The Ledger

4.6 Pride and Joy

In this episode (4.6), a "gifted" teenager kills his father, who he says was abusive. It turns out, however, he probably killed him because he was ashamed of his father's working class ways.

The episode begins with a mom arriving home with groceries. She calls out to her family, and finds her son, Sean, in the back, listening to music. She finds the dad out back in the alleyway. He's dead. The cops arrive and look around, and then the mother's daughter, Maureen, shows up and freaks out. Cerreta and Logan investigate, and Stone and Kincaid prosecute.

The neighbors say they heard an argument, but assumed it was another tenant. Back at the precinct, everyone agrees the details don't add up. Forensics (Medill?) determines that the victim's blood is on glass fragments that previously appeared to have been created by a burglar breaking in to the alley way. This evidence doesn't support that idea. They talk to the daughter's juvenile counselor, who says she's a mixed up girl and hangs out with a shady boyfriend, Mitchell Lewis. They talk to Mitchell and Maureen. Then they talk to Sean and his girlfriend, Sandy Resnick.

Back at the precinct, they have Chinese food and discuss the case. "None of this plays," they say, still trying to figure it out.

They talk to the real estate company that the dad, who was the building's superintendent, worked for. The guy there says the dad often had broken bones. They begin to suspect he may have been beaten by his son at certain times prior to his death.

They talk to a neighbor about the night of the murder. She says she heard the argument and then half an hour later heard the glass break. It's clear the son is the chief suspect now. They review the crime scene with forensics and find that the body had been dragged from the basement to the alley, leaving a blood trail along the way. The trail had been cleaned up but they can see it with UV light.

They talk to the victim's wife's brother, Sean's uncle, who says he saw Sean almost hit his dad once. Sean is interrogated, gets a lawyer ("Roger Easton") and is arrested (29'). Stone and the defense attorney talk. Sean's mom admits that Sean beat his dad, but says the Dad beat Sean too. Kincaid is skeptical of this story. Schiff tells Stone to make a deal depending on what Olivet has to say about Sean.

Olivet interviews Sean and concludes he's a sociopath. She also thinks the mom lied: Sean wasn't abused. Kincaid meets with Maureen who says their dad didn't abuse them. They have a big family meeting with Stone and the mom still defends the son, even though it's at the expense of her daughter.

Sean goes on trial (45'). Maureen testifies, Sean testifies, and the verdict comes back: guilty of Murder 2.

Casting notes: Maureen is played by the red-haired girl on Six Feet Under.

Posted by adm at July 13, 2004 09:40 PM

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