Law & Order (1990) s17e22 Episode Script
The Family Hour
NARRATOR: 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.
Miss Bailey, can I help you? Here, stick that person at table 21.
I'm sorry, Miss Bailey.
Table 21 is your table.
Bill Collins of The Ledger will be taking photos of the people here.
Not the losers at table 21.
Miss Bailey, I can't let you change Yes, you can.
Because I'm on the organizing committee.
Because my ex-husband co-sponsored the legislation that created the conservancy.
And because if you don't, I'm going to rip that surgical marvel you call a nose off your face and feed it to the fish in that pond.
Now, out of my way.
Nicole Bailey.
She wants to switch tables so she can get on the society page.
What some people won't do to get their picture in the paper.
Fifteen impacts and counting with penetration into her brain case.
Based on her rigor, I'm guessing it all went down between 10:00 p.
m.
and midnight.
I'm gonna hold you to that, Washington.
Matches a set inside the apartment.
The maid said the front door was locked when she got here this morning.
And there's this.
Blood.
Probably from the perp grabbing on when he hopped over.
He left the way he came.
Let's get somebody checking the access doors and the stairwells.
And, word to the wise.
Mind your P's and Q's on this one.
She's the ex-wife of an ex-senator.
Chief of D's is gonna be all over us.
Detectives? You've got to see this.
There's a foreign object in her vagina.
That looks like awooden handle, so I'm going to guess a wooden spoon.
Washington, you don't share this, or your guesses with anybody except your boss.
Okay? P's and Q's, Nina.
Struck out with the neighbors.
Nobody heard anybody on the roof last night.
Anything good? Gin.
Straight up.
Lipstick's the same shade Miss Bailey was wearing.
See this water spot here? There was a bottle there.
Now it's over here, in a million little pieces.
She threw it at her attacker.
So, he picked up the poker and came after her.
Yeah, I don't understand why she didn't use one of these knives to defend herself with.
I'm guessing there's a good reason nobody heard anybody running across the roof.
If the perp put his bloody hands down here to hop over, the blood would have smeared outward, away from us.
This blood is smeared toward us.
So the blood is planted to make it look like the perp took off across the roof.
Meaning he probably went out the front door.
He wasn't an intruder, he knew her.
She probably invited him in.
Then, he comes at her with a poker.
And then rapes her with a wooden spoon.
I can't wait to catch this guy.
Well, it implies sexual rage, jealousy.
A boyfriend.
Any draft picks? Well, the housekeeper says there's been a lot of guys since her divorce from the Senator.
TARU's working on getting Miss Bailey's phone dumps.
The only thing on tap for last night was a benefit.
New York Parks Conservancy.
Well, she might have had someone walk her down the red carpet.
Or at least, hold her up.
The housekeeper also said Miss Bailey liked her booze a little too much.
Heads up.
Senator Bailey.
I'm Lieutenant Lieutenant Van Buren.
It's good to meet you.
You must be Detectives Cassady and Green? My office said you called.
And then I heard that Please, why don't we go to my office? This way.
In my worst nightmares.
I never imagined it would end this way for Nicole.
I mean, despite all that happened between us, I only wished the best for her.
Well, we're very sorry for your loss, Senator.
When was the last time you spoke to her? Last night.
She called me at home, uh, a little after 9:00.
What did she call about? Our son, Chaz, is living with me while he goes to college.
They had a falling out and she wanted me to help mend the fences.
Where was your son last night? That's all right, Lieutenant, I know that members of the immediate family are always the prime suspects.
Chaz was at home.
With me.
ED: Do you know if Miss Bailey was alone when she called you? RANDALL: Alone? ED: Mmm-hmm.
She didn't say.
I didn't ask.
But since you bring it up, Nicole hated to be alone.
And, no doubt you will discover that she was involved in all kinds of high-risk behavior.
I managed to keep it out of the papers all these years.
And I'd like it to stay that way, if possible, for the sake of our son.
We understand.
Well, I appreciate everything you're doing.
If anything develops, I expect you to call me.
In the meantime, I'll have my lawyer get in touch with you.
All right.
That's a smart politician, he wants to put out the fires before they start.
The New York Parks Conservancy? Let's see if Miss Bailey found a cure for loneliness.
Hello.
Big smile! Lovely.
Thank you.
Of course I know who you are.
Mr.
Collins? Detectives Green and Cassady.
We need to ask you about some pictures you took last night at the Parks Conservancy dinner? Which pictures? Hello.
Big smile.
Lovely.
Thank you.
Pictures of Nicole Bailey.
I got a few of her.
Could we see them, please? As long as you're being nice about it, sure.
They're on this camera.
Use this button to scroll.
Don't touch anything else.
Hello.
Big smile.
Lovely.
ED: There she is.
Hello.
Big smile.
Thank you.
CASSADY: This looks promising.
Could be her hook-up.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) ED: Oh.
Excuse me.
Who is with Nicole in this picture? Beats me.
Someone gives me a look like that.
I am-scray.
Okay.
Would you mind e-mailing us these photos? Sure.
Thanks.
All right.
Thanks.
Nicole's phone dump confirms she called the Senator at 9:05, but right after that, she made two more phone calls to a Trina Bailey, step-daughter.
Senator's kid from his first marriage.
That was about 10 minutes after those photos were taken.
Wonder what took her attention off Mister Hot-Sauce.
It was money.
She'd just got off the phone with Dad, they had an argument about her alimony.
She thought I'd be sympathetic.
Well, your dad said that she called him about their son, Chaz.
Chaz, divorce, alimony, money.
That's how their conversations always went.
So, were you sympathetic to your stepmother? Dad bullied her into a settlement, so, sure, I was sympathetic.
I liked Nicole.
I was eight when my dad married her, so, of course at the time, I hated her.
Until I realized that it wasn't all about me.
Narcissism.
The nations number one killer, and there's no cure.
(LAUGHS) You okay? Your arm seems to be I just, uh Yoga.
I must have pulled something.
And what happened here? It looks like someone kicked it in.
There were some workmen here.
Miss Bailey.
Is everything all right? Of course.
MAN: Damn it! Every time I come home, I trip over your stupid shoes! Trina? Where the hell are you? Detectives, this is my husband, Jim Kirkpatrick.
Jim, say hello to the police.
They're here about Nicole.
We were just asking your wife about the last time she talked to her.
Mind if we ask you the same thing? I saw her last night.
At this, uh, charity thing in the park.
You spoke to her? Yeah.
Just to say hi.
Iran into some of my old students.
Jim's a ski instructor.
But now, I'm into leisure industry websites.
Sounds interesting.
Yeah.
Excuse me.
CASSADY: Again, we're sorry about your stepmom.
Going by those photos, the conversation didn't stop at hello.
Yeah.
He's beating his wife and banging her stepmother.
Our ski instructor's on a slippery slope.
And he's got a temper.
If Nicole threatened to blow the whistle on him.
Rage and lust.
That would explain the wooden spoon.
(CELL PHONE BEEPING) M.
E.
's ready for us.
She got 19 whacks from the fire poker, most of them directed at her head.
She has bruises on her hands, broken nails, which might be defensive.
She might have hit her attacker.
Sexual assault? No semen, no differentiated pubic hairs.
But there was a wooden spoon.
Yes, but again, no abrasions, no lacerations.
And the spoon was inserted once, not repeatedly, in and out, which is more typical of a sexual attack.
Reminds me, I have to bake a cake for my nephew.
VAN BUREN: Whatever he said to her, doesn't look like good news.
Could have been what set her off to call the Senator and the stepdaughter.
A chain reaction that ended up with this.
Maybe someone used it to make a point.
CASSADY: I pulled the phone records for the entire family.
At 2100 hours, the switch board lit up.
Nicole calling Trina and the Senator.
Jim calling Trina.
Trina calling the Senator.
Senator calling Nicole and Trina.
Maybe it's time we touched base with the Senator.
(SIRENS WAILING) CASSADY: What's up? COP: 911 call, JIM: (YELLING) I'm bleeding! You better damn well start doing what I tell you, or I swear to God Gun! He's has a gun! Hey, you can't come in here! Drop the gun, now! Drop it! Oh, for crying out loud.
I'm only protecting my daughter.
Oh, he was trying to kill us! I shot into the floor, you moron! I don't take that from you, you stinking Come here.
(GRUNTING) Hey,hey,hey! Those are my first editions! My crime books! Hey! Get him to the 27.
Miss Bailey? Do you want medical attention? No, no, I just want to go home.
Ed, up here.
Hi, I'm Chaz.
It's for his own good! He's a drug addict! Right, I'm the Bailey with the problem.
She attacked me, she's just as crazy as her dad.
Does it have anything to do with this? Oh, that, We We were just comparing notes on the Baileys.
You compare notes all the way back to her place? What? Me and Nicole? Come on! No, I went home.
ED: What time? I don't know! I had a lot to drink! Ask Trina, she knows I went home.
I sort of did something to her arm.
She told me when I woke up.
Your alibi for the murder was that you were home, beating your wife? Jim came home about 10:30.
He was loaded.
I was sick of it.
We had an argument and,yes, he twisted my arm.
You know, you can get an order of protection.
TRINA: That's not our style.
Even today, this guy didn't mind hitting on you in front of your father.
Jim knows better than to do anything in front of Dad.
You mean, today, it was your father? We were having an argument about what's best for my brother, Chaz.
And I mouthed off.
Your dad hits you, and you blame yourself? Did he abuse your stepmother, too? I'm not implicating him in her murder.
But he could have done it, right? He had that rage against her? (sums) Okay, now, I'm going home.
(DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) So, my attorney says I've got nothing to worry about.
I've got a permit for the gun.
I discharged it in my own home, without endangering anyone.
All perfectly legal.
Sweet, except for the part about chaining your son to a radiator.
I'm weaning Chaz off of heroin.
He consented to being restrained.
If he wasn't, he'd be out on the street, buying drugs.
And don't talk to me about rehab.
We've already tried that.
This family free-for-all.
What was that about, Senator? Well, obviously, we're all under a great strain.
CASSADY: So, you take it out on each other? Is that a question, Miss? Who hit your daughter? (sums) Well, I might have.
She said something despicable about her stepmother.
You do that often? Hit your daughter? (SOFTLY) Easy, Easy.
CASSADY: You went to see her? Are you deaf or are you just stupid? I told you I was with my son.
At home! ED: Senator.
Sit down.
I have been completely honest with you.
No, not completely.
We found some calls you didn't mention.
One to your daughter, one from her to you, and another one to your ex.
(sums) There's a good explanation for that.
ED: Maybe it's time we heard it.
(slsl-ls AGAIN) Okay.
But I'm not saying anything in front of this pissy bitch.
ED: Nina.
(LOUDLY) Nina.
You know, I bet it just kills you that you can't just smack me, like you do all the other women in your life.
Nina.
(YELLING) I do what? (GRUNTING) Cuff him.
Cassady, out.
Take your hands off of me.
He was this close to making a statement.
This close.
And then you had to get all cowboy on him.
Lieu, I'm sorry.
Please.
What is your issue, Cassady? You're always leading with your chin, always playing tough.
It's not smart.
A good cop never takes the bait and never escalates.
You better decide quick what you want to be.
A good cop or a cop with no place on my squad.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Come in.
Bailey clammed up.
He's waiting on his lawyer now.
There's no point in moping about it.
He gave us an alibi, nail it down.
ED: We're sorry about your mother, man.
Yeah.
Do you remember where you were that night? Hugging the radiator.
Except for when Dad let me use the bathroom, with the door open, of course.
He kept an eye on you all night? It was cozy.
Me on methadone nodding out on the floor, him passed out drunk on the bed.
He was home the whole time? Believe me, if he went out, I would have found away of ripping the radiator off the wall.
Damn! What are those bruises from? Skateboarding? Try again.
Your dad? Those round ones look older.
That your dad, too? Uh-uh.
Your mom? Mom only ever broke my arm.
ED: Trina? Bingo.
When I was five, she took one of Dad's cigars and used me as an ashtray.
What my parents dished out to her, she passed on to me.
The Ultimate Fighting Baileys.
I'm a dues-paying member.
I gotta meet a guy.
ED: Chaz at five with cigar burns.
Chaz at four in the E.
R.
with a broken arm.
Chaz at eight with a black eye.
CASSADY: And here's six year old Trina with a busted rib.
Nine, a broken wrist.
Eleven, multiple abrasions to the buttocks.
VAN BUREN: Oh, my God.
All attacks were variously attributed to one or the other parent.
Or in Chaz's case, to his half-sister.
Case dismissed, case dismissed, no charges filed, no charges.
No one was ever prosecuted.
Senator Bailey must have called in a truckload of favors.
CASSADY: Look at this.
ED: Wow.
Her stepmother beats her with a wooden spoon, and now, What did you say about making a point? Trina have any history of violence as an adult? Two arrests for assaulting an officer during DWI stops.
Her only alibi is her husband, the ski instructor.
And he was too hammered to remember anything.
I'll draw up a warrant.
Police! We have a search warrant! (MUFFLED STRUGGLING) Drop the knife! Do it now! Drop it now! Now! She came at me.
Look, she stabbed me.
She was gonna kill me.
She killed Nicole.
That little bitch killed my Nicole! When I came in, Bailey was on top of her, stabbing her with the knife.
Green saw this, too? He was clearing the other rooms.
I drew my gun and ordered Bailey to drop the knife.
That's when he started poking himself in the stomach with it.
Poking? Poking.
Then, he started screaming she tried to kill him.
ED: Check these out.
This blue glass is like the broken bottle in Nicole's apartment.
If Forensics makes it official, that means Trina killed her stepmother.
CLERK: All rise.
Um, except for you, Senator Bailey.
"Docket number 07549, âPeople v.
Randall Bailey.
"Murder in the Second Degree.
The Honorable Barry K.
Dilwynn, presiding.
" All right.
Your plea, sir? Not guilty.
Uh-huh.
Are you getting this? Judge, there are no cameras allowed in the courtroom.
Does this look like a courtroom? Are you Are you in pain, Senator? Can we get this man an extra pillow? Thank you.
I'm fine.
The People request remand.
The defendant was caught literally red handed stabbing his daughter to death.
Whoa, whoa.
Matter of opinion, YourHonoL My client is a former U.
S.
Senator and a presidential candidate.
He's hardly a flight risk.
Right, and obviously under the weather.
I'm not sure we need any bail here.
You're releasing a man charged with a brutal murder.
I'm sure that that will put the viewing public at ease.
Upon further consideration, bail is set at $2 million.
Judge Dilwynn? Never heard of him.
He rotated in from Surrogates Court.
This trial deserves better.
He's brutalized his family for 30 years.
Man.
You just never know, do you? This time he went way beyond abuse.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Thanks.
A motion in limine to offer evidence about Trina's prior bad acts, including evidence she murdered her step-mother.
Only one reason they'd do that.
Bailey must be claiming self-defense.
(SCOFFS) Still the brilliant campaigner.
Hold on, hold on, you're moving to preclude, what? Mr.
McCoy? Any and all evidence that the victim killed her stepmother.
That fact is highly relevant to Senator Bailey's state of mind at the time he was viciously attacked by his daughter.
It's neither relevant nor a fact.
All right, people.
I have another concern.
I see here that Senator Bailey has a son? Do we really want this young man subjected to the intimate details of his mother's murder in open court? Well, he's already being subjected to endless speculation.
Isn't he better off with some closure? Chaz Bailey's well-being should have no bearing on this motion.
(SCOFFS) Are you that hardhearted, Mr.
McCoy? Maybe closure is the best thing for this poor boy.
I'm ruling that Mr.
Glover may submit evidence that Trina Bailey killed her stepmother.
Have you even read our brief, Judge? This evidence is highly prejudicial.
Oh, Mr.
McCoy, there's a family here, drowning in tragedies.
What's the right thing to do? (STUTTERING) Well, there There's the law.
With a capital L.
And there's people, too.
But I'm not supposed to think about them.
But I am thinking about them.
Judge, I'm going to ask that you recuse yourself from this case.
It's clear that your service in Surrogates Court has not prepared you to preside over a murder case.
Not prepared? Well, now, I am insulted.
And you are denied, Mr.
McCoy.
(GAVEL POUNDING) This man is not qualified to judge a pie-eating contest.
We better make sure we get all our ducks in a row.
(LAUGHING) Okay, so, you want to know what it was like between my dad and my sister? All right.
How about he got her drunk when she was 10? How about he let one of his buddies grope her when she was 12? How about he let her go to Cancun by herself when she was 14? You were a little kid.
How do you remember all this? Trina wrote everything down.
Where? In a diary? I used to sneak into her room and read all the crap that my parents did to her.
Where are those diaries now? She took them when she moved out.
She still has them.
How do you know that? The night Mom was killed, Dad was on the phone with Trina.
Sounded like she was gonna use them to write a book.
Sn tight.
There was nothing in the warrant returns.
The police didn't find any diaries.
Atell-all memoir about this family might explain why they're murdering each other.
Maybe that's what Trina's husband went to talk to Nicole about the night she was killed.
Maybe that's what got the ball rolling.
Those diaries must be somewhere, get the police on it.
We searched Bailey's apartment twice after we arrested him.
We searched Trina's place.
No diaries.
Check their vacation homes.
Any storage facilities the family may have rented.
No problem.
And, uh, here's my 61, as requested.
Okay.
Listen.
On the stand, youWlhaveto tell the narrative without all the police jargon.
Byjargon, you mean words like narrative? You know, Nina, your run-in with Bailey in interrogation is going to come up.
Look, I may have botched an interrogation, lost control, but I don't have anything against the guy.
They'll say it's why you're lying about Bailey stabbing himself, and frankly Frankly what? I saw him.
They can say whatever they want.
I'm 100% on that.
Nina, Bailey's lawyer is good.
You come off like a hothead the way you are now, it plays right into his hands.
How's our star witness? A work in progress.
We struck out on the diaries, Jack.
We may not need the actual books, if we can prove they're unavailable and have indicia of reliability.
Chaz can testify to the contents.
(COMPUTER BEEPING) It's a message from Detective Green.
Chaz OD'd last night.
He was rushed to St.
Vincent's.
Is he going to pull through? Apparently, they shipped him off to rehab this morning in Switzerland.
A continuance, huh? What grounds? A key prosecution witness, Chaz Bailey, will be unavailable for two months.
Oh, no, did something happen to this young man? He's in drug rehab in Switzerland.
Ah, thank God.
I see he's finally Finally getting the help he needs.
JACK: He's beyond our subpoena power.
I suspect Senator Bailey had something to do with the choice of facilities.
Mr.
McCoy, how can you stand there and vilify this man, for trying to save his son's life? And I only hope that you and I never experience (GROANING) I only hope that you and I never experience the kind of heartbreak this family has suffered.
So, Your Honor, you're granting the People's application for a continuance? No, I'm not delaying this trial.
Senator Bailey is entitled to his day in court.
He's not in jail.
There's no prejudice.
Yes.
But I have to weigh the human cost of a delay.
Isn't that the true meaning of justice? This family has been in limbo long enough.
Motion for a continuance is denied.
Trial starts next week.
Get Cassady ready.
Work in progress or not, It's all on her now.
When I entered Trina Bailey's bedroom, I saw her father straddling her and stabbing a knife into her chest.
I drew my weapon, and commanded him to drop the knife.
That's when Mr.
Bailey started to poke at his own stomach with the knife until he started bleeding.
When you first saw him, was there any blood on his shirt? Not a drop.
When my partner entered, Mr.
Bailey dropped the knife and said, "She came at me, she stabbed me, "she was gonna kill me.
She killed Nicole.
"That little bitch killed my Nicole.
" How convenient there's no one to corroborate your story.
That's withdrawn.
Remind us how long you've been a detective.
Eight months.
Eight short months, Detective Cassady.
Two days Two days before you arrested Senator Bailey, you lashed out at him in an interview.
Isn't that right? I did not lash out, I responded to him calling me a "pissy bitch.
" You responded by losing your cool, to the point that your superior officer removed you from the room.
My lieutenant asked me to leave when Mr.
Bailey started ranting and breaking furniture, and had to be restrained by three police officers.
But it must have been humiliating, wasn't it? To be given a time-out by your boss? No.
No? You wanted to get back at my client, didn't you? And you got that chance two days later, when you found him defending his life.
That's when you decided to frame him for murder.
CASSADY: Mr.
Glover, if I really had it in for your client, I could have dropped him with ajustifiable shooting when I found him stabbing his own daughter to death.
But I didn't, because I exercised the control I learned in my training.
That control is why your client is alive today.
Hmm.
Nice answer.
Mr.
Glover? Nothing more.
Trina asked me to come over to discuss an intervention for my son, Chaz.
For Chaz's sake, I went.
A decision I regret with all my heart.
Right away, Trina started attacking me, and my parenting.
I tried to keep the focus on Chaz.
But that just infuriated her.
She accused me of not caring about her.
She called me all kinds of filthy names that I can't repeat here.
Then she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
Why didn't you just leave, Senator? I thought she would do harm to herself.
She'd slit her wrists as a teenager.
So naturally, when I saw the knife, that's where my mind went.
GLOVER: What happened next? My paternal instinct was to get the knife from her.
Somehow, we wound up in her bedroom.
I was wrestling her for the knife and she was stabbing me in the stomach.
She was screaming that she was going to kill me, like she killed my ex-wife.
She had this look of rage in her eyes.
I finally got the knife away from her.
I could feel the blood draining out of me, but she kept coming at me, so (sums) Oh, Lord forgive me.
My My instinct to defend myself kicked in and I turned the knife on Trina to stop her from attacking me.
Thank you.
JACK: Let's be clear.
You stabbed Trina I was acting on instinct, Mr.
McCoy.
Thirteen separate thrusts, piercing her liver, lungs, stomach.
It was a life or death struggle, sir.
Between a strong, vigorous man and a slight woman.
And your wounds, miraculously, were all superficial? I told you, I was restraining this madwoman with all my might! JACK: How? How were you defending yourself when she was stabbing you? With your hands? Yes! With my hands.
And yet, you sustained no cuts to your hands, your arms? No defensive wounds? What? I'm supposed to let myself get cut to pieces just in case I get accused of murder? Now, you say that my daughter was a small woman.
Now, I say, look at her behavior.
Time and time again, I bailed her out of jail.
For bar fights, for trying to run over a boyfriend with her car.
For God's sake Twice, twice, she assaulted police officers when she was high on drugs! It's all on the record.
There are other things on the record, Senator Bailey.
People's 26 to 33.
These are photos of injuries sustained by your daughter between the ages of six and 11.
Broken ribs, broken limbs, bruises across her back.
Playground injuries.
All of them? Who was she playing with? The New York Giants? Watch your sarcasm, Mr.
McCoy.
Senator? No, of course not all of them.
I'm sad to say that When she'd had too much to drink Nicole Sometimes victimized poor Trina.
And you, Senator Bailey? When you had too much to drink? Isn't this the imprint of your hand on your daughter's face? Objection, Your Honor.
These matters were investigated.
No charges were filed.
Mr.
McCoy.
Have you no shame? BAILEY: No, no.
This is nothing new, YourHonoL After 30 years in public life, I've seen it all.
Oh, it's not enough to frame me for murder.
They're out to destroy what little I've got left.
My memories as a loving father raising a young family.
(LAUGHS SARCASTICALLY) It's inhuman.
Any further questions, Mr.
McCoy? The defense rests, Your Honor.
All right.
Very good.
The witness is excused.
Rebuttal? Mr.
McCoy? Absolutely, Your Honor.
The People call the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner.
RODGERS: The records indicate Mr.
Bailey had eight puncture wounds.
None of them was more than a half-inch deep.
They were uniform in nature and clustered to avoid vital organs.
Now, in my opinion, they were inconsistent with a stabbing by an enraged attacker.
In my opinion, they were self-inflicted.
Self-inflicted.
Thank you, Doctor.
Can you determine from the wounds the position of the knife blade when it entered Senator Bailey's body? The wounds indicate that the knife was positioned with the cutting edge down when it pierced the skin.
As if the attacker held the knife sharp edge down, stabbing from above? Not conclusively.
Well, Doctor, if Senator Bailey had stabbed himself, wouldn't the cutting edge be positioned upward, not down? Not if the Senator reversed the position of the knife in his hands, so that the cutting edge was facing downward.
What are you saying? In the heat of the moment, with the police suddenly at the door, my client cleverly thought of this trick? Well, there's nothing all that clever about it.
He could have picked it up from a crime novel for example.
A crime novel? Wait.
You're an expert in crime novels, now? (LAUGHS) I've read my fair share.
I remember, now, your resume listed one of your hobbies as reviewing crime books for small magazines.
My client collects first edition crime novels.
Of course, that doesn't make him quite the expert you are.
I didn't say I was an expert.
Yes, but you said this stabbing trick could be found in a crime novel.
Can you tell us which one? That's not the point.
You made the statement, Doctor.
It's in a book.
You wouldn't say it unless you knew which one.
Unless you were just speculating.
It wasn't speculation.
YourHonon she's being unresponsive.
I move to strike her Lance Drury.
The trick was used in a book by Lance Drury.
Two-Lane Blacktop, published in the 70's.
One moment, Your Honor.
One last question, Doctor.
You didn't examine Senator Bailey's injuries yourself, did you? No.
Nothing further.
Doctor, in the book you alluded to, a character raises a claim of self-defense at his murder trial.
That's right.
And he was acquitted because the jury was fooled by his self-inflicted wounds.
I have here a police inventory of the books found in the defendant's library.
Can you tell us what you see here? He collects Lance Drury first editions.
He's missing only three titles, including Two-Lane Blacktop.
If I were him, I'd want to get rid of it, too.
It wasn't instinct but premeditation that governed his actions, right down to a defense scripted by one of his favorite authors.
It's too cerebral.
We need to show his brutality.
We have the knife.
We should use it.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Hello, Doctor.
Who died? (LAUGHS) Besides my reputation? (sums) That book that I mentioned on the stand today? I finally found it in a used bookstore.
There is no self-defense trick.
I remembered the wrong book.
I confused it with another book, by a different author.
This is a letter to the judge explaining my mistake.
I'm sorry.
If it's any consolation, the actual book is one that a fan like Bailey would have read.
We have to disclose it.
Why? It's not exculpatory.
It's mistaken testimony.
It wasn't intended as such.
You give this letter to that publicity-seeking gas-bag they call ajudge, and you can kiss this trial goodbye.
I don't agree.
I'm cutting the book reference from my summation tomorrow.
We are not splitting hairs for this hypocrite who brutalized his wife and kids.
Bailey got his phony defense from a book, and I want the jury to hear it.
Arthur, you could probably find 50 prosecutors who'd agree with you, and 50 who wouldn't.
Count me among the latter.
Fine.
Connie, you're up.
Looks like you're closing tomorrow.
Jack.
Arthur's right.
To have Bailey walk because of an inconsequential mistake would be obscene.
That should make it easy for you.
GLOVER: Trina Bailey was atroubled, violent woman on a rampage to right the imagined wrongs of her childhood.
First, she beat her stepmother to a bloody death with a fire iron.
Her next target was her father.
And when she attacked him, Senator Bailey was forced, despite all the paternal love that he felt for his sick, daughter to do what any reasonable person would when confronted by a raging psychopath with a kitchen knife.
He defended himself.
CONNIE: There is nothing imagined about the wrongs of Trina's childhood.
Whatever she was in her adult life, she learned from a master.
Randall Bailey had a pathological need to abuse his daughter.
A need that he finally took to its logical, deadly conclusion.
And thanks to atricked-up claim of self-defense that has been a staple of crime fiction for decades, he thinks he can get away with it.
But consider this.
Six foot, 180 pounds Versus 5-5.
.
' Consider 13 deep, devastating stab wounds, versus eight pin pricks.
Consider what it took to drive this knife through meat and bone, into the body of his own daughter.
Not once, not twice, but 13 times.
This was not paternal love, or instinct.
No, it was murderous rage.
Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of Murder in the Second Degree, how do you find? We find Randall Bailey, guilty.
(CROWD MURMURING) You're a hack, Dilwynn! You're a pin-headed idiot! I'm going to make it my business to see you thrown off the bench! Heard you pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
What's this? My letter of resignation.
You obviously need someone who's more in tune with your point of view.
If I wanted a yes man, you'd have been out on your butt a long time ago.
I need someone who can tell me when my britches are unbuttoned.
You took me off the case.
You don't have confidence in myjudgment.
This is not mathematics, Jack.
If every one of these cases could be prosecuted by applying some equation in a book, then you couldn't get me out of bed in the morning.
I know you feel the same way.
Now just tell me that you'll think this over some more.
You know, one day, this chair is going to be empty.
I'm no politician, Arthur.
Yeah, everybody says that.
These are their stories.
Miss Bailey, can I help you? Here, stick that person at table 21.
I'm sorry, Miss Bailey.
Table 21 is your table.
Bill Collins of The Ledger will be taking photos of the people here.
Not the losers at table 21.
Miss Bailey, I can't let you change Yes, you can.
Because I'm on the organizing committee.
Because my ex-husband co-sponsored the legislation that created the conservancy.
And because if you don't, I'm going to rip that surgical marvel you call a nose off your face and feed it to the fish in that pond.
Now, out of my way.
Nicole Bailey.
She wants to switch tables so she can get on the society page.
What some people won't do to get their picture in the paper.
Fifteen impacts and counting with penetration into her brain case.
Based on her rigor, I'm guessing it all went down between 10:00 p.
m.
and midnight.
I'm gonna hold you to that, Washington.
Matches a set inside the apartment.
The maid said the front door was locked when she got here this morning.
And there's this.
Blood.
Probably from the perp grabbing on when he hopped over.
He left the way he came.
Let's get somebody checking the access doors and the stairwells.
And, word to the wise.
Mind your P's and Q's on this one.
She's the ex-wife of an ex-senator.
Chief of D's is gonna be all over us.
Detectives? You've got to see this.
There's a foreign object in her vagina.
That looks like awooden handle, so I'm going to guess a wooden spoon.
Washington, you don't share this, or your guesses with anybody except your boss.
Okay? P's and Q's, Nina.
Struck out with the neighbors.
Nobody heard anybody on the roof last night.
Anything good? Gin.
Straight up.
Lipstick's the same shade Miss Bailey was wearing.
See this water spot here? There was a bottle there.
Now it's over here, in a million little pieces.
She threw it at her attacker.
So, he picked up the poker and came after her.
Yeah, I don't understand why she didn't use one of these knives to defend herself with.
I'm guessing there's a good reason nobody heard anybody running across the roof.
If the perp put his bloody hands down here to hop over, the blood would have smeared outward, away from us.
This blood is smeared toward us.
So the blood is planted to make it look like the perp took off across the roof.
Meaning he probably went out the front door.
He wasn't an intruder, he knew her.
She probably invited him in.
Then, he comes at her with a poker.
And then rapes her with a wooden spoon.
I can't wait to catch this guy.
Well, it implies sexual rage, jealousy.
A boyfriend.
Any draft picks? Well, the housekeeper says there's been a lot of guys since her divorce from the Senator.
TARU's working on getting Miss Bailey's phone dumps.
The only thing on tap for last night was a benefit.
New York Parks Conservancy.
Well, she might have had someone walk her down the red carpet.
Or at least, hold her up.
The housekeeper also said Miss Bailey liked her booze a little too much.
Heads up.
Senator Bailey.
I'm Lieutenant Lieutenant Van Buren.
It's good to meet you.
You must be Detectives Cassady and Green? My office said you called.
And then I heard that Please, why don't we go to my office? This way.
In my worst nightmares.
I never imagined it would end this way for Nicole.
I mean, despite all that happened between us, I only wished the best for her.
Well, we're very sorry for your loss, Senator.
When was the last time you spoke to her? Last night.
She called me at home, uh, a little after 9:00.
What did she call about? Our son, Chaz, is living with me while he goes to college.
They had a falling out and she wanted me to help mend the fences.
Where was your son last night? That's all right, Lieutenant, I know that members of the immediate family are always the prime suspects.
Chaz was at home.
With me.
ED: Do you know if Miss Bailey was alone when she called you? RANDALL: Alone? ED: Mmm-hmm.
She didn't say.
I didn't ask.
But since you bring it up, Nicole hated to be alone.
And, no doubt you will discover that she was involved in all kinds of high-risk behavior.
I managed to keep it out of the papers all these years.
And I'd like it to stay that way, if possible, for the sake of our son.
We understand.
Well, I appreciate everything you're doing.
If anything develops, I expect you to call me.
In the meantime, I'll have my lawyer get in touch with you.
All right.
That's a smart politician, he wants to put out the fires before they start.
The New York Parks Conservancy? Let's see if Miss Bailey found a cure for loneliness.
Hello.
Big smile! Lovely.
Thank you.
Of course I know who you are.
Mr.
Collins? Detectives Green and Cassady.
We need to ask you about some pictures you took last night at the Parks Conservancy dinner? Which pictures? Hello.
Big smile.
Lovely.
Thank you.
Pictures of Nicole Bailey.
I got a few of her.
Could we see them, please? As long as you're being nice about it, sure.
They're on this camera.
Use this button to scroll.
Don't touch anything else.
Hello.
Big smile.
Lovely.
ED: There she is.
Hello.
Big smile.
Thank you.
CASSADY: This looks promising.
Could be her hook-up.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) ED: Oh.
Excuse me.
Who is with Nicole in this picture? Beats me.
Someone gives me a look like that.
I am-scray.
Okay.
Would you mind e-mailing us these photos? Sure.
Thanks.
All right.
Thanks.
Nicole's phone dump confirms she called the Senator at 9:05, but right after that, she made two more phone calls to a Trina Bailey, step-daughter.
Senator's kid from his first marriage.
That was about 10 minutes after those photos were taken.
Wonder what took her attention off Mister Hot-Sauce.
It was money.
She'd just got off the phone with Dad, they had an argument about her alimony.
She thought I'd be sympathetic.
Well, your dad said that she called him about their son, Chaz.
Chaz, divorce, alimony, money.
That's how their conversations always went.
So, were you sympathetic to your stepmother? Dad bullied her into a settlement, so, sure, I was sympathetic.
I liked Nicole.
I was eight when my dad married her, so, of course at the time, I hated her.
Until I realized that it wasn't all about me.
Narcissism.
The nations number one killer, and there's no cure.
(LAUGHS) You okay? Your arm seems to be I just, uh Yoga.
I must have pulled something.
And what happened here? It looks like someone kicked it in.
There were some workmen here.
Miss Bailey.
Is everything all right? Of course.
MAN: Damn it! Every time I come home, I trip over your stupid shoes! Trina? Where the hell are you? Detectives, this is my husband, Jim Kirkpatrick.
Jim, say hello to the police.
They're here about Nicole.
We were just asking your wife about the last time she talked to her.
Mind if we ask you the same thing? I saw her last night.
At this, uh, charity thing in the park.
You spoke to her? Yeah.
Just to say hi.
Iran into some of my old students.
Jim's a ski instructor.
But now, I'm into leisure industry websites.
Sounds interesting.
Yeah.
Excuse me.
CASSADY: Again, we're sorry about your stepmom.
Going by those photos, the conversation didn't stop at hello.
Yeah.
He's beating his wife and banging her stepmother.
Our ski instructor's on a slippery slope.
And he's got a temper.
If Nicole threatened to blow the whistle on him.
Rage and lust.
That would explain the wooden spoon.
(CELL PHONE BEEPING) M.
E.
's ready for us.
She got 19 whacks from the fire poker, most of them directed at her head.
She has bruises on her hands, broken nails, which might be defensive.
She might have hit her attacker.
Sexual assault? No semen, no differentiated pubic hairs.
But there was a wooden spoon.
Yes, but again, no abrasions, no lacerations.
And the spoon was inserted once, not repeatedly, in and out, which is more typical of a sexual attack.
Reminds me, I have to bake a cake for my nephew.
VAN BUREN: Whatever he said to her, doesn't look like good news.
Could have been what set her off to call the Senator and the stepdaughter.
A chain reaction that ended up with this.
Maybe someone used it to make a point.
CASSADY: I pulled the phone records for the entire family.
At 2100 hours, the switch board lit up.
Nicole calling Trina and the Senator.
Jim calling Trina.
Trina calling the Senator.
Senator calling Nicole and Trina.
Maybe it's time we touched base with the Senator.
(SIRENS WAILING) CASSADY: What's up? COP: 911 call, JIM: (YELLING) I'm bleeding! You better damn well start doing what I tell you, or I swear to God Gun! He's has a gun! Hey, you can't come in here! Drop the gun, now! Drop it! Oh, for crying out loud.
I'm only protecting my daughter.
Oh, he was trying to kill us! I shot into the floor, you moron! I don't take that from you, you stinking Come here.
(GRUNTING) Hey,hey,hey! Those are my first editions! My crime books! Hey! Get him to the 27.
Miss Bailey? Do you want medical attention? No, no, I just want to go home.
Ed, up here.
Hi, I'm Chaz.
It's for his own good! He's a drug addict! Right, I'm the Bailey with the problem.
She attacked me, she's just as crazy as her dad.
Does it have anything to do with this? Oh, that, We We were just comparing notes on the Baileys.
You compare notes all the way back to her place? What? Me and Nicole? Come on! No, I went home.
ED: What time? I don't know! I had a lot to drink! Ask Trina, she knows I went home.
I sort of did something to her arm.
She told me when I woke up.
Your alibi for the murder was that you were home, beating your wife? Jim came home about 10:30.
He was loaded.
I was sick of it.
We had an argument and,yes, he twisted my arm.
You know, you can get an order of protection.
TRINA: That's not our style.
Even today, this guy didn't mind hitting on you in front of your father.
Jim knows better than to do anything in front of Dad.
You mean, today, it was your father? We were having an argument about what's best for my brother, Chaz.
And I mouthed off.
Your dad hits you, and you blame yourself? Did he abuse your stepmother, too? I'm not implicating him in her murder.
But he could have done it, right? He had that rage against her? (sums) Okay, now, I'm going home.
(DOOR OPENING) (DOOR CLOSING) So, my attorney says I've got nothing to worry about.
I've got a permit for the gun.
I discharged it in my own home, without endangering anyone.
All perfectly legal.
Sweet, except for the part about chaining your son to a radiator.
I'm weaning Chaz off of heroin.
He consented to being restrained.
If he wasn't, he'd be out on the street, buying drugs.
And don't talk to me about rehab.
We've already tried that.
This family free-for-all.
What was that about, Senator? Well, obviously, we're all under a great strain.
CASSADY: So, you take it out on each other? Is that a question, Miss? Who hit your daughter? (sums) Well, I might have.
She said something despicable about her stepmother.
You do that often? Hit your daughter? (SOFTLY) Easy, Easy.
CASSADY: You went to see her? Are you deaf or are you just stupid? I told you I was with my son.
At home! ED: Senator.
Sit down.
I have been completely honest with you.
No, not completely.
We found some calls you didn't mention.
One to your daughter, one from her to you, and another one to your ex.
(sums) There's a good explanation for that.
ED: Maybe it's time we heard it.
(slsl-ls AGAIN) Okay.
But I'm not saying anything in front of this pissy bitch.
ED: Nina.
(LOUDLY) Nina.
You know, I bet it just kills you that you can't just smack me, like you do all the other women in your life.
Nina.
(YELLING) I do what? (GRUNTING) Cuff him.
Cassady, out.
Take your hands off of me.
He was this close to making a statement.
This close.
And then you had to get all cowboy on him.
Lieu, I'm sorry.
Please.
What is your issue, Cassady? You're always leading with your chin, always playing tough.
It's not smart.
A good cop never takes the bait and never escalates.
You better decide quick what you want to be.
A good cop or a cop with no place on my squad.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Come in.
Bailey clammed up.
He's waiting on his lawyer now.
There's no point in moping about it.
He gave us an alibi, nail it down.
ED: We're sorry about your mother, man.
Yeah.
Do you remember where you were that night? Hugging the radiator.
Except for when Dad let me use the bathroom, with the door open, of course.
He kept an eye on you all night? It was cozy.
Me on methadone nodding out on the floor, him passed out drunk on the bed.
He was home the whole time? Believe me, if he went out, I would have found away of ripping the radiator off the wall.
Damn! What are those bruises from? Skateboarding? Try again.
Your dad? Those round ones look older.
That your dad, too? Uh-uh.
Your mom? Mom only ever broke my arm.
ED: Trina? Bingo.
When I was five, she took one of Dad's cigars and used me as an ashtray.
What my parents dished out to her, she passed on to me.
The Ultimate Fighting Baileys.
I'm a dues-paying member.
I gotta meet a guy.
ED: Chaz at five with cigar burns.
Chaz at four in the E.
R.
with a broken arm.
Chaz at eight with a black eye.
CASSADY: And here's six year old Trina with a busted rib.
Nine, a broken wrist.
Eleven, multiple abrasions to the buttocks.
VAN BUREN: Oh, my God.
All attacks were variously attributed to one or the other parent.
Or in Chaz's case, to his half-sister.
Case dismissed, case dismissed, no charges filed, no charges.
No one was ever prosecuted.
Senator Bailey must have called in a truckload of favors.
CASSADY: Look at this.
ED: Wow.
Her stepmother beats her with a wooden spoon, and now, What did you say about making a point? Trina have any history of violence as an adult? Two arrests for assaulting an officer during DWI stops.
Her only alibi is her husband, the ski instructor.
And he was too hammered to remember anything.
I'll draw up a warrant.
Police! We have a search warrant! (MUFFLED STRUGGLING) Drop the knife! Do it now! Drop it now! Now! She came at me.
Look, she stabbed me.
She was gonna kill me.
She killed Nicole.
That little bitch killed my Nicole! When I came in, Bailey was on top of her, stabbing her with the knife.
Green saw this, too? He was clearing the other rooms.
I drew my gun and ordered Bailey to drop the knife.
That's when he started poking himself in the stomach with it.
Poking? Poking.
Then, he started screaming she tried to kill him.
ED: Check these out.
This blue glass is like the broken bottle in Nicole's apartment.
If Forensics makes it official, that means Trina killed her stepmother.
CLERK: All rise.
Um, except for you, Senator Bailey.
"Docket number 07549, âPeople v.
Randall Bailey.
"Murder in the Second Degree.
The Honorable Barry K.
Dilwynn, presiding.
" All right.
Your plea, sir? Not guilty.
Uh-huh.
Are you getting this? Judge, there are no cameras allowed in the courtroom.
Does this look like a courtroom? Are you Are you in pain, Senator? Can we get this man an extra pillow? Thank you.
I'm fine.
The People request remand.
The defendant was caught literally red handed stabbing his daughter to death.
Whoa, whoa.
Matter of opinion, YourHonoL My client is a former U.
S.
Senator and a presidential candidate.
He's hardly a flight risk.
Right, and obviously under the weather.
I'm not sure we need any bail here.
You're releasing a man charged with a brutal murder.
I'm sure that that will put the viewing public at ease.
Upon further consideration, bail is set at $2 million.
Judge Dilwynn? Never heard of him.
He rotated in from Surrogates Court.
This trial deserves better.
He's brutalized his family for 30 years.
Man.
You just never know, do you? This time he went way beyond abuse.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Thanks.
A motion in limine to offer evidence about Trina's prior bad acts, including evidence she murdered her step-mother.
Only one reason they'd do that.
Bailey must be claiming self-defense.
(SCOFFS) Still the brilliant campaigner.
Hold on, hold on, you're moving to preclude, what? Mr.
McCoy? Any and all evidence that the victim killed her stepmother.
That fact is highly relevant to Senator Bailey's state of mind at the time he was viciously attacked by his daughter.
It's neither relevant nor a fact.
All right, people.
I have another concern.
I see here that Senator Bailey has a son? Do we really want this young man subjected to the intimate details of his mother's murder in open court? Well, he's already being subjected to endless speculation.
Isn't he better off with some closure? Chaz Bailey's well-being should have no bearing on this motion.
(SCOFFS) Are you that hardhearted, Mr.
McCoy? Maybe closure is the best thing for this poor boy.
I'm ruling that Mr.
Glover may submit evidence that Trina Bailey killed her stepmother.
Have you even read our brief, Judge? This evidence is highly prejudicial.
Oh, Mr.
McCoy, there's a family here, drowning in tragedies.
What's the right thing to do? (STUTTERING) Well, there There's the law.
With a capital L.
And there's people, too.
But I'm not supposed to think about them.
But I am thinking about them.
Judge, I'm going to ask that you recuse yourself from this case.
It's clear that your service in Surrogates Court has not prepared you to preside over a murder case.
Not prepared? Well, now, I am insulted.
And you are denied, Mr.
McCoy.
(GAVEL POUNDING) This man is not qualified to judge a pie-eating contest.
We better make sure we get all our ducks in a row.
(LAUGHING) Okay, so, you want to know what it was like between my dad and my sister? All right.
How about he got her drunk when she was 10? How about he let one of his buddies grope her when she was 12? How about he let her go to Cancun by herself when she was 14? You were a little kid.
How do you remember all this? Trina wrote everything down.
Where? In a diary? I used to sneak into her room and read all the crap that my parents did to her.
Where are those diaries now? She took them when she moved out.
She still has them.
How do you know that? The night Mom was killed, Dad was on the phone with Trina.
Sounded like she was gonna use them to write a book.
Sn tight.
There was nothing in the warrant returns.
The police didn't find any diaries.
Atell-all memoir about this family might explain why they're murdering each other.
Maybe that's what Trina's husband went to talk to Nicole about the night she was killed.
Maybe that's what got the ball rolling.
Those diaries must be somewhere, get the police on it.
We searched Bailey's apartment twice after we arrested him.
We searched Trina's place.
No diaries.
Check their vacation homes.
Any storage facilities the family may have rented.
No problem.
And, uh, here's my 61, as requested.
Okay.
Listen.
On the stand, youWlhaveto tell the narrative without all the police jargon.
Byjargon, you mean words like narrative? You know, Nina, your run-in with Bailey in interrogation is going to come up.
Look, I may have botched an interrogation, lost control, but I don't have anything against the guy.
They'll say it's why you're lying about Bailey stabbing himself, and frankly Frankly what? I saw him.
They can say whatever they want.
I'm 100% on that.
Nina, Bailey's lawyer is good.
You come off like a hothead the way you are now, it plays right into his hands.
How's our star witness? A work in progress.
We struck out on the diaries, Jack.
We may not need the actual books, if we can prove they're unavailable and have indicia of reliability.
Chaz can testify to the contents.
(COMPUTER BEEPING) It's a message from Detective Green.
Chaz OD'd last night.
He was rushed to St.
Vincent's.
Is he going to pull through? Apparently, they shipped him off to rehab this morning in Switzerland.
A continuance, huh? What grounds? A key prosecution witness, Chaz Bailey, will be unavailable for two months.
Oh, no, did something happen to this young man? He's in drug rehab in Switzerland.
Ah, thank God.
I see he's finally Finally getting the help he needs.
JACK: He's beyond our subpoena power.
I suspect Senator Bailey had something to do with the choice of facilities.
Mr.
McCoy, how can you stand there and vilify this man, for trying to save his son's life? And I only hope that you and I never experience (GROANING) I only hope that you and I never experience the kind of heartbreak this family has suffered.
So, Your Honor, you're granting the People's application for a continuance? No, I'm not delaying this trial.
Senator Bailey is entitled to his day in court.
He's not in jail.
There's no prejudice.
Yes.
But I have to weigh the human cost of a delay.
Isn't that the true meaning of justice? This family has been in limbo long enough.
Motion for a continuance is denied.
Trial starts next week.
Get Cassady ready.
Work in progress or not, It's all on her now.
When I entered Trina Bailey's bedroom, I saw her father straddling her and stabbing a knife into her chest.
I drew my weapon, and commanded him to drop the knife.
That's when Mr.
Bailey started to poke at his own stomach with the knife until he started bleeding.
When you first saw him, was there any blood on his shirt? Not a drop.
When my partner entered, Mr.
Bailey dropped the knife and said, "She came at me, she stabbed me, "she was gonna kill me.
She killed Nicole.
"That little bitch killed my Nicole.
" How convenient there's no one to corroborate your story.
That's withdrawn.
Remind us how long you've been a detective.
Eight months.
Eight short months, Detective Cassady.
Two days Two days before you arrested Senator Bailey, you lashed out at him in an interview.
Isn't that right? I did not lash out, I responded to him calling me a "pissy bitch.
" You responded by losing your cool, to the point that your superior officer removed you from the room.
My lieutenant asked me to leave when Mr.
Bailey started ranting and breaking furniture, and had to be restrained by three police officers.
But it must have been humiliating, wasn't it? To be given a time-out by your boss? No.
No? You wanted to get back at my client, didn't you? And you got that chance two days later, when you found him defending his life.
That's when you decided to frame him for murder.
CASSADY: Mr.
Glover, if I really had it in for your client, I could have dropped him with ajustifiable shooting when I found him stabbing his own daughter to death.
But I didn't, because I exercised the control I learned in my training.
That control is why your client is alive today.
Hmm.
Nice answer.
Mr.
Glover? Nothing more.
Trina asked me to come over to discuss an intervention for my son, Chaz.
For Chaz's sake, I went.
A decision I regret with all my heart.
Right away, Trina started attacking me, and my parenting.
I tried to keep the focus on Chaz.
But that just infuriated her.
She accused me of not caring about her.
She called me all kinds of filthy names that I can't repeat here.
Then she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
Why didn't you just leave, Senator? I thought she would do harm to herself.
She'd slit her wrists as a teenager.
So naturally, when I saw the knife, that's where my mind went.
GLOVER: What happened next? My paternal instinct was to get the knife from her.
Somehow, we wound up in her bedroom.
I was wrestling her for the knife and she was stabbing me in the stomach.
She was screaming that she was going to kill me, like she killed my ex-wife.
She had this look of rage in her eyes.
I finally got the knife away from her.
I could feel the blood draining out of me, but she kept coming at me, so (sums) Oh, Lord forgive me.
My My instinct to defend myself kicked in and I turned the knife on Trina to stop her from attacking me.
Thank you.
JACK: Let's be clear.
You stabbed Trina I was acting on instinct, Mr.
McCoy.
Thirteen separate thrusts, piercing her liver, lungs, stomach.
It was a life or death struggle, sir.
Between a strong, vigorous man and a slight woman.
And your wounds, miraculously, were all superficial? I told you, I was restraining this madwoman with all my might! JACK: How? How were you defending yourself when she was stabbing you? With your hands? Yes! With my hands.
And yet, you sustained no cuts to your hands, your arms? No defensive wounds? What? I'm supposed to let myself get cut to pieces just in case I get accused of murder? Now, you say that my daughter was a small woman.
Now, I say, look at her behavior.
Time and time again, I bailed her out of jail.
For bar fights, for trying to run over a boyfriend with her car.
For God's sake Twice, twice, she assaulted police officers when she was high on drugs! It's all on the record.
There are other things on the record, Senator Bailey.
People's 26 to 33.
These are photos of injuries sustained by your daughter between the ages of six and 11.
Broken ribs, broken limbs, bruises across her back.
Playground injuries.
All of them? Who was she playing with? The New York Giants? Watch your sarcasm, Mr.
McCoy.
Senator? No, of course not all of them.
I'm sad to say that When she'd had too much to drink Nicole Sometimes victimized poor Trina.
And you, Senator Bailey? When you had too much to drink? Isn't this the imprint of your hand on your daughter's face? Objection, Your Honor.
These matters were investigated.
No charges were filed.
Mr.
McCoy.
Have you no shame? BAILEY: No, no.
This is nothing new, YourHonoL After 30 years in public life, I've seen it all.
Oh, it's not enough to frame me for murder.
They're out to destroy what little I've got left.
My memories as a loving father raising a young family.
(LAUGHS SARCASTICALLY) It's inhuman.
Any further questions, Mr.
McCoy? The defense rests, Your Honor.
All right.
Very good.
The witness is excused.
Rebuttal? Mr.
McCoy? Absolutely, Your Honor.
The People call the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner.
RODGERS: The records indicate Mr.
Bailey had eight puncture wounds.
None of them was more than a half-inch deep.
They were uniform in nature and clustered to avoid vital organs.
Now, in my opinion, they were inconsistent with a stabbing by an enraged attacker.
In my opinion, they were self-inflicted.
Self-inflicted.
Thank you, Doctor.
Can you determine from the wounds the position of the knife blade when it entered Senator Bailey's body? The wounds indicate that the knife was positioned with the cutting edge down when it pierced the skin.
As if the attacker held the knife sharp edge down, stabbing from above? Not conclusively.
Well, Doctor, if Senator Bailey had stabbed himself, wouldn't the cutting edge be positioned upward, not down? Not if the Senator reversed the position of the knife in his hands, so that the cutting edge was facing downward.
What are you saying? In the heat of the moment, with the police suddenly at the door, my client cleverly thought of this trick? Well, there's nothing all that clever about it.
He could have picked it up from a crime novel for example.
A crime novel? Wait.
You're an expert in crime novels, now? (LAUGHS) I've read my fair share.
I remember, now, your resume listed one of your hobbies as reviewing crime books for small magazines.
My client collects first edition crime novels.
Of course, that doesn't make him quite the expert you are.
I didn't say I was an expert.
Yes, but you said this stabbing trick could be found in a crime novel.
Can you tell us which one? That's not the point.
You made the statement, Doctor.
It's in a book.
You wouldn't say it unless you knew which one.
Unless you were just speculating.
It wasn't speculation.
YourHonon she's being unresponsive.
I move to strike her Lance Drury.
The trick was used in a book by Lance Drury.
Two-Lane Blacktop, published in the 70's.
One moment, Your Honor.
One last question, Doctor.
You didn't examine Senator Bailey's injuries yourself, did you? No.
Nothing further.
Doctor, in the book you alluded to, a character raises a claim of self-defense at his murder trial.
That's right.
And he was acquitted because the jury was fooled by his self-inflicted wounds.
I have here a police inventory of the books found in the defendant's library.
Can you tell us what you see here? He collects Lance Drury first editions.
He's missing only three titles, including Two-Lane Blacktop.
If I were him, I'd want to get rid of it, too.
It wasn't instinct but premeditation that governed his actions, right down to a defense scripted by one of his favorite authors.
It's too cerebral.
We need to show his brutality.
We have the knife.
We should use it.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Hello, Doctor.
Who died? (LAUGHS) Besides my reputation? (sums) That book that I mentioned on the stand today? I finally found it in a used bookstore.
There is no self-defense trick.
I remembered the wrong book.
I confused it with another book, by a different author.
This is a letter to the judge explaining my mistake.
I'm sorry.
If it's any consolation, the actual book is one that a fan like Bailey would have read.
We have to disclose it.
Why? It's not exculpatory.
It's mistaken testimony.
It wasn't intended as such.
You give this letter to that publicity-seeking gas-bag they call ajudge, and you can kiss this trial goodbye.
I don't agree.
I'm cutting the book reference from my summation tomorrow.
We are not splitting hairs for this hypocrite who brutalized his wife and kids.
Bailey got his phony defense from a book, and I want the jury to hear it.
Arthur, you could probably find 50 prosecutors who'd agree with you, and 50 who wouldn't.
Count me among the latter.
Fine.
Connie, you're up.
Looks like you're closing tomorrow.
Jack.
Arthur's right.
To have Bailey walk because of an inconsequential mistake would be obscene.
That should make it easy for you.
GLOVER: Trina Bailey was atroubled, violent woman on a rampage to right the imagined wrongs of her childhood.
First, she beat her stepmother to a bloody death with a fire iron.
Her next target was her father.
And when she attacked him, Senator Bailey was forced, despite all the paternal love that he felt for his sick, daughter to do what any reasonable person would when confronted by a raging psychopath with a kitchen knife.
He defended himself.
CONNIE: There is nothing imagined about the wrongs of Trina's childhood.
Whatever she was in her adult life, she learned from a master.
Randall Bailey had a pathological need to abuse his daughter.
A need that he finally took to its logical, deadly conclusion.
And thanks to atricked-up claim of self-defense that has been a staple of crime fiction for decades, he thinks he can get away with it.
But consider this.
Six foot, 180 pounds Versus 5-5.
.
' Consider 13 deep, devastating stab wounds, versus eight pin pricks.
Consider what it took to drive this knife through meat and bone, into the body of his own daughter.
Not once, not twice, but 13 times.
This was not paternal love, or instinct.
No, it was murderous rage.
Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of Murder in the Second Degree, how do you find? We find Randall Bailey, guilty.
(CROWD MURMURING) You're a hack, Dilwynn! You're a pin-headed idiot! I'm going to make it my business to see you thrown off the bench! Heard you pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
What's this? My letter of resignation.
You obviously need someone who's more in tune with your point of view.
If I wanted a yes man, you'd have been out on your butt a long time ago.
I need someone who can tell me when my britches are unbuttoned.
You took me off the case.
You don't have confidence in myjudgment.
This is not mathematics, Jack.
If every one of these cases could be prosecuted by applying some equation in a book, then you couldn't get me out of bed in the morning.
I know you feel the same way.
Now just tell me that you'll think this over some more.
You know, one day, this chair is going to be empty.
I'm no politician, Arthur.
Yeah, everybody says that.