Da Vinci’s Inquest - Season 3 Episode 12

Da Vinci investigates the death of Tom Hill, a well-known Native activist who advocated for the rights of Natives and the disadvantaged in his neighborhood, the Downtown Eastside. Hill was found in the middle of a residential street on the west side of town–not his own neighborhood–with head injuries, broken legs, and no footwear. At the scene, all Da Vinci can determine is that Hill was run over buy a vehicle, but the actual cause of death is uncertain. Back at the morgue, Sunny and Patricia can't definitively conclude the sequence of events leading to his death. Charles Downey, a Native ex-con junkie, tells Da Vinci that he witnessed two police constables earlier that evening forcibly hauling Hill off from his Downtown Eastside neighborhood. Downey is reluctant to provide any official information to the police because he is afraid that his testimony–from a junkie on parole–would not hold up against that of police officers and that there would be possible retaliation. As such, Da Vinci promises Downey that he will act as his intermediary in the investigation. Other witnesses come forward, with some useful but inconclusive information which includes Hill sustaining a possible beating causing the head injuries prior to being run over. And when officially questioned, the two police officers who allegedly hauled Hill off–Constables Miller and Kozak–tell a somewhat unusual but credible enough story against the theory that they were the ones who hauled Hill off. With all this information, Da Vinci is still convinced that the two constables took Hill on a midnight ride or what Shannon calls a "sparkle tour," so named because a victim can count the stars on the night-walk home to while away the time. Da Vinci ultimately learns the convoluted story of who ran over Hill, but he is still certain the constables played a role in Hill's death. Meanwhile, Kosmo and LaBoucane investigate the death of Rachel Rosenblum, whose dead body was found in a residential dumpster. They learn that she died of an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol. Her casual boyfriend, Lee, states that he is unaware of the circumstances of her death. However, Kosmo and LaBoucane catch him in some lies, which force him to confess what he knows. Although Lee did not kill Rachel, his story disgusts Kosmo.