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.
That's a neat necklace. Your mom gave you that?
- Yeah. - Can I see?
It's an amulet from the mosuo people.
Where'd you get it?
She brought it back from tibet.
It's supposed to keep me safe, so I can't take it off.
That's so cool.
Text me if you figure out those fractions.
- Bye, nicholas. - Bye, becca.
nicholas.
Hey, watch where you are going.
- The light said to cross! - Is that what they teach you
in school? To back talk to adults?
Hey, it wasn't your fault, kid. Jerk almost ran me over a block back.
Hey, you don't move your asses,
I'm running everybody over.
- Shut up! - Shut up, both of you.
Ah! Help! Someone help!
Hey, call 911.
Just tell me what happened.
The boy ran in front of my cab,
It was not my fault.
- Then he was gone. - There was
a delivery van on the curb.
- Catch a plate? - No, but it was red and yellow
With flowers painted on the side.
It was blue and green with bunny rabbits.
And the kid, what'd he look like?
I'd say ten, brown hair, this tall.
This tall. Eight, black hair.
- What about the van driver? - No one saw him.
Of course, I saw him. It was a white man.
Guy was dark-skinned. Foreign.
They're idiots. Only his hands were visible,
- And they had gloves on. - She is the idiot.
I know what I saw.
- Three witnesses, ten different stories.
All we know for sure is there's a kid out there Who needs help.
And time's running out.
did you get footage of the crime scene?
Leading up to the kidnapping.
Atm camera got the kid coming down 89th.
Can't be more than eight.
Store across the street got a good shot
Of the cabbie almost running him over.
Did you get the van or not?
Courtesy of the security camera On the apartment building.
I'll be damned. Flowers and bunnies.
Can we see the kidnapper? Blow it up.
It's too dark inside the van.
Only a pair of gloved hands,
But we did get this.
"garry's goof-o-rama.
Kids' parties are my specialty".
Go show him ours.
Freeze. Nypd.
- My balloons are getting away! - Well, you're not.
- Where's the boy? - What boy?
The one you snatched an hour ago.
I've been here all day,
Taking orders and doing inventory.
- Who does your deliveries? - It's all just me.
- Gary. - Where's your van?
It's over there. It hasn't run in six months.
I blew the heads, so I've been using my wife's car.
Perp is smart. He copied the van.
Yeah, so we'd collar this clown.
Ah, that was a bonzo birthday bouquet.
I'm sending nypd a bill.
- Knock yourself out. - Fin just found the real van.
- Is the boy inside? - I hope not.
Let me guess. No one saw who lit it up.
Or anyone running away from it.
Perp's a pro.
Diverts our attention By faking bozo's ride.
He torches the vehicle to get rid of the evidence.
I hate to say it, but I hope he took the boy with him.
Detectives, I got something.
- Tell me it's not remains. - Human, no.
Homework, maybe.
That's the boy's backpack.
Or what's left of it.
It's his schoolbook.
Property of whitethorn academy.
WHITETHORNE ACADEMY OFFICE OF PRINCIPAL CAROL HUSTON TUESDAY, MAY 18
Of course I know him.
That's nicholas olsen.
I tell him to not run in the hall ten times a day.
He's a third-grader here.
We're gonna need his parents' contact information.
He lives with his father, paul.
- What's going on? - We think nicholas
was abducted On his way home from school today
About a block from where the bus dropped him off.
Oh, my god, she really did it.
- She? - Nicholas's mother,
sophie gerard.
She's french and a bit unbalanced.
Even before paul was awarded sole custody of nicholas.
Mom losing her kid? That's unusual.
Paul got a restraining order
when she said She wouldn't honor the court's decision.
Sophie claimed she's nicholas's true parent.
The father's not answering the phone.
The secretary says he's showing a house Out in montauk.
This looks like a domestic snatch.
At first, sophie would barge onto the playground
When nicholas was at recess.
The school guard must have kicked her out a dozen times.
But the next day she'd be back?
When I went out to confront her,
She said I had no right to keep her away from her son
And pushed me aside.
- You call the police? - I threatened to.
She backed off.
Now she makes sure not to set foot on school property.
But the moment that bell rings...
Did sophie show up today?
There she is.
And here comes nicholas.
Can't blame a mother for wanting to hug her son.
He doesn't look too thrilled to see her.
Wish we could hear what she's saying to him.
"I have something for you, nicholas.
All the way from tibet".
"what is it, mom?"
"a way to keep you safe".
What is she saying now?
"just remember, whatever happens,
"don't be scared.
"je t'aime.
Je t'aime, nicholas".
You did good.
Got a deaf grandmom that'll be happy to know that.
Did you find my boy?
Is that bitch in jail yet?
You must be nicholas's father?
Who else would I be?
Sorry. Sorry. Yes. My name's paul olsen.
Unfortunately, mr. Olsen,
We have not located your son yet.
We're hoping that you can help us locate your ex-wife.
Not my wife. Never my wife.
Sophie didn't believe in marriage.
- Because she's french? - No.
Because she's nuts.
She's an anthropologist, has a fellowship at columbia,
She's obsessed with matriarchal cultures.
You think maybe that's why she considers herself
Nicholas's true parent?
You know, I am so sick of hearing that.
Never stopped her from leaving us.
One summer, it was a dig in india,
The next winter, it's some jungle in peru.
Is that what led to the split?
Two years ago, she discovered some godforsaken tribe in china,
And she wanted to drag nicholas along with her,
Right before school started. I said no.
She went crazy.
Crazy enough to kidnap him or hire someone else to do it?
I wouldn't put it past her.
She's very smart.
I loved that about her.
But I'll tell you something.
The minute she got on that plane to china,
I changed the locks on the door and filed for sole custody.
APARTMENT OF SOPHIE GERARD TUESDAY, MAY 18
Yes?
- Sophie gerard? - Yes.
Detective benson. This is detective stabler.
What is this about?
We should talk inside.
okay.
Did my neighbors call you? Sometimes I play my music too loud.
This is about your son, nicholas.
-What about nicholas? Is he okay? - You tell us.
You saw him earlier today In violation of a court order.
No, I didn't.
3:01 p.M. Outside of whitethorn academy.
Doesn't look too happy to see you.
Yes, because he is worried they'll catch me.
Who? The school? The cops? His dad?
Listen, nicholas's father has his head filled with lies About me.
That why you grabbed your son?
To steal him away from paul?
What are you saying? Where's nicholas?
Where's my son?
You taking him somewhere? Paris? Peru?
Don't you touch his things, please.
- Okay? - Let's talk downtown.
Where is my son?
Tell me what happened to my son!
Can you please tell me what's going on?
We'll ask the questions.
Like where is nicholas?
- I don't know. - Wrong answer.
What, I have rights. I'm his mother.
No, you're not.
A mother raises her child.
Makes him breakfast, takes care of him when he's sick,
Tucks him into bed at night.
Don't you dare judge me.
- You abandoned your child. - I came back.
You came back to steal him.
He's lying to you. Don't listen to him.
Where is he? Where is my boy?
- I don't have him. - Tell me right now
- Where he is! - That's enough. That's enough.
Get dr. Gerard out of here. Him too.
Let's go.
Go toss sophie's place.
Anything to help us find this kid.
- Where's nicholas? - I told you, I don't know.
Why aren't you out there trying to find him?
Just waiting for you to lead the way.
But I didn't take him. Someone else did.
Oh, god. Nicholas must be so scared.
Really? Now you care?
You're the one who has a habit of leaving him behind.
Who told you that? Paul?
He's the one who scares nicholas.
He tore him away from me.
After you went jetting out of the country.
I have to travel for my work.
I study tribal cultures that are dying out.
Right. The ones where mothers are in control.
Well, the few that remain exist in remote areas.
Nicholas understood why I had to go.
Children need consistency.
They need a routine. But, see, that's not sophie.
Sophie despises anything conventional.
She actually believes
nicholas would be better off With yak herders
than at whitethorn academy.
Now in my book, that's child abuse.
Did sophie ever physically abuse nicholas?
No.
But she became increasingly violent with me Towards the end.
About him going to china with her.
Yeah. I put my foot down.
She nearly cut it off with one of her axes.
The axe is from the karamojong people of uganda.
It's a ceremonial status object, not a weapon.
But you attacked paul with it.
I was trying to save it.
Paul was angry, he was starting to destroy my artifacts,
He shattered this irreplaceable...
That's not the way he tells it.
He's lying to you. He twists everything.
She's a pathological liar.
Please.
You have to find nicholas.
I know she has him.
Looks like father knows best.
Sophie's place was a gold mine.
EVIDENCE
Thanks.
Thank god. A woman.
You must understand I would never hurt nicholas.
I'm his mother.
Who'd do anything to get her son back.
A french passport For nicholas.
I wanted him to have his citizenship.
Well, sure, so you could use it To take him out of the country.
No.
We searched your computer.
You booked him a ticket to beijing
And another for yourself, both one way.
I just wanted my boy back. He should be with me.
In a village in china?
And nicholas would love it there.
Children are still allowed to have their childhood.
You're destroying nicholas's childhood.
You think it's fun for kids While mom and dad play tug-of-war?
- Tell us where he is. - I don't know.
You do know. You've got him.
You searched my house.
- You know I don't have nicholas. - Okay, so...
you stashed him somewhere. What, with a friend?
An accomplice?
No, I don't know where he is. Oh, my god.
You can can-can your ass off, dr. Gerard,
But you've got some explaining to do.
Like why you borrowed $50,000
From your parents two weeks ago.
What, that is no crime.
The day the money transferred,
you started calling A pre-paid cell phone.
A week later,
you withdrew $25,000 To pay whoever you hired
to steal your son.
Who'd you hire, sophie?
Who did you hire?
He said it wouldn't happen so soon.
He?
Who is he?
I met this man.
I was told he could get nicholas back,
But he said I would be there So nicholas wouldn't be afraid.
What's the man's name?
I...
He said never to tell. He's very dangerous.
If he's got nicholas,
I would worry about the danger your son is in.
who's got your son, sophie? Who's got your son?
Jason culross.
She has the right to be afraid.
Culross is a green beret,
Specializes in covert ops for the army.
Is he still on active duty?
He mustered out in '05.
Signed on with blackwater.
He spent four years in afghanistan
Handling kidnap and ransom cases.
He does k and r. He knows how to snatch a kid.
Maybe he got tired of handing over million-dollar ransoms,
Decided to go for a big payday for himself.
We got his location?
File address is a p.O. Box in brooklyn.
It's s.O.P. For a guy who spends all his time overseas.
Check property records. See if he owns anything.
Way ahead of you.
Culross owns a warehouse in red hook.
I'll notify e.S.U.
Hey, captain, maybe we should handle it.
I mean, if nicholas is there,
The last thing we need is a bunch of guns And stun grenades.
Culross is a mercenary. The army trained him.
Yeah, and the marines trained me.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19
Someone's in there.
Liv, it's a set-up.
- Liv! - Hold it!
You picked the wrong place to rob, douche bag.
Nypd. Drop it.
Put it down.
Back away.
I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a cop.
So's she.
Come on. Time to wake up.
Wakey-wakey.
You put all your visitors in a sleeper hold?
I never would have done it If I knew you were the good guys.
You want to let me go now?
No, 'cause you're under arrest.
Court'll throw it out.
I have a right to defend myself.
And nicholas olsen, does he have rights?
You've been stalking him, recording his every move.
His mother hired me to recover him.
Recover? Don't you mean kidnap?
No, I locate and retrieve children
Who are abducted by non-custodial parents.
Which nicholas is not.
He lives with his biological father,
Who's the sole legal guardian.
And once I found that out, I told sophie I couldn't help her.
She still thinks you've got nicholas.
'cause she's obsessed with her son.
You return the 25 large?
Oh, that's nonrefundable.
I put in a lot of legwork on this case Before
I found out that sophie was lying to me About the custody angle.
I guess she didn't read the fine print.
What I do is unorthodox, But it isn't illegal.
And it's necessary.
Who else is gonna bring these kids home?
Police can handle parental abductions.
Yeah? When a kid gets taken overseas,
You gonna go to jordan and get him out?
Right.
So parents hire me to defend their rights
And get their kids back. I'm doing what law enforcement can't.
Where were you last night?
brazil.
- I flew back this morning. - Stabler.
Don't believe me, check with the tsa.
My seatmate was an air marshal. He'll verify my story.
He better.
For what it's worth,
When I pulled out,
Sophie asked me if I knew anyone who could help her.
I told her I don't know any criminals.
She found one on her own.
Sophie's credit card was just used To rent a motel room on long island.
A man checked in with a little boy.
GOODNIGHT MOTEL WEDNESDAY, MAY 19
The target's in room 116.
That's his vehicle, so we figure he's still inside.
Well, it's pretty deserted. Easy for the perp to check in,
come back for the kid, And hustle him straight inside.
I got a guy covering the back.
- Any other guests? - Yeah, three rooms were occupied.
We evacuated 'em, Plus a maid who was servicing the rooms.
We're set to go.
Let's do it.
Police! Don't move.
How the hell'd he get out of here?
El, adjoining door.
nicholas?
Oh, my... Okay.
You're all right.
- Thank you. - Okay, tell me what happened.
- Tell me what happened. - The man next door,
he attacked me, And he took my clothes.
- And he took my car keys. - Okay,
- was there a little boy with him? - Yes. Yes.
He put him in my cart.
- The maid we told to get out of here...
Is our kidnapper.
That's him.
Son of a bitch didn't even change his shoes.
He was 30 yards away.
Looked like a gal coming out of the room,
So I waved her off, and she ran.
With our victim stuffed in that cart.
You have a camera on the parking lot?
Sure do.
The maid said that he stole the keys to her '96 buick.
I already issued a bolo and sent cars after it.
Don't worry. If they're still in the area,
we'll find 'em.
- Oh, that kid looks terrified. - At least he's still alive.
This is suffolk county 202.
I've got the car from the motel kidnapping,
And I'm in pursuit.
'96 buick, northbound on avenue a.
All units be advised, a child is in the car. Use extreme caution.
He's still heading north on a, passing lincoln drive.
Now he's passing elder.
- Guy's flying. - Any cars in the vicinity
Of a and weddington avenue,
Pull over and set up a roadblock.
Hold on. He took the feeder westbound along the sound.
Going way too fast. Damn it!
Oh, no.
Unit 202, Chase has ended.
I need harbor, aviation And an ambulan right away.
Anything on the kidnapper?
His name is keith bradman, 35, out of toledo.
His long sheet has breaking and entering,
Forgery, scams, you name it.
- I could shovel the dirt myself. - Amen.
I'll pull the prick's cell phone records.
Shouldn't be hard connecting him to sophie.
Liv, it's time to get her confession.
Right now?
Captain, she's been through a lot.
Nicholas was killed in the course of a kidnapping.
That's felony murder.
Sophie gerard was as culpable in his death As anyone else.
Sophie.
dr. Gerard.
We need your cooperation.
Sophie, we need you to tell us what you did.
No, I need to go home.
Nicholas will be out of school soon.
I always take him a little snack.
Nicholas is not at school.
I need to go home.
Nicholas will be out of school soon.
He loves the monkey bars.
She's become psychotic.
Catastrophic stressors can splinter An already fragile psyche,
Triggering a break with reality.
She's got a hell of a lot of guilt.
Is that what pushed her over the edge?
Possibly.
But whatever the reason,
Brief reactive psychosis Can lead to delusions,
hallucinations, Even catatonia.
- Well, how brief is brief? - Hard to say.
Give it a shot.
Days.
Perhaps months.
Well, what are we supposed to do?
Just sit here on her hands
While she gets her brains banged out in a booby hatch?
All right, what she's saying is we need
Sophie to confess her role in nicholas's death.
The woman heard the worst words a mother can hear.
But maybe it's the unreality of it,
Sitting here, talking only to cops,
That facilitated her retreat into fantasy.
Make it real for her.
Sophie.
Quoi?
Come on. We're leaving.
Que'st-ce que vous dites?
To see nicholas.
- I don't want to do this. - You have to, sophie.
- To understand what happened. - No.
- Yeah. - You need to see your son.
This is a dream.
That was supposed to keep you safe.
May I take it?
Thank you.
Je t'aime, nicholas.
Sophie.
Tell us what happened.
I have nothing to say.
How did you meet keith bradman?
Who?
Who is keith bradman?
The man that you hired to kidnap your son.
My son is dead.
Sophie.
Sophie, you can't stay here.
What?
Sophie?
- Get away from him. - Nelson, what is he doing here?
I was told to take him home. He asked to come here first.
I want you people to get her away from my boy.
- Now step back. - He's not your son.
- He belongs to me. - I have custody of him.
You're crazy. Get away from him.
Get away from him!
- Don't touch my boy! - Get away from him.
He's my son. You bastard.
Sophie. Sophie, put the gun down.
No, you put yours down, or she will die.
Everyone will die.
Do it!
Sophie,
Okay.
Okay?
Let's calm down.
Give it to me.
Now you get paul out. All of you out!
- Go. - Vite!
- I'm not going anywhere. - Out!
What is wrong with you?
Have you gone completely insane?
Melinda!
- Sophie, we need an ambulance. - No!
- Sophie, please. - No!
- She's gonna die. - Yes, just like my son!
I just got kidnapper's phone record.
And once I prove it's sophie's number on here,
It's her ticket to jail.
Elliot, shots were just fired in the morgue.
Sophie's barricaded herself inside.
I'll take care of that.
- What the hell have you done? - That was a mistake.
But this is not.
Sophie, this won't solve anything.
- Give me the gun. - No.
What are you gonna do?
Shoot me? Shoot detective benson?
Well, if I have to.
- Sorry. - No,
you're doing great.
Just keep up the pressure.
Jo, get her some... some sterile gauze. Over there.
Oh, my god.
- Here. - Thank you.
I'm sorry. She got my piece.
- Did you call e.S.U.? - They're all up
at the gw bridge for a jumper.
E.T.A. On a hostage negotiator's a half an hour.
Okay. We're not waiting.
Sophie, it's detective stabler!
Get away. Don't come in.
- I won't. I won't.
Let's just relax here.
Get me the blueprints to the building now.
Sophie, how can we make the situation better?
Just tell me what you want.
No! No talking or I'll shoot him!
I'll shoot all of them.
Sophie, you don't want to hurt any of us.
Shut up.
Melinda. Melinda, what do you need?
Bullet got lung.
Tension hemopneumo. Need a chest tube.
Sophie, this woman is dying.
We need to get her out of here.
No, you're trying to trick me.
No trick.
Blood filling up.
I won't be able to breathe.
I need you to help me.
Jo, in the cabinet behind me,
Get a scalpel, a length of tubing.
And betadine.
I don't know if I can do this.
Then get ready To watch me die.
Okay.
Swab the area
With betadine.
And make a one-inch incision here.
Just do it.
It'll be fine.
Do it, liv. Harder. Harder, liv.
Good. Good. Insert the tube.
Insert it.
Good girl.
Sophie, what do you want?
Want?
What do you think?
I want my son back with me where he belongs.
You want him back?
Don't you get it? He's dead.
Because of you.
You are out of your mind.
Don't you dare talk to me like that in front of my son.
She's right.
Nicholas shouldn't hear such things.
Apologize to him.
What?
- Now. - Okay.
Nicholas, I'm sorry..
Your mother loves you very much.
Dr. Warner's losing a lot of blood.
You don't want your boy to see this, do you?
You don't want him to be upset.
Of course not.
Detective benson, you can take her out.
- Paul. - Yo.
We need some help here.
- Let's go. - Come on.
Okay.
You got it?
Hold that in there.
- Okay, go. Go on. - Jo.
- Yes, go on. You go. - Jo.
That's it. Wheel her out.
- Dr. Warner's coming out. I need medical assistance.
Jo.
Back off, vultures. I'm not dead yet.
There's got to be another way in there.
Your partner already found it.
Sophie.
Answer the phone.
Pick up, pick up, pick up.
Sophie, that's probably benson calling.
I don't want to talk to her.
I want quiet.
And nicholas is asleep. He's sleeping.
He needs his rest.
Olivia, sophie wants you to stop calling.
She doesn't want the phone to keep ringing.
Nicholas is sleeping, and she doesn't want him To wake up.
There. Is that better?
Sophie. For nicholas's sake,
- You need to let us go. - Shut up!
- He would not want you to do this. - You know nothing of what he wants.
You never did.
Sophie, you're scaring nicholas.
Oh, don't play games with me.
He's not scared or sleeping.
He's dead.
Okay.
Oh, sweet little boy.
Mon petit garcon.
He is sweet.
Your sweet boy.
Tell me about him.
He was the most beautiful baby.
Everyone said so. I know
they say that to all mothers,
But nicholas was truly beautiful.
Tell me what he liked.
first, boy things.
Cars, trucks, trains.
We used to ride the metro,
Always asking questions.
"mommy, why the sky blue?
What makes the wind?"
Nicholas had the mind of a scientist.
He should have traveled the world with me.
He should have lived.
But you took him away. And I have nothing without him.
You will find a way to keep going.
No!
Without nicholas, my life is over.
It feels like that now,
But things do change.
What do you know? Have you lost a child?
- No. - So you have lost nothing.
Last year, I got diagnosed with cancer.
A very aggressive kind.
I had to have a biteteral radical mastectomy.
I had reconstructive surgery,
But it wasn't good enough for my lover.
He wouldn't talk to me.
He wouldn't look at me.
He wouldn't touch me.
I died inside.
I couldn't go to work.
I spent six months on the couch sleeping in my clothes.
I lost myself.
Sophie...
I understand.
It's not easy.
You have to change.
I came back to work, I came here,
Among these people.
And in this last month, I...
Sophie, I found myself.
You can. You can refind yourself.
You have to. For nicholas.
You have to.
Sophie, no.
Sophie,
You... you don't want to do this.
Sophie, no, no.
Put the gun down, sophie.
Sophie. Sophie, please clam down.
"It was Paul. He hired Bradman. Got credit card in Sophie's name".
You'll come out the other side of all this pain.
It takes time.
You can do it.
You will come out of all this pain.
You will heal.
It takes time.
But you will.
You will come out the other side of all this pain.
- No, listen to me. - How did you get here?
- I'm on your side. - I will kill you.
I know you didn't kidnap nicholas.
- You do? - You're innocent.
The hiring of bradman...
The credit card with your name on it,
It was just a set-up to make you look guilty.
So you believe I didn't do it.
I know you didn't.
Sophie...
It's over.
Put down the gun.
Let's go home.
- It was you. - No. No.
- Sophie. - You did this.
- No, no, he's lying. - Sophie, look at me.
You murdered my son.
- No. - You murdered my nicholas.
You were gonna take him away.
You were gonna take him to china.
I was not gonna let you have him.
I didn't mean for this to happen.
The crash was an accident.
God, it was just accident.
- Tell god in person. - No, no, sophie, don't.
No, sophie.
Your son needs you.
Nicholas needs you.
Hold him.
Je t'aime.