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*DEFENDING JACOB*
Season 01 Episode 07

Episode Title: "Job"
Aired on: May 22, 2020

Sync corrections by srjanapala

[Neal] So you think
I'll win?

Be surprised if you didn't.

This is your first murder,
right?

It's that obvious?

No, no, you're doing great.
It's really well, yeah.

I really appreciate you
taking the time here.

Oh, come on, come on.
Actually I, uh...

...took some notes.

If you want.

Yeah. Great.
Sure. [clears throat]

So, um...

- All right, your opening argument...
- Okay.

You didn't look at him,
the defendant.

- I didn't?
- No.

And I'm not talking
about a passing glance.

You gotta show the jury that
you can look at a defendant

right in the eye and say, "Guilty."

If you show them that you have
the courage to do that, so will they.

Okay.

That's great.

[chuckles]

- What else?
- Uh...

I noticed you kinda stand
far away from the jury box.

You always wanna be
closing that space.

Makes the jurors feel
like you're one of them.

Oh. You, uh... you said the
name of the defendant four times.

I shouldn't do that?

As far as you're
concerned,

he doesn't have a name.
He's the defendant.

His lawyer's gonna be doing
everything he can to humanize him.

Don't make the job
any easier.

Another round?

- No, that's okay.
- Yes.

Absolutely.

Come on.
It's on me.

You really think
I'm gonna win, huh?

[door opens]

[door closes]

[chattering]

Now, Jacob,
I know I've told you this before...

[continues, indistinct]

[whispering]

[Joanna, indistinct]

[indistinct]

[chattering]

Court, all rise.

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.

All persons having
anything to do

before the Honorable
Judge French,

a Justice of the Superior Court,

now sitting within and
for the Commonwealth,

draw near, give your attendance,
and you shall be heard.

God save the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts

and this most honorable court.

This court's now open.
Please be seated.

Number 08-44-07,

Commonwealth versus
Jacob Owen Barber.

A single count of
murder in the first degree.

For the defendant,
Joanna Klein.

For the Commonwealth,
Assistant District Attorney Neal Logiudice.

Any preliminary motions
before we begin the voir dire?

[Joanna] A couple of things,
yes, Your Honor.

First, the defendant's father,
Andrew Barber,

would like to enter
an appearance

in the case on the
defendant's behalf.

With the court's permission,
he's going to second chair me at trial.

[Judge French] Is this a wise decision,
Ms. Klein?

It is the family's wish,
Your Honor.

All right, Mr. Barber,
you can come forward. What else?

[Joanna] Your Honor,
I have filed a motion in limine

to exclude any mention of the
defendant's grandfather William Barber,

who is currently serving a life
sentence for first-degree murder.

We believe
the Commonwealth may try to

introduce this fact
to prejudice the jury.

Your Honor,
the Commonwealth contends

that the family's history of violence
is of great relevance.

Your Honor, my client
has never once met the...

I get it.
I read the motion.

Defendant's objection is noted
and tabled.

Should the Commonwealth
decide

William Barber's criminal
record is critical to his case,

he will first notify the defense,

and then we'll have a
hearing on the matter.

Otherwise,
not a word about this to the jury.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Yes, Your Honor.

[Joanna] Lastly, the defense moves
to expand its witness list by two:

Matthew McGrath
and Leonard Patz.

- [Judge French] Commonwealth?
- We're fine with it, Your Honor.

All right,
let's bring in the jury venire.

All rise for the jury.

- [chattering]
- [elevator bell dings]

[chattering continues]

[Andy] Retired bus driver,
works with kids. That's good.

[Joanna] Yeah, I liked her.
Thanks, Ellen.

They kept
staring at me.

Oh, you'll get used to that.

Just keep your eye
on the judge

as much as possible...
or on your dad and me.

Don't give 'em any reason to
not like you. No faces. Okay?

[Joanna] You're doing great
so far.

You all are.

[Neal] You see, this wasn't just
an average boy, the defendant.

No, something
set him apart.

His father.

A father who was the first
assistant district attorney.

Top man,
right here in this building.

For years,
the defendant watched his father

prosecute every major
murder case in this county.

He listened to
dinner conversations.

Overheard phone calls,
shop talk.

You might even say that
murder was the family business.

But still,
the question remains "Why?"

Why...

would an eighth-grade boy
kill his classmate?

Well, we've all been to school.

We know
kids can be mean.

You're gonna hear testimony
that the victim in this case,

Ben Rifkin,
teased the defendant.

Nothing shocking, but still, mean.

Ben foolishly
mocked this young man,

unaware of his hidden capacity,
even desire, to kill.

Objection.

[Judge French] Sustained.

The jury will disregard the last
remark about the defendant's desire,

which is speculation.

And so, on April 12,

the defendant walked into
the woods of Cold Spring Park

with a knife in his pocket
and an idea in his mind.

Did he ambush the victim,

or were there words
exchanged first?

Maybe Ben called him
a name.

Or even threatened him.

We don't know.

All we know

is that the defendant punched his
knife

three times
into Ben Rifkin's chest,

killing him.

[softly] Three...

[normal voice] evenly spaced wounds.

One.

Two.

Three.

You see a tragedy
as enormous as this,

and it makes you furious.

You want someone
to pay.

I do too.
I do.

It's only human.

But Jacob Barber is
innocent.

And I want to say that
again

so that there is no
misunderstanding.

Jacob Barber
is wholly and completely innocent.

When you understand
what really happened that day,

you'll see this case for what it is...
a rush to judgment.

The fingerprint, for example,

that the prosecution
made such a big deal about,

you're going to hear
how that print got there,

just as Jacob told the police officer
who arrested him

the moment
that he was asked.

He saw his classmate

lying on the ground,
and he tried to help.

And when he discovered
that Ben was dead,

saw all that blood,
he panicked.

He feared that if
he told someone

about the body,
he'd become a suspect.

After all, this was Ben Rifkin,
the boy who bullied him.

Everyone knew that.
How would it look?

Does Jacob wish

that he had been braver
from the start and told the truth?

Of course he does.

It was the worst
mistake he's ever made.

It was a horrible,
terrifying mistake.

But he was a boy.

And I don't give a damn
how the state chooses to try him.

He was a 14-year-old boy.

And boys make mistakes.

[sighs]

But we are adults...

with a grave responsibility
before us.

A child is dead.

Don't destroy another child's life
to make up for it.

That isn't justice.

[heartbeat thumping]

That's just another tragedy.

- [clamoring]
- [camera shutters clicking]

[male reporter #1]
Mr. Barber, over here!

[male reporter #2] Mr. Barber,
do you have any comment?

[Joanna] Give us a little room here,
please.

Give us a little room here.

[clamoring continues]

[male reporter #3] Mr. Barber,
do you feel he's guilty?

[female reporter] Hey,
come over here, please.

[Andy] It's definitely
the same guy.

Yes, I'm sure.
Blue Lincoln.

Right.

You still have that
plate number I sent you?

Okay.

Thanks, Duff.

What was that about?

Long story.
I'll tell you later.

Okay, well,
make sure they get some rest.

- I'll call you tonight.
- Okay.

Driver's license.

What I do?

Let me see
your license.

I got a right to sit in my own car,
don't I?

Sir, are you refusing to
provide me with identification?

I'm not refusing anything.

I wanna know
what you're bothering me for.

The family declined
making any statement

when leaving
the courthouse today.

And by all indications,

plan to spend their night
here at their home in Newton.

What happens tomorrow
is anyone's guess.

However, opening statements
suggest

we could be in for an
emotionally charged trial.

- This is Alix Wong, Channel 12 News.
- [message chime]

[message chime]

[chattering]

[footsteps approaching]

Just got off the phone
with Duffy.

It's not good.
Just hear me out.

What?

His name is James O'Leary,
the guy in the Lincoln.

They call him
Father O'Leary.

They?

I guess
he's an old gangster.

He's got a record. Duffy said he
used to be some sort of muscle.

Now he hires himself out to do,
you know, small things,

roughing people up,
that sort of thing.

Are you kidding me?
What does he want with us?

I don't know.

What are we supposed to do?
Can't they arrest him? Question him?

Not unless
he explicitly threatens us.

Oh, my God.

Duffy said she's gonna keep an eye
on him.

I know
it doesn't sound good,

but odds are it's probably
just someone trying to scare us.

Because we're not scared
enough already.

My heart was kind
of pounding then,

because he wasn't answering me.

Uh, still, I couldn't see how
he looked until I got close.

And did you call for help?

I remember crawling backwards up the slope,
dialing 911.

Thank you, Mrs. Gianetto.

Ms. Klein.

No questions, Your Honor.

The dog park, yes.

[Neal] What time was this?

Around 8:00 a.m.

Like I said, it sounded like
a boy's voice I heard.

He said, "Stop.
You're hurting me."

"Stop. You're hurting me."

Could you tell what direction
the boy's voice came from?

[man] West, I think.

Detective,
is it standard procedure

for an assistant district attorney
to direct a homicide investigation?

Yes.

And who was the assistant DA
assigned to the case that day?

Objection. Relevance.

[scoffs]

See counsel at sidebar.

Your Honor, I don't see how
Mr. Barber's brief involvement in this case

has anything to do with
his son's innocence or guilt.

Your Honor, the jury is entitled to
hear that the defendant's own father

was in charge of the early
stages of the investigation.

I'm going to allow it,
but I warn you, counselor.

Mr. Barber is not on trial here.
Remember that.

Yes, Your Honor.
Understood.

Witness will answer the question.

Andrew Barber was in charge.

And did you find it strange that
Mr. Barber was handling a case

that involved his own son's classmate?

Not really, no.

[Neal] And once his son
was charged with the murder?

Any concerns?

I wasn't happy about it.

Detective,
have you ever heard of a prosecutor

being involved in the
investigation into his own child?

Objection. - Sustained.

You've made your point, counselor.
Let's move it along.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

[Judge French] Ms. Klein.

Detective Peterson, you were
among the first at the crime scene.

- Was there a murder weapon found that day?
- No, ma'am.

Besides a single fingerprint
found on the victim's sweatshirt,

was there any evidence
recovered that day?

No.

And of course, the fingerprint
wasn't identified until later. Yes?

Yes. Correct.

So is it fair to say that at the
beginning of the investigation,

neither you nor Mr. Barber
had any obvious suspects?

We did not.

And was the defendant
the first suspect to emerge?

- No. We initially just...
- Objection. Relevance?

Overruled.

We initially pursued a
suspect named Leonard Patz.

He had a record for indecent assault
and battery on kids, things like that.

So a registered sex offender,

and that's what made
him a person of interest?

That, and he lived near the park.

He didn't just live
near the park.

He was known to walk in the
park most mornings. Isn't that true?

Objection. Leading the witness.

Overruled.

Yes. In fact, he admitted to being
in the park that same morning.

No more questions.
Thank you.

Detective, whose idea was it to pursue
the investigation into Leonard Patz?

Andy Barber brought it
to my attention.

[Neal] Andy Barber.
I see.

And Mr. Patz was then cleared

when Mr. Barber's own son
was charged with the crime.

Yes.

No further questions, Your Honor.

- Your Honor, we'd like to recross.
- Go ahead.

Detective, when Mr. Logiudice
asked if you had cleared Leonard Patz,

were you certain
of his innocence?

Certain? No.

Did you agree with Mr. Barber's
decision to investigate Leonard Patz?

Yes. Absolutely.

What about other decisions
Andy Barber made?

Any concerns at all?

None I can think of.

He's the best they got.

The best they used to have,
anyway.

Thank you, Detective.
No further questions.

Commonwealth,
you prepared to call your next witness?

Uh, yes, Your Honor.

The beam refracts
through each slit

and makes a pattern of light
and dark stripes on the other side.

Why? Because light isn't made of particles,
but...

- Waves?
- Exactly.

And it is the intersection of the
waves that make the patterns.

So these physicists decide that
they're gonna solve what's going on

by installing a device
that allows them to see

exactly which slit each
electron is passing through.

Only the moment that
they try to observe it,

the electrons stop behaving like waves

and behave
like particles again.

- What? That's impossible.
- [phone buzzes]

- [Joanna] Google it.
- I'll be right back.

I tell my wife it's exactly
like me and the Celtics.

The moment I turn on the game,
they lose.

What the hell did I say
about calling here?

I just want to know
how it's going.

What?

What do you mean, "What"?
The trial.

He's my grandson.
I got a right to know.

Listen to me very carefully.

You don't have a right to shit.
Okay?

Maybe I got a right to call one of these
reporters that keeps trying me, huh?

Do whatever you want.

Come on. I just wanna
know what are you thinking.

I mean,
what's your strategy?

I'm watching it all
day on the news here.

I think the kid's got a chance.

But, you know,
you gotta be smart about this.

Oh, yeah? I didn't know they
gave out law degrees in prison.

That's funny.

You think
prison's a fucking joke?

Let me tell you something.

This is sure as hell
no place for a kid like Jacob.

Now one of the, uh,
witnesses today,

this cop who was on the stand,

he mentioned this guy Patz.

What about him?

Well, you think he did it?

- Do you?
- Yeah.

Are you sure?

Look, I gotta go.

Guy's a child molester, right?

Sort of.

How... How the fuck are
you "sort of" a child molester?

Same way
you were a murderer

before you actually
murdered someone.

Why you gotta make it about me?
Huh?

Why don't you fucking quit
worrying about what I am

and start worrying
about my grandson?

Don't call here again.

I mean it. You keep him
out of this place!

You hear me?

I spent my whole
fucking life in this shithole.

I'm not gonna stand by
while my grandson's life...

You mother...

[inmate] You fucked up, cocksucker.

- [whistle blowing]
- [inmates clamoring]

- Did Joanna leave?
- Yeah.

Who was that?

Oh, it was, uh... credit card company,
just confirming some charges.

Joanna seemed...
optimistic.

You know,

I'm starting to
think she should be.

[Sarah] So weird, 'cause there
were just all these people there.

I don't even know why,
because it was so cold outside.

- [Laurie] Hey.
- Hold on one second.

I'm just hanging these on your door.

Okay. Thanks.

Who are you talking to?

Sarah.

Oh. Okay.

- Tell her I said hi.
- Okay.

- Sorry about that.
- [door closes]

So anyway, um,

this lady comes in with her kids,
right?

And they're just
so loud and obnoxious.

And I was like, "Oh,
my gosh. Shut up already." But...

[Neal] You've been with the
state's crime lab how long?

Eleven years, almost 12.

Ms. Carlson, could you describe the
blood evidence at the point of attack?

There were a few small spatters
less than an inch in diameter.

[Neal] Yesterday,
we heard defense contend

that there should have been
blood on the clothing of an attacker

in a stabbing like this.

- Do you have an opinion on that?
- Yes.

That's not necessarily true, since
no spatter seemed cast off with force.

It's also possible the assailant stood
behind the victim when he stabbed him,

which would have meant he was out
of the trajectory of any spray or spatter.

[Neal] What can you tell us
about the murder weapon?

We were looking for a knife with a
four-to six-inch blade and a serrated edge.

I see.

So, a knife like this one?

- [spectators murmuring]
- [Joanna] Objection.

Commonwealth moves
to enter into evidence...

Objection!

Your Honor,
the jury will soon hear testimony

from the defendant's best friend

that the defendant owned
a knife exactly like this one:

a Schnell Tactical.

[Joanna] Your Honor,
this is a cheap stunt.

The Commonwealth has yet to
link any such knife to the defendant,

and to wave it around in here now
is irresponsible. It's inflammatory.

Agreed. Objection sustained.

Put away the knife,
Mr. Logiudice.

In that case,
no more questions, Your Honor.

[Judge French] Cross.

[Joanna] Absolutely, Your Honor.

Ms. Carlson,
we were just on the subject of blood.

Was there any blood evidence
recovered from the defendant?

No.

Genetic evidence?

DNA? Hairs? Fibers?

No, just the fingerprint.

- May I propose a hypothetical?
- Okay.

Let's suppose the defendant, Jacob,
was walking on his way to school...

and came across the
victim lying on the ground.

And suppose Jacob lifted the victim
by the collar to see if he was okay.

Might that create a fingerprint
consistent with the one you found?

Yes, that is possible.

Now the knife that the Commonwealth
attempted to enter into evidence,

had you ever seen it before?

Objection. Relevance.

Overruled.
You opened the door, counselor.

[Carlson] Yes. The DA's
office asked me to determine

if that particular model of knife was
consistent with the victim's wounds.

Ah. And I assume they gave you
other models to compare as well?

No.

No?

Did they at least ask you
to determine

how many other knives might
have made those wounds?

No.

Well, how many would you think?

I... I don't know. That...
That would be speculating.

[Joanna] A thousand?

Uh...

A large number.

Seven hundred? Five hundred?

Somewhere... Somewhere in that range.

In other words,
the chances of it being the actual knife

are one in 500. Correct?

Objection. Calls for speculation.

Sustained.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

[Dan] This is all going to shit.

He's gonna walk.
Can't you see that?

He's gonna get away
with killing our son

because of that asshole
and his goddamn theatrics.

[Joan] Please, I can't take this.

[Dan] Yeah, well,
I can't take it either.

[Joan] Dan. Dan.

[chattering continues]

How he didn't know that that
stunt would backfire is beyond me.

Because he's reckless.

- You doing all right?
- [softly] Yeah.

One of them smiled.

One of the jurors,
the guy with the goatee.

He smiled? Really?

Yeah, when she admitted it was
a one in 500 chance, he smiled.

[phone chimes]

- [clears throat]
- Something wrong?

No. No, it's nothing.

We'll talk later.

You and Mr. Barber have worked
together on many cases. Is that right?

We go back, yes.

Would you describe him as
diligent when it came to his work?

[Duffy] More than that.
He was relentless.

Was that relentlessness
on display

when you were attempting to
cut through the school's red tape?

He didn't feel the
classmates were a priority.

We'd already interviewed
Ben's close friends.

Once you did interview the students,
finally,

was there anything useful
that came out of that?

After the initial meetings, nothing much.

But with some follow-up,
we came to learn that

there was an ongoing beef
between the victim and the defendant.

Meaning Ben had been
bullying the defendant.

For some time, yes.

Was this around
the time

that you started to view the
defendant as a suspect?

It was.

Even as his father was still
running the investigation?

Certain aspects of the
investigation had to be carried out

without Mr. Barber's knowledge.

[Neal] What did that reveal?

That the defendant supposedly had
a knife consistent with the wounds,

that he had sufficient motive,

and he had opportunity, in that his
movements the morning of the attack

placed him near or at the scene.

Did you arrest him
at this time?

Not until the fingerprint
came back.

We then obtained a warrant
and searched the house,

trying to find the knife,
which we did not.

Did you seize
the defendant's computer?

We did, but we found
nothing directly incriminating.

Detective, are you aware of a
program called Disk Scraper?

I am. It's a program that wipes hard
drives, deletes files, that kind of thing.

Was that program
on the defendant's laptop?

It was.

Is it possible that there was
incriminating evidence on the laptop,

and it was removed by the defendant?

Objection. Calls for speculation.

Sustained.

What about pornography?

- Objection. Relevance.
- Sustained.

[Neal] Let me be more specific.

Did you find any violent
pornography on the defendant's laptop?

I think all pornography is violent.

Of course.

I mean, specifically,
images glorifying abuse or torture.

Objection.
Relevance.

Overruled.
The witness will answer.

Some, yeah.

[spectators murmuring]

[Neal] No further questions.

Detective, I assume you have
executed countless search warrants

in your career, yes? - Sure.

Seized a lot of laptops.

Yes.

Have you ever found one that
didn't have some pornography on it?

[spectators chuckle]

I don't think so.

Detective,
is it true that you were the first

to identify Leonard Patz
as a person of interest,

and not Mr. Barber?

Yes. I brought Patz
to Andy's attention,

and we agreed that he was
someone we should be looking at.

One last question.

At any point in the investigation,

did Andy Barber
behave in any way

to suggest that he
suspected his own son?

No, not in the slightest.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

Mr. Logiudice, redirect?

Detective...

have you ever known
Mr. Barber to be violent?

- No.
- Are you sure?

Never seen him grab somebody
by the jacket?

Push them into a wall?

Objection. Relevance.

Overruled.

Once. You.

After your provoked him with that
crack about his father doing time for...

Doing time for murder?

- Objection! Your Honor!
- Sustained.

I'll see counsel at sidebar,
right now.

[spectators murmuring]

I'm appalled at what I just saw.
We went over this in pretrial.

Your Honor, it was the defense
counsel who first raised the issue

of whether the defendant's father
had reason to suspect his own son.

I am simply trying
to make that argument.

You have got to be kidding me.

Your Honor,
the defense moves for a mistrial.

- Oh, come on.
- He was given specific instructions.

You are on extraordinarily thin ice,
Mr. Logiudice, you understand me?

Now you wrap it up with
this witness right now.

And if I hear even a whisper about the
defendant's grandfather going forward,

Ms. Klein will get her
mistrial. Am I clear?

Yes, Your Honor.

Ladies and gentlemen,

there's a saying in the law,
"You cannot unring the bell"...

but I am going to insist
that you do

just that with regard
to the last question.

[Neal] That must have
been torture for you...

sitting on the sidelines.

I had no choice.

So you trusted Ms. Klein?

I did.

On day four of the trial,
the Commonwealth called its final witness:

Derek Yoo.

Did you feel that Ms. Klein adequately
prepared for Derek Yoo's testimony?

[Andy] Yeah,
as best she could.

[Neal] She intended to
destroy his credibility?

[Andy] He had a plausible motive.
The jury had a right to know.

What about you and Laurie?

What about us?

Were you prepared?

[chattering]

We've got a problem.

Matt McGrath.
I can't find him.

What?

Ellen's been trying
to call his cell all week,

and she finally got in touch
with his mother this morning.

And she said that
she and Matt had

a fight three days ago,
and that he took off.

And his girlfriend just
posted online from Florida,

and the mom thinks that
he's down there with her.

What are we supposed to do?

He's supposed to take
the stand tomorrow.

Don't worry. We're gonna
think of something. Okay.

[laughing, chattering]

[door opens]

[bailiff] Court, all rise!

I was like, "That's the same way you
go to school. Did you see anything?"

And Jake said no.

Nothing about seeing Ben on
the ground or trying to help him?

No. Uh, and then he made a joke.

Something like,
"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

And this is within a few hours
after learning about Ben's murder?

I guess, yeah. We were at Jake's house,
playing video games.

When you said that
Ben used to pick on Jacob,

what did you mean by that?

Ben always kinda
had it in for Jake.

He was always calling him "fag."

Like a nickname.

Like he'd ask Jake questions about
different sex things gay people do,

but in front of everyone,
to embarrass him.

Or he'd fake a punch at Jake
if he passed him in the hall.

Stuff like that.

And all of this bullying,
it upset Jacob.

- Yeah, of course.
- Did it make him angry?

Not so much in front of Ben,
but...

privately, he'd go off on
how much he hated Ben's guts.

Which I got.
I mean,

Ben would be a jerk
to me too sometimes.

At what point
after Ben's murder

did you begin to consider
your friend Jacob's role in it?

Objection. Leading the witness.

Overruled.

You can go ahead and answer,
young man.

I guess it was three days later.

Was there anything
other than his temper

that began to make you
suspicious?

Well, yeah. The knife.

Jake had this scary combat knife
he'd bought in town.

- He used to bring it to school sometimes.
- To show it off, or... or what?

Not really. I mean,
he showed it to me and our friend Dylan...

but it was more like he
liked having it on him,

walking around with it.

Like... it was this secret thing he had.

I see.
So the bullying and the knife...

But you knew about
these things,

and still, you didn't suspect Jacob
immediately?

I don't know. Maybe part of me did,
a little.

But... it wasn't until I read
what he wrote online.

[Neal] Online?

[Derek mumbles] This messed up site
Jake was into called The Cut Up Room.

By "messed up,"
I'm assuming you mean pornographic.

Yeah, but,
it's not really so much about sex.

More violence.
Like, really graphic stuff.

Are there stories on this site?

Yeah, people post all kinds
of stuff. Photos, videos, stories.

And do you know if
Jacob posted any stories?

He did, yeah.

He called them Job stories.

Job stories?

Yeah, you know,
like his initials. J-O-B?

That was his screen name
on there.

What do you know about this?

Not enough. You got to shut it down.

And did Job post a story
about the murder of Ben Rifkin?

Yes.

[spectators murmuring]

[Neal] Commonwealth
moves to enter into evidence...

[Joanna] Objection.

Your Honor, may we approach?

- [Judge French] Settle down, please.
- [gavel raps]

Respectfully, Your Honor,
we ask to approach.

Your Honor, this is an ambush.
None of this was disclosed in discovery.

Your Honor,
this story was authored by the defendant.

If he chose to hide it from his attorney,
that's hardly the Commonwealth's fault.

What's this about, Jacob?

Jacob?

Your Honor,
I need to confer with my client.

All right, go ahead.

I'm gonna ask your patience

while I allow defense counselor
a moment to confer with her client.

He's going to allow it
unless our position

is that Jacob didn't
write the story.

- Then that's our plan...
- They know that he wrote it, Andy.

They've got an IP address.

Jacob.

If we push back now, we're only
going to shine a brighter light on it.

How bad is it?

"Jason stood there on the path as
Brent kept walking toward him, grinning.

If Brent knew the real Jason,
he would have been scared shitless.

'Don't fuck with me,
' Jason warned him. 'I mean it.'

But Brent just laughed
and grabbed him by the arm,

twisting it back like he'd
done so many times before.

'Stop. You're hurting me,
' Jason said.

But it didn't hurt that much.

He just wanted Brent to think that,
so he would let go.

Brent laughed again,
the way he always did, a fake laugh.

Jason's hand slipped
into his sweatshirt pocket.

There it was,
his trusted friend.

He curled his fingers around the grip
and felt a surge of power through his arm,

up into his shoulder.

He knew there was no turning back
now.

The park seemed to know it too.

He could hear the breeze in
the leaves and birds chirping.

Brent saw the knife coming for him, but
it was too late to do anything but stare.

It slipped in so easily Jason thought
he was stabbing air. That surprised him.

He did it twice more, telling his
brain to remember the feeling for later.

Brent fell backward and
rolled down the slope,

until he stopped down below.

Jason knew he should go,
but he couldn't help himself.

He went down to Brent's
body to make sure he was dead.

The smell of blood in the
air made him feel dizzy.

He found a small stream nearby and
washed the knife off, and his hand too.

He could see his reflection in the water,
but his face looked different to him now.

'It'll be our secret, '
it seemed to say.

The End."

[Neal] This story was posted three
days after Ben Rifkin's body was found?

[Derek] Yeah.

[heartbeat]

[Neal, muted] No further questions,
Your Honor.

[Judge French, muted] Ms. Klein?

[heartbeat continues]

No.

No, we weren't prepared.

A surprising turn of events sent shock
waves through the courtroom today

as testimony from one of
Jacob Barber's classmates

provided the prosecution with
some extremely damaging evidence.

The reaction from the jurors was palpable,
to say the least.

[car door closes]

[car door opens]

[car door closes]

It was just a story.

I didn't know
it would be a big deal.

Did you do it?

Just tell me. Did you kill him?

No.

No.

[seat belt clicks]

[engine starts]

I could ask the judge to issue a
bench warrant for Matt McGrath.

He won't. Not for some secondary
witness holed up in Florida.

We don't have a choice.
We gotta go straight at Patz.

Yeah, his subpoena
was served this morning.

I'll call him as a hostile witness
and see what we can get out of him.

We gotta run every play we have.
Not just on the Patz front, Derek too.

You don't think
we covered Derek on cross?

You did your best.

You were distracted.

Everyone was.

[Andy sighs]

We need to backstop Patz. I say we
go harder on Derek, subpoena Sarah.

[Joanna] Andy, we discussed this.

That was before. We need Sarah
to hammer home Derek's obsession.

We need to have her
repeat his words on the stand.

Yeah, you're right.
That could be powerful.

Show the jury the selfie again.

No.

I don't wanna bring her into
this. It's my trial. I'm saying no.

Sorry,
but you don't get a say in this anymore.

Not after today.

[Joanna] I'll get into
it first thing tomorrow.

[notification chime]

[notification chime]

[message chime]

[computer ringing]

[phone ringing]

You haven't said
one word all night.

Did you know?

About the story?

No.

Just tell me the truth.

- I am.
- The truth. I need to know.

Laurie, I swear
I'm telling you the truth.

What about the website?

The Cut Up Room?

I only kept it from you
'cause I knew it would...

Don't. Don't.

Don't what?

Explain it away like you do everything.
Excuse it away.

I knew it would set you off.

You were already half convinced that
Jacob was guilty.

- I didn't want to add...
- Not anymore.

What'd you just say?

I don't believe him.

Not after
what I heard today.

So you're gonna let
this one thing change...

It's always one thing.

Don't you see?

We're guilty too.

If we protect him,
we're as guilty as he is.

All right. Just keep your voice down.
He's right upstairs.

I'm not even saying I know
what to do about it. I don't.

But I know what I heard,
and I know what it means.

Laurie, I'm begging you.

Don't talk yourself into something
'cause of some made-up story.

- It's not a story.
- Yes, it is!

This is a kid
that bullied him.

He probably fantasized

about hurting him
a thousand times.

So he let his imagination run wild,
and he wrote it down.

Maybe...

Maybe he got some sick
thrill imagining it.

And is that horrible?
Yes.

It's terrible, and it was wrong,
and it was stupid,

but it was a story.

Joanna vetted
every single line from it.

There wasn't one detail that hadn't
already been reported by the news.

- He was fantasizing.
- He was confessing.

To call it anything else is just
lawyer spin, and you know it.

What if you knew?

What if you knew in your heart that
our son did this unforgivable thing?

Took the life of another child?
Would it even matter?

I'd still love him,
if that's what you're asking.

No, it's not.
I'd still love him too.

I will always love him,
no matter what.

You don't know how badly
I wanted to hold him tonight

and tell him
it's all going to be okay.

But I can't play this game
anymore,

letting him pretend he didn't do it,
pretending to each other.

He's not pretending.
He didn't do this.

- I know he didn't do this.
- No, you don't!

No one can sustain
that level of deception.

Of course he could.

You of all people
should know that.

[scoffs]

Yeah.

Yeah, of course.

He learned it from me.

Maybe he learned it
from both of us.

What do you want me
to say, Laurie?

You're right.

Our marriage is a lie.

Our whole fucking family is based
on a fairy tale, built on nothing.

And our son's a murderer.

Is that what you want to hear?

No.

But that doesn't mean
it isn't true.

[footsteps ascending stairs]

[sobs]

[woman screams]

[people chattering]

[woman screams]

[woman on TV] Hello.

[TV continues, indistinct]

[sniffles]

[sobbing]

[sniffles]

[exhales]

Sync corrections by srjanapala