New Eden (2020) s01e05 Episode Script
A Whole Lotta Buzz
1
(Gentle electronic music)
♪
Female voice: BNT.
Your Network.
(Reel rattles)
♪ I like the way you
smile at me ♪
♪ I felt the heat
that enveloped me ♪
♪ And what I saw
I liked to see ♪
♪ I never knew ♪
♪ Where evil grew ♪
♪ I should have steered away
from you ♪
♪ My friend told me to be
clear of you ♪
♪ But something drew me
near to you ♪
♪ I never knew ♪
♪ Where evil grew ♪
Newsreel: More breaking news.
- The sleepy community of
Halworth
has been rocked
by what may be murder.
- A dead body.
- Has been identified.
- As Katherine Wryfield aunt.
- The legend cult leaders,
Lee and Wryfield,
were the only members charged
in the recent raid.
- Lee and Wryfield are facing
life in prison.
- The cult crime sensation
that is shocking the nation.
- Crime just for men
not anymore,
because amateur undercover
footage revealed
- Hours of undercover footage
has been leaked to news
outlets.
- Shocking footage proves
that women don't need a man
to become violent cultist
killers.
- We're being told that one
New Eden member
has been outed as an undercover
journalist.
♪♪♪
- It was one thing,
that Hannah lied
about why she had come
to New Eden
or why she was filming us.
But to find out that all of
that footage
had been leaked to the press.
I mean-I mean, why would
she expose us like that?
It was unforgivable.
Unforgivable.
- Even after everything that
happened.
Shit, I still can't believe
she do that.
- Especially to me.
- Especially to Max.
- Yeah especially to Max.
- Yeah.
Interviewer: So you had no idea
who she was?
- No idea. We all thought
she was one of us.
Pretty hard fuckin' pill
to swallow
on top of all the other shit.
- Look, the second those two
got indicted,
there was a media blackout
in BC.
Meaning that we were not
allowed to report
on our own story
until after the trial.
So what was I supposed to do,
hm?
This was about to be the
biggest story of our careers.
(Sighs)
So I sent the footage
to a friend of mine who had
a TV station in Seattle.
And things just kind
of exploded from there.
Lacey Kwan: Within days
of the raid.
It was a national story here
in Canada.
But then that footage came out,
and man, once the American
m,
that was it.
It wasn't just this quirky,
special interest story
from up in Canada anymore.
New Eden became like this
international cultural
phenomenon.
- What about this all women
cult, New Eden,
you heard about this?
- Now, how do you say that?
Is it Gaion.
- Gaion?
- No it's Gaion.
- He got it right. Yeah.
- It's French.
Late night host: Yeah,
I don't get these gals.
Are they anarchists
or are they feminists
are they alien worshipers?
Seems like they could use
a man around
just to make some damn
decisions.
(Audience laughs, claps)
Oh.
- It was pretty wild.
I mean, we've never been
famous before, you know.
Except for that time,
we dr.
But this was way bigger
then that.
Interviewer: Right. this time
you were charged with murder.
- Right.
(Protestors shout)
- A woman's B worship cult
ge.
(Buzzing)
- The leaked footage reveals
a disturbing fixation
on a female alien goddess
called Gaion.
- Confusing because as we all
know, most aliens are boys.
- Soon you couldn't turn your
TV on without seeing them.
It had stopped being this
Canadian cult
and was just New Eden.
It was on everyone's lips.
- Do we think this is just
sensationalized hysteria?
Or could these women be
dangerous?
- It's Canada, Derek.
I mean, up there a carjacking
is considered a hard crime.
(Laughing)
- And then, of course,
once it was out there,
no one gave a shit
who we we're.
All they cared about was seeing
a bunch of women
running around with their
breast out,
praying to some alien
in the sky.
Katherine: I think that it was
a story
that people really wanted.
You know, here were these
powerful women
who were also spiritualists,
pioneers,
who were also victims.
- These ladies can call
themselves whatever they like.
As long as they don't ask
if it makes them look fat.
(Audience laughs, clapping)
(Pop)
That's a bunt.
Lacey: Grace and Katherine
fascinated people,
and the stories about them
just kept getting
stranger and stranger.
especially when the Americans
found out
who the Wryfields were.
(Wood clatters)
- Wow, Timothy,
you're awfully strong.
- That's 'cause mother gives me
Wryfield snack crackers.
Made with the finest
Canadian wheat and rye.
- Wryfield snack crackers
because your children
deserve to grow big.
(Crunching)
(Ding)
♪♪♪
(Music sting)
- Toronto based philanthropists,
Bev and Bunny Wryfield,
owners of the beloved
Wryfi,
faced scandal today.
They're estranged daughter,
Katherine,
has been charged with the
murder of her eccentric aunt.
- They were like the Kennedy's
of Canada of crackers.
- My parents were concerned
about the negative attention
affecting the company.
Of course they were.
- Now I think first
and foremost,
they were concerned
about their only daughter
being carted off to jail.
Hell, I was concerned about
their only daughter
being carted off to jail.
Interviewer: Let's go back
to the night you were arrest.
- They split us up,
and I just remember thinking,
don't say a fuckin' word.
- Agh. Me, too.
(Handcuffs clink)
- If you talked to us,
we can help you.
(Hard thump)
- Katherine told you to murder
Agnes Wryfield
and you did it.
- Did Katherine put you up
to it, Grace?
- Why? Maybe Katherine
was your girlfriend. Hm?
- When I was a kid,
I thought I was gonna be
a pilot when I grew up.
Am I boring you?
- Think you're gonna be
laughing like that
when you're in fucking jail
for the rest of your fucking
life?!
(Chair clatters)
- Fuck!
- Sticking together is always
what we've been best at.
We knew it was never more
important than that night.
- I was a pawn, a pawn.
She manipulated me.
I mean, Grace is basically
a hill person.
Did you know that?
I mean,
who knows what she's up to?
Can I get another coffee?
(Crying)
Thank you.
Do you even know
who my family is?
They're rich.
Please don't tell mother
and daddy.
They will be so mad.
(Sobbing)
Officer: Is there anything
- Where did you go?
- you want to say Miss Lee?
- Where did you go?
Are you coming back?
(Crying)
I'll tell you anything.
Please.
- Where's our fucking lawyer?
♪♪♪
Nancy: Legal Aid B.C.
in the early 80s,
was famously under-funded.
And suddenly you
had this huge case
and these two lawyers who had
barely any trial experience,
let alone a murder trial.
I mean, it was
yeah, embarrassing.
- Do you believe your clients
are innocent?
- Are you pushing for a trial
b?
- Will they be tried
together or separately?
- Will this case be going
to trial next year?
- Well, we certainly hope not.
Yeah.
But yeah. Yes, it is.
- Yeah, I mean,
judge just said it is.
So I guess we have to now.
- Have to, but it's not the
worst since I get to litigate
with the best guy in town.
- (Chuckles) Hey, I feel like
I'm the lucky one.
Buckley: Two lucky guys. Yeah.
Colby: You're great, dude.
Bu.
Interviewer: So what happened
next?
- Well, we fell in love.
Interviewer: With the trial.
- Oh, yeah.
We were not at all prepared
to take a case to trial.
- Yeah. We actually bonded over
the fact
that we were both
very bad lawyers.
- Very bad lawyers.
We own a grocery store now.
- Yeah, actually, you know
what?
I got disbarred
on our anniversary.
- Oh, yeah. That's right.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
- I actually met Buckley once
back when I was still
practicing.
He told me he got his law
degree by fax.
- The New Mexico Institute
for Mail Order Lawyers.
- That case would have been
over before it started
if those boys had been the ones
to take it to trial.
- You know, if I hadn't leaked
that footage,
Elizabeth Mill would've never
got wind of it.
See but with how big it got,
you know, a shark like that
is bound to smell blood
in the water.
Even all the way from New York.
- Elizabeth Mill wasn't even
licensed
to practice in Canada
at the time,
but the Wryfields were a very
powerful and connected family.
So if this is who they wanted
to defend their daughter,
this was who they were
gonna get.
- Mother and daddy always
wanted what was best for me.
For us.
So naturally they felt
that Elizabeth Mill
should be the one
to represent me.
- Yep.
I guess can't argue
with mother and daddy.
- Elizabeth Mill was infamous.
She epitomized everything
you think of
when you imagine the flashy
American lawyer
you see on TV.
She was ruthless, stylish,
well-connected,
and had made a career of
winning un-winnable cases,
usually by using these very
theatrical stunts.
- I object. Or do I?
- (Shocked gasps)
If I can sneak a body double
into open court.
Who's to say that my client's
doppelganger
didn't stab all those teachers.
Hm?
I had just gotten off the
Yonkers Snake Strangler
and I was at the top
of my game.
Interviewer: So how did you end
up getting involved?
- I'd known the Wryfields
socially for years,
Bev and Bunny where really
desperate
for any legitimate
representation.
And at the time I had developed
a reputation
for being upsetting
to women.
I was looking to rebrand.
Oh, sure, I'm for women's lib.
Best thing to happen to ugly
women since the girdle.
I get bad guys off.
That's what gets me off.
Like I told Ruth Bader Ginsburg
at Clarence Thomas's Halloween
party.
You are a bitch.
Suddenly everyone was talking
about these two feminists
who had started a cult
and .
And I thought
I need this case.
I thought this could be a
career making opportunity.
Actually, I thought,
wait 'til that troll Ruth Bader
Ginsburg hears about this,
but mostly I did it for
women.
- Will they be tried together
or separately?
- Who'll be acting as lead
counsel
when this does go to trial?
- Us?
- Wrong.
- (Gasps)
- It's Elizabeth Mill.
- Thanks Tony.
- I am named Tony.
- Eliz?
- Elizabeth Mill
for the defense.
- I mean, that was literally
the first time we ever met her.
- My clients are going
to fight these charges.
But this fight isn't merely
about these two courageous
women.
This is about justice
for all women.
And I will not rest
until we get the rights
and freedoms
that we all deserve.
- Yeah!
It was pretty cool.
- Wasn't that cool.
- Right?
- Yes. Yes.
Because we are women
and we have voices--
- No further comments
at this time. Thank you.
- (Reporter shout)
- Great tie by the way.
- Totally.
- I may have leaked
the footage,
but the frenzy that followed
that was pure magic lawyer
bullshit and that,
that that woman,
was queen of magic lawyer
bullshit.
- They used to call her
the sorceress of spin,
or to quote Ruth Bader
Ginsburg,
an unhinged charlatan who
for some reason hates me.
- When I take on a case,
I start defending it months
before we go to trial
because like it or not,
the media's perception is
an integral part of that.
- So here was this woman
who had no morals at all,
a woman who would bend
the rules
to suit her every purpose.
Going up against a man who
lived and died by the book.
Josiah Noseworthy was
the prosecutor assigned
to the New Eden case,
and he was a real hard-ass.
- Well, the victims
of Mr. Tordano
will never truly get justice,
even though we got the maximum
sentence possible.
It still isn't enough.
Do we want to live in a world
where we have to lock
our doors at night
because Charles Manson
and his lunatic followers
will walk in and stab us
in our sleep?
We cannot allow this depravity
to threaten our citizens.
We must fight back
with the power of the law
and bring swift justice
to all who defy it.
- Josiah Noseworthy's
whole thing was
that he had the highest
conve
and he had no time
for media fluff.
- The good people of British
Columbia have been shaken
to their foundations.
This is a hard working salt
of the earth community
and they want swift
and honest justice.
I promise you this whole circus
will soon be behind us.
- And what do you say
to the rumors that
New Eden is a lesbian,
sex cult--
- Yeah, I don't see how
that's at all relevant.
Now, I find this sort
of speculation
to be incredibly dangerous.
You know, personally,
I approach my work with
a high degree of integrity
and respect. Do you?
- Ah. Sorry. Yes.
- Uh-uh.
No further questions.
- They couldn't have been
more opposite.
(Music plays, audience cheers)
- Hello, hello, hello,
and welcome to Diane.
I'm Diane.
- Let me ask you this, Diane,
why are my clients being
persecuted?
Because they're guilty? No!
Because they're women.
(Audience applauds)
- Yeah!
- She knew how to put on a show
and all the media, which she
more or less brought with her,
they ate it all up.
- Sure. Maybe their philosophy
was a bit out there.
I mean, we all said crazy
things in the 70s, right?
- I know I did.
(Chuckles)
- But their only crime was
trying to create a space
where women could take their
power back.
And the outcry that
they're facing is well
tantamount to a modern day
witch hunt.
An Josiah Noseworthy
is leading it.
- After Elizabeth Mill
got involved.
Grace and Katherine took on
these whole new cultural
identities.
- To be honest with you,
I think I'm more of a Grace
unless I haven't had
my morning coffee.
Then it's Katherinetown, USA,
and I'm the mayor.
Lacey: Grace was the rebel.
And Katherine was the disgraced
heiress.
I think it was Rolling Stone
who dubbed Grace
- Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- Fondly known as Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- People loved that.
But media on both sides
of the border
struggled for a long time
to come up with a nickname
for Katherine
that would stick.
Kathy Canadian,
Queen Katherine,
Cracker Black Sheep.
Nothing quite took
until
Tony: Grace, Katherine,
do you regret starting
New Eden?
- Absolutely not, Tony.
Elizabeth: No.
- No, that's not to say that
there weren't problems.
I mean, that many women
and only one bathroom.
(All laugh)
Tony: Pretty good.
That's very funny.
- One bathroom.
How many women
are we talking about?
- These women are spiritual
leaders
being punished for their
beliefs.
- Hey, how about you try
sharing one bathroom
with that many women.
Imagine all those women
and only one bath--
- Ha! Almost forgot
about these
Racy Gracy, pretty good.
Interviewer: How did you feel
about being dubbed
Katherine bathroom?
- I embraced it.
I do have a sense of humor,
you know.
- The whole media circus
that Elizabeth had built
was part of the distraction.
Without it she never
would've been allowed
to try a case here.
And the reality was,
she dg
about trying a case
in British Columbia.
But she certainly wasn't
gonna let that stop her.
- She made us quit our Legal
Aid office
and start are own law firm.
- Technically,
she was articling for us
during the entire trial.
- Yeah. Didn't feel like it,
though.
- No. Not at all.
- Not at all.
But judge said it was okay.
So she just kind of took over.
- We let her.
- After that,
they just had to hope
that the presiding judge
would sign off on her
as lead counsel.
And let's just say
that Justice Myler
was susceptible to the
influence of a woman
like Elizabeth Mill.
- (Laughs)
Oh.
This guy was
not what you think of
when you picture
a Supreme Court justice
or any kind of justice
or even a lawyer.
I actually think he wanted
to be an actor at one point.
It was his first murder trial.
That's insane.
I think if any other judge
had been on the bench
for that case,
Elizabeth Mill would not have
been able to do what she did.
But he was the perfect mark.
- Justice Myler you've just
been assigned
to the highly infamous case
against the women of New Eden.
How do you feel about taking on
such a heavily publicized
trial?
- Um huh.
- I felt that it was very
important to this case
that the trial itself
be televised,
which apparently wasn't
a thing in Canada.
- Technically, there
isn't a written law
prohibiting news cameras from
filming a criminal court case.
Everyone just understood it
wa.
Almost everyone.
- Elizabeth Mill intimated
you're considering
allowing cameras in the
courtroom during the trial,
is that correct?
- Well, I, you know,
that's not something that
was typically we-- you know.
- She suggested it would be
a great opportunity
to demonstrate the intricacies
of the Canadian judicial
system.
- Right. Again, typically
tha-
- She also mentioned
that you are very brave
and have a face for TV.
- Do you agree
with that statement?
- She said that? Seriously?
- She did.
- (Clears throat)
Yes. Well um,
due to the nature of the case
and the attention
that it's already garnered,
we feel, I feel that um,
it is appropriate
to allow cameras to film
absolutely everything.
- Are you authorized to make
this choice?
Is this legal under the current
judicial system?
- This is a good look. Is this
your typical court look?
- Oh, this is just me
living life. (Chuckles)
- You do look good.
- Order on the porch.
(Laughing)
- This is gonna be great.
- I had a plan
and I wasn't gonna let
another country's
judicial process stand
in the way of it.
A modern lawyer needs
to understand
that part of the job is shaping
that public opinion
before anyone sets foot
in a courtroom.
Why? Because like it or not,
the jury is going to be part
of that public.
People are flawed.
Ergo, the system is flawed.
Ergo,
I do what I have to to win.
And I do flawlessly
usually.
- We interrupt this program
with breaking news
and the ongoing Lee,
Wryfield case.
Two local teens made
a disturbing discovery
after sneaking onto the New
Eden property late last night.
A warning to viewers,
the material
you're about to see
contains shocking images.
- Dude, come on.
Where are you?
You okay?
- Ahhh!
- (Startled) Ahh!
- (Laughing) Dude.
Dude, you should have seen
your fuckin' face.
- Suck my balls, man.
- Pussy.
What the hell is that?
- Come on, man.
Don't-don't fuck with me.
- I'm not fucking with you.
Come over here.
- Holy fuck, dude.
That's a fucking foot.
Dude, that's a foot.
- Yeeeaahhhhhh.
- The first rule
to any good defense
is be prepared for anything.
Nobody was prepared for that.
- Shocking news.
- The body of another women
has been has been uncovered
on the New Eden property.
- The arms, legs and torso
of the victim
have all been found
in separate burial sites.
- An unidentified torso
of a second victim.
- with the canine unit
continued to search
for the victim's missing head.
- The head remains at large.
- Where is the head?
- The finger prints are too
eroded to get a positive I.D.
- Maybe a double homicide.
(Helicopter rotors beat)
- And so the question remains,
who was this woman?
What was her connection
to New Eden?
And why did its leaders
want her dead?
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
- Yeah, we may have lost sight
of her at one point.
- I mean, keep in mind
there were a lot of women
to keep track of.
- Yeah. And we were pretty
high for a lot of that time.
(Reporters shout out questions)
Pete: Sergeant Nelson do
the lab reports confirm
that the remains found match
that of an elderly woman.
- Have you determined a motive
for Ms. McNurtt's alleged
murder?
- Here's what I can tell you.
We have determined that
Ms. McNurtt was at New Eden
for several years.
She was not accounted for
in the night that we raided
the property.
And she was not one of the
women who left the community
in the summer of 1981.
- Are you not concerned that
evidence will be ruled
too circumstantial?
- Can you explain
the discrepancies
between the Agnes Wryfield
gravesite
and that of the alleged
Ms. McNurtt?
- Well, clearly, we cannot
reveal all of the evidence
that we have gathered
at this time.
But I can assure you that
the woman we found
is Tabitha McNurtt,
and that Grace Lee
and Katherine Wryfield
are the reasons that
she is no longer with us.
No more questions.
- Okay. Well, I know
what he's saying.
(Overlapping conversations)
- You can keep taking pictures.
♪♪♪
- I've made a career on
anticipating variables
and demolishing any that are
not favorable to my narrative.
Okay?
- Elizabeth Mill couldn't have
anticipated that second body.
No one could have.
But what she also failed
to anticipate
was the fallout
among the media throng
that she herself had built.
- But even when you do
everything right.
Well, there are always
going to be factors
that you just can't control.
And when all those factors
stack up
well, the tide turns.
- Now we've been taught
to believe
that women all the fairer sex.
But the devil is always
had other plans for them.
- The fact is there
are not enough facts
for a second murder charge.
- It was woman who destroyed
paradise.
- My clients are victims
of a corrupt system.
- Now she, Satan, want
the chance to do it again!
- Elizabeth Mill is a woman
so unscrupulous
she would make a mockery
of our judicial system.
- A good defense attorney
doesn't care
whether her clients
are innocent or guilty.
- By attention seeking stunts
that seek to undermine
the sanctity of our legal
process.
- This is just like
we talked about.
- By choosing to defend these
women in the first place.
- More of the same witch hunt.
- And by her efforts to cloak
their true intentions
under a false veneer
of feminist sentiment.
- Orchestrated by a frustrated
prosecutor who is--
- Elizabeth, please.
How can you expect people
to just ignore
what they're seeing?
- The truth always comes
to light.
And I am confident
that people will see
what many of us
have known all along.
- These women are clearly
serial killers.
- And until the authorities
can produce the missing head.
- They did something to it.
One of their rituals?
- I can assure you
that my clients--
- (Screams)
- (Laughing)
- These women are dangerous.
- These women are sick.
- These women are killers.
- And they're dumb too.
- I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!
- They're answering
to a power far darker
than the good people of this
community can understand.
- Cast out these women.
You cast out the evil
that is inside
each and every one of us.
Cast out these women!
- So to answer your question,
no,
we were not feeling confident
going into our trial.
♪♪♪
♪ If I could build a wall
around you ♪
♪ I could control
the thing that you do ♪
♪ And it never shows ♪
♪ The place where evil grows ♪
(Gentle electronic music)
♪
Female voice: BNT.
Your Network.
(Reel rattles)
♪ I like the way you
smile at me ♪
♪ I felt the heat
that enveloped me ♪
♪ And what I saw
I liked to see ♪
♪ I never knew ♪
♪ Where evil grew ♪
♪ I should have steered away
from you ♪
♪ My friend told me to be
clear of you ♪
♪ But something drew me
near to you ♪
♪ I never knew ♪
♪ Where evil grew ♪
Newsreel: More breaking news.
- The sleepy community of
Halworth
has been rocked
by what may be murder.
- A dead body.
- Has been identified.
- As Katherine Wryfield aunt.
- The legend cult leaders,
Lee and Wryfield,
were the only members charged
in the recent raid.
- Lee and Wryfield are facing
life in prison.
- The cult crime sensation
that is shocking the nation.
- Crime just for men
not anymore,
because amateur undercover
footage revealed
- Hours of undercover footage
has been leaked to news
outlets.
- Shocking footage proves
that women don't need a man
to become violent cultist
killers.
- We're being told that one
New Eden member
has been outed as an undercover
journalist.
♪♪♪
- It was one thing,
that Hannah lied
about why she had come
to New Eden
or why she was filming us.
But to find out that all of
that footage
had been leaked to the press.
I mean-I mean, why would
she expose us like that?
It was unforgivable.
Unforgivable.
- Even after everything that
happened.
Shit, I still can't believe
she do that.
- Especially to me.
- Especially to Max.
- Yeah especially to Max.
- Yeah.
Interviewer: So you had no idea
who she was?
- No idea. We all thought
she was one of us.
Pretty hard fuckin' pill
to swallow
on top of all the other shit.
- Look, the second those two
got indicted,
there was a media blackout
in BC.
Meaning that we were not
allowed to report
on our own story
until after the trial.
So what was I supposed to do,
hm?
This was about to be the
biggest story of our careers.
(Sighs)
So I sent the footage
to a friend of mine who had
a TV station in Seattle.
And things just kind
of exploded from there.
Lacey Kwan: Within days
of the raid.
It was a national story here
in Canada.
But then that footage came out,
and man, once the American
m,
that was it.
It wasn't just this quirky,
special interest story
from up in Canada anymore.
New Eden became like this
international cultural
phenomenon.
- What about this all women
cult, New Eden,
you heard about this?
- Now, how do you say that?
Is it Gaion.
- Gaion?
- No it's Gaion.
- He got it right. Yeah.
- It's French.
Late night host: Yeah,
I don't get these gals.
Are they anarchists
or are they feminists
are they alien worshipers?
Seems like they could use
a man around
just to make some damn
decisions.
(Audience laughs, claps)
Oh.
- It was pretty wild.
I mean, we've never been
famous before, you know.
Except for that time,
we dr.
But this was way bigger
then that.
Interviewer: Right. this time
you were charged with murder.
- Right.
(Protestors shout)
- A woman's B worship cult
ge.
(Buzzing)
- The leaked footage reveals
a disturbing fixation
on a female alien goddess
called Gaion.
- Confusing because as we all
know, most aliens are boys.
- Soon you couldn't turn your
TV on without seeing them.
It had stopped being this
Canadian cult
and was just New Eden.
It was on everyone's lips.
- Do we think this is just
sensationalized hysteria?
Or could these women be
dangerous?
- It's Canada, Derek.
I mean, up there a carjacking
is considered a hard crime.
(Laughing)
- And then, of course,
once it was out there,
no one gave a shit
who we we're.
All they cared about was seeing
a bunch of women
running around with their
breast out,
praying to some alien
in the sky.
Katherine: I think that it was
a story
that people really wanted.
You know, here were these
powerful women
who were also spiritualists,
pioneers,
who were also victims.
- These ladies can call
themselves whatever they like.
As long as they don't ask
if it makes them look fat.
(Audience laughs, clapping)
(Pop)
That's a bunt.
Lacey: Grace and Katherine
fascinated people,
and the stories about them
just kept getting
stranger and stranger.
especially when the Americans
found out
who the Wryfields were.
(Wood clatters)
- Wow, Timothy,
you're awfully strong.
- That's 'cause mother gives me
Wryfield snack crackers.
Made with the finest
Canadian wheat and rye.
- Wryfield snack crackers
because your children
deserve to grow big.
(Crunching)
(Ding)
♪♪♪
(Music sting)
- Toronto based philanthropists,
Bev and Bunny Wryfield,
owners of the beloved
Wryfi,
faced scandal today.
They're estranged daughter,
Katherine,
has been charged with the
murder of her eccentric aunt.
- They were like the Kennedy's
of Canada of crackers.
- My parents were concerned
about the negative attention
affecting the company.
Of course they were.
- Now I think first
and foremost,
they were concerned
about their only daughter
being carted off to jail.
Hell, I was concerned about
their only daughter
being carted off to jail.
Interviewer: Let's go back
to the night you were arrest.
- They split us up,
and I just remember thinking,
don't say a fuckin' word.
- Agh. Me, too.
(Handcuffs clink)
- If you talked to us,
we can help you.
(Hard thump)
- Katherine told you to murder
Agnes Wryfield
and you did it.
- Did Katherine put you up
to it, Grace?
- Why? Maybe Katherine
was your girlfriend. Hm?
- When I was a kid,
I thought I was gonna be
a pilot when I grew up.
Am I boring you?
- Think you're gonna be
laughing like that
when you're in fucking jail
for the rest of your fucking
life?!
(Chair clatters)
- Fuck!
- Sticking together is always
what we've been best at.
We knew it was never more
important than that night.
- I was a pawn, a pawn.
She manipulated me.
I mean, Grace is basically
a hill person.
Did you know that?
I mean,
who knows what she's up to?
Can I get another coffee?
(Crying)
Thank you.
Do you even know
who my family is?
They're rich.
Please don't tell mother
and daddy.
They will be so mad.
(Sobbing)
Officer: Is there anything
- Where did you go?
- you want to say Miss Lee?
- Where did you go?
Are you coming back?
(Crying)
I'll tell you anything.
Please.
- Where's our fucking lawyer?
♪♪♪
Nancy: Legal Aid B.C.
in the early 80s,
was famously under-funded.
And suddenly you
had this huge case
and these two lawyers who had
barely any trial experience,
let alone a murder trial.
I mean, it was
yeah, embarrassing.
- Do you believe your clients
are innocent?
- Are you pushing for a trial
b?
- Will they be tried
together or separately?
- Will this case be going
to trial next year?
- Well, we certainly hope not.
Yeah.
But yeah. Yes, it is.
- Yeah, I mean,
judge just said it is.
So I guess we have to now.
- Have to, but it's not the
worst since I get to litigate
with the best guy in town.
- (Chuckles) Hey, I feel like
I'm the lucky one.
Buckley: Two lucky guys. Yeah.
Colby: You're great, dude.
Bu.
Interviewer: So what happened
next?
- Well, we fell in love.
Interviewer: With the trial.
- Oh, yeah.
We were not at all prepared
to take a case to trial.
- Yeah. We actually bonded over
the fact
that we were both
very bad lawyers.
- Very bad lawyers.
We own a grocery store now.
- Yeah, actually, you know
what?
I got disbarred
on our anniversary.
- Oh, yeah. That's right.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
- I actually met Buckley once
back when I was still
practicing.
He told me he got his law
degree by fax.
- The New Mexico Institute
for Mail Order Lawyers.
- That case would have been
over before it started
if those boys had been the ones
to take it to trial.
- You know, if I hadn't leaked
that footage,
Elizabeth Mill would've never
got wind of it.
See but with how big it got,
you know, a shark like that
is bound to smell blood
in the water.
Even all the way from New York.
- Elizabeth Mill wasn't even
licensed
to practice in Canada
at the time,
but the Wryfields were a very
powerful and connected family.
So if this is who they wanted
to defend their daughter,
this was who they were
gonna get.
- Mother and daddy always
wanted what was best for me.
For us.
So naturally they felt
that Elizabeth Mill
should be the one
to represent me.
- Yep.
I guess can't argue
with mother and daddy.
- Elizabeth Mill was infamous.
She epitomized everything
you think of
when you imagine the flashy
American lawyer
you see on TV.
She was ruthless, stylish,
well-connected,
and had made a career of
winning un-winnable cases,
usually by using these very
theatrical stunts.
- I object. Or do I?
- (Shocked gasps)
If I can sneak a body double
into open court.
Who's to say that my client's
doppelganger
didn't stab all those teachers.
Hm?
I had just gotten off the
Yonkers Snake Strangler
and I was at the top
of my game.
Interviewer: So how did you end
up getting involved?
- I'd known the Wryfields
socially for years,
Bev and Bunny where really
desperate
for any legitimate
representation.
And at the time I had developed
a reputation
for being upsetting
to women.
I was looking to rebrand.
Oh, sure, I'm for women's lib.
Best thing to happen to ugly
women since the girdle.
I get bad guys off.
That's what gets me off.
Like I told Ruth Bader Ginsburg
at Clarence Thomas's Halloween
party.
You are a bitch.
Suddenly everyone was talking
about these two feminists
who had started a cult
and .
And I thought
I need this case.
I thought this could be a
career making opportunity.
Actually, I thought,
wait 'til that troll Ruth Bader
Ginsburg hears about this,
but mostly I did it for
women.
- Will they be tried together
or separately?
- Who'll be acting as lead
counsel
when this does go to trial?
- Us?
- Wrong.
- (Gasps)
- It's Elizabeth Mill.
- Thanks Tony.
- I am named Tony.
- Eliz?
- Elizabeth Mill
for the defense.
- I mean, that was literally
the first time we ever met her.
- My clients are going
to fight these charges.
But this fight isn't merely
about these two courageous
women.
This is about justice
for all women.
And I will not rest
until we get the rights
and freedoms
that we all deserve.
- Yeah!
It was pretty cool.
- Wasn't that cool.
- Right?
- Yes. Yes.
Because we are women
and we have voices--
- No further comments
at this time. Thank you.
- (Reporter shout)
- Great tie by the way.
- Totally.
- I may have leaked
the footage,
but the frenzy that followed
that was pure magic lawyer
bullshit and that,
that that woman,
was queen of magic lawyer
bullshit.
- They used to call her
the sorceress of spin,
or to quote Ruth Bader
Ginsburg,
an unhinged charlatan who
for some reason hates me.
- When I take on a case,
I start defending it months
before we go to trial
because like it or not,
the media's perception is
an integral part of that.
- So here was this woman
who had no morals at all,
a woman who would bend
the rules
to suit her every purpose.
Going up against a man who
lived and died by the book.
Josiah Noseworthy was
the prosecutor assigned
to the New Eden case,
and he was a real hard-ass.
- Well, the victims
of Mr. Tordano
will never truly get justice,
even though we got the maximum
sentence possible.
It still isn't enough.
Do we want to live in a world
where we have to lock
our doors at night
because Charles Manson
and his lunatic followers
will walk in and stab us
in our sleep?
We cannot allow this depravity
to threaten our citizens.
We must fight back
with the power of the law
and bring swift justice
to all who defy it.
- Josiah Noseworthy's
whole thing was
that he had the highest
conve
and he had no time
for media fluff.
- The good people of British
Columbia have been shaken
to their foundations.
This is a hard working salt
of the earth community
and they want swift
and honest justice.
I promise you this whole circus
will soon be behind us.
- And what do you say
to the rumors that
New Eden is a lesbian,
sex cult--
- Yeah, I don't see how
that's at all relevant.
Now, I find this sort
of speculation
to be incredibly dangerous.
You know, personally,
I approach my work with
a high degree of integrity
and respect. Do you?
- Ah. Sorry. Yes.
- Uh-uh.
No further questions.
- They couldn't have been
more opposite.
(Music plays, audience cheers)
- Hello, hello, hello,
and welcome to Diane.
I'm Diane.
- Let me ask you this, Diane,
why are my clients being
persecuted?
Because they're guilty? No!
Because they're women.
(Audience applauds)
- Yeah!
- She knew how to put on a show
and all the media, which she
more or less brought with her,
they ate it all up.
- Sure. Maybe their philosophy
was a bit out there.
I mean, we all said crazy
things in the 70s, right?
- I know I did.
(Chuckles)
- But their only crime was
trying to create a space
where women could take their
power back.
And the outcry that
they're facing is well
tantamount to a modern day
witch hunt.
An Josiah Noseworthy
is leading it.
- After Elizabeth Mill
got involved.
Grace and Katherine took on
these whole new cultural
identities.
- To be honest with you,
I think I'm more of a Grace
unless I haven't had
my morning coffee.
Then it's Katherinetown, USA,
and I'm the mayor.
Lacey: Grace was the rebel.
And Katherine was the disgraced
heiress.
I think it was Rolling Stone
who dubbed Grace
- Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- Fondly known as Racy Gracy.
- Racy Gracy.
- People loved that.
But media on both sides
of the border
struggled for a long time
to come up with a nickname
for Katherine
that would stick.
Kathy Canadian,
Queen Katherine,
Cracker Black Sheep.
Nothing quite took
until
Tony: Grace, Katherine,
do you regret starting
New Eden?
- Absolutely not, Tony.
Elizabeth: No.
- No, that's not to say that
there weren't problems.
I mean, that many women
and only one bathroom.
(All laugh)
Tony: Pretty good.
That's very funny.
- One bathroom.
How many women
are we talking about?
- These women are spiritual
leaders
being punished for their
beliefs.
- Hey, how about you try
sharing one bathroom
with that many women.
Imagine all those women
and only one bath--
- Ha! Almost forgot
about these
Racy Gracy, pretty good.
Interviewer: How did you feel
about being dubbed
Katherine bathroom?
- I embraced it.
I do have a sense of humor,
you know.
- The whole media circus
that Elizabeth had built
was part of the distraction.
Without it she never
would've been allowed
to try a case here.
And the reality was,
she dg
about trying a case
in British Columbia.
But she certainly wasn't
gonna let that stop her.
- She made us quit our Legal
Aid office
and start are own law firm.
- Technically,
she was articling for us
during the entire trial.
- Yeah. Didn't feel like it,
though.
- No. Not at all.
- Not at all.
But judge said it was okay.
So she just kind of took over.
- We let her.
- After that,
they just had to hope
that the presiding judge
would sign off on her
as lead counsel.
And let's just say
that Justice Myler
was susceptible to the
influence of a woman
like Elizabeth Mill.
- (Laughs)
Oh.
This guy was
not what you think of
when you picture
a Supreme Court justice
or any kind of justice
or even a lawyer.
I actually think he wanted
to be an actor at one point.
It was his first murder trial.
That's insane.
I think if any other judge
had been on the bench
for that case,
Elizabeth Mill would not have
been able to do what she did.
But he was the perfect mark.
- Justice Myler you've just
been assigned
to the highly infamous case
against the women of New Eden.
How do you feel about taking on
such a heavily publicized
trial?
- Um huh.
- I felt that it was very
important to this case
that the trial itself
be televised,
which apparently wasn't
a thing in Canada.
- Technically, there
isn't a written law
prohibiting news cameras from
filming a criminal court case.
Everyone just understood it
wa.
Almost everyone.
- Elizabeth Mill intimated
you're considering
allowing cameras in the
courtroom during the trial,
is that correct?
- Well, I, you know,
that's not something that
was typically we-- you know.
- She suggested it would be
a great opportunity
to demonstrate the intricacies
of the Canadian judicial
system.
- Right. Again, typically
tha-
- She also mentioned
that you are very brave
and have a face for TV.
- Do you agree
with that statement?
- She said that? Seriously?
- She did.
- (Clears throat)
Yes. Well um,
due to the nature of the case
and the attention
that it's already garnered,
we feel, I feel that um,
it is appropriate
to allow cameras to film
absolutely everything.
- Are you authorized to make
this choice?
Is this legal under the current
judicial system?
- This is a good look. Is this
your typical court look?
- Oh, this is just me
living life. (Chuckles)
- You do look good.
- Order on the porch.
(Laughing)
- This is gonna be great.
- I had a plan
and I wasn't gonna let
another country's
judicial process stand
in the way of it.
A modern lawyer needs
to understand
that part of the job is shaping
that public opinion
before anyone sets foot
in a courtroom.
Why? Because like it or not,
the jury is going to be part
of that public.
People are flawed.
Ergo, the system is flawed.
Ergo,
I do what I have to to win.
And I do flawlessly
usually.
- We interrupt this program
with breaking news
and the ongoing Lee,
Wryfield case.
Two local teens made
a disturbing discovery
after sneaking onto the New
Eden property late last night.
A warning to viewers,
the material
you're about to see
contains shocking images.
- Dude, come on.
Where are you?
You okay?
- Ahhh!
- (Startled) Ahh!
- (Laughing) Dude.
Dude, you should have seen
your fuckin' face.
- Suck my balls, man.
- Pussy.
What the hell is that?
- Come on, man.
Don't-don't fuck with me.
- I'm not fucking with you.
Come over here.
- Holy fuck, dude.
That's a fucking foot.
Dude, that's a foot.
- Yeeeaahhhhhh.
- The first rule
to any good defense
is be prepared for anything.
Nobody was prepared for that.
- Shocking news.
- The body of another women
has been has been uncovered
on the New Eden property.
- The arms, legs and torso
of the victim
have all been found
in separate burial sites.
- An unidentified torso
of a second victim.
- with the canine unit
continued to search
for the victim's missing head.
- The head remains at large.
- Where is the head?
- The finger prints are too
eroded to get a positive I.D.
- Maybe a double homicide.
(Helicopter rotors beat)
- And so the question remains,
who was this woman?
What was her connection
to New Eden?
And why did its leaders
want her dead?
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
- Yeah, we may have lost sight
of her at one point.
- I mean, keep in mind
there were a lot of women
to keep track of.
- Yeah. And we were pretty
high for a lot of that time.
(Reporters shout out questions)
Pete: Sergeant Nelson do
the lab reports confirm
that the remains found match
that of an elderly woman.
- Have you determined a motive
for Ms. McNurtt's alleged
murder?
- Here's what I can tell you.
We have determined that
Ms. McNurtt was at New Eden
for several years.
She was not accounted for
in the night that we raided
the property.
And she was not one of the
women who left the community
in the summer of 1981.
- Are you not concerned that
evidence will be ruled
too circumstantial?
- Can you explain
the discrepancies
between the Agnes Wryfield
gravesite
and that of the alleged
Ms. McNurtt?
- Well, clearly, we cannot
reveal all of the evidence
that we have gathered
at this time.
But I can assure you that
the woman we found
is Tabitha McNurtt,
and that Grace Lee
and Katherine Wryfield
are the reasons that
she is no longer with us.
No more questions.
- Okay. Well, I know
what he's saying.
(Overlapping conversations)
- You can keep taking pictures.
♪♪♪
- I've made a career on
anticipating variables
and demolishing any that are
not favorable to my narrative.
Okay?
- Elizabeth Mill couldn't have
anticipated that second body.
No one could have.
But what she also failed
to anticipate
was the fallout
among the media throng
that she herself had built.
- But even when you do
everything right.
Well, there are always
going to be factors
that you just can't control.
And when all those factors
stack up
well, the tide turns.
- Now we've been taught
to believe
that women all the fairer sex.
But the devil is always
had other plans for them.
- The fact is there
are not enough facts
for a second murder charge.
- It was woman who destroyed
paradise.
- My clients are victims
of a corrupt system.
- Now she, Satan, want
the chance to do it again!
- Elizabeth Mill is a woman
so unscrupulous
she would make a mockery
of our judicial system.
- A good defense attorney
doesn't care
whether her clients
are innocent or guilty.
- By attention seeking stunts
that seek to undermine
the sanctity of our legal
process.
- This is just like
we talked about.
- By choosing to defend these
women in the first place.
- More of the same witch hunt.
- And by her efforts to cloak
their true intentions
under a false veneer
of feminist sentiment.
- Orchestrated by a frustrated
prosecutor who is--
- Elizabeth, please.
How can you expect people
to just ignore
what they're seeing?
- The truth always comes
to light.
And I am confident
that people will see
what many of us
have known all along.
- These women are clearly
serial killers.
- And until the authorities
can produce the missing head.
- They did something to it.
One of their rituals?
- I can assure you
that my clients--
- (Screams)
- (Laughing)
- These women are dangerous.
- These women are sick.
- These women are killers.
- And they're dumb too.
- I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!
- They're answering
to a power far darker
than the good people of this
community can understand.
- Cast out these women.
You cast out the evil
that is inside
each and every one of us.
Cast out these women!
- So to answer your question,
no,
we were not feeling confident
going into our trial.
♪♪♪
♪ If I could build a wall
around you ♪
♪ I could control
the thing that you do ♪
♪ And it never shows ♪
♪ The place where evil grows ♪