Empty Eyes
Encyclopedia
"Empty Eyes" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season
of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
. This episode was unusual for the show as it was aired in the UK with an adult content warning; previously only Slaves of Las Vegas had received similar attention from censors. The crime portrayed in this episode had many similar elements to the murder of eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in 1966 by Richard Speck
.
, Sara
, and Warrick
are called to a house where five showgirls (Becca, Emily, Libby, Lauren, and Jen) have been murdered. Each of the girls appears to have been sexually assaulted
. There are bloody footprints throughout the house. As Sara processes one of the bedrooms, she is shocked by a hand reaching out from under the bed - she has discovered a sixth victim. This victim, Cammie, is bound and her throat is cut, but she is still alive. She tries to describe the murderer to Sara but Sara cannot make any sense of the words; Cammie dies with Sara holding her hand.
David
notes that although five of the girls had their throats cut, Becca was stabbed in the chest numerous times instead. Grissom speculates that Becca excited the killer more so than the other girls. He also notes a broken window in the bedroom, which appears to have been kicked by a bare foot.
As Nick
processes the kitchen with Sara, he asks her if she is OK. Nick says it was good that Sara was there so that Cammie didn't have to die alone; Sara notes sadly that usually, they show up too late to meet the victim.
Doc Robbins
notes that Jen had rib fractures and that all the girls died of exsanguination
. Emily and Lauren had consensual sex with a male before they were killed, and Becca was raped. Also, the tip of a knife is found in Becca. Finally, Doc Robbins says that Cammie survived for as long as she did because her neck was only partially cut. Sara expresses regret that she didn't get to the scene, and to Cammie, sooner. She also notices that Cammie has a C-section scar.
Catherine
processes the bathroom and finds a wastebasket filled with bloody paper towels. Each paper towel has only one blood donor - the killer cleaned off the knife after each kill. The order of the towels in the basket shows the order in which the girls were killed - Becca was killed last, and all the blood tracked throughout the house was hers.
Hodges processes some of the evidence from the house. Libby's cell phone rings - Hodges answers it and is forced to explain to her mother that Libby was killed.
The CSIs learn that the footprint on the window was Jen's - as the killer was with Cammie, Jen tried to escape; the killer left Cammie to beat Jen and never returned to check that Cammie was dead, explaining Jen's fractures and why Cammie survived.
Archie finds a newspaper article about the six girls pooling their money to buy a house together. As Warrick examines the photo in the article, he sadly recognizes one of the girls - Emily was a childhood friend. He visits Emily's grandmother to deliver the bad news.
Sara and Nick interview Lewis Greyburg, the journalist who wrote the article. He tells them that the girls organized a walk-a-thon for a fellow dancer with breast cancer and that they gave out swag bags that included ceramic kitchen knives. Sara realizes that part of Cammie's dying words were "breast knife". When they process Lewis's shoes and DNA, they are disappointed to find he is not the killer.
Grissom tells Greg
that the District Attorney
has decided not to go to trial in his civil suit, so the city has agreed to a payout to Demetrius James' family to the value of $2.5 Million. Greg is disappointed, noting that this decision implies his guilt.
A wine bottle found in the kitchen yields two sets of fingerprint
s - one belonging to a Chris Mullins and a smudged set that cannot be identified. Mandy speculates that the owner of the smudges works with his hands, leading to calluses on his fingers.
Brass
, Sara and Nick are en route to the Trip Wire Bar, which Mullins is known to frequent, when they learn that a man has been assaulted in the bar's parking lot. When they arrive, they find the man, Marlon Frost, with his throat cut and a bloody knife with the tip broken off. Sara rides in the ambulance with Frost and comforts him on the ride to the hospital, holding his hand the way she held Cammie's.
Brass interviews Chris, who admits to drinking the wine and having sex with both Lauren and Emily, but denies the murders.
The same smudgy prints are found on the knife.
At the hospital, Sara photographs Frost and fingerprints him. She notices that his prints are smudgy and inspects his fingertips - they are calloused. Frost, knowing that Sara knows that he is the killer, grabs her. Sara sees a port wine birth mark on his chest and she realizes that Cammie was saying "port wine".
Sara speculates to Grissom that Frost tried to kill himself. Nick and Sara find Frost's car and the girls' purses in the trunk. They find a pack of cigarettes in Becca's purse and a receipt for the purchase - she bought them at the Trip Wire Bar, which is where Frost saw her and followed her home.
Sara delivers the news of Cammie's death to Corey, who tells Sara about Finn, the daughter he had with Cammie, whom they had given up for adoption. Sara is finally able to understand Cammie's final words: Bye, Finn.
Frost describes the murders to Brass: "I watch the life go out of their eyes. Life drains. That's how you can tell that they're dead - they have empty eyes." Why did he kill them? "I saw this girl I liked at the bar. I followed her home. I knew she wanted to party... She was flirting with me. I just gave her the party of her life." Brass asks him why he is smiling - does he feel good about this? Frost replies, "I don't feel anything."
At the lab, Sara cries as she tells Grissom, "I held his hand. Just like I held hers. I lost perspective." Grissom wipes a tear from her cheek and they walk out of the lab together, closely being watched by a suspicious looking janitor.
submitted this episode for consideration on her behalf in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
" at the 2007 Emmy Awards
.
on July 13, 1966. Richard Speck, under the influence of alcohol, broke into a townhouse and murdered eight student nurses. A ninth survived by hiding under a bed when Speck left the room for a moment. In this CSI episode, six Showgirls were murdered, with one surviving by also hiding under a bed after the drunken killer left the room for a moment, but died shortly after police arrived. As in the episode, the real murder victims were tied with sheets and Speck pointed a gun at them, but killed them with a knife. Like the killer in the CSI episode, Speck also tried to kill himself with a knife after the murders and he too was not recognized as the murderer until he was taken to the hospital. He confessed to the crimes in the hospital, like the killer in this episode, but later stated he had no knowledge of what happened that night. Speck was a suspect in the raping of a 65-year-old woman, whereas the TV killer was wanted for the raping of an "older woman" in the week before his murders.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (season 7)
The seventh season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered on CBS on September 21, 2006 and ended May 17, 2007.-Notable cast members:-Episodes:-References:...
of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
. This episode was unusual for the show as it was aired in the UK with an adult content warning; previously only Slaves of Las Vegas had received similar attention from censors. The crime portrayed in this episode had many similar elements to the murder of eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in 1966 by Richard Speck
Richard Speck
Richard Franklin Speck was a mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on July 14, 1966.- Monmouth, 1941–1950 :...
.
Plot
GrissomGil Grissom
Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom, is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by William Petersen. Grissom was a forensic entomologist and the night-shift supervisor of the Clark County, Nevada CSI team, investigating crimes in and around the city of Las Vegas...
, Sara
Sara Sidle
Sara Sidle is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by actress Jorja Fox. Sidle is a forensic scientist and one of the core characters of the show, which revolves around a crime scene investigation team from Clark County, Nevada that investigates...
, and Warrick
Warrick Brown
Warrick Brown is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Gary Dourdan. Warrick appeared in every episode until his death in season nine, with the exceptions of "After the Show" from season four, "Crow's Feet" and "Committed" from season five, and...
are called to a house where five showgirls (Becca, Emily, Libby, Lauren, and Jen) have been murdered. Each of the girls appears to have been sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
. There are bloody footprints throughout the house. As Sara processes one of the bedrooms, she is shocked by a hand reaching out from under the bed - she has discovered a sixth victim. This victim, Cammie, is bound and her throat is cut, but she is still alive. She tries to describe the murderer to Sara but Sara cannot make any sense of the words; Cammie dies with Sara holding her hand.
David
David Phillips (CSI)
David Gregory Phillips is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by David Berman, who also serves as head researcher for the series....
notes that although five of the girls had their throats cut, Becca was stabbed in the chest numerous times instead. Grissom speculates that Becca excited the killer more so than the other girls. He also notes a broken window in the bedroom, which appears to have been kicked by a bare foot.
As Nick
Nick Stokes
Nicholas "Nick" Stokes is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by George Eads. Nick has appeared in every episode except for "Blood Lust" from season three, "Jackpot" and "Butterflied" from season four, "Committed" from season five, and "Spellbound"...
processes the kitchen with Sara, he asks her if she is OK. Nick says it was good that Sara was there so that Cammie didn't have to die alone; Sara notes sadly that usually, they show up too late to meet the victim.
Doc Robbins
Al Robbins
Dr. Albert "Al" Robbins M.D. is a fictional medical doctor in the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by actor Robert David Hall...
notes that Jen had rib fractures and that all the girls died of exsanguination
Exsanguination
Exsanguination is the fatal process of hypovolemia , to a degree sufficient enough to cause death. One does not have to lose literally all of one's blood to cause death...
. Emily and Lauren had consensual sex with a male before they were killed, and Becca was raped. Also, the tip of a knife is found in Becca. Finally, Doc Robbins says that Cammie survived for as long as she did because her neck was only partially cut. Sara expresses regret that she didn't get to the scene, and to Cammie, sooner. She also notices that Cammie has a C-section scar.
Catherine
Catherine Willows
Catherine Willows is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Marg Helgenberger, who has received two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for the role...
processes the bathroom and finds a wastebasket filled with bloody paper towels. Each paper towel has only one blood donor - the killer cleaned off the knife after each kill. The order of the towels in the basket shows the order in which the girls were killed - Becca was killed last, and all the blood tracked throughout the house was hers.
Hodges processes some of the evidence from the house. Libby's cell phone rings - Hodges answers it and is forced to explain to her mother that Libby was killed.
The CSIs learn that the footprint on the window was Jen's - as the killer was with Cammie, Jen tried to escape; the killer left Cammie to beat Jen and never returned to check that Cammie was dead, explaining Jen's fractures and why Cammie survived.
Archie finds a newspaper article about the six girls pooling their money to buy a house together. As Warrick examines the photo in the article, he sadly recognizes one of the girls - Emily was a childhood friend. He visits Emily's grandmother to deliver the bad news.
Sara and Nick interview Lewis Greyburg, the journalist who wrote the article. He tells them that the girls organized a walk-a-thon for a fellow dancer with breast cancer and that they gave out swag bags that included ceramic kitchen knives. Sara realizes that part of Cammie's dying words were "breast knife". When they process Lewis's shoes and DNA, they are disappointed to find he is not the killer.
Grissom tells Greg
Greg Sanders
Gregory Hojem-Sanders, is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Eric Szmanda. Greg appeared in every episode, with exception of "Blood Drops", "Fahrenheit 932", "Crate N' Burial" and "Too Tough To Die" from season one, "Cross Jurisdictions" from...
that the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
has decided not to go to trial in his civil suit, so the city has agreed to a payout to Demetrius James' family to the value of $2.5 Million. Greg is disappointed, noting that this decision implies his guilt.
A wine bottle found in the kitchen yields two sets of fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s - one belonging to a Chris Mullins and a smudged set that cannot be identified. Mandy speculates that the owner of the smudges works with his hands, leading to calluses on his fingers.
Brass
Jim Brass
James "Jim" Brass is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Paul Guilfoyle. Jim appeared in every episode, with exception of "Felonious Monk" from season two, "Gum Drops" and "The Unusual Suspect" from season six, "Leaving Las Vegas" from season...
, Sara and Nick are en route to the Trip Wire Bar, which Mullins is known to frequent, when they learn that a man has been assaulted in the bar's parking lot. When they arrive, they find the man, Marlon Frost, with his throat cut and a bloody knife with the tip broken off. Sara rides in the ambulance with Frost and comforts him on the ride to the hospital, holding his hand the way she held Cammie's.
Brass interviews Chris, who admits to drinking the wine and having sex with both Lauren and Emily, but denies the murders.
The same smudgy prints are found on the knife.
At the hospital, Sara photographs Frost and fingerprints him. She notices that his prints are smudgy and inspects his fingertips - they are calloused. Frost, knowing that Sara knows that he is the killer, grabs her. Sara sees a port wine birth mark on his chest and she realizes that Cammie was saying "port wine".
Sara speculates to Grissom that Frost tried to kill himself. Nick and Sara find Frost's car and the girls' purses in the trunk. They find a pack of cigarettes in Becca's purse and a receipt for the purchase - she bought them at the Trip Wire Bar, which is where Frost saw her and followed her home.
Sara delivers the news of Cammie's death to Corey, who tells Sara about Finn, the daughter he had with Cammie, whom they had given up for adoption. Sara is finally able to understand Cammie's final words: Bye, Finn.
Frost describes the murders to Brass: "I watch the life go out of their eyes. Life drains. That's how you can tell that they're dead - they have empty eyes." Why did he kill them? "I saw this girl I liked at the bar. I followed her home. I knew she wanted to party... She was flirting with me. I just gave her the party of her life." Brass asks him why he is smiling - does he feel good about this? Frost replies, "I don't feel anything."
At the lab, Sara cries as she tells Grissom, "I held his hand. Just like I held hers. I lost perspective." Grissom wipes a tear from her cheek and they walk out of the lab together, closely being watched by a suspicious looking janitor.
Continuity
- The "suspicious looking janitor" would later be revealed to be the Miniature Killer who was this season's focus, Natalie DavisThe Miniature KillerNatalie Davis is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Jessica Collins....
- A poster promoting rapper "Dollar" is seen in a victim's room. The very same poster was featured in the episode Poppin' Tags.
Awards
Jorja FoxJorja Fox
Jorja-An Fox , is an American actress, musician and songwriter. She first came to prominence as a guest star on the television drama ER, portraying the recurring role of Dr. Maggie Doyle from 1996 to 1999. This was followed by another critical success in the recurring role of Secret Service Agent...
submitted this episode for consideration on her behalf in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series-Superlatives:-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: no award*1962: Pamela Brown – Victoria Regina*1963: Glenda Farrell – Ben Casey...
" at the 2007 Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
.
Richard Speck
This episode has many similarities to the real murders of Richard SpeckRichard Speck
Richard Franklin Speck was a mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on July 14, 1966.- Monmouth, 1941–1950 :...
on July 13, 1966. Richard Speck, under the influence of alcohol, broke into a townhouse and murdered eight student nurses. A ninth survived by hiding under a bed when Speck left the room for a moment. In this CSI episode, six Showgirls were murdered, with one surviving by also hiding under a bed after the drunken killer left the room for a moment, but died shortly after police arrived. As in the episode, the real murder victims were tied with sheets and Speck pointed a gun at them, but killed them with a knife. Like the killer in the CSI episode, Speck also tried to kill himself with a knife after the murders and he too was not recognized as the murderer until he was taken to the hospital. He confessed to the crimes in the hospital, like the killer in this episode, but later stated he had no knowledge of what happened that night. Speck was a suspect in the raping of a 65-year-old woman, whereas the TV killer was wanted for the raping of an "older woman" in the week before his murders.
External links
- "Empty Eyes" at CSI Guide.com
- "Empty Eyes" at CSI Files