01x07 - Ballona Creek

[bunniefuu]

In the criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

What do you have there,
Luis?

Just an old bike.

Why do they think
this is a trash can?

Trash can.

Hey, homes,
that's my bike.

Am I going to have to come down
there and get my bike back?

You going to be
all right down here, Don?

They're just fooling around.
No worries.

No worries.
See you later.

Excuse me. Sir,

there's something
in the water down here!

Where?
In the net!

DPW worker, Luis Valdez,
called it in.

Says he knows the guy,
name's Don Heller.

"Watershed Management."

There could be a City
vehicle somewhere upstream.

Call his job, get a plate
number, and get a BOLO out.

Body's been in
the water overnight.

Four or five s*ab wounds
to the torso.

Defensive wounds are
dominant on the right arm.

Attacker could be
a lefty.

You're the one that found
the body, Mr. Valdez?

A girl on the skates
was the first one

to see him from
the bike path.

And where'd she go?
Where'd she go?

Um, I turned around
and she was gone.

How'd you know Heller?

I see him here all the time.
Testing the water.

Yeah? Did you
see him yesterday?

Yesterday?

Ah, around 4:00 at
the creek near Centinela.

Notice anything unusual?

Anything unusual?

Some g*ng kids were yelling
stuff at us from the bridge.

One of them
threw a rock at him.

You think you'd
recognize any of them?

It was too far away.

I shouldn't have left Don
there by himself.

It's not your fault, sir.
Thank you.

My grandfather used to fish in
this creek when he was a kid.

Yeah? Now the kids hunt.

Don was always
home by 7:00.

I tried calling
him all night.

I called the hospitals.

I just can't believe...

Did he ever mention
any trouble at the creek?

No.

He was just
an engineer.

He was the
sweetest man.

Why would they
do this to him?

We'll have someone drive
you home now, Mrs. Heller.

Five s*ab wounds to the right
side of the chest and abdomen.

One edge of the Kn*fe was serrated.
m*rder w*apon turn up?

No. We don't even
have a crime scene yet.

He was probably stabbed upstream and
carried down toward the ocean overnight.

A witness saw bangers giving him
a hard time near Centinela.

Centinela's
no man's land.

Culver City Boys
to the east,

Venice 13
to the west.

About all they have
in common

is they like to go down to Ballona
Creek and drink and get high.

They found Heller's truck two miles
from Ballona Creek at Marco Place.

Venice 13 turf.

Ignition's popped.
We might get prints in here.

I got water samples
from the creek.

Date and location
on the stickers.

His last sample was taken
at Berryman Street

at 04:24 p.m.

Hey.

It's Heller's.
There's blood.

We got ourselves
a crime scene.

This isn't g*ng turf.

They must have dumped the truck
outside of Venice 13's front yard

just to throw us
off the scent.

Every few days Don
signed out a truck

and headed over to Ballona
Creek to take water samples.

Anything controversial
about his work?

Not unless you consider
clean water controversial.

Did Heller ever bust anybody
for dumping in the creek?

Oh, sure.

A couple of years ago there were
high levels of mercury in the water.

On his own time,
Don figured out this shop

that made neon signs
was dumping waste water.

He had the EPA
shut them down.

This is his car.

If you need anything,
just ask.

Thank you.

All right I got
searches on his GPS

for 5708 Western Avenue
three days ago.

The week before that,
3600 Leimert Boulevard.

South Central.
That's nowhere near Ballona Creek.

I wonder where he's
dipping his test tube.

Seen this guy around?

Thank you.

Strike three.

I don't know
about your pibil,

but I'm already starting to
regret this carne asada.

Cowboy up, amigo.

So this was your
first b*at, huh?

Yeah. Mostly dr*gs
and prostitutes

until the block was
torched during the riots.

I'm not seeing
why Heller was here.

Can't be for
the fine dining.

Some people like grease.

Maybe his wife can
tell us why he was here.

South Central?

I've lived here 15 years,
I've never even been.

Did Mr. Heller have any family
down there or colleague?

Maybe an old school friend?

No.

I can't imagine
what he was doing there.

People keep calling.

I guess they mean well.

Look at this.

He downloaded this
from the web.

Women m*rder*d in South Central.
This one is from 1987,

'89, '91, this one
is from 1990.

The victim, an unidentified
black female in her 20s

was found stabbed to death
in an alley behind...

Behind the 3600 block
of Leimert Boulevard.

One of the addresses
in Heller's GPS.

1989, Sherry Conlon, 18, found in the
alley behind West 57th and Denker,

multiple s*ab wounds.
She had a couple of dope busts.

1987, Milicent Taylor,

21, dumpster
behind 5309 Avalon

multiple s*ab wounds,
no record.

1990, Grace Bradshaw,
20, Halldale and 49th,

multiple s*ab wounds, priors
for dope and solicitation.

Four years, eight murders
and one MO.

All within a half mile
of Western and Slauson.

Yeah.

Most of the victims were
girls who ran the streets,

base heads, prostitutes...

And somebody's daughters.

I don't remember
any report back then

of a serial k*ller
working the area.

Who was the lead investigator?

Bob Reedy, Southwest Division,
caught four of the cases.

He retired 10 years ago.

I remember him.
We should reach out to him.

Does Compstat have any open cases
with a similar MO after '91?

No. If it's the same k*ller,
he stopped after '91.

Or he went to jail or the hospital
or took his act somewhere else.

Where was Heller?

Living in Glendale, single,
teaching at Pamona College.

He started working
for the city in 1997.

There's one more case from '91,
same MO but the victim survived.

Diana McDermott, she was left for dead
in an alley behind Hoover Street.

She gave a sketch
of her attacker.

Doesn't look much
like Heller.

Find her.

Give her an old
DMV photo of Heller.

We find out what Heller had
to do with these killings.

Maybe it tells us
who k*lled him.

I don't know.

It was so long ago.

I try...

I try not to dwell.

You know, he left me
with fourteen scars like this.

Everywhere.

I can't have children.

Never been on a date.

Miss McDermott, we
know how hard this is on you

but maybe if you tell
us what happened,

you'll remember his face.

I was 16.

I had a big fight
with my father

and I ran out of the house,

went down to the corner store

and got myself a
40 of malt liquor,

just to show how
grown up I was.

This man drives up and says,
"It's dangerous out here.

"Let me give you
a ride home."

Like a fool I get in.

He pulled into an alley

and he starts telling me
how pretty I was.

I was pretty.

I tried to get out of the car,
but he put a Kn*fe at my throat.

He got on top of me

and he pinned
my arms down.

He felt me up while he
was rubbing on himself.

He had my bra in his mouth
and he was sucking on it.

And I was praying
that he wouldn't k*ll me.

He got done with
his business

and then he pulled
me out of the car

and started stabbing me.

I don't remember
anything else.

Can you see him now
in your mind?

Yes.

I don't see him.

I'm sorry.
It's been a long time.

It'd be a good thing
if he was dead by now.

Time of death is
less than 24 hours.

Who found her?

Shop owner taking out
the garbage.

No ID on her.

So far I count
12 s*ab wounds.

What kind of Kn*fe?

Single edge, serrated.

Looks like someone's
come out of retirement.

Our working theory
is Heller suspected someone

he knew was involved
in the murders 20 years ago.

He started poking around, suspect
caught wind of it, took him out.

k*lling Heller might have been enough to
tickle the suspect's taste for blood,

put him back
on the hunt.

It's most likely it was somebody
Heller knew personally,

like a friend
or acquaintance.

We're drawing up a
list of males over 40

in his social and
professional orbits.

What about our Jane Doe?

No hit on her prints
and she doesn't match

any missing persons
report in the state.

Go wider. Put her
photo on the internet.

This guy's smart.

He knew enough not to leave a
calling card on the victim.

You can thank
the O.J. Trial.

Everybody got a primer
on DNA evidence.

This guy was
working before O.J.

and before the PD
was pulling DNA off victims.

Maybe we can use today's technology
on yesterday's evidence.

Negative for semen, negative for
blood other than the victim's.

This is a mess.
Lot of this stuff's just thrown in here,

no tags, no way to tell
what belongs to who.

Sylvia Watson.

One woman's shoe,
one pushup bra,

soda can. Another bra.

The girl who survived,
Diana McDermott,

she said her assailant
sucked on her bra.

Maybe we can pull
DNA off of that.

Even if we pull DNA off them, we
don't know what belongs to who.

A defense lawyer would
have a field day.

Sylvia was 19
when she was k*lled.

We lost her to dr*gs a
couple of years before that.

After all this time, why are
you asking about our girl?

We think we might have a lead
on the person who k*lled her.

Oh, my God.

First, we need you
to identify some clothing

Sylvia might have been
wearing when she was found.

Recognize either of these.

Yes.

The pretty pink one.

I bought it for her
at the Kmart on Crenshaw.

Who does that
other one belong to?

One of the other girls.

What other girls
are you talking about?

The other girls k*lled by the
man who k*lled your daughter.

The same man?

Well, how many
girls did he k*ll?

Nine that we know of
including one three days ago.

Nine?

No one told us there
were other girls.

No one told you there might be
a serial k*ller in your area?

No.

We thought Sylvia was k*lled
by one of her drug friends.

Nine girls.

Was Sylvia the first?

No, sir.

There were four others
before her.

Four?

And no one
said a word?

We're very sorry.

Unbelievable.

There was a wolf loose
and nobody told these people

to keep their girls
safe at home?

The good old days, huh?

Cheer up, retired Detective Bob
Reedy just walked into RHD.

Betty Basehead murders,
we call them.

Once we saw the pattern,
I caught all the cases.

You realized this was
the work of a single suspect?

Yeah. Based on
the geography and the MO.

Why not put the
word out, huh?

Give the locals a
chance to protect their own.

They didn't want
people to panic.

One tip might have
broken the case.

It wasn't my call.

Look, times were
different then.

Height of the cr*ck w*r,

ODs, cr*ck whores,
dealers, snitches.

We were drowning
in bodies.

After the King Riots,

the brass just pulled
us off the case.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Hey, nobody wanted to have
anything to do with cops.

He's still at it, huh?

Don't sweat it.

"Slauson Slasher."

Now he has a name.
All we need is a face.

The lab found trace DNA from
saliva on Sylvia Watson's bra.

But no matches to the state
databases or to CODIS.

So our suspect isn't in the database,
but maybe one of his relatives is.

You want to run a search
for familial DNA.

If one of his cousins was arrested,
their DNA will be in the database.

If we find the cousin,
maybe we find the suspect.

You'll need permission
from the Attorney General.

I'll get on it.

For an identical match to
the DNA sample from the bra,

I would need
ten pairs of alleles.

These peaks here.

But since we are looking for
close relatives of your suspect,

I set the search parameter
at eight pairs of alleles.

Congratulations. You have one hit.
Brandon Duffy.

Date of birth, 09-28-92.

He's 18. He'll be thrilled to hear
he's related to the Slauson Slasher.

Got it.

Brandon Duffy, convicted of
unlawful use of a vehicle in '08.

Joy-riding.
Sentenced to probation.

Let's go give him
the good news.

Kid's living large.

Yeah, that's what you get when
your dad's a successful architect.

You know,
the dad's 53.

Right in our suspect's
age range.

We could scam some of his DNA,
see if it matches our suspect.

Or we could just ask
for his cooperation.

Mr. Duffy,

sorry to bother you.
I'm Detective Winters.

This is Detective Jaruszalski.
Is there a problem?

No, no, we just need your
help in an investigation.

Some DNA found at a crime scene
partially matches your son's DNA

taken when he was arrested
a couple of years ago.

My son's a suspect?

No. He's not
in any trouble.

But we need to eliminate his male
relatives as potential suspects.

And how would you do that?

By taking a DNA swab.

We can do it right here.
Won't take but a few seconds.

You want my DNA?
Not a chance.

I'm calling my lawyer.

You stay away
from my son.

Your son smokes?

No. I do.

Thank you.

The lab pulled Mark Duffy's
DNA off his cigarettes,

but it's going to take at least a week
to run it for a match to our suspect.

Apart from his father, how many of the
son's other relatives fit the profile?

Four males on his dad's
side, two on his mother's.

None with priors.
All upstanding citizens.

Except cousin Bob who has a thing
for knives and young women.

Lieutenant.

Thanks.

Terrific. Duffy filed for a
restraining order against us

and he's got the ACLU
backing him up.

Mr. Duffy is not
the only family member

who's been harassed
by the police, Your Honor.

His brother's trash
was searched.

His brother-in-law's employer was
questioned as to his whereabouts.

The action was the result of a search
of databases for familial DNA,

which is why I'm here
on behalf of the ACLU.

This is a controversial new law
enforcement tool, Your Honor.

It, by definition,
targets innocent people.

It's a scientific fact that the
DNA found on one of the victims

is from an immediate male
relative of Brandon Duffy.

Must they all endure suspicion
and harassment by the police?

The police have the permission
of the Attorney General's office

to search familial DNA.

That doesn't immunize it
from my scrutiny.

I find the police conduct here
extremely disturbing.

What's disturbing,
Your Honor,

is the fact that a serial k*ller
has been out there for 20 years,

nine young women
have been k*lled already,

the police are finally
closing in on the suspect.

Nobody is stopping them,
Your Honor.

As long as they don't trample on
the rights of innocent people.

Mr. Dekker, I'm issuing
a restraining order

to stop all further testing
of the Duffy's DNA

and to stop any further
investigation or surveillance

of the members of the family
without probable cause.

An appeal
could take months.

By that time, the suspect
could completely disappear.

Counselor.

You need to see this.
She was found three hours ago,

same area as the others.

Miss Caffey, I want
to show you something.

I'm in a hurry.

Her name's LaTanya Weaver.
And she was found this morning,

near Slauson Avenue.

The next one's on you.

LaTanya was a senior
at Fremont High.

Average student, no history
of dr*gs or gangs.

Last seen Thursday night
walking home from a friend's.

I have a task force out canvassing her route home.
But so far, no leads.

Can we put any of Brandon Duffy's
relatives near the scene?

No. I had to pull
the surveillance

to comply with
the restraining order.

But we did find something
in the public records.

In 2004 Mark Duffy and his family
were granted an Order of Protection

from Maria Cordero, a 47-year-old
Latino living in Santa Ana.

Restraining orders,
orders of protection,

Mark Duffy's got
something to hide.

Mark Duffy?

No, my lawyer said
I can't talk about that.

That was six years ago.
Please, Mrs. Cordero,

we're investigating a m*rder.
Don't you want to help?

I don't know.

Mr. Duffy was very angry.

Why? What did you do?

I just wanted
to see Brandon.

Their son? Why?

I have a daughter,

Angela.

When she was 17,

one night somebody come into
her room through the window,

he r*ped her.

This was Brandon?

Oh, no, no, no.

This was almost
20 years ago.

We moved here
after my husband d*ed.

Angela got pregnant
from the r*pe

and we gave the baby to
an agency for adoption.

Brandon was the baby.

The Duffy's adopted him.

Yes.

Six years ago, Angela discovered
that she couldn't have children.

I was very sad.

I wanted to see
my grandson.

I found him.

But Mr. Duffy
wouldn't let me see him.

He didn't want Brandon
to know how he was born

from a r*pe.

So he got a judge

to keep me away.

Brandon's adopted, that takes Duffy
and his relatives off the hook.

Mrs. Cordero, we're going to need the
names of Angela's blood relatives.

The men, uncles, cousins.

Please,

I don't want any
more problems.

I'm sorry.

Now that the Duffys
are off the table,

we're looking for male relatives
of Brandon's biological parents.

His mom, Angela Cordero,

and his dad,
an unidentified r*pist.

The r*pe was never reported, there
was no investigation, no leads.

And the kid's grandmother
won't cooperate.

Anyone else listed at
Maria Cordero's address?

Just Angela. But before they
moved to Santa Ana in '91,

they lived in Los Angeles

at 5864 Cimarron Street.

Yeah. South Central.
That's the right neighborhood.

Anybody else listed
at that address?

There's...

There's an Eduardo Cordero,
d*ed 1991.

He must have been
Maria's husband.

That can't be our guy.

There's Luis Cordero,
three years younger.

Could have been his brother,
he'd be 54 now.

Where is he now?

Last known address
for him is '93.

Where is he working?

Last entry under his
social security is also 1993.

This is nice.

His last job. He was
a janitor at Rampart Division.

Luis Cordero?
Doesn't ring a bell.

Maybe if you
had a DMV photo.

He didn't have
a driver's license.

The city records says
he worked the day shift.

I remember a Latino guy
who cleaned the bathrooms.

His name might've been Luis.

He was really into the
scanners we had back then.

Listening to the radio calls.

We had a name for that guy,
Bunnyman.

Yeah, right.
Bunnyman, after the punk band.

Echo and the Bunnymen?
What's the connection?

Well, this guy had
some kind of verbal tick,

you know, a nervous thing where he'd repeat
the last thing you said like an echo.

How you doing,
Mr. Valdez?

Okay. Just working.

Any of those bangers
been bothering you?

Bothering me? Nah.

Everything's cool.

I like your
cleaning technique.

You ever work
as a custodian?

Custodian?

I like the fresh air.

Like the air around
Rampart Division?

Never worked there.

You know who did?
Luis Cordero.

You're going to pay
for this suit, Luis.

Get up.

Valdez is on medication.

Dutasteride. For
benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Enlarged prostate. I've got one
the size of a Long Island potato.

Ah.

I got a beveled hunting Kn*fe
with a serrated spine.

Looks nice and clean.

Bleach.

Bingo.

Trophy case.

The police found two bras
stained with blood

matched to the
latest two victims.

And a Kn*fe consistent
with that used

on all of the victims,
including Mr. Heller.

There are thousands of
such knives in the city.

And for all anyone knows, my client found
those bras discarded in Ballona Creek.

Your Honor, Mr. Valdez has worked
for the city for over 25 years,

he's not going anywhere now.

Mr. Valdez has mastered hiding
in plain sight, Your Honor.

After his first k*lling spree,
when he was known as Luis Cordero,

he took his mother's maiden name,
got a new Social Security number

and started a new life
as a DPW worker.

Remand without bail is the only
way to keep him in our sights.

Your Honor, in a city that is
rife with pop stars and actors

who have changed
their names...

Please, Mr. Solomon, is that
the best you can come up with?

Your client is remanded
without bail until trial.

Mr. Dekker.

Oh, Mr. Duffy, look, we won't be
bothering your family anymore.

You have to help us.
My son knows that he was adopted,

but we never told him
how he was conceived.

That's going to come
out during this man's trial,

how he's related
to Brandon, the r*pe.

I'm not sure
I can prevent that.

It'll scar Brandon
for the rest of his life.

That's why I stopped you
before from testing our DNA.

Mr. Dekker, can't you offer this
man some kind of a plea bargain

so there's no trial.

I'm very sorry, Mr. Duffy,

but I don't hog-trade
with a serial k*ller.

But then my son would
never have to know.

I don't know what
to tell you.

But I've got 11 m*rder
victims and their families.

I have to speak for them.

Brandon Duffy was a juvenile
when his DNA was taken

after his conviction
for joy-riding.

The law at the time stated

that the DNA could be
entered into the database

only when there was
an adult conviction.

Brandon was 15.

Fine. Let Brandon Duffy sue the
County Sheriff that took his DNA.

His parents
don't want money.

They want to preserve their son's
privacy and prevent the revelation

that their son is
a child of r*pe.

Say the boy's DNA was
in the system in error.

What does it have to do
with Mr. Valdez?

Your Honor, my client
only became a suspect

because the police found Brandon
Duffy's DNA in the database.

All the evidence that
the police have recovered

stems from that
tainted DNA match.

He's right, Mr. Dekker,

without that boy's DNA the police
would not have found Mr. Valdez,

or the Kn*fe
or the clothing.

Please don't tell me you're going
to dismiss our entire prosecution

because some clerk hit the
wrong key on his computer.

Facts are facts.

I'm dismissing the charges
and releasing Mr. Valdez.

Hold on, Your Honor.

We have a victim who survived
an att*ck by Mr. Valdez.

She may be able
to identify him.

Before you put this
maniac back on the street,

will you at least give us a
chance to put him in a lineup?

Mr. Dekker, you can
have your lineup.

Okay, Miss McDermott,
take your time

and tell us if you see
the man who stabbed you.

I don't know.
It was so long ago.

I'm sorry.

I can't be sure.

It's okay.

We'll get you
a ride home.

You're a free man, Luis.

I want two cars
on him 24l7.

Eleven m*rder cases
blown out of the water.

What the hell's
the ACLU thinking?

Forget that. Judge Ridgeway
just tossed all our evidence.

Time to start from scratch.

DNA from the bra
worn by Sylvia Watson.

Legally we have to pretend we
don't know whose DNA that is.

Right.

Unidentified DNA sitting in the
computer database waiting for a match.

The trick is getting Valdez's
DNA back in the system legally.

We can.

If he gets arrested,
he'll be swabbed,

his DNA will be run through
the database automatically.

If he gets arrested again.

We have to
make that happen.

We can't arrest him
on a pretext.

Valdez has to actually
do something.

Maybe he already has.

There's one victim here
who's been overlooked.

Luis is my brother-in-law,
Angela's uncle.

But we haven't seen him since
we moved to Santa Ana.

You and your husband shared a
house with him until then.

Why did you move out?

After my husband d*ed, I didn't
feel comfortable living with Luis.

Angela was young,
it wasn't proper.

Angela?

I want to talk to you about
the r*pe 18 years ago.

What if I don't want to?

I can't force you.

But I think
you can help us.

I think you can help us
with many cases.

We just moved
into this house.

I was in my new
bedroom, sleeping.

I was 17.

I woke up,

I was on my stomach.

This man was
on my back

raping me.

This man,

what did he look like?

I couldn't see.

He pushed my
face into my pillow.

I couldn't
even scream.

Did he say anything?

Maybe you
recognized his voice?

You did.

You did recognize
his voice.

Angela,

all these women he's k*lled.

You could stop him.

Tell him, Angela.

Tell him.

He whispered in my ear,

it was like I was under water,

but I could tell it was...

It was Uncle Luis.

What did he
say to you?

He said that if
I told my mother,

if I told the police,

he would k*ll me.

Angela refused to go
to the police.

So I took her to the doctor,

she was bleeding.

What are you going to do?

The r*pe happened
outside of our jurisdiction

so I need you to report it to
the police here in Santa Ana.

How can I say it's him
after all this time?

You let us
worry about that.

But I promise you,
you'll never have to face him.

You'll never
have to testify.

But I need you
to be strong now.

I need you to stand up
for yourself.

1992?

Look, I'm happy to put
a r*pist behind bars,

but it took her
18 years to report it?

She was 17 and the
r*pist was her uncle.

He threatened to k*ll her
if she reported it.

There are emergency room records
confirming vaginal injury.

A r*pe kit?

I don't know. You have nothing but
the girl's word two decades later.

It's a dead loser
before a jury.

Listen, Karen, this uncle,

he's the serial k*ller.

I'm sure you've
read about him.

The one where you just
lost all your evidence?

We'll get it back.

I just need you to
prosecute him on the r*pe.

There's more than enough evidence to
get past the preliminary hearing.

The victim's credible.

Nice of the City to put a
serial k*ller back on payroll.

Well, he's union
and no conviction. So...

Our tax dollars
hard at work.

Here comes the
Santa Ana Cavalry.

Freeze! Don't move!

Get down!

It's like watching
a cop movie.

Hmm.

Now all we have to do
is wait for Santa Ana

to put his DNA
in the database.

They finally ID'd
our Jane Doe.

Kelli Torneau, age 17,
no family.

She was born
in New Orleans.

Valdez's DNA just
hit the database.

Got him.

This is absurd, Your Honor.
You dismissed these m*rder cases last week.

Because the evidence then was
based on a match with DNA

that had been put in
the database in error.

Now the evidence
against Mr. Valdez

is based on his DNA that's been
properly put into the database

subsequent to his
arrest for r*pe.

An old r*pe case that Mr.
Dekker convinced Orange County

to use as a pretext
to arrest my client.

I did not r*pe my niece,
Your Honor.

And I did not k*ll nobody.

Quiet, Mr. Valdez.

This was no pretext arrest.

There was medical evidence
and an ID by the victim.

The r*pe happened
18 years ago.

Prosecution is barred
by the statute of limitations.

If defense counsel
had done his homework,

he'd know that there's no clock
for a sex crime against a minor

that went previously
unreported to the police.

The victim here was 17.

She's right, Mr. Solomon.

And since Prop 69 required
a DNA swab from Mr. Valdez

after his arrest for r*pe,

our m*rder cases no longer
go through a third party

or violate anyone's privacy.

He's got you there,
Mr. Solomon. But good.

I'm denying your motion
to dismiss.

All m*rder charges
will stand.

I'll see you folks at trial.

Even if you win at trial,

we'll have this tied up with
appeals for the next 10 years.

And with the ACLU on board,
we might have Prop 69

declared unconstitutional or that dubious
statute of limitations exception.

And the next time Mr.
Valdez walks out of here, it might be for good.

You do what
you got to do.

But I will be riding shotgun with the
Attorney General's office on the appeal.

Come on, Dekker,

a bird in the hand
must be worth something.

You're not hearing me,
Mr. Solomon.

This case is going to end when your
client receives a lethal injection

from the state of California.

Lethal injection?

Please. I'll stay in prison
for as long as you want.

All right, Dekker,

word on the street is that the death
penalty is not really your thing.

It's the law of this state
and I'm going to enforce it.

I was good when
I took those pills.

I never hurt nobody,

but Don Heller,

if he wasn't so nosey.

Nosey?

He found out that
I changed my name

and he asked me questions,
all the time questions.

And he just wouldn't
leave me alone.

And I...

But I'll take
those pills again.

And I'll be good again,
but please...

Don't just let them k*ll me.

If you can convince a jury
that you deserve mercy,

so be it.

But I'm going to show you the same
mercy you showed those women.

Twenty-three years ago,
a lone predator

began murdering young, black women
in South Central Los Angeles.

With a Kn*fe as sharp as
wolves' teeth,

he tore his victims to pieces.

Young women whose deaths
weren't covered on TV,

didn't make the front
page of newspapers.

Young women whose murders

weren't given their proper
due by the police.

With time, the evidence
was packed away in boxes,

the m*rder books
pushed to the back shelf,

the cases faded away.

The victims were forgotten,

by all except their families.

Until now.

We will prove

that this man
that sits before you,

Luis Valdez,

is one of the most
vicious serial K*llers

in the history of this city.

And today, everyone will know
the names of his victims.

Sherry Conlon.

Beverly Greene.

Sylvia Watson.

Milicent Taylor.

Marlena Treadway.

Grace Bradshaw.

Luanne Hicks.

Diana McDermott.

Don Heller.

Kelli Torneau.

LaTanya Weaver.

Finally,

they will all have
their day in court.