Law & Order (1990) s25e16 Episode Script
Fate's Cruel Joke
1
In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate, yet
equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
- [DOG WHIMPERS]
- [EXHALES] Ooh.
[SIREN WAILING]
[DOG WHIMPERING]
I know, buddy. I know it's cold.
[EQUIPMENT WHIRRING]
Hello?
Oh, plenty of room at the end.
[DOG BARKING]
Banjo?
[TENSE MUSIC]
What is it, boy?
[DOG WHIMPERING]
Ugh.
[GROANS]
[STRAINS, GRUNTS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Vagrant flagged down a
squad car up the block.
Dude was freaked. Said
his dog had found a body.
The little fella's pretty cute.
- The dog or the vagrant?
- [CHUCKLES]
Each of these storage spaces
belong to one of the condos upstairs.
Ooh, damn. Whew.
Yeah, it's pretty ripe.
You're gonna want this.
Helps hide the smell.
Yeah. I'm good with that, though.
I'm good too.
Lock was clipped.
The door to the exterior
was pried open too.
Ew. All right.
[SIGHS] Female, from the looks of it.
Not a very tall one if she
could fit inside this suitcase.
No, definitely on the shorter side.
Um, didn't find any ID,
and based on decomposition and
the amount of accumulated dust,
I'd say she's been
down here a long time.
Like months, not weeks.
Jesus, somebody just
left her down here to rot?
I can't take this no more, man.
Give me the smell
stuff. I changed my mind.
Thank you. [COUGHS AND GAGS]
[COUGHING]
We need to talk to
whoever owns the apartment
the storage unit 9F belongs to.
Uh, it's going to be tricky.
9F is owned by a man named Zhang Tao.
Why is that tricky?
Well, he owns the unit,
but he doesn't live in it.
His referral address is in Shanghai.
As far as I know, he's never
even set foot in the place.
So the owner rents it out?
No, it's just sitting there unoccupied.
It's true for most of the units.
Rich dudes from other
countries bought them all up.
You telling me this giant,
brand-new building is basically empty?
I guess it's a good investment
or tax shelter or I don't know.
Must be a smart money move somehow,
'cause they're all doing it.
Ah, housing crisis brought to
you by conspicuous consumption.
So who would have access to
the basement storage units?
Well, w-we've currently
got about 27 residents
actually living in the units,
so any of them, obviously.
But honestly [SIGHS]
Could have been anyone.
Narrows it down.
Yeah, word spread
around the neighborhood
about the building being empty,
so people keep breaking
into the basement.
Got any cameras down there?
Yeah, of course. I can
get you the footage.
Yeah, we'll need everything you got
for the last few months.
System only stores the
data for a couple weeks.
Sorry, guys.
[DOOR BUZZES AND LOCK CLICKS]
The body was in rough shape.
She'd been in that suitcase for
four or five months at least.
Cause of death appears
to be a cervical fracture
between the C1 and C2 vertebrae.
- Somebody snapped her neck.
- Mm-hmm.
Based on everything I'm seeing,
I'm comfortable ruling this a homicide.
Were you able to ID her?
The skin on her fingers
was too decomposed
to get a clean print.
I ran her DNA through
the system, but no luck.
What can you tell us about her?
She was Caucasian.
Analysis of the pubic symphysis,
cranial sutures, and sternal ribbons
tells me she was
post-puberty, but not by much.
Likely in her late teens or early 20s.
Any distinct characteristics
that might make her easier to identify?
She did have a tattoo
on her left forearm.
The fluorescence spectrometer
was able to pick up the pigment.
You can just make out the letters.
MCF.
Confirmed with the Chinese
embassy that Zhang Tao,
the owner of the storage
unit where the body was found,
has never actually traveled
to the United States.
And similar to the
building security system,
the street cams in the area
only store data for two months.
There's no footage from
around the time of the murder.
What about forensics?
Well, the techs were able to pull
a partial print off the suitcase.
Okay, wonderful. Actual evidence.
But no hits in the system.
There's always a chance that
the print belongs to our vic.
Significantly less wonderful.
Okay, so we don't
know who our victim is,
we have no suspects,
and we have no leads.
It's a tough one, Lou.
Start with identifying our vic.
A young girl missing for that long?
Somebody must have noticed.
We get about 13,000 missing
person reports annually.
And that's just for New York City.
Statewide, the number is way higher.
The majority are between
15 and 25 years old.
Same age as our vic.
So we're looking for
a needle in a haystack.
It might not be that bleak.
Most cases are resolved quickly,
and it's common for one person
to rack up multiple reports.
And you get a lot of repeat customers?
Kids run away from home, get found,
returned, then do it again.
It's hard to stay disappeared,
given today's technology.
The number of current open cases
is much smaller, only a couple hundred.
Is it possible to search based
on what we know about our vic?
The reports are all streamlined
into a database we can filter.
You said she was in
her teens or early 20s?
Correct.
White with black hair
and a tattoo on her arm.
Right arm or left?
Left.
Eight hits.
Do you know what the tattoo was of?
The letters MCF.
That one's a flower.
That one's a butterfly.
Zodiac sign.
No dice.
You said a lot of missing persons
are reported multiple times.
Is there any way to run the same search
but on closed cases?
Worth a shot.
[KEYBOARD CLICKING]
Got her.
Lucia Falasco, 18, former
gymnastics phenom from Queens.
Her birthday was last month,
so she was 17 when she was murdered.
Ran away from home twice last year.
Who filed the reports?
Guy named Craig Valparaiso.
Yeah, he was Lucia's gymnastics coach.
And according to state records,
Valparaiso took full custody
of her when her mother,
Maureen Claire Falasco,
died three years ago.
MCF.
Sounds like Lucia was trying pretty hard
to get away from this guy.
Been missing for over five months.
He didn't call it in this time.
Find out why.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Stay focused, stay focused.
Tighten up your form.
You're losing it.
You think that was acceptable?
You think that's how you win?
Think we can ease up
there a little bit, chief.
What do you want?
We'd like to talk to
you about Lucia Falasco.
I'm not interested.
Let's do it again, and
this time, actually try.
I'm sorry, we said "we'd
like to talk to you"
as if you had a choice.
We're Homicide
detectives. Lucia is dead.
What?
So why don't we go
downtown? We can chat there.
♪
I swear I didn't kill Lucia.
I could never [GROANS]
You what? You what?
Cared about her?
Because from what I hear,
you didn't seem too concerned
when two cops showed up
and mentioned her name.
I thought they were gonna
say she got into some trouble,
that she needed help
with bail or something.
I didn't know she was dead!
If you didn't know she was dead,
why didn't you report her missing?
You're her legal guardian.
She'd been gone at least five months.
Because I'd already been
through that circus twice.
She just she didn't
want to be with me.
She kept running away, so
and she took off again
about six months ago.
I just figured
Figured what?
You'd let her fend for herself?
She was going to be 18 soon,
and then she could do
whatever she wanted anyway.
What were you doing that made
her want to leave so badly?
I know what you're implying.
There was nothing like that going on.
I never touched her.
Not in anger, not in any way.
Well, it's very unusual
for a gymnast's coach
to end up her guardian.
I started coaching
her when she was nine.
When her mom died, no
other family stepped up,
so I took her in.
Hmm. Quite the hero.
It's certainly not what I planned.
And she was talented.
But by the time she took off,
I I wasn't even coaching her anymore.
Well, what happened?
Did you guys have a falling out?
Two years ago, she
slipped on the uneven bars
and ripped her shoulder
out of the socket.
Tore her labrum.
Her career was over before it started.
Fate's cruel little joke.
She was messed up after that.
Hanging out with the wrong people,
partying, staying out all night.
I-I tried to rein her in,
but she wouldn't listen
- to me
- That piss you off?
That she wasn't
respecting your authority?
I'm telling you
I had nothing to do with
what happened to her.
Talk to her friend Julissa.
First few times Lucia ran away,
that's who they found her staying with.
Guarantee you she knows more than I do.
You two were close?
Kinda, I guess.
I hadn't known her long,
but she was a good kid.
Just a little lost.
She crashed with you a few
times after she ran away
from her coach's house, yeah?
Yeah. I was just trying to help.
Like I said, she was good people.
Got any idea why she
kept on running away?
I think it was just too hard for her
to still be in that world, you know?
Seeing Craig coach other girls
who still got to live the life
she thought she was gonna have.
Plus he was crazy strict.
And she stayed with you
again September of last year
for a little while, too, right?
Yeah, for about two weeks.
But then we kind of had a fight
and she left to go stay with
some guy she met in the city.
You know the name of the guy
that she went to stay with?
No, sorry.
But I do know where they met.
Have you seen this girl before?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
She used to hang out here a lot.
Nah. Sorry, man. She
doesn't look familiar.
You know this girl?
Did she used to be blonde
and date a dude named Nips?
I don't think so.
Then nah, I don't know her.
Damn, she's cute.
Yeah, I would.
That literally wasn't the question.
Oh, yeah, I know her.
You do?
I don't know her name or nothing,
but she hangs out here all the time.
I haven't seen her in a while, though.
But her boyfriend, he
comes here all the time.
Who's her boyfriend?
I don't know his name either,
but he was here yesterday.
White guy, long brown hair.
He wears these crazy sneakers.
They have, like, rainbow
and gold sparkles.
All right. Thanks for your help.
No doubt.
Can't believe these kids are out here
skateboarding in this weather.
Well, that's dedication right there.
- Or mental illness.
- [CHUCKLES]
Wait, wait, wait.
You gotta be kidding me.
Check out the sparkle shoes.
Hey. Hey!
NYPD. We need to talk
to you. Stay right there.
I'm on him. Hey!
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIREN WAILING]
Hey! NYPD!
♪
Theo, I'm north on Market.
Hey!
Hey!
[PANTING]
Vince, I lost him.
He crossed, uh, Monroe.
He's headed north through the alley.
Copy that.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
I got him.
Mechanics Alley.
♪
- No, no, no, no!
- [TIRES SCREECH]
- Hey, cop!
- I need an ambulance ASAP.
Mechanics Alley between
Madison and Henry.
10-53, H-I. Man down.
What the hell?
You just ran him down!
Vince.
Vince, what's going on? Are you okay?
Hey, we'll have your
badge for this, cop!
- Hey, Lou.
- Hey.
You okay?
[SIGHS]
Walk me through what happened.
Got a lead on the suspect,
spotted him near the park.
He ran, so I pursued him on foot.
Vince was in the vehicle.
I was closing in and
a civilian just stepped into
the middle of the street.
I mean, he he came out of nowhere.
Was your siren on?
Yeah, of course it was.
He just you know, he
didn't he didn't hear it.
He had ear protection on.
What's his status?
He's in surgery now.
Did the doctor say anything?
No.
Do we know anything about this guy?
Derek Crosby.
Works for an electrical company.
He was on the job.
And he just walked into
the middle of the road?
The street was closed off to traffic.
There were signs posted?
Did you see them?
Yeah.
Uh, the suspect you were
chasing, was he armed?
He had something in his hands
that definitely could have been a gun.
I I wasn't sure. I
mean, could have been.
Good.
You followed protocol.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
My name is Sandra Crosby.
I got a phone call that my
husband was hit by a car?
- Yes, ma'am. He's here.
- He's currently in surgery.
Oh, my God. Is is he okay?
What what's happening?
Why don't you have a seat over here?
I'll have the doctor
come and talk to you
as soon as he's available.
Would you like some
coffee or tea? Water?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
- You know what, Vince?
- I'm gonna handle the family,
and I think you need to go home.
I mean, I should
Yeah, but really, you shouldn't, right?
You should just go home right now.
She's right. It's been a lot, man.
As soon as I'm done here,
I'll start an incident report.
But right now, you need to go home.
- Get some rest.
- Okay.
All right, all right.
Okay.
♪
Vince. Hey.
Look, I'm fine, man. All right?
I'm definitely not
going home to take a nap.
I get that. Don't worry about it.
We need to find Sparkle Shoes.
I'll go through some security footage
from the subway stations around
the alley where we lost him.
If he took a train, maybe
we can track where he went.
Yeah, I'll start pulling
the street cam from the park.
Maybe we get a hit on facial rec.
All right.
Look, man, are you sure you're good?
I'm fine. All right?
Got a job to do. Let's go.
You didn't touch your dinner.
You should really eat something.
I will.
Any news from the hospital?
Uh, Crosby is out of surgery,
but he's still in the ICU.
Apparently he has significant
swelling in his brain.
Doctors say it's 50/50.
And how are you?
I will be a lot better
when we catch this guy.
Vince, I was thinking
- maybe you should call
- Look, I'm fine.
Okay? Really, I'm fine.
Vince.
All right, how about this?
I will go to a meeting if I
feel like I really need one.
Okay?
Okay.
I think that's him.
Yeah, that's him.
That's the man you were chasing?
Yeah.
From two days ago.
What's he doing?
Looks like he's recording
himself doing tricks.
We saw him today.
He was filming himself
with a selfie stick.
Hey, Bridge.
I was doing my homework, Dad. I swear.
I was just looking up
how to spell a word.
Yeah, sure you were.
Look, I'm not here to bust you.
Well, in that case, I
was actually on TikTok.
- Sorry.
- Yeah, that's okay.
That's actually what
I need your help with.
Um, I'm trying to find somebody
who I'm pretty sure posts videos online,
but I don't know his name.
Does this have to do
with what happened today?
You eavesdropping on me and Mom?
You're the one who said
I should always be
aware of my surroundings.
What do you know about the guy?
Uh, not much, really.
He he makes videos of himself
skateboarding in the park.
And he wears these sneakers
with, like, glitter all over them.
So I've been on Instagram and TikTok
and I've tried every variation
of, you know, glitter shoes,
uh, sparkle shoes
Let me guess. You got too many results?
It's like everyone's
a content creator now?
Really?
Do you know what park he films in?
Yeah, Lower East Side
Coleman Skate Park.
If he tags his location,
you might be able to find him that way.
There's a map.
- All right.
- [LAUGHS]
BennyHaps, AKA Benjamin Hoffman.
Kid's got over 8 million followers.
That's gotta be our guy.
Come on, those are the same shoes.
Oh, it's him.
Techs pulled fingerprints
off the skateboard
that he dropped at the park.
It's a match to the partial
we found on the suitcase.
This kid's 18 years old.
He started blowing up when he was 14
posting videos of himself
online skateboarding,
doing stunts and stuff.
Have you slept at all?
[TENSE MUSIC]
In 2024, a girlfriend of his
accused him of choking
her during an argument.
She later dropped those charges.
Clearly he has a history
of violence against women.
Well, it gets better.
According to this
"Forbes" article I found,
"10 Content Creators to Watch,"
this kid made over 7 million last year.
You're kidding me.
Yeah, that's how he was
able to afford a condo
in the building where
Lucia's body was found.
But his name was not
on the list of owners
the building's manager sent over.
'Cause he sold the
condo 4 1/2 months ago.
Okay.
Find him.
Now.
♪
Someone lives here?
I know. Pretty sick, right?
Yo, Benny, there's some cops here.
They want to talk to you.
Look, man, I didn't know
Yeah. Nowhere to run now, is there?
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Unless you want a lawsuit on your hands,
I'd be a lot gentler, Officer.
- Detective. Riley.
- Who are you?
- I'm Cordelia Travers.
- I'm Mr. Hoffman's attorney.
Don't say another word, Benjamin.
- Fine by me.
- Ow.
Turn around.
- Benjamin Hoffman
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- You're under arrest.
- [GROANING]
Not a word.
Yeah. [SIGHS]
Hoffman's not talking?
Already lawyered up.
- Cordelia Travers.
- He is not playing around.
So what do we have?
Hoffman's fingerprints match the partial
that we found on the suitcase
and his credit card statements
show that he purchased luggage
that match the same make and model.
Statements also show that
he purchased Lucia a phone.
We found a slew of
messages between them.
The texts establish that
not only were they seeing each other,
but she was staying with him
in the condo building
where her body was found.
All communication from her
stopped five months ago.
So what's the theory?
They had some kind of lover's quarrel,
Hoffman kills her, puts
her in the suitcase,
and then clears out?
It's the most logical explanation.
He's got a history of domestic violence.
But it's unlikely that
will be admissible.
We gotta charge him with
something or cut him loose.
Charge him with reckless endangerment.
Derek Crosby, the worker who
was injured during the pursuit,
he's still in the ICU.
Yeah, I don't think
that'll be necessary.
But, um, let's charge
him with murder two.
I can make this work.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
Vince.
How'd it go with IAB?
Fine. You know, I told
them what happened.
Ruled it an accident.
Good.
If you want to talk about it, I'm
Yeah, yeah.
I'm good. Thanks.
Not a lot to say, you know?
[DOOR CLOSES]
Introducing the prior
accusation of domestic abuse
is more prejudicial than probative.
The prosecution is grasping here.
I wouldn't characterize it that way.
And I'm not sure that's relevant.
The assault charges against
my client were dropped.
And quite frankly, Mr.
Price should know better.
My colleague's indignation
notwithstanding,
what I'm asking for, Your Honor,
is to introduce testimony
from Amanda Waller.
- The defendant's ex-girlfriend?
- That is correct.
She will testify to an incident
where Hoffman got
physically violent with her.
The very definition of prior bad acts.
You know, if you let me finish.
Sure.
He got physically violent with her
and specifically choked her.
Lucia Felasco's cause of
death was a broken neck.
It speaks to a pattern of behavior
and is therefore
admissible under Molineux.
Choking someone and breaking their neck
are not the same thing.
Now who's grasping?
Again, my client was
never formally charged.
It's just one woman's claim.
And the jury has the right to decide
if they believe her or not.
I'm siding with the prosecution here.
He had his hand on my throat
and he was squeezing so hard.
I screamed for him to stop,
but he just kept going.
Did you believe he was gonna kill you?
Objection. Calls for speculation.
I will rephrase. Were
you scared for your life?
100%.
If someone hadn't stepped
in and pulled him off of me,
he wouldn't have stopped.
No further questions.
Ms. Waller
you stated that during the fight,
my client had his hand on your throat.
Not both hands?
No.
Where was his other hand?
Holding my wrist.
Because he was trying to
stop you from pummeling him.
In fact, multiple eyewitnesses
report you instigated the altercation.
You thought he was cheating
on you and you attacked him.
They just said that because
they were all his friends.
A man should never be
violent with a woman.
He wasn't violent, he was
trying to protect himself.
And you dropped the charges
because you were the violent one.
No. I just knew people like
you would take his side.
This incident took
place at a house party.
Are you saying you really
believed Mr. Hoffman
was going to murder you in plain sight?
Yes.
You don't understand.
Benny doesn't think things through,
he just does stuff.
And there are never consequences.
And how old were you both
when this fight occurred?
It was two years ago, so 16.
Just a child.
He already lived on his
own. He was an adult.
Did you know Lucia Felasco?
No.
Were you present when she died?
No.
So you have no knowledge
of what happened to her
or who's responsible for her death?
- Not specifically, but I know how Benny
- No further questions.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Mason, you are the
defendant's assistant, correct?
Uh, yeah.
We didn't call it that, like,
formal or whatever, but yeah,
he paid me to help him
out shooting content
and running errands, stuff like that.
Did he have you purchase
a phone for Lucia Felasco
in late September of last
year with his credit card?
He did. I thought it was pretty crazy.
They only known each
other for, like, a week,
and she was already living with him.
Hmm. Did you have the
opportunity to spend much time
with Lucia during that period?
Yeah, we hung out a lot.
She was cool.
I am showing you what's
already been entered
into evidence as Exhibit 4.
This is the data from Lucia's phone.
Records of every keystroke,
every time it was unlocked,
every text she sent, every
time she opened an app.
Can you see that it shows that
she interacted with the device
dozens of times a day,
just like you said?
Yeah.
And can you see that all
interaction with the phone
ceased at 11:47 p.m. on the
evening of September 24th?
Yes.
From that point forward,
there is no activity at all.
Do you have any idea why that is?
No.
Is it possible it's because
that's the night she was killed?
Objection!
Witness has no way of knowing this
and already stated as much.
Sustained.
Mr. Mason, did you see Benjamin Hoffman
on the night of September 24th?
Yeah, I went over to
his place around 9:00
and hung out for, like, half an hour.
- Was Lucia Felasco there?
- Yes.
When you left around 9:30,
were the defendant and Ms.
Felasco alone in the apartment?
Yes.
Did you ever see her again after that?
No.
She was never seen or heard
from by anyone after that.
Never touched her phone again.
Did you receive a call from Mr. Hoffman
the next day on September 25th?
Yeah.
He asked me to run an errand for him.
He sent me to buy him a suitcase.
Is this the suitcase you
purchased on Mr. Hoffman's behalf?
It looks like it, yeah.
It's the suitcase that was found
with the defendant's
fingerprint on it and
[GALLERY GASPING]
With Lucia Felasco's
dead body stuffed inside.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Did my client ever explain to you
why Ms. Felasco was no longer
living in his apartment?
Uh, yeah, he said that she
broke up with him and took off.
Something she had a history of doing.
So is it possible
that the reason she
stopped using her phone
was that she didn't bring it with her
because she knew that Mr.
Hoffman was paying for it?
Sure. That makes sense.
And isn't it also possible
that he put the luggage
that you purchased
in his apartment storage unit
in the basement of his building,
a basement it has been established
anyone could have access to?
I guess so, yeah.
And lastly, in your time
working for my client,
did you ever see him behave
violently toward Ms. Felasco,
or anyone, for that matter?
No.
He was always pretty chill.
Indeed.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
We'll end there for today.
The trial will resume
tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
Court is adjourned.
♪
Price.
- Hold up.
- Oh, Cordelia.
What [SIGHS] Let me guess.
Uh, you want to discuss a deal?
Oh, I forgot how brilliant you are.
[CHUCKLES] Not interested.
Uh, you should be.
And why is that?
Because he's willing to tell
you what really happened.
I really cared about
Lucia. She was funny, sweet.
Her life had been tough, you know?
I understood. I
I started making real money
as an influencer when I was 15,
but my parents were stealing from me.
My my dad lost a
lot of that gambling.
So I took them to
court, I got emancipated.
We both have basically
been alone since we were 15.
Right, you were two lonely
kids adrift in the world
till you found each other.
So what made you kill her?
I would never hurt Lucia or anyone else.
Oh, okay. So you are
just wasting our time.
Would you let him speak?
Why don't you just
tell us what happened?
Go ahead. They can't
use any of this in court.
I didn't kill Lucia, but I
was there when it happened.
- We were partying that night
- Meaning you were doing drugs.
Cocaine.
That's why Cory stopped by.
He was making a delivery.
We got high and Lucia started showing me
some of her old gymnastic
moves on my trampoline.
It was all good vibes.
We were laughing. And then
She did a did a backflip
and she was too close to the edge,
so she hit the side
and she landed on the floor on her head.
And the sound was just
[SOBS]
[GROANS] Um [SIGHS]
It it it was an accident.
If it was just an accident,
then why didn't you call 911?
I um, I panicked. I
There were drugs everywhere! I
and even though she's only
ten months younger than me,
she's still technically underage.
So you thought that
putting her in a suitcase
and leaving her there would
get you in less trouble?
I was high! I wasn't thinking clearly.
I just wanted to run away and
never think about it again.
I know what I did was wrong.
I know.
And I'm I'm sorry.
I just
I just felt like the rest of
my life would have been ruined.
Why didn't you tell us that
when he was charged with murder?
He just told me the truth two days ago.
And tell me, Mr. Hoffman
Mr. Hoffman, do you have any
evidence to back up this story?
Uh, no.
But I swear it was an accident.
He's willing to plead guilty
to the concealment of a human corpse.
That's the proper charge here.
Offer declined.
That's okay.
I I just I wanted
to tell the truth.
It was an accident.
Call Riley.
Tell him I need him to testify
first thing in the morning
about Hoffman fleeing when
they tried to question him.
It will establish Hoffman's
consciousness of guilt.
Will do.
But Nolan [SIGHS]
Are you sure we shouldn't
consider accepting the plea?
Just take his word for it
that it was an accident?
Well, we could call the assistant again,
see if he was actually there that night
to deliver the cocaine.
Yeah.
That still wouldn't prove that
Hoffman's telling the truth
about the rest of it.
Mm, I don't know.
That scenario he laid out
could very well result
in a C1 cervical fracture.
It's plausible.
Okay, but he he
can't prove any of it.
Well, we can't prove he's lying either.
And if he's telling the truth,
then the appropriate sentence
is 5 years, not 25 to life.
His actions don't make any sense
in the context of an accident.
He shoved her dead body into
a suitcase and left her to rot.
That is is not the behavior
of someone who is innocent.
Well, sometimes people
behave irrationally
when something crazy happens.
The defense is welcome to present
their version of events to the jury.
I would love to see how
they react to the news
that Hoffman has been lying
to them this entire time.
Call Riley.
Mr. Price, are you ready
to call your next witness?
Uh
Just one moment, Your Honor.
Mr. Price.
Uh, Your Honor, it seems we
are having some difficulty
locating our next witness.
We request a brief continuance
while we look into the matter.
Uh, with all due
respect, not our problem.
Defense requests we move forward.
I'll give you 24 hours.
Okay, thanks.
That was Brady. She
spoke with Riley's wife.
She can't get ahold of him either.
He's not answering anyone's phone calls.
[SIGHS] Okay.
Um
well, let's start
calling around hospitals,
see if anyone has been admitted
who matches his description.
Hey, hey. Man, I'm sorry.
- Vince.
- I'm sorry. All right?
I I was a no-show.
We've been looking for
you. We were worried.
Hey, what's going on?
Uh
Are you okay?
Uh, Derek Crosby was, um,
declared brain dead this morning
and his family took
him off life support.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
Why don't we go in my office?
Come on.
Uh, I will get us some coffee.
Call Brady and let her
know he's been found.
Here, have some of this.
Crosby's death is my fault.
- No, it was an accident.
- No.
No, I was reckless.
Vince, have you been drinking?
What difference does that make?
Is that a yes?
I saw the orange signs.
I should have been more careful.
You were pursuing a murder suspect.
He stepped in front of your vehicle.
- There's nothing
- I knew he wasn't armed!
Hoffman. I had no reason
to think that he had a gun.
No, but you said that
you saw in his hand
I lied.
Make my actions seem justified.
Hey, Vince, you need to be careful.
I just I'm scared for
my career and my whole life.
I I'm not the person you
should be saying this to.
I am a prosecutor, not a priest.
You're exactly the person
I need to say this to.
I want to I want to tell the truth.
I screwed up.
- And now
- Vince, stop talking.
♪
[SIGHS] You didn't want this to happen.
And you were doing your job.
And and [SIGHS]
- Accidents happen.
- [SCOFFS]
It's not right, it's not fair.
It's just the way it is.
But you can't let one accident
destroy the rest of your life.
Is there someone I can call? Your wife?
- No.
- A sponsor?
No, no, no. I'm good.
Hey.
Look, I'm good, I'm
good, I'm good, I'm good.
♪
How's he doing?
Uh, yeah, he's having a hard time.
I'm just gonna go make
sure he gets home all right.
Um [SIGHS]
Call Cory Mason.
Let's let's see if he
backs up Hoffman's claims.
[BUZZER BLARES]
So what's this about?
Well, your client's assistant confirmed
that he was at the apartment
that night to deliver cocaine.
We are willing to drop
the murder two charge
in exchange for him pleading guilty
to concealment of a human corpse.
- [EXHALES DEEPLY]
- And reckless endangerment.
And assuming his version
of events is true,
he purchased and
provided Lucia with drugs
which were directly causal to her death.
He'll be looking at 6 to 8 years
instead of 25 to life.
We've got a deal.
We'll draw up the agreement.
So Counselor, what caused
you to reverse course?
Thought there was a chance
the jury might believe him.
Wow. Not a change of heart? Pfft.
That's a shame.
I'll buy you a drink. Come on.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
It's been two months since I last drank.
Prior to that, I'd almost
made it to the one-year mark.
But I
had a few bad days.
And I
I slipped.
[SIGHS] And it's hard.
But yesterday was easier than today.
So there's that.
I know I just have to get up every day
and keep going.
And I will.
I will.
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[WOLF HOWLS]
In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate, yet
equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
- [DOG WHIMPERS]
- [EXHALES] Ooh.
[SIREN WAILING]
[DOG WHIMPERING]
I know, buddy. I know it's cold.
[EQUIPMENT WHIRRING]
Hello?
Oh, plenty of room at the end.
[DOG BARKING]
Banjo?
[TENSE MUSIC]
What is it, boy?
[DOG WHIMPERING]
Ugh.
[GROANS]
[STRAINS, GRUNTS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Vagrant flagged down a
squad car up the block.
Dude was freaked. Said
his dog had found a body.
The little fella's pretty cute.
- The dog or the vagrant?
- [CHUCKLES]
Each of these storage spaces
belong to one of the condos upstairs.
Ooh, damn. Whew.
Yeah, it's pretty ripe.
You're gonna want this.
Helps hide the smell.
Yeah. I'm good with that, though.
I'm good too.
Lock was clipped.
The door to the exterior
was pried open too.
Ew. All right.
[SIGHS] Female, from the looks of it.
Not a very tall one if she
could fit inside this suitcase.
No, definitely on the shorter side.
Um, didn't find any ID,
and based on decomposition and
the amount of accumulated dust,
I'd say she's been
down here a long time.
Like months, not weeks.
Jesus, somebody just
left her down here to rot?
I can't take this no more, man.
Give me the smell
stuff. I changed my mind.
Thank you. [COUGHS AND GAGS]
[COUGHING]
We need to talk to
whoever owns the apartment
the storage unit 9F belongs to.
Uh, it's going to be tricky.
9F is owned by a man named Zhang Tao.
Why is that tricky?
Well, he owns the unit,
but he doesn't live in it.
His referral address is in Shanghai.
As far as I know, he's never
even set foot in the place.
So the owner rents it out?
No, it's just sitting there unoccupied.
It's true for most of the units.
Rich dudes from other
countries bought them all up.
You telling me this giant,
brand-new building is basically empty?
I guess it's a good investment
or tax shelter or I don't know.
Must be a smart money move somehow,
'cause they're all doing it.
Ah, housing crisis brought to
you by conspicuous consumption.
So who would have access to
the basement storage units?
Well, w-we've currently
got about 27 residents
actually living in the units,
so any of them, obviously.
But honestly [SIGHS]
Could have been anyone.
Narrows it down.
Yeah, word spread
around the neighborhood
about the building being empty,
so people keep breaking
into the basement.
Got any cameras down there?
Yeah, of course. I can
get you the footage.
Yeah, we'll need everything you got
for the last few months.
System only stores the
data for a couple weeks.
Sorry, guys.
[DOOR BUZZES AND LOCK CLICKS]
The body was in rough shape.
She'd been in that suitcase for
four or five months at least.
Cause of death appears
to be a cervical fracture
between the C1 and C2 vertebrae.
- Somebody snapped her neck.
- Mm-hmm.
Based on everything I'm seeing,
I'm comfortable ruling this a homicide.
Were you able to ID her?
The skin on her fingers
was too decomposed
to get a clean print.
I ran her DNA through
the system, but no luck.
What can you tell us about her?
She was Caucasian.
Analysis of the pubic symphysis,
cranial sutures, and sternal ribbons
tells me she was
post-puberty, but not by much.
Likely in her late teens or early 20s.
Any distinct characteristics
that might make her easier to identify?
She did have a tattoo
on her left forearm.
The fluorescence spectrometer
was able to pick up the pigment.
You can just make out the letters.
MCF.
Confirmed with the Chinese
embassy that Zhang Tao,
the owner of the storage
unit where the body was found,
has never actually traveled
to the United States.
And similar to the
building security system,
the street cams in the area
only store data for two months.
There's no footage from
around the time of the murder.
What about forensics?
Well, the techs were able to pull
a partial print off the suitcase.
Okay, wonderful. Actual evidence.
But no hits in the system.
There's always a chance that
the print belongs to our vic.
Significantly less wonderful.
Okay, so we don't
know who our victim is,
we have no suspects,
and we have no leads.
It's a tough one, Lou.
Start with identifying our vic.
A young girl missing for that long?
Somebody must have noticed.
We get about 13,000 missing
person reports annually.
And that's just for New York City.
Statewide, the number is way higher.
The majority are between
15 and 25 years old.
Same age as our vic.
So we're looking for
a needle in a haystack.
It might not be that bleak.
Most cases are resolved quickly,
and it's common for one person
to rack up multiple reports.
And you get a lot of repeat customers?
Kids run away from home, get found,
returned, then do it again.
It's hard to stay disappeared,
given today's technology.
The number of current open cases
is much smaller, only a couple hundred.
Is it possible to search based
on what we know about our vic?
The reports are all streamlined
into a database we can filter.
You said she was in
her teens or early 20s?
Correct.
White with black hair
and a tattoo on her arm.
Right arm or left?
Left.
Eight hits.
Do you know what the tattoo was of?
The letters MCF.
That one's a flower.
That one's a butterfly.
Zodiac sign.
No dice.
You said a lot of missing persons
are reported multiple times.
Is there any way to run the same search
but on closed cases?
Worth a shot.
[KEYBOARD CLICKING]
Got her.
Lucia Falasco, 18, former
gymnastics phenom from Queens.
Her birthday was last month,
so she was 17 when she was murdered.
Ran away from home twice last year.
Who filed the reports?
Guy named Craig Valparaiso.
Yeah, he was Lucia's gymnastics coach.
And according to state records,
Valparaiso took full custody
of her when her mother,
Maureen Claire Falasco,
died three years ago.
MCF.
Sounds like Lucia was trying pretty hard
to get away from this guy.
Been missing for over five months.
He didn't call it in this time.
Find out why.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Stay focused, stay focused.
Tighten up your form.
You're losing it.
You think that was acceptable?
You think that's how you win?
Think we can ease up
there a little bit, chief.
What do you want?
We'd like to talk to
you about Lucia Falasco.
I'm not interested.
Let's do it again, and
this time, actually try.
I'm sorry, we said "we'd
like to talk to you"
as if you had a choice.
We're Homicide
detectives. Lucia is dead.
What?
So why don't we go
downtown? We can chat there.
♪
I swear I didn't kill Lucia.
I could never [GROANS]
You what? You what?
Cared about her?
Because from what I hear,
you didn't seem too concerned
when two cops showed up
and mentioned her name.
I thought they were gonna
say she got into some trouble,
that she needed help
with bail or something.
I didn't know she was dead!
If you didn't know she was dead,
why didn't you report her missing?
You're her legal guardian.
She'd been gone at least five months.
Because I'd already been
through that circus twice.
She just she didn't
want to be with me.
She kept running away, so
and she took off again
about six months ago.
I just figured
Figured what?
You'd let her fend for herself?
She was going to be 18 soon,
and then she could do
whatever she wanted anyway.
What were you doing that made
her want to leave so badly?
I know what you're implying.
There was nothing like that going on.
I never touched her.
Not in anger, not in any way.
Well, it's very unusual
for a gymnast's coach
to end up her guardian.
I started coaching
her when she was nine.
When her mom died, no
other family stepped up,
so I took her in.
Hmm. Quite the hero.
It's certainly not what I planned.
And she was talented.
But by the time she took off,
I I wasn't even coaching her anymore.
Well, what happened?
Did you guys have a falling out?
Two years ago, she
slipped on the uneven bars
and ripped her shoulder
out of the socket.
Tore her labrum.
Her career was over before it started.
Fate's cruel little joke.
She was messed up after that.
Hanging out with the wrong people,
partying, staying out all night.
I-I tried to rein her in,
but she wouldn't listen
- to me
- That piss you off?
That she wasn't
respecting your authority?
I'm telling you
I had nothing to do with
what happened to her.
Talk to her friend Julissa.
First few times Lucia ran away,
that's who they found her staying with.
Guarantee you she knows more than I do.
You two were close?
Kinda, I guess.
I hadn't known her long,
but she was a good kid.
Just a little lost.
She crashed with you a few
times after she ran away
from her coach's house, yeah?
Yeah. I was just trying to help.
Like I said, she was good people.
Got any idea why she
kept on running away?
I think it was just too hard for her
to still be in that world, you know?
Seeing Craig coach other girls
who still got to live the life
she thought she was gonna have.
Plus he was crazy strict.
And she stayed with you
again September of last year
for a little while, too, right?
Yeah, for about two weeks.
But then we kind of had a fight
and she left to go stay with
some guy she met in the city.
You know the name of the guy
that she went to stay with?
No, sorry.
But I do know where they met.
Have you seen this girl before?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
She used to hang out here a lot.
Nah. Sorry, man. She
doesn't look familiar.
You know this girl?
Did she used to be blonde
and date a dude named Nips?
I don't think so.
Then nah, I don't know her.
Damn, she's cute.
Yeah, I would.
That literally wasn't the question.
Oh, yeah, I know her.
You do?
I don't know her name or nothing,
but she hangs out here all the time.
I haven't seen her in a while, though.
But her boyfriend, he
comes here all the time.
Who's her boyfriend?
I don't know his name either,
but he was here yesterday.
White guy, long brown hair.
He wears these crazy sneakers.
They have, like, rainbow
and gold sparkles.
All right. Thanks for your help.
No doubt.
Can't believe these kids are out here
skateboarding in this weather.
Well, that's dedication right there.
- Or mental illness.
- [CHUCKLES]
Wait, wait, wait.
You gotta be kidding me.
Check out the sparkle shoes.
Hey. Hey!
NYPD. We need to talk
to you. Stay right there.
I'm on him. Hey!
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIREN WAILING]
Hey! NYPD!
♪
Theo, I'm north on Market.
Hey!
Hey!
[PANTING]
Vince, I lost him.
He crossed, uh, Monroe.
He's headed north through the alley.
Copy that.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
I got him.
Mechanics Alley.
♪
- No, no, no, no!
- [TIRES SCREECH]
- Hey, cop!
- I need an ambulance ASAP.
Mechanics Alley between
Madison and Henry.
10-53, H-I. Man down.
What the hell?
You just ran him down!
Vince.
Vince, what's going on? Are you okay?
Hey, we'll have your
badge for this, cop!
- Hey, Lou.
- Hey.
You okay?
[SIGHS]
Walk me through what happened.
Got a lead on the suspect,
spotted him near the park.
He ran, so I pursued him on foot.
Vince was in the vehicle.
I was closing in and
a civilian just stepped into
the middle of the street.
I mean, he he came out of nowhere.
Was your siren on?
Yeah, of course it was.
He just you know, he
didn't he didn't hear it.
He had ear protection on.
What's his status?
He's in surgery now.
Did the doctor say anything?
No.
Do we know anything about this guy?
Derek Crosby.
Works for an electrical company.
He was on the job.
And he just walked into
the middle of the road?
The street was closed off to traffic.
There were signs posted?
Did you see them?
Yeah.
Uh, the suspect you were
chasing, was he armed?
He had something in his hands
that definitely could have been a gun.
I I wasn't sure. I
mean, could have been.
Good.
You followed protocol.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
My name is Sandra Crosby.
I got a phone call that my
husband was hit by a car?
- Yes, ma'am. He's here.
- He's currently in surgery.
Oh, my God. Is is he okay?
What what's happening?
Why don't you have a seat over here?
I'll have the doctor
come and talk to you
as soon as he's available.
Would you like some
coffee or tea? Water?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
- You know what, Vince?
- I'm gonna handle the family,
and I think you need to go home.
I mean, I should
Yeah, but really, you shouldn't, right?
You should just go home right now.
She's right. It's been a lot, man.
As soon as I'm done here,
I'll start an incident report.
But right now, you need to go home.
- Get some rest.
- Okay.
All right, all right.
Okay.
♪
Vince. Hey.
Look, I'm fine, man. All right?
I'm definitely not
going home to take a nap.
I get that. Don't worry about it.
We need to find Sparkle Shoes.
I'll go through some security footage
from the subway stations around
the alley where we lost him.
If he took a train, maybe
we can track where he went.
Yeah, I'll start pulling
the street cam from the park.
Maybe we get a hit on facial rec.
All right.
Look, man, are you sure you're good?
I'm fine. All right?
Got a job to do. Let's go.
You didn't touch your dinner.
You should really eat something.
I will.
Any news from the hospital?
Uh, Crosby is out of surgery,
but he's still in the ICU.
Apparently he has significant
swelling in his brain.
Doctors say it's 50/50.
And how are you?
I will be a lot better
when we catch this guy.
Vince, I was thinking
- maybe you should call
- Look, I'm fine.
Okay? Really, I'm fine.
Vince.
All right, how about this?
I will go to a meeting if I
feel like I really need one.
Okay?
Okay.
I think that's him.
Yeah, that's him.
That's the man you were chasing?
Yeah.
From two days ago.
What's he doing?
Looks like he's recording
himself doing tricks.
We saw him today.
He was filming himself
with a selfie stick.
Hey, Bridge.
I was doing my homework, Dad. I swear.
I was just looking up
how to spell a word.
Yeah, sure you were.
Look, I'm not here to bust you.
Well, in that case, I
was actually on TikTok.
- Sorry.
- Yeah, that's okay.
That's actually what
I need your help with.
Um, I'm trying to find somebody
who I'm pretty sure posts videos online,
but I don't know his name.
Does this have to do
with what happened today?
You eavesdropping on me and Mom?
You're the one who said
I should always be
aware of my surroundings.
What do you know about the guy?
Uh, not much, really.
He he makes videos of himself
skateboarding in the park.
And he wears these sneakers
with, like, glitter all over them.
So I've been on Instagram and TikTok
and I've tried every variation
of, you know, glitter shoes,
uh, sparkle shoes
Let me guess. You got too many results?
It's like everyone's
a content creator now?
Really?
Do you know what park he films in?
Yeah, Lower East Side
Coleman Skate Park.
If he tags his location,
you might be able to find him that way.
There's a map.
- All right.
- [LAUGHS]
BennyHaps, AKA Benjamin Hoffman.
Kid's got over 8 million followers.
That's gotta be our guy.
Come on, those are the same shoes.
Oh, it's him.
Techs pulled fingerprints
off the skateboard
that he dropped at the park.
It's a match to the partial
we found on the suitcase.
This kid's 18 years old.
He started blowing up when he was 14
posting videos of himself
online skateboarding,
doing stunts and stuff.
Have you slept at all?
[TENSE MUSIC]
In 2024, a girlfriend of his
accused him of choking
her during an argument.
She later dropped those charges.
Clearly he has a history
of violence against women.
Well, it gets better.
According to this
"Forbes" article I found,
"10 Content Creators to Watch,"
this kid made over 7 million last year.
You're kidding me.
Yeah, that's how he was
able to afford a condo
in the building where
Lucia's body was found.
But his name was not
on the list of owners
the building's manager sent over.
'Cause he sold the
condo 4 1/2 months ago.
Okay.
Find him.
Now.
♪
Someone lives here?
I know. Pretty sick, right?
Yo, Benny, there's some cops here.
They want to talk to you.
Look, man, I didn't know
Yeah. Nowhere to run now, is there?
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Unless you want a lawsuit on your hands,
I'd be a lot gentler, Officer.
- Detective. Riley.
- Who are you?
- I'm Cordelia Travers.
- I'm Mr. Hoffman's attorney.
Don't say another word, Benjamin.
- Fine by me.
- Ow.
Turn around.
- Benjamin Hoffman
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- You're under arrest.
- [GROANING]
Not a word.
Yeah. [SIGHS]
Hoffman's not talking?
Already lawyered up.
- Cordelia Travers.
- He is not playing around.
So what do we have?
Hoffman's fingerprints match the partial
that we found on the suitcase
and his credit card statements
show that he purchased luggage
that match the same make and model.
Statements also show that
he purchased Lucia a phone.
We found a slew of
messages between them.
The texts establish that
not only were they seeing each other,
but she was staying with him
in the condo building
where her body was found.
All communication from her
stopped five months ago.
So what's the theory?
They had some kind of lover's quarrel,
Hoffman kills her, puts
her in the suitcase,
and then clears out?
It's the most logical explanation.
He's got a history of domestic violence.
But it's unlikely that
will be admissible.
We gotta charge him with
something or cut him loose.
Charge him with reckless endangerment.
Derek Crosby, the worker who
was injured during the pursuit,
he's still in the ICU.
Yeah, I don't think
that'll be necessary.
But, um, let's charge
him with murder two.
I can make this work.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
Vince.
How'd it go with IAB?
Fine. You know, I told
them what happened.
Ruled it an accident.
Good.
If you want to talk about it, I'm
Yeah, yeah.
I'm good. Thanks.
Not a lot to say, you know?
[DOOR CLOSES]
Introducing the prior
accusation of domestic abuse
is more prejudicial than probative.
The prosecution is grasping here.
I wouldn't characterize it that way.
And I'm not sure that's relevant.
The assault charges against
my client were dropped.
And quite frankly, Mr.
Price should know better.
My colleague's indignation
notwithstanding,
what I'm asking for, Your Honor,
is to introduce testimony
from Amanda Waller.
- The defendant's ex-girlfriend?
- That is correct.
She will testify to an incident
where Hoffman got
physically violent with her.
The very definition of prior bad acts.
You know, if you let me finish.
Sure.
He got physically violent with her
and specifically choked her.
Lucia Felasco's cause of
death was a broken neck.
It speaks to a pattern of behavior
and is therefore
admissible under Molineux.
Choking someone and breaking their neck
are not the same thing.
Now who's grasping?
Again, my client was
never formally charged.
It's just one woman's claim.
And the jury has the right to decide
if they believe her or not.
I'm siding with the prosecution here.
He had his hand on my throat
and he was squeezing so hard.
I screamed for him to stop,
but he just kept going.
Did you believe he was gonna kill you?
Objection. Calls for speculation.
I will rephrase. Were
you scared for your life?
100%.
If someone hadn't stepped
in and pulled him off of me,
he wouldn't have stopped.
No further questions.
Ms. Waller
you stated that during the fight,
my client had his hand on your throat.
Not both hands?
No.
Where was his other hand?
Holding my wrist.
Because he was trying to
stop you from pummeling him.
In fact, multiple eyewitnesses
report you instigated the altercation.
You thought he was cheating
on you and you attacked him.
They just said that because
they were all his friends.
A man should never be
violent with a woman.
He wasn't violent, he was
trying to protect himself.
And you dropped the charges
because you were the violent one.
No. I just knew people like
you would take his side.
This incident took
place at a house party.
Are you saying you really
believed Mr. Hoffman
was going to murder you in plain sight?
Yes.
You don't understand.
Benny doesn't think things through,
he just does stuff.
And there are never consequences.
And how old were you both
when this fight occurred?
It was two years ago, so 16.
Just a child.
He already lived on his
own. He was an adult.
Did you know Lucia Felasco?
No.
Were you present when she died?
No.
So you have no knowledge
of what happened to her
or who's responsible for her death?
- Not specifically, but I know how Benny
- No further questions.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Mason, you are the
defendant's assistant, correct?
Uh, yeah.
We didn't call it that, like,
formal or whatever, but yeah,
he paid me to help him
out shooting content
and running errands, stuff like that.
Did he have you purchase
a phone for Lucia Felasco
in late September of last
year with his credit card?
He did. I thought it was pretty crazy.
They only known each
other for, like, a week,
and she was already living with him.
Hmm. Did you have the
opportunity to spend much time
with Lucia during that period?
Yeah, we hung out a lot.
She was cool.
I am showing you what's
already been entered
into evidence as Exhibit 4.
This is the data from Lucia's phone.
Records of every keystroke,
every time it was unlocked,
every text she sent, every
time she opened an app.
Can you see that it shows that
she interacted with the device
dozens of times a day,
just like you said?
Yeah.
And can you see that all
interaction with the phone
ceased at 11:47 p.m. on the
evening of September 24th?
Yes.
From that point forward,
there is no activity at all.
Do you have any idea why that is?
No.
Is it possible it's because
that's the night she was killed?
Objection!
Witness has no way of knowing this
and already stated as much.
Sustained.
Mr. Mason, did you see Benjamin Hoffman
on the night of September 24th?
Yeah, I went over to
his place around 9:00
and hung out for, like, half an hour.
- Was Lucia Felasco there?
- Yes.
When you left around 9:30,
were the defendant and Ms.
Felasco alone in the apartment?
Yes.
Did you ever see her again after that?
No.
She was never seen or heard
from by anyone after that.
Never touched her phone again.
Did you receive a call from Mr. Hoffman
the next day on September 25th?
Yeah.
He asked me to run an errand for him.
He sent me to buy him a suitcase.
Is this the suitcase you
purchased on Mr. Hoffman's behalf?
It looks like it, yeah.
It's the suitcase that was found
with the defendant's
fingerprint on it and
[GALLERY GASPING]
With Lucia Felasco's
dead body stuffed inside.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Did my client ever explain to you
why Ms. Felasco was no longer
living in his apartment?
Uh, yeah, he said that she
broke up with him and took off.
Something she had a history of doing.
So is it possible
that the reason she
stopped using her phone
was that she didn't bring it with her
because she knew that Mr.
Hoffman was paying for it?
Sure. That makes sense.
And isn't it also possible
that he put the luggage
that you purchased
in his apartment storage unit
in the basement of his building,
a basement it has been established
anyone could have access to?
I guess so, yeah.
And lastly, in your time
working for my client,
did you ever see him behave
violently toward Ms. Felasco,
or anyone, for that matter?
No.
He was always pretty chill.
Indeed.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
We'll end there for today.
The trial will resume
tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
Court is adjourned.
♪
Price.
- Hold up.
- Oh, Cordelia.
What [SIGHS] Let me guess.
Uh, you want to discuss a deal?
Oh, I forgot how brilliant you are.
[CHUCKLES] Not interested.
Uh, you should be.
And why is that?
Because he's willing to tell
you what really happened.
I really cared about
Lucia. She was funny, sweet.
Her life had been tough, you know?
I understood. I
I started making real money
as an influencer when I was 15,
but my parents were stealing from me.
My my dad lost a
lot of that gambling.
So I took them to
court, I got emancipated.
We both have basically
been alone since we were 15.
Right, you were two lonely
kids adrift in the world
till you found each other.
So what made you kill her?
I would never hurt Lucia or anyone else.
Oh, okay. So you are
just wasting our time.
Would you let him speak?
Why don't you just
tell us what happened?
Go ahead. They can't
use any of this in court.
I didn't kill Lucia, but I
was there when it happened.
- We were partying that night
- Meaning you were doing drugs.
Cocaine.
That's why Cory stopped by.
He was making a delivery.
We got high and Lucia started showing me
some of her old gymnastic
moves on my trampoline.
It was all good vibes.
We were laughing. And then
She did a did a backflip
and she was too close to the edge,
so she hit the side
and she landed on the floor on her head.
And the sound was just
[SOBS]
[GROANS] Um [SIGHS]
It it it was an accident.
If it was just an accident,
then why didn't you call 911?
I um, I panicked. I
There were drugs everywhere! I
and even though she's only
ten months younger than me,
she's still technically underage.
So you thought that
putting her in a suitcase
and leaving her there would
get you in less trouble?
I was high! I wasn't thinking clearly.
I just wanted to run away and
never think about it again.
I know what I did was wrong.
I know.
And I'm I'm sorry.
I just
I just felt like the rest of
my life would have been ruined.
Why didn't you tell us that
when he was charged with murder?
He just told me the truth two days ago.
And tell me, Mr. Hoffman
Mr. Hoffman, do you have any
evidence to back up this story?
Uh, no.
But I swear it was an accident.
He's willing to plead guilty
to the concealment of a human corpse.
That's the proper charge here.
Offer declined.
That's okay.
I I just I wanted
to tell the truth.
It was an accident.
Call Riley.
Tell him I need him to testify
first thing in the morning
about Hoffman fleeing when
they tried to question him.
It will establish Hoffman's
consciousness of guilt.
Will do.
But Nolan [SIGHS]
Are you sure we shouldn't
consider accepting the plea?
Just take his word for it
that it was an accident?
Well, we could call the assistant again,
see if he was actually there that night
to deliver the cocaine.
Yeah.
That still wouldn't prove that
Hoffman's telling the truth
about the rest of it.
Mm, I don't know.
That scenario he laid out
could very well result
in a C1 cervical fracture.
It's plausible.
Okay, but he he
can't prove any of it.
Well, we can't prove he's lying either.
And if he's telling the truth,
then the appropriate sentence
is 5 years, not 25 to life.
His actions don't make any sense
in the context of an accident.
He shoved her dead body into
a suitcase and left her to rot.
That is is not the behavior
of someone who is innocent.
Well, sometimes people
behave irrationally
when something crazy happens.
The defense is welcome to present
their version of events to the jury.
I would love to see how
they react to the news
that Hoffman has been lying
to them this entire time.
Call Riley.
Mr. Price, are you ready
to call your next witness?
Uh
Just one moment, Your Honor.
Mr. Price.
Uh, Your Honor, it seems we
are having some difficulty
locating our next witness.
We request a brief continuance
while we look into the matter.
Uh, with all due
respect, not our problem.
Defense requests we move forward.
I'll give you 24 hours.
Okay, thanks.
That was Brady. She
spoke with Riley's wife.
She can't get ahold of him either.
He's not answering anyone's phone calls.
[SIGHS] Okay.
Um
well, let's start
calling around hospitals,
see if anyone has been admitted
who matches his description.
Hey, hey. Man, I'm sorry.
- Vince.
- I'm sorry. All right?
I I was a no-show.
We've been looking for
you. We were worried.
Hey, what's going on?
Uh
Are you okay?
Uh, Derek Crosby was, um,
declared brain dead this morning
and his family took
him off life support.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
Why don't we go in my office?
Come on.
Uh, I will get us some coffee.
Call Brady and let her
know he's been found.
Here, have some of this.
Crosby's death is my fault.
- No, it was an accident.
- No.
No, I was reckless.
Vince, have you been drinking?
What difference does that make?
Is that a yes?
I saw the orange signs.
I should have been more careful.
You were pursuing a murder suspect.
He stepped in front of your vehicle.
- There's nothing
- I knew he wasn't armed!
Hoffman. I had no reason
to think that he had a gun.
No, but you said that
you saw in his hand
I lied.
Make my actions seem justified.
Hey, Vince, you need to be careful.
I just I'm scared for
my career and my whole life.
I I'm not the person you
should be saying this to.
I am a prosecutor, not a priest.
You're exactly the person
I need to say this to.
I want to I want to tell the truth.
I screwed up.
- And now
- Vince, stop talking.
♪
[SIGHS] You didn't want this to happen.
And you were doing your job.
And and [SIGHS]
- Accidents happen.
- [SCOFFS]
It's not right, it's not fair.
It's just the way it is.
But you can't let one accident
destroy the rest of your life.
Is there someone I can call? Your wife?
- No.
- A sponsor?
No, no, no. I'm good.
Hey.
Look, I'm good, I'm
good, I'm good, I'm good.
♪
How's he doing?
Uh, yeah, he's having a hard time.
I'm just gonna go make
sure he gets home all right.
Um [SIGHS]
Call Cory Mason.
Let's let's see if he
backs up Hoffman's claims.
[BUZZER BLARES]
So what's this about?
Well, your client's assistant confirmed
that he was at the apartment
that night to deliver cocaine.
We are willing to drop
the murder two charge
in exchange for him pleading guilty
to concealment of a human corpse.
- [EXHALES DEEPLY]
- And reckless endangerment.
And assuming his version
of events is true,
he purchased and
provided Lucia with drugs
which were directly causal to her death.
He'll be looking at 6 to 8 years
instead of 25 to life.
We've got a deal.
We'll draw up the agreement.
So Counselor, what caused
you to reverse course?
Thought there was a chance
the jury might believe him.
Wow. Not a change of heart? Pfft.
That's a shame.
I'll buy you a drink. Come on.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
It's been two months since I last drank.
Prior to that, I'd almost
made it to the one-year mark.
But I
had a few bad days.
And I
I slipped.
[SIGHS] And it's hard.
But yesterday was easier than today.
So there's that.
I know I just have to get up every day
and keep going.
And I will.
I will.
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[WOLF HOWLS]