Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 22, Episode 21 - Appraisal - full transcript
Cosgrove and Shaw suspect an art dealer was murdered but can't make an arrest until they locate her body; Price and Maroun must go to trial with a circumstantial case and a suspect with unlimited resources; the squad celebrates a ...
- 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.
- I just sold the green lobster,
and some hedge
funder named Kemper
or something or other is
interested in the eel.
- Oh, my God, that is amazing.
- I'm gonna ask 50 grand for it.
- Are you serious?
- Yes.
- I still can't believe
that people pay money
for the things that I make.
- You deserve every penny.
- Thank you.
- Excuse me.
- Love that.
- Mm.
- How much?
- 6,000.
- Do you think
it's worth $6,000?
- I can't say what
something is worth,
but that's what I'm charging.
- I'll take it.
- Great choice.
- Thank you.
Oh, my God.
- 6,000.
- 6,000.
- $6,000.
- We are killing it!
- Come on, I just live
in the next building.
- I'm sorry, but
you gotta go around.
- Hey, get your hands off him!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
- Move, move, move, hey!
- Officer, take it easy.
I got it. I got it.
- Take it easy.
- Hey, sorry, pal, but this
is an active crime scene.
Look, we let you
walk through there,
you'll compromise the
integrity of the crime scene.
Do you understand?
I know it's a pain in the ass,
but we're
investigating a murder.
I appreciate your
cooperation, all right?
- Defund the police.
Yeah! That's right!
- Better yet,
abolish the police!
That's right!
- It's so nice to feel loved
and admired in this city.
- Workers came in this
morning, saw some things
were turned over,
blood on the floor,
and the gallery
owner, Madison Platt,
was supposed to be here,
but apparently,
she's gone missing.
- When's the last time
anybody had eyes on her?
- There was a big
party here last night,
about 80 people.
- We're gonna need to
see that guest list.
- Is that art or evidence?
- Hard to tell.
- Detectives, this
is definitely blood,
probably from these.
Found three spent shell casings.
Got some kind of
residue on them.
- Get 'em to Ballistics.
- Let me ask you a question.
Why was Homicide called in?
How are you so sure
this wasn't a sexual
assault or a kidnapping?
- There's that.
- That ain't art.
That is a piece of
someone's brain.
- Good enough for me.
- The spent shell casings
are all 9-millimeter.
No DNA, no prints, but
here's what's strange.
Take a look.
- No etchings.
- Just a faint impression
on the primer cup
from the firing pin.
- So you're saying the
shooter used a ghost gun.
- Homemade, unserialized,
untraceable.
Something like this.
- Wow.
I've never actually seen one.
- They're becoming
the new normal.
- So the residue on the
casing is from a ghost gun?
- The gun was made out
of a lightweight polymer,
came out of a 3-D printer.
- Who has access to
these kinds of printers?
- Companies mostly. Pay
a lot of money for them.
Price tag can range anywhere
from 10 grand to $1/2 million.
- My kids sent it
over. Want a slice?
- I'm good. Happy
birthday, Frank.
The big 5-0.
- Yeah, it doesn't feel great,
but it's better than
the alternative.
- I hope you planned
something fun.
When I turned 50,
I went to Vegas.
I saw Motley Crue, and
I won my plane fare
at the Texas Hold'em
table, so good times.
- That's cool.
So we are looking for a
tech savvy shooter, right?
- Yeah, probably someone
with deep pockets,
'cause those 3-D printers,
they cost more than my house.
- Do we know if he or she
was at the gallery event?
- We're still
interviewing guests,
but so far, no one has
reported anything suspicious.
- And everybody who saw her
said that Madison was alive
and well when they left.
- And no one has seen
or heard from her since.
There's no credit
card activities
or cell phone activity.
- Anything suspicious
on the security cameras
at the gallery?
- Uh, one small detail to note,
the cameras stopped
working at 10:07 p.m.
- What do you mean?
- Means they went dead.
But we do have this.
Last known photograph
of Madison.
- Is she carrying
a purse or a radio?
- Mm-mmm.
- So what happened with
the security surveillance?
- They were jammed.
It appears that somebody
was able to hack the system.
- So obviously,
this was planned.
- Looking that way.
- Any unusual texts, emails?
- Actually, yeah.
A few hours before the
party, she got a message
from someone named
Brett Greyson.
"I've been patient,
but it's time to pay.
Otherwise, it isn't
going to end well."
The email address is from
Futuristic Creations.
- Any chance those
guys make 3-D printers?
- They do virtual reality.
- We need to find
this Brett Greyson,
give him a little
piece of our reality.
- Madison is missing,
and you think I had
something to do with it?
- We read the email
you sent to her.
Came off like a threat.
- She owes me 500 grand.
- Oh, yeah? For what?
- She sold me a phony NFT.
- NF... what's that?
- NFT?
Non-fungible token?
It's a digital collectible.
- Of course.
I'm glad we cleared that up.
- It's like a one of
a kind baseball card,
except it has to be real.
- I'm in the wrong
line of business.
You paid $1/2 million for that?
- Damn right. That's
the future right there.
But it has to be real.
- So I get it, so
Madison sold you
some counterfeit "art,"
and you're pissed off.
You want your money back.
She told you to go to hell.
- No, she said fine.
She had no idea it wasn't legit.
Promised me she'd pay
me back every penny.
I waited a couple of days,
but she never wired the money.
- So you went over to the
gallery to shake her down?
- I didn't buy it
because I'm rich.
I was trying to trade it,
sell it to someone else.
- All right, so
you're at the gallery.
Did you talk?
- Yeah.
We spoke for a couple minutes.
I even recorded the
conversation, you know?
In case I had to sue
her, I wanted proof.
- I understand.
I feel terrible.
I'm so sorry.
I will get you the money
this week, I promise.
I just... I just need
to sell a few things
to raise the cash, but
you need to leave, okay?
Right now. This is
an important night.
Timestamp is 9:49 p.m.
- There were at least 50
people still there when I left.
- Okay.
- Greyson's alibi checks out.
Security video from
down the street
shows that he left the
neighborhood at 9:51,
but look at this.
Do you see that SUV?
It shows up at 10:02 p.m.,
which is right before
the gallery security
camera stopped recording.
The guy waits in the car
for a couple of hours,
and then at 12:24
a.m., he gets out
and heads into the gallery.
- Any hits off of facial rec?
- I tried, but his hat and scarf
are covering his face.
- License plate?
- It's covered in
some kind of plastic.
- Okay, so what time did
our boy leave the gallery?
- Seven minutes later.
That's efficient.
- And resourceful.
He goes inside, takes
care of business,
and then wheels
her out in a crate.
- Check all the surveillance
cameras in the area
and see if we can't
track down that SUV.
- On it.
- Who needs a lanai in Boca
when you got views like this.
- Oh, hey, Frank.
I think I got
something over here.
It's that purse thingy
that Madison had
at the event, right?
- Looks it.
- Okay, come on.
Yep, it's her ID.
Credit card still there.
- She's gotta be here.
- Hey. Hold onto this.
- Hey, guys, check it out.
- Bag this.
- What do you got?
Yeah, open that up.
Ah.
- That's definitely
not Madison Platt.
- So what do you know?
- DOA is Sarah Baker.
She was one of the artists
at the gallery event.
- And we just talked
to the crime lab.
The brain matter on the
painting is a match.
- Okay, what about
Madison Platt?
Where the hell is she?
Do you think she's got something
to do with the shooting?
Maybe that's why
she disappeared.
- It's possible,
but we found her blood on
the gallery floor, too, so...
- So you think
she's a victim too.
- Looks that way.
- Okay.
We need to find
her, dead or alive,
and then we have to contact
these two women's families
and tell them what's going
on, see if they can help us.
- Done.
- SO this is good news, right?
The body you found
wasn't Madison,
so she could still be alive.
- It's possible.
- But not probable.
- Unfortunately, we don't
have an answer for you.
We're considering
all possibilities.
Officers are out canvassing,
collecting evidence.
- We want to be
straight with you.
Your sister's blood was
found at the crime scene,
and she hasn't been seen or
heard from in over 24 hours.
Just prepare yourself.
- Okay. Okay.
- The attack happened
at Madison's gallery,
and it appeared to
be premeditated.
Do you have any idea who
might want to hurt her?
- No, no, everybody loves Maddy.
She doesn't just sell paintings.
She nurtures artists.
She's the kind of rep
that believes in you
before you believe in yourself.
- Do you know an artist
named Sarah Baker?
- Yeah, of course I know Sarah.
- Did her and Maddy
have any problems?
- No, Madison discovered
Sarah, for God's sake.
They were very good friends.
I saw them at the show.
You should've seen 'em.
They were both so excited.
- You saw them? You were there?
- I was, but I was
tired, and I left early.
I left around 11:00.
I should've stayed.
No, I should've helped
Maddy lock up...
- No, no, don't even go there.
- No, it's true.
If I had stayed,
if I'd made sure
that Maddy got to a cab...
- You could've ended
up dead or missing.
Trust me, I've seen this
kind of thing before.
- I'm sorry, you know
that Maddy's not just
another missing person,
she's my sister, right?
- Of course. That's
not what I meant.
- Okay, look, I'm,
um, I'm sorry.
I know that you guys deal with
these kind of cases every day.
But for me...
it's the worst thing that
could possibly happen.
I need to find out what
happened to my sister.
- And we're gonna do
everything in our power
to bring Maddy home.
I give you my word.
- We flew in from Colorado
just to see Sarah's exhibit.
Her first big show in a
Manhattan art gallery.
- It was going to be
the most exciting
night of her life.
- Did you have plans
to see her again?
- We were gonna have
dinner with her tonight.
I left a few messages.
Figured she got busy
and we'd see her
at the restaurant.
- Did your daughter ever mention
having any issues with anyone?
- She talked about
her art, mostly.
Didn't share a lot
about her personal life,
and we didn't like to pry.
- It might be nothing,
but she did mention
she was having some
problems with her landlord.
- What do you mean she
was having problems?
- Once, when I was on
the phone with her,
landlord showed up
at her apartment,
used the passkey
to let himself in.
- Wait, he entered her
apartment unannounced?
- She sounded really startled.
He said he was there
to fix a clogged drain,
but she said there was
nothing wrong with her sink.
I told her she should
move to a new place,
but she said it was
probably nothing.
Told me not to worry.
I should've insisted.
- Do you happen to know
the name of the landlord?
- Sarah payed her rent on time.
Never threw loud
parties. Stellar tenant.
- So you never had
a problem with her?
- Nope.
- That's funny.
'Cause when we checked, we
found out that Sarah filed
a formal housing complaint
against you last week.
That's news to me.
- Wait, what am I
looking at here?
Do you have cameras
inside the units?
Did your tenants
consent to this?
- No comment.
- It seems like
this is something
you should comment on, buddy.
- I don't gotta tell
you a damn thing.
Now leave.
- No, we're staying.
We're gonna ask again.
Why are you spying
on young women
in their apartment?
- I'm gonna call my lawyer.
- Well, you can, and tell 'em
to meet you down at our precinct
'cause you're under arrest.
- My client vehemently
denies any involvement
in the disappearance
of Sarah Baker
or Madison Platt.
- Then you need to tell us why
you were spying on Sarah Baker.
- Tell them about the
surveillance cameras.
- I own the building where
Sarah Baker was living.
The building has a few
rent controlled tenants,
people paying 700
bucks a month for units
that could rent for five grand.
- I don't think you understand.
We don't care what your take
is on the fair market value
pf Manhattan real estate.
- Hear us out.
- Some of the tenants
are illegally subletting
their apartments.
- There's no evidence
that Sarah Baker
was doing that, yes or no?
So you just put cameras
in people's apartments,
spy on young women,
watch them get undressed
and God knows what else.
- Sarah discovered it,
found out that you
were spying on her.
She files a
complaint against you
in the housing court.
That sounds like a
pretty strong motive
for murder.
- Sure does.
What were you doing
two nights ago?
- I was at home watching TV.
For most of the night, anyway.
- What's that mean,
most of the night?
- I went out for 30 minutes
or so to buy groceries
at the store on the corner.
- You can check all the
surveillance cameras
in the building.
- I got something.
So Marquette only left the
building for 25 minutes,
not even long enough to get
across town to the gallery,
but I found something else,
something more interesting.
So at 4:12 p.m. on
the day of the murder,
this man bangs on Sarah's
door, waits a few minutes,
gets no response,
and then leaves.
- Who the hell is that jerk?
- I don't know, but
he's pretty angry.
- He also happens
to own a black SUV.
- Did you run the plates?
- It's registered
to Matthew Nelson,
date of birth July 11th, 1996.
- He have a rap sheet?
- No.
- Matthew Nelson. Ooh.
Billionaire hedge fund manager.
"Wall Street Journal" calls him
a pioneer in cryptocurrency.
- Get a warrant and find out
where Mr. Crypto parks his SUV.
- Done.
This crypto stuff might be fake,
but the things it
buys sure ain't.
- My first partner's
driving one of these now.
- On a cop's salary?
- Oh, no, he's off the job.
Started his own
private security firm
down in Florida.
He's been begging me
to join ever since.
- Ah. Tempted?
- Well, this job isn't
getting any easier,
and I'm not getting any younger.
- Is that a yes?
- Well...
- Hey, hey!
- Sir.
Sir, you can't go down there.
- Excuse me.
- Sir!
- The hell is this?
- NYPD. Are you Matthew Nelson?
- Yeah, this is...
This is my car.
- And this is a warrant
to search your car.
- For what exactly?
- We're investigating
the murder of Sarah Baker
and the disappearance
of Madison Platt.
- Those names ring a bell?
- Sarah's dead?
- Someone shot her
two nights ago,
and the vehicle the killer
used is identical to this one,
so you can see where
we're going with this?
- How'd you know Sarah?
- We used to date.
We broke up a couple months ago.
- And two days ago, you
went to her apartment.
You banged on her
door. Why's that?
Because I had some stuff
to pick up, all right?
I mean, it wasn't a big deal.
- She wound up with a bullet
in her head seven hours later,
so it's kind of a big deal.
- What were you doing two
nights ago around midnight?
- I was on a Zoom call.
- At midnight?
- Yeah.
It was with investors in Asia.
Look, hey, if you
don't believe me,
you can check in
with my assistant,
the 25 other people
in attendance.
- We will.
- In the meantime, we're
impounding your car.
- Struck out with the car.
Nothing from Forensics.
But something interesting.
We found a car wash
receipt, timestamp 9:00 a.m.
the morning after the murders.
- It's better than nothing.
Does he have an alibi?
- Yeah.
Problem is, he was on
a Zoom call for work.
- I wouldn't be so
sure about that.
I just went through the
entire Zoom recording
frame by frame.
The Zoom meeting is real,
but Nelson found a way
to splice himself in.
- How can you tell that?
- It's a prerecorded
video on loop.
He's on mute for
the entire meeting,
and every six minutes,
the video repeats itself.
He touches his chin,
blinks, and looks down.
- So we have a false alibi,
an SUV that matches the car
at the murder scene,
and a car wash receipt.
- And a video of Nelson
banging on Sarah Baker's door
seven hours before
she was killed.
- Arrest him.
- The reason I'm confused
is because those numbers
should be the same ones up...
- Matthew Nelson.
Stay where you are.
Show us your hands.
I said stay where you are.
- Don't even think about it.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
what's going on here?
Why you guys here, huh?
- We're arresting you.
- Arresting me?
That's ridiculous.
I refuse.
- Uh, yeah.
You don't have the
right to refuse.
You do have the right
to remain silent,
though, dumbass.
- The evidence is strong.
It would be a lot better if we
actually had the murder weapon.
- It is what it is.
- I understand.
We will arraign him tomorrow
for the murder of Sarah Baker.
- What about Madison Platt?
- Not sure about that.
- Well, she's been
missing for almost a week.
- We don't have her body.
- Her blood was at
the murder scene.
Her purse was at the landfill.
- There's no activity
on her credit cards
or cell phone.
- Assuming someone is
dead and proving it
beyond a reasonable doubt
are two very different
propositions.
- Come on, Nolan, we both know
this billionaire crypto
prick killed her.
You know, every time I've walked
into your courtroom,
you go on about
how victims deserve justice.
Well, Bruce Platt deserves
justice for his sister,
and I hope you do right by her.
Charge this guy
with the two murders
and just call it a day.
And if you need more
evidence, you let us know.
We'll find it.
- What the hell was that?
Next case.
- Your Honor, the
defendant stands charged
with two counts of murder.
People request remand.
- Ms. Gates.
- This case is a prime example
of a rush to judgement.
The people have no
evidence, no murder weapon,
no eyewitness, and no motive.
My client runs a $50
billion hedge fund,
he has no criminal record,
and he is certain to be
acquitted after trial.
- What are the
facts, Ms. Maroun?
- We have a strong
circumstantial case.
The defendant used to date
one of the victims, Sarah Baker.
In fact, he was at
Ms. Baker's apartment
on the day of the
murder, clearly angry,
on a mission to find her.
Hours later, a man
was captured on video
leaving the murder scene.
That man got into a
car similar to the one
registered to the defendant,
and when questioned,
he gave a false alibi.
- Like I said, they have
no concrete evidence
to tie my client to this crime.
Defense asks the court to impose
a reasonable bail in the
amount of 20 million.
- Okay, Your Honor,
the defendant has
infinite resources.
20 million is nothing to
him. Might as well be 20,000.
- I'm setting the bail in
the amount of 20 million.
- Will the court consider
an electronic monitor?
- I think that's reasonable.
The defendant shall be ordered
to wear an ankle monitor.
Next case.
- Nelson posted
bail. 20 million.
Who said money doesn't matter?
- Not me, that's for sure.
- I just got off the phone with
the state attorney general.
Nelson is the subject
of a grand jury probe.
- What's the allegation?
- Fraud.
He's like another Bernie
Madoff or Sam Bankman-Fried,
except here he's raising
money from pension funds
and retirement accounts and
then funneling it overseas.
- That's just what we need,
a Wall Street sociopath
ripping off city workers.
- Were Sarah Baker
or Madison Platt
somehow involved in the fraud?
- No, in fact, Sarah was the
government's star witness.
She was scheduled to
appear in the grand jury
the day after she was murdered.
- To say what?
- She's the only person
who can help prove
Nelson intentionally
diverted the fund's capital
into a, uh, cold crypto wallet.
- It's like a
secure flash drive,
impossible to penetrate.
It protects digital assets.
- Whatever it is, it
gives you the piece
you were missing: motive.
Nelson killed Sarah in
order to silence her.
- And Madison Platt
got in the way.
- Defense just filed
a motion to exclude
any mention of the fraud case.
- The fraud allegations
are relevant
to establish the
defendant's motive,
that he murdered Sarah Baker
because she was gonna testify
against him in the grand jury.
- What about the other victim?
Was Madison Platt involved
in the fraud case?
- No, sadly, she was just
in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
- Ms. Gates, why isn't
the information relevant
and admissible under
the Molineux doctrine?
- The evidence is only
relevant if they can prove
my client had actual
knowledge that Sarah Baker
planned to testify against him.
- We have evidence
that the defendant
was banging on Ms. Baker's door
a few hours prior to the murder.
He was there to threaten her,
to tell her not to testify,
and when she didn't
open the door,
he tracked her down to the
gallery and killed her.
- That argument requires
huge leaps of logic
and mental gymnastics.
- I agree.
It's too speculative for me.
Mr. Price, unless you
have something concrete
that shows Mr. Nelson
knew that Sarah Baker
was going to
testify against him,
the evidence is out.
- Price just called.
He needs something to prove
that Nelson knew Sarah
Baker was planning
to testify against
him in the fraud case.
- We've been looking through
Nelson's emails, his texts.
We haven't found
anything relevant.
- Yet.
- Okay, we'll keep digging.
But you gotta understand...
- Hey, sorry.
I have been going over
Nelson's search history.
It's what you might expect
for the most part...
Mansions, yachts, porn...
But the thing that
stood out was,
the day before we arrested him,
he logged into the email account
of some random
furniture gallery.
- Madison Platt's brother
works at a furniture gallery.
- Hmm.
- Wait, you think that
Nelson was hacking
into her brother's
emails? Why?
- No clue.
- Only one way to find out.
We think Matthew Nelson hacked
into your email account.
- Bruce, help us out.
Why would he do that?
I'm thinking he was looking
for something, yeah?
- I... I... guys, I can...
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What are you doing?
Give me that phone.
- What? I'm sorry, no. I
think you'll need a warrant.
- Oh, you want to
do it that way?
- No.
- Give him your phone.
- Okay, what are you doing?
What the hell are you doing?
- I'm arresting you
for obstruction.
- Okay, that is ridiculous.
- Look, there's
two ways it can go.
We arrest you and we get
a warrant for your phone,
or you just tell us what
the hell is going on.
- Okay, okay, okay,
okay, okay, Maddy...
Maddy has been emailing me.
- What? Your sister is alive?
- Yes, and I was shocked, too,
but after Nelson got arrested,
she contacted me from
a new email address.
- And why would you withhold
this information from us?
- Because she was begging
me not to say anything.
She was gonna come
forward herself,
but then Nelson posted
bail, and she freaked out.
- Did she tell you
that she saw Nelson
kill Sarah Baker? Yes or no?
- Yes. Yes, well, sort of.
She said that she was
in the other room.
She heard the gunshot,
so she ran over
to see what was going
on, and she saw Nelson
standing there holding the gun.
And then he shot at her,
grazed her arm.
- And then what?
- She ran out the back
door, and he went after her.
- So where is she?
- I can't. I... I...
- What do you mean you can't?
- Maddy gets very, very anxious.
She was assaulted
a few years ago,
and she gets these
panic attacks.
- Yeah, I get that, but we need
to know where she is right now.
- You don't get it.
- Nelson is monitoring
your emails,
which means he knows
that your sister's alive.
- Which means, if he finds
her, he's gonna finish the job,
and if she emailed
you, then he knows!
- I understand!
- No, you don't understand!
And if you did, you would tell
us where your sister's at.
Where is your sister?
- She emailed me 40 minutes ago.
- Backup's four
minutes away, Frank.
Eyes on the south
side. All clear.
- Nelson's ankle monitor
hasn't registered movement
in hours, which means he
had to have cut it off.
Jalen, we just can't
wait any longer.
- Frank, backup is
four minutes away.
Just hang tight,
Frank. Just hang tight.
No, I'm going in.
- Madison. Madison, it's
okay. I'm the police.
I'm here to help you.
- He's still in here.
I saw him kill Sarah, and
he tried to kill me too.
- I'm gonna get you out of here.
- Come on, get up! Get up!
- No, no, no!
- Shut up!
- Let her go. Let her go!
- We're getting out
of here, or I shoot.
- Let her go.
- Drop the weapon,
or I drop you.
Put the weapon down!
- Down on the ground!
Down on the ground!
Don't you move!
- Frank, Frank, you're bleeding.
- Huh?
Yeah, bullets will do
that to you, I guess.
- 10-13, officer down!
10-13, come quick!
Hey, hey, come on,
stay with me, buddy.
Stay with me, come on, come on.
- Hey, Frank.
Bet that job in Boca's
looking pretty good
right about now,
huh?
- How you feeling?
- Never better.
This is a flesh wound.
- Uh, not according
to your doctor.
She said you got a bullet
lodged in your shoulder,
and there's some tissue damage.
- Nope.
How's Madison?
- She's pretty shaken
up, but she's safe.
You had us worried there, Frank.
- Please.
- So I guess now's not
the time to reprimand you
for rushing into a
building without backup?
Mm, nope.
- She's right, though.
You did a hell of a
thing in there, man.
You saved her damn life.
- Don't you two have some cases
to investigate or something?
- Nothing that can't wait.
- You know what the worst
part of this whole thing is?
Price, he was right.
We should've waited.
Instead of charging Nelson
with Madison's murder,
we should've waited.
- Sarah Baker was an artist,
a woman who was creative,
joyful, full of life,
until her ex-boyfriend
Matthew Nelson
decided to hunt her
down and kill her.
The defendant followed Sarah
Baker to an art exhibit
and blasted two bullets
into the back of her head.
He is a cold and
calculating killer.
We will present a
series of witnesses,
but none more important
than Madison Platt.
This ordeal has taken a
devastating toll on her,
and yet, she will bravely
come into this courtroom
and tell you what she saw,
that Matthew Nelson
murdered Sarah Baker.
- What Mr. Price
didn't tell you
is that this case started
out as a double homicide.
People charged my
client with the murder
of Madison Platt,
too, when, guess what,
Madison Platt was
very much alive.
Still is.
This case is the result
of a flawed investigation
led by an overzealous prosecutor
who will do anything
to convict my client,
no matter the cost.
You can't trust him.
You can't accept his
statements as the truth.
And you certainly can't send
my client to prison for life
based on his presentation.
And do you know who
else you can't believe?
Madison Platt.
She's an unstable woman.
Since her friend Sarah's murder,
she's been hiding
out in a warehouse
for several weeks.
For all we know, she
killed Sarah Baker.
- Ms. Platt, can
you please tell us
what you do for a living?
- I own an art gallery.
Did, anyway, before
this all happened.
I haven't been able to bring
myself to go back there.
- And was Sarah Baker
one of the artists
who you showed in your gallery?
- Yes.
She was really talented.
She worked mostly
in mixed media.
- Did she have a relationship
with the defendant,
Matthew Nelson?
- Yes, for a little while,
but it...
- Could you explain
what happened?
- Well, she was enamored
with him at first.
He was always sending her gifts
and taking her on
amazing vacations.
- Did something change?
- She realized that...
that he didn't have a soul,
that he was cold
and calculating,
and he was devoid of
any real human emotion.
- Did you have an event
at your gallery space
on March 1st?
- I did.
- Was Sarah there?
Do you need me to
repeat the question?
- Um, yes, yes, she was there.
- Do you recall
spending time alone
with Sarah the night
that she was killed?
- Uh-huh.
- Yes.
I'm sorry, but you have to
answer the questions out loud.
- I can't. I can't.
I'm sorry, I can't...
I can't do this.
- Do you need to take a break?
- No, no, I would
like to go home.
- Uh, okay, Your Honor,
the People request
a continuance.
- Objection. The
jury's been sworn in.
Jeopardy has attached.
- Let's take a
recess for the day.
I'll see everyone
in the morning.
Did you see... did you
see what he did in there?
He threatened me.
He pretended like he was
pointing a gun at me.
- No, I didn't see that,
but I can bring it to
the court's attention.
- No, no, no.
- Madison, if he
threatened you...
- No. Forget it. Forget it.
I want to get out of here.
- We need you to identify him
as the man who shot
and killed Sarah Baker.
- Otherwise, he'll walk free,
and I know you don't want that.
- I don't, I don't,
but you don't need me.
You have enough evidence.
- You saw the shooting.
All you need to do is tell
the jury what you saw,
and there is no chance in
hell he will ever walk free.
- He's rich, and he is crazy,
and he will pay someone
to find me and hunt me
down. I... I can't do this.
I can't... I can't
go back in there.
I'm sorry.
- Looks like your star
witness is having a hard time.
- She is, because your client
murdered her good friend
right in front of her.
- Hold on.
Are you open to discussing
a reasonable plea offer?
- Depends on what you
consider to be reasonable.
- Man 1, 20 years.
- Not even close.
- Plus he'll plea to the
attorney general's fraud case.
- That means nothing to me.
I work for the city of New York.
- All right.
What if, hypothetically
speaking,
I were able to recover
the lost assets.
And then I would
distribute that money
to the various stakeholders.
That's the police, firefighters,
teachers, sanitation workers...
prosecutors.
Are you trying to bribe us?
- I'm trying to do what's right.
- I'm afraid that
ship sailed long ago.
- This would change the lives
of hundreds of thousands
of government employees,
make their retirement
accounts whole.
You can't just
ignore that, Nolan.
- What?
You think we should
consider the deal?
- I've been fielding
hundreds of calls.
EMTs, day care providers,
utility workers,
people who have worked
in public service
their entire lives and will be
left with practically nothing.
- But if we cave to
Nelson's demands,
what kind of message
will we be sending?
That justice is for sale?
- 20 years is a long time.
- He's only 26.
- From what I understand,
your key witness is faltering,
refusing to testify.
- I'm not gonna let Nelson
buy his way out of this.
- Fine, reject the deal,
but you better find
a way to convict him.
Send him away for life.
- Wanted to check
on how you're doing.
- Better.
How did Madison
do in court today?
- I thought she would hold
up better than she did.
She just got in there and froze.
- But she ID'd the guy.
No.
You ever wonder what the
hell we're doing, Nolan?
- What do you mean?
- Back when I became a cop,
it was something you
were very proud of.
Now half the city
wants to defund us.
- I understand.
- Do you?
'Cause the other night, I
almost made my wife a widow,
and for what?
After everything, this
prick's just gonna walk.
I wish there was
something I could do,
but she's the only person
who can identify him
as the man who shot
and killed Sarah Baker.
- I might know
somebody who can help.
- Detective Cosgrove,
were you present
when Madison Platt
identified the defendant,
Matthew Nelson, as the man who
shot and killed Sarah Baker?
- Objection, calls for hearsay.
- The People submit
it's an excited
utterance, Your Honor.
It's an exception
to the hearsay rule.
If I may be allowed
to lay a foundation?
- You may proceed.
- Where were you when Ms.
Platt made this statement?
- In a warehouse upstate.
The defendant was
holding her hostage.
- What did she say?
- Madison Platt said she
saw Nelson kill Sarah
and he tried to kill her too.
- I renew my objection.
- Objection overruled.
The answer shall stand.
- Thank you. Nothing further.
- You never told anyone
that Madison Platt
made an excited
utterance, did you?
Never put it in
any police report?
- No, I was shot, so
I was in the hospital.
- Exactly.
ADA Price came to
your hospital room
and told you he
needed a witness.
- That he did.
- And suddenly, you remembered
this excited utterance.
- If you're implying
that I'm making this up,
you'd be wrong.
- You'd have to agree
it's awfully convenient.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- I'm telling the truth.
- Sure you are.
I have nothing further.
- Redirect, Your Honor?
You exercised
tremendous restraint
during the course of this
investigation, didn't you?
The defendant
pointed a gun at you,
shot you, and you
didn't return fire.
- Objection.
- The defense opened the door.
- Overruled. You may answer.
- I did my job.
- Took a bullet to the chest.
- I was shot.
- You're not a liar,
as the defense claims.
You are a hero...
And you should be
commended for your actions.
That's all I have. Thank you.
- Madam Foreperson, have
you agreed upon a verdict?
- We have.
We find the defendant guilty
of murder in the second degree.
- Members of the jury, we
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
- We did it,
Jalen. We got him.
- You did a hell
of a job, Frank.
Without you, we
don't make this case.
- Turns out we actually do make
a difference once in a while.
- Does that mean you're putting
the private security
job on hold?
- Means I'm exactly
where I'm supposed to be.
Sometimes it takes
getting shot in the chest
to realize we got the
greatest job on Earth.
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.
- I just sold the green lobster,
and some hedge
funder named Kemper
or something or other is
interested in the eel.
- Oh, my God, that is amazing.
- I'm gonna ask 50 grand for it.
- Are you serious?
- Yes.
- I still can't believe
that people pay money
for the things that I make.
- You deserve every penny.
- Thank you.
- Excuse me.
- Love that.
- Mm.
- How much?
- 6,000.
- Do you think
it's worth $6,000?
- I can't say what
something is worth,
but that's what I'm charging.
- I'll take it.
- Great choice.
- Thank you.
Oh, my God.
- 6,000.
- 6,000.
- $6,000.
- We are killing it!
- Come on, I just live
in the next building.
- I'm sorry, but
you gotta go around.
- Hey, get your hands off him!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
- Move, move, move, hey!
- Officer, take it easy.
I got it. I got it.
- Take it easy.
- Hey, sorry, pal, but this
is an active crime scene.
Look, we let you
walk through there,
you'll compromise the
integrity of the crime scene.
Do you understand?
I know it's a pain in the ass,
but we're
investigating a murder.
I appreciate your
cooperation, all right?
- Defund the police.
Yeah! That's right!
- Better yet,
abolish the police!
That's right!
- It's so nice to feel loved
and admired in this city.
- Workers came in this
morning, saw some things
were turned over,
blood on the floor,
and the gallery
owner, Madison Platt,
was supposed to be here,
but apparently,
she's gone missing.
- When's the last time
anybody had eyes on her?
- There was a big
party here last night,
about 80 people.
- We're gonna need to
see that guest list.
- Is that art or evidence?
- Hard to tell.
- Detectives, this
is definitely blood,
probably from these.
Found three spent shell casings.
Got some kind of
residue on them.
- Get 'em to Ballistics.
- Let me ask you a question.
Why was Homicide called in?
How are you so sure
this wasn't a sexual
assault or a kidnapping?
- There's that.
- That ain't art.
That is a piece of
someone's brain.
- Good enough for me.
- The spent shell casings
are all 9-millimeter.
No DNA, no prints, but
here's what's strange.
Take a look.
- No etchings.
- Just a faint impression
on the primer cup
from the firing pin.
- So you're saying the
shooter used a ghost gun.
- Homemade, unserialized,
untraceable.
Something like this.
- Wow.
I've never actually seen one.
- They're becoming
the new normal.
- So the residue on the
casing is from a ghost gun?
- The gun was made out
of a lightweight polymer,
came out of a 3-D printer.
- Who has access to
these kinds of printers?
- Companies mostly. Pay
a lot of money for them.
Price tag can range anywhere
from 10 grand to $1/2 million.
- My kids sent it
over. Want a slice?
- I'm good. Happy
birthday, Frank.
The big 5-0.
- Yeah, it doesn't feel great,
but it's better than
the alternative.
- I hope you planned
something fun.
When I turned 50,
I went to Vegas.
I saw Motley Crue, and
I won my plane fare
at the Texas Hold'em
table, so good times.
- That's cool.
So we are looking for a
tech savvy shooter, right?
- Yeah, probably someone
with deep pockets,
'cause those 3-D printers,
they cost more than my house.
- Do we know if he or she
was at the gallery event?
- We're still
interviewing guests,
but so far, no one has
reported anything suspicious.
- And everybody who saw her
said that Madison was alive
and well when they left.
- And no one has seen
or heard from her since.
There's no credit
card activities
or cell phone activity.
- Anything suspicious
on the security cameras
at the gallery?
- Uh, one small detail to note,
the cameras stopped
working at 10:07 p.m.
- What do you mean?
- Means they went dead.
But we do have this.
Last known photograph
of Madison.
- Is she carrying
a purse or a radio?
- Mm-mmm.
- So what happened with
the security surveillance?
- They were jammed.
It appears that somebody
was able to hack the system.
- So obviously,
this was planned.
- Looking that way.
- Any unusual texts, emails?
- Actually, yeah.
A few hours before the
party, she got a message
from someone named
Brett Greyson.
"I've been patient,
but it's time to pay.
Otherwise, it isn't
going to end well."
The email address is from
Futuristic Creations.
- Any chance those
guys make 3-D printers?
- They do virtual reality.
- We need to find
this Brett Greyson,
give him a little
piece of our reality.
- Madison is missing,
and you think I had
something to do with it?
- We read the email
you sent to her.
Came off like a threat.
- She owes me 500 grand.
- Oh, yeah? For what?
- She sold me a phony NFT.
- NF... what's that?
- NFT?
Non-fungible token?
It's a digital collectible.
- Of course.
I'm glad we cleared that up.
- It's like a one of
a kind baseball card,
except it has to be real.
- I'm in the wrong
line of business.
You paid $1/2 million for that?
- Damn right. That's
the future right there.
But it has to be real.
- So I get it, so
Madison sold you
some counterfeit "art,"
and you're pissed off.
You want your money back.
She told you to go to hell.
- No, she said fine.
She had no idea it wasn't legit.
Promised me she'd pay
me back every penny.
I waited a couple of days,
but she never wired the money.
- So you went over to the
gallery to shake her down?
- I didn't buy it
because I'm rich.
I was trying to trade it,
sell it to someone else.
- All right, so
you're at the gallery.
Did you talk?
- Yeah.
We spoke for a couple minutes.
I even recorded the
conversation, you know?
In case I had to sue
her, I wanted proof.
- I understand.
I feel terrible.
I'm so sorry.
I will get you the money
this week, I promise.
I just... I just need
to sell a few things
to raise the cash, but
you need to leave, okay?
Right now. This is
an important night.
Timestamp is 9:49 p.m.
- There were at least 50
people still there when I left.
- Okay.
- Greyson's alibi checks out.
Security video from
down the street
shows that he left the
neighborhood at 9:51,
but look at this.
Do you see that SUV?
It shows up at 10:02 p.m.,
which is right before
the gallery security
camera stopped recording.
The guy waits in the car
for a couple of hours,
and then at 12:24
a.m., he gets out
and heads into the gallery.
- Any hits off of facial rec?
- I tried, but his hat and scarf
are covering his face.
- License plate?
- It's covered in
some kind of plastic.
- Okay, so what time did
our boy leave the gallery?
- Seven minutes later.
That's efficient.
- And resourceful.
He goes inside, takes
care of business,
and then wheels
her out in a crate.
- Check all the surveillance
cameras in the area
and see if we can't
track down that SUV.
- On it.
- Who needs a lanai in Boca
when you got views like this.
- Oh, hey, Frank.
I think I got
something over here.
It's that purse thingy
that Madison had
at the event, right?
- Looks it.
- Okay, come on.
Yep, it's her ID.
Credit card still there.
- She's gotta be here.
- Hey. Hold onto this.
- Hey, guys, check it out.
- Bag this.
- What do you got?
Yeah, open that up.
Ah.
- That's definitely
not Madison Platt.
- So what do you know?
- DOA is Sarah Baker.
She was one of the artists
at the gallery event.
- And we just talked
to the crime lab.
The brain matter on the
painting is a match.
- Okay, what about
Madison Platt?
Where the hell is she?
Do you think she's got something
to do with the shooting?
Maybe that's why
she disappeared.
- It's possible,
but we found her blood on
the gallery floor, too, so...
- So you think
she's a victim too.
- Looks that way.
- Okay.
We need to find
her, dead or alive,
and then we have to contact
these two women's families
and tell them what's going
on, see if they can help us.
- Done.
- SO this is good news, right?
The body you found
wasn't Madison,
so she could still be alive.
- It's possible.
- But not probable.
- Unfortunately, we don't
have an answer for you.
We're considering
all possibilities.
Officers are out canvassing,
collecting evidence.
- We want to be
straight with you.
Your sister's blood was
found at the crime scene,
and she hasn't been seen or
heard from in over 24 hours.
Just prepare yourself.
- Okay. Okay.
- The attack happened
at Madison's gallery,
and it appeared to
be premeditated.
Do you have any idea who
might want to hurt her?
- No, no, everybody loves Maddy.
She doesn't just sell paintings.
She nurtures artists.
She's the kind of rep
that believes in you
before you believe in yourself.
- Do you know an artist
named Sarah Baker?
- Yeah, of course I know Sarah.
- Did her and Maddy
have any problems?
- No, Madison discovered
Sarah, for God's sake.
They were very good friends.
I saw them at the show.
You should've seen 'em.
They were both so excited.
- You saw them? You were there?
- I was, but I was
tired, and I left early.
I left around 11:00.
I should've stayed.
No, I should've helped
Maddy lock up...
- No, no, don't even go there.
- No, it's true.
If I had stayed,
if I'd made sure
that Maddy got to a cab...
- You could've ended
up dead or missing.
Trust me, I've seen this
kind of thing before.
- I'm sorry, you know
that Maddy's not just
another missing person,
she's my sister, right?
- Of course. That's
not what I meant.
- Okay, look, I'm,
um, I'm sorry.
I know that you guys deal with
these kind of cases every day.
But for me...
it's the worst thing that
could possibly happen.
I need to find out what
happened to my sister.
- And we're gonna do
everything in our power
to bring Maddy home.
I give you my word.
- We flew in from Colorado
just to see Sarah's exhibit.
Her first big show in a
Manhattan art gallery.
- It was going to be
the most exciting
night of her life.
- Did you have plans
to see her again?
- We were gonna have
dinner with her tonight.
I left a few messages.
Figured she got busy
and we'd see her
at the restaurant.
- Did your daughter ever mention
having any issues with anyone?
- She talked about
her art, mostly.
Didn't share a lot
about her personal life,
and we didn't like to pry.
- It might be nothing,
but she did mention
she was having some
problems with her landlord.
- What do you mean she
was having problems?
- Once, when I was on
the phone with her,
landlord showed up
at her apartment,
used the passkey
to let himself in.
- Wait, he entered her
apartment unannounced?
- She sounded really startled.
He said he was there
to fix a clogged drain,
but she said there was
nothing wrong with her sink.
I told her she should
move to a new place,
but she said it was
probably nothing.
Told me not to worry.
I should've insisted.
- Do you happen to know
the name of the landlord?
- Sarah payed her rent on time.
Never threw loud
parties. Stellar tenant.
- So you never had
a problem with her?
- Nope.
- That's funny.
'Cause when we checked, we
found out that Sarah filed
a formal housing complaint
against you last week.
That's news to me.
- Wait, what am I
looking at here?
Do you have cameras
inside the units?
Did your tenants
consent to this?
- No comment.
- It seems like
this is something
you should comment on, buddy.
- I don't gotta tell
you a damn thing.
Now leave.
- No, we're staying.
We're gonna ask again.
Why are you spying
on young women
in their apartment?
- I'm gonna call my lawyer.
- Well, you can, and tell 'em
to meet you down at our precinct
'cause you're under arrest.
- My client vehemently
denies any involvement
in the disappearance
of Sarah Baker
or Madison Platt.
- Then you need to tell us why
you were spying on Sarah Baker.
- Tell them about the
surveillance cameras.
- I own the building where
Sarah Baker was living.
The building has a few
rent controlled tenants,
people paying 700
bucks a month for units
that could rent for five grand.
- I don't think you understand.
We don't care what your take
is on the fair market value
pf Manhattan real estate.
- Hear us out.
- Some of the tenants
are illegally subletting
their apartments.
- There's no evidence
that Sarah Baker
was doing that, yes or no?
So you just put cameras
in people's apartments,
spy on young women,
watch them get undressed
and God knows what else.
- Sarah discovered it,
found out that you
were spying on her.
She files a
complaint against you
in the housing court.
That sounds like a
pretty strong motive
for murder.
- Sure does.
What were you doing
two nights ago?
- I was at home watching TV.
For most of the night, anyway.
- What's that mean,
most of the night?
- I went out for 30 minutes
or so to buy groceries
at the store on the corner.
- You can check all the
surveillance cameras
in the building.
- I got something.
So Marquette only left the
building for 25 minutes,
not even long enough to get
across town to the gallery,
but I found something else,
something more interesting.
So at 4:12 p.m. on
the day of the murder,
this man bangs on Sarah's
door, waits a few minutes,
gets no response,
and then leaves.
- Who the hell is that jerk?
- I don't know, but
he's pretty angry.
- He also happens
to own a black SUV.
- Did you run the plates?
- It's registered
to Matthew Nelson,
date of birth July 11th, 1996.
- He have a rap sheet?
- No.
- Matthew Nelson. Ooh.
Billionaire hedge fund manager.
"Wall Street Journal" calls him
a pioneer in cryptocurrency.
- Get a warrant and find out
where Mr. Crypto parks his SUV.
- Done.
This crypto stuff might be fake,
but the things it
buys sure ain't.
- My first partner's
driving one of these now.
- On a cop's salary?
- Oh, no, he's off the job.
Started his own
private security firm
down in Florida.
He's been begging me
to join ever since.
- Ah. Tempted?
- Well, this job isn't
getting any easier,
and I'm not getting any younger.
- Is that a yes?
- Well...
- Hey, hey!
- Sir.
Sir, you can't go down there.
- Excuse me.
- Sir!
- The hell is this?
- NYPD. Are you Matthew Nelson?
- Yeah, this is...
This is my car.
- And this is a warrant
to search your car.
- For what exactly?
- We're investigating
the murder of Sarah Baker
and the disappearance
of Madison Platt.
- Those names ring a bell?
- Sarah's dead?
- Someone shot her
two nights ago,
and the vehicle the killer
used is identical to this one,
so you can see where
we're going with this?
- How'd you know Sarah?
- We used to date.
We broke up a couple months ago.
- And two days ago, you
went to her apartment.
You banged on her
door. Why's that?
Because I had some stuff
to pick up, all right?
I mean, it wasn't a big deal.
- She wound up with a bullet
in her head seven hours later,
so it's kind of a big deal.
- What were you doing two
nights ago around midnight?
- I was on a Zoom call.
- At midnight?
- Yeah.
It was with investors in Asia.
Look, hey, if you
don't believe me,
you can check in
with my assistant,
the 25 other people
in attendance.
- We will.
- In the meantime, we're
impounding your car.
- Struck out with the car.
Nothing from Forensics.
But something interesting.
We found a car wash
receipt, timestamp 9:00 a.m.
the morning after the murders.
- It's better than nothing.
Does he have an alibi?
- Yeah.
Problem is, he was on
a Zoom call for work.
- I wouldn't be so
sure about that.
I just went through the
entire Zoom recording
frame by frame.
The Zoom meeting is real,
but Nelson found a way
to splice himself in.
- How can you tell that?
- It's a prerecorded
video on loop.
He's on mute for
the entire meeting,
and every six minutes,
the video repeats itself.
He touches his chin,
blinks, and looks down.
- So we have a false alibi,
an SUV that matches the car
at the murder scene,
and a car wash receipt.
- And a video of Nelson
banging on Sarah Baker's door
seven hours before
she was killed.
- Arrest him.
- The reason I'm confused
is because those numbers
should be the same ones up...
- Matthew Nelson.
Stay where you are.
Show us your hands.
I said stay where you are.
- Don't even think about it.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
what's going on here?
Why you guys here, huh?
- We're arresting you.
- Arresting me?
That's ridiculous.
I refuse.
- Uh, yeah.
You don't have the
right to refuse.
You do have the right
to remain silent,
though, dumbass.
- The evidence is strong.
It would be a lot better if we
actually had the murder weapon.
- It is what it is.
- I understand.
We will arraign him tomorrow
for the murder of Sarah Baker.
- What about Madison Platt?
- Not sure about that.
- Well, she's been
missing for almost a week.
- We don't have her body.
- Her blood was at
the murder scene.
Her purse was at the landfill.
- There's no activity
on her credit cards
or cell phone.
- Assuming someone is
dead and proving it
beyond a reasonable doubt
are two very different
propositions.
- Come on, Nolan, we both know
this billionaire crypto
prick killed her.
You know, every time I've walked
into your courtroom,
you go on about
how victims deserve justice.
Well, Bruce Platt deserves
justice for his sister,
and I hope you do right by her.
Charge this guy
with the two murders
and just call it a day.
And if you need more
evidence, you let us know.
We'll find it.
- What the hell was that?
Next case.
- Your Honor, the
defendant stands charged
with two counts of murder.
People request remand.
- Ms. Gates.
- This case is a prime example
of a rush to judgement.
The people have no
evidence, no murder weapon,
no eyewitness, and no motive.
My client runs a $50
billion hedge fund,
he has no criminal record,
and he is certain to be
acquitted after trial.
- What are the
facts, Ms. Maroun?
- We have a strong
circumstantial case.
The defendant used to date
one of the victims, Sarah Baker.
In fact, he was at
Ms. Baker's apartment
on the day of the
murder, clearly angry,
on a mission to find her.
Hours later, a man
was captured on video
leaving the murder scene.
That man got into a
car similar to the one
registered to the defendant,
and when questioned,
he gave a false alibi.
- Like I said, they have
no concrete evidence
to tie my client to this crime.
Defense asks the court to impose
a reasonable bail in the
amount of 20 million.
- Okay, Your Honor,
the defendant has
infinite resources.
20 million is nothing to
him. Might as well be 20,000.
- I'm setting the bail in
the amount of 20 million.
- Will the court consider
an electronic monitor?
- I think that's reasonable.
The defendant shall be ordered
to wear an ankle monitor.
Next case.
- Nelson posted
bail. 20 million.
Who said money doesn't matter?
- Not me, that's for sure.
- I just got off the phone with
the state attorney general.
Nelson is the subject
of a grand jury probe.
- What's the allegation?
- Fraud.
He's like another Bernie
Madoff or Sam Bankman-Fried,
except here he's raising
money from pension funds
and retirement accounts and
then funneling it overseas.
- That's just what we need,
a Wall Street sociopath
ripping off city workers.
- Were Sarah Baker
or Madison Platt
somehow involved in the fraud?
- No, in fact, Sarah was the
government's star witness.
She was scheduled to
appear in the grand jury
the day after she was murdered.
- To say what?
- She's the only person
who can help prove
Nelson intentionally
diverted the fund's capital
into a, uh, cold crypto wallet.
- It's like a
secure flash drive,
impossible to penetrate.
It protects digital assets.
- Whatever it is, it
gives you the piece
you were missing: motive.
Nelson killed Sarah in
order to silence her.
- And Madison Platt
got in the way.
- Defense just filed
a motion to exclude
any mention of the fraud case.
- The fraud allegations
are relevant
to establish the
defendant's motive,
that he murdered Sarah Baker
because she was gonna testify
against him in the grand jury.
- What about the other victim?
Was Madison Platt involved
in the fraud case?
- No, sadly, she was just
in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
- Ms. Gates, why isn't
the information relevant
and admissible under
the Molineux doctrine?
- The evidence is only
relevant if they can prove
my client had actual
knowledge that Sarah Baker
planned to testify against him.
- We have evidence
that the defendant
was banging on Ms. Baker's door
a few hours prior to the murder.
He was there to threaten her,
to tell her not to testify,
and when she didn't
open the door,
he tracked her down to the
gallery and killed her.
- That argument requires
huge leaps of logic
and mental gymnastics.
- I agree.
It's too speculative for me.
Mr. Price, unless you
have something concrete
that shows Mr. Nelson
knew that Sarah Baker
was going to
testify against him,
the evidence is out.
- Price just called.
He needs something to prove
that Nelson knew Sarah
Baker was planning
to testify against
him in the fraud case.
- We've been looking through
Nelson's emails, his texts.
We haven't found
anything relevant.
- Yet.
- Okay, we'll keep digging.
But you gotta understand...
- Hey, sorry.
I have been going over
Nelson's search history.
It's what you might expect
for the most part...
Mansions, yachts, porn...
But the thing that
stood out was,
the day before we arrested him,
he logged into the email account
of some random
furniture gallery.
- Madison Platt's brother
works at a furniture gallery.
- Hmm.
- Wait, you think that
Nelson was hacking
into her brother's
emails? Why?
- No clue.
- Only one way to find out.
We think Matthew Nelson hacked
into your email account.
- Bruce, help us out.
Why would he do that?
I'm thinking he was looking
for something, yeah?
- I... I... guys, I can...
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What are you doing?
Give me that phone.
- What? I'm sorry, no. I
think you'll need a warrant.
- Oh, you want to
do it that way?
- No.
- Give him your phone.
- Okay, what are you doing?
What the hell are you doing?
- I'm arresting you
for obstruction.
- Okay, that is ridiculous.
- Look, there's
two ways it can go.
We arrest you and we get
a warrant for your phone,
or you just tell us what
the hell is going on.
- Okay, okay, okay,
okay, okay, Maddy...
Maddy has been emailing me.
- What? Your sister is alive?
- Yes, and I was shocked, too,
but after Nelson got arrested,
she contacted me from
a new email address.
- And why would you withhold
this information from us?
- Because she was begging
me not to say anything.
She was gonna come
forward herself,
but then Nelson posted
bail, and she freaked out.
- Did she tell you
that she saw Nelson
kill Sarah Baker? Yes or no?
- Yes. Yes, well, sort of.
She said that she was
in the other room.
She heard the gunshot,
so she ran over
to see what was going
on, and she saw Nelson
standing there holding the gun.
And then he shot at her,
grazed her arm.
- And then what?
- She ran out the back
door, and he went after her.
- So where is she?
- I can't. I... I...
- What do you mean you can't?
- Maddy gets very, very anxious.
She was assaulted
a few years ago,
and she gets these
panic attacks.
- Yeah, I get that, but we need
to know where she is right now.
- You don't get it.
- Nelson is monitoring
your emails,
which means he knows
that your sister's alive.
- Which means, if he finds
her, he's gonna finish the job,
and if she emailed
you, then he knows!
- I understand!
- No, you don't understand!
And if you did, you would tell
us where your sister's at.
Where is your sister?
- She emailed me 40 minutes ago.
- Backup's four
minutes away, Frank.
Eyes on the south
side. All clear.
- Nelson's ankle monitor
hasn't registered movement
in hours, which means he
had to have cut it off.
Jalen, we just can't
wait any longer.
- Frank, backup is
four minutes away.
Just hang tight,
Frank. Just hang tight.
No, I'm going in.
- Madison. Madison, it's
okay. I'm the police.
I'm here to help you.
- He's still in here.
I saw him kill Sarah, and
he tried to kill me too.
- I'm gonna get you out of here.
- Come on, get up! Get up!
- No, no, no!
- Shut up!
- Let her go. Let her go!
- We're getting out
of here, or I shoot.
- Let her go.
- Drop the weapon,
or I drop you.
Put the weapon down!
- Down on the ground!
Down on the ground!
Don't you move!
- Frank, Frank, you're bleeding.
- Huh?
Yeah, bullets will do
that to you, I guess.
- 10-13, officer down!
10-13, come quick!
Hey, hey, come on,
stay with me, buddy.
Stay with me, come on, come on.
- Hey, Frank.
Bet that job in Boca's
looking pretty good
right about now,
huh?
- How you feeling?
- Never better.
This is a flesh wound.
- Uh, not according
to your doctor.
She said you got a bullet
lodged in your shoulder,
and there's some tissue damage.
- Nope.
How's Madison?
- She's pretty shaken
up, but she's safe.
You had us worried there, Frank.
- Please.
- So I guess now's not
the time to reprimand you
for rushing into a
building without backup?
Mm, nope.
- She's right, though.
You did a hell of a
thing in there, man.
You saved her damn life.
- Don't you two have some cases
to investigate or something?
- Nothing that can't wait.
- You know what the worst
part of this whole thing is?
Price, he was right.
We should've waited.
Instead of charging Nelson
with Madison's murder,
we should've waited.
- Sarah Baker was an artist,
a woman who was creative,
joyful, full of life,
until her ex-boyfriend
Matthew Nelson
decided to hunt her
down and kill her.
The defendant followed Sarah
Baker to an art exhibit
and blasted two bullets
into the back of her head.
He is a cold and
calculating killer.
We will present a
series of witnesses,
but none more important
than Madison Platt.
This ordeal has taken a
devastating toll on her,
and yet, she will bravely
come into this courtroom
and tell you what she saw,
that Matthew Nelson
murdered Sarah Baker.
- What Mr. Price
didn't tell you
is that this case started
out as a double homicide.
People charged my
client with the murder
of Madison Platt,
too, when, guess what,
Madison Platt was
very much alive.
Still is.
This case is the result
of a flawed investigation
led by an overzealous prosecutor
who will do anything
to convict my client,
no matter the cost.
You can't trust him.
You can't accept his
statements as the truth.
And you certainly can't send
my client to prison for life
based on his presentation.
And do you know who
else you can't believe?
Madison Platt.
She's an unstable woman.
Since her friend Sarah's murder,
she's been hiding
out in a warehouse
for several weeks.
For all we know, she
killed Sarah Baker.
- Ms. Platt, can
you please tell us
what you do for a living?
- I own an art gallery.
Did, anyway, before
this all happened.
I haven't been able to bring
myself to go back there.
- And was Sarah Baker
one of the artists
who you showed in your gallery?
- Yes.
She was really talented.
She worked mostly
in mixed media.
- Did she have a relationship
with the defendant,
Matthew Nelson?
- Yes, for a little while,
but it...
- Could you explain
what happened?
- Well, she was enamored
with him at first.
He was always sending her gifts
and taking her on
amazing vacations.
- Did something change?
- She realized that...
that he didn't have a soul,
that he was cold
and calculating,
and he was devoid of
any real human emotion.
- Did you have an event
at your gallery space
on March 1st?
- I did.
- Was Sarah there?
Do you need me to
repeat the question?
- Um, yes, yes, she was there.
- Do you recall
spending time alone
with Sarah the night
that she was killed?
- Uh-huh.
- Yes.
I'm sorry, but you have to
answer the questions out loud.
- I can't. I can't.
I'm sorry, I can't...
I can't do this.
- Do you need to take a break?
- No, no, I would
like to go home.
- Uh, okay, Your Honor,
the People request
a continuance.
- Objection. The
jury's been sworn in.
Jeopardy has attached.
- Let's take a
recess for the day.
I'll see everyone
in the morning.
Did you see... did you
see what he did in there?
He threatened me.
He pretended like he was
pointing a gun at me.
- No, I didn't see that,
but I can bring it to
the court's attention.
- No, no, no.
- Madison, if he
threatened you...
- No. Forget it. Forget it.
I want to get out of here.
- We need you to identify him
as the man who shot
and killed Sarah Baker.
- Otherwise, he'll walk free,
and I know you don't want that.
- I don't, I don't,
but you don't need me.
You have enough evidence.
- You saw the shooting.
All you need to do is tell
the jury what you saw,
and there is no chance in
hell he will ever walk free.
- He's rich, and he is crazy,
and he will pay someone
to find me and hunt me
down. I... I can't do this.
I can't... I can't
go back in there.
I'm sorry.
- Looks like your star
witness is having a hard time.
- She is, because your client
murdered her good friend
right in front of her.
- Hold on.
Are you open to discussing
a reasonable plea offer?
- Depends on what you
consider to be reasonable.
- Man 1, 20 years.
- Not even close.
- Plus he'll plea to the
attorney general's fraud case.
- That means nothing to me.
I work for the city of New York.
- All right.
What if, hypothetically
speaking,
I were able to recover
the lost assets.
And then I would
distribute that money
to the various stakeholders.
That's the police, firefighters,
teachers, sanitation workers...
prosecutors.
Are you trying to bribe us?
- I'm trying to do what's right.
- I'm afraid that
ship sailed long ago.
- This would change the lives
of hundreds of thousands
of government employees,
make their retirement
accounts whole.
You can't just
ignore that, Nolan.
- What?
You think we should
consider the deal?
- I've been fielding
hundreds of calls.
EMTs, day care providers,
utility workers,
people who have worked
in public service
their entire lives and will be
left with practically nothing.
- But if we cave to
Nelson's demands,
what kind of message
will we be sending?
That justice is for sale?
- 20 years is a long time.
- He's only 26.
- From what I understand,
your key witness is faltering,
refusing to testify.
- I'm not gonna let Nelson
buy his way out of this.
- Fine, reject the deal,
but you better find
a way to convict him.
Send him away for life.
- Wanted to check
on how you're doing.
- Better.
How did Madison
do in court today?
- I thought she would hold
up better than she did.
She just got in there and froze.
- But she ID'd the guy.
No.
You ever wonder what the
hell we're doing, Nolan?
- What do you mean?
- Back when I became a cop,
it was something you
were very proud of.
Now half the city
wants to defund us.
- I understand.
- Do you?
'Cause the other night, I
almost made my wife a widow,
and for what?
After everything, this
prick's just gonna walk.
I wish there was
something I could do,
but she's the only person
who can identify him
as the man who shot
and killed Sarah Baker.
- I might know
somebody who can help.
- Detective Cosgrove,
were you present
when Madison Platt
identified the defendant,
Matthew Nelson, as the man who
shot and killed Sarah Baker?
- Objection, calls for hearsay.
- The People submit
it's an excited
utterance, Your Honor.
It's an exception
to the hearsay rule.
If I may be allowed
to lay a foundation?
- You may proceed.
- Where were you when Ms.
Platt made this statement?
- In a warehouse upstate.
The defendant was
holding her hostage.
- What did she say?
- Madison Platt said she
saw Nelson kill Sarah
and he tried to kill her too.
- I renew my objection.
- Objection overruled.
The answer shall stand.
- Thank you. Nothing further.
- You never told anyone
that Madison Platt
made an excited
utterance, did you?
Never put it in
any police report?
- No, I was shot, so
I was in the hospital.
- Exactly.
ADA Price came to
your hospital room
and told you he
needed a witness.
- That he did.
- And suddenly, you remembered
this excited utterance.
- If you're implying
that I'm making this up,
you'd be wrong.
- You'd have to agree
it's awfully convenient.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
- I'm telling the truth.
- Sure you are.
I have nothing further.
- Redirect, Your Honor?
You exercised
tremendous restraint
during the course of this
investigation, didn't you?
The defendant
pointed a gun at you,
shot you, and you
didn't return fire.
- Objection.
- The defense opened the door.
- Overruled. You may answer.
- I did my job.
- Took a bullet to the chest.
- I was shot.
- You're not a liar,
as the defense claims.
You are a hero...
And you should be
commended for your actions.
That's all I have. Thank you.
- Madam Foreperson, have
you agreed upon a verdict?
- We have.
We find the defendant guilty
of murder in the second degree.
- Members of the jury, we
thank you for your service.
We are adjourned.
- We did it,
Jalen. We got him.
- You did a hell
of a job, Frank.
Without you, we
don't make this case.
- Turns out we actually do make
a difference once in a while.
- Does that mean you're putting
the private security
job on hold?
- Means I'm exactly
where I'm supposed to be.
Sometimes it takes
getting shot in the chest
to realize we got the
greatest job on Earth.