Who really killed Carter Mills? Law & Order Season 25 episode 1 recap

Law & Order Season 25 episode 1, titled ‘Street Justice’, picks up its plot where it left off in the previous season. Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun was at the top of the suspect list for killing Carter Mills. The guy walked out free from the court, cleared of all charges, and was set free to commit more brutal crimes ahead. 

Sam was suspected because Carter Mills’s DNA matched that of the suspect of her sister’s killer, who raped and killed her. Sam, being emotionally attached to the case, was furious to see him not found guilty, and Price assumed that she must have killed him to bring justice to her late sister.

The previous season left viewers on a major cliffhanger with no answers about whether ADA Samantha Maroun was the killer of Carter Mills or not. Well, the real killer turns out to be Mills’ ex-girlfriend, Julia, excluding Sam from the suspect list. 

The episode opens with a flashback and voiceovers from the courtroom ‘’Carter Mills not guilty of murder in the second degree.’’ Later, Carter Mills was murdered when someone gunned him down. After this verdict, Price went to Sam’s apartment as he suspected that she had something to do with his death; however, he was not sure. 

Beyond her personal attachment, what clues made Sam a suspect in Mills’ murder

Sam was mad because of the verdict; however, Price tries to explain to her that " following the law is our job.’’ The detectives started to dig into the case to find the murderer, and the breakthrough came when they found surveillance footage of Carter Mills being gunned down. The footage also saw a sweeper who witnessed the incident, and he was called in for questioning. 

During the interrogation with the sweeper, it was revealed that he had heard the gunshot and the suspect ‘’was not him, it was her,’’ and her final words before the gunshot were ‘’You deserve this.’’ Well, this revelation made the detectives lean more towards Sam for being involved in the killing of Carter Mills.

The identified suspect was wearing a black hoodie, described as thin and of medium height, a detail that nearly aligned with Sam’s stature. Another lead that pointed to Sam being guilty was the weapon that was used to kill Carter Mills. It was a 38-calibre handgun, and Sam owned the same gun. Plus, the CCTV footage revealed that Sam returned to her building just 28 minutes after the 911 call reporting the murder, so they had to bring in Sam for questioning. 

The detectives got the warrant to get the gun from Sam’s apartment, but they didn’t find any. However, they did find a black hoodie that was worn by the lady who shot Mills. Meanwhile, Sam confesses to Price that she drew the gun in the river as she realized that it was a bad idea to confront Miller and was even afraid of what she might do with it. With this confession, Price obviously had to believe her.

The detectives meet Mills' girlfriend and his sister

The lawyer girlfriend of Mills, who was always supportive of him, revealed that Mills was angry at her sister, as he wanted her to come to the hearings to support him, although she didn't. The rough patch in their relationship raised suspicion toward her sister, too.

His sister always believed that he was not innocent. She told the detectives,

‘’I wanted to support him, but in my bones I knew he was guilty. I didn’t want to help him get away with it.’’ 

His sister said that he was never held accountable for his mistakes and that exactly happened again when he was set free and cleared of all the criminal records he had. However, one major clue the detectives got from her was that Julia (Mills’ gf) broke up 3 days before the verdict. 

Julia was found guilty of Carter Mill’s murder in Law & Order Season 25 episode 1

Upon investigating, they found out that Julia bought a gun the day her ex-boyfriend was acquitted of murder. CCTV footage captured her withdrawing $300 from an ATM, allegedly to buy the weapon.

Julia asks for a lawyer as she has no way out now, as the detectives learned about her buying the gun right before the 6 hours of the murder of Carter Mills. Another CCTV footage saw her entering her apartment 12 minutes after the 911 call reporting the crime. 

This strong evidence was enough to prove her guilty in the court; however, she played the card of ‘’self-defence.’’ Her lawyer said that she acted in self-defence as Carter was about to kill her for breaking up with him. 

Carter said, ''I told you they wouldn’t convict me. You’re done,’’ and she interpreted this statement as a sign of his coming to kill her. 

Julia accidentally breaks her self-defence card in front of Sam 

As Julia stated that she was physically abused by Carter, and her actions were part of self-defence. Maroun tells Price that Julia should be charged with first-degree manslaughter because she was emotionally and physically vulnerable when the murder happened. Baxter agrees to this plea, and Julia accepts it.

However, the Law & Order Season 25 episode 1 ends with a cliffhanger. Julia accidentally confessed to Maroun that she waited outside Carter’s building to kill him. This new information could mean Julia might now be charged with murder. Maroun tells Nolan that they should go ahead with the plea deal and keep the fact of Julia's confession a secret.