Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 8, Episode 14 - Dependent - full transcript

A suspect in the murder of a mob lawyer's wife dies during a violent apprehension by Stabler. Stabler maintains that he did nothing illegal, but the evidence may prove otherwise.

(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.

Why didn't Annie's parents
call Mommy to come get you?

They did.

The phone just kept on
ringing and ringing.

She must be asleep.



When are you moving back in
with us?

Soon...I hope, Tommy.

Even though
we're not together right now,

Mommy and I love you
very, very much.

You know that,
don't you?

Mm-hmm.

Can you stay over tonight?

I'll make you a deal.

You go straight to bed,
and I'll tuck you in,

and read you
your favorite story.

What do you say?

Okay.
Okay.

Ugh!
Ah!

[gasp]



[gasp]

Mommy!

Wake up!
Mommy!

Mommy! Mommy!

[alarm]

The father, Sidney Truex,
is still unconscious at Mercy.

Sidney Truex,
the mob attorney?

That's right.

What happened?

Blunt force trauma
to the head.

Security company said
they found him on the floor

when they responded
to the panic button.

House alarm
didn't go off?

Wasn't activated.

Either Mr. Truex turned it off,
or his wife forgot to set it.

Dispatch said
she was raped?

Raped, sodomized,
and bludgeoned.

She slowly bled to death.

Any DNA?

Not with the way
he assaulted her.

He used this candlestick
to penetrate her.

Guy's got anger issues.
Forensics?

Partial bloody print.

CSU says
it's from a tennis shoe.

Does anyone else
live here?

A daughter, Charlotte.
16.

But she's not home.

At 1:00 in the morning.

The son, Tommy, says
she was spending the weekend

at a friend's house.

Okay, Tommy see
the attacker?

He's pretty traumatized.

Patrol held off interviewing him
till you got here.

Where is he now?

[knocking lightly]

Hi, Tommy.

My name is Olivia.
I'm a police officer.

I'm here to help you.

Can you tell me
what happened tonight?

Tommy.

I know you're scared,

but I need you to be
a really big boy

and tell me
what you saw tonight, okay?

Monster hurt my daddy.

What, no top hat?

Councilman Baker's daughter
got married tonight.

Chief of Detectives paged me out
of the after-party

for answers
on the Truex homicide.

You can tell him
it was personal.

I don't think Maura Truex
was a random target.

(Cragen)
Dissatisfied client
of her husband

sending a message?

Or the perp was after Sidney

and didn't know that he
and the wife were separated.

And we're sure somebody
didn't have a grudge

against Mrs. Truex?

(Benson)
Maura was a sales rep for
Tauscher-Leto Pharmaceuticals.

It's not exactly
a high-risk line of work.

Hard to run a background
on the family

this early
on a Saturday.

Daughter should be able
to fill in the blanks.

Nope.
Charlotte's still MIA.

Family phone book
was in the kitchen.

We're calling around looking
for the friend

she's staying with.

I'll call the CO
at the one-five.

Have him post an officer
outside Truex's hospital room.

Got something
from the address book.

Family friend says Charlotte
usually spends her weekend

with her best friend
Jennifer Brown.

I don't wanna call
with this kinda news.

Why don't we break it
to Charlotte in person, huh?

(Benson)
Hi, we'd like to speak
with Charlotte Truex.

Sorry, Charlotte left
before I woke up.

Must've been pretty early,
Jennifer.

Where'd she go?

Home, I guess.

Jen, who is it?

Police.

We're looking
for Charlotte Truex.

We understand she was spending
the weekend here.

Did you lie to these detectives,
Jennifer?

Mom!
She hasn't been here.

That girl is no longer allowed
in my home.

And why is that?

Charlotte used
to be a nice girl

until she started lying
and skipping school.

I'm sure she's on drugs.

(Jennifer)
Mom, that's so unfair!

Stop making excuses for her.
Charlotte's not your friend.

She's just using you
to cover for her.

Thank you
for your help.

You're welcome.

Wait!

Charlotte's not a bad person.

It's her mom.

What about her mom?

Charlotte's been going
with this guy Ryan Bedford.

Her mom hates him,
won't let her be with him,

and that's
why Charlotte has to lie.

Where does this
Ryan Bedford live?

The Packard on First Avenue.

Can we come in?

Sure, man.
Is everything okay?

We're looking
for Charlotte.

Why?
What's wrong?

She here?

Am I under arrest?

Should you be?

No.

Look, I know her parents
don't like me,

but she's 16 and I'm 19--
that's not a crime.

Where are your parents?

St. Barts.

So you and Charlotte have
the whole place to yourselves?

Tell Mrs. Tru Char's fine,

and I'm gonna talk her
into going home.

Actually, we'll talk to her
ourselves.

Char, wake up.
The police are here.

Oh, great!

Let me guess.

My parents sent you here
to freak me out.

Charlotte,
there's been an accident.

Yeah, right.

This is just one
of her stupid tricks.

She's really getting
desperate.

Charlotte, please get dressed
and come with us.

No, I'm not going anywhere.

Your parents were assaulted
last night.

That's why we're here.
Get dressed.

Are you kidding me?

Your father's in the hospital.
Your mother's dead.

Um, look.
I'll go with you.

You shouldn't be alone.

No, stay.
I gotta be with my brother.

(Charlotte)
Tommy?

Tommy, it's okay.
I'm here.
No! Get away!

Get away from me!

What's wrong
with Tommy?

He saw your father
being attacked.

He's traumatized.

Will he be all right?

It will take time.

Charlotte,

um, are there any relatives that
you and Tommy could stay with?

My Aunt Amy lives
in Riverdale.

Tommy really likes her.

I'll set that up
as soon as I go check on him.

How's my dad?

He's still in surgery.

We won't know anything
for a few hours.

We're trying to figure out
what happened last night.

Anybody been threatening
your family?

Are you kidding me?

Half the city hates my dad
because of the cases he tries.

He even had to hire
a private investigator,

because of all the stuff
that kept happening.

What kinda stuff?

Um, curses spray painted
on our car,

garbage spread out
in our garden.

(Investigator)
Bag of crap set on fire
on the stoop.

Swastikas
on the front doorstep.

And a few days later,
cat disappears.

Lizzie shows up in pieces.

You name it, they did it.

Sidney moved out
to protect the family.

(Benson)
You have any suspects
for the harassment?

One good one.

Luccio Ricci.
Real sick bastard.

(Stabler)
He one of Truex's clients?

No, his father was.

Sidney lost
a big racketeering case.

Feds came in, took everything
the Riccis owned.

Luccio blamed Sidney,
claimed he'd get revenge.

Here.
Take a look at this--Hate mail.

"I'll burn your house down
where you sleep.

"I'll make you watch
while I screw your wife

"and little daughter.

I'll snatch your son."

You can prove
that this was Ricci?

The letters are all unsigned.

But I come took 'em
to a handwriting analyst.

They match a sample I took
from Ricci's trash.

That's enough to make an arrest.
You take it to the police?

I wanted to.
Sidney wouldn't let me.

Felt bad
the old man got convicted.

Didn't wanna jam up the son.

Where does he spend
his time?

San Marco Hall.
Little Italy.

(Stabler)
That's Ricci, hard at work.

I'm out.

How can I help you?

We need to talk, Luccio.

About what?

Sidney Truex.

That scumbag lawyer?

Charged us a fortune
for losing my dad's case.

You still managed to send him
some nice thank-yous.

I never hurt a hair
on that lawyer's head.

You just threatened him
and his family.

I was just playing.

You did 18 months
for playing.

Jury calls it
aggravated assault.

I was framed.

Must run in the family.
[cell phone ringing]

So what's the problem,
Luccio?

You just going crazy thinking

of this stupid,
incompetent lawyer

and his family
in that fancy house of theirs

free to go wherever they want,
do whatever they want?

I never did nothing to Truex
or his family.

Ask him.

We will.

Sidney just woke up.

(Benson)
Tommy wasn't hurt.

Oh, thank God.

We heard about the vandalism
at your house.

The threats, hate mail.

You're talking about, um,
Luccio Ricci.

He's been threatening us
ever since...

I lost his father's case.

When I moved out, he, um...

he stopped harassing
my family.

Why? You think
he killed my wife?

Do you?

I don't remember.

Docs say I may have
some temporary memory loss.

Why don't you try to take us
through what you do remember

when you and Tommy came home
last night?

Let's see.

I, um...

I remember walking Tommy
upstairs to his bedroom.

And I felt
this horrible pain

in my head.

I fell down,

and I, um,
must've blacked out

for a second or something.

[sigh]

When I opened my eyes...

I saw...

What is it?
What'd you see?

I saw...

my daughter running
down the hallway.

It was Charlotte.

She killed her mother.

I wasn't home Friday night.

(Stabler)
Your father said
he saw you there.

Well, my father says a lot
of things that aren't true.

He's a lawyer.
Lies for a living.

Sounds like you two
don't get along.

No, we get along fine...

'cause he's never home.

He works all the time.

I find out what he's doing
by watching the news.

What about your mom?

Her idea of parenting
was to lock me up,

so she wouldn't have
to deal with me.

That didn't work well.

I got around her stupid rules.

By using your friends
to cover for you,

so you could go out
with Ryan?

I had to.
She hated him for no reason.

She wouldn't let us
be together.

(Benson)
You were with him Friday night.

What'd you guys do?

We stopped by a friend's house
for a while,

I got pretty wasted,
then we left.

Then where'd you go?

We crashed
until you guys woke us up.

Okay, that party--
we're gonna need

the names
of everyone who was there.

I'm not dragging my friends
into this.

Well, do you want us
to question

every kid in your school?

No.

Then make a list.

(girl)
I don't know
why Charlotte would say that.

I didn't go to a party
Friday night.

I was babysitting until late.

I stayed in.
Watched a ball game with my bud.

We were kickin' it
at my place all night.

I have a huge term paper due
next week.

I was home all night
writing.

I went to a movie
with Jane Williams.

Didn't get home
till after midnight.

Really?

Jane said she was babysitting
that night.

What I meant was

I was watching a movie with her
while she was babysitting.

So what was the name
of the family?

I wanna check out
your story.

All right, um...

w-we had a party.

I knew we'd get caught.

Nice going, Suze.

Yeah, thanks
for ratting us out.

Charlotte said
she was drunk Friday night.

We may have imbibed a little.
Who cares?

We just wanna know
what Charlotte did that night.

Baby blues.

You know, Valium?

You moron.

They meant where she was,
not what she took.

So Charlotte was on drugs.

I guess.

You guess?

Okay, where'd she get
the drugs?

The Valium was my mom's.

(Stabler)
So how'd Charlotte get ahold
of it?

It was a pharm party.

As in pharmaceuticals.

Yeah, we all bring pills
from home,

dump them
into this big bowl,

people take what they want.

Like Halloween candy.
What'd you take?

Adderall.
It keeps you up.

I really am working on
a huge term paper.

And you?

Propranolol and Vicodin,
to take the edge off.

Susan?
Codeine and Percocet.

What'd Ryan take?

He was skittling.
Charlotte too.

What's skittling?

Over-the-counter cold tablets,
look like candy.

You take a bunch,
and you're flying.

Ryan also took
some heavy artillery.

Oxycodone.

There were only a few
in the bowl that night.

Ryan said our supply
was for lightweights.

So he split.

Well, what'd Charlotte do?

She left a little later.
Said she had to go home.

You sure she said
she was going home?

Well, who knows
what she meant?

She was so messed up
she could hardly walk.

You know, you guys are lucky
you didn't kill yourselves

taking all that crap?

It's medicine from a doctor.

It's not like we're doing crack
or heroin.

These kids just
don't get it.

It's no wonder.

All they see on the TV
and the Internet

is pop a pill and
you'll feel better instantly.

Yeah, but Charlotte was
on Valium and cold medicine.

It's not gonna make her
exactly violent.

Maybe she took
something else.

I wonder
if she went home

to raid the medicine cabinet
for the party.

Mom was a drug rep.
Plenty of access.

CSU didn't turn up
anything stronger than aspirin

and over-the-counter stuff.

Right, but CSU would've
only checked the crime scene.

Maybe the mom has a sample case
in the home.

They searched all the bedrooms
and the main floor.

It doesn't look like
they went down to the basement.

Looks like a bomb went off
down here.

(Lu)
A pill bomb.

The kids at the party
said the candy dish ran out.

Charlotte came home
to get refills.

Uppers, downers,
antipsychotics.

(Benson)
Charlotte could've taken
a lot more pills

than her friends knew about.

Well, it's too late
to run a tox screen

to see which ones she took.

Would any combination of those
make you violent?

No question.

And the more pills she popped,
the more violent she'd get.

We might be able to find out
what she was on.

How?

There's urine
in the toilet back here.

Maybe Charlotte stopped to pee
before she murdered her mom.

There's no DNA in the urine,
but I ran a tox screen.

The sample came back positive

for benzos, opiates,
and dextromethorphan--

cold pills.

Matches what Charlotte had
at the pharm party.

She didn't take anything else?

Whatever meds she found
in the basement

wouldn't have metabolized
in her urine that quickly.

But I can tell you
she was drunk.

How drunk?

Blood alcohol was .25.
She was wasted.

Wasted enough to attack
her mother?

Yeah, and not remember
a thing about it.

We know you went back
to your house after the party.

We have proof.

No, you're wrong.
I would never have gone home.

Why not?

Because I was high!

If my mom caught me that way,
she would've killed me.

That's why I went to Ryan's.

But you made a pit stop first
to raid your mom's office

so you and Ryan
could continue partying

after the candy bowl
was dry.

Then your mom catches you,
and you beat her to death.

I did not kill my mother!

You sure?

Yeah,
I think I'd remember that.

Do you remember what
you were wearing that night?

I don't know.

Jeans, an old T-shirt,
my green sweater.

(Benson)
And where
are those clothes now?

(Charlotte)
Ryan's. I leave a lot
of stuff there.

(Benson)
What kinda shoes
were you wearing?

(Charlotte)
Um, boots,
maybe my old sneakers.

Char's tennis shoe.

I'm tired.
I wanna go home.

(Benson)
Not yet.

When?!
(Stabler)
About 20 years?

Do you recognize this?

It's my sneaker.

That's your mother's blood.

I was there?

That's why
Tommy was afraid of you.

I did it.

I killed my mom.

Ah!

[crying]

(Charlotte)
I wanna die.

Get a bus!

SVU to Central.
We need a bus at the one-six.

Attempted suicide.
She's bleeding out.

It's okay.
I wanna die!

Shh, shh.

Mr. Truex?

What'd you do
to my daughter? Mmm?

She gonna be okay?
She's sleeping.

The doctor says
she's gonna be fine.

Oh, fine.
Sure, sure.

She's lucky
you didn't kill her.

We didn't slit her wrist.

No, but you interrogated her
without a lawyer present!

You told her she did it!

You made her suicidal with
your accusations and innuendo!

No, the drugs that she was on
made her depressed

and her own guilt
made her suicidal.

She's innocent, Detective.

Well, you know that's not true

since you're the one
who saw her at the house.

I had a head injury.
I don't know who I saw.

And stay away from Charlotte.

As soon as she's discharged,
I'm taking her home.

She's going to Rikers.

Over my dead body!

(Novak)
You can't represent
your own daughter, Sidney.

There's not way I'm letting
Charlotte go to jail.

I think you're letting
your feelings get in the way
of your judgment.

She's my daughter.
I love her.

And I know
what's best for her.

Then don't gamble
with her life.
I'm not.

And I won't lose.

You see,
my daughter's a drug addict.

She's depressed.

She needs help,
not prison.

So Charlotte's the victim?
I see.

That's how
the jury will see her.

And then
I'm gonna show the jury

pictures of the crime scene.

With blood everywhere.

And how do you think
they're gonna vote

after they hear Charlotte
sodomized her own mother

with a candlestick?

They'll see a young girl
with serious emotional problems.

That's why I'm pleading
on not guilty

by reason of mental disease
or defect.

Let our psychiatrist
interview her.

And if he agrees with you,
I'll consider a deal.

(Huang)
Tell me about your relationship
with your mother.

We didn't have one.
She never had time for me.

Did you get along?

No, we were always fighting.

About what?

Everything.

Curfew, clothes, smoking,
parties, boys.

Everything.

How bad were
these fights?

Not so bad
when I was younger

'cause I was scared
of her then.

When I got older,
I started fighting back.

Did these fights
ever get violent?

One time she threw a pile
of dirty clothes at me.

Said I couldn't go out
until I did my laundry.

What happened?

She blocked me.

I pushed her out of my way,
and she fell down the stairs.

Was she hurt?

She said that
she threw her back out.

She popped a few Vicodin,
and she was fine.

Would you say
that was the only time

that ever got physical?

Last month,

she slapped me for taking money
out of her wallet.

I hit her back,
and that stopped her.

She never laid a hand
on me again.

Charlotte and her mother
had a combative relationship

that turned physically violent
well before the murder.

Charlotte's frustration
and anger

combined with the drugs
were a lethal combination.

(Novak)
So is she culpable
for the killing?

Yes. Well, the drugs may have
lowered her inhibition,

but the latent rage
was already present.

So Sidney
doesn't have a case.

Well, his best shot is to argue
that she's a drug addict

who wasn't responsible
for her actions.

She could look
pretty sympathetic to a jury.

She's young and attractive.

Her parents ignored her,

and her boyfriend got her
hooked on drugs.

But she learned
how to use violence
to solve her problems.

She hit her mother;
she got what she wanted.

Murder is the logical extension
of that learned behavior.

[phone ringing]
With a documented history
of violence

between Charlotte
and her mother--

I can't accept
an insanity plea.

Novak.
Sex crimes.

This changes everything.

That was Warner.

She did some more tests
on the urine CSU found

in the brownstone.

Hormone levels indicate
it's from a man.

Someone else was with Charlotte
the night of the murder.

It must've been
her boyfriend Ryan.

Tommy said
he saw a monster hit his dad.

Let see
if he can pick him out.

No.

No.

No.

That's him.

That's the monster
who hurt my daddy.

Hey, Ryan!

We need to talk to you.

(Stabler)
Ryan, stop!

[tires screeching]

Go around back!
Cut him off!

Let me go!
Come here!

Let go of me!

Move, move, move!

[grunting]

Ryan Bedford--

Hey... Ryan.

Ryan!

Hey...hey!

Hey!

SVU portable to Central.

I need a bus
at 84th and First.

19-year-old male suspect down,
stopped breathing.

Breathe, dammit!

Elliot.

He's dead.

He's dead.

[faint sirens]

What happened?

Tried to cuff Ryan,
he stopped breathing.

Just like that?
Yeah, just like that.

Do you know
how he died?

Not yet.

Did Elliot use a choke hold
on Ryan?

No.
I did not see him do that.

When I got here,

Ryan was on the ground
on his stomach,

and Elliot had his knee
on his back.

Why was he
on the ground?

I punched him
in the face,

he fell...

I held him down
to cuff him...

flipped him over,
he wasn't breathing.

Did you see Elliot
hit Ryan's head?

No, but I saw Ryan
throw punches at Elliot.

I was blocking the blows
until I had to punch him down.

Here comes the rat squad.

Keep your temper in check
and answer his questions.

Detective Stabler.

Wanna come with me?

Do you understand you must
answer all questions asked?
Yes.

Failure to do so will result
in your immediate suspension.

I know the drill.

You know you can have your union
delegate or attorney present.

I don't need 'em.
I didn't do anything wrong.

Then why is
a 19-year-old boy dead?

I don't know.

Witnesses say
they saw you beat Ryan Bedford.

He attacked me.
I restrained him.

I didn't use
unnecessary force.

Well, you did something to him
because he's laying on a slab

after your little two-step.

Ryan threw
five or six haymakers at me.

I punched him once
to stop the attack.

I got on top of him
to cuff him.

That's it.

Then the eyewitnesses
are all lying?

[sighs]

Eyewitnesses, you know,
are unreliable.

Ten people saw you beat Ryan.

I think you chased him.

I think your adrenaline
was pumping.

He started
throwing punches at you,

and you lost control.

You're wrong.

You really should control
your temper, Detective.

[clears throat]

What I did,
I did in self-defense.

I chased a perp.
He attacked me.

I knocked him down.
I cuffed him.

Save it, Detective.

I can't risk having a cop
with your anger issues

out on the street.

As of right now,

you're on suspension.

I'm not a killer.

We'll let the medical examiner
be the judge of that.

The spleen is normal in color.

It has no deformities
or disease...

but has a three-centimeter
laceration

on the upper portion,
located directly below the rib

and weighs 160 grams.

(Benson)
Melinda.

I can't talk to you
about this.

Do you know what happened?

This is Ryan's spleen.

He bled to death internally
because it was ruptured.

How?

Only way to rupture a spleen
is by blunt force trauma.

Elliot did not beat him.

I'm sorry.
The facts say otherwise.

Melinda, you know Elliot!

You know that he's innocent!

I know
what this dead body tells me.

I looked at Ryan's brain, heart,
and lungs.

Everything was normal.

I wanna exonerate Elliot
as badly as you do,

but the only explanation
for Ryan's death

is the ruptured spleen.

So how are you gonna rule?

The cause of death
is internal bleeding.

The manner of death is homicide.

Elliot Stabler
could never murder anyone.

And if you can't prove that,
then I will.

[sighs]

(Benson)
Your son put Ryan here
the night of the murder.

Forensics confirmed
that she wasn't alone.

Now, only Charlotte can tell us
what really happened.

She doesn't remember.

That's why I wanna give her
a sodium amytal interview.

Let me get this straight.

My daughter's a recovering
drug addict.

You want me to let you pump her
full of barbiturates...

just so you can save
your partner's ass?

It's your daughter's ass too.

She's still charged
with murder.

Now, if Ryan is the killer,
this will exonerate her.

Why are you suddenly
so concerned about my daughter?

'Cause I don't want anyone
going to jail

for a crime
they didn't commit.

You mean you don't want
your partner going to prison.

IAB sees Ryan

as a defenseless kid
who was brutally murdered

by an out-of-control cop.

And when the Grand Jury
gets the case,

they're gonna see him
as an innocent victim.

Unless my daughter points
the finger at Ryan

and swings the jury's sympathies
over to Detective Stabler.

Hmm.

You should've been a lawyer.

I have no hard evidence
of Ryan's guilt.

The only chance
that my partner has

is if I prove
that Ryan killed your wife.

(Huang)
Tell me about Friday night.

I went to the party
with Ryan.

What's happening there?

I tell him I'm pissed
at my mother.

She says I have
to break up with him tonight.

(Huang)
What's Ryan on?

(Charlotte)
He's X-ing

He wants more drugs,
but they're aren't any,

so he leaves.

What do you do?

I go after him.
He has my keys.

But he gets into the cab.

I don't have any money,
so I walk.

Where do you walk?

Home.

When I get there,
the door is open.

I go inside.

Ryan's coming up
from the basement

with the pill boxes.

And he runs upstairs.

What do you do?

I follow him.

He's screaming at my mother,

"Give me the good stuff,
or I'll kill you."

My mom sees me,
says she's calling the police.

Ryan drags her into her bedroom.

I go into my room.
I'm so tired.

I lie down.

Then I hear my mom.

Doing what?

Screaming.

I run into her bedroom.

Ryan's on top of her.
He's hitting her.

There's so much blood.

Then the screaming stops.

What's happening now?

Ryan has something shiny.

He does horrible things
to her.

The door slams.

My father and Tommy
are coming upstairs.

Then I hear a crash,
and my father's on the ground.

Tommy looks so scared.

I just want to help him,

but he runs away.

I hear the alarm.

And then?

I leave.

Go back to Ryan's.

So I--
I really did see her.

And she saw Ryan
kill your wife.

(Huang)
She'll probably sleep
for a while.

I'll monitor her and make sure
there's no adverse reaction.

If Ryan killed Maura,

why did Charlotte confess?

(Huang)
She was high that night.

She has no conscious memory
of the murder.

She felt guilty,
and she confessed.

Charlotte really is innocent.

I was gonna do everything
in my power

to get her off...

but deep down...

I thought
she'd murdered her mother.

(Novak)
Amytal interviews
aren't admissible in court,

but it's enough to convince me.

So I'll drop the murder charges
against Charlotte.

And what about Elliot?

Will it help him?

IAB's not gonna
ruin his career

because some murderer died
in his custody.

Casey,
turn on Channel Ten.

Thanks.

[reporter on TV]
And Ryan Bedford's family

is filing a wrongful death suit

against
Detective Elliot Stabler--

Looks like a cell phone video.

They're also demanding
that he be prosecuted

for the murder.

This exclusive video
was given to Channel Ten...

(Novak)
This changes everything.

[phone rings]
IAB's gonna have
to go after Elliot now.

Benson.

Turn it down?

For the rape and murder...

Yeah, I'm watchin' it
right now.

...this video was taken.

The police department
promises a full investigation.

I'll be there.

...Detective Stabler
used unnecessary force

against Bedford.

(Tucker)
How long have you worked
with Detective Stabler?

Eight years.

During your relationship,
you've seen Detective Stabler

in dangerous
and stressful situations.

Yes.

How would you characterize
his behavior?

Always professional.

So you support his actions,

and you defend his decisions?

Yes.

Even when he
shot an unarmed suspect

during a chase?

(Benson)
The suspect
waved an unloaded weapon.

That was suicide by cop.

Well, how about
when he tricked Dr. Huang

into administering Haldol
to a suspect?

It was the only way

to find a kidnapped child.

Detective Stabler

once held a man underwater
and nearly drowned him,

didn't he?

He was trying to save
a little girl from a pedophile.

And so that justifies
attempted murder?

We work Special Victims:

molested kids,
rape victims,

the elderly.

We do what we have to do
to nail the perp.

(Tucker)
Like impersonating
a pedophile,

kidnapping a girl,

then almost killing
the suspect?

He's saved countless girls

by getting a violent predator
off the streets.

Well, who was he saving

when he almost beat
his ex-partner to death

in a bathroom?

He saved that cop's son
from committing suicide.

And Elliot went
into counseling after that.

Detective Stabler
has a long history

of violent behavior.

Are you sure you want
to keep defending his actions?

My partner is not a killer.

IAB's interviewing Munch
and Fin now.

I go in this afternoon.

What are you gonna tell 'em?

(Stabler)
You won't have
to say anything.

Look, the press
has already convicted me.

IAB has suspended me.

Grand Jury will indict.

That's the worst-case scenario.

Well...

it's reality.

Elliot, we can fight this.

I'm not givin' up on you.

It's over.

[knock at door]

I just heard.

I'm so sorry, Elliot.

Well, Melinda,
you were doing your job.

And, um...

I wouldn't ask
for anything different.

[shouting]

Don't torture yourself.

I have to testify

for the Grand Jury
tomorrow morning.

I keep watching that tape,

looking for where
it all went wrong.

I never meant
to hurt Ryan.

I mean, hell,
I tried to save him.

What do you mean?

[sighs]

I gave him CPR
when he stopped breathing.

No one told me that.

That wasn't in the EMS report.

Well, I stopped
by the time they got there.

Well, that changes everything.

The chest compressions
could have ruptured his spleen.

Well, look,
I had to do something.

He stopped breathing.

Which means he was dead
before you ruptured his spleen.

Okay, so what killed him?

I don't know.

I didn't miss anything
on autopsy.

I'm sure of it.

You have a copy
of the case file?

Yeah, yeah.

(Warner)
Any Juvie records?

(Stabler)
Yeah, right here.

What drugs was Ryan on
the night of the murder?

"Cold tablets, Oxycodone,
and Ecstasy."

He wasn't on those
when he died.

What else was
in the candy bowl?

"Valium, Ritalin,

"Propranolol...

Vicodin."

Wait a minute.

Propranolol's a beta blocker

taken by people
with heart problems.

I need to see
Ryan's medical records.

(Fritz)
What did you find

in Ryan Bedford's
medical records?

Ryan had been diagnosed
with a cardiac condition

called Long Q-T syndrome.

Would you
tell the Grand Jury

what that is?

An abnormal disturbance
in the heartbeat,

which could lead

to cardiac arrest
if left untreated.

Why wasn't this in your report,
Doctor?

Because you can't

see an arrhythmia
on autopsy.

That's why I missed it.

Dr. Warner,
does this change your opinion

of how Ryan Bedford died?

Absolutely.

Ryan had a prescription
for Propranolol,

but he wasn't taking his meds,

which put him at risk
for sudden death.

The combination
of his heart condition

and the stress
of running from Elliot

caused an arrhythmia
that killed him.

How'd you
figure it out?

Ryan brought Propranolol

to the pharm party.

That's not your typical
recreational pharmaceutical.

So what's the deal?
(Fritz)
I put it to a vote.

No true bill.

You're cleared,
Detective.

Thank you.

Welcome back.

Elliot, what is it?

We need to talk.

I saw the news.

I knew you didn't kill that boy.

It's been a rough couple days.

And I've had time to think
about what's important to me.

I love my job...

and I love my family.

And I nearly lost both of 'em.

I wanna come home.

[wolf howling]