(narrator) 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.
Hit it. I'm just saying it's not real convenient
for me to pay a mill for an alcove studio.
Got a doorman, though, right?
Doorman can kiss my ass.
Keep the damn door shut
unless you are paying the electric bill.
[Metal clanging]
Somethin' break?
No, just ice off the truck. We good.
Look. Look at this.
(Andre) Is that blood?
(Cheryl) It's coming from the trunk.
(Andre) Central, this tow truck 114 requesting police assistance.
Caucasian female. No ID or clothing.
Car's been sitting here since at least 6:00 a.m.
When parking enforcement ticketed it.
Thanks.
[Police radio chattering]
Notice how Warner always sends out the assistants
when it drops below 20?
Cardillo. Where is she?
Probably drinkin' coffee and havin' a Danish in her office.
She doesn't like the cold.
Who does? What've we got?
She's between 15 and 21.
It's hard to say with the cold,
but I'd say she's been dead at least five hours.
Stabbed and slashed with a 6-inch,
very dull, straight blade.
Not sure what caused the smaller cuts.
There's at least 100 of them.
These are cigarette burns.
Plus multiple contusions and head trauma.
Everything inflicted before she died?
Probably.
Her hands and feet were duct taped
so that she couldn't fight back.
[Whistling]
[Police siren wailing]
From the amount of blood,
she was inside the trunk for most of the attack.
Heat from the car kept the trunk warm enough
so that she bled to death before she froze to death.
How long did it take for her to die?
Three or four hours. Maybe more.
(officer) Detectives,
missing persons report just came in
from a Greg Sullivan in Westchester.
His 16-year-old daughter never showed up for school.
You think she's our victim?
This car's registered to a Gregory Sullivan.
Daughter had it last.
Looks like we found her.
(Sullivan) My wife's out of town on business.
She's trying to get a flight back.
(Benson) Why didn't you call the police
when Emily didn't come home last night?
I let her spend the night at a friend's.
They have a history project due next week.
I just don't understand
why she would've gone into the city last night.
She doesn't even have her night license.
Maybe this is a mistake.
Do you have that friend's name?
Andrea Kent.
I've been calling the Kents all morning,
but there's no answer.
You're sure that she was at their house?
(Sullivan) I assume so.
L... I left a message on their answering machine last night around 9:00 p.m.
To say good-night to Emily.
She called me back 15 minutes later.
Oh, God.
She was never at the Kents, was she?
Mr. Sullivan, could we have that number you called?
(Benson) Elliot.
It's her, isn't it?
(Mrs. Kent) Greg Sullivan said Emily slept over
on a school night? Not a chance.
(Stabler) But Emily told her father
that she was spending the night over at your house.
Well, she's lying. Did something happen to her?
Mrs. Kent, Emily was murdered last night.
Oh, my God, how awful.
Andrea's going to be so upset.
Can you tell us where your daughter was last night?
Home all evening.
Did her homework and went to bed early.
You didn't, by any chance, happen to get any messages
from the Sullivans today, did you?
No.
Can you take a look at that number?
You recognize that one?
Doesn't even look familiar.
I'm sorry, I'm terribly late. I wish I could help.
We'd love to talk to Andrea
about Emily's whereabouts last night.
Please do. She's at school.
And I hope you scare the hell out of her.
This is what happens
when kids lie to their parents.
(Kilgore) The whole school's in mourning.
(Stabler) Emily was well-liked?
She was one of those kids
who was friends with everybody.
You know, student body treasurer, half a dozen clubs,
Homecoming Court.
She was a real shining star.
Were you able to locate Andrea Kent?
Ah, I was able to pull her and a few of Emily's
other close friends from their classes.
You have the school's full cooperation.
[Students chattering]
Paige Summerbee, Brittany O'Malley,
Andrea Kent.
These are Detectives Benson and Stabler.
Andrea, when's the last time you saw Emily?
Yesterday.
At school.
(Benson) You know why she told
her parents she was sleeping over at your house last night?
No. We didn't plan that.
Do any of you girls recognize this number?
It's the number Emily's dad called last night.
Can I use your phone?
(Kilgore) Of course.
[Clearing throat]
[Phone beeping]
[Stabler clearing throat]
[Cell phone ringing]
[Gasps]
[Sniffling]
[Sighing]
You know what?
Why don't we let that go to voice mail.
(Brittany) Hi, you've reached the Kents. Please leave a message.
[Phone beeping]
I'm so sorry.
She asked me to do it.
Just tell us what happened.
(Brittany) Emily was afraid she'd get caught
if she tried to sneak out.
So when Emily's parents call your cell phone,
you call Emily and she calls home.
It's all my fault.
What was so important
that Emily had to get out of the house?
She was supposed to have some big romantic date.
(Benson) Do you know the date's name?
Just that he was, like, 23.
Now, Brittany, you must've talked to Emily last night
when her parents called you.
For like a second.
But I don't know where she was.
I shouldn't have done it, okay?
Maybe she'd be alive. I'm so sorry.
(Kilgore) Is there anything else you need?
The combination to Emily's locker.
(Stabler) Girl was livin' the perfect high school life.
Had to throw it all away
by dating some 20-something skeve.
Here's her day planner. Let's see.
Nothing for yesterday.
Got plenty of numbers, though.
You know, Brittany called Emily
on her cell phone last night,
but CSU never found it in the car.
Killer could have taken it.
Let's hope he's dumb enough to use it.
Hey, look.
She's got a bunch of photos on this digital camera.
I think I just found our 20-something skeve.
So did I.
That's him. Lukas lan Croft. What is he, an actor?
For God's sake, it's an energy drink!
Banana, apple, you're happy!
You're happy!
Come on!
Shootin' here, folks. You're gonna have to walk around.
We need to talk to the grapes.
Copy that. Lukas, visitors.
Police. Come on down.
We need you to answer a few questions for us.
Uh, what's this about?
Emily Sullivan. Your underage girlfriend.
Look, we had a couple of dates.
I didn't know she was only 16.
As soon as I found out, I broke it off.
Bet all the young girls love that you're an actor.
I don't date girls usually. I mean on purpose.
Hey, come on, have you seen Emily?
She looks like 20.
Now she looks dead.
You know anything about that?
No. God, what happened?
She came into the city last night to meet you.
She got murdered.
Uh, I swear we broke up.
And I was on a movie set last night.
You're in a movie?
I'm an extra.
I was there till 4:00 in the morning.
Little fruit's alibi checks out.
I wanna know where the hell this girl was last night.
There's no activity on her ATM
or her credit card. Nobody saw her.
If she wasn't meeting Lukas, then why sneak out?
TARU's checkin' out her computer now.
Maybe she met someone online.
(Huang) Look at the neck wounds.
Too shallow to kill her outright.
But bleeds enough to make her too weak to fight back.
(Benson) He wanted to watch her suffer.
I'll check with VICAP to see if any other murders match this MO.
(Cragen) Emily Sullivan's cellular company
just reported an outgoing call on her phone
to a 900 sex line.
GPS tracked it to within 100 yards.
Closest possibility is a comic book shop.
Psychos. They always love comics.
(clerk) So you look like Kathleen Turner, huh?
Like when she was skinny.
Yeah, that's so hot. So, uh, what do you...
This is a nice pink cell phone.
You're under arrest there, Emily.
For what?
For the murder of Emily Sullivan.
No, w-wait. L... I found that phone.
I was out of town till this morning. Yeah, where?
Uh, Cosmicon, Grand Rapids.
Uh, plane ticket stub's in my back pocket.
Please, I-I-I'll pay for the calls,
but I didn't kill anybody.
Where did you pick up the cell phone?
In the street, couple of blocks away.
Oh, hey, this is a murder case.
Can you tell me what's going down?
No.
That's cool. Police business. I dig.
This is not far from where the body was found.
Text message from yesterday.
"See you later, Brit."
[Sighing]
You know, my daughter text messages her friends 20 times a day.
I wonder how long the phone company
keeps those records.
You're in luck.
They archive text messages 14 days.
Must be thousands of 'em here.
How'd she have time to do anything else?
Trick is to memorize the keypad
so you can text messages in class
without looking at your phone.
My niece is 14.
Right. Now, this stuff is very deep.
"Danny is so..." Ten O's. "...cute."
Listen to this. "Keep your fat mouth shut."
And then later that day:
"We're all just waiting for you to kill yourself."
There's pages of this. Who sent them?
Emily. To somebody else.
Is there any way to find out
who she sent these messages to?
Yeah.
[Knocking on door]
Help you?
Mr. Linsky, I'm Det. Benson. This is Det. Stabler.
Do you have a daughter named Agnes?
Yeah.
Is she friends with an Emily Sullivan?
You guys know damn well
that bitch is not my daughter's friend.
Go bother her parents. They deserve it.
Mr. Linsky, just hold on a second.
We're from Manhattan Special Victims.
Emily Sullivan was murdered.
Now, why don't you explain to us
what you're talkin' about?
Troy, get lost.
We've been trying to get a restraining order
against that girl for over a year.
And nobody cared.
Now someone kills her and you're actin'
like it's some kind of tragedy?
She made my daughter's life miserable.
And God help me, I'm not sorry she's dead.
Why didn't you tell us that Agnes Linsky's father
tried to get a restraining order
against Emily two months ago?
I'm sorry. I didn't think it was relevant.
Allegations of phone harassment,
persistent verbal abuse? That's not relevant?
The judge didn't find any merits to the claims, neither did I.
And now that Emily's dead,
you think there might be some merit?
You think we might wanna hear about it?
No. No. This was just an overprotective father
getting involved in a misunderstanding
between two teenagers. Not murder.
Did you bother to investigate the allegations?
We set up a mediation between Emily and Agnes.
Both girls agreed to try harder
to understand each other.
Detectives, Agnes Linsky may be delayed
academically and socially,
but she couldn't kill anyone.
We're gonna need to talk to her.
We'll get her father down here.
That's not necessary. Agnes is 18.
I'll pull her out of class.
No use in both of us tag-teamin' her.
Just take it.
Hey, Agnes.
I'm Det. Benson.
I know.
You were at my house last night. Mmm-hmm.
I don't know what happened to Emily. We're not friends.
But your principal said that you two don't get along.
Yeah.
Well, he spends most of his time
kissing Emily and her friends' asses.
I know you don't believe me. Nobody does.
You know, Agnes, I want to help you.
Right. You're going to be my friend.
And if you and I were in school together,
you'd be just as much of a bitch
as the rest of them.
Well, actually, when I was in school
I pretty much kept to myself.
I didn't want anybody to find out about my mom.
She, uh, used to drink a lot.
It's easier not having friends,
but it doesn't make it any less lonely.
My mom died when I was nine.
When I was 12,
Emily started the rumor that my mom left us
because she couldn't stand how ugly I was.
Funny, right?
People still believe that.
So you've known Emily a long time.
When we were little, we were all friends.
Well, I don't really know why it changed.
In seventh grade, Emily got a fake screen name
and pretended to be a boy I liked.
E-mailed me.
The next day, I talked to him,
and he didn't know what the hell I was saying.
He pushed me into the mud.
Emily and her friends thought it was hilarious.
So her friends were in on it, too.
Brittany and the rest of them were pretty terrible.
But I was Emily's special project.
She used to pretend to be my friend for a week
and then use it against me.
I gave her my cell phone number,
and she started sending
all these awful messages to me.
How fat I was.
How I should just kill myself because nobody liked me.
My dad saved up to buy me that phone,
and I hardly use it anymore.
It's not worth it.
Your dad seems pretty angry about this.
It's like I'm disappointing him.
That's the worst part, you know?
Oh, it sounds stupid.
My brother says I should ignore it.
But it just builds up.
Every day it's something else.
And you start to feel like
you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning.
I know it sounds awful, but I'm happy.
I'm happy she's dead.
Yeah.
Pat Linsky was bartending
from 8:00 until 4:00 the night of Emily's murder.
Agnes says that she was home alone.
We really think she's capable of somethin' like that?
If pushed hard enough.
The sadistic nature of the attack
could also be explained by the fury of someone
who doesn't know how to kill.
The school knew what was happening to that girl.
They didn't do anything about it.
Victims of bullying are often social outcasts.
It's human nature for school authorities
to identify with the normal kids.
Meaning, the teachers believe the bully's story,
and think the victims are being a little too sensitive.
I don't know. Agnes had every reason
to hate Emily and want her dead.
(Stabler on phone) Stabler.
I just don't think she killed her.
We're sure the father's in the clear?
We'll check the bar.
Maybe he took a long lunch break.
(Stabler) We'll be right there.
Brittany O'Malley was just attacked
at Tanner Day. She's on her way to the ER.
Security's holding the guy who did it.
Olivia, hit the hospital. Get to the school.
(Kubiak) Here's the tough guy.
(Stabler) Ah, you're Agnes Linsky's brother.
Troy Linsky.
Expelled three years ago
for bringin' a knife into school.
Also likes to beat up little girls.
I didn't beat her up.
Shut up.
I'll let you two get acquainted.
[Bell buzzing]
(Troy) I pushed her. That's it.
Hard enough to send her to the hospital.
She hit her head against the locker.
It was an accident. I was mad.
You got some anger management problems there, pal.
Do you know what they did to my sister?
Emily Sullivan tortured your sister. I know that.
And someone taught that bitch a lesson, right?
Wasn't me. I didn't touch Emily.
I'm not sayin' you did,
but why are you beatin' up Brittany?
I want Brittany to admit what she did.
What's that?
She took pictures
while Agnes was changing in the locker room.
She sent them to anyone with a camera phone.
Look for yourself.
On my cell, in the bag on the desk.
Those girls,
they've got everybody snowed.
They're evil.
How do you know Brittany did this?
She has gym class with Agnes.
You know, Brittany sent that to 20 different people.
My buddy's sister got it. He sent it to me.
You think this is enough to hurt someone, huh?
Hey, look, nobody's protecting my sister, okay?
Not the school and not the cops.
I'm tryin' to help your sister.
Okay? I'm tryin' to help Agnes.
Well, taking naked pictures of someone.
Well, that's illegal, right?
So when are you going to do somethin' about that?
I'll wait for it.
That was my partner.
He's with Troy Linsky now.
I want him arrested. Assault and battery.
No, forget it.
Brit... Shut up!
Find the plastic surgeon. I want to get out of here!
Of course, sweetheart.
They were never anything but nice to that Agnes girl.
And this is what they get.
[Door closing]
Is your head feelin' all right?
No, it kills.
I just don't want a scar.
I think it's going to be just fine.
Oh, well, thank you, Doctor. You can leave now.
You know what, honey? I will.
But not before I ask you a couple of questions.
Why do you think Troy Linsky attacked you?
Because he's psycho. His whole family is crazy.
Did you see Agnes today?
She's kind of hard to miss.
Did you talk to her?
Why would I?
You know what, Brittany, I'm starting to wonder
why it is you girls do any of the things that you do.
Did you take this picture of Agnes
and send it around to your friends?
Keep in mind that we can trace it back to the sender,
in case you're thinking about lying to me again.
Look at it.
I'm sorry I did it.
Why would you do that, Brittany?
To get back at Agnes.
To get back at her for what?
Everybody knows that you spoke to her today.
Because she did it, didn't she? She did it.
She killed Emily.
She killed my best friend!
(Siper) Why the rush, Detectives?
(Stabler) We've got teenagers tryin' to kill each other.
I'd like to, uh, arrest one of them.
It would help if we could at least narrow down
the killer's gender.
Well, the small wounds on the body
were wider at the deepest point,
narrower at the entry point.
Best guess is that they came from manicure scissors like these,
shoved in and then opened up.
Combine that with this
found inside some of the scratch wounds.
It's nail polish.
In Boy Crush Blush, also known as light pink.
I'd say your killer is a female.
Or metrosexual.
Once you've got a suspect,
I'm going to make you really happy.
We've got hair.
Couple of strands stuck in the duct tape.
It's been color treated.
Know any bottle blondes?
Three.
A question for you, Doc.
Under what circumstances would Miss Teen USA
commit a violent murder with sexual undertones?
That depends. She might have been sexually abused herself,
or psychotic.
Also explain why she'd kill one of her best friends?
It could.
Boys tend to get into conflicts
with acquaintances or strangers.
Girls typically attack within tightly-knit friendships.
Well, that's definitely been my experience.
The people that made me feel the worst
were always my best friends.
It's called relational aggression.
Boys are socialized to express their anger.
Girls are socialized to be nice.
It's not nice to start a fight.
Feelings got to come out sometime.
Often as rumor-spreading,
ostracizing, or secret-telling.
In other words, don't tell your friend you're mad at her.
Just get everybody else to hate her.
And in the extreme, I can see how a betrayal
within the inner circle could incite violence.
Question is, what was the betrayal?
And which one did the deed?
Maybe it was all of them. Obviously none of these girls
have any qualms about lying to the police.
We've got the hair on the duct tape.
It's gotta belong to one of 'em.
We bring in all three of them now,
they'll just keep up the lie or start pointing fingers.
We need ammo to shoot the story down.
I love these little cliques.
They're like the Mafia. Nobody knows nothing.
Peer counselors might.
Those kids usually know everybody.
Does the school have a peer counseling program?
Yeah, I think I saw a sign for somethin' like that.
Good. Doc, why don't you tag along?
See if you can't get in these kids' heads.
(Shauna) Oh, yeah, I totally know Brittany and all those girls.
Everybody does.
Has anyone had any trouble with them?
Um, except this is like therapy,
so I can't really break a confidence.
Okay. So, what do you think of them?
Actually, they're really nice.
I can totally see how somebody with,
you know, low self-esteem
would have a problem with them. I don't.
But you know people who do.
Well, yeah. But what I say to them is:
"Hey, we're all insecure.
"Brittany and Paige and Andrea are just like you.
It's their defense mechanism."
(Stabler) Right. What's their defense mechanism?
You know, being mean.
There's a lot of pressure being popular.
Everyone always watching you, waiting for you to screw up.
It was really hard on Emily.
(Huang) Do you think that's an excuse for bad behavior?
No.
I guess I just understood Emily better than most people.
So you were friends.
Well, we lived next door to each other
since nursery school.
We used to play together all the time.
She got in with the popular crowd
in middle school
and I didn't see her as much. I guess we were home friends.
Sounds kind of lame.
Not at all, Terri.
Friendships are always changing.
What's sad is...
she was really starting to pull away from those girls.
She was thinking about college,
meeting new people.
She didn't really like Brittany.
How do you know that?
She could see how nasty Brittany was,
how manipulative.
And Emily sort of hooked up with Brittany's boyfriend.
Do you remember the boy's name?
Lukas, I think.
[Sighing]
Brittany was so pissed off.
She likes people to be afraid of her.
But Emily wasn't afraid anymore.
Lukas Croft, police! Open up!
What do you want?
You know somethin'?
You gave us such a great performance
last time we talked, we're lookin' for an encore.
Sit down.
Brittany O'Malley. That ring a bell?
(Benson) She's 16. That's statutory rape.
Hey, can you act like a prison inmate?
We didn't have sex. Brittany wouldn't do it.
You got about two seconds to tell us everything
or I'll make sure you won't date again.
Brittany and I started goin' out last fall.
And by the way, she pursued me.
All right, then a couple of months ago,
Brittany tells me to hit on Emily.
(Benson) Right. She wanted you to cheat.
I don't know. She said it was some kind of friendship test.
So I did. And Emily was into it.
What was I supposed to do. Say no?
You're too much of a stud for that. Bye-bye.
I'm sorry I even did it. Brittany freaked out on me.
She, like, psycho freaked out. She's nuts.
Okay, so why lie for her?
I think she poisoned Buttons.
My cat.
I can't prove it,
but l... I don't want to cross that girl.
She's crazy.
L... I hadn't heard from her in weeks until that night.
Said she was comin' by the set
and I better have a case of beer for her.
Was Emily with her?
They were in Emily's car, but Emily wasn't there.
When I tried to put the beer in the trunk, they freaked.
You think that's where they put Emily?
Who are they?
You know, her two best friends.
Andrea and Paige.
They do whatever Brittany says.
[Cheerleaders cheering]
Go, Tanner Day. Come on, you can do it!
Paige Summerbee, you're under arrest
for the murder of Emily Sullivan.
Brittany O'Malley and Andrea Kent,
step down, please.
Why?
We can drag you out if you want.
[Police radio chattering]
Brittany O'Malley, Andrea Kent,
you're under arrest
for the murder of Emily Sullivan.
You have the right to remain silent.
Give up that right,
anything you say can and will be used
against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.
Do you understand these rights?
Where are the parents?
Napa Valley.
Mr. And Mrs. Kent are on a plane, as we speak.
They've agreed to allow Andrea
to answer questions in my presence
as a gesture of cooperation.
Well, I hope you want to cooperate, too, Andrea.
It'll make things a whole lot easier.
I didn't kill Emily.
Who did?
I don't know. I'm telling the truth.
You told the detectives
you didn't see Emily the night of her murder.
But Lukas Croft saw you in her car.
So that was a lie, wasn't it?
I did go out with them late that night.
But she wanted us to drop her off at some bar
and then take her car home.
The car where her body was found?
Yeah.
We'd all been drinking,
so we parked the car and took the train.
I called Emily and told her where she could pick it up.
Great. Then we can check your cell
to make sure that's true.
I called from a payphone.
Okay, then we can check Emily's cell
for the incoming call.
Unless that's not the truth, either.
Why are you being so mean to me?
Because you're lying to me, Paige.
You've been lying all along.
Quit hounding her.
We're through if you don't stop trying to upset my client.
Where was Brittany this whole time?
With us.
Look, if Brittany did something wrong,
you're not responsible for that.
You understand that?
You can't control what other people do.
Go on, honey. Tell him the truth.
She didn't do anything.
Right. You know this
because you were with her the whole time, right?
She answered the question, Detective.
Maybe she can answer this question now.
We found a blonde hair in the duct tape used
to bind Emily's arms and legs.
DNA says that hair belongs to Brittany.
Now, if you were with her the whole night,
you must've been with her during that, too.
Right, Paige?
It was a joke.
(Benson) Tying somebody up,
throwin' them into the back of the trunk
and then beating them to death is a joke?
We didn't hurt her.
We just had her in the trunk. That's it.
I don't know how all the other stuff happened.
So you expect me to believe that you taped her up,
but somebody else killed her?
Yes.
This is a dangerous city, Detective.
Look, all we were trying to do was teach her a lesson.
What lesson?
That you can't do whatever you want.
There are rules.
What rules?
You can't steal somebody's boyfriend.
So you guys just drove around with Emily
in the trunk all night, and then, what?
Left her there alive, perfectly fine?
Ms. Novak, I think we're through answering questions for a while.
I just want to make sure your client understands
the situation she's in.
No one's going to believe that, Andrea.
This lie you and your friends cooked up,
it's a bad one.
So if you've got anything you want to say to me
before I walk out that door,
you better say it now.
Brittany went crazy!
She just lost it. It was awful.
She started punching Emily.
And then she lit some cigarettes
and she started burning her with them.
And then she had these little scissors.
And Brittany was cutting her,
and then she took out a knife and started stabbing her.
And there was so much blood.
I didn't know what to do. And...
I never wanted to hurt Emily.
[Sobbing]
What were you doing during all of this?
Me and Paige were just standing there.
We couldn't believe it.
(Stabler) And you didn't help Brittany? You didn't hold Emily down,
maybe take a few shots yourself?
No, I swear. Brittany did everything.
No, they didn't do anything.
(Cragen) I'm glad you're saying that, Brittany.
Because it's consistent with your friends' stories.
That they're innocent
and you killed Emily all by yourself.
They're not saying that.
Well, you better believe they are, little girl.
Okay, I think that wraps it up for today.
No. What are they saying?
That you killed Emily
because she stole your boyfriend.
Oh, and that you're nuts.
(Mrs. O'Malley) They're clearly lying.
Shut up! You're not helping!
Brittany, sit down.
No. Where are they?
I want them to say this to my face.
Huh? Bitches! Say it to my face!
That's enough. Come on, Brittany.
That's enough. No! Say it!
Buy you lunch, Counselor?
I'll even let you talk me into a plea deal.
In exchange, you get my client's testimony.
The sworn statement of a murderer.
That's tempting.
No jury's going to convict Andrea and Paige
without direct evidence.
You'll need Brittany to testify against them.
Look, you've got two so-called normal girls
who sat back and allowed Emily Sullivan to be murdered.
My client's off her nut.
What's their excuse?
That's why they're being charged for their crimes.
You've got a weak case at best.
One sympathetic juror will tank it.
They're us, Casey.
Our sisters, our daughters, our high school girlfriends.
No one wants to believe...
No, they're monsters.
They're mean, vicious little girls
who think they can do whatever they want.
And up until now, they've gotten away with it.
Not anymore. There's no deal.
[Knocking on door]
Well, maybe these two will change your mind.
I'll be at my regular table.
Motion to sever I assume?
We're happy with one trial for both our clients.
Since you can't prove intent, it'll be a short trial.
(Riff) Andrea and Paige were part of a group
that was under the spell of Brittany O'Malley.
They didn't have the mental state to form intent.
I've seen this movie. It's the one about the zombies, right?
Actually, Ms. Novak, you're not far off.
If you're going with an affirmative defense, Mr. Kressler,
I have yet to receive notification.
We're not arguing diminished capacity.
This is about free will.
And the People can't prove that our clients had it.
What exactly did these girls intend
when they held Emily in the trunk of a car all night?
They had no intent. They were under the control
of Brittany O'Malley,
a charismatic, anti-social leader.
Your Honor, the mob mentality defense
was used in the Reginald Denny trial after the LA riots,
the civil rights trial after the Crown Heights riots.
Where's the mob?
These were three teenage girls.
We have expert testimony
that will amply illustrate the profound effect
that small groups have on the individual.
A defense like this is dangerous,
because if the jury buys it,
personal responsibility goes out the window.
That's a matter of opinion.
This is a matter of fact for the jury to decide.
I'll allow it.
Drop kidnapping.
My client pleads guilty to man one
and testifies against Barbie and Skipper.
See? Reasonable.
I don't even know why I bother.
The jury's going to take one look
at Andrea and Paige
and jump on any excuse not to throw them in jail.
That's certainly a possibility.
It's also possible a jury will send your client
to prison for the rest of her life.
Murder two, kidnapping one,
sentences to be served concurrently
with the possibility of parole.
This is your client's only chance at a future.
She should take it and thank me.
So I testify against Andrea and Paige.
You tell the truth to the jury
or the deal's gone, and I add perjury.
Oh, I'll tell them everything. I really don't care.
(Brittany) Andrea told Emily
that we were going out all night.
She made up the sleepover
so that Emily's parents wouldn't be looking for her.
Because Andrea didn't want you guys getting caught?
Objection. Calls for speculation.
Sustained.
Emily's arms and legs were bound with duct tape.
Did she ever get loose?
Oh, yeah, a couple of times.
Um, she kicked me in the face once.
(Novak) And what did the defendants do
when she freed herself?
First time, Paige grabbed her by the hair
so I could fix the tape.
And then when she kicked me,
she almost got out of the trunk,
and then Andrea pushed her back in.
Were the defendants
ever left alone with the victim?
Oh, yeah, for, um, about 5 or 10 minutes
when I went to go buy cigarettes.
And when it was over, when Emily was dead,
what did you guys do?
Paige was hungry so we went to go get waffles,
and then we just took the train home.
Did Andrea or Paige
at any point during that night
ask you to stop?
No. They were having fun.
Nothing further. Your witness.
So, uh, you say
Andrea and Paige never asked you to stop.
Let me ask you this. Did Emily?
I guess.
You guess?
What, didn't she beg you to stop?
Didn't she offer you money, her diamond earrings,
anything you wanted?
(Brittany) Yes.
Didn't she cry out for her mother,
and you thought that was funny?
Yes.
Who was it that cut Emily's skin with scissors
over a hundred times?
I did.
And who brought a knife
and later used it to cut Emily's throat?
Me.
And the cigarettes you went out to buy.
You used those to burn Emily's skin, right?
Right.
So the truth is, you didn't want Andrea and Paige
to help you torture and kill Emily.
You just wanted an audience.
Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
(Kressler) Dr. Sopher,
in your study of neurology of behavior,
you also studied how environment influences behavior, right?
Of course.
And when an environment consists of a small group
influencing an individual, what is that called?
Small group dynamics.
An individual's identity fuses with a group.
You see it with soldiers or cult members.
How does it happen?
Intense situations create intense solidarity.
Adolescents are arguably under years of stress,
physiologically, emotionally, hormonally.
Solidarity makes the urge to conform irresistible.
And you think this explains
two girls watching and even participating
in the murder of another?
The urge to conform explains far more heinous acts.
Look at Nazi Germany, Rwanda.
Thank you, Dr. Sopher.
Your witness.
Wow.
To hear you talk, we'd expect to see
packs of teenage girls roaming the streets killing people.
No. The group was under the influence of one girl
intent on murder.
So you're saying it's impossible for a teenager
to have free will in a group?
If she has a strong will,
she can withstand the desire to conform.
Oh, then the defendants are just weak.
(Sopher) That's perhaps a simple explanation.
The last time I checked,
being weak isn't an excuse for murder,
it's just pathetic.
Objection. Argumentative.
(Petrovsky) Sustained.
Nothing further.
I feel so bad about everything.
I haven't been able to sleep.
(Kressler) Brittany said you planned a lot of it, Andrea.
You got Emily to leave her house that night.
I thought that we were just going to talk to her
about how she wasn't being a good friend.
The only reason I set it up
was because it was my birthday.
I told her we were going out to celebrate.
(Kressler) So you never suspected
that Brittany wanted to kill Emily?
(Andrea) No way. I wouldn't have gone.
Why didn't you stop her?
I couldn't. You don't say no to Brittany.
You have to go along with her.
I'm so sorry.
You feel bad now
for everything that happened to Emily.
Yes. When I got home that morning, I threw up.
But I was afraid.
Of getting caught? Of Brittany?
No. I was afraid if I told,
Brittany wouldn't be my friend.
You said your cover story
was going out to celebrate your birthday.
January. That makes you a Capricorn, right?
Yeah.
What's your birthstone?
Objection. Relevance?
(Novak) Getting to it, Your Honor. Hurry it up, Ms. Novak.
The witness will answer the question.
My birthstone's garnet.
That's what I thought.
I see you're wearing your class ring.
But that's my birthstone. Sapphire.
September birthday.
You know who else had a September birthday, Andrea?
(Kressler) Objection.
(Riff) Relevance.
(Petrovsky) Overruled.
Didn't Emily have a September birthday?
(Andrea) I don't know.
Emily had a class ring.
It was engraved with her name.
It was never found with her body.
Your Honor, would you instruct the defendant
to remove her ring?
Hand it to me, Ms. Kent.
Paige gave it to me.
She took it off of Emily after she was dead!
You're a liar! You took her Prada purse!
Sidebar, Your Honor.
She's got Emily's clothes, too.
The ones with all the blood on them!
If you felt so bad about what happened,
then why are you wearing a dead girl's ring?
(Riff) Your Honor, enough!
(Petrovsky) Counsel, approach.
Move for a mistrial, your Honor.
The defendant perjured herself.
Prove it. May we have time to confer?
You may not. And your motion is denied, Ms. Riff.
You will have the opportunity
to impeach her statements in redirect.
Please continue, Ms. Novak.
No further questions.
Guilty on all counts.
That is a 15-minute jury verdict.
[Cell phone ringing]
That's very impressive, Counselor. Yeah.
Remind me to give you names of girls that I hated in high school.
Takes you back, doesn't it?
I hated it the first time around.
Olivia, Westchester PD. Shots fired at Tanner Day.
School wouldn't remove it until they documented it.
(Kubiak) It's been up all day.
(Stabler) Who is she?
I don't know.
She's a senior. Real popular.
It's a shame.
(officer) ...right to have an attorney present
now or in the future.
If you can't afford an attorney,
one will be appointed to you by the court.
Do you understand these rights as I've read them to you?
Agnes, what happened?
They went to jail,
and it didn't even make any difference.
It was never going to stop.
No matter what anybody did, it was never going to stop.