Married to Christy and father to Natalie and Abby, Ben is fiercely protective of his family and children. He makes his living as a house painter and has been best friends with his tenant, Dave, since high school. Living across the street from the Murphy family, he frequently stepped in when Tom’s father, Scott, was serving abroad. Ben is the one who found 5-year-old Tom’s body while on an early morning run.
Detective Cornell is the top Homicide Detective for the Charlotte Mecklenberg County Police Department. Her commitment to justice is unparalleled, so it's no wonder she has the highest close rate in her department. When 5-year-old Tom Murphy is murdered, Cornell embarks upon an unrelenting pursuit of the offender, who she believes, from early on, is Ben. Her unwavering dedication to her job makes her the most formidable opponent - or a highly valuable ally.
Christy is married to Ben and mother to Natalie and Abby. As a a realtor, she is the breadwinner of the Crawford household. Christy was originally from money, dropping out of college after getting pregnant. She has a close relationship with her brother, Michael. Living across the street from Tom, Christy has always been friendly with the Murphy family.
Jess is the mother of 5-year-old Tom and married to Scott, a military man. A part-time saleswoman at a clothing store, Jess raised Tom mostly alone while her husband was serving abroad. She is very close to her younger sister, Nicole.
Dave is Ben's best friend since high school and current guesthouse tenant of the Crawford family. He loves Ben and the girls, but doesn't get along with Christy. A supposed musician and full-time jokester, Dave played with Tom whenever he was at the Crawford house.
Natalie is the 16-year-old daughter of Christy and Ben, and the big sister of Abby. Too pretty for her own good, she is the typical snarky teen towards her parents and little sister. Natalie babysat for Tom Murphy often, both at her house and his.
Abby is the wide-eyed and inquisitive 12-year-old daughter of Christy and Ben, and little sister of Natalie. A daddy's girl, she shares in her father’s fierce protection and loyalty to family. Living across the street, Abby played with Tom often.
Ben Crawford runs frantically through the woods in the pouring rain in the early morning hours. Coming upon a neighborhood, he desperately yells for help. He stops at his house, ringing the doorbell and banging on the door, yelling for his wife Christy to open up. Later, authorities confirm the death of 5-year-old Tom Murphy who was found in the woods. Returning home, Ben is greeted by Christy and their 16-year-old daughter Natalie. But they aren’t alone: Detective Andrea Cornell wants to ask Ben some questions. It’s clear she thinks Ben is guilty of killing Tom.
News travels and the media stake out the Crawfords’ home in connection to the murder. Natalie is especially affected, try as Ben may to downplay it. He confides in childhood best friend and current guest house tenant, Dave Lindsey. Ben attempts to reach out to Tom’s mother, Jess Murphy, but his call goes unanswered. As they settle in for the night, Christy inquires about the morning’s events and Ben is curt; it’s apparent the couple is in the beginning stages of a separation. In the morning, the family is bombarded by the media, while Ben is summoned by Cornell for more questioning.
At the station, Christy’s divorce lawyer comes to Ben’s aid. Cornell requests a DNA sample, but the lawyer advises against it. When Ben comes home, Christy’s brother Michael is there to help babysit, as Natalie is too upset to do so herself. Photos of Ben getting summoned by police have made its way to the Internet and the comments are horrendous. Ben and Dave go boating; Ben reveals Christy is leaving him and she wants the girls. Dave realizes that’s why he wanted to go out the night before – the night he found Tom.
The Crawfords are cleaning up after dinner when Cornell comes over with more questions for Ben. She shows him a series of photos of various kinds of flashlights, asking if he has any of them. Christy points out one in particular that she got him a couple of years ago for his birthday. When they go out to his truck to show Cornell the flashlight in his kit, it isn’t there. Later, Ben questions Christy’s loyalty.
Ben takes Cornell on the route he took the morning he found Tom. She continues to question him, taking jabs at his memory and inquiring about his calls to Jess. She also presses him on why he refuses to take a DNA test, causing him to walk away abruptly. He returns home to find a swarm of police searching his property – his walk with Cornell was her ploy to get him out of the house. When he inquires about a search warrant, she didn’t need one, as Christy gave them permission.
Ben and his younger daughter Abby run an errand. Upon returning home, they are bombarded by reporters and cameras, causing Abby to burst into tears. Ben brings a distraught Abby back to the car and down to the station – he knows what he needs to do. On his way to the car the next morning, he discovers the words “CHILD KILLER” painted in red on his white fence.
At his job, his client pays him off even though Ben hasn’t completed the painting yet. Ben makes calls to his clients to ask if they need any work done, but they all decline, saying they’ve been done. It’s becoming evident that Ben’s connection to the murder is making him a social as well as a professional pariah. After a blow-up on the phone with Cornell, Ben has a vivid memory of teaching Tom to swim, causing him to break down. Later, he sits down with Cornell, who continues to interrogate him as well as deliver some knowledge served up by the DNA test: Ben is Tom’s father.
Ben visits Tom’s memorial site when he sees Jess approaching. He confronts her, asking if she knew that Tom was his son. She reveals she didn’t know until that day, only finding out from Cornell, who made the discovery via Ben’s DNA test. Ben maintains his innocence and Jess assures she believes him as she knows who did it. At Jess’ house, the two discuss Tom’s father, Scott, whom Jess believes killed her son. She reveals Scott wasn’t the saint many pegged him to be. Scott doesn’t know Tom is Ben’s – no one else does. If he did, he would have killed Ben. Their conversation is interrupted by Nicole, Jess’ sister.
When Christy inquires about Ben’s whereabouts, he admits to talking with Jess, who believes Scott killed Tom. An officer comes to the door with a summons from Cornell. Ben is not being arrested this time. At the station, Cornell informs Ben the coroner confirmed the cause of Tom’s death to be blunt force trauma and they determined the make and model of the flashlight used in the murder. Frustrated that Cornell still suspects him, Ben requests a polygraph test, much to the dismay of his lawyer. When the test is determined as inconclusive, his lawyer quits on him and advises getting a criminal lawyer.
Ben overhears Natalie planning a secret rendezvous and follows her, only to discover she is meeting with Scott. After witnessing affection between them, he runs across the street, causing Scott to leave. When Ben confronts her, she is furious. That night, an inconspicuous Ben searches for Scott at his army’s barracks, but he isn’t there. At the dinner table, Christy notices the tension between Ben and Natalie. He informs her Natalie is seeing Scott, as he witnessed the two holding hands. Baffled, Natalie corrects him: what Ben really saw was Scott giving her his silver star to put on Tom’s casket.
The next morning, Ben is running around the neighborhood when he hears screaming at Jess’ house and sees Scott’s motorcycle in the driveway. Jess and Scott are having a violent screaming match when Ben runs in and throws a punch at him. Scott retaliates, throwing punches and choking him. Jess yells at Scott to stop but he refuses until Nicole appears and demands he let go. Later, Ben goes to Cornell, pressing her on why she isn’t questioning Scott for the murder. It’s clear she still believes Ben did it.
While getting ready for bed, Ben’s phone rings. It’s Jess, calling him in tears asking him to come over, as she’s overwhelmed with details for Tom’s funeral the next day. Christy is understanding and tells him to go, but she’s visibly upset. Ben goes over to Jess’ house. Reminiscing about her son, Jess bursts into tears, with Ben consoling her. Jess tries to kiss Ben, but he pulls away. Returning home, Ben finds that Christy laid out beddings for him on the couch; she is not pleased.
The next day, Ben confronts Christy, insisting nothing happened with Jess the night before. He receives a call from Cornell who has an urgent message but he cuts her off to go to Tom’s funeral. Later that night, the family is gathered around the television when Cornell appears at the door. She delivers her message in person: there was a leak in the crime lab and the press knows about Tom’s paternity. Going back inside with his family, the news announces Ben is Tom’s biological father, shocking and upsetting the family.
Going into Abby’s room, Ben gently but honestly informs her that he is Tom’s father. Upon realizing Tom was her brother, she bursts into tears. Later that night, Christy confronts Ben about details surrounding the night he and Jess slept together six years prior. Christy recalls she and the girls were at her brother Michael’s following a fight between Ben and Christy, right after her abortion. Ben sleeps on the couch again. Waking up in the middle of the night, he opens his eyes to Scott standing above him. Scott threatens him saying if he doesn’t go to prison, he’s going to kill him.
Ben and Dave shop for a gun following his encounter with Scott. Upon coming home, Ben sneaks out of his truck and into the house while the media swarm the truck with Dave driving. Inside the Crawford home, when Natalie comes home and catches Abby crafting with her glitter makeup, the two sisters get into an argument. Abby snitches on her sister, revealing to Ben that Natalie is attending a party at her boyfriend Cooper’s house. When a dressed up Christy makes her way out, Ben stops to question her. She is icy towards him; it’s clear he’s not forgiven for letting her find out he had a baby with Jess on TV.
Ben goes to Jess’ and tells her that Scott knew Tom’s paternity before it was announced. Jess informs Ben that she didn’t tell anyone about it, except for her sister. When Nicole doesn’t answer Jess’ call, she suspects something is wrong. Ben and Jess go to Nicole’s place and find her and Scott in bed together. Cornell gets involved and Ben thinks he’s off the hook, but it’s clear she still suspects Ben. The next day, Ben walks into what appears to be a private conversation between Natalie and Christy.
The Crawfords and Dave set up Christmas lights in the house. Dave gets a little too handsy with Natalie. Ben goes out to his truck. Upon opening it, a flashlight falls out. Shocked, he scrambles to hide it in his garage. At the winter fair, Ben feels eyes on him, but Christy insists on being normal. Some neighbors invite Ben and Christy to join them at their table but Kevin Williams is especially cold to Ben. The sound of children fighting interrupts their conversation. Abby pushes a classmate to defend her father.
Upon returning home from a run, Ben sees Cornell and Christy going into the garage. Cornell wants to see a receipt for the flashlight to help eliminate him as a suspect. When Cornell leaves, Ben and Christy get into an argument. He pleads with Christy to stand by him. As soon as she’s out of the garage, Ben hides the flashlight by wrapping it in a box, like a present. He receives a phone call about a gig and starts work with Arthur Fenton. The men bond, until Arthur says something that unnerves Ben, conjuring up bad memories of the fateful morning. Arthur apologizes, but the damage is done.
Ben goes to Tom’s shrine to give him a Christmas gift: a bicycle bell. Scott sneaks up on him in full uniform – they let him go free, as he had an alibi: he was with Nicole. He didn’t come forward because he didn’t want to hurt Jess.
Ben insists he didn’t kill Tom and makes peace with Scott. That night, Ben informs Jess Scott didn’t do it, and she doesn’t take the news well. Tom’s killer is still out there. When Christy’s shopping bag falls, Ben goes to pick it up and discovers she bought new lingerie… and a pregnancy test. Ben confronts Christy about the pregnancy test, but she refuses to discuss it.
Ben turns to Dave, admitting the flashlight came back. Dave is the voice of reason for once; he also reveals he can hear everything through their bathroom window. When Dave insinuates he believes the pregnancy test is Natalie’s, Ben goes ballistic and looks for her. Abby snitches on her sister once again and uses her laptop for details about the party.
With Dave and Abby in tow, Ben goes to the party to find Natalie. There, he confronts her and intends to take her home. When Cooper stands up to Ben, he pushes him aside, causing Natalie’s boyfriend to throw a punch at her father. Ben proceeds to fight back and shoves Cooper onto a table, threatening him. A drunk Natalie throws a low blow at Ben, alluding he’s a killer. Dave brings Natalie outside and the family leaves the party. When Natalie refuses to get in the car with Ben, Dave accompanies Natalie while Ben and Abby walk home.
The next day, Ben tells Christy he knows the test was for Natalie and the two have a talk. Christy invites Ben to sleep in their bedroom again. Cornell comes to the door, showing Ben and Christy footage from the night before when he threatened Cooper’s life. Cornell needs to get a statement from Dave, so Ben goes to the guest house to fetch him. Looking at Dave, Ben notices glitter all over Dave’s chest – it’s Natalie’s glitter. Ben barges in and upon finding evidence Natalie stayed over, Ben throws Dave out of the house in a rage – right into Cornell’s arms.
After a public revelation, Ben struggles to keep his family together -- and maintain his innocence.
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"Secrets and Lies" SUNDAYS 9|8c on ABC
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