The Elements is the sixth episode of Presumed Innocent.
Synopsis[]
The trial begins. Startling events inside the courtroom threaten to derail proceedings.
Summary[]
On the second day of the trial, Rusty walks around the courtroom in a daydream as Tommy has Herbert on the stand and as several newscasters disembodied voices talk about the trial.
In the present, Tommy continues questioning Herbert, who describes the images shown to the court of Carolyn and then the estimated time of death. As Herbert continues to testify about the victim's injuries, Rusty spots Dalton in the crowd. From there, Herbert testified that Carolyn was six weeks pregnant with the defendant's child when she died, and after the evidence was entered into the court, Tommy ended his questioning.
Judge Lyttle then asks if Raymond would cross-examine the witness, and initially, Raymond denies it but rescinds it, stating he's old and has a few questions. What Raymond questions Herbert about is the murder weapon that has yet to be found, and Herbert confirms the weapon killed Carolyn and that it has yet to be found. From there, Raymond ends his cross-examination, and when Judge Lyttle asks if Tommy would do a re-direct, Nico whispers to him not to do it. However, Tommy does question Herbert about Rusty visiting him in his office and then about checking on homicide victims. Herbert would go on to testify more about Rusty's behavior when he visited his office, and Tommy ended it there. Raymond then cross-examines Herbert, asking if he has any psychological foundation to render a behavioral diagnosis, citing behaviors such as agitation, fright, or "off"? To that question, Herbert mentions that he has a history with the defendant that allows him to form lay opinions on the defendant's behavior. When asked if he's a friend of his, Herbert answers no and corrects him, stating he's a work colleague. Raymond notes that he considers him an "asshole", which Tommy objects to, but Raymond argues that it's a cognitive bias, which Judge Lyttle overrules. Sheepishly, Herbert apologizes for his rude remark. From there, Raymond tries to argue the same notions toward himself, but that too is objected to by Tommy, and Judge Lyttle seemingly sides with Tommy. As Raymond's questioning continues, Herbert notes that the high-pressure work environment causes friction between them, and it unravels when Herbert lashes out at him.
After the court proceedings were over, Tommy and Nico were seen exiting the court and getting into their car. As the car drives off, Nico rebukes Tommy's behavior for not listening to his advice about handling Herbert. However, now it's perceived as an aggrieved ME grudge-bearing "dis-grunt". On the other hand, Tommy argues the contrary, claiming the testimony was vital and that it proves that Rusty's venerable image was not as it seems. Although Tommy considers it a win, Nico thinks it is a loss, and Tommy argues that Kumagai is a small piece in an intricately large formula that makes up the case. Nico then mentions that the forensic detail about Rusty's skin under her fingernail wasn't in the initial report; Tommy claims that the FSC has a backlog.
In his office, Raymond mentions Jeremy Buck and goes on to talk about how Barbara and Rusty need to seem "closer" to each other. Raymond argues that the jury will be taking note of this, and Mya backs him up. Barbara thinks they want to make the jury and press believe that Rusty is her protector, and Raymond agrees to that assessment. Still, Barbara thinks insulting the jury's intelligence isn't the best option. After Barbara finishes expressing her thoughts on that suggestion, Mya argues that most cases are based on storytelling and that the story she's telling with her body language won't fly. Still, Barbara notes that being there is difficult for her, and notes that being there shows her commitment to Rusty and will be honest. She goes on to state her disgust with what Rusty did and that she's experiencing the darkest hour of her life.
The next day, Rusty and Barbara arrive at the court, where they're pressured by the press to answer their questions. In court, Jeremy, a forensic pathologist, testifies about the skin and saliva found on Carolyn's body that matches Rusty's DNA. However, Jeremy mentions that there was curiously no DNA found on the rope that bound Carolyn's body. When questioned about it by Tommy, Jeremy answers how peculiar it was that a bloody crime scene left barely any trace of DNA at the crime scene, and it was an endeavor to clean up. Jeremy goes on to answer Tommy's question about his opinion on the murder as a tenured forensic pathologist. With that, Tommy ends his line of questioning.
Starting his cross-examination, Raymond asks Jeremy if there was a similar case to how the deceased had died, and Jeremy confirms it. Raymond then asks who prosecuted the case, to which Jeremy answers Carolyn and Rusty. Raymond then tries to tie Liam Reynolds into the case, citing his grudge against them for prosecuting his case. Before Raymond can continue, Tommy objects, and Judge Lyttle sustains it and asks both sides to approach her off the bench. There, Raymond tries to reason his motive with Judge Lyttle, but she says that she won't allow them to explore it further unless they give her something tangible.
Continuing his cross-examination, Raymond asks Jeremy if they found pieces of skin underneath her nails, but Jeremy details that it was cells of his skin. From there, Raymond argues that since Carolyn kissed Rusty, it's possible that she ran her nails across his body during this. Pondering for a moment, Jeremy answers it's a possibility. Raymond then argues that the DNA that suggests that Rusty killed her is just as easy to imply he kissed her.
At home, Kyle and Jaden arrive home, and Barbara goes to her art room to paint a portrait.
Back at the court, Tommy questions Eugenia about her prior knowledge of Rusty's affair with Carolyn. She lists two instances where she learned about their affair. The first was catching them kissing in his office, and the next was in the parking garage, where he witnessed Rusty arguing with Carolyn, and she sped off in her car. She'd later confront him over this and state that he's becoming undone because of his relationship with her.
Mya would then cross-examine Eugenia about this and ask if she ever filed a complaint to HR, which she didn't, and if Carolyn filed a complaint to HR about Rusty or anyone in general. To Eugenia's knowledge, she did, and it was Tommy. For his re-direct, Tommy asks if Eugenia has any knowledge of acting unprofessionally or untowardly toward Carolyn, which she didn't. All she knew was that Tommy made Carolyn feel uncomfortable. Hence, Tommy asked if Eugenia had ever witnessed him acting in the aforementioned way, to which she answered that she had not. However, she mentions that Rusty acted that way toward Carolyn, and Tommy ends his questioning.
Tommy rides the train home, and there, he's greeted by his pet cat.
Raymond and Lo enjoy dinner at Raymond's home, during which Lo mentions that she pitties Tommy. Raymond reciprocates the notion, but can't let a cockroach let him dance on his emotions.
Enjoying a beer, Rusty is joined by Jaden, who notes that in her psych class, they read about trauma and disassociation. She goes on to talk about how the brain negates certain instances related to such topics and asks Rusty if it ever happened to him before. However, Rusty denies the notion.
Afterward, Rusty runs on the treadmill and returns to his room, where Barbara sits on the bed. As Rusty gets himself dressed in his night clothes, Barbara confesses to him about seeing a bartender and kissing him, but assures him that she didn't have sex with him. This causes Rusty to argue the hypocrisy that Barbara scrutinizing him for information about his relationship with Carolyn while trying to be honest with her. An argument breaks out between them, and Rusty grabs Barbara, which he regrets, and after she goes, she heads down to the kitchen.
The next day, Rusty sees his family off, and Barbara doesn't go to court with Rusty as she decides to spend the day with Lo. Once everyone left, Jaden returned and asked if Rusty was ok. He answered that he was, but Jaden hugged him and apologized for her chat with him last night.
At Raymond's house, Lo talks to Barbara about her confessed fling with Clifton to Rusty. Lo understands Barbara's position and promises to join her when she goes to court. Barbara notes that she'll go alone, but not that day, as they'll be talking about the cyber forensics pulled from Rusty and Carolyn's computers.
In the judge's room, Judge Lyttle informs the prosecutor and defense teams that Dalton has submitted a request to deny Michael from testifying, but she's rejected it. As the judge continues, she suggests that manslaughter is the most viable option, but both Rusty and Tommy deny that proposal. Understanding the situation, Judge Lyttle says that they'll both tread carefully with Michael.
That night, Rusty finds Jaden sleeping on the couch. After covering her up, Rusty has a heart-to-heart conversation with Barbara about why she chooses to stay.
The following day, Michael testified to the court about what he did on the night of the murder and who entered his mother's house. Tommy then shows Michael the video he recorded and has him confirm the timestamp on it and that he subsequentially texted Rusty that he saw him at his mother's house on the day of the murder. This leads to the questioning of his motive for setting up a meeting with Rusty, which leads to many objections from the defense.
Once it was Raymond's turn to start his cross-examination, Raymond had a heart attack. Panic started to erupt in the courtroom as Rusty tried to perform CPR on him until the medic team used the defibrillator on him.
Characters[]
- Rusty Sabich
- Raymond Horgan
- Nico Della Guardia
- Tommy Molto
- Herbert Kumagai
- Judge Lyttle
- Carolyn Polhemus
- Barbara Sabich
- Mya Winslow
- Dalton Caldwell
- Jeremy Buck
- Liam Reynolds (Picture)
- Kyle Sabich
- Jaden Sabich
- Eugenia
- Lorraine Horgan
- Clifton (Mentioned)
- Michael Caldwell
Gallery[]
