(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.
Anna's got a new man. A gringo banker.
Don't tell me she dumped Enrique?
That was three boyfriends ago.
She said the sex always gets boring.
Since when is that a reason to break up with someone?
She's a passionate girl.
She's a sucia.
A total puta.
[sighs] How I envy her.
[laughs]
[gasps] Dios Mio!
(male officer) D.O.A. checked in alone around midnight.
No luggage, paid one night in cash.
Didn't make or receive phone calls.
Neighbors hear any noise? Nothing.
Kept things nice and tidy.
13 bucks.
Hey.
What the hell is this?
Tiedic-- toodic--tick--
It's pronounced "Teague." It's Gaelic for Timothy.
I knew a Tadhg in high school.
He threatened me when I went out with his sister.
Let's have a look.
Temp's 88.
He's been dead about seven hours.
Looks like he had himself a little party.
Is there any chance this was an accident?
Hard to tell,
not knowing what or how much was in the vials.
But the good-bye note there says otherwise.
"Now more than ever seems it rich to die.
To cease upon the midnight with no pain."
It's signed Tadhg, but it was written by John Keats.
I happen to know my Romantic poetry.
Doesn't all of this seem strange to you?
A guy is about to kill himself,
but he keeps things very orderly and he quotes poetry?
Could be just a well-versed neat freak.
Maybe.
But how many well-versed neat freaks do you know
that spell their own name wrong?
His tank was close to full on alcohol and Alprazolam,
but he drowned before the narcotic was fully absorbed.
And the drug put him to sleep, and then he slid underwater?
Or someone helped him.
Found skin scrapings under a fingernail.
And take a look.
(Green) Are those bruises?
I didn't see that when he was in the tub.
Abraded areas like this
only appear after the skin dries out.
(Fontana) Someone could've forced him
to take the plunge.
There wasn't much evidence of a struggle.
Maybe that same someone cleaned up the scene.
(Mrs. Ruane) It doesn't even look like Tadhg's handwriting.
I don't know.
It's hard to say.
(Green) Do you know of anybody that would want to harm him?
No.
Do you know, did he have a girlfriend?
None I'd heard of.
He played the field.
Look, my brother had a mouth
that would get him a punch in a bar.
But someone phonying up a suicide?
Maybe it was the article he was working on.
He was a journalist.
Did he say what the article was about?
No. I didn't ask.
And he knew telling me would get him an earful.
(Green) Earful for what?
Being reckless, going places he shouldn't.
He'd put his head in a lion's mouth
to get a story.
[whispers] Oh, God...
Ma, go lie down.
I'll bring you some tea.
Do you know where your brother worked?
Uh, he bounced around freelance.
But the last I heard, The Voice of the City.
(Balderston) Past year he'd been on
an expose on gun dealers.
Thought it was gonna be his big "Insider."
Win him a Pulitzer.
How did that work out?
First draft read like a cheap conspiracy theory.
I told him so. He blew up.
Accused me of taking payoffs.
Do you know, did he receive any threats
because of that story?
None he told me about. Doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Had he been threatened before?
He'd get angry calls from rappers to city councilmen.
He liked to piss people off.
Well, did he piss off anybody in particular?
No one I'd aim you to.
In the past, he did hard-hitting stuff
from toxic waste to dirty cops.
But recently it's been missed deadlines
and failing to corroborate facts.
Is that what got him fired?
Uh, bending some girl over his desk at lunch did that.
Oh.
Well, that sounds pretty erratic.
Yeah, he was a talented kid. Sharp.
But he could go too far with a story.
An interview, personally.
You just couldn't live with the mood swings.
But he did say he was gonna
pursue the gun story somewhere else.
Probably wound up on someone's bad side.
Who was his main source on that story?
Talk to Mike Wells at, uh, Citizens Against Guns.
(Fontana) Thanks a lot.
Tadhg might've been a little eccentric,
but his story had a chance of getting guns off the street.
How?
He was investigating this salesman named Alfred Biso.
Biso'd taken delivery of 500 cheap guns
from a bargain manufacturer in Nevada recently,
and promptly reported
463 of them stolen.
Tadhg figured Biso lied about the robbery
so he could sell the guns black-market at a better price.
(Fontana) Could he prove any of that?
He tracked those guns to dozens of shootings
in Philly and New York.
Do you know if he ever interviewed Biso?
He was going to.
Alone.
Not something I would've done.
Do you have any idea where we can find this guy?
Tadhg left a box of his research in my office.
You're free to dig through it.
Police! Get down! Get down!
Up, up, up. Against the wall, against the wall.
Quite an arsenal you go there, Biso.
Those are all legally purchased firearms.
What are you two ladies doing, your Christmas shopping?
Come on, let's go.
I understand from a certain perspective
all of those guns doesn't look good.
(Green) It "doesn't look good"?
The kids you were selling to
were barely 16.
Is that what happened?
Tadhg Ruane found out
who you were selling guns to?
Who now?
Tadhg Ruane.
The journalist.
Did he confront you about selling guns?
This is Tadhg's notebook.
"4:30 Wednesday, Tompkins Square Park, Biso."
Unless there's some other Biso.
Dude was a journalist? That nutcase?
What you mean, "nutcase"?
He talked a mile a minute about any damn thing.
Sports, food, getting laid.
And he was recommended by a legit guy.
Recommended to you for what? What did he need from you?
Said it's urgent, he needs a gun 'cause someone was after him.
Said he found a guy in his closet.
Crazy talk.
You made the deal anyway.
He had the cash. Did you get him a gun?
He didn't show up to get it.
When was that supposed to happen?
Early yesterday. Tompkins Square Park again.
So it wasn't two nights ago around midnight
at the Athena Hotel?
No.
See, we think you met him
at that hotel, you put a gun to his head,
you made him swallow some pills, and then you drowned him.
Whoa, whoa, whoa-- No, no, no.
Come on, man. You had every reason to do it.
He was about to expose your dirty little business deal.
I had no idea he was a reporter!
Look, bro, you sell guns to kids.
That's serious enough.
You add murder to that--
Dude carried a bottle of booze in his pocket.
He took a leak in a trashcan at the park.
In the middle of the damn park!
What reporter does that?
Biso's handwriting does not fit the suicide note.
Latent get prints off the note?
A partial, but it was too smudged for any kind of a match.
Did the M.E. call back on the skin
under the D.O.A.'s nail?
Barely enough to test from.
And it could be the victim's own skin.
He scratched himself?
Well, the D.O.A. did have scratches.
That could could be the source.
But it's not conclusive.
Biso come up with an alibi on the time of death?
He said he was smoking pot in his apartment.
And believe it or not, his neighbors confirmed it.
Look, are we chasing our tail on this gun angle?
Well, we did get a lot of guns off the street.
Yeah, but it sounds like
this D.O.A. was pretty unstable.
Do we even have a murder?
The medical examiner says that the bruises on his shoulder
are consistent with someone holding him underwater.
Hey. Check this out.
I'm digging through Tadhg's research, right?
Now, the handwriting on that suicide note looks like
it matches the handwriting on these love notes I found
in his notebook.
And they're all signed "A.B."
On his cell phone, there are calls to an Angela Burkett.
Go talk to her.
(Angela) I slipped it into his coat pocket
as he was leaving for work last week.
I wanted him to know that even in darkness, there's beauty.
Why did you sign his name to it?
'Cause I saw it as his portrait. Dark, but beautiful.
(Fontana) Can you account for yourself on the night he died?
You think I--I murdered Tadhg?
Were you anywhere near the Athena Hotel?
I was with a girlfriend in Williamsburg.
If you wouldn't mind giving us her contact info.
You want my opinion? No one murdered Tadhg.
He was a beautiful madman. And a brilliant writer.
But he suffered from horrible depression.
We heard he was eccentric. But nothing about depressed.
I was with him for two years. I think I'd know.
And you think he was suicidal.
He suffered from dysphoric mania.
It's a mental illness with extreme high-low states.
You mean like bipolar?
Like, one day he would want to marry me.
And buy a house with a yard and a puppy.
And the next day, he wouldn't speak to me.
He was sick.
You need to speak with his psychiatrist.
(Dr. Freemi) Angela sent you to me?
That's surprising.
(Fontana) Why would you say that, Doctor?
I shouldn't be talking to you without a subpoena,
but I'd leave Tadhg's death at her doorstep.
She says he had "dysphoric mania"?
Crippling sadness, irritability.
Euphoria, paranoia, promiscuity.
Did you see his tox screen when he died?
Yeah.
He had a whole lot of tranquilizers.
But no SSRIs
or antipsychotics.
It's because a couple of months ago,
Angela convinced him that he'd be cured
with herbs and exercise.
And you weren't buying into that?
Or Angela's motives.
Just before she convinced him to quit the meds,
he'd confessed cheating on her and fathering a son.
Did he say how Angela reacted?
Threatened the other woman.
And that other woman,
did he happen to mention her name
while he was in therapy?
Sarah Ridell.
She showed up at my door one night a few months ago.
Said Tadhg was having problems,
and it was best if I just stayed away.
Angela wanted to cut off contact between Tadhg and his son?
More like Tadhg and me.
But I wasn't about to let Tadhg see Sean alone,
so effectively, yeah.
Why wouldn't you let Tadhg alone with Sean?
He was so unpredictable.
You never knew which Tadhg would show up.
When Angela came to your apartment,
did you feel that she was threatening you?
The point got across.
Did you tell Tadhg about that?
I mentioned it.
Were you two in contact a lot?
Just sometimes.
Not like he was around to be a father.
Nothing like that.
So how often did you see him?
When he'd call.
You mean...to hook up?
When was the last time?
[sniffling] The day before he died.
We got a drink and went back to my place.
It was all good until we'd finished and he freaked out.
What do you mean by that?
He went nuts.
Started blubbering like a baby.
Do you know what that was all about?
Said when Angela found out we did it, he was a dead man.
(Van Buren) He didn't look like
he was killed in a jealous rage.
Angela was with the guy for two years.
She knew all of his weaknesses.
So what, she took her time, set him up?
As susceptible as he was-- unemployed, off his medication,
in despair?
It wouldn't be hard to lube the guy
with booze and pills and drown the poor bastard.
And we checked the LUDs in Angela's place
the night of the murder.
There were no calls to or from the hotel.
But an hour before Tadhg checked in,
she got a call from the White Horse Tavern,
which is right around the corner from Tadhg's apartment.
Well, didn't Angela have an alibi?
Some friend in Williamsburg?
She couldn't be reached.
And the super said she just left for the Peace Corps.
She's lying.
Go to the tavern.
Tadhg Ruane? He was a regular.
Did his self-portrait right there on the wall.
Was he in here three nights ago?
Yeah, he was.
Posted up right there on that stool.
Talking some trash about the Knicks.
How was his behavior?
Uh, real low-key. Real calm.
Doesn't sound like the guy we've been hearing about.
Generally he's loony tunes.
I never seen him so laid-back.
Hey, do you know if he used that payphone over there?
Yeah. He did. I don't know who he called.
Do you know what time he left? About? Around 11:00.
(Green) You know where he went?
No clue.
You could ask the limo driver, though.
He took a limo?
Asked me to call him one.
Said tonight he wanted to ride in style.
You got the number?
Yeah, I got the number right here.
(Fontana) His limo driver dropped him right outside
and watched him walk in.
So he was definitely here.
I'm sorry, I don't remember him.
Listen, this might've been this guy's last stop
before he was murdered.
So if you wouldn't mind taking a closer look.
If it's the same guy, he may be the one that met up
with one of my regulars.
And who is that?
Angie.
Angela Burkett? Yeah.
Did she fill a prescription?
Listen.
For your information, confidentiality laws
do not apply to pharmacists.
I'm well aware they do.
Well then, you're well aware
that we'll go get a subpoena, come back,
close this joint down for three days,
and go through all your records.
What's your pleasure?
Last two months, she filled a few.
What were they for?
Alprazolam.
Are you sure they were my pills he took?
(Fontana) We're sure.
Uh...well, I keep them in my nightstand.
He must've taken them without me knowing.
You mind telling us why you've been stockpiling so many pills?
What do you mean?
Well, your phone records indicate
calls to four psychiatrists over the past couple of months.
I was trying to find a new doctor for Tadhg.
Well, we think that you were getting him
all the right prescriptions for downers.
You don't know that.
We'll know soon enough.
We're gonna subpoena all the records.
(Green) When'd you find out
Tadhg was sleeping with his son's mom again?
I didn't know.
You didn't know
that he slept with her the day before he died?
No, I didn't know.
And I wouldn't have cared.
When did you get the enlightened attitude?
We know for a fact that you threatened her to back off Tadhg
a couple of months ago.
No, I told her that Tadhg needed to simplify his life.
I can't believe this.
Oh, God.
Stop lying.
He was screwing around, and that pissed you off.
That's a natural reaction.
Screwing around is a symptom of his illness.
It doesn't mean anything.
Oh, come on!
He had a kid with another woman.
You're the scorned woman.
You got revenge.
Admit it! No, Tadhg needed my help.
He wanted to die! All I did was help him!
You helped him die?
I think I need to speak with an attorney now.
She helped him die.
She's going to plead not guilty?
Well, her fallback will be assisted suicide.
Either way, it's Man 2.
Why not Murder 2?
How will we convict her for murder?
There's evidence he was suicidal.
He suffered depression. That's no reason to put him to death.
Of course not.
But if he wanted to die,
should she do 25 to life for helping?
He was held underwater. He had a gut full of pills.
There's no evidence she shoved them down his throat.
She was aware of his promiscuity and she wrote his suicide note.
That's staging the crime scene, which is consciousness of guilt.
I will write the indictment for Murder 2.
But I'm sure her lawyer is gonna have something to say about it.
(Thurber) Tadhg was violently depressed.
Suicidal.
He had tried every kind of therapy,
every drug, nothing helped.
He begged Angela to help him die.
This was not murder.
Why did she pen his suicide note?
After he took the pills, his hands were shaking.
And he asked me to write it.
What about the bruises on his shoulders?
I don't know anything about the bruises on his shoulders.
He was out drinking earlier. Maybe he got into a fight.
So she simply assisted his suicide.
That's your contention.
I was trying to free him from his pain.
Except that he didn't have bone cancer,
or advanced AIDS.
Even Kevorkian limited himself to terminally ill patients.
Mental illness can be every bit as painful and intractable.
So why did you tell him to stop taking his medication?
Because it wasn't working.
It made him more miserable.
(Thurber) A jury will understand this was a merciful act.
Drowning a drunk, sedated man is merciful?
My client might be willing
to plead to Man 2, assisted suicide,
if she stays out of prison.
No deal.
Then what are you after?
Man 2, 15 years.
All right, I was hoping that we could
resolve this thing rationally, but apparently we can't.
So here is our reciprocal discovery.
Let's go.
My name is Tadhg Ruane.
I'm of sound body and mind.
And I'm making this, uh, this recording
because I'm just...
tired.
I'm tired of the pain.
I'm tired of living.
I'm sorry, Ma.
I just can't do it anymore.
Please understand
that...
I want to.
I need to...
uh...
I need to die.
Makes it hard to prove murder.
What happened after the camera was turned off?
I think Angela helped him commit suicide.
But she didn't pull the trigger.
I don't buy her explanation
for the bruises on his neck.
I say it's evidence Tadhg changed his mind.
Well, we can't rest the case on some bruises.
They're an element.
We'll argue that Tadhg was mentally ill.
And not in his right mind to decide whether or not
he could commit suicide.
I differentiate Tadhg as mentally ill,
not mentally incompetent.
That's kind of a nice distinction for you, isn't it?
I thought where you came from, suicide was suicide.
It is.
But you can't fault a man
for something that he has no control over. Exactly.
A person with Tadhg's mental illness
who wants to commit suicide is mentally incompetent.
A fact that she took advantage of
for her own purposes, and may even have engineered
by encouraging him to stop taking his medication.
Assisting his death is murder.
(M.E. Rodgers) The cause of death was drowning.
(McCoy) So he was alive prior to going underwater.
(Rodgers) Yes.
The post-mortem buoyancy tests of his lungs
indicate he was sucking in, trying to breathe.
People's exhibit two, Your Honor.
Can you tell us what you see here?
Bruises on the victim's shoulders.
In your opinion, how did they get there?
They're consistent with
someone grabbing the victim from above
and forcing him underwater.
(McCoy) Nothing further, Your Honor.
(Thurber) Ms. Rodgers, your report said that Tadhg Ruane ingested
over a thousand milligrams of Alprazolam.
Is that correct? Yes.
So if he hadn't drowned, he would've died anyway.
Unless someone intervened in time.
But if nobody did,
and he had, um, taken a walk,
or been alone, he would've died.
(Rodgers) Yes. (Thurber) Now, these bruises
in exhibit two, your report states
that, uh, they happened within minutes of death.
(Rodgers) Yes.
(Thurber) But isn't it possible
that the bruises were inflicted
post-mortem, when the body was moved from the tub?
Given their location, it's unlikely.
But it's possible.
Yes.
Thank you.
Those with dysphoric mania typically cycle rapidly
between very depressed and very manic.
(McCoy) During this cycling,
did Tadhg ever say he wanted to die?
Once or twice.
But more often, he said he wanted to live.
Are you aware of any prior suicide attempts
by the victim, Doctor? No.
Do you know why he stopped therapy and medication?
He said his girlfriend didn't think it was working for him.
(McCoy) In your opinion, is Tadhg Ruane's condition so bad
as to be beyond help, beyond hope?
Objection. Speculative.
Sustained. Rephrase, Mr. McCoy.
Could Tadhg Ruane have benefited
from further treatment, Doctor?
Absolutely.
Doctor, would you say someone with dysphoric mania
can suffer as much pain as a terminally ill person?
It's hard to quantify pain.
But the symptoms can feel excruciating.
Enough to make him want to kill himself?
Yes, but, uh, wanting to die and acting on it
are two different things.
(Thurber) But Tadhg's illness wasn't curable, was it?
(Freemi) It was manageable.
Had he stayed in therapy and on meds,
he could've lived another 50 years.
Have you ever had any other patients commit suicide?
Yes.
And did any of those patients kill themselves
while in treatment?
One patient.
Staying in therapy and on meds is really no guarantee
against suicide, is it?
Objection. Argumentative.
(Thurber) Withdrawn. Nothing further.
I'm starting to think the jury won't buy Murder 2, Jack.
You'll understand if I disagree.
But why risk it?
If she'll plead to assisted suicide,
maybe even a little jail time?
Revenge warrants more than a slap on the wrist.
What if the jury doesn't see revenge?
What if they just see her as helping Tadhg
free himself from pain?
Pain which might have dissipated the next morning.
He may have got up,
and wanted to take his son to the basketball game.
Or he could've woken up worse.
This is some thorough devil's advocacy, Alex.
I have strong convictions about suicide.
But assistance?
For someone who is dedicated to dying?
I'm not going to set the precedent
that depressives and schizophrenics can take an exit
with the help of overburdened loved ones
whose act of love may have been tempered
by frustration, anger, resentment.
He was suicidal.
What he did may have been wrong.
But her?
And strictly speaking,
look at her.
She's like a wounded puppy, Jack.
Will a jury convict her?
Did you see that?
What?
Right here.
Watch the mirror in the background.
Just looks like a change in light
from one of them moving.
Watch it in slow motion.
Angela and Tadhg are here.
The shadow in the mirror here is not from them.
Someone else is in the room.
Any idea who it might be?
Not from current evidence.
The detectives are looking for the camera.
She had an accomplice.
An assisted suicide doesn't require this kind of secrecy.
Well, I was a little shaky on Murder 2 before.
But an accomplice changes the game.
Do we try for a continuance?
Buy a little time to investigate?
Doubtful a judge would go for it.
And any delay could hurt us with the jury.
What if Angela was forced into this?
She's had ample opportunity to let us know.
Sounds to me
like you need to find your third man
before the case goes to the jury.
Unless, uh, Angela plans on testifying.
Thurber said she was going to in his opening.
That's a cross-examination I'd like to see.
(Angela) Sometimes Tadhg wouldn't sleep for days.
And he'd get paranoid.
Any little setback could send him into a rage.
Punching walls, wailing.
Did you try getting him help?
I was the one
who first suggested he see a therapist.
And how did the therapy work out?
He went a lot.
And he took a lot of drugs that had bad side effects.
Dry mouth, diarrhea, impotence.
A lot of the time, he would just lay on the floor.
He couldn't speak or even cry. He refused to eat.
He said that it was like somebody
had turned the light out in his soul, it was so dark.
Did he tell you that he wanted to kill himself?
After a while, it's all he talked about.
He said he was gonna do it whether I was there or not.
I chose to be with him.
Can you tell us exactly what happened
in that bathroom after the camera is shut off?
I held Tadhg's hand.
He started to fade. He thanked me.
He told me that he loved me.
And then?
His eyelids got heavy.
His head sagged.
Then he went under the water.
Was he awake when he went under?
I don't think so.
You "don't think so"?
No.
Should we ask the other person
who was in the bathroom with you, Ms. Burkett?
What do you mean?
Your Honor, I'd like the jury to review
Defense exhibit "B."
[gasps] I'll make an offer of proof
that an expert from the NYPD Audio Laboratory will testify
that there is a third party in that bathroom.
Your Honor--
Just a second, Counselor.
Who was with you, Ms. Burkett?
This is wrong. This is so wrong.
Please just answer the question.
He wanted to die.
This was an act of love!
Who is the other person?
I won't say.
Then you'll be held in contempt and jailed until you do.
It was his brother Gerald.
(Angela) After Tadhg made his decision,
I tried to get Gerald to talk him out of it.
But he said that it was Tadhg's choice
and that we should respect it.
And Gerald helped you plan it out.
He gave us the book
on self-deliverance.
And told me we should use the camera.
And he was there to tape it?
He got there just before Tadhg took the drugs.
He set up the camera.
And he told us
when to start.
And then he mostly just watched.
While I sat with Tadhg and...
I stroked his head while he got drowsy.
You say Gerald "mostly watched."
What does that mean?
Well, I don't know.
Because...
a-at one point, I left the bathroom.
Why?
The water was supposed to be a fail-safe...
after the pills knocked Tadhg out,
so he could just...
drift under the water, go to sleep.
But when he started to, I--
I left the room. I-I couldn't watch anymore.
Did Gerald stay in the bathroom with Tadhg?
Yeah.
Did Tadhg struggle to get out of the water?
I heard the water splashing, but...
I just put my hands over my ears and I cried.
Because you knew what Gerald was doing?
Holding Tadhg down?
Because the man that I loved was dying,
and I was so scared, and I--
I just wanted him to be at peace.
She has to testify against Gerald.
I won't do that.
Explain to your client
that suddenly admitting to a third party on cross
is going to make the jury think she has something to hide.
They're gonna wonder why
you didn't bring him up to begin with.
Especially if he's innocent.
You're looking at a murder conviction.
But if she testifies, Man 2.
You'll make a strong recommendation
for leniency in sentencing?
I'll recommend ten years. After she testifies.
I only wanted to help.
We'll see about that.
She could've pointed to anybody in that courtroom.
But she pointed at you.
I wasn't in that hotel.
Where were you?
On Bowery, at O'Dwyer's.
I barback there.
And your boss would back you up? You were there all night.
Some of the time I was in the basement doing inventory.
So he can't account for you all night.
You drive to work?
Yeah. Where do you park the car?
Around the block.
You got a parking ticket at 1:00 that morning
on 24th and 8th.
That's what, like, 30 blocks away?
It just happens to be around the corner
from the Athena Hotel.
Very same time your brother was being pushed underwater.
It's kinda strange.
Am I under arrest?
You're going to be.
You're gonna want that story in perspective.
Well, if I'm not under arrest,
I got nothing else to say.
(Van Buren) Gerald's got no record,
but his name popped up on two rob/assault complaint reports
in the past year.
He was a suspect?
No, he was just interviewed at the scene
after the fact.
His mother was the victim.
Now, the perp was collared.
He's a heroin dealer.
And in Gerald's statement to the police,
he said that the dealer was there to collect
on his brother's debts.
How bad was his mother assaulted?
Well, this second assault
put her in the hospital.
Thanks.
My arm was broke.
Healed, though.
How did Gerald react?
Well, he was upset. As you can imagine.
Did he confront Tadhg about it?
He did.
But Gerald understood
how hard Tadhg was struggling at the time.
Didn't create any animosity between them?
Gerald loved his brother.
He cared for Tadhg and protected him.
Fought bullies all through their childhood.
But what, Mrs. Ruane?
I always thought Gerald was capable
of taking care of himself.
While Tadhg was sensitive.
He needed looking after.
So I gave him money.
Because he was an artist.
Maybe too much.
How much money did you give him?
A think we're done talking, Ms. Borgia.
The police said around the time of Tadhg's suicide,
Gerald had several cell calls in to a realtor in Phoenix.
And he'd applied for an Arizona contractor's license.
He was living with Mom 'cause he was broke from a divorce.
How was he gonna buy a house in Phoenix?
He also had
several calls in to a realtor in Queens
who said Mrs. Ruane planned to sell her townhouse
and relocate with Gerald.
Then this guy showed up.
Leland McNeil.
A long rap sheet.
Big time bookmaker.
Known to break kneecaps.
The cops spoke to him.
Before Tadhg died, he collected a debt from him for $60,000.
Did you run Mrs. Ruane's financials?
She refinanced her house
right around the time the debt was paid.
Scuttling Gerald's plans to relocate and start a new life.
It's a theory. Arrest him.
Hey, Gerald. You got a minute?
What for?
Put that down. You're coming with us.
You're under arrest, Gerald.
You have the right to remain silent.
You have the right to an attorney.
(Sheets) When did you know of your brother Tadhg's desire
to end his life?
For years.
I had begged him to get help.
Which he did, many times.
But, uh, it didn't work.
And when did you decide to help him end his life?
When I realized there was no stopping him.
And that if he went about it with a gun,
which is what he said he would,
that he may accidentally shoot off half his face
or shoot someone else.
I-I had nightmares about it.
So I did research into... exiting.
Would you take us through events on the night your brother died?
Angela Burkett called me
at the bar where I was barbacking.
Tadhg had told her, "Tonight's the night."
And did you meet them at the hotel?
With a video camera.
Which I set up.
We, uh...
We all said our good-byes to Tadhg.
Which was very sad.
But at the same time,
we all knew it was what Tadhg wanted.
And that he'd fought against his illness his whole life.
And he deserved to rest.
So there was something very positive about it.
Tell the jury what happened then.
He, uh...
He choked.
And he flailed his arms.
(Sheets) What did you do?
(Gerald) I, uh, moved to sit
at the edge of the bathtub.
And lifted him up so his head was out of the water.
And he calmed down.
And after a bit, his breathing got very slow.
And so I took my hands on his shoulders.
And as gently as I could,
eased him back under.
(Sheets) Is that how he got the bruises on his shoulders?
He was taller than the tub, so I had to press down
until his head submerged.
Was it a violent act?
No.
(Sheets) And what happened then?
My brother passed away.
And I'm very sad that he's gone.
But...there is no reason
why I helped him die beyond easing his pain.
He wanted to die,
and he wanted my help.
And what did you want from your brother, Mr. Ruane?
I just wanted him at peace.
You wanted peace from him, didn't you?
That's the more accurate statement, isn't it?
No. You're wrong.
He cost you your job
by appearing at construction sites
and demanding your attention.
That happened one time. And he was very sick that day.
On numerous occasions, he'd arrive at your home
at all hours, screaming outside if you didn't let him in.
Not "numerous occasions." Maybe twice.
(McCoy) He broke into your home and stole electronics
and silverware to feed his drug and gambling habits.
It happened one time.
A week later, your wife filed for divorce, didn't she?
Yes.
And after you finally persuaded your mother
to relocate with you to Arizona
to buy a new home,
and to start a new job,
your brother's debts forced you
to put your life on hold yet again.
Do you recall testimony
by the medical examiner
about the bruises on your brother's shoulders?
Yes.
Those bruises
bore no indication of gentle easing.
Isn't it true that you held him under the water
with brute force?
No. He was flailing his arms
and gasping for air, wasn't he?
No--
Possibly trying
to change his mind?
No!
How can you be sure?
You can't.
And you never entertained the notion
because you wanted him dead, didn't you?
I loved my brother.
But his death
didn't just solve his problems, did it?
It solved them for both of you.
Isn't that correct, Mr. Ruane?
Yes or no?
You asked to see us?
I, uh, I wanted to say something.
You're supposed to protect your kid brother.
And I did that his whole life.
And every second of helping him plan his exit,
I swear that's what I was doing.
I was being an older brother.
But at that last moment...
when he wanted to breathe...
God forgive me.
Man 2, 15 years?
He'd take more if Angela's sentence was reduced.
She didn't do anything but love him.
Angela's lawyer called.
They thanked us for the reduction to three years.
They should.
She should've helped him with his meds.
Helped him stay in therapy.
She got off light.
Are you familiar with Mark Twain's account
of an incident on a riverboat where a man
was trapped burning underneath an exploded boiler,
begging his crewmates to shoot him?
A crewmate did shoot him.
How much time would you give him?
I'm not sure I'd prosecute.
And three years is light for someone who thought
they were doing the same thing?
That exploded boiler was real, Alex.
Not just in the trapped man's mind.
There's a big difference.
You think Tadhg Ruane would agree with that?
If he was around, I'd ask him.
Captioned by Katie at CaptionMax www.captionmax.com