Law & Order Special Victims Unit s01e07 Episode Script

'In the criminal justice system, 'sexually based offences are considered especially heinous.
'In New York City, the detectives who investigate these vicious felonies 'are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
'These are their stories.
' The victim's name is Ryan Davies.
Reported missing Friday, 6:00.
- Positive ID? - Pending notification of the family.
- Who found the body? - They did.
What happened here, fellas? - We were playing touch.
- He sent me long.
The ball rolled into the bushes.
I thought it was a pile of leaves.
OK.
Let's go through it again, real slow.
What've we got? Kid was assaulted, strangled, left in a shallow grave.
- How old? - Around eight.
Hold on.
Mrs Davies? - We're sorry to tell you this.
- Terry? Terry! - What have we learned? - No one can handle child crimes.
And lesson two, get out after two years.
No one can handle the children.
Specifically.
Here.
Ryan Davies, eight.
Couple of kids found his body by a playing field.
Naked from waist down.
Signs of sexual assault.
- Ligature neck marks, bruises.
- No signs of a struggle, no weapon, no evidence at the scene.
- A shallow grave? - There are marshes nearby.
- The crime probably happened there.
- We'll look there for evidence.
Reported missing - Time of death, Friday, 5:00pm.
- Any idea what caused the bruises? A hand.
The marks were round and varied from 0.
5 to 3 inches diameter.
Parents have a history of abuse? - Baby-sitter? Uncle? - Teachers? Coaches? I'll check those adults and search for any registered sex offenders.
- Any recent abductions nearby? - Not that we know of.
Body was transported from A to B, left in a shallow grave.
Transporting it, leaving it exposed Hallmarks of a stranger.
Parents saw him last after school.
He went to a comic bookshop.
- He never made it.
- Who lets an eight-year-old out alone? Watch kids all day, you wind up with safe neurotics.
Let's canvas the neighbourhood.
All right? - You ever think about having kids? - Why? I have you.
I think about it.
All the time.
- Cookies for sale.
- Hi.
- Who are you? - Detectives Munch and Cassidy.
- Hear about Ryan? - What do you know about it? I know I won't let her out of my sight.
- How much? - Five bucks.
Five bucks? All right.
Give me four.
- You go to school here? - Yeah.
Yeah? Did you know Ryan? - I ate at his house once.
- You did? Did you know someone hurt him? We're looking for the person who did that.
Can you remember if anyone's talked about what might have happened? Boys.
Older boys.
Boys.
Older boys? Who? - It's OK.
- Mike D and Jimmy G.
Do you know where they hang out? - You Jimmy G? - No, I'm Mike D.
Who wants to know? Guess that's obvious, huh? What's up? You tell us.
You know Ryan Davies? - I live two houses down from him.
- See anything Friday night? Saw a lot.
When something happens, look for what's strange before it happens.
- Don't pate-ronise me.
- Actually, it's patt-ronise.
- What was different? - There's a weird guy.
Old dude, riding his bike around school.
Same time every day.
- Was he there Friday night? - Weird guy.
Skin on his head's thin.
- Seen him before? - No.
He only started a month ago.
- What do you know about him? - Last name's Turbit.
- Hides out in his apartment.
- His hole.
- On Linwood.
- Cool.
Thanks.
You know, I thought Men In Black sucked.
Better than appropriating black culture for your own bad self.
At least be original.
You like the park? I like the trees and grass, the granite outcroppings.
Like a wilderness.
I bike there.
- It's a nice neighbourhood.
- That's why I moved.
- Why the playing field? - I don't understand.
Why do you ride your bike by the playing field? Aside from the fact that it's beautiful? OK.
I love city parks.
You get a sense of history.
Central Park was a sheep meadow before it was transformed into Usually only kids hang out by the field.
I see.
It's unusual for a grown man to hang out where kids play.
Some may say inappropriate.
It's a public space.
I ride through the fields on my way home from work.
Helps me clear my mind.
- What do you do? - I work at the recycling centre.
I sort out plastic bottles, the clear from the coloured.
- The green, the red - You bike to work? Absolutely, it's better for the environment.
Imagine the air in this city if people rode their bikes everywhere.
I've got a great old bike, classic cruiser, out back.
Someone's jealous.
It's been moved, the chain stolen, you name it.
- Tough city.
- It is.
We're investigating the murder of a young boy.
His body was found at the playing field.
Oh, no.
- Did you see anyone when going home? - No.
- Friday night, you go straight home? - Friday? No.
I went to the Tavern.
- Had a few drinks.
- You like to drink? No! No.
It's my stamp collection.
- My old man used to collect stamps.
- I never saw the appeal.
- American history.
Planes, trains - Elvis.
Tangible proof of people communicating.
Sold the set when Maureen was born.
Bought a bassinet, helped with rent.
Look.
I wonder if this dirt matches the field where we found Ryan.
Let's find out.
My parents told me never eat sweets.
- So now you're overcompensating? - Yeah.
I'm guessing they also said you should never get married.
- Hey! - Forensics is working on that dirt.
Jeffries is working on Turbit's background.
- Definitely strange.
- I almost touched his box where he keeps his stamp collection, the guy freaks out.
The kids put him at the field at five.
- Turbit says he was drinking.
- We need to search his apartment.
We'll need an ID.
Get that, we get the warrant.
Sort out the line-up.
- Get Turbit and our eyewitnesses.
- You got it.
Recognise anyone? Number three.
He was by the school the day Ryan Davies disappeared.
Are you sure? That's all for now.
- Friday night, I was at the Tavern.
- So you said.
- Anyone see you? - I would guess so.
What were you doing there? I had just acquired the Inverted Jenny, number C3A.
The airplane, upside down? a remarkable deal.
I wanted to celebrate.
- You know Ryan Davies? - Who? - What did you drink at the Tavern? - Er, a black and tan.
- Who'd you talk to? - Erm, some guys.
I play cards.
- What kind? - Er, penny ante.
With whom? Erm, I don't know their names.
I usually keep to myself.
I need to talk to you.
In his precinct there are nine registered sex offenders.
- Only one MO matches this case.
- Turbit was convicted 11 years ago.
Did his time, paroled.
Filled out his paperwork with the sex-offender monitoring unit as required.
Been out a year.
- What was he convicted of? - He re-registers every 90 days.
- What was he convicted of? - Child molestation.
A boy.
A boy two months older than Ryan Davies.
Move back there! - Maybe we can do the search later.
- They look harmless.
- Why weren't we informed about this? - You let a child molester live here? I will not argue because I agree with you.
But I am not the parole board.
- I let my son be alone with him.
- He lured my child with his stamps! Are you listening now? I'm sorry.
Not all sex offenders re-offend.
A first-timer's just one that hasn't been caught before.
I met with Mr Turbit.
In my opinion he wasn't a threat.
- Is that why neighbours weren't notified? - You saw what happened.
Neighbourhood finds out, the sex offender becomes a target.
- Community rights versus individual? - Anyone with an internet connection can go to a sex-offenders website and find out all about Turbit.
He is a simple, religious man.
His therapy went well.
He had, in my opinion, a genuine turnaround.
One year out, he molests another kid, only this one dies.
A turnaround? Doesn't sound like the Turbit I knew.
- Excuse me.
You knew him in prison.
- When you're out, you act different.
He showed genuine remorse for his crime.
He couldn't sleep His victim couldn't walk for a month.
He was in hospital for four weeks.
The night it happened Bill was high.
No, overloaded on a psychedelic STP cocktail.
He was psychotic.
The last thing he remembers is a boy at his door selling candy.
- The neighbours heard screams - Police found the boy unconscious.
They found Bill balled up in terror.
He thought the boy was after him.
He believed the boy had died and his corpse was attacking him.
It wasn't the boy's screams the neighbours heard, it was Turbit's.
- This blood test is unnecessary.
- We got a court order.
- What will you match it against? - DNA under the boy's fingernails.
These new laws favour the public against individual's rights.
- Your fight, not mine.
- My client had more freedom inside.
- Please don't.
Please don't.
- Mr Turbit? Mr Turbit.
We've a court order to obtain a blood sample.
We can do it one of two ways.
My way or your way.
- I don't like needles.
- Sir, please cooperate.
No, no.
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Thank you for stopping by.
My son wore glasses.
Have you seen them? I'm sorry.
We haven't.
We do have officers searching the area.
He can't see without them.
We'll do our best to find them.
Please keep in touch.
Let us know how things are going.
Promise.
Daddy, over here! - Over where? - Here.
- We waited as long as we could.
- Yeah, I was Where's Dickie? I'm sure he's playing ball.
What's the matter, Daddy? You mad at me? No.
No.
Turbit's a pay-cheque drinker.
- Comes in every other week? - Yeah.
Drinks about half his pay.
- He get paid last week? - He was here.
What night? - Friday.
- You see him playing cards? I gotta tell you something.
I have a girl a year older than that Davies kid.
She lives with her mom.
- I thought about her all last night.
- I know.
Believe me, I know.
But did Turbit play cards with anyone that night? Not that I saw.
And I know everyone in here.
What time did he leave? You know, he left for a few hours and then he came back.
Seemed real upset about something.
What d'you think about when you think about having kids? - Selfish stuff, mostly.
- Like? How I'd feel, hopeful and stuff.
I think of all the trouble they're gonna get in.
You hope they're not gonna make the same mistakes you made, have a better school, a better right hook.
That they'll - Just say no? - Just say yes.
Then we get this case.
- All the possibilities disappear.
- Yeah.
Thanks.
And you? Never wanted the responsibility? I wouldn't want to give a kid the responsibility of me.
The soil from the bike matches soil from where the body was found.
- But? - The soil is indigenous to the area.
- It doesn't put him at the scene.
- Just in the neighbourhood.
Circumstantial.
Ryan's glasses ever show up? I don't think so, but I just started on the case.
I wanted to show you something.
Ligature marks around the neck have an unusual pattern, indentations about an inch apart.
- What scale are these photos? - Life-size.
Chain? Perfect.
We're still waiting for the DNA on the bike chain? Yes, but the chain fits the marks on Ryan's neck.
We have two witnesses who put him at the field.
And a bartender who can blow a hole through two hours of Turbit's alibi.
Plus one precedent-setting night - That's not enough? - It is.
Who was his first victim? Christopher James.
Almost 21, still lives with Mom.
Father left.
Couldn't deal.
Talk to him.
Compare MOs.
Come up with the same MO, we put him away.
Christopher? Hey.
I'm Detective Benson.
My partner, Detective Stabler.
Christopher.
Christopher? What Bill Turbit did to you he did to someone else.
- What was his name? - Ryan.
Ryan Davies.
Ryan I know you've told your story before, but I need to record it.
Tell me what Bill Turbit did to you.
My mother didn't want me to go out alone.
I insisted, I was a big boy.
I knocked on his door.
I had four chocolate bars left.
He invited me in.
I needed to use the rest room.
When I came out, he wanted to play.
He wanted me to ride on his back, like he was a donkey.
And he took off his belt and he pretended it was his harness and he got down on all fours.
I did not want to.
And when I refused, he took the belt and he wrapped it around my neck and forced me down on all fours.
And he pulled the belt tight around my neck.
And then he began to hurt me.
And he pulled the belt tighter and tighter.
And the darkness came over my head.
Thank you.
You never told me your first name.
Olivia.
Olivia? Origin of the name, Greek.
Four syllables.
Means olive tree.
Keep your head down, your mouth shut.
You'll be all right.
Give me some space here, people.
Thank you.
Let's go.
- What happens to him now? - Sir, stand back.
- Detective Stabler? - What? - I wasn't straight with you.
- What is it? She's my partner.
Go ahead.
The night Ryan vanished, Turbit was in my bar.
The whole night? Yes.
He was babbling about postage or something.
He didn't leave, not even for an hour? He was in the Tavern all night.
He was playing cards.
If he didn't do the Davies kid, he'll do some other.
You know it.
- We can't hold him any more.
- Bail was denied.
Only because I spoke to you after the judge had ruled.
If Turbit can be placed at this bar his attorney will have him out.
What's this bartender's agenda? Guilty conscience.
He's a retired transit cop.
He couldn't live with himself making a false statement.
Let's double-check Turbit's alibi anyway.
What? Er, no.
We still have two eyewitnesses that place Turbit at the field at Ryan's time of death.
Two teenagers versus a retired cop? We're gonna release him.
The chain we found at Turbit's match the ligature marks on Ryan's neck.
Which means very little without DNA results.
Sex offenders have an 88% recidivism rate.
I'm obliged to inform his counsel.
Yeah.
You do.
But you don't have a time constraint on that.
That was your boss.
DA wants me down there now.
So don't do anything yet, huh? Thanks for coming down, Don.
Do you want coffee? No, I'm good.
A little confused but other than that Used to be, 'You catch'em, we cook 'em!' Now the laws change with the seasons and we're not just prosecutors, we're politicians too.
Schiff asked me to talk to you.
We need you to hold the child molester.
Turbit.
If your people have new evidence, I'd be glad to.
'The monster awakes.
' It's not enough the neighbours weren't informed, now we let him go.
Well, I share their pain, Morris, but Mr Turbit's alibi checked out.
I believe that means that legally he's a free man.
He's a poster boy for the lock-up-the-perverts movement.
People don't care for civil liberties when their kids are at risk.
Personally, I don't disagree.
But how is this my problem? It's not.
It's mine.
Right now there's a rider to a mental health bill in Albany that'd give the state wide latitude to keep sex offenders off the street.
By holding them indefinitely? Upon release, you get a psychiatrist to convince the parole board the offender can't control his impulses, he's likely to rape again.
He gets sent away to Creedmore for the rest of his life.
How can a man be found sane enough to stand trial, be convicted, and then upon release be found insane and locked up again? It's called civil commitment.
And they need a test case.
Well, like you said, Counsellor, I only catch 'em, but last I heard, the rule of law was you do the crime, you do the time.
Mr Turbit did his.
Why not just release him with a giant M on his back? We'll work as fast as we can.
I've already contacted our psychologist.
As a mitzvah, can you buy me some time? This goes against everything I believe.
I know.
Please.
You got 24 hours.
Not a minute more.
Hup! - When will you talk to my class? - I don't know.
Loop it around.
Oh! I could take your badge in for show and tell.
Yeah, I'll talk.
Looking for paedophiles, Dad? - Where did you get that from? - Danny Baker.
He says you spend your time hunting paedophiles.
- What'd you tell Danny Baker? - I told him you were a cop.
You can tell him when you come to my class.
- Deal.
Wanna fly? - Yeah.
Ready? Hup! Up! Go.
Go.
Go.
This Dr Greenblatt is different from Turbit's prison psychologist.
She was hand-picked by the DA's office.
Ask enough doctors, you'll get the opinion you want.
You're not comfortable with a psychiatric review, are you? I'm not comfortable with situational ethics.
'Bill, you can explain that question instead of writing it out.
' OK.
Erm When I saw the photos from the crime scene, the crime scene was my apartment.
I couldn't believe when they told me it was me who had done that.
Me.
Erm The scratches on the wall, carpet that squished with blood It looked like an animal had been in my place.
Did you fantasise about what you'd done? It was the drugs.
My biggest fantasy before that was maybe sitting by the window and waiting for the lady across the air shaft to take off her blouse.
Do you feel remorse for what you did to Christopher? Not a day's gone by where the thought of that boy doesn't go through my head.
But I don't remember a single minute of it.
It's, it's like watching a home movie.
You don't remember the birthday itself, but see the movie often enough, it becomes the memory.
You know what I mean? There are two Billys involved in this.
I don't know what scared me more.
What had been done to the boy, or that the person who had done it was me.
I just had no idea I was capable of doing that.
But you never know, do you? I'd like to see these DNA results as soon as possible.
I told them to rush those results.
Said they'd have them by this afternoon.
That was four hours ago.
Someday, DNA testing will take 10 seconds.
God help us all.
This is Captain Donald Cragen of the sex crimes unit.
We're still waiting for results on sample number Oscar Charlie 7729 Apple.
Yeah.
You did? Well, thanks for telling us.
What have we got? Turbit's DNA did not match the DNA we found on Ryan.
Mr Turbit, you're free to go.
- Let's go.
- Just like that, huh? I'll have some uniforms put outside his apartment, but yeah, yeah, just like that.
Erm, do I get my bike now? Yeah.
So, can I count on your detectives at the hearing tomorrow? - For how long? - An hour, hour and a half.
They'll testify as to Mr Turbit's behaviour when first interviewed.
Was he co-operative, lucid? Basic stuff.
There have to be other options.
Depo-Provera? You miss one shot and the drug loses its effectiveness.
And it only quietens impulses.
It doesn't erase them.
Intensive therapy? We're not talking about issues of low self-esteem or Oedipal rage.
This is something I can't codify into an exact number of sessions.
The civil commitment hearing is the best way to protect our community.
You're gonna put him away even though he didn't kill the boy? Consider it a pre-emptive strike.
You really think he'll rape again? You can make book on it, Captain.
Have you found Ryan's glasses? The case is not going very well.
I knew it! We don't think we found the right person.
- We're sorry.
- It's my fault.
I should have never let Ryan I shouldn't have let him go! There's a hearing this morning to try to lock Turbit away.
Who else could've done it? We have some solid leads.
And when we say check their ID, we mean read it.
Don't be afraid.
Demand that they show it to you, not just flash it at you.
That means you guys have got to really look at it to make sure it looks like my badge, because the two things that the er Child molesters.
Child molesters count on is play-acting, which is, er All that is is pretending.
They might pretend that they're a policeman or doctor.
And the other thing is that they know that kids want to please grown-ups.
They might say, 'Hey, I've lost my kitten.
'Can you help me find him?' So, if a stranger says, 'Come with me.
Your mom's been hurt', what do you do? Again, you make sure that you see their identification and you never get into a car with someone you don't know.
What if you know them and they do something bad, anyway? Then, you talk to your teacher.
What if there's nobody? Well, you know something, then there's you.
Each one of you has that little voice inside of you.
You must listen to it.
It's the voice that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
What if they try to hurt you? Then, you say no! - Can we all say that really loudly? - No! And then you run to your mom or dad.
What if your dad's the one that's hurting you? Then you tell Dickie, and he'll tell me.
OK? You're the court-appointed psychiatrist who's done extensive work at the Avenal Facility.
- Correct? - Yes.
Could you describe Avenal for us, please? It's a maximum-security prison for violent sex offenders.
And during Mr Turbit's - did he attack an inmate sexually? - Not to my knowledge.
- A guard? A psychiatrist? - No.
So because of this one crime, for which my client paid his debt to society Which to an extreme degree of likelihood, - he will repeat.
- In your opinion! Isn't this whole legislation nothing but a cheesy end-run around the cherished legal concept of double jeopardy? - Not in my opinion.
- Come on, Dr Greenblatt.
He was sane when convicted and served his sentence.
Isn't it convenient he be insane now so you can put him away again? That's just plain unconstitutional.
Ms Kreutzer, we take your point.
Thank you, Judge.
In fact, I need time to review the proposed statute.
We'll reconvene tomorrow.
Until then, Mr Turbit, you're a free man.
You did fine.
Ryan's area alone had nine offenders.
- Without kids, you don't understand.
- I understand double jeopardy.
- Want guys like that around? - So, lock 'em up? - Yeah.
- Where does it stop? Help! This eye-for-an-eye crap doesn't work in practice.
Especially when you get the wrong eye.
- In Mr Davies' eyes, we failed.
- Doesn't justify his actions! I agree but I understand the impulse.
A loved one gets hurt, a child, a mother, we want to make it right.
What happens to his stamp collection? Sell it.
Give it to Crime Victims Board.
- Where the hell are we with this? - Back to square one.
Two eyewitnesses.
Hey, Jimmy G! What's up? Cola.
You were so helpful before, man, really helpful.
We just want to talk to you again.
We'll ask you a few questions.
Try this with me.
Breathe.
It's good, right? Yeah.
Weird being in here, isn't it? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Whatever.
It's cool.
- It's cool? So this is where Turbit was, huh? - Right here.
Guy was a freak.
- Yeah! - Kinda creeped me out.
- Me too! Way he rode his bike around.
- Always by the field.
- Yeah.
- He'd stop and stare, watching us.
- Yeah.
Which side? - Huh? - Which side did he ride around? Er, you know, the north side.
'North side? Boy Scouts kicked me out.
No sense of direction.
' Is that the wood side or the river side? - Wood side.
- Wood side.
By the field where they found Ryan.
Right.
- Ever talk to Turbit? - No.
Really? You never said anything to him? Not even, 'Go back to the planet you came from'? Maybe this world is another planet's hell.
Aldous Huxley also said, 'But I like the inconveniences.
' When Turbit rode his bike, where did he ride by? The sidewalk.
By the woods or river? The river.
Their stories don't match.
Let's print them, take some blood.
Let's search the area by the river.
We're looking for a chain that'll match the marks round Ryan's neck.
Is it hard to see your kids after working on this case? No harder than making love after I hear of a rape victim's attack.
- I've done this beat eight months.
- Right.
At first, I was fine with it, but sometimes, I just I just I can't I know.
Instead of seeing a woman you see uterus, cervix.
- Yeah.
- It's a clinical phase.
It lasts a while.
- What's the next phase? - You don't wanna know.
Hey.
What have you got? It's just another quarter.
Elliot! We're also looking for Ryan's glasses.
Here's the partial print from the boy's glasses.
Jimmy G's print.
It's a match.
I think Mike's the smarter of the two.
Detectives? - Book smart.
- Found something.
Mike's more than book smart.
He's the one with the conscience.
- Are you sure? - DNA doesn't lie.
This is the chain used to kill Ryan.
Turbit said his chain was stolen.
- The tissue samples? - The sample taken from Ryan's nails matched the sample of one of your suspects.
Which one? - You've known Mike D a long time.
- Since we were kids.
He got a scholarship to a private school.
He came back, though.
Didn't like all the Richie Riches.
Just tell us what happened.
I don't know.
Well, if you don't tell us, you know Mike will.
And my mom, whenever I'd do something bad she'd say, 'Boys will be boys.
' Well, you know, right now, it's every man for himself.
We don't think you're a bad guy.
We think you went along with Jimmy and things got out of hand.
But if you jerk us around, we'll bury you.
Ryan did not deserve to die the way that he did.
You tell us what happened.
I don't know where to start.
Where d'you get the idea? Off the web.
We were surfing and fell into this sex offender website.
That's where we found Mr Turbit.
That's when we realised this freak lived in the neighbourhood.
The site was specific, very specific, about what Mr Turbit had done.
So specific it was like directions that were easy to follow.
We got the idea in our heads and it was, like, too good to forget.
It took over our minds.
It was all Jimmy could talk about.
At first, we just goofed around.
Took Mr Turbit's bike, moved it.
Took his bike chain.
That chain.
Jimmy always wondered what Turbit might do with the chain.
Turbit could do anything.
Tell me about the Friday when Ryan disappeared.
We were in my garage, smoking.
We see Ryan go by on his bike.
Back and forth.
We started making fun of him.
'Who let the retard out alone?' 'Whose bike was that? How many candy bars did he sell to land that bike?' The bit about selling candy.
That's what it was.
We just looked at each other.
I grabbed Turbit's bike chain.
We were just fooling when we took him out by the marshes.
And then his glasses fell off.
That's when he really freaked out.
I had to hold him down.
- It was - What? It was what? I'm not gay or anything! It was awful.
He started screaming.
And he wouldn't shut up.
We were worried someone would hear.
I asked him to be quiet, begged him.
Then Jimmy took the bike chain.
To shut the kid up! I heard his neck snap.
He just lay there.
Still.
Kid was a loser, anyway.