Law & Order (1990) s10e19 Episode Script
Surrender Dorothy
NARRATOR: 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.
Yeah, great.
Hey, it's not my fault that your friends are so hung over they can't get up this early.
It was your sister's party.
See that? That's why I won't bring the car up the night before.
Steve They popped the trunk.
No, look.
Car's registered to a Dorothy Graham.
Long walk home.
Looks like they got the hood ornament.
OFFICER: Faculty sticker.
I checked with the registrar.
Turns out she's a grad student.
She's gonna be a couple of credits shy.
What about witnesses? Couple of units canvassed this morning.
No one saw anything, but a bunch of people heard some car alarms going off around I want any complaint reports on those.
You got it.
Thanks.
Looks like strangulation.
Petechial hemorrhaging around her eyes.
But whatever they used didn't leave much bruising around her neck.
ED: So no sign of struggle, then? The hands are clean, fingernails.
No scuff marks on the heels of her shoes.
She was killed somewhere else.
That'd be my guess.
We're thinking, what, robbery? CSU OFFICER: There's no purse.
Coat's gone, too.
You guys get a shot of this? CSU OFFICER: Yeah.
Doesn't look like they finished what they started.
They sure finished her.
Please have Lucy call her father as soon as possible.
Dr.
Graham.
It's very important.
Yes, that's right.
Thank you.
I guess I should also call my father and sister.
We're sorry to intrude.
We just need a few minutes to run some things down with you.
Of course.
Uh, the last time you saw your wife was when? Yesterday morning, before she went to class.
BRISCOE: She was a graduate student? In the Sociology Department.
Dorothy was going for her Masters.
ED: You didn't speak with her during the day? No, I'm with patients until 4:00.
On Fridays, Dorothy generally went to the library to work on her thesis.
Where'd you go after your last patient? I play racquetball on Friday evenings.
I just came straight home.
ED: What time was that? Around 7:00.
Anybody see you come in? The doorman was helping someone with packages.
I just picked up our mail and came straight upstairs.
And your wife wasn't here? Look, I assumed she was at the library.
When she didn't return home by 7:30, I got concerned.
ED: And that's when you called the precinct? About an hour later.
What about your marriage? Things okay with you and Mrs.
Graham? Things were just fine.
You're a psychologist? Private practice.
Any of your patients you think might be capable of something like this? It's just basic family therapy.
Okay.
We'll call you with any developments or questions we might have.
My wife She wasn't touched? It doesn't look like that.
Dorothy taught a 10:00 seminar.
After that? Uh, she usually had office hours for her students from 12:00 to 2:00.
BRISCOE: Did you see her after that? Yes, about 2:30.
She was grabbing some coffee in the faculty lounge.
ED: Anybody with her? Not that I saw.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Excuse me.
Green.
We're gonna want a list of anybody who had office hours with her yesterday.
Sure.
Anything out of the ordinary with her lately? Well, Dorothy kept to herself mostly.
But there was never anything ordinary about her.
What do you mean? Well, she had some pretty peculiar notions about the role of women in today's society.
Most people would call them outdated.
The stay-at-home mother, wife.
That sort of thing.
Thanks.
Okay, thanks.
We'll be in touch.
Complaints from those other trunk pops.
Another Friday night in Fun City.
Thank you.
I was going to meet some friends in Brooklyn.
At midnight? This club doesn't open till 11:00.
The complaint you filed indicates you saw some people near your car? When I came around the corner, four boys, teenagers.
One was going through my trunk, and the others were just sort of hanging out.
I yelled.
They ran.
Can you describe them? Kind of husky, a little shorter than me.
Hispanic, I think.
A woman was murdered in the neighborhood last night.
You think it was these guys? Her trunk was popped.
Oh, my God.
I chased them.
Spray paint.
Same colors.
I tried to wash it off.
NG.
Dealership says I gotta paint the whole panel.
Did you see who did it? No.
Wife and I just went to dinner with our son.
Goes to Hudson.
Pre-med.
When we came out, I could still smell the paint.
And what time was that? They broke the trunk, too.
Anything missing? The hood ornament.
A damn Buick, for crying out loud.
Preliminary M.
E.
's report.
She was killed Friday night some time before 9:00.
Strangulation.
Probably used some type of cloth object under the chin.
No surprise there.
Well, maybe not.
But her tox screen might explain the absence of any sign of struggle.
Percocet.
Pain killer.
I wonder what hurt.
Well, you said her husband was some kind of doctor, right? Psychologist.
Can't write script.
Hey, graffiti's probably not gang-related.
What, then? Gang Intel says it's most likely street art.
Like to hear them call it that when it's on their car.
They gave me the name of this gallery in the East Village.
They say the owner may be able to identify the work.
WOMAN: It's actually quite good.
ED: Can you tell us who the writer is? Someone's obviously trying to bite the style of SENT 1.
Again, in English? SENT 1.
S-E-N-T.
SENT 1 was known for the Wild Style.
This is a mimic or a bite of that style.
Wild Style? Wild Style letterforms bend and fracture into other forms.
The result's pretty abstract, at least, to the untrained eye.
But not to yours.
No.
This writer's using symbols to substitute for letters and numbers.
Like here, you have an eye.
That's the letter I.
Or a snake, an S.
And right there, that's a blackjack hand.
Twenty-one.
Exactly.
IS21.
SENT 1's rumored to have gone to public school, IS21 on the Upper West Side.
There's even a mural he painted there.
We're looking for the person or persons who painted that picture.
It looks like our mural.
That's what we were thinking.
But you're not sure it was one of our students? What we'd like to do is have our witness come down and take a look at some of the kids.
You expect me to make my students available for line-ups at school? Hey, I'd do show-ups at Carnegie Hall if I thought I'd find a murderer.
I'll call the Board of Ed's lawyers and see if they feel the same way.
So, what? We bring the Connor woman down here and sit outside in the car? No.
I got a better idea.
(SCHOOL BELL RINGING) May I help you? Yeah.
I'm trying to get a yearbook.
Are you the parent of a student here at the school? No, actually it's for a friend.
Kid's godmother down in Puerto Rico.
She doesn't get a chance to see him much, and I thought it'd be a really nice gift.
In that case, I think I can manage to drum one up for you.
That'd be great.
Thank you.
Here you go.
It's $25.
BRISCOE: The principal refused to cooperate.
But using yearbook photos as mug shots? That's what Giuliani tried to do.
I didn't think it was a bad idea then, either.
Detective Green, may I see you? I want you to get rid of that.
She just picked him out.
Ramon Soriano.
Class of 2000.
If that ID gets tossed out in court, you're going to be the one to explain it to the district attorney.
Ramon Soriano? Yeah.
Why don't you put the soldering iron down, Ramon.
Put your hands behind your back, kid.
You're under arrest.
What for? For violating a luxury vehicle.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do, say, can and will be used against you You keep souvenirs from all the women you kill? My son's not a killer.
She sure looks dead to me.
ED: Maybe you didn't mean to hurt her.
Maybe one of the other kids did it.
Is that what happened, Ramon? No, it wasn't like that.
We were just messing around.
If you know something, tell them.
Uh That lady's car, the Mercedes.
Uh, we'd seen it around, but never at night.
So what happened? We started messing with it.
My friend, Alex, popped the trunk, and that's when he saw her.
But she was already dead.
You just happened to pick a car that had a dead woman in it? No, I told you, we seen the Benz before.
ED: When? Uh, that same day.
Maybe 4:00.
The lady got in with some guy and they drove away.
What'd the guy look like? Uh White guy, a cup of coffee, Mets cap turned around.
He looked like a college dude.
(SIGHS) So, what do you think of our struggling artist? Nothing on his sheet.
It's a long way from popping trunks to popping citizens.
They didn't touch the other woman.
Well, start with Mrs.
Graham's students.
See if we can find that Met fan.
There's only four guys in our section.
I haven't seen any of them wearing Mets caps.
What time were you in her office? Like, 1:00 to 1:30.
She was helping me with this paper I was writing.
Well, sort of helping me.
Why sort of? She just seemed kind of out of it.
You notice if any of the guys had crushes on her? (CHUCKLES) Mrs.
Graham? She thought flirting was, like, majorly sinful.
What about the guys in, uh, other sections of the course? Any of them wear Mets caps? Lot of guys wear hats.
Think hard, Lisa.
It's pretty important.
There was this one guy outside in the hallway, outside her office, when I came out.
He might have been wearing a Mets cap backwards.
You ever seen him around before? I go swimming at the gym.
Sometimes I see him there.
(WHISTLE BLOWING) BRISCOE: Hey! You, out of the pool.
What's up? ED: You a Mets fan? Is that a crime? BRISCOE: Depends on the season.
You know a Dorothy Graham? I had nothing to do with that.
So you don't have a problem with me checking your stuff? Uh Uh-oh.
Percocet.
And Ecstasy.
Let's go.
Look, I don't know what you're talking about.
Four kids from the neighborhood identified you getting into her car the day she was killed.
So I was with her.
How'd you know her? From around.
I audited a couple of her classes.
And where was she taking you, on a field trip? Possession with intent to distribute.
That's not recreational, that's correctional.
I never sold her anything.
There was Percocet in her blood.
I gave her the stuff once in a while.
But only when she asked for it.
Out of the goodness of your heart, right? We had a relationship.
BRISCOE: What kind of relationship? You know.
Sex.
Look, she was messed up, man.
Messed up how? I don't know.
Uh, we didn't spend that much time talking.
But, uh, she used to cry for no reason.
Stuff like that.
She do any crying that day? I didn't kill her.
Her crying, being upset, that had nothing to do with me.
It was about her husband, I think.
So where'd you take her? To my place.
When did she leave? Around 6:45.
She usually had to be back home by 7:00.
Where'd you go after? Chinese restaurant, I was there from, like, 7:00 on.
Better hope your waiter isn't a Yankees fan.
Lover boy's alibi checks out.
Cashier remembers him leaving around 9:00.
Autopsy report says she was dead by then.
Well, the kid said she was supposed to be home by 7:00, right? One with mustard.
But the husband doesn't call the precinct for over two hours.
That's because he knew where she was.
(SCOFFS) Yeah, usually we're the last to know.
Well, let's see if we can nail down his time line.
You gonna pay for this? You betcha.
BRISCOE: Lance Dickinson? Yes.
Lady at the front desk says you were playing racquetball with Perry Graham on Friday.
We play every Friday.
Is this about his wife? Last Friday, you notice anything different about him? Not really.
He ever mention any family problems? (SIGHS) I've known Perry 10 years.
Dorothy meant the world to him.
I'm sure he had nothing to do with her death.
Mmm-hmm.
So did they have any problems? Look, I don't know.
(EXHALES NERVOUSLY) We didn't meet them much socially.
Why is that? Their relationship made my wife a little uncomfortable.
At restaurants, Perry would always order for her.
That kind of thing.
So he was pretty controlling? (SIGHS) She didn't complain.
Hey, different strokes, you know? Yeah.
So, uh, what time did you play until? About a quarter to 6:00.
That was a pretty short game.
Perry had a magazine article due.
Wanted to get it proofread.
And where would he go for that? His sister, Gwen.
Yeah, Perry was here for about a half an hour.
He left a paper to proofread, and then he He went home.
ED: He ever talk to you about his wife? Sometimes.
He ever mention any marital problems? I don't understand what you're getting at.
He never told you he suspected his wife of having an affair? That's crazy.
She might have been a little troubled, but Dorothy would never You You think Perry had something to do with Dorothy's murder? No, it's not possible.
If your brother was jealous Extreme emotional disturbance is a defense to murder.
Now, if your brother snapped that night, you aren't helping him by not telling us.
I think that I should call my father.
Sis says hubby went back home.
But nobody saw him.
He says the doorman was busy helping somebody else.
Which gives him two hours to do his wife, dump her, and cross home plate.
Plenty of time, plenty of motive.
But not enough of either for a warrant.
Hey, Arlen Graham just called.
Wants us to meet with him and his son.
Get this matter straightened out.
He's a shrink, too.
Oh, good.
One for each of you.
Perry has nothing to hide.
We're therapists.
We believe in the truth.
Yeah, so do we.
But we rarely hear it.
We understand you and your wife were having problems.
Oh, show me a couple who doesn't.
Dr.
Graham? We'd been married over 10 years.
I can't say whether it was one thing or the other.
Sometimes she did get a little distant.
Did you know your wife was sleeping with a Hudson student? ARLEN: This is according to whom? ED: They were seen together.
Seen together? Maybe she was helping him with his work.
Look, I don't doubt many young men would want an affair with Dorothy.
She was a beautiful woman.
But there is no way that my daughter-in-law compromised her marriage.
Is that right? Dorothy would never She couldn't do anything like that.
Couldn't? What my son means, is that Dorothy was faithful.
I'd like to hear it from your son.
Too bad your alibi isn't stronger.
BRISCOE: We're going to have to check into the background of your marriage.
Have to talk to some of your friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
Could get messy.
Is that really necessary? It is if we want to get a search warrant.
What if my son consented to a search of his apartment? That would help.
Hmm? What are they going to find? Let's put an end to this business, once and for all.
But I want my lawyer present.
You'll put everything back just as you found it.
Yeah, sure.
What's this? My journal.
No, this.
It's from my wife's datebook.
So what's it doing in your journal? Look at this on top.
"O-B-S-S.
WIJ.
" Obsessed with John? ED: He also circled 422B.
Your wife's boyfriend's address is 422 Broadway.
Meaning what? ED: Meaning, we should all go down to the precinct.
With your consent, of course.
You lied about your wife's affair.
You don't need to answer.
Right.
He can take his chances with the grand jury.
Grand jury? Yeah, you know, the place where they get murder indictments? They're bluffing, Perry.
Yeah, listen to him.
He's been doing great for you so far.
Okay.
Maybe I did suspect an affair.
ED: You tracked her to his apartment, didn't you? No.
And then things got out of hand.
Look, nothing got out of hand.
She was obsessed with a 19-year-old.
That didn't upset you? She was confused.
Oh, really? That's not what the kid told us.
He said she knew exactly what she wanted.
You have no right to talk to me that way.
Tough to imagine your wife in the arms of a young lover.
Almost makes you want to wring her neck, doesn't it? All right, gentlemen, we're done.
BRISCOE: Sit tight, Counselor.
(DOOR CLOSES) A lover's address and an unconfirmed alibi.
It's not enough to hold him.
I thought you people could indict a ham sandwich.
Without the statement, I'm missing the ham.
Have a unit sit on him.
Okay.
In the meantime, you guys show his photo around the boyfriend's building.
No, sorry.
What's this about? The guy in 2B.
A friend of his was murdered last week.
I was out of town, in a play.
What was it, a break-in? No.
A woman he was seeing got killed.
Really? 'Cause somebody last month was asking about a woman.
Who? Some guy said that the landlord sent him to check for illegal sublets.
Asked all these questions about who was living in 2B.
Was there a woman staying there, and stuff like that.
Said I'd get a break on the rent if I called him next time I saw her around.
Is this the woman he was asking about? Uh, yeah, I think so.
This guy give you a phone number? Uh, I don't need a break on the rent that bad.
But I remember where he was from.
Uh, Crane Detective Agency.
I was pursuing a matter for a private individual.
I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to identify him.
There's no privilege here.
You know, we're not working a jaywalking case here.
Look, I'm sorry about the woman, but I can force you to testify in front of the grand jury.
Then force me.
Detective Green.
On your feet.
Oh, come on.
Look, can't we work this out? Sure.
You can tell us who hired you.
Graham.
Perry Graham? His father.
JACK: I thought it was the husband's job to spy on his wife.
Maybe his father wanted to protect him in the event of a divorce.
Pretty extreme, collecting photographs of your daughter-in-law's affair.
You think he had a thing for her? Have we checked his whereabouts that night? Mmm-hmm.
His secretary said he had to speak at some kind of dinner party.
See if he stayed for dessert.
What time was Dr.
Graham supposed to speak? It wasn't anything formal, really.
Just taking questions, chatting over coffee, that sort of thing.
About Surrendered Spouses? It has saved thousands of marriages.
Including ours.
Eric and I married young.
College sweethearts.
And then the kids came and suddenly we weren't lovers anymore, just Mom and Dad.
Truth is, we were at each other's throats most of the time.
That is, until Dr.
Graham taught me how to just back off, accept my husband's decisions.
You know, the funny thing is, once she did that, I Well, it just wasn't as important for me to be right about everything.
You both seem pretty lucky.
Yeah.
Since his wife died, Dr.
Graham's devoted his life to helping couples just like us.
He's a widower? Yes.
He lost his wife to an illness several years ago.
So when was coffee served? We waited until 8:30.
Dr.
Graham was running late.
When did he arrive exactly? It was after 10:00, I think.
He said he had a patient who'd had a crisis.
Did he call you and tell you that? No, we phoned him.
But his line was busy.
Does Dr.
Graham know that you're here? I'm not sure what Dr.
Graham knows.
I don't think we should answer any more questions until we call him.
"Never argue with your husband.
"If he takes the wrong exit off the freeway, "don't correct him.
" Doesn't sound half-bad.
Yes, I'll hold.
What about his story, he had some crisis with a patient? Abbie checked with his service.
There's no record of any patient call that night.
We also ran his LUDs.
And? One call to his granddaughter's boarding school at 8:25.
To what? Tell her he murdered her mother? I'm running it down now.
We're also getting records of his wife's death.
According to his bank statements, Graham's made millions peddling his bunk through the sale of books and tapes.
And he used his son's marriage as his role model.
So a divorce would hit him right in his pocketbook.
CARMICHAEL: Yes, thank you, very much.
That was the headmistress at the daughter's school.
It wasn't grandpa who called.
It was Dorothy Graham.
I've advised Perry not to answer any questions.
I hope you also advised him, that since you were hired by his father, you have a conflict of interest.
Obviously, father and son have the same interest.
Proving Perry's innocence.
Really? Did you know your wife was at your father's house that night? What are you talking about? She called your daughter from there before she was strangled.
That's not possible.
Check with the school.
The night operator took the call.
Your daughter was already in bed.
Well, why would she call Lucy? We're more interested in what your wife was doing at your father's house.
I don't know.
You weren't aware your father was spying on her? Spying? These were taken by a private detective hired by your father.
He had no right.
Why would she be at his house? I don't know.
Sometimes she came to him for counseling.
My God.
Talk about a conflict of interest.
I thought my father was helping Dorothy.
Perry.
JACK: When you and your wife visited your father, where would you park your car? Kinney's on 85th.
The Mercedes was picked up at 9:23.
Paid for by credit card.
M.
E.
's report says she was probably dead by then.
Gwen Graham.
He used his daughter to help him.
Let's pick them both up.
If he doesn't read, you read it to him.
BRISCOE: Excuse me.
ARLEN: What Dr.
Graham, you know why we're here.
Please stand up.
(SCOFFS) My lawyer's going to have a field day.
Why don't you take your own advice, Doc? Surrender with love.
I'm due in front of the grand jury, Mr.
Billings.
What's so urgent? Dorothy Graham wasn't the victim of a murder.
She killed herself.
You're claiming it was suicide? This is Mrs.
Graham's suicide note, along with an old psychiatric report.
Details of a prior attempt by her when she was in college.
Dorothy hung herself.
Where did this happen? In my home, Friday evening.
And you didn't call the police? I'm a trained therapist.
I thought Dorothy's suicide would be too painful for Perry and my granddaughter to bear.
So you put her body in the trunk of a car? Look, she came to me to talk about her marriage.
When she realized I knew about her affair, she became hysterical.
I went upstairs to check on her.
That's when I found her.
In the bathroom.
She'd used my bathrobe tie to do it.
My daughter knows what happened.
I saw her.
It was terrible.
So you see, Mr.
McCoy, you can't proceed with this case.
Your client lied to the police.
He concealed his daughter-in-law's body.
I'm not about to take his word for anything.
They'll both be arraigned on felony complaints.
Then you intend to proceed? I'll hold off on the grand jury, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.
The court appointed separate counsel for the daughter and released them on 100,000 each.
I see.
In other words, you're saying that the M.
E.
Doesn't know the difference between a strangulation and a hanging? Her body was discovered within a few minutes.
Rodgers says that time frame explains the absence of any stocking glove distribution of blood.
Translation? Why her hands and feet weren't discolored.
She also had a V mark under her chin, but because she used a bathrobe tie, it was just a shallow furrow.
So why rule it murder in the first place? A woman's body is recovered from the trunk of her car under the circumstance of a robbery.
What other conclusion would you have them draw? The right one.
They had an expert compare her suicide note to excerpts from her date book.
They match.
Are we sure about that suicide note? Yes.
She talks about being distraught over her marriage, angry about the situation she's in, fears about her daughter's future.
There's also a prior suicide attempt when she was in college.
Pills, yeah.
And Arlen Graham was her therapist.
This man knew what happened, and he still tried to get us to call it murder.
I wonder what the ethics are of turning a patient into your daughter-in-law? Forget the ethics.
I want to know how he did it.
A suicide attempt leaves a person vulnerable, looking for a way to make sense of what happened.
Throw in the trust between a patient and therapist, and you have all the ingredients for manipulation.
Plus, I'd say there's some surrogacy going on there, too.
Surrogacy? The man lost his wife, never remarried.
He's attracted to her.
It happens.
So he gave her to his son.
Ten years later, he's taking dirty pictures of her.
He said she came to his house because she wanted to talk to him about her affair.
Imagine wanting to talk to your father-in-law about your adultery.
What then? The man's been telling her what to do for most of her life.
It's pretty clear she went for permission.
To commit suicide? From her note, it's obvious she was depressed, self-medicating.
I'd say she wanted out.
Out of her life? You're saying her suicide was predictable? Foreseeable, definitely.
And there were indicators.
I mean, what this guy did was totally irresponsible.
What kind of indicators are we talking about? Prior suicide attempt, for one.
Almost 20% of people who attempt suicide eventually compete it.
Graham knows that.
He also knows the risk of using a shaming device with someone who's that fragile.
What's a shaming device? Those dirty pictures again.
They're leverage.
Something to make it clear to her she'd be exposed if she refused to rejoin the pack.
Even if he didn't strangle her, he killed her all the same.
She's the one that tied the noose.
Doesn't matter.
Not if we can prove he recklessly ignored the dangers of suicide when he threatened her with the loss of her child and career.
Big ifs.
Arlen Graham wanted us to think she was murdered rather than that she killed herself.
Why? Protect her reputation.
Who knows? Read the note.
It was his reputation he was worried about.
"You gave me no choice.
" She's talking about her father-in-law.
And being forced to live the rest of her life as a surrendered spouse.
This man put all the ingredients together, Adam.
We can't just let him walk away when the bomb goes off.
Can you prove that's what happened? We turn the daughter, he'll be forced to take the stand.
We'll convict him with his own words.
We both know there's no way you can prove murder, Mr.
McCoy.
That's why we amended the indictment to man two.
Manslaughter? You're grasping at straws.
All the warning signs were there.
You and your father simply chose to disregard them in order to browbeat your sister-in-law back into the fold.
I had nothing to do with it.
CARMICHAEL: Are you really going to sit there and tell us you had no idea your sister-in-law was in trouble? What are you offering? In exchange for your client's testimony, we are willing to dismiss the charges against her.
Testify against my father? Oh, I can't.
Can't or won't? Your mother died when you were very young, Gwen.
It must have been hard for you, trying to be her replacement.
Well, it was an accident.
She slipped in the bath.
You were the one who found your mother's body.
Yeah, I came home.
She was always there to greet me.
The autopsy report indicates that she died from loss of blood.
There wasn't any head wound, Gwen.
She slashed her wrists.
JACK: Your mother committed suicide.
No.
No.
Why would she be in a bath? You said she knew you were coming home from school.
Your father used you to lie for him, just as he's using you now.
Only this time, you have to choose between him and any relationship with your brother and your niece.
Are you really prepared to go to jail for him? GWEN: I called my father at about 8:30 that night.
JACK: He was home? Yes.
With my sister-in-law.
Did he say why she was there? Objection.
Hearsay.
JACK: These are admissions, Your Honor.
You can answer.
He told me that he had learned some terrible things about Dorothy.
But he wouldn't tell me over the phone.
He asked me to come right over.
And when you arrived, what happened? Dorothy was on the floor in the bathroom and the tie to the bathrobe was still around her neck.
She had hanged herself.
Did your father say why? He told me that Dorothy had been having an affair with a student, and that she'd been taking drugs.
Then he showed me the photographs.
He kept saying that he'd offered her a chance.
Did he explain what he meant? He'd shown her the pictures to make her stop the affair.
And he told her that if she didn't, he would expose her to the university, and that he would have Perry divorce her and take custody of Lucy.
And she began crying.
Begging.
How could you, Daddy? BILLINGS: Objection.
JUDGE: The jury will disregard.
JACK: Did he say what happened next? He said he found her hanging in the bathroom.
He was afraid.
I've never seen my father afraid before.
He asked me to help.
I wanted to call the police, but I got her car and we drove the body to the school.
The plan was to make it look like a murder.
Nothing further.
Your father was upset about Dorothy's suicide? Yes.
So her death wasn't something he wanted? Well, I'm not sure anymore.
Oh, by the way, did Dorothy ever come to you for advice? Maybe to chat? Sometimes.
And in speaking with your sister-in-law, did you ever suspect suicide as a possibility? Well, no.
Nothing further.
ARLEN: I thought Dorothy's marriage to Perry would be a stabilizing influence in both their lives.
It was your son and daughter-in-law's own decision to marry, was it not? Of course.
And your son used your Surrendered Spouse program in his marriage? And in his practice.
I know it's been disparaged here, but it's a very natural principle.
Once a man's given respect by his spouse, freed from her criticism, he's then willing to assume any burden.
And that willingness to provide for a family leads to a more stable, more faithful and more intimate marriage.
Did you expect your daughter-in-law to kill herself that night? No.
I hoped she'd return to being the loving spouse she'd been through most of her marriage.
Your witness.
She was 19 years old, and you were her therapist.
Yes.
And you used this influence to arrange her marriage to your son.
The decision was theirs.
Was it? still manipulating her.
That isn't true.
Why else would she come to you to discuss her adultery then? For help.
And you thought using photographs to shame her into submission would do the trick? There are consequences to behavior.
Dorothy was putting her marriage in jeopardy.
Oh, I think she was putting a lot more than that in jeopardy.
Reputation.
Fame.
A million dollar self-help business.
Her divorce from your son would have ended all that.
You can't foresee suicide.
Oh, come on, Dr.
Graham.
Your daughter-in-law had a prior suicide attempt.
She was depressed, abusing drugs, engaged in a sexual relationship that threatened her marriage and career.
She'd just sent her only child off to boarding school.
Are you saying that you couldn't tell that her emotional wheels had come off? Dorothy made her own choice.
I think you simply disregarded these facts because they challenged the very value of your program.
I never forced my daughter-in-law to kill herself.
I told her the affair had to stop.
She refused to listen.
I had to take matters into my own hands.
She was in the bathroom crying.
I came up behind her with the bathrobe tie and I strangled her.
(AUDIENCE MURMURING) (GAVEL STRIKING) I keep telling you, you can't count on suicide.
Who uses a murder confession as a defense to manslaughter? Someone with nothing to lose.
He figures if he can get one juror to believe it was murder, he buys himself reasonable doubt on manslaughter.
You understand that if I allow this case to go to the jury on man two, double jeopardy precludes any future prosecution for murder.
I don't suppose there's a guilty plea to go along with your client's confession? I'm afraid not.
Well, let's call his bluff.
Add a murder count.
If he really wants to play pin the tail on the donkey, then let's give the jury some place to put it.
As satisfying as that might be, Miss Carmichael, I can't allow charges to be added at this point without defense counsel's consent.
The People have rested their case, Your Honor.
Of course, you could always move to dismiss this case.
Re-indict for manslaughter and murder, and take your chances with a new trial.
Charging him on both counts only makes us look like we don't know what really happened.
Mr.
Billings would drive a truck through the reasonable doubt that creates.
Besides, what's to prevent him from taking the stand in the next trial and claiming that it was suicide, and he only lied here to protect himself? My client seems to have put you between a rock and a hard place.
Not that hard.
This man manipulates every situation to his advantage.
Lies when it suits him, now confesses to a crime that he didn't commit in order to avoid conviction for one that he did.
Only this time, I have an M.
E.
's report and a suicide note.
Tell your client we didn't bite, Counselor.
I have no intention of dropping this case.
Your client's going to jail for what he did.
BILLINGS: No juror's duty may ever be as difficult as the one you're being asked to do today.
But the law of a case must come from the judge.
And your oath as a juror to follow that law must overcome any urge you might have to ignore it.
My client's confessed to murder.
Yet Her Honor will instruct you that all you are to determine is whether Dorothy Graham committed suicide, and if she did, whether my client was criminally responsible for it.
A fair jury cannot base its decision on what it fears might be the outcome of an acquittal.
If you have any reasonable doubt Dorothy Graham did not commit suicide, that she may have been murdered, your oath as a juror requires you to find my client not guilty.
It's that simple.
You cannot put yourselves above the law.
Only one man's tried to put himself above the law.
The defendant.
Everything in this case points to suicide.
Her depression, her recent abuse of drugs, an inappropriate sexual relationship, a desperate attempt to place her only child out of harm's way.
And the forensic evidence tells us it was suicide.
The telltale V mark under her chin, described by the M.
E.
, only caused by hanging.
Her prior suicide attempt.
Admissions by the defendant the very night of the crime, where he told his daughter what had happened.
And finally, the words of the victim herself, the suicide note, which describes the horror of this defendant's concept of marital bliss and the victim's resolve to escape it, even if it meant death.
Remember the power he held as her therapist to manipulate, and the special knowledge and skills his training and relationship gave him to make mischief.
Don't be fooled.
Don't allow him to escape responsibility for a crime he did commit with false confession to one that he didn't.
And think about all the times Dorothy Graham's pleas for help went unanswered, and answer them now.
Has the jury reached a verdict in this case? MAN: We have.
Go ahead.
We the jury in the above titled action on the charge of manslaughter in the second degree find the defendant guilty.
False confessions.
Double jeopardy.
This guy thought he could control the entire system.
He underestimated can control.
Maybe.
But you're forgetting one little item.
If he really did kill her, then he just bought himself one hell of a plea bargain.
Three years for murder.
These are their stories.
Yeah, great.
Hey, it's not my fault that your friends are so hung over they can't get up this early.
It was your sister's party.
See that? That's why I won't bring the car up the night before.
Steve They popped the trunk.
No, look.
Car's registered to a Dorothy Graham.
Long walk home.
Looks like they got the hood ornament.
OFFICER: Faculty sticker.
I checked with the registrar.
Turns out she's a grad student.
She's gonna be a couple of credits shy.
What about witnesses? Couple of units canvassed this morning.
No one saw anything, but a bunch of people heard some car alarms going off around I want any complaint reports on those.
You got it.
Thanks.
Looks like strangulation.
Petechial hemorrhaging around her eyes.
But whatever they used didn't leave much bruising around her neck.
ED: So no sign of struggle, then? The hands are clean, fingernails.
No scuff marks on the heels of her shoes.
She was killed somewhere else.
That'd be my guess.
We're thinking, what, robbery? CSU OFFICER: There's no purse.
Coat's gone, too.
You guys get a shot of this? CSU OFFICER: Yeah.
Doesn't look like they finished what they started.
They sure finished her.
Please have Lucy call her father as soon as possible.
Dr.
Graham.
It's very important.
Yes, that's right.
Thank you.
I guess I should also call my father and sister.
We're sorry to intrude.
We just need a few minutes to run some things down with you.
Of course.
Uh, the last time you saw your wife was when? Yesterday morning, before she went to class.
BRISCOE: She was a graduate student? In the Sociology Department.
Dorothy was going for her Masters.
ED: You didn't speak with her during the day? No, I'm with patients until 4:00.
On Fridays, Dorothy generally went to the library to work on her thesis.
Where'd you go after your last patient? I play racquetball on Friday evenings.
I just came straight home.
ED: What time was that? Around 7:00.
Anybody see you come in? The doorman was helping someone with packages.
I just picked up our mail and came straight upstairs.
And your wife wasn't here? Look, I assumed she was at the library.
When she didn't return home by 7:30, I got concerned.
ED: And that's when you called the precinct? About an hour later.
What about your marriage? Things okay with you and Mrs.
Graham? Things were just fine.
You're a psychologist? Private practice.
Any of your patients you think might be capable of something like this? It's just basic family therapy.
Okay.
We'll call you with any developments or questions we might have.
My wife She wasn't touched? It doesn't look like that.
Dorothy taught a 10:00 seminar.
After that? Uh, she usually had office hours for her students from 12:00 to 2:00.
BRISCOE: Did you see her after that? Yes, about 2:30.
She was grabbing some coffee in the faculty lounge.
ED: Anybody with her? Not that I saw.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Excuse me.
Green.
We're gonna want a list of anybody who had office hours with her yesterday.
Sure.
Anything out of the ordinary with her lately? Well, Dorothy kept to herself mostly.
But there was never anything ordinary about her.
What do you mean? Well, she had some pretty peculiar notions about the role of women in today's society.
Most people would call them outdated.
The stay-at-home mother, wife.
That sort of thing.
Thanks.
Okay, thanks.
We'll be in touch.
Complaints from those other trunk pops.
Another Friday night in Fun City.
Thank you.
I was going to meet some friends in Brooklyn.
At midnight? This club doesn't open till 11:00.
The complaint you filed indicates you saw some people near your car? When I came around the corner, four boys, teenagers.
One was going through my trunk, and the others were just sort of hanging out.
I yelled.
They ran.
Can you describe them? Kind of husky, a little shorter than me.
Hispanic, I think.
A woman was murdered in the neighborhood last night.
You think it was these guys? Her trunk was popped.
Oh, my God.
I chased them.
Spray paint.
Same colors.
I tried to wash it off.
NG.
Dealership says I gotta paint the whole panel.
Did you see who did it? No.
Wife and I just went to dinner with our son.
Goes to Hudson.
Pre-med.
When we came out, I could still smell the paint.
And what time was that? They broke the trunk, too.
Anything missing? The hood ornament.
A damn Buick, for crying out loud.
Preliminary M.
E.
's report.
She was killed Friday night some time before 9:00.
Strangulation.
Probably used some type of cloth object under the chin.
No surprise there.
Well, maybe not.
But her tox screen might explain the absence of any sign of struggle.
Percocet.
Pain killer.
I wonder what hurt.
Well, you said her husband was some kind of doctor, right? Psychologist.
Can't write script.
Hey, graffiti's probably not gang-related.
What, then? Gang Intel says it's most likely street art.
Like to hear them call it that when it's on their car.
They gave me the name of this gallery in the East Village.
They say the owner may be able to identify the work.
WOMAN: It's actually quite good.
ED: Can you tell us who the writer is? Someone's obviously trying to bite the style of SENT 1.
Again, in English? SENT 1.
S-E-N-T.
SENT 1 was known for the Wild Style.
This is a mimic or a bite of that style.
Wild Style? Wild Style letterforms bend and fracture into other forms.
The result's pretty abstract, at least, to the untrained eye.
But not to yours.
No.
This writer's using symbols to substitute for letters and numbers.
Like here, you have an eye.
That's the letter I.
Or a snake, an S.
And right there, that's a blackjack hand.
Twenty-one.
Exactly.
IS21.
SENT 1's rumored to have gone to public school, IS21 on the Upper West Side.
There's even a mural he painted there.
We're looking for the person or persons who painted that picture.
It looks like our mural.
That's what we were thinking.
But you're not sure it was one of our students? What we'd like to do is have our witness come down and take a look at some of the kids.
You expect me to make my students available for line-ups at school? Hey, I'd do show-ups at Carnegie Hall if I thought I'd find a murderer.
I'll call the Board of Ed's lawyers and see if they feel the same way.
So, what? We bring the Connor woman down here and sit outside in the car? No.
I got a better idea.
(SCHOOL BELL RINGING) May I help you? Yeah.
I'm trying to get a yearbook.
Are you the parent of a student here at the school? No, actually it's for a friend.
Kid's godmother down in Puerto Rico.
She doesn't get a chance to see him much, and I thought it'd be a really nice gift.
In that case, I think I can manage to drum one up for you.
That'd be great.
Thank you.
Here you go.
It's $25.
BRISCOE: The principal refused to cooperate.
But using yearbook photos as mug shots? That's what Giuliani tried to do.
I didn't think it was a bad idea then, either.
Detective Green, may I see you? I want you to get rid of that.
She just picked him out.
Ramon Soriano.
Class of 2000.
If that ID gets tossed out in court, you're going to be the one to explain it to the district attorney.
Ramon Soriano? Yeah.
Why don't you put the soldering iron down, Ramon.
Put your hands behind your back, kid.
You're under arrest.
What for? For violating a luxury vehicle.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do, say, can and will be used against you You keep souvenirs from all the women you kill? My son's not a killer.
She sure looks dead to me.
ED: Maybe you didn't mean to hurt her.
Maybe one of the other kids did it.
Is that what happened, Ramon? No, it wasn't like that.
We were just messing around.
If you know something, tell them.
Uh That lady's car, the Mercedes.
Uh, we'd seen it around, but never at night.
So what happened? We started messing with it.
My friend, Alex, popped the trunk, and that's when he saw her.
But she was already dead.
You just happened to pick a car that had a dead woman in it? No, I told you, we seen the Benz before.
ED: When? Uh, that same day.
Maybe 4:00.
The lady got in with some guy and they drove away.
What'd the guy look like? Uh White guy, a cup of coffee, Mets cap turned around.
He looked like a college dude.
(SIGHS) So, what do you think of our struggling artist? Nothing on his sheet.
It's a long way from popping trunks to popping citizens.
They didn't touch the other woman.
Well, start with Mrs.
Graham's students.
See if we can find that Met fan.
There's only four guys in our section.
I haven't seen any of them wearing Mets caps.
What time were you in her office? Like, 1:00 to 1:30.
She was helping me with this paper I was writing.
Well, sort of helping me.
Why sort of? She just seemed kind of out of it.
You notice if any of the guys had crushes on her? (CHUCKLES) Mrs.
Graham? She thought flirting was, like, majorly sinful.
What about the guys in, uh, other sections of the course? Any of them wear Mets caps? Lot of guys wear hats.
Think hard, Lisa.
It's pretty important.
There was this one guy outside in the hallway, outside her office, when I came out.
He might have been wearing a Mets cap backwards.
You ever seen him around before? I go swimming at the gym.
Sometimes I see him there.
(WHISTLE BLOWING) BRISCOE: Hey! You, out of the pool.
What's up? ED: You a Mets fan? Is that a crime? BRISCOE: Depends on the season.
You know a Dorothy Graham? I had nothing to do with that.
So you don't have a problem with me checking your stuff? Uh Uh-oh.
Percocet.
And Ecstasy.
Let's go.
Look, I don't know what you're talking about.
Four kids from the neighborhood identified you getting into her car the day she was killed.
So I was with her.
How'd you know her? From around.
I audited a couple of her classes.
And where was she taking you, on a field trip? Possession with intent to distribute.
That's not recreational, that's correctional.
I never sold her anything.
There was Percocet in her blood.
I gave her the stuff once in a while.
But only when she asked for it.
Out of the goodness of your heart, right? We had a relationship.
BRISCOE: What kind of relationship? You know.
Sex.
Look, she was messed up, man.
Messed up how? I don't know.
Uh, we didn't spend that much time talking.
But, uh, she used to cry for no reason.
Stuff like that.
She do any crying that day? I didn't kill her.
Her crying, being upset, that had nothing to do with me.
It was about her husband, I think.
So where'd you take her? To my place.
When did she leave? Around 6:45.
She usually had to be back home by 7:00.
Where'd you go after? Chinese restaurant, I was there from, like, 7:00 on.
Better hope your waiter isn't a Yankees fan.
Lover boy's alibi checks out.
Cashier remembers him leaving around 9:00.
Autopsy report says she was dead by then.
Well, the kid said she was supposed to be home by 7:00, right? One with mustard.
But the husband doesn't call the precinct for over two hours.
That's because he knew where she was.
(SCOFFS) Yeah, usually we're the last to know.
Well, let's see if we can nail down his time line.
You gonna pay for this? You betcha.
BRISCOE: Lance Dickinson? Yes.
Lady at the front desk says you were playing racquetball with Perry Graham on Friday.
We play every Friday.
Is this about his wife? Last Friday, you notice anything different about him? Not really.
He ever mention any family problems? (SIGHS) I've known Perry 10 years.
Dorothy meant the world to him.
I'm sure he had nothing to do with her death.
Mmm-hmm.
So did they have any problems? Look, I don't know.
(EXHALES NERVOUSLY) We didn't meet them much socially.
Why is that? Their relationship made my wife a little uncomfortable.
At restaurants, Perry would always order for her.
That kind of thing.
So he was pretty controlling? (SIGHS) She didn't complain.
Hey, different strokes, you know? Yeah.
So, uh, what time did you play until? About a quarter to 6:00.
That was a pretty short game.
Perry had a magazine article due.
Wanted to get it proofread.
And where would he go for that? His sister, Gwen.
Yeah, Perry was here for about a half an hour.
He left a paper to proofread, and then he He went home.
ED: He ever talk to you about his wife? Sometimes.
He ever mention any marital problems? I don't understand what you're getting at.
He never told you he suspected his wife of having an affair? That's crazy.
She might have been a little troubled, but Dorothy would never You You think Perry had something to do with Dorothy's murder? No, it's not possible.
If your brother was jealous Extreme emotional disturbance is a defense to murder.
Now, if your brother snapped that night, you aren't helping him by not telling us.
I think that I should call my father.
Sis says hubby went back home.
But nobody saw him.
He says the doorman was busy helping somebody else.
Which gives him two hours to do his wife, dump her, and cross home plate.
Plenty of time, plenty of motive.
But not enough of either for a warrant.
Hey, Arlen Graham just called.
Wants us to meet with him and his son.
Get this matter straightened out.
He's a shrink, too.
Oh, good.
One for each of you.
Perry has nothing to hide.
We're therapists.
We believe in the truth.
Yeah, so do we.
But we rarely hear it.
We understand you and your wife were having problems.
Oh, show me a couple who doesn't.
Dr.
Graham? We'd been married over 10 years.
I can't say whether it was one thing or the other.
Sometimes she did get a little distant.
Did you know your wife was sleeping with a Hudson student? ARLEN: This is according to whom? ED: They were seen together.
Seen together? Maybe she was helping him with his work.
Look, I don't doubt many young men would want an affair with Dorothy.
She was a beautiful woman.
But there is no way that my daughter-in-law compromised her marriage.
Is that right? Dorothy would never She couldn't do anything like that.
Couldn't? What my son means, is that Dorothy was faithful.
I'd like to hear it from your son.
Too bad your alibi isn't stronger.
BRISCOE: We're going to have to check into the background of your marriage.
Have to talk to some of your friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
Could get messy.
Is that really necessary? It is if we want to get a search warrant.
What if my son consented to a search of his apartment? That would help.
Hmm? What are they going to find? Let's put an end to this business, once and for all.
But I want my lawyer present.
You'll put everything back just as you found it.
Yeah, sure.
What's this? My journal.
No, this.
It's from my wife's datebook.
So what's it doing in your journal? Look at this on top.
"O-B-S-S.
WIJ.
" Obsessed with John? ED: He also circled 422B.
Your wife's boyfriend's address is 422 Broadway.
Meaning what? ED: Meaning, we should all go down to the precinct.
With your consent, of course.
You lied about your wife's affair.
You don't need to answer.
Right.
He can take his chances with the grand jury.
Grand jury? Yeah, you know, the place where they get murder indictments? They're bluffing, Perry.
Yeah, listen to him.
He's been doing great for you so far.
Okay.
Maybe I did suspect an affair.
ED: You tracked her to his apartment, didn't you? No.
And then things got out of hand.
Look, nothing got out of hand.
She was obsessed with a 19-year-old.
That didn't upset you? She was confused.
Oh, really? That's not what the kid told us.
He said she knew exactly what she wanted.
You have no right to talk to me that way.
Tough to imagine your wife in the arms of a young lover.
Almost makes you want to wring her neck, doesn't it? All right, gentlemen, we're done.
BRISCOE: Sit tight, Counselor.
(DOOR CLOSES) A lover's address and an unconfirmed alibi.
It's not enough to hold him.
I thought you people could indict a ham sandwich.
Without the statement, I'm missing the ham.
Have a unit sit on him.
Okay.
In the meantime, you guys show his photo around the boyfriend's building.
No, sorry.
What's this about? The guy in 2B.
A friend of his was murdered last week.
I was out of town, in a play.
What was it, a break-in? No.
A woman he was seeing got killed.
Really? 'Cause somebody last month was asking about a woman.
Who? Some guy said that the landlord sent him to check for illegal sublets.
Asked all these questions about who was living in 2B.
Was there a woman staying there, and stuff like that.
Said I'd get a break on the rent if I called him next time I saw her around.
Is this the woman he was asking about? Uh, yeah, I think so.
This guy give you a phone number? Uh, I don't need a break on the rent that bad.
But I remember where he was from.
Uh, Crane Detective Agency.
I was pursuing a matter for a private individual.
I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to identify him.
There's no privilege here.
You know, we're not working a jaywalking case here.
Look, I'm sorry about the woman, but I can force you to testify in front of the grand jury.
Then force me.
Detective Green.
On your feet.
Oh, come on.
Look, can't we work this out? Sure.
You can tell us who hired you.
Graham.
Perry Graham? His father.
JACK: I thought it was the husband's job to spy on his wife.
Maybe his father wanted to protect him in the event of a divorce.
Pretty extreme, collecting photographs of your daughter-in-law's affair.
You think he had a thing for her? Have we checked his whereabouts that night? Mmm-hmm.
His secretary said he had to speak at some kind of dinner party.
See if he stayed for dessert.
What time was Dr.
Graham supposed to speak? It wasn't anything formal, really.
Just taking questions, chatting over coffee, that sort of thing.
About Surrendered Spouses? It has saved thousands of marriages.
Including ours.
Eric and I married young.
College sweethearts.
And then the kids came and suddenly we weren't lovers anymore, just Mom and Dad.
Truth is, we were at each other's throats most of the time.
That is, until Dr.
Graham taught me how to just back off, accept my husband's decisions.
You know, the funny thing is, once she did that, I Well, it just wasn't as important for me to be right about everything.
You both seem pretty lucky.
Yeah.
Since his wife died, Dr.
Graham's devoted his life to helping couples just like us.
He's a widower? Yes.
He lost his wife to an illness several years ago.
So when was coffee served? We waited until 8:30.
Dr.
Graham was running late.
When did he arrive exactly? It was after 10:00, I think.
He said he had a patient who'd had a crisis.
Did he call you and tell you that? No, we phoned him.
But his line was busy.
Does Dr.
Graham know that you're here? I'm not sure what Dr.
Graham knows.
I don't think we should answer any more questions until we call him.
"Never argue with your husband.
"If he takes the wrong exit off the freeway, "don't correct him.
" Doesn't sound half-bad.
Yes, I'll hold.
What about his story, he had some crisis with a patient? Abbie checked with his service.
There's no record of any patient call that night.
We also ran his LUDs.
And? One call to his granddaughter's boarding school at 8:25.
To what? Tell her he murdered her mother? I'm running it down now.
We're also getting records of his wife's death.
According to his bank statements, Graham's made millions peddling his bunk through the sale of books and tapes.
And he used his son's marriage as his role model.
So a divorce would hit him right in his pocketbook.
CARMICHAEL: Yes, thank you, very much.
That was the headmistress at the daughter's school.
It wasn't grandpa who called.
It was Dorothy Graham.
I've advised Perry not to answer any questions.
I hope you also advised him, that since you were hired by his father, you have a conflict of interest.
Obviously, father and son have the same interest.
Proving Perry's innocence.
Really? Did you know your wife was at your father's house that night? What are you talking about? She called your daughter from there before she was strangled.
That's not possible.
Check with the school.
The night operator took the call.
Your daughter was already in bed.
Well, why would she call Lucy? We're more interested in what your wife was doing at your father's house.
I don't know.
You weren't aware your father was spying on her? Spying? These were taken by a private detective hired by your father.
He had no right.
Why would she be at his house? I don't know.
Sometimes she came to him for counseling.
My God.
Talk about a conflict of interest.
I thought my father was helping Dorothy.
Perry.
JACK: When you and your wife visited your father, where would you park your car? Kinney's on 85th.
The Mercedes was picked up at 9:23.
Paid for by credit card.
M.
E.
's report says she was probably dead by then.
Gwen Graham.
He used his daughter to help him.
Let's pick them both up.
If he doesn't read, you read it to him.
BRISCOE: Excuse me.
ARLEN: What Dr.
Graham, you know why we're here.
Please stand up.
(SCOFFS) My lawyer's going to have a field day.
Why don't you take your own advice, Doc? Surrender with love.
I'm due in front of the grand jury, Mr.
Billings.
What's so urgent? Dorothy Graham wasn't the victim of a murder.
She killed herself.
You're claiming it was suicide? This is Mrs.
Graham's suicide note, along with an old psychiatric report.
Details of a prior attempt by her when she was in college.
Dorothy hung herself.
Where did this happen? In my home, Friday evening.
And you didn't call the police? I'm a trained therapist.
I thought Dorothy's suicide would be too painful for Perry and my granddaughter to bear.
So you put her body in the trunk of a car? Look, she came to me to talk about her marriage.
When she realized I knew about her affair, she became hysterical.
I went upstairs to check on her.
That's when I found her.
In the bathroom.
She'd used my bathrobe tie to do it.
My daughter knows what happened.
I saw her.
It was terrible.
So you see, Mr.
McCoy, you can't proceed with this case.
Your client lied to the police.
He concealed his daughter-in-law's body.
I'm not about to take his word for anything.
They'll both be arraigned on felony complaints.
Then you intend to proceed? I'll hold off on the grand jury, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.
The court appointed separate counsel for the daughter and released them on 100,000 each.
I see.
In other words, you're saying that the M.
E.
Doesn't know the difference between a strangulation and a hanging? Her body was discovered within a few minutes.
Rodgers says that time frame explains the absence of any stocking glove distribution of blood.
Translation? Why her hands and feet weren't discolored.
She also had a V mark under her chin, but because she used a bathrobe tie, it was just a shallow furrow.
So why rule it murder in the first place? A woman's body is recovered from the trunk of her car under the circumstance of a robbery.
What other conclusion would you have them draw? The right one.
They had an expert compare her suicide note to excerpts from her date book.
They match.
Are we sure about that suicide note? Yes.
She talks about being distraught over her marriage, angry about the situation she's in, fears about her daughter's future.
There's also a prior suicide attempt when she was in college.
Pills, yeah.
And Arlen Graham was her therapist.
This man knew what happened, and he still tried to get us to call it murder.
I wonder what the ethics are of turning a patient into your daughter-in-law? Forget the ethics.
I want to know how he did it.
A suicide attempt leaves a person vulnerable, looking for a way to make sense of what happened.
Throw in the trust between a patient and therapist, and you have all the ingredients for manipulation.
Plus, I'd say there's some surrogacy going on there, too.
Surrogacy? The man lost his wife, never remarried.
He's attracted to her.
It happens.
So he gave her to his son.
Ten years later, he's taking dirty pictures of her.
He said she came to his house because she wanted to talk to him about her affair.
Imagine wanting to talk to your father-in-law about your adultery.
What then? The man's been telling her what to do for most of her life.
It's pretty clear she went for permission.
To commit suicide? From her note, it's obvious she was depressed, self-medicating.
I'd say she wanted out.
Out of her life? You're saying her suicide was predictable? Foreseeable, definitely.
And there were indicators.
I mean, what this guy did was totally irresponsible.
What kind of indicators are we talking about? Prior suicide attempt, for one.
Almost 20% of people who attempt suicide eventually compete it.
Graham knows that.
He also knows the risk of using a shaming device with someone who's that fragile.
What's a shaming device? Those dirty pictures again.
They're leverage.
Something to make it clear to her she'd be exposed if she refused to rejoin the pack.
Even if he didn't strangle her, he killed her all the same.
She's the one that tied the noose.
Doesn't matter.
Not if we can prove he recklessly ignored the dangers of suicide when he threatened her with the loss of her child and career.
Big ifs.
Arlen Graham wanted us to think she was murdered rather than that she killed herself.
Why? Protect her reputation.
Who knows? Read the note.
It was his reputation he was worried about.
"You gave me no choice.
" She's talking about her father-in-law.
And being forced to live the rest of her life as a surrendered spouse.
This man put all the ingredients together, Adam.
We can't just let him walk away when the bomb goes off.
Can you prove that's what happened? We turn the daughter, he'll be forced to take the stand.
We'll convict him with his own words.
We both know there's no way you can prove murder, Mr.
McCoy.
That's why we amended the indictment to man two.
Manslaughter? You're grasping at straws.
All the warning signs were there.
You and your father simply chose to disregard them in order to browbeat your sister-in-law back into the fold.
I had nothing to do with it.
CARMICHAEL: Are you really going to sit there and tell us you had no idea your sister-in-law was in trouble? What are you offering? In exchange for your client's testimony, we are willing to dismiss the charges against her.
Testify against my father? Oh, I can't.
Can't or won't? Your mother died when you were very young, Gwen.
It must have been hard for you, trying to be her replacement.
Well, it was an accident.
She slipped in the bath.
You were the one who found your mother's body.
Yeah, I came home.
She was always there to greet me.
The autopsy report indicates that she died from loss of blood.
There wasn't any head wound, Gwen.
She slashed her wrists.
JACK: Your mother committed suicide.
No.
No.
Why would she be in a bath? You said she knew you were coming home from school.
Your father used you to lie for him, just as he's using you now.
Only this time, you have to choose between him and any relationship with your brother and your niece.
Are you really prepared to go to jail for him? GWEN: I called my father at about 8:30 that night.
JACK: He was home? Yes.
With my sister-in-law.
Did he say why she was there? Objection.
Hearsay.
JACK: These are admissions, Your Honor.
You can answer.
He told me that he had learned some terrible things about Dorothy.
But he wouldn't tell me over the phone.
He asked me to come right over.
And when you arrived, what happened? Dorothy was on the floor in the bathroom and the tie to the bathrobe was still around her neck.
She had hanged herself.
Did your father say why? He told me that Dorothy had been having an affair with a student, and that she'd been taking drugs.
Then he showed me the photographs.
He kept saying that he'd offered her a chance.
Did he explain what he meant? He'd shown her the pictures to make her stop the affair.
And he told her that if she didn't, he would expose her to the university, and that he would have Perry divorce her and take custody of Lucy.
And she began crying.
Begging.
How could you, Daddy? BILLINGS: Objection.
JUDGE: The jury will disregard.
JACK: Did he say what happened next? He said he found her hanging in the bathroom.
He was afraid.
I've never seen my father afraid before.
He asked me to help.
I wanted to call the police, but I got her car and we drove the body to the school.
The plan was to make it look like a murder.
Nothing further.
Your father was upset about Dorothy's suicide? Yes.
So her death wasn't something he wanted? Well, I'm not sure anymore.
Oh, by the way, did Dorothy ever come to you for advice? Maybe to chat? Sometimes.
And in speaking with your sister-in-law, did you ever suspect suicide as a possibility? Well, no.
Nothing further.
ARLEN: I thought Dorothy's marriage to Perry would be a stabilizing influence in both their lives.
It was your son and daughter-in-law's own decision to marry, was it not? Of course.
And your son used your Surrendered Spouse program in his marriage? And in his practice.
I know it's been disparaged here, but it's a very natural principle.
Once a man's given respect by his spouse, freed from her criticism, he's then willing to assume any burden.
And that willingness to provide for a family leads to a more stable, more faithful and more intimate marriage.
Did you expect your daughter-in-law to kill herself that night? No.
I hoped she'd return to being the loving spouse she'd been through most of her marriage.
Your witness.
She was 19 years old, and you were her therapist.
Yes.
And you used this influence to arrange her marriage to your son.
The decision was theirs.
Was it? still manipulating her.
That isn't true.
Why else would she come to you to discuss her adultery then? For help.
And you thought using photographs to shame her into submission would do the trick? There are consequences to behavior.
Dorothy was putting her marriage in jeopardy.
Oh, I think she was putting a lot more than that in jeopardy.
Reputation.
Fame.
A million dollar self-help business.
Her divorce from your son would have ended all that.
You can't foresee suicide.
Oh, come on, Dr.
Graham.
Your daughter-in-law had a prior suicide attempt.
She was depressed, abusing drugs, engaged in a sexual relationship that threatened her marriage and career.
She'd just sent her only child off to boarding school.
Are you saying that you couldn't tell that her emotional wheels had come off? Dorothy made her own choice.
I think you simply disregarded these facts because they challenged the very value of your program.
I never forced my daughter-in-law to kill herself.
I told her the affair had to stop.
She refused to listen.
I had to take matters into my own hands.
She was in the bathroom crying.
I came up behind her with the bathrobe tie and I strangled her.
(AUDIENCE MURMURING) (GAVEL STRIKING) I keep telling you, you can't count on suicide.
Who uses a murder confession as a defense to manslaughter? Someone with nothing to lose.
He figures if he can get one juror to believe it was murder, he buys himself reasonable doubt on manslaughter.
You understand that if I allow this case to go to the jury on man two, double jeopardy precludes any future prosecution for murder.
I don't suppose there's a guilty plea to go along with your client's confession? I'm afraid not.
Well, let's call his bluff.
Add a murder count.
If he really wants to play pin the tail on the donkey, then let's give the jury some place to put it.
As satisfying as that might be, Miss Carmichael, I can't allow charges to be added at this point without defense counsel's consent.
The People have rested their case, Your Honor.
Of course, you could always move to dismiss this case.
Re-indict for manslaughter and murder, and take your chances with a new trial.
Charging him on both counts only makes us look like we don't know what really happened.
Mr.
Billings would drive a truck through the reasonable doubt that creates.
Besides, what's to prevent him from taking the stand in the next trial and claiming that it was suicide, and he only lied here to protect himself? My client seems to have put you between a rock and a hard place.
Not that hard.
This man manipulates every situation to his advantage.
Lies when it suits him, now confesses to a crime that he didn't commit in order to avoid conviction for one that he did.
Only this time, I have an M.
E.
's report and a suicide note.
Tell your client we didn't bite, Counselor.
I have no intention of dropping this case.
Your client's going to jail for what he did.
BILLINGS: No juror's duty may ever be as difficult as the one you're being asked to do today.
But the law of a case must come from the judge.
And your oath as a juror to follow that law must overcome any urge you might have to ignore it.
My client's confessed to murder.
Yet Her Honor will instruct you that all you are to determine is whether Dorothy Graham committed suicide, and if she did, whether my client was criminally responsible for it.
A fair jury cannot base its decision on what it fears might be the outcome of an acquittal.
If you have any reasonable doubt Dorothy Graham did not commit suicide, that she may have been murdered, your oath as a juror requires you to find my client not guilty.
It's that simple.
You cannot put yourselves above the law.
Only one man's tried to put himself above the law.
The defendant.
Everything in this case points to suicide.
Her depression, her recent abuse of drugs, an inappropriate sexual relationship, a desperate attempt to place her only child out of harm's way.
And the forensic evidence tells us it was suicide.
The telltale V mark under her chin, described by the M.
E.
, only caused by hanging.
Her prior suicide attempt.
Admissions by the defendant the very night of the crime, where he told his daughter what had happened.
And finally, the words of the victim herself, the suicide note, which describes the horror of this defendant's concept of marital bliss and the victim's resolve to escape it, even if it meant death.
Remember the power he held as her therapist to manipulate, and the special knowledge and skills his training and relationship gave him to make mischief.
Don't be fooled.
Don't allow him to escape responsibility for a crime he did commit with false confession to one that he didn't.
And think about all the times Dorothy Graham's pleas for help went unanswered, and answer them now.
Has the jury reached a verdict in this case? MAN: We have.
Go ahead.
We the jury in the above titled action on the charge of manslaughter in the second degree find the defendant guilty.
False confessions.
Double jeopardy.
This guy thought he could control the entire system.
He underestimated can control.
Maybe.
But you're forgetting one little item.
If he really did kill her, then he just bought himself one hell of a plea bargain.
Three years for murder.