(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.
[heavy metal music plays]
*
(boy) You're so beautiful.
(girl) I love you.
(woman) If I get a call from your school one more ti--
Oh, my God!
What are you doing?!
Mom... I told you to stay away from my daughter, okay?
Don't touch her!
Calm down, Mrs. Eldridge.
What did he do to you?
He didn't do anything to me.
We'll see what the police have to say about this.
I'm outta here. No.
No, you're not.
Hey, what are you doing?
Come on!
Kid's name is Carrie Eldridge.
She locked the door to her room.
She's crying. Says he's her boyfriend.
Mom calls it in as a rape.
You guys couldn't sort this out?
We hear the "R" word, we're supposed to call you.
Why don't you just kick the door down?
(Officer) Ma'am, these detectives are from the Special Victims Unit.
(Stabler) Detective Stabler. My partner, Detective Benson.
Can you tell us what happened?
I caught that man raping my daughter.
(Benson) Did she tell you that she was raped?
No.
Ma'am, we can't arrest your daughter's boyfriend
for having sex with her if she consented.
He's 21. She's 15.
That's statutory rape.
I know the law.
Boyfriend still in there?
I took his clothes
so he couldn't leave.
Okay, Officer Harris here
will take you down to the squad now.
I wanna be here when Carrie comes out.
We need your statement.
You bring her down as soon as Carrie opens that door.
We will. [knocking softly]
Carrie, my name is Olivia. I'm a detective.
(Carrie) My mom is wrong about Justin.
(Benson) Your mom went down to the police station.
(Carrie) I don't know what she's making such a big deal about.
Justin and I were only kissing.
He went out the window?
He must be freezing.
The ladder to the street isn't pulled down.
He must've gone to the roof.
Keep your eyes open in case he comes back.
Doors were locked.
Stand up. Am I under arrest?
You 21?
Yeah. Let's go.
[shivering]
[door opens]
Is Justin okay? He's Fine.
[door closes]
Did he force you, Carrie?
Force me to do what?
Kiss him?
To have sex with him.
He doesn't force me to do anything.
And we didn't have sex.
I swear we didn't do it.
Carrie's mom says you did.
She didn't see anything. We were under the covers, man.
Naked.
Is Carrie in the next room?
Yeah.
[pounds wall] Carrie?
(Justin) Are you in there?
Justin! Justin, is that you?
I love you, Justin.
Do what we said.
I love you too! [pounds wall]
You see?
She sound like I raped her?
Look...
she's hot.
I used to be your age. I know what it's like.
You're wrong.
(Denise) Carrie's just a child.
And he's got her wrapped around his little finger.
First love, teenagers can fall hard.
I just don't know what she sees in him.
Her father feel the same way?
Last time I saw her father
was the day I told him I was pregnant.
I'm not gonna let that happen to Carrie.
The only thing Justin wants her for is sex.
He loves me.
That doesn't make it okay for you to have sex with him.
Because I'm 15?
My birthday's in two months.
And when you're 17,
it's not gonna matter what I think
or what your mother thinks.
My mother thinks Justin's a loser.
She's trying to protect you.
She doesn't listen to me. Talks back to me.
That's when she's talking to me at all.
Have you ever thought about getting counseling?
Carrie refuses to go.
She got crazy mad when I even suggested it.
The way she rewrites history and--
The shrink would even kick us out after ten minutes.
I hear these kids at school talking about a boy
who divorced his dad.
Can a kid really do that?
If you're living on your own,
the courts can consider you emancipated.
The only other way is if your mother gives up
her parental rights.
She's never gonna do that. Especially now.
Carrie.
Sometimes people your age get so mad at their parents
that they look for somebody who they think can rescue them.
That's not what I'm doing.
I really love Justin.
Those two are like magnets. Romeo and Juliet.
Yeah, except Juliet's too young and Romeo's too old.
Any chance we can get Romeo's parents
to put some pressure on him?
No, they died in a car accident two years ago.
Wouldn't matter.
Neither one of 'em is ever gonna admit they did anything.
Well, unless Mom was in bed with them
and saw what they were doing, there's no rape case.
(Denise) Carrie? Carrie, did you tell them?
(Carrie) Why are you shouting?
He'll ruin you!
Just like your so-called father did to me.
Mom, don't do this here.
Come on. We'll go outside.
Don't tell me what to do!
You stop seeing him!
Mom, I'm never going to stop seeing him.
You ungrateful little slut.
I gave up everything for you.
Take it easy, Mrs. Eldridge. Keep your hands off of me!
Justin Sharp raped my daughter.
Now what are you gonna do about it?
We can't arrest him for statutory rape
unless we can prove that sexual intercourse took place.
(Stabler) We'd need a statement from Carrie or medical evidence.
Medical evidence. How do I get that?
Usually, we take the victim to the hospital
for an examination.
Fine. Let's go. Do I have to?
Mrs. Eldridge,
you can't make Carrie do this.
I'm her mother.
Watch me.
Fine.
Where are you going?
With you.
If the E.R. does a rape kit,
I have to take it to the crime lab.
(Carrie) I don't even know what a rape kit is.
It's a gynecological exam.
I'll take swabs to check for semen.
If the DNA matches Justin's,
then we're gonna arrest him for rape.
Believe me, it'll match.
I said we didn't have sex. Doesn't that matter?
We don't need your statement
if we find Justin's DNA inside you.
Stop wasting the doctor's time,
and put on the gown.
Carrie Eldridge?
This is a treatment room. Who are you?
I'm Simone Bryce. I'm Carrie's attorney.
[curtain slides]
Carrie's what? Her attorney.
Carrie doesn't need an attorney.
I'm a lawyer for kids, and I heard that you need help.
Heard from who?
That's confidential. What's going on here, Detective?
Carrie's mother wants her to have a rape kit.
Is that what you want?
No way.
Okay, we're not going to be needing your services.
Thank you very much, Doctor.
Wait a minute. Doctor?
I want Carrie examined!
Mrs. Eldridge. Shut up!
Look, this has nothing to do with you.
I'm a parent. I have rights too.
Not when it comes to Carrie's privacy and sexual matters.
I don't care what she says.
We're not leaving here until you've been checked out.
It's her body, and she's made her decision.
Why don't you take your daughter home, Mrs. Eldridge?
(Benson) We're done here. My daughter's been violated.
Whose side are you on?
Hers.
Carrie agree to the rape kit?
Nope.
Where's Justin?
I sent him home.
He's not gonna run. We can call him at any time.
For what?
Endangering the welfare of a child.
What good is that gonna do?
Look, it was statutory rape.
Yeah, I know the law.
I'm just trying to figure out the best way
through this for Carrie.
Okay, she's 15. Justin is 21.
He's breaking the law by having sex with her.
Elliot, the mother is using us
just like she tried to use a doctor
to strap her down on the table and force her legs open.
Would you do that to one of your daughters?
My daughters have nothing to do with this.
You really want to traumatize Carrie?
Let her mom drag her through the courts
and bully her some more.
(Cragen) Olivia?
My office.
Why is Denise Eldridge screaming to One P-P
that you talked her daughter out of a rape kit?
Carrie didn't want it.
Now that's exactly what Simone Bryce
told Carrie's mother.
That's funny how a children's rights attorney
just happened to show up at the E.R.
She was there because I called her.
You've got enough on your plate
without taking on this kid as a cause.
Well, somebody's gotta protect her
from that lunatic mother of hers.
Why are you calling her that?
You saw how she humiliated Carrie
in front of the entire squad.
I don't like her.
Well, she has a right to be upset.
She's upset because she thinks
Carrie is gonna end up just like her.
Pregnant without a man.
Denise Eldridge believes a crime was committed
against her daughter.
Denise Eldridge is a fruitcake.
(Stabler) Well, uh--
dessert is served.
What now?
You stay here. We'll handle this.
Mrs. Eldridge,
how can we help you?
I have the evidence that Carrie was raped.
Is that a comforter?
From her bed.
That one has the bedsheets and the pillowcases.
You can get all the DNA you need off them.
And in this one,
these are a bunch of emails that Carrie and Justin
sent back and forth to each other.
(Stabler) Did you read these emails?
Of course I did.
Do Carrie and Justin admit to having intercourse
in any of them?
No, but they're proof of a relationship.
We can't make a case for rape with Carrie's bedding.
But they probably have Justin's fluids all over them.
Unless the fluids are on or in Carrie,
we can't charge rape.
What can you charge?
Endangering the welfare of a minor.
Well, then why haven't you arrested Justin for that?
It's a weak case.
And the D.A.'s office might decline to prosecute.
Oh.
Well, then I guess I'll have to talk to them.
Won't I?
So what, you guys couldn't deal with Denise Eldridge
so you sicced her on me?
What happened?
Oh, she blew in here with her shopping bag
saying you guys weren't doing anything about her daughter.
She wanted me to charge you guys
for not arresting Justin Sharp.
(Stabler) So what do you want us to do?
Did he rape Carrie?
Letter of the law, yeah. But we can't prove it.
The sex was consensual.
You charge Justin with endangering,
it's a misdemeanor, first offense.
He's not gonna do any time.
So how is justice served there?
It's not. Right.
And when Denise comes back next week with the same accusation--
Why don't you advise her that unless she has pictures,
we're not prosecuting Justin.
(Stabler) She's probably not even home.
Well, I'll leave my card in her mailbox.
With your name on it, she'll probably rip it up.
Here, use mine.
You know I'm right.
What, that Denise is a fruitcake? Yeah.
But she shouldn't try to protect her daughter?
Well, no.
(man) Are you the police?
(Benson) Yes, sir. Is there a problem?
I called the precinct an hour ago
about the ruckus from the apartment upstairs.
Buzz us in.
Mrs. Eldridge?
Check out the wall.
Carrie?
Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, not their parents.
(O'Halloran) Here's your murder weapon.
Found it in the incinerator room.
It looks like the attack started here.
That seems right. See the arc on the wall?
That's castoff from the subsequent blows.
Tails on the droplets in the pattern point
to where the blood came from.
That spot right there. It's got a pattern in it.
Yeah, it's secondary transfer from the button on her jeans.
The line next to it is off the seam
down the side of her pants
from when she stopped, rolled on her side.
Surprised she made it this far.
Her skull is cracked wide open.
We're still looking for all the missing pieces.
How many times was she hit?
I count five blows to the head alone.
And she's got wounds on her torso and extremities.
Dead how long?
She's still warm. Two hours tops.
Carrie's school says she was in homeroom this morning.
They're looking for her now,
and Justin's not scheduled to work today.
Man's coat was on Carrie's bed.
Gotta be Justin's. He was here.
Call came in to 911 over an hour ago.
Car was stolen two blocks from here by a guy and a girl.
Detectives. Volvo wagon.
Central's already got the tag.
Belongs to a Marissa Tatro over here.
Says she left the keys inside.
Mrs. Tatro?
(Stabler) Can you tell us what happened.
I was bringing my baby inside when this guy ran up,
pushed the girl into the car and took off.
Can you describe them?
They were young. Teenagers.
I think he had blood all over his shirt.
The girl was screaming.
Well, what was she saying?
Stuff like, please don't take me.
We have to go back.
Then he said, "We gotta get out of here."
Can you find them with that RADAR thing?
Your car has Theft Track?
Whatever it's called. (Stabler) We can activate that.
(Officer) Don't bother.
Anti-crime unit in the 2-7 just spotted it.
Tell them to maintain visual.
Don't apprehend until we get there.
Right! Central, SVU detectives en route.
Blue Chevy. Those are the cops.
7 Anti-crime, Take 'em.
(male voice) Copy that.
[sirens blare]
Police! Freeze!
Stay in the car!
Palms up!
Hands on the dash! Palms up!
Don't shoot!
We didn't do anything!
This car is stolen.
No, my friend Justin
switched with me!
What about Carrie?
She was with him. Is she okay?
She was crying. Like they had a fight.
Carrie walked away,
but Justin grabbed her and put her in the car.
What car? Mine. It's a '99 Mitsubishi.
Silver. I have the registration.
Something bad happen? He kidnapped her.
They say where they were going?
No. Is this your phone?
No, it's Justin's. We switched that too.
His only has local service.
Let's see who he called last.
Yes, Carrie called me.
Did she tell you where she is?
You know, I can't confirm or deny that.
This is no time for legal crap, Simone.
Her boyfriend kidnapped her. So, y say.
After he murdered her mother.
Olivia, any conversation I have with Carrie
is privileged information.
And you don't know Justin murdered Denise Eldridge.
He left his coat at the crime scene.
When was that? Today or last week?
I asked you to help Carrie.
I am helping her.
She is my client.
Your client is with a guy
who beat her mother to a bloody pulp.
If there's a crime being committed here,
there is no privilege.
And you're obstructing justice.
I have not confirmed what I know, Olivia.
So I am not obstructing a damn thing.
(Novak) She's right.
How? Our witness says that Carrie was kidnapped!
It doesn't matter.
The only way Simone Bryce can break privilege
is if Carrie tells her that she was abducted.
Listen, I'm late. Ask for an adjournment.
There is nothing I can do to help you.
Yes, Casey, there is.
Get me a subpoena to dump Simone Bryce's phone.
And when the D.A. asks me why I need to know
who's calling the Mother Teresa of Children's Rights,
what do I tell him?
That you're trying to save a young girl's life.
Simone Bryce's conversations are privileged.
The numbers of her incoming calls aren't.
(Morales) The phone company is dumping Simone Bryce's phone
and the cell Justin borrowed.
How long? They'll email me as soon as they're done.
Meanwhile, I should take a look at the text messages
on Justin's cell.
[computer beeps]
(Morales) This is from 10:12 a.m.
Justin to Carrie: "We should move in together."
Carrie to Justin: "Over my mother's dead body."
The murder was Carrie's idea?
Or wishful thinking.
(Morales) Justin also called Carrie's cell phone this morning.
8:56 a.m.
To tell her to come home after he killed her mother.
[computer chimes] Email's here.
I called the borrowed cell phone every half-hour.
Rang, went to voice mail.
(Morales) After the third time, went right to voice mail.
He turned it off. (Stabler) Smart kid.
Justin probably figured you were tracking him
by calling the phone.
First call was just before noon. 11:42.
(Morales) Received at a cell tower on 125th street.
Called again at 12:30.
Picked up by a tower in Westchester, Katonah.
They're heading upstate. Made good time.
(Morales) Called again around 1:00.
This time they were in Patterson.
That's when they turned off the phone.
Were there any calls to Simone Bryce's office after that?
Two more from the direction they're heading.
Land line in Stanfordville, New York at 2:53 and 3:06.
This last one's nine minutes ago.
Fourth digit of the number is a nine.
Probably a pay phone.
NYPD?
Benson, Stabler. Where's the phone?
Across the street.
I got here about ten minutes after you called,
but your Mitsubishi was already gone, hasn't been back.
Anybody see them?
An attendant at the gas station
half-mile up the road said your suspects got gas,
paid, left, then came back 20 minutes later.
Thanks so much.
Well, they stuck around for a while.
That little restaurant that we passed coming in to town.
Maybe they grabbed a bite to eat there.
'Scuse me.
Sit wherever you'd like. Wish we had the time.
Have these two kids been in here today?
I didn't start 'til 4:00,
but I'll be glad to ask the day man.
Justin Sharp? (Benson) You know him?
All his life. He used to work for me.
He lived up here? Summers.
Parents have a place about two miles away.
Don't know why he'd be there now, though.
Hunting season's over.
Are there guns in the house?
[pounding on door]
(Justin) Who is it?
Detective Benson, Justin. Open the door.
Please leave us alone.
You're either coming out here,
or we're coming in to get you.
(Carrie) No, Justin, don't!
Okay, all right. We're coming out.
You got guns, drop 'em. No guns.
Put your hands on your head, both of you.
Carrie, are you okay? Yes.
Justin Sharp, you're under arrest
for murder and kidnapping.
He didn't kidnap me!
You have the right to remain silent.
If you give up that right, [groans]
anything you say can and will be used against you
in a court of law.
You have a right to an attorney.
(Stabler) What's wrong, can't stand to look at your own work?
You hit her 14 times.
Lacerated liver, fractured ribs.
Punctured lungs.
You bashed her head in so hard,
her brain broke clean off its stem.
He's innocent until proven guilty.
(Cragen) Oh, he's guilty.
His coat was found at the crime scene,
and a witness saw blood all over his shirt.
That coat could have been there for weeks.
And we'd really like to see those clothes.
That is, if you have them.
Same witness says he saw you force Carrie
into the car you stole.
(Lanagan) If this person can make a positive I.D.,
why hasn't Justin stood in a lineup?
(Lanagan) That's what I thought.
No physical evidence. No positive I.D.
But motive.
Denise Eldridge was ruining your life.
She wanted you charged with rape.
You were going to prison.
You kill her, she's off your back.
You get Carrie. How's that sound?
I didn't do it.
(Cragen) Aw, come on, Justin.
We saw Carrie's text message on your cell phone.
You know, only way you were ever gonna be together
was over her mother's dead body?
It's gonna go so much easier on you,
if you just tell us the truth.
I didn't kill Carrie's mother.
This was Carrie's idea, wasn't it?
No.
It was her lawyer's.
I told Carrie minors have a better chance
of being emancipated if their parents are dead
and there's no appointed guardian.
I wasn't suggesting someone kill her mother.
Carrie, you have to tell me what happened.
(Carrie) I don't know what happened.
Stop protecting him.
She's in shock, Olivia.
We know that Justin was in your apartment.
I didn't see him there.
You had to.
You were right outside with him when he stole the car.
Why can't you just leave us alone?
Because he murdered your mother.
And unless you tell us what you know,
he's gonna get away with it.
I love him. He's all I have.
Simone, I need her help.
Can I please go?
I'm taking her home. Come on.
Carrie knows exactly what happened.
If she doesn't give it up,
the case against Justin is circumstantial at best.
You know, I'd really like to find those bloody clothes.
Where would you like us to search that we haven't already?
He could have dumped them anywhere
between here and Duchess County.
All right, well then, Justin or Carrie have to talk.
They are not going to tell us anything.
They could have told somebody else.
Like who?
I don't know.
But you're probably going to vent to somebody
if you hate your girlfriend's mother so much
you want to kill her.
Or, Carrie may have confided in one of her friends.
We recreate the movements before their murder.
Maybe we turn up somebody who saw or heard something.
(Principal) Carrie was in her first two classes yesterday.
But nobody saw her after second period.
And that ends around 9:00.
Did her teachers notice anything unusual about her behavior?
Mm-mm, not that anybody reported to me.
Did something happen to Carrie at home?
What would make you ask that?
Carrie's been having problems here at school.
She's absent a lot. Doesn't focus.
Falls asleep in class.
(Fin) That sounds like drugs.
Her mother had her tested. Everything came back negative.
She hang out with that crowd?
She doesn't hang out with anybody.
She pretty much keeps to herself.
(Munch) You have any other contact with her?
Oh, about two weeks ago.
One of her teachers told me
that she didn't have a winter coat.
Then another teacher sent her down to the office
because one of her shoes fell apart.
You call her mother? Of course.
But she didn't seem to care.
But then when Carrie cut school last week,
her mother flipped out.
Sent a truant officer to the store
where Carrie's boyfriend works.
(manager) I told Justin, if Carrie came by again
when she was supposed to be in school, I'd have to let him go.
(Benson) Justin a slacker?
The opposite. Always on time.
Great with the customers. Hard worker.
I want to promote him to assistant manager.
So what's stopping you?
Spends too much time talking to his girlfriend
on the web cam.
I caught him at it again yesterday.
We were told he wasn't scheduled to work yesterday.
He wasn't.
I asked him to fill in for someone who was sick.
What time did he come in?
Right at 10:00.
But he left 15 minutes later.
He say why?
Emergency.
Then he called back at 2:00
and asked for the rest of the week off.
Any chance that conversation he had with Carrie was recorded?
It's probably on one of our servers.
(Justin on video) Carrie what's wrong?
Can you come over to my house?
What's wrong? Why are you home? I need you, please.
Look, something bad happened.
Okay, I'll be right there. I'll be right there.
(Carrie) Okay.
Carrie got there first.
Keep watching.
[panting nervously]
[remote clicks]
(Stabler) There's blood on her shirt.
You gonna tell us what really happened?
I have nothing to say.
This is when you should talk, Justin.
They know you're innocent.
I know you're in love with Carrie.
But nobody is worth going to prison for 25 years.
(Benson) How much can she love you?
She's willing to let you go to jail
for something that she did?
Can they arrest Carrie based on that tape?
No, it doesn't prove that she murdered her mother.
Then I'm not saying anything.
What's the problem here, Olivia?
Your client has been
lying to us all along.
Both to you and to me.
I'm not lying. Save it, Carrie.
Justin told us everything.
He wouldn't do that.
He said that he called you yesterday.
And that's why you left school after second period.
I don't believe you.
Okay, Carrie, I will handle this.
How you were covered with blood
when you called him on the web cam at work.
(Bryce) Olivia, stop.
You said that something terrible happened.
And how you begged him to leave work and to help you--
No.
And how he made you take a shower
to wipe off your mother's blood.
Okay, this interview is over.
Justin loves me. I have to see him.
Oh, I'm sorry, Carrie, but we let him go
after he told us what you did.
Carrie don't listen to her. Let's go.
We searched the sinks and the shower drains
in your apartment.
And we found blood and hairs just like yours.
(Bryce) Carrie, come on.
(Benson) I understand why you wanted to kill your mother.
But how could you let the man that you love
take a murder rap for you?
I didn't want him to.
(Bryce) Carrie--
But he said that it was the only way to protect us.
That you couldn't prove who did it if we didn't talk.
Don't say another word. I don't care!
It doesn't matter because Justin doesn't love me anymore.
[gasps]
I did it. I killed her.
Do whatever you want with me.
[crying]
(male officer) Right this way.
Carrie? Justin?
She said you were--
Why did you tell them everything?
No, I swear, I didn't say a thing!
But they saw you. They saw you on the web cam.
You lied to me?
She can't do that, can she?
They do it all the time.
That's why I told you to stop.
You lying bitch! I hate you!
I hate you, you lying bitch!
You lying bitch! I hate you!
You ruined my life, you lying bitch!
Hey, how'd it go?
Judge remanded Carrie to Bridges.
At least she won't be at Rikers.
I really misjudged her.
All I saw was a desperate teen needing help.
Look, I saw my daughter going out with a grown man.
Sometimes it's hard to keep your own crap out of the work.
Speaking of crap, psych defense.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder?
PMS made her do it.
You're not buying this, are you?
What, that we can't control our emotions
because we're premenstrual?
Yeah, that's bull.
We're not talking about PMS.
Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
experience severe headaches, depression, and paranoia.
Sometimes, they even hallucinate
or hear voices. That's not Carrie.
Anger made her kill her mother.
Judging from the crime scene photos,
I'd say it's very possible
that she lost control of herself.
Great, so she's gonna get off because of this Twinkie defense?
I'm not gonna let that happen. Examine Carrie.
Find me a way to beat Simone Bryce.
(Carrie) I got my period when I was twelve,
and that's when the migraines started.
Did you have any other problems?
I was happy one minute and crying the next.
All the time?
Except for, like, the ten days after my period.
Carrie, did you ever tell your mother about this?
She said I was being a drama queen.
Did you tell your doctor?
He told me to take a muscle relaxant
and use a heating pad.
Sometimes those cramps were so bad
that I didn't even want to go to school.
But my mother made me.
How did that make you feel?
Angry.
She didn't want me to be happy.
Like with Justin.
Nobody ever loved her the way he loves me.
And that's not my fault.
She didn't know how to love anyone except herself.
Did she love you?
I don't know.
I think that's why I killed her.
What do you remember?
Nothing.
One second we were talking, and then the next,
she was just lying on the floor.
I was covered in blood.
I started crying.
Called Justin on the web cam.
And I felt so sleepy.
So you believe her story?
It's consistent with PMDD.
It could've triggered a manic outburst.
What about the calm after the storm?
Carrie was dissociating.
I read her medical reports.
Heavy cramping and migraines are documented.
If you add to that the mood swings
and the fact that she was premenstrual
when she killed her mother, then it's classic PMDD.
Ugh, do you think a jury will really believe this?
They have before.
Came back with a manslaughter conviction for a young woman
charged with bludgeoning her mother to death in England.
That's where Simone Bryce got her inspiration.
If it'll work over there, it'll work over here.
(Justin) I left work right after Carrie called me.
When I got to the apartment, Carrie let me in
and I checked on Mrs. Eldridge
to see if she was still breathing.
That's how I got her blood on me.
And then I told Carrie that we had to get out of there.
And how did Carrie react?
She put on her coat
like a zombie or something.
I was so freaked out, I forgot mine.
And then we left.
(Bryce) And where did you take her?
Out to the street.
We couldn't get a cab.
And Carrie could barely walk,
so I had to drag her.
And she started screaming.
Was that the first time you ever heard her scream?
Uh, no, no.
It happened a lot.
It was kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
One second she's fine,
and then she would just lose it.
Nothing further.
Justin, did Carrie tell you she killed her mother?
Your Honor?
Answer the question, Mr. Sharp.
I don't want to.
(Judge) You don't have that option.
Answer, or you'll be in contempt of court.
Fine.
I'll never say anything to hurt you.
(Judge) Step down, you're in contempt.
Officer, take him to the lockup.
I love you... no matter what.
Hey, you on a case?
Eldridge. Defense is recalling us.
They must be desperate. Well, they are.
Carrie's going down.
So now they want to dirty up her mother.
Portray her as a drunk. What?
Wait, was she?
Her blood alcohol level was normal when she died.
But Denise Eldridge had advanced cirrhosis.
Another two years, it would have killed her.
Are you sure it's from the drinking?
I didn't find any hepatitis antibodies,
so it has to be the booze.
[knock on door]
No wonder I hated Denise so much.
All along, Carrie was just trying to get me to protect her.
Look at this.
Denise didn't care about her daughter.
All she cared about
was where she was gonna get her next drink.
Why'd you come here?
To find out what else I was wrong about.
These pots and pans haven't been used in so long,
they got cobwebs on 'em.
Sounds like the ones in my kitchen.
Hey, check this out.
I found it underneath the cabinet.
Birth control pills.
Prescribed to Carrie by the Free Clinic?
Hmm.
Carrie was on day six of her period.
(Bryce) Is that supposed to mean something?
(Benson) Yeah.
It means that Carrie wasn't crazy
when she killed her mother.
(Bryce) How could you know that?
Women who suffer from PMDD
always have one week where they don't have any symptoms.
All their anxiety, psychosis, depression is gone.
One normal week starting from around
day four of their period.
Carrie killed her mother on day six.
Which means she couldn't have had any symptoms.
I was early this month.
You put this defense in her head.
She tied my hands behind my back
and wouldn't let me tell the whole story.
About the drinking.
(Bryce) Yeah.
(Benson) You didn't want anyone to know.
You were too ashamed.
Carrie.
Tell me what really happened.
It--it can't hurt you anymore.
I was at school that day
when Justin called me on my cell and told me that--
he told me that he didn't want to see me anymore,
because he was afraid of my mother.
And I tried to deal,
but I just couldn't.
So I went home.
My mother was there.
And I, I tried to talk to her. I really did.
But she--she just picked up a bottle and started drinking.
[sniffles]
She said that if she couldn't put Justin in prison,
that she was gonna get him fired from his job.
She was gonna do anything she could
so that he wouldn't love me anymore.
And I told her that
I would always be with Justin.
And that I'd rather be homeless
than spend another minute with her.
And then she slapped me really hard.
[sobs]
She called me a slut.
And she hit me again. And again.
And I just lost it.
I grabbed a lamp.
And I hit her over and over and over.
[sniffles] I loved my mom very much.
But when she was drunk, she wasn't a mother.
[sobbing]
Olivia, what are you going to do?
I have to tell the D.A.
Hold on.
You know it wasn't murder.
Why didn't you present that as evidence?
She refused to talk about it.
You remember what that was like.
You shouldn't have talked to Carrie and Bryce without me.
I know.
You did a good job with the birth control pills though.
Jury will definitely convict.
Plead her out, Casey.
You just won it for us. Why?
My mother was an English professor.
When I was 16, I started dating one of her students.
He was a senior. He was 21 years old.
And he asked me to marry him.
And I said yes.
Because I wanted to get away from my mother.
She found out, and she told me
that if I didn't stop seeing him,
that she would have him kicked out of college.
And I told her that I was moving out.
She was halfway through a bottle of vodka.
And she dropped it.
It shattered all over the floor and...
And then she picked up
the jagged edge of the bottle and...
and she came at me.
Screaming...
"I'll never let anyone else have you."
And so I kicked her.
Hard.
And then I kicked her again.
And she went flying across the room into the wall.
Then she slid down to the floor.
I'd never hurt her before.
I ran out.
I was so afraid.
You didn't kill your mother, Olivia.
I know what it's like to want to.
That's how I know Simone Bryce.
I called her back then.
She was a law student.
And she helped me survive it.
Why didn't Carrie say something?
Because then the abuse becomes real.
If you keep quiet...
you can pretend that it's not.
(Judge) Are the people satisfied that the conditions
of the plea agreement have been met?
(Novak) Yes, Your Honor.
The defendant will rise.
Carrie Lynn Eldridge,
I find you guilty of Manslaughter
and sentence you to five years
in the custody of the State Department of Correction.
We're adjourned.
[gavel bangs]
She'll be in a juvenile facility, no hard time.
I polled the jury.
11 of them thought she was guilty.
You had your Murder Two conviction.
I know.
Why'd you plead her out?