Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 2, Episode 16 - Vengeance - full transcript

In the criminal justice
system, the people are represented

by two separate yet
equally important groups...

the police
who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Mrs. Schwinger,
bag on the fourth floor,

has been complaining
three times a day.

So it's slow.
What's her rush, anyway?

- It's not the controls.
- Gears?

Or the brakes jamming.
It's probably kids.

Bozos call it elevator surfing.



Ride the tops, jump from one to
the other. Give me your flashlight.

I just don't want any lawsuits.

I been here 12 years.
Never opened.

I'm going to have to take it
down to the basement.

Lower it slow.

- You Local 196?
- Wouldn't work if I wasn't.

My brother-in-law,
20 years of dues.

- Now he's in St. Thomas...
- Oh my God!

Stop the damn thing!

Now this is very preliminary.

- We're listening.
- Death by strangulation.

Looks like a wire. Pre-mortem
cuts and abrasions on the face.

- So she fought back.
- I bagged her hands in case there's anything under her nails.

She's partially out of rigor. Say
she's been dead 24 to 36 hours.



Monday night.

Mr. Hellman?

Have you ever seen her before?

Yeah. Judy Bream. 3B.

She live alone?

- Yeah, alone.
- Here's what I want you to do.

First, I want you to let
those men into Judy's apartment,

then later I'm going to have
some questions for you.

Yeah.

This sound familiar?
Young woman, nude,

strangled with wire,
duct tape on her face,

body tossed like garbage?

East River Park,
six months ago.

Same guy?
Could be.

That'd be number two
in a series of...

It depends on how late
in his game we're coming in.

She was a grad student
at Columbia.

Some kind of
ancient history, I think.

Moved in about a year
and a half ago.

Her family lives in Hartford.
Old man co-signed the lease.

What kind of tenant
was she? A doll.

If they were all like her...

- What about boyfriends?
- I don't keep track.

Anyway, when you're
young and beautiful,

who wants to be alone?

Tell me about
this building, okay?

Anybody hanging around
who didn't belong?

On the Upper West Side?
You want 'em all,

or just the ones that
talk to themselves?

No sign of forcible entry.

Must've been somebody
she knew or expected.

There's nothing
about it in here.

This whole week's marked off
as being in Connecticut.

Her folks live in Hartford.

Last couple of months,
two doctors visits,

a paper, three exams,

one potluck dinner.

Found it on the floor
near the bed.

Wrapper for
a Polaroid cartridge.

- She have a camera?
- Didn't find one.

Think our boy is a shutterbug?

Some are. Helps them
to remember the good times.

Let's hope this is
a coincidence.

I don't think so. We turned up a
third vic three months ago in Queens.

All three taped, strangled,

pfft... tossed.

- Rape?
- No evidence of penetration.

Three kills in six months.
Slow but consistent.

Oh, man.

All right,

nothing to encourage this guy
to pick up the pace.

No press. I want
to keep this off the books.

Anything you need,
you come directly to me.

Did he leave us
anything at all to go on?

Autopsy report...

says digestion
on her stomach contents

puts the time of death between
7:00 and 8:00 Monday night.

Other than that, we got nada.

No prints, no fluids, no hairs.

Regular Angel of Death.

The last one, Judy Bream, he
tossed her down the elevator shaft.

And?

- You need a special key.
- Elevator repairmen, firemen, electricians...

So that narrows it down to what,
about 100,000 suspects?

Hey, the guys in Brooklyn
were lucky, huh?

They got the Son of Sam
on parking tickets.

Yeah, six months
and six bodies later.

What?

Yeah. Thanks.

The Breams are outside.

- You want to do it in here?
- No.

Let's take
an interrogation room.

I told her she'd be safer
in one of the university residences.

But... she knew better.

Had to have her own place.

Judy was never
afraid of anything.

Not even as a child.

We know that Judy was supposed
to spend the week with you.

Was there any reason
that those plans were changed?

She got a call...

Sunday afternoon
up at our house.

Someone...
connected with her building.

I- I heard her call him
Mr. Cook.

Uh...

some work had to be done.

Do you know what kind of work?

Something electrical.

With the wiring.

They had to move the furniture.

At least that's what Judy said.

Would Judy have told
the building manager

how to reach her
up in Connecticut?

No, she didn't have to.
Calls were forwarded.

Her phone, was it...
was it listed?

No.

I thought it would be safer.

All three were killed
in their apartments.

But the first two were dumped
at least a half a mile away,

while Judy Bream was left
in her building. Why?

He's in a rush. Couldn't
get her out of the building.

It would be easier to leave them
in their apartments.

He does it, Phil.
It's got to mean something.

What? Power?
Degradation?

- A sense of finality?
- Okay, thanks.

Well, if this guy knew
these girls,

it wasn't because
he changed their fuses.

Their buildings were serviced by
three different electrical contractors.

There's got to be
a connection somewhere.

He picks these girls.
Volunteer work.

Judy Bream
did three hours a week

at the Stuart Counseling Center
in the Bronx.

Debra Beckett did United Way
every Christmas,

couple of times a year
at a soup kitchen.

Sandy Markham, no charity work.

Lots of political.

Canvassed
for Senator Peppino in '90.

Registered "Not Interested."

State politics in Connecticut.

Sport club membership,

Columbia Athletic,
racquetball every day.

Mine goes
to the downtown "Y."

Not a jock.

Repeated visits
to a Dr. Phillip Banks, OB/G YN.

Who?

Phillip Banks.

You got...
you got Bream's appointment book?

She was seeing a doctor.

In November.

November 24th,
Dr. P. Banks, 9:00 AM.

What about your Queens lady?

She... crap,
it's not a match.

Dr. Charles Cohen,
Forest Hills.

Still, we got two out
of three, guys.

It's worth a look.

Well, Marcus Welby he's not.

One assault charge
three years ago.

He pleaded down
to a misdemeanor.

Complainant
was his ex-wife.

Dig this...

broke her jaw during
a marriage counseling session.

This man is a lover
and a fighter.

The AMA has received over a
dozen complaints against Banks.

Former patients,
their husbands.

The doc likes to play around while
his patients are in the stirrups.

He still has a license?

Protect thine own.
The AMA refused to pursue.

I just know what I read
in the papers.

City's going straight to hell.

She'd been your patient for long?

First appointment was February.
Routine pelvic.

You ever ask her out?

Debra Beckett, she was
your patient, too, right?

What the hell
are you getting at?

Two of your patients have been murdered
in the last three months.

Did you ever
examine Sandy Markham?

No.

Do you mind if we check
your records?

- Sure. Be my guest. My nurse will help you.
- Thanks.

By the way, did you happen to have
a date last Monday night?

Yes, Emily Feist.

Nine pounds, three ounces.

Born Monday, 7:16 PM,

after three hours of labor.

Yeah, what do you got?

Okay, thanks a lot.

The hospital has him
signing in at 4:16,

signing out at 10 to 8:00.

It would take him at least 20 minutes
to get up to Judy Bream's place.

The ME puts the time of death
between 7:00 and 8:00.

But ME's have been known
to be off by an hour or so.

We still have to connect Sandy
Markham. She never saw Dr. Banks.

Maybe he's lying. Maybe she did
see him under a different name.

Let's go talk to Dr. Cohen.

No, Sandy Markham was referred

by Dr. Rosen
on Park Avenue.

Had she ever been treated
by Dr. Banks?

We can get a subpoena.

If she had been, I think
she would have told me.

Why?

He's a disgrace.

I wouldn't send my schnauzer
to see Phillip Banks.

You don't like
his bedside manner?

- The guy's a walking lawsuit.
- Malpractice?

Now he's branching out.

My bookkeeper tells me they're
after him for insurance fraud.

You and Banks have
the same bookkeeper?

Yes.

You mind giving us his name?

Albert Lawrence Cheney.

Spent five years in Attica.

Cheating on his taxes?

Got man two.
Paroled in '89...

killed a girl in Queens.

Strangulation?
Tape?

The rest of the file will be
in tomorrow. You want to wait?

Not on your life.
Risk losing another one? No.

Hello.
Hello.

Does Albert Cheney live here?

- Yes.
- Is he here?

Because we'd just
like to talk to him for a second.

Yes, but I'm Mrs. Cheney.
Is there a problem?

Is there something
I can help you with?

- Just want to talk to him.
- He's in the other room.

He's busy working.

Excuse me...

are you Albert Lawrence Cheney?

- Yes.
- You mind if we talk?

- I'm in the middle...
- I think it'll keep.

Don't you think we'd be
more comfortable at the station?

Look, I'm not trying
to outrun my past.

- I did the time.
- So you're rehabilitated?

I didn't do the crime.

Aren't you bitter,
having spent five years in Attica

for something you didn't do?

I'm at peace with it now.

I was unlucky enough to be at
the wrong place at the wrong time.

My lawyer said
the best thing was to deal.

Five was better than 15 he said.

You work with Dr. Banks
and Dr. Cohen.

And Burton, and Scarlon,
and Schuman.

How long have you been
keeping books?

Two years.
Since I got out.

- And before that?
- Master electrician.

Manhattan Power
doesn't like ex-cons.

Last Monday night,
you remember what you did?

My wife and I went
to dinner and a movie.

It was an early show. 5:00.

You know a woman named
Judy Bream?

Why, what happened to her?

She was murdered.

We had pizza at Julio's in Astoria.

What time did you leave
the restaurant?

Around 8:00, although I'm
not exactly certain.

- Where did you go?
- I drove Albert home.

I went to work.
The post office, night shift.

I punched in at 9:00.

Have you been married
a long time?

A year.

Seven years ago I saw
his picture in the paper.

He had such gentle eyes.

I wrote him,
and he wrote me back.

And when he was released?

He joined our church group.
St. Eligius Baptist.

He's a good man, Detective.

Phil.

It was in the bottom drawer.

There's no film,

but it's the same type
to fit the wrapper we found.

- My son has the same one.
- Look at this.

Duct tape.

Your son got one of these?

Manhattan Power Company
employee ID?

Expires June, 1985.

Think Albert kept it
as a souvenir?

The fibers from his washer-dryer?

Beige, with a wool-acrylic weave.

Matched the carpeting
in Judy Bream's apartment.

Must have been on Cheney's clothes
when he washed them.

- Puts him at the scene.
- Or in my apartment.

Or in 10,000 others.
It's not what you'd call unique.

Had better luck
with the duct tape.

The roll from Cheney's
apartment...

same as the tape recovered
from the body.

We pieced together? The tape on
the roll with the tape on the girl.

The tears on the end of the tape
were ragged enough to make a match.

So please tell me
this is conclusive.

Probable. Sorry.

Duct tape, carpet fibers,

ID card, prior conviction.

- It adds up, Paul.
- To a weak indictment.

The prior bad act
is inadmissible.

The rest, circumstantial.

- What about Cheney's phone?
- Brick wall.

The LUDs show no telephone calls
to any of the victims.

Alibi?

His wife punched
into work at 9:00.

Before that, nobody remembers him
at the movies or at the restaurant.

- An alibi that can't be verified.
- Or refuted.

Look, it's possible
we're wrong about Cheney.

Guilty people call their lawyers.
He hasn't.

Innocent people kick and scream.
I haven't seen him do that either.

You guys want to indict him,
then have it just die?

Fine.

Get Cheney into interrogation.

Look at it, Albert.
You're the only one.

No one else appears here three
times. You want to explain that to me?

- It's a fluke.
- Fine.

Then maybe you can help me, because
we're a little bit stumped here.

Who else has total access
to these women's lives?

You look at their files
every day.

You look at their charts,
their billing statements.

Do the doctors you work for...

- do they know that you snoop through the patient's files?
- No, I don't do that.

I just do the accounting,
that's all.

Maybe so, Albert, maybe so.

But we know you did Judy Bream.

- We know that.
- I never met those girls.

I told you.

Okay...

you recognize this?

It's a picture of your
electrician's ID, right?

I worked there for five years.

That was eight years ago.
How come you kept it so long?

We know how you got into
those girl's apartments.

We know all about
your electrician's routine.

See, you're a pretty
smart guy, Albert.

Like the way you opened
those elevator doors

to toss Judy Bream's body
down there. That had us going.

Till we figured out you were using elevator
access keys. All electricians have those keys.

- I don't know about any key.
- Sure you do.

We checked with Manhattan Power.
They told us you do.

- They told us you didn't turn in the key.
- That's not true.

- Yeah, it's true.
- Albert...

Don't fight us on this.
We know you didn't turn it in.

They told us.

He was fired eight years ago.

Manhattan Power Company
keeps records of their keys?

They don't even know
if he really had one.

Look, I just don't
think that's true.

I can't remember having one.

See you in a while, pal.

This was next
to Judy's bed on the floor.

It's the exact same kind
of film your camera uses.

She doesn't even have
a camera like that.

How did it get there?

When did you take
the pictures, Albert?

Before you killed her?

Be much more gruesome after,
though, wouldn't it?

I mean, it's your work.
You could see what you've done.

I've never even been
in her place.

And yet your duct tape
was there,

there were carpet fibers
on your clothes,

you got her address
from Dr. Banks' files,

and you have
an electrician's badge.

You like looking at those pictures,
don't you, Albert?

Takes you back.

You got a special place
for them?

I don't have any pictures.

These are ligature marks, Albert.

You see, when you strangle someone,
you leave marks.

Like fingerprints.

Now, this is Sally Kessler,

the girl you killed
eight years ago?

Now you see those ligature
marks? See them way up high?

Just like the ones
on Judy's neck.

You like to get 'em up high,
don't you?

They take longer
to suffocate that way, right?

Is that when you get
your knee right in their back,

- and give it a good yank?
- You know what I want to know?

Why did you switch from ties
to electrical cord?

Is that better?

I mean, you get
more control that way?

Well, maybe the ties
were a little too risky?

Couple of them wind up
damaged or missing,

the wife starts wondering,
thinking, asking questions...

"Is the man I sit next to in church
every Sunday really what he says he is?"

I...

I'm tired.

You want to talk to a lawyer?

You could get it off
your chest.

- It'll all be privileged.
- No.

Just that I'm tired,
that's all.

I want to go lie down.

Yeah, okay, soon.
Very soon.

I just want to go over a couple

of more things here, all right?

These are the keys
we found in your apartment.

Which one is the elevator key?

- I told you, I don't know if I have one.
- Well, they say you did.

You kept it,
just like you kept your ID.

Which one is it, Albert?
Is it this one here?

No...

that's Sara's old place
in the Bronx.

Okay.

How about this one?
Is this it?

It's for the garage.

What about this?

Sara's bicycle.
The lock.

This one.

Is that an elevator access key?

No, it's for the storage.

You're lying, Albert.

Your building has no storage.

Not there.
I mean on Sutphin.

One of those rental places?

What do you keep there, Albert?

Just...

junk.

Pictures!

I'll get working
on a search warrant.

According to this, the guy
came in about once a week.

- Usually in the evenings.
- Phil!

Some people collect
baseball cards.

Case number 750127.

People versus
Albert Lawrence Cheney.

Three counts of murder
in the second degree.

Talk to me.

Counselor?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

Mr. Robinette?

Your Honor, as far as the State
is concerned,

the heinous nature
of the crimes charged

mandates the defendant be held
without bail.

My client has rights.

So do the rest of the women
in this city.

- Your Honor, I think...
- Save it, Carl.

Court orders defendant
held without bail.

Your Honor, the police
repeatedly told Albert Cheney

he had a right to an attorney.

- And he waived that right?
- Several times.

Miranda.

Waiver's got to be
made voluntarily,

knowingly, and intelligently.

Carl, this guy's
been there before.

He's well aware of his rights.

But after 12 hours...

a guy would forget his name.

Come again?

They battered my client
for 12 hours.

Of course he broke.

And gave us a box full
of photographs of his victims.

The Supreme Court
says we should look

at the totality
of the circumstances.

Length of detention,
prolonged questioning,

mental exhaustion.

Carl, this guy
is a serial killer.

He'll do it again.

You get the stake.
I've got the match.

What is it, Ben?
Huh?

Charge a guy
with killing three girls,

he loses his rights against
self-incrimination?

The Supreme Court
never set hard and fast rules

about the length of an
interrogation. It is a judgment call!

And in my judgment,
the more heinous the crime charged,

the more protective we must be
of the rights of the accused.

The police overstepped
their bounds.

I'm excluding the photos.

Your Honor, we had a warrant.

But without the browbeating, you
wouldn't have known where to search.

As the photos were wrongfully
presented to the grand jury,

this entire indictment
should be dismissed.

We have physical evidence
linking him to the crime scene!

A false electrician's ID.

It's all on the Bream girl.
What about the others?

Zippo.

Ben?

We drop the charges on the first two
girls, go ahead only on Judy Bream.

Remember, he's being tried
for the Bream murder alone.

Any mention of any priors,
and we return to go.

I've watched Berg's work
for years.

He doesn't try a case,
he charms a jury.

When he's done,
they'll give Cheney a Nobel Prize.

So much for victims' rights.

Dead people don't have any,
my boy.

What have we got here?

What we don't have is one iota
of direct evidence.

Cheney can't be that good.

He's had practice.

Two priors,
no evidence whatsoever.

Yes, but they caught
him once, right?

Man two.

But he only spent
five years in Attica.

Berg represent him?

Who prosecuted?

Fleischman.
In Brooklyn.

This business...

lightning does strike twice.

Find out how the hell
Berg did it.

How could I forget?

Sally Kessler, 18 years old.

A Hermes tie wrapped
around her neck,

dumped naked
into a recycling bin

behind Nathan's out
at Coney Island.

- He's using wire now.
- Times is hard.

It's scary.

Cheney sat there and smiled
while he told us about it.

Wait a minute.

He confessed?

That's the only way
we were going touch that guy.

But he only served five
for man two.

We're questioning Cheney,
nice and polite, getting nowhere.

Soon he asked
to see his shrink.

We ignore him,
keep on pressing.

I don't know,
after about an hour or so

we hit a sore spot or something,
and Cheney spills his guts.

- So what's the problem?
- He goes and hires Carl Berg.

Berg hears about
this shrink thing,

starts doing a song and dance,

screaming and yelling about
"Fare vs. Michael C."

The case where the kid asked
for his parole officer?

The Supreme Court said it's not the
same thing as asking for a lawyer.

Only at the time
the Supreme Court

had heard arguments, but hadn't
yet handed down it's opinion.

Parole officer, shrink...
could've gone either way.

So you cut a deal.

I got him off the streets
for five to 15.

Usually I take all bets.

But the chance
that Cheney goes free?

I'm sorry.

Those stakes
were just too high.

And he served the minimum?

Warden said he was
a model prisoner.

Parole board agreed.

Robinette.

Yeah?

Thanks.

The Breams are in your office.
They're not alone.

A lawyer, Jack O'Connell...

from the Connecticut
DA's office, is with them.

So the Brooklyn DA screws up,

and this psycho is free
to kill again?

Nobody screwed up.
They had to cut a deal.

My daughter is dead because of a
legal technicality, and you know it!

And I regret it, but the Supreme
Court decided a long time ago

that when the system errs,

it'll be on the side
of individual rights.

If my daughter
had been hit by a car,

we could sue the driver.

Can we sue
the Supreme Court, Mr. Stone?

I assure you, Mrs. Bream,
we'll do the best we can.

Maybe I can do you one better.

Cheney lured Judy
from Connecticut into New York,

where he ultimately held
her captive and killed her.

With your assistance,

we can prosecute him in Connecticut
for kidnapping.

- He never abducted her.
- Kidnapping by pretense.

When Cheney phoned
with this electrician story,

he had no idea the call was
being forwarded to Connecticut.

He thought she was home.

He had no intent
of luring her anywhere.

No, I was there
when the call came.

Judy told him
she was at our house.

With death being the ultimate
result of the kidnapping,

we can toss in felony murder.

- Mr. O'Connell, I don't understand.
- It's simple.

In Connecticut
we have the death penalty.

Yep, it's like Chicago
in the '20s.

You don't like someone,

hire a couple of out-of-state thugs,
rub them out.

They don't want justice,
they want vengeance.

An eye for an eye.
Worked for thousands of years.

- What are you going to do?
- I said thanks, but no thanks.

They can have Cheney
after we're through with him.

If we lose, double jeopardy prevents
anyone from retrying him on the murder.

O'Connell says he has a good shot at
admitting evidence from the prior murders

to show Cheney had
the requisite intent to kidnap.

But their case is bogus.

You saw the mother, she's lying.

Her daughter never told Cheney
she was in Connecticut.

What jury won't believe
a grieving mother?

Cheney is an animal. Yes, he
should be tried and convicted.

But, no, we shouldn't subvert
the legal system to do it.

And if Mrs. Bream
is telling the truth?

He committed a crime
in New York.

Our law says he should be convicted,
not executed.

What about his alibi?

It plays as far as I can tell.

Sara Cheney punched
in to work at 9:00 p. m.

And don't co-workers scratch
each other's backs?

She drives to work,
doesn't she?

Civil Service.

Can't be fired,
bennies up the ying-yang.

Should've taken the exam.

- All the postal workers park here?
- Half price.

Uncle Sam picks up the rest,
and we keep the receipts.

Feds don't trust anybody.

Here we go, Cheney.

Green Metro.
Punched in 9:45.

She covered for him?

Her friend admitted she punched
her time card for her at 9:00.

Even if Cheney gave her
a play-by-play,

we can't put her on the stand.

Spousal privilege.
No way Cheney waives it.

The Breams are playing
hardball now.

Connecticut DA's motion
to have Cheney extradited.

So we'll stop it.
We'll get an injunction.

Have you seen
the civil calendar lately?

Cheney will be tried and dead six months
before we get a judge to look at our papers.

We'll get a temporary
restraining order.

We'll do the papers tonight, and we'll
be at 9:30 calendar call tomorrow.

What, you got other plans?

I don't know.

Representing Cheney
in Civil Court,

just so we can prosecute him?

I am not representing Cheney,

I am representing the People
of the State of New York.

Your Honor, I'm sure I needn't
remind this Court

of the "full faith and credit"
clause of the US Constitution,

which mandates that sister states
honor each other's laws.

Albert Cheney broke the laws
of the state of New York,

he was arrested within
its boundaries.

It would be a miscarriage to allow
another state to usurp its jurisdiction.

The issue in this motion
is not jurisdiction.

It is the inadequacy... no, the
complete inability of New York

to deal with violent criminals.

And you believe that Connecticut
is more able?

New York has tried a deal
with Albert Lawrence Cheney,

and at least
four young women are dead.

Was he rehabilitated,

and did his five years
in prison prevent recidivism?

- Obviously not.
- So the only thing left is revenge?

- You tell me.
- You had your turn, Mr. Stone.

And let's do without
the rhetoric, Counselor.

If you grant
Mr. Stone's motion,

and if he tries
the defendant and loses,

we are then precluded
from prosecuting him

for the murder of Judy Bream.

Bottom line, Your Honor, Albert
Cheney is of no use to anyone alive.

Is this forum shopping?
This is a criminal case.

Yes, I know, Mr. Stone,
and this is a Civil Court.

Why you want to keep
Mr. Cheney alive is beyond me.

I, for one, wouldn't lose any sleep
if they flipped the switch.

- That's not relevant.
- I know.

Unfortunately, Mr. Stone
has met the burden

required by law
for a restraining order.

As such, I am forced
to grant his motion.

The case against
Albert Cheney stays put.

May God help both of us
if you lose that trial, Mr. Stone.

The ME's report?

Are you with me here?

We've taken
flyers before, but...

You would prefer that I let
O'Connell try this case?

- The courts are not your personal soapbox.
- Have you heard me preach?

Better we bend the system
than risk letting him walk

- because of some unfounded morality.
- Who's preaching now?

You're not talking about convicting
him, you're talking about killing him.

I think my tax dollars
can be put to better use

than clothing, housing and feeding
Albert Cheney. Maybe I'm just pragmatic.

The cost to the State
of a capital trial

is roughly $1.8 million.

That is twice the cost of an average
life imprisonment.

Now, who's being pragmatic here?

Maybe the Breams are
entitled to a little vengeance.

"Do unto others
as they did unto you?"

We burn the homes of arsonists?

We sexually abuse
those who rape?

- You're rationalizing.
- Maybe.

But the New York State
Court of Appeals says

the death penalty
is cruel and inhuman.

And what do you say?

And I say we uphold
the laws of this state.

There was a toolbox,
and in it we found

duct tape, electrical wire,

and a Manhattan Power Company
employee ID issued to Mr. Cheney.

We also found
a Polaroid camera in a desk.

And the cumulative effect
of this evidence

was sufficient
to arrest Mr. Cheney?

Yes. That and the fact
he worked for her gynecologist.

Thank you, Detective.

The duct tape was used
on the victim...

- is there anything special about it?
- No.

So it can be purchased at any
hardware store, isn't that correct?

- That's correct.
- Good.

That narrows it down to,
what, eight million suspects,

assuming the culprit lived
in New York City?

Judy Bream had
an unlisted number.

Whoever killed her had to get
that number from somewhere, sir.

Uh-huh.

Can you identify this,
Detective?

That's the victim's
address book.

We found it in her apartment.

Would you...
please.

Tell me, what do you see in
the back portion of the book?

Names, addresses,
phone numbers.

And how many names...
roughly,

how many names would you say
appear there?

Roughly...

I would say roughly 100.

Mm-hmm.

Now, would it be fair to say
that these hundred people,

who were kind enough to give
Judy their phone numbers,

were also lucky enough
to receive hers?

- Objection.
- Withdrawn.

You don't have any evidence
at all against my client, do you?

- Your Honor...
- That's enough, Mr. Berg.

I have no further questions.

She spent the weekend with us.

She was off for the holidays.

She was planning
on staying the entire week.

Why did Judy return
to the city, Mrs. Bream?

She got a telephone call.

Something about
her electricity.

Did she typically leave
the door to her apartment unlocked?

No, she had three chains
on her door.

Her father insisted.

You'd ring the bell
and then she'd double-check.

You know...

through the peephole.

When was the last time
you spoke to Judy?

It was that night.

I had her on the phone,
the doorbell rang...

and she went to answer it.

Did she put you on hold?

No, she had a portable phone.

What, if anything,
did you hear then, Mrs. Bream?

I heard her call...

to the man through the door.

And did you hear his response?

Mrs. Bream?

Mrs. Bream, did you hear
his response?

- Yes.
- What did he say?

Calls for hearsay, Your Honor.

Statement against
penal interest.

Not if my client didn't say it.

Sustained.

No more questions.

I'm truly sorry
about your daughter, Mrs. Bream.

Now, I'll try to make
this short.

The voice you said you heard?

I heard it.

And do you think you could
recognize the voice?

No.

Because it was through
the door,

isn't that right?

So, all you're sure of...

is it was a man at the door.

Would you consider that you
and Judy were fairly close?

She was my daughter.

She ever tell you about
any of her friends?

Do you recall her
ever mentioning...

someone by the name of Finkel?

Robert, I think it was.

Was he one of her friends?

Yes.

- And Michael Schwartz?
- Yes.

And Steve Eidler?

Yes, but...

And Brian Sherman,

Peter Brav,

and Alan Sklar?

Now, tell me, Mrs. Bream,

isn't it possible
that it was Robert Finkel,

or Michael Schwartz,
Steve Eidler,

Peter Brav, Brian Sherman,

or Alan Sklar who was
at the door that night?

Why are you doing this?

She was my daughter.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

He took her from me.

Berg's got them eating out
of his hand.

Yeah.

Had a professor in law school,

said the case is won
by the attorney

who's better liked by the jury.

Laws, facts, truth...
nothing to do with it.

Maybe in a contract case,
but this is a serial killer.

The jury doesn't know that.
What do you got left?

CSU tech will testify
to the duct tape

and carpet fibers found
in Cheney's dryer.

Circumstantial evidence.
Berg will have a field day.

We don't have anything direct,
other than the wife.

And her testimony
is privileged.

If she's an accomplice,
it's broken.

Establishing a false alibi
does not make her

an accomplice to murder.

But destroying evidence does.

Who do you think washed
Cheney's clothes?

Wake up a judge.
Get an arrest warrant.

And notify Legal Aid on this.

I want her to have a lawyer.

I already told the police.

We went to the movies,
we had dinner,

I drove Albert home,

and then I was at work by 9:00.

That's not true, Mrs. Cheney,
and we both know it.

We spoke to a co-worker...
Barbara Livingston.

She said she punched
you in at 9:00.

You didn't get to work
until close to 10:00.

So she stopped for a cup
of coffee on the way.

It doesn't prove anything.

You're going to have
to do better than that, Mrs. Cheney.

Accomplice to murder two...

that's a lot of years in jail.

Wing and a prayer. Silly
Putty doesn't stretch that far.

I don't think so,
Ms. Melton.

Your client washed her husband's
clothes. That's tampering.

- Accessory after the fact.
- You can't prove a thing.

Take a good look,
Mrs. Cheney.

That's how your husband gets
his kicks.

That morning...

we read to each other...

Corinthians.

He came home
at 8:30, and he was frantic.

His shoulder had
some blood on it, over here...

and he said
he'd been in a fight...

that someone
had tried to mug him.

Was he carrying anything,
Mrs. Cheney?

- His toolbox.
- Anything else?

His camera.

What, if anything,
did he say to you?

He said that he was afraid
he may have hurt the man and...

he said he needed an alibi.

And then he told me

to hide the toolbox
and the camera.

And then...

then I washed the blood off
his shirt.

Why did you help him,
Mrs. Cheney?

He was my husband.

He was on parole.

I don't know...

Did you believe the story
about the mugging?

Objection.

Sustained.

I loved him.

I prayed for him.

- I didn't know.
- Didn't know what?

I didn't know that
he was an animal.

Objection!

Thank you, Mrs. Cheney.

Oh, I don't know.

25-years-to-life
is a long time.

I know two people
who consider it a gift.

Well, then you might
enjoy this.

The obituaries?

Richard Speck.
Killed eight nurses in 66.

Died in prison.
He was 49.

Cheney's 42.