Arte Distribution

Who? When? How? Why? This series immerses us in the chaos at the dark heart of crime fiction, taking us on journey through the labyrinthine workings of the whodunnit, with many a shudder along the way.

Nowadays, one published novel in four is a "roman noir", a "thriller" or a "detective story". How did crime fiction come to be so popular that it is now a universal language everyone can understand? 
 
Through interviews with present-day creators of crime fiction, Part 1 of Anatomy of Crime Fiction analyses the fateful trio of the victim, the murderer and the detective, piecing together a profile of the 3 emblematic figures who provide the starting-point for all good whodunnits, while Parts 2 and 3 explore locations and plots. 
 

Filmed primarily in law offices and courts only steps away from the glittering lights of Las Vegas's famed Strip, Sin City Law reveals a different side of Las Vegas - a world of gang activity, homelessness, drugs and mob vendettas.

As Poncet, de Lestrade and director Remy Burkel scrutinize four recent murder cases, their cameras sit in on strategy sessions in the offices of the district attorney, observe moving conversations between the accused and their public defenders, and chronicle the trial as it unfolds in the courtroom. Like their other acclaimed films, Poncet and de Lestrade's raw, honest and suspenseful stories are as emotionally engaging as any high-quality TV drama, while also opening a window to the realities of crime and punishment in the United States.
 
ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH

The opening episode follows the penalty hearing for Beau Maestas, a teenage meth addict who murdered a drug dealer's daughter.

As the district attorney seeks the death penalty, Maestas's defense attorneys try to persuade the jury to consider the case's mitigating circumstances. Remy Burkel directs.

In 2003, brother and sister teenage met-heads Beau and Monique Maestas set out to take revenge on a duplicitous drug dealer. Armed with knives, they attacked the woman's two young daughters, killing one and leaving the other paralyzed for life/
Beau pled guilty in hope of saving his sister from the most serious charges. Three years later, Beau's penalty hearing is about to begin, and Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz and District Attorney David Roger are seeking the death penalty.
With their client's life at stake, Beau's defense attorneys Tom Ericcson and Jim Oronos must persuade the jury to consider the case's mitigating circumstances, particularly the horrific childhood the Maestas children suffered with their abusive, drug-dealing mother and father, a convicted murderer.
Monique's attorneys, Special Public Defenders David M. Schieck and Alzora Jackson, pay close attention to Beau's trial while preparing for their client's trial, which will immediately follow Beau's. Working with SPD Investigator Maribel Rosales and Monique's older sister, Jackson delves into the dark details of the Maesta's family life.

In the second episode, the jury deciding the fate of murderer Beau Maestas pronounces their sentence on the day that the trial of Beau's sister Monique commences.

While the district attorney is open to a plea bargain, his conditions may be more than Monique is willing to accept. Remy Burkel directs.
The jury pronounces sentence on Beau Maestas on the very day that jury selection is to begin for his sister Monique's trial. As she works on one of the most troubling cases of her career, Jackson counsels Monique as she would one of her daughters.
A plea bargain will save the young woman from life without the possibility of parole, but the conditions demanded by District Attorney roger may be more than Monique is willing to accept.

In this episode, Pascual Lozano, a gang member who was found guilty of firing a stray bullet that killed a 9-year-old girl, is granted a new trial.

As the trial proceeds, some of the witnesses for the prosecution present unexpected opportunities for the defense. Remy Burkel directs.

In 2002, 5 members of the Crips street gang were riving around North Las Vegas when they spotted a rival gang member and went after him. As the ensuing chase spilled into an apartment courtyard, shots were fired and 9-year-old Genesis Gonzales was killed.
Pascual Lozano, the sole Hispanic in the Crips crew, was charged, convicted and sentenced to death. An automatic repeal has resulted in a new trial, in which Lozano will be represented by defense attorney Bret Whipple and Special Public Defender Ivette Maningo. Lozano steadfastly maintains his innocence, but will not implicate any of his "honeys" who were with him that day. Adding to the layers of complication, Lozano grew up as a de facto family member of the intended victim, Robert "Chucky B." Valentine.
For the defense and the prosecution, the case comes down to eyewitness accounts, and the simple question : what color was the shooter's skin ? As the Deputy District Attorneys Vicki Monroe and David Stanton begin presenting their case, they find themselves stymied by some of the same witnesses who helped them win the first trial in 2003.

In this episode, the public defenders in the retrial of Pascual Lozano, a gang member accused of firing a stray bullet that killed a 9-year-old girl, investigate whether a left-handed man can effectively fire a pistol with his right hand. Later, the case goes to the jury. Remy Burkel directs.

Special Public Defender Ivette Maningo and SPD Investigator James Aleman travel to Los Angeles in search of two eyewitnesses to the 2002 shooting. Defense attorney Whipple consults with firearms experts as he follows up on potentially exculpatory testimony given by the victim's sister.

Tonya Baker, the stepmother of the intended victim, takes the witness stand on lozano's behalf, but her testimony has unintended consequences for the defense. Brought together by tragedy, the Lozano and Gonzales families offer one another support.

In this episode, De Rac Hanley, a 71-year-old with a tenuous grasp on reality, is charged with murdering a fellow resident at an assisted living facility.

As the D.A.'s office prepares to try this as a standard murder case, Hanley's public defenders work to piece together what occurred. Remy Burkel directs.

On the night of January 27, 2006, a distraught 71-year-old man named De Rac Hanley phoned 911 to report that he had murdered someone in his apartment. Though Hanley remembered little at the time, it emerged that the victim was one of Hanley's elderly neigbors, Earl Spangenberg.

Hanley's attorney public defenders Curtis Brown and Andrea Luem, quickly realize they have their work cut out for them with this particular client, a colourful Irish drifter with a troubled past, a prodigious drinking habit and an often tenuous grasp on reality. Hanley claims that he killed in self-defense after Spangenber made sexual advances. At one point he asserts that he must have been drugged; in fact, Hanley had already taken two morphine tablets and begun drinking when Spangenberg knocked on his door.
A full account of what happened may never be known, but it is certain that Spangenberg was stabbed over 20 times. While Brown and Luem try to untangle Hanley's life story, young Deputy District Attorneys Summer Tanasi and Sonia Jimenez begin preparing their case.

This episode continues the case of De Rac Hanley, an elderly alcoholic on trial for murdering a fellow resident at an assisted living facility.

As the state presents a tight case, Hanley's public defenders search for potential witnesses and interview some of his drinking buddies. Remy Burkel directs.

Hanley's trial gets underway, with the likeable Judge Jackie Glass presiding. Hanley's ex-wife and adult daughter attend his trial, a reminder of a happier chapter in his life.
Deputy District Attorney Summer Tanasi puts on a tight case, walking the jury through the crime and its aftermath as she calls various witnesses, including the patrol officer who arrested Hanley and the detectives who questioned him. Brown and Luem continue their search for potential witnesses, and interview the apartment manager along with 2 of Hanley's regular drinking buddies.
The case finally reaches the jury, with the state pressing for a verdict of first degree murder, and the defense pleading for manslaughter.

This episode introduces the case of a fatal shooting outside a Las Vegas strip club that was witnessed and recorded by a security camera. On trial are Jesus "Zeus" Vega, a former Marine whose lawyers contend he killed in self defense, and his friend Brian Baker.

In the early morning hours of July 23, 2005, a young Asian American man named Wei Liu was shot and killed in a parking lot outside a Las Vegas strip club,; also injured was Kristian Wong Wui, Liu's fellow passenger in an SUV driven by Amir Mogadam, who was not injured.

The next day, Jesus "Zeus" Vega turned himself in as the shooter, accompanied by his friend Brian baker, a witness to the event. Vega and Baker, a witness to the event. Vega and Baker were both charged with murder, and both assert that Vega, a former Marine, fired in self-defense. The shooting was caught on surveillance videotape, but there is plenty of ambiguity in the grainy black-and-White images of the encounter between three pedestrians (Vega, Baker, and a female companion) and Mogadam's SUV.

After 17 months of delays, the Vega/Baker trial gets underway with the state of Nevada's case, argued by Deputy District Attorneys Linda Lewis and Danae Adams. A critical witness is the SUV's driver, Mogadam; however, following a combative cross-examination, Vega's defense attorney Dominic Gentile, Mogadam fails to turn up for a second day of testimony.

In the concluding episode, the trial of Jesus "Zeus" Vega and Brian Baker continues with some revealing testimony from a police detective regarding the criminal past of the deceased. Later, both defendants take the witness stand, but the effectiveness of their testimony is dubious.

The Vega/Baker trial proceeds, but Mogadam's absence has raised the possibility of a mistrial. Dominic Gentile begins his presentation of Vega's defense with an appearance by a California police officer who had investigated the late Wei Liu several years earlier.

Baker and Vega give emotional testimony as they take the stand in their own defense? With families on both sides of the aisle looking on, closing arguments are presented by defense and prosecuting teams.

This gripping two-part episode follows the arrest of Gladys Perez and Marc Colon for the beating death of Perez's three-year-old daughter, Crystal, whose body was found in a Las Vegas dumpster. Pregnant with Colon's child, Perez is pressured to bear witness to his abusive behavior. Remy Burkel directs.

A little girl's body is found in a garbage dump in Las Vegas. After 5 weeks of being on the run, Gladys, the girl's mother, turns herself into the police and confesses that her boyfriend Marc Anthony accidentally killed her daughter. Gladys is expecting a child with Marc Anthony. The charge is murder. The prosecution presents her with an impossible dilemma: to testify against the father of her unborn child , or to stay silent and possibly risk prison time herself

After two years of preparation, the defense is faced with an unexpected problem when an explosive document surfaces during the trial. Remy Burkel directs.