22x18 - Collateral Damage

[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.

Hi, this is Jenny. Leave a message.

Hi, Mom.

Sorry I haven't been

in touch for a while.

Things have been a little

crazy lately with classes

and work at the coffee shop.

I miss you.

Let's get together soon.

Maybe dinner at the

Jupiter or something?

- I love you.

- [DOOR CREAKS OPEN]

Okay. I gotta go.

- Tell Dad I love him too.

- [DOOR SLAMS]

Bye.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

I'm really not feeling well.

Restaurant worker found

her in the dumpster.

Body's been rolled up in that rug.

- Any ID?

- No wallet. No phone, either.

Approximate age?

17 or 18. Your guess is as good as mine.

Time of death?

MLI said she's been dead at least a day.

Probably been here a few hours.

Cause of death?

- No obvious signs of trauma.

- [GROANS]

♪

What is that?

Looks like a brand.

Lone star?

What is that, Texas?

No, no, no. Lodestar.

Means inspiration or a guiding

light for a ship at night.

What the hell guided her here?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

Young lady at the end.

What did she die of?

She d*ed of septic shock.

The wound from the

branding got infected.

It was festering for a couple of weeks.

And she never got any medical treatment.

Probably because of this.

- Ligature marks.

- Mm-hmm.

So she was being held against her will.

Meanwhile, the infection spread.

Sepsis caused tissue damage

and ultimately, organ failure.

Any estimate on her age?

The forensic odontologist

put her in her early 20s.

She seemed a hell of a

lot younger than that.

Malnutrition will do that.

She probably comes from money.

Has expensive dental work.

So nobody in Missing Persons

matches her description.

Facial rec was a bust.

And the branding design

didn't turn up in any database.

- You run her prints?

- Not in the system.

Only thing I found

was this in her pocket.

It's got a logo to a music store.

Sharp Sounds Music.

That's Ava. What the

hell happened to her?

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

She d*ed of an infection.

- An infection?

- Was she in here recently?

It's been a couple months.

She was super sweet and really nice.

We're trying to identify her.

Maybe you know her last name?

I'm sorry.

What about a receipt?

Maybe she bought something.

No, I gave her a couple guitar picks.

I gave her a harmonica too.

I kind of felt sorry for her.

Why is that?

She seemed lost.

She used to stop by the

store every now and then,

you know, ask to play

some of the guitars.

I loved listening to her.

You know, she was really talented.

She ever come in here with anybody?

Uh, yeah, a dude.

Oh, yeah? What'd he look like?

Early 20s, dreadlocks.

Don't suppose you know

where we can find him.

Yeah, sometimes he busks at that park

a couple blocks south of here.

Name's Ken something.

- Thanks.

- Thank you.

[MELLOW ACOUSTIC MUSIC]

Excuse me.

Excuse me, Ken.

Ken, we need a word.

It's primetime right now, man.

Can this wait?

Unfortunately, it can't.

Ava and I met senior year at Tufts.

We both wanted to be musicians.

We moved in together

right after graduation.

A few months ago, she

started hanging out

with a new group of friends,

said she was looking to

deepen her creative forces.

Kicked me to the curb.

That make you mad?

Bummed me out, but I didn't k*ll her.

I loved her.

We wanna get in touch with her parents.

You know her last name?

Newhall.

They live on the Upper East Side.

When was the last time you saw her?

We were supposed to meet up at a bar

in Red Hook five days ago.

I wanted to apologize for some things.

She stood you up?

Someone said they saw her

outside the bar running away.

I went to go check,

but she wasn't there,

so I figured she changed

her mind about meeting me.

We need the name of the bar.

Sorry, guys. We're not open yet.

Come back in an hour.

NYPD.

You the manager?

I'm the owner. How can I help?

You seen this girl around here before?

Doesn't look familiar.

- What about this guy?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He comes in from time to time.

Did he do something?

We're not sure.

How long these cameras store video?

About a week.

Love to see the footage.

Sure.

Hey.

I tracked down the vic's parents.

Father is a Wall Street big sh*t.

The mother is a network news anchor.

Uh, Jenny Newhall?

Oh, my wife loves her.

Well, they're in Palm Beach,

but they're headed back to New York now.

Hey.

How are we doing with

that video from the bar?

Going through it now.

Ava's ex-boyfriend was definitely there.

- Yeah, does she ever show?

- Not exactly.

This is about a block from the bar.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

There's Ava.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey.

That's attempted kidnapping.

Who the hell is this guy?

Geez.

All right, find out who that guy was.

I'll run the plates.

♪

There's our car.

Donnie Preston.

NYPD.

What are you doing?

This is my car, my house.

Is there a problem?

g*n!

Hands above your head.

Touch the fence.

Keep your hands on the fence.

Do not move.

I didn't do nothing.

Yeah, well, you got a lot of firepower

- for a guy who didn't do nothing.

- They're legal.

What's this all about?

Attempted kidnapping, for starters.

♪

It's not what you think.

I wasn't gonna hurt her.

No, you were just gonna

drive her around the city,

maybe grab a cocktail

at the Polo Lounge,

and then drop her off safe

and sound at home, right?

Look, I know Ava's parents.

I'm the doorman in their building.

Her mother hired me, paid me 20 grand,

half upfront and the

other half upon delivery.

What do you mean delivery?

I was supposed to bring the kid home.

Come on, bro.

You're trying to make us believe

that Ava's parents

hired you to kidnap her?

No. I was trying to save her.

- From what?

- I don't know. I didn't ask.

I got bills to pay

just like everyone else.

- [KNOCK AT DOOR]

- Yeah.

Ava's parents are here.

Sit tight.

She sent us a strange voicemail

a couple of days ago.

We tried calling, but

she never picked up.

This is exactly what we

were trying to prevent.

It's why we hired Donnie.

Was your daughter in

some kind of trouble?

Yes, she was.

She'd apparently joined

some sort of cult.

She went to a meeting, a group dedicated

to unlocking their creativity

or something like that.

Ava had been depressed, uninspired.

Anyway, she seemed

really excited about it,

- so we were supportive.

- At first.

But then it started to spiral.

Was she living with anyone at this cult?

I think so.

She pretty much cut

off all contact with us.

Except when she wanted money.

These people tried to bleed her dry.

They emptied her bank

accounts and then started

taking from her trust fund.

Thank God my lawyer called me.

We put a freeze on the account.

So you cut her off?

I had to.

How did she take that?

She just kept repeating this mantra.

"I'm not a victim. Lodestar is my guide.

I will manifest my future."

It's like she wasn't herself anymore.

We just we couldn't

connect with her, the

the real her.

So you hired your

doorman to bring her home?

I assume that means you

know where she was living.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Sisters, these detectives

just told me we lost Ava.

- [GASPS]

- Oh, no.

I don't understand what happened.

Ava was on a righteous

path. She was a warrior.

I'm sure she was, but unfortunately,

that's not how we found her.

When was the last time

any of you saw Ava?

I haven't seen her in a few days.

Me, either.

I went to her room this morning.

I was gonna give her a cup of mint tea,

but she wasn't there.

I saw her two nights ago.

I think she was going

to watch some bands.

She didn't look like she was

going out to listen to music.

She was still in her pajamas.

She wasn't even wearing shoes.

What exactly goes on in this house?

We're just a community of women

dedicated to creativity

and self-actualization.

Oh. Who's in charge?

We're all in charge,

yet at the same time,

we're all subordinate.

So let me get this straight.

Ava d*ed from an infection

that was spreading for

days, maybe even weeks.

She was rolled up in a carpet

and tossed into a dumpster.

Nobody here noticed

anything out of the ordinary.

♪

And no one can tell me

what happened to her.

You look familiar to me.

How do I know you?

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Why don't you grab your

coat and step outside?

Let's go.

♪

Sorry for your loss.

You really found Ava in the dumpster?

- What's your name?

- Sienna Barton.

I recognized that hand signal.

You were asking for help, right?

I have a daughter about your age.

She learned it on social media.

- I need to talk to my parents.

- Sure.

I'll get you a phone. Come here.

Hold on. You're safe with us.

No one's gonna hurt you.

It's okay. It's okay.

Just take a breath.

You know your friend

Ava was sick, right?

She had a brand that got infected.

You know anything about that?

I don't wanna talk about all this.

I need to call my parents.

Then why don't we

call them from the car?

It's probably safer.

Is that okay?

♪

Ava and I worked in

the same coffee shop.

She said she was feeling kind of stuck,

so I told her about

this group, Lodestar.

I thought we could help.

Was she being held against her will?

No. We were all there voluntarily.

Can you explain the ligature marks?

On her wrists, she had these marks.

It looked like she was being restrained.

That's from the branding ceremony.

It kind of hurts, so

we tie everyone down.

When was she branded?

A couple of weeks ago.

That wound got infected.

That's what k*lled her.

Did you did you notice

her health was deteriorating?

She seemed okay, but I didn't really

see her much in the past few days.

Did somebody prevent

her from seeing a doctor?

Not exactly.

I'm sorry, but it's complicated.

You can tell us what you're afraid of.

I'm not a victim.

Lodestar is my guide. I

will manifest my future.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

We respect that, but a woman has d*ed.

You know that you

participated in an as*ault?

Sienna, sweetheart.

This is my daughter.

I wanna talk to her alone.

I think we should charge her.

With what?

as*ault, conspiracy, manslaughter.

She admitted she

participated in the branding.

No, I get it, but I just

I don't think that's enough.

We charge manslaughter when kids

drink themselves to death

at fraternity hazings.

Yeah, but that's not what happened here.

There's a time gap.

She had enough time to go to a doctor.

Maybe somebody didn't let her

because going to get medical treatment

would have drawn attention to the cult.

Okay. Fair enough.

So if you can find

evidence that the person

who branded Ava also prevented

her from going to the doctor

and then dumped her body,

we can charge that person with homicide.

Police. Open up.

Police.

We're executing a search warrant.

We need to enter the premises.

Step back, miss.

Please step back.

- Move into that room, please.

- Come on.

- Ladies, let's go.

- Hey, let's go. Come on.

I need everyone to

stop what they're doing

and move over to this room. Come on.

Move along. Have a seat.

Keep an eye on them.

Where's Ava's room?

It's over there at the end of the hall.

- Whose room is that?

- That's my room.

Please have a seat.

♪

I was just in Ava's bedroom.

Couldn't find a cell phone,

but I found a brand new carpet

with the price tag still on it.

I got a receipt for

an 8 by 10 foot carpet,

purchased this morning.

- Paid for by Jocelyn Davis.

- Get out of here.

So she replaced the carpet,

which shows consciousness of guilt.

Means we can prove Ava

was k*lled in her bedroom.

Also means we can prove

Jocelyn lied to us.

She said that Ava went to go see a band

and never came home.

There she is.

I got the branding iron.

Well, that's three

strikes against Jocelyn.

Jocelyn, could you

come over here, please?

We need a word.

You can't take control over me.

You can't break the circle.

These bonds, they're shatterproof.

You don't wanna interfere in an arrest.

We stand united.

Yeah, that's not how this works.

So you back off now,

or we're gonna do our own division.

Frank, let's try a different approach.

Jocelyn, you seem like a smart woman.

Come with us.

Okay, all of you listen to me closely.

We can do this the easy way,

or we can do this my partner's way.

Up to you.

♪

It's okay.

We haven't done anything wrong.

Put your hands behind your back.

You're under arrest for

the death of Ava Newhall.

This is a branding iron

we found in your bedroom.

Your fingerprints were

lifted from the handle.

Ava's DNA was found

on the Lodestar stamp.

Ava consented to the branding.

We both know consent is not a defense

to the infliction of

serious bodily injury.

And we found this

carpet in the dumpster.

It was used to hide and

transport Ava's dead body.

Crime lab technicians

recovered a few strands

of hair in the fibers.

Matches your client's DNA

strong evidence that she's the

one who disposed of the body.

Why did you throw her into a dumpster?

Why didn't you call her parents?

Why didn't you call 911?

Don't answer that.

From where I sit, you didn't

want her to get any help.

You didn't want the

doctors to see her branding.

You knew that would

expose you and your cult.

Who helped you carry the body?

'Cause there was no way

that you lugged her body

out of the loft by yourself.

Ava Newhall got sick from the branding.

We don't deny that.

But she was awake and alert

and able to move and

make her own decisions.

She could have called

the doctor or her parents.

Tough to do when you're tied down.

This is absurd.

There is no causal

connection between my client's

alleged actions and Ava's death.

Come on. We're getting out of here.

May I?

Charge her.

Charge her with what?

♪

The defendant is charged

with aggravated as*ault

and illegal disposal of a corpse.

Are the People seeking bail?

We're seeking 1 million cash.

$1 million?

At most she's facing

a few years probation.

Point taken.

Why should I impose bail, Ms. Maroun?

The defendant branded another woman

as part of an initiation into a cult.

The wound got infected

and Ava Newhall d*ed.

Then the defendant dumped

her dead body in the trash.

Your Honor, my client

has no criminal record.

She is not a flight risk.

The people are simply punishing her

for her unconventional lifestyle.

These are trumped up

charges that will go nowhere.

We're asking for personal.

The defendant is currently

under investigation for m*rder.

If the people wanna charge m*rder,

come back and I'll reconsider the bail.

Until then, I'm releasing

her on her own recognizance.

Can I go? Am I free?

Yes.

- Next case.

- [GAVEL BANGS]

What the hell happened in there?

It's only the arraignment.

We thought the judge would hold her.

Bail is only to assure

that she'll return.

I don't need a lecture from you on bail.

I know how the system works.

The woman who k*lled my daughter,

rolled her body up in a carpet,

and tossed her in a dumpster

gets to go home to her comfortable loft

while our daughter lies in a

coffin in Woodland Cemetery.

[GRUNTS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

No. No! Stop. It's okay.

Well, Jocelyn Davis just

waltzed out of the courtroom.

She's probably out buying a

new branding iron as we speak.

Don't you have her on

a couple of felonies?

Mm-hmm.

So chances are she'll end

up serving a year or two.

That's not enough. Not even close.

Do you have any evidence to

suggest that Jocelyn Davis

is responsible for the

death of this young woman?

No, but that doesn't mean

she's not responsible.

She's a cult leader, Nolan.

She recruits young, vulnerable women

fresh out of college

just trying to figure out

what to do with their lives, then

then she preys on them, controls them,

manipulates them, steals their money.

She's the reason a

22-year-old woman is dead.

Fair enough, but you're

just saying things.

There's no real

evidence to support this.

No. I know.

If you want me to

prosecute it as a homicide,

you need something concrete,

something that shows

that Jocelyn prevented Ava

from getting treatment for her wounds.

I tried, but none of

the women in the cult

are willing to cooperate.

Well, then work with Forensics.

See if you can find texts or voicemails

that show that Jocelyn

exercised control over Ava,

something that prevented her

from seeking medical attention.

I've done a deep dive

into Jocelyn's devices.

She didn't send any texts

or voicemails to Ava,

but I did find some disturbing videos.

This is Sienna Barton's.

Last year, I volunteered

at an emergency shelter

for abused women and children.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

I stole money from one of

the women who lived there.

$1,000, probably all the money

that she had in the world.

When she realized the money was missing,

I blamed somebody else,

and that person got fired,

and she was arrested.

But I'm not a victim.

I own what I did.

Still, if my family

[SIGHS] Or my friends find out

I'd want to k*ll myself.

I am so ashamed.

I share this confession

as an expression of trust

for my entry into Lodestar.

♪

That's why she didn't wanna cooperate.

She was afraid of being exposed.

Looks that way.

What about Ava? She

make any confessions?

Yeah. Check it out.

My mom is kind of famous.

She's the anchor on

"Evening in America."

She's she's having an affair

with one of the

political correspondents.

If my dad knew, he'd be heartbroken,

and she'd lose her job for sure.

But I trust you with this confession.

I am not a victim.

I am on a path to

creative enlightenment.

I am sharing this confession

as an expression of trust

for my entry into Lodestar.

[APPLAUSE]

The video confessions show

that Jocelyn had the power

to exert tremendous

pressure over these women

to get them to do whatever she wanted.

That's good news.

Once they gave over their confessions,

the women couldn't walk away.

They'd live in fear that their

secrets would be revealed.

Took away their free will.

And it explains why Ava

didn't seek medical treatment

for her infection. She felt threatened.

And she wanted to protect her mother.

That makes it a kidnapping.

Which is a felony.

Since Ava d*ed during the

course of that felony

It's a felony m*rder.

There's our homicide case.

We've elevated the

charges to felony m*rder.

Thank you.

And she's been rearrested

and held without bail.

You have no idea how

much we appreciate that.

We have to warn you.

It's gonna come at a cost.

What do you mean?

There are things that are

gonna come out at trial.

Things about Ava?

Things about the family.

We don't care. We just

want justice for Ava.

But what kind of things?

Ava shared some secrets with the group.

We don't have anything to hide.

Right, honey?

♪

She was a free spirit,

so smart and creative.

And she was a musician.

She played the guitar and she sang.

We wanted her to go to

graduate school at Berkeley.

She'd filled out the applications,

but, like most creatives,

she had her demons.

She was going through

a period of self-doubt.

Was it during this period

that she was introduced

to the defendant, Jocelyn Davis?

Yes.

She sucked the life out of

her, took away her autonomy,

imposed harmful and arbitrary rules.

So the defendant

exercised control over Ava?

Once, when I hadn't

seen Ava in a few weeks,

I begged her to meet me for lunch.

And were you able to

see your own daughter?

Ava said that she had

to check with Jocelyn.

And Jocelyn told her

that she needed to focus

on her creative enlightenment.

So the defendant

controlled Ava's movements.

She dictated who she could

and couldn't socialize with.

Objection.

Sustained.

Are you aware of a video confession

Ava made to the defendant?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I don't know how she found out, but

Ava knew that I was having

an affair with a colleague,

and she knew that if

it got out, my marriage

and my career would suffer tremendously.

♪

Was Ava protective of you?

Of your marriage or your career?

Very.

I believe that Ava went to her grave

in order to protect my secret.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

You can't prove that my

client used this information

to thr*aten your daughter, can you?

Objection Ms. Newhall

is simply a witness.

Not her burden to prove

or disprove anything.

Sustained.

You can't testify my client

prevented your daughter

from calling a doctor

or going to a hospital.

No, but one can infer.

Here, in a court of law, we

deal in facts and evidence,

not what one can infer.

Your Honor, I have nothing

further for this witness.

I move for a directed verdict.

Your Honor, the people

submit that there's

Hold it, Mr. Price.

I'll see all counsels in my chambers.

The people have no concrete proof

that my client committed a kidnapping.

There is nothing to

show that Ava Newhall

was being held against her will.

Mr. Price, is that true?

People are allowed to

present a circumstantial case.

That may be, but if you can't offer

a direct causal connection

between the defendant

and the victim's failure

to seek medical assistance,

I'm prepared to issue a directed verdict

and find Jocelyn Davis not

guilty as a matter of law.

That won't be necessary.

We have a witness who will

tie all the elements together

and establish that Ava

wasn't free to leave the loft

and seek medical help.

What are you talking about?

Or better yet, who

are you talking about?

Sienna Barton.

Sienna B no.

Not a chance in hell

she's gonna cooperate.

I told you before, I

don't want to testify.

Sienna has been through hell and back.

That is exactly why I need her.

She has to tell the jury

what she and Ava endured.

We know all the women in the cult

were required to share

embarrassing things

about their past.

We watched your video confession.

I know it feels like a huge deal.

You did something shameful

when you worked at a shelter,

but it's not the end of the world.

It is for me.

Can't you people just leave her alone?

Sienna's testimony is critical.

She can prove that Jocelyn

used the confessions

to thr*aten women into submission.

And more specifically,

it'll prove why Ava

was afraid to seek medical

help and ended up dead.

I want to help you, but

Sienna, like it or not,

you played a role in all this.

You held Ava down while she was branded.

What exactly are you saying?

She doesn't cooperate,

we will charge her

with several felonies.

as*ault, kidnapping, manslaughter.

Are you crazy?

She's the victim here.

She was brainwashed and branded.

Doesn't mean she didn't

commit a crime too.

She could spend a few years in prison.

I know that you have suffered

tremendous emotional and physical pain.

We wanna hold the person

who did this to you

and who k*lled Ava responsible.

And to do that, we need your help.

And if she cooperates?

We'll immunize her. We'll

treat her as a victim.

And she will go back home with you.

Be smart, Sienna.

Your future depends on it.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Did Jocelyn Davis prevent Ava

from getting medical

treatment for her wound?

Yes.

Did she render any aid herself?

She told me she put

bandages on the wound,

gave her painkillers.

Can you please tell the jury

how the defendant convinced

Ava to stay in her room?

Jocelyn threatened to

release her confession.

Ava was scared.

She wanted to get help, but

she felt like she had no choice.

Jocelyn Davis held all the confessions.

She made all the decisions.

She was in charge.

Yes. Well

not exactly.

Lodestar was really in charge.

Lodestar?

He's our supreme leader.

Lodestar is a person?

Yes.

We didn't meet him until

after we'd been branded,

after we gave our confessions.

Had Ava met him?

Not yet. She was going to.

Did Lodestar have

influence over Jocelyn?

He controlled all of

us, including Jocelyn.

He set the rules, told

us where we could go,

who we could socialize

with, what we could eat.

He, um, liked us to be thin.

- And the money?

- He kept our money.

What about the confessions?

Jocelyn sent them to him.

Anything else?

There was the sex.

♪

The real head of the cult

is this guy, Zach Elfont.

He gets Jocelyn Davis to control

and manipulate the women,

pressure them to donate

money to the cult,

but it's really a guise

for this Zach Elfont guy

to get rich and have

sex with young women.

Sounds like the NXIVM cult.

It's more like a sick copycat.

No one at NXIVM d*ed

from their branding.

Why are we just learning

about Elfont now?

His name never came up.

Members of the cult have

obviously been protecting him.

But he's the one calling the sh*ts?

Yes.

Jocelyn gives him the confessions,

and he uses them to coerce women

into doing whatever he wants.

So this whole thing is about

pleasing a sociopathic narcissist?

I wanna charge Elfont

with felony m*rder.

What's stopping you?

Sienna can't testify about

his involvement with Ava's death.

I can't prove that without Jocelyn.

Then try to flip Jocelyn.

We'd like your cooperation.

And in exchange?

We are prepared to offer full immunity,

dismiss all charges.

I can't.

I can't turn on Lodestar.

We just want you to tell the

truth about what happened.

The truth is, he's a great guy.

I'd be nothing without him.

I was a 16-year-old

punk when I met Lodestar.

16? Did he have sex

with you at that age?

That's not important.

You were a minor.

He exerted tremendous

influence over you.

Lodestar saved me.

I grew up with an abusive stepfather.

I ran away.

I started doing dr*gs, stealing.

And then I met him.

And he took advantage of you.

♪

I'm not a victim.

He taught me to stand up for myself,

and that's what I'm doing.

Don't you hear the irony?

He has trained you to believe

that you're not a victim.

And all the while, he's

been victimizing you.

You're facing life in

prison because of him.

Jocelyn, they are offering a fair deal.

Think about it. Protect yourself.

♪

We are going to get him

with or without you.

You'll never get

anywhere in your journey

until you stop complaining

about what the world owes you.

The world owes you nothing.

You have to stop acting like victims.

Excuse me, Lodestar.

- Can I help you?

- We'll see about that. NYPD.

Take your hands out of your pocket.

Put your hands behind your back.

Okay, hold on. What are you doing?

We're taking you on your

own journey to enlightenment.

[WOMEN ARGUING]

- He hasn't done anything.

- Stop!

He hasn't done anything wrong.

We've developed a strong homicide

case against you, Mr. Elfont.

Jocelyn called me from the jail.

She said you tried to pressure her.

She's not gonna testify against me.

We don't need her testimony.

Forensic analysis of your

phone shows that Jocelyn texted

Ava's confession to you.

I never asked her to

send me those things.

The woman has an unhealthy

obsession with me.

She was jealous of Ava.

Mm-hmm.

We also have GPS and surveillance video

of your car outside the

loft and near the dumpster

around the time that Ava d*ed.

Jocelyn borrowed my car all the time.

Bank records show that

Jocelyn sent you all the money

she collected from the women.

I run a business.

I help women who wanna

tap into their creativity.

Jocelyn worked for me.

She helped to collect tuition.

And oh, by the way, I

slept with some of them.

Nothing illegal about that.

All this stuff about

branding and confessions

and cults, it's insane.

I had nothing to do with it.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

Elfont has an answer for everything.

I need Jocelyn to refute the

false narrative he's created.

If you can't get her to cooperate

There's a good chance he skates.

Where are you with Jocelyn's trial?

It's winding down.

Are you going to get a conviction?

I believe I am.

Not exactly cause for despair.

Let's not forget she's responsible

for Ava Newhall's death.

Elfont was behind it all.

He met her when she was a teenager.

He groomed her for sex.

He manipulated her

into doing his bidding.

All you can do is offer her a fair deal.

The rest is up to her.

You're not her lawyer.

I must say, I was pleased to

receive your call last night.

Well, I was glad too.

Jocelyn and I have

done a lot of talking,

and she does see the importance

of protecting herself here.

That true?

You willing to testify against him?

Yes. Absolutely.

I want him to pay for

what he did to those girls.

And for what he did to me.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

I'm not a bad person, Mr. Price.

I swear.

I just

I lost my way.

Those things you said about

manifesting your future,

you're doing that

right here, right now.

So good for you.

♪

Sam.

Good news.

Jocelyn's lawyer managed

to talk sense into her.

She has agreed to cooperate.

It's too late.

- What do you mean?

- Elfont is dead.

He's dead?

Lodestar mouthed off to the wrong guy.

Someone b*at him to death in

his cell about an hour ago.

You're prepared to do your closing?

What, you want me to

pull Jocelyn's plea offer?

We don't need her testimony anymore.

That doesn't change the fact

that she's still a victim.

She was a victim.

At some point, she became a victimizer.

She recruited dozens

of unsuspecting women,

took their money, groomed

them for sex with this guy.

None of this would have

happened without Elfont.

She k*lled someone. She's

gotta answer to that.

Would we be having this conversation

if Jocelyn was a man?

♪

- I thought we had a deal.

- Circumstances changed.

But she was willing to cooperate.

It's not her fault that Elfont is dead.

We made her a fair offer.

She waited too long to accept.

You yourself admitted

that she was a victim.

You pleaded with me to

get her to cooperate.

Can we at least come to

some kind of a compromise?

We both know she doesn't deserve

to spend the rest of her life in prison.

I understand both parties

have reached an agreement.

My client would like to

change her plea to guilty.

Is that true, Ms. Davis?

Yes.

I just wanna say to the Newhall family,

I'm so sorry.

I really liked Ava.

I wish I had never gotten

involved in Lodestar,

that I'd never met Zach.

I used to think I was lucky to know him,

to be in his orbit,

but he used me.

He used all of us.

♪

Thank you, Ms. Davis.

I'll accept your plea

as knowing and voluntary.

Do the people move for sentencing?

- We do.

- What's your recommendation?

We have an agreed-upon recommendation

of 12 years in state prison.

The court hereby sentences you

to serve 12 years in

the state penitentiary.

[GAVEL BANGS]

We're adjourned.

♪

12 years.

If we give a free pass to everyone

who's ever been victimized,

we'll have to open the prison gates.

♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

[WOLF HOWLS]