Law & Order

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.

I'll be all right. I'm just...

I'm just going through a phase right now.

Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?

I don't know, boy.

I don't know.

Put that away.

I told you.

When you're with me, no cell phones.

It's my mom.

I gotta go. But we're not done.

She'll ground me for life if she finds out about this.

You are acting like a child.

I'm sorry.

I'll see you next time.

He's just a kid.

Eli Barone, 14 years old.

Gunshot wound.

Took one to the chest, close range,

sometime between 10:00 p.m. and midnight.

Family in the building? Mm-hmm.

Anybody find that shell casing?

Nope, and no gunshot residue.

Or blood splatter.

Body was probably moved. Yeah.

Looks like he messed up his ankle

somewhere along the way.

Did the techs find a blood trail?

Nothing so far.

Did he have anything on him? Money, drugs?

Just his keys and his phone.

It was a school night.

The kid should've been home sleeping.

What were you doing out here, kid?

Found him this morning, just lying there.

I couldn't believe it.

He was a really good boy.

Never gave anyone a lick of trouble.

Oh, you knew him? Yeah.

Moved in about seven months ago after his father passed.

His mom's a nurse.

He's a good kid. Good family.

Who had access to the stairwell?

Oh, everybody.

We have 200 units in the building,

so about 360 people,

plus their guests, nannies,

cleaners, delivery people.

Did you hear anything unusual last night?

No, but I didn't leave my apartment after around 6:00.

Where do you live? The basement.

We don't get much activity down there.

How about cameras? You got those?

Lobby cam. I'll get you the footage.

Yeah.

Her apartment's right down here.

Uh, you know what? We need to take it from here.

Yes?

Ms. Barone, we're the police.

Would you mind opening up, please?

What is it?

I checked on him when I got home from my shift.

About what time was that?

Um, around midnight.

Ma'am, do you have any idea

why your son would stage the bed

to look like he was still here?

He must've snuck out,

but... but why?

Any idea where he was going?

Can you tell me what he was doing earlier in the day?

He was in school.

He had an algebra test.

Uh, we're gonna need to take Eli's computer.

Yeah, whatever you need.

Did he do anything after school?

He texted me he was going to a friend's house.

Do you have an address for that?

How about a name?

Um...

I don't know.

You must think I'm a terrible mother.

Not at all. Teenagers.

They operate on a need-to-know basis.

Wait, um,

his name was Sean-something.

Sean Kapinski?

Yes, I think so. How'd you know?

What the hell are these?

According to his website, Sean Kapinski is

a photographer/acting coach/ talent manager.

The guy moved around a lot.

Six different addresses in the last four years.

So what's his rap sheet look like?

Clean. A'ight, got you.

Thanks. Hey, check this out.

So Sean Kapinski doesn't have a record.

So we pulled the prints off of the photos.

They came back to a Sean Capples.

So Kapinski is living under an alias?

You got that right.

Got a conviction in Chicago

for possession of child porn.

Finished off his probation.

Changed his name to Kapinski. Moved to Manhattan.

Let's get a good address on this creep and bring him in.

Done.

Sean Kapinski.

I told you to stay close!

Help! Please help!

NYPD! Open up, Kapinski!

What the hell? Hey, back up.

Whoa! Back up!

Young man, we're the police.

Are you all right?

Is there anyone else here with you?

Did this man hurt you?

Oh.

Do your parents know you're here?

No? All right.

We're gonna call your parents. Come with me.

Come on. You're gonna be all right.

What were you doing with that kid?

Rehearsing.

It's a scene from "The Truman Show."

It's about a man who... Yeah, I've seen it.

His whole life's a reality show.

I get it. Why are you here?

Don't worry about that.

We'll have a long conversation down at the precinct.

2-7, Squad to Central.

This is Detective Shaw.

I'ma need a sector transport for a suspect

down to the 2-7.

Turn around.

Put your hands behind your back.

Here you go.

So, Brian, can you tell me how old you are?

15.

Please don't tell my dad about this.

Honey, I'm afraid it's a little too late.

Your father's on his way.

But we weren't doing anything wrong.

Can you tell me why you were at Kapinski's apartment?

He's my acting coach, teaching me

how to get comfortable in front of the camera.

Oh, so you wanna be an actor?

Not really. I just wanna be famous.

Oh.

You have a lot of eager teenage boys

hanging out at your apartment, unaccompanied.

How dare you... Oh, spare us the outrage.

We know who you are. We know about your past.

So cut the crap and tell us what's going on.

You bust into my place.

Then you haul Brian and me in here.

And now you're accusing me?

I am a legitimate talent manager.

Our relationship is purely professional.

I mean, you can ask him.

We did, and you're right.

But Brian's not your only student.

Excuse me?

Tell us about Eli Barone.

You were with him last night, right?

Yes, we had a session, but I...

I'm confused. Why are we talking about Eli?

Because he's dead.

Somebody shot him in the chest.

Eli is dead?

And you were the last person he was with.

And you're a convicted pedophile.

You see where we're going with this?

I am not a pedophile.

A 14-year-old boy is dead, a mother is without her child,

and you wanna play games?

Okay, Mr. Kapinski, let's play some games,

or Mr. Capples,

or whatever the hell name you're using these days.

Hold on!

That conviction is 15 years old.

I was in high school.

I texted a picture of my girlfriend,

with her shirt off, to a friend.

I got sentenced to five years' probation.

You know what? You're not answering our question.

What happened with Eli last night?

I was working with him.

I was teaching him how to act.

He was a really gifted young man.

I didn't kill Eli.

That's absurd.

We had a session, and then he left,

very much alive.

Can you prove that?