[Man Narrating] In the criminal justice system...
all defendants are innocent until proven guilty,
either by confession, plea bargain or trial byjury.
This is one of those trials.
You were on duty when you heard a woman screaming.
You ran from the Winslow and stopped - Down here.
He had a hold of her.
Where? Uh, here. Here.
He had her up against the wall, this homeless guy.
H-He was pressed against her, and then she was screaming.
And then he started swingin' at me, so I swung back.
But I didn't mean-
That-That's how come I called 911.
Let him finish his story and then Mirandize him.
[Chattering On Police Radio]
A woman got jumped? Yeah, it looks like her doorman beat and killed the attacker.
Officer Montez was first on the scene.
The victim is a vagrant, mid to late thirties, no I.D.
Got the call from 911. A guy was down but still breathing.
Not anymore. The doorman? Andres Voychek.
The guy was covered in the vic's blood. The woman was pretty shook up.
Where is she now? We let her go. She lives at the Winslow.
- Voychek was the doorman. - [Voychek] Hey, what are you-
Please! Why are you doing this?
I ran across the street to save her!
I was just trying to get him to stop!
Please! Why are you doing this?
Well. Let's go see the woman he saved.
[Knocks]
Ms. Phillips? I'm Assistant District Attorney Tracey Kibre.
This is Officer Montez and my associate Kelly Gaffney.
I'm sorry if - No, it's okay. It's just I had to clean off.
I understand. It's been a very rough night.
We do need to talk to you about what happened.
Did you talk to Voychek? [Gaffney] Yes.
- Then he's all right? - He's fine. He's down at the precinct answering some questions.
You arrested him? Yes.
For what? He saved my life.
Well, it's a homicide. The man he beat is dead.
The man he beat attacked me.
This is crazy. You have it all backwards.
Why don't you just take a minute and we can-
How long are you holding him?
We can't answer that.
Then we're done here.
Oh, boy.
Every coin has two sides. The flip being?
A homeless man is dead at the hands of a servant of the rich.
A woman is saved from a potentially deadly attack...
by an unsuspecting hero.
She has a point.
- At the end of the day, who wouldn't want their own personal Voychek? - So now what?
We bring a case to the grand jury that we all know should be dismissed?
Sometimes the best way to appease the people is to let the people make the call.
Put the case before the grandjury, but with a certain slant.
We do our duty. The case gets dismissed, but not by us.
Terrific.
The system being manipulated to protect our reputation.
We didn't build it. We just fly it.
I know you're a smart lawyer,
but I don't think this is such a good idea, Mr. Lumbard.
I'm not so hot at public speaking.
You're not addressing Congress, Andres. Just tell the people what happened.
Tell them the truth. But I told the police, and that got me arrested.
I didn't do anything wrong. I saved her.
And the grand jury needs to hear that directly from you-
Your innocence, your deep remorse.
That way, in the unlikely event this were ever to go to trial - Trial?
But you said all I do is explain to the grand jury and this is over.
I'm sure it will be. When they hear from Abigail-
what you did for her- there's no chance they'll indict.
Abbie will do that for me? Yes.
She's very grateful.
That night you did what every guy hopes he would do in his finest hour.
[Kibre] How long have you worked at the Winslow?
Eight years. Best of my life.
A-At the Winslow we look out for each other.
And on the evening of February 21, what happened?
I was on door. Slaykoff, he had elevator.
We take shifts. Um-
I heard the screaming, and l-I just started running toward the sound.
[Kibre] And what did you find?
- This homeless guy, he- - [Clears Throat]
Mr. Ashford.
He had Ms. Phillips by the wrists up against the wall.
She was trying real hard to fight him off,
but he was too strong for her, so I grabbed him.
You pulled him away? Yeah.
L-I figured he'd run, but instead he started beating on me.
- And you fought back? - I had no choice.
I am real sorry for how it turned out.
Questions?
Had you ever seen the homeless man before?
Once or twice, but not regular.
Were you afraid for your life?
I didn't stop to think.
L-I saw she was in trouble,
I did what any person would do.
Thank you, Mr. Voychek.
Excuse me, are you Ms. Kibre? Yes.
They told me you're trying the Voychek case.
The man he killed- he was my brother.
I'm very sorry for your loss, um- Oh, Justine.
[Woman] You're a hero to the city. How do you feel? Justine.
[Justine] They're calling him a hero. Did you know that?
I took off work today, but they told me I'm not allowed inside.
Well, the grand jury testimony is sealed,
but you'll be allowed in the courtroom if it goes to trial. Lf?
Uh- I read the papers.
I know what a good story this makes.
But I also knew my brother. There's no way he attacked that girl.
He had no reason to.
I had dinner with some friends in SoHo.
And we shared a cab back uptown.
They dropped me off on my corner so they could cut across the park.
When did you first see the man who attacked you?
[Abigail] When I was a block from the Winslow. He was walking towards me.
- I was gonna cross the street. - Why didn't you?
Can you believe I didn't wanna be rude?
I could see my building up ahead, so I thought l-
I thought I'd be okay.
Do you need a minute? No.
He pulled me into the alley and down the stairs...
and pushed me up against the wall.
He had my hands above his head.
I could smell him. It felt like a badjoke,
like this isn't what happens to me, is it?
I was shaking and started screaming,
and then there was Voychek.
So Mr. Voychek pulled Mr. Ashford off of you?
He had the guy by his shirt. But when he let go, the man started swinging.
They fought? I only saw it for a minute. But-
'Cause I ran up the stairs.
So you feel safer now? For the first time in four months.
The man was stalking me.
Ms. Phillips, what do you mean by stalking?
I'd get up to 15 calls a night. Hang ups.
Sometimes he would just sit on the line, listening.
At first I thought it was a fax or a wrong number,
but there were never cranks on my machine.
The calls only started once I got home.
- Anything else? - Letters full of personal information.
Like what I'd worn that day or who I'd had lunch with.
Did you contact the police? File a report?
I did call the police, but I never followed through.
I wasn't gonna let someone get to me like that.
The man who attacked me was the man who was stalking me.
But how exactly did you make that connection?
Just before he approached me he said my name.
How else could he know my name?
I need you to pull Abigail Phillips's phone records.
- The girl with the guardian angel? - We're looking to tie the victim to some late-night phone calls.
The homeless guy?
Well, I guess you don't need an Upper West Side address to reach out and touch someone.
I'm gonna need them today.
No problem. I'm fast.
That's what I hear.
You didn't like the grand jury? It was like they were judging me on everything-
How I spoke, what I was wearing. They were.
And you survived. My guess? It's over.
A little help from my friends. Thanks, Greg. The least I could do.
I can't tell you how good it feels to have my life back.
Hey. Wait a minute.
I hate to ask, but could you take Voychek something for me?
I don't know what says thank you for saving my life,
but flowers are universal, right? [Man] Thank you.
Oh, and this is for you.
He doesn't know I'm covering this for him, does he? Haven't said a word.
Let's keep it that way.
I tied all those crank calls Abigail Phillips's been getting to a prepaid cellular.
That's virtually impossible to trace. Eh, for some.
Stop dancing. What do ya got?
Not impossible if you have a taped conversation coming from the same cell phone.
That 911 call the doorman made at the scene...
came from the same cell phone as all the calls Abigail's been getting.
Voychek's her stalker.
So a good guy does a good thing. Will the grand jury see a problem?
All I see are coincidences.
There's no coincidences in murder.
After four months of calls and letters,
the girl just happens to get jumped on his watch?
Not a straight line to murder two?
Andres Voychek was so obsessed with Abigail Phillips, maybe he would kill for her.
That's where I'm heading.
I'll get a search warrant to look into his apartment.
Every day there's another puff piece about Andres Voychek.
Where he gets his uniform pressed, how he takes his coffee.
And my brother, whenever they mention him, is simply the victim.
He doesn't even get a name.
William.
He preferred Billy.
Justine, you're my only connection to Billy.
I need you to help me put a face on him.
How did he wind up on the streets? Did he have a history of mental illness?
He was tested.
He had problems with focus, boundaries,
but there was no official name you could hang on it.
I checked his police records. There's no bookings for aggressive behavior.
No, just the opposite. It was him who was usually getting roughed up.
Always wanting to make friends with people who didn't want any.
Do you know where he was staying most recently?
He mentioned the Bowery.
I wish I could be more specific.
Okay, well, thank you.
If there's anything more, we'll call you. Okay.
Oh, sweet dog. When did he go missing?
Um. The night Billy was killed.
The dog was his.
Winston.
I figured the least I could do for Billy now was to find him.
- Uh, could I take one of those? - Oh, sure.
Thank you.
Pretty nice for a doorman. [Salazar] Wonder ifhe needs a roommate?
We're dealing with a freak.
Why? 'Cause he's anal?
No. Because no one but our guy has ever set foot in this place.
You employing some sort of female intuition technique?
Date enough in this town, you get a sixth sense for freaks.
This guy doesn't get out much.
He doesn't need to. He's got all his friends right here.
Wow. Good to have hobbies.
We should check out the storage space. The landlord was kind enough to give us the key.
It's divided up into apartments.
I can't believe people still hold on to this junk.
One man gathers what another man spills.
Yeah, well, it still looks like junk.
It's right here. [Lock Clicks]
Ooh. Look at this.
That's not Abigail.
Looks like Voychek's got more than one crush.
Let's just hope this one's still breathing.
Her name is Blythe Cotton.
Blythe Cotton also lived at the Winslow.
Voychek's playground.
March of last year she took off, leaving five months on her lease.
Tell me this doesn't lead to a landfill in Jersey.
More like Portland. She moved there for a promotion. It checks out.
So Voychek exhibits a pattern ofbehavior.
But we have no evidence beyond some year-old grocery receipts and some snapshots.
What are you saving for last? How about a police report?
Ms. Cotton filed this two months before catching her flight.
She was being stalked.
[Man] Great. I wanna get another. Um, give me a big heroic smile. Thank you.
Are these boys bothering you, Andres? [Laughs] Hello, Ms. Phillips.
How about a shot of the hero and the girl?
Do you mind?
[Woman] Aw. This way, Ms. Phillips.
[Woman] Over here. Over here.
Andres, over here. [Woman] Can I get one more?
[Sniffs] Hey. It's Kelly, right?
Yeah, good memory.
I was wondering if we could talk.
[Voychek] Um, I really don't think it was that heroic.
[Man] How do you feel about your new status?
First time in months I've done the reservoir.
Yeah, I love to run. But the D.A.' s office requires a vow against leisure activities, so-
For a while I didn't wanna risk it. But now things are back to normal.
Well, the grand jury's still open.
That's just a formality, right? I mean, I've got my life back.
- Ms. Phillips- - And once this is over, Voychek can get on with his.
Okay. Abigail,
we traced the calls that you've been getting to a cell phone.
William Ashford did not make them.
Of course he did. I told you- Andres Voychek did.
That's not-You're wrong.
I wish I were.
- We searched his apartment. We found pictures of you. - No.
- I saw them, Abigail. - That's crazy. He's barely even looked me in the eye.
You know the type. He's awkward but harmless. He's a decent guy.
We also found proof that he's done this before. Stop.
Right now. I don't wanna hear it, and I don't believe you.
Well, I understand why you don't want to believe me,
but right now I'm concerned for your safety.
I want you to pack a bag, call a friend that you can stay with.
If you have any vacation time, I suggest that you take it.
[Sighs]
When I made thejump over to D.A.' s squad,
I never figured I'd be on pooch patrol. [Dog Barking]
You never said why you made that jump. You're right. I didn't.
Can I have some change? How do we know whoever has the dog knows our vic?
People give their cars to valets, their babies to nannies. But a dog-
A dog they give to a trusted friend.
Hey. He friendly?
He looks rough, but he's friendly.
Hey there, big fella. [Dog Barks]
You had him long? Aw, he's not mine. He belongs to a friend.
His name wouldn't happen to be Billy Ashford?
[Laughs]
Looks like you're gonna be dog-sittin' for a while.
Yeah, we think we might have seen your friend Billy uptown.
Any reason you could think of he'd be there? Say, upper 80s?
- Oh, yeah. Doin' a run. - What do you mean, a run?
The buildings up there, they have funds. Try to keep their stoops clean.
Yeah. We take turns hittin' 'em up.
If he's up there workin', he'll be back soon.
I'm afraid he's not coming back.
Your friend attacked a woman.
Someone pulled him off, beat him to death.
[Sighs] Oh.
He was only supposed to scare her.
Who? Some girl.
Billy was about pleasing people.
- You said he was supposed to scare somebody? - The man said it was his girlfriend.
[Man] You know who this guy was? We knew him from our runs.
A doorman.
Why? You told me to tell my story to the grand jury. I did that.
Why-Why is this not over?
I can't continue representing you. There's a conflict.
- What conflict? - Abigail was paying me to represent you.
The prosecutors have filed a motion to disqualify me. I won't oppose it.
Abbie was paying you for me?
She was concerned for you.
- I am not alone. - Mr. Voychek,
I came to give you the name of - Abbie, she's on my side.
I would never let anyone hurt her.
- You want to make me the bad guy, but she won't believe you. - That's not what this is about.
I'm gonna call her.
- No, no, no. I'll go to her apartment and explain- - No, you can't do that.
I have to talk to her. No.
I'm advising you to stay away from Abigail Phillips.
- What's this? - An excellent lawyer.
I've spoken with him. He wants to take the case.
You'll need him.
You go.
[Door Opens, Closes]
[Buzzes]
Yours.
True bill.
We got him.
Did you get my message? The grand jury indicted.
A friend of mine went by my apartment today and picked up my mail.
Did you read them? One was enough.
Well, this will help.
I honestly thought he'd saved my life.
That was the point.
Killing William Ashford was just a consequence.
He tried to run.
- Who? - The man-
Mr. Ashford. He tried to run, but Voychek held on. He kept hitting him.
- Would you testify to that at trial? - Will it matter?
I've been in the papers, on TV, calling Voychek a hero.
Who will believe me now?
[Bailiff] Docket number 267805, People versus Andres Voychek.
Murder in the second degree.
Could representing counsel and defendant please step forward?
[Judge] Mr. A dler. What's prompted you to visit the plebeians?
I believe an innocent man deserves the best defense.
If it comes attached to a long line of zeros.
My client is a doorman, Your Honor.
- How do you plead? - N-Not guilty, sir.
Kelly Gaffney for the People, Your Honor.
Based on the serious allegations involving violence,
and the strength of the People's case, we ask for a remand.
This was a tragic accident. Mr. Voychek has no prior record.
He's had the same job and lived in the same apartment for the last eight years.
Glad to hear it. I'm setting cash bail at 500,000.
The building in which my client is employed set up a fund.
- We'll post this afternoon. - The defendant also stands accused of stalking Abigail Phillips.
The People ask Your Honor for an order of protection.
Granted.
Mr. Voychek, you are to stay away from Ms. Phillips.
No phone. No mail. No personal visits.
Stay away means exactly that- stay away.
[Gavel Raps]
[Bailiff] Docket number 267705, People v. Sharaud Santos.
Probation violation. [Judge] Mr. Santos-
Off to the press.
"Motion to suppress the box found in Voychek's storage space.' '
Surprise.
[Voychek] I don't remember.
[Adler] You hear a woman's screams and don't remember what you were doing?
[Voychek] Like I said, I was working. I was up front by the door.
Inside or out? I don't know. Out, I guess.
Oh. So you could actually see Ms. Phillips walking up the street...
before she was attacked?
No. L-I mean,
I didn't know it was her until I ran over.
So, you were standing outside on the sidewalk,
but you had no idea it was Ms. Phillips walking toward you?
Maybe I was looking the other way.
Isn't it more accurate, Mr. Voychek,
to say that you were acutely aware of Ms. Phillips's comings and goings...
because you have intimate feelings for her?
Why do you keep asking me that? No!
I already told you, no.
Okay.
Who believes him?
Okay. The rest of you, any thoughts?
He's all over the place, like he's making it up as he goes along.
He can't look you in the eye. He keeps looking up or down.
I'm sorry, but I don't trust the man.
Okay, this has been a tremendously helpful exercise.
I wanna thank you all very much.
Now, if I could ask the ladies to kindly step outside for a moment, please?
Thanks again for your time, ladies.
Thank you.
[Door Opens]
[Door Closes]
That's what matters.
All we need is one.
Abigail is a beautiful girl.
I do not want you to deny your feelings for her, Andres.
I want you to express them.
Your crush-
your chivalric love for Abigail Phillips-
is our defense.
Good news travels quick.
Nine times out of 10 not in our favor.
Yeah, well, the city wanted a hero.
Yeah, you know they got a wolf in sheep's clothing.
[Scoffs] Well, savor the moment.
Judge Hafner's about to rule on the admissibility of our major piece of evidence.
The box was found in a storage space in Mr. Voychek's building.
Meaning the search exceeded the scope of the warrant.
The defendant has no standing to challenge this search.
It's a common area accessible to all the residents.
Ms. Kibre has a point. [Adler] Fine.
But if the area was accessible to any one of the 86 residents living at that address,
then you'll have to agree the tie between the box,
its contents and my client is tenuous.
That should govern the weight, given the evidence, not the admissibility. Let the jury decide.
The box contained pictures and personal records of a woman that lived at the Winslow.
That same woman filed a police report stating she was being stalked.
The report states that her stalker was unknown.
[Gaffney] In light of the evidence, we plan to call her as a witness.
That's your prerogative- Not why we're here.
I reviewed the contents of the box, and given their nature,
I believe their prejudicial effect outweighs their potential probative value.
The box is out.
Uh, there was a total of 12 pictures of Ms. Phillips.
Six were attached to the fridge,
one in a frame by the bed.
And in any of those photographs...
was Ms. Phillips looking directly at the camera?
No. They were all candid shots.
Thank you. That's all.
Exhibits, uh, 13 and 14.
Mr. Salazar, do either of these pictures look familiar to you?
No. They were attached to the refrigerator...
alongside the pictures of, uh, Ms. Phillips. They could have been.
The, uh- the cat.
He belongs to Mrs. Raul up on the fifth floor.
And the elderly couple are the Harpers.
They've been in 10A for 20 years.
They, uh, always remember to give Mr. Voychek a little something extra for his birthday.
- Objection. He's testifying. - Let's find the point, Mr. Adler.
You assume Ms. Phillips's pictures on his refrigerator...
mean that Andres Voychek was stalking her?
I wasn't sent to assume. I was sent to execute a search warrant.
That turned up pictures of a cat.
Now, did you think my client was stalking it too?
Your Honor.
That's enough of that, Mr. Adler. [Adler] Apologies.
So, you searched high and low,
and the only evidence you discovered...
were a few pictures of residents and pets.
That's all.
You also said he wouldn't make bail.
But an order of protection stipulates - I know.
I'm sorry. I understand.
But our case is strong. We have a witness to the solicitation of the victim.
We have your testimony- Abigail!
- Abigail! Did you get my letters? - Officer-
- They won't let me see you! - Get away from me!
Don't scream! You have to know I didn't - [Gaffney] Mr. Voychek, please.
- [Man] Take it easy! - She wants to talk to me! She wants to talk to me! Abigail!
[Man] Calm down! Abigail-
I'm- I'm sorry.
We've got a situation. Abbie just called.
She and the friend she's staying with ordered pizza.
When, uh, she answered the door, she found dead flowers on her doorstep.
They were the flowers she sent to Voychek, back when he was her hero.
Where is she now? Checked in a hotel on our dime.
[Sighs] Maybe we should have told her.
- What? - That an order of protection is just a piece of paper.
What am I supposed to tell Abigail Phillips? Trust me?
We request that Mr. Voychek's bail be revoked.
Abigail wants to see me. [Judge Hafner] Mr. Voychek,
you have explicitly violated the terms of your recognizance.
[Adler] Your Honor, if it even appears to thejury...
that Mr. Voychek is in custody, they could draw a negative conclusion.
It's unfair to infer his guilt before he's even had a chance to prove his innocence.
I'm not depriving him of that chance, Mr. A dler.
I'm merely changing where he spends the night.
I'm remanding the defendant. [Gavel Raps]
[Dr. Link] It's usually an idiosyncratic thing that attracts the stalker.
She's nice. Helpful, yet unattainable.
But not unattainable in his mind.
Well, he believes she understands him, as he does her,
in a real and tangible way.
So why maintain the distance?
Like, why call and then hang up?
His calling would have an erotic surround to it.
[Kibre] I'm sorry. Can you break down the terminology for the rest of us?
If she answered, he'd be pleased that he knew she'd be home.
If she answered again, he'd imagine she was waiting for the call.
Or if there was an answering machine turned on,
that she wanted to capture his message.
Now, a woman in this situation,
is there anything at all that she could do...
to avoid this unwanted attention?
No. There is no response that would slow the progression.
Oh.
Doctor, in your experience,
have you ever known a stalker who would set up a situation...
where he could then play the role of a hero?
Absolutely. The heroic act is a kind of...
reaction formation of the stalker's building rage.
Rage? Rage fueled by what?
His belief that the object ofhis affection...
doesn't understand the depth of his feelings.
It's his way of showing her.
Thank you, Doctor.
How many phone calls would it take to, uh- to make me a stalker?
That would depend on the case.
If Mr. Voychek did feel an intense bond to Ms. Phillips,
it is possible he felt a similar bond to others in the building, hmm?
Not to the extent of his feelings to Ms. Phillips.
But a connection nonetheless.
Meaning, had any one of them-
any of them been threatened-
he would have risked his own life running to their rescue.
- Objection. Conjecture. - Sustained.
- Seems Mr. Voychek was only guilty of doing his job well. - You've made your point.
Oh, well. Nothing further then.
So you lied? No.
Well, Andres Voychek goes from being the guy who saved my life...
to a depraved sexual predator? That's what he is.
Which one? You keep changing your mind. I can't keep track.
You bought him presents, you paid for his legal defense - I didn't know.
If I had, do you-
He took away my life. And quite a life it was.
You're recently divorced, aren't you, Ms. Phillips? Yes.
This your personals page on singularsingles. Com.
It got 30 hits on the first day.
You had so many potential boyfriends to blame it on,
- it took the D.A.' s office to narrow down your playing field. - Tracey.
Stop it. It's disgusting.
Mr. Adler's client is looking at murder two.
He doesn't give a rat's ass about tarnishing your reputation.
I'm all you've got, aren't I?
You're losing.
I didn't ask for this. Oh, my God. He's not gonna walk?
Not if we're prepared. We stay focused-
Tell me they won't acquit.
Oh, well.
A lawyer who does that is a liar.
[Gaffney] You're currently taking the drug Geodon for schizophrenia?
Yes.
And you're a heroin user? I was.
I'm in a meth program now.
Some people from the church, they come to the Bowery where I live...
and got me signed up. The Bowery?
That's where the defendant, Mr. Voychek,
approached you and Mr. A shford?
Yeah, but I told him it sounded all wrong.
He was really asking Billy.
Did Mr. Voychek ask Billy to scare Ms. Phillips?
[Man] He said that she was his girlfriend.
He told Billy where she'd be and when.
Thank you.
You say it sounded all wrong,
and yet you, uh- you didn't go to the police?
I did. I called my uncle.
Your uncle? He was a cop once,
only now he's in Costa Rica.
You can reach him through the U.S. Embassy.
- Is that how you reach him? - I used to call him direct, before I lost my Spanish.
I can speak seven different languages. Only not anymore.
I'm sorry. You-You do or you do not speak seven languages?
[Man] Just the one now.
Before I could speak Vietnamese, French, Russian, Middle Eastern.
Mr. Johnson, can you say, uh,
"Good morning" to us in, uh, Middle Eastern?
Not anymore, no.
Is that because Middle Eastern is not a language?
- Objection. Your Honor. - [Judge Hafner] Get to the point.
When you witnessed this supposed conversation between my client and Mr. Ashford,
were you loaded?
I don't remember.
He knew that Billy would say yes.
- Billy said yes to anything. - Mr. Johnson, that's enough.
You killed Billy! Mr. Johnson, please.
- Shut up, you liar! - You're out of order.
Court officers, restrain that man! Mr. Voychek!
[Shouting] Order in this court!
- Mr. Voychek, that's enough! - [Voychek] He's lying! He's lying, Your Honor!
[Judge Hafner] Sidebar.
Mr. A dler, I will have your client's mouth sealed with packing tape...
if you can't find a way to close it for him.
That's it.
One hour recess. [Gavel Raps]
Ready to talk?
Come on. We both have problems.
Is your client willing to deal? I'll test the waters.
Why's he so eager to plea? Case has lost its glamour.
No, I mean Voychek. He didn't seem like a man ready to give in.
There's only one reason he would want to-
To protect the very thing that got him here in the first place.
Abigail.
How do you know Adler is using her as bait?
'Cause that's exactly what I would do. [Buzzer Buzzes]
No, no. No plea.
Let me take the stand. Tell things from my side.
Li-Like in the grand jury. I was a hero.
I can't let you do that. Why not?
The fact that your last lawyer was stupid enough to let you testify...
is exactly the reason I can't let you testify now.
You'll perjure yourself.
People admired me. She admired me.
I am not guilty.
So you don't want to accept the plea?
All right. Now...
you listen to me.
We still have a shot at winning this.
Kibre puts Abigail on the stand,
I put somebody on her credit report dating back to college.
We put a call in to her ex-husband.
On cross, we will systematically tear her apart.
Her story, character. Her credibility.
We'll paint her as a slut, a piece of trash.
No!
I'll stand up and say I did it before I'd let you do that to her.
You say I should plea,
I will plea.
Ravell's on line one. Something about Abigail.
I wanna run the plea by her, but if we wait much longer, it could go away.
Yeah. Where are you?
Uh, what are you saying?
Well, find her. I can't push for a plea without the girl.
Abigail's apartment's been cleaned out. She's gone.
- You've gotta be kidding me. - Is there a case without her?
Not much.
She could be halfway to Timbuktu by now.
If Voychek's lawyer doesn't know Abigail's missing-
Are you suggesting we push for a plea without our eyewitness?
What if Voychek doesn't take it?
Oh, he'll take it. But what ifhe doesn't?
They ask for us to provide a witness and we can't. We lose all credibility.
It's a bluff. Other D.A.' s have gone there.
We're obligated to inform his defense lawyer.
Only if we're absolutely certain that she's slipped.
We don't know that.
It doesn't seem that complicated.
[Chattering]
Judge is ready to hear your plea. Ravell's gonna call.
Some guy where Abigail works says she's gonna come by today to pick up her paycheck.
A day is 24 hours.
Judge Hafner just gave you five minutes to show your face.
Well, I'm willing to bluff,
but I'm not gonna lie in front of a judge.
[Rings]
- Yeah. You got her? - Alive and well.
Now go get the bad guy.
[Judge Hafner] Mr. Voychek, after listening to your statement of facts,
I accept your plea to manslaughter in the first degree,
with a sentence to be imposed of eight years,
as negotiated by both sides.
[Gavel Raps]
I am not guilty.
It's still a lose-lose situation for Abigail.
Some crimes don't end at sentencing. Not for the victim.
We do what we can.
[Howling]