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.
(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)
Is there anyone sitting here?
Want to go somewhere a Iittle more private?
Lead the way.
Police! Everybody, stay right where you are.
Police!
AII right, all right, all right, all right!
NYPD! NYPD!
Everybody remain where you are!
Hey! Hey! That means you don't move, sir.
Police! Everybody zip up and stand against the wall.
Where you going, sweetheart?
I swear, she just brought me back here.
I'm having a bachelor party.
Yeah?
We have a warrant to search the premises
and to arrest anybody engaged in illegal activities.
That's all of you.
You gonna fine that guy? How come you're not arresting him, too?
What's the problem? Says some guy attacked her.
He tried to rape me.
Sweetheart, when they don't pay you, it's not rape,
it's theft of services.
Look, I'm not Iying, okay? That guy was nuts.
Point him out, and I'II haul his ass in with yours.
He tried to rape me. I'm not moving until I make a report.
This is a huge mistake. I had no idea what kind of a club this was.
FIy's down.
Eddie, what's happening?
Hit a Iittle snag in our raid.
Gal here says her name is Chantilly. CIaims she was raped.
AImost raped.
You know the policy. She cries rape, she's all yours.
Thanks, Eddie. EDDIE: You're welcome.
Look, this guy tried to attack me.
Miss Chantilly, first things first.
Look, why don't we work with your real name.
Lisa Perez.
Lisa Perez, me and you are gonna have a problem
if you're making something up to avoid charges.
He tried to strangle me. Look.
I don't see anything
and if you weren't raped and there's no evidence of assault,
then there's not a Iot we can do.
What do you mean there's no evidence...
Detectives, you better come see this.
Oh, my God.
That's Randy.
I told you guys. I told you.
LISA: Why are you making me sit through 10 Iineups?
Dude was gone when the storm troopers busted in.
I told you that 300 times.
Tell us 300 more times. We Iove the sound of your voice.
Hey, I am a victim.
Why are you gonna disrespect me?
Now, Iook, Detectives Munch and Tutuola
are gonna get you coffee while you wait for the sketch artist.
That's your answer? Coffee is your answer?
If you get something in your mouth,
maybe you'II shut up for five seconds.
Okay, you know what? I want everybody's name and badge number.
Hey, don't touch me Iike that!
She's spunky.
You get an I.D. on the victim?
Yeah, Randy Colligan,
a.k.a. Godiva, 23, worked at the club a Iittle over a year.
Two prostitution priors.
Anything conclusive from the rape kit?
No fluids from the preliminary.
Our guy probably used a condom, and it Iooks Iike she was strangled.
Trace evidence at the crime scene is gonna be a joke.
I don't even want to know how many different DNA strands are on that bathroom floor.
Well, this guy was ballsy.
Public place, plenty of potential witnesses.
He tries to rape one woman.
When she's too much trouble, he just finds another.
My friends are getting killed all over the place
and y'all are taking a break?
Somebody please find the sketch artist
and set her up as far away from me as possible.
(CLEARES THROAT)
No, no, no, no, no, no. You got the eyes all messed up.
Miss, can you please stop knocking my arm?
Sit down, Lisa.
Forget this. You're not gonna try to find this guy.
You don't care about me.
Okay, okay, the persecution rant, it's getting really old.
My friends get raped all the time.
Who's investigating that?
BENSON: Nobody, if your friends don't report the crime.
We get punished because we don't act Iike society's version of a woman.
We're at risk, and nobody cares.
You're at risk because you put yourself at risk.
So do you, Detective.
Yes, to help people Iike you.
Oh, no. The only people who help us is us.
And Sister Peg.
I should've Iistened to her.
She told us some whack job was trying to choke girls.
The nun who hands out clean needles to junkies?
How did Sister Peg know about this?
I thought you were the cop with all the answers.
That's good enough. We done?
STABLER: Sister Peg?
Morning, Detectives. Vice?
Special Victims. Stabler. This is Benson.
That must go over well with the church.
We've settled on a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
You investigating a rape?
Rape-homicide of a sex worker at a nightclub called Onyx.
Did you warn Lisa Perez about a man who was trying to strangle prostitutes?
Yes. How'd you hear about him?
Some of my girls.
I keep a bad trick Iist.
Sort of an internal memo about johns to avoid.
"White guy goes by Jack Psycho.
"BIack guy, scar over his eye, tried to kill me."
This is the bad trick Iist?
It's better than nothing.
They're traumatized. I don't interrogate.
Well, do you call the police?
My policy is no cops. No offense.
None taken. This Iook Iike the guy you heard about?
Well, I'II show it around, Iet you know. Got a card?
Probably be better if we talked to them ourselves.
I can't do that.
Well, we're not gonna arrest them.
I believe you, but they won't.
I start handing them over to police, they stop coming,
and I can't do my job.
What exactly is your job?
Trying to keep them smart and safe, Iike you.
Well, your homicide victim was a Iong-time sex worker, that's most evident.
Hep B, hep C, PID.
Twenty-three years old, probably would've been infertile had she Iived.
How'd she die?
Hanging her with the belt was done post-mortem.
Cause of death was strangulation, but there's no fingerprint bruising.
Looks Iike he used his forearm.
How can you tell?
Check out this crescent-shaped indentation on her neck.
He must wear a jacket with a flat metal button on the cuff.
Pins her against the wall or the floor,
presses down with the forearm, Ieaves an imprint behind.
Once rigor sets in, the indentation remains.
MUNCH: A rapist who wears a jacket. That ought to narrow it down.
Best I can do for now.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Rape kit was negative for fluids. No blood under the nails,
found three distinct hairs other than her own.
She's a pro. AII that proves is she had sex.
That was the captain. They found another body.
How fortuitous.
How'd you Iike to ride to the crime scene with two handsome members of the NYPD?
My Iucky day.
This is a real party zone. Needles, pipes, condom wrappers, empty forties.
Neighborhood's a known track.
She was probably a pro just doing some business.
Nobody cares if you scream.
MELINDA: Detectives.
FIN: Got something?
Give me a boost, will you?
I'm Iight as a feather.
Thank you.
Is that Iipstick?
Yeah.
And a nicely preserved thumbprint.
Shawn Becker.
Convicted of assault and attempted rape in '94,
released from Attica three weeks ago.
His PO has been out of contact with him for the past four days.
We got a radio car sitting on his residence.
Didn't take him Iong to get back in the saddle.
Key witness against him was an ex-girlfriend.
She's since moved out of state.
And yes, you guessed it, she's a blonde.
So he's Iooking for a surrogate to take it out on.
She hung him out to dry, and he's doing the same thing.
You've all gotta be so Iiteral.
While Vice is handing out his mug to the working girls,
I want you all to do the same.
STABLER: You know where we're heading off to?
Sister Peg.
Guy is on a mission.
Maybe now she'II be willing to break their confidence to save their Iives.
Thanks, this will be a big help.
And now we need yours.
We need to talk to the women who've seen him.
Can't do that. I'm sorry.
STABLER: And you care about these girls, huh?
In the past year I was mugged four times, once at knifepoint.
You tell me, Detective. Do I care about them enough?
What you're doing is great, but explain how you're helping anybody
by preventing us from arresting this guy.
I have to keep my word.
But when he kills five, 10, 20 more times,
what's your word gonna mean then?
Just give us a Iocation.
We don't even need a name.
A few of the girls used to work out of a hotel on 37th and 10th.
They don't anymore.
They said a guy hanging out around there was getting rough with them.
MAN: Police? STABLER: Yeah.
That was quick. I just called you guys.
Why? Somebody heard a gun go off.
Room 502.
Have you seen him? That's him, that's the guy.
Had a Iady with him.
Shots fired, detectives on scene,
send units to 515 West 37th Street.
NYPD, open up!
WOMAN: I shot him.
Ma'am, drop the gun now!
Put down the gun!
(SOBS)
Shawn Becker.
He's dead.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
I didn't intend to kill him. I just wanted him to stop.
The guy was scum, so don't worry about that. Okay?
Thank you for helping me.
Can you tell us what happened?
Look, we know that this guy was targeting prostitutes.
So we're not here to jam you up for that.
(SIGHS)
Well, I was working in the bar next to the hotel,
and he came in, and he sat down next to me.
But to tell you the truth,
I had warning bells going off the minute that he sat down.
But I needed the money.
Well, guess I was asking for this, right?
Nobody asks to get raped.
You don't have to patronize me, Detective.
I mean, I appreciate the support and everything,
but I know the risks.
Occupational hazard, right?
Debra, what happened when you got up to that hotel room?
Well, I told him that we needed to settle up before we got started
and then he just hit me.
Like that was his plan all along.
And he kept hitting me.
And then he threw me on the bed,
and he raped me.
And then he pulled out a gun.
And what did you do?
I just kept fighting.
And then he dropped the gun, and I picked it up
and I just pulled the trigger three times.
And then the cavalry arrived.
You are very Iucky.
I know. I know that.
So then you probably know that you might not be so Iucky next time, right?
Isn't this the part where you try to convince the seasoned hooker to mend her ways
and become a contributing member of society?
My card.
On the back is a number for victims' services.
Thank you.
Everything confirms self-defense.
Guy beat the crap out of her so hard the hospital admitted her with a concussion.
The tearing and the contusions from Debra's rape kit
are consistent with sexual assault.
We know for a fact that Becker was a rapist and a killer.
So as far as we're concerned, killing him was a public service.
I'm inclined to agree.
Anything else?
CRAGEN: Just tying up Ioose ends.
Nothing came up when we ran her name through the system.
Munch and Fin are running the ballistics on the gun.
I'II make my recommendation not to press charges.
Nice work.
STALEY: Well, you know the gun you gave me off
your rapist-homicide has another body on it.
MUNCH: What body?
Unsolved homicide from Iast December.
Are you sure?
Firing pin impressions and breech face marks
on the slugs are exact matches in both homicides.
This gotta be an unregistered H&K P7 M8 auto.
Expensive. Probably a dealer gun.
Any prints on the unfired bullets?
Magazine was empty.
Captain, we may have a small problem.
Problem? What problem? This is a good thing.
Now we know your dead guy capped somebody else about six months ago.
Our dead guy was in Attica six months ago.
Previous victim was Leonard Graves.
Had quite a nice rap sheet.
Possession with intent to distribute, carrying a concealed weapon.
Three shots to the head and robbed,
22 ruled it a drug-related homicide.
Aside from the gun, there's no immediate connection between Becker and Graves.
Well, maybe there is none. Dealer guns get passed around.
Graves had it first, got shot by his own piece.
Becker bought it off the street six months Iater.
And he gets killed with it, too? That's a big coincidence.
You know the statistics on people killed by their own weapon?
Look, this gun could've been making the rounds for years,
and I'm not all that interested in chasing after it.
Now, what is the straight-Iine explanation here?
Debra Weldon owned the gun all along, and she killed the both of them.
Why do we think it was Becker's gun in the first place?
'Cause that's what she told us.
And she's the one who shot him.
Guys, we have a big problem.
Debra Weldon was raped by Becker.
She didn't make that up.
AII right, then Iet's concentrate on who killed Leonard Graves.
I want a fresh Iook at that case with our new theory.
We're not gonna get it from Debra Weldon or whatever her name is.
Why not?
Hospital says our hooker took off minutes after talking to the police.
Fake name, fake address, fake social.
The fake name's no surprise. It's typical pro behavior.
It's also the behavior of somebody with something to hide.
OIivia, EIIiot, get on homicide at the 22.
Find out who Iooked good for the Graves murder.
John, Fin, check with cab companies, dump the E.R. phones,
and find our mystery hooker.
Graves was just a bad guy.
PIenty of reasons someone would want to kill him.
What's this credit card statement?
It came about a month after he kicked.
We pulled the receipts, every one of them signed Mrs. Leonard Graves.
There is no Mrs. Leonard Graves.
Only description we got from the merchants, she was a blonde.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) She was smart.
Only kept it a couple of days,
didn't charge up enough to alert the credit card company.
She's running all over town with this credit card,
no one once asks for I.D.?
You gave me your credit card to buy Kathy's birthday present,
nobody asked me for I.D.
It's 'cause you Iook Iike a cop.
What'd she spend the money on?
I do not Iook Iike a cop.
40 bucks on groceries, 15 bucks at the nail salon...
Make-up counter at Saks, $150 at the Porter Hotel, Midtown.
Treating herself.
And somebody else.
Biggest expenditure, $400 at FAO Schwarz.
MUNCH: Mrs. Kerber, we traced a call from Mercy Hospital
to your residence at 3:25 this morning. Did you take that call?
Yes, from Maggie.
She was mugged, is that what you're investigating?
How'd you know Maggie?
Oh, I baby-sit her son, nights.
Is this her?
Oh, yes.
Isn't it awful how that man beat her?
What'd she call you about?
Well, she wanted to pick up Joey early.
Came over about 5:00 this morning, paid me, and they Ieft.
Where to?
Oh, they're going on a Iittle vacation.
You know, Maggie's always doing that.
She's such a wonderful mother.
Full name's Margaret Peterson.
We got her address, but Iike we expected, nobody home.
Mrs. Kerber actually believes that Maggie works nights in a diner.
What diner waitress can afford $100 a night for a babysitter?
Did a Iittle research on VICAP.
Looked at murders in known prostitute areas where a credit card was stolen.
From those we pulled only the cases
whose charges included hotel rooms and children's items.
STABLER: Philip Malakowski in Manhattan,
Michael O'Connell in Queens,
John Donatov, Brad Horton in New Jersey.
AII of them unsolved homicides.
We can pin all of these on Maggie Peterson?
That's what it's Iooking Iike.
One self-defense murder I can buy.
But six of them?
This Iady's a serial killer, Captain.
Three of these victims fall under our jurisdiction.
Becker, Graves and Malakowski.
But it Iooks Iike we've got a bigger picture to consider,
so Iet's hear about everybody.
Well, other than the credit card purchases, there's not much of a pattern.
Both Becker and Graves did time.
Donatov had a soliciting collar in Jersey four years ago.
The other three were clean.
Cause of death varies.
Two were bludgeoned, one was stabbed,
one had his throat slit, the Iast two were shot.
Now, most serial killers use one method.
She's either using weapons of opportunity or trying to throw us off her trail.
I'm not entirely comfortable Iabeling the suspect a serial killer.
Well, how many guys she got to whack to make you comfortable?
I'm just not sure that she fits the typical profile.
There is no profile for the female serial killer.
The FBI studied 36 guys, Iike, 20 years ago.
Historians now believe that many unsolved murders were committed by women
who got away with it simply because no one thought a girl could kill.
Maggie Peterson certainly is a multiple killer,
but there's one fact that nobody's mentioning.
She was raped.
Her actions could be the product of pronounced rape trauma syndrome.
What, you're saying she has a flashback and cuts a guy's throat?
It could be more about a trigger.
The guy does something that reminds her of a past assault,
and it provokes the same feelings of fear, anger, helplessness...
So whether or not the guy's going to attack her,
she thinks that she's in danger, and she fights back.
Then goes on a shopping spree. No.
She's celebrating her kills.
AII right, these are all great theories,
but we know nothing until we find her.
So Iet's follow the money.
Shawn Becker was her Iast victim.
Did he have any cards?
No one's given a recent con a Visa. We checked.
Which means sooner or Iater
she's got to find herself another source of income.
Special Victims. We took the call about your homicide.
Well, we got a victim, but he ain't that special.
Got a report about somebody bleeding all over the inside of his Seville.
Appearance paints a nice picture of how it went down.
Pants undone. Rolled by a pro.
She rolled him good, too.
Looks Iike about six stab wounds.
No cash. Lots of credit cards.
We know she only Iikes to take one.
Name's Vincent Bertram, Iived on West End.
We get his credit report, find out which one's missing.
Hope Maggie's in the mood for another hotel getaway.
Vincent Bertram's credit report.
The guy was carrying more debt than all of our salaries combined.
Spends all his cash getting service in his car.
Now, it says that he owns five credit cards.
We only found four in his wallet, right?
Here. American Express is missing.
That's a wise choice. You get frequent flyer miles with that.
What did the M.E. have to say?
The cause of death was between two and four hours ago.
Pre-release.
Is that significant?
No. That's just cold.
30 minutes ago, $400 charge on the Amex to the Lancaster Hotel.
Go on. I'II tell ESU to meet you there.
STABLER: Margaret Peterson! Police! Get your hands up. Get them up.
COP 1: Stay right there, ma'am. COP 2: AII right, clear.
COP 3: Put the baby down.
No. No guns, please. No guns.
(BABY CRYING) Okay? Okay. You're scaring him.
BENSON: Hand him over to me, nice and easy.
I'm not gonna do it.
Maggie, no one will get hurt if you hand him over.
Hand him over to me, Maggie.
No, no. Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him!
Maggie Peterson, you're under arrest for the murder of Vincent Bertram.
Joey! Joey!
You have the right to remain silent,
anything you do or say can be held...
BENSON: Where's ACS?
They can't pick the kid up for a couple of hours.
She keeps asking for him.
Might make her more amenable to a confession.
Let's find out.
Could I make a suggestion?
I'd just Iike to speak with her first.
Why?
To do a mental status exam.
Just do it afterwards.
If she thinks we're concerned about her mental state,
we Iose an advantage.
We want her scared.
I disagree.
Who knows how traumatized she is.
If she feels Iike she's being ganged up on,
then she could just shut down completely.
I'II just do a brief exam
and then the two of you'II be better equipped to question her once I'm done.
This is new territory for everybody. I agree with the doc.
Do the recon, Iet us know where she's at.
Let's talk a Iittle about your relationships.
Did you get along with your parents?
No. No, I didn't.
Either of them?
My mother died when I was six,
and my father was not a very nice man.
How so?
He was abusive.
After my mother...
He started drinking.
When he drank, he got violent.
Have you ever had hallucinations?
Saw things that weren't there or heard voices?
No, nothing Iike that.
Have you ever felt someone was out to get you?
No. Well, yes,
but then again, I was right about that, wasn't I?
Have you ever felt that someone could put thoughts into your head
or take away your own thoughts?
God, do people really think that?
No, I've never felt that way.
Have you ever experienced a situation in which you found yourself
in another place and you couldn't remember how you got there?
Yes, often.
How did you know that?
When have you experienced this?
When I go with these men.
I'II be in a...
A hotel room or someplace
and, I don't know, I just blank out,
and the next thing I know, I'm on the street, walking home.
Can you remember the first time that you blacked out?
Yeah. I was a kid.
That's what I'd do when my dad would start hitting me.
I'd just float away
and pretend I wasn't there.
I never thought about this before.
About what?
How I keep doing it. How I...
I meet these men, and I Iet them hurt me.
And then I...
Keep coming back for more.
(SIGHS)
Why do I do that?
So what's your diagnosis?
She's not psychotic.
But she does seem to suffer from PTSD and dissociative episodes.
So you're still thinking it's a rape trauma?
No. She's Iying.
She's just telling me what I want to hear.
Why don't you go in next.
AIone?
I need to see her interacting with one other person,
not being interrogated by both of you.
Keep her talking. Just Iet her direct the conversation.
And give her just enough rope to hang herself.
(SIGHS)
So did Dr. Huang tell you about me?
STABLER: He says you act Iike you've been traumatized.
You disagree?
Yeah.
Well, what about your rape?
It happened. I can't change that.
You're a cop.
Don't things happen to you that other people might find traumatic?
I guess.
So you deal with it and you move on.
Like me.
You know, Maggie, there are an awful Iot of dead bodies connected to you.
I heard.
You cut out of the hospital, you give everybody a false name.
Well, I thought you guys were gonna arrest me for hooking.
Let's talk about Vincent Bertram.
How'd that happen?
You really want to talk about that?
Or maybe you're more interested in all the moments Ieading right up to it.
So you get in his car.
You get paid. You go to work, and you stab him to death.
Am I... What am I missing here?
Do we really have to talk about this? Really?
It is getting warm in here.
What do you want to talk about?
Whatever you wanna talk about.
AIthough guys Iike you, you don't usually Iike me to talk.
Guys Iike me?
I am a professional, Detective Stabler.
I know men.
(GIGGLES)
Why don't you sit back down over there.
But you...
You're different from most of the others.
Am I now? And how am I different?
Well, you try to be nice and normal.
But there's a part of you that will never be that guy.
I mean, Iook at your body.
Who are you trying to impress?
Maybe my wife. Oh, no.
No. That entire package is for everyone else.
You're a tease, Detective Stabler.
Everything about you says, "Look at me, Iook at what you can't have."
Well, I... I Iike that.
I aspire to that.
You should Iisten to yourself. You sound just Iike a shrink.
Like I said, I know men.
So you must enjoy your job.
I'm good at it.
You're not afraid of getting hurt?
You walk around afraid, you're never gonna get what you want.
I'm not afraid, Detective.
Are you?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Wow!
Thought we'd call you out of there before she took all her clothes off.
What is she playing at, some kind of multiple personality defense?
Well, not quite. It's called a cocktail personality.
She senses other people's vulnerabilities,
she reads their personalities
and then she performs accordingly.
It's the classic sign of a sociopath.
So she reads my personality and decides to seduce me?
Well, for her, it's all about how to best manipulate the situation.
You're the virile cop, and so she's trying to appeal to your physical nature.
I'm the good doctor
and so she's trying to appeal to my desire to help her.
But she was raped.
Are you saying she manipulated that situation?
In a sense. She might be targeting these violent men
in order to make herself the sympathetic victim.
But she never feels Iike the victim
because she always feels Iike she can control every man.
So Iet's take away her control.
You're right.
And the best way to do that is by exposing her Iies.
That way, she'II have nowhere to hide.
Tell her what we know.
Sit down on the chair, Maggie.
Where's EIIiot?
Just us girls now.
Sit!
That act of yours was a whole Iot of fun to watch,
but you should know that it's not gonna work with me.
What act?
You can pretend to be a victim,
you can pretend to be a whore,
you can pretend to be whatever it is you want to be.
It's a joke. Maggie, you're done.
Where's my son?
No. See, that's not gonna work either.
I do not believe that you are talking to me this way.
I was raped. More times than I can remember.
Right. And your mom died, and your dad beat you.
Your mom's alive.
No dad on the birth certificate. You never knew him, did you?
Was your mom a pro, too?
Where's my son? I need to see him.
Your son?
You're never gonna see that kid again.
You murdered seven men for a hotel room and a manicure.
They raped me!
You want the whole world to think that you're a victim?
Well, Maggie, you're getting your wish,
because the state's gonna kill you.
(SHOUTS)
Don't touch me.
(GRUNTING)
Maggie Peterson's DNA was found in trace evidence
in both the Malakowski and Bertram murders.
We also exhumed the remains of Leonard Graves.
Got a match on two hairs.
Well, it sounds Iike a tight case.
But I'm guessing you didn't ask me here to brag.
I'm making my recommendation to the capital committee.
Seeking the death penalty against a woman for the first time in New York State.
That ought to get some headlines.
Well, just based on the evidence,
it is clear to me that this is a death penalty case.
And you want my blessing?
You know my position on capital punishment, AIex.
George, you evaluated her.
I want your opinion as a psychiatrist.
Do you honestly believe that all these men raped her,
and each murder was in self-defense?
No, I don't.
Do you think she is Iegally insane?
She may have any number of psychiatric disorders,
but she knew what she was doing was wrong. She just didn't care.
And if given the chance, will she kill again?
In a second.
She is a calculating predator.
I Iove a good fight.
I can't believe that turned into a women's rights debate.
We don't have the right to execute a woman just because she's a woman?
The majority of the Capital Committee agreed with your recommendation.
We get Lewin to sign it, we make the world a safer place.
And you're Iabeled the enemy of feminism.
Hey, as far as I'm concerned,
this is a coup for women's rights everywhere.
Maggie Peterson has the right to a needle in the arm
just Iike any other cold-blooded killer.
So she should just take it Iike a man.
Gender has nothing to do with it.
The fact that she murdered four people in this jurisdiction alone does.
But she's only charged with three.
Yeah. The fourth was ruled self-defense
against a known rapist and murderer.
I have a real problem with this.
That one incident does not change the circumstances of the other murders.
Do you think that the first woman New York State executes
should be a single mother, prostitute, rape victim?
Serial killer.
She knew those guys were violent. That's why she chose them.
To feel morally justified.
You're saying she asked for it.
Being the victim of a violent crime does not mitigate capital punishment.
Neither does being a woman or being a mother.
If this was a man we were talking about, who was abused as a child
and then murdered four women,
would we even be having this discussion?
If you were seeking the death penalty?
Of course we would.
I don't think so, Nora.
Because executing a man wouldn't offend the female constituents
who put you in office.
Whom we choose to execute is always a political decision.
But I'm not gonna kill anyone, male or female,
if there's a possibility that they acted in self-defense.
You don't Iike it,
you can always run against me next term.
Dr. Erica OIsen.
I'm the chief of emergency services at St. Andrew's.
This is a medical chart you completed after treating Maggie Peterson in the E.R.
Defense one.
Will you read the first highlighted portion?
"Fractured cheekbone, facial Iacs, multiple contusions."
And please read the highlighted portion of your physician's notes.
"Bilateral bruising, injuries consistent with an assault.
"Patient refused police notification."
Objection.
Why are we hearing about the defendant's medical history?
I'd Iike to know that, too, Miss Greer.
What is the date on that chart, Dr. OIsen?
March 12, 2000.
Defense directs the court's attention to People's four, already in evidence,
the document which clearly establishes the discovery
of Mr. Philip Malakowski's body by police,
also dated March 12, 2000.
So now we know.
Your objection's overruled, Miss Cabot.
I wasn't surprised when the police told me
Vincent may have been killed by a prostitute.
That was somewhat of a hobby for him.
GREER: It didn't bother you?
If it meant he'd stay away from me? Honestly, no.
Why?
Because I got tired of explaining the black eyes to my friends.
Objection. Vincent Bertram isn't on trial here, his murderer is.
GREER: My client maintains that she killed these men
to keep them from raping or killing her.
Now if they have a history of violent behavior, the jury should hear it.
Overruled.
GREER: Defense three.
A domestic incidence report filed by Mrs. Bertram in August of Iast year.
Now, you called the police on your husband.
What did he do?
That night was unusually bad.
He'd been drinking.
He pulled me out of bed and started to hit me,
then tear off my nightgown.
Somehow I got away and got to the phone.
The police showed up just in time.
He would have raped me
or killed me. I know it.
So, Maggie, you're a prostitute?
MAGGIE: Yes.
And you admit to being responsible for ending the Iives of Leonard Graves,
Philip Malakowski and Vincent Bertram.
Yes.
How do you feel about all that, Maggie?
MAGGIE: About being a prostitute?
Well, I'm not proud of it.
But I do what I have to in order to make a Iife for myself and my son.
About killing those men, I am sorry they died.
But if I hadn't protected myself,
they would have killed me.
And my son would be alone.
I thought about him.
It was the only thing that I could do.
GREER: Nothing further, Your Honor.
You're not proud of being a prostitute.
But you do it anyway in spite of these alleged attacks.
I don't have a choice.
I didn't grow up privileged,
with parents who'd send me to Iaw school.
I'm simply trying to survive.
You say you were in danger with these men,
that your Iife was threatened.
Yes.
But the threat wasn't so great it stopped you from stealing their credit cards.
You still found time to do that.
Well, I was only thinking of my son.
Of how I could make his Iife better.
CABOT: Everything you do is for your son?
MAGGIE: He's the most important thing in my Iife.
He's the only good thing that I've ever done.
He's my Iittle prince.
So every day you wake up,
you drop your son off at the babysitter's,
and you go to work.
You knowingly put yourself in danger.
You knowingly place yourself in situations you cannot control,
where you admit you could be killed.
Is that how you Iove your son?
Is that how you take care of the most important thing in your Iife?
I accept the risk.
I accept it on behalf of that boy.
I would die for him.
You can question my past,
you can question my Iife and my profession,
but do not ever question how much I Iove my son.
How the hell did you miss the domestic incidence report?
It wasn't on his rap sheet.
The wife never filed charges.
Being a batterer does not make him a rapist.
Don't count on the jury to make that distinction.
Look, we've got the weekend to poke holes in this defense.
PIease tell me the E.R. doc's got a history of Iying on the stand.
Something?
Well, not unless she Iied about it for Maggie's charts from two years ago.
Okay. So we offer
one count, man two, eight-to-10.
No way.
Are you paying attention, AIex?
We are screwed.
Do you honestly believe she killed all of those men in self-defense?
Who cares what I believe if she walks?
We just give her exactly what she wants.
She convinces the world she's the victim,
she's the perfect mother,
she's everybody's favorite hooker...
How old did she say that her son was?
STABLER: She said he turned two-and-a-half. Why?
Which means that he would've been born in April 2000.
So?
So Iook at the medical report.
It's dated March 2000.
Para zero, grav zero.
No pregnancies. No children.
Doctor would've known if she'd been eight months pregnant.
Unless she wasn't.
We have her DNA from the rape kit.
The child is in ACS custody.
They'II give us permission for a sample.
Where the hell did she get this kid?
She kills to get what she wants, right?
She wanted to be a mother.
Meeting on a Sunday? Level of desperation must be pretty high.
Not desperate.
Simply fulfilling my Rosario obligation.
So the kid's not hers. Why does it matter?
Do you want to tell her how you got your child, Maggie, or should I?
I don't know what you're talking about.
Let me jog your memory.
Eighteen months ago, 26-year-old Erin Byers went grocery shopping.
Her body was found in the store parking Iot, strangled.
Her stolen car turned up a week Iater, intact.
Her six-month-old son was never found.
You'II never be able to introduce this.
Actually, it was your client who opened the door.
Everything she does is for her child.
Right?
The judge will call a mistrial.
Fine. I'II just re-file and tack on the kidnapping charges,
plus the murder of the mother.
Do you think a jury is going to believe
your "I kill men because they beat me" story now?
Do you think the D.A. is going to give you another pass on the death penalty? Try it.
Where's Joey?
With his father who thought he was dead.
GREER: Is there an offer on the table?
Murder two on all counts, concurrent sentences, 15-to-20.
What about the new charges?
We'II talk about that after I file.
You'II never get a better deal than this.
I'm not pleading guilty. I did not kill that woman.
I found Joey. She threw him away.
It's over.
This whole motherhood facade, this Iie you have told yourself
and the whole world is going to be exposed.
I have to think about it.
Fine, you can think about it all you Iike.
But if you don't tell me by tomorrow morning at 9:00,
I'm gonna make up your mind for you.
Is Corrections producing the defendant,
or are we making the jury wait all day?
We may have a plea, Your Honor.
Call down to the pens
and see when Miss Peterson will be gracing us with her presence.
Yes. Waiting on Defendant Peterson.
There's a problem.
OFFICER: We didn't Ieave her alone that Iong.
She used her stockings Iike a noose, and just sat down till she died.
"Last will and testament. I Ieave all my worldly belongings
"to my beloved son. Without him, I am nothing."
There's a number for a safety deposit box.
Says there's 10 grand in there.
Her Iast act, and this is when she decides to be selfless?
Look at her.
Every hair in place, perfect make-up.
She gets to go out Iike a beauty queen,
and everybody thinks she's sacrificing herself.
It's a performance.
Performance of her Iife.