History Recap / LawAndOrderS16E3Ghosts

* BittersweetEnding: Johnny Zona, who raped and killed Sarah Dolan, got a one-way ticket to prison, and Dan Flood, his accomplice in the crime, is dead. Unfortunately, Sarah's father, who was previously accused of the murder, won't accept Fontana's apology for ever suspecting him in the first place.

[=McCoy=] has no choice but to offer a plea deal, and Zona confirms he and Flood killed Sarah. But when Dolan decides to co-operate, the trial proceeds. On the stand, Dolan rants about the incompetence of the police involved in the initial investigation - aiming this at Fontana, who's in the courtroom. The defence suggests Dolan is guilty and just trying to pin his own crimes on someone else. Nevertheless, Zona is convicted of murder. Fontana visits Dolan and tries to apologise, but Dolan just shuts the door in his face.

* OffingTheOffspring: Dolan was falsely suspected of this.
* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: Dolan waited to report the murder until he could speak to his lawyer. At the time, this made Fontana suspect him; and the defence later brings it up in court to discredit him.
* PapaWolf: Dolan for Sarah.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil

* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: This is Fontana's response when Green suggests Dolan may have waited to report the murder until he could speak to his lawyer. The defence later brings it up in court to discredit Dolan.

Zona's brother Nick reports that Zona once admitted to strangling a child, and a second autopsy of Sarah's corpse supports this. Fontana all but bribes Nick to testify, and argues with [=McCoy=] over the case. The prosecution starts to unravel when Nick lies on the stand, but [=McCoy=] is determined to proceed. Borgia realizes that an old mugshot of Zona matches the description of a man that Sarah's father reported seeing outside his house just after Sarah's murder. However, Mr. Dolan is still angry that he was accused of killing his daughter. He refuses to identify the photo or have anything more to do with the case.

Petty crook Dan Flood is fatally wounded in a shoot-out with police. Whilst dying, he confesses to raping and murdering Sarah Dolan, a child star who was killed ten years previously. The detectives trace Johnny Zona, whom Flood named as his accomplice. Fontana, who worked on the original murder case, thinks Sarah's father was guilty; he was the prime suspect but there was not enough evidence to prosecute. The case is re-opened when it's discovered that at the time of the murder, Flood was employed as a construction worker at the Dolans' house. Sarah's father is still angry that he was accused of murdering his own daughter, and refuses to speak to police.

Zona's brother Nick reports that Zona once admitted to strangling a child. A second autopsy of Sarah's corpse supports this, but [=McCoy=] is furious to learn Fontana implied he'd help Nick get a liquor licence for his restaurant in exchange for testifying against Zona. The case rapidly unravels when Nick lies on the stand, but [=McCoy=] is determined to proceed with the case. Borgia realizes that an old mugshot of Zona matches the description of a man that Dolan reported seeing outside his house just after Sarah's murder. However, Dolan refuses to identify the photo or have anything more to do with the case.

[=McCoy=] has no choice but to offer a plea deal. Zona confesses that he and Flood robbed the house to fund their crack addiction; Flood raped Sarah, and then Zona panicked and strangled her. Dolan has now decided to co-operate, but he's enraged to hear about the plea deal - Zona would get only 3 to 9 years in jail. [=McCoy=] withdraws the deal and the trial proceeds. On the stand, Dolan rants about the incompetence of the police involved in the initial investigation. The defence spins this to suggest Dolan is guilty and just trying to pin his own crimes on someone else. Nevertheless, Zona is convicted of murder. Fontana visits Dolan and tries to apologise, but Dolan just shuts the door in his face.

[=McCoy=] has no choice but to offer a plea deal. Zona confesses that he and Flood robbed the house to fund their crack addiction; Flood raped Sarah, and then Zona panicked and strangled her. Dolan has now decided to co-operate, but he's enraged to hear about the plea deal - Zona would get only 3 to 9 years in jail. [=McCoy=] withdraws the deal and the trial proceeds. On the stand, Dolan rants about the incompetence of the police involved in the initial investigation. The defence spins this to suggest Dolan is guilty and just trying to pin his own crimes on someone else. The jury convicts Zona of murder. Fontana visits Dolan and tries to apologise, but Dolan just shuts the door in his face.

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