History Recap / LawAndOrderS12E6FormerlyFamous

* AngryBlackMan: Cahill claims that a violent former client fitting this trope had threatened him, and he needed the gun for protection.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Based on the murder of Bonnie Lee Bakley, wife of the actor Robert Blake.

Tommy Vega, a formerly popular lounge singer, is Green and Briscoe's top suspect in his wife's murder due to the inconsistencies in his story, especially when it turns out he and the victim Beth-Ann were divorcing. Vega's manager Art Cahill is arrested when the murder weapon turns out to be his; he says he kept the gun for protection and anyone with access to his office (including Vega) could have stolen it. After discovering Beth-Ann reneged on an agreement to give Vega sole custody of their daughter, Southerlyn and [=McCoy=] work out that Vega shot her himself and then had an accomplice move the gun. The [=DAs=] offer Cahill immunity in exchange for his testimony at a Grand Jury hearing. He won't admit to involvement in the murder but says that Vega wouldn't kill Beth-Ann for custody - their daughter wasn't biologically his.

Tommy Vega runs into a bar shouting for help after his wife Beth-Ann is shot dead. Vega used to be a popular lounge singer, and there is huge press interest in the case. He is the detectives' top suspect due to the inconsistencies in his story, especially when it turns out he and the victim were divorcing. Vega's manager Art Cahill is arrested when the murder weapon turns out to be his; he says he kept the gun for protection and anyone with access to his office (including Vega) could have stolen it. After discovering Beth-Ann reneged on an agreement to give Vega sole custody of their daughter, Southerlyn and [=McCoy=] work out that Vega shot her himself and then had an accomplice move the gun. The [=DAs=] offer Cahill immunity in exchange for his testimony at a Grand Jury hearing. He won't admit to involvement in the murder but says that Vega wouldn't kill Beth-Ann for custody - their daughter wasn't biologically his.

* HonorableMarriageProposal: It appears that Beth-Ann used this to manipulate Vega into marriage, making her think her daughter was his so that he'd marry her to legitimize the child. It's ultimately subverted - Vega always knew the baby wasn't his.

With proof that Vega knew the truth about the child's paternity ''before'' the murder, [=McCoy=] gets Him to agree to testify to the Grand Jury by threatening to indict his sons (one or both of whom were his accomplices.) At the hearing, [=McCoy=] pushes the angle that Beth-Ann had tricked Vega into marriage by making him think her daughter was his, then conned him out of money for a custody agreement she never planned to honor. An enraged Vega confesses that he didn't care about not being the biological father - he had raised Beth-Ann's daughter and loved her as his own, and now he wasn't going to let her be taken away from him. He accepts a plea deal.

Tommy Vega runs into a bar shouting for help after his wife Beth-Ann is shot dead. Vega used to be a popular lounge singer, and there is huge press interest in the case. Vega turns out to have been divorcing the victim, and inconsistencies in his story lead the detectives to suspect him. Evidence links his manager Art Cahill to the gun, so Cahill is arrested. He claims that he kept the gun for protection after a violent ex-client threatened him, and that anyone with access to his office (including Vega) could have stolen it. After discovering Beth-Ann reneged on an agreement to give Vega sole custody of their daughter, Southerlyn and [=McCoy=] work out that Vega shot her himself and then had an accomplice move the gun. The [=DAs=] offer Cahill immunity in exchange for his testimony at a Grand Jury hearing. He won't admit to involvement in the murder but says that Vega wouldn't kill Beth-Ann for custody - their daughter wasn't biologically his.

A DNA test proves this, and Southerlyn and [=McCoy=] trace the father, proving that Vega knew the truth ''before'' the murder. Furthermore, they find that he called his sons using Beth-Ann's phone immediately after the murder, indicating one of them moved the gun for him. [=McCoy=] gets Vega to agree to testify to the Grand Jury by threatening to indict his sons. At the hearing, [=McCoy=] pushes the angle that Beth-Ann had tricked Vega into marriage by making him think her daughter was his, then conned him out of money for a custody agreement she never planned to honor. An enraged Vega confesses that he didn't care about not being the biological father - he had raised Beth-Ann's daughter and loved her as his own, and now he wasn't going to let her be taken away from him. He accepts a plea deal.

A DNA test proves this, and Southerlyn and [=McCoy=] trace the father, proving that Vega knew the truth ''before'' the murder. Furthermore, they find that he called his sons using Beth-Ann's phone immediately after the murder, indicating one of them moved the gun for him. [=McCoy=] gets Vega to agree to testify to the Grand Jury by threatening to indict his sons. At the hearing, [=McCoy=] pushes the angle that Beth-Anne had tricked Vega into marriage by making him think her daughter was his, then conned him out of money for a custody agreement she never planned to honor. An enraged Vega confesses that he didn't care about not being the biological father - he had raised Beth-Ann's daughter and loved her as his own, and now he wasn't going to let her be taken away from him. He accepts a plea deal.

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