All language subtitles for Law and order S15E02 - The Dead Wives Club

NARRATOR:
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.

MAN 1: It's unbelievable. It
holds, like, over 10,000 songs.

MAN 2: Dude, you don't
even know 10,000 songs.

And where do you get off
buying something like this

when you still owe me
a hundred bucks?

MAN 1: (STAMMERS)
I know 100,000 songs.

That's why they call me
the Human Juke Box.

Hey, grab me a corn muffin.
I got to hit the head.

Yeah,yeah,yeah. Black
coffee and a corn muffin.

Yo, bro. Canadian.

So? What is
the difference?

About 30 cents on
the damned dollar!

It's useless, you understand?
It's a slug!

(LOUD CRASHING)

(ALL SCREAMING)

Jerry?

Jerry!

OFFICER: We got 20 or so injured,
a couple of them serious.

ED: Lucky it
wasn't rush hour.

It would have been worse,
but the ferry troop

pulled a bunch of the
injured out of the water.

They're real heroes.
They deserve a medal.

One DOA. Female, white. We found
her purse on the rear upper deck.

ID?

Yeah. Driver's license says her name's
Donna McClean, 34. Brooklyn address.

Thanks. Hey, Brody,
what you got?

The foam around her mouth
would indicate she drowned.

Looks like she hit her head on the
side of the boat when she fell.

Pretty nasty blow. Wouldn't be
surprised if she fractured her skull.

All right.

Hey, anything?

No, everybody says the boat
should have stopped, but didn't.

Smacked the dock
petal to the medal.

Did anybody
see her go in?

No. Nobody
mentioned athing.

Carlsen. DOT.

I'm curious. What's Homicide
doing at an accident scene?

Two words, "dead body."
Criminal liability.

Well, we don't know that yet.
Well, we do

until we prove
otherwise, okay?

Detective? I found
this in the Pilothouse.

Gin. See what I mean?

Okay. Let's go talk
to Captain Tanqueray.

The pilot we got back here.
You lead the way.

He was just here.
He was drinking coffee.

You left him
by himself?

Sorry. I'll, um... I'm going to
get you his name and address.

ED: Do that, man.

Hey, can you get CSU to dust
and voucher these cups?

That's an awful lot of coffee
for one guy, isn't it?

Not if you're trying
to sober up.

(SIREN WAILS)

ED: Damn! What are
the Feds doing here?

FONTANA: Federal Maritime Law.
You kill somebody in U.S. waters

through negligence
or misconduct.

NYPD?

Homicide.
Detective Green.

Fontana.

Special Agent Diamond.

The pilot's MIA.

Butthen, I guess you
guys know that.

Sorry, guys,
this one's ours.

Well, if you
need anything.

(LAUGHS) I appreciate it.
Take it easy.

Stiff.

Yeah, when you
walk on water.

Come on, I want to
show you something.

You see this stuff?

This is copper
based paint.

I think they use
it on boats

and ships and hulls.
Stuff like that.

What are you saying? That the Feds are
looking for the wrong kind of vehicle?

Maybe the guy's
got a boat.

Well, wouldn't the boat be
registered with his car?

Let's see if it's registered
in his wife's name.

You did say we'd help him.
Uh-huh.

There's no
signs of life.

Hey, if we see anything, we step
off, we get a warrant, all right?

Oh, yeah, sure.

Mr. Williams? Anybody home?

It's the police.

Captain? NYPD. We need
to talk to you, sir.

Aw, jeez Louise!

(SIREN WAILING)

Is he going to make it?
ED: Uh-huh.

Lucky we got here in time.

Thanks.
You're welcome.

What the hell
is this?

I'm going to tell you what
it is, Agent Diamond.

It's my tailor-made Italian silk
shirt with his blood on it.

A little thing we
like to call evidence.

You take it and you run
a toxicology screen.

And by the way,
I'm billing the FBI.

Now, excuse me.

(CHUCKLES)

$300 Italian silk. I got it
the last time I was in Rome,

at this great little negozio
just off the Piazza Navona.

Oh, well. Easy come,
easy go.

Listen, I just heard
from the U.S. Attorney.

They're running his
blood alcohol now.

Guaranteed he was three
sheets to the wind.

Anyway, he's
the Feds' problem now.

Yeah, but a couple of the
injured were city workers,

so the Manhattan D.A. is planning
to file charges of his own.

So what are you
saying, Lieutenant?

I'm going to need you to
re-interview those witnesses.

I got a clean shirt
in my locker.

$300 shirts?

(LAUGHS) You should
see his ride!

I was working
forward deck.

I heard a scream,
and then a splash,

and then the ferry
hit the dock.

Wait. Run that by me again. You
heard something before the crash.

Yes. I went to the
starboard side rail.

I thought I saw
someone in the water,

but then the boat hit
and threw me down.

You're sure that's the
way it happened? Yes.

Scream, splash, somebody's
in the water, crash.

Positive.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Excuse me.

Hello? Uh-huh.
Okay. Thanks.

Lab results are in.
Pilot wasn't intoxicated.

Well, whose flask of
gin did we find then?

Who knows? It could have
been from the night shift.

Doesn't mean
he's off the hook.

He was still asleep
behind the wheel.

Deck hand says he heard a scream
and a splash before the crash.

Donna McClean, the DOA? Maybe.

The deck hand thinks he saw
somebody in the water,

but he's not
sure who.

Why couldn't it
have been suicide?

Well, it could have been,
but why would you wait

until you're almost docked
to take a swan dive?

Why not take your shot in
the middle of the harbor

where nobody
could fish you out?

Plus the head injury.
That's more like she fell.

If she had jumped, she probably
would have cleared the boat.

If she fell,
that's an accident.

Not if she had help.

Then she's our DOA,
not the Feds'.

RODGERS: Hairline
skull fracture.

Traces of paint found
in the head wound

match paint from
the lower railing.

ED: There was blood
on the railing, too.

Yeah. DNA lab's
running it now.

I'll bet you a
dollar it's hers.

Did the fall
kill her?

Well, didn't do her any
good, but not directly, no.

It might have knocked
her out cold,

but she was alive when she hit the water.
She drowned.

Any defensive wounds?
Did she struggle?

No.

But look at
these bruises.

Hmm. Just about the
height of the top rail.

Right where they'd be if
somebody pushed her hard enough

to put her
into the drink.

McCLEAN: Any idea
what happened yet?

The investigation is
going to take awhile.

So far they're not
ruling out anything.

What was your wife doing
on that ferry anyway?

She had an appointment to get
her hair done in Midtown.

Mr. McClean.

Was your wife
depressed at all?

What are you talking about? Are you
saying she jumped? This was an accident.

We have a witness that
may have seen Donna

in the water before
the ferry crashed.

No way. We were very happy.
We have a great family.

She'd never leave
us on purpose.

You're a firefighter?

Retired.

You were there?
Ground Zero?

Yeah. We all were.

GIRL: Ed?

Sarah's crying again.

Look, I appreciate
your concern,

but this was an accident.

So find out who was responsible
and nail them to the wall, okay?

When you were a kid, did you ever
call your old man by his first name?

(SCOFFS) Not unless I wanted to smell
the Aqua Velva on the back of his hand.

Okay. I got it. Thanks.

Donna McClean legally
changed her name

about two years ago when
she married Ed McClean.

Before that she
was Donna Mahar,

married to a Joe Mahar,
also a firefighter.

So let's go talk
to Joe Mahar.

Uh-uh.
Died in 9/11.

He was in the same engine
company as Ed McClean.

Joe and Ed
were inseparable.

Frick and Frigging Frack
we called them.

That's why Ed got assigned
Donna after Joe died.

Assigned?

When one of our own dies,
we look after the widow.

Help them with
groceries, bills.

I think Ed did more than
unpack a few D'Agostino bags.

Hey, listen.
Things happen.

You know how emotional
it was. The aftermath.

We all lost
near and dear.

Yeah, so I'm saying
they comforted each other.

Right after the attacks, Ed
spent a lot of time with Donna.

All right. One thing
led to another.

Well, what about Ed?
Was he married?

Collette. High school sweethearts.
That kind of thing.

ED: They got kids? Ten-year-olds.
Twin boys.

He's a good father, Ed.

Really? And he left their mother
for his best friend's widow?

What kind of settlement did Donna
get for her husband's death?

Those 9/11 settlements
ran in the millions.

Ed wasn't after her money.

He fell in love with Donna. He
didn't mean to, hejust did.

(DOORBELL RINGING)

WOMAN: You looking
for Collette?

Yeah. NYPD. Do you know
where we can find her?

She's at work.

FONTANA: How well do you
known the McCleans?

Yeah, her name's
Connolly now.

It's her maiden name. She went
back to it after the divorce.

So, do you know Ed and
Collette pretty well?

Sure. Forever.

This is a very
tight-knit community.

Was.

Come in for a minute. I got
to keep an eye on my husband.

You know, people have to wait a little
longer in line at the airports,

saying 9/11
changed everything.

They have no idea.

This neighborhood? We used
to do everything together.

I mean, everybody worked for
the fire department, police.

Now we're strangers.

Divorce, remarriage...

It will never be like
it was, that's for sure.

9111's going to kill Russ
just as sure as it killed Joe

and the other men who
were there that day.

How so? Russ was at
Ground Zero for weeks.

Leukemia. From mercury.

Millions of busted
fluorescent light bulbs

from the Towers.

Donna wears a Chanel
dress to Joe's memorial,

and the guys who found his body
can't even pay their medical bills.

Did you ever
ask Donna for help?

No, I don't see
Donna anymore.

I'm not a part
of her new life.

You mean her new life
with Ed McClean?

Her new life with
the Dead Wives Club.

What they call themselves,
9/11 widows.

They cleaned up after
their husbands died.

From what I heard,
it was a lot of money.

No, it's not just the money.
It's how they act with it.

Parading it around town
like its freaking Mardi Gras,

while the rest of us
just scrape by.

Like Collette's
scraping by?

That bastard left
her high and dry.

Why do you think she
had to go back to work?

COLLETTE: I was
plenty angry at first,

but you got to move on.

Anger doesn't do
anyone any good,

especially not
the kids.

Me and Ed, we got to do what's
right for the boys' sakes,

try and act civilized.

I just feel sorry
for Donna's girls.

You know, Ms. Connolly, we checked
into your ex-husband's finances,

and all of the 9111 settlement
money is in Donna's name.

She also got death benefits from the
city and from Joe's life insurance,

not to mention
over$2 million

from the Federal Victims
Compensation Fund.

Yeah, well, she deserved it.
She lost her husband.

So did you.

Your ex-husband officially
retired on a disability pension.

Yeah. After 9111, he
couldn't go back to work.

But you had to.

He pays you minimal
child support and alimony.

Yeah,
what can you do?

I mean, these are things
the court decides.

You're very understanding,
Ms. Connolly.

Well, like I said,
it's for the kids.

And to tell you the truth,
I don't mind working.

It gets me out
of the house.

How did you break your arm?
My wrist.

I fell. My fault.

I was racing up the subway steps
late for work and I tripped.

I put my arm out
to brace myself, and...

When was that?

The day before yesterday,
as a matter of fact.

The same day
that Donna died?

That morning, yeah.

It was a bad day.

Thank you. We'll talk again.

She broke her wrist the
same day as the crash.

Now, there's a
coincidence for you.

Yes, indeed.
I tell you one thing.

I never heard a woman talk so good
about a man who done her so bad.

Positively, the late Mrs. McClean's
blood on the lower railing.

Did CSU find anything
on the upper deck?

Fingerprints and
two sweaty palm prints

from two
different individuals,

both left hands, right next to
each other on the upper railing.

CSU lifted
a partial off one,

Latent matched it
to Mrs. McClean.

What about the other one?
Of no value.

But they recovered some DNA from it.
Not Mrs. McClean's.

You can get DNA from
a sweaty palm print?

(LAUGHS) Low copy
number analysis.

You ID any suspects,
get me their DNA,

I can run a comparison
to see if they match.

Ed McClean's
coming in today.

Guilty people don't
normally drive themselves

to the M.E.'s office
to give up DNA.

Which leaves
his ex-wife.

She's not returning
our calls.

That's a nice ride.
Yeah, it's okay.

So I checked the subway
times with Transit.

There are trains that pull into
that station at 10:45 and 11:12.

According to Saint Ann's, she
signed in the E.R. at 11:15.

So she fell,
broke her wrist,

and either waited a half an hour
to get medical treatment...

Or she sprinted eight blocks in three
minutes with a fractured wrist.

She didn't look like
Marion Jones to me.

On the other hand, the
ferry crashed at 10:00.

She had plenty of time to
get uptown to Saint Ann's.

Just because I can't remember exactly
when I fell, that doesn't mean...

Oh, no, no! We're not
accusing you of anything.

It's just that we
have to clear up

these little discrepancies in
the timeline for our report.

It's our boss. She's a
stickler like that.

You know? You're right.

I didn't go straight
to the hospital.

I waited to see if I put some ice
on it, would it feel better.

And it didn't, so that's when I
decided I needed to go to the E.R.

Uh-huh. Ms. Connolly? Could I
trouble you for a cup of coffee?

I'm dragging,
andifldonW get ajolt,

I'm never going to
make it through the day.

Sure. I just made a pot.
How do you take it?

Black. Truckload
of sugar. Thanks.

Do you ever use it?

What? The ferry? I wish.

FONTANA: You should.

I never have time.

Well, didn't you use
it the other day?

I took the subway.
I told you.

Right. Your wrist.
Mmm-hmm.

Thanks. You should
pay this parking ticket.

Yeah, I'm a little
behind on the bills.

Twins, huh?
Mmm-hmm.

I got two boys myself.
Eric and Tyler.

Oh, yeah? How old?
Twelve and 14.

(LAUGHS) Teenagers. Wow.

It's rough.

You know, if my wife
left me and my sons

and lived like royalty
while we struggled,

I'd be out of my mind.

Yeah, well, that's you.
Not me.

All I'm saying is, I could understand
if you did something about it.

I didn't do anything.

Then you wouldn't mind
giving us your DNA?

It's the easiest way
to get this behind you.

I'll just check
with my lawyer first.

You know, most dudes lie
about not being married.

Uh, lthought
I'd take a shot.

You ever been married?
No. Never. You?

Hell, no. Too young.
Too old.

Now let's go talk
to that E.R. doctor

and find out how she
really broke her wrist.

Of course I can't discuss a
patient's medical history with you.

Okay. Let's say we
spoke in hypotheticals.

Hypotheticals? Oh, yeah.
We love hypotheticals.

Okay, shoot.

Okay, let's say,
hypothetically,

that somebody's rushing
up some concrete steps...

Like a subway.
Right.

And they trip and
they fall forward.

When someone puts their
arm out in front of them

to break their fall,
the type of fracture

that results is always the
same, a Colles fracture.

Okay, so if somebody
has a Colles fracture,

their story of tripping and falling
forward would be consistent?

Well, let's say a person has a
different sort of fracture.

A Smith's fracture.

There would be a discrepancy
in what they're telling you?

A Smith's fracture results from an
outstretched arm to prevent a backwards fall.

You understanding
what I'm saying?

Yeah. You can't get
a Smith's fracture

from a forward fall with your arms
stretched out in front of you.

Anatomically impossible.

Two palm prints, both of them
left-handed, right? Right.

Let's say Donna McClean
was standing here,

put her left hand on the railing
as the boat pulled into the dock.

Collette Connolly
comes from behind.

Hypothetically.
Right.

She pushes her over.
Donna screams.

She falls, she hits her
head on the lower railing.

She goes into the water,
and she drowns.

Now, that's what
the deckhand said.

Okay, but how does the second
sweat print get on the hand rail?

The killer needs two hands
to push the victim over.

Okay. After Donna
goes into the water

is when the ferry
hit the dock, right?

Right.
Okay.

The impact of the crash
sends Collette forward,

and then back.

She tries to hold on to the
railing with her left hand,

but she can't
keep her grip...

Leaving a sweaty palm print.

Exactly.
She falls backwards.

She tries to brace her
fall with her right hand.

Smith's fracture.

Smith's fracture.

You're in a whole
lot of trouble, Collette.

We've got witnesses that saw you push
Donna over the side of that boat.

No, that's impossible. lwasn't there.
I wasn't on that ferry.

Look, we know
you're lying.

We know didn't
take the subway.

We know you didn't trip
and fall on any stairs.

I told you how
I broke my wrist.

Yeah, well,
we talked to a doctor

who said that it couldn't have
happened the way that you said.

Now when that boat
hit the dock,

you fell backwards on the deck and
you put your hand behind you.

That's how you
broke your wrist.

In the chaos of the crash,
you slipped out,

you jumped into a taxi, you
went uptown to the hospital.

No, I broke my wrist
on the subway.

We found the taxi driver.

He remembers you. He said you
were in a whole lot of pain

and he offered to take you
to a closer hospital,

but you said, "No. I want to
go uptown to Saint Ann's."

Take it easy, will you?

Here you go.

Thanks.

Collette?

You did it for your kids.
For your boys, right?

No.

I didn't do anything.

Donna is dead.

Ed inherits all the money.

You can take him
back to court.

Make him pay
his fair share.

Support his kids the way he's
supposed to support his kids.

Put that down now, Collette.
Do not take a sip.

Nice try.

You want her DNA,
get a warrant.

And why is my client crying?

She has been lying to us
every step of the way.

So you say.

You don't have
probable cause,

which means
you can't hold her.

Come on, Collette.
I'm going to take you home.

Well, that could
have gone better.

Well, it's too bad that we
don't have those witnesses

or that cab driver.

We really wouldn't
need her DNA.

Maybe we don't need her to
give us her DNA voluntarily.

I spoke to
the D.A.'s office.

They're making a warrant
application to a friendlyjudge.

Thatjudge better be our
brand-new very best friend.

JACK: It's the epitome of
judge shopping, YourHonoL

Judge Tucci already
signed a warrant

to obtain a DNA exemplar
from Collette Connolly.

If he weren't conveniently
out of town on vacation,

we wouldn't even be here.

We're moving to quash an
improperly granted warrant.

Ms. Galiano didn't like
Judge Tucci's decision,

so she's trying for a more
favorable result from you.

All due respect,

Judge Tucci signs off on anything
the People place in front of him.

JUDGE: Mr. McCoy, it seems
to me you have a warrant,

which you're using to confirm
a suspicion the People have,

which is not the same
as probable cause.

Motion granted,
warrant quashed.

(BANGS GAVEL)

Without the DNA,
we need to figure out

another way to put
her on the boat.

And we have
a motive problem.

What are you talking about?
We've got loads of motive.

Rage, jealousy, money.

Once Ed inherited
Donna's millions

he couldn't evade paying Collette reasonable
alimony and child support anymore.

She's had all the same reasons
since the marriage broke up.

So Why'd she
kill her now?

I'd like to know
what triggered this.

HEATHER:
The name's a joke.

People expect widows
to act a certain way.

And they hate us
because we don't.

Because we've
got money now.

Let's face it.
They hate us

because we married our
dead husband's friends.

I'd hate us, too,
but we also lost husbands

and our kids lost fathers.

We grieve, too.
Every day.

It's been hard
for everyone, I'm sure.

SLOAN: Exactly.

We all learned the hard
way life's too short.

I know my first husband, God his
rest his soul, is happy I'm happy.

Look, I understand from your
point of view, life goes on.

But what about the wives
that were left?

Like Collette?

Well, that's what
we're talking about.

She was more of a mess
after 9/11 than Ed was.

She wouldn't leave the house.
Didn't want him going anywhere.

Crying all the time.
And he was alive.

SLOAN:
No wonder he left her.

Don't get me wrong.

I feel sorry for her. I do.

We all do.

So Collette and
Donna were close?

Best friends.

Excuse me!

Was there something else that
you wanted to tell me in there?

I still care about her,
about Collette.

I don't know if she
did this to Donna but...

If you could help me
understand what happened.

Collette called me
one night,

a few weeks ago.

She was hysterical.

It was the first time
we'd spoken in months,

and she said Ed told her

he and Donna wanted
custody of the twins.

When was this exactly?

A week before Donna died.

We re-interviewed everyone that was
in the area of the ferry that day.

No one remembers
seeing her.

So we're back
at square one.

Well, maybe not. I saw
something at Collette's

that might give us her DNA.

LegaHy? Without her
permission or a court order?

What did you see,
a magic wand?

No. A parking ticket.

She has dozens of them.
Owes the city over $1,000.

We send her a notice
offering amnesty.

All tickets forgiven
for a token hundred bucks.

So she ignores that, too.

Well, if she decides not to
take advantage of the amnesty,

the city threatens to put
a lien on her property.

And here's the beauty part.

We send her a self-addressed, stamped
envelope for her to send the check in.

She licks the envelope, mails it
back to us and we have her DNA.

Right. She hands it
over. Voluntarily.

GALUkNO:
The parking ticket sting

was a blatant violation of the
Fourth Amendment, YourHonoL

Mr. McCoy
ignored your ruling

and used a ruse
to obtain DNA

which you said
he had no right to.

You said the People had no right
to a warrant, Your Honor.

I had every right
to trick Ms. Connolly

into giving us
what we wanted.

People v. Blandon,

"Trickery is only improper
when the conduct is so unfair

"as to deny due process."

Since the DNA on the envelope matched
the DNA on the ferry railing,

we know we're not dealing with the
rights of an innocent person here.

Let's not get ahead of
ourselves, Counselor.

No one's been convicted
of anything yet.

It appears that
the defendant's

Fourth Amendment rights
weren't violated here.

Anything else,
Ms. Galiano?

GALIANO:
Yes, Your Honor.

The low copy DNA analysis that People
used is an untested, unreliable science,

which hasn't gained widespread
acceptance in New York.

All I am asking for

is a hearing to determine whether
this novel, untested science

meets the Frye standard.

I'll hear from
experts tomorrow.

(BANGS GAVEL)

Low copy DNA analysis utilizes much
smaller samples of DNA to find a match.

Isn't it fair to say
that these samples,

which can be left by just
touching a steering wheel

or rubbing your fingers over a keyboard,
are very often infinitesimal?

Yes, that's correct.

Sometimes as little as
a couple of skin cells.

The extracted DNA is then
replicated many times

so testing can be done.

So, isn't it true,
Dr. Merrick,

that this multiple
replication process

creates a greater risk for false
matches and inaccurate results?

MERRICK: The odds of error are
about the same as regular testing.

One in a trillion.
Infinitesimal.

But low copy DNA
hasn't even been used yet

in a criminal proceeding
in New York, has it?

MERRICK: No, actually
it has been used.

When the Twin
Towers collapsed,

many of the samples we used to
identify victims were low copy DNA.

But that wasn't a criminal case.
JACK: Not a criminal case?

It was the largest mass murder in
our nation's history, Your Honor.

Which means there's a
history of this science

already being used in New York
and the Frye standard is met.

I agree.

The DNA comes in.

(BANGS GAVEL)

Murder two.

Now, why would
we accept that?

Your client
ambushed the victim,

and then tried to
cover up the crime.

We have DNA.
We have motive.

And we have a woman suffering from
extreme emotional disturbance.

Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder

from the September
11th attacks?

You're confused.

Collette Connolly's ex-husband
was the firefighter.

Firefighter or not, like all New
Yorkers, she was affected by 9J11.

Just like the New Yorkers who
will be sitting on myjury.

It was a Tuesday.

Remember how beautiful
the weather was?

Gorgeous, yeah.

Thank you.

I picked the boys
up from school.

I tried to get them
to not watch the television.

I didn't want them
to see that...

The Towers fall
over and over.

We all just sat around
waiting for the phone to ring

to see if Ed was
dead or alive.

When you finally
heard from him?

I just thanked God.

I was just so thankful
and relieved.

And then guilty.

SQ guilty-.

Guilty?

All his friends
that didn't make it?

His brothers?

You have no idea
how close they are.

I mean,
our neighborhood alone.

You could hear people
screaming and crying

all up and down the street.

I keep replaying that day

in my head.

It's like a movie
I can't turn off.

You know, every time
a plane flies overhead,

I get a knot in my stomach.

And every time
they raise the threat level,

I think, my children will
never see the end of this.

(BREATHING DEEPLY)

The world seems
ruined to me.

I swear, sometimes

I wish I had died
on September 10th.

For her, the attacks,
losing her husband,

possibly custody of her kids,
these aren't separate events.

And they're not over.

They're one huge event
that has wrecked her life,

and she's reliving it
every day.

So she lashes out
and kills the woman

who married her ex-husband?

She can't strike out
against the terrorists,

so the next closest culprit,
as she sees it,

is the woman who
replaced her as wife,

and, potentially, as mother.

All right.
Thank you.

You think ajury
will buy that?

Well, they don't
have to buy it.

They just have
to feel sorry for her.

I agree. You don't think this
defense has some merit, Jack?

A stress response
to an act of war

justifies the murder of an innocent
third party three years later?

No, I don't.

Her entire life was turned
upside down after 9111.

Jurors will
sympathize with that.

The defense will paint
the husband as a bastard,

and the victim as a home
wrecker and a hussy.

That won't be too hard.

And the defendant
as one more victim of 9/11.

Maybe you ought to
plead this one out, Jack.

Collette Connolly didn't just run into
Donna McClean that morning at the ferry.

She stalked her,
she killed her,

and then she tried to make it
look like an accident.

That's murder,
not manslaughter.

And if we give in to this,

what kind of precedent
does it set?

None. This case
is sui generis.

I don't agree.
It's a license for anyone

who was in the city
that day to act out.

I was elected
to this office

because people wanted to
feel safer after 9111.

It'd be ironic if that
event became an excuse

for criminal behavior
on my watch.

Don't forget, Collette Connolly
murdered the mother of two young girls

who had already
lost their father.

You don't think that there's some
room for leniency here, Jack?

Absolutely. From the
judge, at sentencing.

McCLEAN: Collette just couldn't
take care of the kids anymore.

She was depressed. Anxious.

I told her I thought they'd
be better off with us

until she got on her feet.

We weren't trying to take
her children from her.

What was the
defendant's reaction

when you said you wanted
custody of the boys?

She went into a rage.

Started cursing at me,
throwing things.

Said the kids
already had a mother.

Said she'd fight us
tooth and nail.

Said she'd never
let us have them.

You say your ex-wife wasn't
supervising the children properly?

McCLEAN: She wasn't
at home a lot.

She was at work,
wasn't she?

Yes.

Did she work out of the
house before the divorce?

No.

She was a stay
at home mom.

That's correct.

Your wife Donna,
your new wife,

received a substantial settlement
from 9111, didn't she,

for the death of
her first husband?

Yes.

Did you and Donna share
this windfall with your ex,

the mother of your children?

That's why we wanted them
to come live with us,

we could provide...

You and Donna intentionally
kept her millions in her name

to avoid having to pay additional
alimony to your ex-wife.

Objection!
Judge,

this is all part and
parcel of the stress

that my client was under
after the events of 9/11.

Overruled.

That was Donna's decision.

It was her money.

So the fact that Collette
had to go to work,

because you and
your new wife

wouldn't provide enough money
to support your children,

is the reason you wanted to
take custody of your sons?

Isn't that blaming
the victim, Mr. McClean?

Objection!
GALIANO: Withdrawn.

Let me get this
straight, Mr. McClean.

You left your wife,
the mother of your children,

by your own testimony,
depressed

and emotionally traumatized
by the events of 9/11,

so that you could marry her
newly rich best friend,

your best friend's widow?

It wasn't like that!
Wasn't it?

Nothing further.

Redirect, Your Honor?

Where were you when
the first tower collapsed?

Objection. Relevance.

The defendant is using 9111
as an excuse for her actions.

The question goes to the
legitimacy of the entire defense.

The witness may answer.

In the North Tower,

in a stairwell.

And where was your
best friend, Joe Mahar?

Next to me.

JACK: But you got out.

Yeah.

And Joe?

He didn't.

You ever feel any stress or
anxiety or guilt since that day?

Of course, every day.

Any sleepless nights?
Nightmares?

Frequently.

You retired after 9/11.

I couldn't work anymore.

My nerves were shot.

The stress ever get so bad
that you killed someone?

Objection.

Withdrawn.
No more questions.

GALIANO: What happened to your
marriage after September 11th?

I never saw Ed.

He spent all his
time with Donna.

Consoling her.

And then he left me.

She took my husband,
and made me a widow.

Tell me what happened
on the ferry that morning.

I saw her
standing at the rail,

and she looked so happy.

So content.

And I couldn't take it.

I just wanted
to talk to her.

(CRYING) Tell her to
leave my children alone.

GALIANO:
Did you speak to her?

I wanted to, but, uh...

I walked up behind her
and she didn't see me.

All I could think about

was all that I had
lost since the attacks.

Ed.

How my whole world
had fallen apart.

And now my kids. (SOBS)

Sol pushed her.

Hard.

I didn't even think about it.

It just happened.

It just happened?

COLLETTE: Yes.

Like you just happened to be
on the ferry that morning,

the same morning
Donna McClean was?

Yes.

And you didn't
even think about it,

pushing her over the side.

Is that your testimony?

Yes.

When you got off the ferry,

there were police and emergency
personnel there, correct?

COLLETTE: There was.

You didn't say anything
to any of them

about the woman you'd just
pushed in the water, did you?

No.

In fact, you were able
to hide your injury,

avoid the police, and leave
without anyone knowing

you were on that
boat, correct?

I was in a daze.

Were you still in a daze when the
police first questioned you,

two days after
killing Donna McClean?

I was scared,
so I lied.

And when the detectives
came to your house

and questioned you
a second time,

and you lied again about
how you broke your wrist?

Still scared,
still in a daze?

L---

Yes.

And when you were brought to
the precinct for questioning

and you denied once again
killing Donna McClean?

No. I...

I don't know.

You have health insurance
from your job?

Yes.

In the years since 9/11

that you've
allegedly suffered

from this Post-Traumatic
Stress Syndrome,

there's not one visit
in your insurance records

to a therapist of any kind.

In fact,
as far as I can tell,

the first time you mentioned
this problem to anyone

was when you raised it as a defense
for killing Donna McClean.

Objection.

JACK: That's all right.

She doesn't need to respond.

We all know the answer.

(SNIFFLING)

Jury's been out six hours.

Well, it's not
an easy case.

It's a run-of-the-mill murder
with a headline defense.

I don't think so. Donna
McClean, Collette Connolly...

They're both collateral damage
from what happened that day.

YOLIT CFOSS was SO...

So what, Serena?

BAILIFF: Counselor,
we got a verdict.

If you can't stand
to hear this,

you can go back
to the office.

On the first count
of the indictment,

murder in the
second degree,

how do you find the
defendant, Collette Connolly?

We find the
defendant guilty.

(CROWD MURMURING)

(SOBBING) No!

(SOFTLY) It's okay.

COLLETTE: No!