December 30, 2003
11.17 Ego
In this episode (11.17), a rising star in NY state DA's office is implicated in murder of a female co-worker. Not a particularly notable episode, except for part of the performance of the suspect. During his trial, he turns the tables on one of his staunchest supporters who was forced to testify against him. He exhibits a barely-perceptible smile as he watches the witness squirm under a barrage of questions from the defense attorney. The moment tells more about his personality than the murder itself.
The episode begins with a father and a son fishing on a riverside sidewalk. The father hooks a female body. Green and Briscoe arrive and are told the body has been in the water for 3-4 weeks. It's decomposed and has been partially eaten by fish.
The only clues they have to her identity are a handmade belt buckle and the medical examiner's theory that the victim is a German national, because she has stainless steel dental work. They trace the belt buckle to a Native American craftswoman (who turns out to really be named Linda Epstein) who sells her merchandise through a Chelsea boutique. The detectives call every name on the boutique's mailing list, and end up with one name that is also in the missing persons files. That person, named Karen, grew up an army brat in Germany.
They visit Karen't brother who confirms that she was in NYC the day she disappeared. They next visit her place of work: the New York State Attorney General's office in Albany. They talk to the Albany DA and her assistant DA who pledge to be helpful. They pick up where the state trooper's investigation into Karen's disappearance left off. They talk to a witness an an Albany train station who says he saw Karen get off a train that night, but he turns out to be saying whatever pleases the troopers, so Briscoe and especially Green get mad at the troopers for doing such a poor job with this witness and the investigation. The troopers say they've been feeling pressure from the AG's office to focus on suspects that are not connected to any of the cases the AG's office was working on.
Van Buren talks to the AG's assistant, Mr. Conroy, who again pledges to be helpful. The detectives follow up various leads, but then determine that Conroy himself is stonewalling the investigation. Under pressure from Carmichael and McCoy, he admits that he was having an affair with the victim, but it ended months prior to her death. His alibi is that he was with another mistress.
Carmichael talks to this woman who is completely supportive and devoted to Conroy. She says Conroy fears nothing. They talk to Conroy's wife who is afraid of him and who eventually says that during a session with their therapist, she became afraid for her safety. The therapist wrote a letter to Karen telling her to be mindful of her safety and that she was under a threat from Conroy. Karen's copy of this letter can't be found, but the therapist gives them his copy. Based on this, as well as blood evidence in Conroy's mistress's apartment, they arrest Conroy.
The case against him falls apart when he gets the letter suppressed, arguing that it's privileged both because of his therapist's involvement and his wife's. McCoy tries to make a deal with Conroy (at Lewin's urging), but Conroy scoffs at the weak circumstantial evidence they have against him, and they decide to go to trial.
At trial (45 mins), Conroy's attorney puts the mistress on the stand, and accuses her of the murder. But McCoy manages to get the letter admitted into evidence, and once this happens, Conroy crumbles, issues a full confession, and makes a deal.
Posted by adm at December 30, 2003 09:34 PM