Law & Order (1990) s25e18 Episode Script
Ride or Die
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.
And now, the moment we've
all been waiting for.
Please welcome our final two contestants
for Miss New York Metro.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I know how hard it is for these
young women to stand up here.
I was in their shoes
just a few years ago
and I am honored to be back to judge.
To many of you, this pageant
may seem like a zero-sum game,
but it's really about
connection and sisterhood.
Tonight, however, we do
have to pick a winner.
Our first runner-up is
Miss Prospect Heights,
making our Miss New York
Metro 2026, Miss Astoria!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CAMERA SHUTTERS SNAPPING]
Remember, we're all winners.
They held the Miss New York
Metro pageant here last night.
- She a contestant?
- No, a judge.
Janitor found her this morning.
Oh.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Katie Harrington,
age 29.
Looks like she also works
at the local news station.
Must have hit the carotid artery.
Yeah, she bled out fast.
You got a time of death?
MLI said, based on temp and rigidity,
between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
All right.
Well, let's make sure we get
the scissors dusted for prints.
- Any witnesses?
- None.
Place had pretty much
cleared out by that time.
What about the security
camera situation?
Far as we know, no cameras
in the dressing room.
Well, I always heard
these beauty pageants
were cutthroat, but
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
You turned off all of the cameras?
We had 30 women backstage last night
in various states of undress.
They wanted privacy.
What about security guards?
One guard was posted backstage.
He see anything?
Apparently he was FaceTiming
with his girlfriend
at the end of the night.
It's usually an uneventful job.
We can barely fill an
audience these days.
Why is that?
Too much competition
YouTube, social media.
So there are fewer pageants these days?
Well, there used to be ten a year.
Now there were two.
That really puts extra
pressure on the contestants.
- And on the judges.
- For sure.
Beauty pageants are still
important to these people
some of these girls, if they
lose, think their life is over.
We're gonna need a list of
last night's contestants.
I'm surprised these
pageants are still a thing.
I mean, I thought we were way past that.
Yeah, I gave up on those years ago.
Hey, video just landed
from outside the theater.
Picked up someone running out the exit
by the dressing room at 10:25.
Can you freeze it there?
Not enough of the face
visible for facial rec?
- No.
- That hat.
What is that stitching?
Looks like they got it turned inside out
to hide the monogram or
something what is that, XLV?
Yeah, I don't think it's a brand.
Maybe Roman numerals?
Do we have any other video
of this person entering?
No, and it was freezing that day,
so half the people entering the
theater were wearing beanies.
But I have some good news.
Found this interesting
text from a Kailani Arizaga.
"Be careful how you vote.
There are consequences."
Sounds like a threat to me.
That name rings a bell. Hold on.
Yeah, here.
"Kailani Arizaga,
Miss Prospect Heights."
She was the first runner-up.
I've known Katie since I was 15.
She was like an older sister, a mentor.
So you liked her?
Loved her.
Well, why did you send
her that threatening text
last night the one that
said there'd be consequences
if she didn't vote the right way?
What are you talking about?
This one.
No, you got it wrong.
I wanted her to vote for someone else.
You wanted to lose?
I wanted to not win.
Why'd you do it in the first place?
My mom.
These pageants mean everything to her.
She says they can open
doors, maybe even get me
a scholarship for grad school.
Can you tell us where
you were last night
after the pageant?
Eating pizza for the
first time in a year.
Got anybody who can back that up?
Yeah, a few classmates.
- Kinda turned into a party.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
I asked Katie if she wanted to join,
but she said she couldn't.
We gotta go.
Katie's dad just got in from Alabama.
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
I still remember the day I
helped Katie move in here.
Her mom had just passed.
Katie wanted to stay at home,
look after me, of course,
but, uh,
I told her she had to follow her dreams.
Just knew she was
meant for great things.
Mr. Harrington, were you
and your daughter very close?
Yeah.
We talked every day.
Was she having any problems with anyone?
Friends? A boyfriend?
She was always too busy with
work for much of a social life.
I encouraged her to date.
Didn't want her to be lonely.
You know, there was this one guy,
kept chasing after her
like a damn dog with a bone.
- He got a name?
- I never made it that far.
Never even went out on a
date, but he was persistent.
Kept calling her and
sending her flowers.
Got a bit much for Katie,
if I'm being honest.
Do you know where he worked?
How they met? Any detail will help.
They met at some sort
of cancer fundraiser,
and he was a hockey player.
That's all I know.
♪
Any luck with the hockey player?
Yeah, I checked out Katie's Instagram.
Looks like the only cancer fundraiser
she attended in the last six months
was the United Hands Leukemia Gala.
Lots of photos of her and
this guy named Alexander Hayes.
Looks smitten.
Hockey player?
Rookie left-winger for New
York's favorite hockey team.
Islanders?
Not funny.
No choir boy.
He just finished a five-game suspension
for smashing a stick
into his opponent's head.
And here's the best part
he posted a story
last night at 9:30 p.m.
Location tag puts him two
blocks away from the pageant.
[TENSE MUSIC]
I adored Katie. I would never hurt her.
Well, you say adored. We say stalked.
We talked to her doorman.
We know that you were
sending her flowers,
hanging outside her building.
Yeah, to to show
her that I liked her,
that I was serious about dating her.
She had two extra deadbolts
installed in her door.
Look, I was just trying to get a date.
It's called being romantic.
If she said yes, it's romantic.
If she said no, it's scary.
So what happened, hmm?
You get tired of waiting for her
to see how romantic you were?
Maybe you snuck into her
dressing room last night?
What?
We know you were near the theater
where the pageant was held.
Right around the time of the murder.
Hey, look, you guys
are crazy, all right?
I was at a party last night
with about 200 other people
and I was there until about midnight.
Instead of wasting
your time talking to me,
you should look into the shady people
she was dealing with at work.
What does that mean?
She told me that as a journalist
she had to take big swings,
to go where her colleagues
were too scared to go.
So if she was adding
extra locks to her door,
I mean, it's because of
that, not because of me.
You should go talk to her boss.
I wouldn't call her segments dangerous.
More like ambitious.
She was a smart woman,
had a great gut instinct,
knew how to avoid trouble.
Sounds like you knew her well.
Well, I took her under my wing
when she first started here.
I got her out from
behind the research desk,
made her a field reporter.
I was a producer on
some of her segments.
Very nice of you.
Well, it's a tough
business for women here,
so I thought I could
help wherever possible.
If you don't mind,
when was the last time
you spoke to Katie?
Um, she was in the office
until about 5:30 last night
and then headed downtown to the pageant.
Did you speak to her after that?
No, I stayed working
for a few more hours
and then I went home.
And you were there all night?
Sorry, just standard procedure.
You know, the more
people we can eliminate
from her life, the better.
Right. Of course, I wanna be helpful.
Yes, I was home all night.
Here is her work schedule.
I hope it's helpful.
We will take a look.
Do you know, did she have
a work phone of any sort?
Yes, she had several.
Good reporters always use burners
to protect their sources.
[SIGHS] Katie was a terrific reporter.
She was gonna do great things.
[SIGHS]
Hey.
Warrant for the burner
phones came through.
And?
And we got a pretty interesting text.
"This is not okay.
Make this right or things
are gonna get ugly."
Any luck ID'ing the sender?
Phone's registered
to a Jazmin Hernandez.
She's affiliated with the Cobra 10 gang.
Got a pretty healthy rap sheet, too
drugs, assault, weapons charges.
Let's go talk to her.
Yeah, that's me.
I meant it too.
Could you be more specific?
Katie came up here a few months ago
with that other news lady, Ann Merrick.
They convinced me to
help them do a segment
showing gangs recruiting young girls.
So you were a source?
I connected her to the right people.
Doesn't explain the angry text, though.
When the segment came
out a few weeks ago,
there was a mistake.
A guy that lives here, he was
in some of the video they shot.
They claimed he was a gang member.
He was pissed, and now people
are coming after me about it.
All right, well, can you
tell us where you were
last night around 10:00?
Working the register at a bodega.
166th and Webster.
They got cameras everywhere
if you wanna check.
- So, am I good?
- For now.
Where did you get that hat?
Ann Merrick gave it to me.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
All right.
Yep, thank you.
Turns out Ann Merrick
had those beanies made
for the station's anniversary.
Okay.
Ann told us that she
went home after work
and never left, right?
Yeah, and her doorman confirmed it.
I don't think her doorman saw that.
Surveillance video from her garage,
rear side of her building,
shows her leaving at 9:24 p.m.
Wearing a XLV beanie and an
outfit that matches the video
we have of the killer fleeing the scene.
- NYPD.
- Stop.
- We're about to go live.
- No, you're not.
Hey, hey, you can't be here.
- Warrant says we can.
- Step aside.
What's going on?
Ann Merrick, you're under arrest.
For what?
The murder of Katie Harrington.
What the hell are you talking about?
Katie was my friend. She
was like my little sister.
Earlier today, veteran
TV news anchor Ann Merrick
was arrested on suspicion
Turns out arresting a
news anchor is big news.
- Yeah.
- How's the evidence?
Strong.
Detectives found a
beanie in her apartment
identical to the one
seen at the crime scene.
Plus, her DNA was on
the murder weapon
a pair of scissors found in her neck.
Motive?
Still not adding up.
So this woman suddenly
bolts from her apartment,
walks three miles to
this beauty contest,
and stabs her colleague
in a dressing room.
Something must have triggered her.
Question is, what?
Yeah, well.
Since Nolan's out for a few weeks,
this is your case.
Oh.
Okay.
Great.
[SOFT MUSIC]
And thank you.
♪
How can I help?
You had a six-minute call
with Ann Merrick the night
of the murder, just before
she left her apartment
to go kill Katie Harrington.
We wanna know what that call was about.
I can put you in touch
with New York 32's lawyers.
Or we can subpoena you.
Just tell us what you know now.
Ann had been hounding me.
She wanted to know why she
hadn't gotten the paperwork
for her contract renewal.
So I finally called,
told her we wouldn't be renewing her.
Must have made her upset.
Yeah, she was livid.
She wanted to know how
I could possibly justify
firing her after all
she's done for the station.
And?
I told her HR would
discuss the matter with her.
I've learned to keep these calls brief.
You guys discuss anything
else on this call?
She asked who was replacing her.
And you said Katie Harrington?
Yes.
I regret it.
♪
Okay.
Well, thank you for
your help, Mr. Williams.
There's your motive, Sam.
Vengeance.
Sam.
Sam!
[LAUGHS] Abby!
Hi.
- Hi, how are you?
- Good.
Busier than ever.
Oh, we're overdue for dinner.
Well, don't worry,
you're gonna be seeing
plenty of me in the next month or so.
- What, are you
- I am.
Well, Ann Merrick has
good taste in lawyers.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
- We'll see.
I gotta go. I'll see you in there.
Okay.
Your Honor, we've got DNA evidence
that links the defendant
to the murder weapon,
video showing her
leaving the crime scene,
and clear motive.
Your Honor, the people request remand.
Your Honor, we plead not guilty
and request reasonable bail.
My client has no criminal record,
strong community ties,
and a face recognizable
in most of the tri-state area.
Good for her,
but I'm denying bail anyways.
- Defendant is hereby remanded.
- [GAVEL BANGS]
We'll talk later, okay?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You open for a plea discussion?
You're asking for a plea?
That might be a record.
Oh, we don't wanna waste anyone's time.
Meaning what?
Meaning she doesn't intend to dispute
the fact she killed Katie Harrington.
But you just pled not guilty.
To murder two,
but manslaughter, that's different.
We're willing to plead guilty to that.
♪
No, I'm not open to discussing that.
You're gonna have a really
hard time hearing our defense.
[TENSE MUSIC]
I'll see you in court, Abby.
♪
Yes, Nolan.
For the fifth time, I've
double-checked the affidavits,
the addresses, and everything
else in the damn file,
so you can relax, okay?
Just focus on getting better.
Who needs an appendix, anyway?
Thank you.
Okay, I-I'll do my best, I promise.
Okay.
Defense lawyer is claiming EED?
Yeah, she's saying the
defendant and Katie Harrington
had an intimate
mentor-mentee relationship
and that the idea of
Katie taking her job
triggered such extreme
emotional disturbance
that it drove the defendant to kill her.
Nice try, but that's not how EED works.
It's not meant to
cover workplace issues.
Exactly. It's a big stretch.
I'm not surprised.
Abigail Donahue is, uh
[CHUCKLES] She's aggressive.
I worked with her in
the Brooklyn DA's office.
Yeah.
Well, unless there's
evidence I don't know about,
this is murder two all day long.
No, you're not missing anything.
You know, I think Abigail
is hoping that the jury is
gonna buy into the old
trope that all women
are prone to hysteria.
Right.
At the crime scene, we
discovered a pair of scissors
were jammed into her neck.
In your experience,
does that type of injury
create a substantial risk of death?
Yes.
When the carotid is severed,
the victim dies within minutes.
Is it fair to say that these
are the type of injuries
you see from someone intending to kill?
Yes.
Can you please describe
what you see in this video?
That is the defendant
exiting the back door
of her apartment building.
And what's relevant about her clothing?
The clothing matches
video we have of the killer
- fleeing the scene.
- One last question.
Can you read the timestamp on the video?
9:24 p.m.,
about an hour before the murder.
Thank you. Nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
The back exit of my client's building
the southern exit, to be exact
isn't that closest to
where she was headed?
- Downtown?
- Yes.
So the suggestion that she
was headed out the back door
to evade detection, it doesn't
really make any sense, does it?
It still makes sense to me.
Mm.
Lieutenant Brady, did you
determine where the scissors
in question came from?
The scissors came from a hairstyling kit
belonging to the victim.
They were present in the
victim's dressing room?
Yes.
Which means my client
brought no weapon of any kind
that night?
Not that we know of.
Hmm.
So she went there to kill Katie,
but she didn't bring a weapon.
That doesn't make any
sense either, does it?
Maybe she didn't decide to kill Katie
until she got into the dressing room.
Ah.
So Ann Merrick acted in
the heat of the moment?
I don't want to parse
legal terms with you,
but the intent to kill can
happen fast, instantaneously.
So it doesn't mean she acted
in the heat of the moment.
But you're the one who
said that she was triggered
- in the dressing room
- Objection.
She's badgering the witness.
Sustained.
All right, just nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Williams, as chief
executive of the New York 32
television station, you had cause
to speak with the
defendant on the telephone
approximately two
hours before the murder?
- Yes.
- Would you tell the court why?
I had to inform Ms.
Merrick that the network
would not be renewing her contract.
How did she react?
Well, after 22 years of
annual renewals, not well.
She became extremely upset
and she accused me of sexism
and ageism.
Is that true?
Did you fire the
defendant because, uh
because you don't like women,
or because she's too old?
No, it was performance-related,
and I told her as much.
Her response?
Well, she demanded to know more
about the performance
issue, but I told her
I wasn't at liberty to say more.
Then what?
Well, she asked me who
was want to replace her
and I told her Katie Harrington,
and then she got even more angry.
Thank you, Mr. Williams.
Nothing further.
What was the performance
issue you fired my client over?
Ann had misidentified someone
as a gang member in the segment.
That was a mistake
that exposed the network
to significant legal liability.
How did you know it was
Ann who made that mistake?
Katie Harrington told me.
Your Honor, we move
to admit, as Exhibit B,
an email sent by Ms. Harrington
from her New York 32 account
to the misidentified
individual in the gang segment.
Objection.
Your Honor, we had no notice of this.
Your Honor, we just got
our hands on this email,
and it's important
that we present it now
because it undermines
everything that this witness
just testified to.
Chambers, now.
♪
This was unfair surprise, Your Honor.
Agreed.
That's not how we do things
in this office, Ms. Donahue.
Your Honor, we just got verification
of this email earlier today.
You've had access to Katie
Harrington's work accounts for weeks.
An abundance of correspondence.
Counsel is perfectly
capable of reviewing
discovery in a timely fashion.
Your Honor, I request
exclusion of this evidence
at this point in time, since the people
have been deprived of
any meaningful opportunity
to investigate.
You will see the email comes
from a New York 32 account.
That's the news station
that Ms. Maroun's witness
has been testifying about.
[SIGHS]
If that's the case, I
will allow this exhibit.
But if this happens again, Ms. Donahue,
- there will be sanctions.
- Of course.
♪
That was not okay, Abby.
I'm just trying to win a trial here.
By hiding evidence from me?
It's the oldest trick in the book.
Well, you never taught me that one.
Oh, I can't give away all my secrets.
♪
Mr. Williams, will you please
read the highlighted portion
of the email sent by Ms. Harrington
from her New York 32 account
to the misidentified
individual in the gang segment?
"I'm horrified I did this.
I'll remove all footage
of you from our files
and correct the name immediately."
No, um no.
Katie told me
that Ann provided all the footage
and oversaw the
identifications in that segment.
Exactly.
Katie Harrington, who the
prosecution has portrayed
as a hard-working beauty pageant
winner turned TV reporter,
actually threw her mentor under the bus
to save her own skin.
She had Ann Merrick,
who had done nothing
but tirelessly champion her work
since the day she started
at your network, fired.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Who wouldn't feel betrayed?
Who wouldn't feel devastated
out of their mind?
♪
So they're sullying the victim.
It's the right move.
Do you think the jury's buying it?
I'm not certain.
It definitely makes Katie
look less than saintly,
that's for sure.
What do you think?
I mentor a few women.
I-I help them out.
I pull them up whenever it's possible.
And if one of them
betrayed me like that,
uh, yes, I'd be emotional too.
Fair.
But I'm guessing you wouldn't
slam a pair of scissors
into someone's neck?
Probably not.
Neither would 99.9% of other people,
which is why this is
murder and not manslaughter.
So who's their first witness?
An expert in female workplace trauma.
Wow.
I didn't know that was a field of study.
Neither did I.
Use that to your advantage.
Yeah.
And how would you describe the nature
of the workplace relationship
between female mentors
and their protégés?
- Quite intimate.
- Hmm.
In what way?
Powerful bonds form in
stressful environments
and spaces where women are outnumbered.
And the relationship
provides emotional support,
often helping both women thrive
in challenging situations.
And what happens if the bond
is threatened or ruptured?
It's psychologically destabilizing.
Given the intimacy of the relationship,
a betrayal would cause a shock
to your core sense of safety,
akin to your spouse cheating on you.
Would you say emotions dominate?
Absolutely.
And based on your evaluation,
how did the termination
psychologically affect Ms. Merrick?
It was a highly traumatic event for her.
That the one person
in the work environment
with whom she had formed
a strong emotional bond,
whose career she championed
Objection. Counsel is testifying.
I'll rephrase.
Based on your examination,
how did the specifics
of the dismissal shape her reaction?
I believe it was a perfect storm
that triggered an extreme
emotional disturbance.
She lost her capacity to
reason when she realized what
Katie Harrington had done to her.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Dr. Fitzgerald, are you aware
that the defendant has reported
on police brutality, city hall
corruption, human trafficking,
and terrorist cells?
I am.
Yet it is your opinion
that when she was faced with
what essentially is
a workplace conflict,
she became so emotional that
she lost all self-control
and killed someone?
Yes.
♪
As a preeminent expert in
the field of workplace trauma,
have you ever been called
to testify in a murder trial?
No.
Well, do you know of
any instance in which
a perceived betrayal of
a senior female employee
by a junior employee resulted in murder?
As I said, this would have
been a perfect storm
Yes or no, Doctor?
[TENSE MUSIC]
No.
So if an emotional reaction like that
has never happened before,
it's impossible to call
it reasonable, isn't it?
♪
I suppose so, but I
Nothing further.
♪
Ms. Maroun?
Ms. Maroun.
Mr. Harrington, hi.
How are you, um how are you feeling?
I know it's not easy sitting in there.
I wanna know what all this means.
I mean, that doctor, the
stuff about how Ann Merrick
has some sort of mental issue.
Well, they're saying that the defendant
was so overcome with
emotions that she didn't
have legal intent to murder.
And if the jury agrees,
then they can't put her away for murder?
Correct.
Well, then what happens?
Well, then she'd be
convicted with man one,
which is a class B violent felony.
The sentence is 5 to 25 years.
Five years?
♪
For stabbing my daughter in the neck?
Katie was 29 years old.
That woman stole her life.
No.
Five years is not okay.
20 years ago, there were
only a handful of women
doing on-air reporting.
Everyone doubted that we
could handle real stories.
My bosses handed me baking
contests, nanny scandals.
But I wanted to report real news,
so I found my own features.
Woke up at 5:00 a.m.,
worked till 10:00 p.m.
You made sacrifices?
I didn't have time for relationships,
marriage, children.
But, um, it was worth it.
I loved my job.
And you excelled at it.
You won several local Emmys.
Three.
Quite a feat.
So when you got the phone
call from Mr. Williams
at New York 32 that your contract
was not going to be
renewed, how did that feel?
Totally blindsided.
I thought that I was on
the path to national anchor,
and suddenly a lifetime of work
and sacrifices
gone.
You know, it was terrifying.
Why blame Katie Harrington?
I had taken Katie under my wing.
I wanted to make it easier for
her than it had been for me.
So what did you do to support her?
I did what I had always
done for all the young women
that I had mentored
throughout my career,
and there have been dozens.
I advocated for them and nurtured
their professional development.
Ms. Merrick, I want to show you
some documents that were
admitted to evidence.
Will you please tell
the jury what this is?
Um, this is a letter of recommendation
that I wrote for Katie's
Hudson Fellowship application.
Would you mind reading
just the highlighted portion, please?
"Katie Harrington is
a brilliant reporter
with a great future ahead.
Her work in our office has
been nothing short of dazzling.
I recommend her without hesitation
and would do anything to
help advance her application."
Would it be fair to say that you were
devoted to Katie Harrington?
Absolutely.
So what did you think when Mr. Williams
let you know that he was
replacing you with her?
I was, uh I was confused.
He he said that I
was getting fired because
I'd made a big mistake,
and I had no idea what
he was talking about.
And then I remembered that
Katie had misidentified someone
in the gang segment, and she had told me
that she was terrified that
it was gonna get her fired.
So when he told me that
she was replacing me,
I thought
that she had laid the blame on me.
What did you do next?
I went to find Katie, to ask her
how the network got the idea
that I had made that major error.
What did she say?
She said she panicked
and told them that
that it was my mistake.
Then what?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Before I knew it, Katie was dead.
It was it was a blur.
Katie did not deserve that.
[SOBS]
I know that now.
But on that night in
that moment, I just
I-I didn't think.
I didn't think. I
just I just reacted.
I just
like I said, it was just
it was such a blur.
[SOBS]
♪
Donahue is trying to turn
their work relationship
into something much
more deep and personal,
kind of like a husband and wife.
Makes sense.
That's where most of
these EED cases live
spouses catching their partners
in bed with someone else.
Hell of a lot different than
losing your job to a protégé.
Know what I don't get, though?
What?
They're trying to paint Ann Merrick
as the world's most
amazing mentor, right?
A selfless, devoted woman who lived
to help everyone around her.
Yet they haven't called any
of those so-called mentees
to testify to any of this?
It's strange, right?
So talk to some of these women
the defendant allegedly mentored.
See what they have to say.
I owe a lot to Ann Merrick.
I was a total novice when
I started at the station,
and she was really helpful and kind
until I got hired by MSN.
Then what?
She
she wasn't happy about
me getting that job.
She was upset that I didn't tell her
that I'd interviewed for it,
that I didn't get her opinion.
Then I found out the real
reason she was so upset.
She applied for the same spot.
And when you say she wasn't happy,
can you be more specific?
She she literally grabbed
me by my collar and said
if I ever double-crossed
her again, she'd kill me.
She had this look in her eye.
I think she really meant it.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Abby, hi.
Come in.
I got the email about Sarah Chase.
Are you kidding me?
Well,
it's relevant information, Abby.
I mean, your client doesn't like it
when her mentees succeed.
Yeah, of course she
didn't kill Sarah Chase,
but she sure as hell threatened her.
Ann Merrick is a woman
of a certain generation.
She had to put on armor
in order to survive
a male-dominated profession.
She threatened vengeance
when she thought
other women crossed her.
That's one way to put it.
- The other?
- She acted like a man.
She used male language.
She flexed verbal muscle,
telling people not to mess with her.
If a man said "I'm gonna
kill you" in this context,
we wouldn't even blink,
let alone use it as
evidence to prove intent.
Look, Abby. [SIGHS]
You put on a solid defense.
Solid defense?
You know what I mean.
I wanna plead this one out, Sam.
Man one is the right result here.
Like I said before, I
don't think this is EED.
Yeah, because of
existing sexist case law.
That's why men have
successfully been using EED
for crimes of anger and rage.
But women, we can only use
it if if we're traumatized,
because the law doesn't
allow us to be angry.
This is a chance to move
the case law forward.
I can't tell Katie Harrington's father
that the person who killed his daughter
is gonna be out in five years.
You owe me this.
I what?
I got you this damn job.
Yes,
you definitely helped,
and I'm grateful for that.
I did you a favor.
And now I'm asking you for one.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Please.
I haven't had a good result in a while.
I need this, Sam.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Any luck finding other
rebuttal witnesses?
Working on it.
Everything okay?
Did you ever have a mentor?
Yeah, a few.
Did any of them ever ask
you to repay the debt?
No.
And no mentor worth her salt
would ever ask that of you.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Please call your next
witness, Ms. Maroun.
♪
Ms. Maroun,
your next witness.
♪
Your Honor, the people call Sarah Chase.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Ms. Chase,
was the defendant your supervisor
and mentor at New York 32?
She was.
And is it true that
you left five years ago
for a better position in cable news?
Yes.
Sarah, can you please tell the court
what Ann Merrick said to you
when you told her about your new job?
She grabbed hold of my collar
and said if I ever
double-crossed her again,
she'd kill me.
♪
Members of the jury, have
you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
On the count of murder
in the second degree,
we find the defendant
guilty.
♪
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
Thank you, Ms. Maroun.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Thank you.
♪
Abby.
Come on, Abby.
God, Abby!
Look, I'd like to,
well, explain.
We're done here.
♪
Good work, Sam.
You did a great job.
♪
[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.
And now, the moment we've
all been waiting for.
Please welcome our final two contestants
for Miss New York Metro.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I know how hard it is for these
young women to stand up here.
I was in their shoes
just a few years ago
and I am honored to be back to judge.
To many of you, this pageant
may seem like a zero-sum game,
but it's really about
connection and sisterhood.
Tonight, however, we do
have to pick a winner.
Our first runner-up is
Miss Prospect Heights,
making our Miss New York
Metro 2026, Miss Astoria!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CAMERA SHUTTERS SNAPPING]
Remember, we're all winners.
They held the Miss New York
Metro pageant here last night.
- She a contestant?
- No, a judge.
Janitor found her this morning.
Oh.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Katie Harrington,
age 29.
Looks like she also works
at the local news station.
Must have hit the carotid artery.
Yeah, she bled out fast.
You got a time of death?
MLI said, based on temp and rigidity,
between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
All right.
Well, let's make sure we get
the scissors dusted for prints.
- Any witnesses?
- None.
Place had pretty much
cleared out by that time.
What about the security
camera situation?
Far as we know, no cameras
in the dressing room.
Well, I always heard
these beauty pageants
were cutthroat, but
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
You turned off all of the cameras?
We had 30 women backstage last night
in various states of undress.
They wanted privacy.
What about security guards?
One guard was posted backstage.
He see anything?
Apparently he was FaceTiming
with his girlfriend
at the end of the night.
It's usually an uneventful job.
We can barely fill an
audience these days.
Why is that?
Too much competition
YouTube, social media.
So there are fewer pageants these days?
Well, there used to be ten a year.
Now there were two.
That really puts extra
pressure on the contestants.
- And on the judges.
- For sure.
Beauty pageants are still
important to these people
some of these girls, if they
lose, think their life is over.
We're gonna need a list of
last night's contestants.
I'm surprised these
pageants are still a thing.
I mean, I thought we were way past that.
Yeah, I gave up on those years ago.
Hey, video just landed
from outside the theater.
Picked up someone running out the exit
by the dressing room at 10:25.
Can you freeze it there?
Not enough of the face
visible for facial rec?
- No.
- That hat.
What is that stitching?
Looks like they got it turned inside out
to hide the monogram or
something what is that, XLV?
Yeah, I don't think it's a brand.
Maybe Roman numerals?
Do we have any other video
of this person entering?
No, and it was freezing that day,
so half the people entering the
theater were wearing beanies.
But I have some good news.
Found this interesting
text from a Kailani Arizaga.
"Be careful how you vote.
There are consequences."
Sounds like a threat to me.
That name rings a bell. Hold on.
Yeah, here.
"Kailani Arizaga,
Miss Prospect Heights."
She was the first runner-up.
I've known Katie since I was 15.
She was like an older sister, a mentor.
So you liked her?
Loved her.
Well, why did you send
her that threatening text
last night the one that
said there'd be consequences
if she didn't vote the right way?
What are you talking about?
This one.
No, you got it wrong.
I wanted her to vote for someone else.
You wanted to lose?
I wanted to not win.
Why'd you do it in the first place?
My mom.
These pageants mean everything to her.
She says they can open
doors, maybe even get me
a scholarship for grad school.
Can you tell us where
you were last night
after the pageant?
Eating pizza for the
first time in a year.
Got anybody who can back that up?
Yeah, a few classmates.
- Kinda turned into a party.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
I asked Katie if she wanted to join,
but she said she couldn't.
We gotta go.
Katie's dad just got in from Alabama.
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
I still remember the day I
helped Katie move in here.
Her mom had just passed.
Katie wanted to stay at home,
look after me, of course,
but, uh,
I told her she had to follow her dreams.
Just knew she was
meant for great things.
Mr. Harrington, were you
and your daughter very close?
Yeah.
We talked every day.
Was she having any problems with anyone?
Friends? A boyfriend?
She was always too busy with
work for much of a social life.
I encouraged her to date.
Didn't want her to be lonely.
You know, there was this one guy,
kept chasing after her
like a damn dog with a bone.
- He got a name?
- I never made it that far.
Never even went out on a
date, but he was persistent.
Kept calling her and
sending her flowers.
Got a bit much for Katie,
if I'm being honest.
Do you know where he worked?
How they met? Any detail will help.
They met at some sort
of cancer fundraiser,
and he was a hockey player.
That's all I know.
♪
Any luck with the hockey player?
Yeah, I checked out Katie's Instagram.
Looks like the only cancer fundraiser
she attended in the last six months
was the United Hands Leukemia Gala.
Lots of photos of her and
this guy named Alexander Hayes.
Looks smitten.
Hockey player?
Rookie left-winger for New
York's favorite hockey team.
Islanders?
Not funny.
No choir boy.
He just finished a five-game suspension
for smashing a stick
into his opponent's head.
And here's the best part
he posted a story
last night at 9:30 p.m.
Location tag puts him two
blocks away from the pageant.
[TENSE MUSIC]
I adored Katie. I would never hurt her.
Well, you say adored. We say stalked.
We talked to her doorman.
We know that you were
sending her flowers,
hanging outside her building.
Yeah, to to show
her that I liked her,
that I was serious about dating her.
She had two extra deadbolts
installed in her door.
Look, I was just trying to get a date.
It's called being romantic.
If she said yes, it's romantic.
If she said no, it's scary.
So what happened, hmm?
You get tired of waiting for her
to see how romantic you were?
Maybe you snuck into her
dressing room last night?
What?
We know you were near the theater
where the pageant was held.
Right around the time of the murder.
Hey, look, you guys
are crazy, all right?
I was at a party last night
with about 200 other people
and I was there until about midnight.
Instead of wasting
your time talking to me,
you should look into the shady people
she was dealing with at work.
What does that mean?
She told me that as a journalist
she had to take big swings,
to go where her colleagues
were too scared to go.
So if she was adding
extra locks to her door,
I mean, it's because of
that, not because of me.
You should go talk to her boss.
I wouldn't call her segments dangerous.
More like ambitious.
She was a smart woman,
had a great gut instinct,
knew how to avoid trouble.
Sounds like you knew her well.
Well, I took her under my wing
when she first started here.
I got her out from
behind the research desk,
made her a field reporter.
I was a producer on
some of her segments.
Very nice of you.
Well, it's a tough
business for women here,
so I thought I could
help wherever possible.
If you don't mind,
when was the last time
you spoke to Katie?
Um, she was in the office
until about 5:30 last night
and then headed downtown to the pageant.
Did you speak to her after that?
No, I stayed working
for a few more hours
and then I went home.
And you were there all night?
Sorry, just standard procedure.
You know, the more
people we can eliminate
from her life, the better.
Right. Of course, I wanna be helpful.
Yes, I was home all night.
Here is her work schedule.
I hope it's helpful.
We will take a look.
Do you know, did she have
a work phone of any sort?
Yes, she had several.
Good reporters always use burners
to protect their sources.
[SIGHS] Katie was a terrific reporter.
She was gonna do great things.
[SIGHS]
Hey.
Warrant for the burner
phones came through.
And?
And we got a pretty interesting text.
"This is not okay.
Make this right or things
are gonna get ugly."
Any luck ID'ing the sender?
Phone's registered
to a Jazmin Hernandez.
She's affiliated with the Cobra 10 gang.
Got a pretty healthy rap sheet, too
drugs, assault, weapons charges.
Let's go talk to her.
Yeah, that's me.
I meant it too.
Could you be more specific?
Katie came up here a few months ago
with that other news lady, Ann Merrick.
They convinced me to
help them do a segment
showing gangs recruiting young girls.
So you were a source?
I connected her to the right people.
Doesn't explain the angry text, though.
When the segment came
out a few weeks ago,
there was a mistake.
A guy that lives here, he was
in some of the video they shot.
They claimed he was a gang member.
He was pissed, and now people
are coming after me about it.
All right, well, can you
tell us where you were
last night around 10:00?
Working the register at a bodega.
166th and Webster.
They got cameras everywhere
if you wanna check.
- So, am I good?
- For now.
Where did you get that hat?
Ann Merrick gave it to me.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
All right.
Yep, thank you.
Turns out Ann Merrick
had those beanies made
for the station's anniversary.
Okay.
Ann told us that she
went home after work
and never left, right?
Yeah, and her doorman confirmed it.
I don't think her doorman saw that.
Surveillance video from her garage,
rear side of her building,
shows her leaving at 9:24 p.m.
Wearing a XLV beanie and an
outfit that matches the video
we have of the killer fleeing the scene.
- NYPD.
- Stop.
- We're about to go live.
- No, you're not.
Hey, hey, you can't be here.
- Warrant says we can.
- Step aside.
What's going on?
Ann Merrick, you're under arrest.
For what?
The murder of Katie Harrington.
What the hell are you talking about?
Katie was my friend. She
was like my little sister.
Earlier today, veteran
TV news anchor Ann Merrick
was arrested on suspicion
Turns out arresting a
news anchor is big news.
- Yeah.
- How's the evidence?
Strong.
Detectives found a
beanie in her apartment
identical to the one
seen at the crime scene.
Plus, her DNA was on
the murder weapon
a pair of scissors found in her neck.
Motive?
Still not adding up.
So this woman suddenly
bolts from her apartment,
walks three miles to
this beauty contest,
and stabs her colleague
in a dressing room.
Something must have triggered her.
Question is, what?
Yeah, well.
Since Nolan's out for a few weeks,
this is your case.
Oh.
Okay.
Great.
[SOFT MUSIC]
And thank you.
♪
How can I help?
You had a six-minute call
with Ann Merrick the night
of the murder, just before
she left her apartment
to go kill Katie Harrington.
We wanna know what that call was about.
I can put you in touch
with New York 32's lawyers.
Or we can subpoena you.
Just tell us what you know now.
Ann had been hounding me.
She wanted to know why she
hadn't gotten the paperwork
for her contract renewal.
So I finally called,
told her we wouldn't be renewing her.
Must have made her upset.
Yeah, she was livid.
She wanted to know how
I could possibly justify
firing her after all
she's done for the station.
And?
I told her HR would
discuss the matter with her.
I've learned to keep these calls brief.
You guys discuss anything
else on this call?
She asked who was replacing her.
And you said Katie Harrington?
Yes.
I regret it.
♪
Okay.
Well, thank you for
your help, Mr. Williams.
There's your motive, Sam.
Vengeance.
Sam.
Sam!
[LAUGHS] Abby!
Hi.
- Hi, how are you?
- Good.
Busier than ever.
Oh, we're overdue for dinner.
Well, don't worry,
you're gonna be seeing
plenty of me in the next month or so.
- What, are you
- I am.
Well, Ann Merrick has
good taste in lawyers.
- [PHONE BUZZES]
- We'll see.
I gotta go. I'll see you in there.
Okay.
Your Honor, we've got DNA evidence
that links the defendant
to the murder weapon,
video showing her
leaving the crime scene,
and clear motive.
Your Honor, the people request remand.
Your Honor, we plead not guilty
and request reasonable bail.
My client has no criminal record,
strong community ties,
and a face recognizable
in most of the tri-state area.
Good for her,
but I'm denying bail anyways.
- Defendant is hereby remanded.
- [GAVEL BANGS]
We'll talk later, okay?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You open for a plea discussion?
You're asking for a plea?
That might be a record.
Oh, we don't wanna waste anyone's time.
Meaning what?
Meaning she doesn't intend to dispute
the fact she killed Katie Harrington.
But you just pled not guilty.
To murder two,
but manslaughter, that's different.
We're willing to plead guilty to that.
♪
No, I'm not open to discussing that.
You're gonna have a really
hard time hearing our defense.
[TENSE MUSIC]
I'll see you in court, Abby.
♪
Yes, Nolan.
For the fifth time, I've
double-checked the affidavits,
the addresses, and everything
else in the damn file,
so you can relax, okay?
Just focus on getting better.
Who needs an appendix, anyway?
Thank you.
Okay, I-I'll do my best, I promise.
Okay.
Defense lawyer is claiming EED?
Yeah, she's saying the
defendant and Katie Harrington
had an intimate
mentor-mentee relationship
and that the idea of
Katie taking her job
triggered such extreme
emotional disturbance
that it drove the defendant to kill her.
Nice try, but that's not how EED works.
It's not meant to
cover workplace issues.
Exactly. It's a big stretch.
I'm not surprised.
Abigail Donahue is, uh
[CHUCKLES] She's aggressive.
I worked with her in
the Brooklyn DA's office.
Yeah.
Well, unless there's
evidence I don't know about,
this is murder two all day long.
No, you're not missing anything.
You know, I think Abigail
is hoping that the jury is
gonna buy into the old
trope that all women
are prone to hysteria.
Right.
At the crime scene, we
discovered a pair of scissors
were jammed into her neck.
In your experience,
does that type of injury
create a substantial risk of death?
Yes.
When the carotid is severed,
the victim dies within minutes.
Is it fair to say that these
are the type of injuries
you see from someone intending to kill?
Yes.
Can you please describe
what you see in this video?
That is the defendant
exiting the back door
of her apartment building.
And what's relevant about her clothing?
The clothing matches
video we have of the killer
- fleeing the scene.
- One last question.
Can you read the timestamp on the video?
9:24 p.m.,
about an hour before the murder.
Thank you. Nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
The back exit of my client's building
the southern exit, to be exact
isn't that closest to
where she was headed?
- Downtown?
- Yes.
So the suggestion that she
was headed out the back door
to evade detection, it doesn't
really make any sense, does it?
It still makes sense to me.
Mm.
Lieutenant Brady, did you
determine where the scissors
in question came from?
The scissors came from a hairstyling kit
belonging to the victim.
They were present in the
victim's dressing room?
Yes.
Which means my client
brought no weapon of any kind
that night?
Not that we know of.
Hmm.
So she went there to kill Katie,
but she didn't bring a weapon.
That doesn't make any
sense either, does it?
Maybe she didn't decide to kill Katie
until she got into the dressing room.
Ah.
So Ann Merrick acted in
the heat of the moment?
I don't want to parse
legal terms with you,
but the intent to kill can
happen fast, instantaneously.
So it doesn't mean she acted
in the heat of the moment.
But you're the one who
said that she was triggered
- in the dressing room
- Objection.
She's badgering the witness.
Sustained.
All right, just nothing further.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Mr. Williams, as chief
executive of the New York 32
television station, you had cause
to speak with the
defendant on the telephone
approximately two
hours before the murder?
- Yes.
- Would you tell the court why?
I had to inform Ms.
Merrick that the network
would not be renewing her contract.
How did she react?
Well, after 22 years of
annual renewals, not well.
She became extremely upset
and she accused me of sexism
and ageism.
Is that true?
Did you fire the
defendant because, uh
because you don't like women,
or because she's too old?
No, it was performance-related,
and I told her as much.
Her response?
Well, she demanded to know more
about the performance
issue, but I told her
I wasn't at liberty to say more.
Then what?
Well, she asked me who
was want to replace her
and I told her Katie Harrington,
and then she got even more angry.
Thank you, Mr. Williams.
Nothing further.
What was the performance
issue you fired my client over?
Ann had misidentified someone
as a gang member in the segment.
That was a mistake
that exposed the network
to significant legal liability.
How did you know it was
Ann who made that mistake?
Katie Harrington told me.
Your Honor, we move
to admit, as Exhibit B,
an email sent by Ms. Harrington
from her New York 32 account
to the misidentified
individual in the gang segment.
Objection.
Your Honor, we had no notice of this.
Your Honor, we just got
our hands on this email,
and it's important
that we present it now
because it undermines
everything that this witness
just testified to.
Chambers, now.
♪
This was unfair surprise, Your Honor.
Agreed.
That's not how we do things
in this office, Ms. Donahue.
Your Honor, we just got verification
of this email earlier today.
You've had access to Katie
Harrington's work accounts for weeks.
An abundance of correspondence.
Counsel is perfectly
capable of reviewing
discovery in a timely fashion.
Your Honor, I request
exclusion of this evidence
at this point in time, since the people
have been deprived of
any meaningful opportunity
to investigate.
You will see the email comes
from a New York 32 account.
That's the news station
that Ms. Maroun's witness
has been testifying about.
[SIGHS]
If that's the case, I
will allow this exhibit.
But if this happens again, Ms. Donahue,
- there will be sanctions.
- Of course.
♪
That was not okay, Abby.
I'm just trying to win a trial here.
By hiding evidence from me?
It's the oldest trick in the book.
Well, you never taught me that one.
Oh, I can't give away all my secrets.
♪
Mr. Williams, will you please
read the highlighted portion
of the email sent by Ms. Harrington
from her New York 32 account
to the misidentified
individual in the gang segment?
"I'm horrified I did this.
I'll remove all footage
of you from our files
and correct the name immediately."
No, um no.
Katie told me
that Ann provided all the footage
and oversaw the
identifications in that segment.
Exactly.
Katie Harrington, who the
prosecution has portrayed
as a hard-working beauty pageant
winner turned TV reporter,
actually threw her mentor under the bus
to save her own skin.
She had Ann Merrick,
who had done nothing
but tirelessly champion her work
since the day she started
at your network, fired.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Who wouldn't feel betrayed?
Who wouldn't feel devastated
out of their mind?
♪
So they're sullying the victim.
It's the right move.
Do you think the jury's buying it?
I'm not certain.
It definitely makes Katie
look less than saintly,
that's for sure.
What do you think?
I mentor a few women.
I-I help them out.
I pull them up whenever it's possible.
And if one of them
betrayed me like that,
uh, yes, I'd be emotional too.
Fair.
But I'm guessing you wouldn't
slam a pair of scissors
into someone's neck?
Probably not.
Neither would 99.9% of other people,
which is why this is
murder and not manslaughter.
So who's their first witness?
An expert in female workplace trauma.
Wow.
I didn't know that was a field of study.
Neither did I.
Use that to your advantage.
Yeah.
And how would you describe the nature
of the workplace relationship
between female mentors
and their protégés?
- Quite intimate.
- Hmm.
In what way?
Powerful bonds form in
stressful environments
and spaces where women are outnumbered.
And the relationship
provides emotional support,
often helping both women thrive
in challenging situations.
And what happens if the bond
is threatened or ruptured?
It's psychologically destabilizing.
Given the intimacy of the relationship,
a betrayal would cause a shock
to your core sense of safety,
akin to your spouse cheating on you.
Would you say emotions dominate?
Absolutely.
And based on your evaluation,
how did the termination
psychologically affect Ms. Merrick?
It was a highly traumatic event for her.
That the one person
in the work environment
with whom she had formed
a strong emotional bond,
whose career she championed
Objection. Counsel is testifying.
I'll rephrase.
Based on your examination,
how did the specifics
of the dismissal shape her reaction?
I believe it was a perfect storm
that triggered an extreme
emotional disturbance.
She lost her capacity to
reason when she realized what
Katie Harrington had done to her.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Dr. Fitzgerald, are you aware
that the defendant has reported
on police brutality, city hall
corruption, human trafficking,
and terrorist cells?
I am.
Yet it is your opinion
that when she was faced with
what essentially is
a workplace conflict,
she became so emotional that
she lost all self-control
and killed someone?
Yes.
♪
As a preeminent expert in
the field of workplace trauma,
have you ever been called
to testify in a murder trial?
No.
Well, do you know of
any instance in which
a perceived betrayal of
a senior female employee
by a junior employee resulted in murder?
As I said, this would have
been a perfect storm
Yes or no, Doctor?
[TENSE MUSIC]
No.
So if an emotional reaction like that
has never happened before,
it's impossible to call
it reasonable, isn't it?
♪
I suppose so, but I
Nothing further.
♪
Ms. Maroun?
Ms. Maroun.
Mr. Harrington, hi.
How are you, um how are you feeling?
I know it's not easy sitting in there.
I wanna know what all this means.
I mean, that doctor, the
stuff about how Ann Merrick
has some sort of mental issue.
Well, they're saying that the defendant
was so overcome with
emotions that she didn't
have legal intent to murder.
And if the jury agrees,
then they can't put her away for murder?
Correct.
Well, then what happens?
Well, then she'd be
convicted with man one,
which is a class B violent felony.
The sentence is 5 to 25 years.
Five years?
♪
For stabbing my daughter in the neck?
Katie was 29 years old.
That woman stole her life.
No.
Five years is not okay.
20 years ago, there were
only a handful of women
doing on-air reporting.
Everyone doubted that we
could handle real stories.
My bosses handed me baking
contests, nanny scandals.
But I wanted to report real news,
so I found my own features.
Woke up at 5:00 a.m.,
worked till 10:00 p.m.
You made sacrifices?
I didn't have time for relationships,
marriage, children.
But, um, it was worth it.
I loved my job.
And you excelled at it.
You won several local Emmys.
Three.
Quite a feat.
So when you got the phone
call from Mr. Williams
at New York 32 that your contract
was not going to be
renewed, how did that feel?
Totally blindsided.
I thought that I was on
the path to national anchor,
and suddenly a lifetime of work
and sacrifices
gone.
You know, it was terrifying.
Why blame Katie Harrington?
I had taken Katie under my wing.
I wanted to make it easier for
her than it had been for me.
So what did you do to support her?
I did what I had always
done for all the young women
that I had mentored
throughout my career,
and there have been dozens.
I advocated for them and nurtured
their professional development.
Ms. Merrick, I want to show you
some documents that were
admitted to evidence.
Will you please tell
the jury what this is?
Um, this is a letter of recommendation
that I wrote for Katie's
Hudson Fellowship application.
Would you mind reading
just the highlighted portion, please?
"Katie Harrington is
a brilliant reporter
with a great future ahead.
Her work in our office has
been nothing short of dazzling.
I recommend her without hesitation
and would do anything to
help advance her application."
Would it be fair to say that you were
devoted to Katie Harrington?
Absolutely.
So what did you think when Mr. Williams
let you know that he was
replacing you with her?
I was, uh I was confused.
He he said that I
was getting fired because
I'd made a big mistake,
and I had no idea what
he was talking about.
And then I remembered that
Katie had misidentified someone
in the gang segment, and she had told me
that she was terrified that
it was gonna get her fired.
So when he told me that
she was replacing me,
I thought
that she had laid the blame on me.
What did you do next?
I went to find Katie, to ask her
how the network got the idea
that I had made that major error.
What did she say?
She said she panicked
and told them that
that it was my mistake.
Then what?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Before I knew it, Katie was dead.
It was it was a blur.
Katie did not deserve that.
[SOBS]
I know that now.
But on that night in
that moment, I just
I-I didn't think.
I didn't think. I
just I just reacted.
I just
like I said, it was just
it was such a blur.
[SOBS]
♪
Donahue is trying to turn
their work relationship
into something much
more deep and personal,
kind of like a husband and wife.
Makes sense.
That's where most of
these EED cases live
spouses catching their partners
in bed with someone else.
Hell of a lot different than
losing your job to a protégé.
Know what I don't get, though?
What?
They're trying to paint Ann Merrick
as the world's most
amazing mentor, right?
A selfless, devoted woman who lived
to help everyone around her.
Yet they haven't called any
of those so-called mentees
to testify to any of this?
It's strange, right?
So talk to some of these women
the defendant allegedly mentored.
See what they have to say.
I owe a lot to Ann Merrick.
I was a total novice when
I started at the station,
and she was really helpful and kind
until I got hired by MSN.
Then what?
She
she wasn't happy about
me getting that job.
She was upset that I didn't tell her
that I'd interviewed for it,
that I didn't get her opinion.
Then I found out the real
reason she was so upset.
She applied for the same spot.
And when you say she wasn't happy,
can you be more specific?
She she literally grabbed
me by my collar and said
if I ever double-crossed
her again, she'd kill me.
She had this look in her eye.
I think she really meant it.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
Abby, hi.
Come in.
I got the email about Sarah Chase.
Are you kidding me?
Well,
it's relevant information, Abby.
I mean, your client doesn't like it
when her mentees succeed.
Yeah, of course she
didn't kill Sarah Chase,
but she sure as hell threatened her.
Ann Merrick is a woman
of a certain generation.
She had to put on armor
in order to survive
a male-dominated profession.
She threatened vengeance
when she thought
other women crossed her.
That's one way to put it.
- The other?
- She acted like a man.
She used male language.
She flexed verbal muscle,
telling people not to mess with her.
If a man said "I'm gonna
kill you" in this context,
we wouldn't even blink,
let alone use it as
evidence to prove intent.
Look, Abby. [SIGHS]
You put on a solid defense.
Solid defense?
You know what I mean.
I wanna plead this one out, Sam.
Man one is the right result here.
Like I said before, I
don't think this is EED.
Yeah, because of
existing sexist case law.
That's why men have
successfully been using EED
for crimes of anger and rage.
But women, we can only use
it if if we're traumatized,
because the law doesn't
allow us to be angry.
This is a chance to move
the case law forward.
I can't tell Katie Harrington's father
that the person who killed his daughter
is gonna be out in five years.
You owe me this.
I what?
I got you this damn job.
Yes,
you definitely helped,
and I'm grateful for that.
I did you a favor.
And now I'm asking you for one.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Please.
I haven't had a good result in a while.
I need this, Sam.
♪
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Any luck finding other
rebuttal witnesses?
Working on it.
Everything okay?
Did you ever have a mentor?
Yeah, a few.
Did any of them ever ask
you to repay the debt?
No.
And no mentor worth her salt
would ever ask that of you.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
Please call your next
witness, Ms. Maroun.
♪
Ms. Maroun,
your next witness.
♪
Your Honor, the people call Sarah Chase.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Ms. Chase,
was the defendant your supervisor
and mentor at New York 32?
She was.
And is it true that
you left five years ago
for a better position in cable news?
Yes.
Sarah, can you please tell the court
what Ann Merrick said to you
when you told her about your new job?
She grabbed hold of my collar
and said if I ever
double-crossed her again,
she'd kill me.
♪
Members of the jury, have
you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
On the count of murder
in the second degree,
we find the defendant
guilty.
♪
Members of the jury,
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
Thank you, Ms. Maroun.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Thank you.
♪
Abby.
Come on, Abby.
God, Abby!
Look, I'd like to,
well, explain.
We're done here.
♪
Good work, Sam.
You did a great job.
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[WOLF HOWLS]