ANNOUNCER: All right, Oklahoma has a ten-point lead. Isaac got it to Hendricks. He shoots. He scores. ( elevator dings )
( screams ) Give me your keys and get in the car.
Do you see that?
Is that a body?
Oh, my God, she's alive.
( siren blares )
Here's what I know so far. Victim was a well-dressed woman, young, black. She's at Desert Palm Hospital multiple gunshots to the head possible sexual assault. Doctor has her as "death imminent." Sara, go to the hospital and process the victim. Sexual assault kit, hairs, fibers, the works. Right now? I thought I would help you two with the scene. The evidence won't stay on the body long at the E.R. Walk in the park, guys.
It looks like a high heel print. Maybe abducted. Did she know the guy? Did he use his car or hers? Locard's Principle: he took a piece of her away with him and he left a piece of himself here. We get to find it. [Captioning sponsored by CBS and CBS PRODUCTIONS/ ALLIANCE ATLANTIS ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Who, who, who, who? ♪ ♪ I really wanna know ♪ ♪ Who... are you? ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Who... ♪ ♪ Come on, tell me who are you, you, you ♪ ♪ Oh, you! ♪
Thank you, my Sherpas. Surely.
( box thuds ) So, you got our assignments? You're looking at it. Murder case. This mess? You're not serious. D.A. is. Guy named McCall shot and killed his neighbor over a motorcycle. D.A. can't make heads or tails of the evidence for the preliminary hearing. Where's McCall now? He's being held? He ran from the arresting officers so the judge refused him bail. And why isn't the case CSI dealing with this? Franovich from days? He quit yesterday. Burnout.
And what did the D.A. charge? Murder one. The case has changed hands so many times that the D.A. can't make any sense of it. It gets better. The prelim's in four days. Well, no pressure here. Great. Cath, can I see you outside for a sec?
WILLOWS: Why would my bank be asking you about my employment record? Well, technically, I'm your supervisor. They said Eddie took a second mortgage out on your house. They said that you still own it together until the divorce is final.
We didn't want to sell it until the market went back up then we'd split the profits. I can't believe he took a second out on the house. How could he without my signature? It's Eddie. I just thought you should know. I gotta get back out to Nick.
Hey. Hey.
You get any ID on her? No, she's a Jane Doe. She's got two bullets lodged in her brain. Docs can't remove them without killing her. All right. Hi.
Thanks.
Make a note she's married. Or recently divorced.
She's warm. Feels different, huh?
Uh, Evans... We're going to need a little privacy here.
I never really liked this part of my yearly exam. These things are always freezing.
Okay.
Cartridge casings. They don't look like hunters', either.
Nick, get a shot of this.
Looks like a belt loop. Well, it couldn't have been there long. No elements. GRISSOM: Brass, was the victim wearing denim? Silk or lace, something like that. Definitely not denim. Good chance this is our suspect. I'm going to use scent pads.
Scent pads? Canine voodoo. A dog's sense of smell is about 40 times more acute than a human's. A dog's nose is packed with dense rolls of membranes that absorb odor. Stretched out, these membranes extend about a third the length of a dog's body. The membranes of the human nose about the size of a postage stamp. Looks like a giant Dustbuster. Similar. You place absorbent pads into the chamber then run the machine over the suspected item. Then you take the pad seal it in an envelope and freeze it.
Yeah. Yeah, then we pull them out when we know enough about this denim guy to find a proximal location. Except there's a caveat. You want to explain that caveat?
Later. Hopefully, Sara's making some progress. Hey, are you just going to ignore my question? I called Eddie about the loan. I got his voicemail. The guy's like ether. You going to answer my question? All right, here's what we know from the arresting officer: Two 25-year-old guys Chuckie Hastings and Roy McCall, lifelong neighbors one step up from a trailer park got into a beef over a motorcycle in the owner's backyard. All right, here's McCall's statement. If you can believe a guy who's looking at murder. McCall says that he returned Hastings' motorcycle to him with the front end smashed up. They were standing in Hastings' back yard... I told you I'd pay for it. Yeah, you said that last time. Whatever. Yeah, whatever you bastard. Hey, back off, man, back off. You're going to pay for all of it. WILLOWS: McCall defends himself with an automatic that was down his pants.
All right, now, Hastings' wife said that McCall shot Hastings in the back. Mm-hmm. And the coroner's report substantiates that.
( screams ) So what, McCall lied, said Hastings went after him with a screwdriver so he could plead self-defense? Well, we would need the screwdriver with McCall's blood on it to prove that now, wouldn't we? All right, which box? I have been through all these boxes twice. It's not there. The evidence is lost? In a murder case? The gun is here, but there's no screwdriver. They even have crime scene photos of it. But no tests were run on it before it was misplaced. So, we know why Franovich left. He quit before we could fire his ass. Right. So, you know who the D.A. will blame for this? Yeah, the same people Homicide'll blame. Well, now that we've exhausted all of our options let's start over.
So this lady's expected to die. Is that the story? Somebody raped her, shot her and left her for dead. And left two cartridge casings behind for us. Thank you very much.
That kind of oversight tells you he's stupid. Or true to form. People are usually meticulous in planning up to a murder they rarely plan the aftermath. Still, you'd think the bad guys would figure we'd eventually start a data base on cartridge casings, huh? ( computer buzzes ) Gentlemen, we've got ourselves a bull's-eye.
STOKES: Well, well, well. Looks like this gun was used before in a case we've handled. North Vegas. And I gotta do a side-by-side comparison to be sure. Well, listen, if you get a confirmation, page me. I gotta go see Sara. Okay.
( clink )
Saint Catherine. She studied science.
She was tough and very outspoken. Went against the Emperor himself. Chewed him out for persecuting Christians. Took him two or three tries to execute her. She never gave up. She was brave.
You hold on to this.
This shouldn't have happened to you. But, I promise I will find out who did this. I promise.
Hey. Hey.
Sexual assault kit's ready to process. How's it look? We'll see. She's, um... breathing. She's evidence.
Sara? Yeah? If you try and chase two rabbits you end up losing them both.
( barking )
( knocking ) Hi. Lauriane Hastings? We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Cops. I have talked to enough of you already. BROWN: Ma'am, we're not cops. We're crime scene investigators. We've come to ask you a few questions about the day that your husband was killed. Maybe acquaint ourselves with the actual crime scene. Is this going to let Roy McCall out of jail which is where he belongs? We're simply reviewing the evidence for the preliminary hearing.
McCall was always borrowing this motorcycle and Chuckie was mad at him 'cause he returned it wrecked again. He was yelling at him and out of the blue McCall pulled his gun. You were home. Yes, I was. And you saw the shooting? I most certainly did. I was doing laundry here... McCALL: Get your hands off me. CHUCKIE: I'm sick of you, man. McCALL: Whatever. LAURIANE: I went to see and try to break it up. CHUCKIE: Back off, man. Back off. Get your sorry ass off my property.
( gunshots )
( screaming ) Out back here? Yes.
How long did you say they had been arguing before you heard the first shot? Couple minutes. And then you went out back? That's right.
Okay, thank you. This won't take very long. ( timer beeps ) What's up? She did a "fill-in" back there in the garage. First, she said she saw both shots, but I just asked her and she said she heard the first shot and then came running out here. Heard the first shot and then came running out here. Yeah. McCall had a semiautomatic. I mean, you could pull off a shot in two-tenths of a second. Right. It took me 3.8 seconds to get out here. She didn't see any shot. So she just filled in what she thought happened-- that McCall shot her husband in cold blood. Right. Typical eyewitness. So, there's a good chance that McCall was telling the truth that he shot Hastings in self-defense. Well, if we had the screwdriver that someone lost we'd be able to check for blood. Right. Let's go see McCall. No one lost him. All right.
Hey, you guys, this North Vegas shooting with the same casings as our Jane Doe's? Mm-hmm. It was gang-related. And Homicide never found the shooter. It's almost impossible in gang neighborhoods. Nobody wants to talk. People are afraid. Listen, let's see if we have any evidence that's not attributed to the victim.
( paper bag rustling ) Here you go.
GRISSOM: Snakebacks. Gang shooters mark their kills by tossing down their hats.
Some sort of anthropological quirk of territoriality. Like cats spraying on a bush. Lets the opposition know who was responsible. Somebody wore this hat a lot.
This sweatband might give us DNA and I could compare it to the samples I collected off of Jane at the hospital.
Jane?
Our... Jane Doe. My "death imminent." First-name basis, Sara?
I'll be in DNA.
Hey. This is, uh, Detective Sam Vega from the Gang Detail. He's here to give us information on 23rd Street. This is Gil Grissom and Nick Stokes from the Crime Lab. We're looking for a shooter. Guy abducted, raped and shot a young black woman the other night. We get a couple of shootings a week here from the Snakebacks, out of a four-block radius from this point here. Usually at the Pepper Street Gang. Your guy might have left the neighborhood as part of a gang initiation. It means more when the victim's a civilian. STOKES: Our ball cap belongs to somebody in this neighborhood. These houses are full of people who know the guy who wears it. Okay, Nick, ready to burn some shoe leather? Some old-fashioned police work, what do you say, huh? Why can't we just use those scent pads? The dogs? Constitutional issue. We can't get a warrant for the evidence we find off the dogs' search. Great, great. Why'd you even suggest it? You're a grown man, Nick. Stop whining.
BROWN: Mr. McCall, according to your statement you went over to your neighbor Hastings' house to return his motorcycle. You got into a dispute over a wrecked fender and he attacked you with a screwdriver. He stabbed me in the arm. Hey, back off, man.
( groans ) Can you circle the area in which the screwdriver entered your arm when Hastings attacked you?
May I exam your client's wound?
Yes, anything to clear my client.
Thanks.
I think he's telling the truth. He's right-handed. I could tell when he took the pen. So you're saying that if he'd inflicted the wound on himself he would have stabbed his left arm. And even if he'd tried to fool us and stabbed his right arm the entry scar would have been upward, not down. Mr. McCall, which direction was Hastings facing when you shot him? He was facing my client. End of story. Well, the coroner disagrees. Well, that's the coroner's problem. And I after I tell any jury how your side managed to lose a piece of evidence as important as the screwdriver really, how much weight will the Coroner's findings have?
People don't realize just how many sets of hands a piece of evidence passes through. Losing evidence isn't about anything sneaky. It's just human error. Yeah, defense attorneys have made a whole career off that human error. Yeah, tell me about it. ( phone rings ) Hello. Eddie... I-I'll meet you at the coroner's. So, you took a second out on the house and, uh, didn't tell me about it? No, I would have remembered you telling me something as big as... Oh, a studio. Are you out of your mind? So, now I'm going to be making house payments which you never had money for when we lived together and a second mortgage? No, we don't have time to talk about this. You get that loaned canceled, and you do it now, Ed. Now! ( sighs ) Doc, are you sure McCall shot Hastings in the back? Back to front, both times. This guy McCall swears that he shot him straight ahead in self-defense. Look at my notes.
Right here.
"Entry wounds "piercing the back, both small, regular "with evidence of carbonaceous material typical of having just emerged from a gun..." Right. "...and they exited out the front "with a classic keyhole effect-- irregular. "First bullet entered Hastings' "lattissimus dorsi "passed through the lower intestine "exited out the intercostal muscle.
"The second bullet "passed through Hastings' C-7 thoracic nerve exited out the pectoralis major."
All right, look, I'm not doubting your findings. But when guys go at it they're not like gingerbread men, you know? They're, like, bobbing and weaving. It's like W.W.F. Smackdown. You know? All of these things could have changed what went down when Hastings and McCall tangled. Anatomically speaking, it's open-and-shut. You guys are the ones to put perspective on it. No doubt. When Catherine gets here can you tell her I went over to Evidence to check out the victim's T-shirt? Mm-hmm.
( humming softly )
( continues humming ) ( singing softly )
Hey. Any luck on 23rd Street? I, uh, broke in my new shoes. That's about it. What'd the lab say? The DNA from the ball cap is a match to the semen we found on our Jane Doe. But... CODIS hasn't kicked out a name. So, you're just... looking at Missing Persons reports? We're not having any luck finding the shooter from his DNA with a belt loop so I thought I would at least try and identify the poor woman before she dies.
Sara. Do you have any diversions? Do I what? You max out on overtime every month. You go home and listen to your police scanner. You read forensic textbooks... Yeah.
Look, every day we meet people on the worst day of their lives. It's a lot to deal with. Everyone who's had any time on this job knows that you have to have a diversion in order to cope with what we see. What do you do for fun? I chase rabbits.
And... I read crime books. And I listen to the scanner. You need something outside of law enforcement. Catherine has her kid, you know? I sometimes... ride roller coasters.
What do you do? Nothing. Okay. What do you like? I don't like anything.
You've got to find something to like. You can't get too close to the victims. She's special... to me. I can't help it. If you don't find something they'll all become special and you'll burn out.
Sara. Okay. I'm almost done. I just got to log off.
So, this is progress. The shirt confirms what the coroner said: the shots were fired back to front. Look at those entry holes.
Yeah, but look at that gunpowder.
Unburned gunpowder. Which happens when a gun is fired less than three feet from a victim. Right.
McCall says that they were standing five paces apart. Mrs. Hastings says the exact same thing. So, we got two eyewitnesses on opposite sides of the case... saying the same thing. In direct contradiction to our evidence. Well, the DA's on my beeper. Would you, uh, explain this to him because I can't. Yeah, right. Hey... when's the last time you took target practice? Figures. I just had a manicure. Okay, so we're doing this reconstruction and the best way is to measure the distance between the victim and the assailant during the time of the altercation, right? Right. ( snaps chamber shut ) Using the same firearm and ammo that McCall used in his backyard on Hastings. Right.
BROWN: Circumference of the gunpowder is the same. Looks like two feet for shot number one... ...and one foot for shot number two. And according to Lauriane Hastings' statement he was running away. How can the second shot be closer than the first? It can't. It's not possible.
We just disproved their statement. And then we've got McCall's statement.
Can't happen when someone's facing you. ( sighs ) The truth is somewhere in the middle. How long do we have till the prelim? I think I know how we can figure this out. I saw this thing in my forensics catalog. What kind of "thing"? STOKES: Now you want to use the dogs to track down the Jane Doe shooter? K-9 unit's going to meet us there. Yeah, but I spoke to Brass. He said we can't get a warrant on anything we need from the suspect's house-- gun, jeans, nothing. That's if we find him inside his house. In which case, we'll figure out another way to get a warrant. You're rushing this for Sarah. My priority is the case, Nick. Release the hounds.
You were shopping.
Pamela... Pamela Adler. ( barking )
Hey, Lady.
My belt loop set pads.
( barking ) Whoa! Are we supposed to be able to keep up with those guys? Yeah!
( barking )
Hey, hey, yo, yo. Back off, Snoop. What you raggedy mutts want with me anyway? Hey, you two, don't be hassling me.
( footsteps approaching ) Guy's wearing the evidence in plain sight. We just got lucky. WOMAN: Tony! What are you doing?! You got a problem? Ma'am, is-is this your son? Yes. Well, we're going to have Yes. Well, we're going to have to talk to him for a minute. You police-- coming here with your attack dogs. Actually, they're scent dogs, and I'm not a police officer. I'm a forensics scientist with the Las Vegas Police Department. What do I got to say to a scientist? You could say "hello."
This dummy cost over $500? Oh, yeah. He's worth it. Why? Well, look at him. He's lifelike, he doesn't talk, and he's self-healing. He's "self-healing"? Yeah. We make a mistake in our calculations we just start over. Cool. Um, the wound track is off. Do it two centimeters higher.
All right. How's that? Good. All right. Now, the second shot was fired like so. And the coroner says that Hastings was shot just like this, from back to front and Hastings' wife says the same thing-- that her husband was running away. And McCall says that Hastings was facing him shot him in self-defense and he's got the wound... to prove it. Just like I said before, guys don't go at it and fight like gingerbread men, you know? Mm-hmm. Check it out.
What if, um... he was lunged... ...just kind of like this?
Oh, you are wrong! ( chuckling )
Warrick I think maybe they were both telling the truth. Yeah. I'm calling the DA.
So, Tony, where were you two nights ago? I was nowhere special. I was just hanging. Grissom told you to keep me out, didn't he? Yeah. Were you wearing those pants the other night? Oh, these jeans? What's it to you? They're missing a belt loop.
I find that interesting. BRASS: You mind if we look at those? We got some scrubs for you to wear. He doesn't have to do anything unless a judge says to. That's why we're asking Tony to volunteer. GRISSOM: With your permission... Chill, Moms. I got nothing to hide. It's no big thing. Cop said lady isn't even dead. That's true, she isn't... but if she dies within a year and a day of the shooting... then it's murder. SHAUNDA: Is this some kind of trick? No, ma'am, it's the law. We're working this case as a murder. At least for the next year and a day and even then, I'm still a juvie.
Well, then I guess the law is on your side, Tony, isn't it? For now.
( mumbling ) ED: Hi, Catherine. Somebody wanted to see you. Hey, baby. Hi, Mommy. Daddy's taking me to dinner tonight. He is? Main room at the Orpheus. They have lions and tigers at the restaurant and Daddy said I can go to a show after. WILLOWS: Well, uh... you know, honey, it's a school night so I need to discuss that with Daddy first. Come on, Mom. It's just this one night.
Ed... Hey, Lindsey, I got some games on my computer. You want to see? Sure. Come on, let's go play one. Uh, I'll see you in a bit, honey.
You set me up. How, by taking our daughter to dinner? Get over here. Oh, come on now! What?! You are so pathetic. What?! What?! Just so pathetic. Watch it, Cath. Sucking up to our daughter 'cause I caught you robbing me. The only thing I ever robbed you of was good sex. ( scoffing ): No sex is worth you, and you are not taking my daughter to a club with one of your music whores. Oh, they're whores? When I met you you were taking your clothes off in a strip club. It was a job, Ed and it supported you, just like every job I've had including this one! Yeah? And who paid to close up your nose? You're such a bast...! Let go of me. What?! I'll let go of you when I'm damn good and... Let go of her, Ed!
Catherine? Just get him out of here.
I don't want to ever see you in this building again. This is our place of business. You understand that? I always knew you two had a thing. Go home, Eddie.
Sure.
SARA: ♪ One way or another ♪ ♪ I'm going to see you ♪ ( hums ) ♪ One day, maybe next week ♪ ♪ I'm going to meet you, meet you ♪ ♪ I will... ♪ Hey, Sara, did anyone ever tell you you have a pretty good singing voice? If you like chalk on a board. Come on. I've heard you around here. People never tell you that? It's a-a habit. I don't even realize I'm doing it. Did you get that belt loop from the crime scene lined up yet? Yeah. Here, take a look.
SARA: Fits like a glove. Okay. Let's go tell the boss. Uh, you go. I have something to do first. Hey, if you go near that Thorpe kid... Excuse me? I'm just saying... It's something else. Promise.
Wait a minute. Hastings was facing McCall, and McCall shot him in the back? You can't have it both ways, guys. A judge will laugh me out of court. Well... bear with us. All right. I'm McCall. I have a gun. I'm Hastings. I stab McCall in the right arm.
WARRICK: I push him back off. And Hastings charges again. This time he lunges at his midsection.
I shoot.
CATHERINE: He shoots from two feet according to our firearms range test and the unburned powder on the victim's clothes. And the bullet enters through the back even though we are facing each other and exits... out the front. The first shot is fired in self-defense. But then McCall shoots Hastings a second time. Now that shot... Boom. ...was not in self-defense.
( gunshot ) ( screaming ): No! Chalk it up to adrenaline or revenge but Hastings was already going down. There was no reason to shoot him a second time. I've got to say, I'm impressed. You two just put on quite a show. Think you can do it again at trial?
That's our job. We'll see you in court, Sam.
Hey, how's Linds? Um, well, uh, she's with my sister. Hey, thanks for helping me out there. I appreciate it. I... You've got to get that divorce finalized, huh?
We caught him. If you hadn't pulled that belt loop we might never have found him, but... You did good.
You must be Sara. The CSI who called me? Hi. I'm Tom, uh, Pam's husband. Thanks, uh, for all you've done. Sure. Oh, I wanted to give you this. I've been keeping it... for Jane-- Pam, uh, until I found her family. Thanks.
How are you doing? Okay, uh... Good. The doctor says Pammie's condition is stabilized. He was in an hour ago. He expects her to live. Says she's not going to die. That's great. That's-that's great. She's a real fighter, huh? THOMAS: Well, we're moving her to Haven View Center later this week. Do-do you know that facility? Yeah, I do, know people who've gone there.
They'll take real good care of her. That's what the doctor said. I got to go.
Well, um, uh... come see us sometime. Definitely. Haven View, I'll be there.
Good luck. Good luck to you.
The husband doesn't get it. He's so happy she's going to live he doesn't realize she's going to be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
And that kid Thorpe is going to be out of juvie in 48 months.
It's not fair.
It's the system. What kind of system rewards the suspect when the victim is too tough to die?
Sara... you've got to learn to let this go or you're going to spend all your time in hospitals trying to help the people you couldn't save.
I wish I was like you, Grissom. I wish I didn't feel anything.
( sighing ): Oh. [Captioning sponsored by CBS, CBS PRODUCTIONS and ALLIANCE ATLANTIS Captioned by The Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation]