'In the criminal justice system,
'sexually based offences are considered especially heinous.
'In New York City, the detectives who investigate these vicious felonies
'are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
'These are their stories.'
All right, people, listen up. One, Police Plaza's latest directive,
biyearly psychological evaluations.
Biyearly for bipolars.
They've picked one of the highest-stress units as the lucky guinea pig.
- Not us? - Us. Please fill out this form.
You'll be receiving your appointment times from our psychologist. Questions?
- Will it go on our permanent record? - It'll be confidential.
At the risk of sounding like John, what is their angle?
- Can you flunk it? If so what happens? - I don't know.
OK, so, er, who goes first?
I do. The blind leading the blind.
I bet they just slapped a new cover on the old Minnesota Multiphasic.
Do you believe this?
Shrinks get shrunk, maybe we could use a little.
Hi. Can I help you?
Yes, they tell me to report sex crime here.
OK. Why don't you have a seat right here?
OK. Go ahead, we're listening.
Erm, I have a fruit stand on Lex and 78th Street.
Two boys run up, grab bananas and take off.
That sounds like a robbery.
No. You see, when I'm angry I curse in my native tongue.
- Which is Hungarian, Romanian? - Romanian.
Then this woman grabs me and begs me to help her. Also in Romanian.
- What was wrong? - A man.
She's trapped in this situation she cannot escape from.
It does not translate well, but there is abuse.
- Physical or sexual? - I think both.
- What's her name? - She does not tell me.
- You know where she lives? - She does not tell me that either.
Er... she hands me this.
Constanta Condrescu.
She says, 'Tell her she was right. I need help.'
And then she takes off.
What time did all this happen?
Three days ago.
Big brown eyes.
- Here you go. - Thank you very much.
OK. Let me see if I got this straight.
Some girl is being sexually abused by some guy somewhere in Manhattan.
- Something like that. - Do we have a description?
The sketch artist's working with the fruit vendor.
- What's your take on this guy? - He's Mircha Gabrea.
Seems lucid enough. Came here a few years back. Never been in trouble.
The only reason he came in was to shut his wife up.
He let the story slip but she wouldn't lay off until he did something.
Assuming he's on the up and up, how do we know the girl is?
Thousands of women are abused by their lesser halves. We have to check it out.
What if Woodward and Bernstein had blown off Deep Throat as a prank call?
Prank call or not, it's three days cold now.
- Sorry. I don't recognise her. - It's not a common name.
What are the odds she pulled the name outta thin air?
She's my niece. We're not close.
Are you close enough to know her name?
- Ilena. Ilena Condrescu. - Why did you lie about knowing her?
Where I come from the less you tell police, the better.
Where you come from, she's not in trouble, but she may be here.
If she is, we'd like to help her.
Now, Miss Condrescu.
Is this your niece?
Yes.
- Mind if I borrow this? - Go ahead. It's of no use.
She reached out to you. You must know where she is or who she's with.
I don't. I haven't seen her in three years. Since she first came here.
- And how did she get here? - On a student visa.
- Which school? - NYU.
That's when we went our separate ways.
I'm sorry but my shift starts soon.
OK. Look, I'm gonna give you my card.
If there's anything you think of that may help us find her,
please give us a call, OK?
We should have pressed harder. She's holding something back.
We're not the Romanian secret police, but at least we got a name and photo.
It's Detective Stabler.
I want you to run a database check on an Ilena, l-L-E-N-A, Condrescu.
No, C-O. Condrescu. And if you don't get a hit check NYU. Thanks.
- That's where she should be. - I'll get Munch on it.
She never showed up.
- Does it mention why? - No.
Does it mention why somewhere? In her application files?
Do you know how many tens of thousands of students apply each year?
These are all student files.
So, er, this is what it feels like?
- What does? - To be the suspect.
Just kidding. Sort of.
Sit down.
- Relax. - Yeah, right.
- You can't relax? - I golf a little.
A little? What's your handicap?
- I don't know. 12, 14. - It must be difficult to get to a course.
It's a commitment but I get out.
So, what else do you do for fun?
What do you mean, for fun?
What you do to relax. Go jogging?
- Racket ball? - Yeah.
- Walk? - It's New York, everybody walks.
Don, come on, you see it every day.
Rape, murder, torture. As sure as your morning cup of coffee.
On top of that, you've got responsibilities of command.
I'm sorry, is that a question?
How well do you handle the stress?
I handle it.
All right, how do you handle it?
This is ridiculous. Why don't you just ask me?
- Ask you...? - The question you're tap-dancing around.
Do I get the urge to drink? See, that's the problem with you people.
You ask about golfing,
or jogging or whether a person was breast-fed or not.
Why don't you just ask me about my alcoholism?
That's what this has been about, hasn't it?
- Do you want to talk about it? - No, I don't.
But I will.
Yes.
I get the urge to drink.
Every day.
I see horrific acts of degradation,
of brutality,
of human evil.
They make me angry.
They make me sick. They get inside my head and I wanna shut them up.
I know if I crawl inside of a bottle, they will stop.
- Do you think you will? - Ask me tomorrow.
- Have you seen this woman before? - Excuse me.
What can I make you? You look like a wiener dog guy.
You're wrong. Have you seen this woman before?
- Yeah, I see her all the time. - Positive?
- Yeah. Cute accent. Russian, Czech. - Do you know who she is?
I made her a green ladybug. I had her pegged as a red poodle type. Go figure.
Balloon guy says he knows our girl.
Sir? Excuse me. Are you sure that it was her?
I never forget a paying customer. She's dropped a few pounds since then.
Ever seen her with anyone?
I'll make you a giraffe. On the house.
- Have you ever seen her with anyone? - A little girl. Eight.
- Here we go, kid. - Look again.
She's 21 years old. She couldn't have an eight-year-old.
Not her own! American. Hey, you're in the heart of nanny central here.
- When was the last time you saw her? - Yesterday.
- Yesterday? - He remembered her accent.
He also remembered her being serene. Wasn't under the least bit of stress.
Three days ago she slips a fruit vendor an SOS,
a few days later she's at the park with a kid.
- Case closed? - No. No, it's not closed.
Four of my top detectives wasted an entire day on a wild-goose chase.
That's 32 man-hours. I want her in here explaining herself.
Homicide just caught a dump job off the Henry Hudson.
Your card was in the victim's pocket.
The body was rolled up in a rug and dumped.
When?
The body's in great shape. Minimum exposure to the elements.
- Today? - Today. Sometime last night.
- Any witnesses? - None that stopped.
No one would notice a body being dumped.
People dump stuff all the time.
- Who found her? - A fisherman.
Thought he'd found a present for the wife. Is this her?
Yeah, that's her. Constanta Condrescu.
Something tells me she found a way to contact Ilena.
She was dead when she hit the rug. No fibres were inhaled.
What killed her?
Something stopped her heart instantaneously.
- What that was, only toxicology will tell. - Got a time of death?
- Between 4 and 6pm. - We left her at four.
Only an injection would cause an attack this acute
without affecting other organs.
But I can't find a puncture wound.
You checked the white-collar junkie places?
Nothing between the toes, behind the knees or in the genitals.
What about under the tongue?
For an accidental OD that would make sense. But...
It'd be very difficult, if not impossible, for a killer to...
Hm.
How did a killer inject her under the tongue with no struggle?
He sedated her.
So she hears her niece is in trouble, goes to this guy and has a spiked drink with him?
I guess so. Two hours after we left, she's dead.
We should have pressed her harder.
I contacted Interpol. Ilena's father was also murdered back in Romania.
- When? - '89, during the Ceausescu regime.
- That's a big gap for a connection. - Not when you consider the timing.
People assume that the good guys overthrew Ceausescu. They didn't.
Maybe they knew where the bodies were.
Whatever happened to them started there. All roads lead to Romania.
That may be so, but what do you say we start in Murray Hill?
Look. She didn't even finish her tea.
She wasn't killed here, but let's bag it up before we leave.
Got an address book. It's open to the Cs.
Tell me we have an address for Ilena Condrescu.
No, but the page where it'd fall alphabetically is missing.
OK, let's keep looking.
- You guys in here? - No.
Canvass of the first floor was a wash.
Yeah. Lady in 1 B remembers the victim. She never saw the niece.
You can try her work.
Café Parhova, expatriates plotting coups d'état over bowls of goulash.
My partner.
Her niece never came here.
Had they been in contact?
No. There had been a fight when Ilena got here.
- About? - How she got here.
Constanta was saving for her to come to school but Ilena just shows up.
How did she manage that?
She met an American businessman in a disco in Bucharest.
He offered to help.
I assume there was a catch.
So did Constanta. She yelled at Ilena, 'Of course there's a catch!'
Ilena said the ticket didn't cost him anything, he was a frequent flyer,
and that he knew of a part-time job.
She said he was just a nice man.
- Do you know this man's name? - No. Just that he was American.
- Do you think that's where Ilena went? - Constanta assumed so.
She tried to contact him but he said he never heard from her.
She tried a few more times but nothing. Finally, she gave up.
Thanks.
You requested to be assigned to SVU. Why don't you tell me about that?
The question, 'Has anyone in your family been the victim of a rape?'
I checked yes. I'm actually the child of a rape.
How does that affect you on your job?
I'm walking a tightrope. I got too close to a case once.
A Serbian rapist was killed by his victims
and I got my ass in a sling over it.
Has it ever interfered with your ability to remain objective?
No.
You had occasion to use deadly force a few months ago.
My partner was about to be shot. It was a reflex. We're trained to do that.
OK. Say you couldn't be a sex crimes detective any more,
what would you be?
Hey! Sorry I'm late.
- How did it go? - Cakewalk.
What have you got?
A Persian Kashan. More expensive than you normally find in dump jobs.
- How much? - Around $5,000.
- A perp with serious money. - Or he killed her in a carpet store.
You pull anything out of it?
Your standard particles of dirt, cotton, nylon fibres.
Anything place- or person-specific?
A human hair. Root intact.
- Victim's? - No. Definitely not.
- No proof it's the doer's. - No, but I'd like a suspect to compare it to.
Ilena Condrescu.
- Someone gave her a free ticket. - When did she fly?
August of '97.
You're kidding me.
Don't answer that. If you call an airline you're on hold 20 minutes
while being subjected to a Clockwork Orangean loop
on the benefits of your awards programme.
I believe that's your phone, sir.
Munch.
- Romania to JFK. - Someone gave Ilena a ticket.
Her aunt warned her he had ulterior motives. We're finding out who.
- Got it. - Got it.
- The frequent flyer is? - Randolf Morrow.
Randolf Morrow. Hold for the address.
Hello?
Can I help you?
Ilena?
I'm Detective Benson, this is my partner Detective Stabler.
It's OK, we're here to help you.
- We got your message. - What message?
To your aunt.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Who's here?
- Mr and Mrs Morrow have been good to me. - Where are the Morrows right now?
At work. Dinner must be ready before they get home. Is there anything else?
- Yes. There's a hell of a lot more. - Ilena, play with me.
Your aunt was murdered an hour after we informed her you were in trouble.
I don't know anything about it.
I've told you. I never gave anyone a message like that.
- Why would someone make that up? - I don't know!
Regardless of who sent the message, we know your aunt came to see you.
I haven't seen her in three years.
Mr Morrow really doesn't like dinner to be late.
Please!
We're very sorry for your loss.
Ilena!
You were supposed to start NYU three years ago. Why didn't you?
- When we told her about her aunt... - Nothing. Not a blink.
Stepford nanny.
The only time she registered any emotion was at dinner being late.
- Stockholm Syndrome. - Brainwashing?
1973, four hostages were taken during a bank robbery attempt in Stockholm.
When the SWAT team tried to rescue them, they resisted.
After only six days of captivity. When they were rescued,
they refused to testify against their captors and raised money for their defence.
We have another Patty Hearst on our hands?
It doesn't take much to brainwash a person. Isolation, threats of violence,
and then random acts of kindness.
In as little as 72 hours a person's psyche can be broken down.
Ilena's been there three years.
If that's what happened, she won't be any help.
Get back there and find out what's going on.
- Do you have a girlfriend? - Do you?
Have you dated since transferring here?
Ah! Now I see where you're going.
Does dealing with sexual deviants every day affect me?
The answer is no. Just ask my blow-up doll.
Do you think this job has had any effect on your sex life?
No, but I've pinpointed what has.
Believe it or not, I have serious intimacy issues.
I'm critical, I'm negative, I have an occasional bout of...
Let's see, melancholy. I'm a lousy date, but a good cop.
So, I guess that just about covers everything.
No, actually we have 45 minutes.
You wanna hear a detailed account of my sexual history?
How do we kill the other 44 minutes?
Do you always deflect questions with jokes?
Do you always deflect jokes with questions?
Have you experienced sexual dysfunction since taking this job?
- And I'd appreciate a serious answer. - Once.
Thank you. When did that happen?
I'm not sure, but it was within the last ten minutes. I'm sorry.
Look, I'm not good talking about me.
You're the expert, why don't you talk about me?
OK. You've been married multiple times.
Each wife was beautiful but not one matched you intellectually.
You distrust all women, any form of government,
and you could smell a conspiracy at a five-year-old's lemonade stand.
Anything else?
You've given up on relationships. But you still believe in true love.
The pain of never having found it is unbearable.
Anything else?
Good neighbours, loving parents.
Has Ilena talked to you about the Morrows?
We've never really talked to her. It sounds awful. She's been here a year.
She's a very quiet girl.
- She's been here a year? - Yeah.
- We heard she'd been here three years. - No, one at the most. I'm sure.
What do you know about the Morrows?
She's a veterinarian. Anyone who helps animals is OK in my book.
And Mr Morrow?
A corporate type. Investment banker, I think.
Sit.
The couch is much more comfortable.
Oh, I'm fine.
Ilena told me about her aunt. It's tragic.
We didn't know she had a relative here. So I won't be much help. We never met.
- You never met Ilena's aunt? - No, sir.
How did you meet Ilena?
I was in Romania consulting on some privatisation issues. A nightmare.
Ilena wanted to come to the US, we needed a nanny. If only all mergers were so easy.
She's been with you three years?
I guess it has been. Listen, that chair is really so stiff.
Your neighbour said they've only noticed Ilena this year.
This is New York. I couldn't tell you anything about my neighbours.
They're positive that Ilena has only been with you this past year.
Can you explain that?
- Louise? - Yes, sir?
- What did I say about the blinds? - You like them drawn late afternoon.
And what time is it now?
3:30, Mr Morrow.
- Could you adjust them, please? - Yes, sir.
Could you do that now, Louise? Thank you.
I have an afternoon full of meetings. Is there anything else?
Yeah. Where were you Monday between 4 and 6pm?
I was in negotiations with four corporate lawyers.
I thank you for your time.
Oh. You've got something on your suit.
That guy was a real sweetheart.
That couch was comfortable.
By the way, nice move with the hair.
Enjoy that? We'll match it up with the one from the rug.
Stabler. Good. What have you got?
What's that? Thanks a lot.
Toxicology just came back. Constanta was killed with Beuthanasia.
They use it to put animals to sleep.
Come on, sweetie.
Mrs Morrow, you work Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- Where were you last Monday? - Home.
- Did Ilena have any visitors that day? - No.
- Did your husband come home? - No.
- Barry, can I have some help? - Sure, Dr Morrow.
How are things going with Ilena?
It works. We have a routine.
My husband can explain it better.
Dropped it.
Do you and Ilena get along?
My husband selected her... to help me.
Barry?
How close is your husband to Ilena?
You should talk to my husband.
Dr Morrow, we have a hit-and-run.
Oh!
- I should go. Barry, can you? - Yeah.
It's a nice facility you have here.
Yeah. We got our own OR, recovery rooms.
- Pharmacy? - Yeah. It's just down the hall there.
It's all computerised so the DEA can monitor you?
The monitoring's not as stringent as with humans.
Not many poodles become crackheads. How about the vets?
Erm... Look, I really have to do a rectal so...
By all means. Give us a call if you think of anything you wanna tell us.
Sure.
You were recently injured in the line of duty. Tell me what happened.
Sure. I was in a foot pursuit of a rape suspect
when the car he stepped into blew to high heaven.
So you were only a step or two to going with him.
Sometimes after a near-death experience, an officer gets tentative.
Maybe just a split-second hesitation before pulling a weapon?
- No. Nothing like that at all. - No?
No. I've never felt more confident.
- How so? - I always knew that this day might come.
I wondered what would happen. The day came. And I walked away from it.
I feel alive. Like three shots of espresso without the jitters.
Are you presently in a relationship?
I had been in a relationship but when I started working here, that ended.
So did dating in general, actually.
Erm, I guess I'd been celibate,
well, up until...
Huh. Actually, up until the accident.
So, you're dating again?
Uh-huh. A lot. I guess it sort of made me realise how short life is.
You've met a man?
Well, not a man, different men.
I don't know, I guess I kinda feel restless.
- What is it? - Nothing.
No, you were gonna say something.
No, no. It's nothing. I...
A few nights ago I was at this bar and there was this guy watching me.
- Staring at me. - And?
And we started dancing.
I thought I recognised him but I couldn't place him.
Outside under the streetlight it hit me where I recognised this guy from.
Who was he?
A guy I'd been watching a year earlier on a case.
We liked him for a suspect.
What did you do?
I went home with him.
Hey. Hey! Are you all right?
Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?
The psyche exam. Dr Giggles had me wanting to eat my gun.
No, I'm fine.
- Monique? - Excuse me.
- Yeah, what? - I'm looking for Benson or Stabler.
- Had the inventory been fudged? - Vets are under a lot of pressure.
So when tranquillisers like Valium go missing, it's the nature of the business.
- But? - Beuthanasia's another thing entirely.
Did Mrs Morrow take some?
Yeah. A few months ago. I couldn't figure out why. The stuff's lethal.
You're sure it's Beuthanasia?
Yeah. The stuff's bright pink. There's no mistaking it.
You took a lethal drug home from work?
The same lethal drug that killed Constanta.
That was for me.
Why?
Because your husband was having sex with Ilena right under your nose?
Sexuality is about reaching our limits and transcending them.
So did your husband transcend Ilena's aunt? Is that what happened?
She confronted him, he killed her?
- No. - You want to protect your husband.
That woman showed up at the door,
threatened him, threatened our routine.
I knew what I had to do.
And what was that?
I calmed her down.
I gave her tea.
- You drugged her? - With Beuthanasia as a chaser?
Your idea or your husband's?
It's like putting an animal down, you have to disassociate.
Mrs Morrow, did your husband tell you to kill Constanta?
He didn't have to tell me anything.
Police! Last chance!
You smell that? Upstairs.
What are you doing?
You have no right to be in here.
Exigent circumstances. Your lawyer will explain it to you.
- Elliot! - Yeah?
- Look at this! - We'll need warrants for those.
Let's at least get him outta here.
Where is she?
She's gone. She's not coming back.
Ilena!
- Ilena! - Ilena!
Ilena, can you hear us?
- Ilena? - Olivia!
Get me something. We got a padlock.
That's good.
Where is she?
- Who? - The girl you're torturing in those photos.
Honey, I'd like a mineral water. No ice.
I'd like your balls in a blender, but ain't life a bitch?
I said it'd be OK to keep me company while I waited for my attorney
but I'll have a little quiet time now.
I've got some typing to catch up on.
Maybe you shouldn't have called her honey. Women!
I've been trying to break her in for a long time.
I'd recommend the rack.
- Sounds painful. - It's excruciating.
You can cut off circulation, cause permanent damage.
- Is that so? - It has to be consensual.
Like it is with Ilena.
- Mr Morrow's attorney is here. - Why is he talking to my client?
It's all right, Terrence. We were just discussing our common interest.
Now, let's get me home in time for dinner.
It gets worse. The hair sample from the rug, not his. It's the wife's.
- We need that warrant now. - Let's go.
What did you get from him?
She's still alive. Kept using the present. 'She is' not 'was'.
- We just gotta find her. - Before she dies.
- How do we know these pictures exist? - The detectives saw them.
- Where? - When they entered his residence.
- Without a warrant? - Exigent circumstances.
- They believed she was in danger. - Was she?
She wasn't on the premises,
but they found evidence indicating she'd been held against her will
and that she'd been moved.
- On this basis... - Please.
New York has more bondage shops than you can crack a whip at.
Whips don't denote non-consensual acts.
Any idiot can see she's being held against...
You are very close to contempt.
We need to get into this apartment.
You don't have probable cause so you want a warrant so you can get it.
Is that it? Nice try.
All rise.
- She's detoxing. - From?
Ketamine, an animal tranquilliser.
On the street it's called Special K.
To vets it's known as the addiction of choice. And hers is pretty long-term.
I already told you everything.
We're not here for your crime. We're here for your husband's.
My husband didn't do anything wrong.
He kidnapped and tortured that girl.
He disciplined her. He helped her learn.
Did you know that she was missing?
You're gone. She's gone. He's alone now, except for your daughter.
And all his toys.
He treats Tamara like a princess. She is his daughter.
Adopted daughter. She's not flesh and blood.
No, he wouldn't.
He can't let that closet stay empty.
- Who's the next logical choice? - Forget logic. Who's convenient?
You know he's gonna do it.
He did it to you, didn't he? Didn't he?
He was so...
good to me at first.
Then he started asking me to do things.
So you let him hurt you?
I wanted to escape so many times, but I was so afraid for our daughter.
So, you stayed hoping that things would change, but they didn't?
Until he abducted Ilena.
He said it was so perfect.
A woman just in the States and nobody would even know she existed.
He kept her in a closet for the first six months.
Except to rape and torture her.
You have no idea what I went through.
That's why you never did anything for Ilena.
Because he stopped doing it to you.
All right, you're gonna help us.
- How easy was it to roll his wife? - Like dice down the chute.
She was your number-one submissive, wasn't she?
- She'll never testify against me. - She will. We control her now.
- She doesn't blink without my permission. - She blinked.
You broke her too much. Made her too pliable.
Made it easy for us.
Most wives would die for their husbands, but not yours.
You screwed up. Your power's gone. We took your control.
I control Ilena! She doesn't eat or urinate without my permission. I control her.
I do.
You like beating up women? Huh, tough guy? Stand up.
Sit down.
Stand up.
Stand up! Sit down! Sit down!
Now who controls who?
We forced every move you made.
Once we start you running, it's screw-up city.
You never forced a move out of me.
We forced you to move Ilena, didn't we?
How about this one?
That's the bathroom off the master suite.
Look at these welts on her back.
- Olivia! - Did he break?
No. Now we're sure all of these pictures were taken in the house?
Except for this one. It's the only one I can't place.
There's no point of reference for location, just that rug.
It's the rug Constanta was in!
Where's the confession from his wife?
- From the bedroom. - She's been there all the time.
Impossible! The cops have been all over that place!
There ain't nowhere else but here.
Ilena, talk to us. Where are you?
It's gotta be the bed.
Here we go.
Ilena, can you hear us?
Olivia. Olivia.
- What is it? - I've no idea.
Something there.
- Come on. - Come on.
Elliot, there's something. Pull this. Pull it.
Oh, my God! She's alive.
Can you hear us? Call an ambulance!
It's OK, sweetheart.
This is Stabler at 321, West 101. I need an ambulance now.
321, West 101st.
Tell him I didn't do anything. I didn't make a sound, I swear.
- I didn't do anything. - It's OK. We'll get you out of here.
It's over. It's over. I didn't do anything.
How long does a case like this stay with you?
A while.
How do you deal with it?
I go home, hug my kids, kiss my wife.
You discuss the cases at home?
No. I don't let that world touch my family.
That world's everywhere. You can't put them on 24-hour surveillance.
That doesn't mean I have to be their window into it.
You, er, you have to work with a lot of cases involving children.
Do you think that hits a little close to home?
You ever see a child... with no soul?
I have.
How do you handle it?
I think. I think a lot.
About?
The crime. The victim. Er...
The people that do that sort of thing.
What else?
How I could get away with killing them.
- You have a minute? - Yeah. Come on in.
- How goes the witch-hunt? - Well, I've seen everybody.
You find any bed-wetters or cross-dressers?
No. No, I've found a commensurate level of stress and neurosis
that one would expect in this work.
For the most part.
- For the most part? - The purpose of this programme
is to identify detectives that are close to meltdown.
It's to protect the public from them. As well as themselves.
You're saying you found someone in my unit?
I did. I'm afraid I have to recommend that they be removed from duty.
Immediately.
Who?