CSI: Miami

Season 5 - Episode 7 - High Octane

Written by Marc Dube
Directed by Sam Hill

Delko stares down at nineteen year-old Dex Gilman’s headless body while Wolfe spies Dex’s severed head on the ground, cradled in empty beer bottles and cigarette butts.  Tripp explains that Dex was part of a “Sideshow,” where teens perform death defying acts in their custom high performance cars.   Dex’s car is missing.  Horatio points at the murder weapon, a taut light bulb cable. 

 Calleigh recovers the fingerprints of teenage electronics geek Evan Dunlar from most of the beer bottles.  Evan, a “cool kid” wannabe, explains to Delko and Horatio that he handed out beer at the Sideshow while Dex performed a “Jack-in-the-Box” – driving pedal free, cruise control on while kneeling on the wheel with his head out the sun roof.   Evan says that Dex’s car was raised by remote triggered hydraulics.   The car’s speed and elevation made it easy for the wire to cut Dex’s head off.   Delko smells jet airplane fuel on Evan.

 Alexx examines some unique tire marks on Dex’s arm.   Wolfe traces the specialized tire to upscale dealer Walter Phillips.  Walter put the tires on Dex’s car per the instructions of Brynn Roberts, trust fund cutie and Sideshow organizer.  Brynn was Dex’s sponsor.  Calleigh arrests Brynn after viewing Dex’s decapitation on Brynn’s Internet website and determining that Brynn triggered the hydraulics on Dex’s car with her cell phone.  

 Tripp and Horatio follow Dex’s stolen car.   Teenage car thief Luke Baylor drives it into a hanger filled with other stolen custom cars, a cargo plane and Evan Dunlar’s dad Steve, an international auto smuggler.   Steve and Luke are arrested.