Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 8, Episode 3 - Recall - full transcript
Stabler and his new partner go after a possible serial rapist with the help of an unlikely victim from 30 years earlier.
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.
He's going for the river.
Hey, there he goes.
Watch out.
Heard you two ran a marathon.
Yeah, sure. Perp
won. We lost him.
Dispatch has your crime
scene down at John Street.
First, I want you to
check out these cars.
Which cars?
Jag and the Chevy. Our
boy was hiding between.
He wasn't wearing gloves.
I'll dust for prints.
Was the suspect armed?
Not sure. Never
got that close to him.
Any word on the victim?
She's at Downtown Hospital,
moving on her own steam.
Rape kit's done. They're just
checking her for internal injuries.
What did he do to her?
Nikki? These detectives are
from the Special Victims Unit.
Hi, Nikki. Can we come in?
I'm Detective Stabler. This
is my partner, Detective Beck.
Why me? Why did
he do this to me?
We're going to take
care of you, Nikki.
First thing we're gonna do is
get you some clothes, okay?
How's Nikki? Comfortable.
Waiting for yours truly to find
her a ginger ale in this dump.
How bad?
She told the doc M to P, P to V.
M to P?
Mouth to penis. P to V.
I get it.
You usually catch these perps?
Well, most rapes, the
women know their attackers.
So those become he
said, she said cases.
Those are the toughest to
prove what actually happened.
What about serial rapists?
We had 11 working
Manhattan last year.
We collared seven,
two by accident.
They were just cold DNA hits
on guys in the system already.
You ready?
Ready?
Interview the victim while
it's still fresh in her head.
I've collared a few rapists who
were wanted on other charges.
Why don't I hit the
computer and see
if CRIMS has anyone with our
guy's MO and an active warrant?
Good idea.
What happened next, Nikki?
He...
He made me get
on my knees and...
And go down on him.
And then he told me to
pull down my pants and...
And slammed me
up against the wall.
And raped me from behind.
Did he do anything
when he was done?
He...
He wiped me down with those
Wet-Naps that have alcohol in them.
Anything at the crime scene?
Nothing. CSU
couldn't find hairs,
fibers or any of the
trash from those wipes.
How about what he looked like?
I think he was older,
like... Like in his forties.
Could you describe
him to one of our artists?
Yeah, I'll try, but...
I mean, it was dark.
I saw something
on his hand, though.
And what was on his hand?
A scar. It looked like a...
Like a capital "L" with the
bottom-line going the wrong way.
First precinct just
called. No sign of him.
Probably hopped on a
subway. You shut the door?
Everything okay?
Well, you tell me.
How's she doing out there?
Great. We were totally in
sync chasing down the perp.
Word on her is that she's a pro.
Maybe too much of one.
I'm hearing her CO in
Warrants dumped her.
For what?
Being overzealous.
Average collars per month
for a Warrants detective is eight.
She's bringing in 12, 13 perps.
Right. And making
everybody else look bad.
That's not overzealous,
that's talent.
Going through the wrong door
and roughing up some innocent
civilian doesn't show talent.
Now's it's only rumor and I
don't know the circumstances,
but until I find out otherwise,
you keep an eye on her.
Excuse me, Captain.
Am I interrupting?
Not at all. You got something?
Yeah. Spoke to O'Halloran.
CSU hit pay dirt on
the prints off the Jaguar.
Barry Cole, 32, did a nickel
at Fishkill for a push-in robbery.
Which turned into an assault.
Last known address, Brooklyn.
Go get him.
It's two blocks away.
City pay for that thing?
No, I did. But it's
worth every penny.
It's got my contacts, email,
Internet, maps, you name it.
You should get one. No, thanks.
My kids had to help me program
the speed dial on my
cell phone. No way.
What's that accent?
European or something?
I was born in Denmark. I
came here after I got married.
Your husband from Denmark?
No, from here.
But he was stationed in Germany
when he was in the military
and we met when I
was studying there.
What happened to your partner?
Olivia got pulled for
an undercover job.
How long were you together?
Seven years. How long
were you in Warrants?
Three and a half.
Just had enough?
It's up here. Turn left.
Look under the door.
Who the hell is it?
Police.
How many?
Wait a minute. I've
got to put something on.
I need you to
open that door now.
Okay.
What do you want at this hour?
Barry Cole.
He's not here. I
haven't seen him.
You mind if we come
on in and take a look?
Just make it quick because
I've got to work in the morning.
I've got to get some sleep.
Did Barry do something wrong?
Who sleeps here?
I fell asleep watching TV.
Stabler.
It's still warm. Someone
was just sleeping here.
Ophelia, you're
lying. Where is he?
He's running. Take the front.
Got it.
Come on. Get up.
Barry Cole, you're
under arrest for rape.
Rape? I didn't rape anybody.
Impact baton, huh?
Yep.
You should lose the sport
jacket and shoes. Slow you down.
Yeah, well, I'm not saying
anything to you people.
You should've taken me
to the hospital. Shut up.
Hey, great work on
those prints. Thanks.
Hey, you got a second?
Yeah. Your collar.
I'll go get him booked.
Come on, sweetheart.
Did she tell you anything about
our conversation last night?
Just that you got a match
on Barry Cole. Why?
Because I told her I
wasn't done processing
all the prints when
she called me.
You saying it's not Barry?
The Jaguar we found
his prints on was a rental.
So I called the rental agency.
Barry works there
processing cars.
Okay, so he borrowed
one to do the rape.
I don't think so.
The only place they found his prints
were on the passenger side window.
Our guy was hiding
next to the driver's side.
Also, your guy was
probably crouched like this.
Touching the car to
keep his balance, like this.
Did you find that
pattern on the Jag?
Ten perfect fingertips.
In the system?
He's not in AFIS, so he
doesn't have a criminal record.
But he's in the state system.
Name's Martin Trenway.
Printed back in '77
when he became Assistant
District Attorney here in Manhattan.
Did you tell her that?
Sure, I called her back,
but Barry Cole's got a record,
so she thought he
looked good for it.
Hey, I don't want to
cause any problems.
Just saved our asses.
Detective Beck?
Something wrong?
Cut him loose.
Cut him loose, why?
You know damn well why.
Barry had a record. I
thought he was the best lead.
But he wasn't the only lead.
Now if you had only
listened to O'Halloran,
we wouldn't have spent
the night chasing our tails
instead of looking for this guy.
Cut him loose before
the Captain finds out.
Who's the piano player?
A lawyer. Used to be an A.D.A.
How can I help you, detectives?
We're here about
the Jaguar you rented.
I don't remember getting
any parking tickets.
A car by the same
description was used
in a robbery in
Brooklyn yesterday.
One of our officers
spotted yours in a parking lot
under the FDR
Drive, called it in.
You don't think I committed
the crime, do you?
Well, sir, you know how it is.
You know, we get the call.
You have to check it
out. Yeah, of course.
Well, I rented the car
yesterday afternoon
to go to Jersey
for a deposition.
You came back to
the office afterward?
Around 6:00 in the evening.
I have a receipt from the
toll of the Holland Tunnel
if you want to see it.
No, that won't be necessary. I think
we've taken up enough of your time.
Not at all. Glad to oblige.
Carpal tunnel?
No. I just busted my
wrist playing basketball.
Teach me to set a pick
against my 17-year old son, huh?
Yeah.
Typical trial lawyer. Has
an answer for everything.
I just want to see if he's got
a backwards L-shaped scar
underneath that brace of his.
I don't need to.
The composite Nikki West
gave us looks a lot like him.
Yeah, it looks a
lot like Trenway
and probably 10,000 other
white guys who live in the city.
Ten thousand other white guys
didn't leave their prints on that Jag.
Yes, but Martin Trenway is one of the
biggest personal injury attorneys in town.
So if we're going to accuse him,
we've got to make sure
we have our ducks in a row.
What do we know about
Trenway personally?
Fifty-four. Grew up in Queens,
Douglaston. Cardozo High School.
College at Cornell,
Duke law school.
Married to the same
woman for 30 years.
Two teenaged sons, lives
in Stamford, Connecticut.
Keeps a pied-à-terre one
block from Gracie Mansion.
And he's never been
in trouble with the law.
He's a lawyer. He knows how
to hide evidence, like our rapist.
He's got his MO down cold.
Middle-aged men don't suddenly
become rapists out of the blue.
Well, there are rare cases.
High functioning men like Trenway
sometimes have a history
of psycho-sexual problems,
like addictions to
pornography and violence
that they've managed
to keep under wraps.
Let's put Trenway in a lineup.
That's risky.
I think we lucked
out with the sketch.
Nikki said that she didn't
get a good look at him.
But she did get a
good look at his hand.
Are you ready?
I guess so.
Gentlemen, make a
fist, keep your hand still.
Thank you, gentlemen.
You're arresting me because
of a scar on my hand?
Do you know how many
people have one just like mine?
Where's it from?
Tendon transfer surgery
from when I broke my wrist.
You know what? I
want to remind you again
that you have the right to
have an attorney present.
I am an attorney. I know
my rights. I didn't do anything.
Where were you last
night around 11:00?
My office, working late.
Okay, think about this.
What time did you leave?
Around midnight.
You can check the
security logs of the building.
We did. We also checked
with the security guard on duty.
He said you left at 9:45 and told
him not to bother putting it in the book.
Yeah, I stepped
out to grab a bite.
He said you were
gone until around 11:00.
Funny that the rape and the chase
happened all around the same time.
How many men are out on the
street in that area at that hour?
It doesn't matter. We've got
you. Show him the photos.
Only one man hid behind
this car and left his fingerprints.
That would be you.
Come on.
I dropped my briefcase
when I got back from Jersey.
It popped open,
some papers flew out.
I guess I must have touched
the car when I bent down to get it.
Not like this, you didn't.
You're going to arraignments.
Trenway's got a lot of
friends in there and no priors.
There's no way he
was getting remanded.
Right, but $25,000
bail is a joke.
Maybe he'll do another rape
between now and the trial.
Where are you going?
Hey, guys. You want a story?
I got a story for you.
Martin Trenway, the big
PI lawyer, right over there?
Just got charged with rape.
Still rolling? You bet.
Mr. Trenway? Mr. Trenway?
Mr. Trenway, is it true you've
been charged with rape?
Yes, yes, yes, but it is really
a case of mistaken identity.
How were you
identified as a rapist?
When did the police
say it happened?
Hand lineup was a good idea.
Trenway's right, though. A lot of
people probably have that same scar.
I'm Detective Tutuola.
You don't want to talk to me.
This is the detective who
got his mug on the front page.
Detective Beck, this is Heather
Stark. She'd like to say thank you.
I knew when I saw the picture...
You don't have to say
anything. I was just doing my job.
But I remember him.
I'm Detective Stabler.
Hi.
You recognize that man?
Five years ago,
I was going into a subway
station on 104th and Broadway,
when a man knocked
me into a parked car.
I fell and something hit me
in the head like he kicked me.
What happened next?
He opened the car and
pushed me into the backseat.
And then he hit me again.
Do you remember
what kind of car it was?
No. Okay.
He knocked me out
because when I woke up
we were in some
abandoned lot. He had a knife.
He made me perform oral sex
and he raped me.
What happened afterwards?
He made me get out of the car.
And he took off. And somehow
I found my way to a gas station.
Turned out he drove
me to Long Island City.
Why are you so sure Martin
Trenway is the man who raped you?
We were in the car.
He tried to rape me from behind,
but he was too tall.
So he got on top of me.
He told me to close my
eyes, but I didn't, so...
When I saw this
picture, I started to shake.
I know it's him.
I'll never forget his face.
Is there somebody
I can call for you?
Yeah, my friend Melissa
would be a good person.
Oh, my God. Is that me?
John, this is Heather.
She needs someplace
private to make a phone call.
My pleasure.
What are you doing?
That woman just relived the
worst experience of her life.
She doesn't need to see
the way she looked that night.
Her case file's right there.
How did you get it so fast?
It was a Queens SVU case.
They're swamped,
so they let us have it.
We watched you
interview Heather.
Rapist's MO is very
close to Nikki West's.
Check out the composites.
Either of them could be Trenway.
Heather's interview five
years ago reads word-for-word
with what she just told
me. She's consistent.
Well, the defense will still argue
her ID of Trenway was improper.
Because she picked him out of the
newspaper instead of a photo lineup.
We may not need an ID.
Heather's clothes and rape kit
were inventoried with fluids present.
DNA wouldn't have been processed
back then unless they had a suspect.
All the case evidence is at
the property clerk in Queens.
Statute of limitations is
up in four days on this one.
Get a warrant on Trenway's
DNA. Find that evidence.
Log says that file number
should be right here.
Well, it's not here, so
where do we look next?
It could be anywhere.
The place leaks so bad
we've had to move stuff around.
You mean you've lost it?
It's not lost.
Sometimes it just
takes a while to find it.
So find it.
I've got two dozen cases ahead of
you. It could take a couple of weeks.
We don't have a couple of weeks.
This one doesn't get found, we got
a rapist who goes out on the street.
You're on the list.
No wonder they took your gun
and stuck you in this hellhole.
Screw you, lady. Now
you can find it yourself.
Someone should
have fired that idiot.
So, you got any
friends who can undo
the mess you just made in there?
The mess I just made?
Look, the guy may be a loser,
but bullying him doesn't help us.
So what are you saying?
I'm saying you're running
around half-cocked like
you're still yanking bail
jumpers off the street.
It's about getting
inside people's heads.
Your problem is every
perp smells the same to you.
Yeah, they do.
Well, they're not.
They're not the same. You've
got Trenway, he's a lawyer.
You get him in the box, you
work him. You don't get in his face.
And you don't turn
your back on the victims,
like you did with Heather Stark.
Heather, can you please
describe the injuries
your attacker inflicted upon
you in addition to the rape?
He fractured my skull.
Broke my nose and
my right eye socket.
My whole face was a mess.
I needed plastic surgery.
Do you know who did this to you?
Yes, Martin Trenway.
He's sitting right over there.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Miss Stark, you testified that you
were sure that Mr. Trenway raped you
because you recognized
him from the newspapers.
That's correct.
The article printed after he had
been arrested for another rape.
Yes.
How often do you read the paper?
Every day.
Any one in particular?
The Ledger.
You're aware that Mr. Trenway's
a very well-known
attorney in town.
Yes, I am.
So it wouldn't
surprise you to hear
that he'd been in the newspaper
before he was accused of rape.
No, it wouldn't.
Do you know how many times
Mr. Trenway's picture was in The Ledger
in the five years since
you were attacked?
No, sir. I don't.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-two times.
So since you read
The Ledger every day,
you had to have seen
my client's face before.
Objection. Calls
for speculation.
I'll withdraw the question.
Miss Stark,
isn't it possible that
you recognize my client
because you'd seen him
in the paper previously,
not because he attacked you?
I was looking at him the
entire time he was raping me.
I know it's him.
Then why didn't
you call the police
one of the other 22 times
you saw his face in the paper?
I don't know.
No further questions.
Eyewitness testimony is the
least reliable of all evidence.
As an expert in
the field, Dr. Polk,
I'm sure that you can
cite studies to back that up.
Dozens of them. But the best
proof comes from the real world.
Of the first group of
murderers and rapists
whose convictions were
overturned by DNA evidence,
more than 80% were found guilty
based on mistaken
eyewitness testimony.
Now wait a minute. How
is that possible, Doctor?
Most jurors believe that human
memory works like a videotape.
That our minds play back an
event exactly as it was recorded.
So, when Miss Stark says,
five years after she was raped,
that she's sure beyond any doubt
that Mr. Trenway
attacked her, is she lying?
Absolutely not.
She's telling the truth as she
believes she remembers it,
but her memory of
that horrible event
can always be
changed by suggestion.
Whether intentional or not.
Like a suggestion in
a newspaper article
naming my client as the
defendant in another rape case?
Yes.
Nothing further.
People's 7, Your Honor.
This is a composite
based on a description
Heather Stark gave detectives the
night she was attacked five years ago.
Now, do you think it
looks like Martin Trenway?
Well, yes, it could be him,
but the fact that he's sitting a few
feet away is very suggestive, though.
Yes, but we've heard
testimony that for seven hours
after Heather Stark was raped and
beaten, she was first hospitalized,
poked, prodded,
photographed, sutured,
cleaned up and
interviewed by the police.
And yet after all that, after
all the possible suggestion
that she might have
been influenced by,
she still gave a description
of her attacker that,
even you agree,
resembles the defendant.
Dr. Polk, taking into account
the trauma that she experienced
and given her accuracy
then and her confidence now,
isn't it possible Miss
Stark correctly identified
Mr. Trenway as her attacker?
Yes.
Thank you, Doctor.
We'll pick up again after lunch.
Tell me that you guys are
here because you found it.
It's already at the
M.E.'s being processed.
I've got to get the
results in on rebuttal.
Not so fast. There
might be a problem.
The rape kit and clothing
at one time had been wet.
That caused mold to grow
on the biological material.
So, it's no good?
We lucked out.
Got a couple of DNA markers
suitable for comparison.
Okay, and?
I have definitive proof.
We got him.
I wish.
These results aren't even close.
Martin Trenway could not
have raped Heather Stark.
The whole time he was raping me,
I was staring right at his face,
so that I could remember
everything about him.
This is wrong. It's
got to be wrong.
The DNA can't be wrong, Heather.
Miss Stark. Listen, I...
Get the hell away from me.
Detectives. Counselor.
How could... How could I be
so sure about this and be wrong?
It's got to be a
mistake, don't you think?
Heather, I'm sorry
another man did this to you.
Now, we'll run the
DNA through the system.
If he's been arrested for any
crime anywhere, we'll get him.
It's too late now.
I'm sorry.
She's right. Even if we
find whoever raped her,
the statute of
limitations has run out.
She never gets justice.
Hope we get some for Nikki West.
We've got Trenway.
If he's the man
who attacked her.
It is him. No alibi, the ID of his
hand, the fingerprints on his car.
We put him on trial now,
we make him a martyr.
He's already the poster
boy for mistaken identity.
Well, what more do you need?
Short of a confession, another
victim who'll testify Trenway raped her.
We already went back five
years, didn't find anything.
Novak wants us
to go back further,
find someone she can put on
the stand as a Molineux witness
to swear Trenway raped her,
show that he'd done it before.
I don't even know why there is a
statute of limitations on rape anymore
now that we have DNA.
To prevent eyewitnesses like Heather
Stark from accusing the wrong person.
What time did she get
here? She never left.
Some people shouldn't
be allowed to drink coffee.
Dani, what is this?
Trenway. I got him.
Yeah, how?
There were 14 unsolved
beatings and rapes upstate in Ithaca
from 1970 to 1974.
The same years Trenway
went to college there.
The cops said that
the attacks stopped
at exactly the time Trenway
left for law school at Duke.
Okay, let me guess, the
police in North Carolina handled
a similar string of rapes that
started right about that same time?
11 victims. From August
of '74 to May of '77.
All unsolved.
But I think we'll find more of
Trenway's work closer to home.
How do you figure?
Well, Trenway rented that Jaguar
to go see a client
in Jersey, right?
He lives in Connecticut...
Could have been raping women
all over the tri-state area for years.
But we'd never know
because nobody shares
information
across jurisdictions.
Right. Now, Trenway grew
up in Queens, Douglaston.
So I pulled all the
unsolved cases
from 1967 to 1970
when he was a teenager.
No rapes with his MO, but there
were two assaults in his neighborhood.
One, the victim was a
guy, so we can discard that.
The other was a woman
assaulted in her house.
Lorraine Delmas, 32. Broken
nose, cheekbone, jawbone.
Where have I heard that before?
Or seen it.
These photos could be
carbon copies of Nikki West.
That woman would be in
her seventies if she's still alive.
I think she is.
What makes you think that?
I've seen this face.
Mrs. Delmas?
Miss Delmas.
I'm Detective Stabler, this
is my partner Detective Beck.
I saw you in court two
days ago. In the gallery.
Please come in.
I assume you are here
to ask me about Marty.
How long have you known him?
Ever since he was a boy.
His mother and I
were best friends.
You must have been shocked
when he was accused of
assaulting those women.
It was nice you came
to court to support him.
I wanted to see
what would happen.
So you were pleased that
the charges were dropped?
Yes.
How did you meet Marty's mother?
Marie and I were
little girls together.
We grew up in the same town.
In France?
St. Remy de Provence.
She met and married
her husband there, James.
And James' brother
fell in love with me
and I moved here to be with him.
But you never married.
We broke up after
Marie died.
Did you stay in
touch with Marty?
On her deathbed, she made
me promise to take care of him.
What about his father?
After his mother died, Marty
became a very difficult child.
He couldn't communicate
with his father,
so he spent most of
his time here with me.
You were close?
Yes. Miss Delmas.
Please call me Lorraine.
Lorraine,
why were you sitting so
far away from Marty in court?
We haven't spoken
for nearly 40 years.
Did something happen?
Marty went away to
college. We just lost touch.
Do you remember, was that before
or after you were
attacked in your home?
I'd rather not talk about that.
I understand it brings
back painful memories.
Lorraine, I read the police
reports from that night.
Whoever hurt
you didn't break in.
Did you know the
man who attacked you?
Well, it happened
so long ago. I...
You know, people in those days
weren't afraid to open their doors.
Would you take me
home please, now?
Would you like something
to eat before you go?
No, thank you.
Why is she protecting him?
She's fulfilling the promise
she made to Trenway's mother.
No, I don't think that's it.
She went to court to see
Trenway finally get justice.
Well, if that's what she
wants why won't she talk?
Because she's ashamed.
She's not going
to talk to a man.
I promised his mother.
Yeah, and you kept that promise.
You helped him.
Did Marty attack you that night?
It's okay.
You don't have to
protect him anymore.
Yes. It was Marty.
I didn't want to say it.
It was Marty.
He was very upset when
he came over that night.
He wouldn't tell me why.
He asked for a soda, and I
went into the kitchen to get it.
I was looking into the refrigerator
when I was hit from behind,
knocked to the
floor. It was Marty.
He was hitting and
hitting and hitting.
You're lying. Why are you lying?
You know it's true, Martin.
You swore you
wouldn't say anything.
You grabbed that kitchen
knife from the counter,
you made me pull down
my pants, and you raped me.
Miss Delmas, Mr. Trenway.
Why didn't you tell the
police that you'd been raped?
Because I was...
Because I was single. I
was engaged to be married.
I was so embarrassed,
so ashamed.
I didn't know what my fiancé
would do if he found out.
And Marty was family.
Your Honor, we submit
that Miss Delmas' testimony
meets the standard of People
v. Molineux to present to the jury
as proof that Martin
Trenway has raped before.
Miss Delmas. I am deeply sorry
about the horror you experienced.
I am equally sorry
that we can never try
Martin Trenway for
what he did to you.
But this is an evidentiary
hearing, not a trial.
And because it
happened so long ago,
and there is no proof to
support your testimony,
I cannot allow this
testimony under Molineux
on the grounds that it would be
unfairly prejudicial
against the defendant.
Your Honor.
I buried it.
Miss Delmas?
I buried it just like I
buried my memories.
After Marty left that night,
I took off all the clothes I was
wearing and stuffed them in a box.
There's a place in the
basement between the beams.
I hid the box there,
so that I would
never see it again.
And I didn't, not for 40 years.
Until I read in the newspapers
that Marty had raped a girl.
I knew it had to be true.
The DNA on Lorraine's
clothes is a match.
Martin Trenway raped Nikki West.
I blamed myself.
Marty was only 15. He had
his whole life ahead of him.
So, I made myself
forget what he had done.
Maybe if I had spoken up
he could have been helped.
And maybe he would not
have harmed this young lady.
I am so sorry.
Trenway pleads
guilty to raping Nikki,
he names all the other
victims he can remember,
and in return I recommend
the maximum sentence.
Not long enough.
Trenway agreed to it?
He's waving the white
flag. He knows it's all over.
What does all that mean?
It means when, and
if, he gets out of prison
he'll be too old
to rape anybody.
Miss Delmas, how
can I ever repay you?
Move on. Live your life.
Don't lock yourself
away the way I did.
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.
He's going for the river.
Hey, there he goes.
Watch out.
Heard you two ran a marathon.
Yeah, sure. Perp
won. We lost him.
Dispatch has your crime
scene down at John Street.
First, I want you to
check out these cars.
Which cars?
Jag and the Chevy. Our
boy was hiding between.
He wasn't wearing gloves.
I'll dust for prints.
Was the suspect armed?
Not sure. Never
got that close to him.
Any word on the victim?
She's at Downtown Hospital,
moving on her own steam.
Rape kit's done. They're just
checking her for internal injuries.
What did he do to her?
Nikki? These detectives are
from the Special Victims Unit.
Hi, Nikki. Can we come in?
I'm Detective Stabler. This
is my partner, Detective Beck.
Why me? Why did
he do this to me?
We're going to take
care of you, Nikki.
First thing we're gonna do is
get you some clothes, okay?
How's Nikki? Comfortable.
Waiting for yours truly to find
her a ginger ale in this dump.
How bad?
She told the doc M to P, P to V.
M to P?
Mouth to penis. P to V.
I get it.
You usually catch these perps?
Well, most rapes, the
women know their attackers.
So those become he
said, she said cases.
Those are the toughest to
prove what actually happened.
What about serial rapists?
We had 11 working
Manhattan last year.
We collared seven,
two by accident.
They were just cold DNA hits
on guys in the system already.
You ready?
Ready?
Interview the victim while
it's still fresh in her head.
I've collared a few rapists who
were wanted on other charges.
Why don't I hit the
computer and see
if CRIMS has anyone with our
guy's MO and an active warrant?
Good idea.
What happened next, Nikki?
He...
He made me get
on my knees and...
And go down on him.
And then he told me to
pull down my pants and...
And slammed me
up against the wall.
And raped me from behind.
Did he do anything
when he was done?
He...
He wiped me down with those
Wet-Naps that have alcohol in them.
Anything at the crime scene?
Nothing. CSU
couldn't find hairs,
fibers or any of the
trash from those wipes.
How about what he looked like?
I think he was older,
like... Like in his forties.
Could you describe
him to one of our artists?
Yeah, I'll try, but...
I mean, it was dark.
I saw something
on his hand, though.
And what was on his hand?
A scar. It looked like a...
Like a capital "L" with the
bottom-line going the wrong way.
First precinct just
called. No sign of him.
Probably hopped on a
subway. You shut the door?
Everything okay?
Well, you tell me.
How's she doing out there?
Great. We were totally in
sync chasing down the perp.
Word on her is that she's a pro.
Maybe too much of one.
I'm hearing her CO in
Warrants dumped her.
For what?
Being overzealous.
Average collars per month
for a Warrants detective is eight.
She's bringing in 12, 13 perps.
Right. And making
everybody else look bad.
That's not overzealous,
that's talent.
Going through the wrong door
and roughing up some innocent
civilian doesn't show talent.
Now's it's only rumor and I
don't know the circumstances,
but until I find out otherwise,
you keep an eye on her.
Excuse me, Captain.
Am I interrupting?
Not at all. You got something?
Yeah. Spoke to O'Halloran.
CSU hit pay dirt on
the prints off the Jaguar.
Barry Cole, 32, did a nickel
at Fishkill for a push-in robbery.
Which turned into an assault.
Last known address, Brooklyn.
Go get him.
It's two blocks away.
City pay for that thing?
No, I did. But it's
worth every penny.
It's got my contacts, email,
Internet, maps, you name it.
You should get one. No, thanks.
My kids had to help me program
the speed dial on my
cell phone. No way.
What's that accent?
European or something?
I was born in Denmark. I
came here after I got married.
Your husband from Denmark?
No, from here.
But he was stationed in Germany
when he was in the military
and we met when I
was studying there.
What happened to your partner?
Olivia got pulled for
an undercover job.
How long were you together?
Seven years. How long
were you in Warrants?
Three and a half.
Just had enough?
It's up here. Turn left.
Look under the door.
Who the hell is it?
Police.
How many?
Wait a minute. I've
got to put something on.
I need you to
open that door now.
Okay.
What do you want at this hour?
Barry Cole.
He's not here. I
haven't seen him.
You mind if we come
on in and take a look?
Just make it quick because
I've got to work in the morning.
I've got to get some sleep.
Did Barry do something wrong?
Who sleeps here?
I fell asleep watching TV.
Stabler.
It's still warm. Someone
was just sleeping here.
Ophelia, you're
lying. Where is he?
He's running. Take the front.
Got it.
Come on. Get up.
Barry Cole, you're
under arrest for rape.
Rape? I didn't rape anybody.
Impact baton, huh?
Yep.
You should lose the sport
jacket and shoes. Slow you down.
Yeah, well, I'm not saying
anything to you people.
You should've taken me
to the hospital. Shut up.
Hey, great work on
those prints. Thanks.
Hey, you got a second?
Yeah. Your collar.
I'll go get him booked.
Come on, sweetheart.
Did she tell you anything about
our conversation last night?
Just that you got a match
on Barry Cole. Why?
Because I told her I
wasn't done processing
all the prints when
she called me.
You saying it's not Barry?
The Jaguar we found
his prints on was a rental.
So I called the rental agency.
Barry works there
processing cars.
Okay, so he borrowed
one to do the rape.
I don't think so.
The only place they found his prints
were on the passenger side window.
Our guy was hiding
next to the driver's side.
Also, your guy was
probably crouched like this.
Touching the car to
keep his balance, like this.
Did you find that
pattern on the Jag?
Ten perfect fingertips.
In the system?
He's not in AFIS, so he
doesn't have a criminal record.
But he's in the state system.
Name's Martin Trenway.
Printed back in '77
when he became Assistant
District Attorney here in Manhattan.
Did you tell her that?
Sure, I called her back,
but Barry Cole's got a record,
so she thought he
looked good for it.
Hey, I don't want to
cause any problems.
Just saved our asses.
Detective Beck?
Something wrong?
Cut him loose.
Cut him loose, why?
You know damn well why.
Barry had a record. I
thought he was the best lead.
But he wasn't the only lead.
Now if you had only
listened to O'Halloran,
we wouldn't have spent
the night chasing our tails
instead of looking for this guy.
Cut him loose before
the Captain finds out.
Who's the piano player?
A lawyer. Used to be an A.D.A.
How can I help you, detectives?
We're here about
the Jaguar you rented.
I don't remember getting
any parking tickets.
A car by the same
description was used
in a robbery in
Brooklyn yesterday.
One of our officers
spotted yours in a parking lot
under the FDR
Drive, called it in.
You don't think I committed
the crime, do you?
Well, sir, you know how it is.
You know, we get the call.
You have to check it
out. Yeah, of course.
Well, I rented the car
yesterday afternoon
to go to Jersey
for a deposition.
You came back to
the office afterward?
Around 6:00 in the evening.
I have a receipt from the
toll of the Holland Tunnel
if you want to see it.
No, that won't be necessary. I think
we've taken up enough of your time.
Not at all. Glad to oblige.
Carpal tunnel?
No. I just busted my
wrist playing basketball.
Teach me to set a pick
against my 17-year old son, huh?
Yeah.
Typical trial lawyer. Has
an answer for everything.
I just want to see if he's got
a backwards L-shaped scar
underneath that brace of his.
I don't need to.
The composite Nikki West
gave us looks a lot like him.
Yeah, it looks a
lot like Trenway
and probably 10,000 other
white guys who live in the city.
Ten thousand other white guys
didn't leave their prints on that Jag.
Yes, but Martin Trenway is one of the
biggest personal injury attorneys in town.
So if we're going to accuse him,
we've got to make sure
we have our ducks in a row.
What do we know about
Trenway personally?
Fifty-four. Grew up in Queens,
Douglaston. Cardozo High School.
College at Cornell,
Duke law school.
Married to the same
woman for 30 years.
Two teenaged sons, lives
in Stamford, Connecticut.
Keeps a pied-à-terre one
block from Gracie Mansion.
And he's never been
in trouble with the law.
He's a lawyer. He knows how
to hide evidence, like our rapist.
He's got his MO down cold.
Middle-aged men don't suddenly
become rapists out of the blue.
Well, there are rare cases.
High functioning men like Trenway
sometimes have a history
of psycho-sexual problems,
like addictions to
pornography and violence
that they've managed
to keep under wraps.
Let's put Trenway in a lineup.
That's risky.
I think we lucked
out with the sketch.
Nikki said that she didn't
get a good look at him.
But she did get a
good look at his hand.
Are you ready?
I guess so.
Gentlemen, make a
fist, keep your hand still.
Thank you, gentlemen.
You're arresting me because
of a scar on my hand?
Do you know how many
people have one just like mine?
Where's it from?
Tendon transfer surgery
from when I broke my wrist.
You know what? I
want to remind you again
that you have the right to
have an attorney present.
I am an attorney. I know
my rights. I didn't do anything.
Where were you last
night around 11:00?
My office, working late.
Okay, think about this.
What time did you leave?
Around midnight.
You can check the
security logs of the building.
We did. We also checked
with the security guard on duty.
He said you left at 9:45 and told
him not to bother putting it in the book.
Yeah, I stepped
out to grab a bite.
He said you were
gone until around 11:00.
Funny that the rape and the chase
happened all around the same time.
How many men are out on the
street in that area at that hour?
It doesn't matter. We've got
you. Show him the photos.
Only one man hid behind
this car and left his fingerprints.
That would be you.
Come on.
I dropped my briefcase
when I got back from Jersey.
It popped open,
some papers flew out.
I guess I must have touched
the car when I bent down to get it.
Not like this, you didn't.
You're going to arraignments.
Trenway's got a lot of
friends in there and no priors.
There's no way he
was getting remanded.
Right, but $25,000
bail is a joke.
Maybe he'll do another rape
between now and the trial.
Where are you going?
Hey, guys. You want a story?
I got a story for you.
Martin Trenway, the big
PI lawyer, right over there?
Just got charged with rape.
Still rolling? You bet.
Mr. Trenway? Mr. Trenway?
Mr. Trenway, is it true you've
been charged with rape?
Yes, yes, yes, but it is really
a case of mistaken identity.
How were you
identified as a rapist?
When did the police
say it happened?
Hand lineup was a good idea.
Trenway's right, though. A lot of
people probably have that same scar.
I'm Detective Tutuola.
You don't want to talk to me.
This is the detective who
got his mug on the front page.
Detective Beck, this is Heather
Stark. She'd like to say thank you.
I knew when I saw the picture...
You don't have to say
anything. I was just doing my job.
But I remember him.
I'm Detective Stabler.
Hi.
You recognize that man?
Five years ago,
I was going into a subway
station on 104th and Broadway,
when a man knocked
me into a parked car.
I fell and something hit me
in the head like he kicked me.
What happened next?
He opened the car and
pushed me into the backseat.
And then he hit me again.
Do you remember
what kind of car it was?
No. Okay.
He knocked me out
because when I woke up
we were in some
abandoned lot. He had a knife.
He made me perform oral sex
and he raped me.
What happened afterwards?
He made me get out of the car.
And he took off. And somehow
I found my way to a gas station.
Turned out he drove
me to Long Island City.
Why are you so sure Martin
Trenway is the man who raped you?
We were in the car.
He tried to rape me from behind,
but he was too tall.
So he got on top of me.
He told me to close my
eyes, but I didn't, so...
When I saw this
picture, I started to shake.
I know it's him.
I'll never forget his face.
Is there somebody
I can call for you?
Yeah, my friend Melissa
would be a good person.
Oh, my God. Is that me?
John, this is Heather.
She needs someplace
private to make a phone call.
My pleasure.
What are you doing?
That woman just relived the
worst experience of her life.
She doesn't need to see
the way she looked that night.
Her case file's right there.
How did you get it so fast?
It was a Queens SVU case.
They're swamped,
so they let us have it.
We watched you
interview Heather.
Rapist's MO is very
close to Nikki West's.
Check out the composites.
Either of them could be Trenway.
Heather's interview five
years ago reads word-for-word
with what she just told
me. She's consistent.
Well, the defense will still argue
her ID of Trenway was improper.
Because she picked him out of the
newspaper instead of a photo lineup.
We may not need an ID.
Heather's clothes and rape kit
were inventoried with fluids present.
DNA wouldn't have been processed
back then unless they had a suspect.
All the case evidence is at
the property clerk in Queens.
Statute of limitations is
up in four days on this one.
Get a warrant on Trenway's
DNA. Find that evidence.
Log says that file number
should be right here.
Well, it's not here, so
where do we look next?
It could be anywhere.
The place leaks so bad
we've had to move stuff around.
You mean you've lost it?
It's not lost.
Sometimes it just
takes a while to find it.
So find it.
I've got two dozen cases ahead of
you. It could take a couple of weeks.
We don't have a couple of weeks.
This one doesn't get found, we got
a rapist who goes out on the street.
You're on the list.
No wonder they took your gun
and stuck you in this hellhole.
Screw you, lady. Now
you can find it yourself.
Someone should
have fired that idiot.
So, you got any
friends who can undo
the mess you just made in there?
The mess I just made?
Look, the guy may be a loser,
but bullying him doesn't help us.
So what are you saying?
I'm saying you're running
around half-cocked like
you're still yanking bail
jumpers off the street.
It's about getting
inside people's heads.
Your problem is every
perp smells the same to you.
Yeah, they do.
Well, they're not.
They're not the same. You've
got Trenway, he's a lawyer.
You get him in the box, you
work him. You don't get in his face.
And you don't turn
your back on the victims,
like you did with Heather Stark.
Heather, can you please
describe the injuries
your attacker inflicted upon
you in addition to the rape?
He fractured my skull.
Broke my nose and
my right eye socket.
My whole face was a mess.
I needed plastic surgery.
Do you know who did this to you?
Yes, Martin Trenway.
He's sitting right over there.
Thank you. Nothing further.
Miss Stark, you testified that you
were sure that Mr. Trenway raped you
because you recognized
him from the newspapers.
That's correct.
The article printed after he had
been arrested for another rape.
Yes.
How often do you read the paper?
Every day.
Any one in particular?
The Ledger.
You're aware that Mr. Trenway's
a very well-known
attorney in town.
Yes, I am.
So it wouldn't
surprise you to hear
that he'd been in the newspaper
before he was accused of rape.
No, it wouldn't.
Do you know how many times
Mr. Trenway's picture was in The Ledger
in the five years since
you were attacked?
No, sir. I don't.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-two times.
So since you read
The Ledger every day,
you had to have seen
my client's face before.
Objection. Calls
for speculation.
I'll withdraw the question.
Miss Stark,
isn't it possible that
you recognize my client
because you'd seen him
in the paper previously,
not because he attacked you?
I was looking at him the
entire time he was raping me.
I know it's him.
Then why didn't
you call the police
one of the other 22 times
you saw his face in the paper?
I don't know.
No further questions.
Eyewitness testimony is the
least reliable of all evidence.
As an expert in
the field, Dr. Polk,
I'm sure that you can
cite studies to back that up.
Dozens of them. But the best
proof comes from the real world.
Of the first group of
murderers and rapists
whose convictions were
overturned by DNA evidence,
more than 80% were found guilty
based on mistaken
eyewitness testimony.
Now wait a minute. How
is that possible, Doctor?
Most jurors believe that human
memory works like a videotape.
That our minds play back an
event exactly as it was recorded.
So, when Miss Stark says,
five years after she was raped,
that she's sure beyond any doubt
that Mr. Trenway
attacked her, is she lying?
Absolutely not.
She's telling the truth as she
believes she remembers it,
but her memory of
that horrible event
can always be
changed by suggestion.
Whether intentional or not.
Like a suggestion in
a newspaper article
naming my client as the
defendant in another rape case?
Yes.
Nothing further.
People's 7, Your Honor.
This is a composite
based on a description
Heather Stark gave detectives the
night she was attacked five years ago.
Now, do you think it
looks like Martin Trenway?
Well, yes, it could be him,
but the fact that he's sitting a few
feet away is very suggestive, though.
Yes, but we've heard
testimony that for seven hours
after Heather Stark was raped and
beaten, she was first hospitalized,
poked, prodded,
photographed, sutured,
cleaned up and
interviewed by the police.
And yet after all that, after
all the possible suggestion
that she might have
been influenced by,
she still gave a description
of her attacker that,
even you agree,
resembles the defendant.
Dr. Polk, taking into account
the trauma that she experienced
and given her accuracy
then and her confidence now,
isn't it possible Miss
Stark correctly identified
Mr. Trenway as her attacker?
Yes.
Thank you, Doctor.
We'll pick up again after lunch.
Tell me that you guys are
here because you found it.
It's already at the
M.E.'s being processed.
I've got to get the
results in on rebuttal.
Not so fast. There
might be a problem.
The rape kit and clothing
at one time had been wet.
That caused mold to grow
on the biological material.
So, it's no good?
We lucked out.
Got a couple of DNA markers
suitable for comparison.
Okay, and?
I have definitive proof.
We got him.
I wish.
These results aren't even close.
Martin Trenway could not
have raped Heather Stark.
The whole time he was raping me,
I was staring right at his face,
so that I could remember
everything about him.
This is wrong. It's
got to be wrong.
The DNA can't be wrong, Heather.
Miss Stark. Listen, I...
Get the hell away from me.
Detectives. Counselor.
How could... How could I be
so sure about this and be wrong?
It's got to be a
mistake, don't you think?
Heather, I'm sorry
another man did this to you.
Now, we'll run the
DNA through the system.
If he's been arrested for any
crime anywhere, we'll get him.
It's too late now.
I'm sorry.
She's right. Even if we
find whoever raped her,
the statute of
limitations has run out.
She never gets justice.
Hope we get some for Nikki West.
We've got Trenway.
If he's the man
who attacked her.
It is him. No alibi, the ID of his
hand, the fingerprints on his car.
We put him on trial now,
we make him a martyr.
He's already the poster
boy for mistaken identity.
Well, what more do you need?
Short of a confession, another
victim who'll testify Trenway raped her.
We already went back five
years, didn't find anything.
Novak wants us
to go back further,
find someone she can put on
the stand as a Molineux witness
to swear Trenway raped her,
show that he'd done it before.
I don't even know why there is a
statute of limitations on rape anymore
now that we have DNA.
To prevent eyewitnesses like Heather
Stark from accusing the wrong person.
What time did she get
here? She never left.
Some people shouldn't
be allowed to drink coffee.
Dani, what is this?
Trenway. I got him.
Yeah, how?
There were 14 unsolved
beatings and rapes upstate in Ithaca
from 1970 to 1974.
The same years Trenway
went to college there.
The cops said that
the attacks stopped
at exactly the time Trenway
left for law school at Duke.
Okay, let me guess, the
police in North Carolina handled
a similar string of rapes that
started right about that same time?
11 victims. From August
of '74 to May of '77.
All unsolved.
But I think we'll find more of
Trenway's work closer to home.
How do you figure?
Well, Trenway rented that Jaguar
to go see a client
in Jersey, right?
He lives in Connecticut...
Could have been raping women
all over the tri-state area for years.
But we'd never know
because nobody shares
information
across jurisdictions.
Right. Now, Trenway grew
up in Queens, Douglaston.
So I pulled all the
unsolved cases
from 1967 to 1970
when he was a teenager.
No rapes with his MO, but there
were two assaults in his neighborhood.
One, the victim was a
guy, so we can discard that.
The other was a woman
assaulted in her house.
Lorraine Delmas, 32. Broken
nose, cheekbone, jawbone.
Where have I heard that before?
Or seen it.
These photos could be
carbon copies of Nikki West.
That woman would be in
her seventies if she's still alive.
I think she is.
What makes you think that?
I've seen this face.
Mrs. Delmas?
Miss Delmas.
I'm Detective Stabler, this
is my partner Detective Beck.
I saw you in court two
days ago. In the gallery.
Please come in.
I assume you are here
to ask me about Marty.
How long have you known him?
Ever since he was a boy.
His mother and I
were best friends.
You must have been shocked
when he was accused of
assaulting those women.
It was nice you came
to court to support him.
I wanted to see
what would happen.
So you were pleased that
the charges were dropped?
Yes.
How did you meet Marty's mother?
Marie and I were
little girls together.
We grew up in the same town.
In France?
St. Remy de Provence.
She met and married
her husband there, James.
And James' brother
fell in love with me
and I moved here to be with him.
But you never married.
We broke up after
Marie died.
Did you stay in
touch with Marty?
On her deathbed, she made
me promise to take care of him.
What about his father?
After his mother died, Marty
became a very difficult child.
He couldn't communicate
with his father,
so he spent most of
his time here with me.
You were close?
Yes. Miss Delmas.
Please call me Lorraine.
Lorraine,
why were you sitting so
far away from Marty in court?
We haven't spoken
for nearly 40 years.
Did something happen?
Marty went away to
college. We just lost touch.
Do you remember, was that before
or after you were
attacked in your home?
I'd rather not talk about that.
I understand it brings
back painful memories.
Lorraine, I read the police
reports from that night.
Whoever hurt
you didn't break in.
Did you know the
man who attacked you?
Well, it happened
so long ago. I...
You know, people in those days
weren't afraid to open their doors.
Would you take me
home please, now?
Would you like something
to eat before you go?
No, thank you.
Why is she protecting him?
She's fulfilling the promise
she made to Trenway's mother.
No, I don't think that's it.
She went to court to see
Trenway finally get justice.
Well, if that's what she
wants why won't she talk?
Because she's ashamed.
She's not going
to talk to a man.
I promised his mother.
Yeah, and you kept that promise.
You helped him.
Did Marty attack you that night?
It's okay.
You don't have to
protect him anymore.
Yes. It was Marty.
I didn't want to say it.
It was Marty.
He was very upset when
he came over that night.
He wouldn't tell me why.
He asked for a soda, and I
went into the kitchen to get it.
I was looking into the refrigerator
when I was hit from behind,
knocked to the
floor. It was Marty.
He was hitting and
hitting and hitting.
You're lying. Why are you lying?
You know it's true, Martin.
You swore you
wouldn't say anything.
You grabbed that kitchen
knife from the counter,
you made me pull down
my pants, and you raped me.
Miss Delmas, Mr. Trenway.
Why didn't you tell the
police that you'd been raped?
Because I was...
Because I was single. I
was engaged to be married.
I was so embarrassed,
so ashamed.
I didn't know what my fiancé
would do if he found out.
And Marty was family.
Your Honor, we submit
that Miss Delmas' testimony
meets the standard of People
v. Molineux to present to the jury
as proof that Martin
Trenway has raped before.
Miss Delmas. I am deeply sorry
about the horror you experienced.
I am equally sorry
that we can never try
Martin Trenway for
what he did to you.
But this is an evidentiary
hearing, not a trial.
And because it
happened so long ago,
and there is no proof to
support your testimony,
I cannot allow this
testimony under Molineux
on the grounds that it would be
unfairly prejudicial
against the defendant.
Your Honor.
I buried it.
Miss Delmas?
I buried it just like I
buried my memories.
After Marty left that night,
I took off all the clothes I was
wearing and stuffed them in a box.
There's a place in the
basement between the beams.
I hid the box there,
so that I would
never see it again.
And I didn't, not for 40 years.
Until I read in the newspapers
that Marty had raped a girl.
I knew it had to be true.
The DNA on Lorraine's
clothes is a match.
Martin Trenway raped Nikki West.
I blamed myself.
Marty was only 15. He had
his whole life ahead of him.
So, I made myself
forget what he had done.
Maybe if I had spoken up
he could have been helped.
And maybe he would not
have harmed this young lady.
I am so sorry.
Trenway pleads
guilty to raping Nikki,
he names all the other
victims he can remember,
and in return I recommend
the maximum sentence.
Not long enough.
Trenway agreed to it?
He's waving the white
flag. He knows it's all over.
What does all that mean?
It means when, and
if, he gets out of prison
he'll be too old
to rape anybody.
Miss Delmas, how
can I ever repay you?
Move on. Live your life.
Don't lock yourself
away the way I did.