Recap / Law & Order S11 E17 "Ego"

Directed By:James Quinn

Written By:William N. Fordes & Wendy Battles

Two men on a fishing trip find the murdered body of Karen Hall in the river. The victim was an investigator in the Attorney General's office. Briscoe and Green learn that Karen recently ended her relationship with a married man who may have been a co-worker. Sure enough, a waiter at a restaurant says that she often came in for dates with her boss, Assistant Attorney General Alec Conroy (played by Nestor Serrano). Conroy misled the police investigating Karen's disappearance and convinced a witness to lie.

Conroy admits to having an affair with Karen but says it was over. He names another girlfriend, Alice Marner, as his alibi. Alice confirms this but it's clear she is lying. Conroy was separated from his wife when Karen died, but they're now back together. Just before the murder, Mrs. Conroy agreed to work on the marriage and go to his next therapy session with him. What Conroy said during the session was so disturbing that the therapist, Dr. Breitel, wrote to Karen to warn her that Conroy posed a serious threat to her safety. (This is legally permitted under case law.)

With evidence that Conroy took Alice's boat out on the night of the murder and that she keeps a gun on board, McCoy and Carmichael confront her. She confesses he asked her to come out onto the boat and help him dispose of ... something. He is arrested. The defense gets the letter, and Dr. Breitel's testimony, excluded because while Mrs. Conroy's presence in the therapy session would invalidate patient confidentiality, Conroy is still covered by spousal privilege. He smugly refuses a plea, saying that McCoy and Carmichael can't prove anything.

The defense presents a reasonable case to the jury that Alice killed Karen out of jealousy and then convinced Conroy to protect her. But McCoy realizes Conroy isn't covered by spousal privilege - at the time of the murder, he and his wife were legally separated under a court order. The letter and Dr. Breitel are re-admitted as evidence. Conroy takes a plea and admits he killed Karen because he could no longer control her. He is totally remorseless and blames her for his actions. Carmichael and Lewin are concerned by the fact that if Conroy had got away with the murder, he likely would have become the next Attorney General.

This episode contains examples of:

• A Deadly Affair: Alec Conroy and Karen Hall's affair. He killed her when she tried to end it.
• The Bad Guys Are Cops: The Albany cops who were investigating Karen Hall's initial disappearance thought the Attorney General's office didn't want them to think it involved one of their cases.
• Burial at Sea: How Karen Hall's body was disposed of.
• Control Freak: A psychiatrist testifies Conroy suffers from Control Domination Response. Karen Hall mentioned how "Old married men try to control you" to a witness she was helping.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Jack realizes Alec Conroy and his wife were legally separated, meaning Spousal Privilege no longer applied.
• Genre Savvy: Alec Conroy dryly comments to Jack and Abby about what he has said as a prosecutor. Not quite This Is the Part Where..., but close
  Jack: You might just see the light of day again.
  Alec Conroy: "The light of day." Do you know how many times I sat on the other side of this table and said those same words to a defendant?
  Jack: Now or never, Mr. Conroy.
  Alec Conroy: The ticking clock. Always an effective strategy.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Nora wonders this about herself regarding Alec Conroy. Also, she's friends with Isabel Shore, Alec's boss.
• Jurisdiction Friction: Between the cops and those investigating Karen Hall's disappearance in Albany.
• Military Brat: Both Karen Hall and her brother.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: One suspect says it would be rather foolish of him to jump to murdering people to avoid a brief prison sentence.
  Nate Richards: I was lookin' at 26 months on that fraud charge. You think I'm gonna threaten a federal witness? Cap a state investigator?
• Never My Fault: Conroy blamed Karen for the damage their affair did do his marriage. And not himself.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Alec Conroy misled the people in his office so they would pursue incorrect leads in Karen Hill's death.
• Practically Different Generations: Karen was from a large family and had an older brother around 15-20 years older than she. He tells the detectives he and Karen were close, but because of the difference in their ages, they were more like a parent and child than siblings.
• Refuge in Audacity: Abby is amazed Conroy can have affairs with two women and still be protected by Spousal Privilege. Which leads Jack to realize Conroy doesn't have Spousal Privilege, as he was legally separated.
• Ripped from the Headlines: This case appears to be based on the 1996 Thomas Capano case.
• Sarcastic Confession: Done by Alec Conroy when Jack and Abby asks him directly.
  Alec Conroy: I killed Karen Hall because I was having an affair with her, then stonewalled the investigation? (laughs) That's...That's absurd.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Alec Conroy is only the Assistant Attorney General.
• Smug Snake: Alec Conroy. He thinks he's going to walk on Karen's murder for most of the episode. He's still rather smug when confessing about killing her.
• Subculture of the Week: A store owner dryly comments to Lenny, "Everybody's got an accent these days."