Law & Order (1990) s23e11 Episode Script
Castle in the Sky
1
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.
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC]
♪
Callum, congratulations.
Thank you. It's an honor.
I can't imagine anyone more deserving.
Thank you so much.
The Humanitarian of the Year himself.
- [LAUGHS]
- Congrats, buddy.
Thank you. Thank you.
I hate these things.
You should try giving
less money to charity then.
No good deed, right?
Yeah, well, your efforts
have been a great benefit
to the citizens of New York City.
So on their behalf, I thank you.
- [CLATTER, GLASS SHATTERS]
- Oh dear!
Oh, my bad.
[LAUGHING] My bad.
So sorry, folks.
Is that West?
Yeah, um, excuse me.
Please, sir. Leave it.
We can take care of it.
I don't want you to cut yourself.
West, it's fine.
Uh, the staff can take care of it.
Dad, I-I want to. It's my fault.
You know what? Thank you.
Let's make sure that you didn't
get anything on you, all right?
No, it's fine. Dad, I wanna help.
It's her job.
Oh, there's the humanitarian I know.
I told you to cool it with that.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, am I embarrassing you, Dad?
Always.
[SNICKERS]
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Nice.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
- DOA is West Berkshire
- Mm.
- The son of Callum Berks
- Yeah, yeah.
- We know who he is.
- Thanks to TMZ,
I feel like I know more about
that guy than my own brother.
Security guard found him
this morning when he showed up.
Noticed the door was wide open.
Looks like a single gunshot
to the chest,
9-millimeter casings over there.
Time of death?
I'd say he's been here six,
maybe seven hours.
Still got a smartwatch on him.
Wallet and phone too.
We're probably not looking at a robbery,
unless they took everything.
Any signs of forced entry?
No. Like I said,
door was open, lock undisturbed.
And he had keys.
- This is his apartment.
- Mm. Very spartan.
He hadn't moved in yet.
No one has. The building's empty.
According to the security guard
who found him,
DOA was in charge of the place.
It's one of his dad's buildings.
- Mm.
- Callum Berkshire. Yeah.
Real estate magnate.
That makes sense.
Assuming since there's no residents,
there's no witnesses, huh?
None so far.
Thank you, officer.
You can still smell
the booze on this guy.
Mm.
Guy had the whole world
handed to him from birth.
Looks like somebody
came up here and took it back.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Building's set to open
to residents in two weeks.
Until then, they've only got
me here during working hours.
What time did you leave?
Locked up at 7:00.
Place was empty and secure when I left.
But West had keys to all the
doors and the security codes.
West, huh? You guys were
on a first-name basis?
Yeah.
Even though he was my boss,
technically, at least.
What do you mean, "technically"?
He had some title, head of development
or, uh, president of, uh,
something or other.
I don't know. The idea was,
he was overseeing the project,
but he didn't really do much.
Doesn't even have an office here.
Just got the job
'cause his dad was in charge.
Nice work if you can get it, huh?
Yeah. Tell me about it.
Any idea why he might've
come back here after-hours?
No. Like I said,
he was hardly here during work.
We're gonna need the security footage
for the lobby and the elevators
from last night.
There isn't any.
When I came in this morning,
the system was deactivated.
That's how I knew something was up.
I did a sweep of the building and
that's when I found him.
Door to the penthouse was open.
Is there any way to tell
who turned off the cameras?
It was West.
He came in the front doors
of the building at 11:16 p.m.
and used his access code
to shut them down.
Berkshire's time of death
was 11:34 p.m.,
15 minutes after he shut down
the building's security system.
That's unusually specific.
Oh, data from his smartwatch
actually shows
what time his heart stopped.
Yeah. We went through his phone.
He sent a text about a hour before.
"Cement in time. Sky diamonds."
Is he writing beat poetry?
Could be drunk rambling.
No narcotics in his system
but his blood alcohol was 0.15.
Who was he texting?
Prepaid phone.
So he texted a burner.
He turned off the building's cameras.
He was definitely up to something.
Mm-hmm.
Go notify the Berkshires.
Maybe they know what that something was.
You need to find whoever did this
and make them pay.
We promise you, we will
do everything in our power.
No, no, I'm serious.
I know the mayor,
the police commissioner.
Nick Baxter is a personal friend.
Sir, you don't need to do any of that.
Do either one of you know why
West would have gone
to the penthouse last night?
No.
He wasn't even planning on living there.
Then why would he buy the penthouse?
He didn't buy anything.
I gave it to him.
My son has a high profile
and celebrity friends.
Him owning one of the units
attracts other high-end buyers.
West sent a text last night.
"Cement in time. Sky diamonds."
Does that mean anything to you?
Is it some sort of code?
We aren't sure.
And we can't trace who he sent it to.
It was probably Kayla.
Who's Kayla?
Kayla Cassidy.
The actress?
West's been spending a lot
of time with her recently.
Do you have any idea
why he would text her in code?
Yeah, because she's married
and I'm pretty sure
they were sleeping together.
Kayla can be a bit erratic.
Wait.
West told me that she has a gun.
She got it because she was
having a problem
with a stalker or something.
[EERIE MUSIC]
[DOOR CLICKS OPEN]
Of course Callum thought
we were sleeping together.
He always assumed
the worst about his son.
So you two weren't having an affair?
No.
We were just friends.
We had a lot in common.
Being the kid
of someone famous can be tough,
and it's nice to have someone to talk to
who understands that.
Tough how?
My mother has an Academy Award.
Therefore, everyone assumes
I must not have earned anything
in my life.
Do you know what it's like
to have people
negate your entire existence
just because of who your parents are?
In a different way, but yeah.
Yeah.
Look, West had it even worse.
I mean, at least
my parents believe in me.
No matter what he did,
it was never good enough
for his father.
Yeah, we kind of got that impression.
Did you see West last night?
I haven't seen anyone in over a week
movies, doing night shoots,
and working 14 hour days
until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.
But all you'll ever hear about
is how I have no work ethic.
We heard you have a gun.
- Yeah.
- Do you have that on you?
- Yeah.
- No, no, no. I'll get it.
- Just tell me where.
- Back there. Black bag.
I got it for protection
because some jerk online
doxed me and posted my home address.
- I have a permit.
- Okay.
It's a .38.
Okay.
[GUN CLICKS]
Did West send you this text last night?
No. It's not to me.
He was looking to buy drugs.
"Cement" is cocaine
and "in time" means now.
I don't know what "sky diamonds" is.
Maybe it's a nickname
he gave the penthouse.
Could be.
Wouldn't happen to know West's
drug dealer's name, would you?
Never felt like this ♪
With you, I feel the urge to dance ♪
To move my feet, to breathe, to feel ♪
This beat goes on and on ♪
And my hips just move ♪
It's private area only.
[LAUGHS]
Beggin' for those lips ♪
And you come through ♪
Dean, I think those guys are cops.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
- Whoa! Hey!
Police!
- [SCREAMS]
- Stop!
Get out of the way!
Move! Move! Move!
[PEOPLE YELLING INDISTINCTLY]
- NYPD!
- Move! Move! Move!
Move! Move! Move! Hey!
Aah! [GROANS]
[GRUNTS] [ONLOOKERS OOH]
- Where you going, huh?
- [PANTS]
Well, what have we got here?
Burner phone.
I had nothing to do
with what happened to West.
- Oh, yeah?
- [GROANS]
I don't think we even said anything
about West Berkshire, huh?
[PANTS]
We have to have a little talk.
Come on.
Yeah, I was supposed
to meet West last night.
To sell him cocaine?
His dad pays the doorman
at his apartment.
He monitors his guests,
so West suggested
we meet at the new place.
So what happened?
You guys get into a fight?
No. I never even saw him.
I-I was running late,
and when I got there,
he didn't answer the buzzer.
I tried calling, but his phone
went straight to voicemail.
I waited there for a few minutes.
But then I left.
What time did you get to the new place?
[SIGHS]
- Maybe midnight?
- Can you prove that?
Yes. I took an Uber.
I can show you.
I would never kill anyone,
especially not West, okay?
We were friends.
Well, who was
he having problems with then?
It was this one guy about a month ago,
this dude vandalized the new building.
The guy had some sort
of vendetta against West
and his family.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
We booked him on the possession.
But Dean Hayes' Uber account shows
that he didn't get to
the high-rise until 11:50 p.m.,
which is 20 minutes after the murder.
So he is not our killer.
What else do we got?
Hey, so we've been looking
into the vandalism
of the new building
that Hayes mentioned.
West Berkshire actually
filed a police report
on behalf of the company.
Apparently somebody scaled
the side of the building
and spray-painted it
with a bunch of nasty stuff
about the Berkshire family.
Do we know who it was?
Yeah, police cited
a guy named Ravi Singh.
And I found him online.
He's the executive director of an NGO
called Housing for Everyone.
- Oh.
- What's "Oh"?
Three days ago, he tweeted,
"The Berkshires are signs
of a kleptocracy.
"If the world were just,
they'd be dragged out
into the street and shot."
[STIRRING MUSIC]
Why are you still here?
Yeah.
Well, I didn't mean that literally,
at least not that I'd be
the one to do the shooting.
Okay. Come here. [SIREN WAILS DISTANTLY]
- Come on.
- [SCOFFS]
What's your beef
with the Berkshires anyway?
That $400 million high-rise they built,
they took public money allocated
for affordable housing to help fund it.
They exploited a loophole,
created a co-op bylaw
that requires at least 80%
of the owners in the building
to approve any new tenants.
Meaning they never
actually have to approve
any low-income applicants.
That must have really pissed you off.
They knew the units would sit empty,
but they wouldn't be getting
much for them anyway,
by their measure, and this way,
they won't have their property value
"negatively impacted
by the unwashed masses."
You sound angry enough to kill.
Honestly, I'm getting there.
Ravi, did you kill West Berkshire?
No!
In fact, the exact opposite.
I recruited him to our cause.
After I graffitied the building,
West contacted me,
agreed to hear me out.
We had lunch day before yesterday.
The day he was murdered.
He said he was horrified
by what I told him.
Said that his dad had
done it all behind his back.
And he swore he was gonna make it right.
Said that his dad had
some awards dinner that night
and he was gonna confront him.
We had an argument.
It happened a lot.
It doesn't mean that I killed him.
You mind telling us
what that argument was about?
It's none of your business.
[LAUGHS]
Was it about your misappropriation
of public funds?
Everything my client has done
has been perfectly legal.
Well, maybe he wasn't
legally wrong, but morally.
Morally? Come on.
What are we, children?
If people want more affordable housing,
they should move
to a more affordable city.
Wouldn't look too good for
the "Humanitarian of the Year"
if the public got wind of
that sentiment, huh?
You sound like my son.
Hmm.
I loved West, more than
I think he ever understood.
But he did not have a mind for business.
Because he didn't wanna take money
from those less fortunate?
Because he was soft.
I put him in charge of this new project,
thinking that maybe he would step up.
But it was a disaster.
A few weeks ago, one
of his employees attacked him,
kicked his ass.
And he didn't even fire the guy.
He said that he felt sorry for him,
that he was a single dad
and he needed the job.
Where did you go after
the awards dinner that night?
Home.
I was in bed by 11:00.
Ask my wife, my driver.
- We will.
- This employee
who got into it with your son,
he got a name?
[SIGHS] Um, Ryan something or other.
I can get you a last name.
He was the building security guard.
[FOREBODING MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Marley.
Hey. You're back.
We got some questions
we'd like to ask you.
Like where were you at 11:30 p.m.
the night West Berkshire was killed?
I was, uh why?
Why don't you come down
to the station with us
and have a proper talk?
- No. I can't right now.
- Don't worry about it.
They'll find someone to fill in for you.
No, no. It's not that.
I have my daughter here with me.
I can't leave her alone. Uh
Hey.
Yeah. Everything's fine.
Uh, this is my daughter, Alex.
Hey, Alex.
Got a key there, huh?
Uh, I can meet with you
tomorrow when she's at school.
We're gonna need you
to come down with us right now.
And if you don't wanna leave
your daughter here alone,
we can make arrangements to have her
brought down to the station.
Up to you.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Hey. No big deal.
Hey. Um.
I'm sorry it took so long.
I hope you're hungry.
Some chips.
Um.
I like your necklace.
It's nice.
Where is your mom?
Do you want me to call her?
I'm not sure.
Um, excuse me.
I'm gonna be right back. I promise.
Hi. Can I help you?
Hey. [LAUGHS]
It is so nice to see you.
Oh, let me introduce you.
This is my son, Patrick.
This is Violet.
Oh, it's, uh,
so nice to meet you.
Um, what's goin' on?
What are you doing here?
Patrick teaches
at the school for the deaf.
[SIGHS]
- Do you want me
- No, no, no, no.
We need to talk with Ryan.
He's part of an investigation,
so do you know him well?
Ryan Marley contacted him
because they don't have any other family
and told him
that they recently were evicted
from their apartment.
So why didn't you tell us
that you and West Berkshire
got into a fight
the first time we talked?
It was over and done with.
I didn't think it was a big deal.
- What was the fight about?
- [SIGHS] I parked my truck
by the high-rise's loading dock
one night.
West reported it, had it impounded.
I couldn't afford to get it out.
So you clocked him?
When I confronted him
about it, he was like,
"What's the big deal?
It's just a $200 fine."
It pissed me off.
Guys like that don't even hear
themselves when they speak.
Were you and your daughter
living out of the truck?
We know that you got evicted
from your apartment.
We checked out the empty
apartment in the high-rise,
the one your daughter had a key to.
You know, the key
that you tried to hide from us.
And we found two air mattresses
and a duffel bag full of your stuff.
You were squatting there, weren't you?
Were you squatting there
the night that West was killed?
Did he catch you? Is that what happened?
I don't know what you're talking about.
But, see, I think you do.
See, I think that you were
living in West's apartment.
And when he showed up, you killed him
to keep from being reported.
But then you still had nowhere to go.
So you just moved to another empty unit
- in the building.
- No!
How exactly did you find West's body?
I mean, that building's
70 floors, hundreds of units.
How did you know to look into
that apartment in particular?
I-I-I started at the top.
I told you, the door was open.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS] Ryan, Forensics ran tests
on the clothing that we found.
And there were traces
of West Berkshire's blood
on one of your shirts.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
I think I need a lawyer.
Stand up.
Up. [HANDCUFFS CLINKING]
Ryan Marley, you're under arrest
for the murder of West Berkshire.
Anything you say can and will
be used against you
in a court of law. Do you understand?
Hey.
What are you doing here?
- Um, this is my son, Patrick.
- Oh.
I told Alex I would find out
what's going on with her father.
The poor kid is a mess.
[SIGHS] Well, um, Ryan,
he is being held without bail.
We charged him with murder
in the second degree.
I'm sorry.
Um, where is Alex now?
A family from school
has agreed to take her in.
Okay, well, that that's good news.
Alex is a special kid,
but I'm worried.
If her father's convicted,
I don't know what's going
to happen to her.
[PHONE BUZZES]
- I know, but
- I'm sorry.
I-I have to go.
Defense just filed a motion to suppress.
I'm so sorry.
Your Honor, the shirt
that West Berkshire was wearing
with the blood on it is inadmissible.
The police failed to obtain a warrant
before they searched
my client's duffel bag.
They didn't need one.
The unit it was found in was
unsold, and they had permission
from the owner
of the building to search it.
Ryan Marley was living
in that apartment.
Uh, what he was doing was trespassing.
He was there illegally,
therefore forfeiting
his presumed right to privacy.
He was unhoused.
The Fourth Amendment protects people,
not places.
And that is why the courts
have consistently ruled
that individuals who do not
have a home still have
the right to privacy, based
on their subjective belief
of whether they consider
a place their home.
Those rulings are in favor
of unhoused persons
who trespassed on public land.
This was private property.
The apartment in question was unleased
and unoccupied by anyone
other than Ryan Marley and his daughter.
And in that precise moment in time,
it was his home.
- Legally, it wasn't.
- Look.
The contents of Ryan Marley's duffel bag
were unlawfully obtained.
And to say otherwise
would strip the unhoused
of the basic protection
afforded to all of us,
based purely on their poverty.
I hear you, Mr. Price.
It's a tough call.
But I'm siding with the defense here.
Marley's shirt with the
victim's blood on it is out.
What about the murder weapon?
Police haven't been able to locate it.
Callum Berkshire's
been calling me nonstop.
He wants justice for his son.
And so do I.
Well, our case is still strong.
We can stitch together enough evidence
to put Marley at the scene.
His fingerprints and DNA
were all over the penthouse.
They'll just say he was
the one who found the body.
No, that wouldn't account for
the level we're talking about.
His prints were in every room,
on every surface,
plus stray hairs.
He was squatting there.
And security video in
the weeks preceding the murder
show Alex Marley arriving in the evening
and not leaving until the next morning.
And Ryan Marley's phone pings
put him in the area
- at the time of the murder.
- Okay.
So you can reasonably prove
that the defendant was there?
And that he had it out for Berkshire.
Marley had attacked him before.
You need to emphasize that
prior assault with the jury
and humanize the victim.
Forget the tabloid narrative.
I knew West. He was a good kid.
Make sure they know that
and that Marley resented him
purely because of his wealth
and privilege.
West was a good man.
He was a great man.
I wish that I had told him that
more often
when I had the chance.
Uh, a great man in what way, exactly?
West, uh, he struggled to
take care of himself sometimes.
But with others, he was always kind.
He did charity work. He volunteered.
And even outside of that,
he would always go out
of his way to help others.
But even still, he was often
a target for people's anger.
Was he ever the target
of the defendant's anger?
Yes.
[SIGHS] He attacked West,
punched him in the face.
When did this occur?
A few weeks before he was killed.
And he wasn't fired for that?
He should have been.
Hell, I wanted to press charges.
But West wouldn't let me.
He insisted that he keep his job.
West defended him, the man
that then went and killed him.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
Sounds like your son showed
a considerable amount of mercy
to the defendant.
That's who West was.
But the thing he didn't realize is,
it doesn't matter how nice
you are to some people,
they're still gonna hate you
for what you have,
for who you are.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mr. Berkshire, let me start by saying
that I am sorry for your loss.
Your son was arrested
multiple times for possession
of illegal narcotics, wasn't he?
He was never formally charged.
Wow, must be nice
having friends in high places.
Objection, Your Honor. Argumentative.
Isn't it true that West went
to the penthouse that night
to meet a drug dealer
to purchase cocaine?
He suffered from addiction.
It's a disease.
I don't see the point
in bringing that up.
Well, the point is,
is that your son had a history
of consorting with violent
and dangerous criminals,
any one of whom could have murdered him.
He didn't "consort" with murderers.
You're trying to make him out to be
He was rich, naive,
and by your own account,
overly trusting.
So isn't it possible that his death
had absolutely nothing
to do with my client,
but rather was the result of West
getting in over his head
with the wrong kind of people?
The only wrong kind of people
that he needed to worry about
is that man right there.
I can see why, as a father,
you'd like to believe that,
but that's not the truth.
Your son was a drug addict.
Objection. She she's made her point.
Sustained.
Nothing further.
[SIGHS] My eyes are about to glaze over.
Same. [SIGHS]
But we need something
to bolster our case.
We don't have the murder weapon,
and the defense did a good job
of convincing the jury
that someone else could've
killed West Berkshire.
Mm, they don't have evidence to support
that anyone else was there that night.
True, but even the suggestion
could be enough
to create reasonable doubt.
We need something that directly points
to Ryan Marley being the one
who pulled the trigger.
This is so depressing.
What?
Marley's financials.
In the weeks before they were evicted,
there's a series of Venmo transactions.
Looks like he sold everything he owned
to try and pay the rent
his wife's wedding ring,
their furniture.
He had a job. Right?
He was a functioning member of society
and still ended up unhoused.
And West Berkshire was handed
hundreds of millions of dollars
just for being born.
It's no wonder Marley resented him.
Yeah, well,
I hate to break the news to you,
life isn't fair.
Well, that's strange.
What?
On the day after the murder, um,
someone named Glenn Vassar
sent Marley $900.
Does it say what for?
No.
I mean, it could be nothing,
but given the timing
See if you can track Vassar down,
find out what he purchased.
Mr. Vassar, is this the gun
that police found in your possession?
Yes.
And are you aware that ballistic tests
show that it was the gun
that was used to murder West Berkshire?
Like I told the detectives,
I bought it after that guy got shot.
And I had no idea it had
been used to kill anybody.
When exactly did you purchase the gun?
On the afternoon of February 21st.
So about 12 hours after it
was used to murder Berkshire.
And is the man who sold it
to you in the courtroom today?
Yes. It was him.
Ryan Marley.
Thank you. Nothing further.
We have no questions
for this witness at this time.
Thank you. You're excused.
The prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Ms. Keller, you may
call your first witness.
The defense calls Ryan Marley
to the stand.
Mr. Marley, were you
in West Berkshire's penthouse
the night he was killed?
Yes.
With Berkshire's permission?
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT]
No.
I was squatting there with my daughter.
We had been evicted from our
apartment a few weeks before,
and I didn't know what else to do.
But you had a job. Right?
You were an employee of the Berkshires.
Couldn't you afford your own place?
My wife died of ovarian cancer.
Um, she was sick for years.
I'm buried in medical debt,
and my daughter is deaf.
It isn't exactly cheap
to raise a child like that
in this country.
I don't have any family money.
My father was a doorman.
Spent his whole life in a uniform
holding the door open
for guys like West Berkshire.
[SIGHS] I was making 40,000 a year
and barely managing
to keep my head above water.
And then the building
we lived in got sold
to an investment firm,
and they doubled the rent.
We were out on the street.
Couldn't you have found
a cheaper apartment?
My credit is shot because of the debt,
which means no one
is willing to rent to me.
And even if they were,
I couldn't scrounge together
a first month plus a deposit.
Once you fall behind, there's, uh
there's no hope of catching back up.
Did you go to a homeless shelter?
I tried, uh,
but the ones that allowed
children were full.
I would have had to put
my daughter in foster care.
[SIGHS] In a million years,
I never would have thought it
could happen, but next thing I knew
we were living out of my truck.
And then Berkshire had it towed.
I was out of options.
And I knew the penthouse
was just sitting there empty.
And I overheard West bragging
that he wasn't even going to live in it.
It seemed like a victimless crime.
But then he showed up unexpectedly
in the middle of the night.
Ryan, did you shoot West Berkshire?
Yes.
[JURY MURMURING]
My daughter and I were asleep
in the bedroom
when a loud noise
in the other room woke me up.
I went to see what it was.
It was dark. The lights were off.
There was a man in the living room.
He turned and saw me.
He yelled something,
I couldn't make out what,
and pulled out a gun.
What did you do?
Before I could do anything,
my daughter came out
of the bedroom behind me.
The man turned
and pointed the gun at her,
and I just reacted.
I tackled him to the ground.
We we wrestled for the gun,
and it just went off.
And then what happened?
I turned on the lights
and realized who it was.
And I panicked and packed up
our stuff and got out of there.
I feel terrible.
But you have to know,
I didn't mean to kill him.
You were just trying
to stop him from killing you.
I was protecting my daughter.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
No further questions.
♪
You say you tackled West Berkshire,
wrestled for the gun.
But there were no signs of a struggle.
Uh, there was no furniture
in the apartment.
- It was empty.
- Uh, what I mean to say is,
West Berkshire had
no defensive wounds on him.
- If you two fought
- I don't know.
It all happened so fast.
All I remember is the gun going off.
♪
If what you're claiming is true,
you had a right to defend yourself.
Why flee?
[SCOFFS]
Rights like that only belong
to rich people like Berkshire,
not people like me.
You sold your gun
to Glenn Vassar, right?
Yes, but the gun wasn't mine.
It was West's.
I just wanted to get rid of it.
I was afraid it had
my fingerprints on it.
Plus, we needed the money.
I couldn't sleep that night.
I saw my dad get up
and go into another room.
So I got up too and followed him.
There was a man there.
He had a gun.
He pointed it at me.
And what did your father do?
He jumped on the man.
They fought.
And then the man was dead.
Did you believe the man
was going to shoot you?
Yes.
It was very scary.
My dad saved me.
Thank you.
You were very brave.
No further questions.
[SIGHS]
Alex, did your father
or your father's attorney
tell you what to say here today?
No.
I know you and your dad
have been through a lot
and you love him very much.
You would do anything
to help get him outta trouble.
Wouldn't you?
Yes.
But I'm telling the truth.
I promise.
For what it's worth,
my son did some digging.
And he found West Berkshire
tagged in a video
from eight months ago
posted on social media.
I'm not sure what this actually proves,
other than the fact that West Berkshire
had a gun at some point.
Can you make out if this is the same gun
as the murder weapon?
No. We tried.
There's just not enough footage
to get a clean look.
So what's your point, Lieutenant?
Well, my point is, Marley
might be telling the truth.
The gun might have belonged
to West Berkshire,
and Marley's self-defense
argument is probably valid.
But even if he's telling
the truth about the gun,
the apartment belonged
to West Berkshire.
He had a right to use lethal force
against someone who entered his home.
That doesn't negate Marley's right
to defend himself or his daughter,
whether or not he was there illegally.
I'm I'm not so sure about that.
Look, I just think
that there is a better way
to resolve this entire mess,
a way that doesn't destroy
both people's lives.
I doubt West Berkshire's
father would agree.
I know he is a friend of yours.
But I think we can all agree
that what happened here
is a tragedy on both sides.
So what are you proposing?
That we offer a plea,
involuntary manslaughter,
time served, plus probation.
What do you think?
[SIGHS]
I-I-I don't love it.
I mean, the idea
that a squatter could shoot
and kill the legal owner of the home,
regardless of the circumstances,
doesn't feel right.
I agree.
But what about the evidence?
How strong is our case?
It's close.
And let's face it.
The defendant is clearly more
sympathetic than the victim.
Let's make the deal.
Okay.
So this will all be over soon?
Um, well, it looks that way, yeah.
You guys have been amazing. Thank you.
Yeah. We were happy to do it.
I just wish that we could
give them both a place to stay
after this is over.
Well, we think that we found a place
that they both can stay
when Ryan gets out of prison,
for a few months anyway.
Good. I mean, Alex'll be so happy.
Where is Alex?
I'm not sure.
But I told her that you would be here.
I'll go check up on her.
- [PHONE RINGING]
- Oh.
Um, this is work. I need to take this.
Yeah, of course.
Hello?
Hey.
[SOFT UNSETTLING MUSIC]
♪
Here she is.
I told her the good news.
What did you lie about?
What are you talking about?
She just told you she was afraid
because she thought we knew she lied.
Hey.
Lied about what?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
What's up?
The gun that killed West Berkshire
belonged to Ryan Marley.
He bought it for protection
when he and Alex started living
on the street.
And when Berkshire came
into the penthouse that night,
he thought he was an intruder.
So he got his gun.
He went into the living room.
He saw some dark figure.
He panicked, and he shot.
Which means that Marley and
his daughter both lied on the stand.
Did your son know?
No.
And he said it wouldn't
change anything if he did.
He doesn't think
Marley did anything wrong.
And I kind of agree.
He thought the man was dangerous.
His daughter was in the apartment.
The law in this state says
that you are allowed
to shoot somebody that you think
is breaking into your home.
I mean, if his name was on
the deed to that penthouse,
everything he did would be legal.
Yeah, but his name was not on
that deed, Berkshire's was.
But they were there.
I mean, they were living there.
Doesn't change the facts or the law.
West Berkshire's dead.
He was killed minding his own business,
entering his own apartment.
I don't wanna see Marley
do life in prison for something
that anyone would have done
in the same situation.
I mean, there's a chance
that he gets less.
Doesn't matter what his sentence is.
Alex is gonna be thrown
into foster care.
And we know what that means.
I mean, this kid just
she hasn't had a break her entire life.
Look, I get it.
I do.
The thing is, Kate, we're police.
We don't get to pick and choose
who the law applies to.
Listen. Listen.
This conversation that we're
having just between friends,
whatever you decide to do,
I don't have to say a word about it.
- Come on.
- Okay.
Are Marley and his attorney here?
They're in the conference room.
- Price.
- Kate.
Everything all right?
I need to speak to you.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Price, we're ready
to entertain your offer.
There's not gonna be a deal.
What are you talking about?
You're the one who called me.
I'll see you in court.
[DOOR SLAMS]
Lieutenant, did Alex Marley admit to you
that her father was the one
who had the gun that night,
not West Berkshire?
Objection. Hearsay.
Uh, it's an exception to
the hearsay rule, Your Honor.
Alex Marley admitted
to perjuring herself
when she testified.
It's a statement against penal interest.
Overruled.
You may answer.
Yes, she said the gun
belonged to her father
and that he used it
to shoot West Berkshire
because he thought he was an intruder.
So West Berkshire was not pointing a gun
at Alex Marley like he claimed?
- No.
- In fact, quite the opposite.
The defendant pointed a gun at
and shot West Berkshire
in his own home.
Nothing further.
♪
In the charge of murder
in the second degree,
we find the defendant,
Ryan Marley, guilty.
[CRIES]
[PEOPLE WHISPERING SOFTLY]
♪
- [CRYING]
- No, no, hey. It's okay.
- No!
- No, no, no, no.
Everything's okay, honey.
- No!
- I love you.
I-I'm sorry.
- [CRYING]
- Hey, Daddy loves you.
- I'm so sorry.
- No!
I love you so much, baby.
I love you.
No!
No.
No!
[CRIES] No.
No.
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.
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC]
♪
Callum, congratulations.
Thank you. It's an honor.
I can't imagine anyone more deserving.
Thank you so much.
The Humanitarian of the Year himself.
- [LAUGHS]
- Congrats, buddy.
Thank you. Thank you.
I hate these things.
You should try giving
less money to charity then.
No good deed, right?
Yeah, well, your efforts
have been a great benefit
to the citizens of New York City.
So on their behalf, I thank you.
- [CLATTER, GLASS SHATTERS]
- Oh dear!
Oh, my bad.
[LAUGHING] My bad.
So sorry, folks.
Is that West?
Yeah, um, excuse me.
Please, sir. Leave it.
We can take care of it.
I don't want you to cut yourself.
West, it's fine.
Uh, the staff can take care of it.
Dad, I-I want to. It's my fault.
You know what? Thank you.
Let's make sure that you didn't
get anything on you, all right?
No, it's fine. Dad, I wanna help.
It's her job.
Oh, there's the humanitarian I know.
I told you to cool it with that.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, am I embarrassing you, Dad?
Always.
[SNICKERS]
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- Nice.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
- DOA is West Berkshire
- Mm.
- The son of Callum Berks
- Yeah, yeah.
- We know who he is.
- Thanks to TMZ,
I feel like I know more about
that guy than my own brother.
Security guard found him
this morning when he showed up.
Noticed the door was wide open.
Looks like a single gunshot
to the chest,
9-millimeter casings over there.
Time of death?
I'd say he's been here six,
maybe seven hours.
Still got a smartwatch on him.
Wallet and phone too.
We're probably not looking at a robbery,
unless they took everything.
Any signs of forced entry?
No. Like I said,
door was open, lock undisturbed.
And he had keys.
- This is his apartment.
- Mm. Very spartan.
He hadn't moved in yet.
No one has. The building's empty.
According to the security guard
who found him,
DOA was in charge of the place.
It's one of his dad's buildings.
- Mm.
- Callum Berkshire. Yeah.
Real estate magnate.
That makes sense.
Assuming since there's no residents,
there's no witnesses, huh?
None so far.
Thank you, officer.
You can still smell
the booze on this guy.
Mm.
Guy had the whole world
handed to him from birth.
Looks like somebody
came up here and took it back.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Building's set to open
to residents in two weeks.
Until then, they've only got
me here during working hours.
What time did you leave?
Locked up at 7:00.
Place was empty and secure when I left.
But West had keys to all the
doors and the security codes.
West, huh? You guys were
on a first-name basis?
Yeah.
Even though he was my boss,
technically, at least.
What do you mean, "technically"?
He had some title, head of development
or, uh, president of, uh,
something or other.
I don't know. The idea was,
he was overseeing the project,
but he didn't really do much.
Doesn't even have an office here.
Just got the job
'cause his dad was in charge.
Nice work if you can get it, huh?
Yeah. Tell me about it.
Any idea why he might've
come back here after-hours?
No. Like I said,
he was hardly here during work.
We're gonna need the security footage
for the lobby and the elevators
from last night.
There isn't any.
When I came in this morning,
the system was deactivated.
That's how I knew something was up.
I did a sweep of the building and
that's when I found him.
Door to the penthouse was open.
Is there any way to tell
who turned off the cameras?
It was West.
He came in the front doors
of the building at 11:16 p.m.
and used his access code
to shut them down.
Berkshire's time of death
was 11:34 p.m.,
15 minutes after he shut down
the building's security system.
That's unusually specific.
Oh, data from his smartwatch
actually shows
what time his heart stopped.
Yeah. We went through his phone.
He sent a text about a hour before.
"Cement in time. Sky diamonds."
Is he writing beat poetry?
Could be drunk rambling.
No narcotics in his system
but his blood alcohol was 0.15.
Who was he texting?
Prepaid phone.
So he texted a burner.
He turned off the building's cameras.
He was definitely up to something.
Mm-hmm.
Go notify the Berkshires.
Maybe they know what that something was.
You need to find whoever did this
and make them pay.
We promise you, we will
do everything in our power.
No, no, I'm serious.
I know the mayor,
the police commissioner.
Nick Baxter is a personal friend.
Sir, you don't need to do any of that.
Do either one of you know why
West would have gone
to the penthouse last night?
No.
He wasn't even planning on living there.
Then why would he buy the penthouse?
He didn't buy anything.
I gave it to him.
My son has a high profile
and celebrity friends.
Him owning one of the units
attracts other high-end buyers.
West sent a text last night.
"Cement in time. Sky diamonds."
Does that mean anything to you?
Is it some sort of code?
We aren't sure.
And we can't trace who he sent it to.
It was probably Kayla.
Who's Kayla?
Kayla Cassidy.
The actress?
West's been spending a lot
of time with her recently.
Do you have any idea
why he would text her in code?
Yeah, because she's married
and I'm pretty sure
they were sleeping together.
Kayla can be a bit erratic.
Wait.
West told me that she has a gun.
She got it because she was
having a problem
with a stalker or something.
[EERIE MUSIC]
[DOOR CLICKS OPEN]
Of course Callum thought
we were sleeping together.
He always assumed
the worst about his son.
So you two weren't having an affair?
No.
We were just friends.
We had a lot in common.
Being the kid
of someone famous can be tough,
and it's nice to have someone to talk to
who understands that.
Tough how?
My mother has an Academy Award.
Therefore, everyone assumes
I must not have earned anything
in my life.
Do you know what it's like
to have people
negate your entire existence
just because of who your parents are?
In a different way, but yeah.
Yeah.
Look, West had it even worse.
I mean, at least
my parents believe in me.
No matter what he did,
it was never good enough
for his father.
Yeah, we kind of got that impression.
Did you see West last night?
I haven't seen anyone in over a week
movies, doing night shoots,
and working 14 hour days
until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.
But all you'll ever hear about
is how I have no work ethic.
We heard you have a gun.
- Yeah.
- Do you have that on you?
- Yeah.
- No, no, no. I'll get it.
- Just tell me where.
- Back there. Black bag.
I got it for protection
because some jerk online
doxed me and posted my home address.
- I have a permit.
- Okay.
It's a .38.
Okay.
[GUN CLICKS]
Did West send you this text last night?
No. It's not to me.
He was looking to buy drugs.
"Cement" is cocaine
and "in time" means now.
I don't know what "sky diamonds" is.
Maybe it's a nickname
he gave the penthouse.
Could be.
Wouldn't happen to know West's
drug dealer's name, would you?
Never felt like this ♪
With you, I feel the urge to dance ♪
To move my feet, to breathe, to feel ♪
This beat goes on and on ♪
And my hips just move ♪
It's private area only.
[LAUGHS]
Beggin' for those lips ♪
And you come through ♪
Dean, I think those guys are cops.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
- Whoa! Hey!
Police!
- [SCREAMS]
- Stop!
Get out of the way!
Move! Move! Move!
[PEOPLE YELLING INDISTINCTLY]
- NYPD!
- Move! Move! Move!
Move! Move! Move! Hey!
Aah! [GROANS]
[GRUNTS] [ONLOOKERS OOH]
- Where you going, huh?
- [PANTS]
Well, what have we got here?
Burner phone.
I had nothing to do
with what happened to West.
- Oh, yeah?
- [GROANS]
I don't think we even said anything
about West Berkshire, huh?
[PANTS]
We have to have a little talk.
Come on.
Yeah, I was supposed
to meet West last night.
To sell him cocaine?
His dad pays the doorman
at his apartment.
He monitors his guests,
so West suggested
we meet at the new place.
So what happened?
You guys get into a fight?
No. I never even saw him.
I-I was running late,
and when I got there,
he didn't answer the buzzer.
I tried calling, but his phone
went straight to voicemail.
I waited there for a few minutes.
But then I left.
What time did you get to the new place?
[SIGHS]
- Maybe midnight?
- Can you prove that?
Yes. I took an Uber.
I can show you.
I would never kill anyone,
especially not West, okay?
We were friends.
Well, who was
he having problems with then?
It was this one guy about a month ago,
this dude vandalized the new building.
The guy had some sort
of vendetta against West
and his family.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
We booked him on the possession.
But Dean Hayes' Uber account shows
that he didn't get to
the high-rise until 11:50 p.m.,
which is 20 minutes after the murder.
So he is not our killer.
What else do we got?
Hey, so we've been looking
into the vandalism
of the new building
that Hayes mentioned.
West Berkshire actually
filed a police report
on behalf of the company.
Apparently somebody scaled
the side of the building
and spray-painted it
with a bunch of nasty stuff
about the Berkshire family.
Do we know who it was?
Yeah, police cited
a guy named Ravi Singh.
And I found him online.
He's the executive director of an NGO
called Housing for Everyone.
- Oh.
- What's "Oh"?
Three days ago, he tweeted,
"The Berkshires are signs
of a kleptocracy.
"If the world were just,
they'd be dragged out
into the street and shot."
[STIRRING MUSIC]
Why are you still here?
Yeah.
Well, I didn't mean that literally,
at least not that I'd be
the one to do the shooting.
Okay. Come here. [SIREN WAILS DISTANTLY]
- Come on.
- [SCOFFS]
What's your beef
with the Berkshires anyway?
That $400 million high-rise they built,
they took public money allocated
for affordable housing to help fund it.
They exploited a loophole,
created a co-op bylaw
that requires at least 80%
of the owners in the building
to approve any new tenants.
Meaning they never
actually have to approve
any low-income applicants.
That must have really pissed you off.
They knew the units would sit empty,
but they wouldn't be getting
much for them anyway,
by their measure, and this way,
they won't have their property value
"negatively impacted
by the unwashed masses."
You sound angry enough to kill.
Honestly, I'm getting there.
Ravi, did you kill West Berkshire?
No!
In fact, the exact opposite.
I recruited him to our cause.
After I graffitied the building,
West contacted me,
agreed to hear me out.
We had lunch day before yesterday.
The day he was murdered.
He said he was horrified
by what I told him.
Said that his dad had
done it all behind his back.
And he swore he was gonna make it right.
Said that his dad had
some awards dinner that night
and he was gonna confront him.
We had an argument.
It happened a lot.
It doesn't mean that I killed him.
You mind telling us
what that argument was about?
It's none of your business.
[LAUGHS]
Was it about your misappropriation
of public funds?
Everything my client has done
has been perfectly legal.
Well, maybe he wasn't
legally wrong, but morally.
Morally? Come on.
What are we, children?
If people want more affordable housing,
they should move
to a more affordable city.
Wouldn't look too good for
the "Humanitarian of the Year"
if the public got wind of
that sentiment, huh?
You sound like my son.
Hmm.
I loved West, more than
I think he ever understood.
But he did not have a mind for business.
Because he didn't wanna take money
from those less fortunate?
Because he was soft.
I put him in charge of this new project,
thinking that maybe he would step up.
But it was a disaster.
A few weeks ago, one
of his employees attacked him,
kicked his ass.
And he didn't even fire the guy.
He said that he felt sorry for him,
that he was a single dad
and he needed the job.
Where did you go after
the awards dinner that night?
Home.
I was in bed by 11:00.
Ask my wife, my driver.
- We will.
- This employee
who got into it with your son,
he got a name?
[SIGHS] Um, Ryan something or other.
I can get you a last name.
He was the building security guard.
[FOREBODING MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Marley.
Hey. You're back.
We got some questions
we'd like to ask you.
Like where were you at 11:30 p.m.
the night West Berkshire was killed?
I was, uh why?
Why don't you come down
to the station with us
and have a proper talk?
- No. I can't right now.
- Don't worry about it.
They'll find someone to fill in for you.
No, no. It's not that.
I have my daughter here with me.
I can't leave her alone. Uh
Hey.
Yeah. Everything's fine.
Uh, this is my daughter, Alex.
Hey, Alex.
Got a key there, huh?
Uh, I can meet with you
tomorrow when she's at school.
We're gonna need you
to come down with us right now.
And if you don't wanna leave
your daughter here alone,
we can make arrangements to have her
brought down to the station.
Up to you.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Hey. No big deal.
Hey. Um.
I'm sorry it took so long.
I hope you're hungry.
Some chips.
Um.
I like your necklace.
It's nice.
Where is your mom?
Do you want me to call her?
I'm not sure.
Um, excuse me.
I'm gonna be right back. I promise.
Hi. Can I help you?
Hey. [LAUGHS]
It is so nice to see you.
Oh, let me introduce you.
This is my son, Patrick.
This is Violet.
Oh, it's, uh,
so nice to meet you.
Um, what's goin' on?
What are you doing here?
Patrick teaches
at the school for the deaf.
[SIGHS]
- Do you want me
- No, no, no, no.
We need to talk with Ryan.
He's part of an investigation,
so do you know him well?
Ryan Marley contacted him
because they don't have any other family
and told him
that they recently were evicted
from their apartment.
So why didn't you tell us
that you and West Berkshire
got into a fight
the first time we talked?
It was over and done with.
I didn't think it was a big deal.
- What was the fight about?
- [SIGHS] I parked my truck
by the high-rise's loading dock
one night.
West reported it, had it impounded.
I couldn't afford to get it out.
So you clocked him?
When I confronted him
about it, he was like,
"What's the big deal?
It's just a $200 fine."
It pissed me off.
Guys like that don't even hear
themselves when they speak.
Were you and your daughter
living out of the truck?
We know that you got evicted
from your apartment.
We checked out the empty
apartment in the high-rise,
the one your daughter had a key to.
You know, the key
that you tried to hide from us.
And we found two air mattresses
and a duffel bag full of your stuff.
You were squatting there, weren't you?
Were you squatting there
the night that West was killed?
Did he catch you? Is that what happened?
I don't know what you're talking about.
But, see, I think you do.
See, I think that you were
living in West's apartment.
And when he showed up, you killed him
to keep from being reported.
But then you still had nowhere to go.
So you just moved to another empty unit
- in the building.
- No!
How exactly did you find West's body?
I mean, that building's
70 floors, hundreds of units.
How did you know to look into
that apartment in particular?
I-I-I started at the top.
I told you, the door was open.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS] Ryan, Forensics ran tests
on the clothing that we found.
And there were traces
of West Berkshire's blood
on one of your shirts.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
I think I need a lawyer.
Stand up.
Up. [HANDCUFFS CLINKING]
Ryan Marley, you're under arrest
for the murder of West Berkshire.
Anything you say can and will
be used against you
in a court of law. Do you understand?
Hey.
What are you doing here?
- Um, this is my son, Patrick.
- Oh.
I told Alex I would find out
what's going on with her father.
The poor kid is a mess.
[SIGHS] Well, um, Ryan,
he is being held without bail.
We charged him with murder
in the second degree.
I'm sorry.
Um, where is Alex now?
A family from school
has agreed to take her in.
Okay, well, that that's good news.
Alex is a special kid,
but I'm worried.
If her father's convicted,
I don't know what's going
to happen to her.
[PHONE BUZZES]
- I know, but
- I'm sorry.
I-I have to go.
Defense just filed a motion to suppress.
I'm so sorry.
Your Honor, the shirt
that West Berkshire was wearing
with the blood on it is inadmissible.
The police failed to obtain a warrant
before they searched
my client's duffel bag.
They didn't need one.
The unit it was found in was
unsold, and they had permission
from the owner
of the building to search it.
Ryan Marley was living
in that apartment.
Uh, what he was doing was trespassing.
He was there illegally,
therefore forfeiting
his presumed right to privacy.
He was unhoused.
The Fourth Amendment protects people,
not places.
And that is why the courts
have consistently ruled
that individuals who do not
have a home still have
the right to privacy, based
on their subjective belief
of whether they consider
a place their home.
Those rulings are in favor
of unhoused persons
who trespassed on public land.
This was private property.
The apartment in question was unleased
and unoccupied by anyone
other than Ryan Marley and his daughter.
And in that precise moment in time,
it was his home.
- Legally, it wasn't.
- Look.
The contents of Ryan Marley's duffel bag
were unlawfully obtained.
And to say otherwise
would strip the unhoused
of the basic protection
afforded to all of us,
based purely on their poverty.
I hear you, Mr. Price.
It's a tough call.
But I'm siding with the defense here.
Marley's shirt with the
victim's blood on it is out.
What about the murder weapon?
Police haven't been able to locate it.
Callum Berkshire's
been calling me nonstop.
He wants justice for his son.
And so do I.
Well, our case is still strong.
We can stitch together enough evidence
to put Marley at the scene.
His fingerprints and DNA
were all over the penthouse.
They'll just say he was
the one who found the body.
No, that wouldn't account for
the level we're talking about.
His prints were in every room,
on every surface,
plus stray hairs.
He was squatting there.
And security video in
the weeks preceding the murder
show Alex Marley arriving in the evening
and not leaving until the next morning.
And Ryan Marley's phone pings
put him in the area
- at the time of the murder.
- Okay.
So you can reasonably prove
that the defendant was there?
And that he had it out for Berkshire.
Marley had attacked him before.
You need to emphasize that
prior assault with the jury
and humanize the victim.
Forget the tabloid narrative.
I knew West. He was a good kid.
Make sure they know that
and that Marley resented him
purely because of his wealth
and privilege.
West was a good man.
He was a great man.
I wish that I had told him that
more often
when I had the chance.
Uh, a great man in what way, exactly?
West, uh, he struggled to
take care of himself sometimes.
But with others, he was always kind.
He did charity work. He volunteered.
And even outside of that,
he would always go out
of his way to help others.
But even still, he was often
a target for people's anger.
Was he ever the target
of the defendant's anger?
Yes.
[SIGHS] He attacked West,
punched him in the face.
When did this occur?
A few weeks before he was killed.
And he wasn't fired for that?
He should have been.
Hell, I wanted to press charges.
But West wouldn't let me.
He insisted that he keep his job.
West defended him, the man
that then went and killed him.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
Sounds like your son showed
a considerable amount of mercy
to the defendant.
That's who West was.
But the thing he didn't realize is,
it doesn't matter how nice
you are to some people,
they're still gonna hate you
for what you have,
for who you are.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Mr. Berkshire, let me start by saying
that I am sorry for your loss.
Your son was arrested
multiple times for possession
of illegal narcotics, wasn't he?
He was never formally charged.
Wow, must be nice
having friends in high places.
Objection, Your Honor. Argumentative.
Isn't it true that West went
to the penthouse that night
to meet a drug dealer
to purchase cocaine?
He suffered from addiction.
It's a disease.
I don't see the point
in bringing that up.
Well, the point is,
is that your son had a history
of consorting with violent
and dangerous criminals,
any one of whom could have murdered him.
He didn't "consort" with murderers.
You're trying to make him out to be
He was rich, naive,
and by your own account,
overly trusting.
So isn't it possible that his death
had absolutely nothing
to do with my client,
but rather was the result of West
getting in over his head
with the wrong kind of people?
The only wrong kind of people
that he needed to worry about
is that man right there.
I can see why, as a father,
you'd like to believe that,
but that's not the truth.
Your son was a drug addict.
Objection. She she's made her point.
Sustained.
Nothing further.
[SIGHS] My eyes are about to glaze over.
Same. [SIGHS]
But we need something
to bolster our case.
We don't have the murder weapon,
and the defense did a good job
of convincing the jury
that someone else could've
killed West Berkshire.
Mm, they don't have evidence to support
that anyone else was there that night.
True, but even the suggestion
could be enough
to create reasonable doubt.
We need something that directly points
to Ryan Marley being the one
who pulled the trigger.
This is so depressing.
What?
Marley's financials.
In the weeks before they were evicted,
there's a series of Venmo transactions.
Looks like he sold everything he owned
to try and pay the rent
his wife's wedding ring,
their furniture.
He had a job. Right?
He was a functioning member of society
and still ended up unhoused.
And West Berkshire was handed
hundreds of millions of dollars
just for being born.
It's no wonder Marley resented him.
Yeah, well,
I hate to break the news to you,
life isn't fair.
Well, that's strange.
What?
On the day after the murder, um,
someone named Glenn Vassar
sent Marley $900.
Does it say what for?
No.
I mean, it could be nothing,
but given the timing
See if you can track Vassar down,
find out what he purchased.
Mr. Vassar, is this the gun
that police found in your possession?
Yes.
And are you aware that ballistic tests
show that it was the gun
that was used to murder West Berkshire?
Like I told the detectives,
I bought it after that guy got shot.
And I had no idea it had
been used to kill anybody.
When exactly did you purchase the gun?
On the afternoon of February 21st.
So about 12 hours after it
was used to murder Berkshire.
And is the man who sold it
to you in the courtroom today?
Yes. It was him.
Ryan Marley.
Thank you. Nothing further.
We have no questions
for this witness at this time.
Thank you. You're excused.
The prosecution rests, Your Honor.
Ms. Keller, you may
call your first witness.
The defense calls Ryan Marley
to the stand.
Mr. Marley, were you
in West Berkshire's penthouse
the night he was killed?
Yes.
With Berkshire's permission?
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT]
No.
I was squatting there with my daughter.
We had been evicted from our
apartment a few weeks before,
and I didn't know what else to do.
But you had a job. Right?
You were an employee of the Berkshires.
Couldn't you afford your own place?
My wife died of ovarian cancer.
Um, she was sick for years.
I'm buried in medical debt,
and my daughter is deaf.
It isn't exactly cheap
to raise a child like that
in this country.
I don't have any family money.
My father was a doorman.
Spent his whole life in a uniform
holding the door open
for guys like West Berkshire.
[SIGHS] I was making 40,000 a year
and barely managing
to keep my head above water.
And then the building
we lived in got sold
to an investment firm,
and they doubled the rent.
We were out on the street.
Couldn't you have found
a cheaper apartment?
My credit is shot because of the debt,
which means no one
is willing to rent to me.
And even if they were,
I couldn't scrounge together
a first month plus a deposit.
Once you fall behind, there's, uh
there's no hope of catching back up.
Did you go to a homeless shelter?
I tried, uh,
but the ones that allowed
children were full.
I would have had to put
my daughter in foster care.
[SIGHS] In a million years,
I never would have thought it
could happen, but next thing I knew
we were living out of my truck.
And then Berkshire had it towed.
I was out of options.
And I knew the penthouse
was just sitting there empty.
And I overheard West bragging
that he wasn't even going to live in it.
It seemed like a victimless crime.
But then he showed up unexpectedly
in the middle of the night.
Ryan, did you shoot West Berkshire?
Yes.
[JURY MURMURING]
My daughter and I were asleep
in the bedroom
when a loud noise
in the other room woke me up.
I went to see what it was.
It was dark. The lights were off.
There was a man in the living room.
He turned and saw me.
He yelled something,
I couldn't make out what,
and pulled out a gun.
What did you do?
Before I could do anything,
my daughter came out
of the bedroom behind me.
The man turned
and pointed the gun at her,
and I just reacted.
I tackled him to the ground.
We we wrestled for the gun,
and it just went off.
And then what happened?
I turned on the lights
and realized who it was.
And I panicked and packed up
our stuff and got out of there.
I feel terrible.
But you have to know,
I didn't mean to kill him.
You were just trying
to stop him from killing you.
I was protecting my daughter.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
No further questions.
♪
You say you tackled West Berkshire,
wrestled for the gun.
But there were no signs of a struggle.
Uh, there was no furniture
in the apartment.
- It was empty.
- Uh, what I mean to say is,
West Berkshire had
no defensive wounds on him.
- If you two fought
- I don't know.
It all happened so fast.
All I remember is the gun going off.
♪
If what you're claiming is true,
you had a right to defend yourself.
Why flee?
[SCOFFS]
Rights like that only belong
to rich people like Berkshire,
not people like me.
You sold your gun
to Glenn Vassar, right?
Yes, but the gun wasn't mine.
It was West's.
I just wanted to get rid of it.
I was afraid it had
my fingerprints on it.
Plus, we needed the money.
I couldn't sleep that night.
I saw my dad get up
and go into another room.
So I got up too and followed him.
There was a man there.
He had a gun.
He pointed it at me.
And what did your father do?
He jumped on the man.
They fought.
And then the man was dead.
Did you believe the man
was going to shoot you?
Yes.
It was very scary.
My dad saved me.
Thank you.
You were very brave.
No further questions.
[SIGHS]
Alex, did your father
or your father's attorney
tell you what to say here today?
No.
I know you and your dad
have been through a lot
and you love him very much.
You would do anything
to help get him outta trouble.
Wouldn't you?
Yes.
But I'm telling the truth.
I promise.
For what it's worth,
my son did some digging.
And he found West Berkshire
tagged in a video
from eight months ago
posted on social media.
I'm not sure what this actually proves,
other than the fact that West Berkshire
had a gun at some point.
Can you make out if this is the same gun
as the murder weapon?
No. We tried.
There's just not enough footage
to get a clean look.
So what's your point, Lieutenant?
Well, my point is, Marley
might be telling the truth.
The gun might have belonged
to West Berkshire,
and Marley's self-defense
argument is probably valid.
But even if he's telling
the truth about the gun,
the apartment belonged
to West Berkshire.
He had a right to use lethal force
against someone who entered his home.
That doesn't negate Marley's right
to defend himself or his daughter,
whether or not he was there illegally.
I'm I'm not so sure about that.
Look, I just think
that there is a better way
to resolve this entire mess,
a way that doesn't destroy
both people's lives.
I doubt West Berkshire's
father would agree.
I know he is a friend of yours.
But I think we can all agree
that what happened here
is a tragedy on both sides.
So what are you proposing?
That we offer a plea,
involuntary manslaughter,
time served, plus probation.
What do you think?
[SIGHS]
I-I-I don't love it.
I mean, the idea
that a squatter could shoot
and kill the legal owner of the home,
regardless of the circumstances,
doesn't feel right.
I agree.
But what about the evidence?
How strong is our case?
It's close.
And let's face it.
The defendant is clearly more
sympathetic than the victim.
Let's make the deal.
Okay.
So this will all be over soon?
Um, well, it looks that way, yeah.
You guys have been amazing. Thank you.
Yeah. We were happy to do it.
I just wish that we could
give them both a place to stay
after this is over.
Well, we think that we found a place
that they both can stay
when Ryan gets out of prison,
for a few months anyway.
Good. I mean, Alex'll be so happy.
Where is Alex?
I'm not sure.
But I told her that you would be here.
I'll go check up on her.
- [PHONE RINGING]
- Oh.
Um, this is work. I need to take this.
Yeah, of course.
Hello?
Hey.
[SOFT UNSETTLING MUSIC]
♪
Here she is.
I told her the good news.
What did you lie about?
What are you talking about?
She just told you she was afraid
because she thought we knew she lied.
Hey.
Lied about what?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
What's up?
The gun that killed West Berkshire
belonged to Ryan Marley.
He bought it for protection
when he and Alex started living
on the street.
And when Berkshire came
into the penthouse that night,
he thought he was an intruder.
So he got his gun.
He went into the living room.
He saw some dark figure.
He panicked, and he shot.
Which means that Marley and
his daughter both lied on the stand.
Did your son know?
No.
And he said it wouldn't
change anything if he did.
He doesn't think
Marley did anything wrong.
And I kind of agree.
He thought the man was dangerous.
His daughter was in the apartment.
The law in this state says
that you are allowed
to shoot somebody that you think
is breaking into your home.
I mean, if his name was on
the deed to that penthouse,
everything he did would be legal.
Yeah, but his name was not on
that deed, Berkshire's was.
But they were there.
I mean, they were living there.
Doesn't change the facts or the law.
West Berkshire's dead.
He was killed minding his own business,
entering his own apartment.
I don't wanna see Marley
do life in prison for something
that anyone would have done
in the same situation.
I mean, there's a chance
that he gets less.
Doesn't matter what his sentence is.
Alex is gonna be thrown
into foster care.
And we know what that means.
I mean, this kid just
she hasn't had a break her entire life.
Look, I get it.
I do.
The thing is, Kate, we're police.
We don't get to pick and choose
who the law applies to.
Listen. Listen.
This conversation that we're
having just between friends,
whatever you decide to do,
I don't have to say a word about it.
- Come on.
- Okay.
Are Marley and his attorney here?
They're in the conference room.
- Price.
- Kate.
Everything all right?
I need to speak to you.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Price, we're ready
to entertain your offer.
There's not gonna be a deal.
What are you talking about?
You're the one who called me.
I'll see you in court.
[DOOR SLAMS]
Lieutenant, did Alex Marley admit to you
that her father was the one
who had the gun that night,
not West Berkshire?
Objection. Hearsay.
Uh, it's an exception to
the hearsay rule, Your Honor.
Alex Marley admitted
to perjuring herself
when she testified.
It's a statement against penal interest.
Overruled.
You may answer.
Yes, she said the gun
belonged to her father
and that he used it
to shoot West Berkshire
because he thought he was an intruder.
So West Berkshire was not pointing a gun
at Alex Marley like he claimed?
- No.
- In fact, quite the opposite.
The defendant pointed a gun at
and shot West Berkshire
in his own home.
Nothing further.
♪
In the charge of murder
in the second degree,
we find the defendant,
Ryan Marley, guilty.
[CRIES]
[PEOPLE WHISPERING SOFTLY]
♪
- [CRYING]
- No, no, hey. It's okay.
- No!
- No, no, no, no.
Everything's okay, honey.
- No!
- I love you.
I-I'm sorry.
- [CRYING]
- Hey, Daddy loves you.
- I'm so sorry.
- No!
I love you so much, baby.
I love you.
No!
No.
No!
[CRIES] No.
No.