Law & Order Special Victims Unit s07e16 Episode Script
Gone
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as The Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
There he is.
The plane's still on the ground, captain.
What is this? / Your son taking a little one-way trip to Rio? We've had this trip planned for months.
Douglas Waverly, you're under arrest.
Why can't you leave me alone? If we let them cancel the prom this year, you underclassmen will never get it back.
All right, we have to fight the morals police.
Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Hi.
We're the real police.
Jason King, you're under arrest.
- Nick Pratt, you're under arrest - For the rape and murder of Jennifer Durning, the 17-year-old Canadian high school student who disappeared two months ago while on her senior class trip here in New York.
This is preposterous.
No one asked you yet, Mr.
Gates.
Bail? The people request remand.
And the defense moves for immediate dismissal of all charges.
The people can't even make out the basic elements of the crime, your honor.
Jennifer Durning has a history of running away.
Once, when she was 14.
They can't prove she's dead.
They still don't have the body.
- Is that true, Ms.
Novak? - Yes, your honor.
Then on what basis were the defendants arrested? A tip to the police hotline saying that Mr.
Waverly was leaving the country.
Detectives arrested him boarding a chartered plane to Rio de Janeiro.
Which is not a crime.
And where my client's father was taking him on legitimate business for his produce company.
And from where, conveniently, we'd never be able to extradite him.
Do the people have any evidence that a rape or murder took place? More than enough to guarantee an indictment.
Care to share that with us, counselor? We have a videotape of the defendants serving the victim alcohol just before she disappeared.
Now, beyond that, the people are not prepared to divulge anything further.
They have nothing, your honor.
You can't prove murder without a dead body.
Or rape without a live victim.
I'm familiar with the rules of evidence, Mr.
Seaver.
On the charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, the defendants are released on their own recognizance.
Your honor, move that the court seize the passports of all three defendants.
So ordered.
However, until the people secure indictments, I have no choice but to grant the defense motion.
The charges of rape and murder are dismissed.
We had to arrest all three of them.
You made the right call.
I swung for the fences and struck out.
It was a ballsy move.
You bought us time.
Yeah, until the DA finds out and filets me like a catfish.
Unless we can find Jennifer's body before then.
Well, not likely.
She could be anywhere.
Okay, then, take me through it one more time.
Just so I'm sure I haven't missed anything.
Okay, we know Jennifer went to the dance club with her friends.
She left the dance club at 11:30 with Nick, Doug, and Jason.
She came back to her hotel room right before 1 A.
M.
Okay, so she goes up to her room, she gets the mystery phone call.
- And then she leaves again at 1:14.
- Right, for the last time.
After that, there's no sign of any of them, until Nick and Doug turn up at the bayside diner and call the precinct about their car at 3:19 A.
M.
You know, Jennifer's hotel is in midtown.
Middle of the night, no traffic.
Bayside diner's a 15-minute trip from there.
Gives them more than two hours to kill Jennifer, dump her and the car.
Get to the diner, grab a cup of Joe, report the Chevy stolen.
Maybe it was stolen.
A '71 Chevelle? At today's gas prices? Look, we checked every cab in the city, including gypsies.
Nobody drove those kids to that diner.
There's over 1,000 places in Queens alone.
They could have dumped Jennifer in the car.
We don't even have a place to start.
You can start by thinking about what the hell you're doing before you do it.
Here we go.
I tried to reach you.
Your secretary said you were giving a speech.
You guaranteed an indictment, on the record, in open court? I had no choice.
We're gonna be lucky if we don't get sued by those three boys for false arrest.
We know they did it, Mr.
Branch.
We've got DNA, videotapes, witnesses.
Without a body or a confession, arresting them today makes us all look like idiots.
Now, find the girl or flip one of those kids before their lawyers find out what we got on them.
Flip them? Lawyers start crying every time we get near them.
We have more than enough for warrants to swab them for DNA.
Maybe that'll scare one of them into giving it up.
Have doc Warner cook up a reason to take the samples here.
And make sure those boys all come in at the same time.
Well, you're not the medical examiner.
She'll be here any second.
From her contamination cleanup at the morgue? Right.
Well, maybe while you're waiting, your client would like to see himself on home video.
Jennifer's friend Danna shot it.
Danna, I never knew New York could be so much fun.
This is my new friend Jason.
We're gonna dance till we drop, and then who knows? Yeah, we came here for a DNA test, not so you can assault my client with videotape.
Jennifer's friend Danna shot the tape.
She's also gonna swear she saw Nick and Doug Waverly in the club.
Watch this.
We found some very interesting security camera video.
There's your client and his friends leaving the club with Jennifer.
Our lab enhanced and edited the tape so we could see you all heading right for your dad's '71 Chevelle.
Sweet ride.
You got pretty good parking karma there, Nick.
Finding a spot right across the street.
Lucky for us too.
We got your client serving Jennifer.
What is that, tequila? Unless the ME shows up in the next 10 seconds Doorman to the club will testify he saw you four drinking, then the four of you get in and take off.
- Let's go, Doug.
- Wait a minute.
It gets better.
We know the rape happened between 11:30 and 12:53 in the morning.
That's when the security camera caught Jennifer coming through the front door into the hotel.
And check it out.
She walked directly through the lobby, got on the elevator, and went straight to her room on the tenth floor.
And, look, she's crying.
I wonder what she's so upset about.
Is there a problem, Jason? Something bothering you? This whole charade.
We're done here.
Don't leave without a party favor.
"Call to room 817.
" What is this? It's a call Jennifer made from her room at 1:02 in the morning, telling her friend she'd been gang raped.
Captain.
Sorry, I thought the room was empty.
So you remember Danna? I'm sorry, counselor, that's the girl who, uh, made the videotape of Jason making out with Jennifer.
She's also the friend Jennifer called.
And anything Jennifer said to her is inadmissible.
Didn't the police academy teach you about hearsay? / Sure they did.
They also taught me that outcry witnesses are an exception to the hearsay rule.
Good show, detective.
But we're gonna skip the encore.
Nick.
ME tech is here to swab Nick.
Good, just in time.
You know, counselor, while he's setting up, why don't you take a look at the other call from that night? The number belongs to the payphone down the block from the hotel.
We've had about enough of this crap.
Sorry I'm late.
I'm Dr.
Warner.
Don't let me interrupt.
That call came in on the other line in Jennifer's room while she was still on the phone with her friend Danna.
So what? Jennifer said she called Danna right back, but she didn't.
Because the person on the other line lured her out of the hotel.
Are you suggesting that my client called her? Or one of his friends did.
- How's that prove rape and murder? - It doesn't.
But this will.
A pair of underwear.
They're Jennifer's, Jason.
Which she stripped off with the rest of her clothes when she got back to the hotel room.
And then she took a shower.
What so many victims do after they've been raped.
To wash you and your friends off her.
I know what you're trying to do.
The DA will cut you a deal if you tell us what you and your friends did.
Do you understand me? I'll never say anything bad about Nicky! Never.
You know what we found on those panties, Nicky? Her blood, and the semen of three guys.
Her pants also had semen on them.
Two stains, two different DNA samples.
Won't take me long to match this to one of them.
That swab's your one-way ticket to Sing Sing.
It was Jason's idea.
My cousin got us into this mess.
Jennifer came on to Jason at the club.
She said we should all get out of there, so we left.
- So where'd you go? - We drove down to South street.
- Under the FDR drive? - Yeah.
Jason did her first.
Then me.
Then Nick.
She wanted all three of us, I swear.
But Jason got greedy.
What's that mean? After me and Doug were done, Jason went another round.
She was screaming.
Jason wanted to leave her there.
But Nick and I, we both said no.
So we drove her back to the hotel and dropped her off.
- Just like that? - Yeah.
But then Jason said, "we should have killed her.
" He got out of the car and ran down the street to the hotel.
You and Nick try to stop him? We didn't want anything to do with it.
We took off.
- Where? - We just drove around the city.
Went over the 59th street bridge, and then headed home to Muttontown.
How'd you wind up at the Bayside Diner? We got hungry.
It was on the way.
And that's when the Chevy got stolen? Some homie probably ripped it off.
Both boys said the same thing.
Jason raped Jennifer, and then he masterminded her murder.
And you believe them? They're the only ones talking.
I can't make Jason talk to you.
Well, if he doesn't, he's gonna spend the rest of his very long life in prison.
I told him that.
What did he say? He'd jump off the Brooklyn bridge before he'd rat out cousin Nicky.
- He's not talking to you? - No.
But I'm telling you, Casey, this kid is too gentle.
He's too nice to be a killer.
He's a piano prodigy.
He takes lessons at Juilliard.
Juilliard? Every Tuesday, from 3 to 4.
Your parents drive you into the city? I take the train.
To Penn station.
What train did you catch last Tuesday? The 4:31 to Hicksville.
Like always.
How do you get to Penn from Juilliard? / Subway.
Number one train from 66th street? Yep.
³× Why? Police hotline.
Doug Waverly's going to Rio tomorrow.
On a private plane.
That call was made from a pay phone in the 66th street subway station at 4:07 P.
M.
on Tuesday.
What did you do, Jason, cover the phone with your sweater? No.
No, it wasn't me.
Ms.
Novak and the police already know that Doug Waverly called your house that same morning.
Doug told you he was leaving.
You were trying to protect Nicky, weren't you? Nicky's my cousin.
Nicky and your so-called friend Doug blamed the entire thing on you.
They're trying to screw you to the wall to save themselves.
Don't let them.
NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT GRAND JURY MONDAY, JANUARY 30 Nicky said that we had to go to this club in the city because I was you know, a virgin, and I needed to get laid.
Whose idea was it to leave? Jennifer's.
She wanted to go alone with me to her hotel room.
Did you go to her hotel? Jason, please answer the question.
I I can't.
You have been subpoenaed to testify here today, and you are under oath.
You will tell the truth, or you will go to jail.
Please, please don't make me.
You told me that Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly offered to drive you and Jennifer to her hotel.
True? Yes.
/ But instead, Nicky drove downtown under the FDR, true? Yes.
/ Then you and Jennifer had sex in the back seat of the car.
No, I didn't rape her.
No, she, she said yes.
I swear she did.
I swear.
You tell the jurors what happened next.
When we were done I got out of the car.
And, and Nicky says, "now it's our turn.
" And he and Doug got in and they raped her.
And when they were done? We dropped her off.
Around the block from her hotel.
And what did Nicky say? Jason, please.
Tell the grand jurors what your cousin Nicky said.
He said that we should have killed her.
So she couldn't tell anyone what happened.
Did you try and stop them? I said, I told them they were crazy.
But Nicky and Doug said they were gonna do it.
So I got out of the car.
Then I left.
- Where did you go? - Penn station.
I took the train home.
Maybe if I had stayed Jennifer would still be alive.
Who died? DNA results are in.
All three boys' semen was in Jennifer's underwear.
But the semen on the jeans only belongs to Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly.
Which is consistent with her fighting them off when they raped her.
What's the problem? Crime scene found a pubic hair under the toilet seat in Jennifer's room.
It's from a male, but the DNA doesn't match any of the three boys.
She was barely in her room a half an hour.
We're sure no one was in there with her? Nobody even got off the elevator on Jennifer's floor during that time.
Then I'll tell the grand jury that we think the bathroom wasn't cleaned thoroughly.
Let them decide.
No, I wanna take it all back.
Before the grand jury decides.
Jason, you can't do that.
Just tell them I lied.
You'll go to jail.
Look, you're not the one who's getting picked on at school.
You're not the one who's getting hang-up calls.
My friends won't even talk to me.
Is there any place you can go until things calm down? Well we have a summer home in the Hamptons.
Someplace your families don't know about would be better.
Remember, we rented that ski house up in Catskills? I could call the agency, see if they have anything available.
Indictments.
Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly for rape one and murder one.
Good work.
We couldn't have done it without you, Jason.
Oh, no.
- Oh, my god.
Oh, my god.
- Jason, I am sorry.
Please leave me alone.
Jason, you did the right thing.
You told the truth.
Nicky was like my brother.
I know.
I know.
I never, never meant for any of this to happen.
It is not your fault that Nick and Doug murdered Jennifer.
I'm sorry that I didn't I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Everything's gonna be okay.
We reviewed every videotape from every security camera from the Thorpe palace.
Jennifer Durning left at 1:11 that morning and was never seen again.
When did you enter the case? dispatch sent us on a 911 call - about a missing rape victim.
- Made by whom? Uh, Danna Simpson, Jennifer's classmate.
How did Danna know that Jennifer had been raped? Jennifer called Danna after the rape to tell her what had happened.
Uh, Danna called 911 after Jennifer disappeared.
Detective Stabler, do you know who Jennifer was last seen with? The two defendants, leaving the dance club at 11:30 that night.
- That's a lie.
- Any more outbursts, Mr.
Pratt, and you will be taken to the lockup.
Please continue, detective.
We also have them leaving the club with Jennifer on videotape.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Did you instruct the crime scene unit to dust Jennifer's hotel room for fingerprints? - There was no evidence - A simple yes or no, please, detective.
No.
/ 'Cause you didn't want to have to tell this jury that the two defendants' fingerprints were not in the room.
Objection.
Stating facts not in evidence.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard defense counsel's statement.
Be careful, Mr.
Gates.
Were you present when crime scene unit detective O'Halloran found a pubic hair on the toilet seat in Jennifer's hotel room? Yes, I was.
Did that come from either of the defendants? No.
/ Did it come from Jennifer Durning? No.
/ You have no idea who it came from, do you? No.
/ Then how can you be so sure that the two defendants are the ones that raped and murdered Jennifer? The semen in Jennifer's panties came from the two defendants.
That just proves they had sex with her, not that they raped her.
- Is there a question in here somewhere? - Detective Stabler, do you have any idea the sex of the person who left that pubic hair on the toilet? - Objection.
- Counsel in chambers, now.
I will not let you two mislead this jury with some unsubstantiated red herring.
Our clients have the right to present a legitimate defense.
Not until you prove to me it's legitimate.
In front of the assistant district attorney? You can't force us to reveal our trial strategy.
Well, then, I move for a motion in limine to preclude any questions about the hair.
Which I will grant, unless you can convince me you can connect it to some suspect.
The presence of another male in Jennifer Durning's hotel room doesn't prove that their clients didn't rape her.
We'll lay it out for you, judge.
But ex-parte only.
Not with Ms.
Novak in the room.
- Your honor, I strenuously object.
- Noted.
But I have to be fair, Casey.
And this I will say in front of you.
If I get even a hint that this hair is a smokescreen, I am shutting you down.
Are we clear? There's no way we missed another suspect.
The defense must have convinced judge Donnelly that we did.
Because of a stray hair? It doesn't make those two guys innocent.
I'm trying a murder case without a dead body.
A loose end like that could give the jury enough reasonable doubt to acquit.
Casey, we swabbed every one of Jennifer's male classmates.
And the chaperones who were on that trip.
Then where did that hair come from? That hair could have been left by any of the last 100 men who stayed in that room.
Or some hotel employee who used his pass key to stop in and take a leak.
Which we can't see, because there aren't any security cameras in the hallways.
But there were on the elevators, and no one got off on Jennifer's floor from the time before she got raped until after she left.
Okay, so how'd he get in? Maybe Jennifer let him in, or he picked the lock.
Have you guys looked at any of the video from before Jennifer got back or after she left? Skimmed through them.
Didn't see her.
Then let's cover our asses.
We go back to the tapes and check out every person who got off the elevators on the tenth floor.
From the day Jennifer arrived in the city to the morning that we got to the hotel.
This is the tenth couple I've seen making out in the elevator.
I hope they saved some energy for the honeymoon.
Yeah, well, I've got a catfight in car three.
I think the honeymoon is over for these two.
Wouldn't wanna get in the middle of that.
Well, get a load of Luca Brasi.
Couple years, another 200 pounds, that's you, Munch.
The back of his coat, the seam is ripped.
Captain, you better take a look at this.
What is it? It looks like he's hiding something inside his jacket.
He's getting off at the tenth floor.
An hour after Jennifer left for the last time.
Fast forward.
See if he leaves.
What goes up must come down.
How did we miss this guy? And there he is, 20 minutes later.
This time, he's carrying a coat.
That's the coat Jennifer was wearing when she came back from being raped.
Which she wasn't wearing when she left a half hour later.
He took it from her room after he used the John.
How'd he get Jennifer's key? You know, Jennifer had her purse at the dance club.
But when she came back to the hotel after the rape no purse.
Maybe that's what he's hiding under his jacket.
We'll canvass the neighborhood, see who knows him.
DAL SANTO'S BAR 166 WEST 54TH STREET FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 Name's Keith Willis, AKA "Your friendly neighborhood drunk.
" Right where any respectable alcoholic would be at 10 in the morning.
Keith Willis.
- Durvo.
- Durvo? Must be Bulgarian.
Keith think he's their ambassador to Washington.
You know who I am.
Yes, I have orders to confirm ID.
Sir, we need to escort you to foggy bottom immediately.
Can you tell me where you got these? From some boys.
Was it was it these boys? Them! How did you meet those boys? They gave me 50 bucks to make a phone call.
What did they tell you to say? I have your passport.
Please come to the phone booth down the street, and I return it to you.
Then what? Uh, a girl came.
They made her get in their car.
This girl? Yeah, yeah.
Is secretary Baker here yet? What year is it, Mr.
Willis? Jennifer's purse and coat were in Willis' roach-infested dump of a home.
Look, Thorpe palace gives each guest two keys.
He goes through Jennifer's purse.
He finds the one in the envelope with her room number on it.
Goes looking for something good to steal.
Uses the toilet, leaves the hair.
I need him on the stand.
Well, you're looking for trouble.
He's demented, probably from years of alcohol abuse rotting his brain.
He was the only one who saw Jennifer get into that car with Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly.
His short-term memory has more holes in it than a sieve.
He's unreliable.
I just spoke to the hotel security chief.
He showed a private investigator the tapes two days ago.
Hired by the defense, no doubt.
Well, it gets better.
The PI told him that he's looking for some drunk who followed Jennifer back to the hotel.
Nick and Doug must have told their lawyers about Willis.
Yeah, then used him as an alibi.
But they forgot to mention he witnessed them kidnap Jennifer.
What do you want us to do? Have the ME match Willis' DNA to the hair on that toilet so we can eliminate him a suspect.
Willis didn't see Jason? Doesn't mean Jason didn't see him.
Find out.
TANNERSVILLE, NEW YORK FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 My husband and I just got back from dinner an hour ago.
Jason's asleep.
Do you have to wake him? It's urgent, Mrs.
King.
Well, that's his room.
Jason, it's detective Stabler.
Jason? He's gone.
Did you see Jason when you got back last night? His door was closed.
We thought he was asleep, so we didn't bother him.
- And no one knows you're here? - No, absolutely not.
My husband hasn't even been to work since this whole thing started.
Well, I know Jason was upset about testifying against his cousin.
Our son didn't run away, detective.
Jason finally saw Nick as the entitled, spoiled brat - the rest of us always knew he was.
- Yeah.
One minute, please.
Munch dumped the phone in the house, Jason's cell, and the parent's cell.
No incoming or outgoing calls in the last two days.
Well, maybe Jason got tired of living like a hermit and he split.
It's 10 miles to the nearest town.
At night in the freezing weather? He had to walk, 'cause the parents had the car.
There was another car here last night.
I found tire imprints.
The larger ones are from the King's Mercedes.
Which the parents drove back from dinner last night.
Over the tracks of the second car.
Judging from the smaller wheel base, I'd say it's a compact.
I'll go back to the lab to match the imprints to give you the tire's make and model.
Roadmaster Excelsior is used on any one of a couple dozen compacts.
It doesn't match our boys.
None of their families own anything smaller than a C-class Mercedes.
And there's no sign of a struggle in or around the house.
Jason must have known whoever came to get him.
It had to be Nick and Doug.
Houdini couldn't make people disappear like these guys can.
How the hell did they find where Jason was staying? - Are you saying they found out from us? - Why are you hanging around here - when you should be out looking for Jason? - We've been busting our asses.
Jason is missing! And Nick and Doug are gonna walk, unless you call in the troops to find him! We call in the troops, and everybody finds out Jason is gone.
You wanna think about that for a second? Or just keep playing your blame game? Is that what this is? A game? I got her.
I told Jason everything would be okay.
You don't know for sure that it isn't.
We both know something bad happened to him.
He trusted me, and I let him down.
Beating yourself up isn't gonna help us find him any faster.
You're right.
This gets out, I won't have a case.
We have to keep it quiet.
What's the next move? I have to tell the DA.
Why the hell wasn't Jason King in protective custody? His parents volunteered to take him out of town.
With Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly out on bail? It was only a matter of time till they found out where Jason was.
- Is SVU tight? - As a drum, sir.
There's no way the leak came from my people.
Well, I doubt if it came from Casey.
That leaves Liz Donnelly's office.
- I'll notify her.
- No, you won't.
Not yet.
You're not suggesting that she's The leak? Of course not.
It's just that her people are the only ones I can't vouch for.
You know, if she stops the trial now, double jeopardy attaches.
We can never try Pratt or Waverly on these charges again.
Well, can't you read Jason's grand jury testimony at trial? Not unless we can prove he's been harmed.
The 14th amendment gives Nick and Doug the right to face their accuser.
If we don't find Jason soon, I'm gonna run out of witnesses.
Then get some more.
Keep our case alive.
Stall as long as you can.
TRIAL PART 29 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Danna, on the night that Jennifer disappeared, was it her idea to go to the dance club? No, it was my idea.
Did she ever seem promiscuous? No, the opposite.
I mean, she liked boys, but she wasn't, you know, a slut or anything.
Was she a party girl at home? Not really.
But she wanted to have a good time in New York.
So how did she do in school? Jennifer was a straight-A student.
She'd already been accepted on early admission to McGill university in Montreal.
Do you know if she ever ran away from home? Only once.
She'd had a fight with her mother.
Came over to my house, slept over.
Uh, in the guest room.
And, uh, she went home the next morning.
Your honor, this is the tenth witness who's given the exact same testimony.
Counsel approach.
Mr.
Gates has a point, Casey.
Well, the jury needs to know the victim.
We get it.
Jennifer is a nice girl.
Ms.
Novak's wasting this court's time.
I appreciate you looking out for my schedule.
But I'll decide that.
It's a stalling tactic, your honor.
You have no right to dictate how I present my case.
This is getting a little redundant, Casey.
Where's your star witness, Jason King? I have five more character witnesses.
No, you don't.
Put Jason up next.
He's not here.
Then get him here.
By tomorrow.
- We're in trouble.
- I heard.
We can't bank on the police to find Jason.
Any advice? / Well, when under attack, circle the wagons.
Go back to your office, Casey.
Relax, breathe.
Then meet me downstairs by my car at 6.
We going somewhere? Arthur.
Casey.
We need to talk to you.
In the middle of a trial? I don't think so.
The defense had their ex-parte moment.
In chambers, not my living room.
This is different.
Can you step outside a moment? Why the cloak and dagger routine? We couldn't take the chance your house was bugged.
Bugged? Why would anybody wanna bug my Jason King, our star witness, disappeared last week.
We have evidence he was kidnapped, but we can't prove it.
The leak's not in our office, Liz.
Or SVU.
Whoever took Jason had to find out where he was from somebody that works for you.
You think I have a mole in my office and you didn't tell me? My orders.
If Jason's still alive, and the kidnappers find hat we're on to them, they could kill him.
Couldn't risk it.
We're going to the courthouse.
Casey never told me Jason's location.
She wrote it on a piece of paper, which I shredded after I dictated the information.
To your secretary? To my dictaphone.
My secretary hasn't transcribed the tape yet.
- Is that me? - I'm afraid so.
- Is that the bug? - Yes, sir.
Battery's still working.
It could have been there for months and I never would have found it.
Is there any way to find out who bought it? This is a cheap one, available on the internet from dozens of vendors.
The receiver should be close by.
I'll see if I can find it.
Who would do something like this? Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly's parents have deep pockets.
Probably bought somebody off.
I inherited my staff.
I don't know that much about them.
And you can't ask them now.
We could sure use a mistrial here, Liz.
Unless you can prove Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly bugged this office or that they murdered Jason King, you haven't got grounds for a mistrial.
- We're out of witnesses.
- I know, Casey.
And I don't like it any more than you do.
But I can't play games with the law.
If you can find Jason by tomorrow, or show me that he's met with foul play I'll grant a motion to have his grand jury testimony read to the jury.
Otherwise, there's nothing I can do.
TRIAL PART 29 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Call your next witness, Ms.
Novak.
The people rest, your honor.
Your honor, the people have clearly failed to meet their burden of proof.
Uh, we move for directed verdicts for both defendants.
For six days, the people have offered dozens of witnesses and exhibits.
And the only rational conclusion this evidence supports is that the victim, Jennifer Durning, was alive and well when last seen with the defendants.
Therefore, as a matter of law, this court has no choice but to grant the defense motion.
Mr.
Waverly, Mr.
Pratt I am dismissing all charges against you.
You are free to go.
I prefer shrimp cocktail for an appetizer.
This is the entree.
Club soda, lime.
That liquid lunch isn't going to change what happened.
Yeah, but it'll help me forget.
You played the hand you were dealt.
I had to look Jennifer Durning's parents in the eye and tell them that their daughter would never get justice.
Because I let Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly get away with murder.
Well, that wasn't your fault.
But it will be if you let them get away with another one and don't try to stop it.
We haven't found Jennifer.
So what makes you think Jason's gonna be any different? Because whoever planted that bug in my office knows what happened to him.
And you are going to find that person if you have to interrogate everyone who works in that courthouse.
Trial's over, Casey.
Put the gloves on for round two.
Have there been any strange calls, like someone fishing for information about the judge? No, Ms.
Novak, nothing like that at all.
Anybody come in when court's not in session? Nobody suspicious, if that's what you mean.
What about after hours? I mean, do you ever stick around? All the time.
But nobody ever comes into the judge's chambers, except maybe a court officer.
- And that's routine? - Uh, not really.
This one had to use the judge's private bathroom.
When was this? Maybe a week before the trial started.
I stayed late to pull a case for the judge, stepped out for a bite to eat.
When I got back, she was just getting out of the judge's office.
- She? - Yeah, new girl.
Just assigned up here, uh I think her name's Emily.
You wanted to see me, your honor? Officer McCooper, what were you doing alone in this office two weeks ago? I was sick.
I didn't think I could make it to the ladies' room.
Your chambers were closest, so I ducked in and used your bathroom.
Was that before or after you planted this? - What is it? - It's a bug.
But you know that, because the receiver was in your locker downstairs.
- I listen to music on that.
- You save it, sister.
Now, how can you afford a brand-new Mercedes on a court officer's salary? My father bought me that car.
You mean your sugar daddy, Nicky Pratt.
Because my old car was about to fall apart.
Well, it held together long enough for you to go upstate and pick up Jason King.
I don't know what you're talking about.
What we're talking about, young lady, is life in prison without parole for murdering a witness to a crime.
Sit down.
Sit down.
We have the '89 Acura you traded in.
The tires match tracks found outside the house Jason king was staying in.
Now, our crime scene unit is gonna vacuum every inch of that car.
They find a hair a drop of blood that matches Jason's DNA? Nicky, Nicky didn't say they were gonna kill Jason.
He just wanted to talk to him.
But he didn't know where Jason was.
So he asked you to bug my chambers and paid you for it with a new car? That was a present.
You're sleeping with Nicky Pratt.
I was walking him out of court after arraignment.
He said I probably looked really hot out of uniform.
Next thing I know, we're in bed in my apartment.
Nick used you, Emily.
Don't let him ruin the rest of your life.
Did Nick send you to get Jason? He said I should wait till Jason's parents left, then show Jason my shield and tell him you needed him immediately.
Where'd you take him? The produce place Doug Waverly's father owns in the Bronx.
Thanks, counselor.
But Mr.
Waverly sr.
is so convinced Doug didn't murder anybody in here, he let us right in.
/ Any luck? Crime scene and the pooch are still inside searching.
But all we found was a lot of roughage.
The court officer brought Jason here, but maybe Nick and Doug took him somewhere else.
You know what I'm thinking? If they know this area so well, Jennifer's body's not in Queens.
It's gotta be around here.
And the Bayside Diner's 10 minutes over the Throgs neck bridge and down the Clearview expressway.
But how did they get there if they dumped her and the car? They had to be driving something.
Which means their asses are on toll booth candid camera.
All the exhaust and filth dirtying up the camera lens, how do these faces and plates come out so clear? How does a spy satellite see you taking a crap from 22,000 miles in space? Hold up, here we go.
right on the timeline.
Doug Waverly? Yeah.
But that's no '71 Chevelle, and Waverly's paying from the back seat.
Of whose car? My car.
- Was he there too? - You bet.
- Where'd you pick them up? - Bay plaza mall.
In the parking lot.
This guy waved a $100 bill at me.
He says this is mine if I drove them across the Throgs neck to Queens.
They tell you what happened to their car? Yes, that it was towed by the police.
NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT BRONX TOW POUND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Got it.
Dried blood and hair all over the trunk.
That's gotta be Jennifer's.
The car was in our own pound the whole time.
We had the little bastards.
We sent out a flyer on this car.
Yeah, well, whoever checked it into the pound here reversed two of the numbers when they put it into the computer.
How many '71 Chevys you got? Hey, we just hook them and book them.
Everybody makes mistakes.
- Your mistake just let two killers walk.
- Elliot.
She could have been dumped anywhere.
But at least we know that this car was towed from that mall.
This car wasn't towed from a mall.
What are you talking about? Truck picked it up for blocking a fire hydrant in Co-Op City.
- It's the right address.
- Across from the river.
They dump Jennifer's body.
By the time they get back, the car's been towed.
Not gonna find any cabs here, so they walk the 10 blocks to the mall Where they buy their ride over the bridge to the diner in Queens.
Called aviation.
They're sending in a bird.
We brought out two dogs.
One's got Jennifer's scent.
- The other's looking for Jason.
- Detectives! We got a woman's sneaker.
Flo here is all over it.
Must have your victim's scent.
I watched those videotapes 1,000 times.
Jennifer was wearing those the last time she left the hotel.
They dumped her in the river, no telling where she'll wash up.
If she washes up.
Which means Jason could be shark bait too.
Got something! Over here! - What is it? - Jason.
Got caught on the bridge somehow.
Lucky us.
You didn't kill him, Casey.
He was dead the minute he got caught in cousin Nicky's web.
We have Jason's body.
Let's get him some justice.
You make a scene and embarrass our families, I swear I will sue you all for harassment.
Save it for after the trial, Mr.
Waverly.
What trial? Nick Pratt, Doug Waverly, you're under arrest for the murder of Jason King.
You can't prove we killed anybody.
You like that sea bass? You're gonna love what we just pulled out of the river.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as The Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
There he is.
The plane's still on the ground, captain.
What is this? / Your son taking a little one-way trip to Rio? We've had this trip planned for months.
Douglas Waverly, you're under arrest.
Why can't you leave me alone? If we let them cancel the prom this year, you underclassmen will never get it back.
All right, we have to fight the morals police.
Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Hi.
We're the real police.
Jason King, you're under arrest.
- Nick Pratt, you're under arrest - For the rape and murder of Jennifer Durning, the 17-year-old Canadian high school student who disappeared two months ago while on her senior class trip here in New York.
This is preposterous.
No one asked you yet, Mr.
Gates.
Bail? The people request remand.
And the defense moves for immediate dismissal of all charges.
The people can't even make out the basic elements of the crime, your honor.
Jennifer Durning has a history of running away.
Once, when she was 14.
They can't prove she's dead.
They still don't have the body.
- Is that true, Ms.
Novak? - Yes, your honor.
Then on what basis were the defendants arrested? A tip to the police hotline saying that Mr.
Waverly was leaving the country.
Detectives arrested him boarding a chartered plane to Rio de Janeiro.
Which is not a crime.
And where my client's father was taking him on legitimate business for his produce company.
And from where, conveniently, we'd never be able to extradite him.
Do the people have any evidence that a rape or murder took place? More than enough to guarantee an indictment.
Care to share that with us, counselor? We have a videotape of the defendants serving the victim alcohol just before she disappeared.
Now, beyond that, the people are not prepared to divulge anything further.
They have nothing, your honor.
You can't prove murder without a dead body.
Or rape without a live victim.
I'm familiar with the rules of evidence, Mr.
Seaver.
On the charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, the defendants are released on their own recognizance.
Your honor, move that the court seize the passports of all three defendants.
So ordered.
However, until the people secure indictments, I have no choice but to grant the defense motion.
The charges of rape and murder are dismissed.
We had to arrest all three of them.
You made the right call.
I swung for the fences and struck out.
It was a ballsy move.
You bought us time.
Yeah, until the DA finds out and filets me like a catfish.
Unless we can find Jennifer's body before then.
Well, not likely.
She could be anywhere.
Okay, then, take me through it one more time.
Just so I'm sure I haven't missed anything.
Okay, we know Jennifer went to the dance club with her friends.
She left the dance club at 11:30 with Nick, Doug, and Jason.
She came back to her hotel room right before 1 A.
M.
Okay, so she goes up to her room, she gets the mystery phone call.
- And then she leaves again at 1:14.
- Right, for the last time.
After that, there's no sign of any of them, until Nick and Doug turn up at the bayside diner and call the precinct about their car at 3:19 A.
M.
You know, Jennifer's hotel is in midtown.
Middle of the night, no traffic.
Bayside diner's a 15-minute trip from there.
Gives them more than two hours to kill Jennifer, dump her and the car.
Get to the diner, grab a cup of Joe, report the Chevy stolen.
Maybe it was stolen.
A '71 Chevelle? At today's gas prices? Look, we checked every cab in the city, including gypsies.
Nobody drove those kids to that diner.
There's over 1,000 places in Queens alone.
They could have dumped Jennifer in the car.
We don't even have a place to start.
You can start by thinking about what the hell you're doing before you do it.
Here we go.
I tried to reach you.
Your secretary said you were giving a speech.
You guaranteed an indictment, on the record, in open court? I had no choice.
We're gonna be lucky if we don't get sued by those three boys for false arrest.
We know they did it, Mr.
Branch.
We've got DNA, videotapes, witnesses.
Without a body or a confession, arresting them today makes us all look like idiots.
Now, find the girl or flip one of those kids before their lawyers find out what we got on them.
Flip them? Lawyers start crying every time we get near them.
We have more than enough for warrants to swab them for DNA.
Maybe that'll scare one of them into giving it up.
Have doc Warner cook up a reason to take the samples here.
And make sure those boys all come in at the same time.
Well, you're not the medical examiner.
She'll be here any second.
From her contamination cleanup at the morgue? Right.
Well, maybe while you're waiting, your client would like to see himself on home video.
Jennifer's friend Danna shot it.
Danna, I never knew New York could be so much fun.
This is my new friend Jason.
We're gonna dance till we drop, and then who knows? Yeah, we came here for a DNA test, not so you can assault my client with videotape.
Jennifer's friend Danna shot the tape.
She's also gonna swear she saw Nick and Doug Waverly in the club.
Watch this.
We found some very interesting security camera video.
There's your client and his friends leaving the club with Jennifer.
Our lab enhanced and edited the tape so we could see you all heading right for your dad's '71 Chevelle.
Sweet ride.
You got pretty good parking karma there, Nick.
Finding a spot right across the street.
Lucky for us too.
We got your client serving Jennifer.
What is that, tequila? Unless the ME shows up in the next 10 seconds Doorman to the club will testify he saw you four drinking, then the four of you get in and take off.
- Let's go, Doug.
- Wait a minute.
It gets better.
We know the rape happened between 11:30 and 12:53 in the morning.
That's when the security camera caught Jennifer coming through the front door into the hotel.
And check it out.
She walked directly through the lobby, got on the elevator, and went straight to her room on the tenth floor.
And, look, she's crying.
I wonder what she's so upset about.
Is there a problem, Jason? Something bothering you? This whole charade.
We're done here.
Don't leave without a party favor.
"Call to room 817.
" What is this? It's a call Jennifer made from her room at 1:02 in the morning, telling her friend she'd been gang raped.
Captain.
Sorry, I thought the room was empty.
So you remember Danna? I'm sorry, counselor, that's the girl who, uh, made the videotape of Jason making out with Jennifer.
She's also the friend Jennifer called.
And anything Jennifer said to her is inadmissible.
Didn't the police academy teach you about hearsay? / Sure they did.
They also taught me that outcry witnesses are an exception to the hearsay rule.
Good show, detective.
But we're gonna skip the encore.
Nick.
ME tech is here to swab Nick.
Good, just in time.
You know, counselor, while he's setting up, why don't you take a look at the other call from that night? The number belongs to the payphone down the block from the hotel.
We've had about enough of this crap.
Sorry I'm late.
I'm Dr.
Warner.
Don't let me interrupt.
That call came in on the other line in Jennifer's room while she was still on the phone with her friend Danna.
So what? Jennifer said she called Danna right back, but she didn't.
Because the person on the other line lured her out of the hotel.
Are you suggesting that my client called her? Or one of his friends did.
- How's that prove rape and murder? - It doesn't.
But this will.
A pair of underwear.
They're Jennifer's, Jason.
Which she stripped off with the rest of her clothes when she got back to the hotel room.
And then she took a shower.
What so many victims do after they've been raped.
To wash you and your friends off her.
I know what you're trying to do.
The DA will cut you a deal if you tell us what you and your friends did.
Do you understand me? I'll never say anything bad about Nicky! Never.
You know what we found on those panties, Nicky? Her blood, and the semen of three guys.
Her pants also had semen on them.
Two stains, two different DNA samples.
Won't take me long to match this to one of them.
That swab's your one-way ticket to Sing Sing.
It was Jason's idea.
My cousin got us into this mess.
Jennifer came on to Jason at the club.
She said we should all get out of there, so we left.
- So where'd you go? - We drove down to South street.
- Under the FDR drive? - Yeah.
Jason did her first.
Then me.
Then Nick.
She wanted all three of us, I swear.
But Jason got greedy.
What's that mean? After me and Doug were done, Jason went another round.
She was screaming.
Jason wanted to leave her there.
But Nick and I, we both said no.
So we drove her back to the hotel and dropped her off.
- Just like that? - Yeah.
But then Jason said, "we should have killed her.
" He got out of the car and ran down the street to the hotel.
You and Nick try to stop him? We didn't want anything to do with it.
We took off.
- Where? - We just drove around the city.
Went over the 59th street bridge, and then headed home to Muttontown.
How'd you wind up at the Bayside Diner? We got hungry.
It was on the way.
And that's when the Chevy got stolen? Some homie probably ripped it off.
Both boys said the same thing.
Jason raped Jennifer, and then he masterminded her murder.
And you believe them? They're the only ones talking.
I can't make Jason talk to you.
Well, if he doesn't, he's gonna spend the rest of his very long life in prison.
I told him that.
What did he say? He'd jump off the Brooklyn bridge before he'd rat out cousin Nicky.
- He's not talking to you? - No.
But I'm telling you, Casey, this kid is too gentle.
He's too nice to be a killer.
He's a piano prodigy.
He takes lessons at Juilliard.
Juilliard? Every Tuesday, from 3 to 4.
Your parents drive you into the city? I take the train.
To Penn station.
What train did you catch last Tuesday? The 4:31 to Hicksville.
Like always.
How do you get to Penn from Juilliard? / Subway.
Number one train from 66th street? Yep.
³× Why? Police hotline.
Doug Waverly's going to Rio tomorrow.
On a private plane.
That call was made from a pay phone in the 66th street subway station at 4:07 P.
M.
on Tuesday.
What did you do, Jason, cover the phone with your sweater? No.
No, it wasn't me.
Ms.
Novak and the police already know that Doug Waverly called your house that same morning.
Doug told you he was leaving.
You were trying to protect Nicky, weren't you? Nicky's my cousin.
Nicky and your so-called friend Doug blamed the entire thing on you.
They're trying to screw you to the wall to save themselves.
Don't let them.
NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT GRAND JURY MONDAY, JANUARY 30 Nicky said that we had to go to this club in the city because I was you know, a virgin, and I needed to get laid.
Whose idea was it to leave? Jennifer's.
She wanted to go alone with me to her hotel room.
Did you go to her hotel? Jason, please answer the question.
I I can't.
You have been subpoenaed to testify here today, and you are under oath.
You will tell the truth, or you will go to jail.
Please, please don't make me.
You told me that Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly offered to drive you and Jennifer to her hotel.
True? Yes.
/ But instead, Nicky drove downtown under the FDR, true? Yes.
/ Then you and Jennifer had sex in the back seat of the car.
No, I didn't rape her.
No, she, she said yes.
I swear she did.
I swear.
You tell the jurors what happened next.
When we were done I got out of the car.
And, and Nicky says, "now it's our turn.
" And he and Doug got in and they raped her.
And when they were done? We dropped her off.
Around the block from her hotel.
And what did Nicky say? Jason, please.
Tell the grand jurors what your cousin Nicky said.
He said that we should have killed her.
So she couldn't tell anyone what happened.
Did you try and stop them? I said, I told them they were crazy.
But Nicky and Doug said they were gonna do it.
So I got out of the car.
Then I left.
- Where did you go? - Penn station.
I took the train home.
Maybe if I had stayed Jennifer would still be alive.
Who died? DNA results are in.
All three boys' semen was in Jennifer's underwear.
But the semen on the jeans only belongs to Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly.
Which is consistent with her fighting them off when they raped her.
What's the problem? Crime scene found a pubic hair under the toilet seat in Jennifer's room.
It's from a male, but the DNA doesn't match any of the three boys.
She was barely in her room a half an hour.
We're sure no one was in there with her? Nobody even got off the elevator on Jennifer's floor during that time.
Then I'll tell the grand jury that we think the bathroom wasn't cleaned thoroughly.
Let them decide.
No, I wanna take it all back.
Before the grand jury decides.
Jason, you can't do that.
Just tell them I lied.
You'll go to jail.
Look, you're not the one who's getting picked on at school.
You're not the one who's getting hang-up calls.
My friends won't even talk to me.
Is there any place you can go until things calm down? Well we have a summer home in the Hamptons.
Someplace your families don't know about would be better.
Remember, we rented that ski house up in Catskills? I could call the agency, see if they have anything available.
Indictments.
Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly for rape one and murder one.
Good work.
We couldn't have done it without you, Jason.
Oh, no.
- Oh, my god.
Oh, my god.
- Jason, I am sorry.
Please leave me alone.
Jason, you did the right thing.
You told the truth.
Nicky was like my brother.
I know.
I know.
I never, never meant for any of this to happen.
It is not your fault that Nick and Doug murdered Jennifer.
I'm sorry that I didn't I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Everything's gonna be okay.
We reviewed every videotape from every security camera from the Thorpe palace.
Jennifer Durning left at 1:11 that morning and was never seen again.
When did you enter the case? dispatch sent us on a 911 call - about a missing rape victim.
- Made by whom? Uh, Danna Simpson, Jennifer's classmate.
How did Danna know that Jennifer had been raped? Jennifer called Danna after the rape to tell her what had happened.
Uh, Danna called 911 after Jennifer disappeared.
Detective Stabler, do you know who Jennifer was last seen with? The two defendants, leaving the dance club at 11:30 that night.
- That's a lie.
- Any more outbursts, Mr.
Pratt, and you will be taken to the lockup.
Please continue, detective.
We also have them leaving the club with Jennifer on videotape.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Did you instruct the crime scene unit to dust Jennifer's hotel room for fingerprints? - There was no evidence - A simple yes or no, please, detective.
No.
/ 'Cause you didn't want to have to tell this jury that the two defendants' fingerprints were not in the room.
Objection.
Stating facts not in evidence.
Sustained.
The jury will disregard defense counsel's statement.
Be careful, Mr.
Gates.
Were you present when crime scene unit detective O'Halloran found a pubic hair on the toilet seat in Jennifer's hotel room? Yes, I was.
Did that come from either of the defendants? No.
/ Did it come from Jennifer Durning? No.
/ You have no idea who it came from, do you? No.
/ Then how can you be so sure that the two defendants are the ones that raped and murdered Jennifer? The semen in Jennifer's panties came from the two defendants.
That just proves they had sex with her, not that they raped her.
- Is there a question in here somewhere? - Detective Stabler, do you have any idea the sex of the person who left that pubic hair on the toilet? - Objection.
- Counsel in chambers, now.
I will not let you two mislead this jury with some unsubstantiated red herring.
Our clients have the right to present a legitimate defense.
Not until you prove to me it's legitimate.
In front of the assistant district attorney? You can't force us to reveal our trial strategy.
Well, then, I move for a motion in limine to preclude any questions about the hair.
Which I will grant, unless you can convince me you can connect it to some suspect.
The presence of another male in Jennifer Durning's hotel room doesn't prove that their clients didn't rape her.
We'll lay it out for you, judge.
But ex-parte only.
Not with Ms.
Novak in the room.
- Your honor, I strenuously object.
- Noted.
But I have to be fair, Casey.
And this I will say in front of you.
If I get even a hint that this hair is a smokescreen, I am shutting you down.
Are we clear? There's no way we missed another suspect.
The defense must have convinced judge Donnelly that we did.
Because of a stray hair? It doesn't make those two guys innocent.
I'm trying a murder case without a dead body.
A loose end like that could give the jury enough reasonable doubt to acquit.
Casey, we swabbed every one of Jennifer's male classmates.
And the chaperones who were on that trip.
Then where did that hair come from? That hair could have been left by any of the last 100 men who stayed in that room.
Or some hotel employee who used his pass key to stop in and take a leak.
Which we can't see, because there aren't any security cameras in the hallways.
But there were on the elevators, and no one got off on Jennifer's floor from the time before she got raped until after she left.
Okay, so how'd he get in? Maybe Jennifer let him in, or he picked the lock.
Have you guys looked at any of the video from before Jennifer got back or after she left? Skimmed through them.
Didn't see her.
Then let's cover our asses.
We go back to the tapes and check out every person who got off the elevators on the tenth floor.
From the day Jennifer arrived in the city to the morning that we got to the hotel.
This is the tenth couple I've seen making out in the elevator.
I hope they saved some energy for the honeymoon.
Yeah, well, I've got a catfight in car three.
I think the honeymoon is over for these two.
Wouldn't wanna get in the middle of that.
Well, get a load of Luca Brasi.
Couple years, another 200 pounds, that's you, Munch.
The back of his coat, the seam is ripped.
Captain, you better take a look at this.
What is it? It looks like he's hiding something inside his jacket.
He's getting off at the tenth floor.
An hour after Jennifer left for the last time.
Fast forward.
See if he leaves.
What goes up must come down.
How did we miss this guy? And there he is, 20 minutes later.
This time, he's carrying a coat.
That's the coat Jennifer was wearing when she came back from being raped.
Which she wasn't wearing when she left a half hour later.
He took it from her room after he used the John.
How'd he get Jennifer's key? You know, Jennifer had her purse at the dance club.
But when she came back to the hotel after the rape no purse.
Maybe that's what he's hiding under his jacket.
We'll canvass the neighborhood, see who knows him.
DAL SANTO'S BAR 166 WEST 54TH STREET FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 Name's Keith Willis, AKA "Your friendly neighborhood drunk.
" Right where any respectable alcoholic would be at 10 in the morning.
Keith Willis.
- Durvo.
- Durvo? Must be Bulgarian.
Keith think he's their ambassador to Washington.
You know who I am.
Yes, I have orders to confirm ID.
Sir, we need to escort you to foggy bottom immediately.
Can you tell me where you got these? From some boys.
Was it was it these boys? Them! How did you meet those boys? They gave me 50 bucks to make a phone call.
What did they tell you to say? I have your passport.
Please come to the phone booth down the street, and I return it to you.
Then what? Uh, a girl came.
They made her get in their car.
This girl? Yeah, yeah.
Is secretary Baker here yet? What year is it, Mr.
Willis? Jennifer's purse and coat were in Willis' roach-infested dump of a home.
Look, Thorpe palace gives each guest two keys.
He goes through Jennifer's purse.
He finds the one in the envelope with her room number on it.
Goes looking for something good to steal.
Uses the toilet, leaves the hair.
I need him on the stand.
Well, you're looking for trouble.
He's demented, probably from years of alcohol abuse rotting his brain.
He was the only one who saw Jennifer get into that car with Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly.
His short-term memory has more holes in it than a sieve.
He's unreliable.
I just spoke to the hotel security chief.
He showed a private investigator the tapes two days ago.
Hired by the defense, no doubt.
Well, it gets better.
The PI told him that he's looking for some drunk who followed Jennifer back to the hotel.
Nick and Doug must have told their lawyers about Willis.
Yeah, then used him as an alibi.
But they forgot to mention he witnessed them kidnap Jennifer.
What do you want us to do? Have the ME match Willis' DNA to the hair on that toilet so we can eliminate him a suspect.
Willis didn't see Jason? Doesn't mean Jason didn't see him.
Find out.
TANNERSVILLE, NEW YORK FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 My husband and I just got back from dinner an hour ago.
Jason's asleep.
Do you have to wake him? It's urgent, Mrs.
King.
Well, that's his room.
Jason, it's detective Stabler.
Jason? He's gone.
Did you see Jason when you got back last night? His door was closed.
We thought he was asleep, so we didn't bother him.
- And no one knows you're here? - No, absolutely not.
My husband hasn't even been to work since this whole thing started.
Well, I know Jason was upset about testifying against his cousin.
Our son didn't run away, detective.
Jason finally saw Nick as the entitled, spoiled brat - the rest of us always knew he was.
- Yeah.
One minute, please.
Munch dumped the phone in the house, Jason's cell, and the parent's cell.
No incoming or outgoing calls in the last two days.
Well, maybe Jason got tired of living like a hermit and he split.
It's 10 miles to the nearest town.
At night in the freezing weather? He had to walk, 'cause the parents had the car.
There was another car here last night.
I found tire imprints.
The larger ones are from the King's Mercedes.
Which the parents drove back from dinner last night.
Over the tracks of the second car.
Judging from the smaller wheel base, I'd say it's a compact.
I'll go back to the lab to match the imprints to give you the tire's make and model.
Roadmaster Excelsior is used on any one of a couple dozen compacts.
It doesn't match our boys.
None of their families own anything smaller than a C-class Mercedes.
And there's no sign of a struggle in or around the house.
Jason must have known whoever came to get him.
It had to be Nick and Doug.
Houdini couldn't make people disappear like these guys can.
How the hell did they find where Jason was staying? - Are you saying they found out from us? - Why are you hanging around here - when you should be out looking for Jason? - We've been busting our asses.
Jason is missing! And Nick and Doug are gonna walk, unless you call in the troops to find him! We call in the troops, and everybody finds out Jason is gone.
You wanna think about that for a second? Or just keep playing your blame game? Is that what this is? A game? I got her.
I told Jason everything would be okay.
You don't know for sure that it isn't.
We both know something bad happened to him.
He trusted me, and I let him down.
Beating yourself up isn't gonna help us find him any faster.
You're right.
This gets out, I won't have a case.
We have to keep it quiet.
What's the next move? I have to tell the DA.
Why the hell wasn't Jason King in protective custody? His parents volunteered to take him out of town.
With Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly out on bail? It was only a matter of time till they found out where Jason was.
- Is SVU tight? - As a drum, sir.
There's no way the leak came from my people.
Well, I doubt if it came from Casey.
That leaves Liz Donnelly's office.
- I'll notify her.
- No, you won't.
Not yet.
You're not suggesting that she's The leak? Of course not.
It's just that her people are the only ones I can't vouch for.
You know, if she stops the trial now, double jeopardy attaches.
We can never try Pratt or Waverly on these charges again.
Well, can't you read Jason's grand jury testimony at trial? Not unless we can prove he's been harmed.
The 14th amendment gives Nick and Doug the right to face their accuser.
If we don't find Jason soon, I'm gonna run out of witnesses.
Then get some more.
Keep our case alive.
Stall as long as you can.
TRIAL PART 29 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Danna, on the night that Jennifer disappeared, was it her idea to go to the dance club? No, it was my idea.
Did she ever seem promiscuous? No, the opposite.
I mean, she liked boys, but she wasn't, you know, a slut or anything.
Was she a party girl at home? Not really.
But she wanted to have a good time in New York.
So how did she do in school? Jennifer was a straight-A student.
She'd already been accepted on early admission to McGill university in Montreal.
Do you know if she ever ran away from home? Only once.
She'd had a fight with her mother.
Came over to my house, slept over.
Uh, in the guest room.
And, uh, she went home the next morning.
Your honor, this is the tenth witness who's given the exact same testimony.
Counsel approach.
Mr.
Gates has a point, Casey.
Well, the jury needs to know the victim.
We get it.
Jennifer is a nice girl.
Ms.
Novak's wasting this court's time.
I appreciate you looking out for my schedule.
But I'll decide that.
It's a stalling tactic, your honor.
You have no right to dictate how I present my case.
This is getting a little redundant, Casey.
Where's your star witness, Jason King? I have five more character witnesses.
No, you don't.
Put Jason up next.
He's not here.
Then get him here.
By tomorrow.
- We're in trouble.
- I heard.
We can't bank on the police to find Jason.
Any advice? / Well, when under attack, circle the wagons.
Go back to your office, Casey.
Relax, breathe.
Then meet me downstairs by my car at 6.
We going somewhere? Arthur.
Casey.
We need to talk to you.
In the middle of a trial? I don't think so.
The defense had their ex-parte moment.
In chambers, not my living room.
This is different.
Can you step outside a moment? Why the cloak and dagger routine? We couldn't take the chance your house was bugged.
Bugged? Why would anybody wanna bug my Jason King, our star witness, disappeared last week.
We have evidence he was kidnapped, but we can't prove it.
The leak's not in our office, Liz.
Or SVU.
Whoever took Jason had to find out where he was from somebody that works for you.
You think I have a mole in my office and you didn't tell me? My orders.
If Jason's still alive, and the kidnappers find hat we're on to them, they could kill him.
Couldn't risk it.
We're going to the courthouse.
Casey never told me Jason's location.
She wrote it on a piece of paper, which I shredded after I dictated the information.
To your secretary? To my dictaphone.
My secretary hasn't transcribed the tape yet.
- Is that me? - I'm afraid so.
- Is that the bug? - Yes, sir.
Battery's still working.
It could have been there for months and I never would have found it.
Is there any way to find out who bought it? This is a cheap one, available on the internet from dozens of vendors.
The receiver should be close by.
I'll see if I can find it.
Who would do something like this? Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly's parents have deep pockets.
Probably bought somebody off.
I inherited my staff.
I don't know that much about them.
And you can't ask them now.
We could sure use a mistrial here, Liz.
Unless you can prove Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly bugged this office or that they murdered Jason King, you haven't got grounds for a mistrial.
- We're out of witnesses.
- I know, Casey.
And I don't like it any more than you do.
But I can't play games with the law.
If you can find Jason by tomorrow, or show me that he's met with foul play I'll grant a motion to have his grand jury testimony read to the jury.
Otherwise, there's nothing I can do.
TRIAL PART 29 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Call your next witness, Ms.
Novak.
The people rest, your honor.
Your honor, the people have clearly failed to meet their burden of proof.
Uh, we move for directed verdicts for both defendants.
For six days, the people have offered dozens of witnesses and exhibits.
And the only rational conclusion this evidence supports is that the victim, Jennifer Durning, was alive and well when last seen with the defendants.
Therefore, as a matter of law, this court has no choice but to grant the defense motion.
Mr.
Waverly, Mr.
Pratt I am dismissing all charges against you.
You are free to go.
I prefer shrimp cocktail for an appetizer.
This is the entree.
Club soda, lime.
That liquid lunch isn't going to change what happened.
Yeah, but it'll help me forget.
You played the hand you were dealt.
I had to look Jennifer Durning's parents in the eye and tell them that their daughter would never get justice.
Because I let Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly get away with murder.
Well, that wasn't your fault.
But it will be if you let them get away with another one and don't try to stop it.
We haven't found Jennifer.
So what makes you think Jason's gonna be any different? Because whoever planted that bug in my office knows what happened to him.
And you are going to find that person if you have to interrogate everyone who works in that courthouse.
Trial's over, Casey.
Put the gloves on for round two.
Have there been any strange calls, like someone fishing for information about the judge? No, Ms.
Novak, nothing like that at all.
Anybody come in when court's not in session? Nobody suspicious, if that's what you mean.
What about after hours? I mean, do you ever stick around? All the time.
But nobody ever comes into the judge's chambers, except maybe a court officer.
- And that's routine? - Uh, not really.
This one had to use the judge's private bathroom.
When was this? Maybe a week before the trial started.
I stayed late to pull a case for the judge, stepped out for a bite to eat.
When I got back, she was just getting out of the judge's office.
- She? - Yeah, new girl.
Just assigned up here, uh I think her name's Emily.
You wanted to see me, your honor? Officer McCooper, what were you doing alone in this office two weeks ago? I was sick.
I didn't think I could make it to the ladies' room.
Your chambers were closest, so I ducked in and used your bathroom.
Was that before or after you planted this? - What is it? - It's a bug.
But you know that, because the receiver was in your locker downstairs.
- I listen to music on that.
- You save it, sister.
Now, how can you afford a brand-new Mercedes on a court officer's salary? My father bought me that car.
You mean your sugar daddy, Nicky Pratt.
Because my old car was about to fall apart.
Well, it held together long enough for you to go upstate and pick up Jason King.
I don't know what you're talking about.
What we're talking about, young lady, is life in prison without parole for murdering a witness to a crime.
Sit down.
Sit down.
We have the '89 Acura you traded in.
The tires match tracks found outside the house Jason king was staying in.
Now, our crime scene unit is gonna vacuum every inch of that car.
They find a hair a drop of blood that matches Jason's DNA? Nicky, Nicky didn't say they were gonna kill Jason.
He just wanted to talk to him.
But he didn't know where Jason was.
So he asked you to bug my chambers and paid you for it with a new car? That was a present.
You're sleeping with Nicky Pratt.
I was walking him out of court after arraignment.
He said I probably looked really hot out of uniform.
Next thing I know, we're in bed in my apartment.
Nick used you, Emily.
Don't let him ruin the rest of your life.
Did Nick send you to get Jason? He said I should wait till Jason's parents left, then show Jason my shield and tell him you needed him immediately.
Where'd you take him? The produce place Doug Waverly's father owns in the Bronx.
Thanks, counselor.
But Mr.
Waverly sr.
is so convinced Doug didn't murder anybody in here, he let us right in.
/ Any luck? Crime scene and the pooch are still inside searching.
But all we found was a lot of roughage.
The court officer brought Jason here, but maybe Nick and Doug took him somewhere else.
You know what I'm thinking? If they know this area so well, Jennifer's body's not in Queens.
It's gotta be around here.
And the Bayside Diner's 10 minutes over the Throgs neck bridge and down the Clearview expressway.
But how did they get there if they dumped her and the car? They had to be driving something.
Which means their asses are on toll booth candid camera.
All the exhaust and filth dirtying up the camera lens, how do these faces and plates come out so clear? How does a spy satellite see you taking a crap from 22,000 miles in space? Hold up, here we go.
right on the timeline.
Doug Waverly? Yeah.
But that's no '71 Chevelle, and Waverly's paying from the back seat.
Of whose car? My car.
- Was he there too? - You bet.
- Where'd you pick them up? - Bay plaza mall.
In the parking lot.
This guy waved a $100 bill at me.
He says this is mine if I drove them across the Throgs neck to Queens.
They tell you what happened to their car? Yes, that it was towed by the police.
NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT BRONX TOW POUND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Got it.
Dried blood and hair all over the trunk.
That's gotta be Jennifer's.
The car was in our own pound the whole time.
We had the little bastards.
We sent out a flyer on this car.
Yeah, well, whoever checked it into the pound here reversed two of the numbers when they put it into the computer.
How many '71 Chevys you got? Hey, we just hook them and book them.
Everybody makes mistakes.
- Your mistake just let two killers walk.
- Elliot.
She could have been dumped anywhere.
But at least we know that this car was towed from that mall.
This car wasn't towed from a mall.
What are you talking about? Truck picked it up for blocking a fire hydrant in Co-Op City.
- It's the right address.
- Across from the river.
They dump Jennifer's body.
By the time they get back, the car's been towed.
Not gonna find any cabs here, so they walk the 10 blocks to the mall Where they buy their ride over the bridge to the diner in Queens.
Called aviation.
They're sending in a bird.
We brought out two dogs.
One's got Jennifer's scent.
- The other's looking for Jason.
- Detectives! We got a woman's sneaker.
Flo here is all over it.
Must have your victim's scent.
I watched those videotapes 1,000 times.
Jennifer was wearing those the last time she left the hotel.
They dumped her in the river, no telling where she'll wash up.
If she washes up.
Which means Jason could be shark bait too.
Got something! Over here! - What is it? - Jason.
Got caught on the bridge somehow.
Lucky us.
You didn't kill him, Casey.
He was dead the minute he got caught in cousin Nicky's web.
We have Jason's body.
Let's get him some justice.
You make a scene and embarrass our families, I swear I will sue you all for harassment.
Save it for after the trial, Mr.
Waverly.
What trial? Nick Pratt, Doug Waverly, you're under arrest for the murder of Jason King.
You can't prove we killed anybody.
You like that sea bass? You're gonna love what we just pulled out of the river.