All language subtitles for Interrogation 1x04 - L.A. County Psychologist Marjorie Thompson vs. Eric Fisher 1984 (English)

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I need an ambulance. Hurry.

My mom... she's fucking dying, okay?

Just get over here.

- Synced & corrected by MementMori -
-- www.addic7ed.com --

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Mr. Fisher,

how do you plead to the charge
of second-degree murder

of your mother Mary Fisher?

Mr. Fisher?

Uh...

- Guilty, Your Honor.
- Very well.

In order to determine

if you can be rehabilitated

by the California Youth Authority,

I order the L.A. County
Probation Department

to perform a psychological
evaluation for a period

- to last no longer than 90 days.
- Bullshit deal, counselor.

When the evaluation is complete,

we will reconvene for sentencing.

Court is adjourned.

Seriously? No adult trial?

A fucking youth sentence.

He look like a kid to you?

You got a problem, talk to probation.

It's gonna be okay, son.

Mm-hmm.

_

Mm-hmm.

_

Big hairy spider.

- Need a break?
- Not if those help you

figure out that I'm not
a hard-core criminal.

That the CYA can fix me.

Hey, I'm not a fan, either.

But it's required.

Did she always push you?

Nothing I did was enough.

It was contentious, your relationship?

It was like a war zone.

Hmm. How old were you when that started?

Around the time you started using drugs?

And before that.

You know, I told you,
it was the bicycle thing,

it was the-the swimming thing.

What about later,

after the drugs started...
you were around 12 years old?

Eight.

She put me on that crazy kid speed.

So, when you started
using drugs on your own,

did the fighting get worse then?

I mean, she didn't hit me as much.

You know, uh,

but that could also just be
because I was... I was bigger.

Do you think maybe that's why...

she sent me away?

Did you love her?

I mean, she was... she was... my mother.

Of course I did.

Do you think she loved you?

_

We went to Mexico,

just the three of us. I was...

about five?

- Okay.
- Mm.

And you remember that trip?

Yeah.

It's, uh... it's me and my mom

on the beach. Um...

I found this big-ass starfish,

and I'm-I'm showing it to her,
and we both look, um...

... happy.

- Look happy?
- Yeah. My...

my dad... he used to take
all these home movies.

All those, uh,

family movies, and-and he's, um...

He's not in 'em.

Well, that's it for today.

You sure?

We just have one more thing
we need to talk about.

What happened that morning.

March 10, 1983.

The shrink, man.

I got to fucking walk her through it.

- Through what?
- Everything, step by step.

How I did it, exactly.

I'm-I'm just supposed to
fucking make up a story?

Like, that story?

But, uh, Eric, you-you
already pleaded guilty.

Now I have to do this.

I can't.

I can't do it.

You have to. You have to.

The youth sentence gets
you out when you're 25.

I don't fucking care.

I fucking do.

You get tried as an adult...

that's state prison

for God knows how long.

If I lose, yeah.

This woman sees right through me.

She's gonna know I'm lying.

- What about Chris?
- Oh, Jesus. Chris Keller?

But even if we knew where he was,

we're way past that now, Eric.

I'm talking to her, too.

And then you-you can be damn
sure that I am gonna tell her

everything she needs to know
to make this deal happen.

And so will you.

And then, for the rest of my life,

I'm just the kid who murdered his mom.

No, you are my kid, my son.

You can do this.

You have to.

I hear you got something for me?

Yeah, for your probation package.

Paperwork on that unfiled assault.

So, Fisher filed the original complaint,

but I looked into it,

and the victim, his girlfriend,
Kimberly Decker...

I can read, Detective.

Good.

Do that.

Tell me you want that
punk out in the world.

Make sure his CYA headshrinker sees it.

I'll add it to the package.

What?

You want him out at 25?

I didn't do it, you know.

- I didn't kill her.
- Whatever, man.

Nobody care about your shit.

They just want to get inside your melon.

What are you worried about?

No witnesses.

- Your mama can't talk.
- Okay, I didn't do it.

Shit, man, you're easy.

Yo, don't let no one inside, all right?

Got some help for that.

Ten bucks, new-kid special.

Well, I don't know, uh,
what more I can tell you.

Uh, bottom line... Eric
is a good kid, you know?

Mary just had a way of pushing
his buttons, and, uh...

And, you know, I was a...
an older dad and all.

You know, is there anything
else, in your opinion,

that could have precipitated
this current offense?

Well, as I said, he was going
through a lot at the time.

- And there was a girl.
- Yeah. There was a girl.

His, uh... It was his girlfriend.

Well, actually,
his-his first girlfriend.

And, uh, around that time,
they... they broke up.

And Eric is...

Well, you know, he was...

he was a wreck.

And that was, uh, Kimberly Decker?

Kimberly? Uh, yeah, uh, could be.

Yeah, we-we never actually met.

Uh, but my-my point is

that it-it was an extremely
rough time for Eric, and...

Any do you have any
idea why they broke up?

Well, it was usual reasons,
I suppose, you know?

Um, teenagers and...
teenage, uh, heartbreak.

That can be pretty hard

- on a kid. Um...
- Hmm.

- You mind if I smoke?
- Ah, please.

- Ah.
- I quit a year ago.

- I still love the smell.
- Yeah. Thank you.

So, um, how was Eric as a baby?

Uh, well, he-he was a baby.

You know? He was a...

he was a real cute kid.

Were there any difficulties?

You adopted him just after birth, right?

How did that go?

Well, like I said,

my wife didn't exactly
take to motherhood.

I'm asking about Eric, Mr. Fisher.

Um...

well, he-he didn't sleep very much
or very well when he was little.

Um, and when he started school,

he just couldn't stop moving.

He was...

uh, hyperkinetic, the doctor said, so...

And then Mary put him
on those pills, and...

And how would you describe your
relationship with your son?

- Is that a difficult question?
- No.

No. No, he's, um...

Well, he-he's my son.

When I ask you to describe your
relationship with your son,

what's the first word
that comes to your mind?

Well, I'd say, um... uh, solid.

Yeah, solid, yeah.
Eric and I, we're solid.

Solid. Hmm.

That's a good word,
and a good place to end.

Uh, that's it?

You-you don't need anything else?

We're good.

Uh, you know, can I ask you a question?

Uh, off the record.

Did you think Eric was capable
of something like this?

What?

- No, of-of course not. He...
- I'm-I'm-I'm sorry.

I-I take that back.

That was a completely unfair question.

There's someone else here tonight.

She lives in the inner city,
where she cares for infants

born of mothers who are heroin addicts.

The children, born in withdrawal,

are sometimes even
dropped on her doorstep.

She helps them with love.

Go to her house some night,

and maybe you'll see her
silhouette against the window

as she walks the floor,

talking softly, soothing a child...

- Oh, here's a condo.
- Hmm?

Two bedrooms, so Eric can stay
with us when he gets out.

Nice big pool. No upkeep.

I'm not sure I helped him today.

Of course you did.

I don't know.

Jean, Mother Hale,

your lives tell us that the
oldest American saying

is new again.

You are his rock.

- _
- It's hard to remember, okay?

That whole... day, it's just...

... it's all blurred up.

Then you need to un-blur it for me. Now.

It's the only way I can help you.

Look, I can't, okay? I don't...

You went to the house that morning.

About what time?

Why did you go there?

- You went there because... ?
- Because I needed money.

I needed a couple of bucks...

to fix my shocks, and I knew she had it.

The money your dad had
given her the day before.

Were you high when you got there?

If you were altered in
any way, I need to know.

I was on speed.

Okay? But...

I'm sober now.

What happened once you got there?

- What do you want?
- So,

my rear shocks broke.

I can fix them, but I need,

um, um...

- Money?
- Yeah.

- I can't do that.
- I need, like,

ten, 15 bucks for car parts.

- You need to leave.
- No, I need to fix my car.

Okay? I can't get a job
if I don't have a car.

- That's your problem.
- Can I just... can I come in?

Can I come in and just have,
like, a glass of water?

I'll be quick.

Goddamn it.

- Put that down.
- No.

- Put it back, Eric.
- Stop.

- Give it to me. Eric.
- Stop.

Give that to me. Come on!

Give that back!

- Give it back! Give it...
- Mom, stop!

Get off!

- You need to leave now!
- What, are you gonna hit me?

Ow! Fuck!

Stop!

What were you thinking when you hit her?

I wasn't thinking. I was too
fucking angry to think.

15 bucks, you know?

And what, she-she-she... she hits me.

- And then you hit her?
- It was all just happening...

on its own.

Without me.

How did you feel when you
knew you'd hurt her?

She started it.

I mean, she didn't...

she... she already didn't want me

in her life... she-she wanted...

she wanted nothing to...
nothing to do with me.

And then what happened next?

There was s-s-s...

so... much... blood.

Oh, shit.

The exercise bar. That's what you used.

I just wanted it to stop.

Yeah.

Yeah, the, uh, QuadroBow.

That's when... I got the knives.

- Why?
- Because I wanted...

to make it look like a maniac did it.

Like the Manson murders.

And the story you told
Detective Russell?

That you found her that way.

Just a story.

And the living room window.

That's how I always got in.

I made it look like a robbery.

I hid the money in my closet.

Hurry! Hurry! My mom...
my mom, she's been stabbed.

She's been stabbed.
She's-she's-she's bleeding.

I need somebody to come help her.

Please!

She told me to get some towels
to staunch the bleeding.

I took the knives out.

I took the cord off her neck.

Did you try to stop the bleeding?

I tried, but...

... she was too far gone.

You must have done something.

When the paramedics got
there, she was still alive.

Look, I didn't know

what I was doing, okay?

I was high. I was... in shock.

It just happened.

And so the letters you
wrote Detective Russell...

claiming that the real killer
was your friend Chris Keller.

Chris knew my mom.

Okay? He was violent.

He loved knives. Chris fit.

He made sense.

But you did it.

Not Chris Keller.

Did you hear my question?

Yes.

I did it.

I killed her.

Okay.

I need to ask you one more question,

for the record.

Eric Fisher,

did you fabricate your confession

in order to receive the
youthful offender sentence?

No.

I know none of this was easy.

I want to thank you for
your hard work, Eric.

_

All rise. Department F
of the Superior Court

of Los Angeles County is now in session,

the Honorable Edward Walsh presiding.

The gallery may be seated.

Mr. Fisher, I ordered the
County Probation Department

to determine your
eligibility for sentencing

under the Youth Authority,

where, upon successful completion

of a program of rehabilitation,

you would be released at age 25.

Yes, Your Honor.

I have carefully reviewed

your probation report,
the results and conclusions

of the psychiatric
testing and evaluation,

and I find they are all in agreement.

Unfortunately, Mr. Fisher,

due to the circumstances of the crime

and your subsequent failure
to show sufficient remorse

or empathy for your victim...

N-No, that's-that's...

- that's not true, that's not true.
- ... the court finds that

you are not eligible

for commitment to the
California Youth Authority.

Judge, my client has cooperated fully...

I hereby order your client
to stand trial as an adult

on the charge of second-degree murder.

Mr. Fisher...

do you choose to withdraw
your guilty plea

- at this time?
- Yes, Your Honor.

- What is he talking about?
- The trial is set for September 23.

- Court is adjourned.
- We made a deal.

Eric.

Eric, just... don't worry about it.

I'm-I'm gonna fix this.

- You're gonna fix this? Yeah?
- Yeah.

How the fuck are you gonna fix this?

- This was your idea!
- Come, Faith.

Second degree.

The fucking DA sold you
out from the jump.

The less you let them know, the better.

Ellen called.

She said there's a part-time
opening coming up

in Labor and Delivery...
she says it's mine if I want it.

You having money trouble?
The wife has to work?

It's just a couple shifts
a week, so it would be...

Here's an idea for you.

Why don't you clean the goddamn house?

Hey, honey, why don't you
get her ready for bed.

That's a great idea.
Let's go to bed, huh, hon?

- But I ain't sleepy.
- I know you ain't sleepy.

Good night, sweetheart.

Why don't you go with her?

If you ask her nicely,

maybe she'll give you back your balls.

You don't talk to me like
that in my fucking house.

Look at you, huh?
Big-time homicide detective

- standing up to his old man.
- That's right.

Big-time murder cop,

not some fucking pogue.

What are we,

in fucking sixth grade?

Huh?

- Okay.
- Yeah, sixth grade.

I hate to eat and run.

Got a big morning.

Those audits don't audit
themselves, you know.

Yeah. Workingman.

Take care, kid.

You okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

You know, it's never a few
shifts a week, by the way.

You go back, it's gonna be
full time before you know it.

Uh, she wants you to read.

You do it.

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Hey, I'll do it. I'll do it!

I'm going to bed.

You coming?

No, I...

You really need to get
some sleep, honey.

And you need to stop reading that.

Listen to this.

"Narcissistic."

"Callous, violent."

"Psychosexual immaturity"?

I mean, come on. "Dangerous person."

"Borderline personality."

That woman doesn't know a damn thing.

I was there.

He's right.

You know, I made him take this deal.

It's all on me now.

And how do you even show remorse

for something you didn't do?

You really, really need
to get some rest.

No, you go to bed.
I'll be in in a minute.

Hey, come on.

Hey, yourself.

- _
- We withdrew your guilty plea.

They can't use anything
you told that shrink.

Your dad's right. We need to
look at what's ahead of us.

I'll cross Russell with
everything he ignored,

point the finger at
Keller in my closing,

which could get us reasonable doubt.

Fucking Chris, man.

He's got a bunch of cash on him.
He's got a bullshit alibi.

Detective Russell still doesn't
think he's a fucking suspect.

Well, you-you were a much easier target

than Chris Keller.

Right now we have a bigger problem.

Russell also spoke to a
guy named Paul Manning.

Okay. So what? I mean, Paulie's on...

Paulie's on my side.

Eric told me straight up
he killed his mother.

Jesus. Fuck, no.
This guy's fucking lying.

He bashed her head in
with his baseball trophy.

Look, I didn't... I didn't...

I didn't tell him anything.

That's a lie.

That's not true.

They sent me to County.

All right? And this guy played me.

A fucking snitch.

And I was stupid. I...

I thought he was my friend.

How'd he get all this?

I told him I was 17,

that I didn't belong in County.

He called bullshit,

and so I gave him my
face sheet to prove it.

But I didn't say anything.

You didn't have to.

Your face sheet, stapled to
the LAPD follow-up report.

All the facts he needed.

Manning got a sweet deal
with your confession.

- Traded it for an early release.
- Fuck.

Okay. I'm gonna do a deep
dive on one Paul Manning.

I'll let you know what I find.

Look, I didn't tell him a thing.

Okay?

I didn't. You got to believe me.

Dad, he can't testify.

Well, uh,

even if he does, Sullivan will...

- He'll tear him apart.
- Yeah.

And what if he doesn't?

Look, you need to find him.
You need to talk to him.

You have to keep him away from my trial.

Eric, that's what's called
tampering with a witness.

Is it?

Detective Russell did the
same thing to Chris Keller.

I'm a lawyer.

And I need your help.

Angelenos can breathe a little easier

following the capture of
25-year-old Richard Ramirez,

identified yesterday
as the Night Stalker.

For the last seven months,

the Stalker has terrorized California

from Orange County...

Uh, just regular...

- Yeah.
- Thanks.

Yo, you got your ticket?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Hey.

Did you find Manning?

Huh?

Did you find Manning?

I tried. I tried real hard, but...

I'm sorry.

Me, too.

_

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Any preliminaries before we begin?

Yes, Your Honor. After his arrest,

the defendant blamed the murder

on Chris Keller, his former roommate.

Detective Russell
investigated this claim.

He interviewed Mr. Keller

and eliminated him as
a possible suspect.

The people move that the
defense be prohibited

from suggesting to the jury

that Chris Keller in any way

- was involved with this murder.
- Judge,

this is the first I'm hearing
of this motion in limine.

I'd like a chance to respond in writing.

It's the empty chair defense.

Chris Keller was in the Los Angeles area

immediately prior to the crime...

By that standard,
we could've all done it.

Judge, if you just listen

to Detective Russell's interview...

Mr. Sullivan, is there any evidence

connecting Mr. Keller to
the murder of Mary Fisher?

No direct evidence, Your Honor.

The defense is to make no
mention of Chris Keller.

- Judge, please...
- That's the end of the matter.

The prosecution calls Henry Fisher.

Yes.

I gave my wife $150 every Wednesday.

Was Eric aware of this practice?

- Objection. Cause for speculation.
- Yes.

Sustained.

The jury will disregard.

Mr. Fisher, I'm holding
People's Exhibit 2.

Do you recognize it?

Mr. Fisher?

Yes, it's...

It's my son's baseball trophy.

And where in the house was it kept?

Uh, on a shelf in his bedroom.

He was very proud of it.

Uh, we all were.

He's good for us.

Sympathetic as hell.

Is that an accurate diagram, Detective?

- Yes, sir.
- Did you attempt to verify

the defendant's claim that
he saw his mother's body

on the floor through
the living room window?

Yes, I looked through the window myself.

- What did you see?
- Nothing.

There was too much sun.

So, with the planter bed
and the broken awning,

I couldn't get close
enough to the window

to see past the glare.

All I could see was my own reflection.

Did you check all the other
windows, Detective?

Mrs. Fisher was here,

behind a four-foot concrete planter,

blocking the view of the body

from all the windows except this one.

So, because of the glare,

she couldn't be seen from here, either?

No, she could not.

Straight up fucking lie.

There are three bloody shoe prints here,

here and here.

Did you do a visual comparison
on those footprints

to the shoes that Eric Fisher
was wearing on March 10?

Yes, and I determined that
the bloody shoe prints

inside the house closely
resembled the pattern

on the soles of Eric Fisher's shoes.

Did you find any shoe
prints in the house

that did not closely resemble
the defendant's shoes?

No, I did not.

He said he discovered

the money was missing
after he found his mother.

So, while she was dying...

he took the time to
look through her purse.

- This is the $150 in grocery money?
- Yes, sir.

Did the defendant suggest

who might have taken the money?

He said he thought an intruder

must have broken in and stolen it.

Besides the living room window,

did you find any evidence
of forced entry?

- No.
- Find any evidence of ransacking,

someone trying to search for valuables?

No.

So, the only thing missing was the $150

from Mrs. Fisher's purse, correct?

Yeah, just the money from the purse.

This missing money, you never found it

in Eric Fisher's possession, did you?

A couple of hours went
by before he was...

- Objection... unresponsive.
- Sustained... yes or no, Detective?

No.

Well, he was handcuffed

in the back of a patrol
car when you arrived

- on the scene, wasn't he?
- Yes, sir.

Well, then, at the police
station when you booked him,

did you find the money on his person?

No.

Did you find the money when
you searched the residence

on March 10, 1983?

- No, I did not.
- So...

you have no idea where
this missing money went?

No, sir.

And you have no evidence
whatsoever that Eric Fisher

is the one who took this money.

No, I do not.

Thank you, Detective Russell.

There he is.

Our new shoe print expert.

Everybody in S.I.D. is
talking about you, bud.

Thanks, Mitch.

You know, I got a question for you guys.

If that boy killed his mama

for the money...

where's the money?

That's what the jurors are gonna
be thinking about tonight.

And what am I thinking?

Hmm?

Right now, Dad.

What am I thinking?

Have a good night, boys.

I hate to say anything
bad about your father,

but he is one jealous cocksucker.

Yeah, those who can, do.

Those who can't, administrate.

Hmm.

One more reason why I never got married.

- _
- Mr. Manning,

do you see Eric Fisher
in the courtroom today?

Yes, sir. He's right over there.

Hey, Eric.

I'm praying for you, man.

What did the defendant say next?

He said he killed his mother, but
he fucked up because he forgot

to get rid of the clothes he
was wearing when he did it.

Uh, he said "fucked up,"

not me.

Did the defendant say

why he killed his mother?

Uh, yes, sir. When she wouldn't
give him money for drugs,

she caught him stealing from her purse.

Did he say where her purse was?

Uh, yeah, on-on the sofa.

He said she caught him and she
started slapping him around.

And, um...

that's when he got the knives
from the kitchen drawer.

What did he say he did

- with the two knives?
- He said he caught her in the hall

and he stabbed her in
the back with them.

What did he say happened next?

Sir,

he said he got paranoid
because she wasn't dead

and he was scared she'd tell the police.

So he got the trophy,

and he said... and I'm quoting here...

"I smashed her head in with it."

Ooh, and now I'm thinking to myself,
"Damn, it's a good thing

"I'm not in the same cell with this guy,

- because he's a cold-blooded murderer."
- I-I can't listen to this.

- Objection!
- Yes, that will be stricken.

And what did he say next?

That she was still alive
even with the knives in her,

so he got this, um,
metal exercise bar. Uh...

a QuadroBow, he called it.

Sir, he said he whaled on her

with that till she stopped moving.

Okay, you fucking liar!

- Mr. Fisher!
- Why the fuck are you lying?!

You will sit down, or I will have
you shackled to your chair.

Mr. Manning, you've been convicted

of felony burglary, felony
receiving stolen property

and felony attempted robbery...
is that correct?

- Yes, sir.
- Is that before

or after you found God?

- Objection.
- Withdrawn.

Mr. Manning, when you met Eric,

you were testifying
against another inmate

who had confessed to you, were you not?

- Mm-hmm.
- Isn't it true

that you've received
detailed confessions

in two other L.A. County homicides?

Yes, sir.

It's amazing how inmates
just seem to open up to you.

- Objection!
- Withdrawn.

In fact, you're what's called a
jailhouse snitch, isn't that right?

Look, sir, I don't know what
people call me, all right?

Someone who testifies
against other inmates

in order to receive a
reduction in their sentence.

Yes, sometimes.

And the better story you tell,
the bigger reduction...

Objection... assumes facts
that are not in evidence.

Sustained.

Mr. Sullivan, don't make
me admonish you again.

In return for your testimony

in this case, the DA got nine months

knocked off your sentence, right?

- Yes.
- And you say

you know the facts of this murder

because Eric Fisher confessed to you.

Yes, sir, that's right.

He barely knew you, but he just
had to get it off his chest.

- I'm sorry, is that a question, sir?
- Isn't it true,

Mr. Manning, that you pieced
together this confession

from the police report that Eric
Fisher gave you in the 7000 unit?

- No, sir, I would not do that.
- Really?

- No.
- Not even to get out of jail

- nine months early?
- No.

No, I would not.

I have nothing else for this witness.

_

_

Mr. Fisher.

Please rise.

In the matter of The People
of the State of California

versus Eric Henry Fisher,

case number 279LA31,

the jury, in the above-entitled action,

finds the defendant guilty

of the charge of murder
in the second degree.

This court is adjourned.

This is wrong. This is...

Any... they didn't prove anything!

It's all circumstantial.

You know it.

This is wrong. This is wrong.

We're... Eric, we are
going to appeal this.

I promise you. Eric!

Don't worry. I've got this.

We'll make this right.

Eric!

Whoa. Uh, sorry.

Hey, we're almost finished here, Mr. F.

Well, looks clean to me.

That's good.

Don't want to leave a
mess for the new owners.

No.

So, uh, the movers and
Trey can finish this up,

and, uh, we can get on the road, okay?

Our new life.

That's the last of it.

Uh, thank you, Trey.

Thanks a lot.

I got a call from a
buddy of mine up north.

He said he saw Chris Keller

walking out of a
flophouse in the Haight.

Is that right?

I was thinking of going up
there, track him down,

get him to tell me
what happened on tape.

Oh, what do you mean?
S-Some kind of admission?

Eric didn't do it.

I wouldn't mind getting him out.

Any way you could
front me a little cash?

I can crash with friends
when I get up there, but...

Bus fare.

Whatever.

Yeah. Uh...

Uh, I don't know. Why don't...

- Why don't you just take his car?
- The pony?

Nah.

I... I couldn't.

No, it... it's all right.

You sure?

Here you go.

I'll take good care of her.

You're his friend, and...

he'd want you to have it.

Well... thank you.

I'm gonna find Chris Keller.

Swear to God.

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