- In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate, yet equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
- Congratulations, girls.
- Thank you, Dean West.
- Just 'cause you got accepted early,
we don't want any senioritis.
Colleges are still looking at your grades.
So are we. [chuckles]
Looks good.
You wanna talk about it?
- Sure.
I applied to Northwestern because you told me to,
and I got rejected.
Now I'm screwed.
- Gentle reminder, Stella.
We have two Chalk Days every year,
one in the fall and one in the spring.
- I know, but that doesn't mean--
- Some students get into their dream school early,
but most find their dream school in the spring.
And that's going to be you, Stella.
And I'm going to remind you of this conversation then
when you're putting Wash U on the quad or GW
or whatever amazing college is lucky enough to have you.
- I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to--
I'm just really bummed out, that's all.
- I get it.
What do we say at times like this?
- Bad day in a great life.
- Never forget that.
[ominous music]
♪
- Hey.
- Lou, what are you doing up here?
- Well, seems like everybody who runs this town
went to Ellsworth Academy.
The Dean of Students gets killed,
they start looking over my shoulder.
What do we got?
- Meredith West, beaten to death
with some sort of blunt instrument.
No sign of the murder weapon.
Cash, credit cards, phone, everything was on her.
No sign of defensive wounds, so--
- So probably not a robbery.
- Neighbor came home and found her at 7:28 p.m.
Didn't witness the attack,
gave us a pretty vague description of someone
hurrying away from the scene.
- How vague?
- Small frame, green hoodie.
Vague.
- West lived right there with her husband.
- So it was just the two of you living here, yeah?
- Yes.
Our girls are away at college. [sighs]
Oh, God.
They don't even know. [sniffles]
- Was Meredith having any problems?
Was she being threatened by anyone?
- Um, not that I'm aware of.
- Any issues at work?
- I mean, Ellsworth isn't the easiest place to navigate.
She's always got people tugging at her.
Her students--these are the future masters of the universe,
the Ellsworth clientele.
- People who are not used to hearing no.
- She was proud to be affiliated
with such a prestigious school.
And she was so good at it.
[crying]
- I know this is hard,
but we do have to ask what you were doing.
- I get it.
Uh, I worked remotely today.
There's records of emails and Zooms and stuff.
- OK. How about this evening?
- Uh, I put on some soup.
It's getting chilly outside.
Meredith loves my broccoli puree.
Uh, she called around 7:00, said she was headed home.
I got in the shower, 7:20 maybe.
I stepped out, and I heard police radios down the street.
That's when I found out.
- And when Meredith called, did she mention
that anything unusual happened?
Did she sound worried?
- No.
It was just--just another day.
[tense music]
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
- We talked to West's assistant.
Nothing really seems off about her last day.
She had an event for seniors,
the usual parade of faculty meetings and committees.
But we did manage to snag some ARGUS footage of her
when she was leaving campus at 5:43 p.m.
She walks out, heads west on 71st Street.
She's dead less than two hours later.
- So the question is, what happened between 5:43
and the time of the murder? - Yeah.
- Hey, Lou, check this out.
Got something.
So there she is crossing Lex, and then...
[keyboard clacks]
- The hell is that about?
- I'm not sure, but it goes on for less than a minute.
Then they go their separate ways.
Then we lose her two blocks later on video.
- OK. Run facial rec.
- I'm sorry to hear about Dean West,
but what's this got to do with me?
- As far as we know, Mr. Donovan,
you're the last person to see Meredith West alive.
- [scoffs] This is gonna sound crazy.
- Pretty high bar for us.
- My son, he's a sophomore at Ellsworth.
He's supposed to take this class next year, AP English.
You don't just sign up, though. You got to test in.
- So?
- So they give the kids this essay prompt
to write about the benefits of eating locally,
the locavore movement.
My kid was clueless.
So my son didn't pass the essay,
which means he can't take AP English.
- So? - So?
He's screwed. [scoffs]
We chose Ellsworth so that he can go to a top college.
And you can't get into a top college
unless you take lots of AP classes.
I talked to Meredith, explained that
I needed my son to get into that class
or I wasn't donating any more money.
- So your kid is 15 years old.
All of a sudden, his life is over?
- I get it. Trust me.
If every other parent is playing this game,
grabbing any edge they can for their kid at any cost,
and if you decline to participate,
then you're a bad parent.
So you become someone that you don't recognize,
someone who goes nuts about stupid things,
then yells at Meredith West about it.
- OK, help me out here, 'cause I'm confused.
So you weren't mad at Dean West.
- I was.
But I don't blame her.
She's just caught in the middle.
Truth is, she was a miracle worker.
She had a hundred pricks like me coming at her every day.
She took every punch. She cleaned up every mess.
If you ask me, she held that school together.
[sirens wailing]
- Hey. - Hey.
Video surveillance came back from Donovan's office.
He went back there after his altercation with West.
- All right, so now we just got to figure out
where West went after that,
which is a giant black hole at the moment.
[indistinct chatter]
You good? - Yeah.
Keep working with the techs on the dean's phone,
and I'll be in in a minute.
- All right.
- Hey. Hey, Mom.
- How you doing?
What are you doing up here?
- Just, uh, wanted to come say hi.
Leo just got a show on the books in the village.
It'd be great if you could come by and check it out.
He'd really appreciate it.
- I'd really appreciate it if he got clean.
- He is. He's two months sober now.
- I hope you're right. - I am.
- We've been down this road before.
- I get it. He's--he's not perfect--
- I'm not expecting him to be perfect.
Your brother has to grow up now
if he wants a chance at a decent life.
- Just cut him a break. Just give him a chance.
Just one chance. - I've given him a chance.
100 chances--what, like I'm the problem here?
I got to go. - Mom.
[sighs]
- Hey, Lou.
The techs cracked the personal calendar on West's phone.
- Yeah, and?
- Well, after her run-in with Donovan,
she had an appointment scheduled for 6:30.
- With who?
- Woman named Amelia Mann.
Apparently, she's some kind of Ellsworth Academy legend.
Ran the school for 22 years.
- OK, so go talk to her.
- That's gonna be tough.
[foreboding music]
Amelia Mann died in 1987.
♪
- How can I help?
- You can start by telling us who you are.
Dean's calendar said she had a meeting here
with a woman who died in 1987.
So I'm guessing that's not you.
- You don't care to explain that?
- I can't.
I have an NDA with Ellsworth.
- Look, lady, we're investigating a murder here,
so I can't overstate how little an NDA means to us right now.
- My name is Bronwyn Stover.
I used to teach at Ellsworth.
I had an inappropriate relationship with a student.
- With a kid?
- He was 18.
Everyone wanted to keep the--the situation private,
the board, the head of school, Meredith,
the student's parents.
- The parents did?
- Head of school promised their son
would get placed at Princeton.
- What do you mean, placed?
- Head of school called in a favor
in exchange for the family's silence.
- All right. And what about you?
- They wrote me a six-figure check.
And, uh, I mean, the school's owned this place
since the Amelia Mann years.
So they let me move in and told me to keep my mouth shut.
- Pretty cushy landing, considering.
- Sure is.
What was Meredith West doing here last night?
- Telling me that my lease was up.
- Did that piss you off that she was kicking you out?
- No.
She was fair and--and loyal.
And then she left.
- Did she say where she was going?
She have another meeting?
- No.
She just had a long day and was headed home.
Oh, only other thing was, um, she said she was
in "extra time hell," and it was driving her nuts.
- Extra time hell?
- Kids with learning disorders-- ADHD, OCD, dyslexia--
they're getting special accommodations at school,
right, things like private rooms to take exams.
And this is the big one.
They're getting extra time
for things like essays, assessments.
- Standardized tests, too-- ACTs, APs, SATs.
Some of these kids got double the time
to take the same exams.
- OK, so kids with learning issues get extra time.
I--I don't see what this has to do with West's death.
- Well, parents are getting false diagnoses
for kids who don't have these issues.
- To jack up their scores? Yeah, I get it.
But I'm still waiting for the connection to West's murder.
- She was the one handing out the accommodations.
- And not everybody who applied got what they wanted.
- So she's judge and jury.
And the kids that get rejected--
- Get very upset.
- Upset enough to kill?
- A place like Ellsworth? Hell, yeah.
- I'm just worried.
I know the police want to talk, and I obviously want to
help them find the bastard who did this.
But I'm a little nervous about the process--
what to share, what not to share.
I mean, if they start digging deep,
who knows what they might find?
I guess what I'm really asking is, do I need a lawyer?
- My best advice?
Be truthful.
Don't worry about the implications.
- Nick, this isn't the political climate
for someone in my position to not worry about implications.
- Answer the questions you're asked
and only the questions you're asked.
Tell the truth using as few words as possible.
[knock at door]
- Sir, uh, the detectives are getting impatient.
[students chattering]
- Detectives.
- DA Baxter.
We were told to wait.
We didn't realize we were waiting for you.
- Ellsworth grad. My kids, too.
And I'm on the board, so...
Listen, Carlton's a friend of mine.
And I just ask you guys to remember you do this every day.
Dr. Kelly has never been through anything like this before,
and he is dealing with a lot right now.
- What's your point?
- I knew Meredith West for 15 years.
Let's find the son of a bitch who did this.
- Fall's a busy time.
A lot of earth to move,
and Meredith was doing most of the shoveling.
- Including decisions about extra time accommodations?
- Uh, that's right.
And Dean West sorted all that out last week.
- Some tough decisions, huh?
- Yes, that's a difficult process.
But it's necessary for students with certain learning
differences or who might be neurodivergent.
- What percentage of people who apply for these accommodations
get turned down?
- Hard to say.
20%.
This year was actually higher-- maybe closer to 30%.
- And why is that?
- We got more requests than ever.
So we--we were more rigorous in our analysis.
- We heard that some of the parents
of the students who get turned down can get pretty upset.
- Some of them, yes.
- Any of them actually threaten Meredith?
- Lisa Dumont? A word?
- NYPD. We need to talk to you.
- About what?
- About an email that you sent to Dean West.
"You're destroying my daughter's future.
This is not over."
- Yeah.
And I meant every word of that email.
My daughter suffers from extreme anxiety,
and she needed that extra time.
But I guess she's just a poor scholarship kid, I suppose.
- Ma'am, you are aware that Meredith West was murdered?
- Yes.
The school sent out an email.
- So where were you Tuesday, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.?
- Here, at home.
I went out for a walk at some point, I think.
- So you were here at home, or you went for a walk?
Which one is it? - No, no, no, I was home.
- Thank you for your time.
[siren wailing]
[knock at window] - What do you got?
- CCTV near Lisa Dumont's apartment.
Someone who looks like Dumont is seen walking west
on 114th Street at 7:42 p.m. a few blocks from her apartment
14 minutes after the 911 call came in.
- Timing syncs up. - To the minute.
- Slender, green hoodie.
Matches your witness's description.
- Witness didn't mention that, though.
She's wearing a backpack.
- Can you get any closer?
[keyboard clacking]
[dramatic music]
Time to make an arrest.
♪
[dog barking]
- I'm not talking to you anymore.
- No, we're not here for you.
- You can't just come-- - Yes, we can.
This is a warrant. - For what?
- This is an Ellsworth backpack, right?
- Yeah. - Number 14.
That's Emily's field hockey number.
- Hey, yo, Vince. - No.
- Emily Dumont, you're under arrest
for the murder of Meredith West. - Come on.
- What? - Get up.
You got to come with us right now.
- I--I can't. I have the SATs this weekend.
- Come on. Let's go. - Emily.
- Mom. Mom.
[phone buzzes]
[message blips]
- Our detectives made you aware of your Miranda rights?
- Yes.
- You understand that you don't have to talk to me.
You can ask for a lawyer.
- I understand.
- And anything you say we can use against you.
You get that part?
- Yes. - OK.
[door clicks]
- Just to be safe, I double-checked.
We're all good. She turned 18 two weeks ago.
- I am just trying to understand
what happened to Meredith West.
- I didn't kill Dean West.
- I looked at your transcript. You're a good student.
You get good grades. You don't get in trouble.
On the field hockey team.
You play the violin in the orchestra, right?
- [sniffles] Mm-hmm.
- I also think you killed Dean West.
- [crying]
- And it's no use lying about it.
It's not going to help you.
- [sobs]
- Are you OK? - I just--I just--
I have some anxiety, so--
- Do you want a break? - No.
I just want to go home, OK?
I have my SAT on Saturday,
and it's my last chance, so I really need to do well.
- Jesus.
The kid's staring down a murder charge.
She's worried about the SATs.
- The only thing you have to do right now
is answer my questions honestly.
A witness saw you attack Dean West.
We have video. Lots of it.
Emily, when a good kid does a bad thing,
a violent thing, there is always a reason.
I just need to understand that reason.
I need you to tell me why you wanted to hurt Dean West.
- [sniffles]
- And when you do that, you're free to go.
- I can go home?
- You can go home.
And the sooner you start talking,
the sooner you can get back to studying for your SATs.
Why did you attack Meredith West?
[somber music]
- Because she screwed me.
♪
- How?
- I asked for extra test time,
less crowded rooms because of my anxiety.
But she said no.
She said my condition didn't warrant it.
- And that's why you confronted her.
- Yes.
And she got really upset that I
tried talking to her at her home.
She said she was gonna expel me.
And I begged her to reconsider.
But she--she just walked away.
And my heart started racing really fast.
♪
And I just hit her with my field hockey stick.
♪
- Where'd you hit her?
- On the head.
- How many times? - I don't know.
Two, maybe three.
[crying]
- And where is the field hockey stick now?
- I threw it away.
- Where?
- Near the apartment.
Are we done? Can I please go home now?
- [sighs]
Uh, no, Emily, I'm afraid not.
♪
[door clicks]
- The whole thing is a damn shame.
Young girl under all kinds of pressure
lashes out at someone she perceives has wronged her.
Ellsworth is a tough place-- rigorous academics,
demanding teachers, competitive students.
- I went to boarding school in Massachusetts.
Same thing.
- Well, I went to public school in Queens.
Definitely not the same thing.
But I feel for this kid.
I mean, she was working really hard
trying to get into an elite university
while suffering from severe anxiety.
She needed help, support,
and the school rejected her request.
She snapped.
- You suggesting we charge her with manslaughter?
- I'm suggesting we consider it.
- I know Emily was upset, Sam,
but the attack was pretty vicious.
She hit the victim in the head
three times from behind while the victim was walking away.
- Which means Emily had time to cool down, disengage,
but she chose to attack Meredith instead.
Like it or not, this is murder.
- We have an exceptionally strong case, Your Honor.
The defendant confessed to killing Meredith West,
and the evidence corroborates her confession.
We ask that the defendant be remanded.
- Ms. Keller?
- Emily Dumont is a straight-A student.
She and her mother were born and raised in New York.
Neither of them have access to large sums of money,
so Emily is not a flight risk.
We ask that she be released on her own recognizance.
- This is a murder trial, Ms. Keller.
Bail is set at $500,000. [gavel bangs]
- We don't have 5,000, let alone 500.
- Get her out of here now. - [sobs]
- We will figure this out, I promise you.
- Sweetie, it's gonna be OK.
You hear me? I got you.
I got you, OK?
I love you!
- Motion to suppress.
We'll see how exceptionally strong
your case is without Emily's confession.
[tense music]
- Emily Dumont might be an adult,
but she is still a child.
- I, uh... [chuckles]
I don't know how to respond to that.
Uh, the law is the law.
Emily Dumont is 18 years old.
And she was 18 years old the night
she committed murder as well.
- And yet, Your Honor, the law recognizes
that reaching adulthood is a process, not an event.
You have discretion to look not just at someone's age,
at a number, but at the totality of circumstances
in deciding whether or not to suppress this confession.
That is appropriate in this case.
- On what grounds?
Ms. Dumont was advised of her rights,
then confessed to murder.
- Because Lieutenant Brady kept lying to her,
telling her she could go home if she just confessed.
- No, that's-- that's perfectly legal.
- But highly manipulative for someone like Emily.
She is 18, not even a mature 18-year-old.
And she has documented severe anxiety issues
which were on full display
throughout the entire interrogation.
Emily would have confessed to killing Abraham Lincoln
if she thought that would enable her to go home
and study for the SATs.
- Your Honor-- - Save your breath, Mr. Price.
I agree with Ms. Keller.
Given the age and mental condition of the defendant,
the police went too far.
The confession is out.
- We can appeal the ruling.
- The law is too loose.
It'd be hard for an appellate judge to overrule the decision.
Good news-- our case is still solid
if we focus on motive and opportunity.
Make it clear why Emily was so upset with Dean West
and that she was the one in the hoodie fleeing the crime scene.
- Nolan, can we talk in private?
You want Carlton Kelly to testify?
- Uh, no, no.
We need Carlton Kelly to testify.
- Why?
Is there a problem?
- No.
But there appears to be a conflict of interest.
- Excuse me?
- You're on Ellsworth's board.
- Oh, for God's sake.
- What's best for the case might not be best for Ellsworth.
We are calling Carlton Kelly to establish motive.
My intent is to set the stage for the jury,
help them understand why getting extra time accommodations
was so important to someone like Emily Dumont.
- You want to pull the curtain on the whole extra time game?
- I intend to explain that some students abuse the system
to gain an unfair advantage.
Jury needs to understand how
something that seems so trivial,
like being denied extra time--
in an environment like this, this level of pressure--
could motivate a decent kid to commit murder.
I know Ellsworth means a lot to you, Nick.
- Do what you have to do.
If Ellsworth's reputation takes a hit, so be it.
All I want is justice for Meredith West.
To be honest,
it's disconcerting that you would assume otherwise.
- Nick-- - Just do your job.
- We're a secular school,
but there is a line from the Bible I toss around.
"Iron sharpens iron."
- To be the best, surround yourself with the best.
- Correct. - Got it.
- Being one of the more elite schools in America
requires a certain level of rigor.
It's meant to be hard.
- So hard that almost 50% of your students
get some type of an accommodation.
Your Honor, I have marked as exhibit 1A
an Ellsworth school document
regarding student accommodations.
I'd ask to admit it into evidence.
- No objection.
- I'll allow it.
- Could you describe for the jury
the document that I have just handed you?
- This is a manifest
of the Ellsworth juniors and seniors
who were granted extra time on standardized tests last year.
- And what percentage got this accommodation?
- 46%.
- In your opinion, Dr. Kelly,
do some parents manipulate the system,
gain an unfair advantage for their child by acquiring
an improper or unfounded medical diagnosis?
- I want to be clear.
Ellsworth takes this process seriously.
Our goal is to level the playing field for the students
who have legitimate learning and mental differences.
If, for example, they're neurodivergent
or have ADHD or dyslexia, they need extra time.
- I get it.
Accommodations are crucial for those students
who actually need them.
But that wasn't my question.
Do parents manipulate the system?
[somber music]
♪
- Yes.
When a student comes to us
with a credible diagnosis from a credible physician,
it's not easy to say we disagree.
- I understand.
♪
But you just said that 46% of your students get extra time.
It's almost half.
Is it really possible that half the students
at the city's most prestigious school,
where you have to have excellent grades and glowing
teacher recommendations just to get in in the first place,
have legitimate learning issues?
- No, that's not possible.
- So it's not that you are
aware of the allegations, Dr. Kelly.
You know parents manipulate the system.
- Yes.
- And you also know that the parents
who manipulate the system are the ones who can afford it.
- Yes.
- These diagnoses aren't free, are they?
- No.
- In fact, they're quite expensive, aren't they?
- Correct.
- In your opinion,
do the students who manipulate the system,
the ones who don't have
legitimate learning or mental health issues,
but who still get extra time on tests,
have an unfair advantage over the students
who don't get extra time, like Emily Dumont?
- Of course.
They get extra time to do the exact same tests.
It's a significant advantage.
- Nothing further.
Lieutenant Brady, will you please read the email
sent from the defendant to Meredith West
two days before the dean's murder?
- "Why do all the rich kids who don't actually
"have disabilities get accommodations,
"but the poor kids with real problems get denied?
"How do you expect us to compete with these students
when they get twice the time?"
- Will you now please read the text exchange
between the defendant and one of her classmates
the day before Meredith West's murder?
- "West is an evil bitch, only cares about rich kids.
"Still can't believe she refused to give me extra time
"but gave it to Rachel and Sophie.
"What a joke.
"Rachel literally laughed about it,
"admitted the whole thing is a scam.
She was just doing it to pump up her SAT score."
The recipient of that text responded three minutes later.
"Such BS.
"If Rachel's dad wasn't on the board,
would never have happened. Total cheater."
- And the defendant's response?
- "So is Dean West.
"But she's getting paid off.
I literally want to kill her."
- People rest.
- Ms. Keller, call your first witness.
- Defense calls Lisa Dumont.
Do you believe your daughter, Emily,
is capable of killing someone?
- Absolutely not.
Emily is a kind, sweet girl.
- Do you believe Emily killed Dean Meredith West?
- I know she didn't.
- How?
- [sighs]
Because I did.
[crowd murmuring] I killed Meredith West.
- Settle down. [gavel banging]
- Your Honor, this is an ambush. We had no notice.
- There is no requirement to notify the People.
- Let's meet in chambers now.
[dramatic music]
♪
- We have had no time to prepare for this testimony,
not to mention Ms. Dumont's alleged confession
appears to be a lie.
- You haven't even heard it.
- The evidence against Emily is strong.
And let's not forget,
she actually confessed to the murder.
- And the confession was thrown out,
so it's as if it never even happened.
- But it did.
It did happen.
And you and I both saw it on video.
And despite your strong desire
to protect this young woman from herself and the truth--
- Watch it, Mr. Price.
If you want to appeal, it's up to you.
But until some other judge says otherwise,
we're moving on.
So what exactly are you asking for here?
- That Lisa Dumont be prevented from confessing.
- Based on what?
- The fact that we weren't forewarned
about this testimony.
To conduct a thorough cross examination,
we'd have to suspend trial for three months.
- Can't do that, Mr. Price.
- [sighs]
Lisa Dumont wants to confess to murder under oath,
she'd better be prepared for the consequences.
- This is defense exhibit 17B, the doctor's official report.
Can you read the part entitled "Summary of Diagnosis"?
- "I have conducted a thorough
"physical and mental examination of Emily Dumont.
"It is my opinion, based on the guidelines set forth
"in the DSM-5, that the patient suffers
"from a series of anxiety disorders,
"including generalized anxiety disorder,
"agoraphobia, and panic disorder.
"She would no doubt benefit greatly from accommodations
"typically granted to students suffering
from these conditions."
- Can you please describe in your own words
how these conditions present themselves?
- Emily gets really nervous in big groups of people.
And she has panic attacks.
She gets so stressed that her--
her palms start sweating and itching,
and--and her heart starts racing.
- Did Dean West give you a reason
for denying Emily's accommodations
that her physician recommended?
- No, she just said no accommodations needed.
I mean, who the hell is she to overrule Emily's doctor?
I know my kid.
I would do anything for my kid.
And Emily needed this.
She needed to take tests in bigger rooms with fewer people.
But the school, Dean West, she didn't care,
because we don't donate money.
If you want more time, you better be connected.
All those rich parents who cheat,
who get fake diagnoses for their kids so they can get extra time,
they're screwing the kids who actually need it.
Emily and I,
we worked so hard to get her into Ellsworth.
And when that scholarship came in
was one of the happiest days of my life.
I thought, wow. [chuckles]
We finally made it.
But Ellsworth isn't for people like us,
regular people.
We thought it would save us.
But it ended up destroying us.
- What happened on the evening of October 15th?
- I followed Dean West home,
and I asked her to reconsider.
And she got upset.
She got mad at me,
and then she just walked away.
She didn't care that she just blew up Emily's life
and any chance that she had at a top college.
- And then what?
- I had Emily's backpack.
I picked her up from practice that day,
and she had her field hockey stick in it.
And when Dean West walked away from me...
♪
I hit her in the head with it.
- What were you wearing?
- A green sweatshirt.
- And what did you do with the field hockey stick?
- I tossed it in a vacant lot at 112th and Amsterdam.
- Was Emily with you?
- No.
- Did she help you dispose of the field hockey stick?
- No.
- Did Emily have anything to do with this attack?
- No.
I did it myself.
I killed Meredith West.
♪
- The detectives found the field hockey stick
exactly where Lisa Dumont said it was going to be.
It's covered with her prints and Emily's, too.
- Is there anything in Lisa's testimony you can disprove?
- No.
We tried, but we didn't exactly find anything
to corroborate it either.
- Except for the location of the field hockey stick,
something Emily herself wasn't sure of.
- Are you suggesting that Lisa might have
actually committed the murder?
- No, I was there when Emily confessed.
She's telling the truth. She did this.
- Except the jury will never see her confession.
From a legal perspective, it's irrelevant.
- Sorry. You said this yourself.
She chose to do this as Meredith West walked away.
Emily meant what she said.
- Say you're right.
Now what?
- We cross-examine Lisa.
We undercut her testimony, make it clear to the jury
that Emily is the real killer.
- Except we can't prove that Lisa's lying,
which means her confession will likely create reasonable doubt,
which means Emily walks.
- Then I suppose we charge the mother.
- Well, we can't.
You would have already discredited her testimony.
We don't get to call her a liar today
and a truth-teller tomorrow.
- What are you saying?
Do you want me to accept Lisa Dumont's confession
as if it's real?
- I want you to cut her a deal.
She pleads guilty to murder two, and her daughter walks.
Either one of these two women
could have committed this murder, correct?
- Yeah, on paper.
I mean, we can't disprove the mother's story.
And she did know where the murder weapon was.
But let's face it-- I mean, she's obviously
falling on the sword for her daughter.
- Maybe.
But we'll never know.
To me, the worst-case scenario here
is that we let a mother pay the price for her daughter's crime
and we give a stressed-out high school kid
another chance at a life.
- That's one way of looking at it.
- The other?
- We're putting an innocent woman in prison for 20 years.
- That is not my intention.
But someone has to pay the price
for killing Meredith West.
- [sighs]
- I understand you've reached an agreement on a plea.
- We have, Your Honor.
The defendant has agreed to plead guilty
to murder in the second degree.
The People recommend a prison term of 20 years.
- Ms. Keller?
- That's all correct, Your Honor.
- Ms. Dumont, does all of this sound right to you?
You are, in fact, guilty of murder?
- Yes, I am.
- She's lying! I did it!
- Escort her out, please.
- [sobbing] Please don't take her away!
Please, Mom!
Please don't do this.
Mom!
Please!
Mom!
[sobbing]
- Ms. Dumont, to be clear,
once we do this, there's no changing your mind.
The court will take you at your word.
And you will spend the next two decades in prison.
So this is as real as it gets.
- I understand, Your Honor.
- Did you strike Meredith West in the head?
- Yes, I did.
- Did you kill Meredith West?
[tense music]
- Yes, Your Honor. I did.
- The plea is accepted.
Court officers, take custody.
[gavel bangs]
[handcuffs click]
♪
[line ringing]
- Hey, it's Leo. You know what to do.
[voicemail beeps] - Hey, Leo.
It's me, Mom.
Um...
Haven't seen you in a while, and I--
I really don't feel great about that.
Um, so I was wondering
if you wanted to get a bite this weekend or something.
Um...
Uh, give me a call when you can.
OK, bye.
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]