Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s09e10 Episode Script
Disciple
In new york city's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the major case squad.
These are their stories.
- Amen.
[gate buzzes.]
- I asked for double pepperoni.
- Next time.
- Get a paper plate for the padre here.
- [quietly.]
thank you.
- Today, when I say "jump," They say "how high?" For nine years, it was the other way around.
- Everything's a cycle, elvis.
- Oh, yeah.
Rot and rejuvenation.
[footsteps approach.]
- Hey, hey, marcus.
- Aah.
Look at you.
And how's your little girl? - She's no longer so little.
- Yeah, I'm sure she's not.
And the move to new york-- everything's fine? - Doing pretty well.
- Partner? You'll never have another one like me.
- Well, he's good.
Maybe even special.
- [exhales.]
I'm glad you came For them.
Courtney would've been about your age.
They feel a connection.
- Serena.
Thank you for coming.
- Hello, may.
It's okay.
- Reverend? - Right here, elvis.
- Everything's in order? I've got something to say.
Y'all came here to see me die for the murder Of courtney gunderson.
Well, I'm gonna have to disappoint you.
I've done my share of life taking And I've enjoyed it.
And I do not regret it.
But I did not kill courtney.
This so-called act of justice Is without purpose Because he's still out there.
And he'll keep doing What he likes to do.
So I just wanted to share that with you all.
Any time, warden.
- It's not true.
He's evil.
He seized on a last chance to cause pain.
Evil.
- [exhales.]
[monitor beeps rapidly.]
[monitor flatlines.]
[cell phone rings.]
- Hello? Oh, hi, honey.
No, I'm just leaving work right now.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, his ear should be better by now.
Well, take him to the emergency room.
I'll meet you there.
Episode: Disciple Sub by Adriano_CSI I got here at 6:15 to open the side office and saw the car.
Knew it wasn't any of our people.
- The gate was locked? - Yeah, but that don't mean much.
- How many people have the keys? - Subcontractors coming and going for over nine months.
People hitting on them for a copy of the key.
- The key for a construction site? What's the appeal? - People got reasons to park someplace that's private.
What beats this? - Single large caliber shot to his left temple.
- Very large entry.
- Yeah.
Bullet probably deformed on its way through the glass.
- A hero.
No receipt.
But there's a paycheck stub made out to diego caldez From the agora diner in queens.
- He works there, he eats for free.
- Well, I'm guessing since he's got zero body temp, Time of death is before 2:00 am.
Check out his pants.
- Oh.
His pants and his underwear Are down around his ankles.
He was in the middle of a, uh, major distraction.
- I'm guessing she was female.
So it's a cheating housewife followed by a jealous husband Or a prostitute teamed with her pimp to rob him.
- Not robbed.
Mr.
Caldez was carrying over $1,000 in ready cash Along with, uh, betting slips from an o.
T.
B.
- So whoever it was, where'd she go? - We better get a dog.
Let's cordon off this whole area, grant, please.
All the way from there back to the car.
Thank you.
- He's losing the scent right here.
I don't know, maybe they got in a car or something.
- Or maybe she didn't want to get in And they struggled.
- That was broken off the shoe.
Thank you, joe.
- He was good.
Fast on the grill.
Very fast.
It's terrible.
- Yeah.
Did you happen to see him last night, pete? - Around 10:00, 10:30.
Picked up a sandwich on the way home.
- He pick up anything besides the hero? - What? [distant chatter, laughter.]
- That's the wrong way to think.
Even though his wife was in florida, Diego was very married.
- Well, we happen to know That he wasn't very married last night.
Thank you, pete.
- Doesn't even let me out of the car.
My nails in the air-- [overlapping chatter and giggling.]
- Yeah, that's right, ladies.
We're cops.
But the good news: Not vice.
That's diego caldez.
He worked here.
No? He bet the horses.
Also liked having a good time.
Which is why, uh, we're asking.
Thank you.
Did, uh, anybody see him last night? - Come on.
Don't force us to turn cop.
- Around 11:00, he stopped me on the street For a quick and easy, but I was booked for a stand.
- So he moved on.
You see who he picked? - Tough times.
Got a lot of choices out there.
- All right.
Well, uh, stay safe.
Thank you.
- You know the first place I go in cases like this.
- Oh, yeah, I know where you go.
The home.
- Mm-hmm.
- You think the wife was sick of the hookers And the gambling, but the wife's in florida.
[footsteps approach.]
- Prints found on the heel from the crime scene Are from two women, maricela fernandez And gabriella belteno.
- In the system? Let me guess: Prostitutes? - Yeah.
Maricela's thumbprint matches a latent Found on the door of the victim's car.
- Hmm.
And look, they share an address In washington heights.
[baby cries.]
- Maricela fernandez? - Uh, she no here.
- We're detectives with the major case squad.
- Como? - Somos detectivos.
- You haven't seen her since yesterday? What time? - We eat and she leave.
When she finish, she always come home, Never leave her baby.
- You didn't work with her on the street? - When she go, I stay with the baby.
I go, she stay with the baby.
- All right.
Is there a man you worked with? A pimp? - No.
Ningun.
No men.
Just she and I.
We together.
Entiendes? Que crees? Crees que esta muerta? - No se.
Lo siento.
We don't know.
- You must've tried to call her.
- Yes, but she no answer.
- Okay, tower one is here.
It's reading her.
- There's a second tower.
Where's that? Is that the pelham park area? - Yeah.
There's a line crossing from the third tower.
Puts the phone here.
- That's hunter island.
- Yeah.
It's the kazimiroff nature trail.
- Are we close? - We should be right on top of the phone.
[phone ringing, dog whining.]
Here.
Here.
Uh-huh.
Ah.
Oh, boy.
[dogs barking.]
They found her.
- Jeans are lumpy at her thighs.
Panties probably down.
- So raped.
But then he dressed her again.
- Modest.
The righteous are always the worst.
- Body is well into rigor mortis.
There's discoloration at her neck.
Probably strangled.
- Strangles the female.
Goes son of sam on the male.
- Well, now there's a-- There's an odd little bit of synchronicity.
- What? - "hello, from the gutters of new york city.
" Son of sam.
He's up for parole next month.
- Come on.
You're not thinking copycat.
- Killer uses a .
44.
Comes upon a couple about to have sex in a car.
Anything's possible.
Right? Ischemia.
blood flow is restricted.
The brain dies.
These burst capillaries, tramline bruising.
A device was used to strangle her.
Maybe a steel rod.
Piece of wood.
- .
- Yeah, possibly.
- That's a hell of an odor.
- Sort of like the greatest hits Of every bad smell there is, huh? - Thanks for the warning.
- Well, murder weapon was probably filthy.
We found a dna stew on the skin of her neck.
Human, animal, plant.
- Well, he chose a dumping area.
Maybe he picked up something at random.
- She raped? - Well, she had sex before she died With someone who used a spermicidal condom.
- Maybe some trick who picked her up.
- No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
We found microscopic fibers.
She was probably tied with rawhide.
Also the evidence indicates that during intercourse, She had her back to the killer.
- Wow.
Forensic pathology, it's come a long way.
You're able to determine sexual position? - The chemical compound found on her neck Was also present on the back of her exposed thighs.
- Hmm.
These scratches - She was a junkie.
Opiates make you itch.
Those were self-inflicted.
But this wasn't.
Ecchymoses-type contusion.
A love bite.
- It's just below her left hip.
I know it.
You were right that it's a copycat.
But he's not copying son of sam.
- So elvis howell killed women in illinois and indiana.
- Seven women were known victims.
He used a police baton to strangle prostitutes.
And used a condom.
- Safe sex.
- Yeah.
And always a hickey near the victim's left hip.
Howell once told a reporter the mark was his salaam "to the female womb, where the cycle of life Starts with a seed.
" This is a copycat.
Everything about this case matches howell's last victim.
Her name was courtney gunderson.
- This a case you worked on? - My fjrst homicide conviction.
We wanted to make cases on the other victims.
But the best evidence tied him to courtney.
- Yeah.
This guy made some kind of death house statement Saying that her killer was still out there.
- Yeah.
The last ditch ploy of a condemned man.
- Right.
But, you know, I think a, uh, check Of this guy's visitors is worth the time.
- The jury had a verdict before their chairs were warm.
Our case held through nine years of appeals.
I think we can avoid the grassy knoll, zack.
- I'm just thinking about what this guy said.
- I know what he said.
I was there.
- Okay.
Time out.
Time out.
Let's stick to what we know.
Huh? Howell was a twisted son of a bitch And maybe somebody's copying his work.
- Okay.
I'm good with that.
- Okay.
So I'm going to get a warrant for courtney And maricela's autopsy photos.
And we will compare this homage to the female womb With what we have.
- We should also see the autopsy photos Of the other women howell is suspected of killing.
- Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
- Hey.
You put that down, son.
Before you hurt yourself.
Hey, ernie, you ready to put in that new mulch pile Behind the greenhouse? - Six feet wide, - Magic numbers.
- Multiples, elvy.
Start with one.
Presto.
Zygote becomes two.
Doubled.
Six becomes 12 becomes 24.
- Ern.
Chicken parts.
Ern.
- Look at me.
How can I measure without that? Bad.
Bad.
Bad.
Damn.
- Ernie.
- Exact 6 and 12 then 24.
How can I miss it? It's hanging right there.
- Ernie, it's all right now.
Nothing bad's gonna happen, okay? [growls.]
[grunts.]
- I like ernie.
- Yeah, he's a good man.
- But I want to be like you.
- Yeah? - Cook county m.
E.
's office Can't find courtney gunderson's autopsy photos.
- No.
They're lost? - More likely stolen.
Ted bundy's been dead for two decades.
Half his victims' autopsy photos are for sale on the internet.
But luckily, courtney gunderson wasn't cremated.
- So now we get a court order and, uh, exhume the body? - Is that necessary? Any marks on courtney were made by elvis howell.
- Unless he didn't work alone.
Bruno and bianchi.
Norris and bittiker.
It happens.
- I'll call a judge.
- What's your name? - Rayanne.
- Rayanne.
It's a pretty name.
- I don't do rough stuff.
And I don't do nothing without protection.
- That sounds good.
Why don't you make me right again? - Swing by jackson and arch, baby.
I got to score some jivvie.
- Might be able to save you a trip.
- [clears throat.]
- Marcus.
- Hello, serena.
Oh, uh, zack nichols, this is marcus feingold, my-- - Mentor from chicago homicide.
Very good to meet you, mr.
Feingold.
- Oh, pleasure to meet you, sir.
- What are you doing in new york? - Hello.
It's marcus, sweetheart.
Remember? Now you want to tell me what the hell Is going on? - We have a prostitute.
Raped.
Strangled.
Love bite.
The works.
- Oh, okay.
So all this mess is because that hillbilly snapper Wasted two minutes of everybody's time Announcing that he didn't kill courtney gunderson.
[scoffs.]
don't tell me you believed him.
- No.
No.
It's just about being sure that-- - You know, her folks have spent the last nine years Learning to walk past an empty bedroom.
- I know that as well as you, marcus.
- The cook county coroner's About to pull their daughter's body Out of the ground.
And it's because you want to be sure? Don't do this, serena.
- It was my idea to disinter the body, mr.
Feingold.
- The autopsy photos are missing.
We want to compare courtney-- - that's right.
Because no pervert's going to find those photos On the internet.
- I see.
Who'd you grease To sit on courtney gunderson's photos, marcus? - What did you say? - I think you heard me.
You want to help the gunderson family, Spend a buck and light a candle at st.
Patrick's For those autopsy photos to miraculously turn up Or she's coming out of the ground.
- InTheDitch.
Got you.
I'm jonesing hard.
Take me down, little suzie.
Just give me a sec.
Baby, can you just give me a sec? Undo your pants.
- Somebody lit that candle at st.
Patrick's.
- Two suction bruises.
One from courtney gunderson.
The other from maricela fernandez.
- Remarkably similar.
And unless elvis howell puckered up from the grave, He did not put that hickey on maricela fernandez.
- Let's hear dr.
Sunday's expert opinion.
- The so-called hickey is a suction bruise.
The lips create an air-tight seal.
Suction creates a cluster of petechial bruises.
On these--credited with being howell's earlier victims-- The bruising is less defined.
See, his thinner lips created less of a seal.
But these two differ from those.
The bruises made on these women were made by someone With full lips.
- And you know that because? - It was harder for howell to form a seal So he used his teeth.
These impressions match his dental arch.
You don't have that on these other victims.
- If it's not howell's mark on courtney gunderson, Are we thinking howell was innocent? - Even if courtney's mark wasn't made by howell, He still could've killed her.
- Or somebody he worked with.
A disciple? We should find out who howell knew.
- Case is closed in chicago.
- Yes.
I'm--I'm aware of that.
But he might've had a friend Or soue name in the visitors' logs of the prison.
- I'll coordinate with chicago pd.
Get somebody to check it.
- They already tried to get cute with the autopsy photos.
Let me go to chicago.
- Keep your head down.
- Hey, would you like me to, uh, come with you? I could use the frequent flyer miles.
- Are you saying I can't be trusted? - No, serena.
Certainly not.
But I know that you have a-- You know, you have a personal investment In this whole thing.
- And I don't think elvis howell was innocent.
And we haven't proven otherwise.
When and if we do, I'll accept it.
Good enough? - Sure.
- You didn't need to come all this way, detective.
I reviewed all the logs.
Other than his lawyer and a few curious reporters, Howell spent nine years without a visitor.
- Did he make any friends here inside? - Condemned men are isolated from the general population.
The c.
O.
S in that unit barely put up with him.
Howell had a funky sense of humor.
Only one you might call his friend was our chaplain, Reverend redding.
- You have a garden in new york, detective? - No.
No.
Just an ant farm lovingly tended by my daughter.
- My wife loved heirloom tomatoes.
- Sorry for your loss.
- She's not dead, just gone.
Couldn't deal with it.
I've attended 73 executions.
Carol called it quits somewhere around the 60th.
- The warden said you were close to elvis howell.
- He taught me how to grow vegetables.
And I taught him how to die.
- So there was trust between you? - Maybe.
But, uh, it wouldn't be right For me to share it.
- Even if it could stop someone from raping and murdering women Exactly the way he did? - I'm sorry to hear about that.
- Before he died, Elvis asked you if everything was in order.
- In order? - He did.
I heard him.
You tapped your shirt pocket.
- I can't - What was in your shirt pocket? - Look, I'm not responsible.
- Yes, you are, reverend.
Unless you tell me, you are responsible.
- He just wanted me to mail a letter.
- Did he say what was in the letter? - Just a good-bye to a friend.
- Name on the letter? - Dale.
Just dale.
No last name.
- Do you know the address? - Hey, I got a good idea.
From here on in, let's just, uh, shelve conclusions, Follow the evidence, catch this guy.
You know, let's keep an open mind.
- Both of us.
- Yeah.
I said let's.
That's plural.
"let us.
" - Right.
- Great.
- I meant turn right.
- Unfortunately, uh, we don't have a, uh, a last name.
All we've got is dale.
- Dale.
- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
Well, there was one dale.
Uh, it was dale, uh, grisco.
- Mm-hmm.
Dale grisco.
Is he here? - No.
Thank god.
He would be in his mid-20s by now.
He ran off when he was about 15.
- Uh-huh.
He gave you a hard time? - Uh, yeah.
He was a pain in the butt.
Weird.
Would you like a seat, officer? I would've, uh, flipped him back out to county If it hadn't been for his life coach.
- His life coach? - Yeah.
Guidance program.
Volunteer comes in three days a week.
Took dale to a baseball game, bowling.
They really bonded.
He cared.
And, uh, huh, that made a hell of a difference.
- About five months ago, a letter was sent here Addressed to dale.
- Well, if it was sent in the last six months, Uh, I've got it here somewhere.
- Remember, keep checking the depth.
- 24 inches.
- Brought you a slurry.
- "dale-y dale, I know you were dying to visit me "over the nine-plus years I've been in here.
"I don't blame you one bit for my incarceration.
"I told you to run.
You were a good listener.
"so be it.
"although I got credit for your fine cleansing, "the last one chosen was all you.
"I will make it right and give you your due.
"but give them no name.
Keep uthe good work.
"I want you to know how proud I am of you.
"embrace the death that surrounds you.
"and what rots is sure to rise.
"your teacher and friend, professor howell.
Elvis has left the building.
" - Is it possible for someone to be that insane? - It's nice to be loved.
- Yeah.
- Somewhere out there, elvis howell left a star pupil.
- If he really taught dale grisco How to rape and murder, wasn't it already in him? Can that be learned? - Nature or nurture? We may never know.
- Okay, thanks.
Uh, addicts' hostel in prospect heights Filed an m.
P.
On a 20-year-old rayanne farmer.
Missing for three days.
Last seen in hunter's point.
There's three teams working the hunter's point area.
If she's dead, they haven't found her yet.
- Hmm.
Well, he could have other ideas about dispososing Of his victims.
Serial killers don't always limit themselves.
Dmv and irs have a lot of dale griscos, But none that match the d.
O.
B.
That we got from child welfare.
- Maybe he changed his day, month, or year of birth To confuse the records.
- Or he gave himself a new birthday.
Maybe he didn't like himself.
Maybe he isn't a happy serial killer.
You know, he dressed maricela fernandez After he raped and strangled her, right? He's still human.
- No way he got any humanity from his mentor.
But he might have stolen his name.
- Mm.
Mm.
Okay.
Dale howell Or dale elvis.
- It's a big list.
I've got a thought.
Elvis howell taught grisco how to kill.
What's grisco doing when he's not killing? - It's not a bad thought.
Serial killers don't hibernate.
Manson's followers had a family.
They played music.
Maybe grisco learned a trade.
- Howell taught reverend redding how to grow things.
The cycle of life.
Maybe elvis passed this on to grisco too.
- All right, planting or gardening--landscaping.
- Landscaping.
Landscaping.
That means he might've gotten to a construction site.
Here's the list of all the subcontractors Who had keys to the gate where diego caldez was murdered.
Here.
Elvis' nursery and landscaping.
- Yeah.
And it's in jackson heights Near the dumping ground.
- I'm happier than I even dreamed, janine.
The work I do.
Having a family.
What is it, hon? Come on.
Come on.
There's something.
- I was in your sock drawer to sort them.
- And I know what you found.
- I know it's drugs, dale.
- It's heroin.
No, wait.
I took it from ernie.
- Ernie? - Those day worker guys are trying to get him to try it.
And he told me, and I took it.
- Maybe you should let him go.
- Fire ernie? He deserves a chance.
If one person hadn't come along, decided I was worth a chance, I wouldn't have nothing.
I wouldn't have you.
I wouldn't have anything.
All right? - Dad.
Mom.
- Hey.
[grunts.]
- Dad, mom, can we get some popcorn? - Yes.
- If smell is any indication, I'd hate to think what's in here.
- Uh-huh.
We should get a team in here.
- Well, there's fertilizer everywhere.
We need more than a bad smell for probable cause.
- Mr.
Grisco! - Hey, hold on.
Hold on.
Hey, hold on.
We're the police! - Down on the ground! Down on the ground.
You won't get hurt.
- I'm--I'm just ernie.
I work with dale.
I don't do drugs.
Dale makes sure of it.
- Drugs? What drugs? - Heroin's bad.
I know it is.
- Heroin is bad.
- State identification certificate But no driver's license? - I don't drive.
I have problems.
- Problems? - I was always special ed.
I'm good with numbers.
- Good with numbers? Ernie, do you happen to know the combination To this lock on the freezer there? - No.
Only dale knows that.
I only do as dale tells me.
He'll be mad 'cause you took it.
- Took what? - The stick.
for everything we do.
- You mean this? - You stick it in the mulch, it's just the right depth.
The magic numbers.
- 6, 12, 24.
It's empty.
- Everything in there has been mulched.
- Oh, my god.
Is this about ernie? The drugs? - I'll deal with this.
I love you.
- Daddy, where are you going? - Turn around.
Hands against the car.
- It's him.
Dale grisco.
- They discovered fragments of human remains.
I think we found rayanne farmer.
They're probably going to find others.
So that's it.
- Not for me.
Courtney gunderson.
- It's a closed case, serena.
- I have to know.
Was it really this guy Who killed courtney? - If we reopen that other case, We're gonna be challenging everybody.
We're gonna be challenging your own police work.
We're gonna be challenging the prosecution.
Challenging the highest authority In the state of illinois.
- And at some point, I'm gonna have to answer To a much higher authority.
I have to know.
- None of it fits, man.
- None of what fits? - These things that you've done.
It doesn't fit who you are.
- What, my family? - Yeah.
- Btk had a family.
See, he was an usher in church.
- No, no, there's-- there's something-- Something different about you, dale.
- You have evidence, so you know all you need to know.
- Yeah.
It works for us.
But, uh, do you want your boy Labeled the son of the monster? - I've cleansed the world of whores and whoremongers.
- Courtney gunderson taught kindergarten.
- Hmm.
Mistakes are made.
[laughs.]
I mean, you killed elvis.
[gasps.]
- Here.
Look at these pictures of courtney gunderson, dale.
You couldn't have mistakenly thought That courtney gunderson was a prostitute.
- Why didn't you come forward, admit to courtney? - He wanted me free.
Cleansing as he would've cleansed.
Turn them into plant life.
Something clean.
- Mulching helped make them disappear.
You were 15 when courtney was murdered.
You were just a kid.
Is that why you picked the wrong victim? - [laughs.]
what does it matter? - Because something about what you've told us Doesn't jibe.
There was no cleansing with courtney.
Courtney was clean.
A clean girl.
Walking from school in a summer dress.
Now, she gets pulled into a van.
Howell's van.
We know that from a fiber match.
Where were you? - Hmm.
Obviously I was there.
- And howell was there.
You were 15.
Too young to drive.
He drove.
- Elvis drove.
- Okay.
Okay.
So he must've prepped you.
Told you what to look for.
But that would've en prostitutes, Not courtney.
She's so different from his other victims.
Unless she was your choice.
Did he pick her for you? They found these photos of courtney In howell's house.
Part of the training, right? - training? - Come on.
You guys talked sex.
He showed you these pictures of courtney.
He got you excited.
Didn't he offer her to you? - What do you mean "offered"? - Offered you fantasies of sex and violence.
Some boys in their early teens make them up.
Elvis knew that you wanted courtney And so he used her to excite you.
- Why the hell would he do that, huh? - So that he could gain power over you.
- No.
No, he wanted me to be my--my own man.
- Yeah, but the problem is the man that he wanted Is not the man that you are.
Here.
Look at these people.
See these people? You care for these people.
You care about ernie's problems.
And you care about your son's ear infections.
Elvis howell never had the capacity To feel like that.
Dale, he made a bad choice in you.
And now with what you've done, feeling and caring, That's gonna be a real burden.
- I'm guilty.
Why are you doing this? - So that you know who you really are.
- Maybe I don't want to know that.
- He tempted you.
He aroused you.
Said you could have her.
That he'd show you how.
- He showed me on a whore Who cursed and screamed filth.
The kind that I--I'd heard from my mother And the whoremongers that she brought around.
Filth that I hated.
But the rake handle, that made that whore silent.
- Did courtney scream filth? Did courtney scream? - Yes.
She begged.
And pleaded.
But--but when she asked god to forgive me When she said that - You couldn't do it.
- Understand Elvis alone cared for me, And I failed.
But I only failed him once.
- Elvis killed courtney.
- What happened next, dale? - I told him I was sorry.
I showed him.
I put my lips on her stomach.
And I left our mark there.
I swore I'd never fail him again.
And I haven't.
I haven't.
Until now.
- Detective.
Marcus.
- Before I head back, I need to know.
- We're okay.
I'll call the gundersons.
- He help us out? - Yeah, he did.
- I don't know the man, but thank him for me.
- Things are okay? - Things are fine.
Thanks.
That's from marcus.
And me.
- I'm just very happy to have been wrong.
These are their stories.
- Amen.
[gate buzzes.]
- I asked for double pepperoni.
- Next time.
- Get a paper plate for the padre here.
- [quietly.]
thank you.
- Today, when I say "jump," They say "how high?" For nine years, it was the other way around.
- Everything's a cycle, elvis.
- Oh, yeah.
Rot and rejuvenation.
[footsteps approach.]
- Hey, hey, marcus.
- Aah.
Look at you.
And how's your little girl? - She's no longer so little.
- Yeah, I'm sure she's not.
And the move to new york-- everything's fine? - Doing pretty well.
- Partner? You'll never have another one like me.
- Well, he's good.
Maybe even special.
- [exhales.]
I'm glad you came For them.
Courtney would've been about your age.
They feel a connection.
- Serena.
Thank you for coming.
- Hello, may.
It's okay.
- Reverend? - Right here, elvis.
- Everything's in order? I've got something to say.
Y'all came here to see me die for the murder Of courtney gunderson.
Well, I'm gonna have to disappoint you.
I've done my share of life taking And I've enjoyed it.
And I do not regret it.
But I did not kill courtney.
This so-called act of justice Is without purpose Because he's still out there.
And he'll keep doing What he likes to do.
So I just wanted to share that with you all.
Any time, warden.
- It's not true.
He's evil.
He seized on a last chance to cause pain.
Evil.
- [exhales.]
[monitor beeps rapidly.]
[monitor flatlines.]
[cell phone rings.]
- Hello? Oh, hi, honey.
No, I'm just leaving work right now.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, his ear should be better by now.
Well, take him to the emergency room.
I'll meet you there.
Episode: Disciple Sub by Adriano_CSI I got here at 6:15 to open the side office and saw the car.
Knew it wasn't any of our people.
- The gate was locked? - Yeah, but that don't mean much.
- How many people have the keys? - Subcontractors coming and going for over nine months.
People hitting on them for a copy of the key.
- The key for a construction site? What's the appeal? - People got reasons to park someplace that's private.
What beats this? - Single large caliber shot to his left temple.
- Very large entry.
- Yeah.
Bullet probably deformed on its way through the glass.
- A hero.
No receipt.
But there's a paycheck stub made out to diego caldez From the agora diner in queens.
- He works there, he eats for free.
- Well, I'm guessing since he's got zero body temp, Time of death is before 2:00 am.
Check out his pants.
- Oh.
His pants and his underwear Are down around his ankles.
He was in the middle of a, uh, major distraction.
- I'm guessing she was female.
So it's a cheating housewife followed by a jealous husband Or a prostitute teamed with her pimp to rob him.
- Not robbed.
Mr.
Caldez was carrying over $1,000 in ready cash Along with, uh, betting slips from an o.
T.
B.
- So whoever it was, where'd she go? - We better get a dog.
Let's cordon off this whole area, grant, please.
All the way from there back to the car.
Thank you.
- He's losing the scent right here.
I don't know, maybe they got in a car or something.
- Or maybe she didn't want to get in And they struggled.
- That was broken off the shoe.
Thank you, joe.
- He was good.
Fast on the grill.
Very fast.
It's terrible.
- Yeah.
Did you happen to see him last night, pete? - Around 10:00, 10:30.
Picked up a sandwich on the way home.
- He pick up anything besides the hero? - What? [distant chatter, laughter.]
- That's the wrong way to think.
Even though his wife was in florida, Diego was very married.
- Well, we happen to know That he wasn't very married last night.
Thank you, pete.
- Doesn't even let me out of the car.
My nails in the air-- [overlapping chatter and giggling.]
- Yeah, that's right, ladies.
We're cops.
But the good news: Not vice.
That's diego caldez.
He worked here.
No? He bet the horses.
Also liked having a good time.
Which is why, uh, we're asking.
Thank you.
Did, uh, anybody see him last night? - Come on.
Don't force us to turn cop.
- Around 11:00, he stopped me on the street For a quick and easy, but I was booked for a stand.
- So he moved on.
You see who he picked? - Tough times.
Got a lot of choices out there.
- All right.
Well, uh, stay safe.
Thank you.
- You know the first place I go in cases like this.
- Oh, yeah, I know where you go.
The home.
- Mm-hmm.
- You think the wife was sick of the hookers And the gambling, but the wife's in florida.
[footsteps approach.]
- Prints found on the heel from the crime scene Are from two women, maricela fernandez And gabriella belteno.
- In the system? Let me guess: Prostitutes? - Yeah.
Maricela's thumbprint matches a latent Found on the door of the victim's car.
- Hmm.
And look, they share an address In washington heights.
[baby cries.]
- Maricela fernandez? - Uh, she no here.
- We're detectives with the major case squad.
- Como? - Somos detectivos.
- You haven't seen her since yesterday? What time? - We eat and she leave.
When she finish, she always come home, Never leave her baby.
- You didn't work with her on the street? - When she go, I stay with the baby.
I go, she stay with the baby.
- All right.
Is there a man you worked with? A pimp? - No.
Ningun.
No men.
Just she and I.
We together.
Entiendes? Que crees? Crees que esta muerta? - No se.
Lo siento.
We don't know.
- You must've tried to call her.
- Yes, but she no answer.
- Okay, tower one is here.
It's reading her.
- There's a second tower.
Where's that? Is that the pelham park area? - Yeah.
There's a line crossing from the third tower.
Puts the phone here.
- That's hunter island.
- Yeah.
It's the kazimiroff nature trail.
- Are we close? - We should be right on top of the phone.
[phone ringing, dog whining.]
Here.
Here.
Uh-huh.
Ah.
Oh, boy.
[dogs barking.]
They found her.
- Jeans are lumpy at her thighs.
Panties probably down.
- So raped.
But then he dressed her again.
- Modest.
The righteous are always the worst.
- Body is well into rigor mortis.
There's discoloration at her neck.
Probably strangled.
- Strangles the female.
Goes son of sam on the male.
- Well, now there's a-- There's an odd little bit of synchronicity.
- What? - "hello, from the gutters of new york city.
" Son of sam.
He's up for parole next month.
- Come on.
You're not thinking copycat.
- Killer uses a .
44.
Comes upon a couple about to have sex in a car.
Anything's possible.
Right? Ischemia.
blood flow is restricted.
The brain dies.
These burst capillaries, tramline bruising.
A device was used to strangle her.
Maybe a steel rod.
Piece of wood.
- .
- Yeah, possibly.
- That's a hell of an odor.
- Sort of like the greatest hits Of every bad smell there is, huh? - Thanks for the warning.
- Well, murder weapon was probably filthy.
We found a dna stew on the skin of her neck.
Human, animal, plant.
- Well, he chose a dumping area.
Maybe he picked up something at random.
- She raped? - Well, she had sex before she died With someone who used a spermicidal condom.
- Maybe some trick who picked her up.
- No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
We found microscopic fibers.
She was probably tied with rawhide.
Also the evidence indicates that during intercourse, She had her back to the killer.
- Wow.
Forensic pathology, it's come a long way.
You're able to determine sexual position? - The chemical compound found on her neck Was also present on the back of her exposed thighs.
- Hmm.
These scratches - She was a junkie.
Opiates make you itch.
Those were self-inflicted.
But this wasn't.
Ecchymoses-type contusion.
A love bite.
- It's just below her left hip.
I know it.
You were right that it's a copycat.
But he's not copying son of sam.
- So elvis howell killed women in illinois and indiana.
- Seven women were known victims.
He used a police baton to strangle prostitutes.
And used a condom.
- Safe sex.
- Yeah.
And always a hickey near the victim's left hip.
Howell once told a reporter the mark was his salaam "to the female womb, where the cycle of life Starts with a seed.
" This is a copycat.
Everything about this case matches howell's last victim.
Her name was courtney gunderson.
- This a case you worked on? - My fjrst homicide conviction.
We wanted to make cases on the other victims.
But the best evidence tied him to courtney.
- Yeah.
This guy made some kind of death house statement Saying that her killer was still out there.
- Yeah.
The last ditch ploy of a condemned man.
- Right.
But, you know, I think a, uh, check Of this guy's visitors is worth the time.
- The jury had a verdict before their chairs were warm.
Our case held through nine years of appeals.
I think we can avoid the grassy knoll, zack.
- I'm just thinking about what this guy said.
- I know what he said.
I was there.
- Okay.
Time out.
Time out.
Let's stick to what we know.
Huh? Howell was a twisted son of a bitch And maybe somebody's copying his work.
- Okay.
I'm good with that.
- Okay.
So I'm going to get a warrant for courtney And maricela's autopsy photos.
And we will compare this homage to the female womb With what we have.
- We should also see the autopsy photos Of the other women howell is suspected of killing.
- Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
- Hey.
You put that down, son.
Before you hurt yourself.
Hey, ernie, you ready to put in that new mulch pile Behind the greenhouse? - Six feet wide, - Magic numbers.
- Multiples, elvy.
Start with one.
Presto.
Zygote becomes two.
Doubled.
Six becomes 12 becomes 24.
- Ern.
Chicken parts.
Ern.
- Look at me.
How can I measure without that? Bad.
Bad.
Bad.
Damn.
- Ernie.
- Exact 6 and 12 then 24.
How can I miss it? It's hanging right there.
- Ernie, it's all right now.
Nothing bad's gonna happen, okay? [growls.]
[grunts.]
- I like ernie.
- Yeah, he's a good man.
- But I want to be like you.
- Yeah? - Cook county m.
E.
's office Can't find courtney gunderson's autopsy photos.
- No.
They're lost? - More likely stolen.
Ted bundy's been dead for two decades.
Half his victims' autopsy photos are for sale on the internet.
But luckily, courtney gunderson wasn't cremated.
- So now we get a court order and, uh, exhume the body? - Is that necessary? Any marks on courtney were made by elvis howell.
- Unless he didn't work alone.
Bruno and bianchi.
Norris and bittiker.
It happens.
- I'll call a judge.
- What's your name? - Rayanne.
- Rayanne.
It's a pretty name.
- I don't do rough stuff.
And I don't do nothing without protection.
- That sounds good.
Why don't you make me right again? - Swing by jackson and arch, baby.
I got to score some jivvie.
- Might be able to save you a trip.
- [clears throat.]
- Marcus.
- Hello, serena.
Oh, uh, zack nichols, this is marcus feingold, my-- - Mentor from chicago homicide.
Very good to meet you, mr.
Feingold.
- Oh, pleasure to meet you, sir.
- What are you doing in new york? - Hello.
It's marcus, sweetheart.
Remember? Now you want to tell me what the hell Is going on? - We have a prostitute.
Raped.
Strangled.
Love bite.
The works.
- Oh, okay.
So all this mess is because that hillbilly snapper Wasted two minutes of everybody's time Announcing that he didn't kill courtney gunderson.
[scoffs.]
don't tell me you believed him.
- No.
No.
It's just about being sure that-- - You know, her folks have spent the last nine years Learning to walk past an empty bedroom.
- I know that as well as you, marcus.
- The cook county coroner's About to pull their daughter's body Out of the ground.
And it's because you want to be sure? Don't do this, serena.
- It was my idea to disinter the body, mr.
Feingold.
- The autopsy photos are missing.
We want to compare courtney-- - that's right.
Because no pervert's going to find those photos On the internet.
- I see.
Who'd you grease To sit on courtney gunderson's photos, marcus? - What did you say? - I think you heard me.
You want to help the gunderson family, Spend a buck and light a candle at st.
Patrick's For those autopsy photos to miraculously turn up Or she's coming out of the ground.
- InTheDitch.
Got you.
I'm jonesing hard.
Take me down, little suzie.
Just give me a sec.
Baby, can you just give me a sec? Undo your pants.
- Somebody lit that candle at st.
Patrick's.
- Two suction bruises.
One from courtney gunderson.
The other from maricela fernandez.
- Remarkably similar.
And unless elvis howell puckered up from the grave, He did not put that hickey on maricela fernandez.
- Let's hear dr.
Sunday's expert opinion.
- The so-called hickey is a suction bruise.
The lips create an air-tight seal.
Suction creates a cluster of petechial bruises.
On these--credited with being howell's earlier victims-- The bruising is less defined.
See, his thinner lips created less of a seal.
But these two differ from those.
The bruises made on these women were made by someone With full lips.
- And you know that because? - It was harder for howell to form a seal So he used his teeth.
These impressions match his dental arch.
You don't have that on these other victims.
- If it's not howell's mark on courtney gunderson, Are we thinking howell was innocent? - Even if courtney's mark wasn't made by howell, He still could've killed her.
- Or somebody he worked with.
A disciple? We should find out who howell knew.
- Case is closed in chicago.
- Yes.
I'm--I'm aware of that.
But he might've had a friend Or soue name in the visitors' logs of the prison.
- I'll coordinate with chicago pd.
Get somebody to check it.
- They already tried to get cute with the autopsy photos.
Let me go to chicago.
- Keep your head down.
- Hey, would you like me to, uh, come with you? I could use the frequent flyer miles.
- Are you saying I can't be trusted? - No, serena.
Certainly not.
But I know that you have a-- You know, you have a personal investment In this whole thing.
- And I don't think elvis howell was innocent.
And we haven't proven otherwise.
When and if we do, I'll accept it.
Good enough? - Sure.
- You didn't need to come all this way, detective.
I reviewed all the logs.
Other than his lawyer and a few curious reporters, Howell spent nine years without a visitor.
- Did he make any friends here inside? - Condemned men are isolated from the general population.
The c.
O.
S in that unit barely put up with him.
Howell had a funky sense of humor.
Only one you might call his friend was our chaplain, Reverend redding.
- You have a garden in new york, detective? - No.
No.
Just an ant farm lovingly tended by my daughter.
- My wife loved heirloom tomatoes.
- Sorry for your loss.
- She's not dead, just gone.
Couldn't deal with it.
I've attended 73 executions.
Carol called it quits somewhere around the 60th.
- The warden said you were close to elvis howell.
- He taught me how to grow vegetables.
And I taught him how to die.
- So there was trust between you? - Maybe.
But, uh, it wouldn't be right For me to share it.
- Even if it could stop someone from raping and murdering women Exactly the way he did? - I'm sorry to hear about that.
- Before he died, Elvis asked you if everything was in order.
- In order? - He did.
I heard him.
You tapped your shirt pocket.
- I can't - What was in your shirt pocket? - Look, I'm not responsible.
- Yes, you are, reverend.
Unless you tell me, you are responsible.
- He just wanted me to mail a letter.
- Did he say what was in the letter? - Just a good-bye to a friend.
- Name on the letter? - Dale.
Just dale.
No last name.
- Do you know the address? - Hey, I got a good idea.
From here on in, let's just, uh, shelve conclusions, Follow the evidence, catch this guy.
You know, let's keep an open mind.
- Both of us.
- Yeah.
I said let's.
That's plural.
"let us.
" - Right.
- Great.
- I meant turn right.
- Unfortunately, uh, we don't have a, uh, a last name.
All we've got is dale.
- Dale.
- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
Well, there was one dale.
Uh, it was dale, uh, grisco.
- Mm-hmm.
Dale grisco.
Is he here? - No.
Thank god.
He would be in his mid-20s by now.
He ran off when he was about 15.
- Uh-huh.
He gave you a hard time? - Uh, yeah.
He was a pain in the butt.
Weird.
Would you like a seat, officer? I would've, uh, flipped him back out to county If it hadn't been for his life coach.
- His life coach? - Yeah.
Guidance program.
Volunteer comes in three days a week.
Took dale to a baseball game, bowling.
They really bonded.
He cared.
And, uh, huh, that made a hell of a difference.
- About five months ago, a letter was sent here Addressed to dale.
- Well, if it was sent in the last six months, Uh, I've got it here somewhere.
- Remember, keep checking the depth.
- 24 inches.
- Brought you a slurry.
- "dale-y dale, I know you were dying to visit me "over the nine-plus years I've been in here.
"I don't blame you one bit for my incarceration.
"I told you to run.
You were a good listener.
"so be it.
"although I got credit for your fine cleansing, "the last one chosen was all you.
"I will make it right and give you your due.
"but give them no name.
Keep uthe good work.
"I want you to know how proud I am of you.
"embrace the death that surrounds you.
"and what rots is sure to rise.
"your teacher and friend, professor howell.
Elvis has left the building.
" - Is it possible for someone to be that insane? - It's nice to be loved.
- Yeah.
- Somewhere out there, elvis howell left a star pupil.
- If he really taught dale grisco How to rape and murder, wasn't it already in him? Can that be learned? - Nature or nurture? We may never know.
- Okay, thanks.
Uh, addicts' hostel in prospect heights Filed an m.
P.
On a 20-year-old rayanne farmer.
Missing for three days.
Last seen in hunter's point.
There's three teams working the hunter's point area.
If she's dead, they haven't found her yet.
- Hmm.
Well, he could have other ideas about dispososing Of his victims.
Serial killers don't always limit themselves.
Dmv and irs have a lot of dale griscos, But none that match the d.
O.
B.
That we got from child welfare.
- Maybe he changed his day, month, or year of birth To confuse the records.
- Or he gave himself a new birthday.
Maybe he didn't like himself.
Maybe he isn't a happy serial killer.
You know, he dressed maricela fernandez After he raped and strangled her, right? He's still human.
- No way he got any humanity from his mentor.
But he might have stolen his name.
- Mm.
Mm.
Okay.
Dale howell Or dale elvis.
- It's a big list.
I've got a thought.
Elvis howell taught grisco how to kill.
What's grisco doing when he's not killing? - It's not a bad thought.
Serial killers don't hibernate.
Manson's followers had a family.
They played music.
Maybe grisco learned a trade.
- Howell taught reverend redding how to grow things.
The cycle of life.
Maybe elvis passed this on to grisco too.
- All right, planting or gardening--landscaping.
- Landscaping.
Landscaping.
That means he might've gotten to a construction site.
Here's the list of all the subcontractors Who had keys to the gate where diego caldez was murdered.
Here.
Elvis' nursery and landscaping.
- Yeah.
And it's in jackson heights Near the dumping ground.
- I'm happier than I even dreamed, janine.
The work I do.
Having a family.
What is it, hon? Come on.
Come on.
There's something.
- I was in your sock drawer to sort them.
- And I know what you found.
- I know it's drugs, dale.
- It's heroin.
No, wait.
I took it from ernie.
- Ernie? - Those day worker guys are trying to get him to try it.
And he told me, and I took it.
- Maybe you should let him go.
- Fire ernie? He deserves a chance.
If one person hadn't come along, decided I was worth a chance, I wouldn't have nothing.
I wouldn't have you.
I wouldn't have anything.
All right? - Dad.
Mom.
- Hey.
[grunts.]
- Dad, mom, can we get some popcorn? - Yes.
- If smell is any indication, I'd hate to think what's in here.
- Uh-huh.
We should get a team in here.
- Well, there's fertilizer everywhere.
We need more than a bad smell for probable cause.
- Mr.
Grisco! - Hey, hold on.
Hold on.
Hey, hold on.
We're the police! - Down on the ground! Down on the ground.
You won't get hurt.
- I'm--I'm just ernie.
I work with dale.
I don't do drugs.
Dale makes sure of it.
- Drugs? What drugs? - Heroin's bad.
I know it is.
- Heroin is bad.
- State identification certificate But no driver's license? - I don't drive.
I have problems.
- Problems? - I was always special ed.
I'm good with numbers.
- Good with numbers? Ernie, do you happen to know the combination To this lock on the freezer there? - No.
Only dale knows that.
I only do as dale tells me.
He'll be mad 'cause you took it.
- Took what? - The stick.
for everything we do.
- You mean this? - You stick it in the mulch, it's just the right depth.
The magic numbers.
- 6, 12, 24.
It's empty.
- Everything in there has been mulched.
- Oh, my god.
Is this about ernie? The drugs? - I'll deal with this.
I love you.
- Daddy, where are you going? - Turn around.
Hands against the car.
- It's him.
Dale grisco.
- They discovered fragments of human remains.
I think we found rayanne farmer.
They're probably going to find others.
So that's it.
- Not for me.
Courtney gunderson.
- It's a closed case, serena.
- I have to know.
Was it really this guy Who killed courtney? - If we reopen that other case, We're gonna be challenging everybody.
We're gonna be challenging your own police work.
We're gonna be challenging the prosecution.
Challenging the highest authority In the state of illinois.
- And at some point, I'm gonna have to answer To a much higher authority.
I have to know.
- None of it fits, man.
- None of what fits? - These things that you've done.
It doesn't fit who you are.
- What, my family? - Yeah.
- Btk had a family.
See, he was an usher in church.
- No, no, there's-- there's something-- Something different about you, dale.
- You have evidence, so you know all you need to know.
- Yeah.
It works for us.
But, uh, do you want your boy Labeled the son of the monster? - I've cleansed the world of whores and whoremongers.
- Courtney gunderson taught kindergarten.
- Hmm.
Mistakes are made.
[laughs.]
I mean, you killed elvis.
[gasps.]
- Here.
Look at these pictures of courtney gunderson, dale.
You couldn't have mistakenly thought That courtney gunderson was a prostitute.
- Why didn't you come forward, admit to courtney? - He wanted me free.
Cleansing as he would've cleansed.
Turn them into plant life.
Something clean.
- Mulching helped make them disappear.
You were 15 when courtney was murdered.
You were just a kid.
Is that why you picked the wrong victim? - [laughs.]
what does it matter? - Because something about what you've told us Doesn't jibe.
There was no cleansing with courtney.
Courtney was clean.
A clean girl.
Walking from school in a summer dress.
Now, she gets pulled into a van.
Howell's van.
We know that from a fiber match.
Where were you? - Hmm.
Obviously I was there.
- And howell was there.
You were 15.
Too young to drive.
He drove.
- Elvis drove.
- Okay.
Okay.
So he must've prepped you.
Told you what to look for.
But that would've en prostitutes, Not courtney.
She's so different from his other victims.
Unless she was your choice.
Did he pick her for you? They found these photos of courtney In howell's house.
Part of the training, right? - training? - Come on.
You guys talked sex.
He showed you these pictures of courtney.
He got you excited.
Didn't he offer her to you? - What do you mean "offered"? - Offered you fantasies of sex and violence.
Some boys in their early teens make them up.
Elvis knew that you wanted courtney And so he used her to excite you.
- Why the hell would he do that, huh? - So that he could gain power over you.
- No.
No, he wanted me to be my--my own man.
- Yeah, but the problem is the man that he wanted Is not the man that you are.
Here.
Look at these people.
See these people? You care for these people.
You care about ernie's problems.
And you care about your son's ear infections.
Elvis howell never had the capacity To feel like that.
Dale, he made a bad choice in you.
And now with what you've done, feeling and caring, That's gonna be a real burden.
- I'm guilty.
Why are you doing this? - So that you know who you really are.
- Maybe I don't want to know that.
- He tempted you.
He aroused you.
Said you could have her.
That he'd show you how.
- He showed me on a whore Who cursed and screamed filth.
The kind that I--I'd heard from my mother And the whoremongers that she brought around.
Filth that I hated.
But the rake handle, that made that whore silent.
- Did courtney scream filth? Did courtney scream? - Yes.
She begged.
And pleaded.
But--but when she asked god to forgive me When she said that - You couldn't do it.
- Understand Elvis alone cared for me, And I failed.
But I only failed him once.
- Elvis killed courtney.
- What happened next, dale? - I told him I was sorry.
I showed him.
I put my lips on her stomach.
And I left our mark there.
I swore I'd never fail him again.
And I haven't.
I haven't.
Until now.
- Detective.
Marcus.
- Before I head back, I need to know.
- We're okay.
I'll call the gundersons.
- He help us out? - Yeah, he did.
- I don't know the man, but thank him for me.
- Things are okay? - Things are fine.
Thanks.
That's from marcus.
And me.
- I'm just very happy to have been wrong.