CSI: CRIME scene investigation

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Snakes

Written by Dustin Lee Abraham
Directed by Richard Lewis

The scalped head of a young Latino woman is found in a newspaper kiosk in a barrio in East Las Vegas. When Dr. Robbins finds a dead baby rattlesnake in her throat, indigenous to Mexico, the CSI team thinks they are dealing with a gangbanger. But when they search her apartment, they discover that Veronica Juarez, a.k.a Carla, led a slightly contradictory life – a college degree, upscale digs far removed from the neighbourhood in which she was found, and evidence that she might have been a groupie to a popular local norteno band called Extremo.

Nick and Detective Vega track the woman to the club where the band plays, and when they translate the narcocorrido that Extremo’s Rafael Salinas is singing, the lyrics are disquieting: “The lady was a liar, she wasn’t who she said she was, she stole my heart so I stole her life, and made the snake eat a snake.”

Upon further investigation, Nick takes a second look at the newspaper Veronica’s head was lying on, and discovers that Veronica was a reporter working undercover and writing about the songs called narcocorridas – drug anthems, or folk songs about drug trafficking, murder and money, with lyrics that are usually incorporate details of actual crimes. The biggest fans of that music are hardcore drug producers from Southern Mexico, the same area of Mexico the rattlesnake came from.

 Meanwhile, Warrick, Greg and Sophia team up to investigate the death of a driver of a handicapped van, only the driver was not handicapped. He was killed from inside the van, and then the shooter disappeared, leaving the wheelchair behind.

And Sara finally decides to sit down with Grissom to discuss their relationship, including the fact that she may have said incriminating things about him to Ecklie, leading to the breakup of the team.