Law & Order Special Victims Unit s03e04 Episode Script
Rooftop
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous, In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit, These are their stories, Hey, wait, wait.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Let's go someplace else.
I got a better place.
Come on.
Where you take all your other girls? Come on now.
You know I don't have nobody but you.
What's over here? The view is better.
What's that? It's nothing.
It's nothing.
Relax.
Come on now.
Relax.
It's nothing.
I hear footsteps.
Look, I don't hear nothing.
What's up? Do you want me or not? We want you, Leon.
Who's that? Oh, man, that's the sex police.
Why they want you? It's this cop, man.
He got this thing for me or something like that.
Not even out of prison two weeks.
I told you he's not gonna stop.
Over there.
Come here.
What he do? Come here with me.
I didn't do nothing, man.
He framed me.
Keep right on thinking that, Leon.
What'd he do? How old are you? Fourteen.
Oh, you's a Iying bitch.
Yo, man, Nashika told me she graduated high school.
Yo, tell them I ain't forced you.
I wanted to be with him.
Okay.
The law says you're not old enough to make that decision.
Now, was he gonna use protection? We didn't talk about it.
I bet he didn't even mention that he's HIV positive, did he? Bastard has the virus? Man! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nashika, come here.
Settle, settle, settle.
Yo, man, you can't give that up.
I just did.
What are you gonna do about it? Look at me.
It's okay.
Nashika, have you ever had sex with him? Tonight would have been the first time.
Okay, let's go.
So how many little girls have you had sex with since you been out? Yo, man, you ain't have no right to follow me.
Hey.
Hey.
Don't tell me how to do my job.
Answer the question.
So you can put me away again for nothing? Man, listen, the young ladies feel me, it's not my fault.
It is if they're jailbait.
They want to pleasure me, who am I to stop them? And if you infect them with your HIV, it's their problem, too, right? Look, man, you ambushed us before I even had an opportunity to tell her.
I had protection.
Her protection is me putting you back in your little cage.
Why don't you just get off my case, man? 'Cause I don't like you.
All right, well, I don't have nothing else to say until my legal aid gets here.
I'm surprised he said as much as he did.
He has the personality of a repeater.
He can do no wrong.
Nothing is his fault.
What was he in prison for? Five years, sodomy two.
After I finally convinced one of the numerous underage girls he had oral sex with to come forward and file a complaint.
Now he's escalating to intercourse.
You're speculating, Elliot.
He wasn't in the act when you stopped him.
That's a problem.
Attempted rape two, attempted reckless endangerment, because he didn't disclose that he was HIV positive.
Where's the problem here? We can't hold him based on what he might do.
So we're supposed to wait until after he infects the girl? She consented.
His attorney will say he was carrying condoms and planned to use them.
We can't prove otherwise.
We know that Leon was about to have unprotected sex with a minor.
Now, we cut him loose, he's going to.
You got anything in your bag of tricks, Counselor, now is the time to pull it out.
I have something, but I'll have to check.
And I'll have to involve your psychiatrist.
I'll give him a call.
Get him Tate's prison history, arrest records, whatever you could find.
Leon's rap sheet starts when he was seven years old.
He had 11 arrests by his 13th birthday.
The record was sealed because he was a juvenile.
Let's get them unsealed.
Elliot, close the door.
Yeah? I don't remember telling you to tail Leon Tate.
I heard he was out.
Just keeping my eye on him.
Well, this squad doesn't have enough bodies for you and your partner to go freelancing.
I like to think that we saved a young girl's life tonight.
And we would need a new unit if we were to follow every perv that we thought might repeat.
Leon Tate did his time.
And until somebody makes a complaint, he has rights.
This guy's penis is a deadly weapon and he's got a thing for young girls.
They got rights, too.
Until Cabot gives us the word, you back off.
Are we clear? We can't charge Leon Tate with a crime, so you wanna lock him up in a mental institution? The Supreme Court in Kansas v, Hendricks upheld States' rights to commit sexual predators after their prison sentences.
Yes, Kansas and 16 other states have laws specifically for that purpose.
New York does not.
We can use the existing mental hygiene law.
All we have to do is prove Leon Tate has a mental illness that poses a likelihood of danger to himself or to others.
You really want to risk trying to set a precedent with this case? Leon Tate is a sexual predator with HIV.
I think we have a responsibility to protect people from him and others like him.
All right.
You give me something to work with.
I'll see if the D.
A.
will go for it.
Problem is even if the woman lies about her age, it's still the man's fault.
Ignorance is no defense.
Nashika Morris is 14.
She's not a woman, she's a girl.
What's a guy supposed to do, check the girl's birth certificate? I'm just as opposed to rape as everybody else in this room, but if she wanted to have sex, that's her choice.
She wasn't forced.
She's a minor.
What she wants isn't relevant.
Are we interrupting? Friendly disagreement.
Care to join in? I came to tell you that the D.
A.
's allowing us to move on Leon Tate.
On what grounds? Based upon the reports that I've read, I think that I can make a case that Mr.
Tate has anti-social personality disorder.
That's what I've been saying all along.
No empathy, no conscience, no thought for the possible consequences of his actions.
So he knows what he's doing is wrong.
And he doesn't care.
Most people with HIV act responsibly when it comes to practicing safe sex.
Tate either can't control or won't control his impulses, which make him a repeat sex offender.
Yeah, he's a sexual predator.
Now he's definitely a danger to others.
Which is the standard set by the Supreme Court.
Do we know how he contracted HIV? Yeah, shooting dope.
He found out when he was tested in prison.
One fix wipes away any self-control that Tate has left, making him even more likely to have unprotected sex with a minor.
And this is already in the works? We argue the motion for a commitment hearing this afternoon.
It would be a big help if you could be there in case the judge has questions about Tate's past.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Your Honor, it's double jeopardy disguised as treatment.
Supreme Court Kansas v, Hendricks, civil commitment of a sexual predator is not punitive.
They arrested Mr.
Tate and couldn't make the charges stick, so they put a label on him for a one-way trip to the funny farm.
I get the point, Ms.
Regal.
Doctor Huang.
Yes? Other than an anti-social personality, did you find any evidence that the defendant has a sexual disorder? Yes.
Mr.
Tate expresses his narcissism and his anger by having unprotected sex with underage, powerless girls and not disclosing that he's HIV positive.
Detective Stabler, when you arrested Mr.
Tate, how did you know for certain that he was going to have sex with the girl? Ms.
Morris told us so.
We found condoms on Tate when we searched him.
Well, wouldn't that indicate that Mr.
Tate planned safe sex? Even so, the girl's a minor.
That's rape two.
Your Honor, Detective Stabler can in no way predict what my client may or may not have done that night.
Your client likes little girls and if we don't stop him now, he's gonna kill one of them.
Enough.
I agree something has to be done about repeat sexual offenders, but I am not gonna put this man through a civil commitment hearing unless you can prove that his intent was unprotected sex.
Judge was afraid to stick her neck out.
Maybe she'll change her mind when we wheel a body into her chambers.
Who's catching? That would be me.
What's up? Rape.
Rooftop in Harlem, 15-year-old victim at Metro Hospital's ER.
It's Tate's m.
o.
We'll take it.
Be my guest.
Elliot, I've got two days to finish up the paperwork on the Wilson case or I'm in contempt of court.
I'll go.
All right.
I don't want you trying to pin Tate to every sex crime in Harlem.
I met him in the park down the block from our apartment.
He told me he could get me a rap audition, that he was a promoter.
I fell for it.
Shareen, it's not your fault.
Did he tell you his name? Andre.
He seemed nice.
Said I was smart and talented.
What happened? He took me out to a real restaurant.
Then he walked me home.
When we got to my door, he said it was a beautiful night, and that I was aglow like the stars, that we should go to the rooftop.
He started to kiss me.
I told him to stop.
He slapped me, pulled a knife, ripped off my clothes, and then he Did he say anything during the attack? That I was lucky to experience him 'cause he was so handsome.
He was the love machine, and that he was gonna make me into a woman when he was done.
We'll be right back.
She's got a detached retina, concussion.
Basically, he used her face for a punching bag.
Okay, tell the doctor that the rapist may have HIV.
Okay.
Where are you going? Back to the office.
That "love machine" line? I've heard it before.
In '93 right after I got here, Perp said he was gonna make a woman out of her, that he was the love machine.
You get anywhere on the case? Was gonna run the DNA in '95 when they first started testing, but back then you couldn't get it done unless you already had the collar.
And you think Leon Tate is our guy.
I contacted the victim.
She's got AIDS.
Perp sweet-talked her just like Leon.
I don't know how I missed it.
Well, banging your head against the wall isn't gonna help.
Pick Tate up and see if his victims are in any kind of shape for a lineup.
I pounded on his door.
If he's in there, he's got a bad headache.
You okay? Yeah.
I just don't like some guy making my home turf dangerous for young girls.
I thought you grew up in Brooklyn.
Nope.
About 10 blocks from here.
Ground zero for the '68 riots.
What was that like? I was six.
My mother said the only way we're leaving our apartment was if somebody burned it down.
This your guy? Son of a bitch is at it again.
You, come here.
Yo, come on, man.
Yo, she's 17.
checked her ID.
We didn't do nothing.
Assume the position.
See how they do? So what's up, man? The hood got you scared, you had to bring Uncle Tom with you? You didn't mean that.
You know something? I think you just upset my partner.
You should apologize.
Yeah, go ahead with All right, all right, all right.
I apologize, I apologize.
You know Casanova here has HIV? That the truth? Yo, man, don't believe them.
No.
Is it the truth? Yo, I got protection.
I don't care if you got a bulletproof vest for that thing.
You should have told me.
Oh, now there she go.
Yo, man, my legal aid told me I can sue you for telling anybody.
Yeah, so go ahead and do it.
We'll say it slipped out while we busted you for rape and assault.
Do what? Yo, I ain't raped nobody.
Yeah, I'll bet you're not the love machine, either.
Yo, man, what you talking about, man? Why y'all doing this to me? "Doing it to me.
" It's all about you, huh, Leon? It's been a while.
It's okay, Vanessa.
Do you recognize any of these men? I'm not sure.
Take your time.
No coaching, Counselor.
I wish I could tell you one of them's him.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
It's all right.
It's all right.
Okay.
Come on.
Thank you.
Okay, you ready? They can't see you.
They can't see you.
Help me up.
Yeah.
Come on.
Do you recognize any of these men? Which one? I can't tell.
Maybe when I can see a little better.
Okay.
It's all right.
I'm taking my client home now.
Cut him loose.
That son of a bitch wins again.
I'm on my way home and this flaming shoe hit the ground.
I look up and here comes the rest of her.
Did you see anyone else up there? No, man, I was busy putting out the fire.
Okay, thank you.
If you remember anything else, give us a call.
They wake you up, too? Yeah.
I was just leaving the office when the call came in.
I had the desk page you.
Girl on a rooftop.
I figured you'd want in.
What's with fire? Perp lit the victim up before he threw her off.
Who is she? Aisha Thompson, 14.
Used to live about two blocks away from here.
Tosses her off a roof.
Leon's trying to send me a message now? Hey.
Full thickness burns to the body, but she was dead before he torched her.
How? Ligature strangulation after she performed oral sex on him.
We ran the Luma Light around the scene, she has fluids on her face.
Leon lives a dozen blocks from here.
Where is she? Where is she, man? Hold up.
Yo, she's my sister.
Let him through.
Let him through.
Let him through.
Didn't know you had a sister.
Rodney.
Rodney.
Come on.
All right.
You know him? He looks just like his father.
You used to come around all the time when I was a kid.
You know, your parents and I got busy with our lives, fell out of touch when I moved to Brooklyn.
How they doing? Dad got hooked on dope, disappeared, and mom brought us up, but she died two years ago, breast cancer, so it was just me and Aisha.
I was out all night looking for her.
When did you realize she was missing? She went to the library to do a project for school, but when she didn't come home by 10:00, I just started calling her friends, but nobody saw her, so Did she have a boyfriend? Anybody paying attention to her? Aisha told me everything, okay.
She just got accepted to Stuyvesant.
You know, that school for the gifted kids? She was gonna be somebody.
What are you gonna do about this? We got a line on this guy.
We think we know who he is and we're gonna get him.
He's not gonna kill any more girls.
How does Fin know the victim's family? He grew up with Rodney and Aisha's mother.
This has got Tate written all over it.
We need a warrant for his apartment.
Do you have evidence it was him? We believe he beat up Shareen White when he raped her.
Maybe this time he didn't wanna leave any witnesses.
It's not enough.
And he's missing and the victim fits Tate's profile and she was raped on that rooftop.
And murdered and set on fire, neither of which Tate has ever done.
We don't know everything Leon Tate's done.
Now, how are we doing on getting his records unsealed? Motion's in, but it's gonna take some time.
We don't have time.
We need the information now.
Corporation counsel would have prosecuted Tate because he was a juvie.
Maybe somebody there remembers him.
I keep my notes on all my own cases.
The day I start this job, they put that little bastard's overstuffed file right on my desk.
Our shrink pegged him with anti-social personality disorder.
Yeah, well, that sounds mild compared to the psych evals I read back then.
Said little Leon was a serial killer in the making.
Based on what? Based on his love of torturing and killing the neighbors' pets.
Two when he was just seven, and that's just for starters.
What happened? Kiddie probation.
In other words, nothing.
My luck I got a judge sympathetic to the kid.
His sheet says he was back six months later.
Hey, I argued he should be put away, but Judge Bleeding Heart wanted me to exhaust every possible treatment option.
Don't tell me, His Honor said Leon could be rehabilitated? Until his last arrest, which I handled five years later.
What made the judge change his mind? Leon torched the treatment facility.
Nobody else would touch him.
Leon set fires? Nine out of his 11 collars are for arson.
The ACC who prosecuted says Tate told the psychiatrists he killed puppies to see what it felt like.
Add the pyromania and Leon scores two out of three on the triad of sociopathy.
Bed-wetting would make him three for three.
So Tate shows a reckless disregard for life from the time he was seven.
And he had five years to think about what he was gonna do when he got out.
So why didn't he kill the first girl he seduced? Rape is about anger, but I'm not sure it's the women that set him off.
I think following him might have made his anger boil over.
Oh, so Aisha Thompson's death is our fault? Well, that's the way he's gonna play it every time he kills, until you find him.
So we should have just done nothing, right? I'm profiling, I'm not accusing.
All right, where are we? Three shifts on Leon's crib around the clock, no sign of him.
Tate have any friends or relatives he might be holed up with? His mother moved from the address in his file.
Nobody could tell us where she went.
All right.
Well, let's just check his phone records from prison.
If you were away for five years, you'd call your mother, too.
If he's not with her, have his building canvassed.
John, start pulling every rape and sexual homicide of girls that fit the type Tate liked.
All five boroughs.
How far back? Let's start with 10 years.
This guy is serial killer material.
He might have sweet-talked a lot more girls than we know about.
You come to take another five years from my son? When was the last time you saw him? You should know, the way you've been following him around.
Mrs.
Tate, when was the last time You sent him to prison because some So it was her fault? Girl never led you on? A girl was murdered last night.
He didn't kill anybody.
I told him to stay away from those girls.
Well, Leon's not taking your advice, because he was with one when I saw him two nights ago.
I don't know why he's the way he is.
I tried to raise him right, gave him plenty of love.
Now he's got this HIV.
I don't know what happened.
Mrs.
Tate, if he contacts you I'm afraid that he is shooting dope again.
Why do you think that? He said you were dogging him, and he wasn't sure he could handle going back to prison.
Did he tell you that when you saw him? Last night.
What do you want with me? You seen Leon Tate? I mind my own business.
Why don't you try knocking on his door? We did.
Then I guess I can't help you.
All right.
Well, if you see him give me a call.
Where to now? Well, Leon likes rooftops.
Spent a lot of time on my rooftop when I was a kid.
It was safe back then.
Doing the wild thing with your girlfriend? You know, when you live here you can't afford a vacation to Aruba, so you went to "Isle of Aroofa," tar beach.
Plus the guys like to come up here 'cause this is where the girls would come hang out.
I grew up in Queens.
AII I ever wanted was the excitement of the city.
Sounds like all you ever wanted was quiet.
We should've traded places.
Large family in a small apartment.
I used to come up here at night, too.
Used to look at the view and the lights in the distance, think.
About the meaning of life? That I had to get off that rooftop.
Well, well, Leon, I guess you wanted to get off the rooftop, too.
Who you talking to? Check this out.
It's Leon.
Took a taste and OD'd.
He could have been up here since last night and nobody would have seen him.
ME says he's been down at least 18 hours, but he still could have murdered Aisha Thompson.
Guy OD's two weeks out of prison.
Talk about bad karma.
Well, maybe for Leon.
For his potential victims it's all upside.
Yeah, thanks.
Maybe not.
What? Another rooftop, another body.
Guy came up to feed the pigeons, found her.
Anybody else up here besides him and the victim? Nobody.
Thanks.
How old is this one, Doc? I'd say no more than 16.
Raped before she was killed.
Any ID? Nothing on her.
Perp did a real number on her face.
With what? Brick.
Pieces of it broke off in her skull.
This was on her right index finger.
May help ID her.
Well, if it's Leon's work, he's improvising.
It couldn't have been Leon Tate.
What are you talking about? The victim's still in rigor.
Probably killed this morning.
Tate was dead by last night.
Elliot I wanted it to be Leon.
Everything fit.
We wasted time.
Another girl's dead because I went down the wrong road.
You happy now? Mrs.
Tate, I'm sorry about Leon.
Don't you dare say you're sorry.
You're glad he's dead.
He didn't kill those girls, but you killed him anyway.
You murdered him.
Mrs.
Tate, Detective Stabler was doing his job.
My son was innocent.
Your son was gonna kill somebody with his HIV.
We had to stop him.
We didn't put the needle in his arm.
You didn't.
But you all stick together, don't you? Who's our victim? Tiffany Purcell, 14.
Mother ID'ed her ring.
Fin, thanks for taking my back with Mrs.
Tate.
Leon was scum.
He was gonna kill some innocent girl if you didn't stop him.
We're checking every parolee in the last two years who was ever collared for anything violent against women.
None of these m.
o.
's are the same.
The pattern's in the victimology.
All the victims are black, young, good students, never been in trouble.
This is no wild-eyed psycho.
Your perp is most likely well-educated, attractive.
He seems trustworthy.
He has good social skills.
Every time he cons a girl into submission, he's proving how much smarter he is.
Okay, that could explain why he changes locations and m.
o.
's.
That's part of his strategy.
He knew how much harder it would be for you guys to put his pattern together.
He was right.
What about this victim that he set on fire? Something about her sent him over the edge.
Maybe she physically injured him or she said something that would trigger that level of violence.
You mean like challenging his manhood? Any challenge to his sense of control.
That's what this is all about.
These men often have wives or steady girlfriends who are submissive.
They seek unconditional approval.
Well, my old man never approved of a single thing I ever did.
I don't go around raping and killing young girls.
This perp was told that he was no good enough times to think that it was true.
All any of these girls has to say is "stop" and that's likely to set him off.
A rape and two murders in one week tells me we're on borrowed time before he kills again.
Get all the victims' descriptions of the perp.
Make a composite.
We've got company.
I'll take him.
I thought you had him, man? We were wrong.
We're gonna get him.
You aren't doing a damn thing, are you? What, 'cause it happened north of 96th street? You can save that for somebody else, okay? I know your family.
We're from the same place and we're the same color.
Fin.
What happened? Another girl.
What do we got, Doc? Cause of death is ligature strangulation.
Some kind of thick shoelace, maybe from a sneaker.
Dead about 12 hours.
Raped? And she put up a fight, tried to resist.
She's got finger-size bruises on the inside of her thighs where he pried her legs apart.
This wacko's out of control.
Well, I can't tell you it's the same wacko until I compare the DNA.
I've known her since she was a baby.
It's horrible.
Tina was a sweet girl.
I try to keep the building safe.
What do you know about Tina and her family? Her parents are nice, responsible people.
They're never late with the rent, took care of their apartment.
Do they know? Her mother does.
She's downstairs.
Father sails on cargo ships.
They're trying to reach him now.
Did you see Tina last night? Sorry.
We're gonna need you to take us down to her apartment.
I sent Tina to the store on the corner for some milk and bread.
Do you remember what time? Around 10:00 last night.
We walked out together.
I work graveyard at the post office.
This is gonna kill her daddy.
Was she here when you came home this morning? I did a couple of hours overtime.
I assumed Tina went to school.
Does she ever have any friends over while you're at work? No, only when I'm here.
How about boyfriends? Tina is very shy around boys.
She said some kid at school had a crush on her.
That's all I know about.
Who would do something like this? I'll be just a minute.
Piece of paper in her room had some numbers on it.
I'll call them and have someone run them down.
Her mother give you anything? Tina's last stop was the corner store.
Yeah, she did come in here.
I was getting ready to close.
She come in with anybody? No.
Some guy did come in behind her.
They started talking.
This him? This guy had a shaved head and no beard.
You ever see him in here before? I just started working here last week.
What'd they talk about? I didn't hear, but they was talking and laughing and stuff like they knew each other.
They left together, too.
Thanks, man.
All right.
Shaved head? One of my tenants just went for the cue-ball look.
Which one? Malik Harris.
When? Last few days.
Didn't even recognize him.
Malik Harris? That's what it says on my birth certificate, but I'm known professionally as King.
We wanna talk to you, Malik.
You gonna invite us in? Now is not a convenient time.
Who's there, baby? Nobody that concerns you.
I guess we're interrupting.
I told you I was busy.
Sweetie.
Baby, I was just wondering You see I'm speaking to these officers? What do you want? Are you aware of what's going on upstairs? I haven't been out, enlighten me.
A girl was murdered on the rooftop.
Who? Tina Dupree.
You know her? Yeah, I seen her around.
Damn.
Somebody saw you with her last night.
On the corner at the store.
I walked her home.
Little girl like that shouldn't be out so late.
Can you tell us where you were the rest of the night? Baby, now you may dialogue.
We ain't left the apartment.
We been busy.
You know what I am saying? "Baby, now you may dialogue"? Please.
He was the last person to see her.
Pretty big risk if he's our serial killer, striking where he lives.
Unless Tina was a victim of opportunity.
Harris goes to the store, sees her, walks her home, knows her mother works at night, father's out of town.
Yeah, police just putting on a big show for us, that's all.
Just what we need.
I got this.
You got a problem? Yeah, that you cops don't give a rat's ass what's going on up here.
You don't think so? Well, we're here.
You know who's not here? The press, the TV news.
If you got any beef, you got beef with them, not us.
They can't make money off us.
They don't care.
Word up.
Don't tell me.
Tell them.
Why don't y'all give them a call, all right? Meanwhile, does anybody have any information that could help us? Okay, people, please go back to your business, and let us do our job.
Not you.
Why do you wanna make this harder on yourself than it already is? Aisha was all I had left, all right? Now some scum took her away, and I'm supposed to stand here and watch you not catch him? What's harder than that, man? Checked the phone numbers we found in Tina Dupree's room.
One belongs to a girlfriend.
The other, Malik Harris.
Harris have a rap sheet? Never arrested, but came up on the computer as a victim of vehicular assault.
Hit by a car in '94.
Right after the third murder.
His legs were shattered, almost lost them.
Hospitalized in rehab for nearly a year, spent the next two learning how to walk again.
So Harris was only out of action for three years.
Our perp waited seven.
He gets social security disability.
From '97 to last year, his checks were sent to an address in Detroit.
Harris has a sister who lives there.
Get Detroit Homicide on the phone, see if they have any unsolved killings matching our victim profiles.
Fin, my office, now.
I just got off the phone with the Deputy Commissioner for public information.
Now, he wants to know why one of my detectives is bad-mouthing the media up in Harlem.
I was just telling them the truth.
What the hell were you thinking? That those people were right.
That's not your judgment to make.
If these girls were murdered in the Village or the Upper West Side, the media would be all over it.
Five black girls aren't even on their radar.
Are you finished? No, I'm just getting started.
This is no different than any other investigation.
No? An East Side socialite disappears, we got 50 cops on it.
Black girls start getting executed, we got four cops.
That sounds equal to you? Look, I know where you're coming from.
No, you don't know where I'm coming from.
There's no way you can know where I'm coming from.
Don't you dare presume to know what's in my head.
No matter what you say, Captain, you're not black and you're not from the hood.
Slow down.
That crowd could have turned ugly.
I diffused it.
Cragen didn't know that.
Who you defending? Him or me? Both of you.
Just take a deep breath.
No time for that.
Where are we going? I'm going to meet an informant.
Alone.
I'm busy.
This better be good.
How about a little respect.
Time is money, and I'm losing it talking to you.
What the hell are you doing back there? Sit up like a man.
Yeah, I get seen with you, my customers go elsewhere for their merchandise.
You got something for me, Benny, or did you just come here to run your mouth? Word's out you're looking to jam up King.
Where you hear that? I got sources just like you.
What do your sources know about him? That King's a rap promoter wannabe.
Manages a few unknowns, but doesn't have the goods to make it big.
He uses the rap line mostly to pick up women.
So far you're boring me.
How about he buys his coke and dope from one of my corner boys? Now you're talking.
Where's he get his cash? King's a kept man.
Smooth-talks one of his ladies into paying for his lifestyle, till they wise up, dump him.
What's in this for you, Benny? I don't like him.
Consider it a freebie.
Harris admits to walking Tina Dupree home, and we got witnesses that saw them together.
That doesn't mean he killed her.
We took the composites from all the rapes and had the artist remove the hair.
That's Malik Harris dead-on.
A judge isn't going to give us a search warrant based on that.
What about a lineup? We risk tipping our hand.
I got an informant, a drug dealer I busted a few years ago.
He says his boys sell Malik Harris dope and coke on a regular basis.
Well, write the warrant for the drugs only.
That'll allow you to search almost everywhere.
Anything you find on top of that is gravy.
I can't talk to you right now.
I'm cutting a track here.
Yeah, maybe you should be recording jailhouse rock.
Man, what are you talking about? You're under arrest.
For what? Possession of narcotics in the third degree.
What? We tossed your crib.
What you gonna do? Make her a star and then kill her, too? What is up with that? You're putting me through all of this for some recreational pharmaceuticals? You like big words, King? How about execution or lethal injection? What, you gonna give me the death penalty for a little cocaine and heroin? Your handiwork.
Remember? Poor girls.
And you think that I have something to do with killing them? You were the last one with Tina before she was found dead.
Feel free to dialogue.
I told you I walked her home.
Anything after that I'm not accountable for.
And, of course, you've met my lovely alibi.
Who'll say anything once you doped her up.
I am innocent.
Then you won't mind taking a little trip with us.
Open wide, please.
This'll only take a moment.
What are you doing? Just taking a little DNA sample to prove your innocence.
I can't allow that.
You got something to hide? It violates my religious tenets.
I'm a Jehovah's Witness.
Prove it.
He doesn't have to.
He says it, I can't take the sample.
We haven't been properly introduced.
I'm King.
We should get together sometime under circumstances more conducive.
You fill in the blanks.
She's choice.
Don't you ever want to Your thoughts aren't very religious.
Well, we all worship in our own way.
You know how much those cost, man? Sorry about that.
Let me get that for you.
Oh, man.
Shoot.
Partner, you gotta be more careful.
Don't worry.
We'll replace them by tomorrow morning.
Frames are from Italy.
You have our sincerest apologies.
Most people secrete oils right onto the lenses.
The cells I found that were usable were on the nose pieces.
So what's the verdict? His Majesty's DNA is a match on all six murders and eight rapes.
Got him.
Thanks.
This motion to suppress is totally without merit.
Malik Harris's right to genetic privacy was violated.
The police have gotten DNA off of coffee cups, lipstick, telephones, even a suspect's spit on the street.
All of it upheld in court.
People discard coffee cups and spit voluntarily.
Detective Tutuola assaulted my client and stole his glasses.
When Mr.
Harris's sunglasses fell, he demanded the detectives replace them.
He discarded them, which makes them fair game.
So what we're saying here is that the police, at any time, can obtain a person's genetic code? The DNA obtained by the police conclusively links the defendant to the murders of a half a dozen teenage girls.
What about their rights? Mr.
Harris's guilt or innocence isn't the issue here.
How the police gathered the evidence is.
Your Honor, reasonable deception on the part of the police has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Yes, and if the police had tricked Mr.
Harris into giving up his sunglasses, we'd be out of here.
They forced him, that's coercion, the DNA is out.
The DNA is all the police have tying my client to these murders.
Then I have no other choice but to drop the charges against Mr.
Harris.
And when your detectives blame the judge, tell them that they're the ones that blew it.
No, no, no.
We didn't screw up.
We got Harris off the street.
Your judge let him go.
What did you expect? A little justice.
Then maybe you should have done better.
We got you all the evidence you needed.
If you'd done it legally, this wouldn't have happened.
All right, come on.
This isn't getting us anywhere.
What do we have left? Possession three on the drugs that we found in his apartment.
Is there anything we can do with that to keep him off the street? First offense, Harris'll make bail.
Just gonna give up? I will ask for remand, but the judge will never go for it.
And I can't mention the murders.
Harris gets out, we stick with him.
I want all four of you in the courtroom for the arraignment.
Don't let him out of your sight.
If he so much as sneezes, I want the Kleenex.
Remand, Ms.
Cabot? On a third degree possession charge? Mr.
Harris provided the drugs to young women.
The People believe he is a danger to the community.
Counsel approach.
Ms.
Cabot, I have 40 more cases on the docket and you're wasting my time on this frivolous garbage? Your Honor, it is the People's position that we You screwed up your murder case and now you want me to do your dirty work for you.
Not gonna happen.
Step back.
Bail is set at $2,000, cash only.
Next case.
Let's go.
Son of a bitch! You killed my sister, man! Order.
Officer.
He's a cold-blooded murderer.
Officer.
Officer, clear the court! Bastard bit me! Bastard bit me! Bring it.
Come on, bring it.
Remove that man! Officer, order.
All right, we'll take him.
We'll take him.
Order! You'll take me? Yeah, you're under arrest for assault.
Whoa.
Hold it.
He gets away with murdering my sister, and you taking me? Harris, let's see your hands, now.
You're under arrest.
It's over, Your Highness.
You ain't got nothing on me.
Just taking a bite out of crime.
Just like you took a bite out of Rodney Thompson's arm.
And left your DNA.
Thought you were smarter than that.
Fin? Counselor? You and Rodney Thompson put on quite a performance when you led him out of court.
What are you talking about? Setting Harris up by telling Thompson the only way we were going to get Harris's DNA is if he attacked him.
Thompson's not a perp.
I can't force him to do anything.
No, but you could have given him the idea.
Did you? You really want to know? No.
It was a setup.
We arranged for your client to bite Rodney Thompson? I don't think so.
Bit yourself in the ass with your big mouth this time, King.
This is entrapment.
Ask your attorney.
She'll tell you it's not.
I just heard from Detroit.
Malik's DNA.
Matches four homicides, five rapes, all during the time he was living with his sister.
I want a deal.
You want a deal? How about right before we execute you for killing those girls, I bring you your last meal? How's that?
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Let's go someplace else.
I got a better place.
Come on.
Where you take all your other girls? Come on now.
You know I don't have nobody but you.
What's over here? The view is better.
What's that? It's nothing.
It's nothing.
Relax.
Come on now.
Relax.
It's nothing.
I hear footsteps.
Look, I don't hear nothing.
What's up? Do you want me or not? We want you, Leon.
Who's that? Oh, man, that's the sex police.
Why they want you? It's this cop, man.
He got this thing for me or something like that.
Not even out of prison two weeks.
I told you he's not gonna stop.
Over there.
Come here.
What he do? Come here with me.
I didn't do nothing, man.
He framed me.
Keep right on thinking that, Leon.
What'd he do? How old are you? Fourteen.
Oh, you's a Iying bitch.
Yo, man, Nashika told me she graduated high school.
Yo, tell them I ain't forced you.
I wanted to be with him.
Okay.
The law says you're not old enough to make that decision.
Now, was he gonna use protection? We didn't talk about it.
I bet he didn't even mention that he's HIV positive, did he? Bastard has the virus? Man! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nashika, come here.
Settle, settle, settle.
Yo, man, you can't give that up.
I just did.
What are you gonna do about it? Look at me.
It's okay.
Nashika, have you ever had sex with him? Tonight would have been the first time.
Okay, let's go.
So how many little girls have you had sex with since you been out? Yo, man, you ain't have no right to follow me.
Hey.
Hey.
Don't tell me how to do my job.
Answer the question.
So you can put me away again for nothing? Man, listen, the young ladies feel me, it's not my fault.
It is if they're jailbait.
They want to pleasure me, who am I to stop them? And if you infect them with your HIV, it's their problem, too, right? Look, man, you ambushed us before I even had an opportunity to tell her.
I had protection.
Her protection is me putting you back in your little cage.
Why don't you just get off my case, man? 'Cause I don't like you.
All right, well, I don't have nothing else to say until my legal aid gets here.
I'm surprised he said as much as he did.
He has the personality of a repeater.
He can do no wrong.
Nothing is his fault.
What was he in prison for? Five years, sodomy two.
After I finally convinced one of the numerous underage girls he had oral sex with to come forward and file a complaint.
Now he's escalating to intercourse.
You're speculating, Elliot.
He wasn't in the act when you stopped him.
That's a problem.
Attempted rape two, attempted reckless endangerment, because he didn't disclose that he was HIV positive.
Where's the problem here? We can't hold him based on what he might do.
So we're supposed to wait until after he infects the girl? She consented.
His attorney will say he was carrying condoms and planned to use them.
We can't prove otherwise.
We know that Leon was about to have unprotected sex with a minor.
Now, we cut him loose, he's going to.
You got anything in your bag of tricks, Counselor, now is the time to pull it out.
I have something, but I'll have to check.
And I'll have to involve your psychiatrist.
I'll give him a call.
Get him Tate's prison history, arrest records, whatever you could find.
Leon's rap sheet starts when he was seven years old.
He had 11 arrests by his 13th birthday.
The record was sealed because he was a juvenile.
Let's get them unsealed.
Elliot, close the door.
Yeah? I don't remember telling you to tail Leon Tate.
I heard he was out.
Just keeping my eye on him.
Well, this squad doesn't have enough bodies for you and your partner to go freelancing.
I like to think that we saved a young girl's life tonight.
And we would need a new unit if we were to follow every perv that we thought might repeat.
Leon Tate did his time.
And until somebody makes a complaint, he has rights.
This guy's penis is a deadly weapon and he's got a thing for young girls.
They got rights, too.
Until Cabot gives us the word, you back off.
Are we clear? We can't charge Leon Tate with a crime, so you wanna lock him up in a mental institution? The Supreme Court in Kansas v, Hendricks upheld States' rights to commit sexual predators after their prison sentences.
Yes, Kansas and 16 other states have laws specifically for that purpose.
New York does not.
We can use the existing mental hygiene law.
All we have to do is prove Leon Tate has a mental illness that poses a likelihood of danger to himself or to others.
You really want to risk trying to set a precedent with this case? Leon Tate is a sexual predator with HIV.
I think we have a responsibility to protect people from him and others like him.
All right.
You give me something to work with.
I'll see if the D.
A.
will go for it.
Problem is even if the woman lies about her age, it's still the man's fault.
Ignorance is no defense.
Nashika Morris is 14.
She's not a woman, she's a girl.
What's a guy supposed to do, check the girl's birth certificate? I'm just as opposed to rape as everybody else in this room, but if she wanted to have sex, that's her choice.
She wasn't forced.
She's a minor.
What she wants isn't relevant.
Are we interrupting? Friendly disagreement.
Care to join in? I came to tell you that the D.
A.
's allowing us to move on Leon Tate.
On what grounds? Based upon the reports that I've read, I think that I can make a case that Mr.
Tate has anti-social personality disorder.
That's what I've been saying all along.
No empathy, no conscience, no thought for the possible consequences of his actions.
So he knows what he's doing is wrong.
And he doesn't care.
Most people with HIV act responsibly when it comes to practicing safe sex.
Tate either can't control or won't control his impulses, which make him a repeat sex offender.
Yeah, he's a sexual predator.
Now he's definitely a danger to others.
Which is the standard set by the Supreme Court.
Do we know how he contracted HIV? Yeah, shooting dope.
He found out when he was tested in prison.
One fix wipes away any self-control that Tate has left, making him even more likely to have unprotected sex with a minor.
And this is already in the works? We argue the motion for a commitment hearing this afternoon.
It would be a big help if you could be there in case the judge has questions about Tate's past.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Your Honor, it's double jeopardy disguised as treatment.
Supreme Court Kansas v, Hendricks, civil commitment of a sexual predator is not punitive.
They arrested Mr.
Tate and couldn't make the charges stick, so they put a label on him for a one-way trip to the funny farm.
I get the point, Ms.
Regal.
Doctor Huang.
Yes? Other than an anti-social personality, did you find any evidence that the defendant has a sexual disorder? Yes.
Mr.
Tate expresses his narcissism and his anger by having unprotected sex with underage, powerless girls and not disclosing that he's HIV positive.
Detective Stabler, when you arrested Mr.
Tate, how did you know for certain that he was going to have sex with the girl? Ms.
Morris told us so.
We found condoms on Tate when we searched him.
Well, wouldn't that indicate that Mr.
Tate planned safe sex? Even so, the girl's a minor.
That's rape two.
Your Honor, Detective Stabler can in no way predict what my client may or may not have done that night.
Your client likes little girls and if we don't stop him now, he's gonna kill one of them.
Enough.
I agree something has to be done about repeat sexual offenders, but I am not gonna put this man through a civil commitment hearing unless you can prove that his intent was unprotected sex.
Judge was afraid to stick her neck out.
Maybe she'll change her mind when we wheel a body into her chambers.
Who's catching? That would be me.
What's up? Rape.
Rooftop in Harlem, 15-year-old victim at Metro Hospital's ER.
It's Tate's m.
o.
We'll take it.
Be my guest.
Elliot, I've got two days to finish up the paperwork on the Wilson case or I'm in contempt of court.
I'll go.
All right.
I don't want you trying to pin Tate to every sex crime in Harlem.
I met him in the park down the block from our apartment.
He told me he could get me a rap audition, that he was a promoter.
I fell for it.
Shareen, it's not your fault.
Did he tell you his name? Andre.
He seemed nice.
Said I was smart and talented.
What happened? He took me out to a real restaurant.
Then he walked me home.
When we got to my door, he said it was a beautiful night, and that I was aglow like the stars, that we should go to the rooftop.
He started to kiss me.
I told him to stop.
He slapped me, pulled a knife, ripped off my clothes, and then he Did he say anything during the attack? That I was lucky to experience him 'cause he was so handsome.
He was the love machine, and that he was gonna make me into a woman when he was done.
We'll be right back.
She's got a detached retina, concussion.
Basically, he used her face for a punching bag.
Okay, tell the doctor that the rapist may have HIV.
Okay.
Where are you going? Back to the office.
That "love machine" line? I've heard it before.
In '93 right after I got here, Perp said he was gonna make a woman out of her, that he was the love machine.
You get anywhere on the case? Was gonna run the DNA in '95 when they first started testing, but back then you couldn't get it done unless you already had the collar.
And you think Leon Tate is our guy.
I contacted the victim.
She's got AIDS.
Perp sweet-talked her just like Leon.
I don't know how I missed it.
Well, banging your head against the wall isn't gonna help.
Pick Tate up and see if his victims are in any kind of shape for a lineup.
I pounded on his door.
If he's in there, he's got a bad headache.
You okay? Yeah.
I just don't like some guy making my home turf dangerous for young girls.
I thought you grew up in Brooklyn.
Nope.
About 10 blocks from here.
Ground zero for the '68 riots.
What was that like? I was six.
My mother said the only way we're leaving our apartment was if somebody burned it down.
This your guy? Son of a bitch is at it again.
You, come here.
Yo, come on, man.
Yo, she's 17.
checked her ID.
We didn't do nothing.
Assume the position.
See how they do? So what's up, man? The hood got you scared, you had to bring Uncle Tom with you? You didn't mean that.
You know something? I think you just upset my partner.
You should apologize.
Yeah, go ahead with All right, all right, all right.
I apologize, I apologize.
You know Casanova here has HIV? That the truth? Yo, man, don't believe them.
No.
Is it the truth? Yo, I got protection.
I don't care if you got a bulletproof vest for that thing.
You should have told me.
Oh, now there she go.
Yo, man, my legal aid told me I can sue you for telling anybody.
Yeah, so go ahead and do it.
We'll say it slipped out while we busted you for rape and assault.
Do what? Yo, I ain't raped nobody.
Yeah, I'll bet you're not the love machine, either.
Yo, man, what you talking about, man? Why y'all doing this to me? "Doing it to me.
" It's all about you, huh, Leon? It's been a while.
It's okay, Vanessa.
Do you recognize any of these men? I'm not sure.
Take your time.
No coaching, Counselor.
I wish I could tell you one of them's him.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
It's all right.
It's all right.
Okay.
Come on.
Thank you.
Okay, you ready? They can't see you.
They can't see you.
Help me up.
Yeah.
Come on.
Do you recognize any of these men? Which one? I can't tell.
Maybe when I can see a little better.
Okay.
It's all right.
I'm taking my client home now.
Cut him loose.
That son of a bitch wins again.
I'm on my way home and this flaming shoe hit the ground.
I look up and here comes the rest of her.
Did you see anyone else up there? No, man, I was busy putting out the fire.
Okay, thank you.
If you remember anything else, give us a call.
They wake you up, too? Yeah.
I was just leaving the office when the call came in.
I had the desk page you.
Girl on a rooftop.
I figured you'd want in.
What's with fire? Perp lit the victim up before he threw her off.
Who is she? Aisha Thompson, 14.
Used to live about two blocks away from here.
Tosses her off a roof.
Leon's trying to send me a message now? Hey.
Full thickness burns to the body, but she was dead before he torched her.
How? Ligature strangulation after she performed oral sex on him.
We ran the Luma Light around the scene, she has fluids on her face.
Leon lives a dozen blocks from here.
Where is she? Where is she, man? Hold up.
Yo, she's my sister.
Let him through.
Let him through.
Let him through.
Didn't know you had a sister.
Rodney.
Rodney.
Come on.
All right.
You know him? He looks just like his father.
You used to come around all the time when I was a kid.
You know, your parents and I got busy with our lives, fell out of touch when I moved to Brooklyn.
How they doing? Dad got hooked on dope, disappeared, and mom brought us up, but she died two years ago, breast cancer, so it was just me and Aisha.
I was out all night looking for her.
When did you realize she was missing? She went to the library to do a project for school, but when she didn't come home by 10:00, I just started calling her friends, but nobody saw her, so Did she have a boyfriend? Anybody paying attention to her? Aisha told me everything, okay.
She just got accepted to Stuyvesant.
You know, that school for the gifted kids? She was gonna be somebody.
What are you gonna do about this? We got a line on this guy.
We think we know who he is and we're gonna get him.
He's not gonna kill any more girls.
How does Fin know the victim's family? He grew up with Rodney and Aisha's mother.
This has got Tate written all over it.
We need a warrant for his apartment.
Do you have evidence it was him? We believe he beat up Shareen White when he raped her.
Maybe this time he didn't wanna leave any witnesses.
It's not enough.
And he's missing and the victim fits Tate's profile and she was raped on that rooftop.
And murdered and set on fire, neither of which Tate has ever done.
We don't know everything Leon Tate's done.
Now, how are we doing on getting his records unsealed? Motion's in, but it's gonna take some time.
We don't have time.
We need the information now.
Corporation counsel would have prosecuted Tate because he was a juvie.
Maybe somebody there remembers him.
I keep my notes on all my own cases.
The day I start this job, they put that little bastard's overstuffed file right on my desk.
Our shrink pegged him with anti-social personality disorder.
Yeah, well, that sounds mild compared to the psych evals I read back then.
Said little Leon was a serial killer in the making.
Based on what? Based on his love of torturing and killing the neighbors' pets.
Two when he was just seven, and that's just for starters.
What happened? Kiddie probation.
In other words, nothing.
My luck I got a judge sympathetic to the kid.
His sheet says he was back six months later.
Hey, I argued he should be put away, but Judge Bleeding Heart wanted me to exhaust every possible treatment option.
Don't tell me, His Honor said Leon could be rehabilitated? Until his last arrest, which I handled five years later.
What made the judge change his mind? Leon torched the treatment facility.
Nobody else would touch him.
Leon set fires? Nine out of his 11 collars are for arson.
The ACC who prosecuted says Tate told the psychiatrists he killed puppies to see what it felt like.
Add the pyromania and Leon scores two out of three on the triad of sociopathy.
Bed-wetting would make him three for three.
So Tate shows a reckless disregard for life from the time he was seven.
And he had five years to think about what he was gonna do when he got out.
So why didn't he kill the first girl he seduced? Rape is about anger, but I'm not sure it's the women that set him off.
I think following him might have made his anger boil over.
Oh, so Aisha Thompson's death is our fault? Well, that's the way he's gonna play it every time he kills, until you find him.
So we should have just done nothing, right? I'm profiling, I'm not accusing.
All right, where are we? Three shifts on Leon's crib around the clock, no sign of him.
Tate have any friends or relatives he might be holed up with? His mother moved from the address in his file.
Nobody could tell us where she went.
All right.
Well, let's just check his phone records from prison.
If you were away for five years, you'd call your mother, too.
If he's not with her, have his building canvassed.
John, start pulling every rape and sexual homicide of girls that fit the type Tate liked.
All five boroughs.
How far back? Let's start with 10 years.
This guy is serial killer material.
He might have sweet-talked a lot more girls than we know about.
You come to take another five years from my son? When was the last time you saw him? You should know, the way you've been following him around.
Mrs.
Tate, when was the last time You sent him to prison because some So it was her fault? Girl never led you on? A girl was murdered last night.
He didn't kill anybody.
I told him to stay away from those girls.
Well, Leon's not taking your advice, because he was with one when I saw him two nights ago.
I don't know why he's the way he is.
I tried to raise him right, gave him plenty of love.
Now he's got this HIV.
I don't know what happened.
Mrs.
Tate, if he contacts you I'm afraid that he is shooting dope again.
Why do you think that? He said you were dogging him, and he wasn't sure he could handle going back to prison.
Did he tell you that when you saw him? Last night.
What do you want with me? You seen Leon Tate? I mind my own business.
Why don't you try knocking on his door? We did.
Then I guess I can't help you.
All right.
Well, if you see him give me a call.
Where to now? Well, Leon likes rooftops.
Spent a lot of time on my rooftop when I was a kid.
It was safe back then.
Doing the wild thing with your girlfriend? You know, when you live here you can't afford a vacation to Aruba, so you went to "Isle of Aroofa," tar beach.
Plus the guys like to come up here 'cause this is where the girls would come hang out.
I grew up in Queens.
AII I ever wanted was the excitement of the city.
Sounds like all you ever wanted was quiet.
We should've traded places.
Large family in a small apartment.
I used to come up here at night, too.
Used to look at the view and the lights in the distance, think.
About the meaning of life? That I had to get off that rooftop.
Well, well, Leon, I guess you wanted to get off the rooftop, too.
Who you talking to? Check this out.
It's Leon.
Took a taste and OD'd.
He could have been up here since last night and nobody would have seen him.
ME says he's been down at least 18 hours, but he still could have murdered Aisha Thompson.
Guy OD's two weeks out of prison.
Talk about bad karma.
Well, maybe for Leon.
For his potential victims it's all upside.
Yeah, thanks.
Maybe not.
What? Another rooftop, another body.
Guy came up to feed the pigeons, found her.
Anybody else up here besides him and the victim? Nobody.
Thanks.
How old is this one, Doc? I'd say no more than 16.
Raped before she was killed.
Any ID? Nothing on her.
Perp did a real number on her face.
With what? Brick.
Pieces of it broke off in her skull.
This was on her right index finger.
May help ID her.
Well, if it's Leon's work, he's improvising.
It couldn't have been Leon Tate.
What are you talking about? The victim's still in rigor.
Probably killed this morning.
Tate was dead by last night.
Elliot I wanted it to be Leon.
Everything fit.
We wasted time.
Another girl's dead because I went down the wrong road.
You happy now? Mrs.
Tate, I'm sorry about Leon.
Don't you dare say you're sorry.
You're glad he's dead.
He didn't kill those girls, but you killed him anyway.
You murdered him.
Mrs.
Tate, Detective Stabler was doing his job.
My son was innocent.
Your son was gonna kill somebody with his HIV.
We had to stop him.
We didn't put the needle in his arm.
You didn't.
But you all stick together, don't you? Who's our victim? Tiffany Purcell, 14.
Mother ID'ed her ring.
Fin, thanks for taking my back with Mrs.
Tate.
Leon was scum.
He was gonna kill some innocent girl if you didn't stop him.
We're checking every parolee in the last two years who was ever collared for anything violent against women.
None of these m.
o.
's are the same.
The pattern's in the victimology.
All the victims are black, young, good students, never been in trouble.
This is no wild-eyed psycho.
Your perp is most likely well-educated, attractive.
He seems trustworthy.
He has good social skills.
Every time he cons a girl into submission, he's proving how much smarter he is.
Okay, that could explain why he changes locations and m.
o.
's.
That's part of his strategy.
He knew how much harder it would be for you guys to put his pattern together.
He was right.
What about this victim that he set on fire? Something about her sent him over the edge.
Maybe she physically injured him or she said something that would trigger that level of violence.
You mean like challenging his manhood? Any challenge to his sense of control.
That's what this is all about.
These men often have wives or steady girlfriends who are submissive.
They seek unconditional approval.
Well, my old man never approved of a single thing I ever did.
I don't go around raping and killing young girls.
This perp was told that he was no good enough times to think that it was true.
All any of these girls has to say is "stop" and that's likely to set him off.
A rape and two murders in one week tells me we're on borrowed time before he kills again.
Get all the victims' descriptions of the perp.
Make a composite.
We've got company.
I'll take him.
I thought you had him, man? We were wrong.
We're gonna get him.
You aren't doing a damn thing, are you? What, 'cause it happened north of 96th street? You can save that for somebody else, okay? I know your family.
We're from the same place and we're the same color.
Fin.
What happened? Another girl.
What do we got, Doc? Cause of death is ligature strangulation.
Some kind of thick shoelace, maybe from a sneaker.
Dead about 12 hours.
Raped? And she put up a fight, tried to resist.
She's got finger-size bruises on the inside of her thighs where he pried her legs apart.
This wacko's out of control.
Well, I can't tell you it's the same wacko until I compare the DNA.
I've known her since she was a baby.
It's horrible.
Tina was a sweet girl.
I try to keep the building safe.
What do you know about Tina and her family? Her parents are nice, responsible people.
They're never late with the rent, took care of their apartment.
Do they know? Her mother does.
She's downstairs.
Father sails on cargo ships.
They're trying to reach him now.
Did you see Tina last night? Sorry.
We're gonna need you to take us down to her apartment.
I sent Tina to the store on the corner for some milk and bread.
Do you remember what time? Around 10:00 last night.
We walked out together.
I work graveyard at the post office.
This is gonna kill her daddy.
Was she here when you came home this morning? I did a couple of hours overtime.
I assumed Tina went to school.
Does she ever have any friends over while you're at work? No, only when I'm here.
How about boyfriends? Tina is very shy around boys.
She said some kid at school had a crush on her.
That's all I know about.
Who would do something like this? I'll be just a minute.
Piece of paper in her room had some numbers on it.
I'll call them and have someone run them down.
Her mother give you anything? Tina's last stop was the corner store.
Yeah, she did come in here.
I was getting ready to close.
She come in with anybody? No.
Some guy did come in behind her.
They started talking.
This him? This guy had a shaved head and no beard.
You ever see him in here before? I just started working here last week.
What'd they talk about? I didn't hear, but they was talking and laughing and stuff like they knew each other.
They left together, too.
Thanks, man.
All right.
Shaved head? One of my tenants just went for the cue-ball look.
Which one? Malik Harris.
When? Last few days.
Didn't even recognize him.
Malik Harris? That's what it says on my birth certificate, but I'm known professionally as King.
We wanna talk to you, Malik.
You gonna invite us in? Now is not a convenient time.
Who's there, baby? Nobody that concerns you.
I guess we're interrupting.
I told you I was busy.
Sweetie.
Baby, I was just wondering You see I'm speaking to these officers? What do you want? Are you aware of what's going on upstairs? I haven't been out, enlighten me.
A girl was murdered on the rooftop.
Who? Tina Dupree.
You know her? Yeah, I seen her around.
Damn.
Somebody saw you with her last night.
On the corner at the store.
I walked her home.
Little girl like that shouldn't be out so late.
Can you tell us where you were the rest of the night? Baby, now you may dialogue.
We ain't left the apartment.
We been busy.
You know what I am saying? "Baby, now you may dialogue"? Please.
He was the last person to see her.
Pretty big risk if he's our serial killer, striking where he lives.
Unless Tina was a victim of opportunity.
Harris goes to the store, sees her, walks her home, knows her mother works at night, father's out of town.
Yeah, police just putting on a big show for us, that's all.
Just what we need.
I got this.
You got a problem? Yeah, that you cops don't give a rat's ass what's going on up here.
You don't think so? Well, we're here.
You know who's not here? The press, the TV news.
If you got any beef, you got beef with them, not us.
They can't make money off us.
They don't care.
Word up.
Don't tell me.
Tell them.
Why don't y'all give them a call, all right? Meanwhile, does anybody have any information that could help us? Okay, people, please go back to your business, and let us do our job.
Not you.
Why do you wanna make this harder on yourself than it already is? Aisha was all I had left, all right? Now some scum took her away, and I'm supposed to stand here and watch you not catch him? What's harder than that, man? Checked the phone numbers we found in Tina Dupree's room.
One belongs to a girlfriend.
The other, Malik Harris.
Harris have a rap sheet? Never arrested, but came up on the computer as a victim of vehicular assault.
Hit by a car in '94.
Right after the third murder.
His legs were shattered, almost lost them.
Hospitalized in rehab for nearly a year, spent the next two learning how to walk again.
So Harris was only out of action for three years.
Our perp waited seven.
He gets social security disability.
From '97 to last year, his checks were sent to an address in Detroit.
Harris has a sister who lives there.
Get Detroit Homicide on the phone, see if they have any unsolved killings matching our victim profiles.
Fin, my office, now.
I just got off the phone with the Deputy Commissioner for public information.
Now, he wants to know why one of my detectives is bad-mouthing the media up in Harlem.
I was just telling them the truth.
What the hell were you thinking? That those people were right.
That's not your judgment to make.
If these girls were murdered in the Village or the Upper West Side, the media would be all over it.
Five black girls aren't even on their radar.
Are you finished? No, I'm just getting started.
This is no different than any other investigation.
No? An East Side socialite disappears, we got 50 cops on it.
Black girls start getting executed, we got four cops.
That sounds equal to you? Look, I know where you're coming from.
No, you don't know where I'm coming from.
There's no way you can know where I'm coming from.
Don't you dare presume to know what's in my head.
No matter what you say, Captain, you're not black and you're not from the hood.
Slow down.
That crowd could have turned ugly.
I diffused it.
Cragen didn't know that.
Who you defending? Him or me? Both of you.
Just take a deep breath.
No time for that.
Where are we going? I'm going to meet an informant.
Alone.
I'm busy.
This better be good.
How about a little respect.
Time is money, and I'm losing it talking to you.
What the hell are you doing back there? Sit up like a man.
Yeah, I get seen with you, my customers go elsewhere for their merchandise.
You got something for me, Benny, or did you just come here to run your mouth? Word's out you're looking to jam up King.
Where you hear that? I got sources just like you.
What do your sources know about him? That King's a rap promoter wannabe.
Manages a few unknowns, but doesn't have the goods to make it big.
He uses the rap line mostly to pick up women.
So far you're boring me.
How about he buys his coke and dope from one of my corner boys? Now you're talking.
Where's he get his cash? King's a kept man.
Smooth-talks one of his ladies into paying for his lifestyle, till they wise up, dump him.
What's in this for you, Benny? I don't like him.
Consider it a freebie.
Harris admits to walking Tina Dupree home, and we got witnesses that saw them together.
That doesn't mean he killed her.
We took the composites from all the rapes and had the artist remove the hair.
That's Malik Harris dead-on.
A judge isn't going to give us a search warrant based on that.
What about a lineup? We risk tipping our hand.
I got an informant, a drug dealer I busted a few years ago.
He says his boys sell Malik Harris dope and coke on a regular basis.
Well, write the warrant for the drugs only.
That'll allow you to search almost everywhere.
Anything you find on top of that is gravy.
I can't talk to you right now.
I'm cutting a track here.
Yeah, maybe you should be recording jailhouse rock.
Man, what are you talking about? You're under arrest.
For what? Possession of narcotics in the third degree.
What? We tossed your crib.
What you gonna do? Make her a star and then kill her, too? What is up with that? You're putting me through all of this for some recreational pharmaceuticals? You like big words, King? How about execution or lethal injection? What, you gonna give me the death penalty for a little cocaine and heroin? Your handiwork.
Remember? Poor girls.
And you think that I have something to do with killing them? You were the last one with Tina before she was found dead.
Feel free to dialogue.
I told you I walked her home.
Anything after that I'm not accountable for.
And, of course, you've met my lovely alibi.
Who'll say anything once you doped her up.
I am innocent.
Then you won't mind taking a little trip with us.
Open wide, please.
This'll only take a moment.
What are you doing? Just taking a little DNA sample to prove your innocence.
I can't allow that.
You got something to hide? It violates my religious tenets.
I'm a Jehovah's Witness.
Prove it.
He doesn't have to.
He says it, I can't take the sample.
We haven't been properly introduced.
I'm King.
We should get together sometime under circumstances more conducive.
You fill in the blanks.
She's choice.
Don't you ever want to Your thoughts aren't very religious.
Well, we all worship in our own way.
You know how much those cost, man? Sorry about that.
Let me get that for you.
Oh, man.
Shoot.
Partner, you gotta be more careful.
Don't worry.
We'll replace them by tomorrow morning.
Frames are from Italy.
You have our sincerest apologies.
Most people secrete oils right onto the lenses.
The cells I found that were usable were on the nose pieces.
So what's the verdict? His Majesty's DNA is a match on all six murders and eight rapes.
Got him.
Thanks.
This motion to suppress is totally without merit.
Malik Harris's right to genetic privacy was violated.
The police have gotten DNA off of coffee cups, lipstick, telephones, even a suspect's spit on the street.
All of it upheld in court.
People discard coffee cups and spit voluntarily.
Detective Tutuola assaulted my client and stole his glasses.
When Mr.
Harris's sunglasses fell, he demanded the detectives replace them.
He discarded them, which makes them fair game.
So what we're saying here is that the police, at any time, can obtain a person's genetic code? The DNA obtained by the police conclusively links the defendant to the murders of a half a dozen teenage girls.
What about their rights? Mr.
Harris's guilt or innocence isn't the issue here.
How the police gathered the evidence is.
Your Honor, reasonable deception on the part of the police has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Yes, and if the police had tricked Mr.
Harris into giving up his sunglasses, we'd be out of here.
They forced him, that's coercion, the DNA is out.
The DNA is all the police have tying my client to these murders.
Then I have no other choice but to drop the charges against Mr.
Harris.
And when your detectives blame the judge, tell them that they're the ones that blew it.
No, no, no.
We didn't screw up.
We got Harris off the street.
Your judge let him go.
What did you expect? A little justice.
Then maybe you should have done better.
We got you all the evidence you needed.
If you'd done it legally, this wouldn't have happened.
All right, come on.
This isn't getting us anywhere.
What do we have left? Possession three on the drugs that we found in his apartment.
Is there anything we can do with that to keep him off the street? First offense, Harris'll make bail.
Just gonna give up? I will ask for remand, but the judge will never go for it.
And I can't mention the murders.
Harris gets out, we stick with him.
I want all four of you in the courtroom for the arraignment.
Don't let him out of your sight.
If he so much as sneezes, I want the Kleenex.
Remand, Ms.
Cabot? On a third degree possession charge? Mr.
Harris provided the drugs to young women.
The People believe he is a danger to the community.
Counsel approach.
Ms.
Cabot, I have 40 more cases on the docket and you're wasting my time on this frivolous garbage? Your Honor, it is the People's position that we You screwed up your murder case and now you want me to do your dirty work for you.
Not gonna happen.
Step back.
Bail is set at $2,000, cash only.
Next case.
Let's go.
Son of a bitch! You killed my sister, man! Order.
Officer.
He's a cold-blooded murderer.
Officer.
Officer, clear the court! Bastard bit me! Bastard bit me! Bring it.
Come on, bring it.
Remove that man! Officer, order.
All right, we'll take him.
We'll take him.
Order! You'll take me? Yeah, you're under arrest for assault.
Whoa.
Hold it.
He gets away with murdering my sister, and you taking me? Harris, let's see your hands, now.
You're under arrest.
It's over, Your Highness.
You ain't got nothing on me.
Just taking a bite out of crime.
Just like you took a bite out of Rodney Thompson's arm.
And left your DNA.
Thought you were smarter than that.
Fin? Counselor? You and Rodney Thompson put on quite a performance when you led him out of court.
What are you talking about? Setting Harris up by telling Thompson the only way we were going to get Harris's DNA is if he attacked him.
Thompson's not a perp.
I can't force him to do anything.
No, but you could have given him the idea.
Did you? You really want to know? No.
It was a setup.
We arranged for your client to bite Rodney Thompson? I don't think so.
Bit yourself in the ass with your big mouth this time, King.
This is entrapment.
Ask your attorney.
She'll tell you it's not.
I just heard from Detroit.
Malik's DNA.
Matches four homicides, five rapes, all during the time he was living with his sister.
I want a deal.
You want a deal? How about right before we execute you for killing those girls, I bring you your last meal? How's that?