Season 1

1. One

Detectives Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames investigate a diamond heist in a house that left two occupants and one thief dead. The criminal who planned the robbery, Karl Atwood ( Jake Weber ), jumped parole in Canada and crossed the border and attempted to deceive the police into believing the theft is related to the mafia. Goren and Eames track down and interview Atwood's girlfriend Gia ( Michele Hicks ) and suggest to her that Atwood contracted AIDS in prison and has infected her, offering leniency and medical treatment if she helps them arrest Atwood. She leads them to Atwood, and when diamond buyers appear, Goren and Eames arrest them all. Goren then informs Gia that he lied about her being infected with HIV. Special appearance by Dianne Wiest as DA Nora Lewin

2. Art

Anne Ellis ( Toby Poser ) and Bernard Jackson ( Tom Bloom ), two art authenticators, are involved in an apparent murder-suicide; Ellis has been hanged and Jackson shot in the chest. The investigation leads Goren and Eames to a forged Claude Monet painting and the detectives suspect German art gallery owner Rudy Langer ( Tomas Arana ) is involved in their murder. This inquiry links to a female forger and former student of Jackson's, Sylvia Moon ( Elizabeth Marvel ) whose art-school roommate apparently committed suicide by hanging herself. After confronting Moon and Langer at the murder scene, Moon confesses that she and Langer were involved in the murders of Jackson and Ellis.

3. Smothered

Goren and Eames investigate the murder of Lois Romney ( Funda Duval ), a pregnant woman who has given up her drug addiction and is struggling to stay clean. It initially appears that the murderer is the victim's unstable junkie boyfriend, Dale van Acker ( Geoffrey Nauffts ). However their investigation leads them to the boyfriend's wealthy and domineering socialite mother, Priscilla van Acker ( Kathleen Chalfant ), a sociopath who disapproved of her son's girlfriend and arranged to kill her and frame her philandering husband at the same time.

4. The Faithful

Goren and Eames investigate the death of a Catholic church sexton, Morris Abernathy. They begin to suspect Kevin Donovan ( Alex Feldman ), a thieving drug addict who works at the church, until he is found murdered in his apartment. As Goren and Eames delve into the church's business, they uncover the embezzlement of money from the collection funds, and believe it was by Abernathy who tried to frame Donovan. When they realize someone performed last rites over Donovan's body, the detectives suspect a priest is responsible. They are led to Father Michael McShale ( Michael O'Keefe ) who they eventually discover had fathered Donovan with one Melanie Grasso ( Dana Reeve ) twenty years ago and had been embezzling church funds to support Donovan. He eventually killed his drug-addicted and violent son when he realized the youth had uncovered the address of his mother.

5. Jones

Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of a pretty, petite woman Angie Suarez ( Daniella Alonso ) found drowned in her bathtub. Days later, a second petite woman is found naked and washed up on the shore. This is followed by the discovery of a strangled third female, and then a fourth. They discover a link between all four – Henry Talbott ( Griffin Dunne ), an abusive, drug-addicted lawyer who acted for them in compensation lawsuits and became their boyfriend so he could use money from their settlements to feed his gambling addictions. The detectives have to work against the clock to gather their evidence before he kills a fifth woman and they finally convince his loyal wife Denise ( Karen Young ) to help their investigation.

6. The Extra Man

Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of a man found beaten to death in a hotel suite. It appears the victim was Didier Foucault ( Eric Thal ), a Swiss conman using the name of Denis Dupont who cheated a group of wealthy investors and romanced their wives. Further evidence reveals that the body is not Foucault, but his assistant Felix Perez. The detectives discover that the investors hired a hitman to teach Foucault a severe lesson. The hitman mistakenly attacked Perez, leaving him alive but Foucault returned to the hotel and brutally killed him, making identification impossible. Goran convinces ADA Carver to indict the investors on false murder charges, while he works in secret to lure Foucault out of hiding so they can arrest him for Perez's murder. Inspired by the life of Christophe Rocancourt.

7. Poison

Goran and Eames are called in to investigate an anonymous call from a hospital about three alleged murders. Goren detects cyanide poisoning and initially suspects Colleen Braxton (Susan Bruce), a nurse who fits the typical criminal profile of an angel of death but instead she exhibits Munchausen syndrome. The poisonings continue while Braxton is in custody and the source of the cyanide is tracked down to a batch of laced over-the-counter Necedrol pills. The investigation turns to the victims' families which leads the detectives to a widow named Trudy Pomeranski ( J. Smith-Cameron ).

The detectives suspect she killed her husband with cyanide and then laced other boxes of Necedrol around the city in an attempt to cover-up the murder and strengthen her lawsuit against the medical company. In order to catch Pomeranski, Goren encourages ADA Carver to indict Pomeranski's elderly mother for the murders and have detectives Ed Green ( Jesse L. Martin ) and Lennie Briscoe ( Jerry Orbach ) from the 27th Precinct to leak information about the case. This provokes Pomeranski into mailing a cyanide laced letter to the Ledger newspaper in order to clear her mother. However, she is surveilled and subsequently arrested for the murders.

8. The Pardoner's Tale

Investigative news reporter Derek Fried ( Matt Servitto ) and his girlfriend are gunned down by Greg Genereet in the street assisted by his friend Phil to pay of their debts. The detectives learn that the reporter had a history of uncovering police corruption. Their investigation into the deaths leads to the buying and selling of pardons, and a connection to organized crime by assemblyman Jack Nawrocki ( Joseph Siravo ). However, when their investigation leads them through lawyer Larry Wiegert ( John Heard ) to the state governor Carver is unwilling to pursue corruption to that level, putting him at odds with the ethics of Goren and Eames.

9. The Good Doctor

Goren and Eames investigate the disappearance of an adulterous drug-addicted wife of a plastic surgeon. While the doctor says he has attempted to locate his wife, the detectives suspect he is lying, especially when they discover he also has a secret lover but they struggle to find any flaws in his alibi. Weeks later, body parts of a decomposed woman wash ashore, so the detectives arrange for a false story to be printed in the newspapers, claiming they are from the missing woman. The detectives wait for the husband's reaction when he reads the article, hoping that they can turn his strong ego against him and discover the truth. Inspired by the case of Doctor Robert Bierenbaum, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Gail Katz Bierenbaum.

10. Enemy Within

The Major Case Squad investigate the death of Harold Sternman ( George Martin ), an elderly and paranoid banker who died in the penthouse suite of his own luxury apartment building during an arson fire. The investigation centers Harold's dysfunctional family, consisting of his young trophy wife Kit ( Laila Robins ), his alcoholic son Edward ( David Aaron Baker ), and Rick Zainer ( Lothaire Bluteau ), Harold's private nurse. When DNA from Kit and Edward are found in Harold's bed, Goren and Eames suspect Harold was using them as evidence to get divorced from Kit, but both Kit and Edward deny sleeping with each other and Edward is gay.

Suspicion falls on Zainer, who admits to sleeping with Edward and turning the three family members against each other as revenge for Harold failing to deliver on a promise to write letters of recommendation for Zainer's sons to enter an elite private school. Goren and Eames conclude that Kit conspired with Edward to kill Harold yo get her inheritance while Edward would be left the apartment building. Both are charged with the murder, but they also charge Zainer for failing is his duty of care as a nurse.

11. The Third Horseman

Goren and Eames investigate the sniping murder of an abortion doctor Leo Cavella ( Michael Countryman ) who was shot in his own apartment. The detectives are convinced that an anti-abortion activist Dennis Griscom ( Robert Stanton ) is to blame and begin tracking him through his contacts, Mr. and Mrs. McLeish ( Nesbitt Blaisdell and Phyllis Somerville )). When they find evidence of a second rifle, they suspect Griscom is seeking a second victim and track him down via an anti-abortionist, Lorne Cutler ( Leo Burmester ), meanwhile, ADA Carver worries about Goren turning a murder case into a test about abortion before a jury. Goren discovers that Griscom has a grudge against the judge who had approved an abortion for his former girlfriend and catches him before he can murder the judge.

12. Crazy

Heart surgeon, Larry Feldman ( Danny Maseng ), is murdered at the Bar Mitzvah of his son. Goren and Eames realize that Feldman had recently gone through a bitter divorce, and that his bitter ex-wife, Julie ( Jenna Stern ), asserted that he committed child sexual abuse against their daughter Sophie. As their investigation deepens, the detectives' attention turns to Charles Webb ( Michael Gross ), a forensic psychiatrist who often testified as an expert witness for ADA Carver in criminal trials. The detectives discover that after becoming obsessed with Sara Lindstrom ( Stephanie Seymour ), Julie's sister, Webb hired a corrupt detective, Officer Michael Stovic ( David Lansbury ) to murder Feldman in an attempt to gain her affections by helping Julie gain custody of their children. When charged for murder, Feldman's attorney presents an insanity defense, however Goren proves that the insanity plea is bogus.

13. The Insider

The detectives investigate the murder of Wharton Carlyle ( Jeff Hayenga ), found stabbed to death in a yacht marina. They interview the victim's teenaged daughter, Lilly Carlyle ( Aleksa Palladino ), a frequent nightclub goer with drug and alcohol addiction. During the investigation, Goren and Eames' suspicions turn to the nightclub owner John Hampton ( Adam Trese ) who has close connections with organized crime. When the detectives look deeper into the case, they discover their main suspect, Hampton, is an undercover FBI agent posing as a thug to infiltrate a drugs ring. The detectives and the FBI clash over the conflict of interests but the DA's office eventually get their man.

14. Homo Homini Lupus

Unable to raise money to make a payment to Carl Pettijohn ( Frank Pellegrino ), a dangerous loan shark, stockbroker Lucas Colter ( James Colby ) returns home from a morning jog to find that his family is missing. Colter's mother-in-law goes to the Major Case Squad with her suspicions that the family was kidnapped for ransom but Colter makes repeated excuses and denials to detectives Goren and Eames. When the kidnappers begin threatening the lives of his family, and rape his eldest daughter, Maggie ( Stephi Lineburg ), Colter asks his father, Melvin ( Jordan Charney ), for help in paying off the loan shark and the family is returned.

The family initially deny that they were kidnapped until Goren gains the trust of Maggie who is suffering from Stockholm syndrome but recalls a distinctive tattoo on her rapist. The detectives track down Pettijohn, who gives up the names of his bagman which leads them to Simon Matic ( Ritchie Coster ), a former Serbian soldier. While being interviewed, Goran goads Matic into revealing his tattoo which matches the sketch provided by Maggie.

15. Semi-Professional

The body of Emily Trudeau ( Jacqueline Murphy ), a court clerk, is found in the home of her married lover, Judge Peter Blakemore ( Michael Murphy ), a candidate for an open seat on the appellate court. Goren and Eames find that, despite being held in high regard by the legal community as an expert in the area of intellectual property law, the law review articles attributed to Blakemore were actually written by Trudeau. The murder investigation leads the Major Case Squad to Arnie Cox ( Bruce MacVittie ), a low-profile ex-convict with links to one of Blakemore's appellate seat rivals, Judge Raoul Sabatelli ( George DiCenzo ). The detectives find Sabatelli was incensed at Blakemore's success from being born into a wealthy and well-connected family and his exploitation of Trudeau's talent. They establish that Sabatelli pressured Cox into killing her and stealing her laptop computer in an attempt to expose Blakemore's plagiarism.

16. Phantom

Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of a paroled bank robber Frank Caspari ( Andrew Fiscell ), killed only two days after he was released from Sing Sing prison. During the investigation, Goren and Eames visit the victim's sister, Charlotte Fielding (Charlotte Caspari) ( Cara Buono ) and her boyfriend, Gerry Rankin ( Michael Emerson ). Rankin is a mysterious man living a double life who leads everyone to believe that he is an economist for the United Nations, but the detectives discover that is a lie. For years he has been unemployed, using money from his father's estate and father-in-law's savings to maintain the deception. After Charlotte Fielding is found unconscious and barely alive, the detectives close in on Rankin. Goren suspects that he may be planning to kill his children and after taking him down, Goren manages to talk him out of it and capture him.

17. Seizure

Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of Rosa Dern ( Adrianna Sevan ) a woman found slain in a hotel room in a manner similar to the "Motel Ripper", Kevin Riddick ( Jack Gwaltney ) a serial killer in prison on remand. The investigation leads them to a human behavior research institute run by psychiatrist Dr. Roger Buckman ( James Naughton ) studying limbic trigger syndrome where he theorizes that killers have a specific limbic lesion which can lead to rage killing with potentially diminished legal culpability. Their attention turns to his research assistant Dr. Cathleen Dwyer ( Jenny Bacon ), a shy woman. They discover that Riddick does not have the lesion, but Dwyer does, and she committed the murder under the influence of Riddick, subtly influenced by Buckman who is seeking to have his theory recognized.

18. Yesterday

Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the discovery of a woman's body wrapped in plastic on the banks of the Bronx River. The well-preserved body shows signs that she was subject to substantial physical torture before being killed and they learn that she was Alyssa Cooney, reported missing 20 years previously. Chemical residue leads Goren and Eames to the former family home of Rick Morrissey ( Danton Stone ), a drug-addicted man. When Morrissey falls to his death from a rooftop, the detectives focus their investigation on his college classmate, Jay Lippman ( Jim True-Frost ), a former chess master who is now a married and a successful control-oriented mechanical engineer. The detectives link him to another similar murder where a prostitute was drugged, raped, tortured and killed. With no physical evidence to link Lippman to the murders Goren and Eames provoke his need for control to trick him into confessing during their interrogation.

19. Maledictus

The severed head of author Ilana Yushka ( Alla Kliouka Schaffer ) is sent to her publisher. Detectives Goren and Eames initially suspect her jailed Russian mob boss father had ordered the killing after she announced plans to write a second book about the family business, however someone else killed her before the Russians. Further investigations lead to one of her previous private school classmates, a self-tortured and cross-dressing real estate magnate Kenneth Strick ( David Thornton ). Research into the apparent suicidal death by poisoning of Strick's pregnant mother when Kenneth was a schoolboy lead Goren and Eames to the realization that he feared he would be exposed in the proposed book for murdering his mother because he had told Ilana he was responsible.

20. Badge

Goren and Eames investigate the murder-suicide of a city auditor, Ron Sherwood ( Jack Koenig ) who appears to have killed his family and then himself, but an close analysis of the crime scene suggests they were all murdered. Goren and Eames learn that the dead man had uncovered a scandal involving retired police officers working for the city school district's School Security Division while still drawing their police pensions. Evidence of the murders points towards the ringleader, Sergeant Terry Randolph ( Viola Davis ) a particularly tough female School officer with a need for money to keep her daughters in an expensive private school. The Major Case Squad enlist the aid of Police Lieutenant Anita Van Buren ( S. Epatha Merkerson ) to help trap her.

21. Faith

Goren and Eames investigate the death of a wealthy publisher, Douglas Lafferty ( Remak Ramsay ), apparently killed in a car bomb but who had already been murdered. During the investigation they discover he had recently demanded to meet "Erica" an orphaned and disabled girl whose heart-wrenching and successful book he had published but whom he had never seen. The detectives also begin to doubt Erica's existence and suspect the girl's foster parents are running an elaborate money-making fraud. After interviewing Christine Wilkes ( Polly Draper ), editor of the book and one of Erica's greatest supporters, the detectives believe she killed her boss Lafferty. The Major Case Squad then sets up an elaborate trap to expose both the "foster parents" and Wilkes for their crimes. Inspired by the Kaycee Nicole hoax.

22. Tuxedo Hill

Goren and Eames investigate the assault and subsequent car accident of a corporate finance officer, Elizabeth Dawson ( Cindy Katz ), and the murder of her boyfriend. They stumble upon a corporate accounting fraud/ stock manipulation scheme and discover that Dawson had initially refused to sign the corporation's statements because accounting irregularities. The detectives uncover evidence that her corporation's Chief Financial Officer Jack Crawley ( Bruce Altman ) had arranged for her car accident and for her to be subsequently framed for her boyfriend's murder. They establish that Crawley then offered to provide her with an alibi in exchange for signing the fraudulent accounting statements and boosting the company's stock value. Inspired by the Enron scandal.