Original subtitles

Mrs. Vasilich, we have a warrant for your arrest,

and we have a search warrant.

This is where Blakely´s car was found.

They probably carried the body down this way.

Andy, I really was impressed.

On the balance of probabilities, I´d say you could be right.

All the defense has to do is create reasonable doubt

and we´re shot.

You won´t be needing these, I guess.

We need a body, Jack. That´s what we need.

You really want to go behind the DPP´s back,

bypass them altogether, and run your own trial?

Yes. Would you be interested in running it for us?

Tony, I´m going to sign this ex officio indictment

in 24 hours unless the DPP agree to prosecute Dianne Vasilich

and her son for murder.

We have to go for it.

Tony, we´re not ready.

We have to win it,

and the person most likely to win it is...

Your evidence will ensure a conviction.

Owen´s a little different from Janet,

but he´s a fine advocate.

You´re in good hands. I promise.

Two weeks ago, you paid off your mortgage with $100,000 in cash.

Want to tell me where that came from?

Who do you really want to upset?

If it´s us, I´ll have you declared a hostile witness

and question all your finances.

If it´s them, we´ll look into immediate relocation

for you and your son.

As we approached the court building,

I saw Zebina standing there, waiting.

Owen, he saw Geoff Hadley, so he stepped away.

And...well, I went over to Zebina by myself.

We started chatting.

We started to move away towards the court.

That´s when I heard the motorbike.

Take your time.

Zebina looked up too.

Then I saw the man on the back of the bike pull out a gun.

There was a bang, and I felt something hit me,

knock me down.

But it wasn´t a bullet.

It was Zebina.

She was on me, on top of me.

Heavy.

Not moving.

Erin.

You all right?

You didn´t have to stay.

I wasn´t gonna walk away and leave you here.

I´m fine.

Really?

Well, I´m not fine,

and I was standing 50 meters away from the whole thing.

How´d you go in there? Was that okay?

Mm-hmm.

Well, listen. Did you get a good look at the riders?

Owen, please.

Not now.

Thank God you´re here.

Okay. So I brought you two different outfits.

I hope they´re okay.

Yeah. They´ll be fine. Thank you.

-Hey. Terry. -Bloody hell.

This was the girl you were calling me about, wasn´t it?

-Yeah. -What a fucking mess.

Is it on camera? Can you ID them?

Mate, all we´ve got at the moment is a victim

pronounced dead at the scene.

Cause of death -- severe trauma to the head

from a high-powered firearm.

-We are currently -- -Come on.

Terry, don´t press-release me.

Those murdering shitheads left a little kid without a mother.

And you without a witness.

Is it on camera?

I just want to know we´ll be able to get them.

Well, because of all the security at the court complex,

this is probably the most filmed drive-by in history.

We´ve got the gun, bike, make, model, rego.

Have a look.

Unfortunately, they were wearing full-face helmets,

so we can´t ID them.

You all right?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Check this out. The shooter´s hand.

-The tattoo? -Mm.

It´s hard to tell from the photo,

but your young solicitor friend has got a sharp set of eyes

and drew this.

-Did you run it? -Yeah.

Got a match -- one Edward Collard.

A few minor convictions -- assault, auto theft.

Interestingly, he´s a nom

in the same bikie gang as your defendant.

Nice one.

Assassinations now? I might as well move to Mexico.

The food´s better, the booze is cheaper,

and the women are Mexican.

Which is no small selling point, let me tell you.

Yeah. I can see the attraction.

Oh, I´ve had the attorney general on the phone

for the best part of an hour.

Not happy?

The word "berserk" comes to mind.

But my chances of calming her would be significantly improved

if there was still a prospect of running the Simpson case.

Well, it´s been adjourned till next Friday,

which is just a formality.

Without our key witness, it´s a certain nolle.

Perhaps I committed sins in a previous life

for which I am now atoning.

Tony. The shooting.

They´re gonna make an arrest very soon.

A guy in the same bikie gang as Simpson.

Are you lobbying for the brief already?

No. I´m saying I feel responsible.

I think of that woman´s son. I-I look at Erin outside.

Have you seen her?

Not yet. Poor kid.

Yeah. She´s a fucking mess.

And everybody else around here is pretty shaken up too.

I know.

What you need is someone who´s gonna take these pricks on,

who´s gonna walk over there

despite everything that´s just happened,

walk straight into court, and tear them to pieces.

Maybe there´s a dozen other crowns who´d do that.

I´m just saying I´m fine with it.

I hear you´ve applied for silk.

It´s no secret.

And winning a sensational case with a high media profile

-wouldn´t hurt that cause. -Maybe.

I hadn´t thought of that.

Ah.

Yes, I´d love a chance to finish what I started.

But I also think this could work for both of us.

I had to give my clothes to forensics,

so Lina brought in some clean gear for me,

and...I don´t think the skirt works with the shirt.

No, it doesn´t.

What was she thinking?

You know, if you feel you want to talk to someone --

a professional -- we can arrange that.

I´ve spent the whole afternoon talking.

I don´t want to think about it anymore.

Oh. You can get that.

It´s just Ash. I´ll call her back.

When I was giving my statement, I was on autopilot.

I just answered the questions, did what I was told.

I didn´t even think about what I was saying.

Doing what we do, it´s easy to forget how hard it is

for witnesses having to relive it all.

As long as you feel you did your best.

The last person who did her best was gunned down in front of me.

Janet, call me, please.

What happened?

Is he okay?

It´s okay. He´s fine.

-Where is he? -The swing clipped his head.

There´s no sign of concussion, but it left a nasty gash.

It´s deep, so they´ve put him under a light general.

General anaesthetic.

The plastic surgeon said it´s the only way to keep a toddler

still enough for stitches.

I´m s-- I´m so sorry I missed your calls.

I was...

I was talking to Erin, and I --

-How is she? -Not good.

It´s been all over the telly.

They didn´t identify her, did they?

I wouldn´t really know.

I´ve had other things to think about.

-Sorry. -Don´t be.

It´s my fault.

I was reading an e-mail on my phone --

No, you can´t watch them every second.

I knew -- I knew I wasn´t paying proper attention.

I´ve been off with the fairies all day.

St. Bart´s called.

Sounding me out about a position --

the head of the senior school.

What? Why didn´t you tell me this?

I knew I wasn´t gonna take it,

so I didn´t see any point in mentioning it.

But they wrote again this morning

saying they really wanted me and could I reconsider.

That was the e-mail.

I must have read that bloody thing about 10 times,

this pathetic little lifeline to the real world.

I was reading it again when Liam ran in front of the swing.

Come here. It´s not your fault.

I´m sorry.

Shh.

Got ´em.

Edward Collard, he of the spider tattoo, and...

-Toby Franzen. -...Toby Franzen.

We´ve been after that piece of shit for years.

Sergeant at arms now?

Yeah.

And the very one who sponsored our mate Collard

as a nominee in the bike club.

Well, unless Franzen´s gone soft in his old age,

I don´t imagine you got much out of him.

Hasn´t said a word.

But luckily for us, Collard has.

You seen that tattoo anywhere before?

Well, I seen it every day, eh?

Where would that be?

Well, it´s not on me bum.

One of our witnesses saw that tattoo

on the back of the shooter´s hand.

Well, uh, which witness is that?

And we´ve recovered the gun you dumped

about four blocks away from the court.

-Not me. -Got your prints on it, Edward.

I´d like you to take a look at this photo

from the CCTV footage from outside the court.

We´ve got your bike.

We can identify you as the shooter.

We´ve got the murder weapon with your prints on it.

Son, I don´t know if you know how much trouble you´re in.

I mean, this is one of the worst killings in the state´s history.

The way I see it, you´re gonna be doing life without parole.

Goulburn Supermax with Ivan Milat till the day you die.

Unless, of course, you start to help us out.

Who´s that?

Could -- Could be Toby.

Toby Franzen, is it? The rider?

Yeah. Well...yeah.

I mean, it looks like him, doesn´t it?

Is that you?

Is it?

I mean -- You did, didn´t you?

You know, pulled the trigger.

I was just, you know -- You know, that --

It wasn´t my idea.

Toby just said that we had to stop her.

I was gonna get me tats branded off

if I didn´t, you know, do what...

-Nice work, mate.

Nothing beats a good confession.

Andy, yes, I agree.

We have a compelling theory that explains Dianne´s movements.

-It explains everything. -Well, it´s a good hypothesis.

But we still have three main problems.

We have no forensic evidence

directly linking Dianne Vasilich to Blakely´s death,

we´ve got a weak motive, and no body.

How do you think she killed him?

-A gun? -Unlikely.

We checked all her friends and family,

and there´s no one with criminal connections

and certainly no one that has access to firearms.

She could´ve used a pen, according to Jack Rizzoli.

It´s a hard sell for the jury, though.

They´d probably go for a knife, iron bar over the head.

-What about her son, Brian? -What about him?

Well, we discussed whether you might reinterview,

put the new evidence to him.

The paint fragments you found in Blakely´s car.

-Use it to rattle his cage. -Rattle his cage?

You´ve been watching too many movies, Richard.

We´re presuming that Brian was dragged into this

against his will.

Went along with it to protect his mother.

That makes him a potential weak link.

We´ve already been putting pressure on him.

Unfortunately Brian has stuck to his story 100%.

Fine, but I have to sell a case concept to the jury,

and right now, I don´t have enough.

I walked you through every detail.

Except how she killed him.

A middle-aged woman with no history of violence

against a big, tough copper.

And no forensic evidence to work with.

Nothing.

What am I meant to say?

Uh, good news.

Barry Seers has changed his plea to guilty.

Barry Seers?

Defendant in the Port Macquarie cocaine importation.

His case was listed before Blakely´s,

but with Seers pleading,

you´ve just become the next cab off the rank.

So, uh, put your seat belts on.

I didn´t even want this. Now you´re cutting my prep time?

Hey, you´re shooting the messenger.

Well, you certainly seem pleased about it.

Well, I gave it a positive spin.

Part of my job description -- rallying the troops.

-You don´t look rallied. -We can´t win this, Tony.

-Yes, you can. -And what do you base that on?

On the fact I have confidence in you.

No. Strike that.

I have faith.

A deep, abiding faith in you.

You´re so full of shit.

Look, this business has been all over the news,

generating a huge amount of sympathy

for Blakely and his kids.

Getting it on sooner, you can use that sympathy.

Work the jury.

And if this groundswell of public support

doesn´t get me over the line?

Losing is not an option, Janet.

I have a brief for you.

Oh, Tracey, I´m snowed under with stuff at the --

We´re all snowed under.

Wait. This isn´t --

The Zebina Petrakis murder. Yes.

Owen will run it, but I just thought he might need some help

managing his key witness.

And I also thought Erin might appreciate it too.

Mm. That´s...very compassionate.

Well, it just seemed appropriate, I suppose.

I know it isn´t a sex crime,

but I take it you´ll find some room in your schedule.

Well... Yeah. Of course.

Hey. How you going?

Okay.

Uh, how are you feeling today?

Yeah. All right.

Tracey just told me you´re doing Petrakis.

Well, y-yeah. We -- We thought it would be helpful.

I know. It -- It is. It helps.

Just wanted to say --

Whenever you´ve got any questions, just ask.

Like, don´t think you´ve got to wait for a good time

or anything.

But don´t stop what you´re doing, either.

When it suits. Really.

What are you doing, anyway?

How old does she look to you?

Oh, God.

Young.

I don´t know.

Neither do I.

So, are you leaving soon, or...

Well, I´ve only got 34,000 more images to examine, so...

Sure. Okay.

I just thought it might be nice to have some company

heading home.

Well, you know what? It´s date night.

Mm.

So I ought to head home.

Date night.

I assume that´s a euphemism.

Correct.

So this is procreation, not recreation.

Mm-hmm.

Not that I feel like it after all that.

I can imagine.

Hi.

Hello.

From your message, I figured it must be important,

so I thought I might include Jack.

So, what´s the emergency?

I know how much you´ve put into the Blakely investigation,

and we´ve been working closely together on it.

So I wanted to talk things through with you

before I went to Tony.

No happy news, then?

As you know, there are weaknesses

-in the case against Vasilich. -As you know, we need a win.

Sure. But there are wins and wins.

What you really need is a clean result as quickly as possible.

That´s right, isn´t it?

In fact, isn´t that better for all of us?

Go on.

My suggestion is we offer Dianne a reduction.

-To what? -Manslaughter.

But she has to plead guilty.

Without a body, we don´t know what happened to Steven Blakely.

So perhaps it was an accident.

In fact, that makes more sense.

They argued.

Blakely turned his back. Dianne pushed him. He tripped --

Or she might have walked in and shot him.

Might have -- exactly, which is hardly beyond reasonable doubt.

But if the charge is manslaughter,

the evidence is overwhelming,

and pleading will probably be attractive to her.

Because we´d be letting her off the hook.

We´d be getting a conviction and sending her to jail.

Oh, and she´d be out in what, three, four years?

Or we stay with murder and she gets acquitted,

which is looking increasingly likely.

You have been against prosecuting this

from the start, haven´t you?

Do you have something against Blakely or just cops in general?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy. Easy.

Why don´t you take a deep breath?

All right. I´ll take mine outside.

See you tomorrow, Jack.

If you want to make sure we get the right outcome,

this is the way.

And how about Blakely´s children?

How are they gonna feel about this?

Better than if Dianne walks.

I´ll talk to Andy.

You do what you have to do.

Putting the antiseptic cream on his sore head was awful,

but otherwise it´s actually been a pretty good day.

Poor little thing slept so soundly.

Exhausted, I suppose.

I feel guilty that I´m enjoying it.

It´s hard not to love a sleeping baby.

You know, I was thinking.

It, uh, might be worth getting you some help.

What do you mean?

I don´t know. Maybe a-a nanny.

I thought we agreed that I was gonna take the kids this year.

You´d still have the kids.

It´d just take some of the pressure off.

Should I be offended?

Like Ash isn´t coping. She needs help.

It´s not about coping or not coping.

I´m just suggesting we try it out.

Well, you never got a nanny. I can´t see why I should.

Can you please check the pockets

before you put things in the wash?

-Heard that. -W-What?

Guess I´m a crappy housekeeper as well as a crappy mum.

No, none of us are perfect. I do things that annoy --

It´s fine.

And you´re right.

Maybe I do need some help around here.

I´ll put the dinner on.

Did forensics find anything in the coat?

They had a look inside the pockets, and they found blood.

-Dry-cleaning hadn´t got it. -Blakely´s blood?

They´re rushing the DNA through now,

but I would bet my right arm on it.

-How´d you think of that? -It was all Ash, not me.

Let me know as soon as you get the DNA back.

If it´s positive, forget the manslaughter deal.

Janet, about last night.

Heat of the moment. Don´t worry about it.

As you know,

we can show that you were outside Steve Blakely´s house

wearing this jacket.

Forensics has now found blood

in the right-hand pocket of that jacket,

and DNA tests prove that it´s Mr. Blakely´s.

In light of these facts, Mrs. Vasilich,

I ask whether you´d like to make a statement

regarding Steven Blakely´s death.

I went to his house when I heard that he was going to jail.

I thought,

"This is my last chance to confront him about my daughter."

And was Mr. Blakely at home when you arrived?

I knocked on the door.

I could see that the lights were on.

But no one answered.

So what´d you do?

I was angry.

And, um...

...I started shouting at him through the door.

I called him a coward.

Was there an answer?

No.

That made me angrier.

The fact that he was ignoring me.

So I went ´round the back.

I knocked on the back door.

And when I hit it, it... it swung open.

And then?

I went inside.

It was quiet.

And I saw him...on the floor.

Steven Blakely?

Was he breathing?

I don´t know.

I bent down to have a look.

I put my hand in blood.

There was a pool of it on the floor.

And then?

Then I walked out.

You walked out even though Steven Blakely

appeared to be seriously injured?

I was scared.

I rang my son.

I asked him for help.

Mrs. Vasilich, did you in any way contribute

to the injuries Mr. Blakely suffered?

No, I did not.

I swear.

I even called an ambulance later, after we left.

Hang on. You -- You called an ambulance?

Triple zero.

I know -- I should have called them sooner.

But somehow...

I just knew you were gonna blame me for this.

No. I don´t know. I don´t.

But you need to go there now.

He´s injured, bleeding.

Is there anyone with him?

No. Look.

I mean, he´s at 58 Spencer Street.

Just go there, please.

-Hello?

It´s her voice, all right.

The call came from a public phone

at the hospital where her son works.

Why didn´t we hear about this sooner?

Ambo said they went to the address,

knocked on the door, had a look around, no answer, so they left.

Presumed it was a prank call.

Okay. How do we deal with this?

Well, it could go to intention.

The defense will say that a call to triple zero

indicates she lacked the intention to kill.

The question is what her intention was

at the time she harmed Blakely.

She may have suffered remorse later.

-That´s not relevant. -But we´re saying

that they´d already taken the body away in Blakely´s car,

so why send an ambulance to an empty house?

People in extreme situations do strange things.

Okay, but you´re gonna need to make sense of it for the jury.

If we can, fine. That´s not fatal.

We can prove she was there,

her story about what happens implausible,

and we´ve got the blood.

Should be enough.

Just give me a couple of minutes.

I´ll meet you inside.

-Hi. -Hi.

I hope Andy or Jack have been keeping you up to speed

with how we´re going.

Yeah, they have. Thanks.

I can understand your anger.

In your father´s matter,

I was arguing strongly for a jail sentence.

Yeah, you were.

Eight to ten years, right?

I just want to assure you I´ll be arguing just as hard

to see his killers convicted in this trial.

-You´d better. -I will.

I´m there for him -- and for you.

Jack reckons you can´t lose.

Well, it´s a jury trial, so anything´s possible.

But something´s got to go our way, doesn´t it?

I hope so, Drew.

It´s a strong case.

But more than that, we just can´t say.

We´ve all heard the expression "Anything is possible."

And, of course, in one sense, you know, that´s true.

My...My 4-year-old niece

says that there are invisible fairies in her garden,

and I can´t really prove that she´s wrong.

Well, not a hundred percent.

But in real life,

we don´t trouble ourselves with mere possibilities.

We know that some things are so unlikely,

we can safely dismiss them.

Well, the law takes exactly the same attitude.

In the course of this trial, the defense will offer you

an account of what happened to Steven Blakely.

It´s a story in which Dianne Vasilich

just happened to go to Mr. Blakely´s house

on the night he died,

just happened to find the door open,

just happened to find Mr. Blakely on the floor,

unconscious,

just happened to put her hand in his blood,

and then just happened to flee the scene.

The defense will point out that all of this is possible.

And of course it is. It´s possible.

But it´s not the kind of possibility

we normally waste our time with.

And neither does the law.

By comparison, the Crown will offer you

a credible, persuasive account of what happened --

the only account that makes sense of all the facts

without requiring you to believe in fairy tales.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

Ms. Warden.

The Crown has claimed that their version of events

is the only one that makes sense of all the facts.

Yet there are many facts that do not fit their account,

facts that they will ignore or downplay.

But still, they are facts.

That they are yet to produce a body.

That Dianne Vasilich made a triple-zero call

the night Steven Blakely disappeared,

sending an ambulance to his home.

Would a killer really do that?

And why?

That Dianne Vasilich overcame and murdered

a man of Steven Blakely´s size and power.

That´s probably troubled you already,

struck you as unlikely.

And so it should.

But the most troubling part of the Crown´s case

is that Dianne Vasilich is a woman

with absolutely no history of criminality or violence,

whose only argument with her supposed victim

was that he may not have investigated

her daughter´s murder with sufficient energy.

That is a reason to be frustrated,

perhaps to make a complaint,

maybe -- maybe even to write to a newspaper.

But to kill?

Is that really plausible?

Yet this is what the Crown case relies upon.

The only credible account of the night´s events.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Well, so far, everything we expected.

So, you´re on the way to the committal?

Yeah.

How do I look?

Fabulous.

-Credible? -Very.

Fabulously credible.

No, truly, you´ll be terrific.

So how´s Owen? Not too pushy?

-No. He´s fine. -On top of his brief?

He´s talked you through your evidence?

-Yeah. -You´ll be fine.

We´re about to walk over. Are you...

Ready? Yes.

All set. Let´s go.

Hey, listen.

Um, your identity is still unknown to the offenders,

so there´s no need to be intimidated.

-I´m not. -Good.

But, uh, they do know that I´m prosecuting,

so it might be easier for you if we´re not all together.

Uh-huh. Sure.

Okay.

Wanker.

How´s it going, ladies?

Hmm?

You want a moment?

I-I can´t.

Yes, you can.

No.

Come on. We can do it together.

Erin. Erin. Erin. Erin.

Erin, it´s gonna be okay. It´s gonna be all right.

-You go. -Are you kidding?

-I-I´ll get you home. -No. You have to.

-Erin -- -I´ll get a cab. Don´t worry.

Go.

Your Honor, as you know, one of the Crown´s key witnesses

has, sadly, taken ill very suddenly.

However, we believe that Mr. Collard´s confession

along with his detailed statement against Mr. Franzen

are more than enough

to establish a prima facie case against both men

in respect of the crime with which they are charged.

In that case, the witness is yours, Mr. Hadley.

Mr. Collard, in the course of giving your statement,

you were shown a photograph of two men

alleged to be the murderers of Ms. Petrakis.

You were then asked to identify whether one of those men

is Mr. Franzen.

You answered, "Yeah. Well, yeah.

Looks like him, doesn´t it?"

Yeah.

That statement -- "looks like him."

What did you base that on?

The man´s face is covered in the photo.

His leather is plain black.

Well, mate, they had us, you know?

I mean, we´re fucked anyway, so we might as well get on with it.

Drop me in it, you mouthy little prick, I´ll fucking kill you!

Restrain this man.

You´re a gutless piece of shit, Collard!

-You piece of shit, Collard! -I´ll kill you!

You´re fucking dead! You´re fucking dead!

Remove the prisoner from the courtroom

and return him to his cell.

Clear the court.

-I´m adjourning this matter.

Yes. Anyone.

Any potential nanny must have a police check

before we interview.

I think it´s gonna be a late one tonight.

Sorry, doll.

Thanks. Bye.

I just got a revised list of defense witnesses

-for the Vasilich matter. -And?

They´re calling Dianne tomorrow.

Pull out her statement and the police background file on her.

I need all we´ve got.

I know it was wrong and stupid leaving him there injured.

So why did you do it?

After my daughter was murdered,

my experience with the police wasn´t good.

They talked down to me.

Arrogant.

Soon I didn´t trust them anymore.

The prosecution allege

that this was your motive for killing Steven Blakely --

the resentment you felt towards him and the police in general

after the death of your daughter.

Did you feel such resentment?

I don´t hate the police.

I didn´t hate Steven Blakely.

I just wanted justice for my daughter.

That´s all I´ve ever wanted all these years.

Same as any mother.

So Mr. Blakely´s death -- if he is dead --

How do you feel about that?

-Terrible. -Why?

Because I want to find my daughter´s killer.

How would hurting Steven Blakely help me?

Thank you, Mrs. Vasilich.

No more questions.

Madam Crown.

Mrs. Vasilich, your daughter was, by all accounts,

exceptionally beautiful and vivacious.

-Yes? -Yes.

The world was her oyster, you might say.

For a while.

So why did she turn to prostitution?

I don´t know.

Did it coincide with a bitter separation

between you and your husband?

Objection, Your Honor. Is this relevant?

Your Honor, my learned colleague

cannot call the accused to the box

and then object to me asking questions

relating to motive and character.

She made it an issue.

Overruled. But keep it relevant, please.

Is it true your daughter felt utterly betrayed

when her father left?

It hurt us all.

But her closest bond was with her father, wasn´t it?

-And he had just abandoned her. -And me.

You didn´t know what happened to Oriana after that, did you?

There was a complete estrangement for two years,

and then suddenly she was dead.

I put it to you that you had to find who killed her

because otherwise, you could only blame yourself.

-I just wanted justice for my -- -No.

You desperately needed someone to get you off the hook.

That´s why it became obsessive, wasn´t it?

Because it wasn´t just a frustration

with a lack of justice.

-I just wanted -- -It was a mother´s guilt.

I just wanted justice.

When she was hurting most, you weren´t there for her.

-That´s a lie. -Is it?

I wasn´t obsessive, and I didn´t hate anyone.

I just wanted justice for Oriana!

No more questions, Your Honor.

Lina, you got those two bikies past the committal?

Yeah -- Heading for trial

and hopefully inside for a very, very long time.

Good.

How´s Erin?

She´s not answering.

I sent her a text, and she came back that she´s fine,

got a migraine, back in the office ASAP.

Well, maybe she´s just got a migraine.

Janet, I --

If that´s her story, it´s my story too.

Okay. What?

I wanted to warn you that Maya Blakely is, um...

Right behind me. Thank you.

I was explaining to Maya about how unusual

-that sort of day in court is. -Yes.

-Could I just have a minute? -Okay. Bye.

Um...

I spent a long time hating you.

I know.

But I really loved you in there just then.

I wish you could have gone on for another hour or two.

Sadly, I think I might have gone on too long.

When the judge sums it up for the jury,

she´ll probably tell him to ignore anything

that isn´t supported by evidence.

But weren´t you watching the jury?

They could see that you got it right.

I could too. I know. I know you did.

That was the plan.

Just to leave them with a feeling they can´t quite ignore,

even if they´re told to.

Are you telling me it´s seriously still in doubt?

It´s always in doubt, Maya, until the jury comes back.

Well, we´ll just...

We´ll just see then, hey?

-I appreciate your honesty. -Thank you.

It´s all right.

Janet, you got five?

About what? Erin?

No.

Something a bit unusual, actually.

One of my accused wants to confess,

but he won´t talk to me.

He insists on telling you.

One of the bikies?

Yes. Toby Franzen.

Why does he want to talk to me?

Well, he won´t say.

And usually we´d just tell him to fuck off.

But if he´s gonna confess to the murder charge,

I´m not gonna argue with him.

Maybe he thinks you´re a softer target

-when it comes to making a deal. -Bullshit.

Look, if it is bullshit, just walk away.

So, how´s your thing going?

That, uh, bitch you´ve got for the Blakely murder.

I´m sorry.

Did you want to see me about the Petrakis murder

or the Blakely murder?

Blakely?

Dianne Vasilich.

I got a real good story about her.

Do you know Mrs. Vasilich?

Fuck, yeah.

Met her in our chapter pub up in Parramatta --

about 10 years ago now.

She comes in all worked up, looking for some muscle.

-Looking to hire some muscle? -Yeah.

Bartender thought she was fucking nuts.

But still, he pointed me out

and told her to go see the mad bastard in the corner.

She comes over.

She´s all stressed, red-faced and shit.

Said she needed some help.

Said she´d been trying to get this bloke to tell her for ages

who had knocked off her daughter.

Anyway, she was sick of his shit.

I said, "Fair enough. Who is he?"

And she says, "It´s Steve Blakely."

Turns out her daughter was Oriana.

Bit of a famous case in the day, yeah?

Did you know Oriana?

Yeah.

Yeah. We all did.

Yeah. We liked her too. Yeah.

She was a real good chick, Oriana.

What´d you say to Mrs. Vasilich?

Said he probably wouldn´t talk, not unless we really belted him.

She said belt him. She didn´t care.

And I said we might have to, uh --

Said we might have to finish the job after that

and for that, she´d be looking at 20 grand

but I´d need 10 of it up front.

She didn´t even blink.

So she paid you the cash?

Yeah.

Went off. Came back an hour later.

-Handed it over. -And?

-And what? -What did you do?

Nothing.

I wasn´t gonna go near Steve Blakely.

Top cop like him?

What do you think, I´m fucking crazy?

-So you just took the money?

What was she gonna do, go to the cops?

Easiest 10 grand I ever made.

It´s a pretty good story, yeah?

And you´ll give this evidence in court?

You get me immunity from prosecution

for this drive-by thing, yeah.

I´ll go to your court.

I´ll take an oath, and I´ll tell them everything I know.

-He´s bullshitting. -Dianne withdrew 10 grand

from her savings account

on the afternoon Franzen says he met with her.

And the bartender´s confirmed it.

Look, I understand where you´re coming from,

but I´m not gonna agree to --

Tony, I need to convince my jury that a grief-stricken mother has

a violent and obsessive streak, and now I can.

These men executed a key witness in a murder trial.

That has profound public-policy implications.

As does killing a senior police officer.

Sure, but let´s take a wider perspective here.

How are we gonna look if someone as notorious as Franzen

can just walk out a free man?

What are the headlines gonna say?

"Petrakis shooter convicted," hopefully.

-Oh? You reckon? -Mm.

When I play Collard´s confession in court,

everyone´s gonna know it was Franzen´s idea.

He´s the cold-blooded mastermind.

We´re gonna be accused of convicting the guy

who lit the Reichstag fire and letting Hitler walk away.

Hang on a second.

Collard isn´t that much of a patsy.

He did shoot Zebina Petrakis, and he will go to jail.

And if the woman who killed Steve Blakely does too,

that´s a double win.

I mean, if we´re taking a wider perspective,

isn´t that the best outcome?

Can you even call Franzen as a witness?

Haven´t you already presented your case?

I can make a special application to reopen.

-There are precedents. -If the judge says no?

Look, I thought you wanted Steve Blakely´s killer convicted.

Well, excuse me, but I thought you already had enough to do it.

This from a supposed friend of the family.

Okay. Stop there, both of you.

Don´t get personal.

Let me think on it.

And while I am, you two, play nice!

Is this running away?

No. It´s a ciggie break without a ciggie.

God, I wish I still smoked.

Can we just -- Let´s just chat

without the shouting and name-calling.

He´s the new boy, Janet. He feels isolated.

He´s an arrogant, patronizing show pony.

What was that about name-calling?

And before you say any more,

I should tell you I´m inclined to agree with him.

-What? -You´ve closed the case.

Chances of getting leave to reopen will probably depend on

whether Justice Cousins has had a good night´s sleep or not.

You have told me again and again I must win this case.

Don´t say that and then stop me from leading this evidence.

It´s critical.

Being the director of the DPP is a royal pain in the arse.

-You know that? -You love every minute of it.

Ha!

Hello, mate. Thanks for coming.

It´s an honor to be pressured

by a police officer of your standing.

You´re a sharp bastard, eh?

It doesn´t take Einstein.

Open rooftop, away from prying eyes and ears.

So, what am I gonna tell you?

Well, I imagine it´s along the lines

of Steven Blakely was a cop.

I was a cop.

We´ve always got to look after the boys in the job.

Bang on.

Well, partly. I would say that.

And, I mean, if I did say that, I´d mean it.

But then I´d be telling you something you already know,

wouldn´t I?

Oh, yeah? What is it I don´t know?

The thing you don´t know is that by agreeing to this immunity,

could be a smart move for you as well as Janet.

Okay.

I´m still listening.

What´s your big goal for the year, Owen?

I´m not talking about individual trials.

-I mean in a career sense. -Senior counsel.

Thought it might have been that. What is it with that?

-Some sort of prestige, wanky -- -Fuck, no. It´s the money.

SCs get paid twice as much as a normal barrister.

You know that every time a barrister applies

for the senior counsel position, well, the silk committee,

they appoint a colleague to keep an eye on him

and then report back as to, uh, his suitability.

They´ve got Janet King looking at me?

Bullshit.

Like I said, you´re a sharp one.

That´s got your attention, hasn´t it?

-Ah! Come in.

Hi.

-So...

...I assume you´ve decided.

Yes.

Uh, we´re giving Franzen his immunity

in exchange for the evidence you require in the Blakely matter.

-Appreciate it. -Pleasure.

Got out on the right side of the bed today, did we?

No. Actually, something you said just really stuck with me.

You called me a supposed friend of the family.

Couldn´t stop thinking about Drew and Maya after that

and everything they´ve been through

with Sally and then Steve.

And, you know, I, uh, called Jack,

and he´s been talking to them.

And they really feel

that you partly want to win this for them.

Which must give them a sense that somebody still cares.

And I couldn´t help feeling

that sometimes we have to put that sort of stuff first.

Anyway, just make sure you win it, yeah?

Um...

Good luck with Collard.

Thank you.

Thanks, Tony.

Ah.

-Did you... -Ah.

Nothing to do with me.

Still, it´s a result, right?

Your Honor, there´s an extremely urgent matter

which has just come to light for the prosecution case.

Isn´t your case closed, Madam Crown?

Which is why I´m seeking Your Honor´s leave to reopen it.

Without any notice at all! Your Honor --

Your Honor, of course I would have led it earlier

if it had come to hand earlier.

But how can we hope to answer it properly?

The accused has a right to know

the case she´s being asked to answer,

not simply have it dumped in our lap.

And doesn´t the prosecution have the right to lead

and the jury the right to hear the full story?

Your Honor, at this late hour...

At this late hour in the process,

I´m reluctant to throw away the entire trial.

If there is a pertinent issue

which will allow this matter to be decided now in this court,

then it should be heard.

So I will allow you to reopen your case, Madam Crown.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Bring the jury back in.

Let´s see how this goes over.

I, Tobias Henry Franzen...

I, Tobias Henry Franzen...

...swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth...

...swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

...so help me God.

...so help me God.

Mr. Franzen, I´d like to ask you about April 1, 2004,

in the Lions Gate Hotel.

Did you meet Dianne Vasilich there that day?

Yeah. Sure did.

Mum, sit down.

Mum.

Mum!

Someone call an ambulance.

Clear the court.

Call a medical officer.

Give her some room.

-Mum! -She´s fainted.

Well, if our list of witnesses is settled,

I think we might adjourn, gentlemen,

in the hope of starting the trial proper in the morning.

Uh, Your Honor, if I may,

the defense would like to ask for one last ruling.

Yes?

We submit that Mr. Collard´s supposed confession

be ruled inadmissible.

-What? -On close inspection,

Your Honor will see it was made under duress

and in the presence of clear police intimidation.

Your Honor, no objection has been raised

to the record of interview prior to this time.

Sadly, Mr. Collard was so intimidated,

he only felt safe bringing it to my attention yesterday.

You can´t rule out a confession.

Is this intimidation evident on the tape, Mr. Hadley?

-It is, Your Honor, and -- -Your Honor,

this record of interview is entirely unremarkable.

Mr. Crown, please.

We will play a key passage.

Thank you, Mr. Hadley.

Your Honor will note

that Detective Sergeant Renner looms over Mr. Collard

just prior to his making the relevant statements,

assuming a threatening posture.

You seen that tattoo anywhere before?

You can clearly see how nervous and scared my client is

in this situation.

He´s just been caught. Wouldn´t you be nervous?

And if we continue.

I´d like you to take a look at this photo

from the CCTV footage from outside the court.

So we´ve got your bike, identified you,

we´ve got your gun with your prints on it.

Son, do you have any idea how much trouble you´re in?

At this point, Mr. Collard says he knew

how the New South Wales police operate

and knew they were gonna frame him no matter what he said,

and he feared for his safety, indeed his life, if he didn´t --

Your Honor, please, some common sense!

It´s a perfectly normal interview.

Detective Sergeant Renner is a very imposing man, I see.

Your Honor, Detective Renner is merely standing up

to show the accused some photographs.

At law, intimidation can be subtle or implied,

as long as it acts to oppress the mind of the accused,

coercing him into making a confession.

A man´s posture --

Detective Renner´s posture

is that of a man leaning over a table.

Detective Renner has here acted very subtly,

but the threat in his posture

would have been as clear to my client

as it is to any reasonable viewer of the tape.

Your Honor, this submission should be dismissed immediately.

The accused confesses to his crime on tape.

It is the cornerstone of the Crown´s case.

If the Crown and the police have been professional and thorough

in building evidence for their case,

they shouldn´t need a confession.

Wankers!

It´s been struck out.

Collard´s confession -- inadmissible.

On what grounds?

Police intimidation.

The learned judge thought Terry Renner was rather imposing

and poor little Collard got a little bit scared.

There must have been something in it.

Sure. He stood up, leaned over, and put a photo in front of him.

This is bullshit.

Everything about this system is in their favor.

Well, that´s hardly breaking news.

More to the point, where are we? Can we move on?

Um, what about the bike? Wasn´t it his?

It got stolen a month ago, apparently.

Didn´t report it because it wasn´t insured.

And the weapon with the fingerprints.

Lost it days ago.

Ask anyone at the clubhouse.

He´s been looking all over the place.

Okay. I´m sensing it´s gonna be a little tough.

Luckily, we´ve still got the eyewitness ID.

The tattoo on Collard´s hand.

That is, of course, assuming Erin´s right to testify.

Thank you.

So it´s up to me, then?

Only if you want to.

Look, you know all the things we say

when we want to make sure we get a witness in the box.

But...you also know we don´t blame them for backing out,

especially when it´s genuinely dangerous.

Just, for God´s sake, don´t do it for me

or for Tony or anyone here.

We understand. We know what happened.

And frankly, we´re pretty amazed you´re even here.

So if you want to do it for you, then do it.

If you don´t, don´t.

It´s that simple.

Ms. O´Shaughnessy, in your statement,

you said the motorcycle was moving quickly

when the shot was fired.

Uh, yes. It was moving quickly.

And it came no closer to Ms. Petrakis than five meters?

About that.

So keeping in mind the extremely difficult conditions

that I´ve just described,

how likely is it that you might have been in error?

Ten percent chance? Twenty? Thirty?

Objection.

The chance is zero.

Really?

People miss details all the time.

I understand that.

But I know the tattoo was a spider

because I can still see the moment he fired

as clearly as when it happened.

It´s still in my head.

I wish I could get rid of it, but I can´t.

I doubt I ever will.

So the chance that I have it wrong is exactly zero.

So based on this indelible memory,

you were able to accurately identify the spider tattoo

on the shooter of Ms. Petrakis

as the same tattoo worn by Mr. Collard?

That´s right.

Mm.

How many tattoos did the police show you?

Just one.

I drew what I saw.

And they brought back a photo, and I said, "Yes, that´s it."

So to put it another way, Ms. O´Shaughnessy,

you never identified Mr. Collard as the shooter at all.

You merely identified a tattoo.

Well, the -- the tattoo on his hand.

But was it on his hand?

How many others might have the same tattoo?

There could he hundreds.

Why, even in this courtroom --

How many in this courtroom may have the same tattoo?

Check out me tat. Eh?

Sit down in the gallery!

Stick that up you, love.

-Sit down!

You´ll be objected from the court.

Your Honor, those are obviously fresh tattoos

done to deceive the court.

Silence, Mr. Crown, and be seated.

Withdrawn.

Members of the jury,

may I remind you all there is no other piece of evidence

that unequivocally places the accused anywhere near the crime.

And yet the police insist the man in the CCTV footage

is Mr. Collard.

Why?

Because of one tattoo, which could be anybody´s.

Did they look harder?

Did they ask the tough questions?

-Never. -Please. Your Honor, come on!

Please what, Mr. Crown?

Withdrawn.

The fact is...

...Mr. Collard has maintained his innocence

from the very beginning,

and they have simply gone for him...

...because it´s easy.

Guess you´ve heard.

Why do we even bother?

Because we care?

Huh.

-Janet? -Yeah.

The Blakely jury are back.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Have you reached a verdict?

Yes, Your Honor.

On the count of murder,

how do you find the defendant, Dianne Vasilich?

Guilty.

On the count of acting as accessory

after the fact of murder,

how do you find the defendant, Brian Patrick Vincent?

Guilty.

The matter is stood over for sentence.

Date to be fixed.

All rise.

Thank you.

What was all that about maybe losing the case?

Yeah. We got lucky.

-If Franzen hadn´t -- -No.

I already told you -- deep, abiding faith.

This is not only a victory for the family of Steven Blakely.

It is a victory for justice, for the justice system,

proving that we can and will tackle the hard cases.

Steven Blakely was a brilliant investigator,

and it is sad but fitting that his legacy,

a team of the very finest investigators,

were able to use the skills he taught them

to solve the tragic mystery of his own final hours.

Chief Superintendent Rizzoli,

how do you respond to claims

police went with the first person they could

in the Petrakis shooting?

To be quite honest, I find that outrageous and offensive.

-But with such lack of evidence? -No. We had plenty of evidence.

The judge, in her wisdom, simply decided not to allow it.

Frankly, some people might think I´m talking out of turn.

I don´t care.

Things have gone too far in this state.

Time and again perpetrators walk free

because good police work isn´t allowed to be used.

Take the Blakely case, for example.

A different judge uses a little bit of common sense,

and lo and behold, the truth comes out.

There´s a lesson in that for all of us.

-Andy. -Sorry to call you so late.

What´s happened?

Well, I´m down near Gerringong. Do you know where that is?

South?

Way, way south.

In fact, the round trip´s about four hours, probably,

which is not good news.

Why?

Because a bushwalker just found Steven Blakely´s body out here.

So Dianne and Brian didn´t throw him off North Head.

In fact, given the time it takes to get here,

they weren´t even the ones who buried him.

Janet King´s gung-ho approach in this trial

has caused a serious miscarriage of justice.

-So who buried him? -I have no idea.

You find this third man or Dianne and her son will walk.

Blakely and Novak?

They argued for about five minutes.

Four hours later, Blakely is dead.

Don´t fuck up what you´ve got

by getting involved in things that don´t concern you.

Don´t interfere.

Tim Clarke, my child-porn man.

You need to think about getting this Clarke off the street.

-He´s a bad man. -Get away from her!

Get the fuck away from her!

I know what you do with young girls.

I was going to tell you.

Oh, you´re always so fucking perfect.

You´re so tied up with your work,

you don´t see what´s going on around you anymore.

The Vasilich family had nothing to do with that murder.

Blakely´s murder is just a small part of it.

Small part of what?