Original subtitles

*

The story you are about to see

was inspired by actual events.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

*

Tuesday afternoon, blazing hot in Los Angeles.

McCarron and I were working the day shift

out of robbery-homicide when the call came in.

Jumper from a downtown hotel.

One and a half million out-of-towners

flock to the L.A. Convention Center

every year.

These people see a different L.A.

than the city that we know.

For them, Los Angeles is a downtown hotel,

the Universal Tour, Disneyland,

walk down Hollywood Boulevard.

*

Most manage to survive.

This man didn't.

My name's Friday, I'm a cop.

Why'd we get called on a jumper?

Because he was dead before he fell.

Take a look, shot with a small caliber handgun.

Get a screen around the body.

*

Todd Barnes, he's a home appliance rep

in town for a houseware convention.

Some guests heard a shot around 11,

but assumed it was on the street.

Joe Friday, LAPD, Detective McCarron.

Hi.

Hal, Hal Eliason.

He was a friend of yours?

Yeah.

I just spoke to his wife, she's flying in.

From Iowa?

Des Moines, that's where we're all from.

There's, uh, nine of us from Denholm Housewares.

Where were you when it happened?

Just a couple of rooms down.

I was speaking to him on the phone.

He was getting into the shower

and he said he would leave the door cracked for me.

When you came down, it was open?

Yes.

But the room was empty.

And then I saw the blood out there on the balcony.

What do you think?

Door was open, shooter walked in.

Caught Barnes on the balcony, put one in his forehead,

stumbled backwards, went over.

Get a contact for Eliason.

*

No robbery, no apparent motive.

A cop's worst fear.

You hope for something, anything, that tells you

it's not just random.

A dead end.

*

Wife's here.

They just brought her in from the airport.

We used to make a little vacation

out of these conventions.

You'd come with your husband?

We'd cash in his business class plane ticket

and all cram into his hotel room,

me and the kids.

We have three.

You didn't join him this year?

Money was tight, the economy and all.

Todd said he needed to focus.

You know, he was a real hard worker.

Any problems at home?

This probably sounds real Mid-Western but...

Todd was a good man.

He was a good family man.

*

It just doesn't make any sense, you know?

*

What's wrong with this world?

It wasn't the first time I'd heard the question.

And it wasn't the first time I couldn't answer it.

The canvas SID ballistics turned up nothing.

The victim had no priors, no notable enemies,

no double indemnity life insurance policy.

*

The public doesn't realize

that over 30% of homicides go unsolved.

After three months,

I had a bad feeling that this one

was headed for the cold case file.

And I'd have to tell Mrs. Barnes

that her husband's murder may never be solved.

*

But some things turn on luck alone.

Cops over lunch, swapping war stories,

every once in a while, you catch a break.

...out in Palmdale.

Three months back a guy responds

to a knock on the door.

Bam, shot in the face.

Ballistics, canvas, forensics, zip.

Tomorrow, I've got to tell the guy's daughter

we can't find your daddy's killer.

*

Did you get a good slug from that shooting?

Good hunch, lieutenant.

Check it out.

Identical markings.

The slug pulled from the housewares rep

was fired from the same gun

that killed the guy in Palmdale.

Three point match to the jumper.

Looks like we're back in business.

*

*

*

Two murders, same M.O.

Peter Turner, real estate broker, Palmdale,

opens his front door, gets shot in the head.

Todd Barnes, houseware salesman, Iowa,

leaves his hotel door open, gets shot in the head.

Same weapon, both murders.

What connects them?

Both salesmen, both family men.

Hold off on that one.

Palmdale sheriff records

say that Peter Turner did two years

at Men's Colony, molesting his daughter.

Cross reference phone records,

emails, address books.

Something will double up that will tie Peter Turner

and Todd Barnes together.

Something did.

I worked the phone records.

Both victims called the same number in Westwood

belonging to a Nicole Harrison.

There's more.

Nicole Harrison is Peter Turner of Palmdale's daughter.

His molested daughter.

*

We had a person who could tell us something

about Peter Turner.

His daughter.

*

Hi.

I'm Detective McCarron, this is Detective Cooper.

May we come in?

Yeah, please.

I'm sorry about the heat, it's so hot.

The AC's not working.

So, um, did you get him?

Who's that?

The guy who shot my father.

No, ma'am, we haven't.

Well, where's Marino?

We're working on the cases

in conjunction with the sheriff's department.

What do you mean cases?

Do you know this man, Miss Harrison?

He doesn't look familiar, no.

That's Todd Barnes, from Iowa.

He was murdered with the same weapon

that was used to kill your father,

two weeks after your father's murder.

I'm sorry, I, uh, it's just been hard, you know.

With my dad's death, what's um...

What's his name again?

Todd Barnes, do you know him?

No, I don't.

We accessed his phone records,

he's called you over 400 times in the last year.

Including a call to your number

the night before he was killed.

He must be a client.

What business are you in, Miss Harrison?

God, it's kind of embarrassing,

but I do adult video chat.

I've got my webcam, my costumes.

Sorry, I'm not a video chat kind of guy, Miss Harrison.

Oh, okay.

See, guys go to this website, thepeepingtom.com,

where lots of girls like myself are categorized.

They just click on my icon, Fantasy Girl.

*

I make a very good living

and I never have to leave the house.

*

They pay me $3.99 a minute to, um, you know,

fulfill their fantasies.

So it's like being a stripper,

only it's over the internet.

Except you make more

and there's no drunk guys pawing at you.

How'd Todd Barnes get your home phone number?

Well, sometimes clients IM me for my number,

so that they can hear my voice

while they watch me on video.

Beats all that back and forth typing.

You ever meet him offline?

No, I don't meet my clients, never.

I don't even know what they look like.

Weird part of what I do.

Remember where you were on Wednesday, August 17th?

Is that when this guy was shot?

Yeah.

Wednesday, I was here.

I was working, you can check.

*

What do you think?

I think this town needs girls like that alive.

You're not buying that whole victim thing, are you?

You like her, don't you?

Come on.

Peeping Tom records verify Nicole was online

at the time both murders were committed.

Yeah, but listen to the transcript,

"Nicole: My father was a monster.

Do you think I do what I do because I like it?

I'm on the internet for a reason.

I can't be intimate with real people."

Who's she telling that to?

Some guy with the screen name Lurker.

It goes on.

"Nicole: Sometimes I wish he would die for what he did.

He deserves to."

Any mention of Todd Barnes?

No, it's all about her father

and how she hated him.

So this guy, Lurker, might have acted on it.

Yeah, it was a few months ago.

Lurker just wanted me to be his wife.

His wife?

Yeah, it was a role play.

You know, he never asked me to strip, just talk.

He'd come online every day and we'd talk about our day.

Like husband and wife.

Did he ever ask you questions about your father?

We talked about some pretty personal stuff I guess, yeah.

We know about your father's record.

Yeah, I had a great childhood.

*

Did you ever suspect Lurker when your father was killed?

Nicole, I know this is hard.

*

I'm really scared.

Why are you scared?

I haven't been completely honest with you guys.

*

Yesterday morning I found this on my doorstep.

*

"Don't share our secrets," signed Lurker.

*

No postmark, no stamp.

*

He knows where I live.

*

The Peeping Tom server gave us the real name

for Lurker off his credit card.

John Saadi, 1224 Maplewood.

No rap sheet besides some traffic citations.

SID just said they're gonna need a few days

for the forensics on the package he sent to Nicole.

I'm not waiting on that.

Let's get some back-up, pop this guy.

*

Serve the warrant, first priority is the .38.

*

*

Salam.

Detective McCarron, LAPD.

We have a warrant to search the premises, ma'am.

John...

John Saadi, I'm Detective McCarron, LAPD,

this is Detective Cooper.

We have a warrant for a search.

Hey listen, why do you keep coming back!

Take it easy, take it easy!

We have a warrant, Mr. Saadi.

Tell her to calm down.

*

Why do you keep doing this to us?

Why?

*

My client was arrested and held for 73 days

after 9/11.

I understand that, sir,

but our records never indicated--

What records?

He wasn't allowed counsel, never formally charged,

he couldn't even tell his family that he was detained.

Our investigation has no relation to terrorism,

Mr. Aberhimi.

How is my client supposed to know that

when five armed cops break into his living room?

You want to keep this simple?

Mr. Saadi, tell me where you were

the night that Peter Turner was murdered.

I was in San Diego, on business.

I stayed out on Coronado.

You familiar with the website called The Peeping Tom?

The Peeping Tom?

We know you ran up a thousand dollar charge

on the site last month.

This is your credit card statement.

I have never seen this before.

Expect us to believe that?

Mr. Saadi was released only a few weeks ago.

He has not seen his statements

because your government has confiscated his mail.

Hotel confirmed that Saadi stayed three nights

at the Delmonico on Coronado.

SID found no cookies from The Peeping Tom

on his hard drive.

Someone stole his credit card

and set up a Peeping Tom account.

All right, get him out of here

before we get hit with a civil suit.

I say we get Nicole to set up a meeting with Lurker

and we nail him.

She'd do that?

I think I can talk her into it.

No, I'd be too nervous, I mean, he'd know.

Look, the meeting place

will be crawling with undercover cops,

you'll be wearing protective clothing,

it will be completely safe.

Can't you just track down the guy's computer

or something, I mean--

We're on that, but this guy knows what he's doin'.

It's gonna take time.

You saw what he sent me.

Look, this guy may have killed two people.

We get him, you're out of the woods.

I can't do it, you know, I'm sorry, I just, I can't.

All right, you're scared.

Suppose you just set up a meeting.

I don't actually go?

Right, you just contact Lurker, set it up.

We'll take it from there.

He's really a smart guy, I mean, he knows where I live.

You know, what if he figures it out?

I mean, I would want someone to be here with me

when you arrest him, just in case.

*

I can arrange for that.

*

Are you sure it's a good idea

for you to provide protective custody?

What are you talking about?

You know what I mean.

*

That's the only way I could get her to set up Lurker.

*

*

*

*

*

*

I missed you, Nicole.

I missed you, too.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,

I just missed you and...

*

I understand.

It's okay.

I was angry about the others.

It hurts me when you're near them.

*

I understand.

I'd like to see you.

I'd like that, Nicole.

You wear the pink dress.

Of course I'll wear the pink dress.

*

How do I look?

- Cheap. - Good.

Don't give this guy too much time.

Once I make the positive ID, I give the signal.

There's no telling what he's gonna do

when he finds out you're not Nicole.

I know.

It's time.

Thank you so much for being here with me.

Just doing my job.

It makes me feel a lot safer.

*

*

*

*

I love that dress.

*

You look amazing.

Thank you.

Pink's my favorite.

*

Who's this?

That's my husband, Ronald Harrison.

You're married?

He passed away.

I keep his name though, keeps him alive.

*

I'm sorry.

*

He took his own life.

*

I wasn't a very good wife.

I wasn't really very good at anything, you know.

I'm not very good offline.

What do you mean?

All day long I do these fantasies for people,

but face to face it's a different story.

I, I freeze up.

*

It's not that I want to be distant,

I mean, I want to be close.

I wanted that with my husband.

*

But every time I would start to climax...

*

I'd see his face.

Whose face?

My father.

*

I'd get so close, you know.

*

Then I'd lose it.

*

That's pretty horrible, huh?

*

I just keep wondering if I'm over it.

*

It's been a long time.

Nicole.

- I can't. - 1420 come in.

Stay there!

*

*

2B3-221U, 2B3-221U.

Dispatch, this is 1420--

Look, he knows where you live and he knows you set him up.

He's not gonna stop at a pop shot through a window.

I don't care, I'm not going into protective custody

like a criminal.

When the shot was fired, where were you?

I was standing right over there.

I was standing right here.

He was aiming at me.

You're the new competition.

RO information on suspect's vehicle

is Howard Simms, 1005 Parkwood.

*

Take it down.

*

Clear out those two rooms.

Clear.

*

Lots of bills past due.

That's why he stole credit cards.

Finance his Peeping Tom habit.

...38 Bulldog, you're a lucky man, Jimmy.

Nearly shot, that's lucky?

Thought Nicole said she never met him?

She told me that, too.

Jimmy!

Hey, hey, hey, look out!

You're under arrest!

You're hurting me!

You're hurting me!

You're hurting me!

Howard Craig Simms, 31,

served in Desert Storm, infantry.

Section 895 after being declared

unfit for military service.

You get ballistics?

Slugs from Barnes and Turner

matched the slug we pulled from Nicole's kitchen.

He's ours.

What happens from here is up to you.

We have evidence to convict you of first degree murder.

You could be facing death.

Living or dying depends upon your cooperation.

What do you know about us?

Who is us?

Me and the Queen of England.

Talking about you and Nicole?

Of course.

We're together.

Yeah, we saw the picture of you at your apartment.

What was your relationship?

You couldn't even begin to understand

what we feel for each other.

How often do you see her?

As often as I could afford to.

Did she tell you what her father did to her?

He came into her bedroom and he told her he loved her.

He put a pillow over her face and he held her down

and he raped his own daughter.

Is that why you killed him?

No.

Then why did you kill him?

Because Nicole asked me to.

*

Howard, we understand

why you were angry with Peter Turner,

but the other man,

Todd Barnes, the appliance salesman,

what did he do?

Why did he have to die?

Now it's obvious.

I know you can hear what I'm thinking.

Why did you kill Barnes, Howard?

Todd Barnes, I snuck into the chat room

and I saw how she talked to him,

what she did for him.

I knew what he wanted.

He came to L.A. for her.

But if I can't be with her, then no one else...

*

Was it jealousy?

*

You want to use her love for me to change my face!

She was only to talk to me!

She was mine!

Stop talking!

All of you stop talking!

I'll file, but I'm going to authorize a psych evaluation

to see if Simms is fit to stand trial.

Save yourself the time, he's not.

Nicole lied to me.

Said she never met Simms offline,

now Simms tells me she put him up

to murdering her father.

And we have a photo that puts them together.

Conspiracy.

Good luck with that, all Nicole has to claim

is that she was stalked by a lunatic.

A lunatic she manipulated.

To get Nicole on any murder,

you have to show that she put Simms in a frame of mind

to commit the crime on her behalf.

Did you read the instant message transcripts?

Complaining her father raped her

isn't solicitation of murder.

Thank God you got him.

That is just a huge weight off my shoulders.

He's in a jail ward at L.A. General.

I told you he was crazy.

Yeah, you did.

I'd like to ask you some questions.

Did you ever meet Howard Simms, Lurker, offline?

No, I told you I don't meet clients.

All right.

How do you explain this, then?

I want to talk to my lawyer.

Nicole lied about knowing.

And now she's lawyered up so you can forget

about getting anything else out of her.

She had no reason to lie unless she was complicit.

She's betting she can lie

better than Simms can tell the truth.

Very creative, but say I file,

her lawyer will just claim that everything

Nicole said to Simms online was role play,

an actress playing the part.

Just got the results back from Simms' psych evaluation.

He's schizoid erotomania.

Out in five, high on lithium,

and in the meantime, useless as a witness.

Get me something more than a frame of mind case

and I'll file, but right now, Nicole's a long shot.

Take the bird in the hand.

I'd seen that look before.

A cop realizing that a case isn't always solved

just by catching a killer.

It's about convicting the truly guilty.

Howard Simms would be off the streets,

the law has closed the case and ended the investigation.

But some people can't accept this.

For them it lives on, so they go to the past,

examine another death.

*

What?

Tell me what.

Nicole Harrison was married to Ronald Harrison,

who committed suicide.

Probate records show he left her over 200,000 bucks.

Yeah?

She also got 100,000 bucks from a life insurance policy

after her dad died.

Hmm.

I got the name of the investigating officer

in the husband's death.

So what are you waiting for?

*

You're lucky you found me in time.

I'm about to retire, Eastern Oregon.

Short timer, huh?

You got me, partner.

Yeah, now, let's see, Ronald Harrison.

Yeah, you remember it?

During a, uh, trial I had going for a double murder.

Took over a year to complete.

Yeah, they throw me on a Harrison suicide

during a recess in a motion, here.

I says, guy offed himself.

That's the file.

Had a cute little wife, she was uh,

she was heartbroken.

I appreciate this.

No problem.

Guy's boss at work said he was in good spirits,

pays his union dues three months in advance

and he was building a deck on the back of his house.

Who?

Nicole Harrison's husband.

Let me guess, you're not buying suicide.

Something's not right, I'm telling you.

Calvin Coolidge said that

perseverance and determination

alone are omnipotent.

*

He was right.

*

*

You better have found Jimmy Hoffa

to get me up here this early.

If I could have done it on the phone, I would have.

Are those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?

Yeah.

You know, McCarron, this is no way to make lieutenant.

You're gonna forgive me when I show you.

Nicole's first husband committed suicide, right?

With a gun like this between his legs.

And the wound was here on his chest.

You know, Jimmy, I think you've had too much coffee.

Just go with me.

Look at the blood drops, they change direction.

He was shot standing up.

Exactly, here.

Go ahead, try it.

Wound was right there on his chest.

Go ahead, top yourself.

You can't reach the trigger, can you?

Murder.

That's right.

Forty-one years on the force,

I know when a guy blows his head off.

Fatal shot was to his heart.

Heart, head, it was suicide.

This guy you spoke to, Greg Larson,

guy who alibied Nicole.

Yeah, Larson, he did custom carpeting.

Night of Harrison's death, he was striping her low-rider,

stories match.

Well we find that Nicole's not too reliable.

And in going over your files,

I notice you never even checked the weapon

for Larson's fingerprints.

Look, as I told your partner, this came down

during that whole double homicide investigation.

Maybe you missed something.

There wasn't time to dig into it.

We have time now.

Was there a GSR test done on the victim?

Joe, I'm a short timer, remember.

I'm right here at the finish line.

Look, say Larson did kill Nicole's husband,

it doesn't matter, the guy's been taken care of.

What do you mean taken care of?

Year after that, we got him in two armed robberies.

Thirty years up in Folsom.

Enjoy your retirement.

Mr. Larson, I'm Detective McCarron, LAPD.

I'd like to ask you some questions

about Ronald Harrison.

We found your prints on the weapon

that was used to kill him.

Man, I thought this was gonna be a parole hearing.

Tomorrow the DA will file charges against you

for the murder of Ronald Harrison.

Unless you give us a reason not to.

So that bitch is talkin', huh?

We're just trying to find out what happened.

What happened is Nicole wanted him dead.

I mean, that's why you guys are here, right?

I mean, it's not just because of me, I'm not worth it.

Did we waste our time, Mr. Larson?

Depends.

When do I get out?

We make the murder case and you never cooperate

and you can get a chance at parole.

*

Beats dying in prison.

*

Hey, I'm sorry, I don't have time for you guys right now,

I'm in the middle of a session.

What's going on?

You're under arrest for murder.

What do you mean murder?

You think I killed my father?

This isn't about your father.

Then who?

It's about your husband, Ronald Harrison.

Nicole's defense filed a motion in limine

to suppress all evidence

from the murder of her father.

Come on, it establishes a pattern behavior

that Nicole's done this before.

They're saying it's prejudicial to the jury

claiming it can't un-ring a bell.

Will it work?

Unless I can prove that it won't.

The defendant's father was killed

in the same manner as the defendant's husband.

Preliminary hearings, evidentiary hearings,

all in order to determine what may or may not

be admissible in a trial.

Your Honor, my client has not been connected

in any way to the tragic death of her father.

This is just a hearing, Mr. LePlatt,

I'd like everything on the table.

Evidence relating to the death of Nicole Harrison's father

could show that once again, an assailant was recruited

to commit the crime.

The Peeping Tom transcripts speak directly

to the relevance of this to the State's current case.

*

Well, what's up?

*

The judge admitted the Turner evidence.

The Peeping Tom transcripts?

*

The transcripts she was held to answer.

Yes!

*

How did Nicole Harrison first propose

that you kill her husband?

She joked about it when we were getting it on.

Where were you at the time?

Where we usually were, in bed over at my place.

Then one day she mentioned that she wasn't joking.

Did she ever offer you anything

in exchange for your help?

Yeah, there was money.

Old Ronnie inherited some money.

She said we were gonna split it

and live happily ever after.

Did you ever receive any money?

Hell no.

Once Ronnie was dead, she didn't want to know me.

No further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Larson, you've admitted killing Ronald Harrison.

And then staging the crime scene

to make it look like a suicide.

So given the fact that you're a convicted armed robber,

my question is, how many years?

Excuse me?

How many years did the DA knock off your sentence

for having you lie that someone else's father--

Objection, conjecture.

Sustained, Mr. LePlatt.

The jury will disregard the last statement

by defense counsel.

This case has special significance for you,

doesn't it, detective?

They're all significant, I don't know what you mean.

Personal significance.

Have you spent time alone with the defendant?

Only in the course of duty.

Hmm, well, it's my understanding that interviews

with witnesses or suspects are normally done by teams,

usually two detectives.

Can you explain the reason for that?

For purposes of verification.

So why did you violate that rule, detective?

I didn't violate that rule, counselor.

Do you deny that you went to my client's apartment

and you spent time with her alone?

I was there to provide protection for her

during an undercover operation.

Alone.

I wasn't there to interview or extract information.

Well isn't that when you learned she'd formerly been married?

*

Yes.

And isn't that when you,

acting ostensibly as her protector,

encouraged her to reveal her most profound feelings

regarding her sexuality?

- No. - And that's when you took

your shot at seducing her, isn't it?

Absolutely not.

And she rejected you, didn't she?

And that is why we are here today, a vendetta.

Objection, this line of questioning has no purpose

other than badgering this witness.

*

I'll withdraw.

No more questions.

*

Ms. Harrison, do you acknowledge

that after Ronnie Harrison's death,

you were the sole beneficiary of his estate,

valued at over $200,000?

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

Yes.

How long before your husband's death

did you begin your extramarital affair

with Mr. Larson.

I wasn't having an affair with Mr. Larson.

According to Mr. Larson, your affair began

right around the time your husband's will was drafted.

Now would you say that was just a coincidence,

Ms. Harrison, or was that a plan?

My relationship with Mr. Larson wasn't sexual,

we were just friends.

A friend that you enlisted to kill your husband.

Larson wanted to be with me, and I wouldn't.

He was very jealous.

Your witness, Mr. LePlatt.

Well, let's not leave this hanging in the air.

Nicole, were you intimate with Greg Larson?

You know I wasn't.

How would I know that, how would anyone know that?

Because I couldn't be because I'm damaged.

What do you mean damaged?

*

I was raped by my father.

It was something that my husband Ronnie and I

dealt with quite a lot.

He thought that I was cold,

I, uh, couldn't make him believe

that I loved him.

I would try, but...

*

I just couldn't.

Every time that we would have sex, I'd see his face.

- See who? - My father.

I blame myself that Ronnie died.

I know that I hurt him so much and I'm so sorry.

But I loved my husband, he was a good man.

We wanted to have, we wanted a family.

I wouldn't have hurt him for anything in the world.

Did you ever suspect Mr. Larson

of killing your husband

and making it look like a suicide?

No.

But I can see, I can see the possibility.

I mean, he wanted to be with me.

*

What do you think?

Could go either way.

This bitch walks, I swear--

She walks, she walks.

You did your job,

that's all that's important to us.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

have you reached a verdict?

We have, your honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

Laws are written to protect the innocent.

And what is that verdict?

We, the members of the jury,

find the defendant, Nicole Harrison,

not guilty of murder in the first degree.

And because of that, guilty people sometimes go free.

*

*

It's a hard lesson,

learning to take the verdict and move on.

It's what a cop does.

*

Howard Simms was deemed unfit to stand trial

for the murder of Peter Turner and Todd Barnes.

He is currently at Atascadero State Mental Facility

undergoing treatment.

Greg Larson was allowed to plead guilty

to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for his testimony

against Nicole Harrison.

He was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison.

He will be eligible for parole in 2031.

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