Brow Beat: Slate's Culture Blog

So Farewell Then, Law & Order

Ripped From Which Headline? “Immortal”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? After each new episode, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

May 17, 2010, "Immortal"

These Are Their Stories
Jerome Turner turns up dead in a hospital E.R. When Jerome's son, Jaden, tells the police that a man put a swab in his mouth on the day of the murder, they recognize this as a DNA test. Next, they learn that Jerome was the grandson of Nathan Robinson. Nathan died in 1959, but his cells, known as NaRo, were the first to stay alive in culture. One scientist describes them as "a lab staple, like white mice or petri dishes." The immortal NaRo cells are sold to research centers around the world by Hema Labs, whose founder took the cells from Nathan Robinson without his permission.

The police learn that Hema Labs was offering money in exchange for blood samples from Nathan Robinson's great-grandchildren, such as Jaden. Jerome's cousin Michael didn't want Jerome to participate—he wanted the family to unite and sue Hema Labs for fair compensation, but Jerome accepted Hema Labs' offer, because he needed money for Jaden's medical care. Michael stabbed him in a moment of anger. The lawyers persuade Hema Labs' owner to give $10 million to members of the Robinson family before Michael accepts a plea bargain.

This Is the Real Story
The story of NaRo cells and the travails of Nathan Robinson's descendants is a close parallel to the case of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Doctors took a tissue sample without her knowledge, and cells from her tumor were the first to grow and survive indefinitely in culture. Billions of the cells have since been sold and used in crucial medical experiments. The story of these HeLa cells, as they are known, and of the Lacks family's feelings of betrayal by the medical establishment, is told in Rebecca Skloot's best-selling book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Even after 20 seasons of watching Law & Order and a year of chronicling the headlines that inspire the show's story lines, I can't recall an episode where ripped was quite so appropriate. Many of the particulars of the NaRo story line were shockingly close to the true story. For instance, Nathan was buried in an unmarked grave at the Robinson family homestead, while Henrietta Lacks was buried in an unmarked grave in Clover, Va., where she grew up. One of Nathan Robinson's children lived in a care facility, as did one of Henrietta Lacks' daughters.

Over the years, the medical establishment sometimes claimed that the HeLa cells came from a woman called Helen Larsen or Helen Lane—a practice that robbed Henrietta Lacks of the fame and respect she deserved. It's ironic that her contribution has now been obscured one more time. The fictional prosecutors secured a payment to the fictional Robinson family—perhaps the producers of Law & Order should make a donation to the Henrietta Lacks Foundation. (Skloot is donating a portion of her book's proceeds to the foundation.)

Ripped From Which Headline? “The Taxman Cometh”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? After each new episode, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

May 10, 2010, "The Taxman Cometh"

These Are Their Stories
Annie Douglas dies of an overdose after a night of clubbing with her cousin Randy Colwyn, who bought the drugs. When the police discover that Randy and Annie are grandchildren of recently deceased multi-millionaire Henry Douglas, they wonder if Randy killed Annie to increase his share of the inheritance.

They find it curious that although Henry Douglas had endowed a cancer center at a local hospital, he received his own treatment for the disease at the Balichek Clinic, which uses experimental therapy rather than established protocols. The detectives find that the clinic has recently treated several extremely rich patients and that they all died in 2010, a year in which there is no estate tax.

The police then question Amanda Green, who received a large payment from Henry's daughter Catherine just after his death. They learn that the money was a settlement for the breakup of her relationship with Catherine. Amanda recalls that when her ex-lover returned from a meeting with her accountant, she joked that her father might as well die in 2010. The authorities realize that Catherine's accountant, Bruce Graham, is the connection between the rich families and the Balichek Clinic.

The prosecutors discover that Catherine adopted Amanda years earlier, which makes Amanda one of Henry Douglas' grandchildren, and thus one of his heirs. ADA Mike Cutter gets the adoption nullified in family court, but Amanda then reveals that she is pregnant, and that the egg was donated by Catherine, meaning that Catherine is the unborn child's mother and grandmother. Dr. Balichek implicates Bruce Graham, and Catherine Douglas admits guilt to protect the baby.

This Is the Real Story
In March 2007, the New York Times reported that Patricia Spado was suing Olive F. Watson, granddaughter of IBM founder Thomas J. Watson Sr., for a piece of Olive's mother's estate. Olive had adopted Spado, her lesbian partner of 14 years, in 1991. They broke up a year after the adoption, but Spado claimed she was still technically one of Thomas Watson Sr.'s grandchildren. Watson's lawyers challenged the adoption, and a probate judge in Maine, where the adoption had occurred, ruled it invalid. In 2009, the Maine Supreme Court reversed that decision and found that the adoption was legal. (Billionaire Doris Duke also adopted a female companion. Duke was 40 years older than her adopted "child"; Spado was slightly older than her adopted mother.)

Other headlines: It is true that there is no estate tax due in 2010. In May 2001, the New York Times' Paul Krugman observed, "If your ailing mother passes away on Dec. 30, 2010, you inherit her estate tax-free. But if she makes it to Jan. 1, 2011, half the estate will be taxed away." Still, I could find no examples of deaths timed to take advantage of these perverse incentives. If you know of any, please tell me about them in the comments below.

Ripped From Which Headlines? “Crashers”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? After each new episode, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

May 3, 2010, "Crashers"

These Are Their Stories
When model Brenna Lane is found dead, detectives discover that she and a date had recently crashed an exclusive party at Gracie Mansion, where she was seen talking with Sen. Bryce Peterson. The police find that Brenna's brother, Dustin Henry, argued with her at the party. At Dustin's workplace, they find cases of expensive wine in storage; he plans to open a wine store with help from an investor. Detectives trace some of the wine to the senator's home address, where his wife, Camille, insists she knows nothing about the wine. It turns out that the wine shop is located in the senator's former campaign headquarters.

During an interrogation, the senator's assistant, Andrea, claims she was having an affair with Dustin and suggests he might have killed Brenna. The DAs are convinced until they notice that someone in the office wrote a check for vaginoplasty, an operation that would only be appropriate for a post-menopausal woman or a mother, neither of which applies to Andrea. The only woman with check-writing privileges who fits this profile is Camille Peterson. Camille admits that she and 20-year-old Dustin had an affair and that she killed Brenna because she had threatened to tell the senator. Andrea had planted evidence to frame Dustin for the crime.

This Is the Real Story
In January 2010, the New York Times reported that 60-year-old Iris Robinson, a Member of Parliament who is married to the co-leader of the Northern Ireland government, had arranged $80,000 in loans and given the money to "to her lover, Kirk McCambley, who was 19 at the time." According to the BBC, McCambley used the money to launch a cafe.

Ripped From Which Headline? “Brazil”

March 29, 2010, "Brazil"

These Are Their Stories
When Oscar Silva, a Brazilian climate-change denier, is poisoned at a scientific conference, the police search his computer. They discover a file that contains e-mails between two researchers that mention adjusting the climate data they have collected. Silva used the compromising e-mails to blackmail one of the scientists.

This Is the Real Story
In November 2009, private e-mails attributed to British and American climate researchers were made public. According to the New York Times, the messages included "discussions of scientific data and whether it should be released. ... In one e-mail exchange, a scientist writes of using a statistical ‘trick' in a chart illustrating a recent sharp warming trend."

These Are Their Stories
The detectives learn that Oscar Silva's American-born wife, Dana, was once married to Phillip Shoemaker, an American scientist who snuck into the breakfast meeting where Oscar Silva was poisoned. After their divorce, she had taken their daughter, Nicole, to Brazil in violation of the custody agreement. Over a period of years, Shoemaker filed numerous lawsuits in Brazil to gain access to Nicole. The police speculate that he had a motive to poison Oscar Silva, knowing that if he died, Dana and Nicole would likely return to the United States.

This Is the Real Story
In 2004, Bruna Bianchi took her son, Sean Goldman, to her native Brazil, leaving her American-born husband, David Goldman, in New Jersey. She later filed for divorce and remarried a Brazilian. David Goldman sued for custody in U.S. and Brazilian courts, to no avail. Bianchi died in 2008, but her widower sued for custody of Sean and refused to return the boy to the United States. In December 2009, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered that Sean be returned to his father.

These Are Their Stories
Finding neither parent fit for custody, a family court judge gives temporary custody of Nicole to the Lehmans, Dana's parents. Soon after Dana and Nicole move in with them, Nicole goes missing; her doll is found next to the boat dock where an inflatable boat has floated out to sea. Cable news crews follow the craft, which is eventually shown to be empty, but Nicole is found sleeping behind the boathouse. Nicole's grandfather admits that the incident was staged: He was trying to present Dana as an unfit mother so that they would get custody.

This Is the Real Story
In October 2009, Colorado authorities chased a homemade helium balloon in which 6-year-old Falcon Heene was thought to be hiding. Cable news networks covered the pursuit live, including the craft's dramatic landing and subsequent revelation that Falcon was not onboard. The Heenes later admitted that the incident was an elaborate hoax intended to snag the family a reality-TV show deal.

Ripped From Which Headline? "Four Cops Shot"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

March 22, 2010, "Four Cops Shot"

These Are Their Stories
A man shoots and kills four cops—three men and a woman—who are eating lunch in a pizza shop.

This Is the Real Story
On Nov. 29, 2009, Maurice Clemmons entered a coffee shop in Lakewood, Wash., and killed four police officers—three men and a woman—who were eating breakfast and working on their laptops. After a two-day manhunt, Clemmons was shot and killed by a police officer.

Ripped From Which Headline? “Innocence”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

March 15, 2010, "Innocence"

These Are Their Stories
After Cedric Stuber is found guilty of murdering a gay man in a hate crime, the Hudson University Innocence Coalition challenges the conviction. The coalition has found a new witness, drug dealer Ricardo Diaz, who claims the victim's husband asked about finding a hit man to kill him. When ADA Cutter and the rest of the team investigate, they discover that Diaz only agreed to testify after a student from the coalition gave him booze, $100 in cash, and offered to help find him a lawyer. When Cutter notices that students who helped to secure exonerations for coalition clients received better grades, he subpoenas their academic records and e-mail archives.

This Is the Real Story
In October 2009, according to the New York Times, prosecutors subpoenaed "the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages" of journalism students involved in Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project." Among the issues the prosecutors need to understand better ... is whether students believed they would receive better grades if witnesses they nterviewed provided evidence to exonerate [Anthony] McKinney." The Chicago Tribune reported that prosecutors "questioned the quality of the students' investigation, saying some witnesses either recanted what they told the Medill Innocence Project or said they were improperly influenced for their statements to students investigating the crime." Last week, a judge agreed to dismiss evidence uncovered by the Medill students.

A hat tip to the Chicago Tribune, which ran its own "ripped from the headlines" story before Brow Beat had digested its breakfast.

Ripped From Which Headline? “Brilliant Disguise”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

March 8, 2010, "Brilliant Disguise"

These Are Their Stories
When a young out-of-towner is murdered in a hotel room, the police suspect Robbie Vickery, a man she ate brunch with shortly after arriving in New York. He works at a university lab and is angry with graduate students who, he believes, treat the lab rats with insufficient respect.

This Is the Real Story
In September 2009, Yale graduate student Annie Le was killed in a research lab on campus, allegedly by Raymond Clark, a lab technician who worked in the building. According to the New York Times, "Some co-workers have said Mr. Clark antagonized colleagues and research students he believed were cavalier about rodent-handling regulations." The New York Post quoted a source who claimed that "Clark was ‘a control freak' who insisted on lab cleanliness and ‘had issues' with the way Le kept her lab and her research mice."

These Are Their Stories
The police eventually become suspicious of Alex Conway, a graduate student who conducts experiments in Vickery's lab. They discover that Conway has been arranging hotel-room meetings with prostitutes, whom he robs to cover his gambling debts. When the police arrest Conway, he is carrying the same kind of plastic zip ties used in the attacks.

This Is the Real Story
In April 2009, Boston University medical student Philip Markoff was arrested en route to Foxwoods Casino and charged with the murder of a woman he met through Craigslist, as well as six other counts, including armed robbery. According to the New York Times, "A search of Mr. Markoff's home ... produced a 9-mm semiautomatic handgun, ammunition and zip ties like those used in the attacks." A timeline produced by the Boston Globe notes, "Authorities say gambling may have been behind the attacks."

Ripped From Which Headline? "Steel-Eyed Death" and "Boy on Fire"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

March 1, 2010, "Steel-Eyed Death"

These Are Their Stories
Four members of the Morgan family are found stabbed to death in their apartment—the father with a knife in his neck. After some dogged gumshoe work, Detectives Lupo and Bernard track down a horror-core band that uses a knife in the neck as its logo. They also find a Web site for horror-core fans, or "Juggalos," with photos of the Morgan crime scene taken before the police arrived. Justin Sachs, a Juggalo who always carries a hatchet in his backpack and sometimes wears clown makeup, is convicted of the murders.

This Is the Real Story
As a story in the Phoenix New Times explained in November 2008, "Juggalos are fans of [Insane Clown Posse], a Detroit-bred rap duo with KISS-like face-paint and ludicrously profane lyrics. The band has a massive underground following, particularly in their native Midwest, as well as Colorado, Utah, and Arizona." The logo of Psychopathic Records, ICP's label, features a man carrying a hatchet.

March 1, 2010 "Boy on Fire"

These Are Their Stories
Cesar Ramirez, a charter-school student, is set on fire and killed on his way home from school. Several students at a nearby public school are found to have footage of the murder on their cell phones. It turns out that the killers, also students at the public school, had stolen Cesar's phone before lighting him on fire to record the attack.

This Is the Real Story
In September 2009, 16-year-old Chicago honor student Derrion Albert was beaten to death on his way home from school. A passer-by made a cell-phone video of the beating, which was later distributed by police and made available by broadcast and online media outlets.

Readers, did I miss any headlines? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Ripped From Which Headline? “Blackmail”

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Jan. 15, 2010: "Blackmail"

These Are Their Stories
When freelance journalist Megan Carrick is murdered, Detectives Bernard and Lupo discover that she was investigating daytime TV host Vanessa Carville. The host had engaged in consensual affairs with several women on her show's staff, including Carrick. Suspicious, the detectives decide to question Carville. They find her mid-meeting with District Attorney Jack McCoy, explaining that someone is trying to blackmail her. A habitual early riser, she had gone to her car at 6 a.m. and discovered a packet full of incriminating photos, e-mails, and diary entries, along with a blackmail note. The detectives arrest the would-be blackmailer when he picks up a check from Carville. She later apologizes to her show's audience and tells them she has done "some pretty kinky things."

This Is the Real Story
In early October 2009, late-night TV host David Letterman shocked his studio audience by confessing to some "creepy things," including a number of consensual affairs with female employees. Letterman had found a blackmail package in the back of his car when he went to make his customary early morning drive to the studio. He took the information to the district attorney, and the alleged blackmailer, Robert Joel Halderman, was arrested when he attempted to deposit the check Letterman gave him. Until shortly before the sting operation, Halderman was involved with Stephanie Birkitt, Letterman's one-time personal assistant and one of the women with whom he'd had an affair. According to Time, "Extracts from her diaries were reportedly in the package in Letterman's car."

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Ripped From Which Headline, "Fed"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week—at least every week when there's a new episode and June's DVR doesn't fail—Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Dec. 11, 2009: "Fed"

These Are Their Stories
Nicholas Landy's body is found with the word "FED" scrawled on his chest. The police immediately suspect that he was targeted by an anti-government activist.

This Is the Real Story
According to the Los Angeles Times, "The body of William E. ‘Bill' Sparkman Jr., 51, was found in the backwoods of Clay County [Kentucky] on Sept. 12, with his hands, feet and mouth bound with duct tape, a rope around his neck and the word ‘Fed' written on his chest." Authorities initially considered that Sparkman, a Census Bureau worker, might have been targeted because he worked for the government. Investigators eventually concluded that he had committed suicide and attempted to disguise it so his insurance policies would pay out.

These Are Their Stories
The cops discover that although Landy worked as a door-to-door canvasser for the Rights Alliance Foundation, a nonprofit group of community organizers, he was a conservative activist who was secretly recording his work. The police find hidden-camera footage of Landy manipulating RAF workers into talking about how they might extort a restaurant chain.

This Is the Real Story
On Sept. 10, 2009, Fox News reported that "[o]fficials with the controversial community organizing group ACORN were secretly videotaped offering to assist two individuals posing as a pimp and a prostitute, encouraging them to lie to the Internal Revenue Service and providing guidance on how to claim underage girls from South America as dependents." Filmmaker James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, who, according to the Washington Post is "the eldest daughter of a conservative Christian minister in Miami," made the videos—described by the Post as "a major strike for conservative Republicans who for years have accused ACORN of voter-registration fraud during presidential elections"—to discredit the organization.

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Ripped From Which Headline? "For the Defense"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines--but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Nov. 13, 2009: "For the Defense"

These Are Their Stories
The episode begins when Maggie Hayes is killed before she can testify in a murder trial. The detectives discover that Hayes' employer had mob connections and convince Paige Regan, a co-worker with whom Hayes was romantically involved, to testify against their boss. While Regan is in hiding, an attempt is made on her life. Eventually, the detectives and attorneys realize that the common element in these and other cases involving violence against potential witnesses is the involvement of defense attorney Marcus Woll. Woll, who started out in the ADA's office, was the lawyer whose drug-cartel-connected clients were freed after a witness was intimidated in the Nov. 6, 2009, episode "Boy Gone Astray."

This Is the Real Story
On May 20, 2009, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Paul Bergrin, a former-federal-prosecutor-turned-defense-attorney, had been indicted for orchestrating "a racketeering operation out of his Newark firm that regularly intimidated—and, in at least two cases, plotted to murder—witnesses scheduled to testify against drug dealers and gang members" whom he represented." According to the story, Bergin's mantra was "No witness, no case." The charges filed against Bergrin included witness tampering, racketeering, mortgage fraud, and murdering a federal witness.

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Ripped From Which Headlines? "Boy Gone Astray" and "Doped"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Nov. 6, 2009:

"Boy Gone Astray"

These Are Their Stories
In the first act, a female drug dealer is murdered by two 14-year-old American boys who learned how to use firearms at a training camp in Mexico.

This Is the Real Story
According to an April 2008 story in the Dallas Morning News, Mexican drug cartels operate military-style camps "to train cartel recruits—ranging from Mexican army deserters to American teenagers—who then carry out killings and other cartel assignments on both sides of the border." A June 2009 New York Times story described how Mexican cartels recruit American teens "with promises of high pay, fancy cars and sexy women."

These Are Their Stories
One of the teenage assassins seems completely unmoved by his actions; he laughs about the victim and sings a song about "la gringa brava" to his parents when they come to visit. The detectives discover that the song is a narcocorrido tribute to a Mexican gang so badass it has "hot Yankee blonds" selling its dope. On the day of the murder, a group associated with a rival cartel releases another song about la gringa brava's death, mentioning details the police had not released.

This Is the Real Story
Elijah Wald's 2002 book Narcocorrido: A Journey Into the Music of Guns, Drugs, and Guerrillas recounts the history of corridos from anti-colonial ballads to a sort of musical newspaper educating listeners about the drug world. In a 1999 New York Times story, an accused trafficker explained the purpose of the songs: "[T]hrough the corridos comes the philosophy, how the members of the cartel have to behave. They tell you what they did wrong. Why they were killed. You learn what you have to do so they won't kill you."

"Doped"

These Are Their Stories
Brenda Sawyer is driving four children—two of her own and two nieces—to a weekend getaway when she becomes disoriented. She drives erratically and enters the highway in the wrong direction, where she crashes head-on into an oncoming vehicle. Only her son survives.

This Is the Real Story
On July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler drove her minivan the wrong way onto an exit ramp and rammed into an SUV. She was killed, along with her daughter and three nieces; the three men in the other vehicle also died. Only her son survived. According to the New York Daily News, tests revealed that Schuler had smoked pot and drunk at least 10 ounces of liquor during the 90-minute drive.

These Are Their Stories
The detectives find alcohol in Brenda's system and in her car and assume she was drinking, but then they realize that her allergy medicine had been spiked with Propofol, a powerful anesthetic. They discover that Brenda and her boss, Zack Marshall (Mad Men's Harry Crane, looking just as ineffectual in a straight tie), had gathered evidence proving that a highly profitable but medically ineffective drug manufactured by the pharmaceutical company they worked for was being marketed illegally. Whistleblowers can receive a slice of settlements, and Brenda was threatening to donate their cut to charity, so Marshall poisoned her nasal spray and slipped booze into her smoothie. He had no idea there would be children in the vehicle.

This Is the Real Story
Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers are entitled to between 15 percent and 30 percent of recovered damages, and according to a Gannett story from Nov. 4, 2009, "Of the top 20 False Claims Act cases, measured by the amount of money recovered, 12 involved judgments or settlements against pharmaceutical companies, accounting for billions of dollars in recoveries." In September, a whistleblower earned $51.5 million from Pfizer as a result of a suit alleging the company had promoted pain drug Bextra and 12 other drugs for unapproved uses and doses.

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Ripped From Which Headlines? "Human Flesh Search Engine"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines, but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Oct. 30, 2009: "Human Flesh Search Engine"

These Are Their Stories
The first act of the episode, co-written by Slate contributor Matthew McGough, focuses on the murder of Sid Maxwell, the founder and CEO of Skintight Apparel, a company that "sells $5 T-shirts for $40." In the early stages of the investigation, the detectives suspect a former employee who sued for sexual harassment. (The company's lawyers countered that she should have understood she was working in "a highly sexualized work environment.")

This Is the Real Story
Sid Maxwell bears more than a passing resemblance to Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel, a purveyor of sweatshop-free skintight apparel. According to the New York Times Magazine, in 2005, "three former employees and an independent contractor filed three sexual-harassment lawsuits against Charney and American Apparel." Workers are now required to sign a document that acknowledges, "Employees working in the design, sales, marketing and other creative areas of the company will come into contact with sexually charged language and visual images."


These Are Their Stories
The detectives soon discover that a photograph of Maxwell texting while driving had been posted to Flashposse.net, a Web "forum for corrective social action," along with exhortations that he should be killed before he kills someone else. Flashposse community members identified the make and model of the car from the photo and hacked into DMV records to find the owner; Maxwell's address and his building's security entry code were also posted on the site. A schizophrenic Flashposse.net member used the information to enter the apartment and kill Maxwell.

This Is the Real Story
The episode's title is a reference to the Chinese nickname for "virtual mobs" that strike back at corrupt officials by bringing online attention to cases censored by Communist Party officials. According to a June 16, 2009, New York Times story, in several recent cases, "the Internet has cracked open a channel for citizens to voice mass displeasure with official conduct, demonstrating its potential as a catalyst for social change." As the article notes, some online vigilantes have posted personal information about alleged offenders.

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Ripped From Which Headlines? "Dignity"

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines, but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Oct. 23, 2009: "Dignity"

These Are Their Stories:
Dr. Walter Benning is shot and killed in church. As one of the few doctors who performs legal late-term abortions in New York, Benning had been shot before and was wearing a bulletproof vest. The man who shot him is a loner unaffiliated with any pro-life groups.

This Is the Real Story:
On May 31, 2009, Dr. George Tiller, described by the Washington Post as "the nation's most prominent provider of controversial late-term abortions," was shot and killed while attending church in Wichita, Kan. He had been shot in both arms in 1993 and sometimes wore a bulletproof vest. Scott Roeder, the man accused of shooting him, is an unaffiliated loner. (Roeder's trial is set to begin in January 2010.)

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Ripped From Which Headlines?

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Every week, Brow Beat matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Oct. 16, 2009: "Reality Bites"

These Are Their Stories:
Larry Johnson, the father of 10 adopted special-needs kids, comes home to discover his wife, Joy, dead in the living room. On the afternoon of the murder, a "bouncy Hispanic woman" was seen leaving the house; she is Belinda Alvarez, the mother of 10 children—three singles and a set of septuplets—and the Johnsons' main rival in the competition to star in a reality TV series about large families. Helped by the publicity surrounding the murder, Johnson gets the show, Larry Plus 8. But after the police discover that Larry was having an affair with one of his babysitters and that Joy had refused to sign the TV release forms, he becomes a suspect in the murder case.

This Is the Real Story:
If you need to be told what inspired this episode, your television, if you own one, must be stuck on C-SPAN. Indeed, America's most famous megaparents were name-checked in the episode. Belinda Alvarez (Nina Lisandrello), who bears a striking physical resemblance to Nadya Suleman, says the show she hopes to star in will be "like Jon and Kate, you know, only less depressing." She also confesses, "I was hoping for octuplets, but God decided to bestow that blessing on Nadya Suleman."

As of this writing, Jon and Kate Gosselin are both alive and well, though after revelations about extramarital affairs, their marriage is coming to an end. On Sept. 29, the Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Jon & Kate Plus 8 was also a thing of the past, to be replaced by Kate Plus 8. Late last week, however, the New York Times reported that Jon had "banned the camera crews from his property, effectively halting production."

Unlike the fictional Belinda Alvarez, Suleman got her reality show (check out the promotional materials for My Life as the OctoMom), though filming is currently on hold, pending court approval of the contracts.

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Ripped From Which Headlines?

We all know that Law & Order rips its stories from the headlines—but which headlines? Today Brow Beat launches a recurring feature that matches L&O's plot points to the events that inspired them.

Oct. 9, 2009: "Great Satan"

These Are Their Stories:
The first act involves "virtual kidnapping," in which extortionists steal cell phones from well-dressed young people, then call up the parents and claim their beloved children are tied up in a basement. Next step: Demand a speedy ransom.

This Is the Real Story:
On April 29, 2008, the New York Times reported that "virtual kidnapping" was Mexico's "latest crime craze." One day in November 2007, "more than a dozen members of Mexico's Congress received calls saying that their children had been taken." (Stealing the victim's cell phone so that parents see their child's caller ID seems to be a smart L&O flourish.)

These Are Their Stories:
When detectives Bernard and Lupo interrogate one of the virtual kidnappers, they discover he has links to a possible terrorist organization. The perp, Sameer Ahmed, agrees to help the police gather evidence against a group of Muslims who are planning to bomb a synagogue in Queens. But after the sting operation, the authorities wonder if Ahmed egged on the conspirators rather than simply passing along information about their plans.

This Is the Real Story:
In May, four men were arrested after they parked cars that they believed contained explosives outside synagogues in the Bronx. As in the Law & Order version, the bomb-making materials, which the FBI had supplied via the informant, were fake. The Associated Press later reported that the alleged plotters claim they were "lured into the conspiracy with gifts including cash and fried chicken."

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