All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.SVU.S26E01.1080p.x265-ELiTE

.

- In the criminal justice
system,

sexually based offenses

are considered
especially heinous.

In New York City,
the dedicated detectives

who investigate
these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as
the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

[thunder rumbles]

- Hoo! I appreciate
the pickup, Captain,

but you didn't have to.
- Oh, I'm happy to.

And it's on the way.

And you haven't had your car
assigned to you yet.

- Oh, how long does
it usually take?

- Well, you know NYPD
as well as I do.

I mean, your dad's been a cop
for, what, 35 years,

a Deputy Commissioner for 10.

- Yeah, and a pain in the ass
all my life.

- Ha ha. Well, let me tell
you something--

you lucked out because
your dad's good police.

- You know, I've been working
here for three weeks,

and that's the first time
you even mentioned him.

- I didn't want to make
a big deal about it.

- So where are you taking me?

[gunfire]

- So, uh, why are we
all here, again?

- Because I want to make sure
everyone's on their game.

- A lot of tension
in the air these days.

- So how often do you guys
all go to the range together?

- All of us?
Never.

- Silva's not half bad.

At least she can shoot.

- Thanks for letting me try it.

- Pretty nice, isn't she?

- She?
- Teresa.

- You named your gun
after your ex-wife?

Does Phoebe know about that?

- She's met my ex-wife.

- Res ipsa loquitur.

- "The thing speaks
for itself."

- Good. But how does it apply
to the legal system?

- When the evidence
is so obvious,

it doesn't need
further explanation.

- Nice job.
Uh, how about stare decisis?

- I always mix that one up.
- Uh, okay.

Hint--a doctrine of precedent.

Duh. It keeps our entire
legal system stable.

- Damn, I got to read
that chapter again.

- You guys took
the last clean glass?

- How'd pickleball go?
- I went there to meet guys,

but it was just a bunch
of little kids.

- So?

- Some little boy's ball
rolled onto my court.

I picked it up,
handed it to him.

- And?
- He said, thank you, ma'am.

- [laughs]

So you got called "ma'am"
for the first time?

- It's not funny.

- It's good to know kids
still have manners these days.

- Bro, aren't you headed out?
- Oh, yeah.

See you losers later.

- Where are you off to?
- I got to shower.

I have a date.

Not pickleball.

[pop music playing softly]

- Do I look like
a ma'am to you?

- How about another
glass of wine?

- Why do I feel like
the Captain is testing me?

- Don't overthink it.

- I made grade
in Brooklyn Homicide.

- Yeah, I heard.

- Worked late tours
for two years.

- Listen, nobody's
questioning that, okay?

But you came
from Homicide to SVU.

You must be a glutton
for punishment.

[gun clatters lightly]

- Yeah, I mean,
we missed out on a lot.

- Yeah, mostly because
of the pandemic.

- Everyone we know feels
the same way, Shelli.

- Didn't even get to enjoy
being a teenager.

- Hey, bright side--
we're young, we're healthy.

Nothing's in our way.

- Speaking of...

Teddy's gone.

It's just the three of us.

- It's obvious.

You two have been hooking up.

- No. No.
- No.

- Y'all are bad liars.

- Okay, we have.

But it's just for fun.

Maybe...

you could use some right now.

Don't you think?

- Are you guys suggesting
what I think you're suggesting?

- Yes, ma'am.

[giggling]

[dramatic music]

[lock clicking]

- Teddy, is that you?

Sorry. Sorry.
Wait one second.

[sighs]

Damn. My bad, dude.

Sorry.

[body thuds]

- Damon?

You okay?

[door creaking]

[breathes shakily, screams]

- Detective,
what are we looking at?

- Home invasion,

multiple injuries,
a sexual assault--

four University of New York
pre-law students.

- Roommates?
- Seems like it.

- Off-campus housing.
- No doorman, no cameras.

Any sign of forced entry?

- Well, from what we can tell,

the first vic took a blow
to the head by the door.

He might have let the perp in.

- Okay, and
the sexual assault victim?

- They're taking her to Mercy.
- All right.

Why don't you go ahead and ride
with her, see if you can get

her statement?
- On it, Captain.

[siren wailing]

- Is that another roommate?
- The one who called it in.

- So he wasn't here
at the time?

- He says he came back
around 3:00.

- And he just happened
to find his roommates

lying on the floor?

- You guys done with him?

- Eh, says he doesn't know
anything.

- All right,
we'd still like to talk to him.

- We'll take him
down to the station.

- All right, so that accounts
for three of the roommates.

Where's the fourth?

- [sighs]

- [exhales sharply]

- So sorry, ma'am,
you can't go through there.

- My daughter!

Where is she? Where's Shelli?
- Hey, hey, hey, hey.

- Oh, ma'am,
you can't be in here.

- Shelli?
Oh, my God. Is that her?

- Shh, shh.
- Let's get you out of here.

- [crying]
- Come on, let's get you out.

[crowd shouting]

- [sobbing]
She's my baby!

- I'm so sorry.

I need everybody
out of here, okay?

I need the street closed.

This whole block
is a crime scene.

[dramatic music]

.

- You sure you don't want one?

- Lightweight.
It's only 5:00 a.m.

After all those years
of late tours,

this is like the middle
of the afternoon for me.

- Hey, how's our vic
with the head trauma?

- Damon--he's still in surgery.

- Nurse says he's
pretty touch and go.

- Okay, uh, I want you
to head back to the crime scene

and widen the search.

We still haven't found
the murder weapon.

- On it, Captain.
- Okay.

How's the sex-assault victim?
- Elodie's still in shock.

They're finishing
the rape kit now.

- You notify her parents?
- Yeah.

They're driving down
from Connecticut.

I heard the murder victim's
mother showed up at the scene.

- Apparently, she and
Shelli talk every night.

She didn't get a call, so she
drove in from Long Island.

- She able to tell you
anything?

- She said Shelli
didn't mention any problems.

There was no boyfriend.
- No exes?

- Not that the mother
knew about.

But with all that overkill,

there's no way
that this was random.

- Captain Benson. Um, Elodie's
finished with her kit.

- And how's she doing?

- Uh, clear signs of sexual
assault--tears, bruising.

We'll get this
to the lab for DNA.

- I woke up in my room.

I heard Shelli screaming "no."

- And then?

- There was a guy
in her room...

standing over her.

It looked like he was hitting
her with something.

- Okay, did you get
a look at him?

You see his face?
- Mm-mm.

No, it was--it was dark.

But he was white,
around our age.

- What about the weapon?

- I think it was a hammer.

He was holding her down
with one hand

and--and hitting her
with the other.

He looked up and saw me.

- Then what happened, Elodie?

- I ran.

- He followed you?

- [sniffles]

He knocked me down.

I fell forward, and...

and he ripped my underwear off

and raped me.

- I'm so sorry, Elodie.

- Why would someone do...

- Elodie, did--did
Shelli ever mention

having a problem with anyone?

- No.
- A recent breakup?

- No, Shelli--
she kept to herself.

She didn't go out.

[dramatic music]

You know,
the saddest thing is...

I think I was her best friend.

- So what time did
you say you got home?

- I don't know.
2:00, 3:00.

- Talk us through
what happened.

- I saw Damon
lying on the floor...

bleeding.

I tried to shake him,
but he wouldn't wake up.

- Well, then what?

- Then I saw
Shelli's door was open.

I looked in. She was on--on--
on the bed, bloody.

And then I found Elodie.
She was in the hallway.

She was breathing,
so I woke her up.

- Was she able
to tell you anything?

- She was in shock.

She was naked,

so I threw a blanket over her.

- Okay, then what did you do?

- I went outside,
called my dad.

- Not 911?

- He said that campus security
would get to us faster.

- Not to mention everyone in
college hates cops right now.

- And then I waited outside
until they showed up.

- You didn't go back in
to check on your friends?

- Am I in trouble?

- Should you be?

- Did you get anything
from CSU?

- This place
has been off-campus housing

for the last 20 years--
what do you think?

- There's got to be prints
and DNA in every square inch.

- Yeah, and it'll take
the lab weeks to process.

And to what end?
- Right.

So we're going to end up
with 100 suspects.

- Yeah, most of them alumni.

Any luck on the murder weapon?
- Nothing yet.

None of the neighbors
heard anything.

- [sighs]
- Detectives.

- You got something?
- You guys should take a look.

- There was a hidden camera
in the smoke detector?

- Yeah, they sell them
pre-wired.

You can order them online.

It looks pretty
recently installed.

- Do we know how long
these kids lived here?

- Since the beginning
of the semester.

- If Shelli did set up
the camera, why?

- Maybe she wanted to know
if anyone went in her room.

- Is it running?
- It's got a battery in it.

- Which means Shelli might
have recorded her own murder.

- So the victim had
a camera set up in her room?

- I mean, TARU's
downloading the footage now.

Sometimes you just get lucky.

- Definitely would make
my life easier.

My boss is not only an alumni,

she's also a donor
to the school.

- Ah, so she's blowing up
your phone.

- Yeah, she knows
you and I go way back.

- And she wants to know where
we are in the investigation.

- Pretty much.
- So what'd you tell her?

- I told her you
haven't let me down yet.

- Oh, no pressure.

Guys, tell me
we have something.

- We do, but not
what you were looking for.

- Someone turned the camera off
before the murder.

- What?
- So what--what do you have?

- What happened a few hours
before the crime occurred.

[dramatic music]

- It gets pretty graphic
from here on in.

- So you're telling me
that on the night

of the assault,
rape, and murder,

our victims had a threesome?

- Which Elodie
failed to mention.

.

- Thank you so much.

- So these kids had a three-way

a few hours
before the home invasion?

- College is different
these days.

- And you think
there's some connection.

- Well, whether there is
or there isn't,

the real question is, why
didn't Elodie mention it to us?

- I don't understand.

You already spoke
to our daughter.

- Well, we just--we have
a few more questions.

- We're taking
Elodie home today.

- Questions about what?

- It may be better
to talk to you

without your parents
in the room.

- Is that necessary?
- Elodie, it's personal.

- Mom, Dad, I'll be fine.

- Honey, after all
you've been through--

- Just wait in the lobby.

- It'll just take
a few minutes, really.

- We'll be right downstairs.
- Thanks.

- Is this about Damon?
Is--is he okay?

- Damon is in
a medically induced coma.

- [sighs]

Then what is this about?
[door closes]

- We found some new evidence

which may or may not have
something to do

with what happened.
- What is it?

- Well, were you aware

that Shelli had a camera
in her room?

- What?

Where--where was it?

- Hidden in the smoke alarm
above the bed.

- Elodie, we don't want to pry
into your personal life,

but we just want to know
why you didn't tell us

that the three of you
had a hookup.

- I-I didn't think it mattered.

- Everything matters
at this point.

- What we did was private,
you know, not just for me,

but for--for Damon
and for Shelli, too.

- So you didn't know that--
that Shelli had a camera

above her bed?
- No, no, I--

I wouldn't have done...

what we did
if I knew it was there.

- Okay.

- Wait, but if--
if there was a camera,

didn't you see
who--who murdered Shelli?

- Yeah, unfortunately not.

- Okay.

Well, why don't we
talk about Teddy?

- Yeah, what was her
relationship like with Teddy?

- Tense.

Yeah, I would describe it
as love-hate.

- How so?

- He liked to tease her.

Damon and I used to joke
about them just hooking up

and getting it over with.

- So you think
that he had a crush on her?

- Yeah, I guess so.

- Did he know
that the three of you

were hooking up that night?

- I don't know how he would.

It was a...

spur-of-the-moment thing.
- Uh-huh.

Or maybe...

maybe he saw it.

- What do you mean?

- Yeah, it's possible that
Teddy installed the camera.

- Yeah, I guess
that makes more sense

than Shelli putting it up.

- So Teddy--Teddy said that...

he had a date that night?

- Yeah, that's what he said.

- Did he say with who
or where they went?

- No.

[dramatic music]

He never mentioned her name.

- I had a date.

- With who?

- A girl in my class.

- What'd you two do?
- Nothing.

She canceled last minute.

- Where exactly is this going?

- We're trying to find out
where your client was

between midnight and 3:00 a.m.

- After my date stood me up,
I just went home.

- What time was that?
- Midnight.

- You see anything unusual?

- Do I have to answer that?
- You have nothing to hide.

Tell the truth.
- [sighs] Okay.

I was on the sidewalk,
about to go in.

I walked up to the door.

The chain lock was on.
I looked inside.

They were having a threesome
without me.

- How'd that make you feel?

- Left out, pissed off.

Like, how long have they been
hiding things like this

from me?

- Did it piss you off enough
to kill Shelli?

- What are you talking about?

- We know
you had a thing for her.

- You think I hit Damon
over the head,

killed Shelli, raped Elodie,

and then pretended
to find them?

- That's exactly what we think.
- Okay, we're done here.

- No, I didn't do
any of those things.

- Then where were you?

- I got a few drinks,

went to the park, played chess.

- With who?
- I don't know his name.

He's there all the time.
It's how he makes money.

- And that's it.
No more questions.

- So what are we looking
at here?

- The ME says that
the time of death, you know,

was between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m.

But based on the evidence

of, you know, rage and overkill
on Shelli's body,

I mean,
she's clearly the target.

- Okay.
So why rape Elodie?

- Well, you heard him.

He said that he felt left out
of the three-way, right?

He took what he felt
he deserved.

- Well, that's great
for motive,

but where are we
with the hard evidence?

- You mean like
a murder weapon?

- That or a witness.

- Elodie says
that she can't confirm or deny

if it was Teddy that raped her.

- So, as of now,
this kid is our only suspect.

- We're going through
his credit history

to see if we can link him
to the camera.

- You buying this alibi?

- Who plays chess in a park
at 2:00 a.m.?

- Evidently somebody
who's been shut out

of a threesome.

- Yeah, that's him--Teddy.

- You know his name.
He doesn't know yours.

- I hate his guts.
- Why's that?

- Grew up playing chess
against his computer.

He wins almost every time.

This new crop of kids--

[scoffs] No soul.

- You play against him
two nights ago?

- Yeah.
Took him for 100 bucks.

He wouldn't quit
till he won it back.

We did battle for three hours.
- Till what time?

- I didn't get home till
after 3:00 a.m.

My old lady
still ain't talking to me.

- Seems like you need an alibi
more than him, huh?

- [chuckles]
- All right, thank you.

Okay, this guy
just cleared Teddy,

so we're down to zero suspects.
- Maybe not.

TARU said that Shelli
was listed as an administrator,

but there was another
IP address that had access.

- Who?

[sirens wailing]

[tires screeching]

Sam Ellis?
- What?

- Are you Sam Ellis?

- Yeah.
Uh, w-what's this about?

- Shelli Henson.
You know the name?

- Yeah.
We were in class together.

I heard
about what happened to her.

- How well do you know her?

- We were study partners.
Why?

- You're listed
as an administrator

on a camera in her room.

- Yeah, Shelli asked me
to set that up for her.

- Okay, can you tell us
where you were

the night of her murder?
- I was home alone.

- Any way to verify?

- Hey, I know that guy!
- Leave him alone!

- Are you arresting me?
- No, why would we do that?

- We just want to ask you
a few more questions.

- Not without counsel.
- Well, that's your choice.

But let's talk somewhere else.
Come on.

[crowd clamoring]

- What's happening?
- Get back.

- Back up, please.
[indistinct shouting]

- Back it up! Back it up!

[thumping on car]

- We're gonna need to call
for more backup.

Special Victims
Portable Central, 85 forthwith,

location--
Washington Square Park.

.

- Commissioner,
I do understand,

but as I explained
to you before,

the student that we picked up

is a person of interest
in the UNY case.

Yeah, I can assure you
that my detectives

didn't do anything
to provoke this--

Okay.

Yes, sir.
I will keep you posted.

So, apparently,

the Student
Civil Liberties Association

is filing a lawsuit
against NYPD.

- Tell them to get in line.

- We have a suspect
in the highest profile crime

of the year.

- Ten students were arrested.

That is not a good look for us.

Tell me exactly what happened.
- We were escorting Ellis.

Kids came out of nowhere,
throwing cups of froyo,

jumping on squad cars.
- Defending the suspect?

- Everybody's looking
for an excuse

to beat up on the cops
nowadays.

- What do we know
about Sam Ellis?

- Aside from access
to Shelli's camera?

- He's got all of 12 followers
on Instagram.

He's got no prior complaints at
the school, no criminal record.

- What about his family?
- Dad's deceased, aneurysm.

Mother lives in Oregon.

- I just spoke
to Sam's academic advisor.

Kid's a 4.0 law student.

- All right, so he's
smart enough to lawyer up.

- My gut says he's our guy.

- Well, he lives in a basement
apartment on University Place.

No clubs, sports, frats,
no girlfriend.

- What about his relationship
with Shelli?

- Well, I spoke
to the other students

in their Labor Law class.

Apparently
they always sat together.

[phone buzzes]
- Anything romantic

between the two of them?

- People I talked to said
he was friend-zoned.

- TARU says Sam
downloaded the recording

of Shelli's threesome,
watched it half a dozen times.

His last viewing was an hour
before the murder.

- Well, there's our motive.

- Kid wanted
out of the friend zone.

- Okay, is he willing to talk?

- As long as
his lawyer is present.

- Well, we have
our first question--let's go.

[door opens]

- Shelli asked me
to set up the camera.

She was worried

that her roommates
were taking her stuff.

- That's why you watched the
footage of her threesome?

- Multiple times?

- She seemed tipsy.

And I was worried that what was
happening was not consensual.

- Oh, so you're her protector?

- Can we keep this on track?
- Shelli and I were friends.

I can't believe that
I'm never gonna see her again.

- Where were you that night
at 1:00 a.m.?

- I was home, asleep.

I'd been studying at
the law library until midnight.

- You can check his key card.
- Don't worry. We will.

So you're telling me
you came home,

watched footage of Shelli
having sex with her roommates

over and over again,

and then you just went
to sleep?

- Yeah.

- Sam, if you were so worried
about Shelli,

why didn't you call her?

- [scoffs]

I--what I saw was awkward.

I-I was her confidant.

I figured we'd talk
in the morning.

You're right.
I should have gone over there.

If I did, she'd still be alive.

- Is there anybody
that can verify your alibi?

Your roommate, your neighbor?

- No, my roommate, Carl,
was in Sarasota.

He was visiting his parents.

- Please tell me that
you've got something good.

- Ten kids arrested on campus--
DA's dropping the charges.

- [groans softly]

- I'm gonna need more time
with my client.

- [sighs]

You getting anywhere
with Ellis?

Because as it stands right now,

the only thing we can hold him
on is unlawful surveillance.

- He claims that Shelli asked
him to install the camera.

- You don't believe that.

- Well, I just don't see her
having a tryst

if she knew a camera was on.

Shelli was shy.

Elodie said as much.

- Well, somebody turned it off
before the murder.

- Yeah, the murderer.

Campus security got back to us

on their
blue-light-call-box footage.

- Does it verify
Sam's timeline?

- Not exactly.

So this is 2:15 a.m.

- He said that he was asleep
by 1:00 a.m.

And where's his backpack
and computer bag?

- What's with the dish towel?

- I mean,
you can't just walk around

in the street with a hammer.

- Well, we haven't recovered
the murder weapon.

- Show this
to Velasco and Silva,

have them search the park.

- Sam Ellis was heading away

from the direction
of the vic's apartment.

- Not the library,
like he claimed.

- Well,
after something like this,

what would you want to do?

- Go home, wash the blood off.

- He lived on University Place.
Let's walk north.

- So you always wanted to be
a cop like your dad?

- I knew since 2001.

- What, 9/11?

- Yeah, I remember
watching the TV,

all those scared people
running away from the towers.

Then I saw who was running
towards them--

working-class heroes.

And I wanted to be one of them.

- Well, listen, I think
this is a waste of time,

since unis already did
a grid search.

- Trash cans, sewer grates,
subway tracks.

This guy's a law student.

He knows where cops
are most likely to search.

- Where do we look, hotshot?

- Excuse me, sir?

Were you here
about two nights ago?

- Well, this is my park.
This is my park right here.

- Did you happen to see
this guy?

- No.

- Just take a good look.

- Um...uh...

nah, man, I don't--no.

- Are you sure?
- Yeah, I'm--I'm sure.

I'm sure.

Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Yo, that's mine--

- Yo, Velasco.
- Don't touch my stuff.

I-I found it.

- Where?
- Uh...

in--in that pail over there.

Look, I'm--I'm trying
to build a house.

both: Okay.
- Hey, look, we need this one.

We're going to get you
another one, I promise.

We need it for evidence.

- Thank you.

.

- Reporting from day one
of the trial of Sam Ellis--

a first-year law student
at University of New York,

indicted for the murder,
rape, and assaults

of three of his fellow
classmates,

a brutal crime that has struck
panic and divided the campus.

And there he is now.

- Sam, why did you do it?

- Shelli was my friend.
I didn't do this.

- Your prints were
on the murder weapon.

- My client had no idea that
what he found on his walk home

was the murder weapon.
- Why did he get rid of it?

- A civic-minded law student
at a prestigious university--

he disposed of it
for public safety.

- You know, we could have come
in the back way.

- No, I like seeing the mood
on the street.

Gives me a good idea
what I'm going up against.

- Well, the blood of two of
our victims is on the hammer.

Sam's prints are on the handle,

and we have
the jealousy motive.

- Which not even Freud
could substantiate

beyond a reasonable doubt.

Look, none of the other
roommates could ID him.

There's no video or cell phone
hits that put him at the scene.

- So what's his defense?

That the mystery killer's
still out there somewhere?

- Never underestimate
the power of bald-faced lies

in the halls of justice.
- Carisi,

you and I both know
that Sam is good for this.

- Yeah, now I just got to prove
it to 12 angry New Yorkers

who probably hate the cops
as much as this crowd does.

[crowd chanting]
Free Sam Ellis! Free Sam Ellis!

- I opened the door,
and I knew something was wrong.

- Why was that?

- Because I saw Damon
lying in the hallway

in a puddle of blood.

- What'd you do?
- I called out...

"Shelli," "Elodie."

I didn't hear an answer,
so I looked in Shelli's room.

- What'd you see there?

- Shelli was on the bed,
slouched against the wall...

in what I heard the police call

"a defensive posture"...

covered in blood.

She was dead.

- Then what happened?
- Then I went to the hall.

That's where I found Elodie.

She was on the floor naked.

But she was alive.

- So is that
when you dialed 911?

- I called my dad.

Uh, he said that I should call
campus security,

that they'd show up faster.

And then I waited outside
until they showed up.

- Thank you, Teddy.

- You waited outside
until help came,

even though two of your friends
were inside,

alive, probably frightened?

- I was pretty freaked out
myself.

- Freaked out or pissed off?

Didn't you see
through the door lock

the three of them engaged
in a sexual encounter

without you?
- Objection.

The witness
is not on trial here.

- But he was initially
a suspect.

- I'll allow,
but move it along.

- Mr. Hall, were you or were
you not questioned by police

about your possible involvement
in this crime?

- Yes.

But they ruled me out.

- Before or after they found
that my client had access

to a camera in Shelli's room?

A camera she asked him
to install.

- Objection.
The defense is testifying.

- Sustained.
Move along, Counselor.

- Mr. Hall,
did you or did you not have

an attraction to Shelli?

[dramatic music]

- I liked her, sure.

- So seeing her
have a three-way without you,

you must have felt angry,
left out?

- I did.

How would you feel?

- I heard noises
coming from Shelli's room...

so I went in.

There was...

a guy standing over her with...

a hammer.

She was screaming,
"Because I told you no."

Then he hit her
with the hammer.

I ran.

- Then what happened?
- [sniffles]

Uh...

He chased me up the hall,

threw me down...

tore my underwear off,
and he...

He raped me.

- Could you describe this man
to the police?

- He was white,

college-aged.

I didn't see him clearly.

- Okay, so you could not pick
the defendant

out of a lineup?

- No.

- But you did tell the police

that he was white,
college-aged.

- Yes.

- Thank you.
No more questions.

- Nothing for this witness.

- I screwed it up in there.
- No, you didn't.

You told the truth.
You said exactly what happened.

- Then why didn't they question
me like they did Teddy?

- Because going after
a rape victim on the stand

can backfire with the jury.

- Well, I was ready for her.

I would've told her that
Shelli didn't deserve this.

She wanted to be free.

- I know.

- That's why we all
fooled around that night.

- Elodie, you were just being
a good friend.

- No, I should have
never suggested it.

She'd still be alive.

- Will you listen to me,
really listen to me?

You did nothing wrong.

Nothing.

- I mean, she was--
she was working on herself.

She dragged me to these
women's-empowerment meetings.

She was talking about
not attracting negativity.

She--she was saying all the--
- Hang on.

You think she could have been
talking about Sam?

- Yes, Shelli Henson
was here every week

for about three months.

I heard what happened to her.
It is horrible.

- Yeah, so, um, a student
by the name of Sam Ellis

is on trial for her murder.

- Yes, I saw it on the news.

- Did Shelli ever mention
Sam by name to you?

- No.
- No? Are you sure?

Because, Samantha,
if you know anything,

now would be the time
to tell us.

- Everyone does
a private testimonial.

It's a way for the client
to track their transformation.

- Right.

- Shelli did one
on her last day here.

No one would have seen it
but her.

- Thank you.
- Of course.

- I'm grateful
for so many things--

studying law,

my friends, my mother.

I'm grateful for the courage
I found here

in this group.

It's helped me find it
within myself.

I will no longer attract
negativity in my life.

I will no longer be afraid
to say no.

And the first person

I am going to practice
saying no to...

is Sam Ellis.

- Well?

- Well, it's gonna be a fight
to get this admitted in court.

- You're the best pugilist
I know, Counselor.

.

- I will no longer attract
negativity in my life.

I will no longer be afraid
to say no.

And the first person

I am going to practice
saying no to...

is Sam Ellis.

- People's Exhibit 7.

Captain Benson,
do you recognize this?

- Yes, I do.

This was Shelli's
private testimonial

at a local
female-empowerment group

called Rise and Radiate.

- Again, Your Honor, objection.

This is hearsay.

- An exception
to the hearsay rule--

this video reflects
the victim's state of mind

and a future intent
to contact the defendant.

- I've already allowed
this evidence.

Your objection
is on the record.

I'll instruct the jury
how to consider it

in the final charge.

- How long did the victim
attend this empowerment group?

- Approximately three months.

And this video was recorded

on the last day
that she attended the group.

- When was that?

- The day
before she was murdered.

- Thank you, Captain Benson.

- Any questions?

- No, Your Honor.

- The prosecution rests.
- Defense?

- I need a recess
to talk to my client.

- I respectfully request
the opportunity

to contextualize
this evidence now

while it's fresh
in the jury's mind.

- Did you know Shelli was going
to Rise and Radiate?

- Shelli told me that she was
going to the empowerment group.

I supported her.

- Did she tell you
why she went?

- She had trouble
drawing boundaries--

not just with me,
with everyone.

She knew that it would get
in the way

of her being
a good lawyer someday.

- Did she say no to you?
- Yes.

Like she said in the video,
she was practicing.

I was her friend.
I was her study partner.

She felt comfortable with me.

- Nothing further.

- Mr. Ellis, apart from being
friends and study partners,

as you just said,

did you ever ask Shelli out
on a date?

- We were both single,

spent a lot of time together,
studied the same kind of law.

- So is that a yes?
- Yeah.

I did ask her out once.

- Okay, so what did she say?

- She said
she was too busy studying.

- So you were friend-zoned.

- Objection.
Badgering the witness.

- Rephrase--
uh, she made excuses

to avoid hurting your ego.

Did that, uh,
lead to confusion for you?

- No.
- Huh.

In your own words,
you just said,

um, that she needed to practice
creating boundaries.

- Yes.
Not just with me.

- Yeah, but when--when did she
practice specifically with you?

- I don't see
how this is relevant.

- Well, it's relevant
because she made that video

the day
before she was murdered.

That's a tight timeline.

So did she practice
saying no to you

the night before she was
murdered or the morning of?

- It was that morning
after class.

- Okay,
and then later that night,

you watched Shelli having sex
with her roommates.

People's Exhibit 8, Your Honor.

In fact, you watched this
six times, didn't you?

- I was trying to protect her.

- Recorded on a camera
that you installed.

- That she asked me to.
- There's two scenarios here.

Now, either you're telling
the truth,

which means Shelli knew
she was being recorded

and was deliberately trying
to hurt you,

or she didn't know the camera
was there at all.

- She would never hurt me.

- So you didn't tell her
about the camera.

You installed it
without her knowledge.

- She was too drunk to consent
to that threesome.

- So are you keeping tabs
on her behavior?

- Objection.
- I'll allow.

- Yeah. Okay...

- Sam, the point is,

you watched her say yes
to two other people

on the very day
that she said no to you.

[dramatic music]

- She wasn't
any better-looking than me.

- So you--you thought
you had a chance, didn't you?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- My father used to say

I'd--I'd always have trouble
meeting a woman,

that I'd have to work
twice as hard

because of how different I am.

- And she still said no.

- I helped her study.

I walked her home
when she was out late.

I listened to her problems!

- And you were so blinded
by your own desperation

that you could not see
that you were one of them.

- Shut up!

- Sam, maybe even
the biggest one.

- I did everything for her!
- And she still said no to you!

And that's why you killed her!
- You're not God!

You're not my professor!
You're not my father!

- No, I'm not.

- I'm sorry!

I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

I'm sorry!

I miss her!
I'm sorry!

- Nothing further.

- It's all right.

It's all right.
- [sniffles, cries softly]

- It's all right.

- [softly] Thank you.

Mr. Carisi, Captain Benson...

- Oh, Elodie.

- I just wanted to say goodbye.

- Let me guess--
Rise and Radiate?

- Shelli's women's group.

- They wanted me
to thank you both.

- No, no, we--we didn't win
this case alone.

- And we--we could not
have done it without Shelli.

- The jury heard her...
in her own words.

- It looks like Shelli had more
friends than she realized, huh?

How you holding up?

- I'm getting help.

I'm taking the rest
of the semester off,

staying with my parents.
- Good.

- But next year, me,
Damon, and Teddy

are getting a new apartment,
getting our degrees,

and becoming
kick-ass lawyers...

Like you.

- Well, that's what Shelli
would have wanted.

Take care of yourself, okay?

- Thank you.

- [inhales deeply]

There's no feeling
like a guilty verdict.

- Never fails to amaze me that
12 strangers in modern America

could ever be unanimous
about anything.

- Well, they were today.

.

[dramatic music]

[wolf howls]