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| • The Unusual Suspect • |
Episode Number: 135#
Original Airdate: March 30, 2006
Written By: Allen MacDonald
Directed By: Alec Smight
Synopsis: "A sister's stunning courtroom confession throws her brother's guilt into question. Blindsided, the CSIs must race to re-examine the case's evidence in order to determine which sibling is telling the truth, but begin to suspect that a more sinister scheme may be at work."
Guest Stars:
John Rubenstein (Judge Crawford),
Mark Tomesek (Mr. Vollmer),
Jim Holmes (Jim West),
Lisa Clifton (Mrs. Vollmer),
Mari Weiss (Foreman),
James McCauley (Mr. Baird)
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Imani Hakim (Darcy),
Jeffrey Hutchinson (Mr. Estrin),
Juliette Goglia (Hannah West),
Jessica Tuck (Sally West),
Steven Grayhm (Scott Baird),
Douglas Smith (VI) (Marlon West),
Maitland McConnell (Stacy Vollmer),
Meredith Scott Lynn (Carol Allred),
Erik Jensen (Jeffrey Sinclair)
Notes:
- William Petersen, Paul Guilfoyle, and Eric Szmanda do not appear in this episode.
- During a commercial, producer Jerry Bruckheimer announced that his company and GMC plan to donate several Yukons like the ones seen on the show to the police departments in Las Vegas & Los Angeles.
- William Petersen appeared in the previews for the episode even though he didn't appear in the actual episode.
| | • Review • |
Sofia Curtis and Dr. Robbins are testifying in the trial of Marlon West, a high school boy who stands accused of murdering a classmate, Stacy Vollmer. Stacy was practicing on the tennis court the night she was last seen, and found buried and wrapped in a shower curtain on the football field. Dr. Robbins testifies that she was killed by a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a blow to the head. Bleached clothes and blood and hair from Stacy in the drain of his bathroom led the CSIs to Marlon, but his twelve-year-old sister Hannah shocks the court when she takes the stand claims that she is one who killed Stacy--and she has what looks like blood and dirt on her tank top to prove it. The judge denies a motion to suppress Hannah's assertion, leaving the CSIs with the task of proving her wrong.
Nick consults with Catherine, Sara and Warrick, going over the evidence against Marlon. Though Marlon's videotaped confession was thrown out, the evidence against him was strong. Marlon used a school copier to make 'out of order' signs and put them on most of the showers in the girl's locker room, save for one, which he sabotaged with sodium hydroxide. When Stacy turned it on, it sprayed her in the face, sparking, burning and blinding her. Frantic, Stacy ran from the showers and either fell or was pushed down stairs in the school. From there someone moved her body to the football field and buried her. Nick thinks Hannah wasn't strong enough to move Stacy's body. Hannah is in high school, but she's a child prodigy who skipped six grades. Nick also notes that Stacy's car was left in front of the house of her boyfriend, Scott Baird, presumably to frame him, but the boy was at an away basketball game and was quickly eliminated as a suspect.
Hodges confirms the soil on Hannah's shirt matches the soil from the football field, so Sara and Sofia question the girl. Hannah tells them she hated Stacy. The pretty, popular senior tormented Hannah, constantly playing pranks on her, culminating in giving her a dress for the spring with cruel phrases written on it through Scott, whom Hannah was tutoring. When Hannah showed up at the dance, the blue lights revealed the things written on the dress. Hannah claims the shower was supposed to be just a prank, but she miscalculated. The CSIs don't know what to believe--the blood on Hannah's shirt proves to be her own, not Stacy's, and she could have easily gone to the football field to get the dirt at anytime. The CSIs go to the Wests' house, where Mr. and Mrs. West insist that Marlon, not Hannah, is the guilty party. In Hannah's room, Sara and Nick discover a poster for a science project Hannah did on sodium reactions, as well as the ruined dress and a copy of Stephen King's Carrie.
While Nick discovers Hannah's prints on the shower curtain Stacey had around her, Sara questions Hannah's chemistry teacher, who seems certain Hannah didn't commit the murder. He believes it was Marlon, not Hannah, who stole the sodium hydroxide from the lab. Catherine and Warrick go back to Stacy's car and discover a bloody fingerprint under the driver's seat and are surprised to match it to Scott, Stacy's boyfriend. Scott admits to having sex with Stacy in the car, but keeping it secret because she took a virginity pledge. Scott used a condom, but Stacy bled a little and her blood was on the condom, and when he took it off, he got it on his hands. Hodges tests further and confirms that the blood has spermicide mixed in with it. Scott's story checks out. The CSIs turn back to the crime scene. Warrick brings Tina's niece, Darcy, who is the same size as Hannah, along to help with the experiment. Though she's able to reach the showerhead with a stool, she simply isn't strong enough to drag the body on her own.
The CSIs start to suspect that Hannah and Marlon killed Stacy together, and are now conspiring to cancel out each other's confessions and both get off. In separate questioning sessions, both Marlon and Hannah maintain their guilt. When Sara tells Hannah there's no way she could have dragged Stacy's body that far, Hannah tells her she didn't--she used a landscaping cart parked in the field. Her story about the cart checks out, and there's just no way for the CSIs to prove Hannah didn't kill Stacy. Sara is convinced that the girl did it, but Nick still thinks she's covering for her brother. The DA is forced to continue Marlon's trial. The jury deliberates and comes back with a verdict of 'Not guilty.' Afterwards, Sara tells Hannah she will be charged with murder, but Hannah is convinced that even if she does go to jail, it will only be for five years at most. She reminds Sara that people get away with murder everyday, and then leans down and whispers a secret to the CSI: she didn't kill Stacy; Marlon did.
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