Although the show's creators/producers want to distance themselves from any real-life events, the plot of this episode is very similar to the case of Stella Nickell. Trudy Pomeranski kills her victims almost exactly like Stella Nickell killed her husband, Bruce Nickell: by poison as part of an insurance fraud scheme.
Hydrogen cyanide emits an odor similar to bitter almonds, but only people with a certain genetic trait can detect the odor. This genetic trait is only present in about 60 percent of the human population.
The criminal defense attorney makes a sarcastic remark about the District Attorney indicting "a ham sandwich." The term "indict a ham sandwich" was coined in 1985 by Judge Sol Wachtler. He wanted to get rid of grand juries--and the system of criminal indictments being brought by grand juries--since he felt that district attorneys had too much influence and could too easily sway grand jurors. He later joked that he regretted choosing "ham sandwich" and should have said "a pastrami sandwich." Judge Wachtler's quote was famously used in the novel "The Bonfire of the Vanities" (written in 1987) and has since been quoted in many movies and TV shows as well as real-life courtrooms and publications. Wachtler has since been stripped of his law license after he himself was indicted and convicted of making threats against his mistress, New York socialite Joy Silverman. He was charged with harassment, blackmail, racketeering, and extortion. He served 13 months in prison. He is now an author, critic, and mental health advocate.
This episode is played out of order on Amazon Video and Netflix (as of June 2021 it is no longer on Netflix). This is the seventh episode of the season and was originally aired on November 11, 2001. Amazon has it as the 16th episode of season one and incorrectly identifies the original air date as March 23, 2002.
This is loosely based on the story of Stella Nickell from Seattle, Washington. There's also a Forensic Files episode on the case, S2.E9.