Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s01e11 Episode Script

Although inspired in part by a true incident the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.
In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Major Case Squad.
These are their stories.
Let's see what the birds are doing in the park.
Can you see them? Yes, they're playing in the trees.
Oh, time for Daddy to go to work.
- Good morning, everybody.
- How are you doing? Good morning.
First patient's prepped in room two.
She's 19, single, in the 10th week.
Name is Patricia.
- Who's here with her? - One of her friends.
Her boyfriend was supposed to drive her but never showed.
How is she feeling? Scared.
Let's see what we can do about that.
Lunch time.
All right, children, let's close our books and put our pencils down.
Somebody want to help me with these? Put them on the floor.
Everybody ready? Yeah.
/ Let's give thanks.
Thank you, God, for your bounty, today and every day.
Amen / Amen.
Oh, and thank you, Dennis, for making lunch.
Thank you.
And what's a baby cow? / A calf.
That's right.
And what's a baby chicken? An egg.
I'm going to make some tea.
Does anyone want anything?/ Juice.
What comes out of the egg? Baby chicks.
Yeah.
I want to see the cars, Daddy.
Okay.
Come here.
Lord, steady my hand and let Thy justice find its mark.
Can you see the cars? / Yes.
Honey, are you sure you don't want any Get into the bedroom now.
Quick.
Quick, quick, quick.
Oh my God, Leo, hold on.
Hold on.
Hello, my husband's been shot.
Our address is 845 Central Park West, apartment 4A.
My name is Marie Cavella.
Hurry.
Oh my God, Leo, hold on.
They're coming, honey.
They're coming! Hold on! I love you! Hold on! Law & Order CI It looks like he was 80 to 100 feet into the park.
That makes it about a 200-yard shot.
This guy had practice.
Make sure you cover him up.
In our own living room, in front of our baby.
These people that say they love children so much Your husband get threats? There was this website, his name was on a hit list of abortion providers, with our old address in Dobbs Ferry.
It's why we moved to the city to be safer.
Our phone's unlisted, the condo's in my maiden name, we have a post office box.
Where was your husband's clinic? In Bethel.
Two hours each way, every day, because he wanted to help people They have no right.
Oh God, Leo.
We're very sorry, Mrs.
Cavella.
According to the calculations, the shot came from this tree here.
Any footprints? Ground's too hard.
Would've put his knee down here.
He tied his rifle to the tree to stabilize it so he'd have a shooting platform.
He was an experienced hunter or he had military training.
How we doing on witnesses? We got one homeless lady, calls herself God, said she saw a male, white, going into the woods about a half an hour before the shooting.
Put "God" together with a sketch artist.
Keep the witness canvass going for the next week, double up in the evenings around the time of the shooting.
Eames! It's a Remington 703-aught-8, with a Burris 3x10 scope.
He brought it here piece by piece, assembled, buried it until he needed it.
I can already tell catching this mutt's going to be a walk in the park.
There are killers and there are people who kill abortion doctors.
There's two types of those: The martyr he kills without a lot of planning in broad daylight, in front of witnesses, with a shotgun or a handgun, - doesn't care if he gets caught.
- Then there's this guy.
Months of preparation, stalks his target, plans his escape, kills from a distance, no intention of getting caught.
He's in it to create fear.
You know, kill one, scare a thousand.
Three witnesses, including God, saw a male, white, come out of the woods near the 97th Street transverse.
maybe a mustache, maybe brown hair.
Maybe we put up flyers in the park, maybe we get better witnesses.
Take a look at this website.
"The New Killing Fields.
" Lists abortion doctors in every state.
Here.
Leo Cavella.
Still his old address.
Any guesses what the slash through his name means? It's a damn hit list.
Protected by the First Amendment.
- Of course.
- Ballistics report on the rifle.
Figures, no fingerprints.
Rifle traced to a gun dealer in Pennsylvania who sold it at a gun show in Honesdale eight weeks ago.
- No ID on the buyer.
- Honesdale that's just across the state line from Cavella's clinic in Bethel.
Bethel Women's Clinic Bethel, New York Wednesday, May 31 My husband drove Leo's van.
He never noticed anyone following.
What about the people with the signs? They regulars? / Every day since the clinic opened four years ago.
- We videotape them.
- We'll need those tapes.
Those people are horrible, always calling us names, yelling at the patients.
Who on Dr.
Cavella's staff had his address? I did, in my address book, which I kept locked up in my office.
Doctor Cavella's check register.
Checks to Con Ed, to his condo board.
After he paid his bills, what did he do with them? Some he took home, some like his power bill he threw away.
Any problems with his trash bin outside? A couple months ago.
The police said it was raccoons.
We bought cans with animal-proof lids.
How'd that work out? Two weeks later, they got broken into again.
Animal-proof lids.
Nobody ever gives raccoons enough credit.
Your money's still on the raccoons.
I just can't imagine anybody scrounging around for a Con Ed bill.
Cavella's address would be on a Con Ed bill.
What did your investigation turn up? Well, not much.
Somebody saw a car parked across the street, that was about it.
A car is something.
Well, the plates traced to Mr.
And Mrs.
McLeish in White Lake.
They're a nice couple in their 60s.
I don't figure they climbed that eight-foot fence around those trash cans.
Any history of anti-abortion activity? They chained themselves to the door of the clinic last year.
Got 12 months probation.
Well, I'll bet that included a restraining order to stay away from the clinic.
Well, yes, it did.
Sounds like they violated their probation.
Home Of Mr.
&Mrs.
Mcleish White Lake, New York Wednesday, May 31 Please! For the last time, you don't have a choice here! You got to let us in.
You ain't going to need those.
You didn't see the hole in Cavella's chest.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Mr.
And Mrs.
McLeish, we have a bench warrant for your arrest for violation of your probation.
They're not going anywhere without the radiator.
The locks are laced through it.
forgive those who trespass against us.
/ Hallowed be Thy name.
Hey, Bobby.
The neighbors say they had somebody staying with them six weeks ago.
Male, white, mid to late 30s, brown hair, beard.
They saw him driving their car.
Damn.
What's the problem? Blade's stuck.
Somebody put steel pipes around the locks, then stuck metal rods inside the pipes, so my blades are just spinning.
I got to change blades.
You all better get comfortable.
What'd they use when they chained themselves to the clinic? Just a padlock and a bicycle chain.
We cut them loose in a minute flat.
Nine hours to cut them out.
That's just great.
We have a sketch of Ma and Pa Kettle's houseguest.
We tried one without the beard and showed it to the Central Park witnesses.
No definite hits, but it's close.
Got him.
The old couple didn't have the tools or materials to make the locks.
I figured the houseguest made them.
I did a search for protesters who blockaded abortion clinics by chaining themselves to the doors.
The longer it takes to remove them, the longer the clinics have to shut down.
One guy got famous in Wisconsin for teaching people how to make locks that took up to 12 hours to remove.
He did it with steel pipes, metal rods, abrasives meet Dennis Griscom.
From locks to lock 'n' load.
Next stop for Mr.
Griscom is lockup.
Griscom has two convictions for anti-abortion activities in Wisconsin and Florida.
He served 60 days.
He's been off the radar the last four years.
And there's fiber evidence.
A hair on the stick left at the scene matched a hair from a blanket in the McLeish's house.
A probable match, not conclusive.
What's the old folks' involvement? They're being transported here for questioning.
We'll see.
He's done with them.
He'll seek support from other zealots.
He's a terrorist, with a profound dedication to an over-valued idea, one that's his sole focus in life.
Zealot, terrorist loaded terms, Detective.
I hope you're not suggesting he represents a movement.
Well, I'm suggesting he might think he is and act accordingly.
This is a murder case.
Let's not turn into a litmus test on abortion.
Sounds like it already is.
I couldn't sleep the night before.
I felt like I had a lead weight in my chest, and the closer I got to doing it, the worse I felt.
I didn't feel brave, I didn't feel full of fire.
Providence spoke to you, Dennis.
You had no choice.
When I looked though that scope it was like the Lord slipped his hand inside mine, like a glove, you know? And put his finger around the trigger.
That's exactly what he did.
He helped you save the babies.
I just I can't shake this sadness I'm feeling.
You're not alone in this.
People will help you.
Okay? Here's $500.
If you need any more, send a message.
Thank you.
/ Hey.
Thank you.
We have witnesses who saw him near the shooting, forensic evidence linking him to it.
How can you protect him? I saw books in your home by Gandhi, Martin Luther King apostles of non-violence.
I know that you follow in their footsteps.
Conscientious objector in the '50s.
Voter registration in the '60s.
You marched against Vietnam, apartheid, abortion.
Always by non-violent means, right? Yes.
I found these in your home.
You and your wife at candlelight vigils.
You oppose the death penalty.
Any kind of killing.
I have a lot of respect for that position, Mr.
McLeish.
There's no hypocrisy to it, no double standard even for doctors like Leo Cavella.
Even for him, right? God forgive us.
We didn't know what he was planning.
How'd you meet Griscom? At a movement conference in Memphis last spring.
There were old friends from Operation Rescue, and some people we didn't know, radicals who said the Lord wanted us to pick up the sword and kill more abortionists.
Was Griscom one of the radicals? No.
He just listened.
He never said anything about Dr.
Cavella, or buying a rifle.
What did he do all day? Did he have a job? No.
He had savings, he said.
Mostly, he helped around the place.
I took him bird watching.
There's a bald eagle preserve near Goshen.
Even gave him an old pair of binoculars.
What kind? Zeiss.
He was a serious young man, who didn't know what direction he was supposed to go.
How did he end up staying with you? We invited him to visit.
One day he showed up.
Did he talk about any friends in the movement, people who might help him? No.
Only people he talked about were his parents, his father mostly.
And what did he say about him? Well, he told me he was an engineer.
He said his father was proud of him.
And that mattered to him? Sure.
His father sounded like a hard man to please.
Any idea where he stayed after he left? I think with family.
What makes you say that? Before he left, he came with me to the Wal-Mart to buy some gifts for his nieces.
Is that who he said they were for? No, but he bought two key chains with kittens on them and the initials "K" and "R," so I assumed that's who they were for.
Home Of Mrs.
Griscom Hackettstown, New Jersey Friday, June 2 Dennis doesn't have any nieces.
He has a nephew my daughter's son, in Seattle.
When was the last time you talked to him? Maybe six months ago, I'm not sure.
I see your husband was a marksman in Vietnam.
Is this him hunting with Dennis? Yes.
They look like they're good pals.
Are they? My husband died a year ago.
Dennis looked up to him.
He told people his father was proud of him.
When was this taken? Maybe last year.
Zeiss binoculars.
This was taken two months ago in the area where Dr.
Cavella had his clinic.
He didn't shoot that doctor.
a missionary to help people.
He couldn't hurt anyone.
He won't be safe unless he talks to us.
Please, how did you get this picture? I found this on the porch a month ago.
It's just books and letters.
Was there a note? No.
He just left it on the porch, he didn't even ring the doorbell.
I found that picture inside.
Did you recognize any of the people in these other pictures? No.
Do you know Lori Carlson? / No.
This is addressed to Dennis.
"Dear Dennis, we hope this finds you well.
Yesterday we took Katie and Ruthie to the Botanical Gardens.
They love going there and witnessing the Lord's wonders.
We all miss you.
Please call.
" Signed, "Lori Carlson.
" It's postmarked last October in Brooklyn.
K and R Katie and Ruthie Carlson in Brooklyn.
It's a start.
Lori Carlson? / Yes? This is a warrant allowing us to search your house.
- What's going on? - Stay in here with your children.
Two upstairs.
You two with me.
Are there any adults here besides yourself? No.
Why are you here? We're looking for Dennis Griscom.
Mrs.
Carlson, we're conducting a murder investigation.
Now is not the time to lie to the police.
Dennis left four days ago.
I don't know where he went.
What room was he staying in? Down the stairs.
Eames, I need a bag.
Suspicious dust balls? It's spun glass.
Commonly used to make silencers.
There was no attachment for a silencer on the Remington.
No.
It's from a second rifle.
He's not done yet.
I don't know where he was planning to go.
He mention other doctors or clinics? No.
He didn't talk about things like that.
I don't believe he did the things you say.
But if he did, then he must believe he's doing God's will, and then it's up to God to deal with him.
Maybe God's too busy dealing with Leo Cavella's five-year-old daughter.
She was standing next to him when your friend's bullet tore into him.
I noticed there are no posters of pop singers in your daughter's rooms, or pictures of athletes.
We don't approve of that.
Well, how about soccer and tennis? I didn't see any equipment.
We don't participate in those parts of the culture that don't bring glory to God.
Dennis, he dragged this abomination, this execution into your living room.
How can that bring glory to God? We have every reason to believe he's going to kill again.
Dennis Dennis was on the computer a lot, talking to other people when we weren't home.
Please, don't hurt him.
We found some of Griscom's e-mails.
Just their tracks.
The actual e-mails were long gone.
Most of the e-mails around the time of the shooting are to and from one address.
Zach here thinks he can chase it down.
Zach here has chased him down.
It's linked to a website.
This is extreme.
"Stop abortion on demand by the most direct means possible.
" Looks like Griscom found a friend.
There's a PO box address in Long Island.
If we find this clown, any way we can monitor his e-mail traffic in case Griscom contacts him? You can.
If you install a spying application on his computer.
Home Of Lorne Cutler Bayside, New York Friday, June 9 You can look all you want, you won't find any guns here.
Your website said, "The most direct means possible.
" Everyone knows what that means, Mr.
Cutler.
It means whatever you need it to mean.
I'm just a truck driver.
I never threatened anybody.
What about the Supreme Court? I wouldn't hurt a hair on those gentlemen.
But the two women on the Court, they're fair game? Ma'am, God's never told me to kill anybody.
But if he did, I bet you would.
I'd obey him, just like Abraham did.
I heard a threat to a government official.
The hell you did.
I'm taking you in.
Turn around.
This is bull.
You can't do this Shut your mouth.
Maybe you read only the parts of the Bible you like, but what I remember from Sunday school is God stopped Abraham from killing.
I'll get downtown started on the complaint.
Let's step in here, Mr.
Cutler.
Hey, Harland, it's me, Eames, I need you to fill out a complaint for me.
Suspect's name is Lorne Cutler.
You take orders from that lady? She's got seniority.
You know these women on the force, they come with an extra set of brass ones.
Is that better? Yes, thank you.
The TPO is the suspect's home at 428 Powell Street in Bayside, New York.
Okay, I'll hold.
You admire this man, the one who shot the doctor? He killed to protect innocent life.
He heard God's command and he obeyed.
Yeah, like Saint Joan, and the Knights Templar.
I read your website.
I get it.
The government is using these statutes and lawsuits by pro-abortion groups to cut off all legitimate protest.
So if you believe that the soul enters a body at conception you have to take the next step.
Shutting down those killing fields it's the only cause left worth dying for, isn't it? There is no higher calling.
I'm glad this person skipped the state.
I don't have to be involved in his arrest.
Where do you think he went? Let's just say he's not on this side of the Mason-Dixon.
We got to kick him.
Downtown won't sign off on the complaint.
What did I tell you? Now Cutler is writing e-mails.
"All it takes is for one state to threaten sedition over abortion and this thing will turn around.
There's reason to hope.
We have friends in surprising places even in the New York City police.
I met a detective who thinks picking up the sword is the only option left to stop the abortion factories.
" You told him that? To earn his confidence.
Not to mention his love and admiration.
True believers expect everyone to think like them.
What do you really think? I'll tell you what I think when I get pregnant.
You're going to have to do a lot better than that, Bobby.
Okay.
Life is full of uncertainty.
People need to have options.
Abortion has got to be one of those options.
That's what I think.
He just got pulled into a private chat.
Okay.
That's Griscom.
I gave Cutler misinformation about our investigation.
Can you trace him? He's a guest on somebody else's account.
The account is registered with Barbara's Place, it's a copy store chain.
Susan! Dennis? What are you doing here? The alumni office told me where you worked.
Are you all right? How are your parents? Dad passed away last year.
I'm so sorry.
Your boyfriend? No.
I'm engaged.
I'm getting married in a few months.
You going to have kids? Maybe.
I have something for you.
Not exactly a wedding present.
They were my Dad's when he was in the army.
He always liked you a lot.
This is very sweet of you, Dennis.
Have a good life, Susan.
I was so angry, for so long.
But I was angry at the wrong person.
Barbara's Place Thurseday, June 15 Yeah, he's been in here using the computers a few times.
Last night, as a matter of fact.
How did he pay? Cash.
He never stays on the computer long.
What did he use for ID? This guy didn't have any ID.
I think he's homeless.
I let him leave a meal card from Saint Mark's Mission.
Buddy, if I were you, I'd taste it first.
Hey, ease off on him.
There's plenty to be grateful for, yeah? Go ahead.
Go ahead.
Say grace, preacher.
Go ahead.
It wouldn't kill any of us to have a little gratitude.
Thank you, God, for your bounty today and every day.
Amen.
/ Amen.
Easy! Our Father who art in Heaven, - All right.
Stand up! - hallowed be Thy name You're going to have to carry him.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
We have you pegged every inch of the way, Dennis.
Where you bought the rifle, how you got his address, where you stayed in Brooklyn.
The state's got you for second-degree murder.
That's 25 years to life.
But the Feds also have jurisdiction.
That's the death penalty.
You don't show some cooperation, we are going to let them throw you the party.
Let's talk about the second rifle, the one you made your silencer for.
You stashed it, buried it, whatever.
We need to find it before someone else does.
You don't want some poor kid to get shot, do you? It won't be incriminating.
You can say you were throwing it away, or you saw somebody put it there.
But you don't tell us, and God forbid something happens, you think the big guy's going to forgive you? The big guy? You trivialize him.
You pretend to know what He will or will not forgive.
I'm a soldier in the Lord's army.
My conscience is clear.
And you, you have a duty to protect innocent life.
So you're going to do the right thing now, aren't you? You're going to open that door and let me walk out of here.
In five, 10, maybe 15 years, people like whoever killed this Dr.
Cavella, they're going to be heroes in this country.
What do we have on him? Hindering prosecution.
Nothing that implicates him in a conspiracy.
And Griscom? The best evidence we have against him is still the hair we found at the scene.
A single hair? We have 48 hours to bring him up for arraignment.
With what we have now, I might not be able to hold him.
What's he doing? He's praying.
Speaking of litmus tests, assuming we get the goods on him, how do you try him without having it turn into a three-ring circus? By inoculating the jury against Griscom's defense.
He's going to claim he killed to protect unborn children.
Inoculate them, how? By telling the jury you agree with Griscom on abortion? It crossed my mind.
You really believe abortion is murder? Like I said, long as you bring me the evidence, convicting this gentleman shouldn't be a problem.
Promise me a margarita when this is all over.
The copying place sent over a list of websites Griscom visited on their computer.
Look at this one.
Hudson University Alumni Association.
Levy & Brown Investments Monday, June 19 The Association said he looked you up.
When did you last talk to him? Three days ago.
I was on my way out to lunch and he just walked up to me.
What did he want? He had something for me, from his father.
He died last year.
What was it? I don't know why Dennis thought I'd want them.
I was never particularly fond of his dad.
He was really hard on Dennis.
How long had it been since you talked to him? Almost 10 years.
What happened between the two of you? Something was eating away at him all these years.
These mementos were precious to him, but he gave them to you.
Why? Dennis had this idea that we were going to get married and help the poor and have a lot of kids.
I respected those goals and I loved him, but I had another life in mind and then I got pregnant.
Dennis was so happy and I thought it was the worst thing that could've happened to me.
So I started talking about having an abortion.
Dennis went crazy.
Yeah.
He ordered me not to do it.
He put pictures of aborted fetuses all around our apartment.
Told me I'd be murdering his child, as if what was inside me was more important to him than I was.
So that's when I made up my mind.
I waited until he went to work, I packed up and left.
I went to the clinic and I never saw Dennis again.
I've got to put him in front of a judge in an hour.
You've got less time than that to get some kind of admission out of him.
My client has a date in arraignment court.
There are a few things we need to clear up with him first.
He's invoking his right to be silent.
He doesn't have a right to be deaf, so he'll have to listen to what we have to say.
First thing, there's nothing in your file about children.
Do you have any kids? No.
I took a vow of celibacy.
You never wanted any kids? You don't like them? I love kids.
But that's not what God had planned for me.
You think you would've been a good parent? Better than your father? There's nothing wrong with the way my father brought me up.
He thought there was a lot wrong with you, didn't he? My dad was proud of me.
Is that why you became what is it you called yourself? "A soldier in the Lord's army"? To prove to him that you had the discipline, or the commitment, the will to sacrifice yourself for a greater cause, like he did in Vietnam? Well, it was just a thought.
Maybe you were one of those special people who heard heard the voice of God tell them to join the movement, is that it? Yes.
It was divine guidance not some base human passion, like anger or revenge.
Pride.
It was wounded pride, wasn't it, Dennis? She defied you, she killed your unborn child and it broke you.
She was weak.
It's not her fault.
/ Who then? Nobody held a gun to her head to go to a clinic It's the ones who allowed it! It's the ones who kept my baby from being saved! What is it you told her? That you were angry at the wrong person all of these years! It was the doctors! They ripped that life out of her body.
Is that what you were thinking when you had Cavella in your scope? Your baby? The life that might've been your life with Susan? I don't think about that anymore.
You think about it all the time.
You've given up hope.
You're giving everything away, touching base with old friends.
You're closing the book.
You're going to kill yourself.
But not before you pay them back.
Murderers like Cavella.
All right, stop this! I'm telling you, we are through here Pay them back for what they took away from you! He is going to arraignment court! Pay them back the way your dad taught you! Come on, Dennis, say it! You took a life for a life.
His mother put up her house as bond for the bail.
Soon as the paperwork's done, he'll be out of our hands.
We'll put surveillance on him and we'll call Intel to alert the abortion clinics.
I'm thinking he's planning something closer to home.
Girlfriend? The doctor who performed the abortion.
The surveillance team followed him to his lawyer's office.
They waited until the lawyer went home for the night.
They never saw Griscom leave the building.
Maybe he slipped out through the garage.
Terrific.
The doctor who did the abortion passed away two years ago.
I put a trace out on everyone else involved in the procedure.
This guy has a death wish and he's going to take somebody down with him.
We can hope he gets the order mixed up and shoots himself first.
I need to run Griscom's name through Westlaw.
Go ahead.
What're you looking for? He said it's the ones who allowed it, the ones who kept his baby from being saved.
Here we go.
"Dennis Griscom in Re An Unborn Child.
" He sued on behalf of his unborn kid to stop Susan Ward from having the abortion.
The judge turned him down.
Judge Adam Yates.
You find him, you find the gun.
How you doing, Judge? Good to see you.
Might help if you had a firing pin.
Drop the gun, Dennis! - Stay away from me.
- Get off the ledge, Dennis.
Don't come near me! Why do you want to hurt yourself? - Just tell me why.
- I don't answer to you! I know.
What about your mother, and Lori and her kids? They're going to want to know.
It looks like it's going to rain tonight.
What? / Yeah.
It looks like we're going to get a good soaking.
What do you think? I don't know.
I saw some lighting from over the park.
Can you see anything? Come on, Dennis, let's go inside.
Cuff him.
/ Grab him.
I got him.
Let's go.
All right, get him up.
Tell the judge we're all clear.
Until the next one.