Close to Home S1E20 - English Transcript

Come on down! CROWD ( chanting ): We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! There is no "I" in team, but let me single out a young man whose half-court shot brought Cumberland's first sectional title in 14 years Colin Parks! CHEERLEADERS ( chanting ): Colin! Colin! Colin! Colin! Colin! I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and all season long, but, uh, the truth is I play for one person, my dad. All I've ever wanted was for him to be proud of me. Cumberland basketball rules! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! We're number one! DRUMMER: The shooter says that it was an accident. Any eyewitnesses? The shooter's dad saw the whole thing. I imagine Dad backs up the gun-went-off-by- accident story, huh? Well, he's not the only one standing behind that. Every single person we interviewed-- parents, teachers, teammates and even other students-- they all said that Colin Parks is a kid to be proud of. He's a great player, good grades. He was on his way to college with a full ride next year. I shot him. I shot Josh. I didn't mean to, but it's my fault. Just walk me through it one step at a time. We were goofing around after the pep rally. My dad had a gun in his truck, and we wanted to shoot it off in the air to make some noise and celebrate. Who got the gun out, you or Josh? I did. I thought it'd be fun, but, you know, then I thought, "No, it's stupid. " Was your dad's truck unlocked? Yeah. With a gun in the glove box? Look, I don't want to get my dad in trouble for this. It was my fault. What happened next? Josh tk the gun from me. He was going to fire it into the air, but I said, "No, don't. " I said we'd get in trouble. And I grabbed the gun away from him. And when I got ahold of it I don't know. It just went off. Uh, I ran over. I saw Josh on the ground. I tried to give him CPR, but I could feel the life just bleeding out of him. Colin just kept apologizing to me, to Josh. He just kept saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," just over and over again. Where were you when the shooting happened? I was about I could see the boys horsing around near my truck, but I didn't really think much of it till I heard the gun go off. Were you and Josh fighting? No. Were you mad at each other about anything? No. Were you drinking? No. Were you doing drugs? No. Was Josh doing drugs? I-I don't know. I don't think so. We've already taken a sample of your blood to be tested. Everything you're saying right now will become part of the official court records, so if there's anything you want to change about your story before those blood tests come back, now would be the time to do it. I'm telling you the truth. MR. PARKS: You know, if anyone is at fault here, it's me. I-I left a gun in my glove box. I left my truck unlocked. Don't punish my son because of my mistake. When are people going to learn not to leave guns where kids can get their hands on them? What's it going to take? Over half the trucks in this state have firearms in them. Mr. Parks had a permit. He was negligent, not criminal. One kid is dead, and another kid's life has been ruined. I sure want to charge somebody with something. There were no inconsistencies between what Colin told you and what his father told me. Right now, it looks like an accident. So what do you want to do, release him into his father's custody? Well, he's got no priors, he's not exactly a flight risk, so, yeah. I don't care what anybody says, you are a fair and benevolent prosecutor, Maureen. Oh, I'm still going to hold onto his driver's license, flag his passport if he has one, and put a car outside his house for the next 24 just to be on the safe side. That's my girl. I wouldn't turn in your paperwork just yet. We got a latecomer at the front desk, Patrick Leary. I think you need to talk to him. I-I was at the bonfire. I was there. I really should have talked to all the cops who showed up. Well, maybe not all of them, but at least one of them. I almost did, and then I got really scared, and I ran home and then I walked all the way here because Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, what did you want to tell us? I saw the shooting. I-I saw everything. I saw Colin shoot Josh. I've, I've never seen anybody get shot before. I need you to clarify something. What you saw, could that have been an accident? Accident? They were fighting. He pointed the gun right at him. Whatever the hell that was, it was not an accident. Hey, babe, when did you pick this up? Don't let her see that! It's for her b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y. Okay, I can barely spell that. It's her first birthday present. I want it to be a surprise. We're going with dolls, not trucks. You can get her a truck if you want. I remember one birthday. I wanted a ten-speed bike. My dad got me a train set. The kind that takes up the whole basement. Were you mad? Mm, I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I played with it every damn day. I mean, I know it was for him more than me, but it was still kind of fun. I keep thinking about that father and son from last night. Yeah. Wow, the kid who sank the shot shooting his own teammate. So remember how I told you it was an accident? Yeah. I just checked my e-mail. We got a witness in at 2:00 in the morning saying it was a ***. Ouch. What's going to happen to him now? It doesn't look good for him. Yeah, well, Ann, be careful. Folks in Indiana hate forfeiting basketball games. Colin and Josh, they-they were fighting by this truck and I was in the woods, like, right next to the truck so I could really kind of see everything. What were you doing in the woods, Patrick? I was, uh, taking a leak. You sure they were fighting? If by "fighting" you mean pushing each other, shoving each other, yelling and screaming like idiots, yeah, they were fighting. Could you hear what they were saying? Yeah. Josh said, "You're not going to shoot me. " Then Colin did. Who had the gun? Colin did. Could I get something to drink? Some caffeine, but not coffee. What kind of condition was he in when you interviewed him? A little odd, a little shaken. after what he'd seen after the bonfire, but sober. Does the physical evidence support his statement? The blood spatters don't. The boys weren't grappling over the gun. Spatters on Colin's jacket indicates that he was more than a full arm's length from the victim. And the straight angle of the entry wound supports that. In other words, he was pointing the gun at him. So the shooter lied to us and so did his dad. We should have held onto him longer last night. Well, we know where he lives. Okay, Lou, send out your guys. Go arrest Colin Parks. We need to figure out what these kids were fighting about that was worth killing and dying over. Oh, and Lou, can you get me a copy of Patrick's records from the high school? And while you're out there, check the victim's and the shooter's lockers. See if there's anything that points to premeditation or intent. We got to get this kid a haircut. ANNABETH: Can you think of anything Colin and Josh might have been fighting about? They did date the same girl. Oh, honey, this wasn't about her. They were friends until Brooke came into the picture. She broke up with our boy and started seeing Colin. Yes, but Josh wasn't that upset about it. All I know is, he stopped hanging out with Colin. Well, he didn't talk to me about it. He's a boy. He was a boy. He didn't talk about things like that. How long had the boys known each other? They just met last summer at basketball camp. When Josh got cut from the team here at Lynnhurst, Colin encouraged him to transfer to Cumberland to be on their team. He loved basketball. It was his senior year. And we figured you should be able to do what you love when you're a senior, so We, um just received his acceptance letter to IU. Josh would have loved college. Last week, they got in a fistfight in the locker room. Over you? When I broke up with Josh and started dating Colin, things got really awkward, you know? Especially since Josh and Colin were on the same team. They saw each other every day. Is that Colin's ring? Colin gave it to me after we won Sectionals. God, it's so weird. I can't believe my boyfriend is in jail for shooting my ex-boyfriend. They're athletes. Competitive. They've got hormones coming out of their ears. They'd scuffle. But, first and foremost, they were teammates. Can you open Josh's locker, too? Yeah. It's right down here. You know, everybody, including me, makes a big deal out of the miracle shot that got us in the playoffs. Colin never would have been able to make that shot without Josh. Clock had run down. The ball was sailing out of bounds. Josh hustled. Made a picture-perfect pass back to Colin. The rest is history. Hmm. I'm sorry you had to forfeit the rest of the playoffs, Coach. Some things in life are more important than basketball. Handwriting analysis proves Colin wrote the note. Great. 'Cause guess what just happened when I shared a copy of said note with Colin's attorney. He immediately requested a formal meeting. You think he wants a deal? Oh, he wants a deal. And what do we want? Well, Steve, we got all the cards. We don't need to deal. This note sticks a fork in "It was just an accident. " Josh and Colin fought over a girl. The girlfriend confirms it, and the note seals it. And the eyewitness can attest to the fact that there was a fight that led to the intentional shooting. Yeah, well, maybe we do want to deal. Why? Because our witness is vulnerable if we go to trial. Patrick has been diagnosed with some pretty serious learning disabilities, including dyslexia and auditory processing disorder. Which means he mixes up what he sees and what he hears. That's great. Wait. I'm assuming he's on some fairly serious meds, right? Oh, yeah. And those are geared to make him more focused, not less. But Lymon's a good lawyer. He'll twist this six ways from Sunday, and make Patrick's testimony seem completely unreliable. Yeah. He's eminently impeachable. Okay, then, let's dangle the eyewitness over his head and press for a deal. A boy is dead. Colin Parks needs to go to jail. What are the parameters? It's his first offense, and he freely admits to doing it. Ask for 12 and settle for eight. How about we ask for 12 and settle for 12? Get what you can but, whatever you do, Maureen, don't let it go to trial. MR. PARKS: That's our best offer. My son does not belong in jail. Nobody's going to jail. Just tell them. Tell them the truth. At this point, we have no use for an amended version of the truth. Just stick to the facts. Okay, well, stick this in the facts. The victim was using anabolic steroids. What? Josh was on steroids. Tell them. I knew everybody would make a big deal out of it. I never should have said anything. Guys, come on. This is a baseless allegation. My client had no choice. The victim went into a 'roid rage and attacked him, and Colin shot him in self-defense. 'Roid rage? Right. And the only reason we haven't come forward sooner is that he was trying to protect the victim's reputation, and spare his family any unnecessary pain. Oh. I'm deeply moved. Self-defense. And every single piece of circumstantial evidence supports that. Juries love self-defense, and it's stronger than accidental shooting. Self-defense will get him off. So now you're not only impugning the victim-- you're changing your story from "accidental shooting" to "The S. O. B. had it coming. " The deal in front of you is beyond fair. And now you're making up some cockamamie story to try to get Oh, you don't believe it? We've seen the autopsy reports. Nothing about steroids. Nobody wants a trial. We'll take reckless homicide, two years suspended. Yeah? Well, take this. You're going to trial. And we're not giving you reckless or involuntary. We're going to prove he's guilty, and put him away for 20 years. Ms. Chase, are you on board with your colleague's strong-arm tactic? Fully. about not going to trial. Not with this witness. Steve, it was clear to me that the steroid thing was such a fabrication I just couldn't allow them to use it as leverage in making a deal. Well, if it's not a fabrication, you just gave him self-defense. Hey, I got some good news. See? Your vic's liver doesn't show any signs of long-term abuse, so I'm thinking it was a new or even experimental thing for him. Experimental? Are you saying he was using steroids? Well, yeah. But 'roid rage, on the other hand, is highly unlikely. But I read the tox screen report. I know I did. There was nothing in here about steroids. Because this particular steroid is an androgen, and androgens aren't on the list. You know. The list, Maureen. The list? Standard tox screen tests for 29 substances most likely to kill you. If it's not on the list, we don't test for it. Well, if you're going to trial, and it looks like you are, you better find a way to repair your victim's reputation in the eyes of a jury. Why do you need me to testify? Mrs. Cooper, the defense is going to try to portray Josh as a violent, out-of-control kid with an ax to grind. Josh never attacked anyone, least of all Colin. I mean, look at these pictures. Look at these two at basketball camp last summer. Josh would never attack Colin or anyone. It wasn't in his nature. So Josh never had any unexplained mood swings, or lashed out in any way? He was a teenager. What? They're going to try to make this my son's fault that he got shot? That's exactly what they'll do. Well, the hell with that. LYMON: You told Ms. Chase you had no idea your son was using illegal anabolic steroids. Steroids intended for farm animals. Josh loved basketball so much. I think he was just trying to stay on the team any way he could. So you had no idea. None. Ms. Cooper, what time do you get home from work? What about your husband? It varies. Almost always by 8:00. So what you're saying is you left your son home unsupervised, and you had no idea what he was doing after school, did you? He was playing basketball. Year-round? When he wasn't practicing, he was at home baby-sitting his little brother and sisters. You left them alone with him? Yes. Isn't it possible that your son was acting out aggressively when you weren't looking? Do you know what a tattletale is? Excuse me? A tattletale. You've heard of it? Yes. But I'm the one asking the questions here. I'm answering your question. Your Honor? I want to hear this. If they gave awards for the best tattletale, my five-year-old would win, no question. He has eyes in the back of his head, so trust me. If Josh was going into some kind of 'roid rage, or pitching some kind of fit, I would have heard about it. MAUREEN: The State calls Patrick Leary to the stand. Okay, this was the truck they were fighting next to. I was here. And what side of the truck were they fighting on? This side. I had a clear view, and heard Josh say, "You're not going to shoot me. " And then I saw Colin shoot him. Have you been diagnosed with auditory dyslexia and dysgraphia? MAUREEN: Objection, Your Honor. Relevance. Overruled. But I'd advise you to make your point and move on. You may answer the question. Yeah. Yes. But I take medications for both tse things. That means you have trouble differentiating certain sounds and distinguishing sentences. Yeah, but not anymore. That's, you see, what the meds are for. So, then, if I read this simple recipe for baking a cake, you would have no trouble repeating the instructions back to me. Relevance? My client is on trial for his life. This witness claims he heard the victim say, "You're not going to shoot me," in the dark, behind a row of trees. This young man has auditory processing issues, Your Honor. May I continue? I'll allow it. "To bake a cake, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and then grease a nine-inch cake pan. " Please repeat those instructions in the same order. To to bake a cake To bake a cake Here. Let me simplify it for you. "To bake a cake, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees. " Just repeat that. I can't. All right? I can't. But that doesn't mean I didn't see Colin shoot Thank you. Now let's move on to the question of what you saw. What are the objects represented here on the monitor? Those are trees, sir. And you were standing here when you allegedly witnessed the shooting. From behind a bunch of trees. They didn't block the view. I have a picture here of the trees taken in the broad daylight. Can you see through them? No. No. But I wasn't there in broad daylight. Oh, so you see better at night than you do in the daytime. No. That that that's not exactly what I meant. No more questions. All yours. Patrick, those baking instructions were read, but you need to both see and hear things to accurately process information, is that right? Yes, that's right. Your Honor, given the defense's claim that the witness could not accurately see and hear the crime, the prosecution petitions the court to allow the jury to go to the crime scene and judge for themselves. Is this really necessary? JUDGE: You opened the door. Let the jury decide. PATRICK: I was standing right here. Did you ever look away? No. No, I didn't move. I was standing right here and I saw the whole fight. And Josh said, "You're not gonna shoot me," and then Colin did. Okay, you can step right over here. Go ahead. As you can see, Patrick had a clear view through the trees to Colin and Josh at the truck. Nothing further, Your Honor. Anything, Counselor? No, thank you, Your Honor. Then I think we're done here. Ladies and gentlemen. How come they get to hear his version, but they don't get to hear mine? Calm down, Mr. Parks. We'll repair the damage in court. Would you tell the jury exactly what happened? I saw the two boys near my truck fighting. Josh was utterly blind with rage. Your Honor, the witness is not only characterizing the crime scene, he's contradicting his own previous sworn statement. JUDGE: Overruled. Take it up on cross. Did it occur to you in that moment that Josh could kill your son? Absolutely. It was like a fuse had been lit. Now we know it was the steroids he was taking. What happened next? I ran over and I pulled Josh away from my son. I'm sorry, are you saying you physically intervened? Yes, that's right, I tried to break up the fight. Your Honor, we request a sidebar. No, no, let me finish. I could see from the way they were fighting that I had to do something. So I wrestled ??? trying to do? He's dropping a bomb on our trial, that's what he's doing. We understand you want to get your son off, but you could go to prison for the rest of your life. Do you get that? Do you understand? I do now. First of all, nobody believes you, okay? Nobody. We know your son pulled the trigger. You know how we know? Because he told us he pulled the trigger under oath and then you told us under oath and an eyewitness told us. If you advised him to do this, you'll be lucky to keep your bar card. Ladies, I'm as curious to hear what Mr. Parks has to say as you are. I shot Josh. ANNABETH: How? How is that even physically possible? Every single statement you've given has said the exact same thing-- you were 20 yards away from the boys, clear on the other side of the truck when the gun went off. I was lying then. I'm telling the truth now. If you shot Josh, how did you let your son sit in jail all this time and rot and go through hell for a crime you committed? Why didn't you speak up before? Because he's lying. I'm not proud of the way I behaved. And you're right, I have put my child through hell. I'm guilty. Uh, Mr. Parks, I don't represent you. But as an attorney in good standing, I have to advise you to stop talking now. ANNABETH: I don't think so. Let's put him on the record right now and take his damn confession. Are you arresting him? Because if you're arresting him for Josh's ***, I want the charges dropped against my client, his son. You can't have it both ways, ladies. What the hell is going on here? Give us a second. These two are in this together. Lymon is supporting perjury with this guy. I don't think it was anybody's plan. I think Mr. Parks saw an opportunity to save his son and he confessed out of the blue. That may be, but he's going to ride this train all the way to an acquittal. Two people confessing to the same crime, jury tainted, reasonable doubt almost guaranteed, Maureen. This is such a disaster. And if they did collude-- if this boy's father and his attorney planned to do this-- there's almost no way to prove it. And if the father and the son planned it separately, there's absolutely no way to prove it. So we can kiss any thoughts of a mistrial good-bye. Maureen, we are one day away from closing arguments. If we ask for a continuance of any more than 24 hours, this jury's gonna hate us for keeping them impaneled. Besides, they just heard the dad confess to the ***. They want to know what happens next. Okay, here's what we do: we take a new statement from Mr. Parks, we break it down and hold it up against every other statement he's made since the shooting. We compare every detail and highlight the inconsistencies. Then we cross-check his ever-changing story with the physical evidence. Right. Then we swear him back in for cross-exam and we pick him apart piece by piece. MAUREEN ( on video ): You said before you didn't see the gun until it went off. But I'm saying now that I saw the gun in Josh's hand. I got the gun away from him, then he came after me, and I shot him. Look, he was a bad kid. He was attacking my son. He was on drugs. Couldn't be clearer. He wrestles the gun away from Josh, then shoots him, then hands the gun to Colin, and then starts giving the boy he just shot CPR. Russell's initial statement reads, "I saw the two boys horsing around by my truck. I didn't think that much of it. " Let's put that up on the board. No, no, use a blue card. Orange cards for inconsistencies about the victim, blue cards for inconsistencies about the shooting. Now Russell calls Josh a "bad kid" here. What do we have on that from his prior statements? Uh page 26 in the incident report. Okay, question to Russell: "Had your son been fighting with Josh Cooper?" Russell's answer: "No, they were teammates, they were friends. Josh had been over to our house for dinner. " STEVE: Good. Perfect. Let's put that up against Russell's thing about him being a bad kid, on drugs All right, let's proceed. He was a discipline problem at his old school. They kicked him off the basketball team. If it wasn't for my son, he never would've made it onto ours. Is that true? Was the kid a discipline problem? Not according to his school. His record is clean. Josh's parents told us that he'd transferred after he was cut from the team. His girlfriend says the same thing. Yeah, nobody mentioned anything about him being kicked off. Then what is Russell talking about? I'm a coach, but I'm also a guidance counselor. I tried to handle the situation as delicately as possible and protect all parties involved. I just don't want to lose my job. Why would your job be in jeopardy? Listen when Josh was at our school, I got into a situation where I had to let him go from the team. I had my reasons. But in the current climate, my reasons leave me wide open for a possible suit for *** harassment. You're going to have to be more specific. I had reason to believe Josh was gay or experimenting. After a game last year, I saw him fooling around with a player from the opposing team out in the parking lot in a vehicle. Did you see who the other boy was? Not really, no. The windows were I took Josh off the team for his own protection. Oh. His protection. I'm not prejudiced, but a thing like that in a context of high school athletics, it's tricky. Who were you playing that night? Cumberland. Now when you say "involved" I mean involved, involved. This puts a whole new spin on things. I'll say. We assumed Josh was trying to get back together with his girlfriend. Colin didn't want that, and that's why he shot him. What if Josh was trying to get back together with his boyfriend? Or out his boyfriend to his boyfriend's girlfriend? Which used to be his girlfriend. Oh, that poor girl doesn't have a clue. STEVE: This is making my head hurt, but, yes, it does explain many, many things including this. ANNABETH: This potentially gives us a rock-solid motive. Colin shot Josh to keep their affair a secret. It also gives his father another reason to confess beyond keeping his son out of jail if it's true. If it's true. Exactly. Coach Braddock wasn't able to identify who was in the truck with Josh. There were 15 players on the Cumberland squad. Statistically speaking, two or three of them could be gay. And I think we know the answer here. STEVE: But we have to be sure. So let's go right at it. Let's talk to both sets of parents, see what they know. And what about talking to Colin? "A"-- he's in jail, "B"-- he'll just lie to us. MRS. COOPER: Honestly I can't say if I ever knew or even suspected. But after you called and told me what his old coach said about Josh, suddenly a lot of things about the past year fell into place. Like what things? Like when Brooke broke up with Josh, he seemed much more hurt about the way that Colin pushed him away than about losing Brooke. Basically, when Colin was around, my son was happy. I see that now. I was in his room, and I came across this. This is his very favorite shirt. If I close my eyes, and think of Josh over the past year, I see him in this shirt. I've seen him wear it hundreds of times. I always thought it was his jersey from basketball camp, but it isn't his. It's Colin's. MAUREEN: We strongly suspect your son is gay, and I have an obligation to share this with the jury. And when I do, they're gonna know that you're confessing to protect your son's reputation if not your own. But it's better for you and your son if you recant your confession. Stop telling a lie to cover another lie. Tell the truth and truly support your son. I know what you're trying to do. And I promise you, if you bring that up in court-- their relationship-- I will take the stand and I will tell the jury that I loaded that gun and that I took it with me to the bonfire that night. And when I saw Josh and Colin messing around by my truck, I went and I got the gun and I shot Josh. I don't see why you don't just put me in jail right now. Well, they'll never settle now. And we can't leave the father's confession hanging over the jury's heads without a cross-exam. No, you can't. You got to put him on the stand no matter what he says. Steve, he's like one of those toys with a string, and every time you pull it, he confesses and confesses, and now he's using his son's affair to give himself a stronger motive. Well, you still got to put him on the stand. If you don't, it looks like you're scared of him, which just gives him credence. You've got to take him apart, impugn him with the inconsistencies of his statement, and hope the jury sees that he's just confessing to protect his son. But it's risky. If Mr. Parks keeps confessing, eventually someone's going to believe him, at least to the point of reasonable doubt. The only person who can truly discredit the father's confession is the son, and that's not gonna happen. So either put the dad back on the stand and mess him up, or drop the damn case. He's right. Let's drop the case. Oh, he's kidding about that part, believe me. No, Maureen, I'm serious. We drop the charges against Colin and arrest his dad for ***. We got to call their gambit. Look, this kid is not going to let his dad go to prison for a crime he committed. How are you so sure about that? What if he hates his dad? He doesn't. You remember the night of the shooting? Colin didn't even want to see his dad getting into trouble for leaving his gun in the glove box. Okay, if we drop the charges against Colin, we can't try him again. Double jeopardy comes into play. What's the worst that can happen? We send an innocent man to prison and a killer goes free. We're here to inform you that we're dropping the charges against Colin. MAUREEN: Your dad has given us a full confession and has agreed to plead guilty for the *** of Josh Cooper. Under the terms of your father's settlement, he's waived his right to a trial and he will serve the rest of his life in prison. A judge will never sign off on this. MAUREEN: Here is a copy of Mr. Parks' signed confession admitting to the *** of Josh Cooper, and this would be a copy of his pending settlement agreement. If you turn to the last page, you'll see that your dad signed that, as well, and agreed to life without parole. I thought you said he wouldn't go to jail. Colin, did you know he was going to confess? No. There was no conspiracy here. How did your attorney advise you regarding your father's confession? I advised my client in the same manner I advise all my clients. I told him, for the love of God to keep his mouth shut, don't incriminate himself, and be quiet-- and that's the extent of it. And that's what I'm trying to tell him now. I didn't know my dad was going to do this. Colin, if you'd like to make a statement Ms. Scofield, please don't address my client any further. Your client is no longer being accused of anything. He has no need of representation. LYMON: And yet, here I am. I want you to shut up, all right? Oh, dear God. How long will this charade go on? Dad, what are you doing? RUSSELL: It's okay, Colin. You can just walk out of here. No, it's not okay. Why are you doing this? You're not going to prison for something that never should have happened. But you didn't do it. Colin, I'm advising you for the last time, do not say another word. Shut up! It's my fault. Why?! Because you caught us? RUSSELL: You have got your whole life ahead of you. Don't be afraid of them. Just get up and go. I want to tell you exactly what happened. RUSSELL: Colin, don't. Don't tell me what to do. This isn't about you, Dad. It's okay. No, it's not okay, and it never will be if I just walk out of here and never say anything. I'm not going to live my entire life telling a lie. I did it. I killed him. Colin, just tell us what happened. The day of the bonfire my dad walked in on Josh and me. We were in my bedroom, and he came in and saw what was going on. The same day you killed Josh? Yeah. Dad flipped out. Screaming, yelling. RUSSELL: Shut up! Get out of this house! Josh wouldn't leave. He was afraid Dad would hurt me. But he finally threw him out of the house. Out of the house! ANNABETH: Did your father hurt you? COLIN: No. But he wouldn't talk to me. He wouldn't even look at me. You went to the bonfire that night and Josh was there. Did you plan to kill him? No. It just happened. The same way everything between us just happened. We just couldn't stop it. JUDGE: You've known the victim since last summer? We met at basketball camp. That's where everything started between us. I thought, when camp was over, we'd be over, too, but, uh you know, then he transferred to my school, which was partly my idea. But I got paranoid. I hated wondering if people suspected us. I didn't want to be gay. What happened the night you killed him? When I got to the bonfire, Josh told me he was going to leave town. He was planning to run away? It wasn't much of a plan. He was just gonna do it. He wanted me to come with him. Let's go. We could leave right now. Let's go. Let's get out of here for good. Josh was so much braver than I was. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't afraid, and he just couldn't understand why I'd still want to live with my dad after he caught us together. It's gonna be good. It's gonna be good. No. Colin, who cares about what your dad thinks? So you killed Josh because you were ashamed? No. No I killed Josh because I knew if I didn't, I would have gone with him. Maybe not that night, but eventually I would have. I loved him. It was the only way I could stop it. You're not gonna shoot me. Do the People have a sentencing recommendation? In light of this confession, the People recommend that Colin receive 12 to 20 for voluntary manslaughter, with opportunity for parole. LYMON: Your Honor, the defense has accepted this offer. Very well. The defendant is hereby remanded to state's custody. Colin. If I could have those moments back, when I came home and I saw you, I would give anything Anything I love you. I love you, too. Think Haley had a good birthday? Yeah, the part she was awake for. Aw Don't worry, she'll play with your present tomorrow. She likes your present better. Well, girls like trucks, face it. Who doesn't like a truck? That's how I got you. A little something for Daddy. What is it? Just open it. Where'd you get this? Your dad had it. I went over there last week and made a copy. Look how happy Dad looks. So do you. Well, boys like to please their dads. It really was a cool train set. I worked my butt off on that thing. You were a cutie. Hmm. We should have a boy. You have any idea where we could get one? I have no clue. Hey. I-I have a headache. Splitting Shut up.