(male announcer) In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Angel!
Come back here. I mean it!
Angel!
Angel, come back here!
Angel!
Can you grab my dog?
Ah, got her!
Bad dog, Angel. Bad, bad dog.
What's that you got hold of, little pooch?
That looks like afterbirth.
She just have puppies? No.
Well, I've had three kids.
I'm pretty sure.
That's human.
You know, in some cultures, they bury the placenta,
plant a tree over it.
Well, Angel dug this one out of someone's trash.
Well, it could've been a home birth.
And they just threw it out. Is that legal?
Well, it's stupid.
A lot of parents are freezing and storing them now.
For what?
Stem cells.
Shh, shh, shh, shh. [growls]
Angel. Shh, shh, shh, shh.
Angel. Angel.
[baby crying]
(man) Baby Boy Doe.
Six pounds, two ounces, Caucasian.
How long was he in the trash?
He couldn't have been born more than two, three hours
before they found him.
Garbage truck was a block away.
His umbilical cord was clamped off with this.
Or he'd have bled to death.
"Gourmet Coffee."
Well, I guess he interrupted breakfast.
What are his chances?
He was lethargic from dehydration
and hypothermia, but otherwise healthy.
We got fluids and formula in him.
Some nice, warming lights.
And he perked right up.
Never got to bond with his mother.
He needs all the human contact he can get.
Welcome to the world, there, tough guy.
Sanitation picked up all the garbage.
Dog owner kept him from hauling away our crime scene.
Let's hope our mother didn't have twins.
Baby was stuffed in a bag with these old clothes
and sheets.
The box was meant to be his coffin.
Any identifying marks on it?
No. Placenta must've been wrapped in that.
God.
Those sheets that she gave birth on.
A lot of blood.
Yeah, stains are probably amniotic fluid.
A low thread count but...
Nice stitching on the border.
Color's taupe.
Who lives here?
Joe and Candace Shepherd.
Fin's inside with them now.
What do we know about them?
Based on the anthropological profile of their garbage,
I'd say he's a conservative, she's a liberal.
Favorite food is Moo Shoo Pork from Wok This Way.
Had it delivered three times in the last week.
Sounds like somebody had a craving.
I don't think Mrs. Shepard could have been pregnant.
Why not?
I'm 51 years old.
I read a woman in Romania gave birth at 66.
(man) That was artificial insemination.
After about 10 years of fertility treatments.
If we went to that much trouble,
why would we just throw it away?
Okay, just 'cause it wasn't you
doesn't mean someone else in this house didn't give birth.
It's just the two of us now.
Any of your neighbors in the family way?
No.
But there is that poor woman at our coffee place...Varla.
Varla works there?
She panhandles out front.
Can you imagine anything worse than being homeless
and pregnant?
Gonna spend five bucks on a cup of coffee in there.
You can get it at the Korean deli for 75 cents.
Give the extra four bucks and a quarter
to somebody who really needs it.
You look cold. Let us buy you a coffee.
I don't touch the stuff.
I had to give up caffeine when I got pregnant.
Well, actually, that's what we wanted
to talk to you about, Varla.
You can't take my baby! Please!
Varla! [sobbing] Don't let them take my baby.
Who's trying to take your baby?
Social Services.
No drugs this time. My baby will be born clean.
I swear!
Are you saying that you're still pregnant?
What, are you blind? I'm ready to pop.
Okay, let us take you to see a doctor
just to make sure the baby's okay.
It's okay. Come on.
Let's go.
I was using all through my first three pregnancies.
All my babies tested positive at birth for crack.
ACS took them away.
I stayed clean this time.
How long? Eight months.
This won't hurt at all.
I swore to do right by this one.
[ultrasound waves]
This is the uterus.
Oh, I get to see my baby on that?
No, Varla.
You threw him away.
No, he's inside me. No.
He's at the hospital. Look, you see that?
You see? There's no baby inside you, Varla.
This is a trick.
How could they steal my baby without me knowing it?
Why? I did everything right this time!
I need to place you under arrest.
[crying] Detective...
You don't have to do that.
Varla hasn't recently been pregnant.
Her belly is still swollen.
I believe she's suffering from pseudocyesis.
What's that?
It's a rare psychosomatic condition
in which a woman who's not pregnant
exhibits all the signs of pregnancy.
Absence of periods, morning sickness,
abdominal distension.
A fruitcake with baby fever.
Woman at risk are in their late 30s to early 40s.
Wanted desperately to have children,
but were unable to conceive.
Well, Varla's 41, but she's had three kids.
All taken away by the state.
Pseudocyesis can also occur when a woman has miscarried
or lost a child.
Then if there's no baby in there,
what makes the belly so big?
That one's still
a medical mystery.
Well, here's another one.
Why would a mother throw her own baby in the trash?
Where are we on the canvass?
Baby was dumped here.
We've done these four blocks.
Mother couldn't have traveled very far
after giving birth.
Assuming she's the one that dumped the baby.
Could be the husband, boyfriend, parent.
Drunken genius.
The crime lab cleaned the T-shirt
the placenta was wrapped in.
Blood obscured a logo.
"Einstein's Drunken Genius."
(Benson) What does that mean?
I did a narcotics bust at Einstein's bar once.
It's a college hangout right outside
the Manhattan Institute of Technology.
That's six blocks from the crime scene.
That T-shirt's from a promo we ran back in October.
Trivia contest.
Geared toward the eggheads of Man.I.T.?
Yeah...but the gimmick was you had to take a short IQ test
after downing four shots of Tequila.
The winner is a drunken genius.
October...mother would have been six months pregnant.
You remember a pregnant winner?
A few had what I assume were beer bellies.
How many of those T-shirts have you given away?
One a day for a month.
Any chance you got a list of the winners?
Well, they're automatically enrolled
into Einstein's Quantum Drink Club.
I got all their names and addresses.
I don't wanna think about how many brain cells I had to kill
to win that moronic shirt.
Didn't even fit me.
You still have it?
My ex-roommate borrowed it.
Never gave it back.
What's her name?
Ella Christensen.
She moved into a single down the hall.
Well, I'm pretty sure I gave that shirt back to Heather.
Well, she's positive that you still have it.
And we really need to account for every one.
Well, I can look.
Good. Thank you.
I think I only wore it once, to work out in.
Got a serious coffee habit.
Well, with my course load, I have to.
Gourmet coffee.
You're missing a clip.
Huh? Excuse me?
How you doing with that T-shirt?
Sorry, Heather must be mistaken.
I love these pillowcases. What is that, taupe?
Yeah, I guess.
Nice border, Ella.
What are you doing?
Where are the matching sheets?
So how old are you, Ella?
20. 20!
Just a kid.
Way too young to be starting a family.
Yeah, it's not even something I've thought about.
I'm not pregnant.
Not anymore.
I've never been pregnant.
So would consent to a medical exam?
Why?
To eliminate you as the person
who gave birth in that dorm room.
No one gave birth in my dorm room.
I don't even know anyone that's been pregnant.
You look just like him.
Who?
Your son.
I don't--this--
I don't have a son. Carried him nine months.
You didn't want him, you had legal options.
You have a problem with abortion, that's your choice.
I understand that. There's adoption.
You chose to give birth!
You have the wrong person.
You chose to walk six blocks with him,
right past a firehouse!
A hospital where, under safe haven laws,
you could have just left him anonymously!
Why are you yelling at me?
Because you tossed him in the trash,
like the garbage you are!
All those choices...
How is that even an option?
[door opens]
Liv, Elliot...
Could I see you a second?
(Benson) I don't see her lawyering up on us.
(Cragen) Interrogation 101:
Overcoming resistance through compassion.
I can't.
Not with this one.
It's Saturday.
Holding that kid,
she just...
threw away...
Kathy still has custody.
It's my week, and the day's half gone.
I'm still here.
Look, Captain...
DNA's gonna close the case on this one.
Go on.
Be with your kids.
Munch and Fin are executing the search warrant
on the dorm.
That should be enough for a court order to take DNA?
You just keep Ella from leaving until it comes through.
[door opens]
Manhattan Institute of Technology.
That's impressive.
You have to be a genius to get in, don't you?
I'm on a full academic scholarship.
Wow.
What's your major?
Um, Environmental Engineering.
So, what, you're a junior?
Means you only have one more year to go?
I could understand how devastating that would be.
Be so close, and then...
have to give it all up.
How much longer do I have to stay here?
Know what, Ella?
You'd really be doing me a favor
if you could just hang in a little longer.
[sighs]
You cold?
Yeah, it's freezing in here.
Then why are you sweating?
I can understand why you're so nervous, Ella.
I'm nervous because I have to study.
I mean, seriously, I have to go.
You know what, Ella? Wait.
Just explain this to me.
[paper shuffling]
These are the sheets that were found with the baby.
This matches your pillowcase.
Will you explain that to me?
Everybody has those sheets.
They're from the university laundry service.
Where are your sheets now?
My pen leaked on them. I threw them out last week.
Great.
Sheets were pretty much all we had
to justify the search warrant.
And everyone has them.
What about the DNA test?
We can't get one now.
Why? CSU found nothing.
Not so much as an e-mail mention
or a baby-related Google search
on her computer.
What about her mattress?
No blood, no amniotic fluid, nothing.
Then she either did an amazing cleanup job
or used a plastic sheet
and got rid of it somewhere else.
Or she isn't the mother.
Get an order compelling her to undergo a medical exam.
I overreached on the search warrant.
No judge is gonna order an invasive procedure
based on a whiff of circumstantial evidence.
Well, then, she is gonna bolt.
She had to tell someone.
Find me somebody quick who knew she was pregnant.
(man) No way was Ella Christensen pregnant.
(Fin) It's winter. Everybody's bundled up.
Could she have been hiding her weight gain?
Look, I'm probably going
to have to retake Differential Equations
because all I do is stare at her.
She's a goddess. Her body is perfect.
Outside of your dreams,
how much of her body have you really seen?
I've never dated anyone at school.
Well, what about outside of school?
Do you have a boyfriend?
No.
Oh, a pretty girl like yourself,
you must have plenty of offers.
I've always just been more focused on my studies.
(Munch) Did Ella show up for class yesterday?
10:00 a.m. sharp.
Sat in the front row.
Did she seem like she was in any pain?
They all were.
I gave a test on Eigenvectors and Undetermined Coefficients.
Well, how did Ellen do?
I might have misplaced an exponential factor,
but otherwise, I think I aced it.
Are you okay?
Cramps. I think I'm getting my period.
I really have to go.
Ooh.
You know, women don't get their period
for six to eight weeks after giving birth.
Then I wish I had given birth then.
I always find it fascinating how female roommates
sync up on their periods.
Did that happen with you and Heather?
Not that I know of.
You two get along?
She's a sweet girl.
Then why'd you move out?
[panting]
I think I'm gonna be sick.
Ella, you need to see a doctor.
No, I just need to go home.
Ella, listen to me.
Let me take you to a hospital, okay?
Ella! Ella!
I need some help here!
[bell rings] Somebody call a bus, now!
Ella?
Hey, how is she doing?
She'll be fine, thanks to you.
It's a good thing you brought her in when you did.
Complications from childbirth?
I'm afraid I can't tell.
Well, you examined her.
Isn't it obvious if she just gave birth?
You're misunderstanding me.
I'm saying I can't tell you.
I'd be breeching doctor-patient privilege.
You examined a suspect earlier right in front of me.
I had that patient's consent.
And if I remember correctly, you were equally convinced
that woman was guilty of a crime she didn't commit.
This is crazy.
I had a court order in the works
right before she passed out.
That's all I need.
Come and find me when you have it.
[breathing heavily]
I just talked with Dr. Aiken, Ella.
She told me everything.
"Retained products of conception."
That's what the doctor called it.
Part of the placenta was still attached to the uterine wall.
Causing a massive infection.
I was septic.
I could have died.
Ella...
Why didn't you go to the doctor earlier
to have this baby?
I had no idea I was pregnant.
Missing your period for nine months wasn't a clue?
I swear, I had no idea.
I didn't know.
You had to have figured it out at some point.
No, not until it...
came out of me.
And you just panicked.
It doesn't seem real. It just couldn't be real.
And I didn't see why I was still being punished.
For having sex?
For being raped.
Why haven't you arrested Ella Christensen?
She's not going anywhere.
I have a guard on her at the hospital.
I just...wanted to look into this rape allegation.
She never reported being raped.
60% of rape victims don't.
And a bigger percent aren't
looking at attempted Murder in the Second Degree.
Ella was traumatized.
Even if she was raped,
it doesn't excuse trying to kill the result of it.
But it would affect how you charge her.
"Genius throws baby in trash."
How do you think I should charge her?
Wire service picked up the story.
I just got a call from Samaritan Hospital in Newark.
Nurse there remembers Ella from about a year ago.
She was raped.
No... she had just given birth,
but didn't have a newborn to show for it.
They called the cops.
This nutcase
is a serial baby killer.
(Fin) You investigated Ella Christensen
back in August, 2004.
Yeah, that was mine.
Nice work there.
Look, I sat with her for six hours.
The poor kid was only 18.
She hadn't gained more than 10 pounds.
She had no idea that she was pregnant.
You never arrested her. You never filed a single charge.
I had no case.
What did she say happened to the baby?
She disposed of it herself.
For future reference, that's called Murder Two.
She said the baby was stillborn,
and I had no evidence to the contrary.
The garbage had already been picked up.
Yeah, and who wants to go through a Newark dump in August?
We found the remains a few weeks later.
By then, the doctors couldn't tell us
if the kid had ever taken a breath.
She killed that baby.
The most I could have gotten her on
is illegal disposal of a corpse.
A misdemeanor and her first offense. Not her last.
If you'd charged her,
maybe she would have thought twice
before doing it again.
How come this never made it into the news?
Ella's father is a city councilman.
Everett Drake.
(man) There was no impropriety.
I did nothing to impede the investigation.
It was a tragic situation. Ella had been through enough.
Apparently not.
We didn't raise her, you know.
That was Everett's first wife.
They divorced when she was a baby.
The Gila monster moved to Colorado with her
and cut off all contact.
Ella just popped back into our lives
about 2 1/2 years ago.
When she came here for college.
Her mother was so nasty to her
we let Ella spend her breaks with us.
(Munch) The summer after that first year...
you had to notice she was pregnant.
(woman) She seemed a little heavier.
We just chalked it up to the Freshman 15.
(Fin) What about this time?
We haven't seen her in months.
She said she was taking a very heavy course load.
Do you have any idea who the father
or fathers could be?
I did everything I could
to get her to tell me the first time,
but she said she was too ashamed.
She just...kept saying she was sorry.
Can you think of anyone that she was especially close to?
'04.
It was an election year.
She spent a lot of time with Jerry Spencer.
What does Jerry do?
I was Everett's campaign manager.
I understand you worked closely with Ella.
She was our hardest-working volunteer.
What exactly did she do?
We used her for the "get out the youth" vote.
She helped her old man win.
Without some serious spin control,
she's gonna cost him the next one.
Great-looking girl.
I know, and sweet as can be.
I can't believe she did what they're saying.
(Fin) She didn't tell you about it?
Why would she?
Any chance you fathered those babies?
I'm a happily married man.
So take a paternity test.
No. [cell phone rings]
Doing that would be admitting there's a possibility
I slept with her, and I didn't.
(Fin) Munch.
Ella got discharged from the hospital.
We gotta pick her up before arraignment.
We'll give Ella your love.
(man) Ella, why did you abandon your baby?
[all shouting]
(woman) Look this way, Ella!
You evil, disgusting skank!
Did murdering your first child affect your life at all?
(woman) Sterilize her!
Make it stop!
[crying]
What's gonna happen to it?
Your baby?
Well, thanks to the media attention,
ACS is getting flooded with calls.
His future's looking up.
I'm sorry.
You're only sorry 'cause you got caught.
You got lying down to a science, don't you?
That one about you being raped?
That was a good one.
You wouldn't understand.
As soon as I lodge you with Corrections,
they're gonna take you upstairs to arraignment.
And that's the last time that we're gonna be allowed to talk.
Do you understand that?
So I suggest you tell me if the baby's father
was involved in this crime.
Have it your way.
[buzzer]
He didn't know I was pregnant.
Ella, tell me his name.
No, I'd never drag him into this.
Ella, I can see that you care about him.
But why isn't he here for you?
He's married.
With a family.
It'll ruin his life.
I need to talk to him.
Tell me who he is. No.
Never. I can't.
(man) Docket ending 23805.
People versus Ella Christensen.
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree,
Endangerment of a Child,
and Child Abandonment.
How do you plead?
Not guilty.
I'll hear the People on bail.
Well, a million has a nice ring to it.
The defendant is a flight risk.
To where, Jersey? She's a U.S. citizen.
Given the severity of her crimes,
and the fact that she killed a baby once before--
My client was never charged with that crime.
In fact, there was no crime.
That fetus was stillborn.
(judge) Mr. Berger...
(Berger) Your honor, this poor girl lost a child.
How dare the People twist that tragic incident
to suit their own needs.
You have got to be kidding. No, you are.
My client doesn't have as much as a parking ticket!
I'm sure if she did, she'd just throw it in the trash
along with her babies.
(judge) Oh, all right, that's enough out of both of you.
As I believe the defendant is not a threat to anyone
but her own offspring,
the court is requesting that,
in exchange for a lower bail amount,
she does not get pregnant again before trial.
That's unconstitutional!
I'm not ordering that she
be sterilized, Mr. Berger.
But if you do become pregnant again, young lady,
you will be found in contempt of this court.
And bail will be rescinded.
(Berger) Your Honor has no right
to legislate procreation.
You think you could manage to comply with that order,
Ms. Christensen?
I don't know.
Bail is set at $2 million, cash or bond.
10 minute recess!
Her affect was flat. Almost dissociative.
You think she's setting the stage for a psych defense?
Well, it'll be hard going if she is.
Because she's faking it.
No, because DSM4 diagnostic standards
still don't exist for postpartum psychiatric illnesses.
Here we go.
Many courts bar its admission.
That's the reason why infanticide sentences
vary so wildly in this country.
Some women are given the death penalty,
and others are given probation.
You think postpartum depression should excuse
murdering your child?
It's not depression.
I think she's suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Giving birth made her crazy.
It's a hormonal imbalance
stemming from pregnancy.
Its onset can be quick and severe.
Its symptoms include agitation,
hallucinations, delusions--
The Andrea Yates defense.
Look, the only thing making this girl crazy
is the baby's father.
I don't know what part he played,
but I know that he's involved.
Liv, that was Warner.
She wants you to stop by the lab.
The results of the maternity test are in.
No big surprise there.
I was pretty surprised.
Ella has to be the mother, right?
The DNA on the left is Ella's.
Her baby boy's is on the right.
He's definitely her son.
You had me scared for a second.
He's too much her son.
What does that mean?
We get half our chromosomes
from our mother and half from our father.
Based on this result,
I expanded the testing panel
to 25 markers.
Compared the alleles of the mother
to the offspring's.
See all the overlaps?
This baby and his mother have the same father.
He's a product of incest.
Yes?
Mrs. Drake, is your husband home?
Well, he asked not to be disturbed.
Is there anything I can help you with?
Well, maybe there is.
What do you know about
your husband's relationship with Ella?
Well, he obviously loves her very much.
I just co-signed the papers
putting up our house as collateral.
For what?
Bail.
Where's Ella now?
She's inside with her father.
Excuse me.
What are you doing?
Who are you?
She just barged right in.
Your daughter knows who I am.
I don't think it's appropriate for you to be here.
Well, I don't think you're fit
to talk about what's appropriate.
Excuse me?
I'm sorry to be rude, Mrs. Drake.
I just got a little upset when I saw your husband
working on a third baby to kill.
Did you tell your wife that her grandson
is also her stepson?
What?
Your husband's been cheating on you.
With his own daughter.
How did it start, Ella?
Do you have any idea what it's like
to wonder who your father is your whole life?
What do you mean?
I mean...
What does he look like?
What does he do?
Does he ever think about me on my birthday?
On Christmas?
Ever?
I mean...
I never even knew his name.
Do you have any idea what that feels like?
Yes.
My mother could not
stand the sound of my laugh.
She said it was just like his, and...
I mean, she always ignored me.
But if I asked about him,
then she wouldn't even talk to me for days.
She'd...
She took what he did to her out on you.
He didn't do anything to her. She just didn't want him.
She didn't want him like she didn't want me.
Ella...
I'm sure that that's not true.
I knew she'd never love me.
Just like I knew he always would.
You had never met him.
You idealized him.
How did you find him?
I found a copy of my birth certificate
just before I left for college, and...
It had my original last name on it.
And my birthplace.
Newark?
It was easy enough to track him down from there.
We fell in love at first sight.
[door opens]
Ella was just telling me how you two lovebirds met.
[sighs]
Showed up at my office...
pretending to be one of my constituents.
Oh, so she tricked you.
She didn't tell me she was my daughter.
Well, how did you figure it out?
Was it the first time you had sex with her?
Before.
You're a sick man, Mr. Drake.
We couldn't help it!
She's your daughter!
I saw her as a woman, not as my child.
You took advantage of a young girl's
desperate need for her father's love.
You think I'm proud of this?!
You think this is something that I wanted to have happen?
My life is ruined!
Well, it wouldn't have been if you'd succeeded
in getting rid of baby number two.
I wish to God Ella had told me about him.
I would never have let her do it.
You can't still be claiming
that you didn't know she was pregnant.
I didn't.
Wow!
Denial really does run in your family.
I love her.
If I had known, I would have taken care of it.
Legally. If you loved her,
you wouldn't let her go down for a crime that you committed.
I'm a public figure.
I can name at least a dozen people who saw me that morning.
There's no way I could have been in the city to dump that baby.
I'll be checking on that. Do!
In the meantime, I need to see my daughter.
Yeah, like I'm gonna let that happen.
I know you will.
I still have a license to practice law.
(Benson) Arrest him for the incest.
Even if Jersey weren't outside our jurisdiction,
it's a hard case to make.
Take a picture! That's your case.
It was consensual sex between adults.
Adult incest isn't a crime?
Not a sex crime.
Under New York penal code
it's listed right next to adultery
as an offense affecting the marital relationship.
That's insane. It's an E-Felony.
He'd get probation.
He should rot in jail.
They'd have to try Ella as well.
She committed the same crime.
So get him on attempted murder.
I know that he's involved in this.
He has a solid alibi.
We can't make him legally culpable
just because we want him to be.
So Ella gets put away for attempted murder,
and he gets off scot-free?
Look at them.
I assume Berger will be launching
an aggressive psych defense.
(Berger) Dr. Wong, as a consulting forensic psychiatrist,
you were called in by Manhattan SVU
to observe the defendant.
I was.
And what assessment did you give them
of a mental state?
That she might be suffering from postpartum psychosis.
I see. That she was insane.
(Novak) Objection.
A diagnosis
of psychosis does not imply insanity
under U.S. law.
Sustained.
Are you familiar
with Kendall's study
of postpartum women, which showed,
"Psychiatric hospital admissions
"increase seven times
"in the first three postpartum months
"compared to pre-pregnancy
"and represent the peak prevalence
for psychiatric disorders for women."
I'm aware of
the biologically vulnerable state
of the women following childbirth.
So their brain chemistry can be altered?
Their hormones go crazy. Uh, sorry.
I'm gonna anticipate an objection to that one.
Let me rephrase.
Their hormones... go kooky.
I couldn't comprehend what had just...
come out of me.
(Berger) You're a bright girl, Ella.
Manhattan Institute of Technology.
Engineering major. Dean's list.
Yes.
And yet you didn't recognize a baby?
No.
Well, how-- how is that possible?
It looked...
mutated to me.
Uh, deformed.
I didn't know what it was.
But I knew it couldn't possibly survive.
(Berger) What did you do with it, Ella?
I put it in...
a cardboard box.
And then...
I put that in the garbage bag.
No further questions.
What else did you put in the bag, Ella?
Nothing.
Nothing?
People's Exhibit "C."
The sheets on which
the defendant gave birth.
I don't remember doing that.
They were further evidence of your crime.
You had to get rid of them, too, didn't you?
I don't remember.
Along with old clothes to muffle
her baby's cries.
(Ella) I don't remember.
What do you remember, Ella?
Being outside.
Walking.
To throw away your baby,
as far away as possible, to cover up your crime.
No.
I didn't even know I had anything in my hand.
Until it started to feel heavy.
And then... I looked down,
and I saw it was a garbage bag.
What did you do then?
[crying]
I sat it on a pile of trash.
And...turned around.
And went to class.
Did you tell anyone about what you had done?
No.
Not even the baby's father?
No.
(Berger) Are you and your daughter close, Mr. Drake?
As close as two people can be.
Expand on that for the court, please.
For the past two-and-a-half years,
my daughter Ella and I have engaged
in a sexual relationship.
[murmuring in courtroom]
And this started when Ella was 18, right?
That's correct.
Was the sex between you consensual?
I coerced Ella into the relationship.
She...begged me 100 times
to end it.
I'm sorry.
I couldn't.
"I told her 100 times that we had to end it.
Neither of us could."
Are those your words, Mr. Drake?
I drove Ella crazy.
Because you seem to be contradicting yourself
if they are.
My actions drove her to what she did.
(Novak) Answer the question, Mr. Drake.
It's all my fault.
"I wish to God...
"Ella had told me about him.
I never would have let her do it."
You can't punish Ella for my sins.
Your words or not?
Bear in mind that you're under oath, Mr. Drake.
Did you or did you not tell Detective Benson
that your relationship with Ella
was completely consensual?
I was facing criminal charges.
And lied to cover my ass.
And now you're lying to cover Ella's.
Have you reached a verdict?
(woman) We have.
On the first count of Child Abandonment,
how do you find?
We, the jury, find the defendant...
not guilty
by reason of mental disease or defect.
(judge) And on count two,
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree,
how do you find?
(forewoman) Not guilty...
by reason of mental disease or defect.
(judge) Jury is dismissed.
Defendant is to be remanded
to the state psychiatric hospital
until such a time as she is no longer a threat
to herself or to others.
Court is adjourned.
[bangs gavel]
Jury nullification. Plain and simple.
(Benson) I think she had to be crazy, don't you?
She did what Everett told her to do.
I don't know.
But I bet she'll have the hospital convinced
she's cured in no time at all.
Then back to daddy.
Your father was involved somehow, wasn't he?
No.
Ella, the trial is over.
Double jeopardy is in play.
No matter what you tell me now,
you cannot be retried for attempted murder charges.
Do you understand that?
You know, I never knew my father either.
What?
I have no idea who he is.
To this day.
My mother never told me about him until...
until after I grew up.
Why not?
I'm the product of my mother's rape.
Oh, my God.
So I think that I understand
what you went through growing up.
I could never understand my mother's inability
to love me.
Until after I learned the truth about myself.
Why are you telling me this?
Because I understand...
the desire to get rid of the constant reminder
of your own rape.
That's what I was to my own mother.
I'm sorry.
That's what happened to you, isn't it?
You just couldn't face it.
I wasn't raped.
Yes, you were.
No.
Did your father tell you to get rid of them?
Everett had nothing to do with it.
He never even knew about it.
He had to. He had to have helped you!
No, he didn't! I got rid of them myself!
I just thought if I just ignored them,
they'd just... go away, and...
And, like, it never happened.
But then once they were born, I couldn't ignore them,
because they just kept screaming and crying
and screaming, and they were...
That's why I threw them away.
And then they really didn't exist anymore.
And I was right all along.
Your first baby wasn't stillborn.
Uh-uh.
Charges were never filed on your first baby's death.
I'm gonna have to tell the Newark DA's office.
Tell them what?
(Benson) Will they charge her with murder?
Not while she's in psychiatric lockup.
After she's released? Oh, they might.
But I bet they'll come up with the same verdict in Jersey
that they did here.
Place her right back in that hospital.
He's beautiful.
Just had his checkup.
No chromosomal abnormalities.
(Everett) Hmm, you hear that?
You're invincible.
Hand me that baby.
He's my son.
I'm taking custody.
That's never gonna happen.
We were just finishing up the paperwork.
We just came to serve you
with an injunction barring Mr. Drake
from having any contact with the infant.
I can give him a home.
And love.
He belongs with his father.
But not with his grandfather.
Hand the baby to Detective Benson
or you will be placed under arrest.
Hand him to me.
Now.
You're never getting this baby.
We'll see.
It's gonna be okay.
You're gonna be okay.