Law & Order (1990) s18e10 Episode Script
Tango
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.
We paid the fine.
Sorry.
Can't you just give me my car? Look, I can't give you any vehicle when you're under the influence, okay? Sonny.
Sonny.
Please? Well, we already missed a party because we got towed.
Yeah, I know.
You gotta watch those No Parking signs in front of those clubs.
Hey, you could come with us if you want.
We If you (GROANS) I don't feel so good.
Look, why don't you two go get some coffee and come back in a few hours, all right? Why don't you give me my God (VOMITS) (cousmus) Oh, that's beautiful.
Hey, Benny? Call 911.
Another one dropped.
No,no,no,no!DonW.
We'll get in trouble.
I'll call someone.
Um, can I use your phone? I'm not getting a signal.
You got a lot of problems tonight, huh? Watch your back! ED: So, you girls were just hitting the clubs? We just wanted a night in the city.
If the car hadn't been towed, then Do your parents know where you are? They're flying back from St.
Thomas.
I am so screwed.
But she's here.
Our daughter's missing.
This isn't like Anne-Marie.
She's a responsible kid.
When was the last time you saw her? At the tow yard.
I called her when I woke up in the ambulance.
She said she was gonna call this college guy we met at a club.
We've been calling her phone.
It just goes to voice-mail.
She never turns it off.
It's been almost eight hours.
She doesn't know anyone in the city.
Do you remember this college kid's name? Brendan.
I think I have his number.
That's good, right? You guys will find her, right? Yeah.
Kids coming into the city and going a little overboard, we find them all the time.
So don't worry.
We'll be in contact, all right? Yeah, we find them.
BRENDAN: I don't really know her, know her.
I just met her and her friend at a club and invited them to a party.
LUPO: Well, her friend said Anne-Marie called you last night.
Is that right? Yeah, at like 3:30 in the morning for a ride out to Scarsdale.
Well, did you give her the ride? I don't even have a car, man.
I just I told her to call a cab, she said she was lost.
That was it.
She said she was lost.
You just hung up.
Yeah, it was late and some other girls did come to the party.
So, they were both clearly under the influence of alcohol and God knows what else.
I didn't release the vehicle and I called So, everything by the book.
The other one, I don't know.
You didn't see where she went? No.
She got all weird when I called the ambulance.
She just took off.
What, down the highway? Yeah, I guess.
Which direction? North.
So what, you just watched as a drunk teenager wandered onto the highway? What am I, Super Nanny? The parents went to the press.
Calls are flooding in.
Suburban girls.
Anything useful? Well, two people who saw her on the West Side Highway.
One saw her getting in a cab.
License plate? No such luck.
Great, that narrows it down to 13,000 vehicles.
Maybe not.
This witness says that there were flowers painted on the taxi.
We're celebrating 100 years of New York taxis.
Kids are painting hoods, roofs and trunks.
Well, this says flowers were only on the trunk.
Maybe some kid slacked off.
All right.
Call the taxi garages.
See who's got half a paint job.
Yeah.
I pick up a girl around this time on the West Side Highway.
Is this her? Maybe her, maybe not her.
I think for sure she was going to vomit in the car because she's barely standing up.
But she still managed to hail a cab? No,no,no.
She no hail me.
I already have a fare.
So Why'd you stop? The guy in the back, he tell me to stop.
Says he knows her.
Where'd you drop them off? Very bad hotel.
We had three cameras but two are broken.
Whoa, whoa.
Right there.
Back it up a little.
A little more.
Right there.
That's good.
ED: You can't really see their faces.
LUPO: Yeah.
Right there.
Do you know who that is? ANTONIO: That's Sugar.
She stays here off and on.
Nice girl.
Meth head hooker, but nice girl.
ED: What about the dude? I don't know.
I figured the girl was one of Sugar's co-workers and needed a place to sleep it off.
Him, I figured a customer.
But Sugar paid his cab fare which makes him her pimp.
Did he rent a separate room? No.
He said he was with Sugar.
And the girl, she was conscious or no? Uh, she could kind of walk.
A little.
And you didn't think it was a good idea to call 911, a semiconscious girl gets dragged upstairs by a pimp? You're joking, right? ED: ls Sugar in her room? Nope.
She only paid up till noon today.
ED: All right.
We need to see the room.
ED: Lupes? That could be blood.
Hey, man, this is a crime scene now, so I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room, all right? Sure, sure.
I know the drill.
I'll send the CSU guys up when they get here.
LUPO: Well, well, well.
(DIALING) (CELL PHONE RINGING) It's Anne-Marie's.
Somebody used it to call Suffolk County this morning at 8:47.
Her name is not Sugar, it's Melinda.
And before she called this morning, we hadn't heard from her in two weeks.
Did she tell you where she was? She never tells us where she is.
She just asks for money.
How are you supposed to send her the money if you don't know where she is? We say no.
We always say no.
We can't enable her.
Every time.
It breaks my heart.
She's been thrown out of rehab three times.
Has she ever mentioned any of the people she spends time with? The junkies and pimps? No.
Where was she thrown out from most recently? Parksdale Academy.
(EXHALES) It's a school for people like Melinda.
It was our last hope.
ED: What's up with the signs? TERRELL: Well, we require our students to own their behavior.
I know our methods may seem a little bit unorthodox, but believe me, we get results.
Not so much for Melinda Whitman, I guess.
No, not for Melinda Whitman.
Here, this is Nelson's room.
And this is Melinda's friend? Closest thing she's got to one.
Stand up.
These are detectives.
They need to talk to you about Melinda.
Okay, we'll take it from here, bro.
Thanks.
I'll be in my office.
At ease, kid.
Just 'cause you give me a pack of smokes doesn't mean I'm gonna talk about Melinda.
Give them back then.
I don't know where she is, and even if I did I wouldn't help you drag her back to this hellhole.
Can you believe my parents dropped, like, 50 grand on this place? Wejust wanna talk to her, bro.
Either way, I don't know where she is.
But you're from the city, she's not.
I'm betting you hooked her up with someone.
How do you know I'm from the city? I also see here you were arrested for possession of meth.
Melinda likes meth.
She would need a dealer, and so will you when you get out of here.
But after we round up every dealer you came near and tell them you sent us One.
I might've hooked her up with one.
Have your money straight.
Have your money straight.
Same price as yesterday.
Price ain't changed, price ain't changed.
Stop! Hey, hey, hey! What's your rush, Lysol? Come on, I ain't do nothin', man! You ain't do nothin'.
They always say that.
I ain't do nothin', man.
This kind of nothin' could get you eight to 12, bro.
Man, I want my lawyer.
I've got a lawyer.
All right, slow down.
Her card's in my other pocket.
Slow down, Lysol.
That might not be necessary.
We're just looking for a client of yours, a white girl named Sugar.
I ain't seen her in awhile.
All right, turn around.
(HANDCUFFS CLANKING) All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right! Sometimes I leave messages for her at this bar up on 125.
Oh yeah? Well, give her a call.
Tell her you want her to meet you there.
What am I supposed to say? Tell her you're having a two-for-one sale.
Did you see those parents, man? Must be rough.
Which ones? The ones with the daughter who went partying and never came back, or the ones with Melinda who turned into Sugar? So what, a big house, a pile of money, the perfect life.
It's too boring, or Try me.
(WHISTLES) Hey, Lysol.
Melinda Whitman.
We need to talk to you downtown.
LysoH You son of a bitch! I don't know her.
Her name is Anne-Marie Liscomb, and this is a picture of her going into the hotel where you were staying.
A lot of people stay there.
And this is a picture of you going outside to pay her cab fare.
You in the habit of paying for strangers' taxis? Who's the guy in the picture, Melinda? I don't know.
But he handed me some money and then he told me to go give it to the cab driver.
The girl was pretty wasted so I helped him out, that's all.
Melinda, you ain't helping yourself here.
The only way you can do that is tell us the truth.
That is the truth.
Look, we found Anne-Marie's blood in your hotel room.
So if you ain't going to help us find the guy who carried her up there, the whole thing gets pinned on you.
I didn't do anything.
Oh, this guy must be a real prince.
Tell us who the guy is, Melinda, and we can protect you.
Quit calling me Melinda.
My name is Sugar.
No.
Your name is Melinda.
Yeah, you called your parents to ask for money, but you also called them to let them know that you're still alive 'cause you know they give a damn.
And somewhere in your little black heart, you give a damn, too.
They just found something near the hotel.
Over here.
See? We find them.
I saw her parents on the news.
Yeah, they're on their way down here.
(sums) Well, there is evidence of both anal and vaginal penetration.
We got fluids to run for DNA.
Cause of death was ligature strangulation.
Could be an electrical cord.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) There's also blunt force trauma to the head, which bled profusely.
He's not a very nice guy, whoever he is.
Now, all we have to do is get his girlfriend to give him up.
That's easier said than done.
Looks like Melinda's parents gave up on their whole tough love thing.
They sprang for a lawyer.
Later.
If you don't intend to charge my client, I want her released immediately.
Your client is being held as a material witness.
She's entitled to a hearing on that issue, andlWlopposethe district attorney's application.
Fine.
Then we'll arrest her.
She's avictim.
You know she's a victim.
I don't know that at all.
Melinda, Anne-Marie was raped and sodomized before she was murdered.
Now, you know who did that.
You can stop him from doing it again.
If you're worried about getting in trouble yourself, we can talk to the D.
A.
, maybe make a deal.
Miss Whitman is not interested in a deal.
She's interested in going home.
So we charge her.
I mean, if we gotta charge her, let's charge her.
The one we want is the guy she's protecting.
We wave murder at her, she'll give him up.
Or martyr herself for him.
All right, how about this? We just let her go.
He's out there, so put her out there.
Romeo and Juliet seek each other out.
All right, but you two stay on her like white on rice.
We should call the surgeon general to give her a warning.
How many is that? It's like three hours' worth.
Looks like Romeo ain't in no hurry.
I think I have an idea.
Goose Juliet.
LUPO: Hey, kid! You gotta tell me what the note said.
It said, "Think a bitch can rat me out and run away?" (LAUGHING) Think it was too much? Well Might make her hide from him.
Might make her run to him to set the record straight.
LUPO: All right, here she goes.
Yo! I didn't rat you out.
I wouldn't do that.
What're you talking about? I wouldn't do it.
What' re you talking about? Put your hands where I can see them! Put your hands up! Keep them up! You set me up? No! Tito, I didn't! You set me up.
No! Tito, I didn't! You bitch! I didn't set you up! That ain't me.
That ain't nobody.
You can't see the face.
Yeah, well, we got your taxi driver coming down here to ID your ass.
And we got DNA from the dead girl which we'll be matching to you as soon as we get a court order to put a needle in your arm.
So we went upstairs together.
So what? Girl knew what she wanted.
No crime in that.
The girl was so drunk, she could hardly stand up.
No, man, shejust couldn't keep her hands off me.
Who said she was drunk? Sugar? That bitch is jealous, is all.
Of what, you having another woman in her room, or something else? Girl needs to be put in her place sometime.
Needs reminding that Tito ain't a one-woman man.
(CHUCKLES) I didn't think she'd eliminate the competition, though.
So, you put your girlfriend in her place by raping and sodomizing a drunk high school girl and then you got the balls to accuse her of murder? Who's talking about rape? Everything I did to Anne-Marie, she was begging for.
And when it was over, I left her satisfied and alive.
LUPO: You telling me you have no idea how that girl wound up in that dumpster? Could've been any number of situations.
That's not the best part of town, you know? Could've been some stick-up kids.
To tell you the truth, my money's on Sugar.
She is one jealous skank.
Can't stand it when Tito gets his sugar somewhere else.
Tito's fan club followed him down here.
Sugar? Interview one.
Let's go tell her he said hey.
Hey, I need to talk to Tito.
He's a little busy right now.
Yeah, I need to talk to him.
Busy telling us that you murdered Anne-Marie.
He wouldn't say that.
Do you want us to call your attorney, Melinda? No.
I know you're lying to me anyway.
Yeah? Does this look like we're lying? Melinda Whitman, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
Why are you surprised he'd rat you out? He brought another woman into your room, made you pay for her cab Tito loves me.
You know what, Melinda? It's better this way.
You'll be safer at Rikers.
When we picked up Tito, he had a .
22 in his pocket.
He was gunning for you for telling us about him.
I didn't.
Hey, you know I didn't.
He figured you did it because you were jealous.
Jealous he had a better woman.
You don't understand anything.
Yeah? He told me that screwing her after screwing you was like trading up from a dump truck to a Caddy.
He said, "At least she didn't just lie there like a junkie skank.
" He's lying.
He killed her.
He made me watch while he raped her in my room.
(SOBBING) And then he killed her.
You just watched? He made me stay in the room.
I was afraid to leave.
I was afraid he'd kill me, too.
Tito Cabassa, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
What? What did she say? What did she tell you? Sugar! Sugar! You lying bitch! Where are you? Huh? You lying whore! Yeah, I see you.
I see you, you lying bitch! What did you tell them? What did you say? You damn stupid lying junkie whore! "Docket number 33972.
"People v.
Melinda Whitman.
Hindering Prosecution in the Third Degree.
" We enter a plea of not guilty and ask that bail be set at a reasonable amount.
The People have no objection to bail.
In that case, bail is set at $5,000.
"Docket number 33977.
"People v.
Tito Cabassa.
Murder in the Second Degree.
" How does the defendant plead? We plead not guilty, Your Honor.
As to bail? People seek remand.
The defendant has no permanent residence or employment.
He brutally murdered a young woman in full view of a witness.
That's a lie! Tito, I'm sorry.
JUDGE: Order! Order! I love you.
YourHonon the People's case is built on fraudulent claims made by a so-called eyewitness whose statement was coerced.
For the moment, Ms.
Bocanegra, your client is remanded.
You can revisit the issue of bail after the suppression hearing.
Melinda Whitman only implicated my client after the police engaged in a series of improper and fraudulent acts, starting with this.
"Think a bitch can rat me out and run away?" My client didn't write that.
The police did, and had it delivered to Miss Whitman.
The police are allowed to use trickery to provoke a statement.
They're not allowed to convince a witness that a suspect intends to kill her, provoking her to lie to get him safely locked up.
Call me crazy, Mr.
Cutter, but I am inclined to agree.
Is that what happened? Uh, we haven't had a chance to interview the police officers involved.
Did they write this? I believe they did, yes.
Ah.
This renders Miss Whitman's statement so incredible that it would be unduly prejudicial to allow it into evidence.
Credibility is a matter for the jury to decide.
You can attack Ms.
Whitman and her statement on cross.
I don't need to attack her.
She already recanted.
All right.
It looks like your detectives have crossed the line, Counselors.
Ms.
Whitman's statement against Mr.
Cabassa is suppressed.
You didn't think telling her he was going to shoot her would come back and bite us in the ass? We needed to find the guy.
That was item one on the agenda.
Well, item two is going to be watching him walk out of jail.
We still have the surveillance video of him hauling the victim into the hotel.
You can't see his face.
But you can see his clothes, and we found those clothes in another one of his cribs.
We still have the victim's blood in the room Tito was in.
Melinda's room, and he claims Melinda killed her.
Could raise reasonable doubt.
Melinda didn't rape and sodomize that girl.
Look, I'm not saying the guy didn't do it.
I just want enough evidence to nail him six times over.
If he walks, I'm going to feel like an accomplice the next time he does this.
What about other witnesses? Who else was in that hotel? There's a woman that was staying next door.
Tabitha Mundy.
She just turned up at a battered women's shelter in the Bronx.
I knew it was Sugar staying next door.
We ain't close or nothin', but I know her from the street.
Did you see anyone else there with her? No.
Just heard some noises though.
Somebody was having a time.
There was a man in there with Sugar and another woman.
What I said.
I only seen Sugar, though.
It was when she was in the hallway dumping her trash down the air shaft.
It was after the noise all ended.
She's always so high and mighty.
She even used some designer bag for her trash.
Please.
Ain't no such thing as a high-class junkie.
Did she say anything when you saw her? No.
I think my man went over there, though.
Timmy was always like to be going over there.
Where can we find Timmy? Bronx Central Lockup, thanks to this.
This time, I'm pressing charges.
This girl, she's the one that was on the news.
That's right.
Did you see her in the hotel that night? You know, uh, I think I might have.
You might have? Well, you know, being in jail and all, every/thing's so crowded.
I'd just be, uh, a little more comfortable if the room was a little emptier.
It's not that crowded.
Mike, why don't you wait outside and I'll handle this.
You sure? Yeah.
Well, this is so much better, isn't it? This isn't a date, Timmy.
Do you know anything? I saw Tito.
He was there.
Yeah, we know that.
Did you see the girl? You know my woman called the cops on me for smacking her around a little.
The thing is, when they arrested me, I had a small amount of a controlled substance on my person.
And you want a deal? If that worry was off my mind, memories could just come pouring out.
DELGADO: So, Jack, what brings you north of the border? The Anne-Marie Liscomb case.
One of your defendants is a potential witness.
But he won't sing without a deal? He wants a drug possession charge dropped.
He'll plead to misdemeanor assault.
What did my A.
D.
A.
say? He said no.
Trying to keep his batting average up, I guess.
Well, I do try to keep my people motivated.
This was a heinous crime, Juan.
It's in everyone's interest to have a successful prosecution.
You know, Jack, I'm a little surprised you were even able to find your way up here on that white horse of yours.
Look, I know we've had our differences.
Cultural differences.
I live in the real world, you live on a higher plane.
I appreciate that.
A higher plane? I've been prosecuting, down and dirty in the trenches since you were Since I was what? A back room fixer for a political machine? I wasn't going to say that.
I'll tell you what, Jack.
One of my bureau chiefs lives on the Upper West Side, and he has a problem with alternate side of the street parking.
So, if I fix his parking tickets, you'll help me convict a rapist-murderer? Deal.
I could hear the two of them were arguing, Tito and Sugar, through this wall, middle of the night.
What were they arguing about? I couldn't make out the words, but I figured it must've been about him bringing that other girl around.
Did you see the other girl? No, I just heard her.
And then I heard Tito leave.
That's when I made my move.
What move? On Sugar.
I'd heard the fight.
I know Tito treats her pretty bad, so I thought maybe she was in need of, uh, some consolation.
You know what I'm saying? CUTTER: And what happened then? So I come out in the hall and I knocked on the door.
And, sure enough, she was alone.
What about Anne-Marie, where was she? She was down the hall in the bathroom, just like Sugar said.
Did Sugar let you into the room? Itried to, but she kept me out.
I could tell she was hiding something.
She kept looking back at a bag sticking out from under the bed.
It's like one of those big duffel bags, you know? Could you see what was in it? Make out a shape? Well, lthought maybe it was a dog.
You know, they don't allow them in the hotel, but it wasn't the first time Sugar tried to sneak one in.
What made you think it was a dog? I could I could see it moving, kind of moving inside the bag and sort of yelping.
Did Sugar see that, the thing moving inside the bag? Unless she was blind and deaf, sure.
Okay, thanks.
My God, Anne-Marie was still alive.
And Melinda was alone with her.
You know, Timmy's girlfriend said she saw her dumping something down the air shaft after Tito went out.
Call Lupo and Green.
Here's your murder weapon.
We found it in the trash heap at the bottom of the shaft.
Inside a Borsini's bag.
Prints on the bag and the hair dryer match Melinda Whitman.
And that's Anne-Marie's blood on the cord.
What about Tito's prints? Nope.
Just Melinda's.
She killed Anne-Marie.
Tito thought he did.
He went out to find a place to dump the body.
While he was gone, Melinda saw her moving, finished her off.
Yep.
What's going on? Step aside, sir.
Melinda Whitman, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
No.
What are you doing? I didn't do anything.
Mom? Hey, Dad! Dad! Daddy! Daddy! Mr.
Gardner, I understand you work for the sanitation department.
Going on 19 years.
And you have three children? Two boys and a girl.
Any of them ever have a brush with the law? Never.
They know they'd have more to worry about than the law if that happened.
Very good.
Now, you understand that in this case, there are two defendants and the jury will have to consider each defendant separately.
Yes, sir, I understand.
No objections to Mr.
Gardner.
Mr.
Campbell, have you ever been arrested? Once, in 2004 during the Republican convention.
What were the circumstances? I was protesting.
Ended up spending three nights at Pier 57 without being charged, just for exercising my First Amendment rights.
Thanks.
What do you think? I wouldn't.
He's got a chip on his shoulder.
I don't know.
There's something about him I like.
No objection to Mr.
Campbell, Your Honor.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Tito's lawyerjust called.
He wants to deal.
Already? He's no fool.
He's figured out that the jury might split the difference.
Convict the Hispanic pimp and acquit the pretty white girl.
He'll plead to rape and attempted murder and testify against Melinda.
I think we can get them both for murder.
Isn't attempted murder what he actually did? Your theory is the girl finished off the victim.
They're accomplices.
They're both guilty.
But she might walk if we don't get his testimony.
And if we do, how's that going to look? Pimps, drug dealers, and prosecutors, all lined up against this poor helpless girl.
So make it not look that way.
How long after you saw that bag moving did you hear Mr.
Cabassa return to the hotel? I don't know.
Uh, it must have been at least an hour.
And after Melinda Whitman went down the hall with her garbage, you heard no more yelping from her room? No, the girl must have been dead by then.
Move to strike.
If I'd known what was going on, I would have saved her.
I feel really terrible That's enough, Mr.
Serco.
The jury will disregard his last two statements.
Nothing further.
ROTHENBERG: You were arrested last month for drug possession, and assaulting your girlfriend, correct? Yeah, but the drug charge was dropped.
In return for your testimony here today.
Well, that's the way the system works.
In fact, if you didn't offer information the prosecution could use in this trial, there wouldn't have been a deal, isn't that right? If I couldn't scratch their back, why would they scratch mine? Timmy came off as an opportunistic criminal piece of crap.
He is an opportunistic criminal piece of crap.
And tomorrow we've got another one testifying for us.
Tito.
HeygwhydonWyou do Tito's direct? Reafly? Absolutely.
The feminine touch, something to soften this for the jury.
CONNIE: Mr.
Cabassa, why did you bring Anne-Marie back to Melinda's room? To be honest, there was a lot of places we could've gone, but I wanted to make Sugar Melinda, I wanted to make herjealous.
You wanted to put her in her place? Yeah, you know, show her, she ain't the only hot little white girl out there.
Did you have sex with Anne-Marie? Yes, ma'am, I did.
Even though we saw on the surveillance tape she was too drunk to walk.
Yeah.
You could say I took advantage of her.
I would say that, yes.
What about Melinda? Where was she? I told her to go take a walk, but she didn't want to leave me alone with Anne-Marie.
She stayed.
So she watched.
She watched while you raped and sodomized Anne-Marie Liscomb? Her choice.
Then what happened? Anne-Marie started getting all hinky, saying she wanted to go home and all.
What'd you do? She was getting loud, so I tried covering her mouth but she got away.
She was going for the door.
I grabbed her and shoved her down.
That's when she hit her head on the table.
There was blood everywhere.
I thought she was dead.
Did you try to revive her? Yeah, but she was gone.
Or I thought she was.
Did you or Melinda call for medical help? I thought I killed her.
Sugar Melinda, she didn't want an ambulance either.
She said it served me right for cheating on her.
So what did you do? We crammed her in this big bag Sugar uses for clothes.
Then I went out to look for a place where we could ditch the body.
When you left, where was Melinda? She stayed in the room with the body.
She was still there when you got back? Yeah, she was there, alone with the body.
Thank you, Mr.
Cabassa.
You did great.
Thanks.
Looks like somebody else agrees with you.
Who? I don't know, anonymous e-mail.
"Amazing performance in court today.
"Great legs and smart.
You're the total package.
" I completely agree.
You ready to cross Melinda? No, you know, uh, you do it, Mike.
You've got great legs, too.
What else was I supposed to do? Besides watching an innocent young woman be raped? How about trying to stop your boyfriend? How about calling for help? How about calling the police? Tito wouldn't let me.
Did he try to stop you? He would have.
He killed that girl.
He would have killed me, too.
He didn't kill her, Melinda.
She was still alive after you shoved her into that duffel bag.
That's not true.
Timmy Serco saw her moving.
He heard her.
Well, he lied.
We all know why he lied.
Did he? You didn't like Anne-Marie being in your room, did you? Not in that way.
Of course not.
It was hard for you to see her with Tito, wasn't it? Yeah.
A little.
Especially since she was so much like you.
She was nothing like me.
Well, maybe not now, but like you were before the drugs, before the streets.
I was never like her.
Before you got all messed up.
I was never that stupid.
Before you turned into a junkie skank.
Your Honor? Anne-Marie reminded Tito of what you used to be.
No.
That's why he wanted her.
She threw herself at him.
You were glad when you thought he'd killed her, weren't you? I didn't care.
She meant nothing to me.
And when you realized he hadn't killed her, you finished the job.
You got rid of her.
I just wanted her to leave Tito alone.
I wanted her gone.
(SOBBING) Uh, one Fashionelle, please? Thank you.
Hi.
I'm sorry, Mr Campbell.
I can't speak to you outside the courtroom.
Oh, I know.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to say that I I hope you'll get to do more questioning, 'cause you were really good.
This is inappropriate.
I'm sorry.
Good-bye.
I called in Tech Services and had that e-mail traced.
E-mail? "Great legs.
" Oh.
Let me guess.
Juror number eight.
How did you know that? He's been checking you out since "voir dire".
Well, he approached me on the street last night.
Did you talk to him? No.
He talked to me, but I can't believe you didn't tell me that.
Tell you what? A man finds you attractive? It's a fairly common occurrence, Connie.
That's why you seated him.
That's why you had me do Tito's cross.
I don't appreciate being pimped out to the jury.
Connie, what about our meeting with Timmy Serco? You threw me out of the room because he was lusting after you.
You used your sexuality to get what you wanted.
All I did was ask you to leave.
And then I conducted the interview exactly as I would have if you hadn't been there in the first place.
If you say so, fine.
What do you want to do about Mr.
Campbell? We should tell the judge.
What? That he looked at you? That he said hello? It was inappropriate communication.
You did nothing inappropriate.
If we tell the judge, and she declares a mistrial, we're throwing away our best shot at Melinda Whitman.
She practically confessed on the stand today, and she won't do it again.
It's not the point.
It's the only point.
Jack, are you going to say something? Jurors are people.
Lawyers are people.
They have reactions.
We could put you in a burka.
Jack.
Or hire robots to try cases.
Until then, we use what we have.
By the way, your jury's back.
It's your call.
We go listen to the verdict or talk to the judge.
Whatever you want.
(DOOR CLOSES) JUDGE: Madam Forewoman, have you reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of murder in the second degree, how do you find? We find the defendant guilty.
Connie Don't.
These are their stories.
We paid the fine.
Sorry.
Can't you just give me my car? Look, I can't give you any vehicle when you're under the influence, okay? Sonny.
Sonny.
Please? Well, we already missed a party because we got towed.
Yeah, I know.
You gotta watch those No Parking signs in front of those clubs.
Hey, you could come with us if you want.
We If you (GROANS) I don't feel so good.
Look, why don't you two go get some coffee and come back in a few hours, all right? Why don't you give me my God (VOMITS) (cousmus) Oh, that's beautiful.
Hey, Benny? Call 911.
Another one dropped.
No,no,no,no!DonW.
We'll get in trouble.
I'll call someone.
Um, can I use your phone? I'm not getting a signal.
You got a lot of problems tonight, huh? Watch your back! ED: So, you girls were just hitting the clubs? We just wanted a night in the city.
If the car hadn't been towed, then Do your parents know where you are? They're flying back from St.
Thomas.
I am so screwed.
But she's here.
Our daughter's missing.
This isn't like Anne-Marie.
She's a responsible kid.
When was the last time you saw her? At the tow yard.
I called her when I woke up in the ambulance.
She said she was gonna call this college guy we met at a club.
We've been calling her phone.
It just goes to voice-mail.
She never turns it off.
It's been almost eight hours.
She doesn't know anyone in the city.
Do you remember this college kid's name? Brendan.
I think I have his number.
That's good, right? You guys will find her, right? Yeah.
Kids coming into the city and going a little overboard, we find them all the time.
So don't worry.
We'll be in contact, all right? Yeah, we find them.
BRENDAN: I don't really know her, know her.
I just met her and her friend at a club and invited them to a party.
LUPO: Well, her friend said Anne-Marie called you last night.
Is that right? Yeah, at like 3:30 in the morning for a ride out to Scarsdale.
Well, did you give her the ride? I don't even have a car, man.
I just I told her to call a cab, she said she was lost.
That was it.
She said she was lost.
You just hung up.
Yeah, it was late and some other girls did come to the party.
So, they were both clearly under the influence of alcohol and God knows what else.
I didn't release the vehicle and I called So, everything by the book.
The other one, I don't know.
You didn't see where she went? No.
She got all weird when I called the ambulance.
She just took off.
What, down the highway? Yeah, I guess.
Which direction? North.
So what, you just watched as a drunk teenager wandered onto the highway? What am I, Super Nanny? The parents went to the press.
Calls are flooding in.
Suburban girls.
Anything useful? Well, two people who saw her on the West Side Highway.
One saw her getting in a cab.
License plate? No such luck.
Great, that narrows it down to 13,000 vehicles.
Maybe not.
This witness says that there were flowers painted on the taxi.
We're celebrating 100 years of New York taxis.
Kids are painting hoods, roofs and trunks.
Well, this says flowers were only on the trunk.
Maybe some kid slacked off.
All right.
Call the taxi garages.
See who's got half a paint job.
Yeah.
I pick up a girl around this time on the West Side Highway.
Is this her? Maybe her, maybe not her.
I think for sure she was going to vomit in the car because she's barely standing up.
But she still managed to hail a cab? No,no,no.
She no hail me.
I already have a fare.
So Why'd you stop? The guy in the back, he tell me to stop.
Says he knows her.
Where'd you drop them off? Very bad hotel.
We had three cameras but two are broken.
Whoa, whoa.
Right there.
Back it up a little.
A little more.
Right there.
That's good.
ED: You can't really see their faces.
LUPO: Yeah.
Right there.
Do you know who that is? ANTONIO: That's Sugar.
She stays here off and on.
Nice girl.
Meth head hooker, but nice girl.
ED: What about the dude? I don't know.
I figured the girl was one of Sugar's co-workers and needed a place to sleep it off.
Him, I figured a customer.
But Sugar paid his cab fare which makes him her pimp.
Did he rent a separate room? No.
He said he was with Sugar.
And the girl, she was conscious or no? Uh, she could kind of walk.
A little.
And you didn't think it was a good idea to call 911, a semiconscious girl gets dragged upstairs by a pimp? You're joking, right? ED: ls Sugar in her room? Nope.
She only paid up till noon today.
ED: All right.
We need to see the room.
ED: Lupes? That could be blood.
Hey, man, this is a crime scene now, so I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room, all right? Sure, sure.
I know the drill.
I'll send the CSU guys up when they get here.
LUPO: Well, well, well.
(DIALING) (CELL PHONE RINGING) It's Anne-Marie's.
Somebody used it to call Suffolk County this morning at 8:47.
Her name is not Sugar, it's Melinda.
And before she called this morning, we hadn't heard from her in two weeks.
Did she tell you where she was? She never tells us where she is.
She just asks for money.
How are you supposed to send her the money if you don't know where she is? We say no.
We always say no.
We can't enable her.
Every time.
It breaks my heart.
She's been thrown out of rehab three times.
Has she ever mentioned any of the people she spends time with? The junkies and pimps? No.
Where was she thrown out from most recently? Parksdale Academy.
(EXHALES) It's a school for people like Melinda.
It was our last hope.
ED: What's up with the signs? TERRELL: Well, we require our students to own their behavior.
I know our methods may seem a little bit unorthodox, but believe me, we get results.
Not so much for Melinda Whitman, I guess.
No, not for Melinda Whitman.
Here, this is Nelson's room.
And this is Melinda's friend? Closest thing she's got to one.
Stand up.
These are detectives.
They need to talk to you about Melinda.
Okay, we'll take it from here, bro.
Thanks.
I'll be in my office.
At ease, kid.
Just 'cause you give me a pack of smokes doesn't mean I'm gonna talk about Melinda.
Give them back then.
I don't know where she is, and even if I did I wouldn't help you drag her back to this hellhole.
Can you believe my parents dropped, like, 50 grand on this place? Wejust wanna talk to her, bro.
Either way, I don't know where she is.
But you're from the city, she's not.
I'm betting you hooked her up with someone.
How do you know I'm from the city? I also see here you were arrested for possession of meth.
Melinda likes meth.
She would need a dealer, and so will you when you get out of here.
But after we round up every dealer you came near and tell them you sent us One.
I might've hooked her up with one.
Have your money straight.
Have your money straight.
Same price as yesterday.
Price ain't changed, price ain't changed.
Stop! Hey, hey, hey! What's your rush, Lysol? Come on, I ain't do nothin', man! You ain't do nothin'.
They always say that.
I ain't do nothin', man.
This kind of nothin' could get you eight to 12, bro.
Man, I want my lawyer.
I've got a lawyer.
All right, slow down.
Her card's in my other pocket.
Slow down, Lysol.
That might not be necessary.
We're just looking for a client of yours, a white girl named Sugar.
I ain't seen her in awhile.
All right, turn around.
(HANDCUFFS CLANKING) All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right! Sometimes I leave messages for her at this bar up on 125.
Oh yeah? Well, give her a call.
Tell her you want her to meet you there.
What am I supposed to say? Tell her you're having a two-for-one sale.
Did you see those parents, man? Must be rough.
Which ones? The ones with the daughter who went partying and never came back, or the ones with Melinda who turned into Sugar? So what, a big house, a pile of money, the perfect life.
It's too boring, or Try me.
(WHISTLES) Hey, Lysol.
Melinda Whitman.
We need to talk to you downtown.
LysoH You son of a bitch! I don't know her.
Her name is Anne-Marie Liscomb, and this is a picture of her going into the hotel where you were staying.
A lot of people stay there.
And this is a picture of you going outside to pay her cab fare.
You in the habit of paying for strangers' taxis? Who's the guy in the picture, Melinda? I don't know.
But he handed me some money and then he told me to go give it to the cab driver.
The girl was pretty wasted so I helped him out, that's all.
Melinda, you ain't helping yourself here.
The only way you can do that is tell us the truth.
That is the truth.
Look, we found Anne-Marie's blood in your hotel room.
So if you ain't going to help us find the guy who carried her up there, the whole thing gets pinned on you.
I didn't do anything.
Oh, this guy must be a real prince.
Tell us who the guy is, Melinda, and we can protect you.
Quit calling me Melinda.
My name is Sugar.
No.
Your name is Melinda.
Yeah, you called your parents to ask for money, but you also called them to let them know that you're still alive 'cause you know they give a damn.
And somewhere in your little black heart, you give a damn, too.
They just found something near the hotel.
Over here.
See? We find them.
I saw her parents on the news.
Yeah, they're on their way down here.
(sums) Well, there is evidence of both anal and vaginal penetration.
We got fluids to run for DNA.
Cause of death was ligature strangulation.
Could be an electrical cord.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) There's also blunt force trauma to the head, which bled profusely.
He's not a very nice guy, whoever he is.
Now, all we have to do is get his girlfriend to give him up.
That's easier said than done.
Looks like Melinda's parents gave up on their whole tough love thing.
They sprang for a lawyer.
Later.
If you don't intend to charge my client, I want her released immediately.
Your client is being held as a material witness.
She's entitled to a hearing on that issue, andlWlopposethe district attorney's application.
Fine.
Then we'll arrest her.
She's avictim.
You know she's a victim.
I don't know that at all.
Melinda, Anne-Marie was raped and sodomized before she was murdered.
Now, you know who did that.
You can stop him from doing it again.
If you're worried about getting in trouble yourself, we can talk to the D.
A.
, maybe make a deal.
Miss Whitman is not interested in a deal.
She's interested in going home.
So we charge her.
I mean, if we gotta charge her, let's charge her.
The one we want is the guy she's protecting.
We wave murder at her, she'll give him up.
Or martyr herself for him.
All right, how about this? We just let her go.
He's out there, so put her out there.
Romeo and Juliet seek each other out.
All right, but you two stay on her like white on rice.
We should call the surgeon general to give her a warning.
How many is that? It's like three hours' worth.
Looks like Romeo ain't in no hurry.
I think I have an idea.
Goose Juliet.
LUPO: Hey, kid! You gotta tell me what the note said.
It said, "Think a bitch can rat me out and run away?" (LAUGHING) Think it was too much? Well Might make her hide from him.
Might make her run to him to set the record straight.
LUPO: All right, here she goes.
Yo! I didn't rat you out.
I wouldn't do that.
What're you talking about? I wouldn't do it.
What' re you talking about? Put your hands where I can see them! Put your hands up! Keep them up! You set me up? No! Tito, I didn't! You set me up.
No! Tito, I didn't! You bitch! I didn't set you up! That ain't me.
That ain't nobody.
You can't see the face.
Yeah, well, we got your taxi driver coming down here to ID your ass.
And we got DNA from the dead girl which we'll be matching to you as soon as we get a court order to put a needle in your arm.
So we went upstairs together.
So what? Girl knew what she wanted.
No crime in that.
The girl was so drunk, she could hardly stand up.
No, man, shejust couldn't keep her hands off me.
Who said she was drunk? Sugar? That bitch is jealous, is all.
Of what, you having another woman in her room, or something else? Girl needs to be put in her place sometime.
Needs reminding that Tito ain't a one-woman man.
(CHUCKLES) I didn't think she'd eliminate the competition, though.
So, you put your girlfriend in her place by raping and sodomizing a drunk high school girl and then you got the balls to accuse her of murder? Who's talking about rape? Everything I did to Anne-Marie, she was begging for.
And when it was over, I left her satisfied and alive.
LUPO: You telling me you have no idea how that girl wound up in that dumpster? Could've been any number of situations.
That's not the best part of town, you know? Could've been some stick-up kids.
To tell you the truth, my money's on Sugar.
She is one jealous skank.
Can't stand it when Tito gets his sugar somewhere else.
Tito's fan club followed him down here.
Sugar? Interview one.
Let's go tell her he said hey.
Hey, I need to talk to Tito.
He's a little busy right now.
Yeah, I need to talk to him.
Busy telling us that you murdered Anne-Marie.
He wouldn't say that.
Do you want us to call your attorney, Melinda? No.
I know you're lying to me anyway.
Yeah? Does this look like we're lying? Melinda Whitman, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
Why are you surprised he'd rat you out? He brought another woman into your room, made you pay for her cab Tito loves me.
You know what, Melinda? It's better this way.
You'll be safer at Rikers.
When we picked up Tito, he had a .
22 in his pocket.
He was gunning for you for telling us about him.
I didn't.
Hey, you know I didn't.
He figured you did it because you were jealous.
Jealous he had a better woman.
You don't understand anything.
Yeah? He told me that screwing her after screwing you was like trading up from a dump truck to a Caddy.
He said, "At least she didn't just lie there like a junkie skank.
" He's lying.
He killed her.
He made me watch while he raped her in my room.
(SOBBING) And then he killed her.
You just watched? He made me stay in the room.
I was afraid to leave.
I was afraid he'd kill me, too.
Tito Cabassa, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
What? What did she say? What did she tell you? Sugar! Sugar! You lying bitch! Where are you? Huh? You lying whore! Yeah, I see you.
I see you, you lying bitch! What did you tell them? What did you say? You damn stupid lying junkie whore! "Docket number 33972.
"People v.
Melinda Whitman.
Hindering Prosecution in the Third Degree.
" We enter a plea of not guilty and ask that bail be set at a reasonable amount.
The People have no objection to bail.
In that case, bail is set at $5,000.
"Docket number 33977.
"People v.
Tito Cabassa.
Murder in the Second Degree.
" How does the defendant plead? We plead not guilty, Your Honor.
As to bail? People seek remand.
The defendant has no permanent residence or employment.
He brutally murdered a young woman in full view of a witness.
That's a lie! Tito, I'm sorry.
JUDGE: Order! Order! I love you.
YourHonon the People's case is built on fraudulent claims made by a so-called eyewitness whose statement was coerced.
For the moment, Ms.
Bocanegra, your client is remanded.
You can revisit the issue of bail after the suppression hearing.
Melinda Whitman only implicated my client after the police engaged in a series of improper and fraudulent acts, starting with this.
"Think a bitch can rat me out and run away?" My client didn't write that.
The police did, and had it delivered to Miss Whitman.
The police are allowed to use trickery to provoke a statement.
They're not allowed to convince a witness that a suspect intends to kill her, provoking her to lie to get him safely locked up.
Call me crazy, Mr.
Cutter, but I am inclined to agree.
Is that what happened? Uh, we haven't had a chance to interview the police officers involved.
Did they write this? I believe they did, yes.
Ah.
This renders Miss Whitman's statement so incredible that it would be unduly prejudicial to allow it into evidence.
Credibility is a matter for the jury to decide.
You can attack Ms.
Whitman and her statement on cross.
I don't need to attack her.
She already recanted.
All right.
It looks like your detectives have crossed the line, Counselors.
Ms.
Whitman's statement against Mr.
Cabassa is suppressed.
You didn't think telling her he was going to shoot her would come back and bite us in the ass? We needed to find the guy.
That was item one on the agenda.
Well, item two is going to be watching him walk out of jail.
We still have the surveillance video of him hauling the victim into the hotel.
You can't see his face.
But you can see his clothes, and we found those clothes in another one of his cribs.
We still have the victim's blood in the room Tito was in.
Melinda's room, and he claims Melinda killed her.
Could raise reasonable doubt.
Melinda didn't rape and sodomize that girl.
Look, I'm not saying the guy didn't do it.
I just want enough evidence to nail him six times over.
If he walks, I'm going to feel like an accomplice the next time he does this.
What about other witnesses? Who else was in that hotel? There's a woman that was staying next door.
Tabitha Mundy.
She just turned up at a battered women's shelter in the Bronx.
I knew it was Sugar staying next door.
We ain't close or nothin', but I know her from the street.
Did you see anyone else there with her? No.
Just heard some noises though.
Somebody was having a time.
There was a man in there with Sugar and another woman.
What I said.
I only seen Sugar, though.
It was when she was in the hallway dumping her trash down the air shaft.
It was after the noise all ended.
She's always so high and mighty.
She even used some designer bag for her trash.
Please.
Ain't no such thing as a high-class junkie.
Did she say anything when you saw her? No.
I think my man went over there, though.
Timmy was always like to be going over there.
Where can we find Timmy? Bronx Central Lockup, thanks to this.
This time, I'm pressing charges.
This girl, she's the one that was on the news.
That's right.
Did you see her in the hotel that night? You know, uh, I think I might have.
You might have? Well, you know, being in jail and all, every/thing's so crowded.
I'd just be, uh, a little more comfortable if the room was a little emptier.
It's not that crowded.
Mike, why don't you wait outside and I'll handle this.
You sure? Yeah.
Well, this is so much better, isn't it? This isn't a date, Timmy.
Do you know anything? I saw Tito.
He was there.
Yeah, we know that.
Did you see the girl? You know my woman called the cops on me for smacking her around a little.
The thing is, when they arrested me, I had a small amount of a controlled substance on my person.
And you want a deal? If that worry was off my mind, memories could just come pouring out.
DELGADO: So, Jack, what brings you north of the border? The Anne-Marie Liscomb case.
One of your defendants is a potential witness.
But he won't sing without a deal? He wants a drug possession charge dropped.
He'll plead to misdemeanor assault.
What did my A.
D.
A.
say? He said no.
Trying to keep his batting average up, I guess.
Well, I do try to keep my people motivated.
This was a heinous crime, Juan.
It's in everyone's interest to have a successful prosecution.
You know, Jack, I'm a little surprised you were even able to find your way up here on that white horse of yours.
Look, I know we've had our differences.
Cultural differences.
I live in the real world, you live on a higher plane.
I appreciate that.
A higher plane? I've been prosecuting, down and dirty in the trenches since you were Since I was what? A back room fixer for a political machine? I wasn't going to say that.
I'll tell you what, Jack.
One of my bureau chiefs lives on the Upper West Side, and he has a problem with alternate side of the street parking.
So, if I fix his parking tickets, you'll help me convict a rapist-murderer? Deal.
I could hear the two of them were arguing, Tito and Sugar, through this wall, middle of the night.
What were they arguing about? I couldn't make out the words, but I figured it must've been about him bringing that other girl around.
Did you see the other girl? No, I just heard her.
And then I heard Tito leave.
That's when I made my move.
What move? On Sugar.
I'd heard the fight.
I know Tito treats her pretty bad, so I thought maybe she was in need of, uh, some consolation.
You know what I'm saying? CUTTER: And what happened then? So I come out in the hall and I knocked on the door.
And, sure enough, she was alone.
What about Anne-Marie, where was she? She was down the hall in the bathroom, just like Sugar said.
Did Sugar let you into the room? Itried to, but she kept me out.
I could tell she was hiding something.
She kept looking back at a bag sticking out from under the bed.
It's like one of those big duffel bags, you know? Could you see what was in it? Make out a shape? Well, lthought maybe it was a dog.
You know, they don't allow them in the hotel, but it wasn't the first time Sugar tried to sneak one in.
What made you think it was a dog? I could I could see it moving, kind of moving inside the bag and sort of yelping.
Did Sugar see that, the thing moving inside the bag? Unless she was blind and deaf, sure.
Okay, thanks.
My God, Anne-Marie was still alive.
And Melinda was alone with her.
You know, Timmy's girlfriend said she saw her dumping something down the air shaft after Tito went out.
Call Lupo and Green.
Here's your murder weapon.
We found it in the trash heap at the bottom of the shaft.
Inside a Borsini's bag.
Prints on the bag and the hair dryer match Melinda Whitman.
And that's Anne-Marie's blood on the cord.
What about Tito's prints? Nope.
Just Melinda's.
She killed Anne-Marie.
Tito thought he did.
He went out to find a place to dump the body.
While he was gone, Melinda saw her moving, finished her off.
Yep.
What's going on? Step aside, sir.
Melinda Whitman, you're under arrest for the murder of Anne-Marie Liscomb.
No.
What are you doing? I didn't do anything.
Mom? Hey, Dad! Dad! Daddy! Daddy! Mr.
Gardner, I understand you work for the sanitation department.
Going on 19 years.
And you have three children? Two boys and a girl.
Any of them ever have a brush with the law? Never.
They know they'd have more to worry about than the law if that happened.
Very good.
Now, you understand that in this case, there are two defendants and the jury will have to consider each defendant separately.
Yes, sir, I understand.
No objections to Mr.
Gardner.
Mr.
Campbell, have you ever been arrested? Once, in 2004 during the Republican convention.
What were the circumstances? I was protesting.
Ended up spending three nights at Pier 57 without being charged, just for exercising my First Amendment rights.
Thanks.
What do you think? I wouldn't.
He's got a chip on his shoulder.
I don't know.
There's something about him I like.
No objection to Mr.
Campbell, Your Honor.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Tito's lawyerjust called.
He wants to deal.
Already? He's no fool.
He's figured out that the jury might split the difference.
Convict the Hispanic pimp and acquit the pretty white girl.
He'll plead to rape and attempted murder and testify against Melinda.
I think we can get them both for murder.
Isn't attempted murder what he actually did? Your theory is the girl finished off the victim.
They're accomplices.
They're both guilty.
But she might walk if we don't get his testimony.
And if we do, how's that going to look? Pimps, drug dealers, and prosecutors, all lined up against this poor helpless girl.
So make it not look that way.
How long after you saw that bag moving did you hear Mr.
Cabassa return to the hotel? I don't know.
Uh, it must have been at least an hour.
And after Melinda Whitman went down the hall with her garbage, you heard no more yelping from her room? No, the girl must have been dead by then.
Move to strike.
If I'd known what was going on, I would have saved her.
I feel really terrible That's enough, Mr.
Serco.
The jury will disregard his last two statements.
Nothing further.
ROTHENBERG: You were arrested last month for drug possession, and assaulting your girlfriend, correct? Yeah, but the drug charge was dropped.
In return for your testimony here today.
Well, that's the way the system works.
In fact, if you didn't offer information the prosecution could use in this trial, there wouldn't have been a deal, isn't that right? If I couldn't scratch their back, why would they scratch mine? Timmy came off as an opportunistic criminal piece of crap.
He is an opportunistic criminal piece of crap.
And tomorrow we've got another one testifying for us.
Tito.
HeygwhydonWyou do Tito's direct? Reafly? Absolutely.
The feminine touch, something to soften this for the jury.
CONNIE: Mr.
Cabassa, why did you bring Anne-Marie back to Melinda's room? To be honest, there was a lot of places we could've gone, but I wanted to make Sugar Melinda, I wanted to make herjealous.
You wanted to put her in her place? Yeah, you know, show her, she ain't the only hot little white girl out there.
Did you have sex with Anne-Marie? Yes, ma'am, I did.
Even though we saw on the surveillance tape she was too drunk to walk.
Yeah.
You could say I took advantage of her.
I would say that, yes.
What about Melinda? Where was she? I told her to go take a walk, but she didn't want to leave me alone with Anne-Marie.
She stayed.
So she watched.
She watched while you raped and sodomized Anne-Marie Liscomb? Her choice.
Then what happened? Anne-Marie started getting all hinky, saying she wanted to go home and all.
What'd you do? She was getting loud, so I tried covering her mouth but she got away.
She was going for the door.
I grabbed her and shoved her down.
That's when she hit her head on the table.
There was blood everywhere.
I thought she was dead.
Did you try to revive her? Yeah, but she was gone.
Or I thought she was.
Did you or Melinda call for medical help? I thought I killed her.
Sugar Melinda, she didn't want an ambulance either.
She said it served me right for cheating on her.
So what did you do? We crammed her in this big bag Sugar uses for clothes.
Then I went out to look for a place where we could ditch the body.
When you left, where was Melinda? She stayed in the room with the body.
She was still there when you got back? Yeah, she was there, alone with the body.
Thank you, Mr.
Cabassa.
You did great.
Thanks.
Looks like somebody else agrees with you.
Who? I don't know, anonymous e-mail.
"Amazing performance in court today.
"Great legs and smart.
You're the total package.
" I completely agree.
You ready to cross Melinda? No, you know, uh, you do it, Mike.
You've got great legs, too.
What else was I supposed to do? Besides watching an innocent young woman be raped? How about trying to stop your boyfriend? How about calling for help? How about calling the police? Tito wouldn't let me.
Did he try to stop you? He would have.
He killed that girl.
He would have killed me, too.
He didn't kill her, Melinda.
She was still alive after you shoved her into that duffel bag.
That's not true.
Timmy Serco saw her moving.
He heard her.
Well, he lied.
We all know why he lied.
Did he? You didn't like Anne-Marie being in your room, did you? Not in that way.
Of course not.
It was hard for you to see her with Tito, wasn't it? Yeah.
A little.
Especially since she was so much like you.
She was nothing like me.
Well, maybe not now, but like you were before the drugs, before the streets.
I was never like her.
Before you got all messed up.
I was never that stupid.
Before you turned into a junkie skank.
Your Honor? Anne-Marie reminded Tito of what you used to be.
No.
That's why he wanted her.
She threw herself at him.
You were glad when you thought he'd killed her, weren't you? I didn't care.
She meant nothing to me.
And when you realized he hadn't killed her, you finished the job.
You got rid of her.
I just wanted her to leave Tito alone.
I wanted her gone.
(SOBBING) Uh, one Fashionelle, please? Thank you.
Hi.
I'm sorry, Mr Campbell.
I can't speak to you outside the courtroom.
Oh, I know.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to say that I I hope you'll get to do more questioning, 'cause you were really good.
This is inappropriate.
I'm sorry.
Good-bye.
I called in Tech Services and had that e-mail traced.
E-mail? "Great legs.
" Oh.
Let me guess.
Juror number eight.
How did you know that? He's been checking you out since "voir dire".
Well, he approached me on the street last night.
Did you talk to him? No.
He talked to me, but I can't believe you didn't tell me that.
Tell you what? A man finds you attractive? It's a fairly common occurrence, Connie.
That's why you seated him.
That's why you had me do Tito's cross.
I don't appreciate being pimped out to the jury.
Connie, what about our meeting with Timmy Serco? You threw me out of the room because he was lusting after you.
You used your sexuality to get what you wanted.
All I did was ask you to leave.
And then I conducted the interview exactly as I would have if you hadn't been there in the first place.
If you say so, fine.
What do you want to do about Mr.
Campbell? We should tell the judge.
What? That he looked at you? That he said hello? It was inappropriate communication.
You did nothing inappropriate.
If we tell the judge, and she declares a mistrial, we're throwing away our best shot at Melinda Whitman.
She practically confessed on the stand today, and she won't do it again.
It's not the point.
It's the only point.
Jack, are you going to say something? Jurors are people.
Lawyers are people.
They have reactions.
We could put you in a burka.
Jack.
Or hire robots to try cases.
Until then, we use what we have.
By the way, your jury's back.
It's your call.
We go listen to the verdict or talk to the judge.
Whatever you want.
(DOOR CLOSES) JUDGE: Madam Forewoman, have you reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of murder in the second degree, how do you find? We find the defendant guilty.
Connie Don't.