Homicide: Life on the Street s07e08 Episode Script

Just one more kiss she'll have to miss This night with you Now you're guilty of this secret love Yeah.
'He called to tell me he's working late.
He has a report due.
' OK.
I'll get back to you.
Feeling sorry when she cries Now that the strings aren't attached you catch on We've done our part And this is the way we make a broken heart There are moments when I actually begin to believe it.
- Believe what? - We work for God.
This is the way This is the way This is the way We make a broken heart - Want some advice? Don't look.
- I have to know.
You know without looking.
Tired? No sleep does that to me.
It's not enough we worked last night.
You had to phone first thing today.
I need marathon overtime.
Lots of holiday shopping.
Don't get me anything.
I hate having to buy everyone a present.
But as a gift to yourself, get a new suit.
- I've seen that one all week.
- It's my lucky suit.
You are the reason Baltimore gets no publicity.
LAPD? GQ named them best-dressed cop shop in the country.
- GQ? Who reads GQ? - My point exactly.
Hey, Deutch.
What have you got for us? Newborn baby, found buried in the woods over there.
Here's the delivery room.
The manager said a couple checked in last night, checked out six this morning.
The sheets and towels were piled in a heap in the closet.
- Lab took them in for processing.
- Looks like they tried to clean up.
Anyone see or hear anything? The maid Vanessa Warren saw a kid walk across the parking lot this morning.
What about the other motel guests? No one checks out till we get statements.
- Who found the baby? - Reuben Stone, lives nearby.
He was walking his dog.
It started barking at the grave site.
Going crazy.
Mr Stone saw it was freshly dug, called 911.
The body's in a shallow grave.
Whoever buried it used their hands to scoop dirt.
What can you tell us? Full-term infant male.
Very recently delivered.
No evidence of trauma or injury.
- Born alive? - I can't say at this point.
The body is hardly wiped off.
The umbilical cord is torn.
Whoever did this has no idea how to deliver a baby.
How long for the autopsy? Give me a few hours.
Dead baby outside a motel.
Didn't the same thing happen up in Jersey? That one was murdered.
This could have been a stillbirth.
Stillborn or not, you do what's right.
Give the baby a proper burial.
I'll take Reuben Stone.
You want the maid? Sure.
I'm good with maids.
You saw someone come out of room 35 this morning? I was loading my cleaning cart.
I heard voices.
- Did you hear anything? - I couldn't say for sure.
I thought they were leaving so I looked down the hall.
A boy came out of room 35 and went around back behind the motel.
Didn't seem to be checking out so I went back to the cart.
- Was the boy carrying anything? - I think he was holding a towel.
Thanks.
What time did you find the grave site, Mr Stone? Early.
Around 6:30.
I thought Ginger would wake everyone up in the hotel.
Did you see anyone in the woods or parking lot? - There was no one else around.
- You sure? At 6:30 in the morning? You can see everything.
I remember the couple that checked into room 35.
Why's that? Aside from them being so young, the boy, he wanted to pay in cash.
He signed in.
Name, address, phone number, all fake.
- How do you know that? - Without a credit card, he needed ID.
All of a sudden, that was a problem.
He and the girl left.
I could see them from outside my office window arguing.
- Five minutes later, they came back.
- He pay with a card? No.
She did.
- Debra Straub.
- That's her billing address on the card.
She didn't look pregnant.
- Hey, Kellerman.
- Rene? How you doin'? - Good.
- You still work in Fugitive Squad? No, I transferred to your old stomping ground, Homicide.
- You didn't hear? - I haven't been keeping in touch.
- What are you doing these days? - Working as a PI.
- Got my license a few months ago.
- How's that? I'm my own boss.
An honest day's work, mostly tracking down the dishonest.
- Cheating hearts? - Can I buy you a BLT? Just grabbed a takeout.
I'm on shift.
Some other time.
- You tell me when.
- Not doing anything tonight.
- Pearl's? 8:30? - Great.
- Bye, sweetie.
- See you tonight.
- Excuse me.
- Yes? - I'm Detective Falsone.
This is Stivers.
- We're looking for a Debra Straub.
Debbie's our daughter.
Something wrong? You know where Debra was last night? In bed.
We'd gone out for the evening, came in around ten.
- I checked on her myself.
- What is this about? We've reason to believe your daughter used her credit card to pay for a motel.
That's impossible.
There's evidence whoever stayed in that room gave birth.
They found a newborn baby buried near the motel this morning.
That can't be Debbie.
She wasn't at a motel and she's not pregnant.
- Where is she now? - At school.
- She left around 7:30.
- Does your daughter have a boyfriend? No.
Is it possible she was dating someone you don't know? She was seeing a boy at high school, but that's over.
- What's his name? - Craig.
Craig Halpern.
- Is it possible she saw Craig last night? - No.
We told Debbie they were getting too serious.
- She agreed.
- This is obviously some mistake.
Her credit card was stolen or one of her classmates used it and forged her name.
Debbie, honey.
Why aren't you in school? I don't feel well.
These are police officers.
They have questions.
Your card might have been stolen.
Can you tell us where you were last night, Debbie? Yeah.
I was here, I was at home.
Is this your signature? No.
No, it's not.
You loan your credit card to one of your friends? - Are you all right? - I'm fine.
What's the matter? God, she's bleeding.
- Where's the phone? - In there.
Sweetheart, what is it? You're saying Debra Straub recently gave birth? Yeah, as recently as a few hours ago.
The girl's lucky she got to the hospital.
She could have haemorrhaged to death.
- How's she doing now? - Stable but I want to keep her overnight.
- Can we talk to her? - Yeah, she's lucid.
It shouldn't be a problem.
You didn't know your daughter was pregnant? We had no idea.
You could have come to me.
We found your baby, Debbie.
You need to tell us what happened.
You went into labour last night? Yeah.
You decided to go to a motel.
Craig did.
He said if we went to a hospital, they'd call our parents.
- Craig is the father? - Yeah.
My water broke around midnight.
I called Craig.
He came to pick me up and we went to the motel.
Why didn't you ask for help? I knew you'd be mad at me, Mum.
What happened with the baby? Well, it hurt so much.
I was pushing and pushing and And finally it came and it was dead.
Then what happened? Well, we didn't know what to do.
We were both really scared and I was so tired.
So Craig put it in a towel and he took it away.
He didn't tell me what he did with it.
She's exhausted.
You've heard what happened.
It was a tragic incident.
They used poor judgment but it's certainly not a crime.
We still have a few more questions.
Maybe you can come back another time.
We will.
Where's the newspaper, Munch? - He's not buying the paper any more.
- John Munch without a newspaper? That's like a drug dealer without a pager.
I read the sports section until it became like the classifieds.
Who's traded, who's fired, new versus used.
Entertainment's actually business, and the front page is entertainment! So what are you saying? From now on, all the news I care about is here, the FOP bulletin.
Everything.
Tidbits about fraternal brothers, safety tips, cooking recipes.
You're gonna have to start buying that paper yourself.
- Falsone buy his own paper? - What have we got on the baby case? We tracked down the mother, Debra Straub, all of 16.
Went to a motel, had the baby which she says was stillborn.
- Buried it behind the motel.
- What did the autopsy say? - Waiting on the report.
- Boyfriend? Craig Halpern, Dundalk delinquent.
Trespassing, loitering, disturbing peace.
Dundalk's this way.
Why are you still here? Excuse me.
- Are you Craig Halpern? - Yeah.
I'm Detective Falsone, this is Detective Stivers.
We need to talk about a baby buried behind a motel.
- I don't know about a baby.
- We talked to Debbie.
Your girlfriend's in the hospital.
She almost died.
- She's all right? - She will be.
I was hoping she'd go to the damn hospital.
She said we'd be OK if we handled it ourselves.
Sure as hell know jack about childbirth.
- I heard the baby does the work.
- You helped to deliver? As much as I could.
But the baby was born dead, anyway.
So you took the body behind the motel and dumped it like trash.
No.
It wasn't like that.
I buried him.
I said a prayer.
The ME's calling.
We need to talk to you later, Craig.
Gonna be around? I should go over to see Debbie.
Her parents are with her.
You think they're gonna be happy to see you? You gonna be here? We need to talk to you later.
Yeah.
The first time I've had to issue a birth and death certificate simultaneously.
"Manner of death, homicide.
" Kid said stillborn.
How'd you come up with that? I administered a water test.
Filled a tub, placed the lungs in the water.
They floated.
His lungs were inflated.
That child took a breath.
- Could the death have been accidental? - There were haemorrhages in his eyes.
Death was caused by asphyxiation.
I'm ruling this a homicide.
Baby Doe was suffocated.
That baby was no Doe.
He had parents, two of them.
Did the boyfriend give you anything? He told the same story Debbie did.
Claimed the baby was stillborn.
- What do you think, Gee? - Let's bring them both in.
I'd always heard that Homicide was a real tight bunch but everybody's been great, treated me like one of the guys.
- Who have you been partnering? - Bayliss, Lewis.
Not Lewis the last couple of weeks.
He was in a car accident.
Hit the windshield.
- Is he all right? - He's fine.
Back at work.
- The guy's got a hard head.
- Yeah.
Ever worked with Falsone? Not just him and me, no.
Know anything about his baby case? You, um ask me out for a friendly beer to pump me about Falsone's case? OK, that was totally out of line.
I'm sorry.
- Yeah.
- No, I asked you out to have a beer.
You're right.
Can we start over? - Please? - What about you, Kellerman? - What? - You miss being a detective? There is something to be said for being your own boss.
Not playing duck and cover with department brass.
Rules, regulations.
My father spent his entire life kissing someone else's ass.
Running my own agency, I make up the rules as I go.
Any fool can kiss ass, but it takes an Irishman to make a living kissing his own.
To cops and mopes, shysters and skells, this city can rot.
- And I'll still get paid.
- Pogue mahone, eh? Pogue mahone.
Debbie was in a lot of pain but once the baby came out, she felt better.
What if she wasn't better? Would you have taken her to the hospital? Of course.
But she was OK.
But the baby, it wasn't OK.
He.
He wasn't OK.
- He wasn't breathing.
- No.
- You're not a doctor.
- I checked.
I put my face up to his mouth.
There was no breath.
Ok, and then what did you do? Um he was still attached to the the cord.
I tore it.
I thought that had something to do with him not breathing.
- Then what? - I checked again.
He was dead.
We know the baby wasn't born dead.
It's a medical fact.
An indisputable medical fact.
You killed your own baby.
No, I didn't.
You could have gone to the hospital, called the police, asked for help.
You'd have done it for Debbie but not your own child? Debbie's here.
She's looking to protect herself.
- She'll probably say you killed the baby.
- She wouldn't.
She's not worried about anyone but herself.
- She loves me.
- She loves her parents more.
We wanted to go over a few details of the baby's death with Debbie.
- If we can stay in the room with her.
- That's fine.
I want you to hear everything she says.
According to you, your baby was born dead.
Is that right? - How did you know that? - Well, it wasn't moving and it was blue all over and not breathing.
Did you try to resuscitate him? Or did you and Craig do something to stop your son from breathing? What are you accusing my daughter of? We have forensic evidence the infant was born alive, that he took a breath.
Someone deliberately murdered that baby.
This conversation is over.
I advise my client not to say anything further.
Dead babies make for thick headlines.
My office is already deluged with media enquiries.
I've got three calls each from Barnfather and Gaffney.
We'll have trouble going for first-degree murder.
If these two stick to their story that the baby was stillborn, we'll have two kids take the stand to say they thought the baby wasn't breathing.
- It's tough to prove intent.
- How do they explain the burial? - They were scared.
- It's still manslaughter.
- Manslaughter is possible.
- The took a life that was minutes old.
I'm not gonna be satisfied with manslaughter either.
We could turn the heat up on them, take the evidence to the grand jury and subpoena both kids to testify.
They're homicide suspects.
Any lawyer they get'll tell them to take the Fifth.
Dragging their teenage butts into the courthouse will shake them up.
I don't know who's more guilty, the young mother or the young father.
We still have a few interviews.
Maybe we'll get something.
Do it.
Falsone? Hey, look who it is.
- What brings you back? Nostalgia? - Business with you.
Mm.
I see.
- Come on.
Give me a minute.
- About? Your baby case.
I want to look at the file.
Why? I've been hired by the attorney representing the Straubs.
They want me to prove Debbie's innocence.
Are you sure she is innocent? She was in the same room as Craig Halpern.
Why don't you give me the file? I'll sort out the facts.
I'm sorry.
I don't know if I should share information on the case file.
Fine.
I'll ask Gee.
Ha.
Kellerman.
Wouldn't have recognised the room without you in it.
Everything's still the same, packaging's a little different.
What can I do for you? I was hoping I could check out the Straub/Halpern folder.
Why is that? I'm doing some PI work.
I've been hired by Debbie Straub's team.
For the victim's family, I don't see why it would be a problem but I don't think I can give you that kind of access for a homicide suspect.
Danvers thinks he can get first-degree? You know Danvers.
There's barely evidence for involuntary manslaughter.
Lieutenant? Barnfather's on 1.
- I gotta take this.
Excuse me a minute? - You got it.
Sorry we can't be more accommodating but it is a murder case.
I'll check out the crime scene.
There is no crime scene.
Nothing to check out.
It's no longer there.
- Hate for you to waste your time.
- Thanks for your concern.
Hey, Stivers! Stivers, Falsone.
In my office.
There's someone running behind you on this who's worked Homicide and knows our ins and outs.
Cover your arses, cover your leads.
Don't give Kellerman any information.
- Do I make myself clear? - Yes.
And don't come back here without proof that one or both those kids are guilty.
Now get outta here.
Well, that was strange.
I didn't know what to say.
He has balls for days to walk in here like nothing happened.
He's doing private investigator work now.
Kellerman PI.
Sleazy profession, you ask me.
The unit's empty.
There are red cases on each and every one of your names.
Less talk and more work, Detectives.
My name's Mike Kellerman.
Private investigator, huh? Jeez, I've had a platoon of Balto PD and Sun paper reporters.
This won't help my rating in the Michelin.
Where was the baby found? Woods out back.
- I'm just gonna walk around, OK? - Sure.
Just don't bother the guests.
People come here for privacy, if you know what I'm saying.
Yeah.
- Excuse me.
- What do you need? - It's about room 35.
- Everything is about room 35.
- Are you a reporter? - I work for the girl with the baby.
I told the cops everything.
A boy came out of room 35 carrying something.
He walked out back behind the motel.
Been a long day? Get off soon? Maybe I could buy you a drink.
I wish.
The crap yesterday put me so behind I haven't finished a regular shift.
The manager's on me to "Clean up room 35, clean up room 35!" All he wanted was to rent it ASAP.
If you think of anything, give me a call.
The girl's young, scared.
I'd hate her to get blamed for something she didn't do.
Wait.
I just thought of something.
I didn't want to tell the police this, but yesterday, before the boy left the room, I heard a girl's voice.
- What did she say? - I think it was "Give it to me.
" I wasn't sure so I didn't tell the cops.
I didn't want them to hold me to it.
I understand.
Thanks.
You've been a big help.
The stadium police kicked Craig out of Camden Yards for being disorderly.
He's done a lot of things I'm not proud of.
But this is too much, even for Craig.
- What about his girlfriend? - Debbie? When they met, Craig was getting into all kinds of trouble.
She calmed him down.
She's a good influence.
Did Craig ever tell you that Debbie was pregnant? No.
I wish he had.
Debbie must have been afraid to tell her parents so he followed her lead.
If she's a good influence and he follows her lead, if she had killed the baby, would he have gone along with her? I don't believe Debbie could do what you're accusing her of.
What about Craig? I can't see my son doing anything to an innocent child.
I can't.
That baby was my grandchild.
Did anyone in school know Debbie was pregnant? I saw her last week getting changed.
It was kind of obvious but she never said anything.
- Not to anyone? - I'm her best friend.
When she started going with Craig, we didn't talk any more.
She dropped everyone the minute she had a boyfriend.
Did they talk about her pregnancy or discuss any plans for the future? No.
They've both been in sort of a haze.
I think they thought it would go away, like as long as they were in love, nothing could happen.
- So Craig was in love with Debbie? - He was totally in love with her.
- Totally in love? - Yeah.
He carried her books.
Always saying how beautiful she was.
It was sick.
- Craig was obsessed with Debbie? - They were obsessed with each other.
It was like no one else could come between them.
Did he keep you from socialising with her? Well, yeah.
I think he was jealous.
- He was jealous of the baby? - Yeah.
He probably was.
I just never thought he'd go as far as killing it.
Did you hear him say anything like that? Well, no But we never heard him say he wanted the baby, either.
I just don't think this kid Craig is guilty.
He was scared, confused.
But I don't think he could have murdered his child.
He buried the baby, said a prayer, for God's sakes.
Then who's responsible? The girl? Just because her parents can afford a slew of lawyers and Mike Kellerman PI, doesn't mean she's guilty.
She dragged this guy round by the nose.
What, so the woman's always in charge of any relationship? Absolutely.
Ah How very Italian of you.
Take us, for example.
I acknowledge the fact you're completely in charge.
Oh.
Really? So all I have to do is curl up my finger and you'll come running? Is that it? Just like that? Just like that.
What do you know? It works.
- Lewis.
- Kellerman.
- What are you doing here? - Waitin' on your slow arse.
How long did you think they'd let you park down here? As long as Gibbs is in charge, I can always get a space.
Not all my old friends have forgotten me.
Ain't no forgetting you, Mikey.
So how you been? Huh? How's the PI business? I'm doin' great.
How about you? How's the bar? It sucks up every last free dollar of mine.
Why don't you buy me a drink? Contribute to the Save Meldrick fund.
I'm staying out of Fells Point watering holes.
After I turned in my badge, I fell off too many bar stools.
Then I realised I've got a skill that gets you paid in this town.
- Defence work, mostly? - A little of everything.
Of course, there's more cheating spouses in this town than Kodak film.
Yeah, well I guess I'd better let you go.
There's something I wanted to tell you.
- I'm all ears.
- I need to thank you.
- For what? - In the box.
Not giving me your gun.
I did a complete investigation from crime scene to character witnesses.
Craig was seen carrying the body behind the motel.
A maid thought she heard Debbie asking for the baby.
Her friends didn't think Craig was good for her, but it doesn't prove he was responsible.
- There's no way Debbie did it.
- You know that.
To the state's attorney, she looks as guilty as Craig.
They might not have enough for first degree, but they'll go for manslaughter.
If you want your daughter to avoid being prosecuted, she's gonna have to make a deal.
We need Debbie to testify that Craig committed the crime.
- What if she won't do that? - I've done ten years in law enforcement, three of those in Homicide.
A baby's been killed.
Danvers, the prosecutor, he wants a conviction.
- She's gotta talk.
- She said she won't.
She could be guilty of manslaughter.
Even if it was an accident, she could be looking at serious prison time.
- We didn't want to scare her.
- Trust me.
Scare her.
You're a cop.
Tell her about going to jail.
Can't you scare her a little? Please try.
She's in the back yard.
- You work for my parents, right? - No, I work for you.
Yeah, right.
Do you know what's gonna happen to you and Craig? Everyone keeps making a big deal out of this.
We didn't do anything wrong.
Your baby was murdered.
When I first found out I was pregnant, Craig and I talked about going to a clinic and getting an abortion.
Why didn't you? I don't know.
It seemed too hard.
My parents would have found out somehow.
What did you think was gonna happen? I don't know.
I gotta tell you what's gonna happen now.
- Very likely you and Craig go to prison.
- That's not fair.
Prosecutor doesn't think it was fair that a dead infant was buried behind a motel.
So if you didn't touch the baby, if it was Craig, you have to tell the police.
Craig didn't do anything.
So was it you? Maybe you thought it was dead.
Put it in a towel, accidentally smothered it.
Or is that what Craig did? That would make more sense to me.
You'd just given birth.
I don't know if you would have had the physical strength.
Craig took the baby.
You asked him to give it back but he didn't.
- I love Craig.
- You love Craig? You're not gonna be able to see him for ten years or ever again.
You get out of prison, you could be almost 30 years old.
You're gonna turn 18 behind bars, then 21, then 25.
Your whole life as a young woman is gonna be over.
I don't care.
I love him and he loves me.
Your parents don't let you talk to him.
How do you know what he's thinking? Maybe he thinks you've given up on him.
No.
He knows.
I can get a message to him any time I want.
Oh, yeah? How do you do that? Craig's probably working out his own deal with the police.
He'll say you killed it.
He'll get probation, you'll be charged with murder.
You get convicted, you'll go to prison until you're an old lady.
If you protect him now, you're just hurting yourself.
We protect each other.
That's what love is.
What else have we found out about our young parents? Nothing to suggest any intent to kill a newborn.
It's time to raise the stakes.
Let's take what we do have to the grand jury.
Cause of death, birth scene, physical evidence, they both lied when first interviewed.
I've got a strong case for manslaughter.
I'll get indictments.
Maybe with a charge against them, someone'll be ready to deal.
- Try them as adults? - Definitely.
And I'll ask for higher bail.
If these two get a sense of what adult detention is like, they might just crack.
And what if they don't? Then a couple of defence attorneys will kick me around the courtroom.
Ladies and gentlemen, you may begin your questions.
Is it possible that someone else, a third party, may have suffocated the baby? From the answers given by the defendants, the baby was with one or both of them from birth till the body was buried.
The only footprints in the area were from Craig Halpern, the defendant, and Reuben Stone, who found the grave and then called the police.
Could the dirt from the burial have suffocated the baby? There was no dirt in the infant's mouth or throat.
Is it possible they buried the child without realising it was still alive? I'm a pathologist.
I can't speculate what might have been in their minds.
The jury returned with indictments on both defendants.
Manslaughter.
The arraignments will follow downstairs.
We got the indictments.
Now let's hope somebody gets scared and decides to make a deal.
They want someone to strike a deal with the state attorney's office.
- There's a lot to be said for jail.
- It's insane.
She's 16 years old.
Charged as an adult, she could get 10 years.
But if she gets a taste of being locked up now, she'll see there's nothing romantic about prison.
I won't let her sit in jail.
She's my daughter.
Do what's best for Debbie.
You wanna save her life, don't bail her out.
You are charged with one count of manslaughter.
Is an attorney present? Public Defender Nellis present for Craig Halpern.
Debra, you are also charged with manslaughter.
Do you have an attorney? Donald Wayland for the defence of Miss Straub.
I'm going to place bond at $1 million.
Can anyone post this for you? No, Your Honour.
What about you, Miss Straub? No, Your Honour.
You will be taken into custody now.
Court is adjourned.
Debbie.
Debbie.
Sweetheart? Don't touch me! You're hurting me! Kellerman, I know what you're doing.
Letting the girl sit in jail.
Trying to railroad her into giving up the boy.
- Debbie's innocent.
- How have you proved that? We're not allowed to share information, remember? I'm doing my job.
You work for the dollar, I work for justice.
You've been a cop too long to believe that.
You made some wrong choices in Homicide.
Hope you don't as a PI.
- You don't know anything about me.
- I know enough.
- I'll see you around.
- You bet you will.
You can count on it.
Son of a bitch.
Craig Halpern didn't kill that baby.
- How do you know that? - He said "He", not "It", like a thing.
"He", like a son.
But Debbie, to her that baby wasn't even a person.
I'm gonna prove that she killed that child.
And I'd give up forever to touch you Cos I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't wanna go home right now And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life And sooner or later it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight And I don't want the world to see me Cos I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming Or the moment of truth in your lies When everything feels like the movies Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive And I don't want the world to see me Can I make a phone call, please? Can I please make a phone call? I just want you to know who I am It's me.
Mummy, Daddy, I want out.
Just just get me out of here.
I'm gonna tell you everything that happened.
Craig killed the baby.
Craig was the one that murdered it.