( crowd clamoring ) REPORTERS: Brian! Brian!
Brian Lexington was released from Westgate State Prison, convicted in the rape of Valerie Naff.
( thunder crashing )
I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I'm still in a dream.
You know, I haven't woken up yet.
New DNA testing revealed he was not a match after new DNA testing at state prison.
Right now I'm just really happy.
REPORTERS: Brian! Brian!
Lexington stood outside the Biscayne courthouse today a free man.
...a free man.
..a free man.
How does it feel to be released from prison?
What are you going to do first?
REPORTERS: Brian! Brian!
Are you angry about the wasted six years you spent behind bars?
I don't want to dwell on the negative.
I'm just glad to be out.
...just glad to be out.
Will the State Attorney's office apologize to Mr. Lexington?
We wish him the best.
As our technological capabilities advance, so does the strength of our justice system.
This day would not have been possible without Miami-Dade's Justice Project and DNA analyst Natalia Boa Vista.
Today, Brian Lexington has been exonerated.
Thanks to the newest advances in DNA research, I am very proud to say justice has been served.
Lieutenant Caine.
Valerie?
I understand it's official.
The conviction's been overturned.
Brian Lexington is innocent?
As of right now, he's a free man.
Okay, well, I need to know if he didn't rape me, then who did?
Captioning sponsored by CBS, C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS Choose any direction, as long as it's moving forward.
♪ We don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ Don't get fooled again ♪ ♪ No, no! ♪
Hey.
You were visiting Valerie Naff's rape case?
Yeah.
So weird how life works, isn't it?
When you think about it, you guys had that rapist's DNA all along.
We had one foreign pubic hair in Valerie Naff's sexual assault kit.
The rapist used a condom. That is it.
One hair, one root.
We had absolutely no possibility for a profile.
We just didn't have the technology back then.
Exactly. And now six years later nuclear DNA is pulled from a single root, duplicated, analyzed-- a profile that excluded Brian Lexington.
Yeah. You really stopped the presses on that one.
What's that supposed to mean?
I think that it's one thing to exonerate, it's something else entirely to hold a press conference.
Why, do you think that I'm shining a light on this lab's mistakes?
Well, there's a difference between a mistake and scientific capabilities, and the problem is the press doesn't always see that difference.
You know, I spend every waking hour knee-deep in lab reports and evidence logs and analyzing DNA from hundreds of different cases.
Feds like to see results.
So if that means that the future of this grant depends on me making a couple of public appearances, I'm going to do it.
Did you run the DNA sample through CODIS yet?
Yeah.
No hits yet.
We've got no suspects.
Okay, well, if you need me, I'll be in the evidence locker with Ryan.
Did you pull the file?
I did.
Brian Lexington convicted of the 1999 rape of Valerie Naff.
These are Valerie's pajamas.
Some stuff that was collected from her house: a remote, tissue box, ripped magazine, couple housekeys.
Valerie's underwear.
So Brian claimed that he stole Valerie's underwear earlier in the day, but he didn't rape her.
That was his story after we found his fingerprints all over her underwear drawer.
Brian was one of her movers, wasn't he?
Yeah.
So his prints would have been all over her furniture.
We also found his shoeprint outside her bedroom window and her underwear in his car.
( thunder crashing ) ( camera shutter clicking ) Guy sounds like a sexual deviant.
Yeah, and the victim ID'd him.
I would have locked him up.
We did.
Unfortunately, it was for the wrong crime.
He didn't rape her.
And the guy who did has been a free man for six years.
So we need to go back and take a harder look at everything.
I'm going to rerun the prints from the crime scene six years ago and see if it matches anything new.
Everything old is new again.
Caine.
Yes, Brian.
Here I am, Caine. See?
You came after me and you were wrong.
Brian, on the day the lady was raped, we caught you with a pair of her underwear, so you understand my concern about you.
I didn't rape her.
No, apparently not.
What can I do for you today?
A little late for that, don't you think?
Half-dozen years.
I'm filing a lawsuit naming you and this department and anyone else I can think of.
That's your right.
Malicious prosecution.
Not to mention the injuries I received in prison.
And I'm hiring George Hammett to represent me.
You'll be a perfect match.
I want to be sure that I get what I'm entitled to.
I'm certain you will, Brian. And Brian?
For your sake, I hope I never see you in here again.
Alexx, I want you to see something.
Girl slammed into the center divider on the 95 doing 80.
DUI?
Police said there were no skid marks at the scene, so she didn't step on the brakes.
Weird thing is her trauma's not bad enough to kill her.
Could be internal trauma.
Let's see what we've got.
She had a tough couple months.
Appendectomy scar's still healing.
It looks infected.
Kept the incision from healing properly.
Oh, my God.
That's no infection I've ever seen.
It's a surgical sponge from the appy.
The infection built until it sent her into toxic shock.
Could have hit when she was driving.
What kind of hacks do they let practice medicine these days?
My question exactly.
Hey.
You have to see what I found in Valerie's pajamas.
Where am I looking?
Near the missing button.
You see it?
Silver flakes, yeah.
It's a powder. Trace ran it.
"Graphite powder."
What does that mean?
Locksmiths inject graphite powder into keyways to lubricate locking mechanisms.
And Valerie probably had her locks replaced when she moved in.
Then why is there graphite powder on Valerie's pajamas?
I've got a pretty good idea.
( thunder crashes ) ( gasps )
We questioned everyone who came in and out of that house, including the locksmith, but I think this deserves another round.
Look, I told them all this years ago.
I re-keyed the whole place that day, left three keys, was gone by noon.
How do you explain the graphite powder on her pajamas?
I installed a bedroom lock.
She was unpacking. Her clothes were everywhere.
I thought you had the guy.
He wasn't the rapist.
The case has been reopened.
So has your background: 18 months ago, you were arrested for domestic violence.
Yeah, well, my ex is the one with the temper.
Listen, lady, you've got the wrong guy.
Then you won't mind giving us a DNA sample.
( briefcase latch clicks )
Hey, wait up.
Hey.
What's up?
Nothing. I, uh...
Your bracelet, I found it in my couch.
I thought you might want it back.
( laughs ) Thanks.
You're welcome.
Yeah.
I had a great time last night.
( laughs ): Me, too.
Next time we'll have to actually watch the movie.
( laughs ) Yeah.
Yeah.
All right, I got to get back in the field.
Okay.
Oh, well, take this with you.
Why?
It's not mine.
( laughs ) My bad.
So bad.
( footsteps ) WOODS: Eric.
Can I borrow you for a second?
You can have him.
Thank you.
What's going on?
( chuckling ): Nothing.
What have you got?
Kelly Gerber, 22.
It's a car accident.
That's the TC report.
Compare it to mine.
Infection killed her?
From a shoddy appendectomy.
She was dead before she hit the guardrail.
Okay, then the hospital's the crime scene.
I'll sniff around.
I'd appreciate that.
Call me.
Will do.
WOMAN ( over P.A. system): Dr. Forest, please dial 118.
MAN: Gerber? I'm sorry, I don't.
Last week?
Yeah, it was an appendectomy.
That's probably why.
It was sandwiched between two coronary artery bypasses.
One of them had complications.
Doctor, the girl died.
Really?
Yeah.
Our ME said the cause of death was toxic shock.
Well, as sorry as I am, you do realize that no surgery is ever routine.
I do.
I also know that mistakes can be made.
( cell phone plays electronic melody )
I have to, uh, remove a tumor from a 58-year-old lung cancer patient.
You do realize that these questions aren't going to go away.
I do, and I'm not running from them.
Excuse me.
So, where are we at?
Well, Calleigh brought me the swab from the locksmith, but it doesn't match the DNA from the pubic hair.
It doesn't?
( sighs ) I really thought we had him.
What's that?
Plan "B"?
No, it's more like "W."
The locksmith told Calleigh he brought three new keys on the day of the crime.
There's only two in here.
Someone took a key off the ring?
Might be some skin cells.
Maybe.
Will you swab the keyring for epithelials?
I'm the one who started this whole merry-go-round.
Thank you.
♪ ♪
BOA VISTA: Horatio?
Yeah?
I have information on the old rape case, or new rape case.
I'm listening.
Ryan had me process I'm listening.
Ryan had me process a keyring found at Valerie Naff's house six years ago.
It had Valerie's epithelials on it, but it also had male epithelials that match the DNA from the pubic hair.
So our rapist has a key to the front door.
( hinges squeak ) And let himself in.
Which means he's still out there with that same key.
BRIAN: I've been meaning to talk to you.
VALERIE: I don't know. I just can't talk to you face to face like this.
It's too much. It's too soon.
BRIAN: No, Valerie. It's too late.
How long do you plan to turn your back on this?
VALERIE: I need time to sort it all out, please.
Just respect that and leave me alone, okay?
Don't you think an apology is in order?
CAINE: Everything all right, guys?
It will be, as soon as he leaves.
You can't run, not this time.
Brian, I believe the lady asked you to leave.
It's a free country, and I am a free man.
You are, but you're standing on private property, so take off.
You okay?
He's naming me in the lawsuit.
Wrongful accusations.
He's naming a lot of people, Valerie.
Could I come in, please?
Yeah.
Come on in.
Valerie, we have reason to believe that the man who raped you did not come in through the bedroom window.
Well, then, so how did he get in?
We think he had a key.
Now, I know it's been six years, but try to remember, who else had a key to this house?
I remember his breath, his grip.
I don't remember a key.
Okay, what about your boyfriend, Doug?
Doug and I didn't get together until after the incident.
So he never had a key.
He doesn't have a key now.
Nobody has access to my home but me.
Somebody had a key, Valerie.
Lieutenant, you're telling me that the person that did this to me could have been living around me for the last six years with a key to my house, and I wouldn't know who it is?
It's possible.
You Alexx Woods?
Dr. Woods.
You must be Dr. Kessler.
Yeah, you want to tell me what's going on?
What are you doing?
Trying to pull a bullet out of this guy's kidney.
Sending an investigator over to question my competence?
What happens in my OR is none of your business.
A 22-year-old girl ended up in my morgue with a surgical sponge in her gut.
Well, it's not my job to count sponges.
Oh... so it's the scrub nurse's fault.
That's funny, 'cause she said you left in the middle of the surgery.
Dr. Woods, this is my fifth year as attending thoracic surgeon.
Do you have any idea how many people are out there living happy, healthy lives because of me?
Try to sticking to the dead ones.
Try not sending them to me.
There's something we're not seeing.
Exactly.
Horatio said she kept her keys on a shelf.
Yeah, I see them there.
If he touched that shelf, his prints are gone by now.
What about the picture frame on the shelf next to the keys?
It's a gift.
It's a picture of her house.
Housewarming.
Another visitor with opportunity.
So someone gave her a gift and stole a key.
What are the odds she still has the gift?
It's been six years.
You're OCD. Have you ever thrown a picture frame away ever?
I'll call her.
VALERIE: Hello?
Hi, Valerie, it's Ryan Wolfe, Miami-Dade CSI.
Hi.
Yeah, we're just going through a case file.
Well, we're looking at old photographs of your house from the day you moved in.
Let me ask you something.
Do you remember if someone gave you a sterling silver picture frame as a gift?
Uh, yeah, my real estate agent, Jeff Colson, gave it to me.
Okay, great. Thank you so much.
It was the real estate agent.
No, you're wrong, way off.
I've been asked these questions all before.
Well, the case has been reopened.
Turns out the guy that raped her stole the housekey.
Look, I still think it was Brian Lexington, that mover.
I was with Valerie on moving day.
He was practically drooling whenever she walked by.
He probably stole her key.
Yes, but, Jeff, proximity says you did.
VALERIE: Let's have a toast.
I just have to find my champagne glasses.
CAINE: And then you came back that night.
( thunder rumbling )
All the evidence is pointing right at you, Jeff.
You might want to give me a DNA sample and eliminate yourself as a suspect.
Get a warrant.
Hey, Jessica.
Can you stick this warrant under his nose?
I need a signature.
The judge is returning to chambers in five minutes.
You got your supporting docs?
Uh, yeah.
You gonna sign it?
That the warrant, Frank?
Yeah. Judge Harrison's our go-to, sealed and delivered.
Colson's camped out here today trying to sell this dump.
Let's go to the open house.
All right.
Hey, Jeff?
Jeff?
Miami-Dade Police, Jeff.
( sighs ) Maybe he's out back.
Frank... he's right there.
Talk about a rush to judgment.
This is no coincidence, Frank.
So somebody knew he was our primary suspect.
And beat us to him.
( indistinct radio transmission )
Guess you won't be needing that search warrant for his DNA.
This'll tell us if he's the rapist.
Ugh.
Multiple contusions to his scalp.
He was hit upside the head with something, honey.
Vic also took some body blows.
Bruised abdomen... and ribs.
There's a considerable amount of injuries here, Horatio.
This attack was overkill.
Looking to buy?
Not in this lifetime, Alexx.
There was a piece of sculpture here.
What are you thinking?
I'm thinking it was the murder weapon.
Tell you this: it was personal.
Fueled by rage.
And nobody has more than a rape victim.
Are you sure, Lieutenant Caine?
My real estate agent.
There must be a mistake.
It doesn't appear to be the case, Valerie.
I thought he was one of the good guys.
I recommended him to my friends.
I mean, I spent hours with him looking at houses.
Empty houses.
How did I miss it?
You know what I don't want to do?
I don't want to make this your fault.
Who killed him?
Well, I'm trying to determine that, and so what I'm doing is I'm talking to all the people who knew Jeff and I need to talk to you.
That's why I'm really here, isn't it?
I'm a suspect.
Um...
Where were you two hours ago and what were you doing?
I was at home.
You were at home with your boyfriend Doug?
Doug didn't do this.
He's the only one I can count on.
He's been with me through everything.
Where would I find Doug... right now?
Going somewhere?
My girlfriend deserves a vacation.
Thinking about tooling around the Caribbean.
Can I help you with something?
Calleigh Duquesne, CSI.
Fairline's a safe bet, 39 knots.
It's a large purchase on a landscaper's salary.
I get a lot of work.
Is that where you smashed your knuckles-- at work?
Oh, comes with the territory. Yardwork.
Hands take a beating.
Jeff Colson took a beating, too.
Should I know who that is?
Maybe.
He raped your girlfriend six years ago.
Wait, are you saying you found him?
The real guy?
We found him dead. Yeah.
Really.
Does Valerie know? Have you told her?
We have.
She's under investigation as well.
I know she never thought you'd get her attacker.
To be honest, neither did I.
Did you get to him first?
What?
Look, I have no idea how he wound up dead, but, uh, after what Valerie and I have been through I think we'll both sleep better knowing he is.
As long as you sleep on dry land.
Pardon?
We're gonna want to talk to you again.
Boa Vista, can I talk to you for a second?
Yeah, what's up?
Did you talk to anybody about my DNA request?
For the search warrant?
Yeah.
No. Who would I talk to?
Well, I don't know.
You've been pretty chummy with the press lately.
Did you page me?
You know, everybody knows that cops corner the market on gossip, Frank.
Don't come interrogating me.
I hand-walked that search warrant directly to Judge Harrison. Now, there's information on this investigation, and it's leaking from somewhere.
You know, it may have nothing to do with you guys.
What do you mean?
There might be a mole in the department.
Are you serious?
I got it from a pretty reputable source.
They say it's someone in the lab.
Well, that's easy. Who's got a grudge?
They say it's someone we like, someone we, uh, trust.
TRIPP: Well, whoever it is, somebody got to our rape suspect before we did.
Not a suspect anymore. Here's the DNA on your dead real estate agent.
I just ran it.
He's the rapist.
Wow.
So, six years ago, Jeff Colson raped Valerie Naff.
( rain falling ) ( screaming, thunder rumbling) You were after the right guy.
It's one case closed.
One wide open.
What did you get on the glass, Eric?
A whole bunch of minerals in the doctor's OJ.
The AA showed traces of calcium and magnesium, and, uh, the MS-- I'm waiting for the results now.
( computer trilling ) The MS found vitamin B6 and 5-HTP.
I guess it's nothing.
It's just vitamins to keep him healthy.
Or to keep his secret.
What do you mean?
The 5-HTP in combination with the other vitamins-- also known as minimizing supplements.
Minimizing for what?
The side effects of Ecstasy.
He was sweating bullets in my morgue, and you know how cold we keep that room.
Why would a 36-year-old thoracic surgeon take Ecstasy on a regular basis?
He should be past that kind of partying.
Maybe it's not about the party.
My sister-- she, um...
She deals with nausea and pain that never lets up.
Ever.
Marisol.
I heard. I'm sorry, Eric.
I don't know.
You look for relief anywhere you can get it.
Legal or not.
Thank you.
One phone call to the Chief of Staff-- they'll do a urine test.
One call.
Okay, you want me to get into a program?
Done.
You're not putting up much of a fight.
You're not giving me a whole lot of options.
I suppose I'm not.
Especially when you're worried what an investigation into your Ecstasy use might uncover.
What?
The sweating, the eyelid tremor.
What happens in my OR?
They're early signs of Parkinson's.
It's not recreational.
It's professional.
( sighs ) It keeps the tremors under control.
It stops my hands from shaking.
And your hands were shaking when you were performing Kelly Gerber's appendectomy.
And that's why you left in the middle of the procedure.
I'm on top of it.
For how long?
I don't know.
But... in the meantime, I can still do some good.
And when I can't, I'll stop.
But that day's not here yet.
Doctor...
that day has passed.
Valerie says she was alone.
Boyfriend says he was at the marina.
What if we're off track?
What if the murder of the real estate agent was a crime of opportunity?
What if it's unrelated to the rape?
Open houses are sitting ducks.
Yeah, somebody goes in there to rob the place.
Real estate agent gets in the way.
What about overkill?
Overkill doesn't have to mean personal.
WOMAN ( on TV ): ...By the convicted rapist Brian Lexington...
Valerie Naff's on the news.
...after serving six years of that 1999 sentence.
On October 8, 1999, in a court of law, suffering from the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder, I, Valerie Naff, identified Brian Lexington as the man who raped me.
I now know that this allegation is incorrect, and I recant my statement.
I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to Brian Lexington and his family.
WOMAN: That was rape victim Valerie Naff...
A public statement. That's odd timing.
( pressing touch-tone phone keys ) Horatio, it's Calleigh.
You're not gonna believe this.
That's all for now.
I don't have anything else to say.
I said it all in my press conference.
That's quite a change of heart.
I felt bad for him.
It was my testimony that put him behind bars.
Valerie, the other day, I witnessed a conversation between you and Brian at your house.
What was the substance of it?
( sighs ): What difference does it make?
It makes a big difference, and here's why.
I think he invited you to join the lawsuit against the county.
You accepted knowing that the jury will award him triple if he has the victim...
You know I'm right.
Don't you judge me.
I deserve whatever I can get.
That night changed everything.
I have never been the same.
Valerie, somebody wanted the man who raped you dead.
Now, I'm beginning to think it's Brian.
Brian?
Valerie, he has a fixation with you that is common knowledge.
He did call me, and he said that he thought Jeff was a suspect.
Excuse me.
( beep ) Yeah, Frank.
Brian Lexington-- scoop him up, please.
Do you think Brian Lexington killed Jeff Colson?
He had six years to think about it, Valerie.
Hey.
We're not running on a whole lot of physical evidence, Alexx.
Is our victim going to be able to help us?
Real estate man put up quite a fight.
Forearm bruising indicates self-defense.
But it didn't stop him from being punched like a heavy bag.
( thudding and groaning ) Three cracked ribs and a bruised pancreas.
So what killed him?
Intracranial hemorrhaging.
Four depressed skull fractures to the parietal bone.
That's what killed him.
Horatio showed me the potential murder weapon from the house fire.
Yeah, a marble sculpture.
And these two marks seem consistent.
( thudding and groaning and cracking ) If someone hit you four times with, I don't know, say a tire iron, your head would break apart like Humpty Dumpty.
But his skull only cracked.
What does that mean, that the killer let up?
Or your killer was hurt in the fight.
Sustained some kind of injury.
Wait a minute.
What?
Could be an old injury.
Brian Lexington's file said that he got beat up in jail.
He got stabbed.
I'm going to pull his medical records, and I'm going to see how bad.
Thank you, Alexx.
MAN: Is my client a suspect in your murder investigation?
We're sure as hell not here to sip tea, Hammett.
Why would I kill Jeff Colson?
Because he put you in prison for six years.
I've moved on with my life.
Yes, but that's not what your lawsuit says.
HAMMETT: Look, you filed a subpoena for my client's medical records.
Questions about a stab wound he sustained in prison.
This man received a clean bill of health when he was released.
Be that as it may, I want him to raise his hands over his head right now.
Okay.
HAMMETT: As you can see, my client isn't handicapped.
Full range of motion.
I think we've answered all your questions.
Not all my questions, counselor.
Brian, how did you know that Jeff Colson was the rapist?
There are leaks out there.
You just have to know where to find them.
HAMMETT: Don't...
say another word.
We're leaving.
The victim was a rapist, lieutenant.
Refocus your efforts.
Move on.
Thank you, counselor.
Noted.
Frank?
This guy's too stupid.
I missed a step somewhere.
I'll keep digging.
I want to take a look at the attorney, Frank.
Hammett?
He's involved.
TRIPP: Jessica?
Can I stick this warrant under his nose?
I need a signature.
I'm here for a pickup.
JESSICA: Hold on, honey.
You going to sign it?
Oh, right.
Yeah-yeah, it was a warrant.
Last name was "Colson."
Hammett?
Frank, how many discussions do we need on Brian Lexington before you move on?
This isn't about your client.
It's about you.
What's the problem?
Let's start with bribing messengers.
Bribing? What?
Cut the performance, Hammett.
I got a 20-year-old gofer at Liaison Messenger Service practically has your number on his speed-dial.
How much cash did you slip in his pocket to get an inside track on search warrants?
( softly ): Not enough, apparently.
Information on your rape investigation helps me poke holes in the old one.
It strengthens my client's civil suit.
You told your client we were on to Jeff Colson.
Now, that sounds like conspiracy to me.
I never thought it would lead to his murder.
Well, you thought wrong.
At the very least, the Florida State Bar Association will have something to say about this.
You're going to be flipping burgers when it's all said and done.
Hey.
Where'd you get the new photo?
Owners of the house.
They'd planned to auction this before it disappeared.
It weighed in at 25 pounds.
Oh, yeah?
Check this out.
Valerie's boyfriend, Doug Stets, was admitted to Dade Memorial Hospital August 19, 2003, for emergency surgery.
What kind of surgery?
Oh, my God.
We should send a car over to the marina right away.
MAN: Okay, yeah. Yeah.
I punched him a few times to send him a message.
But that's it.
You killed him, Doug, because he raped your girlfriend.
Raise your arms above your head.
Do it, Doug.
TRIPP: Both arms, smart-ass.
Can't do it, can you?
It's a shoulder strain.
I play baseball on weekends.
CAINE: But that's not where you got your injury, is it, Doug?
You sustained a permanent injury on a job site.
What's that?
It's a hospital record that describes how your shoulder was broken and your axillary nerve was severed.
( metal clanging ) Yeah, I broke my shoulder. So what?
Nerve damage, Doug.
Colson took lots of body shots because you couldn't raise your arm.
( thudding and groaning )
And the murder weapon, that statue, weighs 25 pounds.
I didn't swing that.
TRIPP: You couldn't.
Least not very well.
That's why you only cracked his skull instead of splitting it open.
Hey, Frank.
Excuse me, Doug.
Frank...
the killer has limited upper-body strength.
So, it's him.
No, it's a woman.
You killed Jeff, Valerie.
I thought if I joined the lawsuit, that it would make it better.
But no dollar amount is going to make me right again.
He found me this house.
You know, I trusted him.
I believed him when he told me that Brian raped me.
And then when I found out that it was Jeff, it's just, I...
I saw his face everywhere.
It just haunted me.
He wasn't a man spending his life behind bars.
He was living it like nothing had ever happened.
Like...
he had no memory of what he did to me.
I trusted you.
I trusted you!
( shrieking, thudding, and groaning )
You understand why I did what I did?
Valerie, you were in a very difficult position.
So you approve?
No.
I don't approve.
But I understand how you got there.
What's going to happen to me?
Whatever it is...
I'm going to walk you through it.
You're right.
Captioning sponsored by CBS, C.S.I. PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org