Directed by Jace Alexander
Written by Jill Goldsmith, Matt Witten, & William N Fordes
11-year-old Paula Weston is found asphyxiated to death in a park, but her body had been moved after death. Paula had a history of mental illness and severe behavioural problems, which were getting worse; her adoptive mother Janet was struggling to cope. When it's discovered that Janet lied about being home at the time Paula was killed, she is arrested. The detectives find out that on the night of Paula's death she and Janet had visited Dr Stahl, an alternative therapist who promised to help Paula. Stahl practices "rebirthing" therapy, which involves a child being wrapped tightly in a blanket and forced to fight their way out to symbolize being "born" again into a fresh start.
A search of Stahl's home reveals a tape recording of the therapy session, in which Paula was crying and struggling to breathe; when Janet complained, Stahl asked her to leave. Stahl is charged with murder and Janet with obstruction, but Stahl's testimony leads McCoy to discover that Paula actually died from a reaction to latex. Janet knew Paula was allergic, and had rubbed latex gloves on the blanket she provided for Paula's therapy. Confronted with this knowledge, Janet says that she deserves a life of her own; Paula was simply too difficult to live with. McCoy responds that Paula herself was just a child. Stahl's charges are reduced to physical assault and Janet will be charged with murder.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: For most of the episode, the audience is told that Paula died because of the way Stahl handled her. Turns out that the real cause if death was an exposure to latex, caused by Janet.
- Death of a Child: Paula was only 11 years old when she died.
- Department of Child Disservices: The adoption agency Janet uses admits that they took advantage of her because as an older divorced woman she knew she didn't have a lot of options for having a child; no one else would ever have agreed to adopt Paula.
- Enfante Terrible: Paula reportedly was one.
- It's All About Me: Janet Weston.
- Offing the Offspring: This was Janet's plan all along.
- Ripped from the Headlines: From the case of Candace Newmaker, a child who suffocated during rebirthing therapy.
- Snake Oil Salesman: While Stahl genuinely believes that rebirthing works, she isn't a medical doctor and there is no scientific evidence to support the treatments she uses. She also did not perform CPR on Paula when she got into trouble in her practice; which no-one involved can quite believe.
- Also inverted, as Skoda appears in this episode to inform everyone that the behavioural diagnosis attributed to Paula is very real, and that there are a variety of treatment options available of varying efficacy. This one just hasn't got the numbers together yet to say one way or the other whether it's any use.
- Weaponized Allergy: Janet killed Paula by taking advantage of her allergy to latex.
