Law & Order (1990) s14e17 Episode Script
Hands Free
In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups the police, who investigate crime, and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
How many times have I told you, put it where you can find it? What are pockets for? Now I'm not sure if I had them with me.
Yeah, you had it.
Ah, Mom, it stinks in here! Of course it stinks.
It's garbage.
Now dig.
I'm so over curry! You're gonna be grounded for life if it's up to your father.
You know how he hates it when you lose things.
Hey, Mom, look at this.
Oh, my God! That's a hand.
Okay, just drop it, drop it! Now! Eww.
! Come on.
! He was looking for his what? His braces.
They're plastic nowadays, removable.
He find them? Not yet.
He did, however, find a hand.
Just one? They usually come in pairs.
Hey, the restaurant said that they put their garbage out at 10:00 last night right after they closed.
It was supposed to be picked up this morning, but the carting company didn't show up.
So the hand could've been dumped on the pile anytime in the last 22 hours.
Detectives? Found this in a Dumpster on Fourth Street.
Oh, God, don't tell me.
I'm guessing those two belong to each other.
Look, I need you to get some help.
I want you to check every trash can, Dumpster and garbage bag between First and Second Avenue, from Houston to St.
Mark's.
You kidding me? Do I look like I'm kidding? We're looking at an African-American or Latino male, about 50, 5'9"to 5'11", Dismembered postmortem.
Amputation was done using a very sharp utensil.
Blood was drained before the body parts were wrapped.
Sounds like a neat freak.
Yeah, meticulous, to say the least.
Cause of death? No head, no heart, no way to tell.
Time of death? Given the cold weather, I'd say roughly 24 hours before the first pieces were found.
Absence of rodent feeding makes me think they were in the garbage no more than a couple of hours.
The victim had arthritis.
Both knees had arthroscopic surgery.
And I'm betting he used a cane.
Palm of his right hand is callused.
Dr.
Rodgers, you brought your A-game today.
You got a home address for us too? No, but smell his hand.
Menthol.
Mentholated propylene glycol.
Propa-what? It's hand sanitizer.
There's a mentholated version for people with arthritis.
He used some shortly before his death.
Here we have the contents of the garbage bag from Sixth Street, where the first hand was found.
That's from the Fourth Street Dumpster, the Fifth Street garbage and the garbage can from St.
Mark's Place and Second Avenue, which covers everything we've found so far.
And? The people from St.
Mark's Place eat too much Thai takeout.
Okay.
You're not in the mood.
The bags that held body parts were all one brand Tough Boy, five gallon.
Not one of your major brands, but one other Tough Boy bag was found in the Fourth Street Dumpster, full of nothing but ordinary household garbage.
But it could be the victim's or the killer's.
Or some third party who just happened to use the same brand trash bag.
You get any usable prints? Nope.
Just smears.
Runner's Digest.
Our guy used a cane.
Anybody can dream.
Somebody cut out page 35.
And somebody liked fruit, a lot.
I like fruit.
Yeah, but when you buy it, where do you go? Supermarket? Heaven forbid.
Fruit stand.
So if this is the victim's garbage With his knees, he probably shopped close to home.
There's a whole lot of fruit stands in the East Village.
What the hell.
Maybe I can pick up a couple of Granny Smiths.
Tell ya what more than once I thought about crackin'that numbskull over the head with that friggin'cane ofhis.
What a pain in the culo.
Guy gets one bad apple, tells me I should give him a dozen free.
Hey, you know his name? He's a customer, not a bowling buddy.
Why? Something happen to him? What makes you say that? - Wishful thinking.
- Do you know where he lives? Ever deliver groceries to him? This is not a full-service fruit stand, Detectives.
Strictly cash and carry.
Hey, is that hand sanitizer? Antibacterial.
Flu season.
I can't take a chance.
Won't help.
The flu's a virus.
I haven't had so much as a sniffle in two years.
It's like taking antibiotics for a cold.
It's a scam.
Aah! You sell this stuff? - At Maxon's-Around-The-Corner.
- Around the corner where? That's the name of it.
Maxon's-Around-The-Corner.
Sure.
I know Roger.
Why? You know where we can find him? He lives in the nabe.
Ay, in here all the time.
He's like dandruff.
You can't get rid of him.
Roger have a last name? Obnoxious? Like it's my fault the price of coffee went up.
Hey, does Roger Obnoxious ever pay with a credit card or a check? We don't take credit cards, and we definitely don't take checks from guys like Roger.
Do you carry Runner's Digest? Magazines are in the back by the pet food.
How'd you know? - How'd he know what? - Roger bought a copy of Runner's Digest.
Did you remember that 'cause Roger got bad knees? I remember that 'cause Roger never bought anything but skin mags.
Okay, we're looking for a crotchety who walks with a limp, uses a cane and likes to look at dirty pictures.
And who's training for the marathon.
Hmm? Page 35, the one that was cut out.
Somehow I don't think this guy's a marathon man.
What's on the other side? There you go.
What, the ad? I don't think a guy with bad knees who complains about the price of coffee is gonna be looking at $300 running shoes.
- Not the shoes.
The dude in the shoes.
- Now you're telling me he's got a crush on this guy? What about the girlie magazines? Maybe he swings both ways.
Great.
So now we're looking for a bisexual 50-year-old pain in the ass who walks with a limp, carries a cane and whistles Dixie as he walks down the highway.
His name's Roger Barry.
Haven't seen him in 10 years.
And you're right.
He's not a runner.
He's a boxer.
Oh, yeah? What name did he fight under? Dad.
Daddy dearest.
The old man.
Roger's your father.
My mom finally got tired of being his punching bag and split, took me with her.
Haven't seen him since.
If you haven't been in touch with him all these years, how'd he find out about your picture in the magazine? Called me up out of the blue.
Said he wanted to know how I turned out.
So I told him about the ad.
Let him eat his heart out for a change.
You got an address for your father? That much forgive and forget I was definitely not interested in.
- What's this all about? He in trouble? - We're just trying to find him, that's all.
Sorry.
You got a phone number? Told me he didn't have one.
Must've called me from a pay phone.
What'd your dad do after he hung up the gloves? Longshoreman.
Thanks.
The union must've had to send his pension checks someplace.
Mr.
Barry won't like this.
Course he don't like much of anything.
Don't you need a warrant? We would if we suspected Mr.
Barry of wrongdoing.
Well, he still won't like it.
Hey, Ed.
Yeah.
Does this look like blood to you? Yep.
I'm calling C.
S.
U.
Something happen to that rat bastard in my building? Uh, it's a little too soon to tell.
Somethin' happen to him, I know some people who are gonna start celebratin'.
Well, good.
And you're gonna give me their names, aren't you? Yeah, apartment 2E.
Just go downstairs and read the buzzers.
Whole building complained about him.
C.
S.
U.
's on their way.
Who complained the loudest? Manny Esperanza down the hall.
Said Mr.
Barry was stealin' his newspapers.
Oh, yeah? Where can we find this guy? St.
Jude's Hospital.
He's an orderly.
That would give him access to things that go cut in the night.
I don't know what happened to Mr.
Barry.
I'm a medical professional.
You and Dr.
Kevorkian.
He don't work here.
Look, look, I'm on triple shifts.
I ain't even been home for the last three days.
Talk to my supervisor.
Oh, don't worry.
We will.
Why you bustin' my chops? Everybody in the building hated his guts.
Ask his girlfriend.
She's gonna say that everybody hated him? She'll tell you the thing with the newspapers? He started it.
Course she's deaf.
She couldn't hear what kind of nonsense was coming out of his big mouth.
What an unpleasant personality.
This girlfriend have a name? Jennifer something.
- Okay, do you know where she lives? - Across the hall from him.
Don't you need probable cause for a warrant? Oh, you're a judge now? I'm just sayin'.
Sorry, Irv.
This is where you get off.
Got a yearbook here.
Cedar Hill Academy.
Shelby, Shelby.
Here she is.
Jennifer Shelby.
Well, her back in high school anyway.
She graduated from Cedar Hill, class of'79.
Fancy girls' school to a crappy one-room apartment.
Maybe we should pay Cedar Hill a visit.
I think they're on the Upper East Side.
Hey, Ed.
Whoa.
You can do some serious damage with that bad boy.
Yeah, like take somebody apart joint by joint.
Looks pretty clean.
Now, wait a minute.
There's a little residue here at the handle.
Man, C.
S.
U.
Gonna get sick of comin' to this building.
I don't know her personally.
Jennifer hasn't been to any events since I've been alumni director at Cedar Hill.
Is that because she's deaf? Whatever gave you that idea? In fact, I spoke to her on the phone just last month about the annual fund.
Annual fund? Wait a minute.
TheJennifer Shelby that we're lookin' for lives in a six-story walk-up on East Fourth Street.
Are you sure you have the rightJennifer Shelby? You know what? You tell us.
This Jennifer ourJennifer lives on 63rd and Park.
She's married to Ross Teller.
The real estate mogul? That's right.
What's this all about? Are you talking to every Jennifer Shelby in New York City? How many of us can there be? This Jennifer Shelby had a copy of the Cedar Hill Academy yearbook, 1979.
You mean she's impersonating me, and her name really isn't Jennifer Shelby? That's what it looks like.
How the hell did she get a copy of the yearbook? People clean out their closets, put things on the street.
What did this person do anyway? She's a suspect in a murder investigation.
Evan Barry gave us D.
N.
A.
The dismembered body is his father, Roger Barry.
The blood that we found in Roger Barry's bathtub drain matches the blood on the knife that we found in the fake Jennifer Shelby's apartment.
All that blood belongs to? Roger Barry.
We know where he got cut up and what he got cut up with.
And the realJennifer Shelby? She's as baffled as we are.
She has no idea who this other woman is.
We got plainclothes officers sittin' on the apartment just in case she returns.
Whoever she is, she had to pay the rent.
I only met her once, when she came in to sign the lease.
Roger Barry referred her.
God, I can't believe he's dead.
Shocking! Did she put down a security deposit? Yeah, first and last months.
Cash.
I remember that.
Nice, crisp, new hundred-dollar bills.
How did she pay the rent every month? Money order.
Uh, we need copies.
Not a problem.
I hope she's not in trouble.
Hey, she's the perfect tenant.
Never complains.
Not a peep out of her.
Funny.
Just get us the money orders.
Sure, I sold these.
Jennifer Shelby.
Yeah, late 30s, early 40s, thin, brown hair, deaf.
Oh, the deaf lady.
Sure.
You seen her lately? About once a month.
Comes in here, buys one for rent, one for Con Ed.
I ain't seen her since last month.
Sorry.
All right, man.
Thanks.
Hey, wait.
My friend Jaime told me he seen her at a meeting.
What kind of meeting? You know, not A.
A.
What's the other one, for drugs? N.
A.
Narcotics Anonymous.
Yeah, that's it.
At the church.
St.
Alphonsus Liguri.
Fourth and "A.
" All right.
You know we're not allowed to talk about who's here and what goes on.
As far as last names go Believe me, I know the drill.
You a friend of Bill's? Yup, for many years.
Then you know my hands are tied.
They're gonna be in handcuffs in a minute if you don't start talking.
This woman's wanted for questioning in a murder.
Jennifer Shelby? A murder? Are we gettin' through to you now, Marty? She's been at a bunch of meetings.
She's a nice girl, far as I can tell.
She's deaf.
How'd she participate? Well, she reads lips.
Somehow she manages.
We offered to get her an interpreter, but she wasn't interested.
When was the last time she was here? Last week.
By the way, Mr.
Narcotics Anonymous, how come you know her last name? She was handing out these flyers.
She's got a painting hanging in this gallery show down the street.
She never gave me a contact number.
Sorry.
What if you sold one of her paintings? I hold the money for her till she gets in touch with me.
That's Jenny's.
It's a lot like her.
Mysterious, brooding, secretive.
I kind of like it.
I don't know if I could live with it, but My idea of modern art is LeRoy Neiman.
She signed it.
It's dated last month.
She didn't have any paints in her apartment.
Canvases, nothing.
A lot of our artists rent studio space in the Co-op on Avenue "C.
" You're in luck.
Jen's been here all day.
She's on a creative jag.
I used to have those, only I called them benders.
This is Jen's studio.
I'll let you guys be.
Would you mind unlocking the door? She's not gonna hear us knock.
Right.
I forgot.
There you go.
Thanks.
How do we get her attention? I don't wanna scare her.
Maybe she can feel vibration.
Whoa! Hey! Stop! Stop! All right, take it No! Docket number 456383, People v.
Eli Madison.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty, Your Honor.
Ms.
Southerlyn? The accused is charged with murdering his I imagine you're requesting remand.
Your turn, Mr.
Archer.
Mr.
Madison is a scion of one of New York's best-known families.
Yes, and I remember reading about him in all the papers, what was it, 10 years ago? Those accusations were false, Your Honor.
They shouldn't be taken into consideration now.
The defendant has been living under an assumed name.
To avoid the negative publicity that almost destroyed him.
Jennifer Shelby, Your Honor.
- Excuse me, counselor? - His assumed name and false identity.
He's been living as a woman, Your Honor.
Better and better.
Bail is set at two million dollars.
Defendant will surrender his passport.
Next? Is this the same Eli Madison whose wife went missing 10 years ago? The same Eli Madison Adam Schiff could never quite indict for her murder.
Why not? Because her body was never found.
Eli claimed she just walked out on him one day.
She's never been seen since.
How good a case was it? The police found traces of Caroline Madison's blood in their bedroom, evidence of a missing rug and a dryer full of freshly washed sheets.
Hmm.
That had to be quite a sight.
Eli Madison doing his own laundry.
Eli could never really account for his movements that day.
Lots of gaps and inconsistencies, and his alibi was his best friend.
And after the story broke and Madison was questioned by the police, he fled the country.
Evidence of consciousness of guilt.
It sounds pretty solid.
Lots of bits and pieces, but never quite enough.
And the Madisons had clout.
This office has tried a couple of homicides without a body, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
What about this case? We have a body.
Most of one, anyway.
Unfortunately, not the parts that would tell us cause of death.
- What are we missing? - The head, the heart.
We'll have to trust thejury to draw the obvious conclusion.
Which may not be all that obvious when it comes time to deliberate.
He's got Al Archer, who'll blow a lot of expensive smoke up the jury's skirt.
We can handle Archer and his legions of experts, Arthur.
He also churns more documents than the Land O' Lake girl churns butter.
Let him churn.
The facts don't disappear.
But they can be spun, along with a jury.
And I'd feel a lot better if we had a motive.
Well, let the churning begin.
Motion for a change of venue.
Had I known, I'd have rented a banquet hall.
Because of the nature of the case and the difficulty and the variety of the issues involved, Mr.
Madison has authorized me to retain cocounsel in his behalf.
This is Ron Gumer from Hanson Brackens.
He'll be advising on matters forensic.
Your Honor.
Madeline Myers from the Prescott firm.
She'll be dealing with the D.
N.
A.
Evidence.
Sir.
And Professor Enright, who I'm sure you know, wrote the book on venue, literally.
The more, the merrier.
I assume this is your party, Professor? Thank you, Your Honor.
As we're all aware, the critical consideration of the venue provisions is whether the defendant can get a fair trial in the community in which the crime occurred.
"Millionaire Murderer.
" "Mayflower Maniac.
" "Seven-figure Sadist.
" "Wealthy Wife Killer.
" As we can see from these headlines, a jury in this jurisdiction cannot possibly approach this case with an open mind.
- The entire jury pool has been poisoned.
- Those headlines are 10 years old.
The case at bar does not involve Caroline Madison's disappearance.
Caroline Madison's family kept her disappearance at the forefront of the city's consciousness with its very public wrongful death lawsuit against our client.
And may I remind Your Honor that that case was dismissed only after six years of litigation and publicity.
And where would you have me transfer the case, Mr.
Archer? Suffolk County would be satisfactory to the defense.
The Hamptons.
! Why not hold the trial in the lounge of Eli Madison's country club? Your Honor, any prior knowledge of Mr.
Madison's first run-in with the law can be dealt with on voir dire.
I agree, Mr.
McCoy.
Defense motion is denied.
In that case, Your Honor, I move to preclude any mention of Ms.
Madison's disappearance.
People oppose the request.
On what grounds? You just said the case at bar doesn't involve Caroline Madison's disappearance.
Those are your words, Mr.
McCoy.
He's changing the context, Your Honor.
No, Mr.
McCoy.
If it involves Ms.
Madison's disappearance, it will not be admissible in my courtroom.
I analyzed blood found in the decedent's bathroom and on the knife found in the defendant's apartment, as well as the body parts found by the police.
- How many matches did you find? - Nine.
- Have you reached a conclusion? - The D.
N.
A.
Samples are from the same individual.
The blood on the knife in Mr.
Madison's apartment, the blood in Mr.
Barry's bathtub and the body parts all the same D.
N.
A.
? Yes.
Specifically, Doctor, what analytic method did your lab use? P.
C.
R Polymerase Chain Reaction.
- That's it? - Yes.
You didn't use SNIPS? Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis.
No.
Or Short Tandem Repeat Technology? - No.
- Can I ask why? P.
C.
R.
Analysis is accurate and sufficient.
I didn't think it was necessary to verify further with additional modalities.
Well, without having conducted those additional analyses, can you testify that the results would be the same? - No, I can't, but - Nothing further.
Detective Green, I show you People's exhibit "A.
" Do you recognize it? That's the knife that we found in Jennifer Shelby's - Eli Madison's apartment.
- What did you do with it? Well, we observed some residue on the knife that looked like dried blood, so we followed standard procedure to preserve the chain of custody and protect the evidence from contamination.
And then we sent it to the lab to be analyzed.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Detective Green.
Did you do a thorough inventory of the contents of the defendant's apartment? - Yes, we did.
- And were there other knives in the defendant's kitchen? Yes.
Other sharp knives, for cooking or whatever? There was a set of knives of various sizes and a cutting board.
So was this knife, the one that you just entered into evidence, part of that set? No.
How was it different? That knife is quite a bit larger, and the handle is different.
So this knife doesn't resemble any of the other knives in the kitchen? No.
Not really.
Hmm.
I compared the incisions and markings on the flesh and bone of the decedent with the structural characteristics of the knife.
Could this particular knife have been used to cut up the body? Yes, the bone and flesh incisions are consistent with the cutting characteristics of this knife.
"Consistent with.
" That's not the same as "the same," is it? No.
This knife might have been used to dismember the body.
Yes.
But you can't be sure.
It lacks sufficient distinguishing characteristics to make a definitive identification.
Is there any way to determine whether this particular knife was used to kill Mr.
Barry? Not in this case.
The knife lacks Sufficient distinguishing characteristics.
Thank you.
Oh, by the way, Doctor, what actually did kill Mr.
Barry? Was he, in fact, stabbed to death, or shot, or bludgeoned, or did he die of natural causes? A heart attack, stroke? - The cause is unknown at this time.
- Why is that? We don't have enough of Mr.
Barry's remains to determine with medical certainty the cause of death.
When you kept Mr.
Barry company on these occasions, how were you dressed? As a woman.
As Jennifer.
He knew me as Jennifer.
So what happened the night he died? I was in Roger's apartment.
We were watching a basketball game.
I got caught up in it and yelled something in my real voice.
And Mr.
Barry? He freaked.
He realized I wasn't really deaf, that I wasn't a woman.
And why would that matter so much to him? Eli? We'd been intimate.
So you'd had sex with Roger Barry.
Yes.
And he still didn't know? I was good at putting him off in certain ways.
At deceiving him? Yes.
Hmm.
So he was upset, angry.
Furious! He hit me over and over with his cane.
He had a terrible temper.
I was fending him off, and he he made this awful gasping noise.
He dropped his cane, clutched his chest and fell down.
Then he turned blue.
I guess he had a heart attack.
I did C.
P.
R.
On him.
It seemed like hours.
But So Mr.
Barry is lying there, dead, despite your best efforts to revive him.
So what'd you do next, Eli? I panicked.
Why? I knew what the police would think! I couldn't have our relationship or my life as Jennifer Shelby exposed.
And I certainly couldn't go to prison.
I'd never survive.
So I decided to get rid of Roger's body.
So that's when you went back to your apartment to get that knife.
- That's not my knife.
- It isn't? I've never seen it before.
Besides, I didn't need one.
Roger kept a metal cutter in his closet.
So the knife that the police found in your apartment, the knife that doesn't match any of the knives in your kitchen, the knife that you say you've never seen before How did that knife come to be in your apartment? I have no idea.
- Well, how did Mr.
Barry's blood get on that knife? - I have no idea.
- I do! - Objection! Chambers, Your Honor! Accusing the prosecution of planting evidence! I didn't mean to imply you personally, Mr.
McCoy, but there is a long list of people working for the state who've wanted Mr.
Madison in prison for the past 10 years.
There is no basis in fact for these allegations.
I will strike that remark.
You can't unring the bell, Your Honor.
No, but I can issue an instruction for the jury to ignore it, Mr.
McCoy.
Mr.
Barry kept a metal cutter in his closet? He worked with his hands.
He made his own furniture.
Quite a coincidence that the knife the police found in your apartment has the same characteristics as the metal cutter they didn't find.
Do you know why they didn't find it? I tossed it into one of the Dumpsters.
I guess they didn't look hard enough.
The police also failed to find Mr.
Barry's heart, which would have proved or disproved your story about a heart attack.
I wish they had.
An autopsy would have exonerated me.
You should have thought of that before you cut up your boyfriend's body.
Objection.
! Withdrawn.
You testified that you dismembered Mr.
Barry's body because quote "You knew what the police would think.
" What were you afraid the police would think? Approach, Your Honor.
You've already ruled on this.
My client is being tried for the murder of Roger Barry.
Any mention of his missing wife is prejudicial and irrelevant.
I didn't ask Mr.
Madison about his wife's disappearance.
I asked him about his state of mind.
Your client opened the door, Mr.
Archer.
I'm gonna allow it.
What were you afraid the police would think, Mr.
Madison? That I killed him too, just like you think I killed my wife.
You still think I killed my wife, even though you know you can't prove it.
- Your Honor - Because I didn't do it! They all think I killed my wife.
! But they couldn't prove anything then, so that's why they're setting me up now.
! Move to strike.
Unresponsive.
! Stricken.
Jury will disregard the witness's last remark.
Have you reached a verdict? We have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the second degree, how do you find? We find the defendant, Eli Madison, not guilty.
Well, I told you that Archer could blow smoke.
It's like that old saying: "Who you gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes?" And they believed Archer.
Creating reasonable doubt where none exists costs money.
And what, people like Eli Madison are entitled to as much justice as they can afford? Well, at the end of the day, all we really proved was that Eli Madison cut up a body.
I'm not done with Eli Madison yet.
What do you have in mind, charging him with obstruction and tampering? No, with killing his wife.
Remember what I said about prosecuting homicides without bodies.
If all Eli Madison wanted to do was avoid being recognized, he could have grown a beard or shaved his head.
But instead he put on a wig and a dress.
It must mean something.
Pretzel? What if he is a transvestite? Then some of what he said on the stand could be true.
Maybe he really couldn't bear being found out.
And if that's why he killed Roger Barry Maybe he killed his wife for the same reason.
Say she found out his secret.
For a man like Eli Madison, living in that cloistered world of old money Better a murderer than a cross-dresser.
Exactly.
Delve as deep as you can into Eli Madison.
Let's find out how good he was at keeping his secret.
Here he is.
Eli Peter Madison.
Married Caroline Gail Thornton December 5, 1992.
Divorced herJuly 14, 1996.
Uncontested.
It's hard to contest anything when you've been misplaced.
Is that it? Did you know he was married before? No.
That would have made him He married a Diane Wharsey, also 18.
Didn't last long.
Six months.
- You happen to have an address? - Twenty-two years old.
You gotta start somewhere.
I bought it with the settlement, and I've been here ever since.
We were children.
Of course it didn't last.
Can I ask you an embarrassing question? Can I stop you? How was your sex life? Uh We thought it was great.
I mean, what do you even know at that age? Did Eli have any tendencies that weren't mainstream? Ms.
Southerlyn, maybe you oughta just stop beating around the bush and say what you mean.
Are you asking was he gay? We could start there.
I don't think he really knew one way or the other.
Now, let me ask you a question.
Why are you here? Eli was acquitted.
We're looking into the disappearance ofhis second wife.
Ah, Caroline.
The case is still open, and I was wondering if he ever talked to you about it.
He called me from Europe.
He was distraught.
He felt persecuted.
He had to come back for the trial, and Dwayne had just died.
Dwayne? Evans.
His very close friend.
Dwayne had a terrible accident.
Rock climbing or something out west.
They had just taken his deposition, and he was supposed to come back to New York to testify.
Was this Eli's alibi witness? Mmm.
Eli was beside himself.
He lost the one person who could really exonerate him.
Did you know Dwayne? A little.
He made Eli look like the poster boy for normal.
How so? Neurotic, hysterical.
You name it.
And you know, looking back? He and Eli might have been lovers.
According to Immigration, Eli Madison flew back from Europe two weeks before he testified in the civil suit.
He then flew back to Europe the day after the case was dismissed.
He beat the rap on that one too.
His friend Dwayne Evans died a week after Eli Madison came back to the States.
That was an accident.
Evans was hiking in the backcountry near Taos.
Some day-trippers found his body at the base of the cliff.
You think Madison was involved somehow? When he called Diane Wharsey to talk about it, he told her he was in Europe, but he couldn't have been.
He was already here.
She misremembers the conversation.
Why would he kill his alibi witness? Diane said that Dwayne was unstable.
Maybe Eli was worried about how he would hold up at the civil trial.
If Dwayne flip-flopped in court, Eli might lose the wrongful death suit.
Criminal trial wouldn't be far behind.
If you can put Eli Madison in Taos at the time of Dwayne Evans's death, we might be able to persuade the New Mexico medical examiner to have Evans's body exhumed.
Eleven airlines flew into Albuquerque during that time period.
Checking first class for those weeks.
No Eli Madison on any of them.
I can check coach too.
That's gonna take some time.
Yeah, well, you might as well.
Maybe he drove to Taos from Phoenix or L.
A.
Or Las Vegas.
The needle in a haystack.
What about the family jet? Isn't there a small airport in Santa Fe? I checked that already.
The Madison Gulfstream was in St.
Bart's that month.
See what you can come up with.
I'll come back later.
If you can't find anything into Albuquerque, expand your search.
Wait a minute.
TryJennifer Shelby.
AJennifer Shelby flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico three days before Dwayne Evans had his accident.
On the same day, Dwayne Evans rented a car at the Albuquerque airport and drove to Taos.
He checked into the Casa Benitez in the company of a woman who matches the description ofJennifer Shelby.
Eli Madison.
When the cops went to talk to her about Dwayne's accident, she'd split, vanished into thin air.
With Dwayne Evans dead, all that was available for either the civil suit or a possible criminal case was his deposition testimony.
Which was Eli's alibi.
Send pictures of Eli Madison in and out of drag to the Taos P.
D.
Ask them to do a photo array for the people at the inn and file charges murder two for killing Caroline Madison.
We still don't have the body.
Last I looked, killing a witness is evidence of the underlying crime.
With all the other evidence, it finally ought to be enough to get an indictment.
I'm gonna contact the authorities in New Mexico, have them exhume Dwayne Evans.
They may want to file charges of their own.
At our request, the New Mexico authorities exhumed and autopsied the remains of Dwayne Evans.
I compared D.
N.
A.
From skin taken from under Mr.
Evans's fingernails to court-ordered D.
N.
A.
Taken from the defendant.
- And what did you find? - The D.
N.
A.
Matched at 10 regions.
And from that, you're able to conclude The skin under Dwayne Evans's fingernails was Eli Madison's.
Dr.
Faruzzi, what method did you use to compare D.
N.
A.
From the several samples? P.
C.
R.
Analysis.
You didn't use Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis? R.
F.
L.
P.
? I didn't need to.
Eight years ago, if Dwayne Evans's death had not been ruled an accident, what method would the New Mexico forensic scientists have used? Eight years ago, R.
F.
L.
P.
Analysis was state-of-the-art.
And now? It's hardly used at all.
There are much more efficient and accurate methods of testing.
- Such as? - P.
C.
R.
Analysis.
No further questions, Your Honor.
We were best friends.
I needed to talk to someone.
But why go in disguise? Why visit Dwayne Evans as Jennifer Shelby? To protect Dwayne's privacy.
The police, the press wouldn't leave me alone.
Everywhere I went, following me, accusing me, taking pictures, asking stupid questions! Can you explain how your skin got under Dwayne's fingernails? Yes.
We were lovers.
Did you go hiking with Dwayne that day? No.
Ah.
So tell us what happened.
We made love early that morning.
And then Dwayne left to go hiking in the Rio Grande gorge.
He was supposed to come back by noon.
He didn't come back.
By 4:00, I was worried sick.
By 6:00 I was panic-stricken, and by 9:00 I knew something terrible had happened to him.
Why didn't you call the police? I panicked.
Because of my wife's disappearance, I knew they would have thought I had something to do with it.
Dwayne had taken the rental car.
I was stranded; I didn't know what to do.
The next morning, I caught an early bus to Colorado Springs and flew home.
So you didn't have anything to do with Dwayne's accident? Of course not.
I loved him more than anyone.
I'm sorry I wasn't there that day.
Maybe I could've helped him.
You say you could have helped him.
You don't do well under pressure.
Do you, Mr.
Madison? I don't know what you mean.
Your friend Dwayne doesn't come back from a hike.
You don't call the police, park rangers, E.
M.
S.
I explained why I didn't do any of that.
I was under a cloud.
Isn't it true that when your wife Caroline disappeared, it took you three days to report her missing? I was away with Dwayne.
I didn't even know she was gone.
Of course, Dwayne's not here to corroborate your story.
Objection! Sustained.
Withdrawn.
You didn't call the police for your friend Dwayne.
It took you three days to call the police about your wife's disappearance.
Mr.
Madison, did you call the police when your friend Roger Barry died? Approach, Your Honor.
Your Honor, Mr.
McCoy is attempting to introduce into evidence facts relating to charges that my client was recently acquitted of.
- I read the papers, Mr.
Archer.
- I'm trying to establish a pattern of behavior on Mr.
Madison's part.
Some of his behavior may be considered bizarre or inappropriate, but not admissible.
Inappropriate? He admitted cutting Mr.
Barry's body into pieces when he died.
Some of the facts, out of context, may be so gruesome, Your Honor, as to be prejudicial.
I agree, Mr.
Archer.
You may question the defendant about his failure to notify the authorities, but not about what he did subsequently.
So, Mr.
Madison, did you call the police when your friend Roger Barry died? No.
What were the circumstances of his death? - He had a heart attack.
- A heart attack? Are you a doctor? - No.
- Did you call an ambulance? No.
Why not? I thought I might be blamed for what happened to him.
Just as you thought you might be blamed for your friend Dwayne Evans's accident.
Yes.
Just as you thought you might be blamed for the disappearance of your wife, Caroline.
- Yes.
- Blamed for a disappearance, an accident and a heart attack.
The police, they were out to get me! With three dead bodies, can you blame them? Objection.
! Withdrawn.
No further questions, Your Honor.
In that case, Your Honor, the defense rests.
The People wish to call a rebuttal witness, Your Honor.
Mr.
Evans was staying at our bed and breakfast when he had his hiking accident.
- I remember him very well.
- That was eight years ago.
We never had a guest die before or since.
You don't forget something like that, believe me.
- Was he alone? - He was with a woman.
They checked in together.
Do you see that individual in the courtroom? Yes, sort of.
The defendant.
You said Mr.
Evans was with a woman.
The police showed me some pictures, and I recognized her.
Then they showed me some pictures without her wig, and it was him.
The defendant? Yes.
Did you see Mr.
Evans on the day he had his accident? I was up early fixing breakfast for the guests.
I heard a car start up.
I looked out the window, and I saw Mr.
Evans drive off.
- Was he alone? - There was someone in the car with him, on the passenger side.
Could you see who it was? It was too dark.
Did you see the defendant Miss Shelby, as you knew her at any time that day? A little after noon, I saw her get out of a car out at the road and walk down the driveway of the hotel to her room.
How did she look? She looked hot, tired and very dusty.
Did you see her again? No, the next morning I went to change the sheets in their room, and she was gone.
His stuff was still in the room, but not hers.
And then the police came.
They discovered Mr.
Evans's body.
Have you reached a verdict in the death of Caroline Madison? We have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the second degree, how do you find the defendant, Eli Madison? We find the defendant guilty.
A homicide conviction without a body.
That's the prosecutor's quadruple jump.
- I'm not gloating.
- Ah, go ahead.
You're entitled.
Guess justice isn't always for sale.
Not today anyway.
These are their stories.
How many times have I told you, put it where you can find it? What are pockets for? Now I'm not sure if I had them with me.
Yeah, you had it.
Ah, Mom, it stinks in here! Of course it stinks.
It's garbage.
Now dig.
I'm so over curry! You're gonna be grounded for life if it's up to your father.
You know how he hates it when you lose things.
Hey, Mom, look at this.
Oh, my God! That's a hand.
Okay, just drop it, drop it! Now! Eww.
! Come on.
! He was looking for his what? His braces.
They're plastic nowadays, removable.
He find them? Not yet.
He did, however, find a hand.
Just one? They usually come in pairs.
Hey, the restaurant said that they put their garbage out at 10:00 last night right after they closed.
It was supposed to be picked up this morning, but the carting company didn't show up.
So the hand could've been dumped on the pile anytime in the last 22 hours.
Detectives? Found this in a Dumpster on Fourth Street.
Oh, God, don't tell me.
I'm guessing those two belong to each other.
Look, I need you to get some help.
I want you to check every trash can, Dumpster and garbage bag between First and Second Avenue, from Houston to St.
Mark's.
You kidding me? Do I look like I'm kidding? We're looking at an African-American or Latino male, about 50, 5'9"to 5'11", Dismembered postmortem.
Amputation was done using a very sharp utensil.
Blood was drained before the body parts were wrapped.
Sounds like a neat freak.
Yeah, meticulous, to say the least.
Cause of death? No head, no heart, no way to tell.
Time of death? Given the cold weather, I'd say roughly 24 hours before the first pieces were found.
Absence of rodent feeding makes me think they were in the garbage no more than a couple of hours.
The victim had arthritis.
Both knees had arthroscopic surgery.
And I'm betting he used a cane.
Palm of his right hand is callused.
Dr.
Rodgers, you brought your A-game today.
You got a home address for us too? No, but smell his hand.
Menthol.
Mentholated propylene glycol.
Propa-what? It's hand sanitizer.
There's a mentholated version for people with arthritis.
He used some shortly before his death.
Here we have the contents of the garbage bag from Sixth Street, where the first hand was found.
That's from the Fourth Street Dumpster, the Fifth Street garbage and the garbage can from St.
Mark's Place and Second Avenue, which covers everything we've found so far.
And? The people from St.
Mark's Place eat too much Thai takeout.
Okay.
You're not in the mood.
The bags that held body parts were all one brand Tough Boy, five gallon.
Not one of your major brands, but one other Tough Boy bag was found in the Fourth Street Dumpster, full of nothing but ordinary household garbage.
But it could be the victim's or the killer's.
Or some third party who just happened to use the same brand trash bag.
You get any usable prints? Nope.
Just smears.
Runner's Digest.
Our guy used a cane.
Anybody can dream.
Somebody cut out page 35.
And somebody liked fruit, a lot.
I like fruit.
Yeah, but when you buy it, where do you go? Supermarket? Heaven forbid.
Fruit stand.
So if this is the victim's garbage With his knees, he probably shopped close to home.
There's a whole lot of fruit stands in the East Village.
What the hell.
Maybe I can pick up a couple of Granny Smiths.
Tell ya what more than once I thought about crackin'that numbskull over the head with that friggin'cane ofhis.
What a pain in the culo.
Guy gets one bad apple, tells me I should give him a dozen free.
Hey, you know his name? He's a customer, not a bowling buddy.
Why? Something happen to him? What makes you say that? - Wishful thinking.
- Do you know where he lives? Ever deliver groceries to him? This is not a full-service fruit stand, Detectives.
Strictly cash and carry.
Hey, is that hand sanitizer? Antibacterial.
Flu season.
I can't take a chance.
Won't help.
The flu's a virus.
I haven't had so much as a sniffle in two years.
It's like taking antibiotics for a cold.
It's a scam.
Aah! You sell this stuff? - At Maxon's-Around-The-Corner.
- Around the corner where? That's the name of it.
Maxon's-Around-The-Corner.
Sure.
I know Roger.
Why? You know where we can find him? He lives in the nabe.
Ay, in here all the time.
He's like dandruff.
You can't get rid of him.
Roger have a last name? Obnoxious? Like it's my fault the price of coffee went up.
Hey, does Roger Obnoxious ever pay with a credit card or a check? We don't take credit cards, and we definitely don't take checks from guys like Roger.
Do you carry Runner's Digest? Magazines are in the back by the pet food.
How'd you know? - How'd he know what? - Roger bought a copy of Runner's Digest.
Did you remember that 'cause Roger got bad knees? I remember that 'cause Roger never bought anything but skin mags.
Okay, we're looking for a crotchety who walks with a limp, uses a cane and likes to look at dirty pictures.
And who's training for the marathon.
Hmm? Page 35, the one that was cut out.
Somehow I don't think this guy's a marathon man.
What's on the other side? There you go.
What, the ad? I don't think a guy with bad knees who complains about the price of coffee is gonna be looking at $300 running shoes.
- Not the shoes.
The dude in the shoes.
- Now you're telling me he's got a crush on this guy? What about the girlie magazines? Maybe he swings both ways.
Great.
So now we're looking for a bisexual 50-year-old pain in the ass who walks with a limp, carries a cane and whistles Dixie as he walks down the highway.
His name's Roger Barry.
Haven't seen him in 10 years.
And you're right.
He's not a runner.
He's a boxer.
Oh, yeah? What name did he fight under? Dad.
Daddy dearest.
The old man.
Roger's your father.
My mom finally got tired of being his punching bag and split, took me with her.
Haven't seen him since.
If you haven't been in touch with him all these years, how'd he find out about your picture in the magazine? Called me up out of the blue.
Said he wanted to know how I turned out.
So I told him about the ad.
Let him eat his heart out for a change.
You got an address for your father? That much forgive and forget I was definitely not interested in.
- What's this all about? He in trouble? - We're just trying to find him, that's all.
Sorry.
You got a phone number? Told me he didn't have one.
Must've called me from a pay phone.
What'd your dad do after he hung up the gloves? Longshoreman.
Thanks.
The union must've had to send his pension checks someplace.
Mr.
Barry won't like this.
Course he don't like much of anything.
Don't you need a warrant? We would if we suspected Mr.
Barry of wrongdoing.
Well, he still won't like it.
Hey, Ed.
Yeah.
Does this look like blood to you? Yep.
I'm calling C.
S.
U.
Something happen to that rat bastard in my building? Uh, it's a little too soon to tell.
Somethin' happen to him, I know some people who are gonna start celebratin'.
Well, good.
And you're gonna give me their names, aren't you? Yeah, apartment 2E.
Just go downstairs and read the buzzers.
Whole building complained about him.
C.
S.
U.
's on their way.
Who complained the loudest? Manny Esperanza down the hall.
Said Mr.
Barry was stealin' his newspapers.
Oh, yeah? Where can we find this guy? St.
Jude's Hospital.
He's an orderly.
That would give him access to things that go cut in the night.
I don't know what happened to Mr.
Barry.
I'm a medical professional.
You and Dr.
Kevorkian.
He don't work here.
Look, look, I'm on triple shifts.
I ain't even been home for the last three days.
Talk to my supervisor.
Oh, don't worry.
We will.
Why you bustin' my chops? Everybody in the building hated his guts.
Ask his girlfriend.
She's gonna say that everybody hated him? She'll tell you the thing with the newspapers? He started it.
Course she's deaf.
She couldn't hear what kind of nonsense was coming out of his big mouth.
What an unpleasant personality.
This girlfriend have a name? Jennifer something.
- Okay, do you know where she lives? - Across the hall from him.
Don't you need probable cause for a warrant? Oh, you're a judge now? I'm just sayin'.
Sorry, Irv.
This is where you get off.
Got a yearbook here.
Cedar Hill Academy.
Shelby, Shelby.
Here she is.
Jennifer Shelby.
Well, her back in high school anyway.
She graduated from Cedar Hill, class of'79.
Fancy girls' school to a crappy one-room apartment.
Maybe we should pay Cedar Hill a visit.
I think they're on the Upper East Side.
Hey, Ed.
Whoa.
You can do some serious damage with that bad boy.
Yeah, like take somebody apart joint by joint.
Looks pretty clean.
Now, wait a minute.
There's a little residue here at the handle.
Man, C.
S.
U.
Gonna get sick of comin' to this building.
I don't know her personally.
Jennifer hasn't been to any events since I've been alumni director at Cedar Hill.
Is that because she's deaf? Whatever gave you that idea? In fact, I spoke to her on the phone just last month about the annual fund.
Annual fund? Wait a minute.
TheJennifer Shelby that we're lookin' for lives in a six-story walk-up on East Fourth Street.
Are you sure you have the rightJennifer Shelby? You know what? You tell us.
This Jennifer ourJennifer lives on 63rd and Park.
She's married to Ross Teller.
The real estate mogul? That's right.
What's this all about? Are you talking to every Jennifer Shelby in New York City? How many of us can there be? This Jennifer Shelby had a copy of the Cedar Hill Academy yearbook, 1979.
You mean she's impersonating me, and her name really isn't Jennifer Shelby? That's what it looks like.
How the hell did she get a copy of the yearbook? People clean out their closets, put things on the street.
What did this person do anyway? She's a suspect in a murder investigation.
Evan Barry gave us D.
N.
A.
The dismembered body is his father, Roger Barry.
The blood that we found in Roger Barry's bathtub drain matches the blood on the knife that we found in the fake Jennifer Shelby's apartment.
All that blood belongs to? Roger Barry.
We know where he got cut up and what he got cut up with.
And the realJennifer Shelby? She's as baffled as we are.
She has no idea who this other woman is.
We got plainclothes officers sittin' on the apartment just in case she returns.
Whoever she is, she had to pay the rent.
I only met her once, when she came in to sign the lease.
Roger Barry referred her.
God, I can't believe he's dead.
Shocking! Did she put down a security deposit? Yeah, first and last months.
Cash.
I remember that.
Nice, crisp, new hundred-dollar bills.
How did she pay the rent every month? Money order.
Uh, we need copies.
Not a problem.
I hope she's not in trouble.
Hey, she's the perfect tenant.
Never complains.
Not a peep out of her.
Funny.
Just get us the money orders.
Sure, I sold these.
Jennifer Shelby.
Yeah, late 30s, early 40s, thin, brown hair, deaf.
Oh, the deaf lady.
Sure.
You seen her lately? About once a month.
Comes in here, buys one for rent, one for Con Ed.
I ain't seen her since last month.
Sorry.
All right, man.
Thanks.
Hey, wait.
My friend Jaime told me he seen her at a meeting.
What kind of meeting? You know, not A.
A.
What's the other one, for drugs? N.
A.
Narcotics Anonymous.
Yeah, that's it.
At the church.
St.
Alphonsus Liguri.
Fourth and "A.
" All right.
You know we're not allowed to talk about who's here and what goes on.
As far as last names go Believe me, I know the drill.
You a friend of Bill's? Yup, for many years.
Then you know my hands are tied.
They're gonna be in handcuffs in a minute if you don't start talking.
This woman's wanted for questioning in a murder.
Jennifer Shelby? A murder? Are we gettin' through to you now, Marty? She's been at a bunch of meetings.
She's a nice girl, far as I can tell.
She's deaf.
How'd she participate? Well, she reads lips.
Somehow she manages.
We offered to get her an interpreter, but she wasn't interested.
When was the last time she was here? Last week.
By the way, Mr.
Narcotics Anonymous, how come you know her last name? She was handing out these flyers.
She's got a painting hanging in this gallery show down the street.
She never gave me a contact number.
Sorry.
What if you sold one of her paintings? I hold the money for her till she gets in touch with me.
That's Jenny's.
It's a lot like her.
Mysterious, brooding, secretive.
I kind of like it.
I don't know if I could live with it, but My idea of modern art is LeRoy Neiman.
She signed it.
It's dated last month.
She didn't have any paints in her apartment.
Canvases, nothing.
A lot of our artists rent studio space in the Co-op on Avenue "C.
" You're in luck.
Jen's been here all day.
She's on a creative jag.
I used to have those, only I called them benders.
This is Jen's studio.
I'll let you guys be.
Would you mind unlocking the door? She's not gonna hear us knock.
Right.
I forgot.
There you go.
Thanks.
How do we get her attention? I don't wanna scare her.
Maybe she can feel vibration.
Whoa! Hey! Stop! Stop! All right, take it No! Docket number 456383, People v.
Eli Madison.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty, Your Honor.
Ms.
Southerlyn? The accused is charged with murdering his I imagine you're requesting remand.
Your turn, Mr.
Archer.
Mr.
Madison is a scion of one of New York's best-known families.
Yes, and I remember reading about him in all the papers, what was it, 10 years ago? Those accusations were false, Your Honor.
They shouldn't be taken into consideration now.
The defendant has been living under an assumed name.
To avoid the negative publicity that almost destroyed him.
Jennifer Shelby, Your Honor.
- Excuse me, counselor? - His assumed name and false identity.
He's been living as a woman, Your Honor.
Better and better.
Bail is set at two million dollars.
Defendant will surrender his passport.
Next? Is this the same Eli Madison whose wife went missing 10 years ago? The same Eli Madison Adam Schiff could never quite indict for her murder.
Why not? Because her body was never found.
Eli claimed she just walked out on him one day.
She's never been seen since.
How good a case was it? The police found traces of Caroline Madison's blood in their bedroom, evidence of a missing rug and a dryer full of freshly washed sheets.
Hmm.
That had to be quite a sight.
Eli Madison doing his own laundry.
Eli could never really account for his movements that day.
Lots of gaps and inconsistencies, and his alibi was his best friend.
And after the story broke and Madison was questioned by the police, he fled the country.
Evidence of consciousness of guilt.
It sounds pretty solid.
Lots of bits and pieces, but never quite enough.
And the Madisons had clout.
This office has tried a couple of homicides without a body, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
What about this case? We have a body.
Most of one, anyway.
Unfortunately, not the parts that would tell us cause of death.
- What are we missing? - The head, the heart.
We'll have to trust thejury to draw the obvious conclusion.
Which may not be all that obvious when it comes time to deliberate.
He's got Al Archer, who'll blow a lot of expensive smoke up the jury's skirt.
We can handle Archer and his legions of experts, Arthur.
He also churns more documents than the Land O' Lake girl churns butter.
Let him churn.
The facts don't disappear.
But they can be spun, along with a jury.
And I'd feel a lot better if we had a motive.
Well, let the churning begin.
Motion for a change of venue.
Had I known, I'd have rented a banquet hall.
Because of the nature of the case and the difficulty and the variety of the issues involved, Mr.
Madison has authorized me to retain cocounsel in his behalf.
This is Ron Gumer from Hanson Brackens.
He'll be advising on matters forensic.
Your Honor.
Madeline Myers from the Prescott firm.
She'll be dealing with the D.
N.
A.
Evidence.
Sir.
And Professor Enright, who I'm sure you know, wrote the book on venue, literally.
The more, the merrier.
I assume this is your party, Professor? Thank you, Your Honor.
As we're all aware, the critical consideration of the venue provisions is whether the defendant can get a fair trial in the community in which the crime occurred.
"Millionaire Murderer.
" "Mayflower Maniac.
" "Seven-figure Sadist.
" "Wealthy Wife Killer.
" As we can see from these headlines, a jury in this jurisdiction cannot possibly approach this case with an open mind.
- The entire jury pool has been poisoned.
- Those headlines are 10 years old.
The case at bar does not involve Caroline Madison's disappearance.
Caroline Madison's family kept her disappearance at the forefront of the city's consciousness with its very public wrongful death lawsuit against our client.
And may I remind Your Honor that that case was dismissed only after six years of litigation and publicity.
And where would you have me transfer the case, Mr.
Archer? Suffolk County would be satisfactory to the defense.
The Hamptons.
! Why not hold the trial in the lounge of Eli Madison's country club? Your Honor, any prior knowledge of Mr.
Madison's first run-in with the law can be dealt with on voir dire.
I agree, Mr.
McCoy.
Defense motion is denied.
In that case, Your Honor, I move to preclude any mention of Ms.
Madison's disappearance.
People oppose the request.
On what grounds? You just said the case at bar doesn't involve Caroline Madison's disappearance.
Those are your words, Mr.
McCoy.
He's changing the context, Your Honor.
No, Mr.
McCoy.
If it involves Ms.
Madison's disappearance, it will not be admissible in my courtroom.
I analyzed blood found in the decedent's bathroom and on the knife found in the defendant's apartment, as well as the body parts found by the police.
- How many matches did you find? - Nine.
- Have you reached a conclusion? - The D.
N.
A.
Samples are from the same individual.
The blood on the knife in Mr.
Madison's apartment, the blood in Mr.
Barry's bathtub and the body parts all the same D.
N.
A.
? Yes.
Specifically, Doctor, what analytic method did your lab use? P.
C.
R Polymerase Chain Reaction.
- That's it? - Yes.
You didn't use SNIPS? Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis.
No.
Or Short Tandem Repeat Technology? - No.
- Can I ask why? P.
C.
R.
Analysis is accurate and sufficient.
I didn't think it was necessary to verify further with additional modalities.
Well, without having conducted those additional analyses, can you testify that the results would be the same? - No, I can't, but - Nothing further.
Detective Green, I show you People's exhibit "A.
" Do you recognize it? That's the knife that we found in Jennifer Shelby's - Eli Madison's apartment.
- What did you do with it? Well, we observed some residue on the knife that looked like dried blood, so we followed standard procedure to preserve the chain of custody and protect the evidence from contamination.
And then we sent it to the lab to be analyzed.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Detective Green.
Did you do a thorough inventory of the contents of the defendant's apartment? - Yes, we did.
- And were there other knives in the defendant's kitchen? Yes.
Other sharp knives, for cooking or whatever? There was a set of knives of various sizes and a cutting board.
So was this knife, the one that you just entered into evidence, part of that set? No.
How was it different? That knife is quite a bit larger, and the handle is different.
So this knife doesn't resemble any of the other knives in the kitchen? No.
Not really.
Hmm.
I compared the incisions and markings on the flesh and bone of the decedent with the structural characteristics of the knife.
Could this particular knife have been used to cut up the body? Yes, the bone and flesh incisions are consistent with the cutting characteristics of this knife.
"Consistent with.
" That's not the same as "the same," is it? No.
This knife might have been used to dismember the body.
Yes.
But you can't be sure.
It lacks sufficient distinguishing characteristics to make a definitive identification.
Is there any way to determine whether this particular knife was used to kill Mr.
Barry? Not in this case.
The knife lacks Sufficient distinguishing characteristics.
Thank you.
Oh, by the way, Doctor, what actually did kill Mr.
Barry? Was he, in fact, stabbed to death, or shot, or bludgeoned, or did he die of natural causes? A heart attack, stroke? - The cause is unknown at this time.
- Why is that? We don't have enough of Mr.
Barry's remains to determine with medical certainty the cause of death.
When you kept Mr.
Barry company on these occasions, how were you dressed? As a woman.
As Jennifer.
He knew me as Jennifer.
So what happened the night he died? I was in Roger's apartment.
We were watching a basketball game.
I got caught up in it and yelled something in my real voice.
And Mr.
Barry? He freaked.
He realized I wasn't really deaf, that I wasn't a woman.
And why would that matter so much to him? Eli? We'd been intimate.
So you'd had sex with Roger Barry.
Yes.
And he still didn't know? I was good at putting him off in certain ways.
At deceiving him? Yes.
Hmm.
So he was upset, angry.
Furious! He hit me over and over with his cane.
He had a terrible temper.
I was fending him off, and he he made this awful gasping noise.
He dropped his cane, clutched his chest and fell down.
Then he turned blue.
I guess he had a heart attack.
I did C.
P.
R.
On him.
It seemed like hours.
But So Mr.
Barry is lying there, dead, despite your best efforts to revive him.
So what'd you do next, Eli? I panicked.
Why? I knew what the police would think! I couldn't have our relationship or my life as Jennifer Shelby exposed.
And I certainly couldn't go to prison.
I'd never survive.
So I decided to get rid of Roger's body.
So that's when you went back to your apartment to get that knife.
- That's not my knife.
- It isn't? I've never seen it before.
Besides, I didn't need one.
Roger kept a metal cutter in his closet.
So the knife that the police found in your apartment, the knife that doesn't match any of the knives in your kitchen, the knife that you say you've never seen before How did that knife come to be in your apartment? I have no idea.
- Well, how did Mr.
Barry's blood get on that knife? - I have no idea.
- I do! - Objection! Chambers, Your Honor! Accusing the prosecution of planting evidence! I didn't mean to imply you personally, Mr.
McCoy, but there is a long list of people working for the state who've wanted Mr.
Madison in prison for the past 10 years.
There is no basis in fact for these allegations.
I will strike that remark.
You can't unring the bell, Your Honor.
No, but I can issue an instruction for the jury to ignore it, Mr.
McCoy.
Mr.
Barry kept a metal cutter in his closet? He worked with his hands.
He made his own furniture.
Quite a coincidence that the knife the police found in your apartment has the same characteristics as the metal cutter they didn't find.
Do you know why they didn't find it? I tossed it into one of the Dumpsters.
I guess they didn't look hard enough.
The police also failed to find Mr.
Barry's heart, which would have proved or disproved your story about a heart attack.
I wish they had.
An autopsy would have exonerated me.
You should have thought of that before you cut up your boyfriend's body.
Objection.
! Withdrawn.
You testified that you dismembered Mr.
Barry's body because quote "You knew what the police would think.
" What were you afraid the police would think? Approach, Your Honor.
You've already ruled on this.
My client is being tried for the murder of Roger Barry.
Any mention of his missing wife is prejudicial and irrelevant.
I didn't ask Mr.
Madison about his wife's disappearance.
I asked him about his state of mind.
Your client opened the door, Mr.
Archer.
I'm gonna allow it.
What were you afraid the police would think, Mr.
Madison? That I killed him too, just like you think I killed my wife.
You still think I killed my wife, even though you know you can't prove it.
- Your Honor - Because I didn't do it! They all think I killed my wife.
! But they couldn't prove anything then, so that's why they're setting me up now.
! Move to strike.
Unresponsive.
! Stricken.
Jury will disregard the witness's last remark.
Have you reached a verdict? We have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the second degree, how do you find? We find the defendant, Eli Madison, not guilty.
Well, I told you that Archer could blow smoke.
It's like that old saying: "Who you gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes?" And they believed Archer.
Creating reasonable doubt where none exists costs money.
And what, people like Eli Madison are entitled to as much justice as they can afford? Well, at the end of the day, all we really proved was that Eli Madison cut up a body.
I'm not done with Eli Madison yet.
What do you have in mind, charging him with obstruction and tampering? No, with killing his wife.
Remember what I said about prosecuting homicides without bodies.
If all Eli Madison wanted to do was avoid being recognized, he could have grown a beard or shaved his head.
But instead he put on a wig and a dress.
It must mean something.
Pretzel? What if he is a transvestite? Then some of what he said on the stand could be true.
Maybe he really couldn't bear being found out.
And if that's why he killed Roger Barry Maybe he killed his wife for the same reason.
Say she found out his secret.
For a man like Eli Madison, living in that cloistered world of old money Better a murderer than a cross-dresser.
Exactly.
Delve as deep as you can into Eli Madison.
Let's find out how good he was at keeping his secret.
Here he is.
Eli Peter Madison.
Married Caroline Gail Thornton December 5, 1992.
Divorced herJuly 14, 1996.
Uncontested.
It's hard to contest anything when you've been misplaced.
Is that it? Did you know he was married before? No.
That would have made him He married a Diane Wharsey, also 18.
Didn't last long.
Six months.
- You happen to have an address? - Twenty-two years old.
You gotta start somewhere.
I bought it with the settlement, and I've been here ever since.
We were children.
Of course it didn't last.
Can I ask you an embarrassing question? Can I stop you? How was your sex life? Uh We thought it was great.
I mean, what do you even know at that age? Did Eli have any tendencies that weren't mainstream? Ms.
Southerlyn, maybe you oughta just stop beating around the bush and say what you mean.
Are you asking was he gay? We could start there.
I don't think he really knew one way or the other.
Now, let me ask you a question.
Why are you here? Eli was acquitted.
We're looking into the disappearance ofhis second wife.
Ah, Caroline.
The case is still open, and I was wondering if he ever talked to you about it.
He called me from Europe.
He was distraught.
He felt persecuted.
He had to come back for the trial, and Dwayne had just died.
Dwayne? Evans.
His very close friend.
Dwayne had a terrible accident.
Rock climbing or something out west.
They had just taken his deposition, and he was supposed to come back to New York to testify.
Was this Eli's alibi witness? Mmm.
Eli was beside himself.
He lost the one person who could really exonerate him.
Did you know Dwayne? A little.
He made Eli look like the poster boy for normal.
How so? Neurotic, hysterical.
You name it.
And you know, looking back? He and Eli might have been lovers.
According to Immigration, Eli Madison flew back from Europe two weeks before he testified in the civil suit.
He then flew back to Europe the day after the case was dismissed.
He beat the rap on that one too.
His friend Dwayne Evans died a week after Eli Madison came back to the States.
That was an accident.
Evans was hiking in the backcountry near Taos.
Some day-trippers found his body at the base of the cliff.
You think Madison was involved somehow? When he called Diane Wharsey to talk about it, he told her he was in Europe, but he couldn't have been.
He was already here.
She misremembers the conversation.
Why would he kill his alibi witness? Diane said that Dwayne was unstable.
Maybe Eli was worried about how he would hold up at the civil trial.
If Dwayne flip-flopped in court, Eli might lose the wrongful death suit.
Criminal trial wouldn't be far behind.
If you can put Eli Madison in Taos at the time of Dwayne Evans's death, we might be able to persuade the New Mexico medical examiner to have Evans's body exhumed.
Eleven airlines flew into Albuquerque during that time period.
Checking first class for those weeks.
No Eli Madison on any of them.
I can check coach too.
That's gonna take some time.
Yeah, well, you might as well.
Maybe he drove to Taos from Phoenix or L.
A.
Or Las Vegas.
The needle in a haystack.
What about the family jet? Isn't there a small airport in Santa Fe? I checked that already.
The Madison Gulfstream was in St.
Bart's that month.
See what you can come up with.
I'll come back later.
If you can't find anything into Albuquerque, expand your search.
Wait a minute.
TryJennifer Shelby.
AJennifer Shelby flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico three days before Dwayne Evans had his accident.
On the same day, Dwayne Evans rented a car at the Albuquerque airport and drove to Taos.
He checked into the Casa Benitez in the company of a woman who matches the description ofJennifer Shelby.
Eli Madison.
When the cops went to talk to her about Dwayne's accident, she'd split, vanished into thin air.
With Dwayne Evans dead, all that was available for either the civil suit or a possible criminal case was his deposition testimony.
Which was Eli's alibi.
Send pictures of Eli Madison in and out of drag to the Taos P.
D.
Ask them to do a photo array for the people at the inn and file charges murder two for killing Caroline Madison.
We still don't have the body.
Last I looked, killing a witness is evidence of the underlying crime.
With all the other evidence, it finally ought to be enough to get an indictment.
I'm gonna contact the authorities in New Mexico, have them exhume Dwayne Evans.
They may want to file charges of their own.
At our request, the New Mexico authorities exhumed and autopsied the remains of Dwayne Evans.
I compared D.
N.
A.
From skin taken from under Mr.
Evans's fingernails to court-ordered D.
N.
A.
Taken from the defendant.
- And what did you find? - The D.
N.
A.
Matched at 10 regions.
And from that, you're able to conclude The skin under Dwayne Evans's fingernails was Eli Madison's.
Dr.
Faruzzi, what method did you use to compare D.
N.
A.
From the several samples? P.
C.
R.
Analysis.
You didn't use Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis? R.
F.
L.
P.
? I didn't need to.
Eight years ago, if Dwayne Evans's death had not been ruled an accident, what method would the New Mexico forensic scientists have used? Eight years ago, R.
F.
L.
P.
Analysis was state-of-the-art.
And now? It's hardly used at all.
There are much more efficient and accurate methods of testing.
- Such as? - P.
C.
R.
Analysis.
No further questions, Your Honor.
We were best friends.
I needed to talk to someone.
But why go in disguise? Why visit Dwayne Evans as Jennifer Shelby? To protect Dwayne's privacy.
The police, the press wouldn't leave me alone.
Everywhere I went, following me, accusing me, taking pictures, asking stupid questions! Can you explain how your skin got under Dwayne's fingernails? Yes.
We were lovers.
Did you go hiking with Dwayne that day? No.
Ah.
So tell us what happened.
We made love early that morning.
And then Dwayne left to go hiking in the Rio Grande gorge.
He was supposed to come back by noon.
He didn't come back.
By 4:00, I was worried sick.
By 6:00 I was panic-stricken, and by 9:00 I knew something terrible had happened to him.
Why didn't you call the police? I panicked.
Because of my wife's disappearance, I knew they would have thought I had something to do with it.
Dwayne had taken the rental car.
I was stranded; I didn't know what to do.
The next morning, I caught an early bus to Colorado Springs and flew home.
So you didn't have anything to do with Dwayne's accident? Of course not.
I loved him more than anyone.
I'm sorry I wasn't there that day.
Maybe I could've helped him.
You say you could have helped him.
You don't do well under pressure.
Do you, Mr.
Madison? I don't know what you mean.
Your friend Dwayne doesn't come back from a hike.
You don't call the police, park rangers, E.
M.
S.
I explained why I didn't do any of that.
I was under a cloud.
Isn't it true that when your wife Caroline disappeared, it took you three days to report her missing? I was away with Dwayne.
I didn't even know she was gone.
Of course, Dwayne's not here to corroborate your story.
Objection! Sustained.
Withdrawn.
You didn't call the police for your friend Dwayne.
It took you three days to call the police about your wife's disappearance.
Mr.
Madison, did you call the police when your friend Roger Barry died? Approach, Your Honor.
Your Honor, Mr.
McCoy is attempting to introduce into evidence facts relating to charges that my client was recently acquitted of.
- I read the papers, Mr.
Archer.
- I'm trying to establish a pattern of behavior on Mr.
Madison's part.
Some of his behavior may be considered bizarre or inappropriate, but not admissible.
Inappropriate? He admitted cutting Mr.
Barry's body into pieces when he died.
Some of the facts, out of context, may be so gruesome, Your Honor, as to be prejudicial.
I agree, Mr.
Archer.
You may question the defendant about his failure to notify the authorities, but not about what he did subsequently.
So, Mr.
Madison, did you call the police when your friend Roger Barry died? No.
What were the circumstances of his death? - He had a heart attack.
- A heart attack? Are you a doctor? - No.
- Did you call an ambulance? No.
Why not? I thought I might be blamed for what happened to him.
Just as you thought you might be blamed for your friend Dwayne Evans's accident.
Yes.
Just as you thought you might be blamed for the disappearance of your wife, Caroline.
- Yes.
- Blamed for a disappearance, an accident and a heart attack.
The police, they were out to get me! With three dead bodies, can you blame them? Objection.
! Withdrawn.
No further questions, Your Honor.
In that case, Your Honor, the defense rests.
The People wish to call a rebuttal witness, Your Honor.
Mr.
Evans was staying at our bed and breakfast when he had his hiking accident.
- I remember him very well.
- That was eight years ago.
We never had a guest die before or since.
You don't forget something like that, believe me.
- Was he alone? - He was with a woman.
They checked in together.
Do you see that individual in the courtroom? Yes, sort of.
The defendant.
You said Mr.
Evans was with a woman.
The police showed me some pictures, and I recognized her.
Then they showed me some pictures without her wig, and it was him.
The defendant? Yes.
Did you see Mr.
Evans on the day he had his accident? I was up early fixing breakfast for the guests.
I heard a car start up.
I looked out the window, and I saw Mr.
Evans drive off.
- Was he alone? - There was someone in the car with him, on the passenger side.
Could you see who it was? It was too dark.
Did you see the defendant Miss Shelby, as you knew her at any time that day? A little after noon, I saw her get out of a car out at the road and walk down the driveway of the hotel to her room.
How did she look? She looked hot, tired and very dusty.
Did you see her again? No, the next morning I went to change the sheets in their room, and she was gone.
His stuff was still in the room, but not hers.
And then the police came.
They discovered Mr.
Evans's body.
Have you reached a verdict in the death of Caroline Madison? We have.
On the sole count of the indictment, murder in the second degree, how do you find the defendant, Eli Madison? We find the defendant guilty.
A homicide conviction without a body.
That's the prosecutor's quadruple jump.
- I'm not gloating.
- Ah, go ahead.
You're entitled.
Guess justice isn't always for sale.
Not today anyway.