All language subtitles for Law and Order S08E02 Denial.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Mr. Feltz. Mr. Feltz.

Housekeeping.

Huh? What are you doing in here?

Mr. Feltz, do something!
Get out of here!

Señor, I'm sorry!
Can't you read the sign?

Señor, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Don't you understand English!

Get out. Just shut that door and
get out of here! Get out of here!

"Mr. Feltz, Mr. Feltz!"

I get next.

Housekeeping.

Mary? Mary?

Call Mr. Mendoza.

Somebody got attacked.

No kidding.

Any witnesses?

High turnover in this place.

Couple next door are just here
for the "businessman's special."

They didn't hear a thing.

How about you?

I came on at 6:00.

I didn't see anybody
leave this room.

Any blood trail?

No blood in the hallways,

elevators or fire escape. Just
in here and in the bathroom.

How much, you figure?

Hard to say. Over a pint.

So more than a nosebleed.

Somebody got hurt.

The room is registered to a
Warren Talbert. No address.

How'd he pay? Cash.

But we took a credit
card imprint for incidentals.

Like sheets and mattresses?

This is nothing.

Last year, we had an
elderly couple from Tokyo.

Found a dead
hooker under their bed.

Yeah, that's why the precinct
holds its Christmas party here.

Gonna need that credit
card number, all right?

Yeah.

Well, I already
checked under the bed.

He checked in before 10:00
last night. My shift ends at 10:00.

He had a reservation.

What'd he look like?

Early 20s, fairly tall, blonde.

He was pretty good-looking.

Okay. You'll come
down to the station

and talk to a sketch artist.

Sure.

Was he with anybody?
He might have been,

but you can't see the
elevators from here.

Thanks.

Credit card company says Warren
Talbert is a 48-year-old architect,

lives on the Upper East Side,
pays off his bill each month.

Well, that Warren Talbert misses
this Warren Talbert by about 30 years.

Card could be stolen. Yeah,

unless Warren had
a friend check him in.

The credit card
company called me,

I guess after they spoke to you.

I checked my wallet, my desk.

I called my wife to look around
at home. The card's gone.

Anybody else have access to it?

No.

When was the last
time you used it?

Oh, maybe over a month.

You know, I've had
cards stolen before.

They never sent detectives.

A young man used your
card at the Carrington Hotel.

He might be involved
in a more serious crime.

Where were you
last night, Mr. Talbert?

I was at the Met humming
along to Rigoletto,

with my wife and another couple.

My secretary will
give you their names.

The other couple at the
opera confirmed his story.

Nothing at the morgue.
We had a couple of bleeders

walk into Saint Vincent's, but
they were the wrong blood type.

Preliminaries from
the lab said it's type O.

And we got a lot of
prints in that hotel room.

We're going to need more help.

For stolen plastic? We'll
mobilize the National Guard.

It's from the credit
card company.

Thanks.

When did Talbert say
he last used the card?

About a month ago.

New Editions Bookstore.
$332. Last weekend.

Sorry. I couldn't
tell you if I saw him.

Sunday night was very busy.

We had a reading of a
cyber-novel by Carlton Van Dusen.

One Hand Typing.

Racy stuff.

Sure, until you see Van
Dusen. 400 sweaty pounds.

Cleaned out the pastry platter.

Well, our guy bought
over $300 worth of books.

Hmm.

Still doesn't ring a bell. You
have his credit card number?

Here he is. Warren
Talbert, Sunday, 5:15 p.m.

Thoreau, Walden, soft cover,
$7.95 plus tax. Hegel, $8.98.

There's another 15 books here.

Could you print that out?

Sure.

Look at this, Nietzsche,
Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard.

Either we're looking
for a philosophy student,

or we got one very
depressed criminal.

I wonder if Talbert has kids.

We have one daughter.
Christina. She's 17.

She's on an academic
scholarship at Hudson University.

Same neighborhood
as the Carrington.

And you think my
daughter's involved?

Well, our credit card thief has
an atypical spending pattern.

No electronics, no
jewelry, no clothes.

Usually they max out the
card, and not on books.

We're thinking this thief is a
classmate of your daughter's.

I never gave her the card.

Is it possible she might have
borrowed it, and lent it to a friend?

No. Not Christina.

Our daughter's a good girl.
She's very focused on her studies.

She wouldn't be mixed
up in anything criminal.

I don't know who this is.

Take another look.

It could be anybody.

You know, I think
Christina might be able

to focus better without
any distractions. You mind?

Thanks. Christina, why
don't you sit down here?

Uh, right now, your father's credit
card is our only connection to a crime.

Well, it's Dad's
card. I never use it.

How about you write down the names
of your friends at Hudson University.

I don't want you
bothering my friends.

Are we done here?

Look, we start asking around
campus, we'll get your class schedule,

the clubs you belong to,
everything you do there.

By this time tomorrow, we'll
have a list of all your friends.

Dad!

Okay. Have it your way.

So what did she do? Hack her
family to death in their sleep?

Why would you think that?

People who're wound that tight,

you never know.

Exactly how tight
are we talking?

Christina answered
an ad for freelancers.

I needed 500 words on the student's
committee for Tibetan independence.

The next day, it was on my desk.

She wouldn't
leave until I read it.

I changed six words. She
got mad. Not at me, at herself.

Well, she didn't flip out, yet.

Actually, we need to
speak to her friends.

Anyone in particular?

Yeah. Tom Horton. He's
her boyfriend, pre-med.

Oh, that's right, don't smile
back, she might bite you.

Come on, Lennie,
she's just a kid.

Maybe you'd rather
wait in the car.

Can you check Tom
Horton's room again, please?

His roommate's looking
for him in the games room.

Would you ring Tom
Horton for me, please?

Don't hold your breath.

Who are you?

Detectives. Your turn.

I'm Tom's lawyer.
I instructed him

not to speak with
you until I got here.

So the sketch
vaguely resembles him.

He's young, he's blond. So what?

Well, if this is a case of mistaken
identity, let's get him in a line up.

What's the charge, soiling
linens? No, thank you.

Why didn't Christina tell
us you were her boyfriend?

Why don't you ask her?

Hey, you mind if he answers a
question every now and then?

Be my guest.

Where were you Thursday night?

I went to a fraternity
party with Christina.

Which one?

Alpha Phi Beta.

We left around 9:00.
She went to the library.

Where'd you go?

I came back here to study.

You're sure you didn't meet up
with another girl? Take her to a hotel?

Okay. He's answered your
questions. Interview's over.

Tommy and Christina were
the first ones through the door.

First ones out the door, too.

What time was that?

Around 9:00.

You sure?

Yeah. It was half-time
at the Knicks game.

We had it on the big screen.

And did Horton come back?

I got pretty wasted that night.

Last thing I remember, I
was booting into a trash can.

By the way, I am 21.

Don't worry. We're
not going to card you.

Any chance Tommy hooked
up with somebody else?

Tommy? No way. No.
He's nuts about Christina.

Lots of guys are nuts about
somebody. Doesn't stop them.

Well, you don't know
these Wisconsin boys.

They fall hard
for those milkers.

Beg your pardon.

Haven't you seen her? She's
on the chunky side of Ricki Lake.

We talking about the
same girl? Christina Talbert?

Yeah. Baggy clothes, looks like
she's packing some weight under there.

Yeah, she'd be real sweet, too,

if she off-loaded a few pounds.

Maybe she did, the other night.

I think I would know if my
own daughter was pregnant.

Christina was not pregnant.

Is that true, Christina?

Yes.

The final lab report
came in an hour ago.

Forensics found amniotic
fluid in the mattress.

Do you know what that is?

Yes. It didn't come from me.

And the type O
blood in the room,

that didn't come
from you either?

No, it's not mine.

Then what was your
boyfriend doing there?

He wasn't there.

He was with me.

Christina, lying's only going to
make things worse for you and Tommy.

If there was a baby involved,

we need to know
what happened, now.

Christina, say something.

Listen I have two kids

I know what it's
like to be pregnant.

It can make you do crazy things.

Especially if you're scared.

Christina?

Morning. I'd like to
speak to my client.

Don't you represent
the boyfriend?

They're both my clients.

Good. Maybe you can talk
some sense into this one.

I'd like to talk to her alone.

Hard to believe she didn't
know her own kid was pregnant.

She didn't. You see the look she gave
when you mentioned the blood type?

Now she knows.

How can a mother
miss something like that?

Wait till your
daughters grow up.

All right. None of this
gets back to her parents.

They find out and
what, no TV for a month?

Christina wants to
be the one to tell them.

Fine. Now she can tell us.

Well, I live with my parents,
and Tommy has a roommate.

We went to the
hotel for privacy.

What happened in the hotel room?

We started having sex,

and I started bleeding,

and I went into the bathroom,

and all this tissue
started coming out.

She miscarried.

I didn't even know
I was pregnant.

How pregnant?

I don't know.

Two or three months.

What did you do with the fetus?

I flushed it in the toilet.

As you can imagine, this is
now a private, family matter.

M.E.'s report. Too much
blood, and too little amniotic fluid

in the hotel room for it
to be a first-trimester birth.

She thinks the fetus was probably
seven or eight months along.

So we're still being lied to.

I'll call the D.A. to get an order
for a medical exam of the girl.

A viable baby?

That's ridiculous.

There's no medical
standard for this.

So she bled a lot.

That's why you want a
doctor to look up her dress?

She's been traumatized enough.

Ms. Ross, do you have anything
besides the M.E.'s opinion?

Miss Talbert consistently
lied to the police.

She didn't want
her mother to know

that she was having
sex with her boyfriend.

Ms. Ross, come back when
you have actual evidence

to justify invading
this girl's privacy.

Tommy and I don't exactly talk.

No late-night
heart-to-hearts over a keg?

He talks to Christina. Christina
talks to him. That's about it.

You see him on Thursday night?

Yeah, at the frat house

I got there about 11:00.

This was 11:00? You're sure?

Everyone was pretty much
wasted, except for him and Christina.

They were dancing alone
in the middle of the floor

to that dumb song,
Endless Love. It's their song.

We had a search of
every alley and dumpster

between the hotel
and the university.

If we'd have found a
baby, we would've told you.

She didn't tell anybody at
school that she was pregnant.

The guy who would know,
the boyfriend, won't talk to us.

You're 17, you're going to talk

to somebody besides
your boyfriend.

A doctor, a best friend.

We didn't get any cooperation

from her parents, so unless we
can get a peek at her address book...

No probable cause for a medical
exam means no probable cause

for a search warrant, right?

Not necessarily.

Did Talbert file a report
for the stolen credit card?

The card company did.

She bought books. That's stolen
goods. Grounds for a search warrant.

We'll get two, his and hers.

My husband called
the credit card company.

He told them it was
a misunderstanding.

They consider it stolen.

This Dr. Banks, that
her gynecologist?

And mine.

She hasn't seen him since
her annual last August.

Ten months ago.

Rey.

Looks like blood.

Look at this.

Blank prescription forms.
Dr. Glenda Allen, OB/GYN.

Oh, Rey, Thoreau
and the Germans.

Yes, Christina Talbert's
a patient of mine.

I see a lot of students
from the university.

When did she first come in?

Two months ago. If that.

She told us she was two or three
months pregnant, and she miscarried.

Can you confirm that?

Not without violating
doctor-patient privilege.

Did she tell you
I was her doctor?

No. We found

blank sheets from your
prescription pad in her room.

Any idea why she'd have these?

No.

I don't understand. I didn't
prescribe her anything.

Well, you keep your
prescription pad on your desk.

She helped herself.

Now, about this
alleged miscarriage...

Look, even if she is a thief,

I'm still not going to violate
her privilege. I'm sorry.

Gynecology, that's the
business I should've gone into.

Hey, Lennie, she took those
blank prescription forms for a reason.

Right, and I never heard of
pharmacist-patient privilege.

Neither have I.

Christina Talbert, oh,
here we go. Syntocinon.

Five milliliter solution.
Two weeks ago.

What's it for?
It's a nasal spray

for mothers who have
trouble breastfeeding.

What does it do for
pregnant women?

Makes them not pregnant.

It's contraindicated.
It induces labor.

Thanks.

The stain you found on
the dress, it's blood, type O.

Just one blood type?

How many were you expecting?

He was expecting a stork.

No baby blood, but baby feces.

Meconium. Meaning?

Probably full term.

Born alive?

Since the meconium wasn't mixed
with amniotic fluid it had to be excreted

post-birth. It was alive.

Thanks.

Well, they made a reservation,
they induced the birth.

We got premeditation.
We got murder.

Yeah, but no body.

I say we get a warrant.
Let the D.A. make it stick.

Let's call Ross.

He rejected the traditional,
American dream of success,

and yet had as much disdain
for mediocrity as he did...

Oh, don't let us interrupt,
we're just auditing.

Stand up. Stand up!

Christina Talbert,
Thomas Horton,

you're under arrest for murder.

Don't worry. Somebody
else will take notes for you.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say
can and will be used...

"Case number 97942.

"People v. Christina
Talbert and Thomas Horton.

"Murder in the Second Degree."

What are their pleas?

Not guilty.

Not guilty.

The People request bail...
- Mr. Garnett,

could you tell your clients they're
not to hold hands in my courtroom.

Yes, Your Honor.

Go ahead, Ms. Ross.

What do you want on bail?

500,000 for each defendant.

They have no priors, Your
Honor. They're college students.

Who killed their newborn baby.

Where's the body?
Where's the evidence?

That's not my problem. I'm
setting bail at 200K for each.

Miss Talbert is not
to leave her home

except in the
presence of a parent,

and I strongly urge the
defendants to refrain from contact

outside the presence of counsel.

We can't even see each other?

I don't want you
making any more victims.

But we're in love. Quiet!

You don't seem to
realize why you're here.

Ms. Ross, I'm ordering
a 730 examination,

I'm not convinced these
two are fit to stand trial.

Of course, I understand. I'm being
charged with murdering someone.

Not just someone. Your child.

I don't have a child.

Do you understand
it's wrong to kill?

Yes.

Even babies?

Yes.

How do your parents feel
about you getting pregnant?

My mother won't speak to me.

Why not?

She's disappointed
I got pregnant.

Do you think she's right?

Yes.

Why?

Only stupid girls get pregnant.

It's embarrassing.

Mom wants girl to be perfect.
Girl wants mom to be happy.

Baby spoils the equation.

I don't see what
she's afraid of.

There's no evidence of
physical or emotional abuse.

This girl lives or dies
by her mother's approval.

You take that away, she
doesn't have much else.

She can't have much in the
way of human feelings either.

They kill their baby,
then grieve by taking

a little spin around
the dance floor.

Big surprise. She's a narcissistic
bitch. Forget about remorse.

To her, that baby was like a peach
pit passing through her system.

Yeah. All very illuminating.

What're you telling the judge?

She knows right from wrong,

appreciates the consequences
of her actions, can assist counsel.

She's cleared for take-off.

I'll send you my bill.

This case gives me the creeps.

Yeah.

Without a body in evidence,
you're pushing uphill.

You're not suggesting we
offer the lovebirds a plea?

Lousy kids. Lousy case.

Talk to their lawyer.

I'm offering first degree
manslaughter, eight-and-a-third-to-25.

How quickly can I say no?

I'm putting aside the fact your
clients premeditated this killing.

Says you. You wouldn't have asked us
here if your case had a snowball's chance.

You wouldn't be here if
your clients were innocent.

The fetus,

however old it was, was
stillborn. There's no crime.

You're taking the position a
dead baby excreted meconium.

No. I'm taking the position
you didn't find any meconium.

Motion to suppress. The search
was conducted under false pretenses.

Let's go, before Mr. McCoy
charges you with heavy breathing.

The warrant specified,
"books acquired with the use

"of a stolen credit card or other
relevant evidence related thereto."

It said books. They found
books. They seized them.

As an afterthought, Your Honor.

The books were on a
bookshelf in plain sight

the whole time they were there.

They searched a
closet, a dresser, a desk.

I mean they were
halfway out the door

when they remembered
to take the books.

So they seized the
books last, instead of first.

Is there a special recipe
they were supposed to follow?

The warrant said books. Instead, they
took papers from an appointment book.

The warrant was a
pretext. That's per se abuse.

They went to Miss Talbert's room
looking for evidence of one crime,

they found evidence of
another. That's called luck.

It's called a scam.
The detectives knew

the credit card
wasn't in fact stolen.

They were acting on a complaint
from the credit card company.

Yes, but they'd been told by the
credit card holder it wasn't stolen,

and they already suspected
Miss Talbert in the murder case.

Isn't that right? Yes.

All right. You're all very
clever, but don't tell me

the meconium and
the prescription forms

relate to a stolen credit card.

Your Honor, the meconium
was found on a dress in the closet.

A closet is a legitimate search
area for a warrant for stolen goods.

You can't fault the police for finding
and seizing blood-stained clothing.

I'll grant you the meconium,
Ms. Ross. It's admissible.

The stolen prescription
sheets are out.

You're rewarding Mr. McCoy
for his people's deception.

That's tough. We're finished.

Nice save.

Without evidence that she
took a drug to induce labor,

there goes premeditation.

They did reserve a room.

The case was weak,
now it's weaker.

Get one of them
to roll on the other.

So which devil do we
make our deal with?

The girl has the motive. She's
the one who didn't want the baby.

Killing it was
probably her idea.

And the boy is probably
the one who actually killed it,

and disposed of the body.

I flipped a coin in my head.
Came up tails. Talk to the boy.

That brings up another
problem, their lawyer.

He'll probably veto any
settlement that implicates the girl.

Her father posted
bail for both of them.

He's probably
paying Garnett's fees.

Get around the lawyer.

We're prepared to offer
him man two, three-to-six.

He won't even look out of place
when he goes back to college.

You'll knock a murder
charge down to a C felony?

Let me guess, he testifies
against Miss Talbert.

That's right. I thought...

No. Good day, counselors.
Thank you for coming by.

That's the answer I
expected. Ms. Ross.

Our motion to remove you as
Mr. Horton's attorney of record.

What?

We're conflicting
you out, Counselor.

There is no
conflict, Your Honor.

There's only one
defense position.

That's because there's
only one defense attorney.

My clients only want one defense
attorney. It's their decision to make.

Who's to tell
them any different?

Your Honor, I made a
very fair offer to Mr. Horton

in return for his testimony
against Miss Talbert.

How can he possibly give
objective advice regarding this offer?

So fair it could only
have been made

to get me yanked as
Mr. Horton's counsel.

Was this a genuine offer, or was
it made solely to create a conflict?

At the time, it was
a genuine offer.

I see.

Well, Mr. McCoy,
now you're stuck with it.

Your offer is
still on the table.

Now, I don't see how
having his own counsel

damages Mr. Horton's interests.

Sorry, Mr. Garnett, you're out.

It's a good offer, Tommy.

It gives you a
chance to have a life.

Mr. Garnett said they
don't have much of a case.

That's why he doesn't
represent you anymore.

He was right. But there's a
baby involved, you're its father,

and I'm not talking out
of school when I tell you

a jury is going to be awfully
tempted to reach its own conclusions

and hold you responsible.

Mr. Horton, if you take a plea,

I believe Miss Talbert
will take one, too.

And I'm a lot more generous
than a trial judge will be.

You don't get it.

If I take this deal,
I don't get a life.

I get a life without Christina.

Miss Shelton, you have to
do whatever I tell you to, right?

Yes.

We didn't do anything wrong.

The baby was alive
when we left the room.

At first, Miss Talbert
denied knowing Mr. Horton.

Then they both denied
being at the hotel.

Then Miss Talbert told us
she'd been two months pregnant

and had a miscarriage.

Was any of this true?

No.

Forensics found traces of
meconium on Miss Talbert's dress.

We were told by Forensics this was
conclusive proof the baby was born alive.

Yes, as we just heard
from the Medical Examiner.

What, if any, efforts did
you make to find this baby?

We conducted an
exhaustive search of the area

between the hotel
and Hudson University.

We also questioned
the Carrington Hotel staff

and as many guests
as we could track down.

As a result, can you
tell us what happened

to Miss Talbert and
Mr. Horton's baby?

I can tell you
what didn't happen.

It didn't crawl out of that room

and it didn't turn
up as a foundling.

It wasn't taken home by anyone
who had access to that room.

Thank you.

Did your investigation
include people

who were registered at the hotel

under false names
or any of their guests?

If they weren't there
under their own names, no.

Well, the Carrington is
the kind of place, isn't it,

where people sometimes
don't use their real names?

Objection. Sustained.

Could one of the people you weren't
able to locate have taken the baby?

Objection. Calls
for speculation.

You've made your
point, Mr. Garnett.

Move it along.

Detective, is there anyone in your
precinct who's still working the case?

Until we find a body, Detective
Briscoe and I are still assigned.

Until that time, what is
the baby's official status?

Missing. Presumed dead.

That's far short of dead
beyond reasonable doubt.

Objection.

Withdrawn. No more questions.

After he was born,

Christina held him
for a little while.

She really loved him.

She couldn't stop
worrying about her mother.

So we

wrapped him in a blanket,

we left him on the bed,
where the maid would find him.

Then we did the hardest
thing we've ever done.

We walked out of the room.

Then we went
back to the fraternity.

Christina, she felt sick,
and she started to bleed.

She went to the bathroom,
and passed the afterbirth,

and then she wanted
me to take her home.

What happened next?

I didn't sleep all night.

I called Christina to make
sure that she was okay.

We talked about the baby.

We decided that I should
go back to the hotel.

But the police
were already there,

and I figured, for sure, they'd
found the baby and it'd be all right.

Just so we understand you,

you felt so upset,

that you went back to a
party at your fraternity house?

Yes. Didn't really
know where else to go.

And you requested a song,
Endless Love, isn't that right?

It was a special song for us.

And you danced?

We were just holding each other.

On the dance floor.

Isn't that called dancing?

Yeah. I guess.

We both felt really bad.

So you punished yourself for
murder by having a little dance.

Objection. JUDGE
BARRY: Sustained.

Didn't it occur
to you to call 911,

and tell the police
about your child?

Yes. Christina felt sick,

and I had to get her home.

They don't have a
phone at her house?

I didn't want to
wake up her parents.

How about on the
way back to your dorm?

I don't know.

I was just worried
about Christina.

Can you tell us anything you did

to suggest that you
had a single thought

about that child
after it was born?

I don't know.

You're pre-med, she's
an honors student,

you're intelligent,
young people.

You must've given
it some thought.

Objection. Argumentative.

Sustained.

The truth is, you didn't give a
damn about that child, did you?

You had decided
to kill your baby

when you reserved
the hotel room.

Objection!

Enough, Mr. McCoy.
The objection is sustained.

I don't have anything
more for this witness.

The jury liked his
Romeo-of-the-Dairyland routine.

I thought he got creamed.

Then we're tied
going into closings.

You're a tough handicapper.

I'm handicapping the jury.

They keep looking over at
Christina. They like what they see.

Yeah. When you're in love, the
whole world's in love with you.

And she just can sit there,
all sweet and innocent.

Garnett was smart not
to put her on the stand.

There goes the weekend.

It's Briscoe.

Gas company worker found it.

White, male baby.
Umbilical cord still attached.

Somebody dug deep to bury it.

Not really.

This is backfill dumped
on top of the burial site.

We had a gas leak.

Had to undo a couple
of months' worth of work.

He was wrapped in this.

Carrington Hotel.

M.E.'s report, quick and dirty.

Baby boy. Day old or
less. Born alive and healthy.

Manual strangulation,
larynx was crushed.

Death was
instantaneous. Bastards.

They have a
positive identification?

They can pull some DNA from
the amniotic fluid in the hotel room,

but it's going to take
a while to run a match.

I'll settle for a
blood type match.

Have Detective Briscoe
and the Medical Examiner

ready to testify on Monday.

Notify Judge Barry we
have rebuttal witnesses.

Jack, I think there's somebody
else we might want to talk to first.

I spoke to the contractor.

He said the burial
site was backfilled

two days after the
baby was killed.

You don't think those
kids just got lucky?

No one's that lucky.

I'm afraid the baby is dead.

The body was found buried
about 10 blocks from the hotel.

It's a commercial construction
site near the West Side Highway.

You know anything
about that, Mr. Talbert?

Should I?

Your firm did the
structural drillings.

So? There were 47
sub-contractors on that job.

And the contractor says you
were one of only six individuals

who had keys to
the site at that time.

Warren, what did you do?

Sarah... No!

I want to know what you did.

You were asleep
when they came home.

Christina didn't look well, and
I knew something was wrong

I made them tell
me what happened.

They said they left the
baby in the hotel, alive.

They wanted go back. I told
them it was too dangerous.

I told Tommy to go home.
I sent Christina to bed.

Then I drove to the
hotel, and when I got there,

it was on the bed,
wrapped in a blanket.

It was wheezing.
It was in trouble.

I brought it to my car, but
before I could get it to a hospital,

it was dead.

I took it to the construction
site and I buried it.

Our Medical Examiner has
determined that the baby was strangled.

Someone choked it
with their bare hands.

No! No! It died
of natural causes.

Please, don't insult
our intelligence.

The baby was dead when
you found it, wasn't it?

I better talk to my lawyer.

Mr. Talbert's agreed to
tell you what he knows.

He has only one condition.

Shoot.

You drop the charges
against his daughter.

In return, he'll testify
against the boy.

As far as we're concerned, they're
equally guilty. Her maybe more so.

Whatever. You let the girl
walk, no charges, no record.

Or he doesn't tell you squat.

Let's hear what
he has to say first.

Off the record.

I found the baby in the
trash can in the hotel room.

It was wrapped in a towel.

There was newspaper
on top of it, to hide it.

It was dead.

I can't accept your terms.

I'll subpoena him. He'll
testify with no preconditions.

Absolutely not.
He'll take the Fifth.

I'm conferring
immunity right now.

You're taking the stand
tomorrow morning, Mr. Talbert.

He won't testify.

Are you sure about
that, Mr. Talbert?

I am not sending
my daughter to jail.

What are you going to do,
Mr. McCoy? Cite him for contempt?

He gets 30 days in jail,
and you still get nothing.

For God's sake, he's just
trying to save his daughter.

No deal. Ms. Ross,
get an officer in here

Mr. Talbert, I'm
having you arrested

pending a contempt hearing.

McCoy...

I've had enough of him, his
daughter and her boyfriend.

If I could indict him as a
co-conspirator, I would.

This baby is dead. I
hope they all go to jail for it.

Place this man under arrest
and get him out of my office.

The baby was wrapped in a
towel bearing the initials "CH."

The Manager of
the Carrington Hotel

confirmed that it was
in fact one of theirs.

Is this the towel, Detective?

Yes. That's my signature
on the evidence bag.

People's 56, Your
Honor. No more questions.

Detective,

do you know who disposed of
the body at the construction site?

Not for a fact.

Now that site's kept
locked at night, isn't it?

It's surrounded by an eight-foot

chain-link fence
topped by barbed wire?

Yes. It wouldn't be easy

to climb over that, carrying
a six-pound weight, would it?

I guess not.

Do you know who
had a key to the gate?

Actually, there were six people.

Including my client's father,

isn't that right? Objection.

Why? I have the right to put forth
alternate theories of crime, Your Honor.

Not without evidence
to support them.

That's what I'm trying to
get at, Your Honor. Evidence.

Overruled. Answer
the question, Detective.

Yes, he had a key, which his
daughter could've borrowed.

Your Honor...

You asked the
question, Mr. Garnett.

Anything else?

No, Your Honor.
No more questions.

Detective Briscoe,
you may step down.

The People have no
more rebuttal witnesses.

The defense does. We'd
like to call Mrs. Sarah Talbert.

She was president of her
history club in high school.

She was vice-president
of the student council,

and she was the editor of
her high school yearbook,

and she received the
Hardiman Prize for geometry.

She has a very bright
future ahead of her.

Her having an illegitimate
child, was that something

you and your
husband had in mind?

Objection.

Sustained. Move
along, Mr. Garnett.

Mrs. Talbert, this
past Sunday morning,

did you and your
husband receive a visit

from Mr. McCoy and Ms. Ross?

Yes.

During that visit,

did your husband make any
admissions concerning the death

and burial of your
daughter's baby?

Objection! Approach, Your Honor.

It's the People's position that
Mr. Talbert lied to protect his daughter.

That's his position, not mine

Mr. Talbert's credibility
is an issue for the jury.

Then the person who should
be testifying here is Mr. Talbert.

Well, he isn't, because Mr. McCoy
has him in jail for contempt.

He advised
counsel that if called,

he would invoke his
Fifth Amendment rights.

I immunized him. He
still refused to testify.

He'll stay in jail until
he changes his mind.

Your Honor, I don't represent
Mr. Talbert. I have no control over him.

To penalize my client and
Mr. Horton for Mr. Talbert's actions

amounts to a reversible error.

Your Honor, ask Mr...

How long have you had
Mr. Talbert locked up?

A little over 36 hours.

He's not going to change his
mind, Mr. McCoy. You're overruled.

The witness will answer.

Mrs. Talbert?

My husband said that he
went to the hotel room, and he...

He found the baby there alive.

It was having trouble breathing.

What else?

He said that it died before
he could get to the hospital.

He decided to bury it.

We've heard testimony that
your grandchild was strangled.

My husband did
not kill that baby.

Well, are you saying that it was
your daughter and her boyfriend?

No! Christina's not a murderer.

She couldn't possibly harm
a defenseless little baby.

Well, then you're
saying your daughter

must've allowed
Mr. Horton to strangle

her child. No, never.

Then it must've been
your husband. Objection.

I didn't say that. Sustained.

You can't have it both
ways, Mrs. Talbert!

Your Honor... Your
husband or your daughter!

- I - don't know. Mr. Garnett.

I don't know.

Mr. Garnett. Enough.

No more questions.

Now you've heard testimony
about Christina Talbert's father.

He found the baby
alive in the hotel room.

It died while in his care. He
buried it in a construction site.

Now, is he lying to protect his
daughter or to protect himself?

Even his own wife isn't sure,
and Mr. Talbert won't tell us

because he'd rather sit in
jail, than explain himself to you.

Now I want you to look
at these two children.

These polite,
bright, naive children.

If you think it's possible, that
in an act of panic and confusion,

they killed that baby, you
must also admit that it's possible

Warren Talbert killed it.
That's called reasonable doubt.

That's why there's only
one right thing to do.

You must acquit.

As you retire to conduct
your deliberations,

some of you may take with you the
image of Mrs. Talbert on the stand,

unable to choose between
her husband and her daughter.

Could you point at
your own daughter,

and say that she
killed her baby?

The fact that Mrs. Talbert
couldn't isn't evidence.

It's emotional manipulation.

And that this girl
could sit there,

and let it happen
to her own mother,

tells you what you
need to know about her.

I'd like you to take
another image with you.

Picture these naive children

dancing arm in arm in a
frat house to a love song,

minutes after they strangled
their baby with their bare hands

and left it wrapped in
a blood-soaked towel.

Think about that,

then cast your vote.

Madam Foreperson, has
the jury reached a verdict?

Yes, Your Honor, we have.

Will the defendants please rise.

For the defendant Thomas Horton,

on the count of murder in the
second degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant
Thomas Horton not guilty.

For the defendant
Christina Talbert,

on the count of murder in the
second degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant
Christina Talbert not guilty.

Members of the jury, I
thank you for your service.

You are now dismissed.

Baby's dead, and
no one's responsible.

No one was responsible
when it was alive either.

Warren Talbert's still in jail.

We could get him for obstruction
of justice, destruction of evidence.

We got beat. Just send
him home to his family.