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.
Come on, Gillian. You're already a half hour late.
I don't care. I hate soccer.
STEVE: Gillian. Gillian.
Dad. He's all bloody.
(GROANING)
CURTIS: Was he a regular?
JARELL: Wasn't dressed like one.
The park's people couldn't ID him
on account of his face being scrambled.
How bad?
Like he went 15 rounds with a gorilla.
Thanks. Mmm.
BRISCOE: Okay. So you came through at 8:00.
Now, did anybody see him earlier?
MAN: No.
Come on, folks. The tunnel's the only way down here.
I came through a little before 8:00.
And you didn't notice a man marinating in his own blood?
What are you hawking us for?
There's always someone in there marinating in something.
Lennie.
Guy's at St. Luke's in critical condition.
They're not sure if he's gonna make it.
The good citizens here will be devastated.
GIDAMAL: Your victim's name is George Harding.
His wallet's in there with the rest of his property.
We'll need our forensics unit to pick up his clothes.
We know the routine, Detective.
What's the damage?
He's lost a lot of blood.
Broken nose, three fractured ribs, severe concussion.
This time, they were trying to kill him.
This time?
He sustained some bruises and lacerations earlier this week,
I'd say two or three days ago.
Don't talk too long. He just regained consciousness.
Check it out, Lennie. PD 521.
Property clerk's receipt?
He was arrested three days ago.
CURTIS: You want to tell us who beat you up, Mr. Harding?
Nobody. I fell off my bike.
This have anything to do
with you getting arrested a few days ago?
Leave me alone.
Listen, if you don't cooperate with us,
we're going to assume you have something
you don't want us to find out about,
and then we're gonna have to start investigating you.
(SIGHS)
Harding won't give you any explanation?
He says he fell off his bike.
(SCOFFS) Bike must be about 10 stories tall.
Hey, if this guy won't talk, there are real cases we can work.
Well, what do we know about him?
New York State driver's license,
employee card from York Psychiatric Hospital.
Harding was collared in the 23 on Thursday,
assaulting a police officer.
Somebody on our team took payback?
Could be why he dummied up.
Maybe he deserved it. Yeah. Maybe he didn't.
And maybe it wasn't a cop.
If it was, we'll turn it over to Internal Affairs. For now, run with it.
Thursday night, Harding comes tearing around a corner,
sees me on the beat,
hauls off and slugs me in the face.
No reason.
What'd you do?
Cuffed him and took him in.
Easy or hard?
Where you guys going with this?
Last night, somebody beat the crap out of him,
left him for dead in Riverside Park.
Well, it wasn't me.
The doctor said he had some injuries from earlier in the week.
Do you know anything about that?
Like maybe he banged his head getting into your squad car?
Look, you guys got this all wrong.
This Harding was running away from a couple of guys.
I figure it was either get himself arrested
or take what they were bringing.
Where were you last night? Home.
Alone.
These two guys that were chasing Harding. Could you ID them?
It was dark.
They bounced as soon as they saw my uniform.
What about your partner? He get a good look at them?
She.
She's in there.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
I didn't see the two guys. I was getting coffee.
How much coffee do you drink?
CURTIS: What did you see?
Loomis was hooking up the perp.
He rough him up any?
Define "rough."
"Rough" is you talking to IAB instead of us.
(SCOFFS) What's wrong with you guys?
You want to know who pounded that jerk,
go find the two guys that were chasing him.
Yeah, the two guys nobody saw except Loomis.
You calling him a liar?
Hey, take it easy. You're getting a little caffeine rush there.
Does anybody know where Harding was coming from
before he ran into your partner?
I know where he said he'd been.
I don't know nothing about nothing.
You sound proud of it.
Sustaining ignorance is hard work.
And were you, uh, sustaining your ignorance
around 9:00, 9:30 last Thursday night?
Diligently.
Anybody here less diligent than you?
Yes, there were two guys hassling him,
and, yes, I'm sure it was Thursday night.
So what were they hassling him about?
I don't know. I was reading.
You sure it was George Harding they were hassling?
Yeah, I see George three, four times a week.
BRISCOE: And the two guys?
Them I never saw before. Two peas out of the same pod.
Dark, hyper, Italian,
maybe Jewish.
Would you know them if you saw them again?
Everything's in here.
Except what's not.
Russo, Joseph H.
Our barfly says he was one of the two guys giving the victim a hard time.
She say what the hard time was about?
She was reading. It's what she does.
Convicted 03196, assault two. He's out?
Couple weeks ago.
Well, let's pick him up.
What? Well,
the lab found three different blood types on the victim's clothes.
One of them is the same as Officer Loomis'.
Rey's hot to pull in the IAB.
Well, let's pull in Russo, Joseph H., first.
(CHUCKLES) I think we already wore out our welcome.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
Please don't wake her up.
Her?
Yeah. You have no idea how crabby she gets.
We're looking for Joseph Russo.
He went to prison. She's the new tenant.
Yeah. Well, Russo got out. You know where he is?
No.
Oh...
When you find him, could you give him his mail?
She just dumped it on the floor by the mailboxes.
No problem. Thanks. Thank you.
Bills, computer dating service.
Look at this.
"To Joseph Russo from York Psychiatric Hospital."
Isn't that where George Harding works?
Somehow, I don't think we're gonna need the IAB.
His sister is here, Leslie Russo.
Did Joe Russo have any contact with George Harding?
George? St. Luke's called us. Is that what this is about?
We're checking. Do they know each other?
I really don't know.
That's Leslie, the one in the plaid jumper.
CURTIS: What's wrong with her?
For that, you need to talk to her family.
Okay. You got a current address for Joe?
Uh, we have one for Frank. The other brother.
They look alike? Joe and Frank? Two peas in a pod?
There's a family resemblance.
Are they protective of their sister?
Frank is. He's the one I know well.
Nice guy. Visits his sister every Sunday.
Very gentle with her.
I wish all our patients had such caring families.
Yeah, seems to make all the difference.
Yeah, who is it?
Frank Russo? Police.
Yeah?
Can we come in and talk to you?
What about? You got something to hide?
Dirty underwear.
You got three seconds to tell me what you want.
One... Where's your brother?
...two, three.
Where's your brother? Don't know.
What happened to your eye?
Lennie, you smell something?
You smoke?
(COUGHING) Who's in there?
Let me guess, you've got a dog with emphysema.
FRANK: Joe, come on out,
and don't do nothing else stupid.
We didn't do nothing, and we want a lawyer.
And apparently, he can't go more than 30 seconds
without a smoke, so here they are.
We are not answering any questions until Mr. Jamison gets here.
VAN BUREN: Hey!
Nobody's asking you any questions.
And we didn't beat up anybody.
Between them, we have 14 scraped knuckles,
one swollen wrist, six bruises.
The doctor's gonna tell us they were in a fistfight
and the lab's gonna tell us their blood is on Harding's clothes.
CURTIS: The woman in the bar can ID them as the two mooks with Harding.
And the beat cops will tell you they were chasing him
a couple of nights before they finally caught up to him
and beat the crap out of him.
So, it's attempted murder.
Plus aggravated assault. And assault with intent to kill.
So, say, 25-to-life, without mitigation.
CURTIS: They didn't offer any mitigation.
They just beat the guy for no reason.
I'll call the D.A.
You want a reason?
That bastard Harding raped our sister.
That's right. And the hospital wouldn't do a damn thing about it.
And that is all we're saying till our lawyer gets here. Okay?
Her brothers told us she told them she'd been raped.
By George Harding?
They didn't say by whom.
Did you believe them?
Leslie Russo suffers from disorganized schizophrenia.
Her perceptions are turbulent and fragmentary.
Simply put, she's delusional.
The perfect victim because nobody believes her.
Well, I'm not implying disbelief. We did investigate.
Leslie wouldn't repeat the allegation to us.
Our gynecologist did a pelvic exam, it was inconclusive.
We checked the staff records to see who was on duty that night.
Frank Russo was definite about the date.
Harding, Jimmy Baxter, and Gianni Lupo.
Personnel can give you their addresses.
We talked to them. But, again, everything was inconclusive.
Why didn't you call the police?
We had nothing. Not one shred of evidence
that anything untoward had happened.
You mind if we talk to her?
Try not to be put off by the incoherence and the inappropriate affect.
Don't worry, we won't.
CURTIS: George Harding, Leslie, did you tell your brothers about him?
I talk to them all the time.
I talked to them this morning.
You did?
Oh, yeah, I did. Once an hour, on the quarter hour.
Did you tell your brothers that George Harding hurt you?
Didn't he?
We don't know. Did he?
My brother Frank knows. He has the key to the blue room.
The blue room?
Physical therapy. Jane Fonda works out with us.
Isn't it time to eat?
Leslie, one more time.
Did you tell your brothers that George Harding raped you?
Do you want to have lunch with me?
I like chicken with red sauce and one vegetable.
Leslie. Just one. Mom says that's the way to eat.
The cops didn't have any right to push Leslie around like that.
I mean, we ought to sue that crummy-ass hospital, Frank.
They talked to her. They investigated your claim.
So did the hospital. There's no evidence of a rape.
(SCOFFS) I don't see a reason
to reduce from attempted murder.
JOE: What is wrong with you, lady?
I mean, you think it's all right to rape crazy people?
That son of a bitch did my sister,
and nobody gives a damn but us!
Give me something I can believe, and I'll give a damn.
Counselor, my clients are concerned about their sister.
They don't want to do anything to exacerbate her trauma.
It's a risk they'll have to take.
We went to visit. I noticed these marks on Leslie's neck.
When I asked her about them, she got hysterical.
She just kept saying over and over again,
"Didn't have sex, didn't have sex, didn't have sex."
I mean, Frankie had to calm her down.
She said it was Harding.
That could mean anything.
Yeah, so I asked her, "What about Harding?"
She said he made her do it.
Now maybe you don't call that rape, but I sure as hell do.
Listen, how much police time do you expect me to waste
trying to prove the Russo boys' defense?
Let them prove it. I need my officers for other things.
We've got an allegation of rape.
That's what police time is for.
An allegation that can't ever be proved.
Okay. We'll talk to the other guys on Harding's shift.
If we don't get a smoking gun this time, that's it.
In a hurry? I'm giving a deposition.
Your lawsuit against the department?
News travels.
Kick butt.
Yeah, I was on duty that night, but I wasn't on the floor.
I was downstairs doing paperwork with my supervisor.
You know George Harding pretty well?
Not really.
George spends most of his time with the patients.
They seem to like him. Yeah? Why is that?
Well, he does stuff. Like, if he knows you like biscuits,
he'll slip you an extra one.
He ever slip them anything else?
Not that I know of.
CURTIS: Is Jimmy Baxter here today?
He's around somewhere.
You're the second York employee we've seen who got beat up.
What's it to you?
We don't like coincidences. So who did it?
A couple of guys, okay?
A couple guys named Russo, maybe?
If you already know, why ask?
They put George Harding in intensive care.
How come you got off so easy?
I told those guys it wasn't me.
I didn't rape their nut-job sister.
Then why'd they think you did?
I wonder how they got from you to George Harding.
CURTIS: You told them, didn't you?
What if I did?
They beat him into critical condition on your say-so.
Hey, I didn't pull his name out of the air.
If anybody did it, it was him.
The last place he worked, somebody got raped there, too.
Where's that? Park West.
It's a long-term care facility.
They had some big rape investigation.
BRISCOE: And they put it on Harding?
All I know is he worked there, too.
You're the ones who don't like coincidences.
The Russos said their sister accused Harding.
They lied about that.
Doesn't mean they lied about the rape.
Wendy Singer. She's been here about two years.
Head-on collision on the Taconic.
Bad road. (SCOFFS)
Her husband died on impact,
as did the five-month-old fetus Wendy was carrying.
Well, we'll try not to tire her out,
but we do have some questions for her.
(CHUCKLES) I didn't make myself clear, I guess.
Wendy Singer has been in an irreversible coma since the accident.
Then who made the rape complaint?
We didn't need one.
Mr. and Mrs. Singer, this is Detective Briscoe, Detective Curtis.
Didn't the police already look into this?
They're following up, Mrs. Singer.
Doctor, uh, could we talk in your office?
Mrs. Singer told us Wendy missed her period the last week of June.
Why wasn't the pregnancy terminated?
The Singers refused to consent.
Religious convictions?
Wendy is their only child
and after the initial shock wore off,
they realized they were going to have a grandchild after all.
They've already chosen names.
We'll need the names of the detectives who investigated, all right?
We did everything by the book.
All our staff were questioned.
The police made every male employee submit a blood sample.
Including George Harding?
Harding wasn't here then.
He'd moved on to a new job about six weeks prior.
Any suspects?
The police concentrated on the two employees who refused to give blood.
One was Dean Goldberg,
but you can cross him off your list. He died two months ago. AIDS.
I guess I'd refuse to give blood, too.
So who's the other one?
I refused 'cause I'm an addict, okay?
I'm trying to get hooked up here,
which is not gonna happen with two cops standing around.
Well, talk to us about George Harding and we'll fade.
Harding wasn't there anymore.
But you want him to be the daddy? Fine with me.
Hold on a minute. We're still talking.
The doctors loved Harding 'cause he sucked up.
The patients loved him because he'd bring them little extras if they paid him.
You leaving now?
Yeah. Well, we could toss you for works.
Then you could come along with us.
You ever see Harding around after he quit?
A couple of times, late at night.
He had a thing going with one of the nurses.
He'd take her to the PT room.
Just so we're clear, he was having sex with a nurse
in the physical therapy room at Park West?
That's why he worked nights.
He said he liked doing it on the mats.
He probably liked the mats in the blue room at York.
Leslie, you remember the last time we were here?
I've been taking my medication. I have.
So you can't arrest me for that. CURTIS: That's right.
We just want to talk to you about what happened in the blue room.
The physical therapy room.
I told you already. I told you seven times.
Are you some kind of sex pervert or something?
Did anybody ever take you there for sex?
They have these phone lines you could call,
but they block the numbers here.
CURTIS: Leslie.
I'm not going to tell you who messed with me, if that's what you think.
I'm not that kind of girl.
But you know who it was.
I confessed to my spiritual advisor, that's all that's required,
I don't have to tell you.
Now. We know it was somebody in the hospital,
one of the orderlies.
I'm in big trouble now.
No, you're not. Just answer their questions.
George Harding's kind of a nice guy, huh?
He is nice.
BRISCOE: Nice looking.
I like his eyes.
Did he ever take advantage of you a little?
There was no advantage taken in the blue room.
It was totally mutual and sensual.
(WHISPERING) I didn't tell that part to my spiritual advisor.
CURTIS: But it was George in the blue room.
Leslie?
Yeah.
Okay?
Hey, now I know why patients never eat their Jell-O.
If I ever see another bowl of that crap wobbling at me,
I'm gonna puke. Where you're going, they serve a lot of Jell-O.
Stand up. You're under arrest
for the rape of Leslie Russo.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Leslie Russo's statement? This is the only evidence we have of rape?
That, and her original accusation.
Made to her hoodlum brothers a week after the alleged incident?
Are we back to disbelieving the victim?
There's nothing wrong with a little healthy skepticism
when the victim is an institutionalized schizophrenic.
That's just the point. She's incapable of consent. Rape one.
What I'm talking about is
whether the rape is a figment of her imagination.
Who is this spiritual advisor she confided in?
I talked to her therapist.
Apparently, he's part of her delusional system.
I'm sorry, Jamie. This is in no shape for a grand jury.
Harding's co-worker at Park West implicated him pretty strongly.
Sex in the physical therapy room was Harding's signature.
You're using a rape you can't prove Harding committed
to bootstrap a rape you're not even sure happened.
Two jobs, two helpless victims.
It's not a coincidence.
Harding wasn't even working at Park West
when the Singer woman was raped.
So maybe he snuck back into the facility.
Or maybe the timeline got screwed up.
Well, find out before we dig ourselves a hole we can't climb out of.
Good morning!
The HMO I'm contracted with sent me to Park West.
My only patient there is Wendy Singer.
ROSS: When was the last time you examined her?
Just last week.
It's a high-risk pregnancy, so I try to see her every 10 days or so.
She was doing remarkably well, considering.
Can you tell when she conceived?
Hmm. It's difficult to pinpoint conception even in a healthy woman.
Her mother said she missed her first cycle in June.
Six months?
Well, that would be consistent with my physical examination.
Is there a way to tell for sure?
Well, I ordered an ultrasound last time I was there.
Can I take a look?
Without a release from her parents?
I can go back downtown and get a court order.
If all you want to see is the sonogram,
I guess the fetus won't object.
Ah!
There's a view of the head. Let's see.
Biparietal diameter is about seven centimeters.
Thirty weeks.
Seven months.
GRETA: You saw the sonogram?
Your grandchild is due in two months.
Mrs. Singer, you told the doctors
your daughter missed her period in June.
The police based their investigation on that.
Is it possible you made a mistake?
(SIGHS) When she missed her period in May, I didn't say anything.
I thought it was because of her condition.
So you kept her pregnancy a secret?
You have to understand, Ms. Ross, I struggled with this.
My daughter wanted a baby more than anything.
I thought if I said something,
they might give Wendy an abortion.
Any idea who did this to her?
I just assumed it was Chris Ryan.
The one who quit rather than give his blood.
How about George Harding?
You ever notice him paying special attention to your daughter?
He took care of Wendy.
(STAMMERING) But not what you mean.
Think about it, Mrs. Singer.
The police ruled him out because of the information you gave them.
(DISMISSIVELY) It couldn't be George.
I remember saying to him after the accident,
it was a blessing in disguise that Wendy miscarried.
The doctors said that carrying a child would probably kill her.
I just hope they're wrong.
A crazy woman, a coma patient.
Two defenseless victims, not one viable case between them.
We have a circumstantial case against George Harding.
Turns out the Singer woman misstated the date of her daughter's rape.
Why should she do that?
She didn't want to terminate her daughter's pregnancy so she kept it hidden.
Yeah. This'll sell papers for weeks.
"Rape victim has coma baby."
The parents had a hard choice.
Wendy Singer will never get better.
This baby's their only link to their daughter.
If the baby is that important to them,
they may be reluctant to cooperate.
We don't need them. We have the sonogram
to pinpoint the onset of pregnancy.
The proof of rape is self-evident.
You can't say the same for the Russo girl.
Tie it up in a package.
Make Harding an offer if he'll plead to both cases.
You'll get an indictment. You'll never get a conviction.
Mr. Harding left a trail of helpless victims.
I'm counting heavily on the pariah factor.
BELL: It has shock value. That's about all.
And 25 years worth of exposure.
Twenty-five years?
ROSS: Once we get a DNA sample from Wendy Singer.
If your client wants to make a deal, now's the time.
Two for the price of one?
If he pleads to both.
Break it down to sex abuse. City time.
First-degree rape. Ten-to-20 concurrent.
That's a nice bargaining position. What's the real offer?
I don't haggle with rapists.
Have a nice day, Mr. McCoy.
Who do we present first to the grand jury? Singer or Russo?
Russo. At least we've got a victim who can testify.
That's a matter of interpretation.
Skoda examined Russo.
He thinks she can carry the ball in front of a grand jury.
I read his report. He hedged his bets.
(BANGS ON GATE) (DOOR BUZZER DRONING)
So we're back to Wendy Singer and proving paternity?
You want to wait and get DNA from her baby?
Harding will be long gone.
If Wendy Singer had an amniocentesis,
there might be a DNA sample right in her file.
You call her doctor.
I'll get Russo in front of the grand jury.
JACK: Ms. Russo,
could you tell us what happened to you
in the physical therapy room at York Psychiatric Hospital?
You want me to tell you about the sex thing?
Yes.
And this is all being written down?
The stenographer is taking down what we say, yes.
So I can't lie.
If I lie, all these people will be angry with me.
You already took an oath to tell the truth.
You said you understood what that means.
The whole truth, so help me God,
or it goes down on my permanent record.
Did you have a sexual encounter in the blue room
with George Harding?
Roger said there was nothing wrong with doing it.
Who is Roger?
My sexual encounter. He's on D ward.
He says he can smell me from up there.
JACK: Ms. Russo.
(ENUNCIATING) Did you tell the police
that you had sexual intercourse with George Harding,
an orderly at the hospital?
I don't think I said that,
but if I did say that, I didn't mean to say that.
But is it true?
Leslie?
It was true,
but now it's not.
So you lied to the police?
There was no Bible, or any other religious icons.
My spiritual advisor says if you say what's in your head,
it cleanses your brain.
So you can't put that on my permanent record.
Maybe I should get a good lawyer.
MAXWELL: You won't be in any trouble, Roger.
They just need to know the truth about you and Leslie.
(EXHALES NERVOUSLY)
I've been here three years. Guy like me's gonna get horny, right?
So, you did have sex with Leslie?
Yeah.
Yeah. A few times.
Where did you and Leslie go?
PT, mostly. At night, when nobody was around.
The blue room?
(CHUCKLING) Yeah.
Yeah. We call it that.
How did you get in?
George Harding gave me the key.
He made me pay him 10 bucks for it.
Recommend to the assigned A.D.A.
two counts of assault against the Russo brothers.
If Harding didn't rape Leslie Russo,
why did he want to plead to it?
To cover the one he did commit?
Wendy Singer?
How'd you make out with her OB/GYN?
She confirmed that Wendy had an amnio.
She won't give me the records without a release from the Singers.
Let's get one.
ROSS: The only way we can prove our case against George Harding
is with a DNA match.
We need your permission to get the results
of your daughter's amniocentesis.
But I'm sure George isn't the one.
Well, then the records will exonerate him.
We'd prefer not to find out who the father is.
You don't want to know who raped your daughter?
We're putting that part behind us now, Ms. Ross.
For all we know,
the man can put some kind of paternity claim on the baby.
If we don't identify this man, Mrs. Singer,
he may assault other innocent victims.
All we need are the records to prove our case.
You already saw the sonogram without our permission.
We talked to a lawyer. He said you're invading our privacy.
We don't have to consent.
ROSS: The records we are requesting are critical, Your Honor.
We've already obtained a court-ordered DNA sample from George Harding.
Wendy Singer's test results will allow us to determine if he fathered the child.
The Singers don't want to know who fathered the child.
I can't understand that, Mr. Baum.
Well, they don't care to dwell on how their daughter became pregnant.
As far as they're concerned, it's a matter of divine intervention.
They can believe whatever they want.
We still have a rapist to prosecute.
We need the DNA to prove our case.
BAUM: That's not my clients' problem. It's a matter of privacy.
They don't have to divulge their daughter's medical file to the State.
Your Honor, the Singers' right to privacy is outweighed by public interest.
There's a dangerous sex offender on the street.
George Harding's in jail. Not for long.
If we don't get these records immediately,
we can't obtain a timely indictment. He'll have to be released.
That's a point.
I have to balance all of these facts.
I respect the Singers' desire to keep the government out of their personal business.
But in this case,
the State's interest in obtaining these records
is extremely compelling.
I'm ordering the results of Wendy Singer's amniocentesis be disclosed.
(BANGS GAVEL)
The DNA results came back from Lifecodes.
Based on the RFLP analysis, Harding's the father.
When can I put this in the win column?
It's set for the A.M. grand jury.
(SIGHS) Wendy Singer had an emergency cesarean.
She died on the operating table.
And the baby?
A girl. Five weeks premature.
She was rushed to a pediatric ICU.
Send a letter of condolence to the Singer family.
Then amend the complaint against Harding to include a murder charge.
Felony murder won't fly.
Death didn't occur "in furtherance of the crime or immediate flight therefrom."
Harding's rape got her pregnant.
Her pregnancy caused her death.
But how can we argue that that's what Harding intended?
Leaves us with depraved indifference.
No problem showing that Harding knew he ran the risk of getting her pregnant.
After that, it's a push.
Unless he knew the risks of a pregnancy.
Wendy's doctor told Mrs. Singer
that the miscarriage after the accident was a blessing in disguise.
She said she told Harding.
Notify Harding's lawyer we're amending the charge.
Murder two?
I knew you were tough. I didn't know you were vindictive.
Is this because the Russo case fell through?
No. When Mr. Harding raped Wendy Singer, he killed her.
The charge is proportional to the harm.
There is your sense of justice, Mr. McCoy,
and then there's the law.
The law says that if he acted with disregard to the risk,
he can be charged with the consequences.
Risk requires foreseeability.
How could he possibly foresee she'd get pregnant,
go into premature labor, and die in childbirth?
He's a trained health care professional. He raped an infirm woman.
Your client took his chances.
My client changes bed pans. The jury won't buy it.
They will when they hear from Mrs. Singer.
She told Mr. Harding how dangerous it would be
for Wendy to carry a child to term.
She'll testify to their conversation.
If that's your best evidence, we'll take our chances.
We need you to testify to what you told me during our investigation,
that you told Harding how risky it would be for Wendy to carry a child.
Did I say that? I really don't remember.
It was the first time I was here.
You told me the doctors said how fortunate it was
that Wendy had miscarried after the accident. I recall that part.
That it was a blessing in disguise.
Yes, but I can't remember telling Mr. Harding.
How can I testify?
This is very important to our case, Mrs. Singer.
We told you before, Ms. Ross. We're tired of all this.
Wendy is dead.
Just... Just leave us out of it.
Uh-oh. I know that look.
It's the Harding case.
I need you to dig up everything you can on his finances.
Bank accounts, credit card bills...
We got his blood. We got the kid's DNA.
I thought this was a gimme.
Just get me the records.
Harding's financials.
You going to challenge his right to a court-appointed lawyer?
Mrs. Singer did a 180 on her conversation with Harding.
Now she doesn't remember telling him about the risks of Wendy's pregnancy.
How will Harding's bank account jog her memory?
The week after Wendy Singer was raped,
Harding put a down payment on a Harley-Davidson Softail.
Nice bike.
And a few days after Mrs. Singer reported her daughter pregnant,
Harding bought a 46-inch projection television.
They paid him, Jack. They paid him to impregnate their daughter.
It explains why she stonewalled me.
And why they wouldn't release the amnio.
She's covering for Harding.
He's a cooperative guy.
Maybe he'll cooperate with us.
The Singers lost two things in that car crash.
They lost their daughter Wendy,
and they also lost the child she was carrying.
It's a sad story. What's it got to do with my client?
It's a story Mr. Harding's heard before.
No, I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Then I'll finish it for you.
In their sorrow and desperation,
the Singers made a deal with the devil.
They paid Mr. Harding to father a grandchild.
You raped Wendy Singer, you bought a motorcycle.
When she became pregnant, you bought a television.
That's quite a scenario.
I think we're done here.
Fine.
I'll try you as a sex fiend who rapes unconscious women.
We can splash it all over the papers. I'm not like that.
I'm willing to entertain that possibility.
Come on, George.
(SIGHING) Wait.
It was the mother's idea.
She paid me.
$3,000 up front,
and $2,000 more if I did the job.
You want him to testify to that, you'll have to drop the murder count.
I'll think about it.
So she paid him to be with her comatose daughter.
To impregnate her.
The 20th century is passing me by.
Two parties in cahoots to make a baby
and a victim who's not cognizant.
Is this a case we need to prosecute?
Harding raped a comatose woman for profit.
I won't make a deal with him. How about the mother?
She sold her own daughter to a stranger.
She acted out of despair. Harding acted out of greed.
Harding was just fulfilling the mother's wishes.
Instead of protecting her daughter,
she turned her into a baby machine.
This can go back and forth all night. How do we make it go away?
We've got Harding dead-to-rights on the rape charge.
The murder is a little trickier.
If we charge Harding with murder,
we need Mrs. Singer to testify she told him the risks of Wendy's pregnancy.
If we charge Mrs. Singer with murder, or even as an accomplice to the rape,
we need Harding to testify she paid him.
Two snakes eating each other's tails.
Pry one of them loose.
No irregularities in the Singers' bank accounts or IRA.
You think Harding lied? I'm hoping he did.
We're gonna have to make a deal with one of them to implicate the other.
Well, Mrs. Singer isn't inspiring too much pity on my part.
It's the ultimate betrayal, Jack.
Wendy Singer was helpless. Her mother was supposed to protect her.
And Harding? He took the money, he pushed Wendy's IV aside,
he removed her catheter and climbed on top of her.
That's monstrous.
Look at this.
An appraisal to Mr. Harry Singer from Fulton Coin and Stamp.
US commemorative sheets, $6,200.
And it's dated April.
The same month Wendy Singer was impregnated.
Mrs. Singer financed her daughter's rape
with her husband's stamp collection.
I wonder if he knows.
Why do you care about my stamps?
You didn't deposit any of the proceeds.
Greta used it to pay the doctor,
the neurologist who came to look at Wendy.
Do you remember his name?
Dr. Ashburn.
I didn't really want to hire the man.
Had to pay to fly him in from Chicago.
Greta said he worked wonders with coma patients
at his hospital.
Just as well have thrown the money out the window.
Your daughter was never examined by a doctor named Ashburn.
Well, I'm sure of the name.
Greta kept saying Dr. Ashburn was Wendy's last chance.
Why you asking me all these questions?
There's no good way to say this, sir,
but your wife used the money for another purpose.
She paid George Harding to father Wendy's child.
That couldn't be.
What kind of a doctor do you pay in cash?
Is my wife in trouble?
Yes.
We could prosecute her together with Mr. Harding.
(SIGHS DEEPLY)
Tell them, Greta.
The money was for the neurologist!
Do you have a receipt?
No.
How about the doctor's phone number?
We can call him and put this to rest right now.
(SIGHS)
(INCREDULOUSLY) It's like they say.
You gave that money to Harding.
Harry, stop.
Tell them, Greta.
We have our granddaughter now.
Let's put an end to the lies.
I want the truth, Mrs. Singer.
You paid him to rape your daughter.
It wasn't rape. You had no right to allow it.
If I tell you, will I go to jail?
No promises.
Then I can't let her talk to you.
If she doesn't cooperate, I'll make a deal with Harding.
Well, then it's off the record.
You want it under oath, it'll cost you a no-jail plea offer.
BAUM: Go ahead, Mrs. Singer.
You have to understand, Mr. McCoy.
Wendy called us the day she found out she and John were expecting.
That baby was all I could think about.
Then one night, we got a phone call.
John was killed.
That was when Wendy lost the baby.
Harry stopped going to the hospital.
I just couldn't see her like that.
GRETA: I cried all the time.
I had daydreams Wendy was fine.
We were in the park, with a stroller,
everyone saying, "What an adorable baby."
What about Harding?
I used to watch him bathe Wendy,
(SIGHS)
and I finally got up the nerve
to ask him.
To ask him what?
To...
To make a baby with Wendy.
And he agreed? If I paid him.
I wouldn't at first.
But then he said how Wendy's life was just going to waste.
He was right.
(SIGHS)
So, yes, I gave him the money.
I know you don't believe this, but I loved my daughter.
Then you should have taken better care of her.
I did.
I did!
It was God that didn't take care of her.
God took Wendy and John. God took our baby.
And God owed me a grandchild, Mr. McCoy.
God owed me!
Greta Singer told us everything.
We're going to make a deal with her to testify against you.
How can you make a deal with her? The whole thing was her idea.
You could have said no.
This is mind-boggling.
You want to hold my client to a higher standard than Wendy Singer's own mother.
Your client raped a comatose woman
for a motorcycle and a television.
Mrs. Singer was driven by her grief and her despair.
So make her a saint. I'm the one who did her a favor.
She came to me, all right. All crying and everything.
I told her "Forget it," about 10 times. The lady wore me down.
(SCOFFS)
You were able to penetrate her daughter.
It can't have been that repulsive to you.
I felt sorry for her, you know?
I mean, what was I gonna do?
Harding is a predator. I don't buy his Good Samaritan routine for one second.
Mrs. Singer's the one who lied to us every chance she got.
What she did was reprehensible.
As a prosecutor, I can't excuse it.
As a human being, I feel pity.
Haven't we been here before?
There's no damn solution, Adam.
I still can't make out murder against either one of them
unless I cut a deal with the other.
Greta Singer won't testify against Harding unless she gets a walk.
I can console myself with the vague notion
that Mrs. Singer's conduct was excused by her grief.
Grief? She's a narcissistic monster.
Harding does 25-to-life.
Fifteen.
What if you lose?
I won't lose the rape count.
Either way, Mrs. Singer does zero.
She lives happily ever after with her granddaughter.
Maybe not happily.
ROSS: It's too high a price, Jack.
I don't like the alternative.
Solomon said, "Divide the child in half."
JACK: You plead to rape one. Four-to-eight.
How could I rape my own daughter?
You solicited Mr. Harding and you provided access.
You're an accomplice.
You might just as well have held her down.
What about Mr. Harding?
He's going away for rape, also.
And the murder?
We're dropping the murder charge
against your client and Mr. Harding.
It's the deal of the century.
HARRY: With all that's happened,
what good will this do?
JACK: Mr. Singer.
Your wife and Mr. Harding plunged into a moral quagmire
that the law can only begin to address.
Maybe they'll both drown in it.
From Greta Singer's lawyer. She's accepting the offer.
What's wrong, Jack?
The Singers' granddaughter,
Harding's parents are petitioning for custody.
The parents of the man who raped her?
I pity the judge who has to make that call.
I'll save my pity for that baby,
no matter where she ends up.