Episode 5: Leave Out The Rest
The brutal killing of a man leads the CSIs into a sordid world of sadomasochism. Early information indicates the victim’s girlfriend is responsible, but a startling turn of events leaves the investigators with only circumstantial evidence.
Grissom and Catherine are called to the side of a highway where the body of an unidentified man has been dumped. The victim has been dead for just a couple of hours, and the ligature marks on his wrists indicate that he was tied up and dragged under a vehicle.
Information comes to light that identifies the man as one Ian Wallace. Riley and Nick visit his apartment to search for clues. It is obvious from the paraphernalia littered around the flat that Ian lives with his girlfriend, Justine Stefani. In the double garage, Nick discovers Ian’s sports car, but the other space is empty. “Maybe she roped him to the bottom of her truck and split,” says Riley.
At the lab, Grissom and Dr Robbins discuss the results of Ian’s autopsy – the killer restrained the victim before strangling him. Oddly, electrical burn marks were found on Ian’s tongue and puncture wounds on his nipples. Catherine speculates that Ian may have been involved in an S&M session gone wrong.
For an expert opinion, Grissom pays a visit to fetishist and psychologist Lady Heather (Melinda Clark, ‘The OC’). She confirms that the marks on Ian’s nipples are from a sexual act called ‘needleplay’, and the burn marks are a result of ‘tongue bondage’. She also concludes that Ian was a submissive who enjoyed pain. Now Grissom must find Ian’s dominatrix in order to move the investigation forward.
Under Grissom’s instructions, Riley, Greg and Nick search Ian and Justine’s bedroom. Riley discovers a trunk of bondage gear under the bed, but it contains none of the equipment required for needleplay. A semen sample collected from the bedroom is later found to be Ian’s, but the female DNA present does not belong to Justine. Given her boyfriend’s infidelity, Justine would have had clear motive for the crime. However, based on psychological analysis, Heather does not believe Justine would be capable of murder. “She’s not your killer,” she says.
Heather’s assessment proves correct when the CSIs receive word that Justine’s burnt-out car has been found with her body inside. “Our suspect is now a victim,” says Greg. The autopsy indicates that Justine died when she was mown down by her own car. The CSIs conclude that the killer departed the scene either by hitching a ride or being driven away by an accomplice.
Meanwhile, a tip-off from Heather takes Jim and Nick to the Lower Linx Trance Club – a fetishist venue that has a special chamber for discerning clients. After convincing the reluctant manager to show him inside, Nick is able to collect swabs that prove Ian had been in the room.
Later, a damning photograph confirms the identity of Ian’s dominatrix – a lawyer named Kumari, whose DNA matches to the sample found in the victims’ bedroom. According to Heather, if Ian had sex with Kumari at home, the pair had overstepped the boundaries of their relationship. Heather also theorises that Kumari may have had deeper feelings for Ian. If he spurned her, she would have motive to kill both Ian and Justine. But as the CSIs pore over their collection of evidence, they realise they have hit a brick wall. “We’re missing the third side of the evidence trinity,” says Catherine. “We can link the scenes to the victims, but we can’t link the suspects to the crime scenes.”
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Meet the forensic heroes of the Las Vegas crime scenes as they untangle the evidence behind police lines, bagging and swabbing every morsel of evidence to nail the bad guys.
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