(male announcer) 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.
[knocking]
Chelsea?
Auntie Chelsea?
Chelsea, it's me.
I've got those clothes for you.
Oh, my God.
Stay here. Um, don't move.
Mommy's gotta do something.
I have to go potty. Okay, good.
Come on. Come on, go inside there.
Don't come out 'til I tell you.
Chelsea?
Chelsea! Oh, my God.
Nicky?
Nicky!
The victim's Chelsea Hagarty, 20 years old.
Her sister found her when she dropped by.
The door was unlocked.
Says the DOA had a newborn son here with her.
Where is he?
We searched the whole building.
Nothing.
Excuse us, ma'am.
My name is Detective Fontana.
This is Detective Green.
Can you tell us what happened?
I came by around 1:30
to drop off some baby clothes.
But Chelsea didn't answer.
I knocked on the door.
And that's when I found her.
Tell us about the baby.
He's name's Nicky.
He's only five days old.
Is there a babysitter or a friend
that would have taken him out?
Nothing like that.
Where's the baby's father?
Steve.
He's at Phoenix House.
He's a drug counselor there.
Officer, send someone over to the Phoenix House
to make a notification to the baby's father
and then bring him back here.
Thank you.
Is everything okay between Steve and Chelsea?
Yeah, they're...
They were great together.
They were so happy about Nicky.
Well, was Chelsea having any problems with anyone?
Anyone that would wanna hurt her
or take the baby?
No, no one.
I can't believe this is happening.
Ma'am, if you don't mind,
I'm gonna hold on to this photo.
And we're gonna need to ask you
some follow-up questions, so...
If you could keep in contact.
Blunt force trauma?
She took a beating,
but it wasn't what killed her.
Petechial hemorrhaging, cyanosis.
She was suffocated.
Can you ballpark the time of death?
Somewhere between noon and 2:00 p.m.
I found something else, though.
You see this scarring on her arm?
(Fontana) Track marks.
Yeah, but they look old.
We'll know more when we get her on the table.
Ah, keep looking.
My guess is you'll find fresh ones.
(Craig) It was around 11:15 this morning.
I was leaving for practice.
And I heard her arguing with somebody.
Do you have any idea who it was?
I heard a man's voice.
But I figured it was her husband.
But I'm not sure.
Did they fight a lot?
No, no, they really seemed like they were
into each other.
Did you happen to hear what they were fighting about?
I was in a rush, I just took off.
What apartment do you live in?
3C, right across the hall.
Detectives!
The baby's father's downstairs.
Hey man, if you remember anything else,
give us a call, all right? Yeah, sure.
Thanks.
All right, so what about my son?
I mean, do you have any leads yet?
Do you have anything at all?
Mr. Monroe, we're not gonna give up
until we find your boy, you can count on that.
Now, when was the last time you saw Chelsea?
This morning around 9:00 before I left for work.
Did you notice anything unusual?
No, she looked totally fine. They both did.
(Green) Did you talk to her after that?
No.
I didn't notice any rings.
Are the two of you married?
We were planning on it.
Uh, we were trying to pull some cash together.
Any problems between the two of you?
No, things were great. We were really solid.
We understand that Chelsea had a drug history.
Oh, she's been clean for over a year.
I was her counselor at Phoenix House.
That's where we met.
Any chance she could have slipped?
I think I would know.
Was she in contact with any of the people she used with?
No, after she got sober,
she put that life behind her.
She didn't hang out with those people anymore.
Well, who did she hang out with?
Nobody really.
I mean, after work she'd just usually come home and rest.
And where did she work?
Uh, over at Flair Dry Cleaners
on 72nd and First.
Mr. Monroe,
where were you between noon and 2:00 this afternoon?
What?
Oh, wait wait wait wait, listen.
The sooner we rule you out,
the sooner we can focus on other suspects.
Rule me out?
I didn't kill Chelsea.
(Green) Look, nobody's saying you did.
But right now, everybody's a suspect.
I was at work.
I was filing patient intake forms.
The Amber Alert should say "Male, white.
"Five days old. Black hair, blue eyes.
Seven pounds."
That's all we've got right now.
We'll follow up with a photo ASAP.
What do you have?
CSU found a bloody fingerprint
on the crib, but so far no matches.
Did canvass turn up anything?
There's a neighbor in 3C said she heard Chelsea arguing
with a man around lunchtime,
but we haven't been able to come up with a face.
Did you run the baby's father?
He's clean.
And so far there's no record
of any domestic disturbances
at that location.
He seems like a pretty stand-up guy.
Yeah, well, so did Scott Peterson.
Maybe he's overwhelmed by the responsibility
of a new baby. Money was tight.
Maybe she was spending her money on drugs.
Tox screen, Chelsea had crack in her lung tissue.
We ran Chelsea's name.
She took a pinch for possession
about a year and a half ago.
Oh, if she was using,
this baby could need medical attention.
We'll check the local hospitals,
see if anybody came in with a newborn.
Lieu, Chief of D's on your office line.
All right, great.
Listen, see if Chelsea had any co-defendants
on her last collar.
With any luck, you should be able
to find her dealers.
(Keys) I haven't seen Chelsea
in over a year.
I had nothing to do with this.
Look, man, we'd love to believe you. Love to.
But the thing is, she had crack in her system
when she was killed.
And since you were her dealer,
we figured she owed you some money
and things got out of hand.
I'm telling you, I'm not in that game no more.
I've been clean six months.
My kid brother got shot in January.
The bullet was meant for me.
Maybe it takes something like to that
to, like, I don't know, refocus you or something.
Yeah, it's all very touching.
Just tell us where you were yesterday around lunchtime.
Harrison High up in Harlem.
My NA group sponsored a "scared straight"
with some high school kids.
You can check with the principal.
Oh, we will.
Thanks for the tip, man.
I can go now, right?
No, you can't go now.
There's one more thing.
If Chelsea didn't get her drugs from you,
who did she score them from?
Talk to Frank.
He used to buy for the both of them.
Frank who?
Never caught his last name.
He and Chelsea were pretty tight, though.
Frank Stoll.
Chelsea was with him a few years back.
Before she met Steve.
What can you tell us about this dude?
He's bad news.
Always involved in these scams.
He got Chelsea hooked on drugs.
How did that end?
Chelsea OD'ed.
She was in the hospital for four days,
followed by three months in rehab.
Why didn't tell us about this guy before?
'Cause he's out of the picture.
Chelsea hasn't seen him in over a year.
Are you sure about that?
That's what she told me.
Why would she lie about it?
All right, listen, let me ask you this.
Where do you think we could find this guy now?
Oh, he used to be a dishwasher
at a restaurant called Picnic.
Hey. Hey you, come here.
Can I help you?
Yeah, we're looking for Frank Stoll.
He called in sick today. Why?
We need to ask him a couple questions.
You got an address for him?
Should be in my office somewhere.
You'd need a forklift to find it, though.
Let's go.
Is there something on your mind?
No, not really.
I just heard you asking about Frank.
We are.
Do you know where we can find him?
I don't wanna get him jammed up.
Maybe this'll ease the pain.
He sees this chick sometimes, work over at Shooters.
Pool bar on 49th street?
Yeah, she's a waitress.
There's gotta be a few of those there.
Not with 38 double Ds.
Frankie would never hurt a kid.
We're not saying he would.
We just wanna talk to him.
He lives up in Queens, Maspeth.
He's not there.
Well, I haven't seen him in, like, a week.
Gina, do you wanna help us find this baby or not?
Of course I do.
Then you get on the phone, you call Frankie,
you tell him you have the afternoon off.
Invite him to your place.
And make him an offer he can't refuse.
I'm not some hooker, you know.
Well, maybe you don't get this, but time is running out
for this little boy.
Now, are you gonna help us or not?
Gina?
Is that him?
Let's go.
Frank Stoll? What?
New York City Police Department.
You're coming with us. For what?
Bench warrant for unpaid parking tickets.
Oh, come on, that's ridiculous.
Where's the baby, Frankie? What baby?
You know what I'm talking about.
I don't know anything about no baby!
That'll hold up in court.
Narcotics. Four arrests, two convictions.
A bench warrant. Yeah, a parking ticket.
And now you've moved on to murder and kidnapping.
Talk about failing upwards.
I told you, I had nothing to do with that.
And that's the God's truth.
Then why didn't you show up at work that day
if you're so damn innocent?
A woman gets murdered,
first stop is the husband or the ex-boyfriend.
That's because they're usually the ones that did it,
you genius.
Hey, me and Chelsea, we had no problems, okay.
So you still saw her. Yeah, once in a while.
We'd get together to party.
When was the last time?
I don't know, a few months ago.
We have a witness that heard Chelsea
arguing with a male right before she was murdered.
It wasn't me.
You ever hear of a voice line-up?
Where we put you in a room
next to the witness, we make you scream and holler?
It's true.
We've convicted dudes with less.
You better have a damn good alibi, my friend.
I just went by to see if Chelsea was okay
with the baby and all.
What were you arguing about?
It was nothing.
Her sister was coming over.
She wanted me to leave.
I wanted to hang. (Fontana) And then what?
Then I said I'd see her later and I left.
What time was this?
I don't know, 11:00, 11:30?
Anybody see you come or go?
I don't remember anyone.
[knock at door]
What's up?
The victim's neighbor responded
to an information wanted poster.
I want you to go talk to her.
Stoll just admitted that he was with Chelsea
the day she was murdered,
so we should just keep hitting him.
This neighbor claims she saw a woman
running outside of Chelsea's apartment
yesterday with a newborn.
(woman) Yeah, sure I saw her.
She came running out of there
with a little baby.
Could you tell how old the baby was?
Oh, no bigger than a shoebox.
Little black hairs.
What time did you see this?
Uh, yesterday around 11:00 a.m.
I was going to the Wash & Dry.
Can you describe the woman?
She looked pregnant. Uh, late 30s, early 40s.
And you're sure she was pregnant.
Well, she was wearing maternity clothes.
Expensive.
Not the schmattes you see around here.
Do you remember anything else about her?
Brown hair, medium height.
Would you recognize her if you saw her again?
Oh, it all happened so fast.
I didn't get a good look at her face.
I can only say she looked pregnant.
Uh, Chelsea didn't know any pregnant women.
How about Lamaze classes?
Uh, we couldn't afford anything like that.
We think this woman was older.
Maybe late 30s, early 40s.
There was one older pregnant woman.
Uh, but she wasn't a friend.
Who was she?
She was a customer at the Dry Cleaners
where she worked.
She was always giving her pregnancy advice.
Did she ever mention her name?
No.
Just that she was sick of the advice.
(Beth) We have over 1,000 customers.
The woman we're looking for is pregnant.
She's about 40 years old and has brown hair.
(Green) She might have talked to Chelsea.
Maybe paid special attention to her.
What about that woman who gave her that little bear
with the heartbeat and the pregnancy book?
Right.
She said dry cleaning chemicals
were dangerous to the fetus.
I think her name's Arlene.
Does she have a last name?
She was a new customer.
She was only in here three or four times.
Does she have any clothes here?
No way to tell without a receipt.
Can't you look the receipt up?
They're filed by phone number, not name.
You mentioned something about a pregnancy book and a bear.
Did Chelsea come in, take that stuff home?
I think the book's still here.
Chelsea wasn't much of a reader.
Here it is. Don't touch it.
Please. Thank you.
Latent matched a print on the book
to the bloody print on the crib.
Any headway on the I.D.?
No, and neither Monroe or the victim's sister
know anyone named Arlene.
Hey, we got a tip from Crimestoppers.
The caller said that a woman tried to steal
her daughter's baby last month.
From the apartment?
No, from a park in the upper sixties.
Meet her there.
See if she can recreate the crime.
Any similarity's a plus.
(Green) Can you describe the woman?
Late 30s, early 40s.
Brown shoulder-length hair.
She was pregnant.
How about a name?
I'm pretty sure she said it was Arlene.
That's it. No last name?
No, just Arlene.
Okay, tell us exactly what happened.
My mom works in a diner on 73rd.
We were gonna meet up here after work
and have a picnic with Connor.
When did the woman approach you?
While I was waiting for my mom.
She walked up and gave Conner this little
stuffed dolphin and we started talking about--
She told Lindsay she volunteered
at some children's organization
and could get her some free baby supplies.
That was the carrot she dangled, right, hon?
Then what? My cell phone rang.
And I was trying to get it out of the diaper bag
and she offered to hold Conner.
I mean, she seemed really nice.
Lindsay turned away to get better reception--
And when I turned back,
she was all the way over there.
Halfway across the park and she had Connor.
I started screaming.
Luckily my mom had just gotten here.
I pulled Connor away from her
right at that corner.
Then she ran off.
When I heard the Amber Alert,
I thought there might be a connection.
Everything's within a five-block radius.
That park where Arlene met Lindsay Doyle,
that's on 68th.
The dry cleaner's two blocks east of that.
We found the place where she got the pregnancy book.
Four blocks west on 71st street.
So chances are she lives in the neighborhood.
We put out a "Finest Message" to all the precincts
with her description, so...
All right, call the two-two,
make sure they read it at roll calls.
We'll have someone pass out leaflets
to the local merchants.
(Van Buren) Wait a minute, wait a minute.
You said Arlene purchased stuffed animals
for both victims and that this bear
had a heartbeat?
You know, you put those bears
in the crib with a newborn.
And they only sell them at baby stores.
Baby Village.
There's one at 74th and 3rd.
We've got two. Arlene Ferrelli.
What's her address?
Greenport, Long Island.
What's the other one?
Arlene Tarrington, 68th and 2nd.
Bought a car seat here last week.
I'll print out the receipt.
You read my mind. I'm calling the DMV.
I'm gonna get them to pull a photo
so we can show it to the ladies at the cleaners.
Thank you.
[knocking at door]
Police! Open up!
Can I help you?
We're looking for Arlene Tarrington.
We have a warrant for her arrest.
You've made some kind of mistake here.
Step aside, sir. Hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute!
You mind telling me what's going on here?
We're looking for this baby. He's been abducted.
The only baby here is the one my wife just gave birth to.
Where did you deliver the baby?
St. Mary's on 79th.
Well, we need to see him.
Were you present at the birth?
No, I was in Tokyo when she went into labor.
I caught the first plane home.
I got in at 3:00 this morning.
Here he is, our son Stephan.
Where's the birth certificate?
Arlene.
What's going on, Stuart?
It's the same baby.
No.
Ma'am, I'm gonna take the baby now.
No. No, no, no, no!
I won't let you take him! You can't take him away!
Ma'am, remain calm!
Wait a minute.
I'm sure we can get this straightened out.
No!
No, he's my son!
Stop. Stop, please!
That is my son!
He's supposed to be here with us!
I won't let you do this.
Arlene Tarrington, you're under arrest
for the kidnapping of Nicholas Hagarty.
A month ago Arlene tried to abduct a baby
from a park.
When that failed, she set her sights
on Chelsea Hagarty.
So she murdered this poor young woman
just so she could steal her child.
That's what the police think.
Several witnesses described Arlene
as being pregnant.
Whatever happened to her baby?
St. Mary's has no record of the birth.
In fact, there's no evidence that Arlene was ever pregnant.
So she faked it for nine months
and her husband never found out?
Stuart Tarrington does merges and acquisitions
for a British investment bank.
He spends extended periods of time overseas.
Anybody saying this marriage was on the rocks?
Her neighbor says they were near divorce
until Arlene got pregnant.
It's kind of sad, don't you think?
This woman did a murder/kidnapping.
Breaks my heart.
Arlene's lawyer. She wants a sit-down.
This oughta be interesting.
No one is denying my client
was at Chelsea Hagarty's apartment
on the day of the murder.
I just went there to drop off a gift.
When she got there, Hagarty was already dead.
We've got evidence that says otherwise.
The so-called bloody fingerprint?
When Ms. Tarrington
saw the victim lying on the floor,
she felt for a pulse.
If she was so concerned, why didn't she just
call the police?
You can answer that.
They would have taken the baby.
And when I'd gotten home,
and I put him in the nursery,
he just looked so peaceful and so content.
And I just thought about the wonderful life
that we could give him.
And all of the opportunities
that wasn't gonna have otherwise.
What about the baby's father?
Didn't you think he had any rights?
I wasn't thinking clearly.
The baby was screaming.
He was all alone.
So, any opinion as to who was responsible
for the murder?
I had known that Chelsea had drug problems,
so I just assumed that it was all connected with that.
And Lindsay Doyle's baby?
What's your excuse for trying to take him?
The so-called prior bad act?
I'm glad you brought that up.
Motion to exclude Lindsay Doyle.
No one can accuse you of not being prepared.
I'll take that as a compliment.
(Walters) Your Honor, Lindsay Doyle
is a 16-year-old unwed mother.
The only reason Mr. McCoy is calling her
is portray my client as some kind of predator.
Which she is.
Ms. Doyle's testimony demonstrates
enough of a pattern of conduct--
I see no pattern here.
The manner, the location of the alleged abductions
was entirely different.
Minor distinctions.
The bedrock of jurisprudence.
But in this case, irrelevant.
The witness is in
on ID under Molineux. But, Judge--
Don't push it, counselor.
Jack.
Your case is shaping up, Jack.
How about you throw something low carb on the table?
She killed a young mother.
Destroyed an entire family's future.
Save the morality speech for the jury.
She didn't kill anyone.
Your notification of an affirmative defense
for the kidnapping?
She took the baby, she'll admit to it.
But she wasn't in her right mind.
Postpartum depression?
Postpartum psychosis.
It makes postpartum depression look like a day at the beach.
The police found no evidence your client was pregnant.
They didn't have access to her medical records.
Arlene miscarried at seven months.
She sunk into a deep depression
which gave way to a psychotic break.
(McCoy) This defense didn't work with Andrea Yates
in Texas and she drowned five children.
In case you haven't been keeping up
with your law journal,
Andrea Yates is getting a new trial.
And Arlene Tarrington didn't kill anyone.
(Olivet) Did she have a history
of infertility, marital problems,
and depression?
Medical records say yes.
Was she in a psychotic state
when she entered Chelsea Hagarty's apartment?
I doubt it.
But you're not sure.
She stopped her therapist after the miscarriage,
so there is no psych evaluation.
I'm gonna need something
more solid than that if I'm gonna
put you on the stand.
When I met with her,
she described having felt some of the classic symptoms.
Hostility, paranoia, despair,
mental confusion.
Delusions.
Yet she still managed to plan
this murder/kidnapping
in great detail.
Which seems very calculating.
Inconsistent with the syndrome.
Doesn't the fact that she had a miscarriage
instead of a live birth also rule out psychosis?
If that had happened during the first trimester, yes.
But at seven months?
The hormonal fluctuations would have been
much more severe.
Combine that with her marriage being on the rocks
and having just lost a child.
Are you saying she could have snapped?
I'm saying she would have been
very depressed at the very least.
Thanks for nothing, Liz.
It's a subjective science, Jack.
I understand you were overseas
during most of Arlene's pregnancy.
We spoke on the phone several times a week.
If I knew she was troubled,
I would have done something about it.
So you didn't think she was troubled?
You're asking if I thought my wife was crazy?
How dare you?
I'm just trying to understand what happened.
I thought maybe you could give me some perspective.
Arlene is complicated.
She was never one for sharing her innermost feelings.
Did she have a close friend she might have confided in?
I am her best and closest friend.
Mr. Tarrington, you didn't even know
that she'd miscarried.
This thing has ruined my life.
So last thing I need is some DA
laying a guilt trip on me.
I'm done.
Arlene killed Chelsea Hagarty and stole her baby.
She planned it down to the last detail.
If she was psychotic, it didn't hinder
her thought process.
All we have to show the jury
is that she could distinguish right from wrong.
Well, you'll also have to show them
how a sophisticated woman from the upper east side
could turn into a cold-blooded murderer.
She was desperate.
She thought the baby was the only thing
holding her marriage together.
She couldn't adopt?
Once she decided not to tell her husband
about the miscarriage,
she only had two months to come up with a baby.
And once she couldn't get Lindsay Doyle's baby,
she had to find somebody else.
Do we know that she went to Chelsea Hagarty's apartment
planning to kill her?
I doubt she thought Chelsea
would just hand over her child.
She had a fully furnished nursery.
She'd bought a car seat the week before the murder.
She had intent.
Sounds solid.
But not perfect.
Any juror who's miscarried or knows someone who has
understands clinical depression.
Depression isn't postpartum psychosis.
We need to make sure they see the difference.
I had a friend who lost twins
in her seventh month.
She didn't leave her apartment for weeks.
Now, I don't know if she was crazy
or depressed or what, but it's safe to say
she wasn't thinking straight for a long time.
Well, your friend didn't kill anybody, did she?
(McCoy) Do you see the woman
who tried to take your child in the courtroom today?
She's right over there.
Let the record show that the witness
identified the defendant.
Thank you, Ms. Doyle.
When you first met Ms. Tarrington in the park,
how long did you talk with her
before your mother joined you?
About 20 minutes, I guess.
20 minutes.
What did you talk about?
Babies.
What it's like to have a baby
when you're only 16.
Didn't you tell Arlene Tarrington
that you felt your life was ruined
and you didn't want the baby?
I don't remember saying that.
Do you remember Ms. Tarrington telling you
she could find a good home for your son
if that's what you wanted?
No.
Then you probably don't remember
asking how much money you could get for the baby.
Objection.
I'll allow it.
The witness may answer.
I wasn't serious about that.
You weren't serious?
Seems like an odd subject to joke about.
I wasn't joking.
I was--my son was only two weeks old at the time.
And I was feeling totally out of it.
Are you sure you weren't suffering from depression?
Objection!
Withdrawn.
No further questions, your honor.
What happened in there?
That lawyer just got me all mixed up.
I'm sorry.
I don't want an apology, I want the truth.
I can't.
Why not?
My mother.
If she finds out the truth, she'll totally lose it on me.
Lindsay, this is a murder trial.
You tell me what happened,
and I will deal with your mother.
I'm sure that I can make her understand.
Arlene offered me a lot of money.
She said she could find Connor a home
with rich people.
And you wanted him to have a good life.
We're all crammed into a studio apartment.
I don't even have enough money
to buy him a crib,
so yeah, I thought about it for, like, a minute.
But then I said no.
I just couldn't go through with it.
Lindsay, how much money did she offer you?
$50,000?
Why didn't you find this out during prep?
She's only 16, Jack.
She was terrified of her mother's reaction.
If Arlene was throwing money Lindsay Doyle's way,
who's to say she didn't do the same with Hagarty?
You think they had some kind of arrangement?
If they did, I'd prefer to know about it
before Arlene takes the stand.
I'll take a look at her financials.
Take more than a look.
[knocking at door]
I subpoenaed Arlene's credit card
and bank statements.
Anything?
Nothing unusual, but I found something
in her LUDs.
She called Chelsea Hagarty.
No, she called Frank Stoll.
Chelsea's ex-boyfriend.
He told the police he visited Chelsea
the morning she was killed.
What was she doing talking to him?
I don't know, but check out the date.
Three days before the murder.
(Fontana) Plasma TV.
Oh damn, Frankie, where'd you get the money
to pay for this?
Oh, I didn't. I won it in a bet.
Hey, Frankie boy, if you're in the mood
for telling stories, why don't you tell us
the one about you
and Arlene Tarrington?
What, the lady from the news?
The one who killed Chelsea?
The one who called you on your cell phone
three days before the murder.
Well, that must have been a wrong number,
'cause I don't know her.
(Green) Your boss says that Arlene comes by the restaurant
that you work at once a month
to pick up food donations.
Come on, man, you've been seen talking to her
in the kitchen on at least two occasions.
And both of you were at Chelsea's apartment
the day she was murdered.
That constitutes knowing in our neck of the woods.
You know what? Get the hell out of here.
I don't have to talk to you people.
If you were involved in this murder
and this kidnapping,
you're gonna wanna come off that position.
Man, you're way off base.
Then set us straight.
That baby is mine.
Frank Stoll is the father?
That's what he's saying now.
He filed a paternity suit.
We're still waiting on the DNA.
That child was born into an existing marriage.
He has no grounds.
Steve Monroe and Chelsea Hagarty
were never married.
If Stoll was in on it,
why didn't Arlene point the finger at him?
And implicate herself in the murder?
She's better off with her insanity defense.
What about a money trail?
There were no unusual withdrawals
on Arlene's bank statements.
But her maid said she always kept
large amounts of cash at home.
Her husband made over $3 million a year.
She could have squirreled away a small fortune.
What a world.
A child loses his mother
and now risks being taken away from the only father
he's ever known.
And handed over to a complete stranger
who tried to sell him.
Not if we put Frank Stoll away for the murder.
Based on a cell phone call and a plasma TV?
He put himself in Chelsea Hagarty's apartment
on the day she was killed.
The neighbor overheard an argument.
That's not gonna get you a conviction.
He was a career criminal drug addict
who had a pregnant girlfriend.
If a desperate woman came along needing a child,
you don't think he'd take a chance to make a buck?
I can think whatever I like,
but how do you prove that he killed the girlfriend?
Talk to Arlene.
See if she has anything to say.
And if you like her story, you offer a plea?
She'd still be looking at hard time.
And we'd have a shot to try Frank Stoll
for the murder.
(Branch) You put her on the stand
she'll be walking into a buzz saw.
Stoll's lawyer will carve her up
like some kind of a self-confessed nutcase
grabbing for a way out of a murder conviction.
I understand and I'm willing to take that chance.
If we don't at least explore this,
Stoll gets away with murder.
Well, talk to her and see if she'll give you something,
but it's riding on you, Jack.
[door slams]
We recently discovered evidence that suggests
your client was involved in a conspiracy.
With who?
Frank Stoll.
[whispered conversation]
We're listening.
We can put them together at the restaurant
where Stoll works.
We also have a cell phone call
between them.
A little elbow grease,
I'm sure we can come up with more.
So what are you offering?
Depends on what she's got to say.
He told me that he could get me a baby--
Not another word, Arlene.
If the rest of her information's good,
we'll offer kidnapping, 15 years.
And she testifies against Stoll.
Ten.
I don't think you're in much of a position
to bargain here, Ms. Walters.
There's still a chance the jury might go
for the insanity defense.
If you were confident about that,
you wouldn't be here.
And if you didn't have concerns,
you wouldn't be here either.
We think Stoll was involved.
We want him held responsible.
Tell your client 15's the best deal
she's ever gonna get.
Right now?
Frank told me that he'd gotten
his ex-girlfriend pregnant.
He said that they'd sell me the child
for $50,000.
And when I said that I wanted to see
the baby's mother, he told me where Chelsea worked.
You discussed the adoption with her?
Frank told me not to.
He said she didn't wanna know who was getting the baby.
She didn't want that connection.
She sells it pretty good.
But I don't know that I'm convinced.
Her details seem to add up.
We gave her the broad stroke,
she could be just filling in the blanks.
We'll never know exactly what happened
in that apartment.
But if you compare Arlene's background
to Frank Stoll's...
my money's on Stoll for the murder.
She's always admitted to the kidnapping
but not the murder.
She's never wavered from that.
But do we believe her?
I just don't think it was Arlene.
[knocking]
This just came in.
DNA results.
It's confirmed.
Frank Stoll is the baby's father.
What?
Nicky's not mine?
(Borgia) The court's ordered a DNA test
when Frank Stoll filed for paternity.
The results show that the baby is his.
But no... there must be some mistake.
There's no mistake.
No--Chelsea would have told me if he wasn't mine.
I can't believe this.
She never mentioned anything about Frank?
No, nothing.
She even told me that Nicky looked like me.
She said he had my ears, my hands.
I spent nine months listening to his heartbeat.
I get up with him at night.
I feed him, I read to him.
He knows my voice. He knows my smell.
[baby cooing]
Now that Chelsea's gone,
I am the only one in this world
that's here for him.
If there is a custody case, it won't be anytime soon.
Stoll's facing criminal charges right now.
Where is he?
He's been arraigned and remanded to Rikers.
Arlene's agreed to testify against him.
If you lose the case...
he'll get custody of Nicky, won't he?
I guess you should be ready for that possibility.
How do you prepare to lose your child, Mr. McCoy?
(McCoy) When Frank Stoll told you he could get you a baby,
how did you respond?
I was thrilled.
He said he'd found homes for two other babies
and that everything had gone off without a hitch.
Did he tell you how he'd encountered these babies?
He just said that
there were a lot of young girls
on the streets that wound up pregnant.
So he was a black-market baby broker
of some sort.
Didn't you know that was against the law?
Yes, but I was desperate
and--and it was his baby.
His baby with Chelsea Hagarty.
Yes.
Frank said that she'd agreed
to sell the child
if they found the right person.
(McCoy) How much money did he want for this transaction?
$50,000.
He said most of that would go to Chelsea.
Several days after the baby was born,
you called him on his cell phone.
What did you discuss?
We set up the meeting.
I gave him the money,
he told me to wait on the street
outside of Chelsea's apartment.
He was gonna go up, get the baby,
and bring him to me.
Could you describe what happened next?
I waited for about 10 minutes outside.
And then Frank came running out of the apartment
in a panic.
He said something had gone wrong
and told me to get out of there.
What did you do?
I asked him if the baby was okay.
And he said, yeah, the baby was fine,
but that we had to leave.
Did you?
No, I went up to the apartment.
The door was unlocked.
What did you see inside?
Chelsea was lying on the floor.
And there was blood all around her head.
Did you call 911?
No.
Why not?
There was no pulse. She was already dead.
What happened next?
The baby started crying.
And, uh...
I went--
I went over to the crib and he was just lying there.
Small and helpless.
And at that moment, I thought that he was mine.
And I...
I just remember feeling very desperate...
to save him.
So you took him and drove him home.
Yes.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Let's put our cards on the table, Ms. Tarrington.
You were indicted in this case
on second degree murder.
You actually went to trial.
That's right.
You claimed you were suffering from
postpartum psychosis.
And admitted your involvement.
Only in the kidnapping.
In fact, didn't your attorney
put a psychiatrist on the stand
who confirmed your diagnosis?
Yes.
It was only when you thought you were gonna
get convicted of murder that you cut a deal.
Objection.
Sustained.
The sentence you're serving...
is a reduced charge on kidnapping, isn't it?
Yes.
Because you agreed to testify
against Mr. Stoll.
Yes.
But, in fact, if it hadn't been for you,
Chelsea Hagarty would still be alive today.
No.
He said that she agreed to give up the child.
And I had no idea that he was going to hurt her.
But he didn't hurt her, you did.
When he told you the deal had fallen through,
something inside of you snapped.
No.
Your husband was joyfully awaiting
the birth of his child.
Your friends had already thrown you a shower.
You wanted that baby
at any cost.
Objection. Sustained.
Is there a question in there, Mr. Tracer?
Can you prove that you were waiting
on that sidewalk, Ms. Tarrington?
Did anybody see you? No.
That's because you weren't outside, were you?
You went into the apartment
to get your baby.
And when Chelsea wouldn't give him to you,
you went into a psychotic rage--
That's not true.
You smashed her in the head
and then smothered her.
Frank Stoll wasn't even in the room.
He had your 50,000,
why should he stick around?
That's not what happened. No?
You set this whole tragedy in motion.
You.
And you alone.
The only thing Frank Stoll is guilty of
is scamming money from a desperate rich woman.
Correct?
No, he said that I could have the baby.
He said that I could have the baby.
I was supposed to have the baby.
He was supposed to be my baby.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Has the jury reached a verdict?
We have.
The defense will please rise.
On the count of murder in the second degree,
how do you find the defendant Frank Stoll?
We find the defendant not guilty.
We took our shot.
Cold comfort.
Colder for Steven Monroe.
You don't have to remind me.
He's gonna have a hard fight
trying to keep custody of that baby.
I saw him running out of the courtroom too.
I don't think he's sticking around
for any fight.
The neighbors have been complaining
about the noise up here the last couple of days.
Did you talk to Monroe about it?
I called him, said he was moving some furniture around.
He'd keep it low.
You ever bother to stop in?
Hey, this ain't my only building.
Mr. Monroe! NYPD!
Now, this is why God created security deposits.
There's nothing here, Detective.
(Fontana) Well, he's got a couple hours head start on us.
He could anywhere by now.
Does Mr. Monroe have any family
we could speak to?
Not that I know of.
I could check the rental application.
(Fontana) Do that.
Frank Stoll wants to know what we're doing
to find his son.
Why, so he can sell him off to the highest bidder?
I spoke to the police.
They already have a few leads on Monroe.
Tell them to take the weekend off.
Get a fresh start on Monday.
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