CSI: CRIME scene investigation

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Invisible Evidence

Written by Josh Berman
Directed by Danny Cannon

Xander Berkeley (“24”) Guest Stars as Sheriff Rory Atwater

Warrick testifies in the rape and murder of a young woman, Rachel Lyford, and is blindsided on the stand when the defense proves that the search that lead to the discovery of the murder weapon and a bloody towel was illegal. The judge has no choice to declare the evidence fruit of the poisonous tree, but he gives the CSIs one day to find some kind of visible evidence before he throws out the case, and the suspect Michael Fife, is released.

The cop in the search blames Warrick for being unprepared, and Warrick blames him for not going by the book when he pulled the suspect’s car over for a broken taillight, but new Sheriff Rory Atwater (guest star Xander Berkeley) puts it into even sharper perspective for Grissom: even though Warrick followed protocol, he’s the face of the case, and it’s all about perception by the public. Evidence against a killer was thrown out of court because CSI conducted an improper search. That’s why the Sheriff has decided to hold a press conference informing the media that this case is Grissom’s responsibility, making sure the stink sticks to Grissom, not to him.

So now, even though a cardinal Grissom rule has been never to rush evidence, the CSI team must do exactly that, as the clock ticks down. Sara and Nick go back over the killer’s impounded vehicle, and find that due to a paperwork error, it’s been pancaked rather than impounded., but they persist, reinflate the car, and find bloody threads that might be from the excluded towel. Catherine returns to the murder victim’s apartment even though her original search she found no prints and no DNA – but now she finds semen on the toilet flusher. But the threads aren’t enough, and the suspect can explain away the print found on a beer bottle in Rachel’s trash, and then the kicker -- the DNA found on the toilet does not match the suspect’s. There’s no evidence that the suspect raped their victim,, and there’s no evidence that he killed her, which means their only suspect may be innocent, and with only nine hours left, the CSI team may have to go back to square one, to find the clues that have eluded them at every turn – seemingly invisible evidence.