The Sinner

EMTs are calling 'em deceased.

Couple in their 30s

checked in last night with their son.

- Where is he now? - Foster home.

Julian, can you tell me what happened that morning?

What happened to your parents?

They died.

Jimsonweed.

If you drink a tea made from it

it'll kill you.

I gave the tea to them.

Where are all of Julian's things?

Oh, my God.

What kind of parents go on a trip

and don't pack a bag for their kid?

The boy who was taken into custody,

I need to know where he's being held.

I'm his mother.

Wait up, wait up!

She doesn't know that he confessed.

Should I tell her?

I would wait

and let her tell us what she knows first.

All right.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Nobody got you anything.

- You want a coffee or something? - No, thank you.

When can I see my son?

We can take you to the foster home right after this.

Foster home?

It's just for now.

It's temporary.

I'm sorry, this is just...

I'm very confused.

What happened to Adam and Bess?

It looks like they were poisoned.

I don't understand. By someone?

We thought Adam and Bess were Julian's parents.

No, they live on my property.

When I need them to they look after Julian sometimes.

They were taking him to Niagara Falls

for the weekend.

He and Bess love each other.

What happened exactly?

Did you know they packed no luggage for Julian?

Yes, they forgot his bag.

Adam and Bess are lovely but they're...

they're absent-minded.

I called them about it.

We decided that they'd pick up

a few things for him along the way.

All right, let's take a look.

We'll find something that fits in here.

This obviously isn't your current address. Oregon?

No, I'm sorry. I need to renew that.

No, I live about 20 miles from here.

Where exactly?

- Off of Route Four. - By the reservoir?

Near Osborn Road.

I'd like to see him now.

Miss Walker,

has Julian had any

emotional issues he's had to deal with?

No. Why would you ask that?

- Anxiety, depression... - No.

He's a happy child.

Any aggressive behavior?

I think you should tell me what happened.

We found the bodies like this.

The blankets.

The positions.

There's no reason Julian would do something like this.

Something happened, an accident.

I don't know. Something.

He's a 13-year-old boy.

Miss Walker,

he's told us already.

He's confessed it.

Confessed to what?

To poisoning Mr. Lowry and Ms. McTeer.

He made a tea from a plant.

It's called Jimsonweed

and he said he knew it was poisonous.

We have corroborating evidence.

Fingerprints, video footage from the motel.

I want to see him now.

So when she mentioned where she lived

it threw you off a little bit.

Route Four, Osborn Road.

There's nothing on Osborn Road

except for this one place.

At least 30 other people live there.

It was a retreat center that went out of business

in the '90s and then these people

bought it and tried to turn it into

some kind of utopian community or something.

It's called Mosswood Grove.

It's okay.

It's okay, baby.

My beautiful boy, it's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay.

I missed you. Okay.

It's okay.

It's okay. It's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay.

I need you to listen to me. Okay.

Okay? Okay.

It's okay, my boy.

And what happened when you woke up at the motel?

I waited for the sun to rise.

And then

Adam woke up and he took me to the breakfast bar.

Can you tell me what you did there?

Yes.

I ate breakfast.

And I went back to the room.

What about the tea you made?

I went back to the room.

Julian, you told Detective Ambrose

yesterday that you made two cups of tea

and brought them back to the room.

Isn't that right?

I don't remember.

Well, you seemed to remember very clearly yesterday.

That's enough for today.

- It's time I took him home. - That's not possible.

Julian's legally a ward of the state.

What do you mean?

You'll have to prove guardianship

at the courthouse tomorrow before you can take him.

You think this is helping my son?

Keeping him here another night?

If you want to speak to him again

you do so through me. Do you understand?

That's not really your call, Miss Walker...

That's all right.

It's fine.

Thank you very much, Miss Walker.

And if you have any questions.

Let's give 'em some time.

What was that about?

Well, you and I know

that we don't need her permission to talk to him

until she proves her guardianship at court,

but she doesn't need to know that yet.

Gives us a window of opportunity.

Remember who you are, all right?

Remember.

I'm gonna get you out of here.

I love you.

I'll see you tomorrow.

What are the charges you're filing?

- Murder in the second degree. - On what grounds?

As we mentioned, we have a confession.

A confession you extracted without a parent present,

which I know for a fact is not admissible in court.

This entire case is bullshit.

Your son killed two people.

Why do you think Julian would do something like this?

"He's crazy," is that what you're thinking?

Or he's been abused.

Or I pumped him full of Adderall

and fed him junk food and video games.

Or maybe he's just evil, is that it?

My son is so far beyond anything you can understand.

You have no idea.

Are you kidding... Mosswood?

As far we know that's where he grew up.

Jesus.

Well, it makes sense. I mean...

those weirdos would turn out a kid like that.

We're hoping to get a search warrant

and take a look at his living situation.

Why is that necessary?

Chief, young criminals in most cases,

the crime starts with the parents

and the mother is not cooperating.

And then this place,

the whole question about this commune...

Has he been charged?

No, not yet.

Well, why don't we start with that?

We have what we need, right?

Yeah, we do.

I still think that we should go in there.

Detective, I understand your desire,

but that place is a hornet's nest.

Last time we went in there it blew up in my face for nothing.

And why was that?

They want to be left alone,

and frankly so do we.

- That's... - I'm not going down that road.

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

Every few years it's something else.

A classmate of Heather's,

she got mixed up with them.

She joined up or converted,