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Friday 1 June 2012

CSI: Miami - 8.11: "Delko for the Defense" Review


Calleigh, Ryan and Horatio catch a suspect running from a crime scene who claims he only broke in. Delko returns as forensics expert for the defence but finds he can't remain objective enough.

Calleigh (Emily Procter) and Ryan (Jonathan Togo) answer a 911 call and give chase to a suspect.   Think this is the first in a chase scene for Calleigh.   I'm sure the heels of her boots kept changing, everytime the shots were replaced with her stuntwoman.   Calleigh finds the suspect in the swimming pool, pretending to be swimming but the pool water turns red from the blood on his pants.   Horatio (David Caruso) joins them in the chase and his stuntman was so obvious from the back.   Can't beat CSI:NY for chase scenes!  Horatio comments that "maybe he's still here." The boy denies killing the girl but he's caught out since no one mentioned any girl as Calleigh tells him.

The news reports the death of Summer Davenport.   The suspect, Zach (Eric Jungmann) who is homeless, says he climbed in through an open window and never saw her.   Tripp (Rex Linn) says they'll get him for the break and enter charge.   Adrianna Villani (Jo Champa) introduces herself as his lawyer.   Tripp does get some great lines: "...got some sort of ambulance chasing intuition?" She introduces the suspect, her client to her forensic expert.   Marking Delko's (Adam Rodriguez) return, cos he never really left!  Tripp questions him on when he started working for the other side and by episode's end you know that was short lived, cos he just couldn't hack working for the defence.   So much for his telling Calleigh he wanted to help people.   Which just goes to show he can't remain objective whilst doing his job since he was meant to be the forensics expert only and not have any preconceptions or opinions on their client's guilt or innocence.   But he's happiest when he's helping put people away.

ME Tom (Christian Clemenson) determines Summer was stabbed six times and has defensive wounds on both hands.   The weapon used was a single-edged blade; 5" long.   Jesse (Eddie Cibrian) comments that they can't let a strong case be built for the defence.   Zach thought the house would be empty.   Jesse makes a judgment about him being guilty and he turns out to be right.   So was that his intuition talking then.   Horatio points out the scuff mark in the blood.   Jesse checks the knives in the kitchen.   Someone had cooked breakfast.   Jesse, Calleigh and Ryan document their findings on a tape recorder, which is very rare for them to do that.   Though Jesse did this in the first episode of this season before he left for LA.   Ryan doesn't find any signs of forced entry, the bed was slept in and the window was open; just as Zach described.

Delko tells Calleigh about Tripp's comment that he's gone over to the dark side and that he and Calleigh are both looking for the truth.   He's only observing them.   Jesse tests the blade and it matches the dimensions of the murder weapon and the blood on it belongs to the Vic.   Delko video taping everything that's been done.   So how come no other suspect in the show ever had a forensics expert working for their lawyer.   The prints on the handle match Zach's.   Calleigh notices a dark stain on Zach's pants and the scuff mark shows he knelt in her blood.   He claims to have slipped and fallen.   Calleigh determines Delko has one of Villani's 20% of suspects who are guilty.

Zach took sleeping pills and didn't hear anyone but thought he heard a man's voice.   He could have been dreaming.   To which Delko answers if a suspect dreams then he's more involved in the case than he said.   Delko asks him to draw what he saw when he ran out.   Delko surmises when a suspect draws from their own perspective they are telling the truth, but Zach drew from a bird's eye view, so he's hiding something.   Zach admits to Villani he is keeping a secret but he'd rather go to jail than tell her.   Well that's exactly where he ended up.

Horatio still thinks Delko is part of the family and spells out some words of wisdom for him when he can't seem to handle the case, that "a forensics expert cannot walk on the case." Calleigh testifies to her finding but is contradicted by Delko by saying that the splash pattern on the tile could have happened when he slipped on the blood.   Jesse testifies about the knife and he shoots down his testimony by stating that if the timeline is examined, then the prints on the knife don't reveal when Zach touched the knife.   He used the knife to cut limes and the blade tested positive for citric acid.   Well he was homeless but his hygiene was questionable, who uses a knife and puts it back dirty.   Also it could be argued he could have used the knife later on, after the killing, just to throw them off the scent.  The judge finds there's no evidence to bring a murder charge.

Horatio et al go over the CS and the Vic's house.   Delko films and Ryan suggests Delko should take photos to see if Ryan's doing his job correctly.   Rather sarcastic on his part especially since he got on much better with Delko than he appears to with Jesse.   Also Ryan is the CSI who usually finds himself in trouble a lot and as a suspect too, soon to come, so it's ironic he tells Delko to film him.   Horatio tells him Delko has every right to be here.   Ryan wonders "who's watching him, watching us?"  Horatio finds a bra in the sofa which appears to have tearing on it so could have been ripped from the Vic.  Horatio asks ME Tom to conduct an exam on the Vic for indications of sexual assault.   Which reveals evidence of bruising and tearing.

Valera (Boti Bliss) in a rare appearance turns up, we don't get to see her much since the addition of Eva LaRue to the cast, which is a shame.   She carries out biologicals  for a DNA profile and compares them to Zach.   Back at court where Delko helps out Villani again, however this time the Judge orders Zach to give a blood sample.   He protests and Tripp comments he's got something to hide.   Valera gets a line about forensics, "let the blood tell the truth." Which of course it would.

Boa Vista (Eva LaRue) tests the blood sample and has to exclaim "Oh my God" three times before letting Horatio and Delko in on her findings.   Zach doesn't have any sex organs, Tripp has to confirm visually.   Which is almost like something Flack (Eddie Cahill) would have to do as in the episode, Personal Foul of CSI:NY; where he looked under the Vic's dress and determined the Vic was actually a man.   Jesse and Walter (Omar Miller) take a moment to share a joke with Tripp about this and Jesse asks if he pat him down at the CS.   Tripp's not amused.   Jesse and Walter don't really seem the type to make such a comment which seems to be at the expense of Zach, but it was probably allowed since he was guilty after all.  Zach suffers from AIS: Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.   That's why Delko said he gave them a bird's eye view of the murder as he didn't want anyone finding out.

Calleigh and Delko share a moment when she tells him Miami missed him and he says he missed Miami too, meaning each other.   Oh just come out and say it.   Also letting him know that the States Attorney's office is looking for a forensics expert.   Conveniently, just to ensure Delko stays close to home and near to her.   That wasn't very subtle.   Calleigh asks ME Tom what the Vic ate and he replies nothing.   Causing her to liken this case to that of the 'Night Stalker' who made his Vics cook him breakfast before he killed them.   Walter checks these out but doesn't get any hits in the Miami area, but does get one in another county.   An Ellen Sheffield (Gretchen Egolf) was raped in her home 8 days ago.   Luckily the files he has to examine, carry a microchip allowing the computer to read the files and find a match.   She was forced to make him breakfast.

The others search for a connection and find both Vics had their computers serviced by the same tech, Justin Porter (Jeff Staron).  Calleigh and Horatio question Ellen who mentions her attacker wore some garbage bags.   Calleigh has to ask why.   Duh!  How long has she been a CSI?  Horatio replies to prevent any transfer getting on him.   The suspect looked different which Horatio believes is because it wasn't him but someone else.   So there were two attackers.

Dave (Wes Ramsay) checks Ellen's computer for clues and finds her webcam was on.   Justin never sent the video to himself and so it never got erased.   They watch the attack which Calleigh asks to be fast forwarded.   Someone is online and Dave traces the IP address to a storage facility, where Jesse, Ryan and Tripp find Justin watching the videos, dressed only in his shorts.  Jesse is disgusted and unplugs the computers.  Horatio checks Zach's blood, "following facts" leading to Zach and finds no trace of sedatives in his blood.   He was involved and he looks for a connection between Zach and Justin.   They both worked for the Miami Globe paper.   Zach admits he killed her because killing was the only way he could get close to them.   Proving once again that criminals in CSI:Miami always give themselves away, either by being too helpful or being just plain stupid.   As in this case when he made up the story about taking sleeping pills, begging the question was it his lack of manhood he was afraid of being found out; or that his blood would reveal the absence of sedatives.

Delko gets a job with the Attorney's office cos he can't hack working for the other side, or even leaving the show either.   Horatio comforts Ellen.  So you see, Jesse's instincts were right about Zach being guilty.    Question: if the Vics, or at least Ellen, was left alone when they changed places, why not make a break for it.   she could of course have been surprised by one of them outside, but she wouldn't know this unless she tried.   She didn't even try to arm herself to fight back if she couldn't escape.

What a hash Delko made of this episode and he was uncomfortable throughout it.   For someone who is meant to be a forensics 'expert', would've thought he'd get on with the job, irrespective of which side he was working on.   That was so unprofessional of him to let his personal feelings get in the way.   His was not to question why, but to get on and do.

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