Ep 18. Mad Dog

In Law & Order season 7 episode 18, titled "Mad Dog," the detectives of the Major Case Squad are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy man in his Upper East Side apartment. The victim, an influential art dealer named Douglas Greer, was found bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat in his bedroom, and all signs point to a vicious home invasion gone wrong.

The lead detective on the case is Mike Logan (played by Chris Noth), who is partnered with Lennie Briscoe (played by Jerry Orbach) for this high-profile investigation. They quickly discover that Greer's apartment was ransacked, but there is no evidence of forced entry. This leads them to suspect that the killer was someone who knew Greer personally and had access to his home.

The detectives begin to interview Greer's friends and associates, including his business partner, his ex-wife, and several of his clients. They also start to piece together a timeline of the night of the murder, using security footage from the building and witness statements from neighbors.

As the investigation progresses, Logan and Briscoe become increasingly frustrated by the lack of solid leads. However, they soon get a break in the case when they find a bloody baseball bat in a dumpster near the crime scene. Forensic analysis of the bat reveals that it matches the DNA of a man named Mark Bruner (played by Jim True-Frost), a former art student of Greer's who had been fired from his job years earlier due to his unstable behavior.

Logan and Briscoe track down Bruner, who is living in a run-down apartment in a bad part of town. Bruner is a paranoid and delusional man who rants about the government and the Illuminati conspiracy theories. However, as the detectives question him about his whereabouts on the night of the murder, Bruner becomes increasingly agitated and hostile.

Despite Bruner's protestations of innocence, Logan and Briscoe are convinced that they have their man. They arrest him and charge him with the murder of Douglas Greer. However, as they prepare for trial, they must contend with a strong defense team who use Bruner's mental illness as a defense and cast doubt on the prosecution's case.

In the courtroom, the drama ramps up as the prosecution and defense present their arguments and evidence. The outcome of the trial is uncertain until the final moments, when surprising revelations and new evidence come to light that shed new light on the motives behind the murder.

"Mad Dog" is a tense and gripping episode of Law & Order that showcases the challenges and complexities of investigating and prosecuting a brutal crime. With strong performances from Noth, Orbach, and the rest of the cast, this episode is a standout entry in the long-running series and a must-watch for fans of the crime genre.