Murder in the First (2014–2016): Season 1, Episode 7 - Suck My Alibi - full transcript

Terry: "my darling wife, cindy, may her guts rot in hell.
"I loved her so much.
"she broke my heart. Then I broke her neck.
"yes, I killed her.
"I shouldn't've, but she deserved it.
"now it's my turn.
I deserve to die, too. Mark strauss."
It's poetic.
Hildy: Too poetic. Awfully convenient.
The jury just heard blunt was getting blown by the victim
Minutes before she was killed.
They're finally looking at him like a murderer.
And that same night, strauss decides
It's finally time to confess? No way.
Besides the people in this room, who else knows the note exists?
No one. Just us.
Did you log the suicide note as evidence?
Not yet.
Should we?
Well, we should, only if we think it's real.
It was typed into a blank word document.
And he didn't e-mail it to anyone? No. We checked.
He had just recently moved into that apartment,
So his internet wasn't set up yet.
Then why did he write it on his computer?
Hildy: Exactly, especially when there was
Pen and paper sitting right beside the laptop.
So, our working assumption is that blunt killed this guy?
Had him killed. Blunt's wearing a bracelet.
So ironically, he's the one guy we can rule out.
Koto: So, let's drag them in and rattle their cages.
Bill wilkerson, ivana west. Who else?
Mm...We could do the lawyer -- hertzberg.
Perez: No. Not hertzberg.
He won't say a word, and he'll know something's up.
We should question jimmy salter.
Okay, but question him
Only as part of the homicide investigation.
There can't be any mention of the note.
I can stall siletti 24, maybe 48 hours max.
Wait -- shouldn't we bring him in on this
So he doesn't get blindsided?
Siletti? Absolutely not. Judge greer's going to grill him.
The less he knows, the better.
There's got to be a suicide note. Right?
Well, I only know what you know --
Media reports of a possible o.D.,
Police investigating.
Beyond that, I haven't been briefed.
Your honor, move to recess
Until homicide and d.A. Perez rule this death.
Surely we can pause for a day or two
So we're not all consumed by this circus.
You'd like that, warren --
Kill my momentum in the middle of my case.
There is nothing about this outside situation
That affects the trial.
A witness who has already completed his testimony
Has died.
He'd hardly completed his testimony.
As I recall, we were all just starting to think
That maybe he killed cindy strauss.
His role in this trial was over,
And as for the circumstances of his death,
There is no evidence, no facts, no rumor out there
That justifies a pause in these proceedings.
[ chuckles ]
Your honor, I request that the state be allowed
To finish its case against mr. Blunt without interruption.
How close are you to resting?
Two days, three at the most.
Very well. We're gonna proceed.
There's to be no mention of strauss' death
By either of you or any other witnesses.
When the state finishes its case,
If -- if perez hasn't ruled on the death of mr. Strauss --
I'll file a motion for mistrial.
And I am gonna have to consider it.
Understood.
All right. Let's get on with this.
[ siren wails in distance ] [ horn honks ]
Mr. Wilkerson,
On the night cindy strauss died, where were you?
I was home, uh, all evening with my wife.
Did you hear from ms. Strauss that evening?
Yes, she, uh, texted me a message at 9:00 p.M.
I have the verified contents of that text message
I would like to enter
As people's exhibit 1, your honor.
May I approach the witness? You may.
[ clears throat ]
Is that the text you received?
Uh, yes, it is.
Could you read the time and date stamp and the message?
Yes. Uh, June 5, 2014,
Uh, 9:02 p.M.
Text message from cindy strauss.
Uh, "erich and I spoke.
Everything's cool. See you tomorrow."
Did she arrive at work the next morning?
Uh, no. Um, we had a 10:00 a.M. Flight to new york,
And cindy was supposed to show up at 7:00 a.M.,
Uh, to perform her pre-flight duties.
And when she didn't show at 8:00, I got worried.
I called her several times. She didn't respond.
And so I drove over to her house.
And when she didn't answer her door,
I found the manager of her complex,
Who opened the door with a-a-a master key.
And we found cindy...
Dead on -- on the floor.
I was stunned. Um...
Heartbroken. And, uh...
I told the manager to get the police,
And I stayed with the body until they arrived.
Then what did you do?
Uh, they questioned me,
And I told them essentially what I just told you,
And then I went over to the plane
To tell erich what had happened.
And what did he say?
Wilkerson: Well, he asked me
If the, uh, police thought it was a homicide,
And I said, uh, "I don't know."
Well, were you surprised by his reaction?
Well, yeah, a little, yes.
Uh, it seemed cold, but he could have been in shock.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Mr. Wilkerson... [ sighs ]
...Were you aware that ms. Strauss and mr. Blunt
Were having a sexual affair?
Yes, she confided it to me.
Hmm. So...
You and ms. Strauss were good friends?
Well, we spent a lot of time together on the road.
Just to set the record straight,
You and ms. Strauss were also having a sexual affair.
Is that correct? Regretfully, yes.
Why regretfully?
I'm a married man. I-it was a mistake.
And I ended the relationship soon after it began.
Was this before or after
She commenced her affair with mr. Blunt?
[ sighs ] I don't know. Um, I suspect before.
Were you jealous of her and mr. Blunt's relationship?
No. Not at all. Mr. Wilkerson,
During the time you had your affair with ms. Strauss,
Did you ever hit her?
Never.
Did you ever hit your wife?
Excuse me? Is it not true
That as recently as two days ago, in a heated argument
In the presence of your respective attorneys,
You punched your wife and knocked her down?
She went nuts on me. She attacked me!
Uh, I was trying to defend myself.
So that would be a yes.
Yes.
Going back to the night in question,
You testified that you received an s.M.S. Message
From ms. Strauss on the night of her death at 9:02 p.M.
Is that correct?
9:02 p.M.
And yet the medical examiner testified
That ms. Strauss' time of death was 8:30 p.M.
Do you think she sent it from the afterlife?
Siletti: Objection. Argumentative.
I'll withdraw the question. [ clears throat ]
The police report states that ms. Strauss' phone
Was found in her apartment when the police arrived the next day.
Mr. Wilkerson...
Is it possible that you killed her, took her cellphone,
Sent yourself the text... Objection!
...And then returned the phone the next morning... Objection!
...When you went to the house... Prejudicial!
Badgering the witness! ...To discover the body?
Judge greer: Sustained.
Mr. Daniels, one more stunt like that,
I'm gonna hold you in contempt.
[ indistinct conversations ]
Uh, mr. Wilkerson. We need you to come with us upstairs.
Oh, my -- you got to be kidding me, right?
Right this way. Come on.
You don't mind if I cry, do you?
We just have a few questions for you.
[ sighs ] mark strauss.
Poor bastard.
It's a real shame.
Were you guys friends?
Are you kidding me? No.
With the way he abused cindy --
Now, I'm not saying he deserved it,
But karma's a bitch.
Take it he killed himself?
Why do you say that?
Just a hunch.
Trials put a lot of people through the wringer.
Where were you last night when strauss was killed?
So, it is a homicide?
Wow.
Boy, I'd have bet anything he killed himself.
Terry: Your whereabouts last night, please?
I was with erich at his house.
I'm sure erich didn't like mark very much.
He probably wouldn't mind lying for you
If he needed you to take care of a...
Shared problem.
Now, why on earth would I kill mark strauss?
How's that gonna help erich? You're kidding, right?
An unsolved homicide in a case like this...
A key witness?
That's more than enough to force a mistrial.
Terry: That's why you saying you were with erich
Isn't much of an alibi.
So, where were you last night?
You know, I don't know what to tell you,
But the truth is that I was with erich.
Prove it.
Please do not tell me to talk to erich blunt.
That doesn't really count.
[ sighs ]
This is all being recorded, right?
Right, because so is every square inch
Of the perimeter of erich blunt's house.
It's 24 hours a day video surveillance.
Check it out. I was there all night.
Come on. That's his business -- virtual reality.
Expect us to believe a video?
Yeah. Talk to jimmy salter.
He's the one who installed it
After the arrest to keep the crazies out.
Oh, he was bragging about it the whole time he set it up.
It's a cctv direct feed
To you guys -- sfpd.
Check it out, and you'll see me walk in with erich
About 7:00 p.M., not leave till the next morning.
Hey, jimmy will even give you a dvd.
It'll be watermarked, time-stamped, and cherry-coated
So that after you watch it, you two pricks can suck it.
Suck my alibi.
[ siren wailing in distance ]
Siletti: Why did you ask your husband to move out of the house?
Uh, I received an e-mail with a video attached
Showing him receiving oral sex from cindy strauss.
Did you know they were having an affair?
Yes -- bill, uh, swore to me
That it was brief and that he had broken it off.
On the night she died, where were you?
I was home all night with my husband.
And did mr. Wilkerson leave the home at any time that night? No.
In fact, given your estrangement from your husband --
In fact, given the physical altercation
The two of you apparently engaged in the other day,
You really have no reason to lie on his behalf, do you?
No. None whatsoever.
Thank you, ms. Wilkerson. Nothing further, your honor.
Tonia: Mrs. Wilkerson,
You testified you were home with mr. Wilkerson all evening
The night of June 5th. Is that right? Yes.
Were you physically in your husband's presence
Between the hours of 7:00 and 9:00 p.M.?
Uh, 7:00 to 9:00 --
Uh, we always have dinner, uh, from 6:00 to 6:30,
And that night was no different.
Um, we started the movie -- I remember it was around 9:00
Because he received the text message,
Uh, during the opening credits.
Mm. Were you together between dinner and the movie?
Well, I was mostly upstairs in the bedroom.
He was, uh, downstairs watching sports in the basement.
So, even though you believe you were in the house together
The entire night, it's possible he might have left the house
For a period of time after dinner and before the movie,
Is it not?
No. No, I would have known. We have an alarm system.
Was it armed?
Yes. I arm it myself every night.
Couldn't he have disarmed it without you knowing?
No, no, because it beeps when you --
When you arm or disarm it. I-I would have heard.
Isn't it possible you just didn't hear it?
Well [scoffs] look, anything is possible.
So, if anything is possible,
Is it possible you left the house that night
And killed ms. Strauss in a jealous rage? Objection!
No, no, that is not possible. Sustained.
And -- and shame on you for suggesting it.
Thank you, ma'am.
No further questions.
[ door opens ]
No work in the break room, english.
Captain salter.
What happened to the rules around here?
Used to be a sign on this door
Said the break room is for breaks.
Breaks were outlawed two years ago.
[ scoffs ] damn union ain't what it used to be.
That's for sure.
Listen, you sounded busy on the phone.
I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop this off.
Ahh. Security footage.
Watermarked, verified -- blunt and wilkerson
Were home all night playing "call of duty." [ scoffs ]
Mm. Thanks.
What about you?
What about me what?
Where were you the night mark strauss died, jimmy?
Now you call me jimmy.
I was at the hospital, visiting my mother.
I slept there.
Talk to nurse roberts, nurse nguyen, and nurse king.
I'm there most every night because she's dying.
Maybe you can understand.
I've been in your shoes, pal. I know what it's like.
You try to do good, you try to make a difference,
And you arrest a guy like this.
Suddenly, you're dealing with the press and politics.
And the pressure builds and builds.
And all of a sudden, the whole world's looking at you.
And, god damn, you drop to your knees every night,
Pray that you got it right, because now...
It's not just your ass on the line.
It's your partner's, your lieutenant, your chief, the d.A.
But what if the truth is he's innocent,
That you're wrong? See, that's...
Scary.
No wonder you keep piling on the dirt.
But take it from somebody who's been in your shoes, terry.
You're in a deep hole on this one.
I strongly suggest you stop digging.
[ breathes deeply ]
Well, I got to get to the bottom of this, so...
I got to keep digging.
Look at this kid -- so close to two murders?
Do you really think his hands are clean?
I mean, you're the one that taught me
There's no such thing as coincidence.
And if you were in my shoes,
You know you'd be all over this kid, all over him.
But instead, you sold out, and now you're working for him.
I guess you found that retirement gig.
This is what worries me.
What are you gonna do when this kid goes down?
What are you gonna do when you realize
You've been protecting a murderer
And that your hands have blood on them, too...
That you are the one
Whose thinking was compromised by self-interest
And not me?
The door swings both ways, captain salter.
You can't be on both sides of it.
[ fog horn blows ]
[ telephones ringing ]
Sorry you guys came all the way down here,
But, uh, I'm actually under strict orders
Not to speak with anyone about applsn or erich blunt
Without a team of lawyers present, so...
This isn't about erich blunt.
Well, with the trial
And my role here as c.T.O. And acting c.E.O.,
Everything in my life right now is about erich blunt.
Sorry, guys. Wish I could help.
Oli, what time's my meeting with horowitz?
You're 15 minutes late. They're waiting in room 6.
"they"? I thought it was just ben.
It's ben, marc, and jeff.
Ms. West.
Look, I am keeping $15 billion of angry venture capital
Waiting on the other side of this building.
So if we're not done here,
We're gonna need to head in that general direction.
We just need to confirm your whereabouts last night.
I was here until 10:00, and then I was home.
Do you live with anyone -- boyfriend, uh, roommate?
I live alone.
Is this about that guy who died last night --
Cindy's husband?
I saw the headline on techcrunch. Poor guy.
Anyway, I was working from home last night
Catching up on e-mails -- I can show you those records.
Well, you can send an e-mail from anywhere.
That's right. You can. But...
Your location is logged by your dns.
Just have to know where to look.
Someone else could have logged in with your password, though,
Right, while you're halfway across town?
Well, I suppose they could,
Which is why... We no longer use passwords.
[ computer beeps ]
These here are my root logs
From 7:00 p.M. Last night until 7:00 a.M. This morning --
Every stroke I made and where I made it from.
Well, I'm sure a world-class engineer
Would have no problem faking something like this
In their sleep.
Well, then you obviously don't know what a root log is.
Every action you've ever made on any device
Is recorded on one permanent digital record.
You can't alter it, delete it, erase it, or even touch it.
You can only review it, search it...
[ printer whirring ] ...And print it.
[ printer beeps ]
Please, take it.
Show it to someone who knows something about computers.
They'll tell you it confirms I was home last night.
Excuse me.
She works a lot.
Ms. Harkins, you used to work for erich blunt. Is that correct?
That's right.
I worked in business development
At his first start-up company, wesne, form 2006 to 2009.
Siletti: And why did you leave his employ?
I left because of a workplace-misconduct dispute.
Could you be more specific?
I felt I was being harassed. By whom?
Erich blunt.
Objection as to relevancy, your honor.
Prejudicial effect greatly outweighs any probative value.
Goes to pattern of behavior
By mr. Blunt toward his female employees, your honor.
Overruled.
So, you quit your job because of this harassment?
No.
I filed a lawsuit.
And did your lawsuit go to trial?
No. We settled.
How much did you receive?
I signed a nondisclosure agreement.
Please instruct the witness to answer, your honor.
The witness will answer the question.
How much did you get, ms. Harkins?
$650,000.
Tell the jury
What level of harassment has a price tag of $650,000.
[ voice breaking ] he didn't just harass me.
He drugged me...
And he raped me.
Siletti: Thank you, ms. Harkins.
Daniels: Being drugged and raped
Are very serious allegations, ms. Harkins.
Did you file a criminal complaint with the police?
No.
Why not?
I was embarrassed and humiliated.
I'm the single mother of a 4-year-old son,
And I just did not want to deal with it.
Ms. Harkins, what was your salary
When you worked for mr. Blunt?
Around $60,000 a year.
And in 2009, mr. Blunt was in negotiations
To sell his company to apple. Isn't that right?
That was the rumor at the time.
Did you have stock options in mr. Blunt's company?
No.
So, isn't it possible, even probable,
That, at the conclusion of a sale,
You might well have lost your job
In an economy that was tanking?
I couldn't say.
Well, after you left mr. Blunt's employ,
Did you find another job?
Not right away.
[ chuckles ] exactly how long is "not right away"?
[ sighs ]
Three years.
So, isn't it also possible
That, in fear of losing your job and your livelihood,
That you trumped up these charges
In order to inoculate yourself
Against the financial consequences of losing your job?
No, it is not possible, and it is not true.
Ms. Harkins, with all due respect,
Is there a single shred of physical evidence
That the events you alleged ever even took place?
No.
So, isn't it possible
That you engaged in a consensual sex act with mr. Blunt
And then used that to leverage a huge payday for yourself?
Objection. Inflammatory and prejudicial.
No further questions, your honor.
Very well.
This court is in recess until tomorrow morning.
[ gavel bangs ]
[ sighs ]
I've been through every back door over there,
Cashed in all my favors, twisted arms, patted backs,
Threatened, begged -- every trick in the book.
Mark strauss' death is what it is.
They got nothing.
Or maybe you're just out of tricks.
We need this to be a suicide.
Let's ramp up the pressure -- leak that he left a note.
I'll call harvey at the wag.
We can count on him to keep it anonymous.
Keefer: It looks like a legit root log.
The labels all match her version of events.
She was at applsn on her desktop,
Then she was in an uber on her mobile,
And then she was at home on her laptop.
She didn't disconnect for eight hours straight.
Could you fake a printout like that?
I guess you could copy the real root log
And then adjust the code line by line,
But that would be a shit ton of work.
It would take me days, if not weeks.
Then again, I have a day job.
All right, so you're saying we should assume that it's legit?
I'm saying I wish I had a better answer.
All right. Thanks, kami.
Thanks.
Well, this is great. We're in trouble now, right?
All right. There's still time. It's not over yet.
We've got until siletti rests, and I'm his last witness.
When do you testify?
First thing tomorrow morning.
Do you have any brilliant advice for me?
Speak very, very slowly.
[ chuckles ]
Inspector mulligan,
Were you and your partner, inspector english,
Dispatched to cindy strauss' home at 1124 brannan street
On the morning of June 6, 2014?
Yes.
And your subsequent investigation led you to believe
That erich blunt murdered cindy strauss?
Yes.
What did your investigation reveal?
Well, in addition to dna evidence
Linking him to the crime scene,
Mr. Blunt lied to us repeatedly
Over the course of several interviews
Spanning two murder investigations.
Two? What was the other one?
The murder of kevin neyers, mr. Blunt's biological father.
He lied to us about receiving an extortion note from him.
And, uh, in subsequent interviews,
He lied about being with cindy
At her house the night she died,
And he also lied about having sex with her
The night of her death.
Is it true that after you interviewed the defendant
About cindy strauss' death,
He asked you out on a date?
Yes, and I agreed to it.
We needed mr. Blunt's dna
In order to link him to cindy's death,
So I used the pretense of a date to obtain his dna sample.
Hmm. How did you do that?
At the end of the evening, he kissed me.
I was chewing gum.
So, uh, we used the gum as a medium to sample the dna.
Siletti: What did you do with the gum then?
I immediately spit it into a, uh, evidence container
And took it directly to the lab.
Just a few more questions, inspector.
Where was erich blunt arrested?
He was taken into custody at a krav maga studio
In the tenderloin district.
He's a -- a second-degree black belt.
What is krav maga, inspector?
It's an israeli-developed form of self-defense.
It combines aspects of martial arts and deadly street fighting.
Siletti: At mr. Blunt's level of expertise,
Would he be capable of breaking cindy strauss' neck?
Objection, your honor. Calls for a conclusion.
Overruled.
You may answer the question, inspector.
Siletti: Let me repeat.
Was erich blunt capable of breaking cindy strauss' neck?
Definitely.
Thank you, inspector. Nothing further.
Inspector, do you generally kiss murder suspects
In order to secure their saliva? No.
Don't you think your willingness to use sex to obtain evidence
Exhibits poor judgment in the extreme?
I don't consider a kiss to be sex.
Ah.
Inspector, were you present at mr. Blunt's arrest?
No, I was not. Why?
It was your case, wasn't it?
I was on temporary leave.
My partner and the rest of the team handled the arrest.
Why were you on temporary leave?
In an unrelated case, I had cause to shoot an assailant.
Anytime an officer is involved in a shooting,
They're placed on temporary leave pending an investigation.
So, you shot and killed the man?
Is that right?
It was a domestic-abuse situation.
He came at me with a kitchen knife,
So I used deadly force to protect myself
And the others in the room with me.
What was a homicide inspector doing
Responding to a domestic-abuse situation?
The young boy who's mother was being brutally assaulted,
He called me directly, so I showed up at the crime scene
After calling the domestic-abuse unit.
They were not there yet, so I went in alone.
Wasn't that also poor judgment on your part?
I think it would have been worse judgment
For me to sit back and do nothing
While this man continued to brutally assault his wife.
The family sued you for wrongful death.
Is that correct?
They were manipulated into it by a lawyer.
They dropped the suit the next day.
Daniels: So, let's review. Sure.
You sexually entrapped erich blunt
Into giving up a dna sample,
And you were completely out of policy
When you shot and killed a man in a rogue police action --
A killing for which
You were put on administrative leave and sued.
Inspector, don't you think these behaviors
Call into question your competence as a police officer?
No, I don't.
Two lives were at risk. I couldn't wait for backup.
And as far as me going on a so-called date with erich blunt,
There was no other means by which to obtain his dna,
So I actually would not call it poor judgment.
I'd call it smart police work.
Thought you did good.
Well, a lot of good it does
If we can't prove someone else wrote mark's suicide note.
Here. This has been bothering me.
Oh.
What am I looking at? On the bottom there --
It's an e-mail from ivana west's root log.
"not happy with this month's ad in wired.
"you shouldn't've moved ahead on that campaign
"without my signoff.
All marketing must be okayed by me until further notice."
So?
"shouldn't've."
What about it?
Look at that -- the two apostrophes.
Was it misspelled?
No, but who uses that word?
"shouldn't've"? Mm.
[ chuckles ] what are you talking about?
People use the word "shouldn't've" all the time.
I know, but...
Who uses it in that way --
With the two apostrophes? Like, how common is that?
Sorry. Why are we talking about this? Look.
Mark strauss uses it in his suicide note.
The last things he says.
"then I broke her neck. Yes, I killed her.
"I shouldn't've, but she deserved it.
Now it's my turn. I deserve to die, too."
It's a bit of a stretch.
I mean, grammar doesn't typically
Get us probable cause, right?
Well, they nailed the unabomber that way.
Okay, so you think ivana went over there, killed him,
And typed up a suicide note? Maybe.
She faked a root log.
I mean, she knew we were coming over there.
She was prepared.
Mark was a pretty big dude.
I know, but overdose -- that's something she could pull off.
Not much.
Well, it's all we got. I think we should drag her in.
You think this is what salter was talking about?
When he said we're so desperate to nail blunt,
We're basically willing to chase after anything?
We'll know tomorrow morning.
What the hell is this?
We need you to come with us downtown.
Where were you two nights ago?
I already answered that question.
You know where I was. Working.
Yeah, that's right.
Working my ass off trying to save the company
Of the guy that you are railroading.
So, saving his ass meant taking out mark strauss?
I'm leaving.
No, not tonight.
Maybe not ever. Sit down.
[ scoffs ] are you arresting me?
We're holding you in custody under the suspicion of murder.
[ scoffs ] this is unbelievable.
This city has officially jumped the shark.
Hey, look who's here. Hey.
With goodies. How you doing?
So, this is a hair sample that I plucked off your back
Yesterday at applsn
When you were printing out the bogus root logs,
And this is a matching hair sample
That we found at mark strauss' apartment. Uh-oh.
You did a great job of sweeping out the place.
I got to say, you really did.
But that's the thing with hair, you know?
It's so thin that it blows under the bed and...
You're toast. [ chuckles ]
This is bullshit.
Don't count on it.
You see this?
See this little guy? That's your fingerprint.
Found it on strauss' laptop.
You know, when you were typing out that bullshit suicide note.
We felt for sure we were gonna have to
Sweep your office for prints,
But it turned out the fbi database had your digits on file
From a drug bust in college, so that was a nice surprise.
Anyway, the hair and the prints basically just prove
That you were at strauss' apartment
Sometime in the recent past,
Which is why my partner spent half the day digging up this.
English: That's security footage from the liquor store
Right next door to strauss' apartment.
Now, the camera hasn't been maintained well.
The wind blew it off target,
But we were able to get a corner of strauss' apartment,
So we have images of you and strauss
Entering the apartment two nights ago,
And of you exiting his apartment by yourself.
Anything you want to tell us?
Yeah.
I want to tell you that I am not saying
Another word without my lawyer.
[ sighs ]
[ whistles ]
[ imitates explosion ]
Nice try, but without a confession, we're done.
I have to disclose the suicide note in the morning.
It's been fun, folks.
Maybe we can have a reunion in 10 years
And talk about what might have been.
I want another crack at it.
I think I can get her to talk.
Perez: You're not gonna get a confession out of her, terry.
She's too smart.
And even if she does start talking, it's useless.
She's under miranda.
No. We're not gonna get her on murder.
The drugs in the tox report match mark's prescription.
The autopsy shows zero damage to his mouth and throat
With no signs of violence.
I mean, look at her.
There's no way she forced him to take all those pills. He o.D.'d.
He o.D.'d, and she was there somehow.
She wrote that suicide note.
And that's all we need to know.
I get it.
Yeah, me, too.
I don't. Good.
Keep some plausible deniability.
Excuse me.
Terry: I got to tell you,
This is one hell of a note.
You got meter, irony.
It's actually kind of funny.
Look at the way she's laying.
Nutjob.
Where's my lawyer? [ inhales deeply ]
Okay, I want you to do me a favor.
Third page.
Right after you're talking about your marketing campaign...
Yeah, read this sentence right here.
"you shouldn't've moved ahead on that campaign
Without my signoff."
"shouldn't've."
Now, you used two apostrophes
When you wrote the word "shouldn't've,"
So we contacted a berkeley linguist.
They compiled statistics on common spellings.
Would you believe
That only 1 out of 800,000 people use two apostrophes
When they spell "shouldn't've"?
So, we got you using one on your e-mail,
And we got one on the suicide note.
Oh, come on, ivana. We can do this all night.
I got tons of this shit.
Or you could just tell me what happened.
What happened is, I asked for my lawyer.
Call warren daniels.
You're not getting a lawyer.
You can't do that! I know my rights!
And I'm violating them. You realize that everything I say in here
Is inadmissible, right, and that you're not gonna get away with this?
I don't plan on needing to.
What is this? You're -- you're bargaining with me?
Look. I'm gonna give you two options.
Okay, option one, you arrest me, and I get my lawyer.
And the press has a field day.
Worst-case scenario -- you go down for both murders.
Best-case -- we get you for falsifying evidence
And obstructing justice. Okay, so option two
Is that you violate my constitutional rights.
And you get to tell me the truth with impunity.
What if I say I killed him?
I can't hold it against you.
But you weren't gonna say that 'cause it's not the truth.
Okay. [ sighs ]
The truth is, I would have killed him.
And I was prepared to kill him.
But you're right.
I didn't kill him 'cause I didn't have to.
Where did you find him?
At a bar that he likes.
By the time I got there, he was already shitfaced,
And I was actually worried
That he was gonna recognize me from --
I don't know -- the applsn christmas party
Or...Cnbc,
But...He didn't.
And it was so easy.
How did you get to his apartment?
I told him I thought he was cute.
[ sighs ]
We made out a little at the bar,
And...I let him feel me up.
I was gonna let him do me in the bathroom in a stall.
And we tried, but, you know, he was so drunk,
He could barely stand, let alone perform.
So...
He invited me back to his apartment
Where he said he had a little blue friend there
That could help him get it up.
But when we got there, he had everything but,
So he started crushing pills
And snorting oxys and parachuting.
And like an hour and a half later, he just passed out,
Started choking on his own vomit.
[ sighs ]
The dying part...
Did take longer than I expected,
But then I wrote the suicide note,
And I left.
And it almost worked if he had had...
Internet service.
Yep.
That note gets e-mailed to the media,
The trial's over, and erich's a free man.
[ sighs ]
[ indistinct conversations ]
[ scoffs ] this chick is evil.
Yeah, I-I've heard enough.
What about the laptop?
We'll handle it.
Ivana: Can I go now?
Yeah.
[ sighs ]
I shouldn't've used "shouldn't've."
I almost forgot.
Want to know if I killed cindy?
No.
All right.
[ chuckles ]
Man: Here she comes!
[ camera shutters clicking ]
[ indistinct shouting ]
Man: We interrupt this program
To bring you live to the hall of justice
Where d.A. Perez has an announcement.
Mark strauss' death
Has been ruled an accidental overdose.
There were no signs of homicide or suicide.
Mr. Strauss did not leave a note.
You know how to erase the hard drive?
I'm trying.
[ keyboard clacking ]
I do.
[ sighs ]
Watch yourself.