ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: CRIMES OF PASSION: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television drama/thriller film follows a tough defense lawyer's quest for justice after she is assaulted. The program begins as attorney Stacey Keane greets her fiancé, Detective Richard Younger, and then heads for court, where she defends an accused rapist and aggressively questions his accuser, Cynthia Morgan, implying that she is lying and "asked for" their encounter. Her client is acquitted and Stacey, celebrating with her co-workers, runs into a former colleague, Justin Decker, and joins him for drinks. He praises her work on the case and asks why she transitioned from prosecution to defense, admitting that his own career is not going as well as he had hoped. An unknown figure follows them as Decker accompanies Stacey home and asks to come inside for coffee, and once there, his good humor vanishes as he reveals that he has been watching her in court and has grown envious of her work. When she rejects his romantic advances, he becomes enraged and rapes her. Afterwards, he assures her that he will never be convicted and will accuse her of wanting "one last fling" before marrying, but she impulsively stabs him with a large fork, killing him. Panicked, Stacey disposes of his body inside of his car, letting it roll into a nearby river.
The next day, Richard's boss tells him that A.D.A. Justin Decker has gone missing, while elsewhere Stacey is unnerved when her colleagues discuss the idea of self-defense versus revenge killing. Richard is confused when Stacey pulls away from him, stating that she "needs time," and she seeks out a Dr. Ellen Abrams, who works at the rape crisis center, explaining that she has "a client" in need of counseling. Stacey then receives threatening messages from a strange man, "Philly," who finally corners her in the park and reveals that witnessed the rape and subsequent killing, explaining that he had been blackmailing Decker for various rapes committed in the past. Having lost his "meal ticket," he demands $50,000 from Stacey in exchange for the DNA evidence from the killing, and Stacey, feeling trapped, hands over the money. Richard tells Stacey about the missing A.D.A., and when she asks, agrees that Cynthia's rapist was indeed probably guilty. He again asks about her anxious behavior, and she hints that she received threats after securing the man's acquittal, but declines to explain further. Later, she visits the rape crisis center but is chased out by the staff, who angrily accuse her of defending rapists and shaming their survivors.
Richard questions Stacey about their plans to move in together, though she delays him and again confesses to having doubts about her job, though he assures her that he does not judge her career choices. She suffers nightmares about the attack, and when Decker's body is soon found in the river, Richard vows to track down his killer. Abrams tells Stacey that she cannot help her traumatized client "secondhand," reminding her that the victim did nothing wrong, and Stacey's discomfort increases when she learns that her firm has received several more rape cases in the wake of her impressive acquittal. Richard learns that Decker was stabbed in a likely "crime of passion," and he is surprised to find several women's phone numbers, including Stacey's, in Decker's organizer. He interviews the women, all successful career types who are reluctant to discuss Decker, and Philly tracks down Stacey again and demands more money, hinting that he has other evidentiary items in his possession. The papers report that the police have no suspects in Decker's murder, though Richard and his colleagues remain convinced that there is a connection with the various women. Stacey is questioned by Richard's captain and states that she knew Decker only casually, but his car is soon located in the river. Philly approaches her during lunch with Richard and makes suggestive comments, though Richard mistakes him for one of her seedy defense clients.
Richard then learns that Philly was previously represented by Decker and begins to connect the dots to Stacey, and when Stacey returns to the rape crisis center, she finds that a patient there has been attacked by her husband, she promises to defend the woman, vowing that "the system is not broken." She tearfully admits to Abrams that there is no client and she herself was raped, and Abrams, who had guessed the truth, urges her to continue getting helped. The cops search Philly's house and he angrily calls Stacey, sure that she has informed on him, but she begins to stand up to his threats. Richard finds recordings of Philly, pretending to be a detective, ordering Decker's as sorted victims to stay quiet, and he realizes that Philly was blackmailing his own lawyer with the evidence. Stacey informs Philly that his "options have narrowed" and advises him to run, rather than facing jail time or Richard's ire, and Richard, questioning the waitress, finds that Stacey was the woman with whom Decker spent his final evening. When he confronts her, she breaks down and tells him about the rape and accidental killing, stating that she was too ashamed to tell him, and she produces the murder weapon, telling him that they cannot "live a lie" together. Despite his protests, she confesses to the police, and Richard furiously arrests Philly for the extortion and facilitation.
In court, the prosecutor questions Stacey harshly, just as she used to do to her clients' accusers, suggesting that she desired a sexual encounter with Decker. Abrams urges her to use her experience as a lawyer and tell her story honestly, and she takes the stand and admits how she used to intimidate and shame rape survivors, but now truly understands the terror and loneliness of experiencing an assault. The judge agrees that she killed Decker in self-defense and gives her a suspended sentence for the obstruction, ordering her to serve her community service alongside Abrams at the rape crisis center. Later, she continues suffering nightmares about Philly and Decker, but Richard comforts her, assuring her that they will work through the trauma together. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: January 11, 1998 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:51947
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Drama, legal; Sexual harassment and rape; Blackmail
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1998
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Advil Cold & Sinus medication
- TV - Commercials - Alberto VO5 hot oil treatments
- TV - Commercials - Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - Alpha Hydrox skin lotion
- TV - Commercials - Avatar men's fragrance
- TV - Commercials - Boston Market restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Carnival cruise lines
- TV - Commercials - Children's Advil medication
- TV - Commercials - Children's Tylenol Sinus medication
- TV - Commercials - Children First mentoring hotline
- TV - Commercials - Clairol Hydrience hair color
- TV - Commercials - Ethan Allen stores
- TV - Commercials - FedEx shipping services
- TV - Commercials - Finesse hair products
- TV - Commercials - Glade Plug-In air fresheners
- TV - Commercials - GlaxoWellcome smoking cessation program
- TV - Commercials - Halls throat lozenges
- TV - Commercials - Healthy Choice Zesty Gumbo
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Special K cereal
- TV - Commercials - Kinko's copy centers
- TV - Commercials - Little Caesars pizza restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Maalox antacid
- TV - Commercials - Mediterania pasta sauce
- TV - Commercials - Neutrogena Healthy Skin anti-wrinkle cream
- TV - Commercials - Nicoderm CQ nicotine patches
- TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Partnership For a Drug-Free America program
- TV - Commercials - Paul Mitchell hair care products
- TV - Commercials - Ragú pasta sauce
- TV - Commercials - Revlon ColorStay hair color
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Sprint prepaid phone cards
- TV - Commercials - Stetson cologne
- TV - Commercials - Tavist-D cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Vaseline Intensive Care lotion
- TV - Commercials - Vidal Sassoon hair products
- TV - Commercials - Wrigley's Extra chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Zantac 75 heartburn medication
- TV - PSA - Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk
- TV - Promos - "20/20"
- TV - Promos - "ABC World News Tonight"
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest Home Videos"
- TV - Promos - "Boy Meets World"
- TV - Promos - "Cracker: Mind Over Murder"
- TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
- TV - Promos - "Nightmare Street"
- TV - Promos - "On the Line"
- TV - Promos - "Prey"
- TV - Promos - "Ruby Bridges"
- TV - Promos - "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"
- TV - Promos - "Teen Angel"
- TV - Promos - "The Practice"
CREDITS
- Lawrence Horowitz … Executive Producer
- Michael O'Hara … Executive Producer
- Rona Edwards … Co-Executive Producer
- Lillian Gallo … Co-Executive Producer
- Nick Yellen … Co-Executive Producer
- Chuck Bowman … Co-Executive Producer, Director
- Tracey Jeffrey … Producer
- Beth Schroeder … Co-Producer
- Kristine Bamattre … Associate Producer
- Tom Gates … Writer
- Paul Stefaniak … Writer
- Stacy Widelitz … Music by
- Rosanna Arquette … Cast, Stacey Keane
- Steven Eckholdt … Cast, Det. Richard Younger
- Lochlyn Munro … Cast, Justin Decker
- Teryl Rothery … Cast, Ellen Abrams
- Garry Chalk … Cast, Homicide Captain
- Fulvio Cecere … Cast, Det. Celio
- Lawrence Monoson … Cast, Phillip "Philly" Ross
- Malcolm Stewart … Cast, Stephen Rose
- Deanna Milligan … Cast, Cynthia Morgan
- Christine Lippa … Cast, Rhonda
- Greg Thirloway … Cast, A.D.A. Landrum
- William deVry … Cast, Jeffrey Davenport
- Lynda Boyd … Cast, Liz
- Gaetana Korbin … Cast, Katherine Murphy
- Venus Terzo … Cast, Shelly the Waitress
- Ken Ryan … Cast, Judge