All language subtitles for Law & Order LA S01E07 Ballona Creek-eng

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.

What do you have there, Louis?

Just an old bike.

Why do they think
this is a trash can?

- A trash can...
- Hey, Homes!

That's my bike.

Am I gonna have
to come down there

and get my bike back?

[Boys laughing]

You gonna be
all right down here, don?

They're just foolin' around.
No worries.

No worries.

See you later.

Excuse me! Sir!

There's something
in the water down here.

Where?

In the net.

[Coughing]

DPW worker Louis Valdez
called it in.

Says he knows the guy,
name's don Heller.

"Watershed management."

There could be a city vehicle
somewhere upstream.

Call his job,
get a plate number,

and get a bolo out.

Body's been
in the water overnight.

Four or five stab wounds
to the torso.

Defensive wounds are dominant
on the right arm.

Attacker could be a lefty.

You're the one
who found the body, Mr. Valdez?

A girl on skates
was the first one to see him,

uh, from the bike path.

- Where'd she go?
- Where'd she go?

Um, I turned around,
she was gone.

How did you know Heller?

I see him here all the time,

testing the water, and...

Yeah?
Did you see him yesterday?

Yesterday?

Uh, around 4:00
at the creek, near Centinela.

You notice anything unusual?

Anything unusual?

Some gang kids were yelling

stuff at us from the bridge.

Uh, one of them
threw a rock at him.

You think you'd recognize
any of them?

Nah, I was too far away.

You know, I...

I shouldn't have left don
there by himself.

It's not your fault, sir.

Thank you.

My grandfather used to fish
in this creek when he was a kid.

Yeah, now the kids hunt.

Sync by Adriano_CSI
www.addic7ed.com

Don was
always home by 7:00.

I tried calling him all night.

I called the hospitals.

I- I just can't believe...

Did he ever mention
any trouble at the creek?

No.
He was just an engineer.

He was the sweetest man.

Why would they do this to him?

We'll have someone drive you
home now, Mrs. Heller.

Five stab wounds to the right
side of the chest and abdomen,

one edge of the knife
was serrated.

Murder weapon turn up?

No. We don't even have
a crime scene yet.

He was probably
stabbed upstream

and carried down
toward the ocean overnight.

A witness saw bangers giving
him a hard time near Centinela.

Centinela's no man's land.

Culver city boys to the east,
Venice 13 to the west.

About all they have in common
is they like to

go down to Ballona creek
and drink and get high.

They found Heller's truck,

two miles from Ballona creek
at Marco place.

Venice 13 turf.

Ignition's popped.

We might get prints in here.

I got water samples
from the creek,

date and location
on the stickers.

This last sample was taken
at Berryman street at 4:24 P.M.

Hey.

It's Heller's.

And there's blood.

We got ourselves a crime scene.

This isn't gang turf.

They must have dumped the truck

outside of
Venice 13's front yard

just to throw us off the scent.

Every few days,
don signed out a truck

and headed over to Ballona creek
to take water samples.

Anything controversial
about his work?

Not unless you consider
clean water controversial.

Did Heller ever bust anybody
for dumping in the creek?

Oh, sure.
Couple years ago,

there were high levels
of mercury in the water.

On his own time, don figured out
this shop that made neon signs

was dumping waste water.

Had the EPA shut them down.

This is his car.
[Alarm chirps]

You need anything, just ask.

Thank you.

I got searches on his GPS

for 5708 Western Avenue
three days ago.

Week before that,
3600 Leimert boulevard.

South central.

That's nowhere near
Ballona creek.

Gotta wonder where
he's dipping his test tube.

Seen this guy around?

All right, thank you.

Strike three.

I don't know about your pibil,

but I'm already starting
to regret this carne asada.

[Chuckles] Cowboy up, amigo.

So this was
your first beat, huh?

Yeah, mostly drugs
and prostitutes

till the block was torched
during the riots.

I'm not seeing
why Heller was here.

Can't be for the fine dining.

Some people like grease.

Maybe his wife can tell us
why he was here.

South central?

I've lived here 15 years,
I've never even been.

Did Mr. Heller
have any family down there,

or a colleague,
maybe an old school friend?

No.

I can't imagine
what he was doing there.

[Telephone rings]

People keep calling.

I guess they mean well.

[Rings]

Look at this.

He downloaded
this from the web.

Women murdered
in south central.

This one is 1987, '89, '91.

This one is from 1990.

"The victim, an unidentified
black female in her 20s,

"was found stabbed
to death in an alley behind...

Behind the 3600 block
of Leimert boulevard."

One of the addresses
in Heller's GPS.

1989-Sherry conlon, 18,

found in the alley
behind west 57th and Denker,

multiple stab wounds.

She had a couple of dope busts.

1987-Milicent Taylor, 21,

dumpster behind 5309 Avalon,

multiple stab wounds,
no record.

1990-Ggrace Bradshaw, 20,

Halldale and 49th,
multiple stab wounds,

priors for dope
and solicitation.

Four years,
eight murders, one m.O.,

all within a half-mile
of Western and Slauson.

Most of the victims were girls
who ran the streets,

baseheads, prostitutes...

And somebody's daughters.

I don't remember
any report back then

of a serial killer
working the area.

Who was the lead investigator?

Bob reedy, southwest division,
caught four of the cases.

He retired ten years ago.

I remember him.

We should reach out to him.

Does compstat have
any open cases

with a similar m.O.
After '91?

No. If it's the same killer,
he stopped after '91.

Or he went to jail
or the hospital

or took his act somewhere else.

Where was Heller?

Living in Glendale, single,
teaching at Pomona college.

He started working
for the city in 1997.

There's one more case from '91.

Same m.O.,
but the victim survived.

Diana Mcdermott.

She was left for dead in
an alley behind Hoover street.

She gave a sketch
of her attacker.

Doesn't look much like Heller.

Find her.

Give her
an old DMV photo of Heller.

We find out what Heller
had to do with these killings,

maybe it tells us
who killed him.

I don't know.

It was so long ago.

I try...

I try not to dwell.

You know, he left me
with 14 scars like this,

everywhere.

I can't have children.

Never been on a date.

Miss Mcdermott, we know
how hard this is on you,

but maybe if you
tell us what happened,

you'll remember his face.

I was 16.

I had a big fight
with my father,

and I ran out of the house.

Went down to the corner store

and got myself
a 40 of malt liquor

just to show
how grown up I was.

This man drives up and says,

"it's dangerous out here.

Let me give you
a ride home."

Like a fool, I get in.

He pulled into an alley...

And he starts telling me
how pretty I was.

I was pretty.

I tried to get out of the car,
but he put a knife at my throat.

He got on top of me,

and he pinned my arms down.

He felt me up while
he was rubbing on himself.

He had my bra in his mouth,
and he was sucking on it.

And I was praying
that he wouldn't kill me.

He got done with his business,

and then he pulled me
out of the car

and started stabbing me.

I don't remember anything else.

Can you see him now
in your mind?

Yes.

I don't see him.

I'm sorry.

[Sniffles]
It's been a long time.

But it'd be a good thing
if he was dead by now.

[Helicopter hovering]

Time of death
is less than 24 hours.

Who found her?

Shop owner
taking out the garbage.

No I.D. On her.

So far, I count 12 stab wounds.

What kind of knife?

Single edge, serrated.

Looks like someone's
come out of retirement.

Our working theory is
Heller suspected someone he knew

was involved in the murders
20 years ago,

he started poking around.

The suspect caught wind of it,
took him out.

Killing Heller
might've been enough

to tickle
the suspect's taste for blood,

put him back on the hunt.

So most likely, it was
somebody Heller knew personally,

like a friend or acquaintance.

We're drawing up a list
of males over 40

in his social
and professional orbits.

What about our Jane Doe?

No hit on her prints,
and she doesn't match

any missing persons report
in the state.

Go wider. Put her photo
on the Internet.

This guy's smart.

He knew enough not to leave
a calling card on the victim.

We can thank
the o.J. Trial.

Everybody got a primer
on DNA evidence.

This guy
was working before O.J.

And before the P.D.
was pulling DNA off victims.

Maybe we can use
today's technology

on yesterday's evidence.

Let's see, negative for semen,

negative for blood
other than the victim's.

This is a mess.

Lot of this stuff's
just thrown in here,

no tags, no way
to tell what belongs to who.

"Sylvia Watson."

One woman's shoe,
one push-up bra,

soda can, another bra.

The girl who survived,
Diana Mcdermott,

she said her assailant
sucked on her bra.

Maybe we can pull DNA
off of that.

Even if we pull DNA
off of them,

we don't know
what belongs to who.

A defense lawyer
would have a field day.

Sylvia was 19
when she was killed.

We lost her to drugs
a couple of years before that.

After all this time, why are
you asking about our girl?

We think we might have a lead
on the person who killed her.

Oh, my God.

First we need you
to identify some clothing

Sylvia might've been wearing
when she was found.

Recognize either of these?

Yes.
The pretty pink one.

I bought it for her
at the k-mart on Crenshaw.

Who does that other one
belong to?

One of the other girls.

What other girls
are you talking about?

The other girls
killed by the man

who killed your daughter.

The same man?

Well, how many girls
did he kill?

Nine that we know of,
including one three days ago.

Nine?

No one told us
there were other girls.

No one told you there might be

a serial killer in your area?

No.

We thought Sylvia was killed
by one of her drug friends.

Nine girls.

Was Sylvia the first?

No, sir.

There were
four others before her.

Four?

And no one said a word?

We're very sorry.

Unbelievable.

There was a wolf loose
and nobody told these people

to keep their girls safe
at home?

The good old days, huh?

[Cell phone chimes]

Cheer up.

Retired Detective Bob Reedy
just walked into rhd.

The Betty Basehead murders,
we called 'em.

Once we saw the pattern,
I caught all the cases.

You realized this was
the work of a single suspect?

Yeah, based on the geography
and the m.O.

Why not put the word out, huh?

Give the locals a chance
to protect their own?

They didn't want people
to panic.

One tip might've
broken the case.

It wasn't my call.

Look, times
were different then.

Height of the crack war.

O.D.S, crack whores,
dealers, snitches.

We were drowning in bodies.

After the king riots,

the brass
just pulled us off the case.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Hey, nobody wanted to have
anything to do with cops.

He's still at it, huh?

Don't sweat it.

"Slauson slasher."

Now he has a name.
All we need's a face.

The lab found trace DNA
from saliva

on Sylvia Watson's bra.

But no matches to
the state databases or to CODIS.

So our suspect
isn't in the database,

but maybe
one of his relatives is.

You want to run
a search for familial DNA?

If one of his cousins
was arrested,

their DNA will be
in the database.

If we find the cousin,
maybe we find the suspect.

You'll need permission
from the Attorney General.

I'll get on it.

For an identical match
to the DNA sample from the bra,

I would need ten pairs
of alleles...

These peaks here.

But since we are looking for
close relatives of your suspect,

I set the search parameter
to eight pairs of alleles.

Congratulations,
you have one hit.

Brandon Duffy.
Date of birth, 9-28-92.

He's 18.

He'll be thrilled to hear

he's related
to the Slauson slasher.

Got it.
Brandon Duffy.

Convicted of unlawful
use of a vehicle in '08.

Joy riding.
Sentenced to probation.

Let's go give him
the good news.

Kid's living large.

That's what you get

when your dad's
a successful architect.

You know, the dad's 53,

right in
our suspect's age range.

We could scam some of his DNA,

see if it matches our suspect.

Or we could just ask
for his cooperation.

Mr. Duffy?

Sorry to bother you.

I'm Detective winters,
this is Detective Jaruszalski.

- Is there a problem?
- No, no.

We just need your help
in an investigation.

Some DNA found at a crime scene
partially matches your son's DNA

taken when he was arrested
a couple of years ago.

My son's a suspect?

No.
He's not in any trouble,

but we need to eliminate

his male relatives
as potential suspects.

And how would you do that?

By taking a DNA swab.
We can do it right here.

Won't take but a few seconds.

You want my DNA?
Not a chance.

I'm calling my lawyer.

You stay away from my son.

Your son smokes?

No, I do.

Thank you.

The lab pulled mark Duffy's
DNA off his cigarettes,

but it's gonna take
at least a week

to run it for a match
to our suspect.

Apart from his father,

how many of the son's
other relatives fit the profile?

Four males on his dad's side,
two on his mother's.

None with priors,
all upstanding citizens.

Except cousin Bob,

who has a thing for knives
and young women.

Lieutenant.

Thanks.

Terrific.

Duffy filed for
a restraining order against us,

and he's got
the ACLU backing him up.

Mr. Duffy is
not the only family member

who was harassed
by the police, your honor.

His brother's trash
was searched.

His brother-in-law's employer

was questioned
as to his whereabouts.

The action was the result

of a search of databases
for familial DNA,

which is why I'm here
on behalf of the ACLU.

This is a controversial

new law enforcement tool,
your honor.

It, by definition,
targets innocent people.

It's a scientific fact

that the DNA found
on one of the victims

is from an immediate
male relative of Brandon Duffy.

Must they all endure suspicion
and harassment by the police?

The police have the permission
of the Attorney General's office

to search familial DNA.

That doesn't immunize it
from my scrutiny.

I find the police conduct here
extremely disturbing.

What's disturbing, your honor,

is the fact
that a serial killer

has been out there
for 20 years,

nine young women
have been killed already.

The police are finally closing
in on the suspect...

Nobody is stopping them,
your honor,

as long as they don't trample
on the rights

of innocent people.

Mr. Dekker, I'm issuing
a restraining order

to stop all further testing
of the Duffys' DNA

and to stop any further
investigation or surveillance

of members of the family
without probable cause.

[Whispering]

An appeal could take months.

By that time, the suspect
could completely disappear.

Counselor,

you need to see this.

She was found three hours ago,

same area as the others.

Miss Caffey,
I want to show you something.

I'm in a hurry.

Her name's Latanya Weaver.

Now she was found this morning
near Slauson Avenue.

The next one's on you.

Latanya was a senior
at Fremont high.

Average student, no history
of drugs, gangs.

Last seen Thursday night
walking home from a friend's.

I have a task force out
canvassing her route home,

but so far, no leads.

Can we put any
of Brandon Duffy's relatives

near the scene?

No. I had to pull
the surveillance

to comply
with the restraining order.

But we did find something
in the public records.

In 2004, mark Duffy
and his family were granted

an order of protection
from Maria Cordero,

a 47-year-old latina
living in Santa Ana.

Restraining orders,
orders of protection.

Mark Duffy's
got something to hide.

Mark Duffy?

No, my lawyer said
I can't talk about that.

That was six years ago.

Please, Mrs. Cordero,
we're investigating a murder.

Don't you want to help?

I don't know.

Mr. Duffy was very angry.

Why? What did you do?

I just wanted to see Brandon.

Their son? Why?

I have a daughter...

Angela.

When she was 17,

one night somebody come into
her room through the window.

He raped her.

This was Brandon?

Oh, no, no, no.

This was almost 20 years ago.

Uh, we moved here
after my husband died.

Angela got pregnant
from the rape,

and we gave the baby
to an agency for adoption.

Brandon was the baby.

The Duffys adopted him.

Yes.

Six years ago,

Angela discovered
that she couldn't have children.

I was very sad.

I wanted to see my grandson.

I found him.

But Mr. Duffy
wouldn't let me see him.

He didn't want Brandon
to know how he was born,

from a rape.

So he got a judge
to keep me away.

Brandon's adopted.

That takes Duffy
and his relatives off the hook.

Mm-hmm. Mrs. Cordero,
we're gonna need the names

of Angela's blood relatives,
the men-uncles, cousins.

Please, I don't want
any more problems.

I'm sorry.

Now that the Duffys
are off the table,

we're looking
for male relatives

of Brandon's
biological parents,

his mom, Angela Cordero,

and his dad,
an unidentified rapist.

The rape was never reported,

there was no investigation,
no leads.

And the kid's grandmother
won't cooperate.

Anyone else listed
at Maria Cordero's address?

Just Angela.

Uh, but before they moved
to Santa Ana in '91,

they lived in Los Angeles
at 5864 Cimarron street.

Yeah, south central.
It's the right neighborhood.

Anybody else listed
at that address?

Let's see here.
There's...

There's an Eduardo Cordero,
died 1991.

That must have been
Maria's husband.

That can't be our guy.

And there's Luis Cordero,
three years younger.

Could have been his brother.

He'd be 54 now.

Where is he now?

Last known address
for him is '93.

Where is he working?

Okay, last entry
under his social security

is also 1993.

This is nice.

His last job, he was a janitor
at rampart division.

Luis Cordero?
Doesn't ring a bell.

Maybe if you had a DMV photo.

He didn't have
a driver's license.

The city record says
he worked the day shift.

I remember a Latino guy
who cleaned the bathrooms.

His name might've be Luis.

He was really into the scanners
we had back then,

listening to the radio calls.

We had a name for that guy-
bunny man.

[Laughs]
Yeah, right, bunny man.

After the punk band?

Echo and the bunnymen.
What's the connection?

Well, this guy had
some kind of verbal tic,

you know, a nervous thing

where he'd repeat
the last thing you said,

like an echo.

How you doing,
Mr. Valdez?

Okay. Just working.

Yeah? Any of those bangers
been bothering you?

Bothering me? Nah.

Everything's cool.

I like your cleaning technique.

You ever work as a custodian?

Custodian?

I like the fresh air.

Like the air
around rampart division?

Never worked there.

You know who did?

Luis Cordero.

You're gonna pay
for this suit, Luis.

Get up.

Valdez is on medication.

Dutasteride "for benign
prostatic hyperplasia."

Enlarged prostate.

I got one the size
of a long island potato.

Huh. I got
a beveled hunting knife

with a serrated spine.

Looks nice and clean.
[Sniffs]

Bleach.

Bingo.

Trophy case.

The police found
two bras bras stained with blood

matched to
the latest two victims

and a knife consistent with
that used on all of the victims,

including Mr. Heller.

There are a thousand
of such knives in the city.

And for all anyone knows,
my client found those bras

discarded in Ballona creek.

Your honor, Mr. Valdez
has worked for the city

for over 25 years.

He's not going anywhere now.

Mr. Valdez has mastered hiding
in plain sight, your honor.

After his first killing spree,

when he was known
as Luis Cordero,

he took
his mother's maiden name,

got a new
social security number,

and started
a new life as a DPW worker.

Remand without bail
is the only way

to keep him in our sights.

Your honor,
in a city that is rife

with pop stars and actors
who have changed their names...

Please, Mr. Solomon.

Is that the best
you can come up with?

Your client is remanded
without bail until trial.

Mr. Dekker.

Oh, Mr. Duffy.

Look, we won't be bothering
your family anymore.

You have to help us.

My son knows
that he was adopted,

but we never told him
how he was conceived.

That's gonna come out
during this man's trial,

how he's related to Brandon,
the rape.

I'm not sure
I could prevent that.

It'll scar Brandon
for the rest of his life.

That's why I stopped you before,
from testing our DNA.

Mr. Dekker,
can't you offer this man

some kind of a plea bargain,
so there's no trial?

I'm very sorry, Mr. Duffy,

but I don't hog trade
with a serial killer.

But then my son
would never have to know.

I don't know what to tell you,

but I've got 11 murder victims
and their families.

I have to speak for them.

Brandon Duffy was a juvenile

when his DNA was taken after
his conviction for joy-riding.

The law at the time stated

that DNA could be entered
into the database

only when there
was an adult conviction.

Brandon was 15.

Fine. Let Brandon Duffy sue
the county sheriff

who took his DNA.

His parents don't want money.

They want to preserve
their son's privacy

and prevent the revelation that
their son is a child of rape.

Say the boy's DNA
was in the system in error,

what does it have
to do with Mr. Valdez?

Your honor, my client
only became a suspect

because the police found

Brandon Duffy's DNA
in the database.

All the evidence
that the police have recovered

stems from
that tainted DNA match.

He's right, Mr. Dekker.

Without that boy's DNA,

the police would
not have found Mr. Valdez,

or the knife or the clothing.

Please don't tell me

you're going to dismiss
our entire prosecution

because some clerk hit
the wrong key on his computer.

Facts are facts.

I'm dismissing the charges
and releasing Mr. Valdez.

Hold on, your honor.

We have a victim who survived
an attack by Mr. Valdez.

She may be able
to identify him.

Before you put this maniac
back on the street,

will you
at least give us a chance

to put him in a lineup?

Mr. Dekker, you can have
your lineup.

Okay, miss Mcdermott,
take your time

and tell us if you see the man
who stabbed you.

I don't know.

It was so long ago.

I'm sorry.

I can't be sure.

That's okay.

We'll get you a ride home.

You're a free man, Louis.

I want two cars on him 24/7.

11 murder cases
blown out of the water.

What the hell's
the ACLU thinking?

Forget that.

Judge Ridgeway just tossed
all our evidence.

Time to start from scratch...

DNA from the bra
worn by Sylvia Watson.

Legally, we have to pretend
we don't know whose DNA that is.

Right. Unidentified DNA

sitting in a computer database,
waiting for a match.

The trick
is getting Valdez's DNA

back in the system legally.

We can.

If he gets arrested,
he'll be swabbed.

His DNA will be run through
the database automatically.

If he gets arrested again.

We have to make that happen.

We can't arrest him
on a pretext.

Valdez has to
actually do something.

Maybe he already has.

There's one victim here
who's been overlooked.

- Luis is my brother-in-law,
Angela's uncle,

but we haven't seen him
since we moved to Santa Ana.

You and your husband shared
a house with him till then.

Why did you move out?

After my husband died,

I didn't feel comfortable
living with Luis.

Angela was young.

It wasn't proper.

Angela, I want to talk to you

about the rape 18 years ago.

What if I don't want to?

I can't force you.

But I think you could help us.

I think you could help us
with many cases.

We just moved into this house.

I was, uh, in my new bedroom,
sleeping.

I was 17.

I woke up, I was on my stomach.

This man was on my back,

raping me.

This man,
what did he look like?

I couldn't see.

He pushed my face
into my pillow.

I couldn't even scream.

Did he say anything?

Maybe you recognized his voice.

You did.

You did recognize his voice.

Angela,

all these women he's killed...

[Maria moans]

You could stop him.

Tell him, Angela.

Tell him.

He whispered in my ear.

It was like I was underwater,

but I could tell it was him.

It was uncle Luis.

What did he say to you?

He said, if I told my mother,

if I told the police,

he would kill me.

Angela refused
to go to the police,

so I took her to the doctor.

She was bleeding.

What are you going to do?

The rape happened outside
of our jurisdiction,

so I need you to report it

to the police
here in Santa Ana.

Uh, how can I say it's him
after all this time?

You let us worry about that.

But I promise you,
you'll never have to face him,

you'll never have to testify,

but I need you
to be strong now.

I need you
to stand up for yourself.

1992?

Look, I'm happy
to put a rapist behind bars,

but it took her 18 years
to report it?

She was 17,
and the rapist was her uncle.

He threatened to kill her
if she reported it.

There are emergency room
records

confirming vaginal injury.

A rape Kit?

I don't know.

You have nothing but the girl's
word two decades later.

It's a dead loser
before a jury.

Listen, Karen, this uncle,

he's the serial killer.

I'm sure you've read about him.

The one where you
just lost all your evidence?

We'll get it back.

I just need you
to prosecute him on the rape.

There's more
than enough evidence

to get past
a preliminary hearing.

The victim's credible.

Nice of the city to put
a serial killer back on payroll.

Well, he's union
and no conviction, so...

Our tax dollars hard at work.

[Siren approaching]

Here comes
the Santa Ana cavalry.

Hands!

Don't move.

Get down.

It's like watching a cop movie.

Mm-hmm.

Now all we have to do

is wait for Santa Ana
to put his DNA in the database.

[Chatter on police radio]

They finally
I.D.Ed our Jane Doe.

Kelli Torneau,
age 17, no family.

She was born in New Orleans.

Valdez's DNA
just hit the database.

[Desk thuds]

Got him.

This is absurd, your honor.

You dismissed
these murder cases last week.

Because the evidence then
was based on a match

with DNA that had been
put in the database in error.

Now the evidence
against Mr. Valdez

is based on his DNA

that's been properly put
into the database

subsequent to his arrest
for rape.

An old rape case
that Mr. Dekker

convinced orange county
to use as a pretext

to arrest my client.

I did not rape my niece,
your honor,

and I did not kill nobody.

Quiet, Mr. Valdez!

This was no pretext arrest.

There was medical evidence,
and an I.D. By the victim.

The rape happened 18 years ago.

Prosecution is barred
by the statute of limitations.

If defense counsel
had done his homework,

he'd know that there's no clock
on a sex crime against a minor

that went previously unreported
to the police.

The victim here was 17.

She's right, Mr. Solomon.

And since prop 69 required
a DNA swab from Mr. Valdez

after his arrest for rape,

our murder cases no longer
go through a third party

or violate anyone's privacy.

He's got you there,
Mr. Solomon, but good.

I'm denying
your motion to dismiss.

All murder charges will stand.

I'll see you folks at trial.

Even if you win at trial,

we'll have this tied up
with appeals

for the next ten years.

And with the ACLU on board,

we might have prop 69
declared unconstitutional,

or that dubious statute
of limitations exception.

And the next time Mr. Valdez
walks out of here,

it might be for good.

You do what you gotta do,

but I will be riding shotgun

with the Attorney General's
office on the appeal.

Come on, Dekker,

a bird in the hand
must be worth something.

You're not hearing me,
Mr. Solomon.

This case is going to end

when your client receives
a lethal injection

from the state of California.

A lethal injection.

Please, I'll stay in prison
for as long as you want.

Okay. All right, Dekker,
word on the street is

that the death penalty
is not really your thing.

It's the law of this state,
and I'm going to enforce it.

I was good
when I took those pills.

I never hurt nobody.

But don Heller,

if he wasn't so nosy...

Nosy?

He found out
that I changed my name,

and he asked me questions,

all the time, questions.

He just wouldn't
leave me alone.

And I...

But-but I'll...
I'll take...

I'll take those pills again,

and I'll be good again.

But, please,

just don't
just let them kill me.

If you can convince
a jury that you deserve mercy,

so be it.

But I'm going
to show you the same mercy

you showed those women.

23 years ago,

a lone predator

began murdering
young black women

in south central Los Angeles.

With a knife
as sharp as wolves' teeth,

he tore his victims to pieces.

Young women whose deaths
weren't covered on TV,

didn't make the front page
of newspapers.

Young women whose murders

weren't given their proper due
by the police.

With time, the evidence
was packed away in boxes.

Murder books pushed
to the back shelf.

The cases faded away.

The victims were forgotten,

by all except their families...

Until now.

We will prove that this man
that sits before you,

Louis Valdez,

is one of the most vicious
serial killers

in the history of this city.

And today, everyone will know
the names of his victims.

Sherry Conlon.

Beverly Greene.

Sylvia Watson.

Milicent Taylor.

Marlena Treadway.

Grace Bradshaw.

Luanne Hicks.

Diana Mcdermott.

Don Heller.

Kelli Torneau.

Latanya Weaver.

Finally,

they will all have
their day in court.