The Rookie (2018) s03e07 Episode Script
True Crime
1
- [CLICK, STATIC CRACKLING]
- Check-Check. Is it good?
Okay. Thanks.
I don't want to knock the light.
[CLEARS THROAT]
- This here good?
- INTERVIEWER: That's great.
Alright.
Uh, when my son Henry was born,
he had a, uh, heart condition
uh, Tetralogy of Fallot.
Um, it's actually a combination
of four heart defects
that are, uh, fatal, uh,
without surgery.
Multiple surgeries.
And
To watch your child go through that,
it was
A tough time.
But one thing,
that always cheered my family up
was the show "Paul's Place."
[UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[AUDIENCE GASPS, LAUGHS]
Mmm! Tastes good!
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
The star of the show,
the boy who played Paul,
was Corey Harris.
He was so funny.
Henry would do the milkshake thing,
you know, pretending to be Corey.
"Mmm! Tastes so good!"
And he would make such a mess, but
How could you be mad?
I always said to myself,
if I ever met him,
I would thank him.
You know, just shake his hand.
That was before I found out
what he'd become.
COREY: I am the Prophet Jedediah.
And tomorrow, the 3rd of June,
is the day that we, the Worthy,
shall ascend.
AURORA: The time for questions is done.
COREY: get the hell
out of my class right now!
ROBIN ROBERTS: drugs, alcohol
COREY: I'm scared! I don't want to die!
- [THUD, GUNSHOT]
- COREY: Aah!
NOLAN: I just couldn't believe
what happened to that sweet kid
that my son looked up to, you know?
I couldn't believe
that I was there for all of it.
[MOUSE CLICKS, MUSIC STOPS]
JACKSON: Sorry.
I'm just a little nervous.
That's I'm assuming
that's normal, yeah?
INTERVIEWER: Oh, totally.
But there's no pressure.
- INTERVIEWER: We're just talking.
- Okay.
Uh, where where should I start?
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about June 3rd.
Yeah. It started off like
Any other day. A few mundane calls.
And then the world went crazy.
Los Angeles was thrown into chaos today
when the Emergency Alert System
inadvertently sent out a text message
stating a nuclear missile
was headed for the city.
It felt like the end of the world.
We helped as many people as we could
and then headed for shelter.
That's when we saw them,
standing on the ledge,
20 stories up, waiting for their
How do I put it?
Their ride, uh, from the aliens.
Turned out there was this dude
named the Prophet Jedediah,
who told them that on June 3rd,
E.T. was coming
to embrace his followers
during their ascension.
GROUP: All hail Children of the Stars.
LOPEZ: And for the first time
in history, a cult leader
actually guessed the right date
for the apocalypse.
Turns out this prophet
had been predicting for years
that June 3, 2019,
would be the date for their ascension.
And it was just dumb luck that,
the missile alert happened that day.
I mean, these people
were so brainwashed
that they were gonna jump
to their death.
Thank God that Officer Lopez was there.
I mean, she saved all of their lives.
You got to understand, we had no idea
who this Prophet Jedediah was.
And in the crazy days that followed,
he kind of fell through the cracks.
Not that it would've made
any difference if
Well, at least I don't think
it would've.
DISPATCH: 7-Adam-15, possible 207,
9901 Violet Drive.
RP is on scene.
BENJAMIN: my daughter out here!
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Oh, good. The cops.
Debbie!
Look, my daughter is inside this house.
He's keeping her.
He won't let her leave.
He's brainwashing her.
Good morning, Officers. I'm so sorry
you had to be bothered with this.
I know you. You're Corey Harris.
- You're from that, uh
- "Paul's Place."
Yeah, that was a lifetime ago, but
It's always nice to meet a fan.
You want an autograph?
It threw me.
Uh, the thing about celebrities
is I think they get locked in time,
in your head, you know?
Whatever that show is
you loved them from,
that's the way
you always expect them to be.
Corey Harris had done some other shows
since "Paul's Place"
but nothing that stuck.
You know, people called him
a child star,
as if that was some kind of failing.
But even so, I, um
I was definitely a little star-struck.
I mean, it didn't really matter
to me that he was famous.
I mean, this is L.A.
Every other house is owned by
a superstar or a model or
Cult leader.
Will you arrest him?
He's keeping my daughter
against her will.
He He's a cult leader!
It's not a cult.
It's a religious movement
Awaiting tax-exempt status.
Aurora is over 18 and here
- of her own volition.
- Her name is Debbie.
Aurora has shed her birth name,
like a moth becoming a butterfly.
Caterpillar.
Moths don't become butterflies.
Uh, can we speak to Debbie, please?
Of course.
Aurora!
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Yes, Prophet?
Can you tell these nice officers
that you're here of your own free will?
I'm here of my own free will.
HARPER: Oh, that was convincing.
Debbie, please. This is crazy.
You got to come home.
I am home.
You got to stop her.
HARPER: I can't, sir. She's an adult.
Only if that's what Aurora wants.
I have nothing else to say,
I'm happy here,
- with my real family.
- But, D-Debbie
Debbie, your mother's cancer
It's back!
She's dying!
She's only got a couple weeks to live!
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
She needs you.
COREY: Aurora?
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
HARPER: It was like a switch flipped.
Aurora w Um, not Aurora.
Uh, Debbie went back inside,
and she packed all of her stuff
and then she left with her dad.
I guess she just needed
a cold, hard dose
of reality to bring her back.
INTERVIEWER: You said earlier
you wanted to thank Corey
for helping you and your son,
shake his hand.
- INTERVIEWER: Did you?
- No. No.
It felt, um,
super inappropriate at the time.
So we just headed out,
and I thought that was the end of it.
[TIRES SQUEAL]
TIM: You the one who called?
Yes. I garden for Mr. Harris.
I found blood by the door.
LUCY: Did you go in the home?
- No.
- Okay. Go wait over by your truck.
We'll check it out and come back
- and get your statement.
- Thank you.
Police!
Mr. Harris, are you home?
LUCY: Control, 7-Adam-19,
we've got blood
at 9901 Violet Drive.
We're gonna clear the house.
Notify supervisor,
request additional units.
[HINGES SQUEAKING]
LUCY: Blood.
LUCY: Tim.
We have major blood loss
at our location.
Send detectives and TID.
[SNIFFS] Is this gonna take long?
Because, uh, we got work to do.
INTERVIEWER: Um
Uh, what can you tell me
about the crime scene?
Well, I mean, that amount of blood,
if it came from one person,
then that's fatal.
Without Corey's body,
we had to treat it as a
missing-persons case
while the lab ran the
blood against Corey's DNA.
But no one was home?
We didn't know that yet.
We hadn't cleared the house.
It Corey's disciples
were at a drum circle downtown
They did it once a week
to recruit new followers.
Yeah. The house's security camera
captured them all leaving
right before
Oh, yeah. We have a video of them
downtown across from City Hall.
I'm sorry. I cut you off. I'm sorry.
I was just gonna say,
that the security system was shut off,
right after they all left.
It took three hours to reboot.
So there's no video of the crime.
[WHISPERING] This is fun.
BENJAMIN: What is this about?
Look, I need to be at the hospital.
My wife doesn't have much time left.
We understand, sir.
Uh, you can take a seat, please.
We will try and make this quick.
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
Were you at the hospital yesterday?
All day and night.
Was your daughter there with you?
What do you think?
She hasn't seen her
dying mother in years
because of that man.
D-Do you understand
the whiplash that Debbie's experienced
in the last two days alone?
Seeing her mother again has j
Opened her eyes to everything
that she has been
missing in the world
all the love,
all the joy that Corey has withheld,
from her all of this time.
Corey went missing yesterday.
There were signs of violence
at his house.
Good.
He destroyed our family,
destroyed Debbie's life.
[SIGHS]
It was just supposed to be
an acting class.
You think the most important quality
of a great actor is talent?
Wrong!
It's the ability to be mercenary,
to do whatever it takes to get a part
and to use that role
to get the next one.
Trust me. I'm living proof
of what happens when you don't.
So when the acting jobs dried up,
Corey started an acting school.
And he basically just used it
to air his grievances
about Hollywood
After "Paul's Place," I just assumed,
that the starring roles would
keep coming, but they didn't
and to convince
these kids that, you know,
he was the only one
that could help them
navigate this evil world.
I'm not here to teach you methods.
I'm here to teach you
that unless you're willing
to cross every line
and throw every inhibition
you have out the window,
then you should get the hell
out of my class right now!
But
If you stay
I will help you.
I will nurture you.
I will give you a safe place
to become a star.
HARPER: And these twenty-somethings,
they fell for it,
and they paid thousands of dollars,
for these classes that slowly
just turned into pseudo-religious
character-building seminars.
NOLAN: He made them feel special.
You know, in a business
that makes people
feel like garbage on a regular basis,
it wasn't long before
Debbie and the others started
treating him like a
A guru.
You know, he literally told them
how to act,
and in their eyes,
he became infallible.
He could do no wrong.
He could commit acts
of unspeakable evil
yet still be their savior from above.
I can't speak
to Officer Nolan's comments,
but what we discovered
at Corey's house that day
was pretty disturbing.
LUCY: Tim.
Police!
Come out from under the bed.
Do it now.
Come out with your hands up.
Holy crap.
- TIM: What is?
- It's It's a
TIM: A what?
A mummy.
In a suit.
What?
[CLATTERING, LATEX GLOVE STRETCHING]
Is that
It can't be.
It looks like, uh
It was Charlie Chaplin.
Charlie Chaplin's mummy, that was
That was Corey's greatest treasure.
LOPEZ: And where exactly
did Corey obtain
this mummified body, Debbie?
He stole it.
- We stole it.
- LOPEZ: From who?
From me, yeah!
Now, I bought Charlie
at a secret auction
I found out about from Nic
Cage. [CLICKS TONGUE]
I owe my entire career to Charlie.
He is my total inspiration.
[LAUGHING] I mean, that
That tramp.
Oh, my God.
I wouldn't be who I
am today without him.
You know?
So when I found out
I could own him
Like, "Rainn, do you want to"
"You want to own Charlie?"
It was like,
how could I say no?
You know what I mean?
So when I found out that I was robbed,
I didn't care about my
vintage cowboy hat collection.
You know what I mean?
I don't care about my
solid gold retainer, or
Catherine the Great's speculum
My SAG awards, any of that stuff.
No
I care about
Losing my best friend.
Charlie.
HARPER: No. Of course
it wasn't Chaplin's body.
So, apparently in the '70s,
there was someone who actually
did steal his body,
and they held it for ransom,
but eventually it was returned.
However, there are conspiracy theories
that the real body,
was sold on the black market.
So the mummy that
we found is just one of
dozens of fake
Chaplins floating around.
Celebrities are nuts.
INTERVIEWER: How did you feel
when you learned
that Corey Harris was behind the theft?
Listen, I choose to live
in a realm of total positivity.
I have nothing bad to say about anyone,
even a vain, talentless
skid mark like Corey.
INTERVIEWER: I've heard
that he targeted celebrities
he felt had wronged him in some way.
Yeah. He He thought
the role of Backstrom
should've gone to him.
[CHUCKLES] Anyway,
so he sicced his whole cult
of acting students on me.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
INTERVIEWER: And do you own
any other celebrity mummies?
No comment.
TIM: Before they became
a full-blown cult,
Corey turned his acting school
into a burglary ring
that targeted celebrities.
[RAPPING] Ready or not,
I'mma come run up in your spot
Like Kobe with every shot
Cannot be stopped,
don't you go
I caught a bunch of calls back in 2018.
That was before I was on the job.
We arrested a few people, but,
no one would flip on Corey,
so he got away with it.
Yeah. Corey promised
his students everything
Money, fame,
but all he did was insert himself
farther and farther into their lives.
He made them think he could
control their destinies.
I don't know. Maybe it's because
he didn't have any control
over his own.
What's that saying?
Those who can't do teach?
[CHUCKLES]
You were literally my teacher.
What are you saying?
[CHUCKLES]
AURORA: My love! When I thrust
you with this knife,
why didn't you cry?
I've never seen a man die.
CHARLOTTE: No, no. No, no, no, no!
Enough. Stop. Stop.
G-Get up right now.
What is this?
- It's a-a knife.
- No.
This is a vehicle for the actor's soul.
It must convey all of your anger,
all of your emotion.
You just used this knife
to take a man's life,
not chop onions in the back
of a fast-food restaurant.
[SCOFFS]
You know what I see when I look at you?
- Hmm?
- I see an amateur,
a nobody going nowhere.
COREY: Charlotte. Charlotte, thank you.
Aurora.
[SOBS]
What Charlotte means to say is,
anyone can simply memorize
or recite lines stage.
But only a few dare to push themselves
where their minds
won't allow them to go.
That's what makes a true actor.
I can help you get there.
What do you say?
LAURIE: Hey!
Turn that off!
What did I tell you about
filming in my son's school?!
[STATIC HISSES]
Corey was such a special boy.
Everyone's best friend.
Well, he didn't have
too many friends, come to think of it,
but that's because he was so
dedicated to his craft.
He was a natural leading man,
even as a boy,
and I knew he could succeed,
at whatever he chose in life.
And he and Charlotte together
You couldn't ask for a better duo.
A better duo to brainwash people.
Corey always made Charlotte
play the bad cop
no pun intended.
TIM: So Corey could swoop in
and be the savior.
Together they would
brainwash a student to the point where
they would do anything to please him.
Yeah. And that's when
he would induct them
into his Bling Ring,
telling them that the only way
to get into the mind of a criminal,
was to become one.
He ruined people's lives.
INTERVIEWER:
Including someone you know.
- What?
- INTERVIEWER: It's up here on the right.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Oh. Can I help you?
INTERVIEWER: Sterling Freeman.
Is it true that you were once a student
of notorious acting teacher
turned cult leader Corey Harris?
What? No.
Okay. You can leave now, thank y
INTERVIEWER: In fact, your real name
isn't Sterling Freeman, is it?
It's Skipper Young,
and you participated in a ring
of celebrity burglaries in 2017,
at the direction of Harris.
Okay. What the hell is he
talking about?
Your name is Skipper?
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
[AUSTRALIAN ACCENT] How the
bloody hell did you find me?
Whoa. Why are you talking all British?
So, I have a
A bit of a confession to make, Jackson.
I'm not really from Tampa.
- Get out. Get out!
- [DOOR SLAMS]
Well, you have to understand,
that when I first arrived
in L.A. six years ago,
I was a nobody.
Just a weird kid from Melbourne.
I had never even been
to the States before.
But all I knew was
I wanted to be a star.
INTERVIEWER: And tell us
how you first met Corey.
I knew who he was, of course.
"Paul's Place" was big in Australia.
Corey was a real actor, and
so I just thought, "Why not?"
And I went to one class
And he hooked me.
He believed nothing in
this business is given to you.
Whatever you want in life,
you have to take it.
He said the burglaries would help us
internalize that mind-set.
Corey wanted to help us
learn to conquer our fears
Push our boundaries.
INTERVIEWER: And do you still
believe in Corey's teachings?
No. No. Not at all.
Alright?
Well, we fell out,
right before my arrest,
and that's when things
were getting really weird.
You know, over time, you could
tell he was getting delusional,
talking about spirits,
calling us his students, "the Worthy,"
calling himself a prophet.
Well, it got to a point where
I told myself,
one last run with the crew,
and then I'd leave.
Then I got caught.
No, I was not aware that my boyf
Sterling
Skipper, was a felon.
Or Australian.
Yes, yes, I'm aware
that cops are not permitted
to fraternize with felons.
Y This is an actual
active matter,
and I have no further comment
- at this time.
- INTERVIEWER: Officer West.
I said I have no further comment,
thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Officer West, come on back.
JACKSON: How could you not tell me?
Hey, I am still Sterling.
No, y-you're not Sterling!
You're Skipper Young
or whoever the hell that is!
No, after I was caught,
I served four months' probation,
and I changed my name.
I'm different now.
[WHISPERING] Please.
That part of my life, it's
It's behind me.
Do you believe me?
I don't know.
Jackson.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
NOLAN: Obviously, uh,
we knew that Sterl
uh, Skipper,
had nothing to do with it.
He was in Prague,
shooting a movie when it happened.
So we still had a mystery
on our hands
a missing cult leader
and a bloody crime scene.
That was when we became aware
of Corey's connection to someone
who was a lot more dangerous
than a bunch of wannabe actors.
The Southland Stalker
was a serial killer,
that terrorized L.A. County
starting in the fall of 2010.
He had no type.
He would hit single people, couples,
uh, even had a rampage in a hotel once.
Murdered three people that night.
But the Stalker got sloppy,
and one of his victims escaped,
went to a neighbor's home,
and Dan Marcie was caught
in the surrounding area.
There had always been rumors
that the Stalker didn't work alone,
that he had an accomplice, but
Marcie maintained in court,
that he did it all by himself
a performance, that we later learned,
he had a little help with.
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
I met Corey in 2017,
at one of his acting classes.
I was looking for ways to up my game,
gain people's trust.
INTERVIEWER: And why was that?
So it'd be easier to get my victims
to come with me willingly.
You see, for people like me
Psychopaths
There's a short circuit,
in the part of the brain
that feels empathy,
at least that's what the
prison shrink tells me.
Without that part,
it makes it difficult,
to relate to people,
to convince them to trust you.
I got tired of bashing people
over the head,
dragging them to the car,
so I thought it'd be much easier,
if I could just charm them in myself.
So I asked Corey to help me.
INTERVIEWER: And did he?
Teach you how to fake empathy?
Oh, yeah.
It opened up a whole new realm
of possibilities for me
Victim-wise.
INTERVIEWER: There's a rumor
that Corey also helped you
prepare for your trial,
to better connect with the jury.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
[CHUCKLES]
I had the jury eating
out of the palm of my hand.
[CHAIN RATTLING]
INTERVIEWER: But
they still convicted you
of first-degree murder
Yeah, well, once they saw the
photos of her head in my fridge,
it was kind of over for me.
Dan Marcie was convicted of murder
months before Corey went missing.
But, even though he wasn't a suspect
in the disappearance, his association,
with Corey definitely made us
take a closer look at who else
was taking those acting classes.
And in the end, it wasn't a student,
that gave us a break in the case
that we needed.
It was Corey's old co-star
and fellow teacher,
Charlotte Luster.
Well, no one had heard from her,
since the day Corey went missing,
and we were about to find out why.
[JET ENGINES HUMMING]
Been parked here a week,
and there's a really bad smell
coming from the trunk.
TIM: Would you mind stepping
away from the vehicle?
It belongs to a suspect
in a violent crime.
[TRUNK OPENS]
Corey Harris and Charlotte Luster.
You played childhood sweethearts
for eight seasons
on "Paul's Place,"
and now I hear you've become
partners in real life.
You know, Robin, when you
grow up with someone on TV,
it just
- It bonds you.
- Mm.
Charlotte was always like family.
And when she and Corey started dating,
I couldn't have been happier.
I treated her like my own daughter.
And
If I'm being frank,
she was the luckiest girl in the world,
to be able to date my son.
[CHUCKLES]
Corey,
it's no secret that you struggled,
after the show ended.
Drugs, alcohol, even an arrest for
indecent exposure, at an Emmy party.
Oh, that was all a misunderstanding,
but
What is true is that when
"Paul's Place" was canceled,
I was a I was a mess, adrift.
It was Charlotte who brought me back.
She saved me.
NEWS ANCHOR: Breaking news
Charlotte Luster,
the former child star,
known for the '90s
sitcom "Paul's Place",
has been missing since Sunday.
She is the prime suspect
in the bloody disappearance
of Corey Harris.
LUCY: Even though we found
Charlotte's car at the airport,
we couldn't find any recent records
of her boarding a flight at LAX.
Uh, Detective Harper and I
were dispatched
to Charlotte's apartment
to begin a search,
try to find some indication
of where she might've gone.
- INTERVIEWER: And did you?
- No.
But we did find something
that shed some light.
- INTERVIEWER: What was that?
- A screenplay.
- For a movie.
- It's L.A.
It's not the first time I've found
a script at a crime scene.
I've only been on the job for a year,
and I've already found three.
INTERVIEWER: Have either of you
ever written one?
[SCOFFS] God, no.
It was for a class.
It was the title
that caught everyone's eye
- "The Worthy."
- AURORA: The Worthy
- The Worthy
- The Worthy.
Same as Corey's cult.
This script is
500 pages long.
So we assigned,
three of our rookie officers,
- the task of reading it.
- [SCRIPT THUDS]
- INTERVIEWER: What did you think of it?
- Look.
I'm no screenwriting expert,
but I thought it was, uh
Dense.
Convoluted.
The worst thing I have ever read.
"Exterior, rooftop, day."
"Aurora, 19,"
"beautiful but doesn't know it,"
"speaks the prophecy aloud."
"Heed ye the Noon Star Harvesters,"
"for they shall descend
from the heavens,"
"so the Worthy can ascend."
"So sayeth the Prophet Jedediah."
"All hail Children of the Stars."
GROUP: All hail Children of the Stars.
TIM: Yep.
He based his freakin' cult
off a bad sci-fi script.
That Charlotte wrote with him.
I've been a film producer,
for like 25 years, okay?
This is the strangest thing
I've ever seen.
Well, second strangest.
Anyway, it was like five years ago,
and I heard about this script
making the rounds.
And listen, it's not uncommon,
for actors to,
you know, try their hand at
writing when the roles dry up, right?
And P.S everyone thinks
they got the next "Rocky."
But a 500-page space opera,
written by two former child stars,
raised a few eyebrows.
I took the meeting.
I mean, out of morbid curiosity,
more than anything, right?
It was
Uncomfortable.
And Charlotte,
she seemed totally willing,
to receive feedback, you now?
Corey, he just flatly refused
to make any cuts to the script.
I told them as politely as I could.
"It's a pass."
INTERVIEWER: And then what happened?
Well, then I forgot about it
for a long time.
And then things got weird.
Today, police rescued five people
from a Mid-Wilshire rooftop.
The group identified themselves
as members of "the Worthy",
and were preparing
to commit ritual suicide,
based on the teachings of their leader,
known simply as the Prophet Jedediah.
You want to know why Corey
wasn't on that rooftop,
ready to jump
with the rest of his followers?
Because he was filming it.
SHEILA: The day after
the missile alert,
I get an e-mail from Corey.
The subject line
"Proof of Concept."
I
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Five people almost died,
because some washed-up narcissist
thought that the world he dreamed up,
in his screenplay, had become real.
Along with the video,
Corey also sent Sheila
- a revised version of his script.
- Yeah. W-With
Charlotte Luster's name removed.
TIM: He was trying to cut her out
From the script, the cult,
and the money.
Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned, right?
Cool.
Way to trivialize female anger.
Hey, I'm not trivializing.
All sorts of crimes are motivated
by jealous ex-partners.
And how many of
those ex-partners are men?
Most.
INTERVIEWER: I heard
it was Officer Chen
who broke the case wide open.
[CHUCKLES] I d I don't know,
if I'd describe it quite that way.
INTERVIEWER: How would you
describe it, then?
Her addiction,
to social media finally paid off.
T-That is hurtful.
I[SIGHS]
INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us
what happened?
I was on my phone, doing
Research,
- when I got a notification.
- Ah.
And You know what?
I-I still have the video on my phone.
Just let me
Look at that.
[UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
That's Uh, that's Sorry.
That's not what No.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
You are never gonna believe,
the celeb sighting I just made,
during my Malibu silent retreat.
That's Corey Harris.
He was alive.
HARPER: You have the right
to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used
against you in court off law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one,
one will be provided for you.
Do you understand?
Do you understand, sir?
Corey?
Uh, he took the "right to remain
silent" part real seriously.
Very seriously.
INTERVIEWER: How long
did he stay quiet?
Five and a half hours.
[WATCH BEEPING]
[EXHALES DEEPLY] Wow.
That was invigorating.
72 hours of silence.
You guys should try it.
Now, what'd you want to ask me?
What a putz.
So, Corey,
while you were, uh,
playing your little quiet game,
we were getting the forensics report
back from the lab,
do you care to guess what it said?
That I'm innocent.
No. That the blood,
that we found at your house,
and in Charlotte's car,
belong to the same person.
- Who?
- Charlotte.
[INHALES, EXHALES DEEPLY]
Oh, my God!
That's horrible! My
My poor girl.
[SOBS]
HARPER: Wow. You're right.
He is a good actor.
- NOLAN: I told you.
- HARPER: Mm-hmm.
NOLAN: So what happened to Charlotte?
I have no idea.
I haven't seen her in weeks.
And I've been at the silent
retreat since last Monday.
I-I'm sure they have a record.
NOLAN: Yeah, an employee recalls
checking you in at 10:00 a.m.,
Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, no one else
remembers seeing you until
the welcome bonfire that evening.
HARPER: That leaves
an eight-hour window
that is unaccounted for
Plenty of time for you
to leave the retreat,
go back home, and kill Charlotte.
Do you have any proof of that?
Of course not.
Because I didn't do it.
I could never hurt another person.
NOLAN: What about your followers,
the ones you almost persuaded,
to jump off a roof for you?
For me?
They were doing it for themselves,
for their own enlightenment,
so they could ascend
into a higher state of being.
[SIGHS]
I wouldn't expect someone,
as limited as you, to understand.
HARPER: Is that what you call
the people who can see
through your little act?
Was Was Charlotte limited?
In some ways, yes.
HARPER: Is that why you killed her?
I think I need a lawyer.
NOLAN: Because she saw the real you.
Because she had the power
to send your house of cards toppling.
Lawyer.
WESLEY: I can't talk about clients.
I told you that
when you called yesterday.
INTERVIEWER: Even given what happened?
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Corey built
his whole empire
on a script he stole from Charlotte,
and she was gonna expose him.
That sounds like motive
for murder to me.
Hey, speculate all you like.
There was never any evidence.
INTERVIEWER: There was video.
Which did not show my client.
Now leave me alone.
NOLAN: Enter the "momager."
Mom and manager.
It's all a hybrid.
I thought that was clever.
Anyway, once we saw the footage of her,
tampering with the evidence,
it was clear to us,
that Laurie Harris played,
at least some small or,
shall we say behind-the-scenes,
role in the crime.
INTERVIEWER: I don't get it.
I'm not gonna make any more jokes.
HARPER: So, Mrs. Harris,
what happened to Charlotte?
Last I heard, she was flying to Cabo.
So
Soakin' up the sun,
sippin' on Margaritas?
Charlotte is not in Cabo, Mrs. Harris.
Was it Cancun?
You drove her car to the airport,
and then you left it there,
to make it look like
she had left town.
Oh. [SNORTS]
That?
She asked me to leave her car there.
Really? That's weird, because,
we found her blood at your son's house,
and then also in the trunk of her car.
And we also just found,
what remains of her body,
dumped heartlessly
20 miles up Interstate 5.
T
My God, that's
Awful!
Poor Charlotte.
HARPER: Clearly, Corey did not
get his acting talents from his mother.
Seriously, that wasn't even believable.
But you have bigger problems
than your lack of acting chops.
Charlotte's car had GPS tracking.
You should've disabled it
before you dumped her body.
You can't prove I was anywhere
but the airport.
HARPER: Did you kill her, Mrs. Harris,
or were you just
cleaning up another one
of your son's messes?
I have no idea
what you're talking about.
I think, Corey checked in
at the retreat,
and then he left, to go meet Charlotte.
He killed her and called you,
to clean it up.
Then he went back
to his silent meditation,
while you dumped the body
of a woman you'd known
since she was a child,
like so much trash.
Corey had nothing, to do with it.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I killed her, all by myself.
INTERVIEWER: Can you blame her,
for trying to protect her son.
Uh, yeah. She killed somebody.
INTERVIEWER: Sure. But if
your son had done something,
that would destroy his life,
wouldn't you try and protect him,
throw yourself on the grenade?
[INHALES DEEPLY]
Your job as a parent,
is to protect your children,
as much as you can.
But that also means
teaching them right from wrong.
And there has to be consequences.
Doesn't mean you love them any less.
It just means
Parenting is hard.
HARPER: His mom confessed.
And Corey Harris,
passed the polygraph, so
We had to release him.
INTERVIEWER: Doesn't sound like
you believe he's innocent.
My belief or lack thereof
is irrelevant.
The decision to charge lies solely
with the D.A.'s office, and
They didn't think it was
a case they could win.
INTERVIEWER: Does that make you angry?
No.
I mean, a high-profile case like this,
and a guilty plea ready to go?
I wouldn't have charged him either.
That doesn't mean I think he
should've gotten away with it.
INTERVIEWER: Well,
but he didn't actually
get away with it, did he?
Well[SCOFFS]
- [SWITCH CLICKS]
- [CHUCKLES]
Good evening, Worthy ones.
Welcome to my evening sermon,
streamed across
all my social platforms.
[LIQUID SLURPING]
[SIGHS]
You know, we are so blessed.
So blessed to shine in the light
of Our Saviors Above.
You don't know the comfort I've drawn,
knowing that one day soon,
they will come to lift us all up.
[THUD IN DISTANCE]
Hello?
Nobody's supposed to be here.
Uh
Where was I?
Um right.
Our Saviors.
They spoke to me last night.
The stars seemed to part,
as I was out in the night sky,
and I could hear their voices,
just as clear as you hear mine,
- and they said
- [ELECTRICITY HUMMING]
What the hell?
The electric bill's on auto-pay.
[THUD IN DISTANCE]
Hello?
Aurora Number 2, is that you?
This isn't funny!
Come on.
Be right back.
- [THUD IN DISTANCE]
- [COREY SCREAMS]
[GLASS BREAKING]
[LOUD BANG] Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[SOBBING]
[DOOR RATTLES, CLOSES]
[GRUNTING]
[CHAIR THUDS]
Aah! How is this so heavy?!
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Oh, my God!
Oh, no, no, no.
[GASPING]
Siri, Siri,
dial 911, please.
Pick up. Pick up.
OPERATOR: 911. What's your emergency?
[WHISPERING] Help.
Someone's in my house. I'm in danger.
I am the savior, the Prophet Jedediah.
I can't die.
[GASPING]
[DOORKNOB RATTLING]
Sir, are you still there?
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[SOBBING] Oh, no!
- [THUD]
- I'm scared!
I don't want to die!
[DOOR RATTLING]
[SCREAMING]
[GLASS SHATTERING]
NOLAN: Police! Don't move!
Drop your weapon!
- [KNIFE CLATTERS]
- NOLAN: Hands on your head.
Interlace your fingers. Now!
- You got him?
- HARPER: Yeah.
NOLAN: Don't move.
[HANDCUFFS RATTLING, CLICKING]
Give me your other hand.
Ronald Sanchez.
HARPER: Where's Corey Harris?
Most of him's inside.
Except his eyes.
You just found those.
Harper.
You got to bag them as evidence,
and we got to clear the house.
What happened here, Ronald?
My coming-out party.
Yeah, it turned out,
the Southland Stalker
had an accomplice after all, and
He was pissed, that Corey convinced Dan,
to take all the credit
during his trial.
I'm sorry. Can I say "pissed"?
Look, I know it's crazy.
But, I mean, this dude's
a freakin' serial killer who
Who puts eyes in his pocket.
He's not exactly firing
on all cylinders.
Control, we got one in custody.
Going back inside
to look for the homeowner.
[DOOR CLOSES]
- Ready?
- HARPER: Uh-huh.
[DOOR OPENS, RATTLES]
NOLAN: Oh, no.
[STATIC HISSES]
Control, we got a 187.
Mobilize detectives,
a supervisor, and TID.
I think
I think this thing is still on.
LUCY: It was.
By the time Harper and Nolan
secured the scene,
Corey's live stream
had 400,000 viewers.
Okay. Look. The case
was definitely weird.
But I mean, come on. All this?
This feels so exploitational.
The low-hanging fruit
of celebrity scandal and murder.
You should be making
serious documentaries
about things that really matter.
INTERVIEWER: My last film was about
climate injustice in Puerto Rico.
It won a BAFTA.
Oh.
Well, alright, then.
I j I just want to say
this has been so fascinating.
I love true crime,
and to be in a documentary,
it's just it's a dream come true.
Thank you. Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you so much
for doing this.
Yeah.
You got You got something
in your hair.
- What?
- It's kind of
- Has it been there the whole time?
- Yeah. It's pretty big.
- Let's get out of here.
- I would tell you,
if you had broccoli in your teeth, man.
- What the heck?
- [SIGHS]
INTERVIEWER: Were you surprised,
that Ronald killed Corey?
No, no. Not at all.
Guy's out of his mind.
He was always super jealous
of my fame too,
so I guess he needed
to get some for himself.
But I can't say the same for me
The eyes thing was a nice touch,
though, I will say.
INTERVIEWER: Do you have a
takeaway from this experience?
Um, I'm honestly still processing,
everything that happened.
INTERVIEWER: And have you talked
to Skipper?
Who?
Oh, um
No.
No. We, uh
We've gone our separate ways.
Still ready for something more
INTERVIEWER: Was this
your craziest case?
Oh, yes.
This was definitely the craziest case,
I have ever worked.
Oh, it's nowhere near the craziest.
INTERVIEWER: Really?
Can you tell me more?
No.
Uh, we're done here. I'm gonna go.
INTERVIEWER: Actually, I have
a few more questions,
if you had an extra minute or two,
Detective Harper.
D-D-Detective Harper?
How can I afford to fall in love?
[AUDIENCE GASPS, LAUGHS]
Mmm! Tastes good!
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
YOUNG COREY: You know what I
want to be when I grow up?
An ice cream sundae.
[LAUGHS] Silly.
You can't be an ice cream sundae
when you grow up.
Then I never want to grow up.
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
Still funny.
Murderer.
- [CLICK, STATIC CRACKLING]
- Check-Check. Is it good?
Okay. Thanks.
I don't want to knock the light.
[CLEARS THROAT]
- This here good?
- INTERVIEWER: That's great.
Alright.
Uh, when my son Henry was born,
he had a, uh, heart condition
uh, Tetralogy of Fallot.
Um, it's actually a combination
of four heart defects
that are, uh, fatal, uh,
without surgery.
Multiple surgeries.
And
To watch your child go through that,
it was
A tough time.
But one thing,
that always cheered my family up
was the show "Paul's Place."
[UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
[AUDIENCE GASPS, LAUGHS]
Mmm! Tastes good!
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
The star of the show,
the boy who played Paul,
was Corey Harris.
He was so funny.
Henry would do the milkshake thing,
you know, pretending to be Corey.
"Mmm! Tastes so good!"
And he would make such a mess, but
How could you be mad?
I always said to myself,
if I ever met him,
I would thank him.
You know, just shake his hand.
That was before I found out
what he'd become.
COREY: I am the Prophet Jedediah.
And tomorrow, the 3rd of June,
is the day that we, the Worthy,
shall ascend.
AURORA: The time for questions is done.
COREY: get the hell
out of my class right now!
ROBIN ROBERTS: drugs, alcohol
COREY: I'm scared! I don't want to die!
- [THUD, GUNSHOT]
- COREY: Aah!
NOLAN: I just couldn't believe
what happened to that sweet kid
that my son looked up to, you know?
I couldn't believe
that I was there for all of it.
[MOUSE CLICKS, MUSIC STOPS]
JACKSON: Sorry.
I'm just a little nervous.
That's I'm assuming
that's normal, yeah?
INTERVIEWER: Oh, totally.
But there's no pressure.
- INTERVIEWER: We're just talking.
- Okay.
Uh, where where should I start?
INTERVIEWER: Tell me about June 3rd.
Yeah. It started off like
Any other day. A few mundane calls.
And then the world went crazy.
Los Angeles was thrown into chaos today
when the Emergency Alert System
inadvertently sent out a text message
stating a nuclear missile
was headed for the city.
It felt like the end of the world.
We helped as many people as we could
and then headed for shelter.
That's when we saw them,
standing on the ledge,
20 stories up, waiting for their
How do I put it?
Their ride, uh, from the aliens.
Turned out there was this dude
named the Prophet Jedediah,
who told them that on June 3rd,
E.T. was coming
to embrace his followers
during their ascension.
GROUP: All hail Children of the Stars.
LOPEZ: And for the first time
in history, a cult leader
actually guessed the right date
for the apocalypse.
Turns out this prophet
had been predicting for years
that June 3, 2019,
would be the date for their ascension.
And it was just dumb luck that,
the missile alert happened that day.
I mean, these people
were so brainwashed
that they were gonna jump
to their death.
Thank God that Officer Lopez was there.
I mean, she saved all of their lives.
You got to understand, we had no idea
who this Prophet Jedediah was.
And in the crazy days that followed,
he kind of fell through the cracks.
Not that it would've made
any difference if
Well, at least I don't think
it would've.
DISPATCH: 7-Adam-15, possible 207,
9901 Violet Drive.
RP is on scene.
BENJAMIN: my daughter out here!
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Oh, good. The cops.
Debbie!
Look, my daughter is inside this house.
He's keeping her.
He won't let her leave.
He's brainwashing her.
Good morning, Officers. I'm so sorry
you had to be bothered with this.
I know you. You're Corey Harris.
- You're from that, uh
- "Paul's Place."
Yeah, that was a lifetime ago, but
It's always nice to meet a fan.
You want an autograph?
It threw me.
Uh, the thing about celebrities
is I think they get locked in time,
in your head, you know?
Whatever that show is
you loved them from,
that's the way
you always expect them to be.
Corey Harris had done some other shows
since "Paul's Place"
but nothing that stuck.
You know, people called him
a child star,
as if that was some kind of failing.
But even so, I, um
I was definitely a little star-struck.
I mean, it didn't really matter
to me that he was famous.
I mean, this is L.A.
Every other house is owned by
a superstar or a model or
Cult leader.
Will you arrest him?
He's keeping my daughter
against her will.
He He's a cult leader!
It's not a cult.
It's a religious movement
Awaiting tax-exempt status.
Aurora is over 18 and here
- of her own volition.
- Her name is Debbie.
Aurora has shed her birth name,
like a moth becoming a butterfly.
Caterpillar.
Moths don't become butterflies.
Uh, can we speak to Debbie, please?
Of course.
Aurora!
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Yes, Prophet?
Can you tell these nice officers
that you're here of your own free will?
I'm here of my own free will.
HARPER: Oh, that was convincing.
Debbie, please. This is crazy.
You got to come home.
I am home.
You got to stop her.
HARPER: I can't, sir. She's an adult.
Only if that's what Aurora wants.
I have nothing else to say,
I'm happy here,
- with my real family.
- But, D-Debbie
Debbie, your mother's cancer
It's back!
She's dying!
She's only got a couple weeks to live!
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
She needs you.
COREY: Aurora?
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
HARPER: It was like a switch flipped.
Aurora w Um, not Aurora.
Uh, Debbie went back inside,
and she packed all of her stuff
and then she left with her dad.
I guess she just needed
a cold, hard dose
of reality to bring her back.
INTERVIEWER: You said earlier
you wanted to thank Corey
for helping you and your son,
shake his hand.
- INTERVIEWER: Did you?
- No. No.
It felt, um,
super inappropriate at the time.
So we just headed out,
and I thought that was the end of it.
[TIRES SQUEAL]
TIM: You the one who called?
Yes. I garden for Mr. Harris.
I found blood by the door.
LUCY: Did you go in the home?
- No.
- Okay. Go wait over by your truck.
We'll check it out and come back
- and get your statement.
- Thank you.
Police!
Mr. Harris, are you home?
LUCY: Control, 7-Adam-19,
we've got blood
at 9901 Violet Drive.
We're gonna clear the house.
Notify supervisor,
request additional units.
[HINGES SQUEAKING]
LUCY: Blood.
LUCY: Tim.
We have major blood loss
at our location.
Send detectives and TID.
[SNIFFS] Is this gonna take long?
Because, uh, we got work to do.
INTERVIEWER: Um
Uh, what can you tell me
about the crime scene?
Well, I mean, that amount of blood,
if it came from one person,
then that's fatal.
Without Corey's body,
we had to treat it as a
missing-persons case
while the lab ran the
blood against Corey's DNA.
But no one was home?
We didn't know that yet.
We hadn't cleared the house.
It Corey's disciples
were at a drum circle downtown
They did it once a week
to recruit new followers.
Yeah. The house's security camera
captured them all leaving
right before
Oh, yeah. We have a video of them
downtown across from City Hall.
I'm sorry. I cut you off. I'm sorry.
I was just gonna say,
that the security system was shut off,
right after they all left.
It took three hours to reboot.
So there's no video of the crime.
[WHISPERING] This is fun.
BENJAMIN: What is this about?
Look, I need to be at the hospital.
My wife doesn't have much time left.
We understand, sir.
Uh, you can take a seat, please.
We will try and make this quick.
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
Were you at the hospital yesterday?
All day and night.
Was your daughter there with you?
What do you think?
She hasn't seen her
dying mother in years
because of that man.
D-Do you understand
the whiplash that Debbie's experienced
in the last two days alone?
Seeing her mother again has j
Opened her eyes to everything
that she has been
missing in the world
all the love,
all the joy that Corey has withheld,
from her all of this time.
Corey went missing yesterday.
There were signs of violence
at his house.
Good.
He destroyed our family,
destroyed Debbie's life.
[SIGHS]
It was just supposed to be
an acting class.
You think the most important quality
of a great actor is talent?
Wrong!
It's the ability to be mercenary,
to do whatever it takes to get a part
and to use that role
to get the next one.
Trust me. I'm living proof
of what happens when you don't.
So when the acting jobs dried up,
Corey started an acting school.
And he basically just used it
to air his grievances
about Hollywood
After "Paul's Place," I just assumed,
that the starring roles would
keep coming, but they didn't
and to convince
these kids that, you know,
he was the only one
that could help them
navigate this evil world.
I'm not here to teach you methods.
I'm here to teach you
that unless you're willing
to cross every line
and throw every inhibition
you have out the window,
then you should get the hell
out of my class right now!
But
If you stay
I will help you.
I will nurture you.
I will give you a safe place
to become a star.
HARPER: And these twenty-somethings,
they fell for it,
and they paid thousands of dollars,
for these classes that slowly
just turned into pseudo-religious
character-building seminars.
NOLAN: He made them feel special.
You know, in a business
that makes people
feel like garbage on a regular basis,
it wasn't long before
Debbie and the others started
treating him like a
A guru.
You know, he literally told them
how to act,
and in their eyes,
he became infallible.
He could do no wrong.
He could commit acts
of unspeakable evil
yet still be their savior from above.
I can't speak
to Officer Nolan's comments,
but what we discovered
at Corey's house that day
was pretty disturbing.
LUCY: Tim.
Police!
Come out from under the bed.
Do it now.
Come out with your hands up.
Holy crap.
- TIM: What is?
- It's It's a
TIM: A what?
A mummy.
In a suit.
What?
[CLATTERING, LATEX GLOVE STRETCHING]
Is that
It can't be.
It looks like, uh
It was Charlie Chaplin.
Charlie Chaplin's mummy, that was
That was Corey's greatest treasure.
LOPEZ: And where exactly
did Corey obtain
this mummified body, Debbie?
He stole it.
- We stole it.
- LOPEZ: From who?
From me, yeah!
Now, I bought Charlie
at a secret auction
I found out about from Nic
Cage. [CLICKS TONGUE]
I owe my entire career to Charlie.
He is my total inspiration.
[LAUGHING] I mean, that
That tramp.
Oh, my God.
I wouldn't be who I
am today without him.
You know?
So when I found out
I could own him
Like, "Rainn, do you want to"
"You want to own Charlie?"
It was like,
how could I say no?
You know what I mean?
So when I found out that I was robbed,
I didn't care about my
vintage cowboy hat collection.
You know what I mean?
I don't care about my
solid gold retainer, or
Catherine the Great's speculum
My SAG awards, any of that stuff.
No
I care about
Losing my best friend.
Charlie.
HARPER: No. Of course
it wasn't Chaplin's body.
So, apparently in the '70s,
there was someone who actually
did steal his body,
and they held it for ransom,
but eventually it was returned.
However, there are conspiracy theories
that the real body,
was sold on the black market.
So the mummy that
we found is just one of
dozens of fake
Chaplins floating around.
Celebrities are nuts.
INTERVIEWER: How did you feel
when you learned
that Corey Harris was behind the theft?
Listen, I choose to live
in a realm of total positivity.
I have nothing bad to say about anyone,
even a vain, talentless
skid mark like Corey.
INTERVIEWER: I've heard
that he targeted celebrities
he felt had wronged him in some way.
Yeah. He He thought
the role of Backstrom
should've gone to him.
[CHUCKLES] Anyway,
so he sicced his whole cult
of acting students on me.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
INTERVIEWER: And do you own
any other celebrity mummies?
No comment.
TIM: Before they became
a full-blown cult,
Corey turned his acting school
into a burglary ring
that targeted celebrities.
[RAPPING] Ready or not,
I'mma come run up in your spot
Like Kobe with every shot
Cannot be stopped,
don't you go
I caught a bunch of calls back in 2018.
That was before I was on the job.
We arrested a few people, but,
no one would flip on Corey,
so he got away with it.
Yeah. Corey promised
his students everything
Money, fame,
but all he did was insert himself
farther and farther into their lives.
He made them think he could
control their destinies.
I don't know. Maybe it's because
he didn't have any control
over his own.
What's that saying?
Those who can't do teach?
[CHUCKLES]
You were literally my teacher.
What are you saying?
[CHUCKLES]
AURORA: My love! When I thrust
you with this knife,
why didn't you cry?
I've never seen a man die.
CHARLOTTE: No, no. No, no, no, no!
Enough. Stop. Stop.
G-Get up right now.
What is this?
- It's a-a knife.
- No.
This is a vehicle for the actor's soul.
It must convey all of your anger,
all of your emotion.
You just used this knife
to take a man's life,
not chop onions in the back
of a fast-food restaurant.
[SCOFFS]
You know what I see when I look at you?
- Hmm?
- I see an amateur,
a nobody going nowhere.
COREY: Charlotte. Charlotte, thank you.
Aurora.
[SOBS]
What Charlotte means to say is,
anyone can simply memorize
or recite lines stage.
But only a few dare to push themselves
where their minds
won't allow them to go.
That's what makes a true actor.
I can help you get there.
What do you say?
LAURIE: Hey!
Turn that off!
What did I tell you about
filming in my son's school?!
[STATIC HISSES]
Corey was such a special boy.
Everyone's best friend.
Well, he didn't have
too many friends, come to think of it,
but that's because he was so
dedicated to his craft.
He was a natural leading man,
even as a boy,
and I knew he could succeed,
at whatever he chose in life.
And he and Charlotte together
You couldn't ask for a better duo.
A better duo to brainwash people.
Corey always made Charlotte
play the bad cop
no pun intended.
TIM: So Corey could swoop in
and be the savior.
Together they would
brainwash a student to the point where
they would do anything to please him.
Yeah. And that's when
he would induct them
into his Bling Ring,
telling them that the only way
to get into the mind of a criminal,
was to become one.
He ruined people's lives.
INTERVIEWER:
Including someone you know.
- What?
- INTERVIEWER: It's up here on the right.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Oh. Can I help you?
INTERVIEWER: Sterling Freeman.
Is it true that you were once a student
of notorious acting teacher
turned cult leader Corey Harris?
What? No.
Okay. You can leave now, thank y
INTERVIEWER: In fact, your real name
isn't Sterling Freeman, is it?
It's Skipper Young,
and you participated in a ring
of celebrity burglaries in 2017,
at the direction of Harris.
Okay. What the hell is he
talking about?
Your name is Skipper?
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
[AUSTRALIAN ACCENT] How the
bloody hell did you find me?
Whoa. Why are you talking all British?
So, I have a
A bit of a confession to make, Jackson.
I'm not really from Tampa.
- Get out. Get out!
- [DOOR SLAMS]
Well, you have to understand,
that when I first arrived
in L.A. six years ago,
I was a nobody.
Just a weird kid from Melbourne.
I had never even been
to the States before.
But all I knew was
I wanted to be a star.
INTERVIEWER: And tell us
how you first met Corey.
I knew who he was, of course.
"Paul's Place" was big in Australia.
Corey was a real actor, and
so I just thought, "Why not?"
And I went to one class
And he hooked me.
He believed nothing in
this business is given to you.
Whatever you want in life,
you have to take it.
He said the burglaries would help us
internalize that mind-set.
Corey wanted to help us
learn to conquer our fears
Push our boundaries.
INTERVIEWER: And do you still
believe in Corey's teachings?
No. No. Not at all.
Alright?
Well, we fell out,
right before my arrest,
and that's when things
were getting really weird.
You know, over time, you could
tell he was getting delusional,
talking about spirits,
calling us his students, "the Worthy,"
calling himself a prophet.
Well, it got to a point where
I told myself,
one last run with the crew,
and then I'd leave.
Then I got caught.
No, I was not aware that my boyf
Sterling
Skipper, was a felon.
Or Australian.
Yes, yes, I'm aware
that cops are not permitted
to fraternize with felons.
Y This is an actual
active matter,
and I have no further comment
- at this time.
- INTERVIEWER: Officer West.
I said I have no further comment,
thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Officer West, come on back.
JACKSON: How could you not tell me?
Hey, I am still Sterling.
No, y-you're not Sterling!
You're Skipper Young
or whoever the hell that is!
No, after I was caught,
I served four months' probation,
and I changed my name.
I'm different now.
[WHISPERING] Please.
That part of my life, it's
It's behind me.
Do you believe me?
I don't know.
Jackson.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
NOLAN: Obviously, uh,
we knew that Sterl
uh, Skipper,
had nothing to do with it.
He was in Prague,
shooting a movie when it happened.
So we still had a mystery
on our hands
a missing cult leader
and a bloody crime scene.
That was when we became aware
of Corey's connection to someone
who was a lot more dangerous
than a bunch of wannabe actors.
The Southland Stalker
was a serial killer,
that terrorized L.A. County
starting in the fall of 2010.
He had no type.
He would hit single people, couples,
uh, even had a rampage in a hotel once.
Murdered three people that night.
But the Stalker got sloppy,
and one of his victims escaped,
went to a neighbor's home,
and Dan Marcie was caught
in the surrounding area.
There had always been rumors
that the Stalker didn't work alone,
that he had an accomplice, but
Marcie maintained in court,
that he did it all by himself
a performance, that we later learned,
he had a little help with.
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
I met Corey in 2017,
at one of his acting classes.
I was looking for ways to up my game,
gain people's trust.
INTERVIEWER: And why was that?
So it'd be easier to get my victims
to come with me willingly.
You see, for people like me
Psychopaths
There's a short circuit,
in the part of the brain
that feels empathy,
at least that's what the
prison shrink tells me.
Without that part,
it makes it difficult,
to relate to people,
to convince them to trust you.
I got tired of bashing people
over the head,
dragging them to the car,
so I thought it'd be much easier,
if I could just charm them in myself.
So I asked Corey to help me.
INTERVIEWER: And did he?
Teach you how to fake empathy?
Oh, yeah.
It opened up a whole new realm
of possibilities for me
Victim-wise.
INTERVIEWER: There's a rumor
that Corey also helped you
prepare for your trial,
to better connect with the jury.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
[CHUCKLES]
I had the jury eating
out of the palm of my hand.
[CHAIN RATTLING]
INTERVIEWER: But
they still convicted you
of first-degree murder
Yeah, well, once they saw the
photos of her head in my fridge,
it was kind of over for me.
Dan Marcie was convicted of murder
months before Corey went missing.
But, even though he wasn't a suspect
in the disappearance, his association,
with Corey definitely made us
take a closer look at who else
was taking those acting classes.
And in the end, it wasn't a student,
that gave us a break in the case
that we needed.
It was Corey's old co-star
and fellow teacher,
Charlotte Luster.
Well, no one had heard from her,
since the day Corey went missing,
and we were about to find out why.
[JET ENGINES HUMMING]
Been parked here a week,
and there's a really bad smell
coming from the trunk.
TIM: Would you mind stepping
away from the vehicle?
It belongs to a suspect
in a violent crime.
[TRUNK OPENS]
Corey Harris and Charlotte Luster.
You played childhood sweethearts
for eight seasons
on "Paul's Place,"
and now I hear you've become
partners in real life.
You know, Robin, when you
grow up with someone on TV,
it just
- It bonds you.
- Mm.
Charlotte was always like family.
And when she and Corey started dating,
I couldn't have been happier.
I treated her like my own daughter.
And
If I'm being frank,
she was the luckiest girl in the world,
to be able to date my son.
[CHUCKLES]
Corey,
it's no secret that you struggled,
after the show ended.
Drugs, alcohol, even an arrest for
indecent exposure, at an Emmy party.
Oh, that was all a misunderstanding,
but
What is true is that when
"Paul's Place" was canceled,
I was a I was a mess, adrift.
It was Charlotte who brought me back.
She saved me.
NEWS ANCHOR: Breaking news
Charlotte Luster,
the former child star,
known for the '90s
sitcom "Paul's Place",
has been missing since Sunday.
She is the prime suspect
in the bloody disappearance
of Corey Harris.
LUCY: Even though we found
Charlotte's car at the airport,
we couldn't find any recent records
of her boarding a flight at LAX.
Uh, Detective Harper and I
were dispatched
to Charlotte's apartment
to begin a search,
try to find some indication
of where she might've gone.
- INTERVIEWER: And did you?
- No.
But we did find something
that shed some light.
- INTERVIEWER: What was that?
- A screenplay.
- For a movie.
- It's L.A.
It's not the first time I've found
a script at a crime scene.
I've only been on the job for a year,
and I've already found three.
INTERVIEWER: Have either of you
ever written one?
[SCOFFS] God, no.
It was for a class.
It was the title
that caught everyone's eye
- "The Worthy."
- AURORA: The Worthy
- The Worthy
- The Worthy.
Same as Corey's cult.
This script is
500 pages long.
So we assigned,
three of our rookie officers,
- the task of reading it.
- [SCRIPT THUDS]
- INTERVIEWER: What did you think of it?
- Look.
I'm no screenwriting expert,
but I thought it was, uh
Dense.
Convoluted.
The worst thing I have ever read.
"Exterior, rooftop, day."
"Aurora, 19,"
"beautiful but doesn't know it,"
"speaks the prophecy aloud."
"Heed ye the Noon Star Harvesters,"
"for they shall descend
from the heavens,"
"so the Worthy can ascend."
"So sayeth the Prophet Jedediah."
"All hail Children of the Stars."
GROUP: All hail Children of the Stars.
TIM: Yep.
He based his freakin' cult
off a bad sci-fi script.
That Charlotte wrote with him.
I've been a film producer,
for like 25 years, okay?
This is the strangest thing
I've ever seen.
Well, second strangest.
Anyway, it was like five years ago,
and I heard about this script
making the rounds.
And listen, it's not uncommon,
for actors to,
you know, try their hand at
writing when the roles dry up, right?
And P.S everyone thinks
they got the next "Rocky."
But a 500-page space opera,
written by two former child stars,
raised a few eyebrows.
I took the meeting.
I mean, out of morbid curiosity,
more than anything, right?
It was
Uncomfortable.
And Charlotte,
she seemed totally willing,
to receive feedback, you now?
Corey, he just flatly refused
to make any cuts to the script.
I told them as politely as I could.
"It's a pass."
INTERVIEWER: And then what happened?
Well, then I forgot about it
for a long time.
And then things got weird.
Today, police rescued five people
from a Mid-Wilshire rooftop.
The group identified themselves
as members of "the Worthy",
and were preparing
to commit ritual suicide,
based on the teachings of their leader,
known simply as the Prophet Jedediah.
You want to know why Corey
wasn't on that rooftop,
ready to jump
with the rest of his followers?
Because he was filming it.
SHEILA: The day after
the missile alert,
I get an e-mail from Corey.
The subject line
"Proof of Concept."
I
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Five people almost died,
because some washed-up narcissist
thought that the world he dreamed up,
in his screenplay, had become real.
Along with the video,
Corey also sent Sheila
- a revised version of his script.
- Yeah. W-With
Charlotte Luster's name removed.
TIM: He was trying to cut her out
From the script, the cult,
and the money.
Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned, right?
Cool.
Way to trivialize female anger.
Hey, I'm not trivializing.
All sorts of crimes are motivated
by jealous ex-partners.
And how many of
those ex-partners are men?
Most.
INTERVIEWER: I heard
it was Officer Chen
who broke the case wide open.
[CHUCKLES] I d I don't know,
if I'd describe it quite that way.
INTERVIEWER: How would you
describe it, then?
Her addiction,
to social media finally paid off.
T-That is hurtful.
I[SIGHS]
INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us
what happened?
I was on my phone, doing
Research,
- when I got a notification.
- Ah.
And You know what?
I-I still have the video on my phone.
Just let me
Look at that.
[UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
That's Uh, that's Sorry.
That's not what No.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS]
You are never gonna believe,
the celeb sighting I just made,
during my Malibu silent retreat.
That's Corey Harris.
He was alive.
HARPER: You have the right
to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used
against you in court off law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one,
one will be provided for you.
Do you understand?
Do you understand, sir?
Corey?
Uh, he took the "right to remain
silent" part real seriously.
Very seriously.
INTERVIEWER: How long
did he stay quiet?
Five and a half hours.
[WATCH BEEPING]
[EXHALES DEEPLY] Wow.
That was invigorating.
72 hours of silence.
You guys should try it.
Now, what'd you want to ask me?
What a putz.
So, Corey,
while you were, uh,
playing your little quiet game,
we were getting the forensics report
back from the lab,
do you care to guess what it said?
That I'm innocent.
No. That the blood,
that we found at your house,
and in Charlotte's car,
belong to the same person.
- Who?
- Charlotte.
[INHALES, EXHALES DEEPLY]
Oh, my God!
That's horrible! My
My poor girl.
[SOBS]
HARPER: Wow. You're right.
He is a good actor.
- NOLAN: I told you.
- HARPER: Mm-hmm.
NOLAN: So what happened to Charlotte?
I have no idea.
I haven't seen her in weeks.
And I've been at the silent
retreat since last Monday.
I-I'm sure they have a record.
NOLAN: Yeah, an employee recalls
checking you in at 10:00 a.m.,
Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, no one else
remembers seeing you until
the welcome bonfire that evening.
HARPER: That leaves
an eight-hour window
that is unaccounted for
Plenty of time for you
to leave the retreat,
go back home, and kill Charlotte.
Do you have any proof of that?
Of course not.
Because I didn't do it.
I could never hurt another person.
NOLAN: What about your followers,
the ones you almost persuaded,
to jump off a roof for you?
For me?
They were doing it for themselves,
for their own enlightenment,
so they could ascend
into a higher state of being.
[SIGHS]
I wouldn't expect someone,
as limited as you, to understand.
HARPER: Is that what you call
the people who can see
through your little act?
Was Was Charlotte limited?
In some ways, yes.
HARPER: Is that why you killed her?
I think I need a lawyer.
NOLAN: Because she saw the real you.
Because she had the power
to send your house of cards toppling.
Lawyer.
WESLEY: I can't talk about clients.
I told you that
when you called yesterday.
INTERVIEWER: Even given what happened?
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: Corey built
his whole empire
on a script he stole from Charlotte,
and she was gonna expose him.
That sounds like motive
for murder to me.
Hey, speculate all you like.
There was never any evidence.
INTERVIEWER: There was video.
Which did not show my client.
Now leave me alone.
NOLAN: Enter the "momager."
Mom and manager.
It's all a hybrid.
I thought that was clever.
Anyway, once we saw the footage of her,
tampering with the evidence,
it was clear to us,
that Laurie Harris played,
at least some small or,
shall we say behind-the-scenes,
role in the crime.
INTERVIEWER: I don't get it.
I'm not gonna make any more jokes.
HARPER: So, Mrs. Harris,
what happened to Charlotte?
Last I heard, she was flying to Cabo.
So
Soakin' up the sun,
sippin' on Margaritas?
Charlotte is not in Cabo, Mrs. Harris.
Was it Cancun?
You drove her car to the airport,
and then you left it there,
to make it look like
she had left town.
Oh. [SNORTS]
That?
She asked me to leave her car there.
Really? That's weird, because,
we found her blood at your son's house,
and then also in the trunk of her car.
And we also just found,
what remains of her body,
dumped heartlessly
20 miles up Interstate 5.
T
My God, that's
Awful!
Poor Charlotte.
HARPER: Clearly, Corey did not
get his acting talents from his mother.
Seriously, that wasn't even believable.
But you have bigger problems
than your lack of acting chops.
Charlotte's car had GPS tracking.
You should've disabled it
before you dumped her body.
You can't prove I was anywhere
but the airport.
HARPER: Did you kill her, Mrs. Harris,
or were you just
cleaning up another one
of your son's messes?
I have no idea
what you're talking about.
I think, Corey checked in
at the retreat,
and then he left, to go meet Charlotte.
He killed her and called you,
to clean it up.
Then he went back
to his silent meditation,
while you dumped the body
of a woman you'd known
since she was a child,
like so much trash.
Corey had nothing, to do with it.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I killed her, all by myself.
INTERVIEWER: Can you blame her,
for trying to protect her son.
Uh, yeah. She killed somebody.
INTERVIEWER: Sure. But if
your son had done something,
that would destroy his life,
wouldn't you try and protect him,
throw yourself on the grenade?
[INHALES DEEPLY]
Your job as a parent,
is to protect your children,
as much as you can.
But that also means
teaching them right from wrong.
And there has to be consequences.
Doesn't mean you love them any less.
It just means
Parenting is hard.
HARPER: His mom confessed.
And Corey Harris,
passed the polygraph, so
We had to release him.
INTERVIEWER: Doesn't sound like
you believe he's innocent.
My belief or lack thereof
is irrelevant.
The decision to charge lies solely
with the D.A.'s office, and
They didn't think it was
a case they could win.
INTERVIEWER: Does that make you angry?
No.
I mean, a high-profile case like this,
and a guilty plea ready to go?
I wouldn't have charged him either.
That doesn't mean I think he
should've gotten away with it.
INTERVIEWER: Well,
but he didn't actually
get away with it, did he?
Well[SCOFFS]
- [SWITCH CLICKS]
- [CHUCKLES]
Good evening, Worthy ones.
Welcome to my evening sermon,
streamed across
all my social platforms.
[LIQUID SLURPING]
[SIGHS]
You know, we are so blessed.
So blessed to shine in the light
of Our Saviors Above.
You don't know the comfort I've drawn,
knowing that one day soon,
they will come to lift us all up.
[THUD IN DISTANCE]
Hello?
Nobody's supposed to be here.
Uh
Where was I?
Um right.
Our Saviors.
They spoke to me last night.
The stars seemed to part,
as I was out in the night sky,
and I could hear their voices,
just as clear as you hear mine,
- and they said
- [ELECTRICITY HUMMING]
What the hell?
The electric bill's on auto-pay.
[THUD IN DISTANCE]
Hello?
Aurora Number 2, is that you?
This isn't funny!
Come on.
Be right back.
- [THUD IN DISTANCE]
- [COREY SCREAMS]
[GLASS BREAKING]
[LOUD BANG] Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[SOBBING]
[DOOR RATTLES, CLOSES]
[GRUNTING]
[CHAIR THUDS]
Aah! How is this so heavy?!
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Oh, my God!
Oh, no, no, no.
[GASPING]
Siri, Siri,
dial 911, please.
Pick up. Pick up.
OPERATOR: 911. What's your emergency?
[WHISPERING] Help.
Someone's in my house. I'm in danger.
I am the savior, the Prophet Jedediah.
I can't die.
[GASPING]
[DOORKNOB RATTLING]
Sir, are you still there?
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[SOBBING] Oh, no!
- [THUD]
- I'm scared!
I don't want to die!
[DOOR RATTLING]
[SCREAMING]
[GLASS SHATTERING]
NOLAN: Police! Don't move!
Drop your weapon!
- [KNIFE CLATTERS]
- NOLAN: Hands on your head.
Interlace your fingers. Now!
- You got him?
- HARPER: Yeah.
NOLAN: Don't move.
[HANDCUFFS RATTLING, CLICKING]
Give me your other hand.
Ronald Sanchez.
HARPER: Where's Corey Harris?
Most of him's inside.
Except his eyes.
You just found those.
Harper.
You got to bag them as evidence,
and we got to clear the house.
What happened here, Ronald?
My coming-out party.
Yeah, it turned out,
the Southland Stalker
had an accomplice after all, and
He was pissed, that Corey convinced Dan,
to take all the credit
during his trial.
I'm sorry. Can I say "pissed"?
Look, I know it's crazy.
But, I mean, this dude's
a freakin' serial killer who
Who puts eyes in his pocket.
He's not exactly firing
on all cylinders.
Control, we got one in custody.
Going back inside
to look for the homeowner.
[DOOR CLOSES]
- Ready?
- HARPER: Uh-huh.
[DOOR OPENS, RATTLES]
NOLAN: Oh, no.
[STATIC HISSES]
Control, we got a 187.
Mobilize detectives,
a supervisor, and TID.
I think
I think this thing is still on.
LUCY: It was.
By the time Harper and Nolan
secured the scene,
Corey's live stream
had 400,000 viewers.
Okay. Look. The case
was definitely weird.
But I mean, come on. All this?
This feels so exploitational.
The low-hanging fruit
of celebrity scandal and murder.
You should be making
serious documentaries
about things that really matter.
INTERVIEWER: My last film was about
climate injustice in Puerto Rico.
It won a BAFTA.
Oh.
Well, alright, then.
I j I just want to say
this has been so fascinating.
I love true crime,
and to be in a documentary,
it's just it's a dream come true.
Thank you. Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Thank you so much
for doing this.
Yeah.
You got You got something
in your hair.
- What?
- It's kind of
- Has it been there the whole time?
- Yeah. It's pretty big.
- Let's get out of here.
- I would tell you,
if you had broccoli in your teeth, man.
- What the heck?
- [SIGHS]
INTERVIEWER: Were you surprised,
that Ronald killed Corey?
No, no. Not at all.
Guy's out of his mind.
He was always super jealous
of my fame too,
so I guess he needed
to get some for himself.
But I can't say the same for me
The eyes thing was a nice touch,
though, I will say.
INTERVIEWER: Do you have a
takeaway from this experience?
Um, I'm honestly still processing,
everything that happened.
INTERVIEWER: And have you talked
to Skipper?
Who?
Oh, um
No.
No. We, uh
We've gone our separate ways.
Still ready for something more
INTERVIEWER: Was this
your craziest case?
Oh, yes.
This was definitely the craziest case,
I have ever worked.
Oh, it's nowhere near the craziest.
INTERVIEWER: Really?
Can you tell me more?
No.
Uh, we're done here. I'm gonna go.
INTERVIEWER: Actually, I have
a few more questions,
if you had an extra minute or two,
Detective Harper.
D-D-Detective Harper?
How can I afford to fall in love?
[AUDIENCE GASPS, LAUGHS]
Mmm! Tastes good!
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
YOUNG COREY: You know what I
want to be when I grow up?
An ice cream sundae.
[LAUGHS] Silly.
You can't be an ice cream sundae
when you grow up.
Then I never want to grow up.
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
Still funny.
Murderer.