- "This is Marco Tidwell. And I'm going to kill myself. I'm calling so that bastard hears this. He needs to know he did this. Goodbye."
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Madden was a case surrounding the death of Marco Tidwell via suicide. He jumped off the roof of the Eisenworth building after leaving a 911 call to let the person who drove him to suicide know it was their fault. Sharon Tidwell suspected Dale Madden and he was charged as a result.
Case[]
Annalise's work for Dale began by trying to negociate a plea deal with A.D.A Barrett Nelson. The two were unable to come to an agreement and Sharon stepped in to say she wanted the case to go to trial. After the meeting Annalise tasked Bonnie with getting judge Lucy Modena to grant the defense a continuance. She then confronted Emily Sinclair about her suspecting foul play in the death of Nia Lahey.
At the house, Annalise caught Frank and Laurel making out. She then explained to Laurel that they needed to prove Marco committed suicide for another reason that had nothing to do with Dale. She then tasked Laurel with finding out what Dale knew about Marco. Laurel was confused so Annalise asked Wes to step in then Asher volunteered as well. Later the three were talking with Dale and he said Marco made $85,000 a year and knew because he went through his tax returns. His excuse was that he was ensuring Sharon married the right person. Laurel asked if he knew anything else and he revealed that Marco went to church at night. She told this to Annalise after putting together that he was an alcoholic and was attending AA meetings, not church. Laurel said they could argue it was Marco's substance abuse issues that led to his suicide, Bonnie said it wouldn't work, so Laurel said they could ask Sharon on the stand. Wes said she wouldn't admit her husband was an alcoholic if it helped Dale's case, and Annalise said she would if she was made to.
In court, Sharon was on the stand and Annalise asked her if Marco was an alcoholic. She muttered that she knew the defense would try to blame the victim so the judge told her to answer the question. She said he wasn't. Annalise lied and said she had security camera photos of Marco attending AA meetings, causing Sharon to backtrack and say she remembered Marco mentioning wanting to go. Annalise then accused her of lying and said alcoholics were three times more likely to suffer with clinical depression. When she finished her cross, A.D.A Nelson decided to present Marco's 911 call to the court, saying he was left no other choice because of Annalise.
After court, Asher, Bonnie and Wes were suggesting to Annalise ways to proceed in the case. Laurel stayed quiet causing Annalise to pick on her about letting the men do all the thinking. That night Laurel had Oliver, who was at the Keating house to help on the Hapstall case, find A.D.A Nelson's address. She then went to the apartment complex and met the doorman, Lloyd. She lied and said Sharon left her gloves in a taxi and wanted to know whether she lived in the complex or not. Lloyd said Sharon was there all the time but she didn't live there. Laurel put it together that Sharon and the prosecutor, Barrett Nelson, were sleeping together. She went back to the house and told the information to Bonnie, Asher and Annalise. She said she was willing to use sex to lure the doorman to the courthouse to have him testify.
The next day, Annalise called A.D.A Barrett Nelson to the stand. She asked him about the restraining orders Sharon filed against Dale. He said there was over 20 in total. Annalise then asked if there was ever a conflict of interest in Dale being fairly prosecuted, Nelson said no. She rephrased, asking if he and Sharon ever had a relationship that became romantic. He said no again, then Bonnie signalled to Asher to get Laurel and the doorman into the courtroom. Annalise then continued, asking if there was anybody who could testify to Sharon and Nelson's relationship. When Lloyd realised what was going on Laurel told him he was a material witness who could be held in contempt by the judge if he left.
Annalise asked Nelson if he was prosecuting Dale to cover up the fact he was the person who drove Marco to suicide. She said that Nelson was the 'he' in the 911 call, not Dale. Nelson went quiet as Annalise continued before pleading the 5th.
See also[]
Appearances[]
| Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "It's Time to Move On" | "She's Dying" | "It's Called the Octopus" | "Skanks Get Shanked" | ||||||||
| "Meet Bonnie" | "Two Birds, One Millstone" | "I Want You to Die" | "Hi, I'm Philip" | ||||||||
| "What Did We Do?" | "What Happened to You, Annalise?" | "She Hates Us" | "It's a Trap" | ||||||||
| "Something Bad Happened" | "There's My Baby" | "Anna Mae" |