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Breaking News is the 13th case of the sixth season of the series and is the 124th overall.
Premise[]
The 1988 murder of a Philadelphia news anchor is investigated after it is determined she was killed before she was able to report on a scandal involving a local factory's deadly working conditions. Meanwhile, tension arises between Scotty and Frankie when he gets close to a person in the case.
Synopsis[]
Flashback to September 2, 1988
A local news crew prepares to go on air. They wait for the female anchor, Jane Everett, who is late. She arrives and tells the producer to get her a real story. He tells her he’ll see what he can do, then they go live. Jane reads her teleprompter and sees that it has been manipulated. The producers scramble to fix it, but Jane is able to pull it off without going to commercial.
Two months later, evening-day of November 3, 1988, Jane is later found lying dead in the Fairmount Park ground. The case was remained cold at the time of her death.
Back to Present Day:
Rush asks the team if anyone remembers "a newscaster named Jane Everett". Vera and Valens remember her and that she was strangled in the park in the 80s. Rush says a research assistant from channel 7 (the same channel Jane worked for) is on the way over because she discovered something. Tory Roberts, the channel 7 researcher, arrives and meets with Rush. She shows the team an old beta tape she found with footage of Jane taping a special report. In the video, Jane gets a phone call and asks if the caller is threatening her. She tells the caller that they are doing the right thing by talking to her. Tory says that the video was recorded 6 hours before Jane was found dead.
The team goes over Jane’s files. They see that she grew up in a tough neighborhood. Stillman says that since she was strangled, it was probably a crime of passion. Rush says that there is no mention of a boyfriend. The see that there was no witness or DNA evidence, but Jane had abrasions and torn clothes, which suggests that she put up a fight. Although the park was a few blocks from her house and she jogged there everyday, the detectives think that Jane may have gone to the park to meet with her caller since she died in the same clothes she was wearing in the video.
Miller and Valens meet with Jane’s mom, Mrs. Margie Everett, and learn that Jane didn’t have a social life or a boyfriend. Mrs. Everett says that Jane wanted to be a broadcaster ever since she was a little girl. She recalls that Jane was upset the news became all fluff. Valens asks if they got into a fight over the type of news she covered. Mrs. Everett flashes back to watching Jane do a news piece in a Halloween costume and the two argued over how she always got stuck covering nonsense. Jane says that the news is about getting ratings. The two argued briefly over what was important to cover, then Jane left. Valens asks about Jane’s boss Nathan. Mrs. Everett says he was her mentor and they met when Jane was in college.
Rush and Jeffries meet with Nathan. He tells them about how they were focused on getting ratings. Rush asks if he had any idea who threatened Jane. Nathan says he has no idea since she didn’t do any controversial stories. He says everyone loved Jane, but remembers one person that might have had an issue with her. Nathan flashes back to a broadcast where the lead anchor, Mort Ackerson, started to slip while finishing a story. Jane picked up for him and finished his lines. He got angry and claimed she was stepping on his story. Nathan says that Jane caused the station to go from worst to first, which upset the lead anchor. Nathan says that Mort did get a Peabody when he covered Jane’s murder.
Valens has drinks with Tory and she asks him about the case. He tells her he’ll let her know if they find anything. The rest of the team shows up at the bar and they tell Valens that Mort is now a new suspect since he had a problem working with Jane. Valens then looks up and sees Frankie at the bar. The two see each other, then Frankie stomps off. Valens follows her and tells her that it’s a cop bar. The two argue briefly, then kiss. Valens starts to pull back, but changes his mind.
Rush meets with Mort and asks for his autograph. She tells him to sign it to her aunt and say he'll see her in 50 to life. Mort realizes Rush is a cop and tells her that he had nothing to do with Jane’s death. Rush asks about the complaint he filed against her. Mort insists Jane didn’t know her place and flashes back to her reviewing videos. He remembers Jane was on to some scandal. Rush asks if Jane was investigating something. Mort says he wasn’t sure, but he was determined that if there was a story, she wasn’t going to get it. He flashes back to when he followed Jane to see what she was up to. She saw him, then reported it the next day. Rush asks where the house was that Mort followed Jane and he tells her. Rush then asks where he was the night Jane was murdered. Mort says he was with the new intern, Londa Stewart.
Vera tells Stillman that he was unable to trace the call Jane received on the tape because it was local. He also says that Mort’s alibi checked out. Valens says that the house Mort followed Jane to has been sold, but they found out who the person was that lived there at the time. His name was Evan Briggs and they were able to find out where he was working at the time of Jane’s murder. Valens then sees Frankie and tells her that she has something of his.
Miller and Valens meet with Evan’s former employer at Shaw Plastics. He turns the detectives over to David Wyatt, the public relations director. David tells them that Evan was only with the company a few months and was fired for failing a drug test. Valens asks to see Evan’s file. The boss says that the business is a family corporation and they couldn’t employ a drug user. The detectives ask if Jane ever asked them about Evan and he says no. Valens and Miller leave. Valens asks Miller to go with him to the channel 7 station. Miller makes fun of Valens for needing backup when he sees the girl he ditched at the bar. Valens goes to the station and runs into Tory. She teases him for ditching her, then shows him the tapes of Jane she found.
Meanwhile, Stillman and Vera interview Clay Murphy, Jane’s former cameraman. They ask if she ever talked about Shaw Plastics. Clay says they covered a charity function the company threw. Stillman shows him a picture of Evan and Clay remembers Jane saw Evan get into an argument with his boss at the function. He says Jane wanted to follow Evan to his home. Clay flashes back to when he and Jane walked into Evan’s house and found a sick woman in bed. Jane looked at all the prescription bottles. Evan then told her that the drug test was a lie. Jane told Evan she could help him, but he kicked them out.
Rush and Jeffries track Evan down. He states he has nothing to say, then unleashes a dog on them, who they threaten to shoot. Rush and Jeffries then bring Evan into the station. Evan maintains that he didn’t hurt Jane. Rush brings up that whatever happened to him at that time caused him to lose his job and his wife. Evan tells the detectives that they have the story wrong. He reveals his wife had cancer and Jane told him she knew what was responsible for her getting sick. Evan flashes back to meeting Jane in a parking garage and telling her that his wife had died. Jane told Evan that she talked to a doctor who believes that his wife’s cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos, and she isn't the only victim from Shaw Plastics. Jane told him that she wanted to take on his company, but he was too scared. Jane assured Evan that she had someone else who was willing to expose Shaw on camera. Evan asked why she wanted to help and Jane answered that she was a good reporter. Rush asks if Jane told him who the insider was and Evan says no. Jeffries asks where Evan was when Jane died. Evan tells him, then adds that he has cancer too.
Rush looks over the tape transcript and thinks that Jane was going to meet with the insider. Rush and Valens return to see Mrs. Everett and she gives them all the tapes she has of Jane. They find a tape from the day before Jane died. They watch it and see the interview of the insider talking about how the company knew the asbestos was causing cancer, but covered it up. Rush and Valens think David Wyatt may have wanted to kill Jane to protect the company’s image.
Miller and Valens meet with David again. He insists that he only talked to Jane about fundraisers. Valens then pulls out his phone records and notes he called Jane the night before she died. Miller adds that Shaw Plastics flushed out all the people who opened their mouths about the asbestos cover up. David claims that they don’t know what they are talking about. Valens then plays the tape of the secret informer. Valens asks again why he called Jane the night before she died. The detectives wonder why he wanted her to silence the story. David says he didn’t kill Jane. He thought he could talk her out of doing the story. David flashes back to meeting with Jane and asking what the corporation was going to do to them when they found out that they were the ones who exposed them. Jane told him to think about all the people he was saving. David confesses to the detectives that he told his boss about the interview he gave with Jane. David says that he thought he was going to be fired, but he was promoted instead. David reveals he told his boss, Andrew Powers, so that he would fix the problem of people getting sick.
Jeffries and Vera meet with Andrew Powers and accuse him of being a conspirator to Jane’s murder. He tells the detectives that he was in the Cayman Islands when Jane was murdered. The detectives say they know, but they also know Powers called someone at the news station the night she was killed. Jeffries says that if Powers tells them who he called, they will drop the conspiracy charges.
Rush brings Nathan back into the station and asks if he is friends with Andrew Powers. Nathan says no. Rush asks why Powers called him a few hours before Jane was killed. Nathan says that Powers probably just had a story he wanted covered. Rush asks Nathan about the stock he owned in Shaw Plastics that he sold just before it changed ownership. Nathan simply says that he had a good broker. Rush knows that Powers called him to make Jane’s story go away. Nathan states that the story should have gone away. Rush asks Nathan how he knew about the interview Jane had with David. She asks if Powers told him or if he learned about it from Jane. Rush then gets Nathan to admit that he wanted to retrieve the tape of the interview from Jane.
Nathan flashes back to meeting Jane at the park. She told him about the story she had about Shaw Plastics. Nathan told Jane that he was proud she cracked the story, then asked for the tape. She assured him it was in a safe place and he asked for it for legal reasons. Jane refused to hand it over and threatened to go to another station. As a test, she asked for $1 million for the tape and Nathan agreed. She laughs at him in a mocking matter since he was ready to accept a bribe instead of publishing the truth. Jane then tries to run, but Nathan fights her. He strangles her to death and then runs off.
Nathan is arrested. Frankie returns Valens' handcuffs. Mrs. Everett watches the local news story exposing Shaw Plastics' asbestos cover-up. Evan watches as Powers is arrested. He also "sees" Jane smiling at him.
Crime Profile[]
Victim's File[]
| Identity | Name of the Victim | Age | Occupation | Last Seen | Perpetrator (Motive) | Cause of death | Portrayer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Jane Everett | 27 | Former news caster for WCNU Channel 7. | at Fairmount Park | Nathan Kravet (To wipe up her documentary discovery about Shaw Plastics asbestos scandal) | Strangulation by her own scarf. Force blunt trauma. | Dorian Brown |
Probable Suspect/s[]
This is the profile of the following suspected people who had a close contact with Jane Everett before she was found dead.
- A █ in their name section, states that it was that person WHO COMMITTED THE CRIME.
| Past Identity | Present Identity | Name of the Suspect/s | Age | Whereabout Status | Occupation | Relationship | Last Seen by the victim | Portrayers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
Margie Everett | 43 (1988) 63 (2009) |
Alive | Housewife | Mother | Last saw the victim leaving the house after their discussion about Jane's report on Shaw Plastics' donation fund | Rebecca Tilney (1988) Myra Turley (2009) |
 |
 |
Nathan Kravet
|
29 (1988) 49 (present age) |
Arrested | Former Producer for WCNU News, now station manager of WUDM | Mentor | Last saw the victim at Fairmount Park, having a heated conversation about Jane's discovery of Shaw Plastic's asbestos usage. Trying to bribe her and warn her to stop airing the said documentary. | David Eigenberg (1988) John Cirigliano (2009) |
 |
 |
Mort Ackerson | 30 (1988) 50 (2009) |
Alive | Newscaster for WCNU News | Former co-anchor of Jane Everett | Last saw the victim, spying her own investigation about Shaw Plastic cover up, and he also spying her on Briggs' home, giving her a rude treatment about something. | David Starzyk (1988) Tom Hallick (2009) |
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Dorian Brown as Jane Everett
- John Cirigliano as Nathan Kravet (2009)
- Steven Flynn as David Wyatt (2009)
- Courtney Ford as Tory Roberts
- Jack Kehler as Evan Briggs (2009)
- David Starzyk as Mort Ackerson (1988)
- Bradford Tatum as Evan Briggs (1988)
- Myra Turley as Margie Everett (2009)
- Tom Hallick as Mort Ackerson (2009)
- Adam O'Bryne as David Wyatt (1988)
With[]
- David Eigenberg as Nathan Kravet (1988)
And[]
Co-Starring[]
- Jarrod Crawford as Clay Murphy (1988)
- Kim Estes as Clay Murphy (2009)
- Steve Stapenhorst as Andrew Powers
- Rebecca Tilney as Margie Everett (1988)
- Stefan Marks as Floor Manager
Notes[]
- The title was based exactly on a notification for a sudden news alert, or a developing story.
- The newsroom of CBS Studios was used for this production, as the primetime newscast that week of this episodes production was temporarily moved to another news studio.
- Vera mentions that Rhonda Stewart, the intern Mort Ackerson was with the night of Jane's murder, is now a producer at WIXA. WIXA was the radio station where John "The Hawk" Hawkins worked in 1958 in "Static".
- Damont Henderson, Curt Fitzpatrick, and Marlene Bradford's case boxes are visible when Vera puts away Jane's case box at the end of the episode.
- This episode contains elements of the 1999 film The Insider, which was based on the 1996 tobacco industry whistleblower, Jeffrey Wigand. Asbestos has in the past been used as an ingredient in tobacco products and cigarette filters.
- In 1989, the year after the incident of this episode's crime, the Food and Drug Administration issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule.
- Despite Briggs having a 1988 appearance, only his present appearance is shown when he "sees" Jane in the epilogue, in contrast to other episodes which flip between the past and present appearances of every person involved in the case.
- Briggs is the third character to not be shown in his past appearance as the episode concludes after Arthur Brown and Barbara Lakey (except that she was a newborn in her past appearance).
- This episode received the most viewing when it aired, averaging over 19.20 million views.
Music[]
2 of the featured songs were performed by "The Fixx":
Opening Song[]
Alongside Songs[]
Closing Song[]
