All language subtitles for Murder.Chose.Me.S01E08.My.First.Homicide.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

Demery: there's nothing about
Murder that goes down easy.

Sometimes it's the blood
That gets to you.

Sometimes it's just
The look on their face,

Frozen in time forever.

That look of terror,
Or worse, surprise.

But honestly,
The hardest part isn't the who

Or even the how.

It's the why.

Getting to that,
Untying that knot...

That's the hard part.

Murder and me, we go way back.

When I was a child,
Murder took my mother.

Years later,
It came for my brother.

That's when I found
My mission in life.

Every case I worked, I solved.

Every case I solved,
I got a confession.

I'm detective rod demery.

I didn't choose murder.

Murder chose me.

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Mack:
It's early evening, 8:00.

Officer yarborough
Is patrol officer,

Riding his beat
And cruising down freewater.

Woman: hey! Hey!

[ siren wails ]

Help! Jesus!

Please! My boyfriend!
My boyfriend's inside!

-he's been shot!
-he's been shot!

Back up! Stay right here!
Don't move! Don't move!

Mack: there are so many things
That got through your mind --

Is this a suicide?
Is this a homicide?

Police!
Anybody in here? Police!

Crow: as officer yarborough
Made entry...

Police! Anybody in here?

Put your gun down now!

...He noticed on the couch

The figure of a black male
Laying on his back.

Put the gun down!

As he approached
And got closer to this figure...

Put your gun down!

[ television playing ]

...He saw what looked
To be brain matter

Sticking out of a gaping hole
On top of the man's head.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Call homicide.
We got a dead body right here.

3-0-3.

Send me a homicide
Detective this way, please.

Demery: I was 6 years old
When I saw my first dead body.

The man in the coffin

Was a friend
Of my grandfather's.

He was laying
Perfectly still,

Dressed in his sunday best,

Surrounded by flowers.

In that moment,
Death didn't seem so bad.

More like a nice, long nap.

A well-deserved vacation

From the hard work
Of living life.

[ sobbing ]

Only years later did I realize

That death isn't always
So peaceful.

[ liquid dripping ]

In 2001, I had just started
My homicide career.

I was pretty anxious

About catching
My first homicide,

For a couple
Of different reasons --

To see if I could do it,
For one.

The other, I don't know.

It was just
This burning curiosity

On how
The investigations worked.

-martin.
-yes?

We got a body
Down on freewater.

You need to get
Down there right now.

Uh, and take
The rookie with you.

Demery: the homicide was
Assigned to detective martin.

Being new,
I was assigned to him.

So it was kind of
Go along in the shadow

And kind of learn the job

And get some exposure
And experience.

So, when we get down there,
You just follow my lead.

-and you'll be fine, okay?
-all right.

Well, I'm parked over here.
I'll meet you there.

-you got it.
-all right.

When I went to homicide
And I found out

I was going to be
Working with martin,

I don't know that
I expected a lot from him.

He was not
A very passionate person --

Very by-the-book
And, you know, there's a rule

And there's a way
To do everything.

And, you know, I don't know
That I took to that very well,

Because I didn't think
Everything fit

The same set of circumstances.

[ police radio chatter ]

[ engine shuts off ]

So, I understand
We got a body.

-still here?
-yes, sir.

He's on the couch
In the living room.

He's a 45-year-old male
Named albert small.

Mack: officer yarborough tells
Him he lived in the house

And was not transported
To the hospital

Because, as we like
To say in the business,

He was d.R.T.,
Which means dead right there.

Do we know
How he was killed?

We got...The body.

It could be a suicide.

Jones: officers responding
To the scene

And who saw mr. Small
Lying basically

With his arms crossed
Across his chest

With his hands on a pistol

That could've been used
In the suicide.

Why don't I check the body

And you talk to the girls
Who found the deceased?

Will do.

My job was to just kind of talk

To the people
Who discovered the body.

-how you doing?
-hi, sir.

One was shaka ware, who was
The girlfriend of albert small.

She's a 25-year-old female,
Black.

The other was shaka's aunt.

How you guys doing?

All right, look, I know this
Has got to be really difficult,

But I need to ask you
A few questions, okay?

Yeah. Okay.

Could I get something
To drink first?

Sure. Can you get her
Something to drink?

Yes, sir.

Shaka, you talk
To this man.

How you doing?

Shaka was kind of sad,
Distraught.

She seemed to be in shock,
Actually.

When you encounter somebody
That's distraught,

Your main job
Is to try to reassure them

And calm them down
At least enough

To gather some information.

So, what can you tell me
About albert small?

How long
Have you known him?

I've known albert
For about four years.

I've been living here
For a while.

Okay.

I love him.

We took really good care
Of each other.

Ferrand:
She tells demery that albert

Is pretty popular
In the neighborhood.

He's a skilled mechanic,
So a lot of the people

In the neighborhood get help
From him with their cars,

And he's very generous.

Demery: shaka told me
That she got home at about 8:00,

After she had went
To the neighbor's house

And smoked a cigarette.

Well, I'm glad
You got to stop by.

She said her aunt
Shows up there.

They decide to go
To shaka's house.

Albert!

Baby, wake up.
Aunt erica's here.

Albert!
Why's your gun out?

Albert? God.
Albert?

They find albert laying on his
Back with a gun in his hand,

And she just assumed
That he shot himself.

Oh, my god!

Oh, my --
What did you do!

Oh!
Come on, come on.

We got to go.
Let's call on the way out.

[ sobbing ] I...

Why would he do something
Like this to himself?!

Shaka's telling me her story.

She's obviously becoming
More and more upset,

And part of that is
Because she's still
At the crime scene

And mr. Small's remains
Are still inside the home.

My thought at that point
Is that we need to get her

And any other witnesses
And remove them

From that environment
As quickly as possible.

I don't understand!

Hey.
Do me a favor, please.

Would you find her aunt and take
Them both down to the station

So I can get
A formal statement?

-yes, sir.
-go with him, okay?

I'm gonna go inside and take
A look and just -- thanks.

[ police radio chatter ]

This is my first case
As a homicide detective.

And though I know good and well
What I signed on for,

When I walk into the room
Where albert's body is...

...It hits hard.

-hey, detective.
-yeah.

Someone needs to speak
To you right now.

Sure.

How you doing?

Doing fine, man.
I need to talk to you.

Okay. You are?

I'm billy.
Al was a good friend of mine.

This guy explains to me
That he didn't believe

That mr. Small
Committed suicide.

Okay. How do you know
He didn't commit suicide?

I saw him today.

-what's going on, al?
-what's up, man?

He just actually
Paid off his house.

He paid off
Another property.

He would've never taken
Himself out like that, man.

The fact that wells
Was so concerned,

I was beginning to be
A little suspicious.

To think you're investigating
A suicide is a mistake.

All these cases should
Be investigated as homicides,

Because there's
No real telltale way

To find out, initially.

Okay. Thank you.

-it's bull.
-yeah, no, no. Thank you.

[ sighs ]

Hey. Excuse me.

Hey, detective,
What do you think?

Well, it looks
Pretty clear-cut to me.

We got a suicide here.

-really?
-yeah.

[ television playing ]

Demery: martin's theory was

That small had placed
A gun in his mouth...

[ gunshot ]

...And the top of the head
Is where the bullet exited,

But I was very skeptical
Of that.

-mind if I take a look?
-oh, sure. Go ahead.

[ indistinct conversation ]

Crow: you really couldn't tell
How this wound occurred.

If it was self-inflicted,

There would have to be
An entry wound somewhere else,

Possibly in the mouth...

Under his chin...

Someplace that you
Couldn't readily see

When you initially
Looked at the body.

-hey, detective?
-yeah.

He's still got
The gun in his hand.

Yeah?

Demery: the other thing is
I didn't believe

That someone could fire
A gun into their head

And perfectly put their arms

Back in a position of rest
Across their body.

Arms are gonna fall haphazardly,

And the firearm's
Gonna fall to the floor.

Anybody find the bullet?

Yeah, one casing on the floor,
But no projectile.

Demery: I'm listening
To some of the discussions

That are going on,

And I see that there's

A half-eaten plate of food
On the floor.

The thought that someone
Would be enjoying a plate

Or bowl of red beans and rice
And then say, you know,

"I'm gonna shoot myself
In the head,"

Just didn't make
A whole lot of sense to me.

Well, I've seen enough.

Let's call the coroner,
Get him over here,

And make the call.

Demery:
He can have his theory.

He can have his authority
And his rank,

But there was no way
I was gonna

Accept martin's theory
For what happened.

The trick was gonna be
Getting him to understand

And accept mine.

[ siren wails ]

Demery: I'm investigating
My very first homicide.

45-year-old albert small
Has been shot.

The lead detective has
Determined that it's a suicide.

I'm not willing to accept that,
And I believe it's a homicide.

Hey, detective.
Detective!

What?

Can I speak to you
For a minute outside, please?

Sure.

The problem is
That at this point

In my detective career,
I wasn't in a position

Where I could just tell people
What I thought and how I felt,

And being diplomatic

Is not something
That I'm skilled at.

What's the matter, demery?
First-case nerves gotten to you?

No, man.
You know what? Look --

Don't worry.
Coroner will be here.

We'll be out of here once
He signs off on the suicide.

Heck, you'll be home by dinner.
Don't worry.

So, my thought
At that point is

That the coroner's
Investigator's gonna come in,

And that person, I was certain,

Was gonna see it
The way I saw it.

Hello, detectives.

-hey.
-hey.

Demery:
So I waited for the coroner

To get there
And validate my suspicions.

Was a projectile found?

Found a .380 casing
But no bullet.

Interesting.

My guess is the bullet
Is still inside the head.

Any signs
Of an entry wound

On the temples
Or under the chin?

No that I can see, no.

But it is
A suicide, right?

It doesn't appear to be.

The coroner was unable
To find a wound

Beneath the chin or in the mouth

And determined that the wound
On top of the head

Was actually an entrance wound
Rather than an exit wound.

Someone shot him
In the top of the head.

I don't see
Any other way around it.

Well, now that
You mention it,

That's kind of what
I was thinking.

Martin reversed his theory
And tried to redeem himself.

And after the coroner
Validated my theory of homicide,

It kind of boosted
My confidence level,

And I felt like I could do this.

All right, demery,

Looks like we got
Ourselves a murder.

Yes, sir.

At that point,
Putting my trust in martin

And following his lead
Wasn't gonna happen.

That was my awakening.

Tell you what.
I'm gonna head out and see

If I can find
Some family members,

Maybe make this
Death notification.

Good idea.

-hey, detective.
-yeah?

I think mr. Small's sister
Is outside.

She lives around the corner.
Her name is esther foster.

She got wind something
Happened to her brother.

[ sighs ] All right.
I'll talk to her.

[ police radio chatter ]

Demery: the neighborhood
Was pretty close-knit,

And small's sister,

She knew before I did
That small had died.

But I did need to interview her

And try to gather whatever
Information I could.

Hey.
Detective demery.

Listen, they're saying
He committed suicide,

But my brother
Wouldn't do that.

Actually, we've determined
It wasn't a suicide.

Wait. So you're saying
Someone murdered him?

Who would do that
To him?

That's what we're
Trying to figure out.

At that point, I didn't have
Any reason to hide anything.

It was reported as a suicide,

But she had just as much
Trouble with the fact

That somebody would've
Wanted to kill him.

Can you tell me
If albert had any enemies

Or anybody
That was mad at him?

She didn't have any belief

That anybody
Would want to kill him.

He was helpful, friendly

To all the people
In the neighborhood.

Shaka -- she did struggle
From time to time.

-what do you mean by "Struggle"?
-drugs.

What foster did tell me

Was that shaka
Was a substance abuser.

She was a drug addict.

Shaka basically has a problem,
An addiction to cocaine.

And she hangs out
With a lot of shady people.

[ train whistle blows ]

Albert's death definitely
Could have been

A byproduct of shaka's drug use.

Crow: did she owe money
To a drug dealer?

Did she have a falling-out

For some reason
With a drug dealer

That, in order to get at her,

Got at the person
That she cared about?

All these things
Had to be looked at.

[ thunder rumbles ]

Anything else
You can tell me?

No, but albert's friend
Was out here earlier.

He said he knew something.

Okay, you know
Where he is now?

No, he's not out here
Anymore,

But I saw him talking to one of
Your cops up front earlier.

All right, well, look.
Thank you for your time.

And if I have any questions,
I'll be in contact.

-thank you.
-okay.

Demery:
After I talked to foster,

The first responding officer,
Yarborough,

Tells me the witness's name
Is bobby evans.

He said he was a friend
Of the victim.

And he did mention that he did
See something earlier today,

But the guy had to go,
But he did leave his address

If you want to talk
To him later.

Damn right.

I'm hoping that evans
Is gonna be able to tell me

Who would kill small,
But at that point,

I didn't really have any idea
What he was gonna say.

What I did know was
That I had to talk to him.

[ door opens ]

-come on in.
-thanks.

One of the officers said

You might have
Some information for me

Related to the death
Of albert small?

Yeah. Let me explain
What happened.

Earlier that day,
I was with a buddy of mine,

And we saw albert's car
Parked on the street.

I mean, I'll take all
The overtime he's gonna give me.

I know that's right.

-all right.
-hey. Look over there.

-hey, is that albert's car?
-that's albert's car.

Demery:
Evans explains to me

That he saw small's car
Earlier that day.

He approached the car,
And small wasn't in the car.

He said that shaka was
In the car with a younger man.

-what's she doing?
-I don't know.

Albert don't let nobody
Drive his car.

-not even shaka.
-then who's that?

I know one thing.
That ain't albert.

He was really suspicious
And really curious

As to how shaka had possession
Of this vehicle.

Now, you've got to
Understand, man.

Nobody,
And I mean nobody,

Drives that car
But albert.

-okay.
-that was his baby.

-mm-hmm.
-he didn't let anyone near it.

So I went over to shaka to
Find out what was going on.

Oh, hey.
How are you?

Where's albert?

Oh, he's sleeping.
You know him.

He know
You driving his car?

Yeah, he told me
I could use it.

-you like?
-oh, okay.

Evans didn't believe it.

To him,
That was very significant.

And afterwards,
We just left.

Okay. This guy.
You recognize him?

No, sir.

What'd he look like?

I don't know.
He was a dark-skinned dude.

Demery: evans explained
That he was small-framed,

Close in age to shaka,
Early 20's...

That he was wearing
A blue shirt and khakis.

Shaka introduce you
To him?

No. Not at all.

She didn't introduce us
Or anything.

That's what was so weird
About it, you know?

After speaking with evans,
I really want to find
Out who this guy is.

Something's obviously
Not right here.

I want to know why he's in a car
He's not supposed to be in.

He's important.
I need to find him.

[ siren wails ]

Demery: I'm working
My first homicide case,

Which was thought
To be a suicide.

Now we've confirmed
That it's a homicide.

We found that the victim's
Vehicle was being operated

By his girlfriend
And some unknown man.

We need to find out who he is.

There are more questions

That need to be answered
In this case,

So I'm gonna go talk to
Shaka's aunt, erica clark.

She was with shaka
When the body was discovered.

I'm hoping she can shed
A little light

On who the gentleman was
Inside the car with shaka.

-hey, erica.
-hey.

Detective demery.
We spoke last night.

Yeah.

Listen. I have
A few questions for you.

Okay.
This is so unbelievable.

I feel so bad for shaka.

Tell me this.

How did you and shaka
Come to find the body?

I mean, were you guys
Together the whole day?

No. She came by earlier,
But she didn't stay.

And she was driving
Albert's car,

Which I thought
Was strange.

-hey, auntie.
-hey.

Strange because albert never
Let her drive the car, right?

No, because wherever
One of them went,

They both went.

Mm. Tell me this.

Was albert --
I don't know --

Possessive or
Controlling of shaka?

You could say that, yeah.

But shaka didn't exactly

Give him reason
To trust her, either.

[ television playing ]

-where you going?
-I'm going for a run.

-I'll be back.
-going where?

To get some cigarettes.

No, you're not.
Not without me.

I have my own money, okay?
I don't need your --

-it's not --
-you're -- stop!

-don't grab me!
-I'm still going with you.

Man, whatever.

Demery: erica believed
That albert didn't have

A whole lot of trust in shaka.

He thought that
She was up to something

When he wasn't around,

So he was always
Suspicious of her.

Albert wasn't with her
When she came by.

Was anyone else
In the car?

No one else
Was in the car.

Even though erica told me
She didn't see anyone

In the car with shaka,

I gave her the description
Of the person

I'd heard that shaka had been
With earlier that day.

Erica didn't have any idea
Who that may have been.

What was she coming for?
You guys had plans?

She said
She wanted to talk.

I need to talk to you
About something important.

I don't have time,
Sweetie.

Please. I just need
Five minutes. Please.

I-I really can't.
I will talk to you later.

All right. All right.

Demery:
Shaka then leaves the house

And says she's going
To her uncle leroy's house.

Erica explains that
She doesn't see shaka again

Until later that evening
When the two of them

Go over and discover the body.

You see this stuff
All the time in movies,

But you never expect to find
A dead body in real life,

Especially
Somebody you know.

Trust me, I understand.

After I talk to erica,
I'm really concerned

There's something going on there
That's just not right.

Crow: you had to wonder,
Is this the type of relationship

That could become violent
Because of these trust issues?

Demery: albert's death
Could be drug-related.

It could be a
Domestic-violence situation.

Or both.

-hey, demery.
-hey.

You made any progress
On the albert small shooting?

Yeah. Actually, I was just
Getting ready to come find you

And give you an update.

So, here's what
We got so far.

Even though I've kind of
Taken off on this case

And started investigating
It the way I wanted to,

Martin is still
The lead investigator.

There are a lot of different
Avenues at this point.

So, the way I figure it
It's either gonna be drugs

Or maybe in a crime of passion,

But either way,
I'm gonna run albert and shaka

Through the system and see
If we've got a file on them.

Okay.
Keep me posted.

Will do.

When I run their names,

I'm hoping I might
Come across a little dirt,

Some minor brush with the law
That could lead me somewhere.

Instead, I discover
Something much bigger.

I find out
That earlier in the year,

Shaka had reported that
She was raped by albert small.

However, as I read
Through the reports,

I find out that the case
Eventually dissolved.

Ferrand:
At that time, investigators

Tried to follow up on that case,

And when they did,
Shaka wasn't cooperating

And was not giving them
Any more information.

Crow:
Nothing became of that case.

With an allegation of rape,

You start developing
A picture of someone

Who may have a motive
For mr. Small to be dead.

[ indistinct conversations ]

[ drawer opens, closes ]

Hey, demery.
Where you going?

-going to see shaka's uncle.
-mm-hmm.

Trying to get some
Additional information.

Now I think there may be
A history of domestic violence.

You want me
To go with you?

No, I think
I can handle this.

But if I have any questions,
I'll give you a call.

Tell you what --
I'll go ahead

And have her brought back in
For more questioning.

Okay. Thanks.

Demery: shaka's aunt,
Erica clark, had told me

That shaka was going
To her uncle leroy's house.

If there was
An abusive relationship

Or evidence of such,

Leroy might be able to give me
Some information on that.

[ rock music plays ]

-how you doing? Leroy?
-yeah.

I'm detective demery
With the shreveport p.D.

-how you doing?
-good. You all right?

Good.
I got a couple of questions

For you about
Albert and shaka.

Man, those two were
Like oil and water.

Two people couldn't
Be more different.

-mm-hmm.
-and the age difference.

I mean, he could've
Been her father. You
Know what I'm saying?

[ television playing ]

Crow: shaka's uncle
Thought that mr. Small

Might be taking advantage
Of someone much younger,

Putting her into
A type of relationship

Where he was being
Very controlling

As to who she saw,
Where she went.

And then there was other
Things he did to her.

Other things?
Like what?

[ sighs ] You know.
Getting rough with her.

Demery: leroy told me
That he actually knew

That shaka was the victim
Of domestic abuse

To the point where
He actually interjected

And got into it with small.

-what's up, leroy?
-you know what's up.

Where's shaka at?
I need to speak to her.

What you need to speak
To her about, man?

-shaka! Shaka!
-whoa, whoa, whoa.

Why you hollering
On my porch, man?

What gives you the right
To beat on her like that?

Man, what the hell
You talking about, man?

You put your hands
On her one more time...

-what's he talking about, shaka?
-I don't know.

-uncle, please.
-this is my woman.

Shaka, get your stuff.
Let's go.

Get out of here, man!

-please. Please.
-shaka.

-you need to go.
-bye.

So he had a real problem
With small.

He was well aware
Of small's abuse

And wasn't too keen on it.

And I had asked shaka, "What in
The hell you see in this guy?"

-mm-hmm.
-she'd just brush it off

Like it wasn't nothing.

It was hard as hell trying to
Talk some sense into that girl.

Demery: there are
A couple different reasons

Why people stay
In abusive relationships.

The obvious is out of fear.

The next thing is for resources.

In this case, when someone
Has a substance-abuse problem,

They can't get out
Because they have nowhere to go.

Listen.

A friend of albert's
Saw shaka driving around

In albert's car
With some young,

Dark-skinned brother,
Skinny.

Any idea
Who that might be?

Well, that could've
Been her ex-boyfriend.

When she left here, she said
She was going to see him.

You got a name
On that ex-boyfriend?

Uh, vernon.
Last name turner, I think.

Demery:
Now, at this point,

I'm wondering what type
Of relationship

Shaka has with vernon.

Have they gotten back together?

Is she trying to get
Somebody to help her

With her problem with small?

A person who feels like
They have no options

And they feel like their back
Is up against the wall

Are very dangerous.

Demery: I've witnessed
Hundreds of autopsies,

And believe me, it changes you.

Those bodies on the table
Were somebody's father,

Somebody's mother,
Somebody's child.

The empty eyes...

The colorless cheeks
That look like clay...

The lifeless silence.

I'm investigating the murder
Of 45-year-old albert small.

I found out that shaka ware,
His girlfriend,

Has been enduring an abusive
Relationship with small.

-how you doing?
-I'm good.

I'm looking for
Vernon turner.

-yeah, he's right over there.
-thank you.

Demery: so now I'm looking to
Find shaka's ex-boyfriend.

I want to find out what
He knows about the murder.

-vernon turner?
-yeah.

Detective demery with the
Shreveport police department.

Mind if I ask you a few
Questions about shaka ware?

I don't know
What to tell you.

We're not together anymore.
Me and shaka are still friendly,

But it's 'cause
I care about her.

And I worry about her
With that albert guy.

As I talk to vernon, he
Explains albert's relationship

With shaka in his opinion
Was abusive.

He wanted to see her safe.

When was the last time
You saw her?

Yesterday.

She was acting
All kinds of crazy.

Crazy how?

Nervous, jumpy.

And she said something
Stupid like

She hurt albert
Or something.

Shaka, what's
Going on with you?

[ breathing shakily ]

[ sobbing ] I did it.

I told you I would do it.

Yeah, sure you did,
Shaka.

She told him that
She'd killed albert.

Vernon didn't believe that.

Girl, you know
You ain't killed nobody.

What you talking about?

-of course, I killed him!
-well, good for you.

Vernon didn't believe her,
Kind of laughed it off,

And he said he even joked
About helping her hide the body.

I'm guessing
You haven't heard.

What's that?

That albert's dead.

Looking like shaka
Might be the one.

Shaka's crazy,
But she ain't no murderer.

Demery:
Vernon's opinion of shaka

Was that she would never
Do anything like that.

It's just not something
He's gonna accept.

He knows her too well.

Or at least he thought he did.

Where's shaka at now?
Can I talk to her?

No.
But I'm about to.

The fact that there was

Some other mysterious man
In the vehicle

And all these other things were
Totally dismissed at that point.

I think she killed albert small

Simply because
He was abusing her.

-hey.
-oh, hey.

-where's shaka?
-she's in the back.

One of our officers
Is taking care of her.

All right. Cool.
I'm gonna go talk to her.

Uh, what's up?
What's going on?

I tell martin everything
That I've learned thus far.

Martin clearly appreciates
The gesture,

But martin tells me that he's
Gonna lead the interrogation,

And my job
Is to sit and observe.

Demery, you've done
A great job at this one,

But there's a big difference

Between field work
And interrogation.

You better
Let me handle this.

Martin just simply wanted
To close the case.

Figuring out the case
And developing a theory

Was something that had
Already been done for him.

Okay. Would you bring shaka ware
Down into interrogation?

And I'll talk to her
There.

Once I found out

That martin wanted to lead
The interrogation,

I determined that I was
Gonna go in with him

And let him do so, because,
One, I owed him that respect,

Because he was
A senior investigator,

And, two, I wanted
To see him fail at it.

Come on, demery.
You got to watch this.

I'll bet you learn
Something today.

[ door closes ]

Hello, shaka.
I'm detective martin.

I believe you've met
Detective demery at the house.

I knew enough,
Even as a rookie detective,

To know that
If you don't know exactly

What the moving parts are
In a murder investigation,

You can't interrogate anybody.

So my hope was that he'd go in,
At some point release the reins,

And let me go on
With the interrogation.

We pretty much know
What happened,

But I want you to tell me.

Demery:
I'm watching shaka.

She looked like she was
Totally frightened to death.

But I noticed that she had
Some bruising on her arms

And her legs,
And I'm pretty certain

That she got those
From albert.

After I left
My aunt and uncle's,

I went to the neighbor's
To smoke a cigarette.

Then I went home.

I found the body.
I figured he'd shot himself.

[ scoffs ]
You can cut the crap.

We both know
You shot him.

Demery: martin tried to
Confine her to a timeline

And tried to debunk
Any response that she had

By shooting it down.

That type of interrogation
Is a standard textbook thing.

The problem is,
That made her feel

Like she was being attacked.

I don't have all day.
Are you gonna come clean or not?

I already answered you.

Crow:
This is just not going well.

I mean, she's not
Coming off her story

That she had nothing
To do with it,

That she came home
And found him shot in the head,

And that's all
She knows about it.

Okay. If that's the way
You want to play it, so be it.

Demery: martin leaves,
But I stick around.

Now it's just me and shaka...

Staring at each other,
Not saying a word.

Although I had never done
An interview or an interrogation

In a murder investigation,

I was confident
That I could be successful,

So I figured
I'd take that opportunity

To find out what I could.

Hey.

I'm sorry about that.

How'd you get
Those bruises?

He was beating you,
Wasn't he?

And that's why
You shot him, right?

Demery: I'm looking at shaka.
She looks like a little kid.

And she looked at me and said,
"I knew you knew."

At that point, I realized

That she's gonna
Tell me the story.

♪♪

Demery: so, now I'm
In the office with shaka ware,

And when she told me that
She had killed albert small,

I was excited.

I can't believe
That I'm getting a confession

Off my first murder.

Shaka, I'm gonna have to read
You your rights again, okay?

Mack: an interview
With a murder suspect

Is a tall order
For a veteraninvestigator.

For a rookie investigator,
It's huge.

So, you kind of
Have to bring your way

Of communication to the table,

Which is something
Demery does like

He's been doing it 20 years.

Demery: listening to shaka, I'm
Beginning to get a better idea

Of her and albert's
Abusive relationship.

He used shaka's addiction
To control her.

Albert knew that if he didn't
Buy her crack cocaine,

She was gonna wander off

And she'd find somebody else
To buy it for her.

So it's how he kept her there.

Shaka explains that albert
Took her to get drugs.

When they got back to the house,
Albert demanded sex from her.

-baby, no, not right now.
-come on. Let's go.

Mack: he wanted to have sex,
And she turned him down,

Told him she didn't want to.

They began to argue.
He physically pushed her.

No! Aah!

And she stated
That he rapes her.

[ albert panting ]

Shaka tells me
That she is thinking

About her situation
And the relationship.

She doesn't want
To do it anymore.

She explained this.

She wanted to wait until
He got into a position

Where he was vulnerable.

Hey, shaka, fix me some of
That red beans and rice.

I'm hungry.

[ television playing ]

He asked her to make
Something for him to eat.

And she explained
That after he began to eat,

She waited for him
To fall asleep.

[ television playing ]

Man on tv:
And then, all of a sudden,

I just felt a bite
In my side...

She said that
After she had realized

What she'd done,
She had to stage a crime scene.

She leaves the house.
She goes to pick up her friend.

It's the young man
That everybody has described

In the vehicle.

She goes to the drug house,
Purchases drugs,

And she takes him back.

So he had no other role
In the story

Other than going with her
To get drugs.

Mack:
After that, she started going

To all these
Different people's houses,

And everybody seemed too busy

Or didn't want to believe
She killed him,

So she returns back to see

Whether or not
If he was really dead.

[ television playing ]

-shaka, it's auntie!
-auntie, what're you doing here?

I told you I was coming.
What?

What's going on, shaka?

What is albert doing
With that gun?

I don't know. I think he --
I think he shot himself.

Let's go.

We have to call for help.
Come on.

She said they went outside
To call the police,

And she flagged one down

And told the police officer
That small had shot himself.

It's wrong to take
Anyone's life,

But in a sense,
She was also a victim.

She had been through a lot
With this man,

And maybe she made cries
For help and didn't get heard,

And this was her way
Of finally being heard.

Demery: shaka was able to
Convince her attorney and others

That she acted
As a battered woman,

And they allowed her
To take a plea.

She was sentenced
To 10 years in prison.

Well, demery,
I got to hand it to you.

You really came through
On this.

Demery:
Martin was pleased.

To this day, he tells everybody
How well he trained me,

And I say, "Hey, thanks.

You know,
I appreciate your help."

1 for 1.
That's a hell of a start.

Thank you, sir.

Solving this case set the tone
For the next 15 years,

And I was very confident
In my abilities

As far as following my instincts

And feeling natural and
Comfortable in working homicide.

Gentlemen,
We just received word

Of a murder
On appaloosa street.

You think you can
Handle this one, demery?

-yes, sir.
-good. Then get going.

Demery:
I was a homicide detective.

There was no turning back.