Asterisk (Season 13, Episode 8)
Premise: A limousine driver is found dead in a park, and the star ballplayer charged with his murder claims steroids drove him to it while the real reason for the killing stays hidden from the jury.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 13, Episode 8
- Detectives
- Det. Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), Det. Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), ADA Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm), DA Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Guest stars
- Reynaldo Rosales as Kevin Seleeby, Jay O. Sanders as defense attorney Alan Fenwick, Josh Stamberg as Martin Stanley, Bill Dawes as David Arkuss, J. K. Simmons as Dr. Emil Skoda
- Director
- Steve Shill
- Writers
- Terri Kopp
Summary
The Investigation
“Asterisk” begins when a community-service crew finds a man dead in a Manhattan park, his neck broken and his wallet, watch and keys gone. The medical examiner concludes he was killed elsewhere, probably by a left-handed attacker, and dumped. A tattoo and a scribbled to-do list lead to Suzy Ikedo, who identifies her fiancé, Norman Pratt, a recovering addict who drove a limousine.
Pratt’s last booking was an overnight run to Atlantic City for baseball star Kevin Seleeby, his agent Martin Stanley and his cousin David Arkuss, who say they came back early. Roger Ellery, who once sold Pratt meth and now deals in steroids, hints that Pratt was supplying Seleeby. The limousine’s odometer shows only seven new miles, so the trip never happened. Seleeby then says the three spent the night at a hotel after plans for call girls fell through, and Stanley and Arkuss recite suspiciously identical timelines.
Phone records show Seleeby called Stanley from home when he was supposedly at the hotel bar, and Stanley dialed 911 and hung up. Reminded that New York has the death penalty, Arkuss admits that he and Stanley helped Seleeby dump the body, and Stanley backs him up. Seleeby is arrested.
The Trial
Stanley and Arkuss see their charges cut to accessory after the fact, with no jail time, in exchange for testimony. Defense attorney Alan Fenwick turns down manslaughter and argues steroid-induced psychosis. Dr. Emil Skoda finds Seleeby legally sane but far from normal. A memo mistakenly attached to the defense expert’s report mentions Douglas Karell, and Southerlyn learns that Pratt was blackmailing Seleeby over a romance with Karell, a gay magazine’s publisher. The judge treats the memo as protected work product and bars any mention of Karell.
At trial, Arkuss describes finding Pratt dead in Seleeby’s kitchen and helping move the body. A psychiatric witness says steroids can fuel violence but did not make Seleeby psychotic. McCoy then tries to call Ellery to suggest a steroid-blackmail motive, but the judge blocks it because McCoy knows the blackmail concerned something else, and Southerlyn faults his tactics. In closing, Fenwick blames the pressure to reach the major leagues, while McCoy argues that a cheater cannot use cheating as a defense to murder.
Spoiler, the ending: The jury finds Seleeby guilty of first-degree murder. Fenwick plans to appeal, and the prosecutors doubt he would raise the blackmail motive even at a retrial. McCoy maintains he has nothing to apologize for.
Why it stands out
- J. K. Simmons appears as psychiatrist Dr. Emil Skoda, who evaluates Seleeby’s “roid rage” defense.
- A defense memo sent to the prosecution by mistake reveals the true motive, yet the court shields it as attorney work product.
- Fenwick cites real athletes, including Ray Lewis, Allen Iverson and Rae Carruth, while arguing over how juries treat sports stars.