CSI: CRIME scene investigation

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Ch-Ch-Changes

Written by Jerry Stahl & Carol Mendelsohn
Directed by Richard Lewis

A woman is found viciously murdered alongside a deserted stretch of highway. According to her ID she is Wendy Garner, who worked in the entertainment department of the Tangiers. But the registered owner of the vehicle proves to be Walter Clancy, who was a blackjack dealer in the mid-90s. Based on the post mortem, Dr. Robbins discovers that Wendy had genital reassignment surgery, and he believes that her killer had to be emotionally involved with her given the brutality of the crime.

Brass interviews a cop who pulled Wendy over earlier that night. He claims she was “working it,” and that she had some video she wanted him to see, but he insists he let her go with a warning. The trail goes cold until, with some computer assistance, the CSIs find out that Walter didn’t kill Wendy. “It’s more like Wendy killed Walter,” Warwick says – Wendy and Walter were one and the same person.

The cop appears to be telling the truth, and the team can’t connect him to the DNA at the scene, but they are able to trace her fiancé (guest star Rafael Sbarge, The Guardian), who seems to have no idea that Wendy and Walter are the same person. With help from trannie showgirls at the Tangiers, the team finds Wendy’s surgeon, the best in the business, Dr. Welser. Wendy wanted to fast track the process of reassignment surgery, thinking surgery would chase away all her emotional problems, but the doctor refused to accommodate her. Mimosa, a friend who stood by Wendy through the transition process, summons Grissom and also mentions a videotape. She tells Grissom that Wendy talked about her problems in group therapy with a Dr. Lavalle (Crouse). When questioned, Lavalle claims that she helped Wendy work through her disappointment over not being able to get surgery.

But Nick traces evidence found at Wendy’s house to nearby storage facilities, which leads to a shocking discovery – disappointed transgenders who were turned down for surgery like Wendy weren’t taking no for an answer, and someone has been operating on them illegally, botching the surgeries, and, as Dr. Robbins says, “repairing them to death.”