Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 5, Episode 7 - Precious - full transcript

NARRATOR: In the
criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

(CHILDREN CHATTERING)

GILLESPIE: This is us on the South
Rim. That's where you start from.

You see the other side?
Yeah, right behind your thumb.

Very funny.

Anyway, it's five miles across.

This is halfway down.



And this is us at
the Phantom Ranch,

right at the bottom
of the canyon.

You can't tell, but it's
one mile, straight down.

A fantastic view.

You could tell me they had
Keanu Reeves naked down there,

you'd never get me to sit
10 hours on a dumb mule.

Officer, please,
I need your help.

It's my daughter, she's gone.
I don't know how it happened.

All right. Just calm
down. She's just a baby.

Somebody stole my
baby. It was over here.

Emily's only three months old.
She can't do anything for herself.

You carry a picture of her? No.

My wife, but she's at the doctor's
office. I just sat down for a minute.

Was the baby in a
stroller? No, it was a...



She was in a backpack thing.

I set her down on
the bench next to me.

What color was the backpack?
Blue with white and little letters.

I told the officers,
I dozed off.

But it was only like five minutes, and
I wake up and the backpack is gone.

Did you see anybody hanging
around, anybody following you?

No. No. I didn't notice anybody.

Okay, Mr. Willach, just sit tight
for a minute. I'll be right back.

We've got people at all the
entrances. Canine units are on the way.

Did he see anything? No.

Poor guy closes his eyes
for two minutes, bang.

Detective Logan.

This lady says she saw some guy
hanging around the playground this morning.

A bald man, over
there, two hours ago.

Taking pictures of kids
with a camera he's got.

I seen him around before.

So where did he go?

He went away. I
don't know where.

All right, I'm gonna put you
together with a sketch artist,

and you're gonna help him draw
a picture of this bald man, okay?

Okay. I thought this thing
only happens in my country.

What are you talking about?
Guatemala. You don't know?

It was all over the TV.

They steal the
babies for their organs.

She has the bluest eyes.

Does this kind of thing happen a lot
here? I mean, with so many people around.

Oh, you're not from around
here? We just moved to 94th Street

from Edison, New Jersey.
What are we doing here?

We're not doing any good
just sitting here talking.

Mrs. Willach, we have a lot of
people out looking for your daughter.

Oh, God, why is this
happening to me?

I should never have gone to the
doctor's. I should have stayed home.

It's my fault. If I hadn't
sat down, everything...

BRISCOE: Hey, nobody
blames you for sitting down.

You walked all the way to
Heckscher playground from 94th Street.

We got a nanny in the park who
saw this man near the playground.

Did you see anyone even
slightly resembling this man?

No, I was only paying
attention to Emily.

I mean... BRISCOE:
That's okay. We understand.

Whenever you want to talk to us,
you just call this number, all right?

We know how tough this is.
Thank you, Officer. Please, find her.

They always come up with a new
angle. "Help me find my lost dog."

"Let me take your picture." Anything
that gets them up close to the kids.

Yeah. Well, we've got
Profaci checking on arrests

in the park for the
past six months.

Have him pull the conditions
reports from the local precinct.

Maybe somebody's complained
about this "gentleman" before.

You know, for what it's worth, the
nanny mentioned something about kids

being snatched for their organs.
Yeah. Right, in Guatemala.

But around here, the
big money's in adoption.

Nice white baby girl, could be
some rich yuppie couple's dream child.

Look, I don't care if this
child was beamed up by E.T.

Let's just find her before she's
old enough to go to kindergarten.

Head back to the playground. Word
gets around about creeps like this.

(CHILDREN CHATTERING)

Looks like a guy I once
married. Thank God he's dead.

Anybody else?

Did he have a camera
with him? That's the guy.

He was over at Riverside Park a couple
of months ago. Wouldn't leave us alone.

He was there every day for a week.
I complained about him to a cop.

And?

He finally gave
the guy a ticket.

Afterwards, the cop told me there
wasn't even any film in the camera.

Do you happen to
remember what day that was?

Listen, I got no receipt,
but I paid that ticket.

We know you paid it,
like you paid the other two.

By the way, you like to
hang around playgrounds?

I like the fresh air. Speaking
of air, what's that smell?

What smell?

Oh, once you smell that,
you can never forget it.

There wouldn't by any chance be a
diaper in there, would there, Robert?

Hey, look, the diaper belongs to a
friend's kid. She was here yesterday.

I mean, is it a crime
to have dirty diapers?

Depends on what baby
crapped in his pants.

Where were you
this morning? Today?

Hey, I know what this is about.
It's that kid, the one on TV?

A witness puts you in
the park this morning.

Come on, I look like a
pervert? Kids are not my thing.

What is your
thing? Look, Officer,

I'm just a guy
trying to get busy.

There's a lot of lonely nannies
out there. I give them a line.

I'm a commercials agent
looking for kids, huh?

It's a gimmick, just to get
names and numbers. See?

You got all these from the
parks? Hey, this stuff works.

He has the girl's name,
number, everything.

He's in the clear as
far as this case goes.

Profaci worked up a list of
possibles from the precinct reports.

There's droolers, flashers,
junkies, chicken hawks...

Little something for everybody?

It's nice to see the
public getting into the act.

We've got baby sightings
in all five boroughs,

including eight from our
friendly neighborhood psychics.

Divvy them up with Profaci,
Vosko and McBroom.

I want every lead followed up.

It might be a good idea to have
another talk with this Willach.

He was a little
sketchy this morning.

But I might be able to get
a little more out of him now.

(PHONE RINGING)

Van Buren.

They'll be right down. The
search teams found something.

It was in the bushes near
the park entrance at 93rd.

It's practically brand new.

The only fresh prints on
it belong to Martin Willach.

He was fingerprinted when
he was bonded for his job.

I guess the perp
could have worn gloves.

Right. He runs across
the park, tosses this thing,

then puts the kid under his arm

like a loaf of bread. Okay.

The baby never
made it out of the park.

I'm thinking she never
made it into the park.

Wait a second. Willach
lives on 94th Street.

He enters the park at 93rd and walks
right past where this thing was found.

You think that guy's capable?

Hey, you never lost a
night's sleep to a crying baby.

MAN: Yo!

This is not a public place.
Reporters aren't welcome here.

Yo. Police. We're
looking for Marty Willach.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Him and his wife went across
the street with some friends.

Reporters have been
bugging the hell out of them.

Were you here this morning when
Marty took his baby to the park?

Yeah, I was here,
but I didn't see Willach.

Anyway, the stroller
was here all day.

That's what they push
the baby around in? Yeah.

I hear the chain rattle
every time they take it out.

They always keep it here? Well, I
tell him to keep it in his apartment,

but, you know, Marty told me he doesn't
want to carry it up and down the stairs.

He's got a bad back
from lifting cartons all day.

(PHONE RINGING)

I gotta get that.

He's got a bad back, but today
he carries the kid 30 blocks

in a brand-new backpack?

Carrying an empty backpack
under his arm's a lot less obvious

than pushing an empty
stroller down the street.

You're gonna talk to us,
Marty. You're gonna tell us

what happened to your baby
girl. I told you. Somebody took her.

You're a liar. You tried to make
it look like someone took her.

That's why you
ditched this. Mike.

Right, Marty? Mike!

Right? Back off!

Come on. Go get a
cup of coffee, will you?

(SIGHING)

Marty, we got this guy, this
camera bug. Remember?

The bald guy in the sketch.
Some people put him in the park

right about when
you fell asleep.

We can convict him, easy.
Kidnapping. It's a life sentence.

Now, do you think
that's right, Marty?

For us to put this
guy away for life?

I told you, I never saw the guy.

But you know for a
fact he didn't take Emily.

Because you know the truth.

Marty, we all try to hide
from the stupid things we do.

I mean, things we shouldn't
do, that we didn't mean to do.

You're trying to make me
say I killed my own daughter?

I don't want you to say anything
but the God's-honest truth.

Marty, I know what it's like
being a father. I have two girls.

When they were little there were
times when the only thing in the world

I wanted was for them to shut
up and get the hell away from me.

But they didn't.

They never did. They were
always there, screaming, crying.

Emily wasn't like that.

She was never in the way?
She was never once like that.

So how did this happen?

Somebody took her.

Right.

You know, Marty, I'll bet your life was
really nice before Emily came along.

I know my marriage was
perfect before we had kids.

Our marriage is
still perfect. Yeah.

But you have to stay
home with the baby, right?

What was she, teething?
Crying a whole lot? I mean,

so you lose your temper. You
shake her a little bit too hard.

You didn't know, she's
just a delicate little thing.

I wouldn't do
that. I love Emily.

And you're gonna let
her just disappear forever?

Like she was never
here? A nobody?

Marty, she's your
daughter, and you loved her.

But she deserves better
than this, am I right?

Marty, am I right?

There's a place by the Hudson
River, just down the street.

We'd take Emily
there to just sit,

watch the sun set
over New Jersey.

Now you're being a good
father for telling us the truth.

Son of a bitch.

(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)

MAN: We got something here.

Pull it.

From the amount of congestion
on the brain and lungs,

I'd say this baby
died from asphyxia.

No marks or bruises on the throat.
She could have been smothered,

or she could have
died naturally.

You mean like crib
death? It's possible.

Were there marks anywhere
on the body? Not even a rash.

The baby was clean, well-fed
and wearing a new diaper.

Everything Dr. Spock says
you should do for a baby.

Yeah. I guess I skipped the part
about stuffing them in a cooler.

She was wrapped in satin
bedding. This was around her neck.

And this was next to her.

I didn't kill her.
She died in her crib.

Emily was sick a lot. Eileen was
always taking her to Mount Sinai.

And then yesterday,
when we got up at 5:00,

she was just lying
there, on her stomach.

She was dead.

How did you know? You a
doctor? She was ice cold.

And you don't call
anybody for help?

We were going crazy!
I mean, anybody would

if they found their
little girl dead.

Not everybody goes out first
thing looking for an ice chest.

You don't understand.
I did it for Eileen.

I had to protect her.

Marty was worried about
what people would say.

I've seen it happen
with other parents.

A baby dies like that, all of a
sudden, in her crib. There's always talk.

You don't know how
cruel people can be.

Believe me, I'm
getting an education.

Listen to you. There's
never any sympathy.

You're saying people
would blame you for this?

Oh, I know for a fact that they
would, especially our families.

They blame me for
everything. Explain that to me.

Once, a bottle I was sterilizing
exploded in boiling water.

Glass everywhere.

They blamed me.

The worst things happen
to me. They always do.

Whoa.

This lady is on
a different planet.

She is more concerned
about what's happening to her

than what happened to her baby.

And yet the ME finds no evidence this
child was murdered or even neglected.

So what do you wanna do?

Cite the Willachs for failure to obtain
a burial permit and send them home?

I'm saying there are more
wrongs than rights with your picture.

I've seen babies abused
to death by crazed mothers,

and this child doesn't look
like one of those babies.

She's just as dead.

Look, if Mom is feeling guilty,

maybe that should
tell us something.

Hey, crib deaths happen, Mike.

If it was my kid, maybe
I'd feel guilty about it.

And naturally, you'd grab a
shovel and head to Riverside Park?

Come on, you guys are the
mommies and daddies here.

If you found your kid like that,
wouldn't you rush him to the hospital

in the middle of a
damn snowstorm?

All right. The child was
a regular at Mount Sinai?

Start there.

WOMAN ON PA: Dr. Morgan,
please pick up line two.

Eileen Willach brought
her daughter in eight times.

Low-grade fever,
irregular breathing.

But there was nothing
wrong we could find.

Her biggest complaint was
that her baby cried all the time.

I told her that's what babies do.
Well, maybe this one had a reason.

Like an over-anxious parent?

We get our share coming in with
all sorts of imaginary complaints.

All they really want
is a pat on the head,

someone to tell them
they're doing just fine.

A lot of them complain about their
kid's imaginary breathing problems?

We did full work-ups on that child.
She diagnosed healthy every time.

Did you ever discuss it with
the Willachs' regular baby doctor?

I didn't see the point.

Well, maybe we'll take him up on it.
Can you give me his name and address?

It's a Dr. Henry Royce,
in Edison. Edison?

They live in New York but their
pediatrician's in New Jersey?

Mrs. Willach said she hadn't had
time to find somebody new here.

Royce used to take
care of her other children.

I was concerned that might happen.
Crib death. Same as their other children.

They're dead, too? Yes.

Daniel at five months and
Caroline at three months.

Excuse me, Doc, but three kids
sounds a little more like crib homicide.

I made a thorough
examination of the children.

They showed high
levels of blood ammonia.

This suggested to me they had
an inherited metabolic disorder

that could result
in sudden death.

So they died of some
genetic disease?

In layman's terms, you could
say they carried a death gene

inherited from their parents.

Well, if kids are so important to
them, why not just adopt healthy ones?

I thought they had. Kings
County Child Services.

They asked me for my opinion.

I highly recommended
Eileen and Marty.

Gary was 18 months old. Mrs. Willach
practically begged to have a child.

So anybody begs for a
kid, you give them one?

Even when their own two
kids died in their sleep?

Oh, no. The doctor said
they died of crib death.

Every required precaution was
taken. Well, what about little Gary?

The Willachs just didn't take to him?
Well, we removed him from their care.

Nothing was proven,
but... But what?

Well, there was an
allegation of abuse.

Mrs. Willach took Gary to the
hospital a half a dozen times.

You know, allergies he didn't
suffer from, fevers he didn't have.

A parent who worries
about her child's health.

That doesn't sound abusive.

Well, one day she brought
him in with respiratory distress.

He had to be resuscitated.

The doctor said that
he thought he saw...

I shouldn't be telling you this,

but he said he thought he saw
signs that Gary had been suffocated.

That's all I can
say. I am sorry.

Four kids with
breathing problems.

And one of them a foster child.

I wonder how he got the
death gene? Off a doorknob?

EILEEN: This is so unfair.

My baby's dead, and you
keep asking me these questions.

I understand the pain you're
in. You've lost three babies.

It's in our blood. That's
what our doctor said.

Our genes kill our babies.

That's why you got Gary
from the foster agency, right?

Because your doctor said not
to have any more of your own?

But the foster agency
took Gary away.

There was something wrong
with him. Breathing problems, right?

Same as your own children.

Were you alone with Gary
when he got this problem?

I did the best I could. I
went to the hospital with him.

I saved his life.

You did what any
good mother would do.

I'm not a good mother.
Why do you say that?

My babies cry all the time.

Other people's babies don't cry.

What did you do when
your babies cried?

I want to go to the bathroom.

If you want, we
can take a break.

Wanna take a break, Marty?

Maybe you're right.

Let's go over it one more time.

Three babies died
because of bad genes.

What about that foster baby?

That's the one I
have a problem with.

Don't you have a
problem with that, Marty?

What the hell does that mean? Is
that a "yes" shrug or a "no" shrug?

It's nothing.

Don't snow me, Marty.
You're a very smart man.

You know Eileen
was alone with Gary.

You must have thought
about it. People have thoughts.

I think about
winning the lottery.

I think about quitting
my job. So what?

It's just thinking.

The way it works between us
is I'm gonna tell you what I think

and you're gonna
tell me what you think.

Everybody thinks Eileen
did something to them.

But what do they know? Nothing.

All I'm asking you
is what you think.

Isn't it possible
Eileen did something?

It's possible.

Nobody appreciates
what it's like.

After you give birth, they
all come and visit you.

They're all so proud of you.

But after a while, they stop
coming. And Marty, he goes to work,

and he comes home tired.
And I'm left with nothing.

Eileen, I know you're
a very religious person.

I saw the crucifix
you put on Emily,

and you told me
you go to church.

Yes. Every week.

Don't you ever ask why God
keeps taking your babies?

I don't blame God. Why not?

If something is wrong with your
children, it must be his fault, right?

Then whose fault is it?

Because people are gonna
blame God for what's happened.

I didn't kill them.

Can't you see how
this all hurts me?

All of my babies die and
nobody understands me!

As far as the wife goes, I don't
know what we're dealing with here.

Maybe if you leaned a
little harder on the husband?

Hey, it took four hours
just to get him to say

he thinks she
might have done it.

Claire, three suspicious
deaths, a cover-up,

one child nearly
strangled to death.

Child services could've
pursued that case, and they didn't.

They weren't dealing with
a dead baby in a cooler.

A child our own medical examiner
says was neither abused nor injured.

She can't even tell
us how she died.

You wanna let them
walk, it's up to you.

They'll just hitch up the
U-Haul and hit the road,

same as they did every time one
of their kids got a medical problem.

Yeah. Let the next dead kid
be some other DA's headache.

All right. I'll make it work.

Eileen needs a diet soda. Then we'd
like to go. We've been in here all night.

Eileen Willach, you're under arrest
for the murder of Emily Willach.

Murder? This is ridiculous!
You have the right to remain...

Martin Willach, you're under
arrest for hindering prosecution.

You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used...

The judge released the Willachs
on their own recognizance.

He wasn't impressed that the ME
hasn't made a finding as to cause of death.

Three dead babies.
Three autopsies.

Are we the only
ones calling it murder?

If it's any comfort, the
tabloids are on our side.

So far, we have "Mother
Death," "Cradle Killer"...

You plan on presenting anything
more than headlines to the grand jury?

The prior deaths and the
incident with the foster kid

show a pattern of behavior.

Or a run of bad luck.

I'm beginning to
agree with the judge.

Without a definite medical finding,
this murder charge is premature.

I've talked to the ME. The problem is
it's not that hard to imitate crib death.

There has to be an expert in
the field who can sort this out.

Find one, before we send the
Willachs a six-figure apology.

Your medical examiner's
right. Smothering an infant,

for example with a pillow,
can mimic crib death.

The only way to spot the difference
is by looking for what isn't there.

Crib deaths leave a
telltale sign? Correct.

When an infant is smothered,
there's no hemorrhaging,

no marks on the body.

I looked at the autopsy
reports for their first two babies.

No marks were
found on them either.

The Willach's pediatrician blamed
those deaths on a hereditary disease.

Since both parents are
healthy, the gene, if it exists,

would be recessive.

Chances of a child inheriting
it would be one in four.

And the chances of all
three children in one family?

Statistically insignificant.
My report will cover that.

If you can include
motive, we'd appreciate it.

I can tell you how
that baby died, not why.

But I'll refer you to
someone who can.

The more you complain, the more
you exaggerate your small tragedies,

the more attention you get.

The squeaky wheel
gets the grease.

That's the general idea. We refer
to it as Munchausen syndrome,

after a German baron who
had a way of extorting money

from people by plucking
their sympathetic heartstrings.

Women like Eileen Willach
take it to its most extreme level.

By killing their own children?

Can you think of
a more pitiful figure

than a mother who's
just lost her infant baby?

All that compassion and
concern pouring out to her?

Eileen fits this profile?

Well, as far as I can infer
from the reports you sent me.

There are the constant
visits to the emergency room,

the phantom illnesses,
the pleas for attention.

"The worst things happen to me."

She's a sympathy junkie. She
needs to play the grieving mother.

And once the grieving is over?
Oh, the world goes back to normal,

and everyone forgets
about poor Eileen

until the next baby dies.

I don't really understand
what this is saying.

Our pediatrician told
us it runs in our family.

Your doctor made a mistake.

We had specialists
check the autopsy report.

They all reached
the same conclusion.

Emily was smothered in her crib.

Read your own report, McCoy.

They said there was
only an 85% probability.

Not when you consider
the previous deaths.

Mr. Willach, we're prepared
to be lenient with you.

But Eileen would
never hurt anyone.

You told Detective
Logan it was possible.

You're twisting my words.
I didn't say that at all.

Come on, Marty.
We've heard enough.

Ms. Brolin, is it obvious
to everyone but you

that you've got a
conflict of interest here?

Marty and Eileen want the
same thing, to be left alone,

to get on with their lives.
If I were you, Mr. Willach,

I'd find my own lawyer.

No. Your doctors are wrong.
Eileen loved our babies.

Always nice to find a fellow who says,
"Till death do us part," and means it.

If those were my children,
I'd want that woman in prison.

With a 15% chance
that she's innocent?

I wouldn't tell that to
the next Mrs. McCoy.

That leaves Dr. Webb and
the Munchausen syndrome.

Munchausen shumpchausen.

All the defense has to do is to
pack the courtroom with people

who'll swear that Eileen
Willach was the ideal mother.

JACK: There may be a few people
who won't show up on that witness list.

Let's start with these two.
Howard and Theresa Tritch.

Marty's sister
and brother-in-law.

According to the baptism
certificates, they were the godparents

for the first two Willach kids.

I've been staying up
nights worrying about this.

But if you didn't call, I probably
wouldn't have said anything to anybody.

You think Eileen killed
Emily? She must have.

I can't stand
thinking about this.

On the phone, you said you suspected
Eileen since their second baby died.

Yes. Caroline.

I mean, it was
the way she acted.

Like at the wake, she just
parked herself by the casket

and sat there all
night, like a statue.

The only time she cried was when
people stopped paying attention to her.

Did you say anything
to your brother?

He said Eileen
would straighten out.

Look, Miss Kincaid,
he's a decent guy.

He thought he would be a bachelor
his whole life until he met Eileen.

I don't think he's even been
away from her for more than a day.

And he's happy to keep
fathering children for Eileen to kill?

No. After Caroline died, he
told me he wanted a vasectomy.

He even saw a doctor about
it. Eileen talked him out of it?

He found out that she called
a divorce lawyer and after that,

I never heard
anything more about it.

She just called her lawyer
to find out about adoptions.

I don't know who told
you she wanted a divorce.

And then, coincidentally, you
decided against a vasectomy?

Look, you're wasting
your time talking to me.

I've told you everything
I know. Mr. Willach,

if we could talk to Daniel or
Caroline or Emily, we would.

You're the only person alive who
knows what happened to them,

aside from your wife.

They just died. No.

They didn't just die.

Your wife held a pillow
over their faces. No.

And because you're afraid of
her, their deaths go unpunished.

I am not afraid of my wife.
She's important to me. I love her.

And not them? You
didn't hold them,

you didn't watch them
sleep, you didn't love them?

Please, put them away.

No, look at them, Mr. Willach.
Three beautiful babies.

When is it gonna stop?

She's got nobody else. You
don't understand about Eileen.

She's always felt lonely. She told me
how her parents never gave her any love.

These babies were
important to her.

She'd dress them up.
She'd show them off.

She got so much love from them.

Eileen can't be
alone. She needs me.

I'll be there for her,
Mr. McCoy, no matter what.

You're more convinced
than ever that she's guilty,

and you're no closer to proving
it. I don't call that progress.

Maybe we don't have to
prove who smothered the baby.

Maybe it's enough that they were
both in the apartment when it happened.

We charge them both with murder?

There's enough
guilt to go around.

Willach stood by and did nothing
while his wife murdered their baby.

The Joel Steinberg case.

Parents have an affirmative duty
to act to save their children's lives.

That's assuming
that the parent knows

that the kid's in danger.

You're not gonna charge Willach
for keeping his eyes closed.

He knew what happened
to the first children.

He knew what
happened to the foster kid.

A jury would have to conclude that he
knew the same thing would happen to Emily.

They'll conclude no such thing.

No judge in his right mind will allow
a jury to hear about these prior acts.

Adam, I'm trying
to stop a serial killer.

But if you think I'm wasting
the resources of this office...

If you believe that you
have a serial killer, go to trial.

But don't expect it to be
a walk in the summer rain.

The child would be
on its back, in its crib.

The pillow was pressed
over its face, like this.

JACK: For how long?
Minimum 20, 30 seconds.

How much effort to smother
a three-month-old baby?

Almost none. The weight of
the pillow does most of the work.

One last question, Doctor.

When a baby is dying of crib
death, does it make any noise?

Normally, yes.

As the child struggles
for breath it moves about.

It's usually found dead pressed
against the side of the crib.

Thank you, Doctor.

Dr. Slavin, can there exist in
a child a genetic predisposition

for a form of crib death?

I suppose it's possible
if we're talking about

a single individual
member of a family.

We are talking only
about Emily Willach.

Did you examine her
remains for this possibility?

No, I didn't. Thank you.

After Eileen gave her a
bottle, we went back to sleep.

Then I got up to go to the
bathroom. I don't know what time.

I was gone maybe five minutes.

Did you happen to see
if Emily was all right?

No. Her crib's on the
other side of the bed.

But she wasn't crying or anything
like that. I thought everything was fine.

I went back to bed. And
then what happened?

Eileen got up to
get a glass of water.

Next thing, we
woke up about 5:00.

That's when we
realized Emily was dead.

And what did you do? There
was nothing we could do.

I decided we should just bury her
and pretend that somebody stole her.

I was just trying to
spare my wife's feelings.

Thank you.

Just so the jury understands
how you disposed of Emily's body,

you put her in this $20
cooler, correct? Yes.

And then, while it
was still dark out,

you dug a hole in the ground

and dropped her in,
like a bag of garbage.

Is that correct? It wasn't
like that. She wasn't garbage.

And you did this brutal thing
just to spare your wife's feelings?

What about you, Mr. Willach?

While you were tossing dirt over
your daughter, what were you feeling?

I don't know.

I was trying hard
not to think about it.

One last question, Mr. Willach.
Are you a light sleeper?

No, I wouldn't say that.

Well, you woke up when your
wife got up to give the baby a bottle,

isn't that correct? Yes.

And you woke up when
she got a glass of water?

In fact, it seems you woke up every
time your wife moved, is that correct?

Sure, okay, I guess
maybe I'm a light sleeper.

Then why is it, sir,
that you didn't wake up

when your daughter was struggling
for breath not three feet away from you?

I can't explain it.

EILEEN: I got a glass of water from the
fridge. I was gone for maybe 10 minutes.

Then I went back to sleep.

When we woke up, Emily
was dead. I was out of my mind.

My baby was dead.
We weren't thinking.

We were so upset.

Emily was our precious baby.

I was a good mother.
I really was. I tried.

Maybe if I'd gotten
up earlier, or if I...

I just didn't have
the experience.

I just didn't know
enough about babies.

Thank you.

How much experience
have you had as a mother?

Emily was three months old.

Was she your first
child? Objection.

She put out the
welcome mat, Your Honor.

I'm entitled to challenge her
statement about limited experience.

I remind you, you're proscribed
from bringing up prior acts.

You so much as brush up
against the line, Mr. McCoy,

and I'm gonna yank the leash.

The objection's overruled.

Well, Mrs. Willach, was
Emily your first child?

No. She wasn't.

How many other
children have you had?

Two others. Daniel and Caroline.

Sounds as if you've had quite a
lot of experience raising children.

Tell us, are Daniel and
Caroline living with you now?

Objection. Your Honor,
I move for a mistrial.

Your objection's sustained.
Your motion's denied.

Mr. McCoy, find another
line of questioning.

I have no other
questions, Your Honor.

A child dies mysteriously in
its crib. No cuts, no bruises,

no signs of abuse.

The District Attorney
says Emily was murdered.

He says Eileen and Marty Willach
were alone with her when it happened.

We say there was somebody
else in that apartment.

God, fate, nature.
Call it what you will.

In our attempts to understand
what happened to Emily,

we can only look to God,

not to the parents who
loved and cherished her.

The requirement
for criminal liability

includes the omission
to perform an act

where a duty of performance
is imposed by law.

Sounds complicated,
but it's really very simple.

Emily Willach was suffocated with a
pillow. Did her mother hold the pillow

or did her father? It
doesn't really matter,

because the one who watched,
who didn't rip the pillow away,

who didn't fight tooth and nail
for Emily's life, is equally guilty.

Nine votes to convict.

And three who didn't agree that
there was enough guilt to go around.

Nine jurors were convinced.

Next time we'll work
harder on the other three.

How often do you want to
come back to square one?

You don't think we
should re-try them?

Not until you can
point at Eileen Willach

and say, "There's
your murderer."

Call Brolin. See what
you can work out.

All right. I didn't
want it to come to this.

I'll agree to a plea
on one condition.

That she agrees
to a tubal ligation.

You're riding your
motorcycle without a helmet.

You want to have her sterilized?

Well, I heard it was a popular
procedure in Germany 50 years ago.

Now, hold on.

I'm not goose-stepping anybody
into the operating room, first of all.

Second, as long as
she can have babies,

this woman's killing
spree is going to continue.

If your crystal
ball is that good,

I'll tell the Mayor we don't
need the police anymore.

How many more deaths do you need before
you can predict a pattern of behavior?

Five? 10? What's
the magic number?

Try 1942. Skinner v. Oklahoma.

The Supreme Court recognized
procreation as a basic right.

They also thought that segregation
was an idea worth protecting.

Times change,
perceptions change.

Claire, if this was a rapist and
the issue was chemical castration,

we wouldn't even be having
this argument. Yes, we would.

Jack, once you open the door to
state interference in a person's body,

everyone from anti-abortionists to
advocates of sterilizing the retarded

will come marching
through. Don't kid yourself.

The state already
interferes with your body.

You can't legally inject
heroin into your veins.

You can't legally
commit suicide.

And the state has the right to put your
body in a uniform and send you off to war.

Twelve states already have
compulsory sterilization laws.

I'm not breaking any new
ground here. It's morally repugnant.

It's a medical procedure.
It's morally neutral.

If it's used to wipe out
a race of people, it's evil.

If it prevents a killer from
creating new victims for herself,

it serves a moral good.

I know it's not
the popular thing,

but it may be the only
thing that'll stop her.

Well, it's been tried
before, unsuccessfully.

And I don't think you're gonna
find a judge in a million years

that'll go along with you.

We're amenable
to a plea bargain,

but Mr. McCoy has put
an incredible stipulation.

That's stating it mildly. He
refuses to discuss alternatives.

We want him
removed from the case.

Your Honor, we can present expert
testimony that Mrs. Willach suffers

from a syndrome that compels
her to murder her children.

These "experts" haven't
even examined my client.

We have an affidavit from Mrs.
Willach's doctor that this procedure

is invasive and in most cases
irreversible. That's fact, not theory.

You can't let him do
this to me, Your Honor.

Mr. McCoy, I'm stunned that
you would believe for a second

that this is a precedent
I would want to set.

Well, I can't accept a
plea bargain without it.

I've weighed her rights against
the rights of her next dead baby.

If I were you, I'd take
another look at your scales.

We don't punish people for
crimes they haven't committed yet.

Either you accept the
plea without the stipulation,

or I'm going to grant the
motion to remove you.

Then that's what you'll
have to do, Your Honor.

Well, what did you expect?

Judge Leon wasn't ready to
take on the Supreme Court.

I'm not trying to
fix the world, Claire.

Brolin's brief.
Worth a second look.

The doctor who
signed the affidavit

says Eileen's been his
patient for the last six weeks.

So? He's an obstetrician.

Adam Schiff has been slow to
assign a new ADA to the case.

I hope it's because you've
had an attack of common sense.

You won't find
anybody in this building

willing to discuss a
plea bargain with you.

We talked to your
doctor, Mrs. Willach.

He says you're two-and-a-half
months pregnant.

Eileen, how could you... You
didn't know, did you, Mr. Willach?

Oh, Marty, I was gonna tell you.

This doesn't change
anything. I think it does.

Am I right, Mr. Willach?

In a year, will you be helping
this child take its first steps,

or will you be... McCoy.

Standing over another grave?

It's your decision
this time, Mr. Willach.

Marty, don't do this to me.

I want her to get help.

It depends on you.

Marty, I strongly urge you
not to say another word.

Eileen was standing
beside Emily's crib.

She was holding a little
pillow we used in the stroller.

She looked at me.

I knew.

After Caroline, I thought
things would be different.

You're a good person.

I just don't know
why you do this.

I want you to go somewhere
where you can get help.

Jack, man one, with a
sentence recommendation.

She tried to delay her sentence
until after she gave birth.

She didn't want her
baby being born in prison.

Probably the safest
place for the child.

By the time Mom gets out of Bedford,
the kid should be able to defend itself.