Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 16x16

1. (narrator) In the criminal justice system,

2. sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.

3. In New York City, the dedicated detectives

4. who investigate these vicious felonies

5. are members of an elite squad known as

6. the Special Victims Unit.

7. These are their stories.

8. Sorry, watch those blocks.

9. So what, that toy box is just what, decorative?

10. Oh, you brought the jokes.

11. Huh? Ah, oh.

12. Thanks.

13. So you said you didn't want to talk about this in the office?

14. Um, Johnny D, the pimp, he's still in custody

15. on federal charges?

16. Yeah, his lawyers tried for bail but they were shut down, why?

17. What if our investigation turned up information

18. that Johnny D fathered a child?

19. With Elly Porter.

20. This conversation is hypothetical as of now, okay?

21. If Johnny D was in fact Noah's biological father...

22. is that something that NYPD would have to disclose?

23. You double checked?

24. Ran the DNA three times.

25. Johnny D was a major trafficker.

26. Probably bought and sold every girl who's been

27. put to work in New York.

28. And then he raped them to break them in.

29. Look, I haven't slept since I...

30. Just tell me that he doesn't have to know.

31. He doesn't.

32. It's not exculpatory in any way. He never needs to find out.

33. I've already started the adoption paperwork.

34. Given Noah's early history, how can you be expected

35. to know who his father was?

36. Walter? Excuse me.

37. They dig you out of the old novelist's home for this too?

38. It's Fred Worth, Walter.

39. Fred Worth. Wow, great to see you.

40. Are you sure?

41. Last time we spoke was in the green room at the Cavett show.

42. I had just finished reviewing your Vietnam book.

43. You said you were gonna slice off my ears

44. and mail them to the Viet Cong.

45. I didn't do it. Did I?

46. Of course not, darling.

47. I guess you're going strong, Walter.

48. Forgot what it takes to hold onto a beauty like this.

49. My prettiest wife yet.

50. Oh, look, there's Roland Evans.

51. Ah. Fred, great to see you.

52. Great to see you too.

53. - Dad! - Dad?

54. We weren't on the list for the party because of her.

55. - Charmaine? - Yeah, Dad.

56. She won't let us see you.

57. Delilah, please not now. Your father is cold.

58. We've been to the house. She hasn't let us in to see you.

59. Dad—Dad, we just want to know are you all right?

60. - We miss you. - Yeah, I—I'm great.

61. I'm just fine, yes.

62. Dad, are you sure?

63. - I'm fine. - Watch your head.

64. Dad?

65. It was great to see you.

66. Hey, Sarge, there's two women

67. here who will only speak to someone in charge.

68. Sure.

69. Hi, how can I help you?

70. We want to report a sex crime—a rape.

71. Oh, I'm so sorry. Why don't you have a seat?

72. - Which one of you— - It wasn't one of us.

73. It was our father, Walter Briggs.

74. The novelist? I'm a huge admirer.

75. I've read every one of his books ever since—

76. So what happened to him?

77. His wife, Charmaine,

78. she pumps him full of erectile dysfunction pills

79. and makes him have sex every day, which is dangerous,

80. considering he's got a heart condition.

81. He's divorced from both our mothers.

82. Charmaine won't let us see him.

83. So how do you know this?

84. His housekeeper told us.

85. She feels terrible, but she doesn't know what to do.

86. That may not technically be rape.

87. Penal law section 130.25— sexual intercourse with a person

88. who is incapable of consent because of mental disability

89. or incapacitation.

90. Our father is almost 80 and has dementia.

91. He does not consent.

92. He cannot consent.

93. Did you look that up?

94. - I'm in law school. - Oh, where?

95. - I'm in Fordham—nights. - Carisi?

96. Why would she be doing this?

97. Our father's will divides his estate in equal shares

98. between his current wife and his children.

99. Your stepmother wants a child so she can have an extra share.

100. So she's raping him.

101. Yes, I've worked for Mr. Walter for 30 years.

102. His daughters told us that you had some concerns.

103. I do.

104. When Mrs. Briggs find out, she'd fire me in a skip second.

105. No—we'll do our best to keep you out of it.

106. What's she's doing to Mr. Walter is wrong.

107. Giving him them pills.

108. He doesn't know, but I see her.

109. A man his age— he needs his ease.

110. Does he know what's going on? In general.

111. He was brilliant.

112. Now he's got gaps. Big, empty spaces.

113. Oh, she don't like me to be late.

114. Okay. Thank you coming in.

115. Well, the housekeeper confirms.

116. Okay, so Mr. Walter as in Walter Briggs, the writer?

117. Yeah, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award.

118. Well, he's nearly 80, and his wife—

119. - His sixth wife. - Who's 45—

120. And making him have sex constantly.

121. Is that a crime or an old man's dream?

122. The daughters say that she wants another child,

123. so if he is incapable of giving consent,

124. then they're right, it's—it's rape.

125. Yeah, and the fact that the alleged rapist

126. is his wife is legally irrelevant

127. but, I mean, of all the people—I mean,

128. have you guys read Briggs' book The Fifth Assailant?

129. The guy is a literary genius.

130. Isn't he the literary genius who threw one of his wives

131. through a plate glass window?

132. Yeah, there's actually a scene based on that in the book.

133. Okay, so the complaints are coming from his daughters,

134. right?

135. What's in it for them?

136. A bigger slice of the estate?

137. No—love, devotion, maybe concern?

138. Right.

139. We've got an allegation, we have corroborations,

140. so you two go speak with the happy couple.

141. And Carisi,

142. as a detective, not a fan.

143. I should say I'm still not quite sure why you're here.

144. It's called a welfare check.

145. We do it from time to time, mostly with seniors.

146. I'm guessing that would be me, huh?

147. Oh, dear, did my husband's daughters call you?

148. They did express some concern.

149. They said they weren't allowed to see Mr. Briggs?

150. This is one of those difficult family situations—

151. stepmother, stepdaughters.

152. I'm sure it happens all the time.

153. I'm sure it does but actually, Mrs. Briggs,

154. would you mind if we— if we spoke separately?

155. It's just standard procedure.

156. As a matter of fact, I do mind.

157. Walter and I don't keep secrets from each other, do we, Walter?

158. Not really, no. I humor her.

159. So what exactly did you want to talk about?

160. It's pretty personal.

161. Pertaining to your sex life.

162. And that's a police matter?

163. 79 and stiff as a varnished eel.

164. A varnished eel.

165. My third wife took up with a bartender

166. because I got distracted by my book on the pope.

167. Now, you spend six months in the Vatican,

168. and you'll see what happens to your testicles.

169. Roman Follies It was a wonderful book, sir.

170. - I read it in college. - Thank you.

171. All of his books are wonderful.

172. Okay, so Mr. Briggs,

173. you're happy to keep your wife satisfied?

174. Well, of course I am.

175. I mean, just look at her.

176. Moreover, I'm obliged.

177. It's a man's duty to nature.

178. (Walter) A million years of evolution, you know.

179. Oh, these feminists, they can preach

180. and screech all they want,

181. but until the day that a man suckles an infant

182. and a woman goes out and hunts, and...

183. A woman goes out and hunts, and...

184. What? I'm sorry.

185. What? I'm sorry.

186. My husband's very tired, but as you can see, we are fine.

187. You're kidding me.

188. His daughters are complaining, but he isn't?

189. Yeah, he says he's doing his manly duty

190. by keeping his woman satisfied.

191. So he's consenting to the sexual activity?

192. Him and his varnished eel.

193. Okay, but is he capable of consent?

194. I mean, what's he like?

195. - I don't know. - Rollins?

196. He winked at Rollins a whole bunch.

197. He quoted from an essay about manly men

198. that he wrote in Playboy in 1972,

199. and then just like that, he goes off into ga-ga land.

200. It was sad. The guy was a titan.

201. Listen, that was the housekeeper.

202. Mr. Briggs just went to the hospital.

203. Apparent heart attack.

204. The daughter said that he had a heart condition.

205. If the wife knew

206. and was secretly feeding him those pills—

207. Yeah, that's assault three.

208. Recklessly causing physical injury to another person,

209. maybe even attempted murder. Am I right, counselor?

210. Seldom. Unless the daughters can give you proof

211. that the wife knew about the heart condition

212. and was exacerbating it, you've got nothing.

213. She's contesting it? Of course she is.

214. What a bitch. Okay, call me back.

215. That was my sister.

216. She's been at the courthouse all day

217. trying to get visitation rights.

218. Charmaine still won't let us visit him,

219. not even in the hospital.

220. - Any word on his condition? - Stable. That's all we know.

221. Has he had heart attacks before?

222. Several, going back to the '80s.

223. But can you prove Charmaine knew that?

224. The world knew it.

225. He wrote a piece about his first heart attack for Esquire.

226. Of course I have 12 crazies here today.

227. I'm a playwright.

228. I started this theater to put up my own work,

229. so now I'm artistic director,

230. fundraiser, ticket taker, occasional janitor.

231. Let me be clear.

232. Did you and your sister ever specifically

233. discuss your father's heart condition with Charmaine?

234. Absolutely.

235. (Benson) Dr. Tedroe?

236. Are you here because of the incident?

237. Yes, we're wondering if Mr. Briggs' heart attack

238. could have been caused by his ED medication.

239. I don't know. I never got the chance

240. to take a complete medical history.

241. Why not?

242. I thought that's why you're here.

243. His wife arrived 20 minutes ago with a private ambulance

244. and removed him from the hospital against medical advice.

245. She pulled him off the EKG monitor and was in such a hurry,

246. she took our IV pump with her.

247. The nurses didn't try to stop her

248. because Mr. Briggs needed it to maintain.

249. Can he maintain outside the hospital?

250. Maybe, maybe not.

251. His wife has put his life in jeopardy.

252. And you just let her take him?

253. His wife said she was transferring him

254. to another hospital.

255. We got the court order.

256. Where's our dad?

257. - He's not here. - You mean he's... gone?

258. No, no, no, no. No, he was—more like taken.

259. We have checked every hospital in Manhattan.

260. There is no sign of Briggs.

261. It's not kidnapping. She's his wife.

262. Even against medical advice?

263. Ripping hospital equipment out of the wall?

264. Want me to file a larceny charge on the IV pump?

265. His daughter's got a court order to visit him.

266. Charmaine's in violation.

267. Has she denied them access?

268. - They don't know where he is. - So no.

269. She's endangering her husband's life.

270. The—the doctors made that clear.

271. Yeah, plus the rape and assault charges

272. are still under investigation.

273. Barely—one of them's a stretch, the other one's a chasm.

274. This is a sick old man getting dragged across the city.

275. Well, we're not social workers.

276. But we are cops, and we can keep investigating.

277. - Knock yourselves out. - We will.

278. Mommy? Yeah, it's me.

279. No, how's Abuelita doing?

280. Uh-huh, I can stop by the house probably tonight.

281. They sent her home?

282. Who's gonna take care of her?

283. The dispatcher said you handled a call today

284. concerning a patient named Briggs.

285. The sick old dude with the crazy wife?

286. You tell me.

287. Guy had tubes hanging out of his arms.

288. I could barely get him in the chair.

289. I figured we were going to another hospital,

290. maybe rehab, but the wife said no.

291. Where'd she want to go?

292. Private airport in Westchester.

293. I said, "Lady, I don't think your husband's up for a flight."

294. She said she was paying me to drive,

295. not give medical opinions.

296. - Okay, so you took him. - No way.

297. I told her we were going back to the hospital

298. or to another hospital— end of options.

299. That guy kicks on a plane somewhere,

300. who launched him.

301. So where'd you end up taking him?

302. The lady made me stop right there.

303. She dragged her husband out in the middle

304. of 57th Street. Hailed a cab.

305. Wow, okay.

306. Did she mention where they were gonna go on that private plane?

307. Canada.

308. That sound like a healthy choice for a sick old man

309. in the winter?

310. Hmm.

311. Mr. Briggs. Mrs. Briggs?

312. Hello, detectives.

313. - Oh, great to see you. - Good to see you too, sir.

314. Mrs. Briggs, you want to tell us what's going on?

315. We are taking a vacation.

316. Is that right, Mr. Briggs?

317. I humor her.

318. Mr. Briggs, your daughters got a court order to see you.

319. They're concerned about your welfare.

320. I'm his wife, no one is more concerned

321. about his welfare than me.

322. Well, that may be true, Mrs. Briggs,

323. but now you're gonna have to tell that to a judge.

324. My lawyer already spent half the day in front of the judge.

325. Well, now you're gonna have to spend all night.

326. Please.

327. So you say you're pursuing

328. a criminal investigation against Mrs. Briggs?

329. (Heller) Which is ridiculous, Your Honor.

330. This is police intimidation.

331. What are they even doing here?

332. And you are Mrs. Briggs' attorney?

333. Arlene Heller, always a pleasure

334. to come to bucolic Westchester.

335. How nice. Mrs. Briggs is not under arrest.

336. - Is that correct? - Yes, ma'am.

337. Then why am I being held against my will?

338. out of the country.

339. What sneak? Mr. and Mrs. Briggs

340. can take a trip if they want to.

341. Your Honor, we have a court order allowing us to see him.

342. And we are moving now to be his guardians,

343. pursuant to article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law.

344. Guardians? He doesn't need guardians.

345. He's married to me.

346. Mr. Briggs was removed from a hospital today

347. by Mrs. Briggs, against medical advice.

348. And evidence suggests the heart attack

349. that put him in the hospital was caused by Mrs. Briggs

350. overdosing him on erectile dysfunction medication.

351. What evidence? Who's testifying here?

352. When did NYPD become medical doctors?

353. I'll take it from here, Ms. Heller.

354. So the contention is Mrs. Briggs is abusing her husband?

355. Absolutely.

356. Mr. Briggs, is your wife abusing you?

357. No, of course not.

358. There is a question, Your Honor,

359. of mental competence.

360. Mr. Briggs, can you tell me what this hearing is about?

361. Well, I'm pretty sure that it's about me.

362. Dad, you're here because you should be back in the hospital.

363. - No, I'm fine. - You're not fine.

364. Charmaine is not taking care of you.

365. I don't have to stand for this.

366. Everyone, stop. One at a time.

367. Your Honor? May I have a minute, please?

368. You know who I am, right, Dad?

369. Yes, I know who you are. You're my daughter.

370. And you know who she is, right?

371. Yes, another daughter.

372. Don't you think I know my children?

373. What are our names, Dad?

374. This is ridiculous. He is exhausted.

375. Just a moment. Do you know their names, sir?

376. Well, I ought to. I named them myself.

377. Dad, who am I?

378. Well, you're the one that wants to be a writer.

379. No—oh, no. She is, right?

380. That's right, Dad.

381. What's my name? Come on, Dad.

382. You named us after women in the Bible—strong women.

383. Judith, that's enough.

384. There's been so many people.

385. This proves nothing, Your Honor. It's late.

386. Mr. Briggs is recovering from a heart attack.

387. Oh, that didn't stop her from pulling him out

388. of his hospital bed.

389. That's enough.

390. pending a psychological and physical examination

391. of Mr. Briggs.

392. I remember. Their names were from the Bible.

393. Delilah cut somebody's hair,

394. and Judith cut off somebody's head.

395. Thank you, sir.

396. In the meantime, he'll be admitted

397. to Westchester General

398. and his daughters may visit whenever they like.

399. You are the one tormenting him, not me.

400. Walter, I'm gonna get you the best room in that hospital.

401. I had six wives, you know.

402. I know, sir.

403. And hundreds of lovers.

404. I penetrated their bodies

405. and I penetrated their minds, because I was a man.

406. That's what I was supposed to be.

407. And now, women are batting me around

408. like a feathered shuttlecock.

409. My wife, my daughters, and a judge in a skirt.

410. Oh, God.

411. And tonight, I'm gonna have a nurse wipe my ass.

412. How did this happen, hmm? You tell me.

413. Mommy, I just don't understand why she doesn't go to rehab.

414. 'Cause she doesn't want to go to rehab.

415. The doctors have all argued with her.

416. They are done. Do you want to argue with her?

417. Yeah, I do. Let me carry one of those bags.

418. Wait, wait—there's eggs in that one.

419. Let—don't worry, I think I can handle it.

420. So is this the plan? Huh?

421. Hi... You're gonna work for 12 hours every day

422. and then come here and do her pills, bring her groceries.

423. I'm her daughter. And the stairs are hard for her.

424. Yeah, that's why she should live in an elevator building.

425. I don't mind, and she loves it here.

426. You can have the groceries delivered.

427. This is the Bronx, darling.

428. This is not Park Avenue, remember?

429. How could I forget?

430. Momma? It's me.

431. Ah. I see you brought el juez.

432. Abuelita, I'm not a judge.

433. You will be.

434. To what do I owe the honor?

435. Hey, how'd it go last night?

436. Heartbreaking.

437. I mean, Briggs is aware just enough

438. to know that he's lost it.

439. Not anymore, he isn't. That was the hospital.

440. He died earlier this morning up in Westchester.

441. Another heart attack.

442. Maybe it's for the best.

443. You know, wife like that—

444. the end game was gonna be pretty brutal.

445. (Benson) Well, it already was.

446. Look, we need Warner or any other New York City ME

447. to perform the autopsy—

448. make sure his wife's actions didn't contribute.

449. The judge put off ruling on guardianship.

450. Charmaine still has control of everything.

451. Including the body. That's not good.

452. All right, get up there. I'll call Barba.

453. Hey, hold up.

454. Is that Mr. Briggs?

455. Yes, I'm taking him to a beautiful place.

456. Actually, you're not.

457. It's a court order. No more hide and seek.

458. Trip's off, boys.

459. The world isn't done with Walter Briggs.

460. His arteries were clogged, his heart enlarged.

461. Since when does SVU investigate death by heart attack?

462. Well, his wife took him on a road trip

463. after he had a smaller attack yesterday.

464. We just want to know if it contributed.

465. Well, it certainly didn't help.

466. The gentleman was in no condition to go sightseeing.

467. So you would draw a connection between that and his death?

468. I mean, doc, she took him out of the hospital

469. against medical advice with an IV hanging from his arm.

470. Well then, ipso facto.

471. By the way, it looks like she pulled something else

472. out of him too.

473. - What? - There's semen in his urethra.

474. He had sex?

475. A final ejaculation shortly before or after he died.

476. His wife climbed into the hospital bed with him?

477. I don't believe he was in any shape to be that fortunate.

478. If you care to observe,

479. I could show you the intrarectal trauma.

480. No—no, thanks. I'm good.

481. Really? Rectal probe electroejaculation?

482. Wow.

483. Guys, I'm—I'm lost here.

484. It's a technique for grieving wives

485. to procreate with their loved ones, even posthumously.

486. Rectal probe electroejaculation?

487. That sounds like a sex crime in and of itself.

488. We talked to the nurse on the ward in Westchester.

489. In the middle of the night after he died,

490. his daughters had just left.

491. His wife called in a specialized company

492. to extract his sperm.

493. They're used to emergency calls.

494. The same outfit cuts heads off bodies for people

495. who want to freeze them.

496. The hospital allowed this?

497. The wife had the right, as you pointed out.

498. Come on, counselor.

499. You know what we're looking at here.

500. She tormented this guy, all right?

501. The blue pills, the flight from the hospital—

502. It pains me to say this, but you're right, Carisi.

503. She killed him.

504. Manslaughter in the second degree—

505. does the defendant have a plea?

506. A plea for sanity, Your Honor.

507. Mrs. Briggs is a widow

508. whose husband died tragically of natural causes.

509. Natural causes brought on by the reckless behavior

510. of the defendant.

511. Her counsel might want to read the statute.

512. The ADA might want to ditch the condescending attitude

513. before it drips onto his suit.

514. (judge) You two hash this out on your own time.

515. Assuming no objection, I'll enter a plea of not guilty.

516. Bail is set at 100,000, cash or bond.

517. Next.

518. - Mommy. - We have to talk.

519. Okay, I'm a little busy right now.

520. You're always busy.

521. You don't think this is important?

522. Claro que si, of course I do.

523. Barba—$100,000 for a homicide? Are you kidding me?

524. We're lucky we didn't get our OR.

525. Sergeant Benson, this is my mother, Lucille Barba.

526. - Oh. - Benson... he talks about you.

527. You drive him a little crazy.

528. - Just doing my job. - Mommy...

529. Take another look at that place for Abuelita.

530. You know that it's the right thing to do.

531. No, you know it's the right thing to do.

532. Please, just think about it.

533. I'm thinking. Call me.

534. Bye, ma.

535. - Charmaine? - Charmaine, Charmaine.

536. Charmaine, Charmaine— did you kill your husband?

537. Charmaine, why did you hide Walter from the kids?

538. You people are jackals. You just want raw meat.

539. The prosecution is hounding a loyal,

540. loving wife who was dealing

541. with her husband's illness as best she could.

542. I just want my husband to rest in peace.

543. (male reporter) How much did you pay for the rectal probe?

544. (female reporter) What did you do with your husband's sperm?

545. - Do we have to listen to this? - They're not bad questions.

546. - Did you see the headline? - Yeah.

547. Everything the guy accomplished, his whole life reduced to this.

548. He wasn't exactly a great human being.

549. He was a great writer, Nick. The work deserves respect.

550. Ms. Thwaites, in your capacity as the Briggs' housekeeper,

551. did you have occasion to see Mrs. Briggs administering

552. medication to her husband?

553. (Thwaites) Yes.

554. I've seen those pills on the TV ads,

555. the ones where—so men can, you know, perform.

556. But I knew what she was giving Mr. Walter,

557. - but he didn't. - Strike that.

558. Your Honor, she's a housekeeper, not a psychic.

559. She can't know what the deceased knew.

560. Sustained. Jury will disregard.

561. How did the defendant give Mr. Briggs those pills?

562. Mashed up the pills and put them

563. in orange juice when he wasn't in the room.

564. (Barba) Thank you.

565. And that's exactly what you told Mrs. Briggs' stepdaughter,

566. - Delilah, isn't that right? - I did.

567. (Heller) And you've known Delilah a long time?

568. I helped raise her.

569. I was with Mr. Walter through four marriages.

570. So you feel motherly towards Delilah?

571. I don't know about motherly. I am fond of her.

572. Are you fond of Charmaine Briggs?

573. No.

574. (Heller) Were you upset that

575. she wouldn't let Delilah see Mr. Briggs?

576. It broke my heart.

577. So you were looking for a way to get her in to see her father

578. by feeding Delilah ammunition against her stepmother?

579. I didn't think of it like that.

580. Well, maybe you didn't.

581. No further questions.

582. Mr. Briggs had a reasonable chance

583. of surviving his initial heart attack,

584. but he was in very fragile health.

585. And what would the effect on such a patient

586. be of yanking him out of the hospital,

587. putting him in an ambulance and then a taxi,

588. then leaving him shivering for hours in an airport hangar?

589. Potentially catastrophic.

590. Every one of those acts puts stress on a patient

591. who is already very weak.

592. That's why we urged Mrs. Briggs to leave her husband with us,

593. but she refused.

594. Thank you.

595. Dr. Tedroe, you said that moving around town was dangerous

596. for Mr. Briggs because his health was so bad.

597. That's right.

598. So bad that everyday, ordinary activity

599. like getting into a taxi could lead to his death?

600. Yes.

601. So wasn't he in danger of dying soon anyway?

602. Couldn't he have died while, I don't know,

603. going to the bathroom while lifting a spoon?

604. He might have.

605. I see. Thank you.

606. Redirect?

607. Dr. Tedroe, what was more dangerous for Mr. Briggs—

608. lifting a spoon or being dragged around two counties?

609. Mr. Briggs should not have left the hospital.

610. Look, I know what you're thinking.

611. No.

612. I should take her in to live with me.

613. Other people put their families in places like this.

614. We do not put our family in places like this.

615. You are singlehandedly keeping a charter school alive.

616. You only go home to sleep.

617. How are you supposed to take care of her?

618. - I could retire. - No, you couldn't.

619. Mira, it's not so bad. Maybe she'll like it.

620. It smells.

621. They're cooking lunch, Abuelita.

622. - What are they cooking, skunk? - Mama.

623. Rafie has gone through a lot of trouble

624. to arrange this for you.

625. I didn't ask him to.

626. Why should I move after 40 years?

627. Because here, nobody has to carry groceries

628. up six flights of stairs, Abuelita.

629. They have activities. Mira, movies.

630. If you fall down again,

631. anything, you just push a button.

632. If I fall down at home, I bang on the floor—

633. Mrs. Rivera hears.

634. - Mommy? - We'll think about it.

635. I'm just trying to help both you.

636. Bye.

637. I have to go. I'm needed in court.

638. Good, go help somebody else.

639. Yeah, it was around the time

640. my father's health started to deteriorate.

641. Charmaine stopped letting us visit him.

642. She made excuses at first, like he was having a bad day,

643. and then she stopped making excuses.

644. It hurt us deeply.

645. Your Honor, the charge is manslaughter,

646. not being mean to stepdaughters.

647. Move it along, Mr. Barba.

648. Miss Briggs, tell us about the day your stepmother

649. removed your father from the hospital.

650. My sister went to court

651. to get an order allowing us to visit him.

652. Was the defendant aware of this?

653. Yes, that's why she ripped him out of there.

654. Anything to keep us from seeing him.

655. - Move to strike. - Sustained.

656. (Barba) Okay. Did you ever find out

657. why the defendant did not want you to see your father?

658. I assume it was about his will.

659. I don't know if she was trying to get him to change it

660. or she was afraid we would.

661. Move to strike. She says she doesn't know.

662. Or maybe she just hated us.

663. - Your Honor? - Sustained.

664. The jury will disregard.

665. - Mrs. Briggs?

666. - Oh, my God.

667. - Is there a problem? - Could be, Your Honor.

668. It's a video message from Walter Briggs.

669. Now, if anyone is still reading Fred Worth's books

670. by the time you see this,

671. that could only be because it's part of their punishment

672. at a state penitentiary.

673. He spends the first ten minutes

674. trashing his literary rivals.

675. Well, God forbid a feud should end just because he died.

676. Where did this come from?

677. It's an internet service

678. that sends messages to your loved ones post mortem.

679. They recorded it three years ago.

680. His obituary triggered its release.

681. For an extra fee, they set it to music.

682. Now I want to talk to the people I love.

683. My beautiful wife, Charmaine, who saved my life,

684. and my daughters, whom I love despite the way they treated me.

685. The way they treated him?

686. He certainly had a different view on it than we do.

687. He had dementia. I mean, he was confused.

688. He doesn't look confused here.

689. Their mothers turned them against Charmaine.

690. They were rude to her— rude to my wife in my own home.

691. I talked to his daughters. They knew nothing about this.

692. Can the other side use this in court?

693. They'll find a way.

694. (Worth) Delilah, I love you,

695. but you wanted to have it both ways.

696. For years, you wouldn't speak to me

697. because of that incident with your mother.

698. Now, that would be the occasion

699. where he threw your mother through a closed window?

700. - Yes. - Okay.

701. But when your career in the theater went to nothing

702. and you wrote that dreadful adaptation

703. of The Fifth Assailant without my permission,

704. you began coming around, pestering me for the rights.

705. (Worth) It just became too tedious to see you.

706. You testified yesterday that Mrs. Briggs barred you

707. from seeing your father because of his will,

708. or she hated you.

709. Is that still your contention?

710. Yes, I still believe it.

711. So you don't believe your father?

712. I believe he was under her influence—her spell.

713. (Heller) I see.

714. Charmaine was sentimental.

715. She thought a father should see his children whenever,

716. no matter what.

717. But I had to insist it was best for us all.

718. When Walter went into the hospital,

719. I knew he didn't have long.

720. I wanted him to die in peace without being pestered,

721. and in a beautiful place.

722. There was a lake in Quebec where we had happy times.

723. And what about medical care?

724. There couldn't have been much at the lake.

725. He was dying.

726. He knew it,

727. and he had the courage to face it.

728. He was the bravest man I've ever known.

729. Did you tell him why you were taking him out of the hospital?

730. I didn't have to.

731. He had made it very clear

732. that he didn't want to die surrounded by tubes

733. and machines.

734. Now, we've heard testimony that before the heart attack

735. you gave your husband erectile dysfunction pills

736. without his knowledge.

737. He was very... proud.

738. He wanted to feel like a man,

739. and he didn't need to know that a drug was helping him.

740. I wanted to have his child.

741. To get another share of the estate?

742. No, because I loved my husband.

743. I've never met anyone in my life like Walter Briggs,

744. and I wanted to have a piece of him with me forever,

745. and I wanted the world to have another piece of him.

746. Thank you, Mrs. Briggs.

747. I'm sorry for your loss,

748. and I am very sorry that you have to be here today.

749. Your husband's doctor testified that he might have

750. recovered, but you knew he was dying.

751. Which medical school did you attend?

752. Objection.

753. Mr. Barba?

754. I knew he didn't want to be in that hospital.

755. But you didn't remove him until after you had learned

756. that his daughters had won visitation rights.

757. - Seeing them distressed him. - Right.

758. And you knew he wanted to die in peace?

759. Yes.

760. So you peacefully yanked him

761. out of his hospital bed with a hep-lock in his arm.

762. He didn't want to be there.

763. You lied about where you were taking him,

764. put him in an ambulance,

765. pulled him out of that ambulance in midtown Manhattan,

766. shoved him in a taxi...

767. He didn't need an ambulance.

768. And then you took him to Westchester

769. to wait in an airplane hangar without oxygen, medication,

770. or professional supervision.

771. He was happy.

772. He wasn't suffering. He was with me.

773. Not until the fatal heart attack

774. that occurred shortly thereafter.

775. Which could have happened at any time.

776. And that gave you the right to make it happen sooner?

777. - Your Honor? - Withdrawn.

778. No further questions.

779. The witness may step down.

780. Ms. Heller, your next witness.

781. The defense calls Judith Briggs.

782. Your Honor.

783. listening to other witnesses.

784. She didn't hear anything she didn't already know,

785. and she only just offered to testify.

786. I will allow it.

787. I'll give you an hour to prepare.

788. Judith, I can't believe you're gonna testify

789. for that bitch.

790. After I saw Dad's video,

791. I finally understood what was going on.

792. I stopped seeing him

793. because you told me Charmaine wouldn't let us visit,

794. but it was just you.

795. No, she forced him to make that video.

796. She hates us both.

797. Delilah, please, just one minute.

798. Judith, what do you intend to say on the stand?

799. That my sister lied to me.

800. Charmaine hates us both!

801. She didn't want either of us there.

802. I was just a scapegoat.

803. I've always been the scapegoat in this family.

804. Delilah, stop.

805. This is all about your play, isn't it?

806. That play was supposed to be her big break.

807. She told me it fell through

808. because she couldn't get funding.

809. I couldn't get funding 'cause Dad wouldn't give me the rights.

810. He was so arrogant. You know that.

811. It couldn't be good unless he wrote it himself.

812. Besides, I was a girl.

813. How could a girl be a good writer?

814. How could a girl compare herself to him?

815. I called him on his stupid prejudices.

816. That's what he couldn't take.

817. - Are we interrupting? - Blessedly.

818. - We're in a conference. - With my witness.

819. Let's cut to the chase.

820. The good little sister's gonna

821. take the stand and demolish your case

822. by proving that my client was right to keep Delilah away.

823. Scintillating family drama,

824. but that does not give Mrs. Briggs license

825. to recklessly cause her husband's death.

826. If I could have kept him alive,

827. I would have done anything,

828. but we both knew it was only a matter of days.

829. His mind was gone. He didn't know anything.

830. No, he had moments of clarity

831. and when they came, he was adamant about what he wanted.

832. - He didn't want to be raped. - Oh, God.

833. Delilah, for once in your life, just stop.

834. One thing I know...

835. My father wouldn't want any of this.

836. We don't either. Counselor?

837. Your client pleads to criminally negligent homicide,

838. does one year.

839. No, not good enough.

840. I might consider reckless endangerment.

841. - First or second? - First.

842. - It's still a felony. - I could accept probation.

843. You know what, we'll take it to court and get an acquittal.

844. You know what, we can. We're due in court right now.

845. - Let's go. - No—let's end this.

846. I'll take it on one condition—

847. that she is not allowed to ruin Walter's work with her bad play.

848. He didn't want that, so I don't want it.

849. Judith.

850. Delilah? You know I love you.

851. But I have to respect dad's wishes.

852. Then the vote will be tied. I'll take you to court.

853. No. It won't be tied.

854. I may be cut out, but there's a third vote that I will control.

855. Your new brother or sister.

856. A fertility clinic implanted a surrogate with an embryo—

857. my egg and Walter's sperm.

858. They're all doing fine.

859. Okay, then.

860. We have a deal and you have a child.

861. Mazel tov.

862. One year's probation?

863. She killed her husband.

864. Well, one might argue that she kept him alive.

865. And I do believe that she loved him.

866. So what, people can't love somebody

867. and still hasten their demise?

868. Carisi, I know you admire the guy, but there was no way

869. a jury was gonna put Charmaine in jail.

870. And the daughters are okay with this?

871. One of them is.

872. Judith?

873. Talk to her yourself.

874. That's a good idea.

875. - Families. - How's your grandmother?

876. Still giving me grief about moving her out of that walk-up

877. deathtrap she somehow confused with Shangri-La.

878. - She didn't like the facility? - No, she didn't.

879. But it can't be her choice anymore.

880. So we're starting to pack up her things, under protest.

881. That's hard.

882. - You are a good grandson. - No, I'm not.

883. I'm over-compensating.

884. What are you gonna be doing when you're 85?

885. Squabbling with you?

886. Wouldn't that be nice?

887. I thought you might like to have this.

888. - The Fifth Assailant? - First edition.

889. And autographed.

890. I know you admired my father.

891. I did. Thank you.

892. So now you're left to clean up your father's—

893. Affairs?

894. You can say it. He was a charmer.

895. Charmaine asked me to go through his papers.

896. His publisher is bringing out his collected works

897. in a new edition.

898. He deserves that.

899. I wish you could have known him...

900. When he was all there.

901. I do.

902. Mommy?

903. Raf.

904. I came over to help her go through her things, you know,

905. just to help her go through her stuff.

906. And I buzzed the buzzer and—and there was no answer.

907. So, you know, I've got a key,

908. so I came in, went up the stairs,

909. got into the apartment, walked down the hallway,

910. and she was lying on her bed.

911. I love you, Mommy. I'm so sorry.

912. I never should have agreed to this.

913. She told us she didn't want to move.

914. I should've moved in with her, I should've—

915. I should've quit the job.

916. Mommy. Mommy, no.

917. It was me, okay?

918. She said she wanted to die in her own home.

919. And she did.

920. Hey, come.

921. Oh, God.