In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Please, honey, open the door.
You can do it. Come on.
Hurry. Hurry, there's a little kid trapped in there and he can't reach the knob.
What's his name? Mikey.
Mikey, fire department. Can you hear me?
Mikey, I need you to stand away from the door.
Get as far back as you can, okay?
Take the door, guys.
Hit it.
You take the back. I'll take the front.
10-26, food on the stove.
Roger that, 10-26.
We're clear.
Mikey? Mikey, where are you?
Mikey?
The kid's injured. Come on. Let's get you out of here.
Over here. She's barely breathing.
I got him.
10-45. Code 2. Start out a bus.
10-4. Bus is on the way.
The mother's critical. Major head trauma.
CT shows multiple subdural hematomas.
She gonna make it? It's hard to say. She's in surgery right now.
And the sexual assault?
Genital trauma shows she was raped and sodomized.
We didn't find any fluids.
How's the boy? Hmm.
No physical injuries.
All the blood on Mikey was his mom's.
He may have seen it. You mind if I talk to him?
No. Go ahead.
Mikey?
My name is Olivia. How old are you?
Six?
Mikey, I need to talk to you about what happened in the apartment.
Did you see your mommy get hurt?
Can you tell me about it?
That's right, honey, I'm a police officer.
And I need your help to find the person who hurt your mom.
Olivia.
I'll be back in a little while, okay?
This is gonna take some time.
Maybe once he sees his mother. She just died.
Anything on next of kin?
Well, no handbag, no wallet.
Perp took everything he could. And this guy's very careful.
So far, no prints, no semen, no hair.
Why target this apartment?
Easy access.
Ground floor, no gates, the locks are a piece of crap.
From the tool marks, I'd say he forced the lock with a screwdriver.
The victim is on her back.
He gets on the bed, straddles her.
She struggles.
He grabs this lamp from that table.
Knocks her out with two blows.
Our victim's face was a mess.
Are you sure that he only hit her twice?
Blood doesn't lie.
See that single line on the ceiling? Yeah.
First blow starts the blood flow, second makes that pattern.
After the rape, he beats her some more, but it's overkill.
She's already unconscious.
Well, how'd you get that?
Blood spatter on the sofa back is concentrated in one area.
Doesn't look like she moved to evade the blows.
All the damage was to her face. This feels personal.
Maybe it's not some random break-in we're looking at.
If she was knocked out during the sexual assault,
maybe Mikey slept through it.
I don't think so. See the handprints?
Well, maybe Mikey tried to wake Mommy up, he got his hand in the blood.
Could've happened after the perp left.
Possible, but see the urine stain.
Boy hid in the doorway, watching.
What he saw scared him so much, he wet his pants.
So if Mikey woke up, maybe somebody else did.
The walls are paper thin, but I didn't hear nothing.
Smoke woke me up.
We're trying to locate family members.
What can you tell us about Mikey and his mom?
Said her name was Dana, didn't give me the family tree.
Moved in a month ago.
Dana have any visitors, maybe a boyfriend?
I didn't see nobody except her and the boy.
Well, did she ever say anything about family,
maybe mention where they used to live?
The landlord might know.
Good. He around?
That bastard only comes to collect the rent.
He's got an office in midtown.
I bet you it's a hell of a lot nicer than this dump.
Apartment 1-H. That would be, uh, Dana McGuire.
Okay. We'll need the rental application, credit report, any other papers.
Sorry, my secretary called in sick.
I don't know where she keeps those files.
A landlord who can't find a lease? Hey, I'm a busy man.
I got better things to do than listen to a cop crack wise.
I've got calls to make.
I'll have her get in touch.
Friend of mine at the D. A.'s office loves to prosecute slumlords.
Last guy, got sentenced to six months
living in his own condemned building.
Look, I don't have any paper on her. It was off the books.
Lady paid cash up front for three months.
Which we'll be glad to pass on to the IRS, in case you forgot.
Hey, I'm trying to be helpful here.
So far, you're coming up short.
Okay. Wait a minute. Um, she showed me her driver's license.
Address was on Central Park West, 300 block.
Your memory's a little convenient.
Names I'm not so good at,
but I never forget a prime piece of real estate.
Can I help you? Yeah. NYPD, good afternoon.
Wondering if you know a, uh, Dana McGuire?
Of course I do. I'm her husband.
Mr. McGuire, when was the last time you saw your wife?
About five minutes ago.
She's inside, feeding the baby.
A dead woman was using my ID?
That's so creepy.
Any idea how she got a hold of your driver's license?
Uh, I was mugged on my way back from Mommy & Me class.
In broad daylight on Columbus Avenue. Not a cop in sight.
Mrs. McGuire, did you report the robbery?
Yeah, a lot of good it did.
Honey, they're just trying to help.
They caught the guy maxing out my credit cards at Macy's.
D. A. Plea-bargained the case. He only got six months at Rikers.
Those yuppie moms, pushing their strollers,
carrying diaper bags, yoga mats and crap.
Easy pickings.
I checked your booking sheet.
Dana McGuire's driver's license
was not on you when you were collared.
What are you smoking? No way I'm copping to another charge.
Leon, take a good look around. Do you see your lawyer in the cell?
Did I Mirandize you?
Then nothing you say is admissible.
A career criminal should know better.
Hey, I ain't no career criminal.
Look, we just want to know who bought the ID, off the record.
On the record, you help us out, we'll talk to the D. A.,
you finish out your sentence in a halfway house.
Oh, yeah. I met this chick in a diner.
Said she couldn't find work 'cause she had no ID.
I felt sorry for her.
Okay. Did you get her real name?
Said it was Jill. Son's name is Tommy.
You sure that's his real name?
Sure, I'm sure. Same as my kid brother.
We'll talk to the D. A.
Open the gate.
Jill calls the kid Tommy to this mope, but Mikey to the neighbors?
And he answers to both.
You add that to the fake ID and that fleabag apartment.
You know, you break parole, you run from creditors,
you change your name.
You change your kid's name, you're hiding from something bigger.
Warner wants us at the morgue.
Jill's head CT.
Two subdural hematomas,
consistent with the two blows from the lamp found at the scene.
I thought you had something new for us?
I've got a time frame for the assault.
How?
The brain shrank away from the injury site,
and she bled out into the skull cavity.
Now, based on the amount of blood,
the attack occurred seven to nine hours before these were taken.
So backtrack from the hospital admission,
that puts it between 9:00 and 11:00 last night.
The fire department didn't get the call till 5:00 a. m.
Tommy was alone for six hours watching her die.
Tommy's the reason I called you over here.
See these old surgical incisions on her abdomen?
The one in the upper left quadrant is from a splenectomy.
She had her spleen removed, so what?
I'd say she had Hodgkin's disease as a child.
The treatment also includes chemotherapy,
which probably would have left her unable to have children.
So I took a sample of Tommy's blood from the hospital
and ran his DNA against the victim's.
No match.
She's not his mother.
This kid has been living with a woman who is not his biological mother.
Well, he could be adopted.
Well, that doesn't fit with the fake ID,
and changing his name from Tommy to Mikey.
A kidnap?
Nothing came up in the missing child databanks.
And let's hope it's not a baby snatcher.
Trying to match an infant's photo
with a 6-year-old, that's impossible.
Is he any closer to opening up?
We're making progress. He likes to draw.
He's using his art to communicate.
Look at this.
He drew the murder.
How do we get him to talk about it?
Well, he's identified you as someone who cares about him.
Make him feel safe.
That's a great picture.
Got grass and trees, a bright yellow sun.
You draw really well, Tommy.
Yeah, Tommy. I know your real name.
And I know that you're a very brave boy.
Don't be afraid, Tommy. It's okay. You know why? 'Cause I'm here to help you.
See that?
That's what police officers do.
They help little boys that are afraid.
What?
You want my phone?
Here you go.
9-1-1.
That's exactly right.
That's who you call when you want the police.
Good job.
Do you know your home phone number?
How about...
Do you know any other numbers? Like say
a number that you would call in an emergency?
Good. You're so smart. You know what?
I'm gonna be back in a little while,
but I was wondering if you'd do me a favor?
Will you draw me another picture?
Thanks.
I'll be back in a little bit, all right?
Let's see who he called.
It's a domestic violence hotline.
Oh, God, it's Jill Hoffman.
The bastard finally did it.
Her husband?
Dan Hoffman. Violent son of a bitch.
Jill wanted to leave, but she had nowhere to go.
He isolated her completely, drove all her friends away.
You place her in a DV shelter?
Jill stayed in one of our safe houses for three weeks, then she left.
When she found an apartment in Hell's Kitchen?
No, she went back to her husband in Rye.
She couldn't bear to leave her stepson behind.
You mean Tommy?
She loved that child like he was her own son.
Well, then why didn't Jill take Tommy with her to the safe house?
She wanted to, but we couldn't allow it.
Jill's his stepmother.
She had no legal right to take Tommy from his father.
If she'd brought him here, we'd be accessories to kidnapping.
So that's it? You couldn't do anything?
Our hands were tied.
We told her to fight for legal custody.
We even found Jill a pro bono attorney.
I'll confirm Jill was my client, but anything else is privileged.
She hired you to help her protect Tommy.
We're trying to do the same thing.
Where's Tommy now?
He's in the hospital, too traumatized to speak.
Tommy saw the attack.
He spent the night trying to help Jill as she died.
You sending him back to his father?
Unless you give us good reasons why we shouldn't.
Jill married Dan Hoffman two years ago.
The abuse started soon after.
What happened to Tommy's real mother?
Kim left when Tommy was three.
Hoffman probably beat her, too.
Did Hoffman ever abuse Tommy?
He terrorized him psychologically,
but he had never laid a hand on the boy yet.
Jill knew it was only a matter of time before Hoffman turned his rage against his son.
Any official complaints of abuse?
Against Dan Hoffman?
Respected member of the community?
She thought no one would believe her. You did.
I know the signs. Jill Hoffman was definitely abused.
So what was your plan?
File for emergency custody.
It was a long shot, even with a good judge.
You knew she'd lose.
You told Jill to take Tommy, didn't you?
I'm an officer of the court.
If I abetted my client in the commission of a felony, I'd be disbarred.
Tommy Hoffman? Dan Hoffman's son? Mmm-hmm.
No. You got your wires crossed.
Tommy's down in Florida with his stepmom. Little winter getaway.
Yeah? Anything go on in this town that you don't know about?
I happened to bump into Dan last week at the Elks Club, he mentioned it.
What kind of guy is Hoffman?
Nicest guy in the world.
Successful real estate agent,
sells big houses to folks escaping crime in your city.
Any history with family problems?
Just that tramp of a first wife.
Kim ran away with another man, left Dan and the boy.
But Dan rose to the occasion,
never misses a soccer game or a parent-teacher conference.
So your officers have never responded to a domestic dispute over at the Hoffmans?
You're barking up the wrong tree.
Dan Hoffman's done more for this community than anybody.
Here. Picture of him in the Rye Journal.
Go see those folks.
Not a week goes by, Dan's not in their paper for some deed or another.
Take your pick. Hoffman's a major player in Rye.
We've got lots of pictures.
Uh, we'd like some of his son, too. Oh, all right, um...
Here's Tommy.
Tommy with Jill at the school bake sale. Cute kid.
Do you have any of Tommy's mother?
His real mother.
I don't see why I bother to keep shots of Kim.
She'll never show her face in this town again.
Why did you say you needed these?
We are, um, trying to trace the heirs to an estate,
so if this is the right Hoffman, then the kid just inherited a bundle.
Hey, Tommy, I made you a book.
See, it's got your name on it.
There's you playing soccer.
And there's you and Jill.
You know who that is, Tommy?
It's my mom.
That's right, Tommy.
That's your mom.
My dad said she ran away.
She didn't love us anymore.
But then Jill came to live with you.
She made me cookies and tucked me in every night.
But then Jill went away, too?
She came back for me.
We ran away from my dad.
It's okay, sweetie.
Tommy, it's okay. You can tell me.
We were gonna get a new house. Uh-huh.
Far away, where my dad can never find us.
But...
Go on. Tommy!
My dad, he's here.
Slow down. Hey! What are you doing to him?
Tommy, come here. It's okay, Daddy's here.
I need to see my son.
You have had him here this whole time and no one has told me.
Calm down. You're scaring him.
I am his father. He needs me. Tommy...
Hold on. Slow down.
Tommy, you do not have to go with him, okay, honey?
Like hell he doesn't. He's been medically cleared.
And you can't stop me from taking him home.
Released in the custody of his father.
Oh, thank God I found you.
Everything's gonna be okay.
Dan Hoffman's attorney called.
She's threatening to sue for the emotional distress
of withholding information on Tommy's whereabouts.
Distress, my ass.
Hoffman didn't even file a missing persons report, and he's trying to jack us up?
We only delayed notification by a couple of hours.
That's not the point.
You were playing fast and loose, and you got caught.
Well, can you blame us, Alex? Now the boy is in the custody of a killer.
Alleged killer.
All you have so far is your gut instinct that Hoffman murdered Jill.
It could still be a burglary.
Tommy was about to tell me what happened when his father showed up.
We need to re-interview him.
Hoffman's attorney will fight it.
So get a court order. Tommy is a material witness to the murder.
I'll try, but some hard evidence on the homicide
would go a long way with the judge.
Haven't you caused enough trouble already?
Well, sir, we just came by to apologize.
We're very sorry about the misunderstanding.
You have both of our condolences on your loss.
Well, I appreciate your sympathies.
But I'm still considering a lawsuit.
As a father, I can only imagine how terrible this is for you.
I'm glad you understand.
How is Tommy doing?
Well, I've consulted a psychiatrist
who assures me that Tommy will make a full recovery.
Good, that's great news.
Mr. Hoffman, would you consider
allowing us to speak with Tommy?
No. Right now, I think time to heal is in my son's best interests.
His best interests or yours?
You know what? I resent that, Detective.
My wife was murdered.
You, of all people, should understand.
I'm only trying to protect my son.
Well, how were you protecting your son when he was gone for a month?
You didn't even report him missing.
You told everybody that Jill and Tommy were in Florida.
Okay. You're right.
I lied, but I was only trying to protect my wife's reputation.
I didn't want anybody to know how emotionally unstable she was.
I thought that I was doing the right thing.
Didn't you want any help in trying to find her?
Yes. Of course I did,
but I was afraid going to the police would set her off.
Look, she's always come back before.
So I waited.
I was worried, but I didn't know what else to do.
Where were you the night of the murder?
I was in the city at the Realtors' Association dinner.
Five hundred of my colleagues will support that.
Here for the open house? You're early.
Actually, we're not here about the house.
Now, you sat next to Dan Hoffman at the Realtors' Association dinner dance?
How could I forget?
Handsome man like that, and he came without a date.
Did he stay for the whole event?
No, by the end of the awards he was bored, so he went to the bar.
I would've gone with him, but I was getting a plaque.
Well, congratulations.
Did you see him after that?
He promised me a dance, but he never made it back to the table.
I thought he stood me up.
You thought?
Well, he showed up later on.
I confess I was a little jealous.
And why is that?
Well, he was all sweaty and his clothes were all messed up.
I wish he had danced with me that way.
Do you remember what time it was when you saw him again?
Around 11:00.
I remember because I always call the babysitter around then.
Oh, excuse me. Come on in.
He had time to sneak out, do the murder and get back to tango.
With his rumpled shirt.
What about the blood?
Coveralls worked good enough for O. J.
This is a weak alibi.
Maybe Cabot can use it as ammunition at the hearing.
A child's mental health is at risk.
I'm ruling there be no further interviews of Tommy Hoffman
until after a full psychological examination.
Dr. George Huang can do the evaluation.
He's worked with Tommy before.
Please, don't do this. Dr. Huang works for the police department.
You would be forcing my son to endure another interrogation.
Is that true, Ms. Cabot?
Dr. Huang is a consultant for the NYPD,
he also happens to be highly qualified.
You're splitting hairs, Ms. Cabot.
Look, I have already made an appointment
for Tommy to start therapy with a Dr. Mildred Souther.
All right? She's a child specialist in trauma.
Why does Tommy have to see two psychiatrists?
I agree. The court will await Dr. Souther's evaluation.
Then at least put the child in foster care until after the evaluation is complete.
Tommy Hoffman is the only eyewitness to a homicide
that may well have been committed by his father.
There's absolutely no evidence to suggest
my client had anything to do with his wife's tragic death.
Mr. Hoffman's alibi for the time of the murder is shaky,
and there's a history of domestic violence.
That is a lie. I would never hurt Jill.
Jill Hoffman was an unstable woman making wild allegations
because Dan Hoffman wanted a divorce.
She abducted the boy in an act of revenge against my client.
The police have no evidence that my client knew where Jill or the boy were hiding.
I've heard enough. The child will remain in his father's custody.
Dan is a kind and gentle man. He's incapable of violence.
How can I convince you?
Let the police interview him.
For starters, let's talk about that 45-minute gap in your alibi.
It was a boring, rubber chicken dinner.
I went to the bar for a drink.
Try again. We checked. The bartender doesn't remember you.
Well, why would he? I mean, it was a mob scene,
so I went outside to get some fresh air, chatted with some people.
Just give us their names and we're done here.
I don't know their names. I mean, you don't ask for ID
when you're chatting about the Yankees' scouting report.
There you are, at a dinner dance,
less than a mile from Jill's apartment.
You jump in a cab, you're there in less than five minutes.
If I had known where Jill lived, I would've gone there
and I would have convinced her to come home.
I thought you wanted a divorce?
I wanted my son back.
I mean, if Jill wanted to leave, that's fine,
but I wasn't going to let her take my son.
You've got an answer for everything, don't you?
I'm not buying your loving father act.
Tommy is terrified of you.
My son is everything to me. I would die for my son.
Tommy almost died for you.
You killed Jill, and then you left him alone in that apartment.
And had firefighters not responded so fast,
then you'd be burying him along with your dead wife.
You wouldn't dare talk to me like that if you didn't have that badge and gun.
You notice, in the interview, Hoffman never called Tommy or Jill by their names?
It was always "my wife," "my son. "
Possessions, not people. Hoffman owned his family.
He had to punish Jill for leaving.
Power and control. Two classic signs of a batterer.
Well, so far we can't even prove that he found Jill.
I may have something to help you on that. Bring it on.
She opened a new checking account under the name Dana McGuire.
I talked to the real Mrs. McGuire.
It's not hers.
So it's Jill's. She write any checks?
No. She made cash withdrawals
and deposited a couple of paychecks from J. A. G. Enterprises.
Jill was working?
Yeah, as an entertainer at Benny's Topless on 12th.
Jill was real sweet, but she was a lousy dancer.
Why'd they hire her?
Lot of commuters stop in on their way back to the burbs.
Jill looked like Susie Homemaker, that turned them on.
One guy said it was like having June Cleaver give you a lap dance.
Why did Jill quit?
I'm not sure, but she had a major freak out about a week ago.
Over what?
Uh, she saw a guy in the crowd she knew from the town she used to live in.
She mention his name? No.
But a couple of days later she was gone.
What night was that, that she, uh, saw the guy?
It was a week ago, last Tuesday. Um...
I remember it 'cause that was the night I introduced the cockatoo into my act.
Okay. Thank you.
Hey, nail the prick, will you?
We'll do our best.
Let's check the credit card receipts, see who came in here from Rye.
Mr. Rizzo, you're quite a big spender over there at Benny's Topless.
Look, you can't tell my wife.
She thinks I work a lot of overtime.
Well, so help us out here,
we won't have to take a drive up to Rye and talk to you at home.
Whatever you need.
You know Dan Hoffman?
Yeah. He's a great guy.
I handle a lot of his closings out of my office in Rye.
Did you take Hoffman to the strip club, you know, boys night out?
No, but I tried.
Especially after I saw that stripper.
She's a dead ringer for his wife.
Did you tell Hoffman about this stripper?
I called him on my way home, you know, thought he'd get a kick out of it.
Put her in an apron baking cookies, half the town would swear it was Jill.
No one spotted Dan Hoffman in the strip club,
but he didn't have to go inside the joint.
Once he knew where Jill worked,
it would've been easy enough to follow her home.
The night of the dinner dance, he slips out, he kills her.
I mean, it's almost the perfect crime,
except for the fact that his alibi has a hole you can drive a truck through.
Nobody at the dance remembers seeing him for a full 45 minutes.
So, what do you say, Counselor, we got probable cause?
It's all circumstantial, but it's enough for an arrest.
Well, don't look so happy.
We may not survive the grand jury.
Why not?
Dan Hoffman will testify.
His father-of-the-year act has everybody fooled.
He's handsome, charismatic, and he plays the grieving widower very well.
I think Mr. Wonderful is going to dirty up the victim and the jury might not indict.
Stop him from testifying.
I can't. Once he's arrested, it's his right.
His attorney will serve notice at arraignment.
So we're stuck.
I could do a silent indictment without arresting him.
If I present the facts to the grand jury
as part of an investigation into the homicide,
I'm not obligated to notify Hoffman.
If the defense is out of the loop, then Hoffman can't assert his right to testify.
I'll indict him in the morning. Then you can pick him up.
Tommy.
How you doing?
Tommy, come back inside.
Come on, buddy, you gotta pick out which video we're gonna watch.
How about you show me some of those soccer moves. Come on.
All right. That's it, I'm calling my attorney.
Gonna file a restraining order against you both and then sue for harassment.
You wanna make a call? Tell her to meet you at Rikers. Turn around.
You can't prove anything. Turn around.
The grand jury disagrees.
Dan Hoffman, you're under arrest for the murder of Jill Hoffman.
You have the right to remain silent.
If you give up that right...
It's okay. It's okay, Tommy.
"Indictment number 4319, People v. Daniel Hoffman.
"Murder in the Second Degree. "
How does the defendant plead?
Not guilty.
The People request remand, Your Honor.
My client is a community leader with no criminal record
and the sole caretaker of his son.
Well, he wouldn't be a single parent if he hadn't killed his wife.
Control yourself, Ms. Cabot.
Bail is $100,000, cash or bond.
We request a speedy trial date.
My client is eager to prove his innocence,
an opportunity the A. D. A. denied him in the grand jury.
The district attorney is under no obligation to inform him...
I know the law, Ms. Cabot, I also know your reputation for bending it.
"A child's mental health is at risk. " Your words.
We didn't want to further traumatize Tommy Hoffman
by having his father arrested prematurely.
Anything else?
Motion to preclude any witnesses stating
that Jill Hoffman told them she'd been abused.
Jill Hoffman was emotionally distraught
when she spoke to the domestic violence shelter staff.
Her remarks clearly qualify
under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule.
But, Your Honor, admitting them
violates my client's constitutional right
to confront and cross-examine his accuser.
It's unduly prejudicial.
Those statements are a key element of my case.
Well, your case is in trouble. Motion granted.
We're screwed.
The defense will argue that Jill Hoffman
was murdered during a home invasion gone bad.
There's no evidence Dan Hoffman can use to support that claim.
But there's nothing to disprove it, either.
Jill lived in an unsafe neighborhood, and she worked as a stripper.
She was at a high risk.
Tommy's testimony would convict Hoffman.
You give me a chance and I know that
that kid will tell me what happened.
Kid's been in foster care since Hoffman's arrest.
Olivia can go interview him.
Judge Ridenour's order not to talk to Tommy is still in effect.
Even if Tommy says his dad killed Jill,
his statement would be precluded because we disobeyed the court's ruling.
You could subpoena Tommy for the trial.
It's a hell of a gamble to put a traumatized child
on the stand unprepared.
Besides, Hoffman may have coached Tommy to say that a stranger did it.
What about his biological mother? She has rights to talk to him.
Kim Hoffman? Yeah, well, either she fell into a black hole,
or he murdered her, too.
Now guess where I'm placing my money on that one?
So far, no signs of activity on her social security,
no tax returns since she disappeared, no signs of life.
Find somebody who knew the first Mrs. Hoffman.
Mr. Wheaten, how long have you lived across the street from the Hoffmans?
Ten years, before they moved in.
Did you know his first wife, Kim?
Sure, but just to say hello.
You know, we have been all over town
and nobody seems to know Kim Hoffman well.
Well, I'm not surprised.
Her husband had her terrified to talk to anyone.
I'd see her outside, wave,
she'd look over her shoulder
to make sure he wasn't watching before she'd wave back.
Did you ever see him hurt Kim?
Kim always had bruises, one time a broken arm.
She said she'd tripped over the stroller.
Did he ever say anything after she left?
That she'd run off with another man.
I didn't believe it.
So what do you think really happened?
Hoffman killed her, of course.
Especially after I saw the black van.
Black van? What van?
It pulled in late at night.
I saw this shadowy figure fill it with garbage bags, then drive away.
Next day, Kim was gone.
I called the cops, gave them the license plate.
Dan Hoffman's not a killer.
Well, did you investigate Kim Hoffman's disappearance?
Did you check on the neighbor's tip?
Oh, you've been talking to Mr. Neighborhood Watch.
Wheaten thinks he's Columbo.
Did you run the plates?
Harry, would you please pull the Kim Hoffman file?
Look, we may not be the almighty NYPD, but we do our jobs.
Someone reports a murder, we check it out, even if the guy's a crackpot.
So, yes, we ran the plates. Yes, they came back to a Dawn Trent.
Soccer mom, Port Chester. Yes, she was there.
Delivering Girl Scout cookies.
May I?
The case is closed. You want the file, you're welcome to it.
Thanks.
I'll brief Cabot, see if we can get her to stall the trial.
And I'll try and find Dawn Trent. She's got a lot of questions to answer.
I don't know Dan Hoffman. I already told the Rye Police.
It must be some mistake.
Nice home you have here.
You seem to be a nice mom.
Lady like you is not the usual accessory to murder.
Murder?
We're re-investigating the disappearance of Kim Hoffman.
I'm sorry, I don't even know her.
You're a liar.
Lady, we've got a witness who places you there,
at their house, the night Kim disappeared.
Where'd you stash the body?
I don't know Dan Hoffman.
But I do know Kim.
I was there that night, helping her leave.
Kim's alive?
Oh, she wouldn't be now if I hadn't gotten her out.
It's the same old story, Detective.
Your husband's the nicest guy in town,
pals with everybody, including the cops,
but every night when he comes home, he beats you.
He degrades you. He terrorizes you.
Who's gonna believe that the Man of the Year is a batterer?
And you can't leave him, there's nowhere to go.
He'll find you. He always does.
There's nowhere to hide in a small town.
The only way is to get far away and start over.
But that takes money. And help.
And that's what you provide.
Well, it's not just me.
There's a group of us.
What is this, some kind of DV underground railroad?
You could call it that.
I was Kim's first stop, and then I passed her on to another helper.
You grabbed her and took her away.
Why not the kid?
Kim was going to die, Detective. We had to move.
Her hope was that she could come back
for Tommy when she'd gotten herself together.
I need to talk to Kim.
Well, I don't know where she is.
All any of us know is the next link in the chain.
I picked Kim Hoffman up from the bus station.
From there, we drove to Poughkeepsie.
After that...
Kim was living on a farm outside of Woodstock.
I helped her move to New Paltz.
Then I heard she moved to Brewster.
I got her settled in Torrington.
The last I heard she was still there, working in a dry cleaner's.
Thank you, sir. Have a nice day.
Can I help you?
Yeah. I need to talk to you, Kim.
I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else. My name is...
Kim Hoffman.
No, it's not.
It's about Tommy.
Is Tommy okay?
Physically, yeah.
He needs you.
I cry for him every night.
You must think I'm a terrible mother for leaving him.
I know why you left.
Nobody knows how bad it was.
Dan used to beat me so severely that I couldn't walk.
I had to get out.
Once I was safe, I was gonna go back for Tommy.
Why didn't you?
I did.
Once I was settled, I went back to Rye.
I saw him playing in the front yard with some woman.
He called her Mommy.
He looked so happy.
I thought he was better off.
He had everything I couldn't give him.
I can't face him.
Yeah, you can.
He'll never understand why I left.
He'll never understand.
What if he doesn't love me anymore?
What if he doesn't...
Listen to me.
Your ex-husband is about to be acquitted.
If you don't help Tommy, he goes back to that house.
You have to risk your pain to save his life.
Jill worked in my office.
She was so kind to me when Kim left.
She offered to cook dinner for Tommy and me, babysit.
So she pursued you?
I was on the rebound. She was a beautiful woman, I was flattered.
Did the relationship change after the wedding?
I saw another side of Jill. She had a terrible temper.
One night I didn't praise her cooking enough,
and she smashed the meatloaf all over the walls.
Tommy was terrified.
I just realized that she was emotionally unstable.
I begged her to get help. She refused.
I just hoped with enough love and support that things would change.
And did they?
Jill got worse.
I was afraid that she was gonna hurt Tommy,
so I told her that I wanted a divorce,
and she said she would make me pay.
The next day, I came home, she was gone.
I mean, she'd left before, but only for a day or two.
And I was... I was relieved, until Tommy didn't come home from school.
And then I realized that she had taken him with her.
Thank you, Mr. Hoffman.
So you're the victim here, Mr. Hoffman.
My son was taken from me.
You have no idea what I went through
wondering if Tommy was all right.
You love your son very much, don't you?
Yes, I do.
Then explain why you never filed a missing persons report.
I was afraid to go to the police. I mean...
I thought that Jill might do something crazy if she were cornered.
So you didn't go look for them?
Of course I did.
But when a neighbor told you that a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Jill
was working at Benny's Topless, you didn't go check?
I never thought that that could be true.
Jill was so shy she wouldn't even make love with the lights on.
So it's a total coincidence that within days of hearing about the strip club,
your wife was brutally murdered.
I wish that I would have gone there. I wish that I would have found her.
If I had, Tommy would have been home safe with me,
not watching Jill get murdered by some maniac.
Here. Thank you.
Tommy.
Do you know who I am?
You're my real mom.
You remember me?
I have your picture.
You missed my birthday.
I know.
I know and I'm so sorry.
But I saw your soccer playoffs last year,
when you scored that big goal.
You did?
Oh, yeah.
I cheered my heart out.
Then why didn't you come and see me?
I was scared.
Of Dad?
Yes, honey.
He scares me a lot.
Me, too.
Are you gonna leave?
No.
No, I will never ever go away again.
Promise?
I promise.
The People call Tommy Hoffman.
Please state your name.
What is your name?
Can you tell us your name, son?
This is brutal. Please, stop this.
That's enough. This child is clearly in no state to testify.
Thank you.
It's okay, Tommy. You can go now.
I love you, Son.
You killed Jill.
Your Honor, I move for a mistrial.
Order.
Tommy, you listen to me. Don't do this.
Order.
Tommy, are you okay?
I'm ready. I can do it now.