Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 7, Episode 15 - Manipulated - full transcript
A successful lawyer's secret life as an exotic dancer is revealed to her boss and her fiancé after she and a stripper friend are found murdered.
(male announcer)
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.
Aah!
Please, oh, God.
Please, please.
No. No.
[crying]
No.
Nooo!
Aah!
Please, don't!
Police, don't move!
Aah!
Don't shoot!
Don't shoot!
It's a movie!
Keep rolling, this is great.
Push in on the fat one.
Turn that thing off.
Cut.
We're making a student film.
Rosemary's Bridesmaid.
She's a hell of a screamer,
isn't she?
Who called 911?
I don't know.
You?
Not me.
Dispatch
must have screwed up.
Gotta be 15-D,
not 15-B.
Police!
This is 3-William-56
to dispatch.
Requesting a bus
to 403 West 45th.
And notify SVU.
[camera shutter clicking]
(Benson)
CSU found wedding invitations
in our victim's closet.
"Vicky Emily Riggs
and Alan Anthony Winchell
request the honor of your
presence at their marriage."
When?
Next month.
I don't think
this guy was invited.
"Don't marry him.
"You belong with me.
Marriage is the end of love."
Signed?
No. There are about
a dozen of them over there.
Unopened, no postmark.
Must have been
hand-delivered.
Stalker, maybe
an ex-boyfriend
who didn't want
to see her married?
No sign of forced entry.
He either had a key,
or she let him in.
(Warner)
She has a tan line
on her left
ring finger.
(Benson)
He took her engagement ring.
(Stabler)
One last "screw you"
to the groom.
(Warner)
Literally.
Kit tested positive
for fluids.
From bruising on her neck,
he choked her to death,
maybe during the rape.
What about
this blow to the head?
My guess:
she struggled
during the attack.
Smashed her head
against the head board.
Dispatch said that the 911 call
came from this phone.
Any prints?
Not even the victim's.
Killer wiped it clean.
So he rapes her,
he chokes her,
maybe he doesn't
mean to kill her.
He feels bad,
calls 911.
He didn't feel that bad.
He took her engagement ring
off the body.
If he couldn't have her,
no one could.
Vicky Riggs, 29,
attorney at Jackson and Walsh.
Security guard saw her
leave work at 7:00.
911 call came in at 9:45.
Neighbors heard nothing except
the noise from the student film.
Well, since it wasn't
a break-in,
who had keys
to Vicky's apartment?
According to her fiancé
Alan Winchell,
just the victim,
her, and the landlord.
Landlord was in Phoenix.
Winchell says that
he was at work.
We believe him?
We'll see.
Just make sure
you get him talking.
Morales will
monitor the interview
and compare his voice
to the 911 caller.
You have enough original audio
to make a voice print match?
His 911 call
is only 25 words.
We usually need at least 40.
But I'll give it a shot.
This is the 911 call.
(male operator)
This is operator 604.
Where is your emergency?
(man)
Oh, God.
You gotta help her.
I-I-I don't
know what happened.
Vicky! Vicky!
Can you hear me?
She's not breathing.
I think she's dead.
Hmm, perp knows her.
Calls her by her first name.
Fiancé's looking
pretty good for it.
If you can, try to get him
to use the same words
the 911 caller did.
Did Vicky have any problems
with anyone?
No.
Anybody ever threaten
to hurt her?
No.
Well, what about work?
Any disgruntled clients?
I mean, she defended
the scum of the earth.
She thought she was
saving the world,
one crackhead hooker
at a time.
I thought Jackson Walsh
was a corporate law firm.
They do a lot
of pro bono work.
I mean, Vicky got too close
to those losers,
and I told her
to be careful.
She said I was being
overprotective.
What was I supposed to say
when she brought a junkie
home for dinner?
(Stabler)
Did she mention inviting
one of her clients
over last night?
No.
But sometimes...
they'd just drop by.
(Stabler)
Where were you last night?
(Alan)
At my office.
I'm an architect.
I was working on a presentation
until late.
(Stabler)
How late?
Maybe midnight.
I'm telling you,
I didn't hurt Vicky.
What about her family?
Her mom's in Tulsa.
Oh, God.
How am I gonna tell her
she's dead?
(man on tape)
Oh, God, she's dead.
(Benson)
Is Winchell our guy?
The vocal pattern
is distinctly different.
It's not him.
You know,
those film students
were shooting around Vicky's
building last night.
Maybe they caught
the killer on tape.
I'll send Munch
to pick up the footage.
Talk to Vicky's boss.
Find out if she's been
wining and dining
any crackheads lately.
(Tessa)
You defend
enough criminals,
you learn who barks
and who bites.
Vicky would only let in
someone she trusted.
Well, Vicky's fiancé said
he was worried
about some
of her clients.
Alan didn't like Vicky working
with the huddled masses.
But she loved it.
And you didn't mind her
burning up billable hours
with charity cases?
Being paralyzed, I guess,
makes me a sucker
for hard luck stories.
Was she working on
any case in particular
that would have
gotten her in trouble?
She was handling
a labor law case.
Organizing a union
at the 4-Play Club
in Times Square.
Strippers there
are going on strike?
They threatened to.
The Rimaldi family
doesn't want to pay
for their health insurance
or pension.
Yeah, but if you cross the mob,
you wind up in the landfill.
She was found raped
and murdered in her bed.
All I can tell you is
I did warn Vicky
about the Rimaldis.
I told her
we had to be careful.
You take money
out of their pockets...
you're playing with fire.
[cheering]
Do I look like
a killer to you?
You look like a man who
exploits women
for a living,
Mr. Rimaldi.
Joyce is about
to bleed that guy
for every dollar
in his wallet.
Who's exploiting who?
And you fleece
the both of them.
What's your take
on that, 70%?
Union in here, that'd cut
into your family's profits.
That's why I made a deal
with Vicky.
Okay?
I give them insurance.
I take 80%.
And I gave her a job.
She already has a job.
What would she want
to work with you for?
She wanted to dance.
Great rack.
Who was I to say no?
Vicky danced here?
Yeah.
Naked?
She kept her shoes on.
Come on.
Three nights a week
up there with Miss Josie.
Should have seen the sack.
By the grand finale,
guys were throwing 50s,
100s on the stage.
She didn't do it
for the cash.
She liked dancing.
Having every guy in a room
wrapped around your finger.
It's a power trip.
She tell her fiancé
about what she was doing?
I didn't ask,
she didn't tell.
All I know...
she could not wait
to get married.
Vicky ever have a problem
with any of her customers
getting too close?
There was one guy, Tim.
She called him
the wiener man.
He liked to grab his package
while she danced.
I think he followed her home
from work a couple of times.
Where can we find this Tim?
Weiner World.
Sells hot dogs.
Hey, Tim, heard you
got a great wiener.
The best in town.
Well, the girls
at the 4-Play
say your dog's
no big thang.
What's this about?
Vicky Riggs.
We hear you're
her number one fan.
She's my girlfriend.
We're getting married.
Really?
Tonight's the night.
I'm gonna propose.
That's a nice rock.
Mind if I take a look?
Vicky and Alan forever.
Where's that leave you, Tim?
I can explain.
We can't wait
to hear it.
(Tim)
She was beautiful.
Alan wasn't right
for Vicky.
He didn't appreciate
how special she was.
Oh, is that why
you wrote
these threatening
letters to her?
I wasn't threatening her.
I was warning her.
She wouldn't have been happy.
What, are you
a therapist now, wiener man?
Vicky didn't love Alan.
She wasn't gonna marry him.
She tell you that
between lap dances?
After work.
(Stabler)
When you followed her home.
I was making sure
she was safe.
You were stalking her.
I was protecting her!
The only protection she needed
was from guys like you.
There are bad people
out there.
She had no idea what some men
are capable of.
So what are you
capable of, Tim?
Stalking, murder, rape.
What are you talking about?
We're talking
about you raping
and choking Vicky Riggs
to death.
No. I would never
hurt Vicky.
I loved her!
You loved her so much,
you killed her,
and you stole this
off her corpse?
I got that
from the trash!
Trash.
She threw it out.
Behind the club, after
that jerk Alan dumped her.
(Alan)
We were calling off
the wedding.
(Benson)
Why?
Last week, the guys took me out
for a bachelor party.
And we hit every
strip club in town.
Including the 4-Play.
We walked in and...
there was Vicky
grinding on some guy.
Some of the guys
thought it was hot.
I just went outside
and puked.
I called her later
and told her we were finished.
Why did you lie to us?
I didn't want her face
all over the tabloids.
"Lawyer by day,
stripper by night."
I wouldn't want my fiancé
stripping for money.
I'd kill him.
I didn't hurt her.
I told you, I was here.
Alan Winchell's alibi
checks out.
He was at the office.
No time to slip out
and kill Vicky.
And his voice didn't match
the 911 caller.
Weiner Man
isn't our mystery caller.
Morales just finished
the voice analysis.
No match.
I might have
a match for you.
Our student Scorsese
was filming exteriors
outside Vicky's apartment.
Caught her in the background
with this guy.
Student's gonna give us
the footage for free
in exchange for a blurb
from a real-life NYPD captain.
"I catch killers
for a living,
"but even I wasn't prepared
for the horror
of Rosemary's Bridesmaid."
I gotta say this?
I've seen it.
Believe me,
nothing could prepare you
for this piece of schlock.
I asked TARU to blow up
some stills from the movie.
Check it out.
There's Vicky going into
the building with our guy.
(Munch)
Camera log says this happened
about 8:15.
That's an hour
before Vicky died.
Not even inside yet,
and it looks like
he's about to make
a DNA deposit.
Maybe she met him
at the club,
brought him home.
(Munch)
This is no ordinary pickup.
Our boy's got a key.
(Benson)
We're not looking for a rapist.
We're looking
for her lover.
I may have a way to I.D.
Vicky's mystery lover.
I called in a favor
from the state police.
They have access
to every driver's license
issued in New York.
So if the guy
in your picture has one,
we'll find him.
We're gonna look through
11 million
driver's licenses?
Not us...
the computers.
First, we magnify
the photo.
Then we compare it
to an image
in the DMV database.
Like Elliot's.
Nice picture!
Let's see yours.
(Morales)
Facial recognition software
does the rest.
Congratulations.
You're not our perp.
We continue the process until
the computers find our guy.
I set the search parameters
to male, white,
age 30 to 50.
How accurate
is this software?
Depends on the quality
of the photo.
The higher-res the image,
the more likely
we'll get a match.
Homeland security wants
to use this
for a national I.D. system.
[beeping]
We got something.
(Stabler)
Linus McKellen.
How do I know
that name?
Tessa McKellen.
Vicky's boss.
(Linus)
I'm her husband.
Tessa's in the living room.
I was just about
to give her her insulin.
If you, uh,
if you wait here,
she'll be right out.
We're here
to talk to you.
About Vicky Riggs.
Tessa told me what happened.
So how can I help?
(Stabler)
Well, how well
did you know her?
She took over a lot
of Tessa's cases
after my wife's accident
three years ago.
Have you seen Vicky
recently?
Linus.
Excuse me.
Detectives, please,
come in.
Do you have news
about Vicky?
We need to ask your husband
a few questions about her.
(Stabler)
Nice sculpture.
(Tessa)
That's my father.
Amazing, huh?
He had an incredible eye
for art.
I inherited his collection
along with his...
house.
Mrs. McKellen, we need to speak
to your husband in private.
As his attorney,
I'm afraid I can't let you.
Ready for
my daily torture.
Mr. McKellen,
are you a doctor?
No...I just
take care of Tessa.
This photo was taken
8:15 Wednesday night,
an hour before
Vicky was murdered.
I ran into Vicky.
In Times Square.
Walked her home.
(Tessa)
He told me about it.
When he got back.
Why didn't
you tell us?
I didn't think
it was relevant.
Your husband ran into
a homicide victim
the night of her murder,
but you didn't think
it was relevant?
Maybe you need
a new attorney.
Linus had nothing to do
with Vicky's death.
Mr. McKellen, where were you
at 9:15 on Wednesday night?
I was stuck in traffic.
That's the downside
to living in Mount Pleasant.
I didn't get home
till after 10:00.
(Benson)
You stop anywhere
on the way home?
Bite to eat,
go to the bathroom?
Anything like that?
(Linus)
No.
(Tessa)
I don't appreciate
this line of questioning.
You should leave now.
Mr. McKellen,
this coat here.
Is that the same one
that's in the photo here?
Yes.
How'd you get blood
on the sleeve?
I had a nose bleed
last night.
It's mine.
We're gonna need a DNA sample
from both of you.
(laughs)
Then you better
get a court order.
We will.
Come with us, please.
Are you arresting him?
No, we just need to
interview your husband
officially
down at the station.
Then I'm coming with you.
No.
No, you stay here
and rest.
You've got nothing
to worry about.
(man)
Vicky! Vicky!
Can you hear me?
She's not breathing.
I think she's dead.
Looks like we
have a winner.
Only the lab
will say for sure.
Linus, what do you think
will convict you?
Your sperm inside
the victim,
her blood on your coat,
or...
your voice
here on the tape?
Why don't we listen
to it again?
No, don't.
It's me.
I called 911 when
I found Vicky's body.
We were having an affair.
I haven't been able
to have sex with my wife
since her accident.
Vicky was smart, pretty.
It just happened.
And you fell in love
with her.
No.
No, I love my wife.
It was a fling.
That's all.
Vicky feel the same way?
She wanted me
to leave Tessa.
I couldn't.
Why not?
My wife's paralysis
is my fault.
I was driving.
We hit black ice.
I walked away.
So you stay
out of guilt and...
screw around on the side.
Did Vicky threaten
to tell Tessa?
That why you killed her?
No. We had sex.
I left.
On my way to the car,
I realized that I'd
forgotten my watch.
I went back to get it.
That's when
I found Vicky's body.
Well, if you
didn't kill her,
why didn't you stay?
I didn't want Tessa
to find out.
She's sick.
It would have destroyed her.
Do you really
expect us to believe
that in the five minutes
that you went
out of that apartment,
somebody else slipped in
and murdered Vicky?
Yes.
Look, if Vicky's death
was an accident,
maybe it wasn't even
your fault.
We can help you out.
Test my DNA.
Test the damn coat.
But I swear to God,
I didn't kill Vicky.
There's no way anyone else
could have done this.
We got him dead to rights.
The film students
were shooting in the lobby
between 8:00 and 9:30.
Six people came and went,
all excluded,
except for Linus.
And they got a shot of him
leaving at 9:12.
Right around the time
of Vicky's death.
He'll plead out.
No, he won't.
I'll get the case thrown out.
On what grounds?
Violation
of due process.
I read the case report.
Police had no right
to dig through my client's
DMV records.
(Judge Petrovsky)
The police use DMV records
all the time.
There's no privacy issue.
It's not about privacy,
your honor.
It's about technology.
The police didn't
search the DMV records.
A computer program did.
Well, the police use
computer-assisted searches
all the time.
That's how they make
fingerprint matches.
According to the Frye
standard,
a scientific technique
cannot be used
unless it has been tested
and found reliable
within
scientific communities.
This facial recognition
software
fails to meet
those standards.
This software is used
by government agencies
across the country.
It's unreliable.
CNN showed how this software
couldn't match up
a correspondent's photo
with his driver's license.
Are you aware of this,
Ms. Novak?
The technology is new,
but that doesn't mean
it's unreliable.
In our case, it identified
the right person
who then confessed
to being at the scene
on the night
of the murder.
And admission made
after the police
broke evidentiary
procedure
by using technology
unapproved by the court.
The detectives were acting
in good faith.
The detectives identified
my client unlawfully.
Which makes any evidence
stemming from that ID
inadmissible.
I have to agree.
The ID is out.
So is everything
that came after it.
Including Mr. McKellen's
arrest.
Linus' affair with Vicky,
the DNA samples,
the blood on his coat,
it's all thrown out.
For what it's worth,
the blood on Linus' coat
wasn't Vicky's,
it was Tessa's.
I guess her nosebleed story
panned out.
All we need is one
piece of evidence
that leads us back
to Linus.
Then everything we know
goes back in.
We have Vicky's
phone records.
If she called Linus,
we can re-interview him.
Vicky didn't.
The only phone calls
that she made
were to Tessa McKellen
at three different
phone numbers.
One work, two cellulars.
Why does somebody need
two cell phones?
Well, Tessa's name
could be on both phones
but Linus is using
one of them.
(Benson)
Yeah, and I bet I know
which one.
This cell phone made
dozens of calls to Vicky Riggs
in the middle of the night.
Guess who else he called?
Josie Post.
It's Vicky's stripper friend
from the 4-Play.
[knocking on door]
Josie, it's detectives
Benson and Stabler.
She's dead.
Whatever she knew,
Linus didn't want her to tell.
Looks like there's fluids
on her skirt.
(Stabler)
This is one sick
son of a bitch.
He just can't
help himself.
But how did he get
in and out
with the chain
still on the door?
Only way in is
through those windows.
No fire escape.
And we're eight
stories up.
The only person who could have
gotten in here
is Spider-Man.
No window washing equipment.
Elliot, check this out.
Spider-Man.
Same boot print as
the one you found
in Josie Post's apartment.
Vicky Riggs didn't
open the door for her killer,
he came in through
the window.
So Spider-Man either
climbed up 15 stories
or repelled down?
He repelled.
Your perp tied his tether
to this pipe.
See the friction marks?
He lowered himself down.
We found the same marks
on a chimney stack
on the roof
of Josie's building.
How'd he get up here
in the first place?
Super said the door
to the roof is always locked.
He didn't come through
this building.
He used that cable
to cross over.
What, are you serious?
Hand over hand?
Was Linus McKellen
ever in a circus?
Either that or someone's
setting him up.
I have no idea who would
wanna frame me.
Do you have any enemies?
People threatening you?
No.
I spend all my time
at home with Tessa.
These murders have nothing
to do with me.
You slept with both victims.
I never slept with
Josie Post.
We found your semen
inside her.
That's impossible.
Hey, we don't care if you're
screwing half the strippers
in the city.
But you gotta
stop lying to us.
I'm not.
I told you...
I slept with Vicky.
I never met Josie Post.
You called her
dozens of times.
Well, me and Vicky
used her place sometimes.
I called Josie
to set it up.
Right, but you never met her.
So how'd your DNA
wind up inside her?
Whoever's setting me up
put it there.
Well, how did they
get your sperm?
I mean, you just leave it
lying around?
I wish I knew.
Then I could prove
I was telling the truth.
I believe Linus--I don't think
he slept with Josie.
A man's DNA doesn't just pop up
inside a woman
without his participation.
He's talked to us twice
without a lawyer.
He's not hiding anything.
Linus is basically
a nursemaid.
He stays home with Tessa.
Now, why would that piss
somebody off so much
that they'd wanna try
to send him to prison?
Maybe the killer's trying
to hurt Tessa.
If Linus goes away,
she's the one that suffers.
She's completely dependent
on him.
Wouldn't be the first time
somebody tried to get revenge
against a lawyer
by hurting their family.
Come in, Detectives.
Linus told me
you'd be stopping by.
[coughs]
You feel up to talking?
I've got pneumonia.
The diabetes
and the paralysis
makes my body more susceptible
to infection.
Must be rough.
Linus takes
good care of me.
Your firm deals with a lot
of high profile cases.
Could one of your clients
be trying to frame your husband
to hurt you?
I'm not a criminal attorney.
I don't handle
killers and rapists.
You handle
multimillion-dollar lawsuits.
That kind of money
can turn people ugly.
And even the ugliest deserves
attorney-client privilege.
I can't hand you a list
and go let you
interrogate my clients.
I promise you
we'll be discreet.
I'll be disbarred if I violate
privilege, Detective.
You do know whoever
killed these women
could've sent your husband
away for life.
I know.
But I'm still bound by my
professional code of ethics.
We copied every public record
we could find.
Every case that
Tessa McKellen handled
in the past five years.
That's it?
Well, she only does
three cases a year
because of her
medical condition.
She still makes
a partner's salary?
She's living the high life
on daddy's money.
The court clerk said that
her father founded the firm
and left her his half
when he died last year.
Tessa won ten million bucks
on a copyright case last year.
Check this one out.
Silverhammer Protection
vs. United States.
She sued the Department
of Defense
for a $100 million.
Over what?
Looks like the reneged
on a handshake agreement
with a private military
corporation.
The court threw out the suit.
Silverhammer lost.
$100 million
is a lot of money to lose
over a bunch
of rent-a-cops.
PMCs aren't rent-a-cops
or security guards.
It's a billion dollar
a year industry.
What do PMCs do?
Profit from the fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Don't get him started
on Dick Cheney again.
Here it is,
Silverhammer Protection.
Run by Jeffrey Sobchak
ex-Delta Force Commander.
Professional mercenaries
and bodyguards for hire.
And Tessa lost them
that big fat contract.
I bet one of these
Silverhammer guys
is our Spider-Man.
(Sobchak)
Look. I know people think
we're just guns for hire.
Silverhammer's employees
are not mercenaries.
We're private citizens
with specialized training
who subcontract
to our armed forces.
You jump into ugly situations
for a heap of cash.
We do what
we're asked to.
The State Department allocates
a billion dollars a year
to Private Military
Corporations.
You must have been
pretty upset
when you lost
your government contract.
Well, there's always
trouble somewhere.
A Liberia or a Sierra Leone
in need of our services.
And we're always looking
for a few good men.
And women.
How many good men
did you have to fire
when Tessa McKellen lost you
$100 million?
About 50.
Damn shame.
Yeah?
We'll need their names.
I'll need
a court order first.
Okay.
But I'll tell ya, if our DA
has to get a court order,
she's gonna want to open
a whole grand jury investigation
into your operation.
But I'm sure you have
valid documentation
for all your weapons,
right?
We do thorough
background checks.
Psych screenings.
We don't hire nut-jobs.
What about the wash-outs?
I hire the best
of the best.
All my men are rock stars.
Yeah?
Well, this rock star
has a criminal record.
Walter Inman.
Domestic violence,
assault, burglary.
He had a beef with some girl
he was banging.
Infiltration specialist.
With an expert rating
in mountaineering.
Walter Inman!
Yeah?
Police.
We need to ask you
a few questions.
Mr. Inman.
He's running.
Liv, radio down!
Fin, he went out
the window.
He's coming down now.
That's far enough, Spidey!
Walter Inman,
you are under arrest
for the murder
of Vicky Riggs.
Hey!
Freeze!
Hands up!
Hands up!
Up!
All right, let's try
that again!
Walter Inman,
you are under arrest
for the murder of Vicky Riggs
and Josie Post.
And for assaulting one
of New York's finest finest.
Found these boots
in your closet.
The soles are
a perfect match...
to the boot prints
at both crime scenes.
It's a popular shoe.
You're a pretty
smart guy, Walter.
You really had us stumped,
but you made one mistake.
You left the chain latched
on Josie Post's front door.
That's how we knew
Linus McKellen didn't kill her.
And that's what led us
to your big messy boot prints.
Now where did you
get Linus' semen?
Did you two have little
'don't ask don't tell'
thing going?
[scoffs]
Walter, why'd you do it?
I don't know
what you're talking about.
But if you get any closer...
I'll jam my knee
in your balls so hard
you'll have to spit 'em out.
You didn't think you could
pull a confession
out of Inman, did you?
I don't get it.
G.I. Jerk wants revenge
against Tessa.
So he kills Vicky and Josie?
Why not just murder Tessa?
Because he wanted her
to suffer.
That's why
he framed her husband.
The thing that
I don't understand,
is how Inman got Linus' DNA
inside Josie Post.
Maybe he was shadowing Linus,
saw he was having
an affair with Vicky
and stole a used condom.
That sets him up
for 50-to-life.
I miss the days when revenge
just meant shooting someone.
And I miss the days
when I never
had to say "I ran more
DNA tests on that semen."
Sample from Josie Post?
Yep, I found amylase mixed in
with Linus McKellen's sperm.
Amylase, that's in saliva
isn't it?
It's an enzyme.
It didn't match Linus' DNA
or Josie's.
So I ran it against
the DNA sample from his coat.
Tessa's blood
from her nosebleed.
It's Tessa's saliva mixed in
with Linus' DNA.
She performed oral sex
on her husband
and saved the sperm?
Then she gave it
to Walter Inman
to plant in Josie Post.
Inman wasn't trying
to get back at Tessa.
She hired him
to frame her husband.
What possible reason
would I have
to frame my husband?
(Benson)
Revenge.
Your husband cheated on you,
and you wanted him to pay.
I didn't know Linus
was having an affair...
until you told me.
All those calls
between Linus and Vicky.
You were never
suspicious?
(Walsh)
Look, even if my client
had an inkling,
your theory
that she hired
a professional assassin
to kill her
husband's mistress
and then to frame him
is ridiculous.
Not as ridiculous
as her behavior.
You performed oral sex
on your husband
to get his DNA.
Incorrect.
It's the only way he and I have
to be intimate.
(Walsh)
My client and her husband
engaged in sexual activity.
So her saliva was on him.
So, when Linus had sex
with Josie Post,
Tessa's DNA
went along for the ride.
Okay.
There's one problem
with that theory.
Linus didn't have sex
with Josie.
Well, so he says.
Why would he lie?
He already admitted
to one affair.
Why deny another?
Even if he had ten affairs,
I would never hurt Linus.
I love him.
And you didn't
want him to leave.
You'd rather see your husband
behind bars
than with another woman.
I need him.
I couldn't survive
without him.
That's enough,
we're leaving.
Unless you have enough evidence
to arrest Tessa?
No, I didn't think so.
I need Walter Inman
to flip on Tessa.
He won't talk
without a deal.
Well, I'd hate
to give him one.
He planned and executed
the murders
of two innocent women.
And got paid
big bucks to do it.
His daughter Phoebe
is a freshman at Columbia.
He paid her tuition
in cash.
So he's using blood money
to put his kid
through college.
Where's he keepin' the money?
College said it was wired
from an account
in Grand Cayman.
(Novak)
Ever heard of the
Son of Sam law, Walter?
You're not allowed to profit
from illegal activities.
I haven't done anything
illegal.
You can try and prove that
at trial,
but until you do,
all of your accounts
have been frozen.
Including the one
in Grand Cayman.
How will Phoebe
pay for school?
If I confess...
will you leave
my money alone?
You testify
against Tessa McKellen,
and I'll allow you
to transfer enough money
to your daughter
to pay for her education.
No deal.
Okay, fine.
I'll tell Phoebe
to pack her bags.
Guard!
I'll tell you
what you need.
I'm listening.
Tessa came to me after
Silverhammer fired me.
She thought her husband
was cheating on her,
so she hired me
to trail him.
I followed him
to two stripper's apartments.
Vicky and Josie.
I told Tessa he was
banging both of them.
You were wrong, he wasn't
sleeping with Josie.
So you killed a girl
for no reason at all.
You do any other jobs
for Tessa?
No hits.
A little B & E.
What did you steal?
Some stuff from a lab.
What stuff?
Viruses.
Bacteria.
Strepto-pneumo something
was one.
Why did she want that?
I thought she was gonna
whack her husband,
but she used it
on herself.
I saw her inject that crap
right into her arm.
Can you prove this?
Yeah.
She gave me a shopping list
of all the stuff she needed
from the lab.
In her own handwriting.
Give me the list
and you've got a deal.
Hey, put that down.
What are you doing?
I need my insulin.
With a meningitis chaser?
Leave her alone.
Linus, they're taking
my insulin.
Your wife has been
making herself sick.
Injecting herself
with all kinds of germs.
That is disgusting.
Well, Inman gave you up.
You're under arrest.
What are you saying?
She hired a hit man
to frame you.
Linus help me.
I'm gonna faint.
Arrest me, it's my fault.
I paralyzed my wife.
I had an affair,
I made her sick.
She wasn't too sick
to plan two murders.
I need my insulin, please.
Oh, you'll get that
at central booking.
From everything that
you're telling me,
it seems to me that Tessa
has a factitious disorder.
Munchausen's Syndrome.
She's making herself sick
to get attention?
She was in a nearly fatal
car accident
and she does have diabetes.
The syringe that Olivia
and Elliot took from her
contained insulin.
But my guess is that
she just became addicted
to all the attention she gets
being sick.
Well, it's one thing
to play sick
to get attention,
and another
to inject yourself
with streptococcus bacteria.
I mean,
she could have died.
People with Munchausen's
often do.
I once had a patient
who used a catheter
to pump egg whites
into her kidneys
to cause renal failure.
She was about to be
on the transplant list
when we caught her.
But Tessa knows
the difference
between right and wrong.
That's true.
She hired that hit man,
and she planned those murders
to punish her husband
for cheating on her.
Once he was in prison,
he'd never leave her
for another woman.
A jury's never gonna let her
get away with murder.
Oh, a jury's never gonna
hear this case.
You come to plead her out?
No, no.
I came to give you this.
Not guilty by reason
of mental disease or defect.
Your client knew exactly
what she was doing.
My client
is a very sick woman.
And I think after
your doctor examines her,
he will agree that she is
not competent to stand trial.
How many times
have you been hospitalized?
Too many to count.
And what have you
been admitted for?
This year?
Uh-huh.
Pneumonia.
Uh, pyelonephritis.
Septicemia.
And meningitis.
Wow.
You look pretty healthy
for someone
who's been so sick.
Thank you.
The paralysis weakens
my immune system.
Makes the body
more susceptible
to bacterial infections.
Really?
You know, some doctors
might think
that you have Munchausen's.
You know what that is?
I'm not making myself sick.
Who would ever wanna endure
what I've had to go through?
Good question.
You're beautiful,
you're rich.
You have a great career.
I think that
you crave attention so much
that you made your husband
into your servant.
My husband loves me.
Your husband
had an affair.
Vicky seduced him.
That's why you hired Inman
to kill her.
I haven't seen Inman
since the Silverhammer trial.
He says that
you gave him a list
of bacterial cultures
that you wanted him
to steal.
He is a liar.
The list is in
your handwriting.
He was in Special Ops.
He has access to the
best forgers in the world.
So you're saying
that Inman's persecuting you?
He hates me.
I lost the case and now
he's taking it out on me
and my husband.
If I wasn't stuck
in this chair,
I would kill him myself.
Nothing in my exam
of Tessa McKellen
suggests that
she's incompetent
to stand trial.
She has no cognitive
impairment.
She's responsive
to questions.
And she clearly understands
the serious nature
of the charges against her.
But in your report,
you made a diagnosis
of a factitious disorder,
Munchausen's.
Doesn't that mean
that she's mentally ill?
That means that she has
a psychiatric disorder.
But that has no bearing
on her competence.
Her Munchausen's doesn't
impede her ability
to assist in
her own trial.
(Walsh)
But wouldn't the
Munchausen's diagnosis
itself make
a good defense?
Tessa denies
that she has Munchausen's.
She maintains that all
her illnesses
were caused by
a weakened immune system.
(Walsh)
In other words,
she can't admit,
even to herself, that she's
made herself sick.
(Huang)
That's right.
(Walsh)
Despite overwhelming evidence
that all her diseases
have been self-induced.
Tessa's too invested
in assuming the sick role.
She won't give up
the attention she gets.
(Walsh)
So you're saying that Tessa
has a valid diagnosis
of Munchausen's.
Which would make
a valid defense.
But she refuses
to use that defense.
How can you say that she's
competent to stand trial?
(Huang)
What I'm saying is...
Get a medic!
Emergency in Part 46.
The seizure was
self-induced.
Tessa McKellen intentionally
OD'd on insulin.
Proving my point.
She is not fit
to stand trial.
Your Honor, she is
manipulating the court.
She's faking illness
to get sympathy
and dodge a life sentence.
My client is sick,
your honor.
She cannot stop.
Whenever she's under stress,
she will make herself ill.
Well, then, gee, why don't
we let her off
before she injects herself
with HIV?
Nobody is talking
about letting her off.
But I'm concerned about
another incident like today.
I don't think Mrs. McKellen
is fit to stand trial
at the moment.
She needs
psychiatric treatment.
We agree, Your Honor.
And we ask that
because of the rarity
of this condition
and her paralysis,
that she be given treatment
in a private hospital,
which, of course,
my client will pay for.
That sounds reasonable.
And when she gets out,
who's she gonna kill next?
That's enough, Counselor.
My client will surrender
in the morning, Your Honor.
Her bail is continued
and your request is granted.
Your Honor,
don't fall for this.
Don't question the ruling
of this court, Ms. Novak.
If and when the defendant
is well enough to stand trial,
she will.
Until then, she will receive
the treatment she needs.
I have a bulletproof case
against Tessa,
but I can't put her on trial
so long as
she's hanging out at some
cushy private mental hospital.
At least she'll be
in some locked ward
where she won't hurt herself
or anybody else.
Yeah, but she belongs in prison
with her hit man buddy Inman.
Is there any way
to change Petrovsky's mind?
Show her that Tessa's
a manipulative
calculating bitch
who planned this defense
meticulously.
Just like the murders.
Maybe it's not the judge
we have to convince.
Tessa is sick.
She didn't know
what she was doing.
She's getting away
with two murders.
The court said
she's not responsible.
Your wife is using her illness
to manipulate you.
To make you think
that she's a victim.
She is a victim.
You have no idea
what it's like for her.
Her neurologists say
she's in constant pain.
Do they also say
that excuses her behavior?
I don't know,
I haven't talked to them
in a couple years.
(Stabler)
Well, why not?
You do everything else
for her.
Why haven't you
talked to them?
Tessa doesn't like me
to go with her.
She says it reminds her
of the accident.
So you have no idea
whether she's gotten better.
She says she hasn't.
If you haven't talked
to the doctors,
how do you know that's true?
Linus, what are they
doing here?
Linus?
Linus, what are
you doing?
[Tessa screams]
(Benson)
Look, it's a miracle.
She can swim.
And she can walk too.
Linus.
Let me explain.
Don't.
Don't!
All those years.
I took care of you.
I did everything for you
because I loved you.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
But I'm sick.
I need your help.
You are sick.
You're on your own.
No, don't leave me.
Don't leave me!
No.
What's gonna
happen to me now?
Who's gonna
take care of me?
The warden will.
You'll never be alone
in prison.
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.
Aah!
Please, oh, God.
Please, please.
No. No.
[crying]
No.
Nooo!
Aah!
Please, don't!
Police, don't move!
Aah!
Don't shoot!
Don't shoot!
It's a movie!
Keep rolling, this is great.
Push in on the fat one.
Turn that thing off.
Cut.
We're making a student film.
Rosemary's Bridesmaid.
She's a hell of a screamer,
isn't she?
Who called 911?
I don't know.
You?
Not me.
Dispatch
must have screwed up.
Gotta be 15-D,
not 15-B.
Police!
This is 3-William-56
to dispatch.
Requesting a bus
to 403 West 45th.
And notify SVU.
[camera shutter clicking]
(Benson)
CSU found wedding invitations
in our victim's closet.
"Vicky Emily Riggs
and Alan Anthony Winchell
request the honor of your
presence at their marriage."
When?
Next month.
I don't think
this guy was invited.
"Don't marry him.
"You belong with me.
Marriage is the end of love."
Signed?
No. There are about
a dozen of them over there.
Unopened, no postmark.
Must have been
hand-delivered.
Stalker, maybe
an ex-boyfriend
who didn't want
to see her married?
No sign of forced entry.
He either had a key,
or she let him in.
(Warner)
She has a tan line
on her left
ring finger.
(Benson)
He took her engagement ring.
(Stabler)
One last "screw you"
to the groom.
(Warner)
Literally.
Kit tested positive
for fluids.
From bruising on her neck,
he choked her to death,
maybe during the rape.
What about
this blow to the head?
My guess:
she struggled
during the attack.
Smashed her head
against the head board.
Dispatch said that the 911 call
came from this phone.
Any prints?
Not even the victim's.
Killer wiped it clean.
So he rapes her,
he chokes her,
maybe he doesn't
mean to kill her.
He feels bad,
calls 911.
He didn't feel that bad.
He took her engagement ring
off the body.
If he couldn't have her,
no one could.
Vicky Riggs, 29,
attorney at Jackson and Walsh.
Security guard saw her
leave work at 7:00.
911 call came in at 9:45.
Neighbors heard nothing except
the noise from the student film.
Well, since it wasn't
a break-in,
who had keys
to Vicky's apartment?
According to her fiancé
Alan Winchell,
just the victim,
her, and the landlord.
Landlord was in Phoenix.
Winchell says that
he was at work.
We believe him?
We'll see.
Just make sure
you get him talking.
Morales will
monitor the interview
and compare his voice
to the 911 caller.
You have enough original audio
to make a voice print match?
His 911 call
is only 25 words.
We usually need at least 40.
But I'll give it a shot.
This is the 911 call.
(male operator)
This is operator 604.
Where is your emergency?
(man)
Oh, God.
You gotta help her.
I-I-I don't
know what happened.
Vicky! Vicky!
Can you hear me?
She's not breathing.
I think she's dead.
Hmm, perp knows her.
Calls her by her first name.
Fiancé's looking
pretty good for it.
If you can, try to get him
to use the same words
the 911 caller did.
Did Vicky have any problems
with anyone?
No.
Anybody ever threaten
to hurt her?
No.
Well, what about work?
Any disgruntled clients?
I mean, she defended
the scum of the earth.
She thought she was
saving the world,
one crackhead hooker
at a time.
I thought Jackson Walsh
was a corporate law firm.
They do a lot
of pro bono work.
I mean, Vicky got too close
to those losers,
and I told her
to be careful.
She said I was being
overprotective.
What was I supposed to say
when she brought a junkie
home for dinner?
(Stabler)
Did she mention inviting
one of her clients
over last night?
No.
But sometimes...
they'd just drop by.
(Stabler)
Where were you last night?
(Alan)
At my office.
I'm an architect.
I was working on a presentation
until late.
(Stabler)
How late?
Maybe midnight.
I'm telling you,
I didn't hurt Vicky.
What about her family?
Her mom's in Tulsa.
Oh, God.
How am I gonna tell her
she's dead?
(man on tape)
Oh, God, she's dead.
(Benson)
Is Winchell our guy?
The vocal pattern
is distinctly different.
It's not him.
You know,
those film students
were shooting around Vicky's
building last night.
Maybe they caught
the killer on tape.
I'll send Munch
to pick up the footage.
Talk to Vicky's boss.
Find out if she's been
wining and dining
any crackheads lately.
(Tessa)
You defend
enough criminals,
you learn who barks
and who bites.
Vicky would only let in
someone she trusted.
Well, Vicky's fiancé said
he was worried
about some
of her clients.
Alan didn't like Vicky working
with the huddled masses.
But she loved it.
And you didn't mind her
burning up billable hours
with charity cases?
Being paralyzed, I guess,
makes me a sucker
for hard luck stories.
Was she working on
any case in particular
that would have
gotten her in trouble?
She was handling
a labor law case.
Organizing a union
at the 4-Play Club
in Times Square.
Strippers there
are going on strike?
They threatened to.
The Rimaldi family
doesn't want to pay
for their health insurance
or pension.
Yeah, but if you cross the mob,
you wind up in the landfill.
She was found raped
and murdered in her bed.
All I can tell you is
I did warn Vicky
about the Rimaldis.
I told her
we had to be careful.
You take money
out of their pockets...
you're playing with fire.
[cheering]
Do I look like
a killer to you?
You look like a man who
exploits women
for a living,
Mr. Rimaldi.
Joyce is about
to bleed that guy
for every dollar
in his wallet.
Who's exploiting who?
And you fleece
the both of them.
What's your take
on that, 70%?
Union in here, that'd cut
into your family's profits.
That's why I made a deal
with Vicky.
Okay?
I give them insurance.
I take 80%.
And I gave her a job.
She already has a job.
What would she want
to work with you for?
She wanted to dance.
Great rack.
Who was I to say no?
Vicky danced here?
Yeah.
Naked?
She kept her shoes on.
Come on.
Three nights a week
up there with Miss Josie.
Should have seen the sack.
By the grand finale,
guys were throwing 50s,
100s on the stage.
She didn't do it
for the cash.
She liked dancing.
Having every guy in a room
wrapped around your finger.
It's a power trip.
She tell her fiancé
about what she was doing?
I didn't ask,
she didn't tell.
All I know...
she could not wait
to get married.
Vicky ever have a problem
with any of her customers
getting too close?
There was one guy, Tim.
She called him
the wiener man.
He liked to grab his package
while she danced.
I think he followed her home
from work a couple of times.
Where can we find this Tim?
Weiner World.
Sells hot dogs.
Hey, Tim, heard you
got a great wiener.
The best in town.
Well, the girls
at the 4-Play
say your dog's
no big thang.
What's this about?
Vicky Riggs.
We hear you're
her number one fan.
She's my girlfriend.
We're getting married.
Really?
Tonight's the night.
I'm gonna propose.
That's a nice rock.
Mind if I take a look?
Vicky and Alan forever.
Where's that leave you, Tim?
I can explain.
We can't wait
to hear it.
(Tim)
She was beautiful.
Alan wasn't right
for Vicky.
He didn't appreciate
how special she was.
Oh, is that why
you wrote
these threatening
letters to her?
I wasn't threatening her.
I was warning her.
She wouldn't have been happy.
What, are you
a therapist now, wiener man?
Vicky didn't love Alan.
She wasn't gonna marry him.
She tell you that
between lap dances?
After work.
(Stabler)
When you followed her home.
I was making sure
she was safe.
You were stalking her.
I was protecting her!
The only protection she needed
was from guys like you.
There are bad people
out there.
She had no idea what some men
are capable of.
So what are you
capable of, Tim?
Stalking, murder, rape.
What are you talking about?
We're talking
about you raping
and choking Vicky Riggs
to death.
No. I would never
hurt Vicky.
I loved her!
You loved her so much,
you killed her,
and you stole this
off her corpse?
I got that
from the trash!
Trash.
She threw it out.
Behind the club, after
that jerk Alan dumped her.
(Alan)
We were calling off
the wedding.
(Benson)
Why?
Last week, the guys took me out
for a bachelor party.
And we hit every
strip club in town.
Including the 4-Play.
We walked in and...
there was Vicky
grinding on some guy.
Some of the guys
thought it was hot.
I just went outside
and puked.
I called her later
and told her we were finished.
Why did you lie to us?
I didn't want her face
all over the tabloids.
"Lawyer by day,
stripper by night."
I wouldn't want my fiancé
stripping for money.
I'd kill him.
I didn't hurt her.
I told you, I was here.
Alan Winchell's alibi
checks out.
He was at the office.
No time to slip out
and kill Vicky.
And his voice didn't match
the 911 caller.
Weiner Man
isn't our mystery caller.
Morales just finished
the voice analysis.
No match.
I might have
a match for you.
Our student Scorsese
was filming exteriors
outside Vicky's apartment.
Caught her in the background
with this guy.
Student's gonna give us
the footage for free
in exchange for a blurb
from a real-life NYPD captain.
"I catch killers
for a living,
"but even I wasn't prepared
for the horror
of Rosemary's Bridesmaid."
I gotta say this?
I've seen it.
Believe me,
nothing could prepare you
for this piece of schlock.
I asked TARU to blow up
some stills from the movie.
Check it out.
There's Vicky going into
the building with our guy.
(Munch)
Camera log says this happened
about 8:15.
That's an hour
before Vicky died.
Not even inside yet,
and it looks like
he's about to make
a DNA deposit.
Maybe she met him
at the club,
brought him home.
(Munch)
This is no ordinary pickup.
Our boy's got a key.
(Benson)
We're not looking for a rapist.
We're looking
for her lover.
I may have a way to I.D.
Vicky's mystery lover.
I called in a favor
from the state police.
They have access
to every driver's license
issued in New York.
So if the guy
in your picture has one,
we'll find him.
We're gonna look through
11 million
driver's licenses?
Not us...
the computers.
First, we magnify
the photo.
Then we compare it
to an image
in the DMV database.
Like Elliot's.
Nice picture!
Let's see yours.
(Morales)
Facial recognition software
does the rest.
Congratulations.
You're not our perp.
We continue the process until
the computers find our guy.
I set the search parameters
to male, white,
age 30 to 50.
How accurate
is this software?
Depends on the quality
of the photo.
The higher-res the image,
the more likely
we'll get a match.
Homeland security wants
to use this
for a national I.D. system.
[beeping]
We got something.
(Stabler)
Linus McKellen.
How do I know
that name?
Tessa McKellen.
Vicky's boss.
(Linus)
I'm her husband.
Tessa's in the living room.
I was just about
to give her her insulin.
If you, uh,
if you wait here,
she'll be right out.
We're here
to talk to you.
About Vicky Riggs.
Tessa told me what happened.
So how can I help?
(Stabler)
Well, how well
did you know her?
She took over a lot
of Tessa's cases
after my wife's accident
three years ago.
Have you seen Vicky
recently?
Linus.
Excuse me.
Detectives, please,
come in.
Do you have news
about Vicky?
We need to ask your husband
a few questions about her.
(Stabler)
Nice sculpture.
(Tessa)
That's my father.
Amazing, huh?
He had an incredible eye
for art.
I inherited his collection
along with his...
house.
Mrs. McKellen, we need to speak
to your husband in private.
As his attorney,
I'm afraid I can't let you.
Ready for
my daily torture.
Mr. McKellen,
are you a doctor?
No...I just
take care of Tessa.
This photo was taken
8:15 Wednesday night,
an hour before
Vicky was murdered.
I ran into Vicky.
In Times Square.
Walked her home.
(Tessa)
He told me about it.
When he got back.
Why didn't
you tell us?
I didn't think
it was relevant.
Your husband ran into
a homicide victim
the night of her murder,
but you didn't think
it was relevant?
Maybe you need
a new attorney.
Linus had nothing to do
with Vicky's death.
Mr. McKellen, where were you
at 9:15 on Wednesday night?
I was stuck in traffic.
That's the downside
to living in Mount Pleasant.
I didn't get home
till after 10:00.
(Benson)
You stop anywhere
on the way home?
Bite to eat,
go to the bathroom?
Anything like that?
(Linus)
No.
(Tessa)
I don't appreciate
this line of questioning.
You should leave now.
Mr. McKellen,
this coat here.
Is that the same one
that's in the photo here?
Yes.
How'd you get blood
on the sleeve?
I had a nose bleed
last night.
It's mine.
We're gonna need a DNA sample
from both of you.
(laughs)
Then you better
get a court order.
We will.
Come with us, please.
Are you arresting him?
No, we just need to
interview your husband
officially
down at the station.
Then I'm coming with you.
No.
No, you stay here
and rest.
You've got nothing
to worry about.
(man)
Vicky! Vicky!
Can you hear me?
She's not breathing.
I think she's dead.
Looks like we
have a winner.
Only the lab
will say for sure.
Linus, what do you think
will convict you?
Your sperm inside
the victim,
her blood on your coat,
or...
your voice
here on the tape?
Why don't we listen
to it again?
No, don't.
It's me.
I called 911 when
I found Vicky's body.
We were having an affair.
I haven't been able
to have sex with my wife
since her accident.
Vicky was smart, pretty.
It just happened.
And you fell in love
with her.
No.
No, I love my wife.
It was a fling.
That's all.
Vicky feel the same way?
She wanted me
to leave Tessa.
I couldn't.
Why not?
My wife's paralysis
is my fault.
I was driving.
We hit black ice.
I walked away.
So you stay
out of guilt and...
screw around on the side.
Did Vicky threaten
to tell Tessa?
That why you killed her?
No. We had sex.
I left.
On my way to the car,
I realized that I'd
forgotten my watch.
I went back to get it.
That's when
I found Vicky's body.
Well, if you
didn't kill her,
why didn't you stay?
I didn't want Tessa
to find out.
She's sick.
It would have destroyed her.
Do you really
expect us to believe
that in the five minutes
that you went
out of that apartment,
somebody else slipped in
and murdered Vicky?
Yes.
Look, if Vicky's death
was an accident,
maybe it wasn't even
your fault.
We can help you out.
Test my DNA.
Test the damn coat.
But I swear to God,
I didn't kill Vicky.
There's no way anyone else
could have done this.
We got him dead to rights.
The film students
were shooting in the lobby
between 8:00 and 9:30.
Six people came and went,
all excluded,
except for Linus.
And they got a shot of him
leaving at 9:12.
Right around the time
of Vicky's death.
He'll plead out.
No, he won't.
I'll get the case thrown out.
On what grounds?
Violation
of due process.
I read the case report.
Police had no right
to dig through my client's
DMV records.
(Judge Petrovsky)
The police use DMV records
all the time.
There's no privacy issue.
It's not about privacy,
your honor.
It's about technology.
The police didn't
search the DMV records.
A computer program did.
Well, the police use
computer-assisted searches
all the time.
That's how they make
fingerprint matches.
According to the Frye
standard,
a scientific technique
cannot be used
unless it has been tested
and found reliable
within
scientific communities.
This facial recognition
software
fails to meet
those standards.
This software is used
by government agencies
across the country.
It's unreliable.
CNN showed how this software
couldn't match up
a correspondent's photo
with his driver's license.
Are you aware of this,
Ms. Novak?
The technology is new,
but that doesn't mean
it's unreliable.
In our case, it identified
the right person
who then confessed
to being at the scene
on the night
of the murder.
And admission made
after the police
broke evidentiary
procedure
by using technology
unapproved by the court.
The detectives were acting
in good faith.
The detectives identified
my client unlawfully.
Which makes any evidence
stemming from that ID
inadmissible.
I have to agree.
The ID is out.
So is everything
that came after it.
Including Mr. McKellen's
arrest.
Linus' affair with Vicky,
the DNA samples,
the blood on his coat,
it's all thrown out.
For what it's worth,
the blood on Linus' coat
wasn't Vicky's,
it was Tessa's.
I guess her nosebleed story
panned out.
All we need is one
piece of evidence
that leads us back
to Linus.
Then everything we know
goes back in.
We have Vicky's
phone records.
If she called Linus,
we can re-interview him.
Vicky didn't.
The only phone calls
that she made
were to Tessa McKellen
at three different
phone numbers.
One work, two cellulars.
Why does somebody need
two cell phones?
Well, Tessa's name
could be on both phones
but Linus is using
one of them.
(Benson)
Yeah, and I bet I know
which one.
This cell phone made
dozens of calls to Vicky Riggs
in the middle of the night.
Guess who else he called?
Josie Post.
It's Vicky's stripper friend
from the 4-Play.
[knocking on door]
Josie, it's detectives
Benson and Stabler.
She's dead.
Whatever she knew,
Linus didn't want her to tell.
Looks like there's fluids
on her skirt.
(Stabler)
This is one sick
son of a bitch.
He just can't
help himself.
But how did he get
in and out
with the chain
still on the door?
Only way in is
through those windows.
No fire escape.
And we're eight
stories up.
The only person who could have
gotten in here
is Spider-Man.
No window washing equipment.
Elliot, check this out.
Spider-Man.
Same boot print as
the one you found
in Josie Post's apartment.
Vicky Riggs didn't
open the door for her killer,
he came in through
the window.
So Spider-Man either
climbed up 15 stories
or repelled down?
He repelled.
Your perp tied his tether
to this pipe.
See the friction marks?
He lowered himself down.
We found the same marks
on a chimney stack
on the roof
of Josie's building.
How'd he get up here
in the first place?
Super said the door
to the roof is always locked.
He didn't come through
this building.
He used that cable
to cross over.
What, are you serious?
Hand over hand?
Was Linus McKellen
ever in a circus?
Either that or someone's
setting him up.
I have no idea who would
wanna frame me.
Do you have any enemies?
People threatening you?
No.
I spend all my time
at home with Tessa.
These murders have nothing
to do with me.
You slept with both victims.
I never slept with
Josie Post.
We found your semen
inside her.
That's impossible.
Hey, we don't care if you're
screwing half the strippers
in the city.
But you gotta
stop lying to us.
I'm not.
I told you...
I slept with Vicky.
I never met Josie Post.
You called her
dozens of times.
Well, me and Vicky
used her place sometimes.
I called Josie
to set it up.
Right, but you never met her.
So how'd your DNA
wind up inside her?
Whoever's setting me up
put it there.
Well, how did they
get your sperm?
I mean, you just leave it
lying around?
I wish I knew.
Then I could prove
I was telling the truth.
I believe Linus--I don't think
he slept with Josie.
A man's DNA doesn't just pop up
inside a woman
without his participation.
He's talked to us twice
without a lawyer.
He's not hiding anything.
Linus is basically
a nursemaid.
He stays home with Tessa.
Now, why would that piss
somebody off so much
that they'd wanna try
to send him to prison?
Maybe the killer's trying
to hurt Tessa.
If Linus goes away,
she's the one that suffers.
She's completely dependent
on him.
Wouldn't be the first time
somebody tried to get revenge
against a lawyer
by hurting their family.
Come in, Detectives.
Linus told me
you'd be stopping by.
[coughs]
You feel up to talking?
I've got pneumonia.
The diabetes
and the paralysis
makes my body more susceptible
to infection.
Must be rough.
Linus takes
good care of me.
Your firm deals with a lot
of high profile cases.
Could one of your clients
be trying to frame your husband
to hurt you?
I'm not a criminal attorney.
I don't handle
killers and rapists.
You handle
multimillion-dollar lawsuits.
That kind of money
can turn people ugly.
And even the ugliest deserves
attorney-client privilege.
I can't hand you a list
and go let you
interrogate my clients.
I promise you
we'll be discreet.
I'll be disbarred if I violate
privilege, Detective.
You do know whoever
killed these women
could've sent your husband
away for life.
I know.
But I'm still bound by my
professional code of ethics.
We copied every public record
we could find.
Every case that
Tessa McKellen handled
in the past five years.
That's it?
Well, she only does
three cases a year
because of her
medical condition.
She still makes
a partner's salary?
She's living the high life
on daddy's money.
The court clerk said that
her father founded the firm
and left her his half
when he died last year.
Tessa won ten million bucks
on a copyright case last year.
Check this one out.
Silverhammer Protection
vs. United States.
She sued the Department
of Defense
for a $100 million.
Over what?
Looks like the reneged
on a handshake agreement
with a private military
corporation.
The court threw out the suit.
Silverhammer lost.
$100 million
is a lot of money to lose
over a bunch
of rent-a-cops.
PMCs aren't rent-a-cops
or security guards.
It's a billion dollar
a year industry.
What do PMCs do?
Profit from the fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Don't get him started
on Dick Cheney again.
Here it is,
Silverhammer Protection.
Run by Jeffrey Sobchak
ex-Delta Force Commander.
Professional mercenaries
and bodyguards for hire.
And Tessa lost them
that big fat contract.
I bet one of these
Silverhammer guys
is our Spider-Man.
(Sobchak)
Look. I know people think
we're just guns for hire.
Silverhammer's employees
are not mercenaries.
We're private citizens
with specialized training
who subcontract
to our armed forces.
You jump into ugly situations
for a heap of cash.
We do what
we're asked to.
The State Department allocates
a billion dollars a year
to Private Military
Corporations.
You must have been
pretty upset
when you lost
your government contract.
Well, there's always
trouble somewhere.
A Liberia or a Sierra Leone
in need of our services.
And we're always looking
for a few good men.
And women.
How many good men
did you have to fire
when Tessa McKellen lost you
$100 million?
About 50.
Damn shame.
Yeah?
We'll need their names.
I'll need
a court order first.
Okay.
But I'll tell ya, if our DA
has to get a court order,
she's gonna want to open
a whole grand jury investigation
into your operation.
But I'm sure you have
valid documentation
for all your weapons,
right?
We do thorough
background checks.
Psych screenings.
We don't hire nut-jobs.
What about the wash-outs?
I hire the best
of the best.
All my men are rock stars.
Yeah?
Well, this rock star
has a criminal record.
Walter Inman.
Domestic violence,
assault, burglary.
He had a beef with some girl
he was banging.
Infiltration specialist.
With an expert rating
in mountaineering.
Walter Inman!
Yeah?
Police.
We need to ask you
a few questions.
Mr. Inman.
He's running.
Liv, radio down!
Fin, he went out
the window.
He's coming down now.
That's far enough, Spidey!
Walter Inman,
you are under arrest
for the murder
of Vicky Riggs.
Hey!
Freeze!
Hands up!
Hands up!
Up!
All right, let's try
that again!
Walter Inman,
you are under arrest
for the murder of Vicky Riggs
and Josie Post.
And for assaulting one
of New York's finest finest.
Found these boots
in your closet.
The soles are
a perfect match...
to the boot prints
at both crime scenes.
It's a popular shoe.
You're a pretty
smart guy, Walter.
You really had us stumped,
but you made one mistake.
You left the chain latched
on Josie Post's front door.
That's how we knew
Linus McKellen didn't kill her.
And that's what led us
to your big messy boot prints.
Now where did you
get Linus' semen?
Did you two have little
'don't ask don't tell'
thing going?
[scoffs]
Walter, why'd you do it?
I don't know
what you're talking about.
But if you get any closer...
I'll jam my knee
in your balls so hard
you'll have to spit 'em out.
You didn't think you could
pull a confession
out of Inman, did you?
I don't get it.
G.I. Jerk wants revenge
against Tessa.
So he kills Vicky and Josie?
Why not just murder Tessa?
Because he wanted her
to suffer.
That's why
he framed her husband.
The thing that
I don't understand,
is how Inman got Linus' DNA
inside Josie Post.
Maybe he was shadowing Linus,
saw he was having
an affair with Vicky
and stole a used condom.
That sets him up
for 50-to-life.
I miss the days when revenge
just meant shooting someone.
And I miss the days
when I never
had to say "I ran more
DNA tests on that semen."
Sample from Josie Post?
Yep, I found amylase mixed in
with Linus McKellen's sperm.
Amylase, that's in saliva
isn't it?
It's an enzyme.
It didn't match Linus' DNA
or Josie's.
So I ran it against
the DNA sample from his coat.
Tessa's blood
from her nosebleed.
It's Tessa's saliva mixed in
with Linus' DNA.
She performed oral sex
on her husband
and saved the sperm?
Then she gave it
to Walter Inman
to plant in Josie Post.
Inman wasn't trying
to get back at Tessa.
She hired him
to frame her husband.
What possible reason
would I have
to frame my husband?
(Benson)
Revenge.
Your husband cheated on you,
and you wanted him to pay.
I didn't know Linus
was having an affair...
until you told me.
All those calls
between Linus and Vicky.
You were never
suspicious?
(Walsh)
Look, even if my client
had an inkling,
your theory
that she hired
a professional assassin
to kill her
husband's mistress
and then to frame him
is ridiculous.
Not as ridiculous
as her behavior.
You performed oral sex
on your husband
to get his DNA.
Incorrect.
It's the only way he and I have
to be intimate.
(Walsh)
My client and her husband
engaged in sexual activity.
So her saliva was on him.
So, when Linus had sex
with Josie Post,
Tessa's DNA
went along for the ride.
Okay.
There's one problem
with that theory.
Linus didn't have sex
with Josie.
Well, so he says.
Why would he lie?
He already admitted
to one affair.
Why deny another?
Even if he had ten affairs,
I would never hurt Linus.
I love him.
And you didn't
want him to leave.
You'd rather see your husband
behind bars
than with another woman.
I need him.
I couldn't survive
without him.
That's enough,
we're leaving.
Unless you have enough evidence
to arrest Tessa?
No, I didn't think so.
I need Walter Inman
to flip on Tessa.
He won't talk
without a deal.
Well, I'd hate
to give him one.
He planned and executed
the murders
of two innocent women.
And got paid
big bucks to do it.
His daughter Phoebe
is a freshman at Columbia.
He paid her tuition
in cash.
So he's using blood money
to put his kid
through college.
Where's he keepin' the money?
College said it was wired
from an account
in Grand Cayman.
(Novak)
Ever heard of the
Son of Sam law, Walter?
You're not allowed to profit
from illegal activities.
I haven't done anything
illegal.
You can try and prove that
at trial,
but until you do,
all of your accounts
have been frozen.
Including the one
in Grand Cayman.
How will Phoebe
pay for school?
If I confess...
will you leave
my money alone?
You testify
against Tessa McKellen,
and I'll allow you
to transfer enough money
to your daughter
to pay for her education.
No deal.
Okay, fine.
I'll tell Phoebe
to pack her bags.
Guard!
I'll tell you
what you need.
I'm listening.
Tessa came to me after
Silverhammer fired me.
She thought her husband
was cheating on her,
so she hired me
to trail him.
I followed him
to two stripper's apartments.
Vicky and Josie.
I told Tessa he was
banging both of them.
You were wrong, he wasn't
sleeping with Josie.
So you killed a girl
for no reason at all.
You do any other jobs
for Tessa?
No hits.
A little B & E.
What did you steal?
Some stuff from a lab.
What stuff?
Viruses.
Bacteria.
Strepto-pneumo something
was one.
Why did she want that?
I thought she was gonna
whack her husband,
but she used it
on herself.
I saw her inject that crap
right into her arm.
Can you prove this?
Yeah.
She gave me a shopping list
of all the stuff she needed
from the lab.
In her own handwriting.
Give me the list
and you've got a deal.
Hey, put that down.
What are you doing?
I need my insulin.
With a meningitis chaser?
Leave her alone.
Linus, they're taking
my insulin.
Your wife has been
making herself sick.
Injecting herself
with all kinds of germs.
That is disgusting.
Well, Inman gave you up.
You're under arrest.
What are you saying?
She hired a hit man
to frame you.
Linus help me.
I'm gonna faint.
Arrest me, it's my fault.
I paralyzed my wife.
I had an affair,
I made her sick.
She wasn't too sick
to plan two murders.
I need my insulin, please.
Oh, you'll get that
at central booking.
From everything that
you're telling me,
it seems to me that Tessa
has a factitious disorder.
Munchausen's Syndrome.
She's making herself sick
to get attention?
She was in a nearly fatal
car accident
and she does have diabetes.
The syringe that Olivia
and Elliot took from her
contained insulin.
But my guess is that
she just became addicted
to all the attention she gets
being sick.
Well, it's one thing
to play sick
to get attention,
and another
to inject yourself
with streptococcus bacteria.
I mean,
she could have died.
People with Munchausen's
often do.
I once had a patient
who used a catheter
to pump egg whites
into her kidneys
to cause renal failure.
She was about to be
on the transplant list
when we caught her.
But Tessa knows
the difference
between right and wrong.
That's true.
She hired that hit man,
and she planned those murders
to punish her husband
for cheating on her.
Once he was in prison,
he'd never leave her
for another woman.
A jury's never gonna let her
get away with murder.
Oh, a jury's never gonna
hear this case.
You come to plead her out?
No, no.
I came to give you this.
Not guilty by reason
of mental disease or defect.
Your client knew exactly
what she was doing.
My client
is a very sick woman.
And I think after
your doctor examines her,
he will agree that she is
not competent to stand trial.
How many times
have you been hospitalized?
Too many to count.
And what have you
been admitted for?
This year?
Uh-huh.
Pneumonia.
Uh, pyelonephritis.
Septicemia.
And meningitis.
Wow.
You look pretty healthy
for someone
who's been so sick.
Thank you.
The paralysis weakens
my immune system.
Makes the body
more susceptible
to bacterial infections.
Really?
You know, some doctors
might think
that you have Munchausen's.
You know what that is?
I'm not making myself sick.
Who would ever wanna endure
what I've had to go through?
Good question.
You're beautiful,
you're rich.
You have a great career.
I think that
you crave attention so much
that you made your husband
into your servant.
My husband loves me.
Your husband
had an affair.
Vicky seduced him.
That's why you hired Inman
to kill her.
I haven't seen Inman
since the Silverhammer trial.
He says that
you gave him a list
of bacterial cultures
that you wanted him
to steal.
He is a liar.
The list is in
your handwriting.
He was in Special Ops.
He has access to the
best forgers in the world.
So you're saying
that Inman's persecuting you?
He hates me.
I lost the case and now
he's taking it out on me
and my husband.
If I wasn't stuck
in this chair,
I would kill him myself.
Nothing in my exam
of Tessa McKellen
suggests that
she's incompetent
to stand trial.
She has no cognitive
impairment.
She's responsive
to questions.
And she clearly understands
the serious nature
of the charges against her.
But in your report,
you made a diagnosis
of a factitious disorder,
Munchausen's.
Doesn't that mean
that she's mentally ill?
That means that she has
a psychiatric disorder.
But that has no bearing
on her competence.
Her Munchausen's doesn't
impede her ability
to assist in
her own trial.
(Walsh)
But wouldn't the
Munchausen's diagnosis
itself make
a good defense?
Tessa denies
that she has Munchausen's.
She maintains that all
her illnesses
were caused by
a weakened immune system.
(Walsh)
In other words,
she can't admit,
even to herself, that she's
made herself sick.
(Huang)
That's right.
(Walsh)
Despite overwhelming evidence
that all her diseases
have been self-induced.
Tessa's too invested
in assuming the sick role.
She won't give up
the attention she gets.
(Walsh)
So you're saying that Tessa
has a valid diagnosis
of Munchausen's.
Which would make
a valid defense.
But she refuses
to use that defense.
How can you say that she's
competent to stand trial?
(Huang)
What I'm saying is...
Get a medic!
Emergency in Part 46.
The seizure was
self-induced.
Tessa McKellen intentionally
OD'd on insulin.
Proving my point.
She is not fit
to stand trial.
Your Honor, she is
manipulating the court.
She's faking illness
to get sympathy
and dodge a life sentence.
My client is sick,
your honor.
She cannot stop.
Whenever she's under stress,
she will make herself ill.
Well, then, gee, why don't
we let her off
before she injects herself
with HIV?
Nobody is talking
about letting her off.
But I'm concerned about
another incident like today.
I don't think Mrs. McKellen
is fit to stand trial
at the moment.
She needs
psychiatric treatment.
We agree, Your Honor.
And we ask that
because of the rarity
of this condition
and her paralysis,
that she be given treatment
in a private hospital,
which, of course,
my client will pay for.
That sounds reasonable.
And when she gets out,
who's she gonna kill next?
That's enough, Counselor.
My client will surrender
in the morning, Your Honor.
Her bail is continued
and your request is granted.
Your Honor,
don't fall for this.
Don't question the ruling
of this court, Ms. Novak.
If and when the defendant
is well enough to stand trial,
she will.
Until then, she will receive
the treatment she needs.
I have a bulletproof case
against Tessa,
but I can't put her on trial
so long as
she's hanging out at some
cushy private mental hospital.
At least she'll be
in some locked ward
where she won't hurt herself
or anybody else.
Yeah, but she belongs in prison
with her hit man buddy Inman.
Is there any way
to change Petrovsky's mind?
Show her that Tessa's
a manipulative
calculating bitch
who planned this defense
meticulously.
Just like the murders.
Maybe it's not the judge
we have to convince.
Tessa is sick.
She didn't know
what she was doing.
She's getting away
with two murders.
The court said
she's not responsible.
Your wife is using her illness
to manipulate you.
To make you think
that she's a victim.
She is a victim.
You have no idea
what it's like for her.
Her neurologists say
she's in constant pain.
Do they also say
that excuses her behavior?
I don't know,
I haven't talked to them
in a couple years.
(Stabler)
Well, why not?
You do everything else
for her.
Why haven't you
talked to them?
Tessa doesn't like me
to go with her.
She says it reminds her
of the accident.
So you have no idea
whether she's gotten better.
She says she hasn't.
If you haven't talked
to the doctors,
how do you know that's true?
Linus, what are they
doing here?
Linus?
Linus, what are
you doing?
[Tessa screams]
(Benson)
Look, it's a miracle.
She can swim.
And she can walk too.
Linus.
Let me explain.
Don't.
Don't!
All those years.
I took care of you.
I did everything for you
because I loved you.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
But I'm sick.
I need your help.
You are sick.
You're on your own.
No, don't leave me.
Don't leave me!
No.
What's gonna
happen to me now?
Who's gonna
take care of me?
The warden will.
You'll never be alone
in prison.