This episode is based on the 1987 Lisa Steinberg case. Joel Steinberg, a disbarred New York criminal defense attorney, attracted international media attention when he was accused of murder and then convicted of manslaughter in the November 1, 1987, death of a six-year-old girl, Elizabeth (Lisa Steinberg). He and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum had illegally adopted the girl. Steinberg had reportedly been hired by a single mother to locate a suitable adoptive family for Lisa, but he instead took the child home and raised her with Nussbaum. Having never filing formal adoption papers, Steinberg and Nussbaum were therefore never scrutinized as adoptive parents.
This is the only episode of the series in which a long disclaimer was read aloud. It presented the actual conclusion of the real case that involved Joel Steinberg, Hedda Nussbaum, and the victim Lisa Steinberg.
This episode takes place from February 22 to June 29, 1990.
James M Cain's quote, "She looked so good, I wanted to hit her with a hammer" is from The Postman Always Rings Twice.