Law & Order Special Victims Unit s03e13 Episode Script
Prodigy
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous, In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit, These are their stories, Sloop on the end is nice, huh? It's not a sloop, it's a ketch.
No, it's a sloop.
I've been pricing them.
Union win some monumental hike in rookie pay I didn't hear about? Hey, never too soon to plan for retirement.
Retirement? What makes you think you pass the six-month review? Sir, everything all right? I need to see your marina pass.
We got a runner.
Oh! Hey! Stop! Police! Pick up on a suspicious male fleeing on foot inside Riverside Park.
Hey, get back here! Stop! Oh, damn it.
On the ground! Face down, hands on the back of your head.
Hey, Josh, can you help me here? I got him.
Yeah.
I got something over here, too.
We got IDs? No wallet on the guy.
Woman was stripped naked, no sign of her clothes.
They were sexually positioned after death.
This rock our weapon? We don't know where that fits in.
We're looking for a knife.
Blitz attack or they put up a fight? Defensive wounds on the guy.
The woman, we can't say.
Hands are missing.
So is the head.
We're searching the area, ma'am.
Officer Dorsey.
Like I was telling your partner, our collar might look good for it.
Tossed a bag in the water.
Big enough to hold the missing parts.
My partner's got him in our car.
He talking? We called in for an interpreter.
I speak a little Spanish and French.
I can Mirandize in three others.
What is he? Deaf.
You have the right to an attorney.
You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you free of charge.
It's also on this card.
Do you understand your rights, Scotty? I'm deaf, not dumb.
I don't need a lawyer.
I didn't do anything.
Well, good.
What were you doing on the docks? I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk.
You always run from police when you go on your walks? AII I saw was the light they blinded me with.
I was scared, so I ran.
So fast that you dropped your bag in the river.
It was weighing me down.
Well, body parts can get heavy.
So what happened here? I had nothing to do with this.
I don't know what you're trying to pull.
I am not involved with this.
So what was in your bag? We recovered the duffel bag downstream.
With the head and hands? Stolen goods.
Two high-end laptops and some jewelry.
From? A burgled houseboat.
Right about where they first spotted Scotty.
Plenty of prints.
We're running them now.
Boat by any chance missing its owners? Both alive and pissed.
They didn't take out extended warranties on the computers.
How's it going? It's not adding up.
There's no way he came out of that bloodbath without a drop on him.
What's on his rap sheet? Larceny, marijuana possession.
No assaults.
What do you want to do? Hand him off to burglary.
But let's check around the deaf community, see if he's missing any enemies.
Or a girlfriend.
Where are we with missing persons? Having trouble filling in the blanks like height, hair color, eye color.
That was probably the point.
No fingerprints or dental records.
Why hers, not his? Perp's connection was to her.
Maybe he has a sexual fetishism.
Kemper had a whole closet full of heads.
No hands.
Cannibalism? No, you'd go for the fleshier parts.
All right, all right.
Enough theories, I want facts.
The more we know about the victims, the clearer motive becomes.
Male was in his mid 50s.
Female in her early 40s.
Aside from her obvious head and hand wounds, both suffered deep, jagged stab wounds to the midsection.
What kind of knife we talking? Major-duty hunting with a sharp, 8- inch serrated blade.
Got a nasty head laceration.
We got a bloody rock.
No.
I found embedded tree bark.
Might have been hit with a hefty branch.
Results in from the rape kit? Spermicide.
But his pants were open, had lipstick on him.
So she was doing the male victim, perp happened upon them, killed him, took his place, killed her when he was done.
He's got a wedding ring.
This a married couple? Trust me, married couples don't have sex in parks.
Maybe he picked up a pro.
I don't find too many working girls who make it to 40 without any evidence of cervical dysplasia.
Mistress? They didn't party together.
John Doe here had a blood alcohol level of.
17.
She didn't have a trace.
Opposites attract.
Any hit on his prints? No.
But pacemaker companies are required to keep records on all patients.
As much as I'd like to help out, Celadyne Industries puts great stock in our customers' right to privacy.
And yet you spend so much less on R and D than your competitors.
FDA had a little problem with that, didn't they? That was a voluntary recall.
Celadyne's L wires had a tendency to fracture mid-pulse, piercing recipients through the heart.
That's just wrong.
We have since made significant design improvements to our dual-chamber pulse generators, but we can only do so much.
We can't make people take their meds or refrain from risky behaviors.
Our guy got himself stabbed.
That's hardly a product malfunction.
Can't rule it out as a contributing factor without a special inquiry.
Edward Boggs.
Mrs.
Boggs, when was the last time you saw your husband? When he was leaving for work.
What time was that? 4:00.
He works the night shift.
Do you know why he would have been in Riverside Park between 7:00 and 10:00? No.
That doesn't make sense.
No.
He worked at the reclamation plant on Randall's Island.
We're still trying to piece together all the details.
He did, however, have a high level of alcohol in his blood.
That's impossible.
Edward doesn't drink anymore.
Mrs.
Boggs, was your husband having an affair? No.
Why would you ask that? Another victim was also found in the park.
A woman.
A woman? She's good.
She's in shock.
Housewife.
Completely dependent.
Suspects he's cheating, follows him, catches him in the act, see ya.
You really think meek Mindy here could blitz attack two people? You don't need pecs to hire a killer.
Find out what else Ed lied to the missus about.
Recanvass the park, bars, liquor stores, anything within staggering distance.
Yeah.
I know him.
Whiskey, straight up.
Been in every night the last two weeks.
He friendly with any of the customers? Not until Thursday.
Then he hooks up with one of the regulars.
You know her name? His.
Vinnie.
Scum.
What'd they talk about? Women.
Vinnie was all, "Bitches this, bitches that," every time I walk by.
They leave together? After the game, about 9:00.
Anything else? I got ice cubes melting.
Trouble at home, stress at the job.
Ed goes out to the bars to unwind and rag on the old lady.
Enter Vinnie.
They start pounding them back, stories get heated.
We've been looking at Ed as only a victim.
Maybe he and Vinnie run into the woman on the street and wolf-pack her.
Ed's down for the rape but not the murder.
He freaks, Vinnie takes him out.
Hey, you got a Vinnie up there.
Is that our guy? Yeah, chronic loser.
Does he play the weekly pool, too? Never picks more than three winners a week.
My labrador does better than that.
Today's his lucky day.
You know, this is entrapment.
I'm a victim of a sting operation.
I'm here under False pretenses? False arrest.
Hey, man, you're not even under arrest, yet, so why don't you just settle down and tell us about your friend Ed? Hey, screw you.
I can screw you harder.
See, we have this handy little law enforcement tool that allows us to throw suspicious people like you in jail for 24 hours.
So why don't we try this again? Look, I got this job.
I can't mess up, all right? They're gonna fire me if I don't show.
So tell us about your night with Ed.
We had a conversation.
Is that a crime? It depends.
What did you two talk about? Bitches.
Guy had this female boss.
Real ball-buster, you know? And about two weeks ago, fires his ass for no reason whatsoever.
That must have pissed him off.
He was crying in his whiskey when I found him.
So you join him and you stoke up the fires there? I spent the better part of the night reinflating the guy's gonads.
Now he wants revenge, so you two start talking about bitches to take it out on.
He didn't even have the stones to go home and tell his old lady he'd been fired.
Pretended to go to work every day.
That's why he was loading up on liquid courage, to go home and confess.
But you had a different plan.
Yeah, another bar.
You know, pick up some broads.
But he turned me down flat, so we parted company.
Now, where would this have been? Riverside.
Where I caught a taxi.
Which way did Ed go? Ed went into the park.
Nature called.
Female victim was attacked here, dragged over to this spot where she's butchered.
She's then sexually positioned with the male victim who bled out right here.
One perp, two victims.
Look at this.
Now, I'm no park ranger, but since when did trees bleed red sap? ME found bark in Ed's forehead.
Footprints are pointing toward the tree.
Run a urine analysis on that bark.
I bet you'd find Ed's DNA about waist high.
Vinnie said that nature called.
So he had no connection whatsoever to the female victim? Okay, new theory.
Perp rapes her, starts dismemberment.
He hears a twig snap.
Sneaks up behind Ed, smashes his head into the trunk right there.
No witness.
Explains why his pants were open.
Wait a minute.
The ME said he found the female victim's lipstick on Boggs.
Perp's screwing with us.
He staged that relationship to throw us off track.
Benson.
Yeah, right.
Sewer worker in Brooklyn just found the remains of a hand.
You mind slipping this on? Why? I need it to hold form.
Thumbs have to be similar in size, or we'll get distorted results.
Too manly.
It's been through hell and back.
Submerged for at least 20 hours, after which rats made a picnic out of it.
I'll run her through the system.
Let's just hope she's an ex-con, teacher or otherwise bonded.
I passed the poly.
Get him out of here.
What, no apology? We got a hit on the thumbprint.
Who? Special Agent Pam Tilden.
FBI? MFPCA.
Manhattan's Humane Law Enforcement.
The dog police.
Yeah, she investigated people who tortured and abused animals.
Future wife beaters, child abusers.
And serial killers.
You think Pam knew her killer? Lengths taken to hide her identity, it's a good bet.
Was she having any trouble in her personal life? Not that I know of.
Boyfriend? Pam was married to the job.
Here she is.
She was with us seven years.
She worked out in the field? There are five million animals in this city and just fourteen of us.
We all work the field.
She work on any case recently that might have put her at risk? We don't carry firearms for the fashion statement.
You never know what's on the other side of the door.
We're gonna need a copy of those case files.
Well, who do we sweat first, granny with 65 cats or the SoHo poodle poisoner? Well, here's the last case she closed.
This guy Jake moves into his father's basement with his new bride, Missy.
Father walks in on them on their wedding night.
How is that animal cruelty? Missy's a German shepherd.
That's perfectly legal in 26 states.
Jake argued it wasn't bestiality, where the animal is often hurt, but zoophilia, which is a loving, life commitment.
Unfortunately, we're not looking for zoo couples.
You got anything a little further up the violence scale there? Crush video operation.
Films contain shots of small creatures.
Frogs, hamsters, baby bunnies and whatnot.
A woman's stiletto-heeled foot enters frame Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I can't hear that stuff.
Well, that goes in the good pile.
Arson at those stables in Brooklyn.
Twenty-one horses were killed.
Dog-fighting ring.
Now you're talking gangs.
That'll be right there with Tilden's most violent perps.
You know how they train those dogs to fight? They starve them, beat them, and then they collect strays to use as sparring partners.
Come fight night, big money changes hands and only one dog comes out alive.
MFPCA removed those dogs, right? Ten pit bulls.
Brought in gang intel to shut down the operation.
Was there payback? Kennel was vandalized two days later.
They broke in here, graffitied the place with gang symbols.
Why didn't you mention that before? It was an isolated incident months ago.
And between drug busts and assorted felonies, the gang's been pretty much decimated.
Hey, pooch.
Well, hey there.
I can always spot an animal lover.
Pam used to spend her downtime in here.
It doesn't surprise me she went to that park after dark, not if she thought there was a hurt animal in there.
All these animals were abused? Mmm-hmm.
Or neglected.
They're all up for adoption if you're interested.
Did you talk with Agent Tilden? Sure.
She ever mention anyone causing trouble, threatening her, something like that? Yeah, the kid who did this one.
Hey, Slinky.
Hi.
What did he do to her? Poured paint thinner on her tail, and set it on fire.
Wanted to see what she would do.
How old the kid? Old enough to know better.
Fifteen, sixteen, maybe.
And he threatened Agent Tilden? Said whenever she ran into him upstairs, he'd cuss her out.
What was he doing here? That's the court's big punishment.
Ten sessions on the couch with our company shrink.
Yeah.
It's a pilot program.
Court-mandated counseling for animal abusers.
Instead of jail time.
Do you know the incarceration rate for cruelty convictions? About zero.
It's a misdemeanor.
$45, few hours of community service.
Not much of a deterrent.
No, but at least with this program, they are forced to address their actions.
Talk about them.
Now, this kid who torched the cat.
Harry Baker.
What does he talk about? If Harry had made any direct threats, I would have notified the police and the person at risk.
And when you say, "Direct threats"? Harry has aggression issues.
He had a positive tox screen at birth, cocaine.
Makes for a hyperactive kid.
Ritalin was recommended in the first grade.
Harry refused.
Well, didn't his mother insist? His mother couldn't afford daycare, so she'd take him to work with her to her strip club.
There was a lot of disciplinary problems for him early in school.
Dumped in Special Ed? No.
Gifted program.
Refocused, he'd have great potential.
But right now he does present as predatory.
All right.
All right.
Well, thank you.
Thanks anyway.
You owe me.
Harry Baker's file.
For what? There's nothing here.
I asked for transcripts.
On a juvie? You're lucky I got his pre-sentencing report.
Probation Officer recommended intensive supervision based on Agent Tilden's suspicion of numerous unadjudicated prior offenses.
What do you suppose those were? Lord knows.
Any way we can find out? Shaheen.
I have a fact-finding in who took a baseball bat to his grandmother, and my witness is in the wind.
You know, we never rescheduled that lunch.
From a year ago? What do you want, Alex? You prosecuted the Harry Baker case.
Cat flambe boy.
He was only fifteen, so you know those records are sealed.
But your memory isn't.
A lot of these cases are a cry for help.
You uncover the dad's abusing the mom, the mom in turn abuses the kid.
The kid completes the cycle by abusing the only member of the family more vulnerable, the pet.
Right.
But I didn't find any history of physical abuse with Harry.
What did you find? About a dozen other animals that had turned up dead and mutilated in his neighborhood.
Could you link any of them to Harry? Closest we came was a girl he had the hots for.
Let me guess, she spurned his advances? She went into a deli, left her dog tied up outside, comes back out, and it's gone.
Could be a coincidence.
It turned up on her stoop the next morning.
Dead? Decapitated.
Where was your son Thursday night between the hours of 7:00 and 10:00? In his bedroom, reading, like always.
Were you here all night? Sure.
I had company.
Is this where you sleep? Yeah, I'm having the penthouse painted.
This Harry's room? The beads.
Pretty hard not to overhear company.
Yeah, or walk in on them.
So, what's this all about anyway? How long has Harry been killing animals? He would never do that.
He set a cat on fire.
People say these things about him, but they're just jealous because their own kids aren't as gifted.
He pled guilty.
He's misunderstood.
In science class, he gets an A-plus because he is so good at dissecting frogs.
He's just really curious about the biology stuff.
Right.
You mind if we take a little peek in his room? He's got nothing to hide.
Tidy.
Could use a splash of color.
Oh, there you are.
Blood-red wasn't what I had in mind.
Fire escape right outside the window.
Yeah, how hard would it be to sneak out while Mom's entertaining? No smell.
No nooks and crannies big enough to stash a head.
Check out this library? True crime, police procedure, every book ever written on serial killers.
All in alphabetical order.
You looking for something? Harry.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's about Pam, right? That really bites.
Pam? Officer Tilden.
We were kind of tight.
She arrested you, testified against you, even threw you into counseling.
Yeah.
You the type to hold a grudge? I've been known to, but Pam was cool.
I read her death was totally whack.
Course, they They never publish all the details.
Any you can give me? No.
Any you can give us? What do you mean? Well, you got Pathology of Homicide, Death Investigator's Handbook, Seems like your interests run pretty dark.
My shrink says I have an aggressive orientation to the world.
Something about a predatory drive.
Says if I don't re-channel it, I could I could wind up What'd she say A cop.
Well, we also heard that you have experience with surveillance.
Girl in your class, Carey Thorne? I broke her heart.
By killing her dog? No, by ending our relationship.
Not to sound egotistical or anything, but I drive the girls a little crazy.
It was horrible.
He was always calling, following me around.
I'd go to the movies or the ice rink, there he was.
He ever threaten you? He used to leave these creepy letters in my locker.
I was scared for my life.
Describe creepy.
Like, he's living only for me.
He dreamed we died in a car crash together.
Or, if he can't have me, nobody can.
You still have any of these letters? God, no.
I burned them.
Did you notify the police? They talked to Harry.
He turned on the charm, got his friends to lie for him.
Suddenly, at school, I'm the nutcase.
Your friends seen any of these letters? They were like, "What's your problem? He's so cute.
" We need to get Harry off the street, but we're gonna need your help.
You don't get it.
AII I did was turn him down for a date, and he killed my dog.
I'm not messing with Harry.
Could you at least steer us toward someone who would? Phillip.
Oh, Phillip.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.
Now, what have we here? This door appears to be locked, but do you see legs? No, must not be here.
Cooking spray.
Now, what do you suppose he thinks is gonna get stuck? Come on out, Phil.
What do you guys want? Lowdown on your buddy, Harry.
We're not tight anymore.
Let me guess, you're missing a pet? Dude's obsessed with death.
And it's one thing to hate cats, but Harry went super freak.
Anything involving a hunting knife? Where does he keep it? How should I know? See.
You're burning out too many brain cells.
Affects your memory.
Maybe we should give his principal and parents the 411 on his little huffing habit.
All right.
He's got this place in Central Park.
It's private, so he can be alone with his collection.
Collection of what? Skulls.
The kid told us that Harry's been slicing and dicing furry things for years.
You got a fix on him, yet? Yeah.
He's a sadistic sociopath.
He likes to take his time, draw out the pain.
He gets off on the control and the domination.
During the torture, he feels no empathy, and when it's over, he feels no remorse.
Okay, but what I don't get is this.
His burial ground is here.
Why lure Agent Tilden to Riverside Park? Look at this.
Open it up.
Harry's heads.
Looks like there's about a dozen in there.
They're small.
My guess is cats and dogs.
Big.
I'd say hunting.
Get this to the lab.
Anything human in there? No.
I don't understand why we're here.
They think I killed two people.
That's ridiculous.
Harry's a good boy.
He gets straight A's.
Well, he also gets his kicks playing with the heads of animals he's butchered.
That's not true.
Harry? Take a pill, Mom.
I'm not gonna listen to these lies.
It's just an interrogation technique.
Now they've got you good and riled, and it's time for Q and A.
First, they'd wanna know if I'm a bed wetter.
This is all about the accident with the cat.
That gave them fire setting and animal abuse.
Throw in enuresis and I fit the triad of sociopathy.
Three childhood indicators of a future serial killer.
So, did he wet his bed? Can we go now? Harry, animal torture, that's the biggie.
That's true.
I mean, look at all the major leaguers.
As a kid, Jeffrey Dahmer used to impale dogs and frogs and cats on sticks.
Albert Desalvo, the alleged Boston Strangler.
He used to take dogs and cats and put them in crates and then shoot arrows through the slats.
And little Teddy Bundy, I mean, he killed more than his share.
As did As did Son of Sam.
Andrew Cunanan.
Most of your high school shooters like Kip Kinkel I mean, the list goes on and on and on Stop it! That is one cold kid.
No conscience, no regard for others, and yet superficially charming, manipulative.
And an expert on everything, whether he did it or not.
Mrs.
Baker needs a break.
She's waived Harry's Miranda.
Let's get you some coffee.
This kid knows all the tricks.
Any suggestions? His ego is too inflated not to instruct and inform.
Get him to talk about it hypothetically, third person.
We've got your knife, kid.
It's only a matter of time before they find the victims' blood on it.
Look, if it was me, I would have cleaned it very thoroughly, but it wasn't me.
Okay.
Well, then, who was it? Sorry, I can't help you there.
Wow, all those books, you can't put together a simple profile? Caucasian male.
Late 30s, early 40s.
Menial job.
Lives alone.
How'd he do it? He was already in the park.
He was waiting in the shadows.
It took her a while to find it, but he didn't mind.
The hunt's the most exciting part.
Took her a while to find what? The injured animal.
If he knew her, that's what he used as bait.
I mean, why else would she go? Why her? Maybe she rejected his advances.
So he lures her to the park, then what? He takes her to a private place where he can be alone with her a while.
'Cause he owns her now.
He owns her body, her soul.
And now he can do whatever he wants.
Agent Tilden was in prime physical condition.
She carried a gun.
I don't see how he could've overpowered her.
She never saw him.
She was preoccupied.
She was bent over the animal and it was a blitz attack.
What did he use? Something handy.
Like a rock.
Was that detail ever released? No.
Could be a lucky guess.
I don't care if it's a psychic vision, it's enough to book him.
Just finished processing Harry.
He actually hit on the mug shot photographer.
We get the lab results back for the knife? Clean.
What's Cragen doing here this late? Running us ragged.
LUDs finally came back from Tilden's cell.
Her last call came in at 6:37 p.
m.
from MFPCA.
Dispatch said that her last call came in at 5:30.
Didn't come from dispatch.
We traced it to a phone down in the kennels.
Finally finished running all their employees.
Only one popped up in the system.
Who? Joe Poletti.
We talked to him.
He's a dog walker.
And a seven-time rapist.
Detectives.
In there, Poletti.
Hey, that's the guy from the kennel, right? Is he the one who did it? What are we doing with him? Cutting him loose.
Let's do this again real soon.
Count on it.
I was in Atlantic City.
Left right after work.
I hit a royal.
Joey, you called Agent Tilden from the kennel at 6:37 p.
m.
It wasn't me.
A lot of people have access to that phone.
How'd you get down to AC? My van.
He's got a van.
Yeah, they all do.
Don't tell me, you just had it detailed.
It's funny you should say 'cause I was about to, but someone swiped it.
Joe, can you breathe without Iying? You file a police report? No.
Can I do that here? Don't worry, we're gonna find that van for you.
Does anyone down at the "M" know your past? Hmm? It never came up.
It should've on your job application.
You should know that's a violation, the number of times you've been on parole.
Took your first rape collar at 18.
Got lucky with that one.
Probation.
That's ancient history.
Oh, history has a way of repeating itself.
You did three years for the rape of Coral Jividen.
She was my girlfriend.
She was 14 years old.
You're out, what, two weeks before you start your string.
Five break-in rapes all at knifepoint.
I don't have those feelings anymore.
That'd make you the first I've come across.
I got help.
I never missed a session while I was in.
I finished the program after I got out, three years ago.
Three years of that pressure building.
Pam Tilden was at that kennel every single day and you try to fight those urges, but they kept getting stronger and stronger.
The walls you build up crumble.
You pick up right where you left off.
Okay, I was sick back then.
But, tell me, how many of those people I killed? Huh? None.
That's why you did twelve years.
Living victims, living witnesses.
You didn't wanna go back, and that's why you killed Pam Tilden and Ed Boggs.
No.
That's why you cut off her head and hands, so she couldn't be linked to you.
No! I'm rehabilitated.
Please tell me there's a head in there.
We tore Poletti's house apart.
This is all we could find.
His pleasure chest.
Victoria's Secret catalogs, strip club flyers.
Personal ads from New York Magazine, Called a few 900 numbers.
Sex chats are on his no-no list.
Yeah, but we want him for murder, not some pissant parole violation.
You want him off the street or what? We're getting him on what we can.
Pretty gray area stuff.
I doubt a hearing officer will even go for it.
I'll take anything at this point.
What will it get him? Whatever he still owes on his parole.
Three weeks, two days.
There you go, now there's justice.
Three weeks for a double murder.
This is plenty of time for him to rest up and find his next attack.
Or catch up on his writing.
Prolific little bastard.
About twenty short stories of wall-to-wall rape torture.
Anything in there a thinly veiled Tilden/Boggs confession? No, but a rave review from one of his old offender program buddies.
He sent them to another sex offender? "Joe, last batch was your best, yet.
"Jumper cables to the girls' goodies finished me off.
"Send extra copies of the next one.
They're a big hit with the guys.
" Let me see those.
They're his private thoughts.
That's funny, I saw them in print.
People v, Kirkpatrick found mere possession of obscene material without dissemination is not subject to prosecution.
He mailed more than six copies of his story, meeting the presumption of dissemination.
He sent them to friends.
Fellow sex offenders.
Don't you see what the A.
D.
A.
is doing? She couldn't substantiate murder charges against my client, so she's shooting blind, seeing what sticks.
I do not take a serial rapist's graphically violent writings about the torture of women and children lightly.
This is back door, and you know it.
Your client opened that door.
Save it for the ethics board, Miss Conrad.
I'm only here to decide whether the charge tracks under the statute.
The obscenity statute is overly broad and void for its vagueness.
It encompasses everything and nothing.
In the venerable words of Justice Potter Stewart, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.
" Two words, First Amendment.
The Supreme Court has come down on the side of limiting free speech when the need to protect the public is of overriding importance.
I'm inclined to think you're over-reaching on this one, Miss Cabot, but I'm going to let a jury decide.
Mr.
Foreman, have the members of the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
What is your verdict? On the sole count, obscenity in the Third Degree, we find the defendant, Joseph Paul Poletti, guilty.
Motion to set aside verdict.
Denied.
Remand continued until sentencing.
Nice snow job.
Well, I knew I had him when juror number six asked me to stop reading one page into it.
It's a misdemeanor.
One year max.
There's no statute of limitations on murder.
That year is what I've just bought you to find the head.
What are you doing here? Homework.
Come here, you sick little freak.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Criminology 101, Detective.
If you're gonna break the law, you don't want witnesses around.
You think you're real cute, don't you? Twenty-three cheerleaders can't be wrong.
I know where you live, I know where you learn, and I know where you bury your kill.
You get used to my face, 'cause you're gonna be seeing it every time you turn around.
Don't lose your head, Detective, you're having enough trouble finding one.
That's good.
We found your whole stash.
You think? There never is just one stash.
We gave up too easily.
We didn't find Poletti's real stash.
Go back through that house over every scrap of paper, pull up his financials, dig up the backyard.
I want every key he owns matched to a lock, every lock accounted for.
Poletti's stolen van.
Jackpot.
Joey's little reading room.
His own Yankee Stadium.
Not here.
I think we got blood stains.
It's blood, all right.
So match it to Tilden.
That's problematic.
Why? Because of the cell-surface antigens.
It's canine blood.
He tracked it in here from work.
We lost him again.
Have a little faith.
I got his travel itinerary off his tires.
South Jersey, above bedrock, is unconsolidated marine sand.
Atlantic City.
He already told us that.
Did he mention something about a skid mark along the way? Or a sharp U-y? How do you know that? I found microscopic fragments of glass beads and of yellow and white reflective paint.
Glass beads could be any stretch of road, but the paint Yellow and white together could be a hill or a sharp curve.
The outer depositional strata of dirt says he then pulled off of the paved road.
We got a heavy buildup of soil inside a wheel well and inside the bumper.
He spun his tire in the mud.
I got shoeprints inside the van, the same consistency.
So he got out of the van to dump the head, and then he floored it out of there.
Do we have a clue as to where "there" is? Some place with a high level of soil contamination.
What kind? Chemical byproducts.
X - ray fluorescence spectrometer will give us the exact composition.
You're saying it's near a chemical plant.
What, with levels this high, I say he practically stopped on top of one's drainage ditch.
Think you got enough red up there? Garden State, my ass.
I guess "Chemical Capital of the World" didn't have the same zing to it.
Well, let's narrow it down to the ones along his route.
From the crime scene to AC.
Now we've confirmed that he made it all the way down there? He was there.
He didn't get a room, but he gambled until 5:00 in the morning.
He pulled on his first one-armed bandit at 12:52.
Which fits the window.
Has him leaving Manhattan between 10:00 and 11:00.
How do we know the times? Well, we spoke to the casino.
He uses a player's card.
Just missed winning the free Wayne Newton tickets.
Okay.
So from the crime scene, he jumps on the West Side Highway.
Finds his way over the Manhattan Bridge down to the BQE.
On and off to ditch the hands but not the head? Well, CSU measured.
Head was too big to fit through the sewer grate.
Right, so he continues down over the Verrazano Bridge, maybe a quick stop at home? Tossed the house.
Nothing there.
All right, then he continues on over the outer bridge, and it is a straight shot down the parkway.
Easy access to about eight plants.
Mercury.
The soil contained absurdly high levels of mercury.
We're looking for a mercury plant? No, no.
Plants use mercury as a cathode.
A current is passed through electrolytic cells to decompose salt brine.
The end product being? Chlorine and sodium hydroxide.
How many plants are there in Jersey that produce that? Hold on.
I also found a low pH level.
It might also produce hydrochloric acid.
Ramone, how many plants we talking? Just one.
IDJ Chemicals.
It's right in Toms River.
Halfway down.
Right off the Parkway.
They're giving up.
There's still one diver down there.
You know how cold that water is? They were supposed to be up They'll find it.
They found Poletti's tire tracks.
Doesn't mean a thing without that head.
Clothing, knife, anything.
Come back out tomorrow.
You find anything? Big party spot.
We got beer cans, couple hundred cigarette butts.
A bra that's been here about two years and an earring.
Let me see that.
Elliot.
What do you want? Nothing.
I just came by to gloat.
Yeah? Don't over-excite yourself.
I can do a year standing on my head.
What the hell is that? It's a little doggie earring.
Eighteen karats.
You don't recognize that? That's funny, because we found it where you dumped Pam Tilden's head.
You can't prove it's hers.
It was made especially for her to commemorate five years on the force.
Doesn't mean jack.
It's got her DNA on it and a three-point match to your thumbprint.
That year you're doing on your head, add 25 more and choke on it.
No, it's a sloop.
I've been pricing them.
Union win some monumental hike in rookie pay I didn't hear about? Hey, never too soon to plan for retirement.
Retirement? What makes you think you pass the six-month review? Sir, everything all right? I need to see your marina pass.
We got a runner.
Oh! Hey! Stop! Police! Pick up on a suspicious male fleeing on foot inside Riverside Park.
Hey, get back here! Stop! Oh, damn it.
On the ground! Face down, hands on the back of your head.
Hey, Josh, can you help me here? I got him.
Yeah.
I got something over here, too.
We got IDs? No wallet on the guy.
Woman was stripped naked, no sign of her clothes.
They were sexually positioned after death.
This rock our weapon? We don't know where that fits in.
We're looking for a knife.
Blitz attack or they put up a fight? Defensive wounds on the guy.
The woman, we can't say.
Hands are missing.
So is the head.
We're searching the area, ma'am.
Officer Dorsey.
Like I was telling your partner, our collar might look good for it.
Tossed a bag in the water.
Big enough to hold the missing parts.
My partner's got him in our car.
He talking? We called in for an interpreter.
I speak a little Spanish and French.
I can Mirandize in three others.
What is he? Deaf.
You have the right to an attorney.
You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you free of charge.
It's also on this card.
Do you understand your rights, Scotty? I'm deaf, not dumb.
I don't need a lawyer.
I didn't do anything.
Well, good.
What were you doing on the docks? I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk.
You always run from police when you go on your walks? AII I saw was the light they blinded me with.
I was scared, so I ran.
So fast that you dropped your bag in the river.
It was weighing me down.
Well, body parts can get heavy.
So what happened here? I had nothing to do with this.
I don't know what you're trying to pull.
I am not involved with this.
So what was in your bag? We recovered the duffel bag downstream.
With the head and hands? Stolen goods.
Two high-end laptops and some jewelry.
From? A burgled houseboat.
Right about where they first spotted Scotty.
Plenty of prints.
We're running them now.
Boat by any chance missing its owners? Both alive and pissed.
They didn't take out extended warranties on the computers.
How's it going? It's not adding up.
There's no way he came out of that bloodbath without a drop on him.
What's on his rap sheet? Larceny, marijuana possession.
No assaults.
What do you want to do? Hand him off to burglary.
But let's check around the deaf community, see if he's missing any enemies.
Or a girlfriend.
Where are we with missing persons? Having trouble filling in the blanks like height, hair color, eye color.
That was probably the point.
No fingerprints or dental records.
Why hers, not his? Perp's connection was to her.
Maybe he has a sexual fetishism.
Kemper had a whole closet full of heads.
No hands.
Cannibalism? No, you'd go for the fleshier parts.
All right, all right.
Enough theories, I want facts.
The more we know about the victims, the clearer motive becomes.
Male was in his mid 50s.
Female in her early 40s.
Aside from her obvious head and hand wounds, both suffered deep, jagged stab wounds to the midsection.
What kind of knife we talking? Major-duty hunting with a sharp, 8- inch serrated blade.
Got a nasty head laceration.
We got a bloody rock.
No.
I found embedded tree bark.
Might have been hit with a hefty branch.
Results in from the rape kit? Spermicide.
But his pants were open, had lipstick on him.
So she was doing the male victim, perp happened upon them, killed him, took his place, killed her when he was done.
He's got a wedding ring.
This a married couple? Trust me, married couples don't have sex in parks.
Maybe he picked up a pro.
I don't find too many working girls who make it to 40 without any evidence of cervical dysplasia.
Mistress? They didn't party together.
John Doe here had a blood alcohol level of.
17.
She didn't have a trace.
Opposites attract.
Any hit on his prints? No.
But pacemaker companies are required to keep records on all patients.
As much as I'd like to help out, Celadyne Industries puts great stock in our customers' right to privacy.
And yet you spend so much less on R and D than your competitors.
FDA had a little problem with that, didn't they? That was a voluntary recall.
Celadyne's L wires had a tendency to fracture mid-pulse, piercing recipients through the heart.
That's just wrong.
We have since made significant design improvements to our dual-chamber pulse generators, but we can only do so much.
We can't make people take their meds or refrain from risky behaviors.
Our guy got himself stabbed.
That's hardly a product malfunction.
Can't rule it out as a contributing factor without a special inquiry.
Edward Boggs.
Mrs.
Boggs, when was the last time you saw your husband? When he was leaving for work.
What time was that? 4:00.
He works the night shift.
Do you know why he would have been in Riverside Park between 7:00 and 10:00? No.
That doesn't make sense.
No.
He worked at the reclamation plant on Randall's Island.
We're still trying to piece together all the details.
He did, however, have a high level of alcohol in his blood.
That's impossible.
Edward doesn't drink anymore.
Mrs.
Boggs, was your husband having an affair? No.
Why would you ask that? Another victim was also found in the park.
A woman.
A woman? She's good.
She's in shock.
Housewife.
Completely dependent.
Suspects he's cheating, follows him, catches him in the act, see ya.
You really think meek Mindy here could blitz attack two people? You don't need pecs to hire a killer.
Find out what else Ed lied to the missus about.
Recanvass the park, bars, liquor stores, anything within staggering distance.
Yeah.
I know him.
Whiskey, straight up.
Been in every night the last two weeks.
He friendly with any of the customers? Not until Thursday.
Then he hooks up with one of the regulars.
You know her name? His.
Vinnie.
Scum.
What'd they talk about? Women.
Vinnie was all, "Bitches this, bitches that," every time I walk by.
They leave together? After the game, about 9:00.
Anything else? I got ice cubes melting.
Trouble at home, stress at the job.
Ed goes out to the bars to unwind and rag on the old lady.
Enter Vinnie.
They start pounding them back, stories get heated.
We've been looking at Ed as only a victim.
Maybe he and Vinnie run into the woman on the street and wolf-pack her.
Ed's down for the rape but not the murder.
He freaks, Vinnie takes him out.
Hey, you got a Vinnie up there.
Is that our guy? Yeah, chronic loser.
Does he play the weekly pool, too? Never picks more than three winners a week.
My labrador does better than that.
Today's his lucky day.
You know, this is entrapment.
I'm a victim of a sting operation.
I'm here under False pretenses? False arrest.
Hey, man, you're not even under arrest, yet, so why don't you just settle down and tell us about your friend Ed? Hey, screw you.
I can screw you harder.
See, we have this handy little law enforcement tool that allows us to throw suspicious people like you in jail for 24 hours.
So why don't we try this again? Look, I got this job.
I can't mess up, all right? They're gonna fire me if I don't show.
So tell us about your night with Ed.
We had a conversation.
Is that a crime? It depends.
What did you two talk about? Bitches.
Guy had this female boss.
Real ball-buster, you know? And about two weeks ago, fires his ass for no reason whatsoever.
That must have pissed him off.
He was crying in his whiskey when I found him.
So you join him and you stoke up the fires there? I spent the better part of the night reinflating the guy's gonads.
Now he wants revenge, so you two start talking about bitches to take it out on.
He didn't even have the stones to go home and tell his old lady he'd been fired.
Pretended to go to work every day.
That's why he was loading up on liquid courage, to go home and confess.
But you had a different plan.
Yeah, another bar.
You know, pick up some broads.
But he turned me down flat, so we parted company.
Now, where would this have been? Riverside.
Where I caught a taxi.
Which way did Ed go? Ed went into the park.
Nature called.
Female victim was attacked here, dragged over to this spot where she's butchered.
She's then sexually positioned with the male victim who bled out right here.
One perp, two victims.
Look at this.
Now, I'm no park ranger, but since when did trees bleed red sap? ME found bark in Ed's forehead.
Footprints are pointing toward the tree.
Run a urine analysis on that bark.
I bet you'd find Ed's DNA about waist high.
Vinnie said that nature called.
So he had no connection whatsoever to the female victim? Okay, new theory.
Perp rapes her, starts dismemberment.
He hears a twig snap.
Sneaks up behind Ed, smashes his head into the trunk right there.
No witness.
Explains why his pants were open.
Wait a minute.
The ME said he found the female victim's lipstick on Boggs.
Perp's screwing with us.
He staged that relationship to throw us off track.
Benson.
Yeah, right.
Sewer worker in Brooklyn just found the remains of a hand.
You mind slipping this on? Why? I need it to hold form.
Thumbs have to be similar in size, or we'll get distorted results.
Too manly.
It's been through hell and back.
Submerged for at least 20 hours, after which rats made a picnic out of it.
I'll run her through the system.
Let's just hope she's an ex-con, teacher or otherwise bonded.
I passed the poly.
Get him out of here.
What, no apology? We got a hit on the thumbprint.
Who? Special Agent Pam Tilden.
FBI? MFPCA.
Manhattan's Humane Law Enforcement.
The dog police.
Yeah, she investigated people who tortured and abused animals.
Future wife beaters, child abusers.
And serial killers.
You think Pam knew her killer? Lengths taken to hide her identity, it's a good bet.
Was she having any trouble in her personal life? Not that I know of.
Boyfriend? Pam was married to the job.
Here she is.
She was with us seven years.
She worked out in the field? There are five million animals in this city and just fourteen of us.
We all work the field.
She work on any case recently that might have put her at risk? We don't carry firearms for the fashion statement.
You never know what's on the other side of the door.
We're gonna need a copy of those case files.
Well, who do we sweat first, granny with 65 cats or the SoHo poodle poisoner? Well, here's the last case she closed.
This guy Jake moves into his father's basement with his new bride, Missy.
Father walks in on them on their wedding night.
How is that animal cruelty? Missy's a German shepherd.
That's perfectly legal in 26 states.
Jake argued it wasn't bestiality, where the animal is often hurt, but zoophilia, which is a loving, life commitment.
Unfortunately, we're not looking for zoo couples.
You got anything a little further up the violence scale there? Crush video operation.
Films contain shots of small creatures.
Frogs, hamsters, baby bunnies and whatnot.
A woman's stiletto-heeled foot enters frame Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I can't hear that stuff.
Well, that goes in the good pile.
Arson at those stables in Brooklyn.
Twenty-one horses were killed.
Dog-fighting ring.
Now you're talking gangs.
That'll be right there with Tilden's most violent perps.
You know how they train those dogs to fight? They starve them, beat them, and then they collect strays to use as sparring partners.
Come fight night, big money changes hands and only one dog comes out alive.
MFPCA removed those dogs, right? Ten pit bulls.
Brought in gang intel to shut down the operation.
Was there payback? Kennel was vandalized two days later.
They broke in here, graffitied the place with gang symbols.
Why didn't you mention that before? It was an isolated incident months ago.
And between drug busts and assorted felonies, the gang's been pretty much decimated.
Hey, pooch.
Well, hey there.
I can always spot an animal lover.
Pam used to spend her downtime in here.
It doesn't surprise me she went to that park after dark, not if she thought there was a hurt animal in there.
All these animals were abused? Mmm-hmm.
Or neglected.
They're all up for adoption if you're interested.
Did you talk with Agent Tilden? Sure.
She ever mention anyone causing trouble, threatening her, something like that? Yeah, the kid who did this one.
Hey, Slinky.
Hi.
What did he do to her? Poured paint thinner on her tail, and set it on fire.
Wanted to see what she would do.
How old the kid? Old enough to know better.
Fifteen, sixteen, maybe.
And he threatened Agent Tilden? Said whenever she ran into him upstairs, he'd cuss her out.
What was he doing here? That's the court's big punishment.
Ten sessions on the couch with our company shrink.
Yeah.
It's a pilot program.
Court-mandated counseling for animal abusers.
Instead of jail time.
Do you know the incarceration rate for cruelty convictions? About zero.
It's a misdemeanor.
$45, few hours of community service.
Not much of a deterrent.
No, but at least with this program, they are forced to address their actions.
Talk about them.
Now, this kid who torched the cat.
Harry Baker.
What does he talk about? If Harry had made any direct threats, I would have notified the police and the person at risk.
And when you say, "Direct threats"? Harry has aggression issues.
He had a positive tox screen at birth, cocaine.
Makes for a hyperactive kid.
Ritalin was recommended in the first grade.
Harry refused.
Well, didn't his mother insist? His mother couldn't afford daycare, so she'd take him to work with her to her strip club.
There was a lot of disciplinary problems for him early in school.
Dumped in Special Ed? No.
Gifted program.
Refocused, he'd have great potential.
But right now he does present as predatory.
All right.
All right.
Well, thank you.
Thanks anyway.
You owe me.
Harry Baker's file.
For what? There's nothing here.
I asked for transcripts.
On a juvie? You're lucky I got his pre-sentencing report.
Probation Officer recommended intensive supervision based on Agent Tilden's suspicion of numerous unadjudicated prior offenses.
What do you suppose those were? Lord knows.
Any way we can find out? Shaheen.
I have a fact-finding in who took a baseball bat to his grandmother, and my witness is in the wind.
You know, we never rescheduled that lunch.
From a year ago? What do you want, Alex? You prosecuted the Harry Baker case.
Cat flambe boy.
He was only fifteen, so you know those records are sealed.
But your memory isn't.
A lot of these cases are a cry for help.
You uncover the dad's abusing the mom, the mom in turn abuses the kid.
The kid completes the cycle by abusing the only member of the family more vulnerable, the pet.
Right.
But I didn't find any history of physical abuse with Harry.
What did you find? About a dozen other animals that had turned up dead and mutilated in his neighborhood.
Could you link any of them to Harry? Closest we came was a girl he had the hots for.
Let me guess, she spurned his advances? She went into a deli, left her dog tied up outside, comes back out, and it's gone.
Could be a coincidence.
It turned up on her stoop the next morning.
Dead? Decapitated.
Where was your son Thursday night between the hours of 7:00 and 10:00? In his bedroom, reading, like always.
Were you here all night? Sure.
I had company.
Is this where you sleep? Yeah, I'm having the penthouse painted.
This Harry's room? The beads.
Pretty hard not to overhear company.
Yeah, or walk in on them.
So, what's this all about anyway? How long has Harry been killing animals? He would never do that.
He set a cat on fire.
People say these things about him, but they're just jealous because their own kids aren't as gifted.
He pled guilty.
He's misunderstood.
In science class, he gets an A-plus because he is so good at dissecting frogs.
He's just really curious about the biology stuff.
Right.
You mind if we take a little peek in his room? He's got nothing to hide.
Tidy.
Could use a splash of color.
Oh, there you are.
Blood-red wasn't what I had in mind.
Fire escape right outside the window.
Yeah, how hard would it be to sneak out while Mom's entertaining? No smell.
No nooks and crannies big enough to stash a head.
Check out this library? True crime, police procedure, every book ever written on serial killers.
All in alphabetical order.
You looking for something? Harry.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
It's about Pam, right? That really bites.
Pam? Officer Tilden.
We were kind of tight.
She arrested you, testified against you, even threw you into counseling.
Yeah.
You the type to hold a grudge? I've been known to, but Pam was cool.
I read her death was totally whack.
Course, they They never publish all the details.
Any you can give me? No.
Any you can give us? What do you mean? Well, you got Pathology of Homicide, Death Investigator's Handbook, Seems like your interests run pretty dark.
My shrink says I have an aggressive orientation to the world.
Something about a predatory drive.
Says if I don't re-channel it, I could I could wind up What'd she say A cop.
Well, we also heard that you have experience with surveillance.
Girl in your class, Carey Thorne? I broke her heart.
By killing her dog? No, by ending our relationship.
Not to sound egotistical or anything, but I drive the girls a little crazy.
It was horrible.
He was always calling, following me around.
I'd go to the movies or the ice rink, there he was.
He ever threaten you? He used to leave these creepy letters in my locker.
I was scared for my life.
Describe creepy.
Like, he's living only for me.
He dreamed we died in a car crash together.
Or, if he can't have me, nobody can.
You still have any of these letters? God, no.
I burned them.
Did you notify the police? They talked to Harry.
He turned on the charm, got his friends to lie for him.
Suddenly, at school, I'm the nutcase.
Your friends seen any of these letters? They were like, "What's your problem? He's so cute.
" We need to get Harry off the street, but we're gonna need your help.
You don't get it.
AII I did was turn him down for a date, and he killed my dog.
I'm not messing with Harry.
Could you at least steer us toward someone who would? Phillip.
Oh, Phillip.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.
Now, what have we here? This door appears to be locked, but do you see legs? No, must not be here.
Cooking spray.
Now, what do you suppose he thinks is gonna get stuck? Come on out, Phil.
What do you guys want? Lowdown on your buddy, Harry.
We're not tight anymore.
Let me guess, you're missing a pet? Dude's obsessed with death.
And it's one thing to hate cats, but Harry went super freak.
Anything involving a hunting knife? Where does he keep it? How should I know? See.
You're burning out too many brain cells.
Affects your memory.
Maybe we should give his principal and parents the 411 on his little huffing habit.
All right.
He's got this place in Central Park.
It's private, so he can be alone with his collection.
Collection of what? Skulls.
The kid told us that Harry's been slicing and dicing furry things for years.
You got a fix on him, yet? Yeah.
He's a sadistic sociopath.
He likes to take his time, draw out the pain.
He gets off on the control and the domination.
During the torture, he feels no empathy, and when it's over, he feels no remorse.
Okay, but what I don't get is this.
His burial ground is here.
Why lure Agent Tilden to Riverside Park? Look at this.
Open it up.
Harry's heads.
Looks like there's about a dozen in there.
They're small.
My guess is cats and dogs.
Big.
I'd say hunting.
Get this to the lab.
Anything human in there? No.
I don't understand why we're here.
They think I killed two people.
That's ridiculous.
Harry's a good boy.
He gets straight A's.
Well, he also gets his kicks playing with the heads of animals he's butchered.
That's not true.
Harry? Take a pill, Mom.
I'm not gonna listen to these lies.
It's just an interrogation technique.
Now they've got you good and riled, and it's time for Q and A.
First, they'd wanna know if I'm a bed wetter.
This is all about the accident with the cat.
That gave them fire setting and animal abuse.
Throw in enuresis and I fit the triad of sociopathy.
Three childhood indicators of a future serial killer.
So, did he wet his bed? Can we go now? Harry, animal torture, that's the biggie.
That's true.
I mean, look at all the major leaguers.
As a kid, Jeffrey Dahmer used to impale dogs and frogs and cats on sticks.
Albert Desalvo, the alleged Boston Strangler.
He used to take dogs and cats and put them in crates and then shoot arrows through the slats.
And little Teddy Bundy, I mean, he killed more than his share.
As did As did Son of Sam.
Andrew Cunanan.
Most of your high school shooters like Kip Kinkel I mean, the list goes on and on and on Stop it! That is one cold kid.
No conscience, no regard for others, and yet superficially charming, manipulative.
And an expert on everything, whether he did it or not.
Mrs.
Baker needs a break.
She's waived Harry's Miranda.
Let's get you some coffee.
This kid knows all the tricks.
Any suggestions? His ego is too inflated not to instruct and inform.
Get him to talk about it hypothetically, third person.
We've got your knife, kid.
It's only a matter of time before they find the victims' blood on it.
Look, if it was me, I would have cleaned it very thoroughly, but it wasn't me.
Okay.
Well, then, who was it? Sorry, I can't help you there.
Wow, all those books, you can't put together a simple profile? Caucasian male.
Late 30s, early 40s.
Menial job.
Lives alone.
How'd he do it? He was already in the park.
He was waiting in the shadows.
It took her a while to find it, but he didn't mind.
The hunt's the most exciting part.
Took her a while to find what? The injured animal.
If he knew her, that's what he used as bait.
I mean, why else would she go? Why her? Maybe she rejected his advances.
So he lures her to the park, then what? He takes her to a private place where he can be alone with her a while.
'Cause he owns her now.
He owns her body, her soul.
And now he can do whatever he wants.
Agent Tilden was in prime physical condition.
She carried a gun.
I don't see how he could've overpowered her.
She never saw him.
She was preoccupied.
She was bent over the animal and it was a blitz attack.
What did he use? Something handy.
Like a rock.
Was that detail ever released? No.
Could be a lucky guess.
I don't care if it's a psychic vision, it's enough to book him.
Just finished processing Harry.
He actually hit on the mug shot photographer.
We get the lab results back for the knife? Clean.
What's Cragen doing here this late? Running us ragged.
LUDs finally came back from Tilden's cell.
Her last call came in at 6:37 p.
m.
from MFPCA.
Dispatch said that her last call came in at 5:30.
Didn't come from dispatch.
We traced it to a phone down in the kennels.
Finally finished running all their employees.
Only one popped up in the system.
Who? Joe Poletti.
We talked to him.
He's a dog walker.
And a seven-time rapist.
Detectives.
In there, Poletti.
Hey, that's the guy from the kennel, right? Is he the one who did it? What are we doing with him? Cutting him loose.
Let's do this again real soon.
Count on it.
I was in Atlantic City.
Left right after work.
I hit a royal.
Joey, you called Agent Tilden from the kennel at 6:37 p.
m.
It wasn't me.
A lot of people have access to that phone.
How'd you get down to AC? My van.
He's got a van.
Yeah, they all do.
Don't tell me, you just had it detailed.
It's funny you should say 'cause I was about to, but someone swiped it.
Joe, can you breathe without Iying? You file a police report? No.
Can I do that here? Don't worry, we're gonna find that van for you.
Does anyone down at the "M" know your past? Hmm? It never came up.
It should've on your job application.
You should know that's a violation, the number of times you've been on parole.
Took your first rape collar at 18.
Got lucky with that one.
Probation.
That's ancient history.
Oh, history has a way of repeating itself.
You did three years for the rape of Coral Jividen.
She was my girlfriend.
She was 14 years old.
You're out, what, two weeks before you start your string.
Five break-in rapes all at knifepoint.
I don't have those feelings anymore.
That'd make you the first I've come across.
I got help.
I never missed a session while I was in.
I finished the program after I got out, three years ago.
Three years of that pressure building.
Pam Tilden was at that kennel every single day and you try to fight those urges, but they kept getting stronger and stronger.
The walls you build up crumble.
You pick up right where you left off.
Okay, I was sick back then.
But, tell me, how many of those people I killed? Huh? None.
That's why you did twelve years.
Living victims, living witnesses.
You didn't wanna go back, and that's why you killed Pam Tilden and Ed Boggs.
No.
That's why you cut off her head and hands, so she couldn't be linked to you.
No! I'm rehabilitated.
Please tell me there's a head in there.
We tore Poletti's house apart.
This is all we could find.
His pleasure chest.
Victoria's Secret catalogs, strip club flyers.
Personal ads from New York Magazine, Called a few 900 numbers.
Sex chats are on his no-no list.
Yeah, but we want him for murder, not some pissant parole violation.
You want him off the street or what? We're getting him on what we can.
Pretty gray area stuff.
I doubt a hearing officer will even go for it.
I'll take anything at this point.
What will it get him? Whatever he still owes on his parole.
Three weeks, two days.
There you go, now there's justice.
Three weeks for a double murder.
This is plenty of time for him to rest up and find his next attack.
Or catch up on his writing.
Prolific little bastard.
About twenty short stories of wall-to-wall rape torture.
Anything in there a thinly veiled Tilden/Boggs confession? No, but a rave review from one of his old offender program buddies.
He sent them to another sex offender? "Joe, last batch was your best, yet.
"Jumper cables to the girls' goodies finished me off.
"Send extra copies of the next one.
They're a big hit with the guys.
" Let me see those.
They're his private thoughts.
That's funny, I saw them in print.
People v, Kirkpatrick found mere possession of obscene material without dissemination is not subject to prosecution.
He mailed more than six copies of his story, meeting the presumption of dissemination.
He sent them to friends.
Fellow sex offenders.
Don't you see what the A.
D.
A.
is doing? She couldn't substantiate murder charges against my client, so she's shooting blind, seeing what sticks.
I do not take a serial rapist's graphically violent writings about the torture of women and children lightly.
This is back door, and you know it.
Your client opened that door.
Save it for the ethics board, Miss Conrad.
I'm only here to decide whether the charge tracks under the statute.
The obscenity statute is overly broad and void for its vagueness.
It encompasses everything and nothing.
In the venerable words of Justice Potter Stewart, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.
" Two words, First Amendment.
The Supreme Court has come down on the side of limiting free speech when the need to protect the public is of overriding importance.
I'm inclined to think you're over-reaching on this one, Miss Cabot, but I'm going to let a jury decide.
Mr.
Foreman, have the members of the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
What is your verdict? On the sole count, obscenity in the Third Degree, we find the defendant, Joseph Paul Poletti, guilty.
Motion to set aside verdict.
Denied.
Remand continued until sentencing.
Nice snow job.
Well, I knew I had him when juror number six asked me to stop reading one page into it.
It's a misdemeanor.
One year max.
There's no statute of limitations on murder.
That year is what I've just bought you to find the head.
What are you doing here? Homework.
Come here, you sick little freak.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Criminology 101, Detective.
If you're gonna break the law, you don't want witnesses around.
You think you're real cute, don't you? Twenty-three cheerleaders can't be wrong.
I know where you live, I know where you learn, and I know where you bury your kill.
You get used to my face, 'cause you're gonna be seeing it every time you turn around.
Don't lose your head, Detective, you're having enough trouble finding one.
That's good.
We found your whole stash.
You think? There never is just one stash.
We gave up too easily.
We didn't find Poletti's real stash.
Go back through that house over every scrap of paper, pull up his financials, dig up the backyard.
I want every key he owns matched to a lock, every lock accounted for.
Poletti's stolen van.
Jackpot.
Joey's little reading room.
His own Yankee Stadium.
Not here.
I think we got blood stains.
It's blood, all right.
So match it to Tilden.
That's problematic.
Why? Because of the cell-surface antigens.
It's canine blood.
He tracked it in here from work.
We lost him again.
Have a little faith.
I got his travel itinerary off his tires.
South Jersey, above bedrock, is unconsolidated marine sand.
Atlantic City.
He already told us that.
Did he mention something about a skid mark along the way? Or a sharp U-y? How do you know that? I found microscopic fragments of glass beads and of yellow and white reflective paint.
Glass beads could be any stretch of road, but the paint Yellow and white together could be a hill or a sharp curve.
The outer depositional strata of dirt says he then pulled off of the paved road.
We got a heavy buildup of soil inside a wheel well and inside the bumper.
He spun his tire in the mud.
I got shoeprints inside the van, the same consistency.
So he got out of the van to dump the head, and then he floored it out of there.
Do we have a clue as to where "there" is? Some place with a high level of soil contamination.
What kind? Chemical byproducts.
X - ray fluorescence spectrometer will give us the exact composition.
You're saying it's near a chemical plant.
What, with levels this high, I say he practically stopped on top of one's drainage ditch.
Think you got enough red up there? Garden State, my ass.
I guess "Chemical Capital of the World" didn't have the same zing to it.
Well, let's narrow it down to the ones along his route.
From the crime scene to AC.
Now we've confirmed that he made it all the way down there? He was there.
He didn't get a room, but he gambled until 5:00 in the morning.
He pulled on his first one-armed bandit at 12:52.
Which fits the window.
Has him leaving Manhattan between 10:00 and 11:00.
How do we know the times? Well, we spoke to the casino.
He uses a player's card.
Just missed winning the free Wayne Newton tickets.
Okay.
So from the crime scene, he jumps on the West Side Highway.
Finds his way over the Manhattan Bridge down to the BQE.
On and off to ditch the hands but not the head? Well, CSU measured.
Head was too big to fit through the sewer grate.
Right, so he continues down over the Verrazano Bridge, maybe a quick stop at home? Tossed the house.
Nothing there.
All right, then he continues on over the outer bridge, and it is a straight shot down the parkway.
Easy access to about eight plants.
Mercury.
The soil contained absurdly high levels of mercury.
We're looking for a mercury plant? No, no.
Plants use mercury as a cathode.
A current is passed through electrolytic cells to decompose salt brine.
The end product being? Chlorine and sodium hydroxide.
How many plants are there in Jersey that produce that? Hold on.
I also found a low pH level.
It might also produce hydrochloric acid.
Ramone, how many plants we talking? Just one.
IDJ Chemicals.
It's right in Toms River.
Halfway down.
Right off the Parkway.
They're giving up.
There's still one diver down there.
You know how cold that water is? They were supposed to be up They'll find it.
They found Poletti's tire tracks.
Doesn't mean a thing without that head.
Clothing, knife, anything.
Come back out tomorrow.
You find anything? Big party spot.
We got beer cans, couple hundred cigarette butts.
A bra that's been here about two years and an earring.
Let me see that.
Elliot.
What do you want? Nothing.
I just came by to gloat.
Yeah? Don't over-excite yourself.
I can do a year standing on my head.
What the hell is that? It's a little doggie earring.
Eighteen karats.
You don't recognize that? That's funny, because we found it where you dumped Pam Tilden's head.
You can't prove it's hers.
It was made especially for her to commemorate five years on the force.
Doesn't mean jack.
It's got her DNA on it and a three-point match to your thumbprint.
That year you're doing on your head, add 25 more and choke on it.