Dismissed with Prejudice - Recap
<-- Previous EpisodeNext Episode -->The episode begins with an empty house being shown in the night, then a girl is shown with a torch in hand and the shriek of a woman is heard in the background. A man is then heard crying on the phone after calling 911. The girl with the torch, who was seen earlier, is shown sitting in the dark, on the stairs of the house with tears in her eyes. The man says there is blood everywhere, and it is then shown that, the walls of the house are stained with blood. He is then seen sitting with a dead and bloodied woman on the floor. Later, the man tells Mike, when he came back to his house it was dark, and he saw a man running out of the house, but he couldn’t make out who it was, in the dark.
The man says, it was probably this man who forced his wife Elaine, the victim, to open the safe. He then tells Mike that, he cut his hand trying to pull out the knife that was stuck in Elaine’s chest. The man’s daughter says she heard her mother and father fight again, and came downstairs with a flashlight. She then says “I saw daddy stabbing mommy with a knife”. Later in court, it is shown that, the girl says the same thing she told Mike. The judge then asks the girl’s father Mr. Reichmann to stand and face the jury. The jury then pronounces Reichmann guilty of first degree murder. Reichmann while being taken away begins yelling that, he is innocent.
Back in the present, in a courtroom, the judge tells everyone present including Mike and Julio along with Reichmann that, he is ready to overturn Reichmann’s conviction based on the eyewitness’s testimony. The prosecutor though protests, but Reichmann’s lawyer argues that, when the blood at the crime scene was tested there was DNA of a third person that was found, which proves Reichmann wasn’t lying about an intruder being in the house. Turns out, the person whose blood it is, has a criminal record and is wanted by the FBI. The judge calls Mike to the bench and asks him “why on earth didn’t you test these blood samples in 2004?”
Mike tells the judge that, the fresh DNA that has been found was from the other side of the house near the kitchen sink, and wasn’t anywhere from near the victim’s body. The DA asks for 30 more days to find the missing person, whose DNA, it is. The judge though, hears none of it and instead sets Reichmann free, and also apologizes to him on the behalf of the State. Later outside the courtroom, Lydia, Reichmann’s daughter who has now grown up, tells Mike she testified against her father because she was influenced by a movie she had seen that night. She also defends what she did, by saying “I was just a kid”. Mike hands her a CD of the night he had interviewed Lydia, so it can help jog her memory and help the police catch the actual killer, who might still be out there.
Later, Mike tells Sharon about the new suspect named Benito Zapata. Sharon tells her team to begin looking for Zapata. Later, Reichmann tells Sharon his wife Elaine probably knew Zapata, as he owned an auto body shop and she was an insurance adjuster. She probably found out that Zapata was stealing from her company, Reichmann tells Sharon. Daniel Dunn on the other hand takes Rusty to dinner. After the dinner Rusty tells Sharon “why should I trust anything that he says?” She agrees that he can’t, but the DNA confirms that Daniel is his father, she tells him. He therefore has legal rights and can’t be stalled forever. “Rusty you need to get to know this man” Sharon then says. Later at the office, Zapata’s wife is brought in for questioning.
She tells Sharon, Zapata might have come to LA chasing a woman. She then elaborates that; Zapata could make do with any woman. There were a lot of women in his life, but he never told his wife anything about any of them. She also says that she did not know Zapata was committing insurance fraud. “You wanna find my husband, look for a woman who disappeared the same time he did” she tells Mike. Later Mike and team find out that, Elaine had opened an account in a South American Bank and $1.8 million was deposited in that account. Sharon also finds out that Elaine had renewed her passport just a week before she was murdered. The team then concludes that, Elaine was helping Zapata commit insurance fraud and was planning to run away with him to Costa Rica.
The team then concludes that, Reichmann not only killed his wife but also his lover, and that is why Zapata’s blood too was at the crime scene. Later, Lydia walks Mike and the DA through Reichmann’s house. Reichmann though, is at his lawyer’s. Mike tells Lydia that, her father was telling the truth about another man being in the house. He then asks her to recollect every single thing from the moment she woke up “that night”. She begins recollecting every little detail from that night. She recollects seeing Zapata carrying a sack on his shoulder. It is shown in a flashback that, Lydia probably did not see the man’s face who, was carrying the sack on his shoulder, as it covered his face.
She says she later saw her father look around the yard. She then went downstairs and saw her father pull the knife out of her mom. “He was trying to save her” she says, in tears. Sharon on the other hand informs Reichmann and his lawyer about the money that has been found in Elaine’s name in a Costa Rican bank. Sharon asks Reichmann if Elaine was “romantically involved with Mr. Zapata”. Reichmann is outraged at this suggestion. Mike at home tells Lydia that, Reichmann came home and sneaked into the house to surprise Elaine, and probably found Zapata and his wife together in bed. Sharon tells Reichmann, they have emails that prove Zapata and Elaine were “very involved” both “criminally and romantically”.
Mike on the other hand tells Lydia how Reichmann killed the both of them in anger, upon discovering the truth. He first killed Zapata near the sink and then went to kill Elaine in the bedroom. He though, made two mistakes: one Lydia woke up and the other, Elaine wasn’t dead and therefore she tried to crawl away. Lydia then came downstairs and found Reichmann “finishing what he started”. The lawyer is told by Sharon that, they also have proof, Reichmann knew about his wife’s infidelity. Mike and team after searching, then find Zapata’s skeleton buried in the backyard of Reichmann’s house. Sharon informs Reichmann and his lawyer about the discoveries that have been made at his home. Reichmann is then charged once again, with murder in the first degree.
Later, Mike tells Lydia that, her father shall be spending the rest of his life in prison. She is then allowed to meet her father before being taken away. He tells her “I am sorry I didn’t kill you too” with rage in his eyes, and is taken away. She is shocked at her father’s reaction. Later, Sharon sees off Rusty, who is off to another dinner with Daniel. The episode ends at this point.
The man says, it was probably this man who forced his wife Elaine, the victim, to open the safe. He then tells Mike that, he cut his hand trying to pull out the knife that was stuck in Elaine’s chest. The man’s daughter says she heard her mother and father fight again, and came downstairs with a flashlight. She then says “I saw daddy stabbing mommy with a knife”. Later in court, it is shown that, the girl says the same thing she told Mike. The judge then asks the girl’s father Mr. Reichmann to stand and face the jury. The jury then pronounces Reichmann guilty of first degree murder. Reichmann while being taken away begins yelling that, he is innocent.
Back in the present, in a courtroom, the judge tells everyone present including Mike and Julio along with Reichmann that, he is ready to overturn Reichmann’s conviction based on the eyewitness’s testimony. The prosecutor though protests, but Reichmann’s lawyer argues that, when the blood at the crime scene was tested there was DNA of a third person that was found, which proves Reichmann wasn’t lying about an intruder being in the house. Turns out, the person whose blood it is, has a criminal record and is wanted by the FBI. The judge calls Mike to the bench and asks him “why on earth didn’t you test these blood samples in 2004?”
Mike tells the judge that, the fresh DNA that has been found was from the other side of the house near the kitchen sink, and wasn’t anywhere from near the victim’s body. The DA asks for 30 more days to find the missing person, whose DNA, it is. The judge though, hears none of it and instead sets Reichmann free, and also apologizes to him on the behalf of the State. Later outside the courtroom, Lydia, Reichmann’s daughter who has now grown up, tells Mike she testified against her father because she was influenced by a movie she had seen that night. She also defends what she did, by saying “I was just a kid”. Mike hands her a CD of the night he had interviewed Lydia, so it can help jog her memory and help the police catch the actual killer, who might still be out there.
Later, Mike tells Sharon about the new suspect named Benito Zapata. Sharon tells her team to begin looking for Zapata. Later, Reichmann tells Sharon his wife Elaine probably knew Zapata, as he owned an auto body shop and she was an insurance adjuster. She probably found out that Zapata was stealing from her company, Reichmann tells Sharon. Daniel Dunn on the other hand takes Rusty to dinner. After the dinner Rusty tells Sharon “why should I trust anything that he says?” She agrees that he can’t, but the DNA confirms that Daniel is his father, she tells him. He therefore has legal rights and can’t be stalled forever. “Rusty you need to get to know this man” Sharon then says. Later at the office, Zapata’s wife is brought in for questioning.
She tells Sharon, Zapata might have come to LA chasing a woman. She then elaborates that; Zapata could make do with any woman. There were a lot of women in his life, but he never told his wife anything about any of them. She also says that she did not know Zapata was committing insurance fraud. “You wanna find my husband, look for a woman who disappeared the same time he did” she tells Mike. Later Mike and team find out that, Elaine had opened an account in a South American Bank and $1.8 million was deposited in that account. Sharon also finds out that Elaine had renewed her passport just a week before she was murdered. The team then concludes that, Elaine was helping Zapata commit insurance fraud and was planning to run away with him to Costa Rica.
The team then concludes that, Reichmann not only killed his wife but also his lover, and that is why Zapata’s blood too was at the crime scene. Later, Lydia walks Mike and the DA through Reichmann’s house. Reichmann though, is at his lawyer’s. Mike tells Lydia that, her father was telling the truth about another man being in the house. He then asks her to recollect every single thing from the moment she woke up “that night”. She begins recollecting every little detail from that night. She recollects seeing Zapata carrying a sack on his shoulder. It is shown in a flashback that, Lydia probably did not see the man’s face who, was carrying the sack on his shoulder, as it covered his face.
She says she later saw her father look around the yard. She then went downstairs and saw her father pull the knife out of her mom. “He was trying to save her” she says, in tears. Sharon on the other hand informs Reichmann and his lawyer about the money that has been found in Elaine’s name in a Costa Rican bank. Sharon asks Reichmann if Elaine was “romantically involved with Mr. Zapata”. Reichmann is outraged at this suggestion. Mike at home tells Lydia that, Reichmann came home and sneaked into the house to surprise Elaine, and probably found Zapata and his wife together in bed. Sharon tells Reichmann, they have emails that prove Zapata and Elaine were “very involved” both “criminally and romantically”.
Mike on the other hand tells Lydia how Reichmann killed the both of them in anger, upon discovering the truth. He first killed Zapata near the sink and then went to kill Elaine in the bedroom. He though, made two mistakes: one Lydia woke up and the other, Elaine wasn’t dead and therefore she tried to crawl away. Lydia then came downstairs and found Reichmann “finishing what he started”. The lawyer is told by Sharon that, they also have proof, Reichmann knew about his wife’s infidelity. Mike and team after searching, then find Zapata’s skeleton buried in the backyard of Reichmann’s house. Sharon informs Reichmann and his lawyer about the discoveries that have been made at his home. Reichmann is then charged once again, with murder in the first degree.
Later, Mike tells Lydia that, her father shall be spending the rest of his life in prison. She is then allowed to meet her father before being taken away. He tells her “I am sorry I didn’t kill you too” with rage in his eyes, and is taken away. She is shocked at her father’s reaction. Later, Sharon sees off Rusty, who is off to another dinner with Daniel. The episode ends at this point.
