Chicago Justice (2017) s01e07 Episode Script
Double Helix
1 [indistinct chatter.]
Who would store their stuff here? This dump couldn't cover my taxes.
[broken English.]
Oi! My beetles! Sir, sir, when we're done here, you can get your car.
[broken English.]
No car.
Beetles.
Fighter beetle! Ugh.
John, Paul, George and disgusting.
You can claim your possessions tomorrow at 10:00 a.
m.
The building has been seized under civil asset forfeiture.
Sir, over here! - Watch this guy.
- Okay.
Yeah? [dramatic music.]
Oh.
The unit was leased to a Nicky Neele.
- Sure, that sounds real.
- Yeah, as real as the address.
There is no 721 Broad Street.
And paid cash up front for five years.
Looks like Nicky didn't want any company.
Cause of death could have been blunt force trauma or the slicing and dicing.
Blunt force trauma from something like this? I'd say that's a possible murder weapon.
Whatever did the cutting was short but sharp.
I'm thinking that box cutter.
- How long was she in there? - Given the weather, size of the maggots, eh, four or five days.
I'll know more after the autopsy.
I'll send my report to PD.
We started it, we're keeping it.
Yeah.
Hey, where's the baby? What baby? This lady was very pregnant.
Baby could've survived that? Wouldn't be the first time.
If the baby was dead, the killer would have left it here.
CPD's checking every hospital, urgent care, - and adoption agency.
- What about suspected - baby traffickers? - It's a full court press.
- Afternoon.
- Hi.
Why do we always get the gruesome ones? Has the ME determined a date of death yet? Report just came back.
She confirmed it as five days ago.
Apparently, maggots are nature's stopwatch.
The woman who rented the locker Wait, we don't know it's a woman.
Well, call me heteronormal, statistically, this is a woman's crime.
There were no useable prints from the bat Too much overlap But they're running DNA from the crime scene.
Did you ID the victim? Prints weren't in the system.
The killer went through her purse, took her wallet, but missed a side pocket.
That's her public transit card.
It was probably there for easy access.
She used it constantly.
Where was she going? North Clybourn, Pulaski, Hyde Park, Midway.
- Back and forth.
No pattern.
- Who bought the card? Company called Travel Trainers.
Get on it.
We restore some autonomy for people disabilities.
Navigating the city's transportation is daunting for me.
Imagine what it's like for somebody with developmental challenges.
This is Julia's card.
I like Julia.
- Who's Julia? - Keys.
She was one of our best aides.
- Was? - She started maternity leave last week but, um, she was upset when she left.
We only offer the state minimum, four weeks.
I get that she wanted more, but I can't afford it.
Did you call to see if it was a girl or a boy? - I tried.
No answer.
- Husband? Julia wasn't married.
She mentioned something about moving to Canada where she had family, but she never came back to pick up her things.
Mm.
Will you let us know if she's okay? Is it okay to look around her desk? Of course.
That's it.
Due date's today.
During my whole pregnancy, it never really registered that in the end I would have a baby.
Yeah, well, me and the nightmare always thought we'd have more time to get ready.
[sighs.]
Every morning before work, I would go to Norma's and order breakfast, read the paper.
You know, eventually, I'm out to here, but I still sit at a table for one.
8 1/2 months in, it finally registers.
Thing that was never gonna happen was happening.
- Life was about to be - Crazy? Yeah.
I was gonna need a bigger table.
She was killed here.
She went to yoga that morning.
Looks like her routine every Tuesday and Thursday.
There's gotta be, like, ten yoga studios around here.
Well, not many of them are named Lotus Focus.
[indistinct chatter.]
[flute music.]
Are you expecting? I sense your root chakra is out of balance.
Uh, my root chakra's fine.
We're here about Julia Keys.
A lovely soul.
Is she okay? When was the last time you saw her? Last week.
Last Thursday.
Why? He kicked the entire class.
Oh, did I tell you? She friends with any of them? All of them.
It's our Oh, Baby! class.
- Oh.
- [overlapping chatter.]
I'd lose my balance, and she was, like, right there to steady me.
I mean, like, literally.
She was the most helpful person I've ever met.
Did she mention anything unusually stressful in her life? You mean besides being nine months pregnant and about to be a single mom? - Thanks to her jerk boyfriend.
- Ex boyfriend.
He's who you should be talking to.
Large Marge, you guys were close.
What was Julia's boyfriend's name? Gosh, I have no idea.
- Marge, do you know - [laughter.]
We just call her that 'cause she's so big.
She's Dawn.
I'm Little Lentil.
Baker, Bun in the Oven, Double Bubble, Pumpkin.
Brian.
No, Ryan.
Ryan Mathis, like Johnny.
Thank you.
- Yeah? - We're from the State's Attorney's Office, looking for Ryan Mathis.
Ryan? - Ryan? - Yeah? What's up? They're from the State's Attorney's Office.
What happened to your leg? I fell off a roof.
Hazards of being a roofer.
- What's going on? - What was your relationship - to Julia Keys? - Mm, that's his bitch ex.
Amber! Uh, we use to go out.
Why? When's the last time you saw her? Six, seven months ago.
- She - Dumped him.
- Yeah? Why? - Out of the blue, she stopped returning my phone calls.
I go to her place, she'd only talk to me through the door.
Said it wasn't gonna work out.
No phone calls? What about emails? Texts? Nothing.
I mean, we had our arguments, you know, but nothing serious.
And overnight, she I just figured she found somebody else.
- Whore.
- Will you shut up? Is she in trouble? - [knock at door.]
- Yeah? DNA from the Julia Keys murder.
Tell Antonio and Nagel.
J.
P.
in the lab said you'd wanna know.
- Why? - There were two samples.
The first was Julia Keys, obviously.
The second was from someone named David Zachariah.
That's impossible.
David Zachariah is a serial killer.
He was my first high-profile case.
Eight years ago, I put him away for life.
The victims of David Zachariah.
For ten years, young women were going missing.
He posed as Wi-Fi repair.
Once inside, he drugged them and drive them to the middle of nowhere, kill them, have sex with the corpse and bury it.
Oh.
Ten women in all.
We couldn't find any of the bodies until a hiker and his dog found a hand sticking out of the ground.
We matched DNA from a crease in her ear to Zachariah.
Alice White.
Her dad sat in our lobby for months while we tried to work out a deal.
You let Zachariah plead down? I was thinking of the other families.
Not knowing if their missing daughters were dead or alive, it ground them down.
Some of the parents held mock funerals to help them cope.
- Did it help? - Losing a child, I doubt even a real funeral works.
Zachariah plead to murdering Alice White.
And I traded the death penalty for the location of his other victims.
And at least those families got some kind of closure.
Under the plea deal, he got immunity for all of them.
So long as he told us the truth.
So he had to have been in the storage locker over eight years ago.
No.
DNA testing back then wasn't as accurate as it is now.
The DNA in the locker has to have come from one of Zachariah's first degree relatives.
His parents are both dead.
That leaves siblings and kids.
Julia's ex? Have Dawson and Nagel look harder into him.
- [metal door clattering open.]
- [indistinct chatter.]
[buzzer sounds.]
I'm good.
Peter, I can't believe you drove all the way down here.
Even when phones have that face-to-face video whatever.
I miss seeing exactly what eight years in solitary does to a man.
Well, sometimes it does a man good to be alone.
Especially a man like you.
[laughs.]
I notice you haven't lost your sense of humor.
I noticed you haven't had a visitor in over five years.
Has it been that long? What can I say? Out of sight You and Randy have a falling out? Why on Earth would you ever be interested in my baby bro? Just making conversation, Zachariah.
I'm very proud of you, Peter.
Deputy Bureau Chief at your age.
I can only hope I had something to do with your quick rise.
God, I miss this.
I don't.
Randy is dead, Peter.
At least that's what they tell me.
[buzzer sounds.]
Hey! Excuse me! I think this time we'll talk in our office.
- Hey, hold on.
- Talk about what? - About why you lied.
- I didn't lie.
You heard of phone records, right? You said you hadn't spoken to Julia in six months.
You had a two-minute conversation with her the day she died.
Died? Oh, my God! What what happened? No, it wasn't him.
It wasn't him.
You were sleeping.
She Julia called.
I told her to leave us alone.
You have to understand, when she broke up with him, he was devastated.
I've known him for years.
What did you do? She wanted to talk to you.
I told her you'd meet her.
I erased the call.
I took your phone.
I met her outside the Fluff 'n Fold.
I told her you didn't owe her a dime of child support.
Child support? Oh, my God.
She was pregnant? I'm so sorry.
But what she did to you What else did you and Julia talk about? Just to leave Ryan alone.
They were on their way to pick up a crib.
- They? - Her and some other preggo.
- She have a name? - She didn't get out of the car.
Probably 'cause she was huge.
Even bigger than Julia.
Dawn? AKA Large Marge? Yoga place might have an address.
- Stop.
Don't touch me.
Don't - I'm so, so sorry.
Please.
Get away from me.
I can't look at you.
[doorbell rings.]
- Hello.
You're - Dawn, we're from the State's Attorney's Office.
We met you at your yoga class.
Sure.
Come in.
We need to talk to you about Julia Keys.
It shouldn't take long.
[shushing.]
Shh.
She just fell asleep.
I'll put her down.
No.
I don't know.
A dead baby? This is seriously crazy.
Every day's an adventure.
Yeah, well, end this one quick, will you? Dawn Osborn's DNA isn't back from the lab yet.
It's not like there's a mystery about what happened here.
I'm not sure how Zachariah factors in.
- Oh, she's his sister.
- She's kinda young.
- Then his daughter.
- Yeah, well, that's possible, but as far as I know, he only had sex with his victims after they were dead.
He said they were less of a struggle.
Theoretically, Zachariah deserves to know about the new DNA.
Well, what he deserves is a needle in his arm.
I'll be damned if we're handing him evidence so he can overturn his conviction.
Just move on.
I appreciate you seeing me.
What can we do for you, Mr.
Mathis? Well, it's ironic, Julia devoted her whole life to helping the handicapped.
Now I'm the one that's struggling on the L.
- How long? - Oh, we were together four years.
Julia, she I always thought that we would end up back together.
I had no idea that she was pregnant.
I mean, we had talked about children, but neither of us were ready.
Had I known what kind of sick I'm sorry, Mr.
Stone.
No, you're entitled.
[phone buzzing.]
Um The only family that Julia had - Yes? - Was an uncle in Canada.
And I'm trying to make the arrangements for her and - What? - My baby.
And I wanted to see you, Mr.
Stone, because I can't get any answers.
I need to buy an outfit for my baby to be buried in and I don't know if it's a he or a She.
- A little girl.
- [phone buzzes.]
Yes? Look, I know that you're very busy.
- So I - Mr.
Mathis, - this case is why I do what I do.
- I'll let him know.
Thank you.
What was so important that you had That was Nagel.
DNA's back.
Brace yourself.
Dawn Osborn is Zachariah's daughter.
Really? It took two calls to tell you that? The first was from Bella.
We were served with a Notice of Affirmative Defense.
Dawn Osborn is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
[sighs.]
I was 11.
They were making fun of me for bringing my doll to camp.
They grabbed her and ran up a trail by a high cliff and threw her off.
I climbed down to get her, but I slipped.
Fell 50 feet.
Banging on rocks.
Trees.
They ran.
They didn't tell anyone.
That's terrible.
I laid there for six hours.
They had to bring in a helicopter to get me out.
I broke my back, my arm, crushed my pelvis.
They removed my fallopian tubes.
Oh.
So you couldn't have a baby.
Didn't understand it then.
I mean women have babies.
That's what they do.
I was just like everyone else, wasn't I? So how long till you realized that you you weren't just like other women? I was 13.
There was this boy.
Alex.
He asked me to go to the movies with him.
I liked him.
I wanted to go.
But Mother thought I was too young to have a boyfriend.
I cried and cried.
Then Daddy came into my room and told me to go with Alex, but not to tell Mother.
It was our little secret.
I'm just curious what that might have to do with not being able to have a baby.
Mother found out about Alex.
When I got home, she and Daddy were fighting.
I heard Daddy say, "It's not like she can get pregnant.
" Hmm.
And how'd you feel when you heard your father say that? [sighs.]
The deposition should be on your desk probably by the time we're done here.
- Okay, as long as - Mr.
Stone? - I'm sorry, I'm preparing - I'm Camille Osborn.
Dawn's mom.
Thank you.
- What can I do for you? - You thought I'd be some kind of monster, didn't you? I didn't really think about it.
[chuckles.]
My neighbors, friends, people I've known for 30 years, they avoid me.
I'd probably do the same if one of their daughters I never thought that Dawn Could I have done something, Mr.
Stone? - Did I miss something? - I'm not really - in a position to - One night leaving work, I went into the stairwell And he I fought.
But he was just so Zachariah raped you? - I never told anyone.
- Including your husband? When I got pregnant, I let Ben think Dawn was his.
[sighs.]
I'm so glad he's not alive to see this.
- I don't know.
I'm so sorry.
- No, no, no.
Thank you.
Thank you for telling me.
A witness described a woman who was with Julia Keys - on the day she was killed.
- And what did you do? My partner and I noted that the description matched that of Dawn Osborn, who we had interviewed earlier.
So we went to her residence to question her.
When you arrived, what did you find? The defendant holding the deceased child.
When you arrived at the defendant's house, how did you announce your presence? We knocked and announced that we were with the SA's office.
Did my client run? - No.
- Did she attempt - to hide the child or herself? - No.
Would you say that's typical criminal behavior? I'm not sure I can answer that question.
Okay, I'll rephrase.
How many times when you've arrested a criminal Have they stood still, openly displaying evidence that they've committed a brutal crime? None.
None.
In your opinion, would a sane person who just murdered her friend and stolen her unborn baby greet the police holding that baby? Objection.
It calls for a medical opinion.
Sustained.
Criminologists have been searching for the biological cause of criminal behavior for centuries.
For instance, recent studies argue that certain body types were responsible for the development of certain personality traits.
The fat kid is jolly? That's correct.
The study concluded that the mere physical stature of a person could determine whether they were a criminal or not.
Or whether they would partake in criminal behavior - later in life.
- That body structure is a result of what? A person's genetic makeup.
And just like blue eyes or big feet? - Yes.
- Approach, Your Honor? Counsel is arguing the warrior gene.
- No court has accepted - Cool your jets, counsel.
I'm not going anywhere near the so-called warrior gene.
You sure fooled me.
And for that I apologize.
If counsel recalls, my client claims she is not guilty by reason of insanity.
As we all know, under the statue, that includes insanity by reason of involuntary intoxication.
That statute is intended for a situation in which someone drugs another person's drink.
My client wasn't able to control her actions not because of a bottle of bourbon but because of the stuff of life she inherited from her father, a serial killer.
Your Honor, this is nonsense.
I tend to agree, counsel.
Then let me show you.
[scoffs.]
[sighs.]
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes.
Why are you currently incarcerated, Mr.
Zachariah? They said I killed a woman named Alice White.
- Did you? - I told them I did.
What else did you tell them? That I killed nine other women.
- Did you? - Yes.
But not Alice.
Did you hate those women? I didn't know them.
They let me in their houses to fix their Wi-Fi, that's it.
Let's talk about that.
When you woke up in the morning, did you look in the mirror and say, "Today I'm going to kill someone"? No.
It kinda grew over time.
Like a wave.
The feeling would start small.
I'd see a woman's ankle.
The way her fingertip would touch an elevator button.
How she'd put her hair behind her ear.
And all that time, the wave would get bigger.
The tow stronger.
- She's studying him.
- Dragging me out to sea.
And then you'd kill your victim.
I had no choice.
It would get worse and worse until I didn't wanna drown, you know? When did this feeling stop? When I saw the veins swelling in her forehead when I squeezed her neck.
Thank you.
[dramatic music.]
How many people have you killed in prison, sir? None.
So the urge went away.
There aren't any women there.
But this urge This wave growing and pulling you out to sea Killing a man wouldn't satisfy it? No, it wouldn't.
But you didn't drown, did you? Somehow you controlled this uncontrollable urge.
How did you do that, Mr.
Zachariah? I just did.
How many people did your mother kill? None, as far as I know.
How about your father? [chuckles.]
People? None.
But he killed plenty of animals.
He worked at a slaughterhouse.
Same as his father.
Because your father killed cows, you were destined to kill women.
It's not that absurd, Mr.
Stone.
Your first career wasn't in the courtroom, if I can believe Google.
But look where you ended up.
Smack in your father's shoes.
It was my choice, sir.
- You mind? - Please.
- Hey.
- Hi.
You know, you missed happy hour by, like, five hours.
[chuckles.]
That was intentional.
Ah, I'm with you on that.
What's to be happy about? Except, of course, half price drinks.
My old man was a drunk.
Mm, once when I was 12, I, uh, found him after a bender.
Puke on his shoes and piss on his pants.
He was one tough bastard.
When he saw me, he just cried.
Told me to look the other way.
He didn't want his little girl to know.
Yeah, well, next time I found him, it was in the driveway.
He couldn't even make it into the house.
Or he thought he was already in bed.
I'm not really sure.
I pick him up and we start walking inside and I ask him why.
He said, "Ladybug" Don't you ever call me that, by the way.
"It's just the way it is.
I can't stop.
" We all make choices, Laura.
Yeah, well, for me it was like I was in the middle of Lake Michigan in a row boat that sprung a leak.
Sure, I got it plugged in time.
Who knows? Maybe there is something to genetics.
Your DNA didn't buy those pills.
Your DNA didn't make you swallow them.
All I'm saying is, if he wasn't my father, maybe Dawson's not the chief investigator.
Maybe I'm calling the shots now.
Maybe I get to rush home to take care of my kid after work.
It's like an electric storm in my head.
Everything feels close.
My head buzzes.
I can't pin anything down.
Did you feel that electric storm at yoga class when you asked Julia Keys if she wanted to look at your extra crib? It was just a little tingling.
So you didn't know you were gonna kill her at class? No.
How about when you were in the car with Julia? The tingling was getting stronger.
It was like a beating in the front of my head.
This pulsing and pulsing.
I knew the only way to make it go away was What, Dawn? Was to kill her.
So what did you do, then? When we were in the locker, I picked up a baseball bat and I hit her in the back of the head as hard as I could.
Did the storm go away? No.
What did you do, then? I I knew there was a baby inside her.
I thought if I could just kill one more person So I cut the baby out of her and killed it.
[indistinct chatter.]
Nothing further.
So you're a born killer.
That's what Dr.
Lyle says.
And yet, this is the first time you've killed anyone.
Hm.
No.
No? No, it's not.
Who else have you murdered? When I was 26 years old, I killed a woman.
What woman? [sobs.]
Alice White.
The woman your biological father confessed to murdering.
He only said he killed her.
To protect me.
I'm gonna call a recess for the witness to gather herself.
We can pick up here tomorrow, Mr.
Stone.
- Court's adjourned.
- [bangs gavel.]
She's obviously lying.
Or Matthews and Dr.
Lyle convinced her it's all true.
- Maybe it is.
- You're kidding.
With all due respect.
Tell me something, Ms.
Valdez.
If I told you that all this global warming stuff was a bunch of crap, what would you tell me? I'd tell you you were mistaken.
No.
You'd call me a flat-Earther.
Genetics has been an indisputable science a lot longer than climate change.
You don't think that Dawn Osborn was genetically predisposed to murder.
They're designing babies, for crying out loud.
Blonde, six foot, male, great at hitting a fastball.
Why not a five foot two inch killer? I'm sure Dawn lied about killing Alice White as some misplaced way to help Zachariah.
She didn't even know him before this trial.
Mm.
Prove it.
"Jessica's Jubilee.
" I can't believe they're still publishing it.
.
When Jen was three, she was obsessed with it.
She begged us to adopt an elephant.
So do you think my kid's destined to be a pill popper? Sure, if she gets shot at while catching bad guys.
Thanks.
So we've been through the house twice, there's nothing here that connects Dawn with her loving father or Alice White.
- Or even says she knew him.
- Yeah.
[cell phone buzzing.]
Nagel.
Thursday.
4:00.
Thanks, I'll be there.
This may be something.
Hm.
I'm gonna show you this book, Ms.
Osborn.
It's called "Pregnancy Procedures.
" Have you seen it before? I don't know.
Allow me to refresh your recollection.
Please turn to page 369, if you don't mind.
I marked it with a red tab.
What is the title of that chapter? "Cesarean Sections.
" Do you recognize the handwriting in the margins on that page? Please turn the page.
What about the handwriting on that page? This is your book, Dawn.
You bought it and you studied it to perform a C-section on Julia.
But something went wrong.
And there you were, holding the one thing you wanted more than anything else.
I killed the baby.
Yes, you did.
Are you aware that the medical examiner found that Ms.
Keys' baby had cracked ribs? Or had contusions on her chest? If that's what he said.
Does it surprise you? - I had an uncontrollable urge.
- Perhaps.
But not to kill the baby.
You gave the baby CPR, didn't you? That's why her ribs were cracked.
That's why she had a contusion on her chest.
You didn't try to kill the baby, Dawn.
You tried to save her.
One time, I was downtown to see a play.
I got there early, so I walked around, looking at store windows.
This filthy woman Sure, she was homeless She asked me for money.
I gave her a dollar, but she wanted more.
And then she pointed to the corner.
A finger that hadn't been washed in months.
And then I saw them.
Four filthy kids.
Skinny like toothpicks.
She said she needed to buy them food.
Now, how can this homeless hag have four children and I can't have one? [dramatic music.]
Publish the verdict, Ms.
Decker.
"In the matter of the People of the State of Illinois versus Dawn Osborn, the jury finds the defendant on the first count, murder in the first degree of Julia Keys, guilty.
On the second count, murder in the first degree of Baby Girl Keys, guilty.
" [sobs.]
The People thank the jury for their verdict and their service.
- This court is now adjourned.
- [bangs gavel.]
After Matthews' summation, I never expected this.
We got lucky with the jury.
A bunch of flat-Earthers.
- Peter Stone? - Yeah.
Thanks.
Zachariah filed for post-conviction, based on newly discovered evidence, the confession under oath of his daughter.
- And if he wins - You gave him immunity on the nine other murders.
This bastard might walk.
Mr.
Zachariah.
Yes, Judge.
The petitioner is offering newly discovered evidence that warrants the conviction in his murder case be overturned.
What kind of evidence? Testimonial.
- Go ahead.
- Well, as you know, the petitioner was charged and convicted in the killing of one, Alice White.
While it appears that a recently convicted murderer That is, Dawn Osborn Swore under oath that it was in fact she her.
Anyway, Ms.
Osborn confessed to killing Mrs.
White.
Any response, Mr.
Stone? No, Judge.
Actually, there is, uh There's one thing, Your Honor.
The terms of Mr.
Zachariah's plea deal in the Alice White murder require complete honesty on his part.
Mr.
Zachariah recently stated under oath that he did not kill Alice White.
Meaning, if he did not kill her, he lied in his original plea.
Dishonesty voids the plea.
Consequently, immunity in his nine murders is null and void.
We have six hours of recording in which Mr.
Zachariah reveals the details of the nine murders that could only be known by the killer.
He drew maps, detailing locations of bodies in deeply wooded areas across Illinois and Indiana.
And then there's the sworn testimony from Ms.
Osborn's trial in which he admitted killing all nine women.
Which should be helpful to the State of Indiana as they begin their prosecution of Mr.
Zachariah.
Why are you sending this case to Indiana? That's where four of the victims were discovered, Your Honor.
And Indiana has the death penalty.
[hits desk.]
Mr.
Zachariah, you are remanded to prison, - pending extradition to Indiana.
- [bangs gavel.]
You've been going to NA.
That's good.
Mm.
You missed a home visit from a court evaluator? I had an emergency at work.
Twice? If the judge grants you shared custody and it's your day to pick up your daughter from school, what will happen if you have another work emergency? Well, I I would arrange for her to be picked up by someone else.
Please.
This is my daughter.
I will pee in a cup.
I will do whatever it takes.
My only concern, Ms.
Nagel, is the welfare of your child and the environment she'd be returning to.
I was never addicted, you know? I was shot.
The hospital gave me painkillers.
- I took them.
- Your husband Made a big deal of it to get sole custody.
It was over in a few months.
I'm sorry.
The record is the record.
At this time, I can't recommend that the judge grant you shared custody with all the instability in your life.
[somber music.]
Who would store their stuff here? This dump couldn't cover my taxes.
[broken English.]
Oi! My beetles! Sir, sir, when we're done here, you can get your car.
[broken English.]
No car.
Beetles.
Fighter beetle! Ugh.
John, Paul, George and disgusting.
You can claim your possessions tomorrow at 10:00 a.
m.
The building has been seized under civil asset forfeiture.
Sir, over here! - Watch this guy.
- Okay.
Yeah? [dramatic music.]
Oh.
The unit was leased to a Nicky Neele.
- Sure, that sounds real.
- Yeah, as real as the address.
There is no 721 Broad Street.
And paid cash up front for five years.
Looks like Nicky didn't want any company.
Cause of death could have been blunt force trauma or the slicing and dicing.
Blunt force trauma from something like this? I'd say that's a possible murder weapon.
Whatever did the cutting was short but sharp.
I'm thinking that box cutter.
- How long was she in there? - Given the weather, size of the maggots, eh, four or five days.
I'll know more after the autopsy.
I'll send my report to PD.
We started it, we're keeping it.
Yeah.
Hey, where's the baby? What baby? This lady was very pregnant.
Baby could've survived that? Wouldn't be the first time.
If the baby was dead, the killer would have left it here.
CPD's checking every hospital, urgent care, - and adoption agency.
- What about suspected - baby traffickers? - It's a full court press.
- Afternoon.
- Hi.
Why do we always get the gruesome ones? Has the ME determined a date of death yet? Report just came back.
She confirmed it as five days ago.
Apparently, maggots are nature's stopwatch.
The woman who rented the locker Wait, we don't know it's a woman.
Well, call me heteronormal, statistically, this is a woman's crime.
There were no useable prints from the bat Too much overlap But they're running DNA from the crime scene.
Did you ID the victim? Prints weren't in the system.
The killer went through her purse, took her wallet, but missed a side pocket.
That's her public transit card.
It was probably there for easy access.
She used it constantly.
Where was she going? North Clybourn, Pulaski, Hyde Park, Midway.
- Back and forth.
No pattern.
- Who bought the card? Company called Travel Trainers.
Get on it.
We restore some autonomy for people disabilities.
Navigating the city's transportation is daunting for me.
Imagine what it's like for somebody with developmental challenges.
This is Julia's card.
I like Julia.
- Who's Julia? - Keys.
She was one of our best aides.
- Was? - She started maternity leave last week but, um, she was upset when she left.
We only offer the state minimum, four weeks.
I get that she wanted more, but I can't afford it.
Did you call to see if it was a girl or a boy? - I tried.
No answer.
- Husband? Julia wasn't married.
She mentioned something about moving to Canada where she had family, but she never came back to pick up her things.
Mm.
Will you let us know if she's okay? Is it okay to look around her desk? Of course.
That's it.
Due date's today.
During my whole pregnancy, it never really registered that in the end I would have a baby.
Yeah, well, me and the nightmare always thought we'd have more time to get ready.
[sighs.]
Every morning before work, I would go to Norma's and order breakfast, read the paper.
You know, eventually, I'm out to here, but I still sit at a table for one.
8 1/2 months in, it finally registers.
Thing that was never gonna happen was happening.
- Life was about to be - Crazy? Yeah.
I was gonna need a bigger table.
She was killed here.
She went to yoga that morning.
Looks like her routine every Tuesday and Thursday.
There's gotta be, like, ten yoga studios around here.
Well, not many of them are named Lotus Focus.
[indistinct chatter.]
[flute music.]
Are you expecting? I sense your root chakra is out of balance.
Uh, my root chakra's fine.
We're here about Julia Keys.
A lovely soul.
Is she okay? When was the last time you saw her? Last week.
Last Thursday.
Why? He kicked the entire class.
Oh, did I tell you? She friends with any of them? All of them.
It's our Oh, Baby! class.
- Oh.
- [overlapping chatter.]
I'd lose my balance, and she was, like, right there to steady me.
I mean, like, literally.
She was the most helpful person I've ever met.
Did she mention anything unusually stressful in her life? You mean besides being nine months pregnant and about to be a single mom? - Thanks to her jerk boyfriend.
- Ex boyfriend.
He's who you should be talking to.
Large Marge, you guys were close.
What was Julia's boyfriend's name? Gosh, I have no idea.
- Marge, do you know - [laughter.]
We just call her that 'cause she's so big.
She's Dawn.
I'm Little Lentil.
Baker, Bun in the Oven, Double Bubble, Pumpkin.
Brian.
No, Ryan.
Ryan Mathis, like Johnny.
Thank you.
- Yeah? - We're from the State's Attorney's Office, looking for Ryan Mathis.
Ryan? - Ryan? - Yeah? What's up? They're from the State's Attorney's Office.
What happened to your leg? I fell off a roof.
Hazards of being a roofer.
- What's going on? - What was your relationship - to Julia Keys? - Mm, that's his bitch ex.
Amber! Uh, we use to go out.
Why? When's the last time you saw her? Six, seven months ago.
- She - Dumped him.
- Yeah? Why? - Out of the blue, she stopped returning my phone calls.
I go to her place, she'd only talk to me through the door.
Said it wasn't gonna work out.
No phone calls? What about emails? Texts? Nothing.
I mean, we had our arguments, you know, but nothing serious.
And overnight, she I just figured she found somebody else.
- Whore.
- Will you shut up? Is she in trouble? - [knock at door.]
- Yeah? DNA from the Julia Keys murder.
Tell Antonio and Nagel.
J.
P.
in the lab said you'd wanna know.
- Why? - There were two samples.
The first was Julia Keys, obviously.
The second was from someone named David Zachariah.
That's impossible.
David Zachariah is a serial killer.
He was my first high-profile case.
Eight years ago, I put him away for life.
The victims of David Zachariah.
For ten years, young women were going missing.
He posed as Wi-Fi repair.
Once inside, he drugged them and drive them to the middle of nowhere, kill them, have sex with the corpse and bury it.
Oh.
Ten women in all.
We couldn't find any of the bodies until a hiker and his dog found a hand sticking out of the ground.
We matched DNA from a crease in her ear to Zachariah.
Alice White.
Her dad sat in our lobby for months while we tried to work out a deal.
You let Zachariah plead down? I was thinking of the other families.
Not knowing if their missing daughters were dead or alive, it ground them down.
Some of the parents held mock funerals to help them cope.
- Did it help? - Losing a child, I doubt even a real funeral works.
Zachariah plead to murdering Alice White.
And I traded the death penalty for the location of his other victims.
And at least those families got some kind of closure.
Under the plea deal, he got immunity for all of them.
So long as he told us the truth.
So he had to have been in the storage locker over eight years ago.
No.
DNA testing back then wasn't as accurate as it is now.
The DNA in the locker has to have come from one of Zachariah's first degree relatives.
His parents are both dead.
That leaves siblings and kids.
Julia's ex? Have Dawson and Nagel look harder into him.
- [metal door clattering open.]
- [indistinct chatter.]
[buzzer sounds.]
I'm good.
Peter, I can't believe you drove all the way down here.
Even when phones have that face-to-face video whatever.
I miss seeing exactly what eight years in solitary does to a man.
Well, sometimes it does a man good to be alone.
Especially a man like you.
[laughs.]
I notice you haven't lost your sense of humor.
I noticed you haven't had a visitor in over five years.
Has it been that long? What can I say? Out of sight You and Randy have a falling out? Why on Earth would you ever be interested in my baby bro? Just making conversation, Zachariah.
I'm very proud of you, Peter.
Deputy Bureau Chief at your age.
I can only hope I had something to do with your quick rise.
God, I miss this.
I don't.
Randy is dead, Peter.
At least that's what they tell me.
[buzzer sounds.]
Hey! Excuse me! I think this time we'll talk in our office.
- Hey, hold on.
- Talk about what? - About why you lied.
- I didn't lie.
You heard of phone records, right? You said you hadn't spoken to Julia in six months.
You had a two-minute conversation with her the day she died.
Died? Oh, my God! What what happened? No, it wasn't him.
It wasn't him.
You were sleeping.
She Julia called.
I told her to leave us alone.
You have to understand, when she broke up with him, he was devastated.
I've known him for years.
What did you do? She wanted to talk to you.
I told her you'd meet her.
I erased the call.
I took your phone.
I met her outside the Fluff 'n Fold.
I told her you didn't owe her a dime of child support.
Child support? Oh, my God.
She was pregnant? I'm so sorry.
But what she did to you What else did you and Julia talk about? Just to leave Ryan alone.
They were on their way to pick up a crib.
- They? - Her and some other preggo.
- She have a name? - She didn't get out of the car.
Probably 'cause she was huge.
Even bigger than Julia.
Dawn? AKA Large Marge? Yoga place might have an address.
- Stop.
Don't touch me.
Don't - I'm so, so sorry.
Please.
Get away from me.
I can't look at you.
[doorbell rings.]
- Hello.
You're - Dawn, we're from the State's Attorney's Office.
We met you at your yoga class.
Sure.
Come in.
We need to talk to you about Julia Keys.
It shouldn't take long.
[shushing.]
Shh.
She just fell asleep.
I'll put her down.
No.
I don't know.
A dead baby? This is seriously crazy.
Every day's an adventure.
Yeah, well, end this one quick, will you? Dawn Osborn's DNA isn't back from the lab yet.
It's not like there's a mystery about what happened here.
I'm not sure how Zachariah factors in.
- Oh, she's his sister.
- She's kinda young.
- Then his daughter.
- Yeah, well, that's possible, but as far as I know, he only had sex with his victims after they were dead.
He said they were less of a struggle.
Theoretically, Zachariah deserves to know about the new DNA.
Well, what he deserves is a needle in his arm.
I'll be damned if we're handing him evidence so he can overturn his conviction.
Just move on.
I appreciate you seeing me.
What can we do for you, Mr.
Mathis? Well, it's ironic, Julia devoted her whole life to helping the handicapped.
Now I'm the one that's struggling on the L.
- How long? - Oh, we were together four years.
Julia, she I always thought that we would end up back together.
I had no idea that she was pregnant.
I mean, we had talked about children, but neither of us were ready.
Had I known what kind of sick I'm sorry, Mr.
Stone.
No, you're entitled.
[phone buzzing.]
Um The only family that Julia had - Yes? - Was an uncle in Canada.
And I'm trying to make the arrangements for her and - What? - My baby.
And I wanted to see you, Mr.
Stone, because I can't get any answers.
I need to buy an outfit for my baby to be buried in and I don't know if it's a he or a She.
- A little girl.
- [phone buzzes.]
Yes? Look, I know that you're very busy.
- So I - Mr.
Mathis, - this case is why I do what I do.
- I'll let him know.
Thank you.
What was so important that you had That was Nagel.
DNA's back.
Brace yourself.
Dawn Osborn is Zachariah's daughter.
Really? It took two calls to tell you that? The first was from Bella.
We were served with a Notice of Affirmative Defense.
Dawn Osborn is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.
[sighs.]
I was 11.
They were making fun of me for bringing my doll to camp.
They grabbed her and ran up a trail by a high cliff and threw her off.
I climbed down to get her, but I slipped.
Fell 50 feet.
Banging on rocks.
Trees.
They ran.
They didn't tell anyone.
That's terrible.
I laid there for six hours.
They had to bring in a helicopter to get me out.
I broke my back, my arm, crushed my pelvis.
They removed my fallopian tubes.
Oh.
So you couldn't have a baby.
Didn't understand it then.
I mean women have babies.
That's what they do.
I was just like everyone else, wasn't I? So how long till you realized that you you weren't just like other women? I was 13.
There was this boy.
Alex.
He asked me to go to the movies with him.
I liked him.
I wanted to go.
But Mother thought I was too young to have a boyfriend.
I cried and cried.
Then Daddy came into my room and told me to go with Alex, but not to tell Mother.
It was our little secret.
I'm just curious what that might have to do with not being able to have a baby.
Mother found out about Alex.
When I got home, she and Daddy were fighting.
I heard Daddy say, "It's not like she can get pregnant.
" Hmm.
And how'd you feel when you heard your father say that? [sighs.]
The deposition should be on your desk probably by the time we're done here.
- Okay, as long as - Mr.
Stone? - I'm sorry, I'm preparing - I'm Camille Osborn.
Dawn's mom.
Thank you.
- What can I do for you? - You thought I'd be some kind of monster, didn't you? I didn't really think about it.
[chuckles.]
My neighbors, friends, people I've known for 30 years, they avoid me.
I'd probably do the same if one of their daughters I never thought that Dawn Could I have done something, Mr.
Stone? - Did I miss something? - I'm not really - in a position to - One night leaving work, I went into the stairwell And he I fought.
But he was just so Zachariah raped you? - I never told anyone.
- Including your husband? When I got pregnant, I let Ben think Dawn was his.
[sighs.]
I'm so glad he's not alive to see this.
- I don't know.
I'm so sorry.
- No, no, no.
Thank you.
Thank you for telling me.
A witness described a woman who was with Julia Keys - on the day she was killed.
- And what did you do? My partner and I noted that the description matched that of Dawn Osborn, who we had interviewed earlier.
So we went to her residence to question her.
When you arrived, what did you find? The defendant holding the deceased child.
When you arrived at the defendant's house, how did you announce your presence? We knocked and announced that we were with the SA's office.
Did my client run? - No.
- Did she attempt - to hide the child or herself? - No.
Would you say that's typical criminal behavior? I'm not sure I can answer that question.
Okay, I'll rephrase.
How many times when you've arrested a criminal Have they stood still, openly displaying evidence that they've committed a brutal crime? None.
None.
In your opinion, would a sane person who just murdered her friend and stolen her unborn baby greet the police holding that baby? Objection.
It calls for a medical opinion.
Sustained.
Criminologists have been searching for the biological cause of criminal behavior for centuries.
For instance, recent studies argue that certain body types were responsible for the development of certain personality traits.
The fat kid is jolly? That's correct.
The study concluded that the mere physical stature of a person could determine whether they were a criminal or not.
Or whether they would partake in criminal behavior - later in life.
- That body structure is a result of what? A person's genetic makeup.
And just like blue eyes or big feet? - Yes.
- Approach, Your Honor? Counsel is arguing the warrior gene.
- No court has accepted - Cool your jets, counsel.
I'm not going anywhere near the so-called warrior gene.
You sure fooled me.
And for that I apologize.
If counsel recalls, my client claims she is not guilty by reason of insanity.
As we all know, under the statue, that includes insanity by reason of involuntary intoxication.
That statute is intended for a situation in which someone drugs another person's drink.
My client wasn't able to control her actions not because of a bottle of bourbon but because of the stuff of life she inherited from her father, a serial killer.
Your Honor, this is nonsense.
I tend to agree, counsel.
Then let me show you.
[scoffs.]
[sighs.]
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes.
Why are you currently incarcerated, Mr.
Zachariah? They said I killed a woman named Alice White.
- Did you? - I told them I did.
What else did you tell them? That I killed nine other women.
- Did you? - Yes.
But not Alice.
Did you hate those women? I didn't know them.
They let me in their houses to fix their Wi-Fi, that's it.
Let's talk about that.
When you woke up in the morning, did you look in the mirror and say, "Today I'm going to kill someone"? No.
It kinda grew over time.
Like a wave.
The feeling would start small.
I'd see a woman's ankle.
The way her fingertip would touch an elevator button.
How she'd put her hair behind her ear.
And all that time, the wave would get bigger.
The tow stronger.
- She's studying him.
- Dragging me out to sea.
And then you'd kill your victim.
I had no choice.
It would get worse and worse until I didn't wanna drown, you know? When did this feeling stop? When I saw the veins swelling in her forehead when I squeezed her neck.
Thank you.
[dramatic music.]
How many people have you killed in prison, sir? None.
So the urge went away.
There aren't any women there.
But this urge This wave growing and pulling you out to sea Killing a man wouldn't satisfy it? No, it wouldn't.
But you didn't drown, did you? Somehow you controlled this uncontrollable urge.
How did you do that, Mr.
Zachariah? I just did.
How many people did your mother kill? None, as far as I know.
How about your father? [chuckles.]
People? None.
But he killed plenty of animals.
He worked at a slaughterhouse.
Same as his father.
Because your father killed cows, you were destined to kill women.
It's not that absurd, Mr.
Stone.
Your first career wasn't in the courtroom, if I can believe Google.
But look where you ended up.
Smack in your father's shoes.
It was my choice, sir.
- You mind? - Please.
- Hey.
- Hi.
You know, you missed happy hour by, like, five hours.
[chuckles.]
That was intentional.
Ah, I'm with you on that.
What's to be happy about? Except, of course, half price drinks.
My old man was a drunk.
Mm, once when I was 12, I, uh, found him after a bender.
Puke on his shoes and piss on his pants.
He was one tough bastard.
When he saw me, he just cried.
Told me to look the other way.
He didn't want his little girl to know.
Yeah, well, next time I found him, it was in the driveway.
He couldn't even make it into the house.
Or he thought he was already in bed.
I'm not really sure.
I pick him up and we start walking inside and I ask him why.
He said, "Ladybug" Don't you ever call me that, by the way.
"It's just the way it is.
I can't stop.
" We all make choices, Laura.
Yeah, well, for me it was like I was in the middle of Lake Michigan in a row boat that sprung a leak.
Sure, I got it plugged in time.
Who knows? Maybe there is something to genetics.
Your DNA didn't buy those pills.
Your DNA didn't make you swallow them.
All I'm saying is, if he wasn't my father, maybe Dawson's not the chief investigator.
Maybe I'm calling the shots now.
Maybe I get to rush home to take care of my kid after work.
It's like an electric storm in my head.
Everything feels close.
My head buzzes.
I can't pin anything down.
Did you feel that electric storm at yoga class when you asked Julia Keys if she wanted to look at your extra crib? It was just a little tingling.
So you didn't know you were gonna kill her at class? No.
How about when you were in the car with Julia? The tingling was getting stronger.
It was like a beating in the front of my head.
This pulsing and pulsing.
I knew the only way to make it go away was What, Dawn? Was to kill her.
So what did you do, then? When we were in the locker, I picked up a baseball bat and I hit her in the back of the head as hard as I could.
Did the storm go away? No.
What did you do, then? I I knew there was a baby inside her.
I thought if I could just kill one more person So I cut the baby out of her and killed it.
[indistinct chatter.]
Nothing further.
So you're a born killer.
That's what Dr.
Lyle says.
And yet, this is the first time you've killed anyone.
Hm.
No.
No? No, it's not.
Who else have you murdered? When I was 26 years old, I killed a woman.
What woman? [sobs.]
Alice White.
The woman your biological father confessed to murdering.
He only said he killed her.
To protect me.
I'm gonna call a recess for the witness to gather herself.
We can pick up here tomorrow, Mr.
Stone.
- Court's adjourned.
- [bangs gavel.]
She's obviously lying.
Or Matthews and Dr.
Lyle convinced her it's all true.
- Maybe it is.
- You're kidding.
With all due respect.
Tell me something, Ms.
Valdez.
If I told you that all this global warming stuff was a bunch of crap, what would you tell me? I'd tell you you were mistaken.
No.
You'd call me a flat-Earther.
Genetics has been an indisputable science a lot longer than climate change.
You don't think that Dawn Osborn was genetically predisposed to murder.
They're designing babies, for crying out loud.
Blonde, six foot, male, great at hitting a fastball.
Why not a five foot two inch killer? I'm sure Dawn lied about killing Alice White as some misplaced way to help Zachariah.
She didn't even know him before this trial.
Mm.
Prove it.
"Jessica's Jubilee.
" I can't believe they're still publishing it.
.
When Jen was three, she was obsessed with it.
She begged us to adopt an elephant.
So do you think my kid's destined to be a pill popper? Sure, if she gets shot at while catching bad guys.
Thanks.
So we've been through the house twice, there's nothing here that connects Dawn with her loving father or Alice White.
- Or even says she knew him.
- Yeah.
[cell phone buzzing.]
Nagel.
Thursday.
4:00.
Thanks, I'll be there.
This may be something.
Hm.
I'm gonna show you this book, Ms.
Osborn.
It's called "Pregnancy Procedures.
" Have you seen it before? I don't know.
Allow me to refresh your recollection.
Please turn to page 369, if you don't mind.
I marked it with a red tab.
What is the title of that chapter? "Cesarean Sections.
" Do you recognize the handwriting in the margins on that page? Please turn the page.
What about the handwriting on that page? This is your book, Dawn.
You bought it and you studied it to perform a C-section on Julia.
But something went wrong.
And there you were, holding the one thing you wanted more than anything else.
I killed the baby.
Yes, you did.
Are you aware that the medical examiner found that Ms.
Keys' baby had cracked ribs? Or had contusions on her chest? If that's what he said.
Does it surprise you? - I had an uncontrollable urge.
- Perhaps.
But not to kill the baby.
You gave the baby CPR, didn't you? That's why her ribs were cracked.
That's why she had a contusion on her chest.
You didn't try to kill the baby, Dawn.
You tried to save her.
One time, I was downtown to see a play.
I got there early, so I walked around, looking at store windows.
This filthy woman Sure, she was homeless She asked me for money.
I gave her a dollar, but she wanted more.
And then she pointed to the corner.
A finger that hadn't been washed in months.
And then I saw them.
Four filthy kids.
Skinny like toothpicks.
She said she needed to buy them food.
Now, how can this homeless hag have four children and I can't have one? [dramatic music.]
Publish the verdict, Ms.
Decker.
"In the matter of the People of the State of Illinois versus Dawn Osborn, the jury finds the defendant on the first count, murder in the first degree of Julia Keys, guilty.
On the second count, murder in the first degree of Baby Girl Keys, guilty.
" [sobs.]
The People thank the jury for their verdict and their service.
- This court is now adjourned.
- [bangs gavel.]
After Matthews' summation, I never expected this.
We got lucky with the jury.
A bunch of flat-Earthers.
- Peter Stone? - Yeah.
Thanks.
Zachariah filed for post-conviction, based on newly discovered evidence, the confession under oath of his daughter.
- And if he wins - You gave him immunity on the nine other murders.
This bastard might walk.
Mr.
Zachariah.
Yes, Judge.
The petitioner is offering newly discovered evidence that warrants the conviction in his murder case be overturned.
What kind of evidence? Testimonial.
- Go ahead.
- Well, as you know, the petitioner was charged and convicted in the killing of one, Alice White.
While it appears that a recently convicted murderer That is, Dawn Osborn Swore under oath that it was in fact she her.
Anyway, Ms.
Osborn confessed to killing Mrs.
White.
Any response, Mr.
Stone? No, Judge.
Actually, there is, uh There's one thing, Your Honor.
The terms of Mr.
Zachariah's plea deal in the Alice White murder require complete honesty on his part.
Mr.
Zachariah recently stated under oath that he did not kill Alice White.
Meaning, if he did not kill her, he lied in his original plea.
Dishonesty voids the plea.
Consequently, immunity in his nine murders is null and void.
We have six hours of recording in which Mr.
Zachariah reveals the details of the nine murders that could only be known by the killer.
He drew maps, detailing locations of bodies in deeply wooded areas across Illinois and Indiana.
And then there's the sworn testimony from Ms.
Osborn's trial in which he admitted killing all nine women.
Which should be helpful to the State of Indiana as they begin their prosecution of Mr.
Zachariah.
Why are you sending this case to Indiana? That's where four of the victims were discovered, Your Honor.
And Indiana has the death penalty.
[hits desk.]
Mr.
Zachariah, you are remanded to prison, - pending extradition to Indiana.
- [bangs gavel.]
You've been going to NA.
That's good.
Mm.
You missed a home visit from a court evaluator? I had an emergency at work.
Twice? If the judge grants you shared custody and it's your day to pick up your daughter from school, what will happen if you have another work emergency? Well, I I would arrange for her to be picked up by someone else.
Please.
This is my daughter.
I will pee in a cup.
I will do whatever it takes.
My only concern, Ms.
Nagel, is the welfare of your child and the environment she'd be returning to.
I was never addicted, you know? I was shot.
The hospital gave me painkillers.
- I took them.
- Your husband Made a big deal of it to get sole custody.
It was over in a few months.
I'm sorry.
The record is the record.
At this time, I can't recommend that the judge grant you shared custody with all the instability in your life.
[somber music.]