02x05 - The Trial

[bunniefuu]

Adelaide?

Not now, Wilfred.

Can't you see I'm on the warpath?

Lisa!

Not now, Dan.

Morning (!)

Ma'am, I Oh, erm

I should've knocked.

Don't mind me,

I'm, er, just on my way.

So, er, what is it that's so important

that made you feel compelled

to barge in here without knocking?

I wanted to let you know I am

interested in that promotion, Ma'am.

I figured if I didn't tell you

straightaway, then

I didn't want you to be in any doubt.

Are you sure about that?

I know you've got a lot going on at home.

Now, I want you to go into this

with your eyes wide open, Lisa.

It'll mean a lot more hours,

a lot more responsibility.

I know, Ma'am. And there will be

other opportunities.

You know, no-one will

think the less of you.

I will.

The proudest day of my life.

I'd never forgive myself if I let go

of this opportunity, Ma'am.

Glad to hear it.

You know, I think you have

real leadership potential, Lisa.

So, all I need now

is for you to give me your

written expression of your interest.

Of course.

Thank you, Ma'am.

Mm-hm.

Can I mention it to DS Winters?

Let's leave that for now

until we know it's confirmed.

I wish to know the meaning of this.

It is a letter from my therapist

inviting you to take part

in a joint session with me.

Don't be so literal, Jasper.

I can read as well as you can.

I demand to know why it has been sent.

Dr. Helena believes

that you can help me excavate

the root of my hostility towards women.

Your hostility towards me,

I think you mean.

Am I to conclude that you

are refusing to take part, Mother?

And give you another reason

to resent me? Heavens, no.

Ah, yes, a homework assignment.

Dr. Helena has suggested

that we come prepared with a list

of one another's personality traits.

Both positive

and negative.

Dear boy, if you're gonna go

mano a mano with me,

you'll need to come

better prepared than that.

Your full attention, please,

ladies and gentlemen,

with immediate effect.

At the risk of exposing

your ignorance of current affairs,

can anyone apprise us

of the significance of today's date?

It's my birthday.

Then you have the honour of sharing it

with the Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty,

the sadly underrated

Italian balladeer Sergio Endrigo

and the eminent criminologist

Robert D Keppel,

who helped identify the American

serial k*ller Ted Bundy.

And that is not the

observation I was hoping for.

Had you bothered to read

the Crown Court listings

as instructed, you would be aware

that the trial of Sean

Hallett begins today

not half a mile

from where I am standing.

On the March 9th last year,

officers were dispatched to the property

when a silent intruder alarm was

triggered at 18 minutes past nine.

Arriving at 9.34pm, they

encountered a vehicle on the drive,

later confirmed to belong to the defendant.

When the officers entered the building,

they came across the

victim's body, Vincent Soames.

He had suffered a single

g*nsh*t wound to the chest

and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The defendant, Sean Hallett,

was found standing

next to the victim's body.

He was arrested and taken into custody.

A hunting r*fle was found

in the immediate vicinity.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

you will hear expert

witnesses give evidence

that Vincent Soames was k*lled

with the r*fle found at the scene.

You'll be presented with forensics

linking the defendant to the m*rder weapon.

And you will also hear evidence from

a close associate of Sean Hallett's

that the weapon used to k*ll

Vincent Soames belonged to him.

You'll be asked to consider

a list of more than 50 items

recovered from Sean Hallett's

cottage in the wake of the m*rder.

It is the prosecution's contention

that these were stolen

from the Soames during

his nine years of employment

as groundsman and

odd-jobs man for their estate.

And lastly, you'll hear

from the victim's wife Hester

that her husband meant

to confront Sean Hallett

about her missing diamond engagement ring

on the very night he was m*rder*d.

Sounds like it'll be over before lunch.

A facetious observation, but

an understandable one nevertheless.

The Crown Prosecution Service

would not have opted

to initiate proceedings against Mr. Hallett

had they not been convinced

that the investigating officers

had put forward a case backed

by compelling evidence of his guilt.

But, as regular attendees of my lectures

will have understood by now,

evidence alone is not always sufficient

to determine the outcome

of an investigation.

It can be ambiguous,

circumstantial, contradictory.

Undue focus on one piece of evidence

can cause the investigating authorities

to overlook others that might lead

to a different view of the case.

I bring this trial to your attention

as a case study in the pitfalls

of a criminal investigation

that fails to marry evidence gathering

with psychological insight.

Indeed, the interpretation of evidence

without psychological understanding

is like the appreciation of music

without Johann Sebastian Bach.

Yes.

Why are we using this as a case study

if we don't know the outcome of the trial?

Because this m*rder predates my

consultancy with Cambridge Police,

and I wish it to be known

that I had nothing to do

with constructing the

case against Sean Hallett,

particularly when he is acquitted

of the m*rder of Vincent Soames,

as I believe he invariably will be.

Won't that be embarrassing, Professor?

For the police officers involved?

I cannot say.

That is not an emotional state

with which I'm familiar.

And as I was saying,

it is very important that all

the facts about the firearm

are laid out in detail for the jury.

What were you so desperate to speak

to the boss about this morning?

Nothing important.

but also who used it.

Could've fooled me.

In layman's terms,

Detective Inspector Rabbit,

the defendant fingerprints were

found all over the m*rder weapon.

That's correct. Fingerprints were

found on the stock and the barrel.

The examination report also indicated

an attempt to wipe the weapon

clean before we recovered it.

Thank you. No more questions.

Lock, stock and barrel,

Detective Inspector.

Perhaps you could explain

the different parts of the weapon

for the benefit of the jury.

The stock sits against

the shoulder when firing.

The barrel acts as a

That's self-explanatory.

But the lock?

It's an archaic term that basically

means the firing mechanism.

Including the trigger.

That's correct.

So, fingerprints

on the stock and the barrel,

but no mention of the lock,

Detective Inspector.

Does that mean that none

of the defendant's fingerprints

were found on or around the trigger?

That's correct.

As I said, the forensics found

were consistent with an attempt

to wipe the weapon clean.

Or maybe a better explanation

is that Sean Hallett never fired it.

One more thing, Detective Inspector.

Was any gunpowder residue found

on the defendant's hands or clothes?

The presence of gunpowder residue

is no longer considered to be

A simple yes or no will suffice.

No.

No more questions, Your Honour.

Maybe he washed his hands

before the police arrived.

A half-witted suggestion.

If he had time to wash his hands,

he surely also had time

to escape the scene.

Will that be Hallett's defence? That

they can't prove he fired the g*n?

We will have to wait and see,

but in his statement to police,

he was adamant that Mr. Soames' fatal injury

was sustained BEFORE he arrived.

What was even doing there

at ten o'clock at night?

Mr. Hallett claims he was summoned

by an urgent call from his employer.

Is there any way of verifying that?

His wife Anya cooks and

cleans for the Soames.

She has confirmed that she was

watching television with her husband

when the call was placed.

What about telephone records?

They confirm a call was made

from a landline owned by the Soames

to a mobile number registered

to Sean Hallett at 9.24pm.

That is six minutes after

the silent alarm was triggered.

Has Hallett said why Soames called?

He thought he'd heard noises in the cellar,

but the light bulb was gone.

He wanted me to change it

and maybe check things out.

Did Mr. Soames often ask you to do

things outside normal working hours?

There was no such thing as normal

working hours with the Soames.

They'd call at all hours, especially him.

Expect me and Annie to drop everything.

We didn't think we could say no.

It was made pretty clear

what the consequences would be.

How long did it take you

to drive to the main house

after receiving the call?

A few minutes.

Our cottage is by the east gate,

about half a mile as the crow flies.

Did you have keys to the main house?

No.

Just the sheds and outhouses, but

the kitchen door was

open, so I went in, and

and there he was.

Is there any chance it was a burglary?

There were no signs of

a break-in, no tyre tracks,

foot marks or unexpected fingerprints,

and nothing reported missing by

the Soames family in the aftermath.

Except for the aforementioned diamond ring.

Is his IQ below average, Professor?

No more so than many here today.

It just seems pretty

dumb to commit a m*rder

when you know a panic alarm

has been triggered.

'He wasn't aware it had been installed.'

So Soames did it without telling him.

After the ring went missing,

about ten days before the m*rder.

I should go back.

Support Rabbit.

Are you all right, Lis?

You seem a bit on edge. Out of sorts.

Have you been reading Cosmopolitan?

"17 signs you're dating

an emotionally intelligent person."

Ah, we're dating now, are we?

Nah, I thought you might be worried.

Worried?

About the professor.

No.

Brand vetoed his involvement

in any investigation

that predates his consultancy.

He's only seen a summary.

Still, it's not often we find

ourselves on opposing sides.

It's not our investigation, Dan.

We weren't involved in investigating it.

Who says we're on opposing sides?

Oi. Your bag.

Ooh!

What's this?

That's a surprise. For tonight.

Tonight? Oh, can we say tomorrow?

I've got a pile of paperwork. Yeah.

Yeah, me too. I'll see you later.

Hm. Simon?

Shh. Go back to sleep.

Hm.

What time is it?

Oh, it's still early.

It's just before six. Oh.

You're in early, Winters.

You too, boss.

Hoping to catch the worm?

No.

A word of advice, maybe. Oh.

Come on in.

How can I help?

Erm Yeah, I was hoping

you might be able to tell me

what I needed to do to be considered for,

erm, a-a promotion?

Well, you need to, er

need to be talking to DI Rabbit

about that in the first place.

I already have done, Ma'am.

Erm I don't think he took me seriously.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

That's not good.

You know, erm, passing

your inspectors' exam

is just the start of it.

You know that, don't you?

I'm aware.

There are a very small amount of vacancies

and a large number of potential candidates.

It's very competitive.

I guess what I'm asking is

if you'll support my candidacy,

er, should an appropriate vacancy arise?

I'd be delighted to

in due course.

There are a number of

people ahead of you in the queue.

Lisa, you mean?

I'm not at liberty

to discuss that with you.

OK. Thank you, Ma'am.

Winters? You're a good cop.

You're a very good cop.

You just need a bit more

experience, that's all,

just a few standout cases

to get you noticed

further up the food chain.

Thank you, Ma'am.

Go catch those worms. Yeah.

Day two, ladies and gentlemen, of

Regina versus Sean Arthur Hallett.

And the victim's wife Hester

will take the stand.

Mrs. Soames was not present in the house

on the night her husband was m*rder*d.

Her inclusion as a

witness for the prosecution

is intended to establish a motive

for m*rder in the minds of the jury.

She will tell the court

that her diamond

engagement ring went missing

on a day, no less, when

Mr. Hallett was in the main house,

polishing the parquet floors.

She will also testify that she

discussed with Mr. Soames,

on the very day he was m*rder*d,

his intention to confront his handyman

about the ring's disappearance.

However, in my not-so-humble opinion,

Mrs. Soames' testimony will raise

as many questions as it answers.

Would you call Sean

Hallett reliable, Mrs. Soames?

It depends on what you mean by "reliable".

Did he have regular

days off sick, for example?

Where's this going, Miss Finch?

Your Honour, I am seeking to establish

that my client was a model employee.

So much so that in nine years of service,

the only time off he took was

a single day of compassionate leave.

Very well.

Do you recall why compassionate

leave was granted, Mrs. Soames?

His wife, Anya

she was hospitalised.

And can you say why?

Your Honour, I have

Mrs. Hallett's permission

to tell the court that 18 months ago,

she suffered a stillbirth.

How would you characterise

the defendant's relationship

with your husband, Mrs. Soames?

I'm not sure I could.

Well, was it better than your own

relationship with him, for example?

Your Honour, I would like

to show the court Exhibit 6C.

For the record, the witness has been

given a copy of a police report

that details a complaint of common as*ault

filed by a Mrs. H Soames against

a Mr. V Soames in March last year.

You phoned the police to

complain about your husband

on three other occasions,

didn't you, Mrs. Soames?

We were happily married for 14 years.

Did your son Anthony know that

his stepfather was a violent bully?

Miss Finch.

Where were you on the night

that your husband was

m*rder*d, Mrs. Soames?

In Corby with my mother.

Her home help had the night off.

Your mother has Alzheimer's, I believe.

That's correct.

Which conveniently renders her

unable to support your alibi.

If Vincent was beating his wife,

then maybe she has a motive for m*rder?

And the son, too.

At this stage, and from this distance,

we have no way of knowing

whether Mrs. Soames

and Mr. Hazeldean are lying

or whether, like all of you,

they have simply reached an

opinion about Mr. Hallett's guilt,

or otherwise, and have

interpreted the facts of the case

with a degree of unconscious partiality

to support their instinctive prejudice.

What I can tell you with absolute certainty

is that opinions are the enemy of justice

and the curse of the modern world.

Professor?

Ah, my spy in the camp.

If Rabbit knew I was talking to

you, he'd have a conniption fit.

Can I help you with

something, Detective Sergeant?

I don't know, can you?

You could have easily sent this list

of stolen goods to me by email.

I surmise therefore that you have

something to say to me in person.

You wish to apologise

for not supporting more wholeheartedly

my efforts to persuade

DI Rabbit that Sean Hallett

is not the personality type

to m*rder over a material object.

I was going to tell you

I've been offered a promotion.

Hm. And yet, from your demeanour,

it does not appear to be

a source of unalloyed celebration.

Don't get me wrong, I want the job.

I just feel bad for Dan.

Hm. I have this idea

of how to make it up to him.

I just I don't know

how he's gonna react.

I require a taxi cab, Miss Snares,

with immediate effect, to Swaffham Priory.

Unless you care to give

me a lift, DS Donckers?

My treachery has its limits.

But mine certainly doesn't.

I've been known to borrow the

Dean's car when he's not looking.

Erm If he leaves the keys

in the glove compartment,

what does he expect?

That really won't be

necessary, Miss Snares.

You're doing me a favour.

Ten more minutes in this fusty backwater

and I'll die of boredom.

Or commit m*rder.

Come on!

So, what exactly is so urgent?

You will see.

And where exactly are we going?

You will see.

Are you sure you know what you're doing?

You'll see.

It might be better if you

wait here, Miss Snares.

Don't be ridiculous.

The detectives on TV shows,

they always work in pairs.

I'll be bad cop.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Hallett.

My name is Professor Jasper Tempest.

I am a consultant with Cambridge Police.

I wish to speak to you about your husband

and his potential conviction

for a m*rder he did not commit.

I've given a statement to the police.

May we come in?

The police have been so fixated

with the one item of real worth

that has not been recovered, Mrs. Hallett,

that they have failed to interrogate

the 50 or so essentially

worthless items that have.

And I quote, a pair of soup spoons,

a blown glass figurine,

a corkscrew with the

head of a mallard duck.

This is not the work

of a professional thief.

More likely the trivial

pickings of a kleptomaniac.

Kleptomania is associated

with depression, Mrs. Hallett.

The sort of depression

that might be triggered

by the hormonal changes

that take place during pregnancy

and which would only be exacerbated

by the tragic loss of a longed-for child.

I can only speculate that your

husband failed to tell the police

how these items came

to be in his possession

in a misguided attempt

to conceal something worse.

Much worse.

I want you to leave now.

Yes, of course.

Well, that wasn't especially illuminating.

On the contrary. The case is solved.

I hate that.

You hate what, Miss Snares?

That bit in every detective

show where the sleuth

says they got everything

they need to solve the crime

and you, the viewer,

are still utterly clueless.

Smug, I call it.

And I call it purely a matter

of gathering the necessary proof.

DS Donckers?

Most productive, thank you.

I wonder if I might

inveigle you to provide me

with a copy of the full case file

and the recordings of Sean Hallett's

interviews with DI Rabbit?

Oh, yes, and a mobile telephone

number for his legal representative.

Drive on.

Il primo amore sara per sempre

Il piu bello

Il primo amore sara per sempre

Il piu forte

All'orrizonte

Quando il cielo si oscura

Non ce ne accorgiamo

Il primo amore si vive ♪

Lisa?

Solo una volta

Il primo sguardo rimane

Dentro ai miei sogni ♪

Lisa?

Il primo sguardo rimane

Dentro al mio cuore

Nei nostri occhi

Tante tante promesse

Che un battito di ciglia

Puo dare abbastanza amore

Per l'eternita

Il primo bacio

Sara per sempre il piu dolce

Il primo bacio

Sara per sempre il piu vero

Quando dobbiamo lasciarci

Quando dobbiamo dirci "ciao"

"A domani"

Suona come un addio

Il primo amore si vive ♪

Lisa?

Lisa, are you in here?

What's What's going on?

Macaroons first and then the jelly beans.

I'm not hungry.

Oh, come on.

No, Lisa. I told you.

I'm I'm not hungry.

When were you gonna tell me?

Tell you what?

About this.

Ah

I wanted to, Dan. I was going to.

DCI Brand, she told me not to.

I feel like such a mug.

God, all that bollocks

about giving us the best chance

and putting in for a transfer,

you meant me, didn't you? Not you?

You said it yourself. You were

looking for a different job.

No, I said a second job.

Not a different one.

My old man's lost a bundle

on some property investment,

and he's lost his savings,

so I've been working my days off

to support him. Working days off?

Yeah. Like driving,

baby-sitting business people,

you know, that sort of thing.

Private security work.

Dan, we are not allowed

to do private security work.

Says who?

Says the regulations.

You know them so better than me?

It's basic. Everybody knows that.

Oh, Lisa, stop lecturing me.

You should know that!

You do this all the time.

Oh, that is so unfair.

Oh, I got it. I'm too stupid

for a promotion, aren't I?

And I'm too stupid for you.

Dan, I never said that.

Dan!

Your Honour, I asked the court's permission

to make a last-minute

addition to the witness list.

Why should I allow this, Miss Finch?

I believe this witness can offer

important insight for the jury

into my client's state

of mind, Your Honour

now that he's decided not to take

the stand in his own defence.

Professor, if I c

Professor, if I could ask you

to tell the court a little about yourself.

I hold a chair at the

Institute of Criminology

and also act as a consultant

for Cambridge Police.

Although you have had no

involvement in investigating this case,

is that correct?

That is correct.

I have, however, more

than 25 years' experience

of applying Eysenck's PEN model

to diagnose criminal personality

using three broad behavioural traits:

psychosis, extroversion, neurosis.

Hence the acronym PEN.

Having studied the case file,

and having played back

a number of interviews

the defendant was subjected

to following his arrest,

I am convinced Mr. Hallett

is a stable introvert.

In layman's terms, not the sort to anger

or resort to violence,

however badly provoked.

What's your point, Professor?

Professor?

My point is that Mr. Hallett

would never k*ll his employer.

Unlike his wife.

Your Honour, I demand to speak.

Sit down, Mr. Hallett. You have

waived the right to give evidence.

I'm changing my plea to guilty.

I k*lled Vincent Soames.

Mr. Hallett, be quiet.

I regret to say that Mr. Hallett is lying.

What is more, I can prove it.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

I know this may seem

a little out of the ordinary,

but I am persuaded that this will

help our understanding of the case.

Mr. Hallett, I want you to re-enact

the events of the night in question

as faithfully as you can remember.

Your Honour, it was dark when

I arrived and got out of the car.

Please. A faithful re-enactment.

Leave the seat.

Mrs. Hallett.

I could throw the book at you, you know?

You're not supposed to speak

to witnesses without our say-so.

He prevented a miscarriage of justice.

Whose side are you on?

We are on the same side.

Then why doesn't it feel like it?

You are enthralled with the

process of evidence gathering,

Detective Inspector, but evidence

without criminological insight

is as much use as criminological

insight without evidence.

We need each other

Paul.

It was Mrs. Hallett, not her husband,

who drove the car to the main house.

It was Mrs. Hallett who, in

the grip of postpartum depression,

shot Vincent Soames

using her husband's r*fle.

And it was Mrs. Hallett

who phoned her husband

to tell him what she had done and why.

He was trying to cover her

tracks when the police arrived.

'Mr. Soames'

He caught me stealing

salt and pepper pots.

He said we'd lose our jobs, the cottage

everything.

After everything we'd done for them.

The late nights, the weekends

being at their beck and call 24/7.

They gave me one day.

One day to bury my child.

Are you out of your mind?

Put that g*n down! No! No!

I wanted to confess straight away.

Anya Anya.

It's not your fault.

It is NOT your fault.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

'But Sean persuaded me not to.'

Run, run. Run!

'He was convinced there wouldn't be

enough evidence to convict him.

'I'm glad the truth has come out.'

I never should have let him

face trial for my moment of madness.

She is never late without reason.

I'm so sorry I'm late. Please forgive me.

Take your time, Mrs. Tempest. Please.

Erm

Time to start digging, then?

For where the bodies are buried.

There he is.

Oh, hello, mate.

Good to see you. You're looking very well.

Thank you. You, too, sir. You, too.

Can I get you a drink? Yeah.

It's all right, I'll get these.

Simon? You all right?

You well?

Yeah, Dan. How are you?

Yeah, good.

I didn't know you two knew each other.

Me and Simon go way back, don't we, mate?

Oh, yeah, we go way back.

Go on, what are you getting us?

I think Champagne, don't you?

What else? What else?

Well, thanks for having me out, lads.

Well, shall I make a start?

What you've shared with me

over our sessions to date, Jasper,

is that your father

was a violent alcoholic.

And you've disclosed

that he took his own life

rather than face up

to his responsibilities as a father.

And, indeed, as a husband.

And you've also revealed,

and possibly for the first time,

that you suffered a trauma

in the wake of his suicide

which cast a dark shadow over

your subsequent lived experience

and which you now believe

is of vital importance

to share with your mother.

That day

Miss Lowden was unwell,

I came home from my piano lesson early.

I-I-I saw him, Mother hanging there.

I hid in the coal cellar

reappeared at the appropriate time.

Pretended that I had seen nothing.

Oh Oh, my poor boy.

You never said a word?

You didn't tell a soul about it?

It's surely no surprise that you

feel angry and resentful, Jasper.

But you persist in directing it

not against the father who

abused and abandoned you,

but against your poor, traumatised self.

And against the mother

who did her best to protect you.

And who brought you up single-handedly.

To win a Double First at Cambridge.

So, perhaps it's time

to ask yourself the question,

why is that, Jasper?

Yes. Why is that, Jasper?

Because you betrayed him, Mother.

You betrayed us.

Wha

"Betrayal" is such a terrible word.

But one I use advisedly.

Would you like to expand

on that a little, Jasper?

I saw you, Mother.

'With another man.'

And I have long believed

it accounts for his misery

and his search for salvation

in the bottom of a bottle.

I was never unfaithful to your father.

And I would feel no blame if I had been.

After he died, I sought comfort

from a kind and gentle man.

The sort of comfort

no son could give a mother.