All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.SVU.S23E19.720p.HDTV.x264-SYNCOPY - HI

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.

All right, listen up.

We're looking
for Aretha Green...

13 years old, 5 feet tall,
brown hair, brown eyes,

last seen wearing
a pink shirt and overalls

entering the park at
110th Street, 1930 yesterday.

I want horizontal
and vertical lines.

If you get into the brambles,
move in twos.

Report back
once you've cleared your grid.

Now let's move out.

[dramatic music]

[♪]

Missing almost 14 hours now.
You think we'll find her, sir?

Something you should
get used to, Garland.

We find old men and toddlers.

Kids this age don't get found.

It's either solved or it isn't.

[device beeps]

Mannox,
10-2 the command post.

Take your guys
to the mobilization point

at Broadway and Fulton.

We're in the middle
of a grid search here.

What's going on?

Something happened
at the World Trade Center.

We're getting reports that
a Cessna hit the North Tower.

10-4. We gotta go.

[♪]

Some kid was using
a magnetic rod with a net,

fishing for coins,
ended up pulling up phalanges.

It's the finger bone.

I know what it is.

Forensic archaeologist
already confirmed it's human.

That's when
we sent the divers in,

called you guys.

[♪]

Jesus.

- Get this to the morgue.
- Yes, sir.

[♪]

[tense music]

[♪]

Baby? You in the bathroom?

Hello? Kendall?

$850,000 worth of watches,
gone,

and they were all right here
before I went out last night.

What about when you got back?

I didn't think to check.

And you said
your girlfriend was with you,

Kendall Vance?

She probably went back
to her dorm.

Her dorm?

On University and 8th.
She goes to NYU.

Can you send me her info?

Just dropped you her card,
but she has a test today,

- so she's not picking up.
- How did you two meet?

- SugarBabyz website.
- I see.

So you have an arrangement.

I don't like
what you're implying.

We're in a very
committed relationship.

Okay, sometimes, I help her out

with tuition or books.
So what?

A detective from my squad
is reaching out

to the registrar's office
at NYU to try and locate her.

She wants to be a singer...
Broadway.

That's great, Mr. Mazdani.

Hey, for what it's worth,

no one by that name
is registered at NYU.

Are you sure?

She's never lied to me.

She's sweet,
fragile like an injured fawn.

She'd been sexually assaulted.

- When?
- A year ago.

I was helping her get over it.

Did she keep
anything here at the condo?

Maybe a toothbrush
in the bathroom.

[suspenseful music]

[♪]

Check for prints.
Swab this for DNA.

Earlier today, police divers
searching the Harlem Meer

in Central Park recovered
the skeletal remains

of a young female
approximately 12-13 years old.

We have dinner reservations

at Three Broomsticks
in an hour.

Abby's changed her outfit
three times already.

[laughs]
Of course she has.

- I'm okay like this?
- Yeah, you look great.

Investigators still
don't know how long

her body has been
in the water.

[♪]

Yeah, that's Kendall.

Eyval.

You speak Farsi?

It's a long story.

You really found
the watches on her?

I thought she liked me.

In her own way.

The officer will see you out.

My client was living
under an assumed name.

Can I ask how you found her?

You've got bigger problems,
Counselor.

She's looking at grand larceny.

I advise you get her
to confess.

She pleads this out,
she might not even do time.

Chief.

Hey.
[laughs]

Thank you for meeting me.

Oh, so nice to hear from you.

How've you been?
How's the family?

Just got back
from a week in Orlando.

Made me long for the halcyon
days of CompStat meetings.

[laughs]
I bet.

But you said...
You said that you had a case

that you needed help with?

You heard about the body
in the Meer?

Yeah, young girl.
Just horrible.

It is. Take a look at this.

Aretha Green.

She went missing
20 years ago.

I think
she's finally been found.

[♪]

[dramatic music]

[♪]

*LAW AND ORDER SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT*
Season 23 Episode 19

Episode Title:
"Tangled Strands of Justice"

Aired on:
April 28, 2022.

Aretha Green touching

She disappeared
the day before 9/11.

You were working the case?
You must've been a rookie.

Patrol officer,
four months out of the academy.

We were performing
a grid search

in and around the Harlem Meer
the morning of the 11th.

Grid search
that was never finished.

The investigation went
dormant after the attacks.

To this day,
I still think about her mother.

I get that.

But isn't this Homicide's case,
Chief?

Whoa, whoa.

Careful what you call me
in here.

We don't want
the roof caving in.

Besides, he's about
to get a new title:

Deputy mayor
of the new administration.

Needless to say,

any other department will see
me as even more of an adversary

than they did before.

Well, I will deal
with Homicide.

Are you still in touch
with your old CO?

Carl Mannox was
the duty captain in charge

of the investigation.

He's living in a retirement
community now in Hempstead.

Wasn't happy
I made deputy chief.

So Rollins, Velasco,
you two are lead on this.

Take a ride out to Long Island,
and not on your motorcycle.

Who'd you say this was?

Aretha Green.

It was a missing persons case
that you were the lead on.

You know how many cases
like this I saw

in 35 years on the force?

She disappeared
on September 10, 2001.

Christ on a raft,
that's right.

We were looking for her
when the planes hit.

You took the initial report,
right?

It's got my signature on it.
Yeah, I remember now.

Mother was frantic.

Daughter left her scooter
in the park.

She went out to get it,
never came home.

Seemed like a nerdy kid.

You know, not somebody who
would ever get

- into any trouble.
- You initiated a grid search,

and then the Towers fell,

and it just got put
on the back burner?

More like pushed off
the stove.

There was before
and there was after,

but during...
So many tragedies unsolved.

Did the family
ever try to contact you?

Yeah, every day for months,
her mother would call.

She was a nurse.

Good people,
but what could I tell her?

I had no leads.

We're pulling bodies out of
the rubble from dawn till dusk.

I can't even imagine.

You were too young, but guys
my age who were down there

lost a lot more
since 9/11 than on it.

Nobody got off scot-free,

but some of us were
luckier than others.

Diagnosed lung cancer 2016,
and I'm still here.

[somber music]

So why are you
reopening the case?

You didn't hear
about the body

they found in Central Park?

I don't keep up
with that stuff anymore.

They think it's Aretha?

[♪]

I hope you see it through.

If you see the mother,
tell her I'm sorry.

What are you doing
on Long Island?

The girl from the Meer? Geez.

Yeah, well, let me know.
I can help.

See you tonight.

I'm gonna make falafel. Bye.

Mr. Carisi,
do you have a minute?

Ms. Miglani,
what can I do for you?

I have a client
who was picked up

by Major Case last night,
grand larceny.

Okay.

Here's the thing,
the guy she robbed

didn't know
her real name, number, address,

but somehow,
Major Case made the ID.

- They won't tell me how.
- That's not really my purview.

No, but you know the client.

She was one of Henry Mesner's
first victims last year.

The psycho who speared you
in the ear.

Yeah, I remember Henry.

Which victim?

Libby Blandon?
That was a brutal assault.

Her mother
was Henry's psychiatrist.

Didn't Libby go back to school?

She dropped out,
and now she's fleecing

rich guys for six-figure
watches, allegedly.

Oh, that's too bad.

Wouldn't be the first victim

that we saw unravel
after an assault,

especially one like that.

- So what can we do?
- I'm not sure.

Her lawyer, Miglani, says that
the sugar daddy Libby robbed

wouldn't have
been able to ID her.

She used a burner cell,
fake name, but Major Case

was still able to arrest her

less than 12 hours
after the initial report.

- So how did they find her?
- Major Case isn't saying.

They somehow rused
the mother into calling her.

But here's the thing,

Miglani overheard
one of the detectives say

that they didn't need
to get Libby's DNA

- because they already had it.
- Her DNA was in the system?

Has she been arrested
since the assault?

Not in New York,
not in CODIS.

Another city?
Maybe another state?

- But that'd be fast.
- Very.

She's already pled not guilty,
been ROR'd.

Okay, well, after everything
that Libby's been through,

she needs an advocate.

So how do I reach her?

The girl from the Meer...
You got something for us, Doc?

Yes and no.

Still working up
the genetic profile.

I'll throw it up against
the next-of-kin database,

or if you think you can procure
an antemortem exemplar...

We'll take care of that.
So we know manner was homicide.

Cause?

Can't definitively
determine that.

Maybe fractured skull.

Any other indicators
washed away long ago.

Can you tell
when she went in the water?

More than a year ago,
less than 25.

Triangulating
the post-mortem interval's

gonna take some time.

The good news is, we have
a treasure trove of met a data:

Overalls, sneaker soles,
this watch band.

We'll narrow it down.

So you think
she could've been down there

- since September 2001?
- It's possible.

Oh.

One other thing.

This smaller pile...

Fetal bones.

About 20, 24 weeks
based on the density.

Fetal bones?

She was pregnant.

[♪]

Those scooters
were all the rage.

Aretha never left
the house without it.

No, she did not.

I let my granddaughter
go out looking for it.

I don't suppose
I'll ever forgive myself.

That's enough of that now,
Dad.

You have to forgive us some.

We haven't had
anybody comin' around

asking about Aretha in years.

A mistake
we're here to remedy.

This about that girl
in Central Park?

- It's not her, is it?
- We're not sure.

The medical examiner

still needs to make
an identification.

She was wearing overalls,
blue ones.

They did find overalls
and a watch.

Do you recognize that?

I gave her a watch
that looked just like that

for a good report card.

[somber music]

Who did this to my baby?

We are still
working this case.

But the first step is,
we need to make sure

that this
is definitely your daughter.

I don't understand.

We can make a DNA match
through you,

but it'd be easier
if you could give us something

of Aretha's to compare it to.

Something with her DNA on it.

I can do that.

I always thought
she had run away.

You know, she'd been depressed
the last few weeks,

and I thought maybe
I did something wrong.

But I hoped, you know, someday,
she'd forgive me, come home.

I couldn't keep her room
the same, you know,

like a little girl's room.

Grief isn't meant
to stay fixed, it's...

- Unstuck from time.
- Yeah.

But I kept a few things:
Her baby teeth.

Will that work?

Yeah.

I haven't spoken
to my mother in months.

She kept blaming herself
for what happened.

She said it so many times
that I started to believe her.

Okay, but she was
still able to contact you?

Yeah, in case of emergency.

So when her receptionist called

and said to get
to the office right away,

I thought something
terrible had happened.

That's where the police
were waiting to arrest you?

The first of many
questionable tactics.

But it still doesn't explain
how they were able to ID you

and why your DNA
was already in the system.

Have you ever been
arrested before... as a juvenile?

No, first-timer.

Is it possible that somebody
else at the SugarBabyz website

knew your real ID?

After what happened to me,

I didn't want
to be Libby anymore.

I had a different identity
for everyone I dated.

Okay.

It's not like
I made a habit of this.

I just wanted
to feel taken care of,

and Bijan was safe.

I should've never taken
the watches.

Okay, Libby,
that's not why we're here.

The point is, if her DNA

was not legitimately
in the system...

Could they have gotten it
from a genealogical website?

No, the only time
I ever gave anyone a sample

of my DNA
was when SVU did my rape kit.

[suspenseful music]

[♪]

Thank you.

Detective Szabo.
Captain Benson, Manhattan SVU.

I know who you are.
Why are you here?

To talk to you
about Libby Blandon.

Well, one squad's vic
is another squad's perp.

It happens.

So you do know that she was
a victim of a brutal rape

a year ago?

And you want me
to ask the ADA for leniency?

I already told her attorney
if she confesses,

the ADA would be open
to a plea deal.

Well, that's actually
not why I'm here.

I was curious
about how you ID'd her.

I didn't.
The guy she robbed did...

Made a corporeal ID.

She couldn't even look him
in the eye.

But how were you able
to bring her in?

She used a fake name,
fake number, and fake address.

But somehow, you managed to
pick her up through her mother?

I respect the rank, Captain.

But I don't come down
to your shop

and ask how you put
your rapists in jail.

This doesn't
have to be territorial.

Great.

Then let's
not make it that way.

We're both on the same team
just trying to solve our cases.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have DD5s to go over.

[♪]

Hey,
how'd it go with Major Case?

- Oh, I made a new friend.
- Not givin' in, huh?

Not even an inch.

I mean, this one
is a real ray of sunshine

and extremely defensive.

Carisi,
do you think it's possible

that she accessed Libby's
rape kit to get the DNA?

Nah, the M.E.'s office is
like its own fiefdom.

There's procedures
on the procedures

on top of layers of protocol.

For a cop to be allowed
to access a victim's DNA

in order to arrest her?
That's inconceivable.

That's what I thought.

I put a call to General Counsel
at OCME anyway.

So the girl
is definitely Aretha Green?

Yes.
I was able to get a DNA match

from the baby tooth.

Okay,
we'll let the family know.

Something else that may be
difficult to tell the family,

- but may help solve the murder.
- What's that, Doctor?

I was able to pull a DNA
profile from the fetal bones.

It was a boy.

Whoever the father is,
he wasn't in CODIS,

and he's a not familial match
to Aretha.

- He was African American.
- Not a lot to go on.

No, I wish there was more.

But these bonds have told me
as much as they can tell.

Finding out
who did this to her,

that baton passes back to you.

It's her?

We are so sorry
for your loss.

She's been in the water
all this time?

All alone?

We're gonna get through this,
Cora.

[♪]

I want my daughter's remains.

I wanna bury her.

Just put my baby to rest.

We'll arrange that
as soon as we can.

There's something else,
Ms. Green.

Aretha was pregnant
at the time she died.

I'm sorry?

She was
more than five months.

- No.
- We have to ask,

did you have any idea?

No. But that can't be true.

They must have got it wrong.

It's not the kind of thing
a doctor gets wrong, Mr. Green.

He found fetal bones of a boy.

No, no, I can't hear...
That is not true.

No,
she was just a baby herself.

Dad, would you tell them?

It's all right, Cora.
I got you.

It's best that you just go now.

Of course.

But at some point, we will need
to speak with both of you.

Whoever got Aretha pregnant

may also be responsible
for her death.

I understand.
Just not right now.

[♪]

As OCME's General Counsel,
I can assure you there's no way

that profile was accessed.

Victim DNA is never uploaded
to any database.

And yet, it was.

Harry,
this is Captain Benson of SVU.

- How can I help you?
- Well, I'm trying

to figure out how
a rape victim's DNA profile

was accessed
in a criminal investigation.

Libby Blandon, her profile
was uploaded three days ago.

Oh, that was
a Major Case request.

Request for what, exactly?

They had DNA
from a grand larceny suspect...

No ID, DNA wasn't in CODIS,
not in our regular database...

How did you decide
to run that DNA

against a rape victim's DNA?

Did you have a name
or a date of birth?

The detective was told

she had been an assault vic
in 2021, so I checked,

found her case was active,
trial pending.

Hold on.

You ran DNA
from a current crime scene

against multiple
rape victims' kits

without checking
with your supervisor?

It came from Major Case,
not some precinct detective.

It's not illegal.

Because it never
occurred to anybody

that they needed a law
to prohibit it.

This is completely unethical.

And totally against
OCME's protocol.

I am as stunned and appalled
as you are, Captain.

I promise you,
we'll be launching

an internal investigation.

Good,
so will the DA's office.

And please tell me
that this is the first time

that you've done this.

[suspenseful music]

Thank you for coming in,
Ms. Green.

I know this is not easy.

Keep going over this
in my head.

It still
doesn't make any sense.

We just ask you
to think back.

You know,
maybe Aretha had a boyfriend.

Aretha didn't have
any boyfriends though.

She was a good girl.

I'm sure she was.

But sometimes, teenage girls
keep things from their mothers.

No, my daughter
was all about her studies.

If she had a boyfriend,
I would have known it.

Okay.

But who looked after Aretha

when you worked
the night shift?

My father was there,

and there is no way
he would have ever tolerated

any boys hanging around.

We watched the news all day.

I remember thinking, "Is it
possible Aretha went downtown,

maybe to help?"

She had gone missing
a day before.

That's right.

Has she ever taken off on her
own, maybe to a friend's house?

She came
straight home from school.

Cora was pretty strict
about that.

And she never had friends
over, like a boy from class?

Sometimes to study.

But I was there.

You were always there?

Well, a man has to walk
around once in a while

to stretch his legs,
doesn't he?

Sure.

But if I left the house,
it was only when Red was there.

In case, you know?

Uh, Red... Red, who?

I shouldn't say anymore.

I don't want Cora
getting pissed off at me.

- So Cora had a boyfriend?
- According to her father.

He was alone in the house
with Aretha.

Cora never mentioned that.

There's nothing
in the police report.

Do the old man a favor

and not let on
he was the one who told us.

Who told you that?

Ms. Green,
no one is judging you.

All we want is to find out
what happened to Aretha.

- He would never...
- No one is saying that either.

But maybe he saw something
or heard something.

My baby is gone.

What difference
does any of this make?

[somber music]

She's not coming back.

I know
it doesn't feel that way now.

But I believe there's a reason

we found Aretha
after all these years.

She wants us to know.

Red was married.

That's why I didn't mention it
to the police.

Why drag his family
through all this...

Hurt his wife more than
we already had?

He was an X-ray technician.

We worked
at the hospital together,

and after, um...

He moved to Uniondale.

He may still be there.

[♪]

You've got to be kidding me.

Six victims' profiles
were accessed by the OCME

in the past two years?

I hope there were
no convictions.

Well, so far,
we've found two...

Both Major Case.

A male assault victim,
nine years old at the time,

was picked up in the Bronx
at 17 years old

and convicted of carjacking.

And a female sex worker
who was raped two years ago

was recently convicted
of forgery and wire fraud.

And our current case,
Libby Blandon,

was raped a year ago,

is now awaiting indictment
on grand larceny.

And I take it the Major Case
detective is not forthcoming?

[scoffs] Detective Szabo?
No, not even a little.

However, we did find out that
all six breaches in the system

were made by the same
forensic biologist, Harry Kent,

and each at the request
of Detective Szabo.

Well, we all know
what's going on here.

Look, Libby Blandon was raped
and brutalized by Henry Mesner,

and instead of standing trial,
he managed to get himself

back in that mental hospital.

My guess is that Libby has been

on a downward spiral
ever since.

Libby's defense attorney
can probably get the judge

to throw the DNA out,

but the problem is,
there is corroboration

that's not reliant on the DNA.
The victim identified her.

She was in possession
of the stolen property.

And I don't care.

We can't let this
set a precedent.

This whole case
needs to be thrown out.

At a minimum,
I will call the Queens DA.

Although I wish
it was any other borough.

Heard they found Aretha.

Poor child. How's Cora?

- She's struggling.
- I could imagine.

Damn, I wanted to reach out,
but I'm still married.

How long were
you and Cora together?

A few years, on and off,
workplace romance.

After Aretha went missing,
and then 9/11,

I had to get my life in order.

Moved my family
and job out here.

Right,
but you did know Aretha?

Of course. Smart girl.

I used to help her
with her science homework.

She wanted to be a doctor.

So you two
spent time alone together?

Sometimes,
if Cora had a late shift,

and her father needed a break
or had a doctor's appointment.

Coleman had the diabetes.
He still alive?

He is.
Mr. Washington,

do you recall
if Aretha had a boyfriend?

No. I wish I could help you.

But that girl
was all about schoolwork.

Always figured
it had to be a stranger.

Maybe, but we're still
working the case,

talking to anyone
who had contact with Aretha.

And getting DNA.

- You asking me for mine?
- Is that a problem?

Is there any way my wife
and kids hear about this?

No, they don't need to know.

Okay, that's fine, then.
I can come in.

When you talk to Cora, you can
let her know my heart goes out.

I haven't stopped
thinking about her or Nina.

- Nina?
- Aretha's little sister.

I guess she'd be
almost 30 by now.

Wait, you haven't
talked to her?

[suspenseful music]

Aretha had a sister,

and the mother
never mentioned it?

Okay.

Well, sometimes it's not
about what they tell you.

It's about what
they don't tell you.

Keep me posted.

You have some nerve, Captain.
You're coming after me?

- Excuse me?
- I pick up a suspect

on grand larceny
in less than 12 hours,

and all of a sudden,
I'm getting harassed

by the DA's office, OCME, and...

Thank God
my captain has my back.

Oh, you're gonna need him,

because not only was your
behavior completely unethical,

but you violated all NYPD's
protocols about victim privacy.

I am sorry Libby was raped.

But that doesn't give her
a free pass to break the law!

How many times
have you done this?

Done what?
Use DNA to solve a crime?

Do you have any idea
how difficult it is

to get a rape victim
to come forward,

let alone agree

to the invasive trauma
of a rape exam?

The minimum pact
between us and them

is that we don't
use their DNA against them.

Tell that to the mother
of a 25-year-old boy

who was shot
during a carjacking.

How 'bout you do your job
by actually investigating

or getting subpoenas instead
of trading sexual favors

for shortcuts
to the DNA database?

You're scolding me
for doing favors

for people I'm involved with?

- That's rich!
- I have never

put a rape victim in jeopardy.

Oh, so you're
some kind of saint?

You've never put
your finger on the scale

for a former partner
or an IAB rat?

- Get out of my office.
- And you get out of my suit!

Get out now.

Get out.

[♪]

Red asked about Nina?
It's none of his business.

That why I never
told the police

about him in the first place.

And you never told police
you had a younger daughter?

They never asked.

- [scoffs]
- After I called 911,

I sent Nina to the neighbors.

She was eight,
crying over Aretha.

I didn't want the police
upsetting her even further.

Cora did
what she thought was right.

We understand that,
but we need to speak with Nina.

- Where is she now?
- God only knows.

I don't.

Nina never
got over her sister.

- She lost her faith.
- She gave her faith to drugs...

Chose a life on the street
over her own family.

When was the last time
you saw Nina?

Five years ago.

She came around
asking for money... again...

To put another hole in her arm.

I told her, "Don't come
around here anymore."

I had already
lost one daughter.

I didn't want to watch
the other one just fade away.

- I'm so sorry.
- Don't be.

I ran out of tears
for her a long time ago.

[suspenseful music]

I always thought
they'd find her body

before they found Aretha's.

[♪]

You get something
on Nina Green?

Yeah, she racked up a lot
of charges over the years.

Possession of
a controlled substance,

loitering, prostitution.
Most recent?

January,
prostitution and possession.

Is she still doing time?

No, she got parole
last month.

She's at a halfway house...
St. Bernadine's.

- Should we give 'em a call?
- No.

I don't want to spook her.
It's better that we go

in person.

Nina Green, yes,
she's one of our residents,

- but she's not here now.
- Where is she?

I'm not sure.

She's been doing real well
working her program.

Then this afternoon,
her grandfather paid a visit.

Her grandfather?
Did they go somewhere together?

I don't thinks so.

He wasn't here long, but Nina
was real upset afterwards.

She didn't speak
at all during group.

She went out for a smoke
and hasn't come back.

Do you have any idea
where she went?

My fear... is to score.
She wouldn't have to go far.

Up until today,
she's been a model resident.

I hope
you don't have to violate her.

That's not why we're here.

If she comes back, tell her
we need to talk with her, okay?

It's important.
It's about her sister, Aretha.

How does anyone
still have my DNA?

Well, the DNA
was never destroyed.

The case is still open,
pending Henry Mesner's trial.

Yeah, like that's
ever gonna happen.

Libby, they're trying
to help us.

I should just plead guilty.
I did it.

I don't wanna be like Henry,

just playing
the system to get off.

I agree.
You should make restitution.

But I'm not
just looking out for you.

Using DNA
from a rape kit to prosecute

sets a dangerous precedent
for all rape victims.

You better hurry.
The Queens grand jury

just handed down an indictment.

Libby Blandon,
on the charge of grand larceny,

in the second degree,
how do you plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

The People are not
requesting bail.

Good decision,

especially since the charge
is not bail-optional.

Defendant is ROR
pending a trial date.

Let's take
a five minute recess.

Detective Szabo.

This girl
you were so worried about,

she should have pled out.

You're the detective
from Major Case.

Lorraine Maxwell, head of
the Manhattan trial division.

- Of course.
- You'll be hearing from us.

The DA's office is reviewing
all of your arrests.

Glad you have
the time for that.

Lorraine Maxwell
slumming in Queens.

The U.S. Open
isn't until August.

I'm not here for my health,
Larry.

This is Captain Benson
from SVU.

To what
do we owe the pleasure?

We have an interest
in this case.

We're having a hard time

getting DA Drakos
to call us back.

That's not the first time
I've heard that.

- Want me to put in a call?
- What'll it cost me?

A steak dinner in Manhattan.

I'm sorry, Lorraine.

I must've missed
your phone calls.

I am assuming
this is about the provenance

of the DNA
in the grand larceny case?

The provenance
isn't in question.

It came
from a victim's rape kit.

Your victim was ID'd
and indicted by a grand jury.

What do you want me to do?

Well, you could start
by dropping the case.

The woman is guilty
of a felony.

Look, if there was
improper police procedures

or OCME lapses then
the NYPD can look into that,

and her defense attorney
can bring it up at trial.

The detective never should've
had access to that DNA.

Any subsequent arrest
and indictment

stemming from that evidence
is tainted.

Under what law?

Look, I have nothing but
sympathy for rape victims...

- [scoffs]
- But it doesn't give them

a Get Out of Jail Free card.

I drop this,
where does it stop?

Murder?
What message does that send?

What message?
What message does it send

to rape victims if they know
that their DNA

will be used against them?

The chilling effect
on reporting

is gonna set us back decades.

Well then,
instead of traipsing

all the way out to Queens
and preaching to me,

you should be fixing
your problem with the OCME.

You should know
that we're not dropping this.

And you should know that
I'm not dropping this case.

What are you gonna do?
Go to the press?

The Queens District Attorney's
Office does not bow down

to political pressure.

You're not
on moral high ground here.

This is quicksand.

[♪]

Hey.

- I didn't do nothin'.
- Oh, yeah?

- What's this?
- A few dime bags.

- I'll be released in an hour.
- Good point.

We'll save you the trouble.
You sell to this girl today?

She didn't have the cash,
said she'd be back.

Where is she?

[scoffs]
Selling what God gave her.

Go screw yourself.

Son of a bitch!

- Nina Green?
- Are you kidding me?

I was just giving
that guy directions.

This is about your sister,
Aretha.

[suspenseful music]

My grandfather told me
you found her.

Didn't believe it...

I thought it was
another one of his lies.

What other lies, Nina?

How much does my mother know?

She knows
that Aretha was murdered

and that she was pregnant.

- Why would you tell her that?
- You knew?

Aretha told me.

But I never wanted my mom
to find out.

Okay.

My grandfather
said it would kill her.

Wait, how did he know?

So the grandfather's DNA was
a match for the fetal bones?

I thought the DNA ruled out
family members.

It did.

It never occurred to us
that Coleman might not be

Aretha's
biological grandfather.

Oh, you think he knows?

The man's kept a lot
of secrets for a long time.

Well, he refused a lawyer,
so he's gotta know

in some sense
that this is over.

- You ready?
- I am.

It's good to see you,
by the way.

I wish it were
under better circumstances.

It's been some
50 years ago now.

My girlfriend told me
she was pregnant with Cora.

I was
a National Guard reservist...

Out of town a lot.

I didn't think
the baby could be mine.

But she told you it was.

She swore.
I always had my doubts.

But I did the right thing.
I stepped up.

I got married.

I always treated Cora
like she was my own.

You didn't do the right thing
by Aretha though.

You raped and killed
that 13-year-old girl.

No!

It was an accident.

When Aretha told me
she was pregnant,

I told her
she could not have that baby.

She said
she was gonna tell Cora.

What did you do?

I couldn't reason with her.

[tense music]

I guess I got angry.
I shook her.

She fell against the tub.

Hit her head.

I never meant to kill her.

I loved that girl.

She was the light of my life.

And us together...

She was not my grandchild.

So it was not a sin
against God.

[♪]

So he's pleading guilty?

He's not fighting
this anymore.

He's gonna die in prison.

How's the mother?

We're on our way
to tell her now.

[sighs] I don't envy you.

On the other front, any
progress with the rape kit DNA?

We may have found
some common ground.

- Keep me posted.
- I will.

Nice to see you again,
Lorraine.

And you too.
I miss you around here.

Give my best to Lamai.

Will absolutely do.
Take care.

You too.

- Common ground?
- [chuckles]

I had dinner last night
with Judge Cohen,

and he had a few more
drinks than I did.

So he said
that he told Libby's attorney

to request a bench trial.

So he's signaling to Miglani

that he's gonna find
Libby not guilty.

Well, that's
great news for Libby,

but not
for the other convictions.

Judge Cohen
had some ideas about that too.

Apparently, DA Drakos'
husband was stepping out.

So she cut and pasted
Judge Cohen's signature

on phone company orders
for a wiretap.

And he's been sitting
on that the entire time?

Never underestimate
the complexity

of politics in Queens.

[chuckles]
[cell phone buzzes]

Oh, as a matter of fact,

the DA's making
a statement now.

And with the help of OCME

and Detective Szabo
from Major Case,

we have discovered a flaw
in the OCME database.

She discovered the flaw?
They created the flaw.

So in a sense,
they discovered it.

- [scoffs]
- I am dropping

all charges against
the current defendant

because the Fourth Amendment,

right to privacy,
is paramount.

I will be looking
into all prior convictions

based on victims' DNA
and looking to overturn them.

I will also be calling on all
other city DAs to join me

in asking for legislation

to ensure that
this practice becomes illegal.

She's calling on other DAs
to help her with her crusade?

Wow, that is chutzpah.

You know,
I've learned that the best way

to get anything done is to let
other people take the credit.

[pensive music]

Again, we're so sorry.

If you wanna
talk more about this...

I've heard enough...
That he wasn't even my father,

and what he did to Aretha?

- I couldn't tell you, Mama.
- Oh, I know,

and I know
that's why you ran away.

But that's over now.

For what it's worth, he's
agreed to spare you a trial.

He's going to prison,

most likely
for the rest of his life.

I don't care anymore.

I don't want to hear his name
ever again.

It's me and Nina now.
That's all that matters.

We're making arrangements
for a service for Aretha.

We'll leave you in peace.

That never gets any easier.

- No.
- You okay, Chief?

Cases like this,
I don't miss being a cop.

I guess I saw enough
to last me.

Godspeed to you both.

[♪]

[dramatic music]

[♪]

[wolf howls]