Original subtitles

When did this happen? Eight days ago.

Why didn't the hospital notify the police?

Admitting says he wasn't convinced the crime had been committed. I don't

it. He also says he wanted her to heal first before asking any tough questions.

That may be true. She's been read her rights?

Twice. She didn't ask for a lawyer. She hadn't said anything. She won't talk.

Hi, Jenny.

My name's Helen Campbell.

I'm the district attorney.

I know you're scared.

Being brought in by the police, you must be terrified.

But I'm not the police, okay?

And I think I can help you.

But you're going to have to trust me first.

I just want to leave.

And I will make sure you do.

But first, I... I just want you to tell me what happened, okay?

Now, Dr. Matthews said you tried to kill yourself. Is that true?

Can you tell me why?

Because... I know this stuff is hard to talk about, so tell you what.

I'll tell you what I do know, and you can fill in some of the blanks, all

Your mom threw you out of the house.

When did she throw you out, Jenny?

The day before.

The day before you tried to take your life?

Yes.

Did she throw you out because she was angry that you were pregnant?

Yes. And you were seven months.

Why was she so upset, do you know?

She used to always say, don't go and get knocked up.

It was a big thing with her.

So when she found out, she kind of went berserk and stuff.

Told me my life would be ruined and... I don't know.

What about your dad?

I don't have a dad.

My mother doesn't even know who he is or was.

I think that she got knocked up.

I was probably the baby that ruined her life.

You being pregnant, this was sort of a huge disaster, huh?

Were you upset when she threw you out of the house?

Yes.

Is that the reason you tried to kill yourself?

Probably.

Are you really going to help me?

You have my word.

I saw that after you stabbed yourself, I see you then got yourself to a

hospital.

Did you then decide you really wanted to live?

Yeah. It was hurting so bad, I just wanted the pain to go away.

Did you really think you would kill yourself by stabbing yourself in the

stomach, Jenny?

I don't know.

When I was 19, I got pregnant.

I had an abortion.

I was way too young for a baby.

What are you, 15?

Look, it's okay.

You need to talk about this. You can't try to bear this alone.

Trust me.

I tried to keep everything inside, and it caused me more pain than anything

in my whole life.

It's okay to talk about it, Jenny.

When you stabbed yourself, you were only trying to kill the baby, weren't you?

It's okay, Jenny. You're only 15 years old. For you to try to raise a child

mom had thrown you out of the house.

You were only trying to kill the baby. Isn't that right?

You thought if you could make the baby go away, things would be better.

It's okay, sweetheart.

I'm going to help you.

But first I'm going to send someone in to write down the things we talked

Then I'm going to help you get out.

I promise.

Get her statement.

This is the first trial of its kind where a woman is actually being charged

fornicating her husband to death.

Jeez, it's an original.

She's now accused of inducing his heart attack with sexual intercourse.

The defense firm of Donald Young Dole and Frudge is... Hey, I gotta run down

the courthouse. Favor for Helen's on a homicide case.

Helen's asking me to favor on a homicide case?

I'll call you when I know more. ...to bother some men, however.

In one of the more amusing polls, 33 % of the men said they would nevertheless

still want to have sex with the Black Widow, fully knowing she might then try

kill them.

I would.

Ew.

3 -2 -6 -2 -2. Commonwealth versus Jennifer Holbrook. Murder in the first

degree. Eleanor Frost for the defendant.

Wave reading. We enter a plea of not guilty.

Helen Gamble for the Commonwealth. Your Honor, I'd like to conference. I think

we can dispose of it today.

A first degree murder case?

I'd like to conference.

Let's go.

Jenny?

I'm Eleanor Fratt, and I'm your attorney here. And right now, I'm going to go

back there, and I'm going to talk to the judge and the district attorney, and

then I'm going to come back and talk to you, okay?

Okay. Okay, it's very important that you don't talk to anybody about this.

Nobody.

It's a prior bad act, an admissible under... It goes to pattern, Your Honor.

killed her last husband. She killed this one. She killed neither, and two cannot

make a pattern anyway. She could have killed her first husband as well. That

would make three. Her first husband died of cancer. What are you saying?

She's clever.

Settle down.

I'll remove you all if I have to.

Your Honor, my client was never charged with the murder of her previous husband.

She was and still is suspected.

Three marriages, three dead husbands. That's a pattern.

I'm going to allow it.

Appealed. So noted. Anything else? No, Your Honor. Is the Commonwealth ready

trial? Ready, Your Honor. Mr. Donald?

Ready. Two o 'clock. Till then.

Unless you don't see all colors try.

Just preserving the objection for appeal. The truth is, I want them to

this stuff.

Why?

Because it's been in the papers for months. There's no way those jurors

heard of it. We'll need to address it, Courtney.

They're not calling you the Black Widow because you're like bugs.

She was thrown out of the house by her mother. She's never had a father. She's

15 years old.

I'd just like to do this quietly before it becomes front page of the Metro

section, which it would be.

What's your offer?

I'll give involuntary manslaughter three years. That way she's out when she's 18

instead of 21.

She might have a shot at a life.

Well, I need to look at her file. I'll talk it over with her, but that sounds

great.

Gamble said she'd help me.

She is, Jenny. Trust me.

Involuntary manslaughter is a very good offer considering this happened in your

third trimester.

You could be out by the time you're 18.

And even if we went to trial and won on diminished capacity, you're still

looking at as much time.

So I should plead guilty?

Well, first I want you to undergo a psychiatric exam.

Then I'd like to review your statement and the police report a little more,

but... Yes, it's an excellent deal, and I think we should jump at it.

Has your mom come to see you yet?

I don't think she even knows.

Could you tell her?

Sure.

I'm going to get Lucy Hatcher, my assistant, to come in and talk to you.

going to need to get you some new clothes for court.

Okay. All right.

I'm going to be in touch.

And were you able to determine the cause of death, doctor?

Acute cardiac arrest.

You did toxicology tests?

We did.

Anything remarkable in those tests?

We found traces of the drug commonly known as Viagra.

I never ever prescribed Viagra for Jerry.

Did you ever talk about Viagra with him? Yes, we did.

And I told him in no uncertain terms, taking that drug would be a death

sentence. Why is that, doctor?

Jerry had a weak heart. He'd gone through two separate bypass operations.

The very last thing he should have been taking is a pill to facilitate sexual

marathons. The reason you had talked about Viagra with Jerry Hansen is

he wanted it. Isn't that right, Doctor?

Yes, but I... Thank you. In addition to being Jerry Hansen's doctor, were you

also his friend?

Yes, I was.

His death was very upsetting for you. Do they teach that in law school?

It's upsetting when friends die. Doctor?

Of course I'm upset.

And if you believe my client was responsible for his death, you want to

convicted, wouldn't you?

Objection. Goes to bias.

You've made the point. Move on.

Doctor, you said Jerry wanted to perform better with my client.

Yes.

Sexually perform.

Yes, sexually perform.

She wanted him to perform better, and he wanted to perform better. She played

these mind games with him, made him feel inadequate.

Well, if he were feeling inadequate, could that be why he wanted the Viagra?

Possibly, but I... And if you wouldn't give it to him, you make no room for the

possibility that he might go get it someplace else. Well, why was it ground

and put into wine? Move to strike. If he wanted to take it... Move to strike.

She laced the wine and killed him.

That's enough.

Doctor, did you advise Jerry Hampton to refrain from sexual intercourse

altogether?

No. I told him to be very careful and take it slow.

Well, then, why couldn't he take the drug just to help him perform, but

carefully and slowly?

People with heart conditions do use this drug sometimes. Isn't that right,

Doctor? Yes, but I didn't think it was indicative for Jerry. Why not?

Because knowing Jerry, I was afraid he would try to keep up with her.

And add Viagra, his heart might give out before... And knowing Jerry's nature.

He wouldn't have the sense to stop.

Was that your fear?

Yes.

Thank you, Doctor.

Miss Holbrook?

Yeah. My name is Eleanor Frutt. I'm an attorney.

What do you want?

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

She dead?

Who?

Jenny.

Oh, no, no, no, no. She's not dead.

But her baby is, and she has been charged with its death. She's in custody

and I'm representing her.

What's going to happen to her?

Well, she may have to go to a juvenile detention center until she's 18. That's

what we're hoping for.

Three years?

Baby lasts a lot longer than that. She made out good.

Yeah.

We tested the wine. The results indicated there were remnants of Viagra

And what, if any, conclusions did you draw from this detective?

That the Viagra had been ground up and put into the wine.

Her previous husband, Mr. Carter, died of an insulin overdose.

Accidental? There was evidence to support that he was killed by the

who was still married to him at the time.

What evidence?

He was a diabetic. He gave himself insulin injections daily and had been

years without incident.

And here we had a massive overdose.

It was hard for us to believe that he could have made such a huge mistake.

Latent fingerprints on the syringe matched the defendant.

She inherited under the will, which gave financial motive.

You never charged Mrs. Hanson with Mr. Carter's death?

No, we were never able to collect enough evidence.

In fact, the truth is, you had no evidence, other than your suspicion.

Isn't that right, Detective?

Her prints were on the syringe.

She could have handed him the syringe like she said.

Possible.

Possible. We're missing something.

Why?

Their case is lousy. It's all circumstantial innuendo. Marsha Scott is

DA and she hasn't put anything on the table.

We're missing something.

Courtney.

Are we?

No. I mean... What's your son gonna say?

Just what we talked about.

But he's had an agenda from the beginning. He never even wanted me to

father in the first place.

Why?

He was afraid I'd kill him.

Because of all the suspicion around my previous husband's death.

Well, they must think he's some kind of witness because they're resting on his

testimony.

We're missing something.

They could rest by midday tomorrow, so let's go over your testimony.

I go first?

You're first and last. You're all we have.

How'd it go?

All right.

Did you tell her mother?

Yeah, you know what she said? Three years, not so bad. A baby lasts longer

three years.

Eleanor, Helen told her she could leave.

She also told Jenny about her own abortion and how she needed to talk

I think she was tricked into that confession.

She told you she had an abortion?

Yes. And what else?

Just how hard it was for her and how she made it worth by keeping it all inside.

She said it would be better for me to tell her and that if I did, she'd make

sure I could leave jail.

What else?

She just kept saying how, you know, she understood how I would want to make the

baby go away.

And...

How my life... I thought she'd help me.

She never said I'd be convicted of murder.

She never said that.

My first husband?

How is he relevant?

Well, we have to cover the old thing.

All your husbands were.

Years older. It's a question the jury will be asking, and I'd like to answer

It's not something I really want to get into on the witness stand in front of a

room full of reporters.

Well, get into it now, and I'll decide whether it's useful or not.

I, uh... began to develop when I was 11.

My older brother's friends were copping fields by the time I was 12.

When I was 15, college guys were hitting on me.

Even now, your colleague, Mr. Berluti.

And even you.

Have your thoughts.

Me? What have I done?

Get beside the point. The point is, I've been on my guard with men my whole

life.

The only man I ever felt safe with growing up was my dad.

So, I suppose on some level, my attraction to older men is

more about... I'm being drawn to the safety of...

I don't know.

I hope that you don't feel that I've been... You've been nothing but totally

professional.

But I know when a man's attracted to me.

Sometimes even before he does.

Your Honor, you didn't tell her? I don't want her prepared.

3 -2 -6 -2 -2, Commonwealth versus Jennifer Holbrook, murder in the first

degree.

Your Honor, both parties offer joint recommendation as discussed in

I'm sure Miss Holbrook... Actually, Your Honor, defense rescinds its agreement

on the plea and instead brings a motion to suppress Miss Holbrook's confession.

Eleanor. On what grounds?

My client's statement was a result of coercion. It was also obtained in

violation of her Fifth Amendment rights. What are you talking about? Miranda, my

client didn't understand. She was read her rights twice. And then she was

basically unread them, Helen. What?

What's going on here? Ms.

Gamble told my client that if she gave a statement, she would get to leave.

Basically, Your Honor, where Miranda says anything you say may be used

you, Ms. Gamble told her anything you say may be used to help you.

Miss Holbrook is 15 years old, still in the throes of a pretty big emotional

wallop, and she believes the promises that Miss Gamble made. Oh, come on.

Have you ever had an abortion?

She talked to my client about her very own abortion in order to get Jenny to

admit that she killed her unborn child. The only thing that matters for the

purpose of a confession is was the suspect read her rights and did she make

statement voluntarily.

She was. She did. And I contend she was confused in respect to her rights,

deliberately confused, and that the statement was not voluntary.

All right.

I'd like to see Ms. Harbrook and Chambers, please.

Excuse me?

Is there a problem with me asking a few questions, counsel?

Nice ambush, Eleanor. You know, don't talk to me about ambush, Helen. You used

me. I did no such thing. You figured I'd be less inclined to doubt your motives

and I don't like it. My motive was to help that girl. And what was it when you

went into that room to interrogate her? To get her statement. Having got a

confession, I did have compassion for her. That is why I came to you. I don't

know how in good conscience you can trick a 15 -year -old. Your client is a

murderer, Eleanor.

You're angry. I understand.

But don't appeal to me unconscious.

I was suspicious of her from the very beginning.

Why was that?

My father was in his 70s.

Frail. He wasn't what anybody would call attractive.

Nor was he at all charming.

And she falls in love with him?

Did your father ever talk to you about his relationship with the defendant?

Sometimes.

Specifically, what did he talk about?

Specifically, sex.

He said she was insatiable.

He once said that... Objection, hearsay. Did he ever seem upset when he spoke of

sex? Once he was very excited, yes.

What did he say then?

Objection. Excited utterance, exception to the hearsay rule. And he just

happened to use that word excited. This witness has been coached. I object to

that. All right.

Mr. Donald, your objection is overruled. Please sit. The witness may answer the

question. What did your father tell you, Mr. Hanson?

He said she would make love so physically sometimes.

It was violent.

Almost sadistic.

He wondered whether she was trying to give him a heart attack.

What else, sir?

He said she'd taunt him during sex.

Taunt him to go harder.

Like some weird psychological punishment.

I have nothing further, Your Honor.

Did she say, I'm going to put Viagra in his wine and then make love to him till

he suffers a coronary? Because that would be good testimony, Mr. Hanson.

you should have her say that.

Objection. Withdrawal.

Did your father feel his life was in danger?

Well, I think a little he did.

Did you take him seriously?

Yes. Did you notify the police, talk to my client, express your concern?

No. So you weren't concerned.

You took the danger seriously, but he didn't concern you.

What was I supposed to do? Go to the police and say...

Hey, I think my stepmother is trying to intercourse my father to death.

If you were concerned, yes.

Tell me, Mr. Hanson, if my client is convicted of murder and becomes

disqualified from the inheritance, who then takes under the will?

That would be me. That would be you. Do you think I'm sitting in this chair

today because of money?

That's exactly what I think. I think you're a liar.

Objection. I think your testimony was false.

Calculated. Objection. Are you lying to get your father's money? Counsel.

It's just a little too damn convenient for me. I'm sorry. My client is being

charged with murder for inducing a heart attack, and you get up here and say,

gee, my father told me he was afraid she'd give him a heart attack, when you

never said that to anybody before, Mr. Hanson. And you remember to add he was

excited when he said it to get around the hearsay rule.

Well, probably at the district attorney's coaching. Objection! It's

little too convenient. He's badgering. Damn right I am. I badger life. Mr.

Young, that's enough.

You said she makes love in a violent way.

That's what he said. What's violent to a 70 -year -old man? I don't know. Well,

did you ask?

Your father says violent. You don't follow that up and say, Dad, what do you

mean? I wish I had.

You said she talks.

She's sadistic.

She pathologically punishes him, and you don't even go to her and say what's

going on?

What kind of caring son are you?

Maybe I should have done that. Do you know what perjury is, Craig? Objection!

You're under oath here, Mr. Young!

I'm done.

And since... You know, she was an attorney.

I thought... I thought she would make it so I could leave.

But when you signed this statement... She said that if I told them exactly

happened, it would be better for me by not keeping stuff inside.

And I... She told you she had an abortion?

Yes. And how terrible it was for her that she kept stuff buried inside and...

You lied to me.

I trusted you and you lied to me. All right, Jenny.

The detective told you, did they not, that the things you said could be used

against you in a court of law?

Yes.

But then she came in and she's an attorney and she said they wouldn't be.

Jenny,

I think...

I'd like you to wait outside for a minute.

Keep her here, please.

Aren't we resourceful?

None of her civil rights were violated. Did you have an abortion?

No.

Tricks are used in interrogations all the time. This was a lie.

Lies, too.

There's nothing unconstitutional about lying to a suspect so long as they

understand their rights, which he did.

I disagree with that. She didn't understand her rights. Oh, come on.

can all try to get inside this girl's head, but that's not the way it goes.

We have constitutional do's and don'ts. We didn't commit any of the don'ts.

The statement is valid and admissible.

That's my decision.

I'm going to think about it.

We'll reconvene at 2 o 'clock.

May I say something?

You're all thinking about Jenny Holbrook.

I wasn't called in to talk to Jenny Holbrook.

I was brought down to question a murder suspect.

A suspect who killed a baby. A suspect who wouldn't talk to the police.

Now, the morality of how I tricked her has no relevance.

This isn't a moral arena. It is a legal one.

And everything I did was legal. And she has this backstory and a fragile

personality and an abusive mother. It all seems just so awful now.

Here's a flash.

Killers don't like to talk.

It's not easy getting these confessions.

Tag a bunch of moral strings now on top of the constitutional ones. We will

never get anybody.

He brought the Viagra.

Your husband did? Yes.

Did he say where he had gotten it?

No. And then you put it in the wine?

Yes. He had 50 milligrams, one pill, and while we were talking about the fact

that it was now being reported that women got benefits from taking it too,

more for a laugh than anything else, we ground up the pill and we sprinkled it

into our wine.

And then?

After dinner, we watched some television, then we went to bed, and we

And the effects of the Viagra.

Well, it definitely works.

And at some point... Jerry grabbed his chest.

He was having a heart attack.

I called 911, performed CPR, but by the time the paramedics got there, he

was gone.

There's been testimony that you were extremely physical.

And that you taunted... That's completely false. Craig Hansen was

His father never said those things to him. Our lovemaking was never very

physical. It was certainly not violent.

My husband had a heart condition, and we were always mindful of it. Both of us.

You say your husband brought the Viagra?

That's right.

Did you ever get Viagra from your doctor?

No. Ever talk to her about the virtues of Viagra for women?

Well, yes, we had discussed that.

Okay. I have nothing further, Your Honor.

Counsel.

The witness may step down.

Mr. Donald.

The defense rests, Your Honor. The Commonwealth calls one rebuttal witness,

Gail Parent.

Who is it?

She's my doctor.

Defense objects, Your Honor. Sidebar.

This is my client's own doctor.

What's your offer of proof?

She's prepared to testify she gave the defendant Viagra samples two days before

Jerry Hansen died.

It's... Privileged doctor, patient relationship. She waived privilege. She

opened the door. How? During her testimony. She had the right to assert

privilege. She didn't. She talked about her doctor when I asked her. That is so

bogus. You can't selectively assert privilege, Your Honor. The woman did

questions about things she discussed with her physician.

I'm going to allow it. You've got to be kidding me.

She opened the door.

I knew we were missing something.

That was their ace.

You got the Viagra from your own doctor?

I was afraid of how it would look if... People would think that I secretly put

it in his wine.

Did you?

No. It happened exactly as I said. It didn't happen as you said.

You got the Viagra and now they caught you in a lie.

Our whole case was your testimony, your credibility, and now it's shot.

Don't yell at me. You lied to us, Courtney.

I didn't kill him. We were making love.

I didn't kill him. Well, that's how it looks.

After your doctor testifies, you have to get back up there and explain to the

jury why you lied.

And I hope you're good.

I was just so afraid of how it would look.

Everybody thinks that I killed my last husband. I was afraid if they knew that

was the one who procured the Viagra...

So you lied.

Yes.

But we both agreed to put it into the wine.

Courtney, why should the jury believe you now?

I don't have an answer to that.

Why should anybody believe that I could fall in love with an older man? But I

did.

I did.

Let's talk about that.

You've fallen in love with three older men.

For whatever reason, I've found safety in older men.

They're not as predatory, I suppose.

I was telling Mr. Donald that it probably goes to the safety that I found

my own father.

You felt safe with your dad?

Your dad died serving time in Carteret Prison in New Jersey, didn't he?

He was convicted of raping you when you were nine years old.

He was wrongly convicted.

It never happened.

Your mother and your sister walked in on it.

Mrs. Hanson, it never happened.

Your Honor, could I have time to confer with my client?

No, you may not.

You don't find safety with these older men, do you, Mrs. Hanson? You find your

anger, your hatred.

He was wrongly convicted.

It never happened.

So, Courtney, any other surprises?

Never happened.

Be seated.

Well, Miss Gamble, you're completely right. There is nothing illegal or

unconscious. about deceiving suspects into giving statements. It's done all

time. But still, I can't help but think that somehow we've lost our way.

The whole point of our constitutional safeguards is to protect the suspects

against police misconduct.

Maybe you wanted the letter of the law here, but the spirit of it took a

beating.

The defense counsel's argument that a Mirandized suspect was in effect de

-Mirandized is a valid one.

She's 15.

By the time you got through with her, she believed she'd help herself by

talking. It doesn't make sense that you can read somebody her rights so she'll

understand, only then to deliberately confuse her and smile with a

constitutional wink.

It would seem that the players in our system could at least act in good.

But as a judge, I'm bound by precedent, and trickery still

survives any constitutional challenge.

I suppose Ms. Gamble said it best.

This is a legal arena, not a moral one.

The statement is allowed.

We'll conference next Tuesday at 9 o 'clock to set a trial date.

adjourned.

Well, there's certainly been a few surprises here today.

And watching Courtney Hanson on the stand, maybe she's got some denial

about what happened to her as a child.

Maybe it didn't really happen.

Obviously, the prosecution wants you to believe that she's acting out her anger

against these older men she married. It's a theory.

But at the end of the day, that's all they have.

Suspicion, jealousy, innuendo, theory.

There is no evidence to establish that you purposely caused Jerry Hansen to

a heart attack.

Suspicion? Yes.

But evidence?

What is it?

Jerry Hansen told his son he was afraid the

way she pushed him during intercourse.

And yes, we can consider the way her previous husband died because it's a

pattern.

Rich old men, death, she inherits.

If his father said he felt danger, why did this loving son do nothing?

If she gets convicted, he inherits everything.

Why is this loving son suddenly making noise as the will goes to probate?

She ground up that Viagra so he wouldn't detect it. Come on.

A man with a weak heart, two bypasses, she has intercourse for over an hour?

If that... isn't reckless disregard, then what is?

A man with a weak heart, prone to pushing too hard, has a coronary.

charging murder.

That's out there to begin with. To prove it, you better have some pretty strong

evidence. They don't have any.

They're asking you to convict with suspicion.

Why did she lie?

If she's innocent, why didn't she just take that stand and tell us the truth?

But she didn't do that, did she? She lied.

Afraid you might get the right idea.

Murder, too?

Chance of parole.

If you get convicted of first degree, you go away forever.

Do you think I'll be convicted?

Strictly on the evidence, you shouldn't be, but I'm not so sure the jury won't

look beyond the evidence.

The insulin OD of your last husband, that'll hurt.

You lying on the stand.

I didn't do it.

26 minutes.

They have a verdict?

What does that mean?

In this case, I have no idea. They could have easily said no evidence, or they

could have just quickly concluded that you're guilty. I have no idea.

Well, if we're going to take the deal... Courtney...

It's your call.

I'll take my chances.

Courtney, the jury's not looking over.

on the table.

I hate to rush you.

Okay.

Your Honor.

We've reached a plea.

Murder in the second degree. It's too late. The jury's returned its verdict.

It's not too late. The verdict hasn't been entered. We are about to enter it,

Captain. It's not entered. We have a right to reach a plea.

I'll file an interlocutory appeal. We'll go upstairs and we'll argue it.

You really want to do this? We're fine with it. It'll spare us an appeal.

I don't like these last -minute stunts, Mr. Donald. It's not a stunt.

It's a legitimate plea agreement.

Mrs. Hanson.

Do you agree to plead guilty to murder in the second degree?

I do, Your Honor.

So entered.

Members of the jury, thank you for your service. This matter is adjourned.

Sentencing, 2 o 'clock Friday.

Mr. Donald, I'm not big on passing notes in class, but you can keep this.

I think we did the right thing.

I'll be in. We need... We need to talk before sentencing.

I think we did the right thing.