Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 17, Episode 2 - Criminal Pathology - full transcript

Another body at
Yates' burial ground.

Someone committed
this horrific crime

to piggyback it onto
crimes I've been accused of.

ROLLINS: You
know who the killer is.

Dr. Carl Rudnick.

Accusing the Deputy Chief
M.E. of rape and murder?

You can't think I had
anything to do with this.

Carl Rudnick,
you're under arrest.

Something happened to Susie. She
was supposed to call this morning.

YATES: (OVER PHONE)
Rudnick's still in custody, isn't he?

No, he made bail last night.



We're not sure it's Susie.

We are now.

NARRATOR: In the
criminal justice system,

sexually based offenses are
considered especially heinous.

In New York City,

the dedicated detectives who
investigate these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN:
What the hell is going on here?

BENSON: Exigent circumstances.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN: Nice try. I
don't hear anyone screaming for help.

You have a warrant to
search Dr. Rudnick's house?

We had one yesterday.

And now you need a new one.



Really, Rita?

We don't know that
Dr. Rudnick was involved.

Where's your client, Rita?

I haven't heard from him.

He is the suspect
in this murder, okay?

You hear from him,
you better let us know.

The only legal obligation I have

is to make sure that
he shows up at trial.

You're claiming attorney-client
privilege for a psychopath,

who's on the run,
who gutted a woman.

I have no knowledge of that,

and I have no knowledge of
any future acts he may commit.

His car is missing.

He's not answering
his telephone.

We need to search
this house now.

And you can, as soon
as you get a warrant.

SONNY: Fin's at Real
Time checking traffic cams.

Sarge is at Rudnick's townhouse.

There's no sign of this
guy. He's in the wind.

Yeah, well, he murdered
and dismembered Susie Frain.

I wouldn't have
stuck around either.

We're still missing a left leg.

That's a calf.

CHUNG: Sawed off at the
left knee. Not a lot of blood.

Hmm.

(CLEARS THROAT)

You guys got this, right?

Yeah, give me one second.

(VOMITING)

Oh, easy.

You all right? Yeah.

Yeah, I'm fine.

I'm gonna drive us back. Okay?

Twelve hours after
Rudnick posts bail,

a potential prosecution witness

is found in pieces
with the morning tide?

We're well aware of the problem.

ROLLINS: Counselor.
Where the hell is he?

This is all we know, okay?

He was last seen posting
bond at 8:00 p.m. last night.

Yeah. Uber driver confirms dropping
him off at his Harlem townhouse.

So sometime between
last night and this morning,

he goes to Susie
Frain's apartment.

He dismembers her,
he bags her body,

dumps her in the water at Fort
Tilden, and then he disappears.

ROLLINS: We've got
a BOLO out on his car,

his credit, his bank
cards. So far, no hits.

No sightings? No traffic cams?

Does everyone know
he dresses in drag?

We've alerted State
Troopers and the FBI.

Oh, they already know.

The M.E.'s office, the Mayor's
office, the people in my office.

People are falling over themselves to
point fingers. (CELL PHONE VIBRATING)

Okay. I get it. It's
a mess, all right?

No leave, no
vacation, no... Just...

Yes, I'll hold for the Governor.

Find him. Okay.

Wow. Somebody needs a vacation.

You can't blame him.

(CHUCKLES) I mean, the guy
jumps bail and then he kills our witness.

Speaking of... We need to notify
Yates that his fiancée’s dead.

Look, that's not a priority right
now. He'll find out on the news.

I know he will, but
the photo, Sergeant.

The photo that Rudnick sent to
Susie pretending he was Lena.

CSU tore her house apart.

They couldn't find it anywhere.

Yeah, of course they couldn't.

That's why Rudnick went to
her house in the first place.

So check her phone records.

Find out if she called Rudnick.

SONNY: What, you think she
was using that photo for blackmail?

You know she did not come
up with that idea on her own.

Which is why I
need to talk to Yates.

You know he's more open
when it's just the two of us.

Nice try, Rollins.

YATES: (SIGHS) Susie.

Can I see the body?

That's not gonna be
possible, Dr. Yates.

Are you sure it was her?

ROLLINS: We're sure. I'm sorry.

So, we were hoping,
uh, to talk to you about

your last conversation
with Susie Frain.

Yes, of course.

How did Rudnick kill her?

Still waiting on the autopsy.

You are? Could you ask the
M.E. to test her HCG levels?

Excuse me? I'd like to know
whether Susie was pregnant.

That afternoon in April, before
I was arrested, we made love.

I could sense that
she was ovulating.

When we had our conjugal, she
agreed to take a pregnancy test.

It's quite possible that I
was going to be a father,

and he took that from me.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

You got something?

Yeah, I got ahold of Fin.

He and TARU have been going
through Rudnick's computers,

finances, flagging every
credit card they could find.

Okay. Any hits?

Not yet, but they did find this.

So, Dr. Crazy's been
wiring money from a trust

to four different personal
accounts under four different names.

So contact these people.
We're trying, Sarge.

But, as of now, their only
known addresses are PO boxes.

I mean, we can't find any
employers, phone listings.

Okay, so they're false fronts.

I just got something
from the DMV.

See that Terry Fish
account up there?

I just found a
Teresa Fish that has

an apartment in the
same zip as the PO box.

Great.

Oh. Rudnick's a blonde now?

ROLLINS: Teresa got her
license in October of last year.

I'll put a BOLO out. You
know what, I'll do that.

You two get up
to that apartment.

If we get lucky, Rudnick
may be hiding there.

Hey, you all right?

Why wouldn't I be? I don't know.

Usually you're two
steps ahead of me,

and I've never seen you
queasy at a crime scene before.

Yeah.

I had a bad bagel
yesterday. I'm totally fine.

MRS. CASEY: I wondered if
something happened to poor Terry.

I ain't seen her in a while
here, maybe since, uh, April?

Is she okay? I miss
her around here.

You know her? You
talk to her much?

Oh, is that a joke?

Does it look like either
of us are laughing?

Sounds like a joke.
Terry's mute. Deaf, too.

She used to write
me little notes,

you know, if she
needed something.

But never a complaint.

She paid her rent
a year in advance.

Terry!

Oh, what am I doing? It's
not like she can hear me.

You lay this new floor in here?

I told you she
was a good tenant.

She must have
put that in herself.

Yeah.

Carisi.

Hey, I found more wigs

and floral print
dresses, lots of them.

It's red hair, just
like Rachel Groves,

and these look like
cutting marks to you?

Totally. I'll call CSU.

I got your message
about Rudnick's aliases,

so I re-checked his
Jane Doe autopsies.

The last one was in October.

50-year-old homeless woman
found dead on the E train.

Listed as natural causes.

Never ID'd.

Rudnick's paperwork says no
match on fingerprints or DNA,

but I got a print hit

on a New York City
food stamp application.

Teresa Fish.

Rudnick wanted to make sure
that nobody would miss her,

so he could steal her identity.

Identity thief, rapist, killer.

The damage he's done to
this office, it makes me furious.

Not to mention they brought
him up from Dade County

instead of giving
you that promotion.

You know, you should re-apply.

Before I do that, I need
to rerun DNA and prints

on every body he's ever
sent to Potter's Field.

(SIGHS)

Thank you, Melinda.

You were right. One can see
pronounced gouges on this bottom layer.

Any guess on what
the implement was?

I'd say it's a
large, flat blade.

Maybe a cleaver.

Oh. A-ha.

BENNETT: It's a pattern.
Wipe marks, strokes.

So he tried to wipe off the
blood, maybe what, with bleach?

Yeah, but he didn't get
it all. Hence the glow.

(GRUNTING)

Okay. Okay.

Dried blood.

Quite apparent something
barbarous happened here.

Yes. Yeah.

Hey, you up for a flight?

No, not really.

Tough luck. Our plane
leaves in 40 minutes.

Rudnick just got
picked up in Syracuse

for shoplifting. Take a look.

We ran the prints but
the system was down.

By the time we got a
match he was gone.

He said his flight
was leaving in an hour.

So you let him walk? Great.

We thought we had a
50-year-old cross dresser

near tears because his
mother was dying in Canada.

He stole a frigging
box of Coffee Nips.

All right. I get it.

We did give him a desk ticket.

Good for you.

Listen, Rollins, the
system was down.

He said his mother was dying.

All right, we've had a long day.

The good news is
no one with that name

got on a plane,
train, or rented a car.

Did you check his other aliases?
'Cause he has at least four.

We did. Look, we got this
entire town locked down.

He's not going anywhere.

Planes, trains, automobiles.
Did you check buses?

A Meta Bus left an
hour ago for Buffalo.

He could walk to
Canada from there.

Yeah. What time's it arrive?

It just left Rochester. It's gonna
be there in two-and-a-half hours.

Gonna need a squad car now.

Here comes our bus.

You're the detectives from
New York? ROLLINS: Yeah.

Bob Hencamp, Buffalo PD.

Dominick Carisi. This
is Detective Rollins.

Hi, there. We call her Sunny.

Sunny Rollins? Okay.

Troopers picked up the
bus on I-90 an hour ago.

Followed at a discreet distance.

So he's still on board?

There was an E. Howard
credit card purchase in Syracuse.

Bus didn't make any stops
between Rochester and here.

Okay. Well, let's do this
thing. Nice and easy, all right?

We don't wanna spook him.

Dr. Rudnick.

This is your guy?

I'm Ellie Howard, and I fully
intend to pay my fine for shoplifting.

Ms. Howard, stop.

Why don't you come with
us, all right? We'll sort this out.

Hands behind your back, please.

Is that really necessary?

Let him do his job.

All right, come on.

So, you got a
cross-dressing rapist/murderer

in your M.E.'s office?

You guys down in New York
City really are progressive.

Yeah. He say anything?

He bitched when we searched him.

Maybe because he had a
money belt with $64,000 in cash.

So why's he shoplifting
Coffee Nips then?

(EXHALES) That's
the $64,000 question.

Just give me a minute to finish
paperwork, and he's all yours.

You have a cause of death?

Manner, homicide. No one
ends up like this accidentally.

Cause of death, exsanguination.

So she bled out
when he cut her up?

No. The dismemberment
occurred postmortem.

Problem is I can't
find the initial wound.

Most likely trauma to
the femoral vein or artery.

Stab wound. Maybe gunshot.

To the missing left thigh?

I would guess that's why
Rudnick made it disappear.

There's something else.

Susie's tox screen
came back clean,

but her HCG levels were high.

She was pregnant.

(SIGHS)

We aren't actually
going to drive

all the way back to
Manhattan, are we?

ROLLINS: Shut up.

You took the bus up
here anyway, right?

Yes, when I was
traveling incognito.

Hey, what were you
thinking, anyway?

Skipping out on
a $2 million bail.

Well, what were they thinking?

They charge me with two murders,

then let me go? Who wouldn't
run? (CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hey, Sarge.

Yeah, we're making
pretty good time.

As long as we don't get pulled
over, we should be back around...

Wait, hold on, let
me check my app.

Noon. Wait, hold on.

Noon! Noon. All right,
we'll be back around noon.

All right. Copy that.

They found his car.

Why are you whispering?

Rudnick, they found your car.

Well, give
yourselves a gold star.

We sure it's Rudnick's?

Plates and all
identifiers were stripped,

but we got the VIN
off the engine block.

Okay, so why here?

The train to the
plane's a block away.

Oh, so, had we
found this any earlier,

we would have
been searching JFK.

While he got across the
border on his Meta Bus.

He's not stupid,
but he was in a rush.

He left blood. Now it's just
a trace, but that's all I need.

BENSON: Great. I'll call Barba.

A young man like
yourself working at SVU.

That has to be depressing.

You work in a morgue.

I find peace in that.

I bring closure to people.

Yeah, when you're
not killing them.

Death, in its way, is
the ultimate closure.

Is that a confession?

Thanks.

SONNY: You sure you don't
want something more substantial?

Hmm. Yes, I'm sure.

Don't you people think about
what you eat? ROLLINS: Nope.

RUDNICK: Well, you
should. All that cholesterol.

I could tell you both right now

what your livers
are going to look like

when they're
eventually on the slab.

You know what? Don't.

I don't mean to be a nuisance,

but may I use the facilities?

(SCOFFS)

(EXHALES)

Oh, hey. Still occupied.

All right, look, it's my uncle,

I'll see if I can hurry
him along. Okay?

RUDNICK: This is
unfortunate. (SIGHS)

They think I killed that
woman and cut her up.

I don't understand why.

Well, of course, I do
understand. It's still offensive.

And so are they.

(SIGHS)

Quiet, Doctor. Quiet.

Good man.

Hey, Doc. Come
on, we gotta go. Oh.

Could I trouble
you for my phone?

I need to call my lawyer.

Mr. Barba? RAFAEL: Uh-huh.

(CHUCKLES)

Rita.

You have one hell of a client.

Kills a pregnant witness and
tries to cross the border in a dress.

Dr. Rudnick was out on bond.

He was simply taking
in the sights of Buffalo.

Uh-huh.

We have a DNA match

from Rachel Groves'
hair and blood

on the kitchen floor of an
apartment that he leased.

He's an M.E. He
autopsied her body.

It could be cross-contamination.

Well, he didn't
autopsy Susie Frain,

and we found her
blood in his car.

They were old friends.

He gave her a ride, she
bled from a paper cut.

Both those cases
were circumstantial,

and don't get me started on
a 13-year-old body in a wall.

So why are you here, Rita?

You have an M.E. accused
of being a serial killer.

The last thing your bosses
want is a long, drawn out trial.

And these headlines?
How are your migraines?

Your solution is?

Dr. Rudnick pleads to one
count of tampering with evidence

and one count of
unlawful disposal of a body.

This goes away as
quietly as possible.

Misdemeanors?

He killed three women.

I can offer manslaughter. Twenty
years on each, served concurrently.

A public defender
can get as much.

He is paying for more than that.

I hope there's enough money
in the world, Rita. I really do.

You better hope you
don't get a conviction,

because if you do, every
case Dr. Rudnick touched

will be subject to an appeal,
starting with Greg Yates.

I was so worried

about what might
happen to Susie.

She was always so trusting.

She never saw the
dark side of people.

In Dr. Rudnick?

What did she say to
you when you last spoke?

She firmly believed
that if she asked him,

he would work to set me
free in exchange for the photo.

I knew she was walking
into the lion's den,

but she wouldn't listen. I...

I think she wanted me out to
be there when she gave birth.

So she told you she was
pregnant? No. (CHUCKLES)

She didn't need to. I knew.

She had a slightly
different scent,

like you do.

How far along
are you, Detective?

(SIGHS)

(CHUCKLES)

JUDGE: Ms. Calhoun,
you ready to proceed?

We are, Your Honor.
JUDGE: Mr. Barba?

Your Honor, in addition to the
two standing charges of murder one,

the defendant is now charged
with the murder of Susie Frain.

Dr. Rudnick, how do you plead?

I apologize for being
late, Your Honor.

John Buchanan for the defense.

My client pleads not guilty.

JUDGE: I know who
you are, Counselor.

But I'm not a fan of
courtroom theatrics.

What's going on
here, Ms. Calhoun?

I just need a moment
to confer with my client.

So he is still your client?

He is, Your Honor.
Dr. Rudnick has retained us both.

You have?

Rita, the state saw
fit to double down.

I thought it prudent
to do the same.

You both have my
complete confidence.

JUDGE: May we proceed?

People on bail? RAFAEL: Remand.

While out on bail, the
defendant murdered

and dismembered a
prosecution witness.

Another wild accusation.

More to the point, he is
free to travel within the state.

He has violated no court order.

That is absolutely correct.

JUDGE: Enough, Doctor.

Your bail was a privilege.

It has just been revoked.
You are remanded to Rikers.

In that case, I have a motion
to separate these three charges.

As do I.

Coordinate and I'll let the
presiding judge know what he's in for.

Good day. (GAVEL BANGS)

Hey, missed you in court. Yeah.

Hey, you look green.
Have a ginger ale.

Yeah, I'm good.

So, have you told anybody yet?

Nope.

I just found out.

And not that it's
any of your business,

but, you know,
it's not Nick's, so...

Okay. Yeah.

What are you gonna do?

I'm not gonna do anything.

Well, you might
wanna tell the sarge.

Whiskey? Does that
mean it's bad news?

(SIGHS) Rudnick's dream
team just got their first win.

The judge granted their motion

to separate out
the three charges.

How? There's a clear pattern.

(SIGHS) Not really.

The murders are
spread out over 13 years,

and the motives are
arguably different.

Lena was his fiancée,
Susie was blackmailing him,

and Rachel, she was
just easy pickings.

Crime of opportunity.
Okay, I get it.

So the Judge thought that
linking the three together would be

more prejudicial than probative.
Prejudicial than probative.

Okay, so what do
you need from me?

A thigh. Establish
cause of death.

Susie Frain is
our strongest case.

The thigh is gone,
but you don't need it.

He cut her up, Barba.

I don't care how good
those lawyers think they are,

when the jury sees what he
did to that woman, he's done.

(SIGHS)

RAFAEL: Were you
able to identify the victim?

Yes. In another bag we opened,

we found the decapitated
head of Susie Frain.

It was

one of the most gruesome crime
scenes that I've ever witnessed.

Objection.

These injuries occurred
after Ms. Frain's death.

They have no bearing
on the murder charge

and serve only to
prejudice this jury.

Overruled. I'll
allow, up to a point.

And I wanna remind
the jury that you're here

to determine the
facts of the murder

and not what happened
to the body postmortem.

Sergeant Benson, the body
on the beach was Susie Frain?

Yes, without a doubt.
DNA links all the pieces.

Nothing further.

Good morning, Sergeant.

When you first met Ms. Frain,

it was in connection with
another murder case, correct?

It was.

The brutal kidnapping, rape, and
murder of a Chicago PD employee

by Ms. Frain's
fiancé, Greg Yates.

Yes.

Did Ms. Frain
maintain his innocence

even after
Dr. Yates' conviction?

Objection. Relevance.

Your Honor, I intend
to show a direct line

between Ms. Frain's pathological
desire to clear her fiancé

and the events
that led to her death.

I'll allow.

Did Ms. Frain ever become aware

that Dr. Carl Rudnick was the
Deputy Chief M.E. for Manhattan

who had supervised the
autopsies of Dr. Yates' victims?

Yes, and I know
that it's your job

to try to make a
connection between the two.

Well, so let me do my job.

And after that,

did you and ADA Barba

helpfully arrange
for a conjugal visit

between Ms. Frain and Dr. Yates?

We did.

Once reunited, did
they both spontaneously

accuse Dr. Rudnick
of a series of crimes?

Yes, but there were also two other
women who had been murdered.

COUNSELOR
BUCHANAN: So, is it possible

that they were colluding
to incriminate Dr. Rudnick

in hopes of discrediting
him, and thus

bolstering Yates'
chance for an appeal?

Objection. Speculation.

Is it?

Withdrawn.

Nothing further.
Thank you, Sergeant.

Susie Frain was cooperating with

a separate investigation
into Dr. Rudnick.

Objection, Your Honor.

This line goes
directly to motive.

I'll allow, but only
in that context.

In what way was Ms.
Frain cooperating?

She was searching for photos

which we believed would provide
evidence against Dr. Rudnick,

but she was murdered before she
had the chance to deliver them to us.

Did you find these
photos in her home?

No, but as crime
scene pictures show...

People's exhibit
47A, 47B, Your Honor.

Objection. This is prejudicial.

It's a crime scene.

Agreed. Overruled.

So, you can see her
ransacked memento boxes.

And we also later
obtained security footage

from her mini-storage facility.

People's exhibit 48A.

Where you can see the victim
had retrieved those same boxes

the day before she was murdered.

So we believe whoever killed her

took the incriminating
photos with him.

Objection. Pure speculation.

Sustained. Jury will disregard.

Nothing further.

You just said that Ms. Frain had
agreed to search for these photos.

Is there any reason to
think that she found them?

Sergeant Benson and I were
informed of that fact by Dr. Yates.

Dr. Yates? You mean
the convicted murderer?

I see from the prison logs

that you visited Dr. Yates a half a
dozen times in the last few weeks.

I was hoping he could help me
with a number of unsolved cases.

Two of those visits you
undertook on your own.

Is that common practice
for a female NYPD detective?

He was more open to me that way.

So he confided in you?

Did he also enlist
you to help him

get a conjugal
visit with Ms. Frain?

ROLLINS: Sure.

Given that, it seems fair to say

that you had a
relationship with Mr. Yates.

Not in the way you mean.

Oh? How do I mean it? Objection.

I'll rephrase.

Did anyone in your
squad ever think

that Mr. Yates was
toying with you?

Attempting to
implicate Dr. Rudnick

in an effort to
exonerate himself?

All informants have an agenda.

Good detectives

evaluate their credibility.

Your answer is yes,
then? RAFAEL: Objection.

Withdrawn. I'll quit
while I'm ahead.

Hey, you okay?

Yeah, I thought it was Rudnick
on trial. Not Yates or me.

Lot of pressure up there.

It is.

Also, um, (EXHALES)

I'm pregnant.

Wow!

Not Nick's. If you...

Okay.

Thanks for telling me.

And I know, with the
squad being short-handed,

it's not the best time for
you, but I wanna promise you,

this is not gonna affect
my ability to do my job.

Well, actually, it is,
Amanda. You know...

Yeah, of course.
But I just meant...

Look, I know you're
gonna fight me on this,

but as soon as the
department hears,

they're gonna put
you on restricted duty.

Can't we wait to tell them?

I just wanna work
until the last minute.

I know what a hard
worker you are.

That's a really
good thing 'cause...

Because being a single mom is...

It's not easy.

Well, I may not be on my own.

(STUTTERS) My mom might
actually move up to New York.

Good, good. Yeah. (SIGHS)

Well, I want you to know,
I'm really happy for you.

And, you know, if you want
or need to talk about anything,

I'm here.

Okay.

Susie Frain's cause of death

was exsanguination.
She bled out.

Yet you were unable
to determine where

the initial wound was
made, Dr. Warner?

Correct. I believe
it was in the piece

of Susie Frain's thigh
that remains missing.

What made you come
to that conclusion?

The lack of blood in
her other body parts.

And how many different body
parts were you able to examine?

Objection. The prosecution
keeps trying to poison this jury

with what happened
to the victim's body.

Overruled, but let's
move it along, Mr. Barba.

Despite being unable to
locate the initial wound,

what did you list
as manner of death?

Homicide.

No one ends up cut
into pieces like this

after an accidental
or natural death.

Nothing further.

COUNSELOR BUCHANAN: Dr. Warner,

both Ms. Frain's
and my client's blood

were found in Ms. Frain's home.

Isn't that right? WARNER: Yes.

Defense exhibit 13.

My client had defensive
wounds on his hand

and forearms when
you examined him.

WARNER: Yes, he did.

However, I can't tell you how
he sustained those injuries.

Just like you can't tell us

how Ms. Frain
sustained her fatal injury.

Dr. Rudnick walked out of
that house. Susie Frain did not.

And yet your own autopsy can't
determine how she was killed.

Dr. Rudnick was hired as
your supervisor two years ago.

Did you apply for that position?

Yes, but that's not...

Withdrawn. Nothing further.

Redirect, Your Honor.

In your opinion, could
Dr. Rudnick's wounds

have been self-inflicted
after he killed Ms. Frain?

Yes. Absolutely.

Thank you. Prosecution rests.

The defense calls
Dr. Carl Rudnick.

Dr. Rudnick, tell the
jury, in your own words,

what happened the night you
went to Ms. Frain's apartment.

She attacked me
with a kitchen knife.

There was a struggle.

I killed her accidentally
in self-defense.

Dr. Yates had brainwashed Susie

into believing I'd
been setting him up.

She accused me of tampering
with the autopsies of his victims,

which is patently absurd.

He'd operated in
several disparate states,

and I made the impertinent
mistake of laughing.

And what did she do?

She grabbed a knife
and attacked me.

I defended myself, resulting in
these cuts on my hand and arms.

Could you step
down and demonstrate

how you received those
wounds, Dr. Rudnick?

Objection. Prejudicial.

What? Uh, how will the jury know

what really happened
if I can't demonstrate?

Your Honor, I think a
demonstration could be informative.

I'll allow it, but
don't milk it.

(SIGHS)

Is this how she held it?

Yes. She pulled the knife from the
butcher block and swung it down at me.

Like this? Yes.

I fended her off for a moment.

But she kept coming.

Unfortunately, I pushed her
wrist on the downward swing.

She'd put her body
weight into the thrust,

and momentum drove
the knife into her left thigh.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Doctor,

do you need a moment?

No.

I'm fine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

(SIGHS)

What happened next?

Well, when I saw the blood, I
knew it had hit the femoral artery.

I was in shock, bleeding.

I momentarily lost
consciousness.

And when I came to, it
was too late to save her.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN:
And then what happened?

I stitched my cuts because I
was afraid to go to the hospital.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN: Why was that?

I felt if I went in bleeding,

no one would believe
a word I had to say.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN: How
would you describe your state of mind?

I was panicking.

That's why I tried to
get rid of Susie's body.

I'm not proud of that,

but by then I felt the whole
system had turned against me.

It was fight or flight,
and I chose to flee.

And when you fled, you
disguised yourself as a woman.

Well, everyone was
looking for Carl Rudnick.

No one was looking for Carla.

Seemed to be a
good idea at the time.

Thank you, Doctor.

Mr. Barba?

Dr. Rudnick, are you the Deputy
Chief Medical Examiner for Manhattan?

I was. I believe
I'm on leave now.

As such, you would
know exactly how to

mimic defensive
wounds, wouldn't you?

What, are you implying that...

Yes or no?

Yes.

And you would know how to
cut up and dispose of a body?

An unfortunate area of expertise

for someone accused
of murder, but it is mine.

Did you use a reciprocating
saw and bolt cutter to do so?

People's exhibit 52.

A receipt for a
saw and bolt cutter

from Home Depot,

paid with Carl Rudnick's
American Express card

at 11:50 on the night
Susie Frain was murdered.

Yes. Luckily I was able to
make it there before closing time.

(LAUGHS)

As you said, you knew
exactly what you were doing.

So it is no accident that the
one part of Susie Frain's body,

the piece that could
confirm or refute your story,

her left thigh, is the
part that's missing.

Wait, you're not
suggesting I can control

the vagaries of
the tides, are you?

No, it is my most fervent wish

that Susie's limb be found

because it would
prove what I am saying.

I mean, the angle
of the blade's entry

would show her
wound was self-inflicted.

Self-inflicted? Did she
dismember herself, too?

No, obviously I did that.

I didn't know of any other
way to get her out of there.

That was brutal.

Yeah, you got some good shots
in towards the end of your cross.

Did I? Two hours. Every
time I lunged, he parried.

The longer he was up there,
the more the jury liked him.

How is that
possible? I don't know.

I mean, he's peculiar, but there's
something interesting about him.

It's weird, but at the end of our
road trip, I kind of missed the guy.

You kind of... You
missed him? Yeah.

I thought you two
talked too much.

Yeah, he does talk.

I mean, he went to the
bathroom, he was alone in the stall,

he thought nobody was listening

and he kept the
conversational ball rolling.

You know what? He talks during his
autopsies, too. He records everything.

I don't know, we
might go through them,

see if he let something slip.

They're city property.
Public records.

Yeah, it's worth a shot.
Make a night out of it, Rollins?

RUDNICK: (ON SPEAKERS)
Caucasian female, late 20s. Red hair.

Like so many redheads,
less susceptible to anesthesia.

She felt everything that
was being done to her.

I found out why he likes
redheads. That's all I got.

(SHUSHES)

I think I got something.

What, from an autopsy? No.

Video. And it's not
from the morgue.

Given the change in
tenor of this conversation,

I'm contacting my lawyer.

I'd like to exercise that right.

RAFAEL: Feel free.

We will wait to continue
questioning you until a lawyer arrives.

They can't pin these on you.

Rachel's a crack whore.

With the green nail polish

and the proximity
to Yates' victims,

that's far too much
reasonable doubt.

And Lena...

Nobody will buy Yates' word.

My only risk there is Susie.

She's dumb as a post, but she
still could put two and two together.

Mmm, if she does,

(SIGHS HEAVILY) I
suppose I'll have to kill her.

Just like the others.

Kill them all, Carl.

Whatever it takes.

Rita. It's very good of you
to come on such short notice.

COUNSELOR CALHOUN:
Of course, Carl. But I'm afraid

I have some bad news.

(TV TURNS OFF)

This is clearly
inadmissible, Your Honor.

I understand why
you'd like to think that.

Walk me through the
provenance and chain of evidence.

How did this fall
into your hands?

We asked Dr. Rudnick
to come in for an interview,

and he gave us
permission to record it.

Your Honor, Dr. Rudnick
had asked for counsel.

And when he did, we immediately

stopped questioning
him and left the room.

Yes, but you left the camera on.

He knew that he
was being recorded.

Okay, we weren't
interrogating him.

This was a
spontaneous admission.

Your client talks to himself.

COUNSELOR BUCHANAN: Not
only is this inadmissible under Miranda,

but it's also Brady material

that should have been
made available to us.

It was. A copy of
this video has been

in your possession
since day one.

You must have stopped watching
when we stopped questioning.

JUDGE: He's right, Mr. Buchanan.

If you turned this
off, it's on you.

This is admissible.

I was simply thinking out loud.

Carl. We'll let a
jury determine that.

You had the recording for
the entirety of my ordeal,

and you didn't know it?

Carl.

Your Honor, I immediately
move for new counsel

on the basis of
incompetent defense.

(LAUGHS) That's your right.
I should caution you though,

this material is admissible
no matter who defends you.

JUDGE: Dr. Rudnick, I understand
you'd like to change your plea.

Yes, Your Honor.

On the charge of
murder in the first degree

of Susie Frain,
how do you plead?

Guilty as charged.

JUDGE: And to the
outstanding charge of murder

in the first degree
of Rachel Groves?

I'm afraid I'm guilty
on that one, as well.

Your Honor, at this time the
prosecution would like to withdraw

its charge of murder in the
first degree of Lena Grunwald.

All right, Counselors.
Thank you for your time.

And now that justice
has been served,

I declare this court adjourned.

(GAVEL STRIKES)

Wait, he gets away
with Lena's murder?

Well, he'll still do 25-to-life
for the other two charges.

Maybe you two will
be roommates one day.

(SCOFFS)

He did it, you know. Lena.

He strangled her to death.

Her skull was also fractured.

Strangulation was
the cause of death.

Skull fracture was postmortem.

You sound pretty
sure about that.

I'm just piecing it together,
but if I had to guess,

Lena was his first time.

Carl screwed up,

and he had to call someone with
more experience to help him finish.

And how did this person help?

(CHUCKLES)

He probably advised Carl to

keep Lena alive
as long as possible.

Such a waste to have
her die so quickly.

Why are you telling me this now?

Because I believe when
one life ends, another begins.

You are bringing
life into this world

just as I lost my
wife and my child.

I feel a connection to you.

You'll be back

and I will be here.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)