Killerz
Encyclopedia
"Killerz" is the 207th episode of NBC
's legal drama
Law & Order
and the second episode of the tenth season.
. He has severe head wounds, his trousers are pulled down and he has a battery in his mouth. Detectives Briscoe and Green interview a witness, a young girl named Tara, who says she saw the boy with a man dressed in blue overalls and smelling of gasoline in the park earlier on the day of the murder. The police arrest a garage mechanic whose girlfriend lives in the same building as the murdered boy. But the police can find no evidence against the mechanic and no other witnesses to corroborate Tara's story. A hot-dog vendor
remembers seeing the boy with two young girls on the day of the murder; they bought a pretzel
from him. Green thinks Tara "held something back" in the initial interview and asks Lieutenant Van Buren if he can interview Tara again. Van Buren agrees, with herself and Tara's mother watching through the one-way mirror. Tara is given toys to play with and candy to eat as Green tells Tara that it feels bad to keep secrets and she will feel better if she tells him a secret she is keeping. Sobbing, Tara confesses that she and her friend Jenny (Brandt) lured the boy from his apartment, bought him a pretzel from the hot-dog cart and took him to the park, where Jenny bashed the boy's head repeatedly with a rock and together they stuffed the body in the pipe. The police arrest Tara and Jenny and charge them with murder
.
Jenny is 10 years old and, unlike the 13-year-old Tara, cannot be tried as an adult. The DAs (Schiff, McCoy and Carmichael) are all uncomfortable with prosecuting the case. McCoy is concerned the key piece of evidence, Tara's confession to Green, appears coerced. Van Buren defends Green's interview technique and points out Tara's mother witnessed the interview, but the trial judge rules Tara's statement was coerced by Green and is inadmissible as evidence. McCoy instructs Carmichael to research more about Jenny. From a babysitter, Carmichael discovers that Jenny's father is in prison for auto-theft
and her mother has since been with several men, often having sex
with them in full view of Jenny (the babysitter says "She (Jenny) knows more about sex than I do"); Jenny is often very angry if she doesn't get her own way; and that Jenny dislikes men, in one example blacking out the eyes of all the boys in the babysitter's magazine.
McCoy asks psychiatrist
Dr. Emil Skoda to examine Jenny. To Skoda, Jenny admits that she hates boys, but denies having been 'touched' by her mother's partners ("I wouldn't let them touch me"). She goes on to admit to deliberately poisoning a neighbor's cat. When Skoda affects outrage at this, Jenny does not react in any way, just stares blankly at Skoda. Finally, Jenny admits to killing the young boy. Skoda asks why she placed a battery in the boy's mouth ("to give him some energy so he might wake up") and why she pulled his pants down ("to make him look stupid"). Meeting up with McCoy and Carmichael, Skoda diagnoses Jenny as an extreme sociopath, who requires institutionalization. "She's a serial killer
, we just got her early," says Skoda.
Again, McCoy and Carmichael are uncomfortable with committing
a 10-year-old girl to life in a state mental institution. Jenny's mother refuses to sign the papers committing Jenny, saying she now has a lawyer and she intends to retain custody
of her daughter. Mrs. Brandt's coarse behavior and bullish attitude towards the DAs prompts Carmichael to remark "that just removed any doubts I had about the case." McCoy and Carmichael persuade Jenny's imprisoned father to sign the commitment papers, creating a custody battle and sending the issue to Family Court
. The court hearing becomes a contest between the psychiatric
opinions of Dr. Skoda and Dr. Liz Olivet, formerly an advisor to the 27th Precinct of the New York police
and to McCoy in the DA's office, now in private practice and a specialist in child psychology. Dr. Olivet appears as an expert witness for the lawyer representing Jenny's mother. Dr. Olivet argues that Jenny can be successfully treated outside the often brutal state psychiatric system, and that with such a young child, psychiatric treatment will evolve and improve over the course of Jenny's life. Jenny's lawyer argues that it is inhumane to 'abandon' such a young girl in a mental institution. Skoda argues that Jenny is essentially untreatable and, most likely, her condition and behavior will worsen with time. McCoy points out the girl has already committed a murder, for which she shows no remorse
. In the end Judge Carla Solomon decides in favor of Jenny's mother, awarding her custody and agreeing with Dr. Olivet that the girl can be treated, and furthermore that commitment of such a young child to a state hospital is too drastic. The judge also orders regular meetings between herself, Jenny and Jenny's mother.
The final scene shows Jenny staring and smiling coldly at a young boy in the corridor outside the court room, while McCoy and Carmichael look on.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and the second episode of the tenth season.
Plot
The body of a young boy is found in a sewer pipe in Central ParkCentral Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. He has severe head wounds, his trousers are pulled down and he has a battery in his mouth. Detectives Briscoe and Green interview a witness, a young girl named Tara, who says she saw the boy with a man dressed in blue overalls and smelling of gasoline in the park earlier on the day of the murder. The police arrest a garage mechanic whose girlfriend lives in the same building as the murdered boy. But the police can find no evidence against the mechanic and no other witnesses to corroborate Tara's story. A hot-dog vendor
Food cart
A food cart is a mobile kitchen that is set up on the street to facilitate the sale and marketing of street food to people from the local pedestrian traffic. Food carts are often found in large cities throughout the world and can be found selling food of just about any variety.Food carts come in...
remembers seeing the boy with two young girls on the day of the murder; they bought a pretzel
Pretzel
A pretzel is a type of baked food made from dough in soft and hard varieties and savory or sweet flavors in a unique knot-like shape, originating in Europe...
from him. Green thinks Tara "held something back" in the initial interview and asks Lieutenant Van Buren if he can interview Tara again. Van Buren agrees, with herself and Tara's mother watching through the one-way mirror. Tara is given toys to play with and candy to eat as Green tells Tara that it feels bad to keep secrets and she will feel better if she tells him a secret she is keeping. Sobbing, Tara confesses that she and her friend Jenny (Brandt) lured the boy from his apartment, bought him a pretzel from the hot-dog cart and took him to the park, where Jenny bashed the boy's head repeatedly with a rock and together they stuffed the body in the pipe. The police arrest Tara and Jenny and charge them with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Jenny is 10 years old and, unlike the 13-year-old Tara, cannot be tried as an adult. The DAs (Schiff, McCoy and Carmichael) are all uncomfortable with prosecuting the case. McCoy is concerned the key piece of evidence, Tara's confession to Green, appears coerced. Van Buren defends Green's interview technique and points out Tara's mother witnessed the interview, but the trial judge rules Tara's statement was coerced by Green and is inadmissible as evidence. McCoy instructs Carmichael to research more about Jenny. From a babysitter, Carmichael discovers that Jenny's father is in prison for auto-theft
Motor vehicle theft
Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle...
and her mother has since been with several men, often having sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with them in full view of Jenny (the babysitter says "She (Jenny) knows more about sex than I do"); Jenny is often very angry if she doesn't get her own way; and that Jenny dislikes men, in one example blacking out the eyes of all the boys in the babysitter's magazine.
McCoy asks psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Dr. Emil Skoda to examine Jenny. To Skoda, Jenny admits that she hates boys, but denies having been 'touched' by her mother's partners ("I wouldn't let them touch me"). She goes on to admit to deliberately poisoning a neighbor's cat. When Skoda affects outrage at this, Jenny does not react in any way, just stares blankly at Skoda. Finally, Jenny admits to killing the young boy. Skoda asks why she placed a battery in the boy's mouth ("to give him some energy so he might wake up") and why she pulled his pants down ("to make him look stupid"). Meeting up with McCoy and Carmichael, Skoda diagnoses Jenny as an extreme sociopath, who requires institutionalization. "She's a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, we just got her early," says Skoda.
Again, McCoy and Carmichael are uncomfortable with committing
Involuntary commitment
Involuntary commitment or civil commitment is a legal process through which an individual with symptoms of severe mental illness is court-ordered into treatment in a hospital or in the community ....
a 10-year-old girl to life in a state mental institution. Jenny's mother refuses to sign the papers committing Jenny, saying she now has a lawyer and she intends to retain custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
of her daughter. Mrs. Brandt's coarse behavior and bullish attitude towards the DAs prompts Carmichael to remark "that just removed any doubts I had about the case." McCoy and Carmichael persuade Jenny's imprisoned father to sign the commitment papers, creating a custody battle and sending the issue to Family Court
Family court
A family court is a court convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, such as custody of children. In common-law jurisdictions "family courts" are statutory creations primarily dealing with equitable matters devolved from a court of inherent jurisdiction, such as a...
. The court hearing becomes a contest between the psychiatric
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
opinions of Dr. Skoda and Dr. Liz Olivet, formerly an advisor to the 27th Precinct of the New York police
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and to McCoy in the DA's office, now in private practice and a specialist in child psychology. Dr. Olivet appears as an expert witness for the lawyer representing Jenny's mother. Dr. Olivet argues that Jenny can be successfully treated outside the often brutal state psychiatric system, and that with such a young child, psychiatric treatment will evolve and improve over the course of Jenny's life. Jenny's lawyer argues that it is inhumane to 'abandon' such a young girl in a mental institution. Skoda argues that Jenny is essentially untreatable and, most likely, her condition and behavior will worsen with time. McCoy points out the girl has already committed a murder, for which she shows no remorse
Remorse
Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment...
. In the end Judge Carla Solomon decides in favor of Jenny's mother, awarding her custody and agreeing with Dr. Olivet that the girl can be treated, and furthermore that commitment of such a young child to a state hospital is too drastic. The judge also orders regular meetings between herself, Jenny and Jenny's mother.
The final scene shows Jenny staring and smiling coldly at a young boy in the corridor outside the court room, while McCoy and Carmichael look on.