Jane Doe's mother had a name, which I can't reveal.
She had hopes which can never be realized.
She had love which has never returned.
And she had kindness which was never given back to her.
Two weeks after that interview Jane Doe's mother died of an overdose.
We can only hope for two things:
One, that she's reunited with her baby daughter;
And two, that her death was not totally in vain.
That can only be accomplished if we realize
that the only difference between Jane Doe and us
is the accident of where we were born.
We had no control over it.
Therefore we are no better nor more deserving than anyone else.
I'm CJ Nicholas. Good night.
(tone playing)
And after you saw the man with the knife, what did you do?
Oh, I didn't have time to do anything. Oliver just...
- Excuse me. Oliver? - My dog.
He's a Jack Russell terrier just like the one from "Frasier."
They don't know they're small.
They are absolutely fearless. It's amazing really.
Mr. Tarlow, what happened after you saw the man with the knife?
Oliver just ran up and bit him.
- Where? - On the calf of his left leg.
And Jack Russells have very sharp teeth.
There were four stab wounds.
One severed the left carotid artery.
Another just beneath the sternum punctured the aorta.
The remaining two punctured the abdomen
and opened the small intestines.
Dr. Romans, I'd like you to take a look at this knife
previously entered as People's Exhibit C.
This was taken from the defendant's apartment.
Could that be the murder weapon?
Yes, the blade's length and width are the same as the stab wound.
And when you examined this knife did you find any traces of blood on it?
No, it had recently been cleaned
with a strong industrial-strength cleaning solution.
And deformities on the handle indicate that it had been boiled.
Plus striations on the blade indicate
the blade had recently been reground.
I have no more questions. Thank you, Dr. Romans.
- Your witness. - So just to be clear,
what you're saying is you don't know
if this is the actual murder weapon or not.
No.
Thank you. No further questions.
The dog bite on Mr. Nicholas's left calf
was consistent with a dog bite from a dog of that size and breed.
Now you found a shoeprint at the scene.
What kind of shoe was that?
They belonged to a Montalvo sneaker.
Similar to the shoes owned by the defendant
marked for evidence as People's Exhibit D?
Yes.
Now is that a popular brand sneaker?
No, they're extremely rare.
In fact, there isn't a single store in Shreveport that carries them.
And did you compare the defendant's sneaker with the print at the scene?
Yes. They were a match for both size and weight.
Now the mask, the ski mask
that was found at the defendant's apartment
marked as People's Exhibit E. What can you tell me about this?
We found pepper spray around the eyeholes
on the outside. Someone had sprayed it.
It was consistent with the pepper spray belonging to the victim.
Thank you. I have no more questions, Your Honor.
Now you can't actually tell us that the bite on my client's calf
- came from Mr. Tarlow's dog? - No.
So it could have come from any dog of similar size and breed,
- like the one owned by my client in fact? - Yes, that's right.
The crime scene photos show
that there was considerable blood spatter caused by the attack.
- Is that correct? - Yes.
And yet when you examined the defendant's clothing,
entered into evidence as People's Exhibit E,
you found no traces of blood at all.
No, but the client had time...
Just a yes or no will be sufficient.
So in fact, would it be fair to say
that there is no direct forensic evidence whatsoever
connecting my client to this crime?
Yes.
No further questions.
(phone rings)
So sorry.
Yeah?
You'll excuse me for one minute.
- Sorry, honey. - It's okay.
This better be good.
So what the hell kind of emergency is this?
- We checked Nicholas's financials again. - Yeah.
He bought a video camera at Wright's Audio two days after the murder.
There's a point to this, right?
He also bought a black Reebok jogging suit and a ski mask
at the sporting goods store.
He bought a dog at the animal shelter.
All this within a day of buying the video camera.
Something doesn't smell right.
So when he went on this shopping spree, was he alone?
People at the sporting goods store can't remember.
Salesclerk at Wright's Audio said he might have been with someone.
The man at the animal shelter, for sure
remembers he was with another man.
- Do you know who this man is? - I'm pretty sure.
Well, if someone did a video, then this man's got it.
You think we're being set up?
We can't have that, can we?
Now would you please tell the court what you found on the defendant's pants?
On request of the DA's office, we retested the defendant's clothing.
And what did you find on it?
We found small traces of blood on the seams of his sweatpants.
We missed it the first time. It happens.
You Honor, we were given no prior notice of this testimony.
Judge, we only discovered this evidence yesterday.
I'll allow it. Don't worry, Counselor.
I'll give you time to examine this evidence.
Did you do a DNA analysis of the blood
that you found on the defendant's pants?
- Yes I did. - And what did that analysis show you?
The blood belonged to the victim.
I have no more questions, Your Honor.
- (horn honks) - Excuse me.
Stop.
Oh shit.
Your Honor, the prosecution rests.
Are you ready to call your first witness, Counselor?
Yes, Your Honor. The defense would like to call Dr. Aaron Wakefield.
Go. Stop stop.
Stop!
Excuse me. Sorry.
Hi, I need to open my safety deposit box.
My name's Corey Finley. Here's my ID.
Certainly, Mr. Findley.
Oh, it's actually Finley. No D.
Oh. That would explain why I cannot find your record.
Probably, yeah.
You know, I have a cousin named Findley.
- You do? - With a D.
Second cousin really.
Or is it first cousin once removed?
I can never figure that out.
You see, she's married to my first cousin.
Do you know how that removed thing works?
No, I don't really... you know, if we could possibly...
Here it is. Corey Finley no D.
Do you have your key with you, Mr. Finley no D?
Yes, I do. I have my key. There it is.
- Oh, good. - Okay.
Hey.
Okay.
It's right in here.
150, 151...
2263, found it. It's right here. It's right there.
Well, of course. There it is.
Okay, here's my key.
Do you think that we could speed this up?
- I'm in a bit of a rush. - No.
Okay.
- Care for a private booth? - No thank you.
Mr. Finley!
Oh!
Ow.
Excuse me. Excuse me, stop.
Sorry.
And in your opinion, Dr. Wakefield,
could those wounds have been caused by a knife other than the one
- belonging to the defendant? - Absolutely.
Any blade of that approximate length
or width could have caused those wounds.
There are hundreds of knives with blades that size.
(horns honking)
(horns blaring)
(horn blaring)
(tires squeal)
(grunts)
(panting)
- (grunts) - (horn blares)
Call your next witness, Mr. Spota.
I can't keep stalling.
Where is this surprise witness you keep telling me about?
He'll be here any second.
You've been saying that for the past four hours.
- He should have been here by now. - Counselor?
Uh, Your Honor,
we're expecting the appearance of a rebuttal witness.
Well, do you know where he is?
Uh...
no, Your Honor.
Your Honor, the defense requests a continuance at this time
so we can examine the prosecution's new forensic evidence.
Judge: Motion granted.
We'll meet back here at 9:00 AM Monday morning.
Court adjourned.
Counselor, is the defense ready to continue?
We are, Your Honor.
The defense calls CJ Nicholas.
(court murmuring)
Raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
- so help you God? - I do.
Be seated.
- Did you murder Doris Ruth Owens? - I did not.
So why are you on trial here today?
- 'Cause I wanted to be. - (murmuring)
What do you mean?
I deliberately implicated myself in the crime.
- Why would you do such a thing? - I was working on a story
about the DA's office planting forensic evidence
in murder trials in order to obtain guilty verdicts.
Your Honor, that is an outrageous statement.
I felt the only way that I could uncover evidence of corruption in the DA's office
was to implicate myself in the crime,
to see if the DA would fabricate DNA evidence which he now has done.
(clamoring)
- (banging gavel) - Silence.
(quiets)
Did you know about this?
Not until my client told me yesterday, Your Honor.
- Is this true? - Yes, Your Honor.
- And you have evidence to support this? - We do.
Your Honor, I am not even gonna begin to deal
with how insulting and defamatory this is.
However, it is obvious that the defense is desperate.
They're trying to create a jury nullification so you'll call for a mistrial
because they know they're going to lose.
You cannot allow them to present this ridiculous defense.
The prosecution opened the door, Your Honor,
by introducing last-minute forensic evidence.
My client is on trial for his life.
He should be given every latitude.
You say you have evidence. I'll give you a chance to present it.
I will not... I repeat, will not
let you simply make wild and damaging accusations.
Understand me, Mr. Nicholas?
Oh, there will be no mistrial.
There will be a contempt of court citation for you, Mr. Spota,
if your proof turns out to be not proof.
- We understand, Your Honor. - You may continue,
- although you are on a very short leash. - Thank you, Your Honor.
Now, CJ, please tell the court why you have done this.
I had been investigating the DA for some time.
There had been a series of cases in which last-minute forensic evidence,
always DNA, was introduced. So I investigated further
and I became convinced that the DA was planting evidence.
But why go to such extraordinary lengths?
It was my last resort. My editor told me to back off it.
I couldn't make my suspicions public without proof.
- So what did you do? - I found out the details of the case
from Detective Nickerson. Then I went out and bought a Jack Russell terrier
and got him to bite me on the left calf.
Then I bought the switchblade, the pants and the sneakers.
Spota: This is a receipt for the sneakers
I'd like to mark as Defense Exhibit A.
You can see that it is clearly dated
three days after the murder took place.
This is a receipt for the sweatpants, Defense Exhibit B.
Again, dated after the murder.
So if you bought the sweatpants after the murder took place,
how did the victim's blood get on it?
The only answer is the DA put it there.
So you're saying because the DA's case was purely circumstantial,
he planted the evidence to tie you to the murder scene?
Yes.
No further questions, Your Honor.
That's it?
That's the proof
that I'm a calculating dishonest man?
Not to mention a felon?
A couple receipts for a pair of sweatpants?
My office and myself is a bastion of corruption
because you bought a pair of sweatpants
a few days after the murder.
I've got to hand it to you, you're something else.
- And the sneakers. - Oh, the sneakers.
I forgot about the sneakers. Well, that seals the deal right there.
Judge, you've got to put the cuffs on me right now.
(court laughs)
CJ: I agree.
Do you...
and I use this word very loosely...
do you have any proof?
I made a DVD documenting the purchases.
- Everything. - And where is that DVD?
My colleague who shot it...
was killed in an accident on his way to the courthouse.
And the disc was destroyed.
Well, I'm very sorry about your colleague.
But other than you saying
that you have a DVD that backs up your claims,
is there... and I use this word
again lightly...
is there any proof
that that DVD exists?
I'm sorry, I didn't hear your answer.
Answer the question, Mr. Nicholas.
- No. - No, you will not answer the question
or no you have no proof it exists?
No, all you have is my word.
Well, that's kind of on shaky ground right now, isn't it?
- (court laughs) - That's not for me to say.
You know what, Mr. Nicholas?
That's the first thing that you've said
that I agree with.
It's for the jury to decide, isn't it?
Now I have just one more question,
one little pesky question.
The fact that you bought a pair of sneakers
and sweatpants sometime after the murder,
the fact that you bought anything after the murder,
does that mean that you couldn't have owned a pair of sneakers
or sweatpants or bought anything else for that matter
before the murder?
I'm sorry, I did not hear your answer.
I guess not.
Thank you.
Despite the sensational claims made by the defense,
CJ Nicholas was found guilty today of first-degree murder.
It took the jury less than five hours
to return a verdict of guilty
in the murder trial of Channel 8's CJ Nicholas.
Sentencing is next week.
DA Hunter said that the state will seek the death penalty
due to the viciousness of the crime.
Thanks. Thanks for coming.
What's wrong with you? Of course I'd come.
I have a speech.
I've been rehearsing it over and over.
God knows I've had the time.
I kinda thought I had it down, you know?
But now my mouth's all cotton.
Okay, here it goes.
The last time I saw you, you said that you believed in me.
You said you knew I couldn't have done this.
Then you saw the evidence at the trial and you said to yourself,
"I want to believe him. I have to."
There's all this evidence. So much.
And then the DNA evidence. That was the last straw, wasn't it?
It was the clincher. That's why you now think I'm a murderer.
- I don't. - Yes you do.
And it's all right. You don't have to lie.
I don't blame you.
I just want you to listen.
If there was ever a time that you loved me,
if there was ever a time you thought I was a good person,
then I want you to hear this.
What I said at the trial was true.
The DNA was planted by your boss,
just like he planted the DNA evidence on that cigarette in the Andre Benson case.
Now I know you've never met a defendant that didn't protest his innocence,
but I swear it's true.
Finley had the disc that proved it all.
And I think that Hunter had him killed
because the disc that Finley had locked in his desk went missing.
I know that sounds crazy.
- I believe you. - Listen to me.
I'm asking you not to believe me.
I'm begging you to go and find out for yourself.
Be skeptical. Be suspicious.
Do some digging on your own. I know how good you are.
Please, you're my last hope.
Why would I ask you to do any of this if I'm guilty?
Why would I ask you to find out the truth if the truth was bad for me?
Because you have nothing left to lose.
Oh, Ella.
You're so so wrong.
I have you to lose.
Death by lethal injection...
that was the sentence handed down by the jury
in the CJ Nicholas murder trial,
the verdict in the penalty phase of the trial.
Nicholas, when asked if he had anything to say,
maintained his innocence and said that the real facts
would someday be revealed.
Nicholas was driven from the court directly to death row
at the Louisiana State Prison
where he will live in complete isolation for up to 20 hours a day
until his appeal process is exhausted.
This is not a happy day for anyone.
No life is more precious than another.
Doris Ruth Owens's life was taken from her.
We cannot bring that back.
And the young man CJ Nicholas has forfeited his life.
There's nothing to celebrate.
Two lives are going to be lost,
one cut short, the other wasted.
And the only thing that I can say
is that the jury's verdict serves justice.
And in that way it does serve us all.
When I started to walk away, I couldn't look back.
I just couldn't see her wrapped in all those newspapers
in front of the church. I couldn't.
I knew she was safe
and warm,
that she was with God.
Still...
I couldn't look back.
Jane Doe's mother had a name, which I can't reveal.
She had hopes which can never be realized.
She had love...
May I ask you why you are questioning me about Nicholas and Finley?
I'm not representing the district attorney's office.
There's nothing official about this, I promise.
Why are you here?
Please, it's strictly personal. I'm asking for your help.
If anyone finds out that I was here talking to you I could get in a lot of trouble.
Now if... and this is a big if...
if there is a story here, you have my word it will be yours.
But again, I don't think there's anything here at all.
What do you want to know?
Did CJ come to you about the story of the DA planting evidence?
Yeah, he claimed that Hunter planted DNA evidence in the Andre Benson case.
He said there were a lot of other cases too.
But you've got to understand, with a guy like CJ,
he always had some big story
that was just one phone call away, one source away.
The problem was he had hunches and very little else.
What was he basing these hunches on?
He had a copy of the Andre Benson interview tape.
He claimed that the cigarette that he was smoking
on the tape turned up at the crime scene.
Now I asked him how could you plant evidence at a crime scene
after the crime scene photos were taken?
- Was he doing this alone? - No.
He dragged poor Finley into it.
- Ella. - Bruce.
- Hi. - Hi, how are you?
- I'm good. - Did you bring the information?
Is that the only reason you asked me here?
Oh, stop it. Honestly.
- Thank you. - What's this all about anyway?
It's about us getting in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out.
So your lab did the DNA testing for all 17 of these cases?
- Yes. - Was there anything unusual about them?
- No, not really. - Nothing?
- Well... - Well what?
It's not something I can put my finger on.
Put another body part on it. What is it?
It's just that some of the DNA samples,
they came in at the last minute.
- And that's unusual? - Kind of. Sometimes.
How many of the 17 cases?
Most.
Oh yeah, I remember them.
How could I ever forget? They seemed like such a nice couple.
The one with the beard always wanted to take pictures.
And it turns out the nicer looking one was a murderer.
And I was standing this close to him.
It gives me shivers. I guess you can never tell, can you?
(sighs) No, I guess you can't.
(buzzer sounds)
(phone rings)
Hello?
Operator, I'll accept.
- (phone beeps) - Ella, listen.
When Finley went home and found the disc was missing,
he would have gone for backup. Now think.
What's the absolutely safest place you could keep something?
Um, maybe with somebody else. Where does his mother live?
Both of his parents are dead.
(sighs)
- What about a friend? - I was his closest friend.
Um, a bank.
A safety deposit box.
Yes. Yes, that makes sense.
Okay, his bank was the Pelican Bank & Trust.
Oh yes, I remember him vividly.
He was in a terrible hurry.
No D in his name,
unlike my second cousin or whatever he is.
Rush rush rush.
He simply took something out of his safe deposit box
and literally ran out of here.
No private cubicle, nothing.
He didn't even take his key.
I've never seen anything quite like it.
Did you see what he removed from the box?
Oh, we're not allowed to do that.
Our customers are guaranteed complete privacy.
I appreciate that, Ms. Urlanger.
Miss Urlanger. Never quite liked Ms.
Sounds like a beehive.
Um, you said he reached for the box right in front of you.
It's possible that you saw what he removed
because you couldn't avoid it, isn't it?
Well, now that you mention it, maybe I kind of saw something.
A plastic thingy with something shiny inside.
- A computer disc maybe? - Maybe.
The till is directly linked to my inventory.
When I scan the barcode
it logs the product and the manufacturer's number.
Right, so you can match any receipt with an item that's been purchased?
Yup, as long as it has the manufacturer's label.
But I already told you guys this.
You spoke to someone from my office?
- Yeah. - Do you remember who?
Yes, he said he was the DA.
(buzzer sounds)
- Hi. - Hi.
I called about seeing the Nicholas case evidence box.
Right, you're from the DA's office.
- Yeah, I have a case number. - That's okay. I already pulled it for you.
- Oh, thank you. - Uh-huh.
Great, thanks.
Hunter: Ella?
What are you doing here so late?
I was just looking at the...
the original police file on the Belmont case.
I'm not familiar with that case.
It's a carjacking. We brought him in two days ago.
- You know Lieutenant Merchant. - Yes, hi.
- You keep late hours. - So do you.
I hope you're not letting your personal life interfere with your work.
What?
You look tired. You should get some rest.
Yeah, I was actually just on my way home.
If you don't get any rest, you can come down with something.
And health is the most important thing we have.
Absolutely.
- Good night, Ella. - Good night, sir.
Let me ask you something.
If you had to run back to your safety deposit box
to get your backup disc,
wouldn't that mean that there's an original disc missing?
And would it be missing?
I mean, that's just not the kind of thing that disappears, right?
Maybe you lose your cell phone or your keys or something,
but definitely not
the single most important piece of evidence in your entire life.
Are you listening to me?
Look, I've been thinking over and over.
When I showed the tape to Weldon
of Merchant giving that cigarette to Andre Benson,
Weldon said, "How could that mean anything
since the tape was made three days after the crime scene photographs were taken?"
But what if the crime photos were doctored?
What if they altered the photo somehow?
What if they put the cigarette butt in after the photo was taken?
Shit.
I am not good at this.
Look, it's okay. I understand.
I'm your intern, you're an assistant DA.
You don't ask interns to lunch unless you want something.
So just ask me.
Listen, you know your partner?
Roberta? You remember her?
Yeah, I remember she's getting her PhD
in computer science from the university, right?
- You do remember. - Well, it's kind of delicate,
but I need to speak to an expert in digital imagery.
- You mean digital forensics? - Yes, exactly.
Well, she can help you.
If she doesn't have the answers for you she knows the people who do.
Great. Can you arrange a meeting between the two of us?
- Of course. When? - Tonight?
- It's kind of a secret.
A secret is good. I like secrets.
I mean, absolutely no one at the DA's office can know about this.
Absolutely no one. It cannot go through the regular channels.
I'll set it up for tonight.
Danielle, there could be danger here.
Danger?
- (police radio chatter) - Hi.
What can I do for you this evening, Miss Crystal?
I'm really sorry to bother you, Sergeant,
especially after hours.
It's just I am overwhelmed with casework and...
(sighs)
I haven't even been able to start my report for DA Hunter.
He's gonna have my ass tomorrow if...
Am I supposed to be following you on all of this?
Oh, sorry.
I get kind of wound up when I'm nervous.
We're doing an in-house study on how crime scene evidence,
specifically photos, are archived
by both the state and local police departments...
if there's anything we can do to improve that system,
you know, keep the bad guys in prison.
Which brings me back to my first question:
Is there anything I can do for you this evening, Miss Crystal?
Yes. Would you please show me how and where the digital images
are downloaded from the photographers' CF cards?
How safe are they? Oh, and also, are they JPEG compressed files
or are they uncompressed? I want to compare that to the sheriff's office.
If you look down there, there's a big old double-bolted metal door.
Now all the physical evidence is stored in there
along with the hard drives. And only the evidence sergeant
has the combination to the lock.
As far as images go,
I don't know if they're J-whatever- you-said or not.
They're all stored on a server.
And you can't access to it without somebody with a passcode.
And there ain't too many somebodies with a passcode.
And you might be one of those somebodies?
No doubt.
Can you show them to me? Please?
(sighs)
You got a case number?
Me? No. Anything is fine.
Let's see. How about 11151?
That's from...
May 21, 2006.
Sure, that's fine.
(phone rings)
Evidence Sergeant Gilbert.
This is Colletti from Major Crime.
We need the skirt and blouse from case 18446.
We need to do a DNA match with the perp we've got in custody.
We might have just caught ourselves a serial rapist.
I need to know if you have it.
You want me to go get it right now?
No, I want you tell my captain he'll get it tomorrow instead.
All right, hang on.
Goddamn son of a bitch.
It's like goddamn rush hour around here.
Goddamn son of a bitch.
I'm on a circus train that's full of midgets.
(Gilbert grumbling)
Goddamn son of a bitch.
(beeping)
Everything has got to be right now.
I've got your goddamn right now right here.
Okay.
Okay, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
(door buzzes)
Damn it. Son of a bitch clown crap.
Everything's right now. God damn it.
If I wanted to talk to people I would have stayed in vice.
Right now, right now, right now.
Goddamn everything's got to be goddamn right now.
Son of a bitch.
No, we ain't got it down here.
Are you sure? Case 18446, you don't have it?
I'm sure 'cause ain't nobody logged it in neither.
They must have got the number wrong.
I'm in some major shit here. I'll call you back.
Yeah, you do that.
(exhales)
(buzzer sounds)
Ow!
So how you doing, ace?
What's this all about?
- Guard! - Easy easy.
Just want to see how you're getting on.
Is the food okay? They taking care of you?
You know, sometimes it gets kinda lonely in here.
Why don't you just cut the bullshit? You want something. What is it?
Can't a guy even come by and see how you're doing?
- What the hell do you want? - World peace. What do you want?
I want everyone to know what a scumbag you really are.
- Oh, me? - Yeah, you.
No.
No, I put away the bad guys.
You planted the evidence.
You do know they monitor the phones here, don't you?
You take care, ace.
You son of a bitch!
(taps)
Hi. Come on in here.
Ella?
- You must be Roberta. - Yeah.
You and Danielle may turn out to be lifesavers.
I mean literal lifesavers. I can't thank you enough.
Do you have it? I want to see it. She has it, right?
Ella, this is Dell and Allen. They're both post-doctorates here.
Sociability is not their strong suit.
- Say hello to Ella. - Both: Hello.
- Do you have it? - Here you go, fellas.
They're not used to actually speaking to other vertebrates,
- so be patient. - Right.
Uh, the second one there.
(Dell chuckles)
- Are these real dead people? - I'm afraid so.
These are great. Can I make a copy?
No, Allen. That would be against the law.
I'm Dell.
He's Allen.
Sorry, Dell. Can you open this photograph right here?
All right, here's what I'm looking for.
You see this cigarette right here?
I need to know if you think it's possible that this cigarette was added after the fact.
They're uncompressed. 24 megs, that's good.
- Why's that good? - The more resolution the more metadata.
- Metadata? - She doesn't know what metadata is.
She knows lots of stuff that you don't know.
Metadata is literally data about data.
Digital images are comprised of pixels. That's the data.
If you look closer you find that there's metadata
around the pixels. Watch. Look over here.
- See the patterns? - Uh-huh.
Tell her about what Lukas and Fridrich and Goljan found.
Tell her about the statistic characteristics of imaging sensors.
Shut up.
Three researchers at Binghamton
found that cameras have a pattern noise
and if you look closely enough
you can find that there is a difference in the pattern noise
of the algorithm of each camera even though they're mass manufactured.
There's a subtle difference in each one.
It's actually like a digital fingerprint.
So let's look at the pattern on this part of the image.
- See it? - Uh-huh.
Now let's move over to the cigarette and see that pattern.
It's different. Can you see it?
That cigarette was definitely not part of the original photograph.
Oh my God.
(footsteps echoing)
(door banging)
Shit.
What was it? Two, three, four.
Four orange. Orange orange.
Where is it?
Ah. (groans)
(door opens)
(engine revving)
(tires squealing)
(panting)
Oh!
(screams)
(engine revving)
(revving)
(whimpering)
(screams)
(gunshots)
- (horn blaring) - You all right?
(panting)
- How'd you know? - I was following him following you.
Never liked that son of a bitch.
I knew he was up to something so I followed him.
I don't know what else to say but thank you.
It's what I do. We ain't all like him.
I know. I know.
I've got to call this in. It's gonna be a shitstorm.
He's not the only part.
This storm's bigger than you think.
We could be talking Katrina here.
TV announcer: In an incredible turn of events,
District Attorney Mark Hunter was arrested
and charged with the falsifying of evidence
in the murder trial of Andre Benson
causing a mistrial in that case and 17 others,
including the trial of Channel 8 reporter CJ Nicholas.
Hunter was taken to the county jail
and booked this afternoon. Bail is pending.
- (thunder rumbles) - (reporters clamoring)
Harold Rice, who is now the acting district attorney,
said that his office has to review the Nicholas trial
along with the others because all DNA evidence
in these trials is now suspect.
Rice said that he has serious doubts
that there was enough evidence to retry Nicholas
as the case was circumstantial
and not that strong without the DNA evidence.
As a result, he saw no reason to keep him in prison.
News 8's Kelly Gertner reports.
Kelly: The scene was a madhouse today
outside Louisiana State Prison
as CJ Nicholas went from death row to freedom
in a matter of hours.
As his taxi sped away from the prison
one could not escape being struck by three things...
one: the rise and spectacular fall of Mark Hunter
who before this afternoon
was destined to be our next governor
and is now in jail;
two: the fall and now possibly spectacular rise
of CJ Nicholas who before this afternoon was facing execution
and is now free and about to become a national celebrity;
and three: Doris Ruth Owens...
the young woman found dead in the park
shown here when she was arrested for prostitution...
her case is now open again
and will likely remain unsolved.
She will become one of those statistics,
an unsolved case involving
a relatively unknown young woman.
(thunder rumbles)
(thunder rumbling)
She was so little.
...felt her grow
you know, cold.
Hey.
You don't have to watch that thing again.
Turn it off and come back to bed with me.
I'm so dumb. I didn't believe you about Hunter.
You were right all along. I'm so dumb.
Don't torture yourself. You were the greatest.
You saved me.
Why are you dressed?
She was blackmailing you, wasn't she?
(chuckles) What?
You know, sometimes you hear an alarm bell go off in your head.
You don't know what it is or why it's there.
It's like a radio station you just can't quite get.
What are you talking about?
I've got to hand it to you. This was a brilliant plan.
And then I saw this photo.
Bingo, there it is.
That hand.
I mean, who could really forget that hand?
That's Taieesha's hand. Taieesha didn't die of an overdose.
There was no Taieesha.
Doris Ruth Owens
was the girl you hired from Buffalo to be Taieesha.
Your award-winning documentary was a complete phony.
- Ella... - She was blackmailing you, wasn't she?
She followed you up here from Buffalo and she was blackmailing you.
She was going to expose the fact that your precious career was a total lie.
So you had to stop her.
I love you and you love me.
Everything was a lie. Your entire career was a lie.
You killed Doris Ruth Owens
because she was threatening to expose your lie.
You are a lie. How can I love a lie?
What was I supposed to do? Just let her bleed me to death?
Ruin my whole life?
What choice did I have? You tell me.
You're worth more than her? Just like that?
No. No, it's not like that.
You don't have to do this.
Look, Hunter put 17 people in prison for crimes they may not have committed.
Are you telling me that she's worth more than all those people?
She's worth more than the whole system?
It was a brilliant plan. You commit the perfect murder,
you expose Hunter, you win whatever awards you want to,
you get to become a star.
And after you're acquitted they can't try you again because of double jeopardy.
We can go so far together.
There's just one little glitch in your plan.
You weren't acquitted. They declared a mistrial.
So once they make the connection between you and Owens
they'll have enough evidence to convict you.
- This doesn't have to happen. - Oh, yes it does.
Why?
Because it's too late.
(sirens wailing)
Ella, what have you done?
What have you done!?
I really don't have anything more to say to you.
(police radio chatter)
You know, I just thought of one more thing:
Fuck you.