Skate or Die (Season 19, Episode 21)
Premise: A triple murder at a homeless camp mimics a serial killer’s signature, and the case against the real culprits depends on a schizophrenic street skater who turns out to be the serial killer himself.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 19, Episode 21
- Detectives
- Det. Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto), Det. Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Michael Cutter (Linus Roache), ADA Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza), DA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)
- Guest stars
- Brian Gant as Jonah Applebaum, Jamie Harrold as Grant Carpenter, Joseph J. Parks as Bob Carpenter, Kelly Hutchinson as Jen Nelson, Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
- Director
- Norberto Barba
- Writers
- Ed Zuckerman & Luke Schelhaas
Summary
The Investigation
“Skate or Die” starts with three homeless men beaten to death with a cement-tipped piece of rebar at a camp on Randall’s Island beside a freight line. Two bear the number 377, carved after death, the mark of the “Boxcar Basher,” a serial killer of the homeless with nine victims since 2001. The third, Chip Hudson, interrupted the killer, and his girlfriend, Mary, saw the attacker checking a glowing handheld device as he carved.
The detectives decide it is a copycat: 377 stands for Ezekiel 37:7, and the real killer works up the body from the toe, as in the song “Dem Bones,” while these cuts are out of order. One victim, Paco, wore costly skates and was first taken for Jonah Applebaum, a schizophrenic street skater and former college pole vaulter known as the “Bipolar Roller.” Jonah believes the KGB wrecked his Olympic hopes, and brothers Grant and Bob Carpenter sell a clothing line built on his image.
Jonah lied about how Paco got his old skates, and a bloody knife turns up in his storage space, so he is arrested after a chase. The Carpenters steer suspicion toward the boyfriend of Jonah’s cousin, Jen Nelson, but the brothers skipped a photo shoot the morning after the killings, tried to cancel a big shipment from China and bookmarked a serial-killer fan site, and Grant’s car GPS puts him at the island shortly before the murders.
The Trial
The prosecutors stop opposing Jonah’s bail, then learn that DNA in an old knife sheath of his matches five Boxcar Basher victims. He is caught again, the triple-murder charges against him are dropped, and he is held for a 2006 killing in Buffalo, while the Carpenters are charged instead. A psychiatrist explains that Jonah thinks he kills Russian agents on government missions and saw his partners as his handlers.
On the stand Jonah calls the defendants KGB agents and threatens them. Since he can be medicated against his will only if he is a danger, Cutter visits his cell and poses as part of the Russian plot, setting off a violent outburst that leads to treatment. Dr. Elizabeth Olivet calls for his suspension. Medicated, Jonah admits the nine killings, denies the camp murders, and says he saw the Carpenters take his knife after overhearing them look for a way out of the business.
Spoiler, the ending: The Carpenters ask for a plea deal, and no verdict is shown. Jonah stays on medication at Bellevue, and as McCoy heads to the last fundraiser of his campaign, the prosecutors joke about going into private practice together if he loses.
Why it stands out
- Recurring psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet wants Cutter suspended or charged with assault after he provokes a mentally ill witness so that the man can be medicated.
- The killer’s 377 signature refers to Ezekiel 37:7, the verse about bones coming together, which explains the order of his carvings.
- The prosecution’s key witness turns out to be the serial killer whose pattern the defendants copied.