Law & Order (1990) s20e22 Episode Script

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.
Bring home some root beer if you can.
Thank you, baby.
Hey, Jaden, finish your cereal.
Gotta change.
Breathe easy, Jay.
Saturday we going down to the park for some spring training.
We'll bring your inhaler.
You'll be fine.
Right? Derek Jeter better watch his back.
Now don't forget about the special trip we have planned.
And don't tell mom.
That's my boy.
He stumbled in here a little after 6:00.
Collapsed before he could get a word out.
Presented with a knife wound.
- Any other injuries? - No.
Just a stab wound.
But it was deep enough To pierce his liver and sever his hepatic vein.
So somebody wanted him dead.
Well, they got their wish.
Thank you.
Patient outside having a smoke said she saw our guy get dropped off.
The driver sped away.
The car was old and blue.
Speaking of cars, set of keys to a Ford.
He's still wearing his wedding ring and watch.
Yeah, and about $800 worth of cash.
Jerome Turner.
Bronx address.
Wife and kid.
Happy family.
Sub by Adri_CSI Jerome didn't come home from his job at the bottling plant.
I kept trying his cell, but he didn't pick up.
We're very sorry, Mrs.
Turner.
Any ideas about where he was, who he was with? I really don't know.
Wait in your room for mommy.
I'll be right in.
Did he have any problems we should know about? People he didn't get along with? - No.
I mean, money's always been tight.
I give piano lessons to help make ends meet.
Jerome is a wonderful man.
And he's a good father to Jaden.
At what time did you speak to him last? In the afternoon.
He said he might be late.
There was a problem in Queens on the E train.
He didn't drive to work? We don't own a car.
There were a set of keys in his pocket for a Ford.
We don't know anybody who has a Ford.
- Mom! - I gotta go see my boy.
- Of course.
- Hmm.
Works in Queens, lives in the Bronx, But bleeds to death in a midtown hospital.
With somebody else's keys in his pocket.
Huh.
Mr.
Wonderful's been keeping secrets from his wife.
Jerome didn't work yesterday.
He's only been on two shifts a week since the holidays.
Why'd he get his hours cut? The bosses say we're bleeding money here.
I felt terrible cutting him back.
He didn't tell his wife about it.
He probably didn't want to upset her.
He told me she's a worrier.
You know if he found other work? Nah.
He kept pressing me to put him back full-time.
I let him know he'd be the first guy back if things turned around.
Whenever that is.
The Turners were up-to-date on rent and utilities.
There was cash coming in from something besides the wife's piano lessons.
The "something" that maybe got Mr.
Turner killed.
Any leads off his cell phone? Uh, still working through his calls for that day.
The weird thing is the calls ping from towers All over the place.
In the space of 52 minutes, he's in Queens, Harlem, downtown.
- He was on the move.
- Yeah.
Check if he has a hack license.
The keys in his pocket are for a Crown Vic.
There's nothing in the T.
L.
C.
under Jerome Turner.
But a lot of those guys drive without a license.
- Call the desk at the 3-1.
Have their sector cars call in any idle yellow cabs with no driver inside.
Right.
We spotted it about ten minutes after we heard the radio run.
Lady who lives in that building told us it was parked here overnight.
Well, let's see if we're in business.
All right, good work.
We got it from here.
Get the trunk.
- Yeah.
Cornell Beverage.
Well, there's no blood on the inside, which means Jerome was stabbed somewhere between here and the hospital.
Maybe his last fare knows why he left his cab here.
If we're lucky, he used a credit card.
I didn't know Jerome very well.
I just rented him my cab.
Even though he didn't have a hack license? Well, I kept telling him he had to take care of that.
A license was the least of his problems.
He have any bad habits? Gambling, maybe.
A few days ago, he said he wasn't gonna have to drive anymore.
He was gonna come into a lot of money.
Yeah, I'm here.
Thank you.
Somebody used a credit card in the morning, but after that, nothing.
Any idea why Jerome left it in Chelsea? No.
I wanted to get it back early, but he said he had to pick his kid up at school.
He left every day in his company jacket like everything was fine.
I guess Jerome was too proud to tell me.
Is there any reason you didn't tell us that Jaden was in the cab with him the day he was killed? What? No, Jaden was in school.
We checked with the school.
His father picked him up at noon and brought him back a few hours later.
You have any idea where they went? - No.
- He also told some people that he was going to be coming into some money.
You know anything about that? No.
It doesn't make any sense.
Okay.
Can I speak to your son? Can you show me Jerome's calendar again, please? Thanks.
Hey.
What are you making, Jaden? A machine that makes dogs and horses and robots.
Hmm.
Nice.
Listen, I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about what happened to your father.
He's never coming back.
Yeah.
Is it okay if I ask you some questions about him? Do you remember when he picked you up at your school in his cab? He got me ice cream.
Oh, well, you must have done something pretty special to get ice cream.
Dad said I can't tell.
It was gonna be a surprise for my mom.
I promised.
Jaden.
You know that what happened to your dad wasn't your fault, right? But you can help your mother right now.
Where did your dad take you before he bought the ice cream? Into a building.
With an office.
Were there other people there? A man.
He was big.
He hurt you? He put a Q-Tip inside my mouth and rubbed it around.
Right here? On the inside of your cheek? Then what did he do? - Nothing.
He talked with my dad, and then we left.
You know what, Jaden? Your dad would be really proud of you.
Thank you.
- Thanks.
He took a swab for DNA.
Maybe Jerome was running a paternity test on his kid.
Yeah, his kid Or somebody else's.
Looks like one secret too many.
A DNA test can be for a lot of things.
A DNA test he was hiding from his wife.
Right, maybe he was hoping To jack the biological father up for money.
That was the payday he was expecting.
I'll talk to Mrs.
Turner.
Speak to the boy again.
The vending machine downstairs just got some fresh gummi bears.
It's okay if you want to have one.
My mom would want me to wait until after dinner.
I don't want her to be mad at me.
I hear you.
I'm sure she's proud of you for telling the truth, right? I did.
The man that your father took you to see, Do you remember his name? No.
He talked about hot dogs.
The big man? He said Nathan's, the hot dogs.
What did he say about them? Nothing.
He just said Nathan's.
Hmm.
Jerome and I were married for ten years.
I never looked at another man.
Is there any other reason Jerome might want To test Jaden's DNA? Jaden is Jerome's son.
You can test him yourself.
Was there any reason your husband would be suspicious or jealous? No.
Believe me, if Jaden did have another father, I'd be hting him up for child support right now.
Do you know anyone by the name of Nathan? No.
I don't know what Jerome was thinking.
I ran the name by her.
No reaction.
Well, still, Nathan could be the man Jerome thought was his son's real father.
Yeah, Jerome already had a bloodhound on the case.
His cell records show a call two weeks ago to a Joseph Hernandez, a private investigator, and two calls on the day of the murder.
Office is on West 23rd Street.
A block from where we found Jerome's cab.
This P.
I.
could have done the DNA swab.
Let's check to see if Hernandez is an ex-cop.
Maybe we could get some professional courtesy.
Mr.
Hernandez is due back any minute.
Oh, no big deal.
We're just checking to see if our friend Jerome Turner called him.
Oh, you're welcome to wait.
This, I believe, is a very cute Jack Russell terrier.
Yeah? I got a mutt too.
He looks at me, I swear he knows exactly what I'm thinking.
Oh, they do.
They know a lot.
More than people.
More than my ex-girlfriend, that's for sure.
I bet you I can read that upside-down.
What do you think? I'm good at this.
Larry Krap.
- It's Park.
- Oh, Park, Krap.
Very close.
One more shot.
One more shot.
Maybe on this page.
Okay.
Now this time, please don't smile at me.
It's very distracting.
Well, of course, This is Jeremy Strucker.
Jeremy Struck Jerm It's your friend.
Jerome Turner.
- A-ha.
So it is, and I see he called about Nathan Robinson.
Can I help you guys? Yeah.
You know a Jerome Turner? Never heard of him.
Whatever she may have told you.
You took a DNA swab from his son.
Now he's dead.
- Save your spiel.
I'm retired NYPD.
Retired after you got jammed up for busting a suspect's jaw.
Even if I did have business with Turner, I was hired by a law firm.
Makes any communication privileged.
Bye-bye.
Only a couple hundred Nathan Robinsons in the tri-state area.
Hernandez has been in business for years.
This wouldn't be his first paternity test.
Which means he would have a lab he usually works with.
A lab that would pick up samples from his office.
That front desk guy, he should know the name.
So would she.
Oh, god.
Hey.
Oh, you okay? I'm sorry.
We didn't mean to cause trouble with your boss.
He's always like that.
He's such a - Private dick.
- Yes.
- We figured.
Listen, we really need to find this Nathan Robinson.
Oh, Mr.
Hernandez doesn't talk to me about his cases.
Fair enough.
How about the name of the lab he uses to test DNA samples? I don't think he's gonna use them anymore.
They had a DNA sample of this guy, Nathan Robinson.
To compare with Turner's kid.
I guess.
Uh, anyway, the lab lost it.
Um, Mr.
Hernandez told me to call Hudson University To get another one.
Why, does nathan robinson work there? I don't know.
Mr.
Hernandez told me to talk to this technician Jeff.
Okay? Yeah, you could say Mr.
Robinson works here.
That's him right there.
And that's Mr.
Robinson here.
There's more of him.
His DNA samples? His cells growing in culture.
We buy them and use them for research.
Nathan Robinson's been dead for over 50 years.
Puts him out of the running as Jaden's father.
Yeah.
Well, maybe this is about an inheritance.
Time to shake the family tree and see who falls out.
Nathan Robinson was me and my cousin Jerome's grandfather.
My mother's dad.
He passed in 1959 from cancer.
He was having tests done to prove that his son was Nathan's relative.
Any idea why? No.
Me and Jerome didn't talk much.
Gayle called and told us he was murdered.
I couldn't believe it.
I mean, what happened? Did he get robbed? When was the last time you spoke to him? I'm not sure.
Is there an issue with your grandfather's will? My daddy didn't have a will.
Then maybe a piece of property or an heirloom? You would have gotten a call from a probate lawyer.
Or maybe a private investigator contacted you.
Someone named Hernandez? No.
We didn't get any calls.
But if we do, um, should we get in touch with you? Yeah, that'd be great.
Just go ahead and call this number.
Your kid.
Quite the artist.
Yeah, Tanya, she's six.
That's nice.
One more question, Mr.
Reed.
Do you own a car? No.
No, I don't.
Lupo, check this out.
Three-day weekend coming up.
Thank you.
Well, there was an alternate parking schedule on Michael Reed's refrigerator.
He was lying about having a car.
Secrets seem to run in that family.
We got him.
DMV records show that Dora Reed Owned an '81 blue Cordoba, which matches the description of the car that dropped Jerome off at the E.
R.
- You said owned.
- Mm-hmm.
It was sold to a Brooklyn junkyard by Michael Reed four days ago.
I hope his cousin's blood on the seat didn't hurt the resale value.
There it is.
Your '81 blue Cordoba.
Ugh.
Great.
It'll take CSU weeks to get anything out of that.
Michael Reed doesn't know that.
Yeah, so I sold my mom's car.
They didn't want her driving anymore.
Interesting timing.
Day after your cousin was stabbed.
Well, I don't know anything about that.
Excuse the interruption.
What's that? So you didn't want your mother driving.
She get a ticket? Get in an accident? No.
Nothing like that.
Right, but all of a sudden, you junked her car, Maybe because your cousin's blood was all over it.
Maybe we should bring your mother down here.
Oh, no, you don't need to do that.
I was trying to save Jerome.
Save from who? Jerome was stabbed by that detective Hernandez.
I was trying to help him.
I mean, I took him to the hospital.
How do you know that Hernandez stabbed your cousin? He wanted Jaden's blood.
And those people, they were just gonna take it.
What people? What people are you talking about? Michael, who were you talking about? Those white people.
All these years, stealing my family's blood.
This is Mr.
Reed's attorney.
And you all are done here.
Right.
White people stealing blood.
Yeah, time to break out the garlic and silver bullets.
Joseph Hernandez took Jaden Turner's DNA.
The boy picked his photo out of a six-pack.
Who was Hernandez working for? He's hiding behind attorney privilege.
Can we rule out Reed's allegation that it was Hernandez who stabbed his cousin? Well, Hernandez is the better suspect on paper.
He was drummed out of the department for excessive force.
Michael reed has no record.
Look, don't get me wrong.
Hernandez is in this neck deep.
But Reed put himself at the scene, admitted dumping his cousin at the hospital, not to mention lying to us and trying to destroy evidence.
Okay, so we charge Reed with murder.
Next step, motive.
Vampires stealing his family's blood.
No problem.
How you gonna put my son in jail On a million-dollar bail and then ask for my help? Well, then help me get to the bottom of this.
Why would a private investigator be interested in Jaden's DNA? Maybe you should ask that investigator.
Michael said people had been stealing your family's blood.
Michael gets worked up and says things that doesn't make any see.
Is this your father, Nathan Robinson? That's right.
That there church, my daddy helped build it.
Is one of these girls you? I'm the baby, and that's my sister Mary.
She died a few years ago.
And the little boy? He's not around anymore either.
That's Uncle Eddie.
He lives across the river.
He smiles all the time.
That's fine, Tanya.
Now go in the kitchen and get a cookie.
Never mind about those old photos.
I ain't talking to you no more until you let my son out of jail.
Eddie has cerebral palsy.
He's been with us for almost 30 years.
Would it be okay if I asked him a few questions? Sure.
Eddie's not much of a conversationalist.
Hi, Mr.
Robinson.
I'm Connie Rubirosa.
Your niece Tanya says hello.
Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions about your nephew Michael? - Okay.
He says people have been stealing your family's blood.
Are you gonna stick my arm? Of course not.
Why would you think that? His family doctor used to come by with a nurse a few times a year to take blood for some study he was doing.
But he hasn't come by for the last ten years.
Would you still have the name of that doctor? I'll have to check.
Dr.
Vincent Thurman.
He's the one who sticks my arm.
Dr.
Vincent Thurman died in 1997.
He was an oncologist at Ramapo Hospital where Nathan Robinson died in 1959.
It's safe to assume Thurman was Nathan's doctor, But it doesn't explain why he was pulling blood out of Eddie Robinson Yeah, but Michael Reed's rant about white people trying to steal his family's blood is starting to make sense.
Take a look at this.
Thurman founded Hema Labs in 1959.
Yeah, I've heard of 'em.
Big company.
Didn't realize they started so small.
Yeah, very small.
Their first product was cancer cells sold for research.
Nathan Robinson died of cancer.
Do you have any ongoing research related to a man named Nathan Robinson, Or Jerome or Jaden Turner? I'm sorry, all of our projects are confidential and proprietary.
Well, the reason we're asking, Mr.
Dolan, is that, among other things, there are allegations concerning an assault on Mr.
Turner's seven-year-old son.
And you think this is related to my company's research? A private detective named Hernandez was involved.
Something may have occurred at the time that he was alone with this boy.
Alone? Is that what the child said? Well, that's confidential and proprietary.
Before I answer any more questions, I'd like to consult my legal department.
They're circling the wagons.
Nothing like a subpoena to bust up the party.
Hema Labs tested Jaden to see if he was a descendant of Nathan Robinson.
For what purpose? Well, it doesn't say on the documents, But Hema Cell line, the one they make gazillions selling to research labs, Is known as Na-Ro.
For Nathan Robinson.
Jaden's great-grandfather.
Right.
We studied Na-Ro cells in medical school.
I never realized till today where they came from.
They're the first human cells to stay alive in cultures, so they're considered immortal.
They're a lab staple, like white mice or petri dishes.
But if Hema Labs had Nathan's cells, why would they need genetic material from his great-grandson? Most likely testing a new drug.
Who knows what they're cooking up in the basement? All right, any more questions, you know where to find me.
These Na-Ro cells are the basis of Hema's business.
We are talking billions in profit here.
Well, there's no records of any payments made to Nathan Robinson or his family.
You know, Hernandez tracked down some of Nathan Robinson's descendants In Stag Hill, New Jersey, In the Ramapo Mountains near where Robinson died.
Hernandez must have been hunting DNA.
And maybe starting trouble between Michael and Jerome.
Yeah, I remember that private detective.
Hernandez.
We figured out he was from Hema Labs.
What did he want with your family, Mr.
Robinson? He was looking for Nathan's great-grandkids.
Offering 10 grand for their blood.
I told him all Nathan's kids moved to the city.
Didn't say where.
He was mad.
- Did he threaten you? - Yeah.
Hell with him and that company.
It's not enough they stole Nathan's cells.
You know about Nathan's cells? They're magic.
Been all around the world.
Cured cancer, diseases.
It's like Nathan's still alive.
Nathan, uh, grew up around here? We all did.
Me, the rest of the cousins.
Our great-great-grandfather was Ramapo Indian, Runaway slaves, Portuguese fishermen-- all different races mixed up together.
We call it squirrel stew, but it's chicken.
Honest.
Thank you.
It smells delicious.
So, um, How did Hema Labs get Nathan's cells In the first place? One of his doctors took a sample of his cancer without him even knowing.
Nathan was in the colored ward.
This is a man who would spend his Sunday fixing the neighbor's roof.
Never asked for a penny.
Man, he could swing a hammer.
Let me show you his grave.
I'll never forget his funeral.
Hotter than hell.
Hey, Nathan.
You two are the first visitors he's had here in a while.
Any of his children or grandchildren come back to visit? Dora came a few times.
She was trying to raise money for a gravestone.
We'll be taking care of that soon.
How is that? Michael said don't say anything.
I think we can trust them.
Nathan would have liked her.
Well, we don't want to cause any more trouble for your family, Mr.
Robinson.
I guess it's all right.
Michael Reed, Dora's boy, He was here a few weeks back.
He said, "If somebody comes asking for blood, don't give it.
" He's gonna sue Hema Labs, get Nathan his gravestone.
Did Michael say anything about his cousin, Jerome? Said Jerome, us, the whole family, we had to stick together.
Michael was fired up.
Said Hema was finally gonna pay.
We'd all get new houses.
We know all about Nathan Robinson, the Na-Ro cell line.
We know you visited the relatives in Stag Hill to warn them not to cooperate with Hema Labs.
What happened? Did Jerome make his own deal, And that's why you stabbed him? - Don't answer that.
- It wasn't me.
Jerome changed his mind.
That P.
I.
stabbed him.
If you were innocent, why wouldn't you say what Hernandez was after? He doesn't know who to trust.
His family's been exploited for years.
That's how this is gonna play out? You have no idea, Mr.
Cutter.
Nathan Robinson, an impoverished black man, lay dying while white doctors dissected him like a guinea pig.
Wait till a jury hears it.
He's right.
A jury's gonna eat this up.
Yeah, and not just the jury.
Hema Labs hired me to locate a great-grandchild of Nathan Robinson.
They said I'd get 100 grand if I got results.
So you contacted Jerome Turner? I found his cousin Michael first.
of his girl's blood if we confirmed that she's Nathan's great-granddaughter.
He goes off on me.
Yelling he's gonna sue everybody, so I moved on and made a deal with Jerome for his kid.
When I took his kid's DNA, I handed Jerome a check for $500, but he wanted cash, so I had him come back later.
So there was no dispute between the two of you? You're trying to put this on me now.
Any more questions, talk to my lawyer.
I'd like to put that guy through a window.
I have no doubt he's capable of murder.
Anything to corroborate his story? Well, the police canvassed his building and searched his office.
There was no evidence of a knifing or an argument.
And Jerome did have over $500 in cash in his wallet that night.
Even so, the defense will probably use Hernandez as a straw man to put Hema Labs on trial.
We can't let them.
Well, the defense has a lot to work with.
Hema Labs has been exploiting Jerome turner's family for 50 years.
You should see where Nathan Robinson's relatives live, Jack.
In falling-down shacks.
Company's treatment of this family, it's a disgrace.
Then you better get ahead of this.
Six months ago, one of our researchers discovered that Na-Ro cells contained a previously unknown oncogene for lung cancer, RJ-42.
An oncogene? The genetic trigger that activates cancer in healthy cells.
It was a huge breakthrough.
But the next step was to prove proliferative advantage in cells carrying this oncogene, and the best way to do that was to study the last descendants of Nathan Robinson.
Did you plan on compensating the Turners for this donation? They would have been given $10,000.
Now Nathan Robinson never consented to having his cancer cells harvested, correct? Same thing for his son, Eddie.
Nathan Robinson was cared for in a public hospital.
In a de facto colored ward.
This ward in Ramapo Hills Hospital.
It was a different time.
Mr.
Robinson received free care.
So it was only fair to take samples for medical research.
Oh, and for profit.
Hema Labs never paid Nathan nor his descendants a single penny in compensation.
Let me be clear about this.
Taking the sample did not hurt Nathan Robinson or impede his recovery one iota.
The drugs that we make have helped millions of people.
Have you heard of the Tuskegee experiments? Of course.
Then please, tell the jury what they were.
Doctors recruited black men with syphilis To study the disease.
There were abuses - Abuses? The doctors withheld penicillin and did nothing while these men rotted to death in agony.
That has nothing to do with this.
So you say.
Do you know the term "night doctors"? It's an urban legend.
Doctors snatching black residents off the streets to perform medical experiments without their consent.
And I can assure you it never happened at Hema Labs.
No, Hema Labs just did the same thing in the light of day.
So you can understand why Michael Reed was so angry at his cousin for helping you.
Nothing further.
When you hired Mr.
Hernandez to find Nathan's descendants, you knew he had a violent record as a police officer? I believe so.
Making him the perfect fit to bully them into cooperating.
No.
Anything to get the blood you needed on the cheap.
Just like Dr.
Thurman did with Nathan Robinson.
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
We did the swab no problem.
Jerome came back later to be paid in cash and left my office as happy as a clam.
Nothing further.
After you were fired by the police for breaking a man's jaw, you were hired by Hema Labs and sent to Indonesia, Where one of their antiviral drugs had made 4,000 people ill.
What were you doing there? Distributing compensation money to the people who got sick.
In other words, jamming lowball settlements down the throats of illiterate villagers.
Objection.
Withdrawn.
So when Hema Labs needed to intimidate Nathan Robinson's family, You were the right man for the job? I didn't intimidate anybody.
But they promised you a $100,000 bounty for delivering Jaden Turner.
A commission.
A commission.
Isn't it a fact that Jerome Turner returned to your office that evening because he changed his mind about cooperating with Hema? Wrong.
Then the two of you argued, and you stabbed him because you didn't want to lose your commission? Wrong about everything.
If you're trying to get a rise out of me, it's working.
I'm just glad you don't have a knife in your hand, Mr.
Hernandez.
Michael Reed stated during his questioning that white people had been stealing his family's blood for years.
And why did you consider that to be an admission, Lieutenant? Because it went to his motive, his state of mind, that he was angry.
Thank you.
Excuse me for asking, Lieutenant, but aren't you undergoing medical treatment for cervical cancer? This is a private matter, your honor.
Well, it goes to the witness's state of mind.
Sorry, Lieutenant.
Answer the best you can.
Yes, I'm undergoing treatment.
And have you taken any medications made by Hema Labs, such as, uh, carboplatin, used in chemotherapy, or, uh, pegfilgrastim to bolster your white blood count? Both of those.
And does it disturb you that these drugs were developed from the cells of Nathan Robinson, which were obtained without consent or remuneration? How could you ask me that? Please.
Just answer my question.
Well, what do you think, Mr.
Cutter? These drugs might save my life.
I'm grateful to Nathan Robinson and his family.
But that doesn't mean they were treated with justice, Mr.
Cutter Or dignity.
- Lieutenant.
- I can't believe what you just did to me in there, Mr.
Cutter, without the decency to ask my permission Or to let me know what was coming.
I'm sorry.
I-- it occurred to me in the moment that we could- - It occurred to you? Well, did it occur to you that I might have a problem with it? I was trying to keep the defense from using the same argument.
- No, no, please.
I know what you were doing.
You were using me, Mr.
Cutter.
You violated my privacy so that you could win your case.
You are no better than Hema Labs.
My son Michael and Jerome Turner were cousins.
They grew up together.
Michael would never hurt Jerome.
Can you tell us about their disagreement regarding Hema Labs? Jerome made a deal to let them test Jaden, but Michael wanted to hold out.
He called a lawyer.
But I convinced Michael to forget about suing that company.
Jaden was sick.
Jerome had bills.
What did you tell Michael about your father Nathan's cells? That his grandfather was famous.
That those cells went all over the world to help cure sick people.
Hema Labs made a lot of money off of those cells.
Did you ever express any anger about that to him? I figured if my daddy's cells were helping all of those people, that was good enough.
Did Michael feel the same way? Sometimes Michael would get angry at Hema Labs, but never-- never at Jerome.
Thank you, Mrs.
Reed.
You were just a baby when your father died.
It must have been hard for your mom.
Three kids living in poverty in Stag Hill.
We managed.
It must break your heart to see Michael struggle.
And Jerome with his sick son.
Losing his family's health insurance while this, this giant corporation makes billions of dollars, and they never paid your family anything, did they? Not a penny.
No, not for taking Nathan's cells, not for taking your brother Eddie's blood, not even an apology.
That's right.
Now they owe you, don't they, Mrs.
Reed, for what they took from your family, from your father, Nathan? All he did for science, all the lives that he saved, and what did he get? An unmarked grave? You're damn right.
They owe us.
They owe us.
They made all that money, and we can't even afford a doctor.
They need to pay something.
And your son felt the same way, didn't he? He just wanted what was fair.
He just wanted to help his family.
But he ended up killing his cousin.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
Jury's still out.
Three days.
They asked the judge to clarify the difference between man one and man two.
They're looking for a way to let Michael Reed off the hook.
Now's the time to make a deal.
Michael's pretty intractable.
Until the jury's back, we have leverage.
Let's use it to do some good.
We're prepared to make your client an offer.
He pleads to man one, we'll recommend ten years.
Jury's still out.
We'll take our chances.
If they convict, your client could be looking at 25 to life.
Now I think we all have an interest in settling this matter.
Hema Labs has no liability here.
But there is doing the right thing.
Or if that doesn't interest you, Mr.
Dolan, What's it worth to your company to avoid the publicity of another trial? You want us to bribe Michael Reed to pleading guilty? I have no intention of taking the stand again.
One million paid out over ten years to be divided equally among Nathan Robinson's heirs.
Your company has annual revenues of $400 million.
We have to draw a line, Mr.
Cutter.
Otherwise, we'll be fighting off lawsuits left and right.
Or you may be fighting off a jail sentence.
Eddie Robinson, Nathan's son, in a group home with cerebral palsy.
He lives in my jurisdiction.
Read the definition of assault.
It includes taking blood without consent.
There's a statute of limitations.
Not for a concealed crime against an incompetent victim.
Three million.
We've been to Stag Hill.
This family is beyond the edge of poverty, struggling to put food on the table, while you're teeing off at the country club in Ridgewood.
Five million.
Make it ten.
Payable now.
Ten million? Now you can wait for the jury verdict, but if you get convicted, your mother will die while you're in prison.
And Jerome will have died for nothing.
You did try to save him, didn't you, After you stabbed him? I, uh, told him that the company had made millions, And we couldn't even afford to take our kids to the doctor.
And Jerome wouldn't change his mind, So, uh, I, uh-- I had the knife in the glove box and I, uh-- I was just so angry because, you know, about Jerome helping the people That were cheating us I just, um-- I just lost it.
I took him to the hospital I really thought that he would be okay.
So I'll do it.
I'll take the deal.
Okay.
Hey.
Joseph Hernandez's personnel file.
Thanks.
You don't need it anymore? No.
Uh, case pled out.
How did we do? All things considered, not so badly.
Lieutenant - Counselor.
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.
Oh, my god, where was she going? A birthday party in a whorehouse? Grocery store.
That's her standard daytime outfit.
Next day That's her and her husband going out for Chinese food.
Oh, this woman may be beyond our help.
At least this one doesn't weigh 300 pounds.
You ready? - Mm-hmm.
Our next fashion victim, Marielle Dinapoli, Was brought to our attention by a friend concerned about Marielle's inappropriate attire.
Based on what our hidden cameras have seen over the past few days, I'd say that's quite an understatement.
But things are about to change for the better As we undertake another Fashion Victim makeover.
Marielle Dinapoli, come out-- Your life is about to change! Marielle Dinapoli Cut! Cut! That is a dog cage, right? It was locked up tight.
I guess the handcuffs were insurance.
We needed bolt cutters to get to him.
Was there a dog in there with him? No dog, no dog hair, no dog food.
Looks like he was stabbed through the bars.
With what? Something with a long blade.
So for this television show, you had the house under surveillance? Just an hour or two a day.
The last time we were here was yesterday morning.
Okay, you see anything out of the ordinary? Just Mrs.
Dinapoli's clothes.
- There she is.
- See what we mean? Excuse me, Mrs.
Dinapoli.
What--what happened? He wouldn't tell me what happened.
I'm afraid it's your husband.
Mrs.
Dinapoli! Mrs.
Dinapoli.
- David! Is that David? - Ma'am, maybe you should-- - Oh, my dear! Is it David? What--what happened? Who did this? We don't know.
We're just beginning to-- his comic books, they're-- They're gone.
His comic books? He was a collector.
They were very valuable.
All those stupid comics.
Oh, my god.
How can I live without him? Help me.
Sub Adriano_CSI Does she know anything? Nothing useful so far.
And she says she was away overnight at a college reunion in Connecticut.
We checked--people saw her at the banquet.
Her husband was murdered around 1:00 A.
M.
By someone who broke into his house, locked him in a dog cage, stabbed him through the bars, then stole his comic books.
Bright lights, big city.
While his wife was being followed by a video crew for a makeover reality show.
What are the odds? Her name was sent in to the show by a friend of hers, Amy Felner.
That's nice of her.
You have a list of the missing comics? Yeah, she gave us his inventory.
We'll check comic book dealers and auction houses to see if these are showing up.
White leather miniskirt with studs.
Hoo! We knew Mr.
Dinapoli.
He specialized in all-American comics from the '40s.
Early Wonder Woman, golden age Green Lantern, Gay Ghost.
- Gay Ghost? As in "cheerful.
" Some of these are worth upwards of $10,000.
We think whoever killed Mr.
Dinapoli stole those.
We'd like to know if anyone brings them in.
Well, they're not unique.
I've got a Green Lantern #6 on auction right now.
Well, if you get more than one of those Sure.
Can I keep this? - Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
That's funny.
I had an inquiry last week.
Somebody wanted to know the value of Sensation Mystery #1.
And the all-American 20, and the all-Flash quarterlies.
Those are on the list? You think that's a coincidence? You got the name of the guy who inquired? I just heard about David.
It's hard to believe.
You knew Mr.
Dinapoli? Yes.
Socially.
We played tennis.
You also had an interest in his business.
- Fiber optics? No.
- His comic book collection.
You wanted to know how much it was worth.
You inquired.
A few days before he was killed for them.
You think I killed David for his comic books? Why were you asking about them? Because they were partly mine.
I invested with David.
David convinced me that comic books were a growth area.
The first Superman just sold for a million dollars.
The prices are going nuts.
So you were making money.
Everything was fine? No.
David said the big-name books were over-valued, and the obscure ones had all the upside, So we bought Dr.
Midnight, Johnny Thunder.
You ever hear of the Gay Ghost? Yeah, he was cheerful.
Yeah, well, he wasn't worth anything.
David thought he might command a premium because of his name, but he was wrong About all of 'em.
I had called that dealer to see If I had any of my investment left.
The dealer told us they were worth a bundle.
I paid a bundle.
They were supposed to go up.
They didn't.
I lost my shirt.
Thanks to Mr.
Dinapoli.
You mind telling us where you were last night? At home, redoing the family budget with my wife.
Hey, you see where Batman beat Superman? A Batman book just went for $1,075,000.
I had a lot of comics when I was growing up.
Wish my mother hadn't thrown them away.
I don't think Scooby-Doo brings in that much.
Marty Ashcroft, the guy who lost his shirt to Dinapoli Mm-hmm.
Looks like he needed the money he lost.
He was being sued.
"The plaintiff alleges that Ashcroft misrepresented the value of closed-end mutual funds he sold to plaintiff.
" So Ashcroft lost money with Dinapoli, and someone else lost money with Ashcroft.
Ashcroft was being squeezed on both ends.
Huh.
The guy who's suing Ashcroft, His name is Joshua Felner.
Amy Felner put Dinapoli's wife up for the reality show.
Small world.
I don't know much about my husband's investments.
What does this have to do with what happened to David? Probably just a coincidence.
Did your husband ever mention the Dinapolis to you? Sure.
We know them.
Josh played tennis with David and Marty Ashcroft.
Did your husband have anything to do with you proposing Marielle Dinapoli for Fashion Victim? Josh? The only fashion he might notice is a topless bikini.
Putting Marielle up for the show was my idea.
She's a friend of mine.
Telling the world her wardrobe was hideous? How friendly is that? She's a beautiful who dresses like a color blind, I thought she should hear it from experts so maybe she'd believe it.
Was there any particular reason you did that just now? Yes, I thought she might be single again soon, so she'd want to be looking her best.
She might be single again soon? So you knew her husband was going to be killed? No, my husband told me.
David Dinapoli was planning on getting divorced.
There was a wound on his cheek, but they can fix that for the visitation.
I want an open casket.
David was such a beautiful man.
Have you found out anything? Do you know who did this to him? Not yet.
It's so awful.
It's everything.
I'm just trying to focus on the details.
The death notice, the flowers, which passage to read.
David wasn't a religious man, but I think the Old Testament is beautiful.
"What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.
" - Oh Isaiah 40.
Nice for a graveside service.
Oh, no, David isn't gonna be buried.
He's gonna be cremated, like my first husband.
Here.
Your first husband gave you that ring? No, this is him.
Larry.
There's a company called Memory Gem, and they take cremated remains and make it into artificial diamonds.
- Hmm.
- Oh.
So you're going to make David into another ring? No.
A pendant.
Bigger than this.
And closer to my heart.
I was fond of Larry, but David was the love of my life.
Mrs.
Dinapoli, we heard that maybe you and David Were having some troubles.
What? No.
No trouble.
That maybe you were heading toward divorce.
Me and David? No.
We were soul mates.
Interesting woman.
Isaiah 40, huh? What, you prefer Ecclesiastes? What I prefer is not to be a ring on that woman's finger.
Hey, you don't believe that her and husband number two were soul mates? I'd like to know what she was up to the days before the murder.
Let's go to the video tapes.
What are you guys looking for? Her drawing a bull's-eye on his back? No, no.
They look like soul mates to you? Well, they're not speaking to each other.
They look married.
This is the day before.
Ooh, those clothes are god-awful! Leopard print and zebra print.
I like a little color on a woman.
Yeah, I actually think the orange goes nicely with the zebra.
All right, this is the last one, the morning of the murder.
She's taking a taxi this time.
The hack number right there.
I wonder where she's going.
Well, I guarantee it's not Saks Fifth Avenue.
All right, say she was planning to kill her husband, right? Yeah, or hire it done.
The taxi dropped her here.
Fifi's Fashions.
Looks like her kind of place.
Maybe this is too.
You remember her? I remember the, uh She bought a pair of handcuffs--pink.
It's a new item.
Did she happen to mention what she was gonna use 'em for? No, she just said they were darling.
Then she saw something else she liked over here.
They're all legal.
No switchblades, gravity knives, Knuckle knives, kung fu stars.
This is only against the law if it's possessed with the intent to use it against another person.
Penal law 265.
01.
Okay, are you a lawyer or a knife salesman? People ask me.
Some cops don't know.
So our lady, she bought one of those? No, she bought one of these.
Damascus steel blade, copper fittings, snakeskin handle, Long enough to reach inside a dog cage.
I know I didn't tell you about the sword.
I--I was embarrassed.
Embarrassed? Embarrassed about killing your husband? I didn't kill David.
His wounds were consistent with the sword that you bought that you didn't tell us out.
The night he was murdered, You could have driven in from Connecticut and been back before anyone had known you were gone.
No.
Somebody else killed David.
They broke into the house for those comics, And they must have seen the sword and realized You're saying he was already in the cage? That's a little embarrassing too.
Is there someone else I can talk to? Sex games.
- Sex games? - Mm.
Locking your husband in dog cage before you go on an overnight trip? - He needed to be punished.
- Wow.
Ok, what about the sword? You hold it against certain sensitive body parts.
Okay, what about shoving it through his chest? Maybe he really needed to be punished.
She says it was all for fun, never for harm, and she can prove it.
How? They've done it before.
She has a witness.
Westhampton Police Department.
Marielle Dinapoli.
Oh, yeah, I remember that one.
She had a house out here.
We're looking at her for maybe killing her husband.
David, right? Last time I saw him, she was chasing him across the dunes with a harness whip.
She said you could vouch for the fact that they played games that seemed dangerous, but weren't.
I can vouch that they were both nuts.
We had half a dozen calls out there.
First one came from him.
He said she tied him up and tried to kill him.
We're taking the report, he says never mind, it was a sex thing.
He said he was mad at her, but now he's over it, sorry for the bother.
And chasing him across the dunes with a harness whip? Uh, neighbor called.
"Mr.
Dinapoli is running across the sand in his underwear.
- Another game? - More of a play.
Sticking out of the back of briefs, he had a tail.
Apparently he was her soul mate and her dog.
Well, they say you never know what goes on inside a marriage.
Yeah, the Westhampton PD had a few glimpses into this one.
They had a whole Dinapoli file.
Oh, held a steak knife to her throat at their fourth anniversary party? She didn't pursue it.
It never progressed into a formal charge.
That was 2008.
Their first lovers' quarrel was 2002.
That would have been before they were married.
When did her first husband die? So she was playing pin the tail on the boyfriend While husband number one was still in the picture? - Mm-hmm.
- How did he die? Accidental fall from a third-floor window of a brownstone they were renovating.
Which she inherited, right? Let's try to get a court order to exhume this body for re-examination.
- There might be a slight problem with that, Lieu.
- Well, do what you can.
- Now, how, exactly, was that tail attached? - You know, I didn't really want to know.
[laughs.]
- And I thought my marriage was weird.
- I think they're all weird, each in their own special kind of way.
- Yeah, but people keep doing it.
- Yeah, first-timers, 'cause they don't know any better.
- And old hands like you and me? - We know better.
- You want some more OJ? - Oh, detectives.
Let me guess-- somebody died.
- Yes.
Larry Summerstadt, seven years ago.
It went down as an accident, but we'd like to take another look.
- All right.
You got him en route? - Personal delivery.
- Oh, if you're proposing to me, Lupo, the answer's no.
- That's the deceased.
The widow had his cremains pressed into an artificial diamond.
First exhumation order we ever got for a piece of jewelry.
- Uh-huh.
And what do you expect me to tell you from this? - What have you got? - The deceased was a man of many facets.
- [chuckles.]
- Nothing.
It's carbon.
Carbon is carbon.
It doesn't remember where it came from.
But you could go back to the place that made that and get the leftover cremains.
There's a new technique that might find something.
- Oh, we'll have to find out if they kept any leftovers.
- Of course they did.
In case the widow wanted matching earrings.
- Particle-induced x-ray emissions.
It bombards the sample with an ion beam.
We call it "pixie.
" - So do we need to stand someplace else? - No, you're fine there.
The beams generate atomic interactions that produce wavelengths specific to individual elements.
Until we got this, all I could have told you about those ashes was that they were ashes.
- So what's Pixie have to say? - Well, there's carbon, of course.
Calcium phosphate, sodium, potassium.
Thallium.
Yeah, this is what you're looking for.
- I take it that's not part of a well-balanced diet.
- It's a heavy metal that has no business being in human remains.
- Unless that particular person was poisoned.
- I can't say whether it was accidental or on purpose, but yes.
- What does thallium do to a person? - Hair loss, gastrointestinal distress, neurological dysfunction.
- So they could stumble, fall out of a window? - Or collapse, and you could toss 'em out.
- It doesn't look good, Mrs.
Dinapoli.
You've got to understand.
- Call me Marielle.
'Cause I feel we're working together on this.
- From different ends, Marielle.
The evidence doesn't lie.
Your first husband was poisoned.
- And your second husband told the police at least four times that you tried to kill him.
- I explained all that to your Lieutenant.
Didn't she explain it to you? - If it was just game playing, why did he call the police? - Well, he'd get mad about something, like if I left a sandwich in the car.
He never liked that.
But then, you know, if one of our scenarios got a little out of hand, He'd overreact until we, you know, got back on track.
- You locked David in a dog cage and left him there for the weekend.
- I don't expect you to understand, but what David and I had together It was sent by god.
- You were soul mates.
- Yes.
- And you found this out when you were married to your first husband.
- It was bad timing.
Well, if I had met David first, I never would have even been with another man.
- But you were with another man, and that man was killed.
Which left you financially set up and alone with David, right? - That's true.
You're not gonna let up on this, are you? - No, we're not.
You had every reason in the world to murder your first husband.
- So did David.
- David? - His business was fiber optics.
His company had a plant in China.
He used to go over there.
And they had a certain chemical that-- - Thallium.
- That was the one.
David brought some back.
- You're saying you and he killed your first husband together? - No, it was David.
Just David.
And he told me about it afterwards.
I--I felt bad about Larry, But I wasn't going to go to the police.
- Even though he murdered your husband.
- Because he loved me.
Because we were soul mates.
Because we had to be together.
[sighs.]
Am I under arrest? Then I have to get back to the funeral.
- So Marielle Dinapoli is giving us her second husband for the murder of her first? - She said he confessed to her.
- And he's conveniently dead? - Right.
You can indict a diamond ring.
She turns her ex-husbands into Memory Gems.
- Well, who do you think killed her first husband? - I think she killed both of 'em.
- Well, if we charge her with killing number one, she'll raise reasonable doubt by saying that number two did it.
- Then charge her with killing number two.
She's got no one to point to on that one.
- She bought the sword.
He complained in the past that she tried to kill him.
And she admits to locking him in that dog cage.
- Yeah, but he was her soul mate.
Says so right here in your report.
- Okay, and in this report it says one of Dinapoli's friends told his wife that Marielle's soul mate was getting ready to divorce her.
- That's not right.
My wife must have misunderstood.
- Well, she told the police that you said Mr.
Dinapoli was planning on getting a divorce.
- That's news to me.
- He never said anything like that to you? - Your wife said that's why she put Mrs.
Dinapoli up for that makeover show.
- I thought she put her up for that show because she dresses like a slut.
- Who, Marielle? - They're from the district attorney's office, dear.
- We're just trying to clear something up.
Did your husband tell you that David Dinapoli wanted a divorce? - Yes.
- No.
- It was that day he went to New Jersey with you to look at your shopping center.
You stopped for a few drinks on the way home, dear.
- Mr.
Dinapoli was looking at real estate with you? - He bought a share in one of my projects.
But he never said he was getting divorced.
Even if we'd had a few drinks.
- It strike you as odd-- David Dinapoli investing with Felner? - And Felner was investing with Ashcroft, And Ashcroft was investing with Dinapoli.
A perfect circle.
- It's not that perfect.
Felner was suing Ashcroft over his investment.
And Ashcroft told the cops That he lost a fortune with Dinapoli.
- But 'round and 'round it goes.
It was a daisy chain.
They were all investing with each other.
- And all losing money.
- That's what their books show.
Three investment disasters.
- But they still play tennis together every week and stop for drinks at the club bar afterward.
- All that money down the drain and no hard feelings.
Let me take a wild guess-- they're all married.
- Yeah.
Now, Felner's wife said that he was thinking divorce.
Felner denies ever saying it.
- Because it has to be kept quiet, doesn't it? - Asset stripping.
You don't file for a divorce until after you've hidden the money.
- Maybe you should remind Mr.
Felner and Mr.
Ashcroft that they've committed a felony.
- If it was a crime to lose money in an investment, you'd have to arrest everybody in Manhattan.
- Well, it's not a crime to lose money, but it can be a crime to make money and lie about it.
- We checked the values of the comic books you invested in.
They didn't go down, they went up.
And so did the mutual funds you bought from Mr.
Ashcroft.
- Your lawsuit against him is just for show.
A show for your wife.
- That's ridiculous.
- Really? Let's see what her divorce lawyer has to say about it.
- She doesn't have a divorce lawyer.
We're not getting divorced.
- Well, maybe not now.
But that was the plan, wasn't it? The three of you made bogus bad investments with each other to lose as much money as you could before you filed for divorce to avoid giving half to your wives.
After the settlements, it could all quietly reappear.
- Even if you're right, the alleged crime doesn't become a crime until one of us lies in a divorce proceeding, which hasn't happened.
- Well, they may after your wives hear about this.
- Are you going to tell them? Is that part of the district attorney's job? - Are you sure they don't already know? Are you sure none of them knows? - Marielle knew.
I don't know how she found out about it.
David could be pretty stupid sometimes.
- How do you know she knew? - She called me.
Said she wanted David's money back.
Said we were all sons of bitches.
She was yelling and crying.
Angry Crazy.
- When did this happen? - The day before David was killed.
- And you never thought to mention this to the police? That your friend's wife had a motive to murder him? Of course not.
That would blow the whistle on your scheme to cheat your own wife.
Gotta keep your priorities straight.
- They'd rather let a murderer go free than give their wives a fair share of their assets.
- Yeah.
Makes me appreciate being single.
Marielle Dinapoli had a motive.
Let's call Lupo and Bernard.
- Well, there are no eyewitnesses, no conclusive forensics.
- The woman's unstable.
We charge her, shake her up, maybe we get a plea.
- Case number 46894: People v.
Marielle Dinapoli.
The charge is murder in the second degree.
- Mrs.
Dinapoli pleads not guilty.
- Uh, no, she pleads not possible.
- Excuse me? - How can you murder your own heart? - The actual charge, your honor, is murdering her husband.
- How can you murder your own soul? - Stick around, you'll see.
- This is a horrible mistake.
I don't know what you people can be thinking.
- Oh, we're thinking that you were upset when you realized your husband wanted a divorce.
- But that's not true.
That could never happen.
- We have a witness who says otherwise.
That you knew about the bogus investment scheme.
- David did invest with Josh.
He told me that.
- Marielle - But it wasn't bogus.
And he was getting his money back so we could buy real estate that we both wanted-- The house in Westhampton, where we were first together.
- Which you inherited from your first husband After David drugged him and threw him out of a window.
- But I didn't keep it.
The bank took it back.
It came on the market a few months ago, and we were gonna buy it.
- So you would have been especially upset when your husband told you his money was gone.
- I keep hearing the word "upset" here.
Is there a plea offer on the table? Extreme emotional disturbance? - It's not out of the question.
- Emotional? Emotional about what? We were a happily married couple.
Everything was perfect.
- I guess that's a no.
Everything was perfect.
- Yeah, except for the dead guy in the dog cage.
She won't take a plea.
- She thinks she's Juliet.
No way she killed Romeo, even if she did.
- Are you sure she did kill him? - Two murdered husbands? Come on.
- She says she had no motive.
That there was no divorce coming, and that she and her husband were shopping for romantic real estate.
- Even if they were, he could have just been jollying her along.
- It's due diligence.
We should check it out.
- Go take a look.
Maybe you'll find another dead husband in the bushes.
- Lovely grounds.
- Nice for chasing your lover around with a whip.
- Excuse me? - Uh, we understand that Mr.
and Mrs.
Dinapoli had a sentimental attachment to the place.
- Oh, yes, they seemed quite taken with it.
And each other.
I thought they were newlyweds.
- Were they serious potential buyers? - They were about to make an offer.
Mr.
Dinapoli even had his business manager call to go over some details.
- His business manager? - Uh, yes.
Name of Joshua Felner.
[cell phone rings.]
I'm in a bidding war.
Excuse me.
- Felner wasn't Dinapoli's business manager.
- No, but if he was checking to see what Dinapoli was up to-- If he was really staying with his wife, really needed his money back - If Dinapoli wanted out, the whole divorce scam might have blown up.
- Which would give both Felner and Ashcroft the motive to kill Dinapoli and then lie about what his wife knew so that we'd go after her.
- All this just to screw their wives? - Maybe their wives would like to return the favor.
- This whole thing, that my husband was involved in some secret plot to get a divorce As far as I know, we're not getting a divorce.
- I'm afraid that was sort of the point of the secret plan.
- With all due respect, lady, I don't know you, And I've known marty for 20 years.
- You both knew both men.
We want you to compare notes.
- Your husband told the police that he was with you the night Mr.
Dinapoli was murdered.
- That's true.
He was.
- All night? What time did you go to bed? - Amy, do you believe this? - Yes.
I threw Josh out yesterday.
I have a divorce lawyer and a forensic accountant combing through every corner of his miserable life.
You have to face reality here, Suzanne.
By the way, I have no idea where my husband was that night.
I go to bed early.
- Fine, then maybe your husband murdered David.
- Oh, like yours is such a paragon.
I've been hearing from Josh for years how he runs around.
He practically mounted a military campaign to get into Marielle's pants.
Even she was too good for him.
Thanks so much for having us.
It's been fun.
- [clears throat.]
The real housewives of New York City.
- They don't know anything we don't.
Our only hope is to squeeze something out of one of those husbands.
- I think we just found out Who might be able to help us.
- So you're dropping the charges.
- No, we have a case against your client.
We have no case against anyone else.
- But you just said Ashcroft and Felner-- - You think Marty Ashcroft killed my husband, and you want me to seduce him? - That's not what we said.
- We don't want you to lock him in a dog cage either.
- Just talk to him.
If you really want to help us If you're willing.
- I'm willing.
- I gotta say I was surprised you called me.
- I just wanted to be with somebody who knew David, and you were his friend.
This whole thing has just been so terrible.
- So they dropped the charge against you? - Oh, of course they did.
They found people who saw me in Connecticut while David was being killed.
The idea that they would arrest me-- that they would suspect me - I know.
I'm sorry about David.
- You knew how special he was.
- If there's anything I can do.
- I really appreciate that, Marty.
I feel so alone now.
- Anything, Marielle.
- Well-- I--I need money to pay bills.
David's investments were very complicated, and his comic books are all gone.
And if I just had a couple of those to sell, you know, to just tide me over - They might not all be gone.
- But they were stolen.
- Not all of them.
David gave me a few to evaluate.
- You have some of David's comic books? You son of a bitch! - Ow! - Aah! You killed David! You bastard! - Marielle, put it down! - He killed my soul.
- She's crazy.
- [grunting.]
- Drop it.
Drop it! Drop it! - He killed him.
He killed him.
- I did not.
- I know you did.
- Where's that crazy bitch? You arrest her? She tried to kill me! - We'll deal with her later.
Now we're dealing with you.
- What you told Mrs.
Dinapoli got us a search warrant for your apartment, where we found Mr.
Dinapoli's comic books.
All of them.
- And there's what looks to be specks of blood on a few.
The lab will tell us tomorrow if it's Mr.
Dinapoli's.
Unless you'd like to tell us now.
- I didn't kill David.
- Well, this would be a really good time for you to explain some things.
- He'll tell you what he knows.
but he walks away with no charges.
- That's for the D.
A.
to decide.
What does he know? - Okay--ooh! We were trying to hide money from our wives, and David changed his mind.
He told Josh he wanted his money back.
- You know this how? - Josh told me.
But he didn't have David's money.
He had put it into one of his investments.
He wasn't expecting to give it back until after the divorces.
David said he needed the money now to buy that house in the Hamptons, and that if he didn't get it, he was gonna tell our wives everything.
He was gonna blow the whistle on all of us.
Josh told me he'd take care of it.
- When did you get the comic books? - The night after the murder, from Josh.
He said he didn't want them around his house.
Besides, they were my investment! - What do you think? - If his alibi checks, we'll charge Josh Felner with the murder.
- And Mrs.
Dinapoli? - Case dismissed.
- Is that gonna make her one of your witnesses? Good luck.
- Do you recognize this comic book, Mrs.
Dinapoli? - Yes.
It belonged to my husband.
- We heard testimony from your husband's friend, Marty Ashcroft, that he got this from the defendant after your husband's death.
To your knowledge, did your husband ever give this to mr.
Felner? - No.
He had no reason to.
- And when did you see it last? - Um, the afternoon before he was murdered.
It was in a display case in our living room.
- And when did you notice that it was missing? - The next morning when they discovered my husband's body.
- I see.
Thank you.
- As for how Mr.
Ashcroft got that comic book, Didn't he tell you a different story the night that you stabbed him with a steak knife? - Yes.
He--he said that David had given it to him.
- Mm-hmm.
And which of his stories do you believe? - That he gave it to him.
After he murdered my husband.
- Well, you would go for that one, wouldn't you? It takes you off the hook.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- You were arrested for killing your husband, correct? - Yes, but the authorities made a mistake.
- And then they gave you a way out.
To elicit incriminating statements from Mr.
Ashcroft by offering yourself to him sexually.
- No, that was only for show.
- But hadn't you slept with him during your marriage? - No.
I was faithful to David! He was my great love.
- Your great love who made plans to cheat you and divorce you.
- He changed his mind.
That's why he was killed.
- Actually, wasn't he killed by you because he hadn't changed his mind? - No.
- Because he was walking out on your marriage! - No, that couldn't happen! - Well, maybe not while he was locked inside a dog cage.
But wasn't he sick and tired of you and your drama? - We were deeply in love.
- Wasn't he looking forward to a normal life with a normal woman? - You don't know what you're talking about.
- Hadn't he already had affairs with women Who weren't freaks like you? - You're lying! You bitch! You don't understand anything! You don't know anything! - I know I'm lucky there weren't any swords handy.
[Marielle sobbing.]
- You saw what she was like.
David wanted those comics out of the house so they'd be somewhere safe when he got out.
- So you didn't kill Mr.
Dinapoli? - No.
And if he got out sooner, he'd still be alive.
His wife knew what was going on.
She isn't one to take that kind of thing lying down.
- Well, if David Dinapoli gave you those comic books before he was killed, why was his blood on them? - Probably some old stab wound from his crazy wife.
- Yes, well, she is a little extreme, isn't she? - That's one word for it.
- So you must have been surprised when he backed out of your asset-hiding scheme to stay with her.
- He didn't back out.
- Oh, so Mrs.
Dinapoli is lying about the comic books, and Mr.
Ashcroft is lying about Mr.
Dinapoli? And, what, everybody's lying except you? - Yes.
- But there was an asset-hiding scheme.
- It was David's idea.
He didn't want to give his wife half his money.
- You didn't want to give half your money to your wife.
- That was the idea.
- You're getting divorced now, aren't you? - Yes.
- How much is your wife gonna get? - I'm not sure.
- More than $1 million? - Yes.
- Two million? - Possibly.
- You think that's fair? - The law says it is.
- What do you say? - That I've worked for the last 15 years.
And as far as I can tell, my wife spends most of her time shopping and getting her nails done.
- Surely that's an exaggeration.
- Yeah, I forgot aromatherapy.
A hundred bucks a week now, on me, forever.
Can someone please tell me what in the hell aromatherapy is? - And you don't want to get stuck paying for things like that, do you? - Who would? The whole system is designed to reward women who-- - Who what, Mr.
Felner? What, who leech off their husbands and then skin them alive in a divorce? - I don't know.
What's done is done.
I'm moving on.
- Well, you'd be moving on with a lot more of the money you mad during those 60-hour weeks If Mr.
Dinapoli hadn't backed out of your scheme.
- I told you, he didn't back out.
Why would he? - Because he loved his wife? - He was sick of his wife.
It was too damn weird.
I mean, the cage? The sword? - He told you about those? - Yeah, so I'd understand why he wanted out-- why he'd never go back.
- And the handcuffs.
He mention those too? - Yeah.
Pink handcuffs.
Like that would make him any more comfortable.
- Uh, when did he mention all this to you? - A few days before his wife killed him.
Well that's interesting.
Because the Dinapolis didn't have pink handcuffs then.
This store receipt shows that Mrs.
Dinapoli bought them the day of the murder.
- Well, I must have read that they were pink in the newspaper.
- That detail was never released.
- So what? That psycho tramp wife of his knew about them.
She knew they were there.
- So did his killer.
So did you.
- On the charge of murder in the second degree, How do you find? - We find the defendant guilty.
- I thank you for your service.
The defendant is bound over for sentencing.
- I know what people think of me.
I know what you may think of me.
But I never lied to you, and I loved my husband.
- I believe you.
- Thank you for everything.
- I gather things weren't looking so good when your star witness tried to murder the defense attorney.
- Well, we recovered.
I let the jury see how much Felner hated his wife, and then he fell into the old pink-handcuff trap.
- Just like Mr.
Dinapoli used to, I imagine.
- The widow sent me a thank-you gift for helping to convict her husband's killer.
- Diamond studs? - It's her husband.