kids.
According to Forbes, worth 250 mil.
- Any witnesses? - Yeah, one.
Woman was walking her dog in the park, heard two gunshots.
Saw someone wearing a mask and a black winter coat run away,
but she wasn't sure which direction.
- But we have video of the actual shooting, correct?
- Yeah, it's not the perfect angle, but...
Bella takes two 9-mils in the chest
at point-blank range.
Suspect appears to be about 5'10" with a thin build.
- Could be male or female.
Looks like they're headed north.
Why don't you start by checking
all the video in that direction?
Meantime, notify the husband.
- You're sure it's her?
Bella Ross. - We're sure.
- What happened? Did someone rob her?
- We don't know, but at this point,
it doesn't appear to be connected to a robbery.
- Look, Tate, we can't imagine what you're going through.
But if it's okay, we'd like to ask you a few questions.
- Yeah, okay.
- When was the last time you talked to her?
- Yesterday.
Well, we only spoke for a few seconds,
around, um, 2:30 or so.
And she was really busy at work.
I called again around 6:00 or so and left her a voicemail.
- About anything in particular?
- I was just wishing her good luck.
- With what?
- She hosted an event last night
for her clothing line. - You didn't go.
- No.
I haven't been feeling well, so I stayed home.
But I should have gone.
Should have been there.
Maybe this wouldn't have happened.
- And by home, you mean here, correct?
- Yeah, I've been out here for the past week or so.
- What about your wife?
- No, she was staying at our place in the city.
Like I said, she's been really busy at work.
- You have a security system here, Mr. Harris?
- No, I've never felt the need.
- Was there anything unusual going on?
Like anyone stalking her, harassing her?
- Not that I'm aware of.
- Any recent arguments or confrontations?
- I'm not sure.
It's possible. - It's possible.
What do you mean by that?
- Bella wasn't afraid to share her opinions, or fire people.
- She fire anyone recently?
- Well, she did have a bit of a dustup this week
with an employee. - Over what?
- Over not picking her to be lead designer.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- The Pound Ridge house doesn't have a security system,
so we can't confirm if the husband was,
in fact, home at the time of the murder.
And he does fit the general physical description
of the shooter-- about 5'10", thin build.
- Half the state fits that general description.
Actually, with all of this Ozempic,
it's probably more like 90%.
- I just spoke to someone who was at Bella's event.
Sounds like it was a hell of a night,
up until the end, when she got into a fight
with some drunk lady.
- Any chance this drunk woman is the employee
who got passed over for the big job?
- I think the young man's finally getting
the hang of this, Jess.
- Great.
Okay, go.
- Yeah, let's go.
[bell dings] - Order up!
- Yep, that's me.
Wasn't my finest hour, that's for sure.
- What were you two arguing about?
- We weren't really arguing.
I was just venting.
- About being passed over?
- I couldn't believe she picked Lorenzo.
I felt betrayed.
I dedicated my life to that woman.
I gave her my everything.
- So you were upset, emotional.
- And drunk.
- What happened after the argument?
- I went home, took a few too many gummies,
and went to bed.
- Did you talk to Bella this morning?
- No.
I just woke up about an hour ago.
- So you woke up at noon, right?
And then what?
- I came here to get some food and coffee.
I didn't kill Bella.
Yeah, I was upset, but--
Here I am yelling at her,
and she offers to take me out to lunch
to talk about my career.
She even offered to help me start my own clothing line.
- Were you aware of anything unusual
going on in Bella's life?
Threats, stalkers, money trouble,
that kind of thing?
- When I left the party last night,
I saw her and a man arguing.
And I couldn't see his face, but it was--
it was heated.
[suspenseful music]
- That's Marco.
I don't know his last name. He's a photographer.
- Any chance this was a romantic relationship?
- Sure, it's possible.
Guys were always flirting with Bella.
Women too.
Part of the deal when you marry a successful, gorgeous woman.
- How'd that make you feel? - What do you mean?
- Make you angry, jealous?
- No.
We had an open marriage.
I actually encouraged Bella to sleep with other people.
♪ ♪
.
- We weren't arguing.
We were just talking.
- It looked pretty intense to me.
- I understand how you might think that.
I tend to wave my arms and hands a lot.
I'm Colombian.
- And I'm Irish, and he's--
- Nigerian. - Yeah, so there you go.
- I had nothing to do with Bella's death.
- Then answer the question.
What were you guys talking about?
- Bella didn't think that I was attracted to her
and that I was sleeping with her for business reasons,
and I got upset, told her I couldn't have
been more attracted to her. - Then what?
After she jumped in the SUV and drove off?
- I got a cab, went to her place,
and we spent the night together.
- And in the morning?
- I woke up around 9:00 or so. - You see Bella?
- No, she already left.
She liked to take early morning walks.
- And what did you do?
- I hung out, made a cappuccino,
read a few emails. Then I went home.
- Yeah? Around what time?
- 9:30, 9:45.
- You aware of any problems she might have
been experiencing in her personal or professional life?
- No.
I can't believe Bella's really dead.
- I know. It's terrible.
- Yeah.
On top of that, she was my most important client.
- Unfortunately, surveillance video confirms Marco's alibi.
He didn't leave Bella's apartment until 9:40.
- Why do you say unfortunately?
- I didn't care for that dude. Mm-mm.
- Okay, so what you're saying, really, is we have nothing.
- It's early.
- Well, tell that to the guys over at 1PP.
They're all over me on this.
- We're trying.
- Okay, why don't you check out the husband again?
Tate Harris? - Mm-hmm.
- I mean, I know he says he was in Pound Ridge the morning
of the murder, but I don't really trust a guy
that encourages his wife to have sex with other men.
- Well, like him or not,
it appears he was home all morning.
- How do you know?
- The house across the street
has three surveillance cameras staring straight
at Tate and Bella's home.
There's no video of Tate coming or going the night before
or the morning of the murder through that front door.
- Phone company just gave us Bella's electronic info.
- Anything? - Maybe.
Looks like she texted some guy named Ellis
three days before the murder.
She said, "I can't believe Trey did this to me."
And she follows up with,
"I want to destroy that bastard."
With five exclamation points.
- Chase it down.
- I was Bella's personal attorney for 11 years.
We texted back and forth quite frequently.
- We know that, Mr. Matz.
What we don't know is what Bella meant by
"I can't believe Trey did this to me"
and "I want to destroy the bastard."
With five exclamation points.
- Well, Bella could be a bit dramatic at times,
but she was a good woman and a legend in the fashion industry.
- Who are you protecting here, Mr. Matz?
- And why?
- It's nothing like that.
It's just that I adored Bella,
and I don't want to talk out of turn
and tarnish her reputation.
- We appreciate that, Mr. Matz.
But Bella is dead, so I don't think
we need to worry about her reputation right now.
Who is Trey?
Why did she want to destroy him?
We're not trying to taint anybody's legacy here.
We're just trying to find the person who shot her.
- [sighs] I understand.
And if I'm being honest, I think Trey could be involved.
I never liked him.
From day one, he was a phony and so obvious.
But Bella didn't see it,
not until the last few weeks.
Then it all came crashing down.
- Okay, this is good.
Let's start at the beginning.
Who the hell is Trey?
[suspenseful music]
- We talked to Bella's lawyer, Ellis Matz.
He's not a big fan of yours, Trey.
- I'm not a big fan of his, so I guess that makes us even.
- Well, not really, because he's not
spending Bella's money to buy lavish gifts
for his mistresses.
- Ellis has no idea what he's talking about.
- Really?
So Bella just made it up one day, out of the blue?
She texts, "I cannot believe Trey did this to me."
- It's possible. She was very emotional.
- Can you believe this prick?
- Why don't you help me out here, Trey?
I just want to be clear.
So you moved to the big city from Worcester, Mass,
lost your Boston accent, started pronouncing your Rs.
You changed your name from Johnny O'Malley
to Tate Harris III, Trey for short?
- Yeah.
Not a crime to reinvent yourself, is it?
- No, but it is a crime to shoot your wife
because she wants a divorce, because she's figured out
that you're spending all her money
on hookers and cocaine.
- I was home sick watching TV
the day Bella was killed.
- We looked at all the video surveillance we have,
and there's nothing that disproves his alibi.
- So he was at home in Pound Ridge
at the time of the murder? - I'm not saying that.
I'm saying we got nothing that says he wasn't.
- I just got access to his credit card information.
- Anything good?
- Nothing obvious. No Uber rides or tolls.
But he bought a burner phone at Best Buy four days ago.
- Well, that sounds interesting to me.
We know about the burner phone you bought in the Bronx.
- So?
- So most law-abiding citizens
up in Pound Ridge don't buy those.
- Yeah, they still prefer old-fashioned iPhones
'cause they're not worried about being tracked
or leaving a digital footprint. - Made us curious.
So curious, we called every car service in Pound Ridge,
and Darien, and Greenwich.
- I'll be damned, but one of them actually had a record
of a client asking for a 7:00 a.m. pickup the morning
that your wife was killed.
- And the destination was 25th and Park,
five blocks from the crime scene.
- And he drove the client home to Pound Ridge
30 minutes after the murder.
- And this is where it gets really interesting.
The client asked for the pickup and drop-off
to be at the corner of Pleasant Drive
and Woodlawn Road, which is in a secluded section
of Pound Ridge with no security cameras.
- And he paid cash.
- Time to start talking, Trey.
- I have no idea what you're talking about.
♪ ♪
- You good?
You sure you don't want to tell us your side of the story?
- Here's my side of the story.
I had nothing to do with this.
And that's all I have to say.
- Well, sit down. Sit your ass down.
- I'm done talking, so if you'd excuse me.
- No, we don't. Turn around.
- Tate Harris III, you are under arrest
for the murder of Bella Ross.
.
- This was a cold-blooded execution, Your Honor.
The defendant's wife, Bella Ross,
was not only planning to divorce him,
but to claw back the money he had stolen from her.
In addition to his obvious motive,
he repeatedly lied to police about his whereabouts
on the day of the murder.
We seek remand, Your Honor. - Ms. Witt?
- The prosecution's case is shockingly thin
and lacking substance, like one of those supermodels
his wife used to hire to strut down the runway.
- Watch it, Ms. Witt.
- I was just trying to make a point.
- No, you were just trying to be cute,
and I don't do cute. So move on.
- I apologize.
The defense is requesting bail in the amount of $500,000.
- Denied.
The defendant is hereby remanded.
- Your Honor, there is no murder weapon,
no fingerprints, no blood. [gavel slams]
- Next case.
[cameras clicking]
- The defense attorney described the State's case
as shockingly thin and lacking--
- The press is really running with this model metaphor.
Shockingly thin and lacking substance?
- It's more quippy than true.
And I'm, of course, offended on behalf
of hardworking models everywhere.
- As you should be.
- Sadly, the attorney isn't totally off-base,
and the case is highly circumstantial.
- So it seems.
Hard to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt
without some physical evidence.
- Fortunately, our defendant is just despicable enough...
[phone buzzes]
I think we might just pull it off.
Ah. - What is it?
- Brady just got an anonymous tip about the murder weapon.
- Well, I take back what I said.
- I gotta tell you, man, I am 0 for 90
on anonymous tips. - Don't go dark on me, Vince.
- Just stating the facts, man.
- Got something. - 9-millimeter?
- Yes, sir.
- Your luck is changing, Vince. - Maybe.
- What's that mean?
- It means when something's too good to be true,
it usually is. - Damn, I can't win with you.
- It's in the genes, man.
- All right, let's get that to ballistics right away.
- Wait. What are you saying?
That my gun was used to kill Bella Ross?
- That is correct. - [laughs]
That's impossible.
- Not according to the ballistics report
that we just got. - Let's start at the beginning.
Do you own a gun? - Yeah.
- 9-millimeter Glock? - Yes.
I took it to a shooting range in Brooklyn
a few years ago and shot off a few rounds,
but that was it.
I literally haven't touched it since.
- Where do you keep the gun? Here?
- Yeah, in my bedroom.
- Nice and slow, please.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- This is where I kept it.
Well, like I said, I haven't touched it
or even thought about it in years.
- This is you and Tate Harris?
- Yeah?
- You guys were friends?
- Sort of.
- Has he ever been to your apartment?
- A few times.
- When was the last time?
- A few weeks ago. I had a dinner party.
- Was he in your bedroom? - [groans]
- But he was here. - Yeah, yeah.
For sure.
♪ ♪
- Hey, any luck tracking down who made that anonymous tip?
- Yeah, call was made from a burner phone.
Pinged off a tower on the Upper West Side.
- Is that where Tate's lawyer lives?
- 78th and Columbus.
- So Tate told her the gun belonged to Dutch.
She calls up the police,
tells them where to find it, thinking, what,
it might help create reasonable doubt?
- Maybe, but we obviously can't prove it.
- The party guests?
- Yeah, they all confirmed Tate was there,
but nobody saw him in Dutch's bedroom.
- Telling the truth?
- Nobody there was exactly thrilled to be talking to me.
- Well, if nothing else,
we can establish Dutch owned the gun,
he kept it in his apartment,
and Tate Harris was in that apartment
four days prior to the murder.
- Yeah, it's not perfect.
- No, it's not, but physically connects him
to the murder weapon.
Gives the jury one more piece of data
to support our theory of the case.
The defendant was married to Bella Ross for six years,
but their relationship was hardly equal.
You see, Bella financed the defendant's
fabulous lifestyle and his failed business ventures.
And then, about a week prior to her death,
she discovered that he had been lying to her
about pretty much everything.
She realized he was a fraud.
Nothing he said was real,
even his name, Tate Harris III.
His real name is John O'Malley.
So Bella told her lawyer and the defendant
that she wanted a divorce.
She was also planning to sue the defendant
to recover all the money that he had borrowed
or stolen from her during the six years
that they were married.
However, the defendant wasn't ready to give up
his extravagant lifestyle, and in his mind,
the only way to avoid that was to make sure
Bella Ross was dead before she filed for divorce.
So with an eye on inheriting Bella's vast fortune,
he stole a gun from his friend's apartment
and he assassinated her.
- By all accounts, Bella Ross led
an extraordinary life.
She was wealthy, accomplished, respected.
She owned luxurious homes in New York,
Los Angeles, and London.
She did what she wanted with whom she wanted.
And when a woman leads a life that
is this extraordinary, this excessive,
she tends to make a lot of bitter enemies.
Tate Harris did not kill Bella Ross.
We will provide evidence that proves this,
that proves that he was home in Pound Ridge, sick,
watching a TV show when Bella Ross was killed.
So if Tate Harris didn't kill her,
then who did? Honestly, I don't know.
My job is to present evidence that forces you
to reconsider the prosecution's flawed theory of the crime,
and to determine whether or not the prosecution proved
beyond a reasonable doubt that Tate Harris killed Bella Ross.
When this trial is over,
I am highly confident that the answer to that question
is a resounding no.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
.
- Sounds like the defense is gonna try like hell
to exploit Bella Ross's decadent lifestyle.
- Oldest trick in the book--
label a woman a whore, a successful woman a bitch.
- Well, try as they may,
the law makes it very hard to introduce evidence
of a victim's sexual conduct. I think we are all right there.
- Any obvious alternate suspects?
Anyone the defense might try to pin this on?
- Not to the best of our knowledge.
- Okay, so focus on the facts.
Tate Harris used Bella Ross for money, influence, prestige.
And when Bella finally did the math on all this,
he executed her in cold blood.
Start with the accountant.
- How much money did Bella loan the defendant
over the past six years?
- Approximately $3.5 million.
She lent another $7.2 million
to his various business ventures.
- And how much did Bella spend per year to sustain
their lavish lifestyle?
- Approximately $6.5 million per year.
- How much did the defendant contribute to this amount?
- Zero.
- Did the defendant's various business ventures
generate any income? - No.
- During the six years that Bella and the defendant
were married, did the defendant report any personal income?
- In 2024, he reported income of $123,000.
In 2025, he reported income of $135,000.
- And the source of that income?
- Bella's company hired him to be a consultant to the CEO.
- Nothing further.
- Bella and I were very close.
We met 20 years ago at "Vogue."
- In the weeks leading up to Bella's death,
did you happen to speak with Bella about her marriage?
- Yes. We had lunch five days before she was killed.
She said she was planning to file for divorce.
- Did she say why? - Yes.
She realized that Tate was a fraud,
that he was using her. - Can you be more specific?
- She invested millions of dollars
in Tate's E-fashion business.
When she'd ask him how it was going,
he'd say, fantastic.
But she was so busy with her own career
that she never really checked.
She trusted that what Tate said was true.
Then one day, she actually looked at the financials.
She realized the whole thing was a sham.
And then she started digging
into his credit card statements,
his bank accounts, and she realized that
he was actually stealing money from her.
- And this upset her? - Yes.
She was devastated.
- Did Bella tell the defendant
she was planning to divorce him?
- Objection. Hearsay.
- Let me rephrase.
When you had lunch with Bella five days
before she was killed, was it your impression
she had told the defendant
she was going to file for divorce?
- Yes. - Thank you.
Nothing further.
- Bella Ross was a brilliant and shrewd businesswoman.
- Absolutely.
- She had a keen eye for talent.
She knew who was smart, who wasn't.
- Yes.
- So she obviously knew that her husband wasn't
particularly smart or talented.
- She eventually realized that. - Oh, come on.
I mean, it couldn't have taken someone as smart as Bella Ross
six years to figure out that Tate Harris,
her husband, was a dope.
He dropped out of community college
after two months.
He never held down a job for more than a year.
Yet Bella stayed in this marriage for six years.
There had to be a reason for that.
- I suppose.
- Could it be that she was using Tate
the same way he was using her?
She liked having sex with him.
She liked having him on her arm for the various galas--
- Objection. - Sustained.
- You said earlier that it was your impression
that Bella had told Tate that she intended
to file for divorce,
yet she never actually filed for divorce.
- No, but there was a reason for that.
Someone shot her.
- Correct.
Someone.
[tense music]
- Was a gun registered in your name used to kill Bella Ross?
- Yes.
- When was the last time you fired that gun?
- About three years ago, at a shooting range in Brooklyn.
- When was the last time you actually saw the gun?
- About a year ago.
I was looking for a T-shirt and found it in a drawer.
- Did you keep the gun in a lockbox?
- No, it was in a drawer underneath a bunch of T-shirts.
- Do you know the defendant? - Yes.
We used to be friends.
- Has he ever been to your apartment?
- Yes.
- When was the last time he was there?
- January 21st.
- January 21st of this year, four days prior
to Bella Ross's death? - That's correct.
- Nothing further.
- You were also friends with Bella Ross, correct?
- More like acquaintances. - Oh, acquaintances.
That's how you would characterize your relationship?
- Yes.
- Even though you and Bella had a sexual relationship?
- I wouldn't say it was a sexual relationship.
We had sex once. - And it ended badly, correct?
- No. We just had sex once, and that was it.
- And you were upset when she broke it off.
- No, she didn't break it off. There was nothing to break off.
- So you were saying a moment ago
that you own the gun that was used to kill Bella Ross.
- Yes.
- But you claim that you didn't shoot her.
- Correct.
- So you're saying that someone else used
your gun to shoot Bella Ross.
- All I know is I didn't shoot her,
so someone must have stolen it.
- So you're saying that Tate Harris stole your gun.
- Yeah, I suppose.
- But Tate Harris had no idea that you owned a gun,
let alone where you kept it.
- I'm not so sure about that.
I may have shown him the gun or mentioned it before.
- You may have.
But you're not sure.
- No.
- Nothing further.
- Permission to redirect, Your Honor.
- Granted.
- Mr. Wilmont, where were you
on the morning of January 25th, the day Bella Ross was killed?
- In Miami.
- Your Honor, I'd like to present Mr. Wilmont's
airline tickets, previously marked
as People's Exhibit 7 and 8.
You flew from New York to Miami on January 24th,
and you returned to New York on January 26th, correct?
- Yes.
- Nothing further. - Your Honor, may I?
So what was the purpose of this trip to Miami,
business or pleasure? - Pleasure.
- Uh-huh.
So you flew the day before Bella was killed,
and you returned the day after.
- Yes.
- Ask me, it sounds awfully convenient.
- Objection. - Sustained.
Watch it, Ms. Witt. - Nothing further.
♪ ♪
- Would have been nice if you had told us
about your fling with Bella.
- I didn't think it was relevant.
- Oh, really?
You didn't think having sex with a dead woman
was worth mentioning?
Your gun was used to kill her, for God sakes.
- I'm sorry.
This is all just way too much for me to process.
- Is he an idiot, or he just really doesn't give a damn?
- My money's on the latter.
Either way, Dutch Wilmont is now
a legitimate alternate suspect.
.
- Hey, I heard about your witness.
- It wasn't ideal.
- I'm not telling you how to try your case,
but we need to put that damn gun in
Tate's greedy right hand somehow.
- I agree, but we've spoken to everybody
who was at the dinner party.
Unfortunately, no one saw him in close proximity
to the bedroom where the gun was located.
- Talk to them again.
Only this time, be more persuasive.
Threaten to subpoena them if necessary.
- This way, please.
- That an Oscar?
- Oh, my husband's a director.
We actually met filming that movie, "When Birds Fly."
- Oh, you're married to Arthur Burke.
- Mm. - Wow.
- So how can I help?
- We wanted to talk about the dinner party again.
- I already told you I didn't see anything
suspicious that evening.
- I know you already told me,
but it doesn't mean that it's true.
- Excuse me?
- We talked to the other guests again this morning,
and every one of them said that you and Tate
spent a lot of time together that night.
- And two of them told us they saw you
and Tate disappear into Dutch's bedroom
for an extended period of time.
- Tate and I were friends, but I don't recall disappearing
into a bedroom with him.
- Well, we talked to Dutch and the other guests at length.
They were more forthcoming this time.
- Meaning what?
- We know it wasn't a dinner party.
- It was more of a sex party with lots of drugs.
I don't know if there's a specific name
for this type of gathering. - What's your point?
- Our point is that now we know
you were with Tate in the bedroom,
and if you saw him take something from the closet,
we are going to need you to testify.
- No.
No, I'm not okay with that. Okay?
I just want to forget that I was even at that stupid party.
- No, that's not how this works.
- There is no way in hell I'm going to testify
Tate and I were together in Dutch's bedroom.
So if you'll excuse me-- - Whoa. Whoa, whoa.
He murdered his wife, and you have evidence
that can help us convict him.
- I understand, but my husband has no idea that--
[tense music]
He's old-fashioned about this kind of thing.
- It's not our problem.
- I'm done talking.
Please get out of my house.
- Screw her.
She doesn't get to choose whether to testify.
Let's hit her with a subpoena,
see how tough she is with her hands on a damn Bible.
- She seemed pretty adamant.
And given the personal stakes attached to her testimony,
I don't see her telling the truth,
Bible or no Bible. - What?
So you just want to give her a pass?
- No. We exert more pressure.
- Will someone please explain to me why the hell we're here?
- Oh, we're here because your client indicated
she wasn't interested in testifying
in the Bella Ross murder trial. - So?
- So we'd like to ask her one more time if she might--
- She was not in the bedroom, and she did not see
Tate Harris in the bedroom. If there is nothing else.
- Well, take a seat.
We're not done.
The other reason we've invited you here today
is to inform you that we intend to bring
sex trafficking charges against your client.
- Sex trafficking?
What the hell are you trying to do?
- This some sort of joke?
- Your client invited four female friends to a party
at Dutch Wilmont's apartment.
She supplied them with illegal drugs
and encouraged them to engage in sexual activity,
with the obvious goal of currying favor
with Dutch Wilmont, a powerful film producer.
- Those women are my friends.
They're not hookers.
So what? We like to have sex. Who cares?
That is how we choose to live our life.
- I'm not judging you.
I couldn't care less what you do with your time.
But you need to testify.
- We are done here.
♪ ♪
- Hear back from Grace's lawyer?
- No, but I'm optimistic.
There's no way she has the stomach to stare down
a sex trafficking charge.
- Yeah, well, there's a reason for that.
- What do you mean?
- She's not a sex trafficker.
Come on, Nolan, we both know this isn't sex trafficking.
It's just a bunch of consenting adults doing drugs, having sex.
- Her actions on the night in question
meet the criteria set forth in New York State penal law.
- Don't do all that. Okay? Not with me.
- Okay.
Let's say I agree with you. - Mm-hmm.
- It was just a wild night in the big city.
That doesn't give her the right
to pretend she didn't see what she saw
or to duck her legal responsibilities
so that she can avoid embarrassment
and preserve her marriage to some film director.
- And I agree with you.
But to threaten her with sex trafficking charges?
Come on, Nolan.
- My job is to put Tate Harris away for the rest of his life.
And if the cost of doing that is
blowing up some selfish actress,
I can live with that.
- Your call.
Don't get all high and mighty here.
- Why not?
- You're selfish too.
- Excuse me?
- You're leveraging Grace to win the trial
to make yourself feel good, to advance your career.
- The only thing I'm leveraging is the law
to get justice for Bella Ross.
[phone buzzing]
Nolan Price.
Hey, I'll see you both in court tomorrow morning.
- [sighs]
♪ ♪
- When was the last time
you were at Dutch Wilmont's apartment?
- January 21st of this year.
- Was anyone else there? - Yes.
Seven other people.
- Was the defendant there? - Yes.
- Did you see the defendant inside Mr. Wilmont's bedroom
that evening? - Yes.
- Where were you when you saw him?
- In the same bedroom. - For how long?
- About four or five hours.
- Did you see the defendant enter or exit the closet
inside that bedroom?
- Yes, I saw him do both.
- When he exited the closet, was he carrying anything?
- He was holding something wrapped up in a T-shirt.
I asked him about it.
Well, more like joked.
I said it looked like he was stealing something.
- Did he respond? - He said, "I am."
I just thought he was kidding.
- Nothing further.
- Ms. Burke, you're an actress?
- Yes.
- Married to Arthur Burke, the acclaimed film director.
- Yes.
- On January 21st, you attended a party
at Dutch Wilmont's apartment and had sex
with Tate Harris, correct?
- Yes.
- Were you drinking that evening?
- Yes.
- Were you under the influence of any narcotics?
- Yes.
- Yet you somehow saw Tate Harris carrying something
wrapped in a T-shirt.
Was this before or after you had sex?
- After.
- Before or after you were drinking and doing drugs?
- After.
- So you're saying Tate Harris just
walked into Dutch Wilmont's closet,
stole a gun right before your eyes
like there was no care in the world.
- He thought I was asleep, and I was.
But then I heard him rummaging around,
so I woke up.
- In exchange for your testimony today,
Mr. Price promised not to file
sex trafficking charges against you?
- Yes, that's correct.
- Are you a pimp, Ms. Burke?
- No, I am definitely not a pimp.
[tense music]
- Nothing further.
- Redirect, Your Honor.
- Ms. Burke, did my decision
not to charge you influence the way
you answered my questions today?
Did it make you say anything that was not,
in fact, truthful?
- No. - Nothing further.
- You may step down.
♪ ♪
- Who the hell do you think you are?
- Grace, let's go. - Ms. Burke, that's enough.
- I am not a pimp, and I am not a whore, okay?
- Ms. Burke. - How dare you humiliate me--
- I am holding you in contempt of court.
- I'll hold you in contempt! And especially you!
♪ ♪
- Has the jury reached a verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
In the charge of murder in the second degree,
we, the jury, find the defendant,
Tate Harris, guilty.
- Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
thank you for your service.
This court is adjourned.
[gavel bangs]
- Well, we got the right results.
Just wish we got it the right way.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[wolf howls]