Good Show but Stupid in Too Many Ways
The cops are like the keystone cops. Maybe I've watched too many CSI shows. The way the cops handle suspects and evidence is downright laughable, considering modern police work and techniques.
The pen apparently holds DNA. So what happens to it? Some cop gets to keep it indefinitely, not bothering to take it to the lab for testing. Then what happens? The real murderer (who's DNA is presumably on the pen) kills him and burns up the evidence. Didn't they ever hear of chain of command and tampering with evidence? Again, a point for a good lawyer to bring up at trial for reasonable doubt.
The evidence is destroyed in a fire, but no suspicious are raised. They know that the main suspect Ray and the cop were playing hockey together and are good friends, but no one is suspicious about this cop's death and try to check into whether or not he left with Ray.
Mike's partner's knows the Mike was shtupping one murder victim, but he gets to continue on the case and openly threaten the suspect. I can see a smart lawyer visiting the obvious hostility that he has shown Ray publicly and convincing a jury that he went after Ray for some kind of revenge.
The whole is Ray capable of violence questions to the ex-girlfriend and wife, Traci, are laughable, considering how volatile and violent Mike is.
Mike lets murder suspect Ray know that he knows that he's the murderer.
Mike's daughter is all involved in the case. I see about a thousand ways a good lawyer would get Ray off, considering the sloppy police work.
Ray's wife is assaulted by the serial killer, tells Mike, but he never thinks to show her the composite of the suspect that Ray gave him. If he had he would have learned that one of the suspects is still in town and he might have been able to pull a fingerprint off a surface at her job.
Mike's fingerprints should have been all over the apartment and in places they shouldn't have been in the murdered woman's apartment. Yet, her apartment is never dusted for the "boyfriend" all of them suspect her of having.
They allow his partner to question Mike about his involvement with the dead girl. And what is Mike's alibi? I was busy beating up on the guy who killed my partner. Presumably, since this series goes on for three seasons, Mike gets to stay on the case despite his romantic involvement.
The partner let's slip that Mike knew the victim to his daughter. Way to go keeping details of the crime from the suspect and other individuals who don't need to know.
Ray, Jr. gets ahold of the report that was found in his mom's car that Ray, Sr was driving the night he murdered the girl. And Ray, Jr. throws it away over a mountain!!!! Why wasn't this evidence, circumstantial that it was not in custody???? Why was it at Mike's house where is daughter had free access to it to give to Ray, Jr??? WTF????
Mike suspects Ray of murder, yet he allows him to run around with his wife and enter his home with his kids there. No wonder Ray was free to plant evidence in his home.
Mike allows his daughter to freely run back and forth to a suspected murder's house. Not only that she frequently goes missing late at night and goes into the woods, when the police suspect a serial killer is killing young woman and girls.