.
- 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.
[screaming]
- It's a hate crime.
- I saw his face.
He took his mask off for a few seconds.
- Hector Ramirez. You come clean,
you tell us who the other two guys were,
you might be able to cut yourself a deal.
- I didn't kill or rape anyone, I swear to God.
- What do I need to do?
- Need to testify in front of grand jury
so we can formally indict him.
- Oh, no.
- Hey, what the hell are you doing?
- He's being deported to Syria.
- Two people were killed,
and you're deporting the one person
that can ID the men that did this?
- The people have just released Hector Ramirez.
- He won't be free for long.
- The release today of Samra double homicide suspect
Hector Ramirez has galvanized civil unrest
outside the courthouse.
Members of the Muslim and Latino communities
are out in force... - You guys all right?
- For the most part. - Wasn't pretty.
- Unfortunately, your day's not getting any easier.
- What now? - Maya and Lela Samra are here.
Yeah.
- No, I-I don't understand.
You promised me that Yusef would be safe,
that New York is a sanctuary city--
- And I am so sorry. - No, no, this is on me.
I never should have let him leave the apartment.
- No, no. Yusef is stubborn. He wanted cigarettes.
- But he needs to testify. He's our most important witness.
You said that the D.A. was getting a warrant.
- By the time we found out where Yusef was being held,
it was too late.
He was already on a plane headed to Syria.
- So get him back.
- I have to be honest with you.
I don't know if that's possible.
- So he's just gone?
- And Hector gets to go free?
Like the rapes and murders never happened?
- Listen to me.
We are gonna find them.
And we are gonna prosecute them.
We are not giving up on this case.
- Liv, we have a situation.
- Excuse me. What?
[sirens wailing] - Move in! Move in! Move in!
[dramatic music]
*
[police radio chatter]
- Lieutenant Benson, SVU. Hector Ramirez inside?
- Being held at gunpoint. - By who?
- Witnesses say two males, 20s, Middle Eastern.
- Do we know what they want? - No. Hostage negotiation's
been calling the bar's landline; they're not picking up.
- Anybody else inside? - No, they let
all the employees, rest of the patrons go.
Just the three of them. We're setting up pole cams now.
See if we can isolate the hostage takers.
- Okay, I cannot risk this witness getting killed.
- We're on the same page. Last thing we want
is to lose a hostage. - I understand that
but this witness is different. - We'll try to negotiate.
But if we get a clear shot, we're gonna take it.
- Ugh! - Come on.
[police radio chatter]
[phone ringing] - Aakif, there's a lot
of cops out there-- - Good! They should know
we're serious.
Who killed Kanann and Shala Samra?
- It wasn't me. I didn't hurt them.
- Then who did? [phone ringing]
- Should I pick it up? - No!
- They gave you a job. They looked out for you.
This is how you repay them?
- You have a visual in the back window.
Are you seeing it?
- Copy. I have a clear shot.
- Take it now. - Just wait.
- [grunts] - Ohh!
- Move, move, move!
- Shots fired! Shots fired!
- No! Aakif, no! - Police! Let me see your hands!
- No, no! The Samras are good people!
We just wanted justice-- - All right, get him back here.
- Hector. - They were gonna kill me!
- Yeah, well, they didn't. - Get him out of here.
[police radio chatter]
*
[dramatic music]
.
- They were gonna shoot me.
I was minding my own business.
- What were you doing in the bar, Hector?
- Trying to get drunk. I was locked up for three days.
I wasn't looking for trouble, I swear.
- What did they want?
- They must've been following me.
I was having a few beers and they put a gun to my head
and demanded to know who killed Kanann and Shala.
I said it wasn't me. I didn't hurt them.
- You let it happen.
You let those girls get raped.
You let Shala and Kanann die.
- They had-- - You did that.
- They had a gun on me. - And until you tell us
who else is involved, this is not going away.
- Hector's lawyer is here.
- What the hell do you think you're doing?
You can't talk to my client.
- He's a victim in a crime. - Yes, a victim
who's also facing a double murder charge.
- He was just telling me what happened in the bar.
Nothing more. - He's done talking.
- Okay. That's your choice.
- And a stupid one, at that. - Excuse me?
- It's obvious he wants to cooperate.
- Hector has a rock solid alibi that his wife will corroborate.
You've got the wrong guy, here. - So the witness who picked him
out of a lineup-- - Is now in a refugee camp,
somewhere in Turkey. - And that doesn't mean
that his ID isn't valid.
- I have a client to defend, and as of right now,
the state doesn't have enough evidence to convict.
So if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take Hector to the hospital.
Unless, of course, you wanna arrest him
for being held hostage.
- [sighs]
Chief.
- What are we looking at? One dead?
- One of the hostage takers. - What do we know about 'em?
- The deceased is Aakif Ahmadi.
He's 28, he's a local business owner.
And the other is Daleel Hamdan. He's 25.
He's a student at CUNY Tech. Neither one had a record.
Neither has ties to terrorist activity.
- As far as we can tell, it was personal.
Daleel said they were fed up with the slurs and hatred.
They just wanted to get justice for the Samras.
- They held Hector at gunpoint and they demanded
that he reveal his co-conspirators.
- Did he? - No.
- His lawyer has him convinced he's innocent.
- So, look, the wife is backing up his alibi.
So we need to talk to her and see if we can crack her story.
- Do it fast. This needs to end...
before somebody else gets killed.
- It's your fault. You arrested Hector.
Made people think he had something to do
with that horrible crime at the restaurant.
That's why they wanted to hurt him.
That's why everyone hates us.
- No, they hate Hector because he was there.
He was in the restaurant the night of the attack.
- Says you.
- Says the evidence.
- You don't know what it's like. I can't leave the apartment.
I can't take the kids outside.
- So work with us, Soledad. You and Hector.
We can keep you safe. We can keep your kids safe.
- Hector didn't do what you say he did.
He was home with me. - This is not
what's best for your children.
- You threatening to call social services again?
- Soledad, all right, if you get on the stand,
and you lie for your husband, that's perjury.
That's a crime - Which means
you could be in trouble.
Which means there's no one here
to look after your kids.
- Stop talking about my kids.
- There's no other way around it.
You are in a serious situation here.
- Get out. Get out.
Please get out.
[crowd shouting]
- Ignorance, not immigrants!
NYPD needs to protect all citizens.
- How many more innocent Muslims have to die
before NYPD does its job?
- We knew the man who got shot, Aakif.
- I'm so sorry.
- Why did this have to happen?
- It got out of control.
And he did have a gun.
- Maybe he should have killed Hector.
- Then we wouldn't know who the other two men are.
- We need to put pressure on Hector to cooperate.
And that means that we need proof.
We need evidence.
So is there any detail? Is there anything that you can think of?
Anything you can remember that puts Hector
at the restaurant that night?
- I didn't know it was him.
I didn't recognize his voice.
- Anything?
- One of them, when they first came in,
he had turned off the security camera
at the front door.
But he went to it straight away, like he knew it was there.
- So it could've been Hector.
- Yes. Maybe it was him.
- That's--that's helpful.
That's very helpful.
[solemn music]
- We did find Hector Ramirez's prints on the security camera.
- Useless. He worked in the restaurant.
- Yeah, but he was let go three weeks before the attack.
- Yeah, and he was a bus boy. He cleared tables.
He wasn't in charge of security.
- Yes, yes, yes. It's weak evidence.
- Okay, we know. We all understand.
Let's--let's calm down.
- [sighs] What about the wife?
She's illegal, right? - Yeah.
- Let's call ICE.
- Excuse me?
Hold on. Are we gonna help ICE now
deport a woman with two little kids?
- I don't know, but we're certainly gonna threaten it.
- You do remember that New York is a sanctuary city?
You remember that, right? - She's lying to protect
a suspect involved in a horrific crime.
Two people were raped, two people were killed.
The mother and wife was forced to watch, to listen.
So call me crazy, Detective.
But in the case of a tie, my sympathy
is with Maya and Lela, not with the wife of the perp.
- Lieutenant. - You're right, Carisi.
That is NYPD's policy.
Absolutely, we all agree on that.
But this is different.
I'm not a shill for the Feds and I certainly
don't give a damn about immigration status.
But right now, what's happening in this city right now,
we need to play every card in the deck.
So bring in Soledad and her kids, too.
- Tonight? - It's late,
her kids are asleep. - Now.
- My children are U.S. citizens.
I have their birth certificates to prove it.
- And I realize that. They're safe.
- But you're undocumented, Soledad.
If we call ICE, game's over.
- I work, I pay taxes, I've never broken the law.
- You're breaking the law right now by lying
to protect your husband. - He didn't kill anybody.
He didn't rape anybody.
You don't have any evidence on him.
- Is that what his lawyer told you?
- It's the truth. - Soledad...
those two beautiful girls are worth protecting.
They're young, they're innocent,
they have their whole lives ahead of them.
But your husband is a different story.
You cannot protect him.
Now, I'm gonna give you one more chance
to tell me the truth.
Or else I'm gonna have to do something that...
[sighs] That I've never done before.
And that's to call ICE.
They're gonna send you back to El Salvador.
And your daughters will go to social services.
Listen to me.
I don't wanna do this.
Please give me another option.
[tense music]
*
Okay.
*
This is Lieutenant Benson from SVU.
I'm calling for Special Agent Phelps.
Yes, I'll hold.
*
- Phelps. - Phelps, this is
Lieutenant Benson from SVU.
I had an undocumented female from El Salvador
who's refusing to cooperate in a rape/homicide case.
- I'll send an agent right over.
- Wait, stop!
- Can you hold on a second?
- I'll tell you the truth.
Hector wasn't home. Not until late.
- What time?
- He woke me up at 2:00 a.m.
He had blood on his shoes.
*
Please, just let me see my kids.
I'll tell you everything.
*
- Yeah. - She can see her kids.
Go ahead.
*
Agent Phelps?
Yes, the situation has resolved itself.
Thank you. I owe you one.
*
- Were you really gonna go through with it?
Have ICE come snatch her up?
*
- She just boxed Hector into a corner.
So he has no choice than to take a deal.
Go pick him up.
.
- Your wife blew up your alibi.
She said you came home around 2:00 a.m.
and you had blood on your shoes.
- That incriminates you, Hector.
That puts you at the scene.
- You're going down for murder and rape.
With a hate crime kicker. That's life.
- Give us the names of your accomplices.
- We need time to talk about this.
We can't-- - No.
They'll deport Soledad.
I can't have my kids growing up in foster care.
- Hector, look at me.
If you cooperate, you agree to testify,
I promise you, your wife and kids will be safe.
- I was drinking with these two guys I know from another job.
- Who?
- Mitch Jenkins and Stevie Cole.
- Okay, go on.
- I was pissed about being fired.
And they wanted to mess with the Samras.
We were gonna trash the place, you know?
Yeah, send a message.
But then, Kanann fought back.
They kicked him,
stabbed him.
Then they went after Lela and Shala.
I wanted the money. I didn't want what happened.
Things got out of control, man.
- Where do these two guys live?
- Mitch is in New Brunswick.
Stevie lives in Queens.
- NYPD, we're looking for a Stevie Cole.
- Stevie's not here. - Oh, yeah? Well, we're gonna
take a look for ourselves. - You got a warrant?
- We don't need one. Unless you guys
wanna go to jail for interfering in a murder investigation.
- Murder? What? - Yeah, your buddy Stevie,
he's a suspect in a double homicide.
- I don't want anything to do with that.
- Stevie Cole? - Yeah.
- NYPD. - Put your hands
where I can see 'em. - What the hell?
- You did the right thing.
- Mitchell Jenkins, you're under arrest
for the rape and murder of Shala Samra
and the murder of Kanann Samra.
You have the right to remain silent.
- He didn't do it! He's being framed by that lying Mexican!
- Please remain calm. Keep your voice down.
- Call a lawyer! - Who?
- Go online! Find somebody! - What's happening?
- You've got the wrong man. My husband didn't do this!
Let him go! Let me go! - Hey!
- Mom! - Sit down. Stop!
- Mom. - Hey, honey, it's okay.
It's all right, okay?
You want your kid to see you like this?
Now I'm gonna let you go. You take care of your son.
- Come here.
- You did this, Stevie. You.
- No, I don't know what you're talking about.
- Where were you Friday night? - I don't have to answer that.
- No, but you might wanna start thinking about
helping yourself out here.
- We know you're guilty. We're gonna find DNA.
We're gonna find your prints.
- But you haven't. - Well, we will.
And the truth is, we don't need to
since Hector gave your ass up.
You're going down either way.
- Because some stupid beaner told you I was there that night?
- Stupid? No, Stevie, he's out in front of this.
He's cutting a deal. So why don't you smarten up
and tell us something that makes us like you a little more.
- I didn't do it.
Okay, I couldn't have done that. That's not who I am.
- So why don't you tell us who you really are?
- I want a lawyer.
- We know you went over there to help your buddy
get his back pay, right?
- Things got out of hand.
You got drunk, right?
- Drinking tequila all night.
- So what? - So what?
What else you do?
You smoke a little meth?
- One of the women that you assaulted,
she remembers smelling tequila on your breath.
Juries love that kind of detail.
- Well, then, she must've been talking about Hector.
I mean, Mexicans love tequila. And raping.
Just ask the President.
Oh, now I get it. Okay.
So you're on his side, right?
Better to stick it to whitey
instead of one of your little amigos?
- Oh, I don't know. I wanna stick it to all three of you.
See, but I'm gonna be honest with you right now.
I'm taking particular interest in you.
- So have at it.
- You were drinking tequila, you were smoking meth. What else?
- You're putting words in my mouth.
- Okay, well, one of the women that you and your buddy raped,
she survived.
And she remembers what you smelled like,
exactly how your voice sounded like.
- Then tell that stupid Muslim bitch,
with her little head scarf, to get on the stand
and convince 12 red-blooded Americans
she's telling the truth. - Yeah, that's exactly
what we plan to do. - I didn't do it.
But to be honest, I wish I did.
Because those terrorists deserve whatever they get.
Just ask my cousin Susan. Hmm?
Her husband got blown away on 9/11.
Three kids.
These towelhead bastards wanna kill us all.
Don't you get it? - No, I don't.
- See, that's the problem.
People like you. Stupid, white liberals.
Get me a lawyer, bitch.
- What'd you say? - Hey, hey, hey.
- You wanna say that again?
You know what? We'll see you in court, Mitch.
You're being indicted, first thing tomorrow.
[dark music]
- You've waived immunity for your testimony here today?
- Yes. - You also pled guilty
to a crime? - Yes.
I pled guilty to murder in the second degree.
And kidnapping.
- Any promises made to you, in regards to your sentence?
- No.
- Tell the jury what happened on the night of April 24th.
- Me and two other men--
Mitchell Jenkins and Steven Cole--
broke into the Samra restaurant,
tied the family up, robbed the register, trashed the place.
Then the owner, Kanann,
started yelling.
Mitch kicked him, then picked up a knife
and stabbed him in the stomach.
- Go on.
- Mitch raped Shala.
Stevie raped Lela.
But then Shala started screaming.
And...
[dark music]
And Mitch smashed her head against the floor.
*
And she died.
- The grand jury just handed down an indictment
for rape, kidnapping, and murder
against Mitchell Jenkins and Steven Cole.
We will do everything in our power to convict these men
and to impose the maximum punishment possible.
Thank you. [crowd shouting]
Well, we got our work cut out for us.
- I'm ready. [gunshots]
[screaming] Oh! Down! Everyone, get down!
Now!
- Move! Move, move, move!
- Come on.
- Move, move, move, move, move!
Move!
- He's a servant!
A monster!
[grunting]
[crowd shouting]
*
He's scum! He's scum, he's dirty!
- Hector was shot.
Son of a bitch!
[distant siren wailing]
.
- Look, all they said is that the bullet nicked his aorta.
He's in surgery, but it's bad.
I know. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything.
- What'd Barba say? - He said that
he needs Hector Ramirez alive.
- And I need a beach house in the Hamptons.
- Okay, so we've got some more information on the shooter.
- Okay, who is he? - Keith Skinner, he's 28.
He's unemployed; he went to high school with Stevie Cole.
- Did Mitch or Stevie set this up?
- We don't know that yet, but all he's told us so far
is that he's an American patriot and the towelheads and spics
are part of a conspiracy to eradicate the white race.
I know, I think that even the Aryan Brotherhood
would deny this guy's application.
- Lieutenant Benson? - Yes.
- We did everything we could,
but Hector Ramirez didn't make it.
- Damn.
- He was our only witness.
- Okay. So we go back in and we keep digging.
Somehow, some way, we need to put those two punks
in the vicinity Friday night.
I'll call Barba. - Copy that, Lieutenant.
[elevator bell dings]
[tense music]
- Where's Hector? Where is he?
Where's Hector?
Where is he? I got here as soon as I heard.
- Soledad, Soledad. I'm so sorry.
Hector didn't make it.
- This is your fault!
You made him a target! - Okay.
- You made me betray him! - It's okay, it's okay.
- [sobbing]
*
I can't believe he's dead.
No. He didn't deserve this.
Oh, mami. Oy.
*
- Mrs. Jenkins. - Like I told you on the phone,
I got nothing else to say. - Well, we just wanna
chat with you for a few minutes.
Hope that's okay.
Thank you for coming in, Carleen.
We appreciate it. I know this has
been tough for you.
- Mitch's lawyer says I don't have to talk to you.
- You don't, but I met your son.
His name is Tyler, right?
- What does that have to do with anything?
- You need to be careful about what you say, Carleen.
- Are you really threatening my kid?
- You keep lying to protect your husband Mitch,
it's not gonna be good for your son.
- Mitch was with me at home all Friday night.
That's the truth. - Come on, Carleen.
You really expect us to believe that?
You don't think that we're gonna find evidence that shows
that that's a lie?
Mitch's phone, his footprints, his DNA.
- If you lie in court to help Mitch
and he goes down for murder, you go away for perjury.
Who is gonna be there to take care of your boy?
- I'm not lying. And you leave my boy out of this!
- I am trying to help your son.
I also know you and Mitch have your problems.
You get in arguments, you get in fights.
You've called the cops four times in the last two years.
And you dropped the charges. I understand that.
I get it. You know Mitch is dangerous.
I'm giving you a chance to save yourself, Carleen.
- And more importantly, your son.
- You don't give a damn about my son.
Because he's not an immigrant or a queer
or a trans--whatever the hell they're called.
He's just a regular, old white kid,
which, for some reason, is now a curse.
Nobody cares about him or me.
It's like we just don't matter anymore.
Ask me, that's why we're in this mess in the first place.
- All that hate.
What's happening to this country?
It's like all of a sudden, people feel free
to say all the horrible things
they're thinking out loud.
No common decency.
No filter.
- People have always felt this way.
Now they just feel empowered. They have permission.
- Look, I get it. But can you really blame Carleen?
She's angry, she's frustrated.
She's married to a rapist murderer who clearly
intimidated her into covering for him.
- Uh, well, she's certainly playing the role
of the dutiful wife. - You mean
the dutiful abuse victim. - Either way,
she's backing up her husband's alibi.
We have to prove she's lying.
- We're all over it. Trust me.
- This is New York City. Somebody or some thing
had to see those three men Friday night.
- I already have my guys recanvassing the neighborhood.
They're gonna find something.
- We hit up every local business in the neighborhood again.
Finally caught a break.
A deli three blocks away from the Samra restaurant.
- That's definitely Mitch Jenkins and Stevie Cole.
- The timestamp says 11:30 p.m. Friday.
That's 30 minutes after the unis responded
to the Samra's crime scene.
- It does put a dent in Mitch's alibi.
'Cause his wife says that he was home with her all night.
- Yeah, but we're gonna have to give this to the defense.
And they're just gonna adjust the timeline of the alibi.
- Okay. So, Barba, this is where we are.
- We need more. - I can't take this to trial.
We'll get blown up. - Okay, what about
Hector's grand jury testimony?
- Not admissible.
I already tried with the judge.
- Maya. What's going on?
- I recognize the faces of our attackers.
I know who they are.
Mitch Jenkins and Stevie Cole,
the men you indicted.
- You said you didn't see their faces.
- I could not tell you before.
I was afraid. They said that they would come back,
that they would kill me and Lela.
But now that they're in jail, I am not afraid.
And it was them. I am positive.
.
- Okay, so you actually saw the faces of both those men?
Steve Cole and Mitch Jenkins. - Yes.
- But at first you said they were wearing masks.
- I know and I am so sorry.
I have been struggling with this since that horrible night.
- Of course.
Can you be a little bit more specific?
- When they left, they looked me right in the eye
and they said, "If you tell anyone,
"we will murder your other daughter
and we will kill you too."
- So were they ever wearing masks?
- What do you mean? - Did you see their faces
the whole time?
Or just for a few seconds?
- They were wearing masks most of the time
and then they took them off for a few seconds.
When they threatened me.
- Did Lela see their faces as well?
- No. It was just me.
I don't care anymore.
Saying nothing isn't helping.
I just want to tell the truth.
And I want to put these men in prison.
- Okay. As long as this is the truth.
- This is the truth.
- She's been through hell. They're filled with rage.
They're doing what they think is right.
- What does that mean?
- It means I believe that Maya believes
she saw the faces of the two perps.
- Do you think that she's telling the truth?
Yes or no. - It's not my job
to think or to guess.
It's my job to present evidence
that I believe is credible.
And since we don't have any proof that Maya is lying,
it's credible.
- So you're gonna put her on the stand.
- [chuckles]
We both know that victims and witnesses,
they change their stories, they change what they recall
all the time.
Her story isn't perfect
but it's plausible.
- Plausible?
So that's the standard.
- At this moment in time, yes. - [sighs]
- I'm not omniscient, Liv.
I don't have a judicial crystal ball.
- Nobody wants these bastards to suffer
more than I do, believe me, but I--
- Our legal system is the best that there is.
But it's not perfect.
Or pure.
It never was.
The night of the attack, did you see the faces
of the men who raped your daughter Lela,
who raped and killed your daughter Shala,
who kicked your husband Kanann in the head?
- Yes. They're right there.
And there was a third man with them.
Hector Ramirez--he used to work in the restaurant.
- When you first talked to the police, did you tell them
that you saw the faces of the perpetrators?
- No. - What did you tell them?
- That they were wearing ski masks.
- Were they wearing ski masks?
- Yes. Most of the time.
But they took them off when it was all over.
And they threatened me.
They said that they would kill me and my daughter
if I ever testified against them.
- What made you change your mind?
- Anger.
- Can you please explain that?
- My husband is dead.
My daughter Shala is dead.
And my other daughter, Lela...
she's in so much pain.
It's hard for me to even process.
I don't care if I live or die anymore.
That is why I decided to tell the truth.
- Nothing further.
- I can only imagine how hard this must be for you
and your daughter.
And how confusing it must be.
The morning after the incident,
you told Lieutenant Benson, quote, you "didn't see
"any of their faces.
They were wearing black ski masks the whole time."
- That is correct.
- And then the day after Hector Ramirez was murdered,
you walked into Lieutenant Benson's office
and you told her you did see their faces.
That they weren't wearing masks the whole time.
- Yes.
- So they were wearing masks the whole time
until Hector Ramirez was shot and killed.
Then suddenly, they weren't wearing masks the whole time.
- No. That is not true. - You knew
the prosecution's case was weak.
You knew that Hector Ramirez dying made it weaker.
So you decided to lie. - Objection.
- Sustained. - You decided
to change your testimony to increase the odds
of winning the case and get justice for your family.
- Is there a question here, anywhere?
- Get to the point, Counselor.
- Isn't it true that you waited for Hector Ramirez
to be dead before you told Lieutenant Benson
that you saw the face of Steven Cole and Mitchell Jenkins
because you believed that was
the only way to win the case?
- No.
That is not true.
I told Lieutenant Benson this
weeks before Hector Ramirez was killed.
- You told Lieutenant Benson
weeks before Hector's death?
- Yes.
- Thank you. Nothing further.
- I believed her until the part where she said
she called you and made the ID before Hector got killed.
There's no way that happened. - That never happened.
- The defense attorney just totally
backed her into a corner.
What, she got desperate
after all she's been through? - I guess.
- Liv, you got a sec?
- [sighs] - I'll see you back
at the squad room. - Yeah.
- What? - I just got the updated
witnesses from the defense.
You're on it. He wants to question you
about the phone call with Maya. - You mean the phone call
that never happened, right?
You know that never happened.
- If you say so. - If I say so?
- But-- - What?
- Come here. - What?
- She has been through horrific trauma.
Maybe--maybe she forgot the exact timing of the phone call.
Or the content of the conversation.
- Are you suggesting that I back her story?
- I'm suggesting that she's human.
I'm not telling you what to say, Liv.
- Really? 'Cause it kinda sounded like you were.
- This is a different case. Different circumstances.
[tense music]
You need to do what you believe is right.
Simple as that.
.
- Okay, Noah, so Lucy's gonna be here any minute, okay?
What you making there? Oh! [knock at door]
There she is now!
Chief. - I was in the neighborhood.
- I didn't know that people said that anymore.
Come on in. Can I get you some coffee?
- No, I'm good. I've already had about five cups.
No wonder my blood pressure's high.
- So you talked to Barba.
- I did. And I, uh, I just--
- Look, I don't need advice.
- I'm not here to give you advice.
- Okay. So why are you here?
- To offer, uh--
absolution.
- Now you're a priest. - [chuckles]
Look, Liv, there are no good choices here.
Hey.
But there are no bad choices, either.
If that makes sense.
- Not really.
- No matter what decision you make,
you're good.
I'm gonna make sure your backside's covered.
- I didn't know my backside needed covering.
- Over the years,
I've been in this situation.
A few times, myself.
- And? - And I played it both ways.
I've forgotten certain things that helped get
the right result and I've remembered certain things
that helped get the wrong result.
God's honest truth? It feels the same.
But that's me. I'm good at rationalizing things.
Comes with the territory, I suppose.
- What would you have told Mike?
[tense music]
*
- Same thing I just told you.
*
- When was the first time you talked with Maya Samra?
- The morning after the double rape, double homicide.
Inside her restaurant.
- Did you ask her if she saw the faces of the intruders?
- Yes, I did. - What did she say?
- She said that they were wearing ski masks.
- The whole time?
- Yes. - Mm.
Did Mrs. Samra ever change her story
as it relates to seeing the actual faces of the intruders?
- Yes. - When?
- A week after. - [scoffs]
Was this before or after
Hector Ramirez was shot to death?
- After. - So Mrs. Samra's
version of events is different than yours?
- Yes, but often victims of this kind of trauma have--
- Her version is different, so she's lying.
- Objection. - Sustained.
The jury will disregard that comment.
- Nothing further.
*
- You said you would help us.
You said that you are on our side.
That you would help us get justice.
- I'm so sorry, Maya.
- You said that you care.
You don't even care. - That's not true.
- I give you a chance right there,
right now, and you didn't take it.
You didn't take your chance to help
and now the men are free.
Those men who destroyed my family,
those men who destroyed my life. - It's okay.
We will be okay.
- [sighs] Oh, my God.
- They're angry at you?
- [sighs] Yes.
- Because you didn't back up her story
about seeing my husband's face?
- It doesn't matter what I did or didn't say.
Your husband is guilty.
- I know what they did.
- Well, then do something about it.
I know that you called the police
four times in the last two years.
I know that you know
what kind of man he is.
What kind of violence he's capable of.
- He's my husband. - He's a rapist
and a murderer.
And the next dead woman on the floor...
that might be you.
So don't tell the truth for Maya or for Lela.
Tell the truth for yourself and for your son.
Take that first step.
- Towards what?
- Freedom.
Safety.
*
- The night the Samra family was attacked, what were you doing?
- Watching TV. - Who were you with?
- My son. - Was your husband with you
that evening?
- [sighs] No.
- When you spoke to the police after your husband
was arrested, you stated that you and your husband were home
the entire evening.
That you made dinner; you watched TV.
You were in bed by approximately 10:00 p.m.
- I was lying. - Sorry.
You were lying?
- Yes.
- Then or now?
- Then.
Today, I'm telling the truth.
I didn't see him that night until early in the morning
and he had blood on his pants and shoes.
- You lying bitch.
- Sit down!
Order. Restrain him.
- I'll kill you! - Remove him!
[overlapping chatter]
Let me go! You're dead, Carleen!
Dead! You heard me!
- Order. [overlapping chatter]
*
- Today, justice was served. [cheering]
Just--well, this victory will not bring back
Shala and Kanann Samra.
Or erase the tragic events of this crime.
It may help the Samra family and this great city
begin to heal.
- Boo! Boo! - Mr. Barba!
- Excuse me.
[crowd chatter] Thank you, no, no comment.
- A hell of a case.
- Hell of a year.
- We got the conviction. That's all that matters.
- Wish it was that simple.
- See you tomorrow, Liv. - See you guys.
- Hey. - Hey.
- Buy you a celebratory cocktail?
- No, thanks, I have to get home.
- Right. Are you upset with me?
- No. - Disenchanted?
- We all have to answer to our own gods.
- Luckily mine is a little bit more accepting than yours.
[knocking]
- Sorry to interrupt. - Chief.
What's going on? Is everything okay?
- A mosque in East Harlem just got firebombed.
Five dead.
[dramatic music]
*
[wolf howls]