Mr. Monk and the Three Julies - Recap

Monk and Natalie are at a crime scene when Stottlemeyer arrives in his new car. Stottlemeyer is thrilled he's finally gotten the car of the dreams. However, as he and Disher go in to search the scene, Natalie overhears a report of a murder on the police radio... a murder involving Julie Teeger. She takes Stottlemeyer's car and drives off to the new crime scene, bumping the side mirror on the way. She goes inside only to discover that the Julie Teeger in question is a woman stabbed with a steak knife. Stottlemeyer and the others arrive and he's not too thrilled to see the damage to his car. The woman's husband George bursts in and Stottlemeyer vows to find his wife's killer. Outside, Natalie tries to get hold of Julie but overhears another radio report about a Julie Teeger that has died in an accident. Natalie takes Stottlemeyer's car again and drives it through a creek to get to the park where the new body has been found: it's another woman, but not Natalie's daughter. The police check out the crime scene and while it initially appears to have been an accident, Disher and Monk determine that the second Julie was deliberately run over several times.

Julie is taking her driving test and not doing particularly well when Natalie and a police escort finalyl catch up to her and get her into custody. Meanwhile, Stottlemeyer has tracked down a Matthew Teeger with a history of violence and who lives with his mother. They go to the mother's house and find no sign of Matthew. When they search the house, Monk finds a grisly sight: the elderly Julie Teeger, dead for some time and stuffed and left in a rocking chair.

Monk is none too thrilled and goes to see Dr. Kroeger in the middle of the night. Kroger tries to reassure him and Monk asks him to run a psych profile on Matthew Teeger. They're unaware that Matthew is wondering the streets, flying into a fury as she sees newspapers trying him to the murders. At home, Natalie's daughter Julie is under constant watch by Stottlemeyer and Disher, and chafing at the restriction. She insists that she'll take her driving test the next day, while Stottlemeyer reveals that Julie Teeger is the only remaining "Julie Teeger" within a thousand miles.

Working on Kroeger's profile, Stottlemeyer sets up a stakeout of Matthew Teeger's house, figuring he's obsessed with his mother. Randy dresses up as the mother and waits in the room. Matthew comes back and confesses that he's been a "bad boy," then tries to give Disher a hug. Disher panics and gives the signal, and Stottlemeyer and the police come in and arrest Matthew. The next morning at the police station, Julie is eager to be released now that the killer is in jail. Natalie lets Monk decide and he reluctantly lets her go. Matthew overhears them as they're brought in and tells her to be careful.

Stottlemeyer interrogates Matthew who says he wasn't talking about the murders when he said he was a bad boy. He holds onto his lucky rabbit's foot and denies knowing anything about the murders. Monk discovers that they found a knife on Matthew and suspects he's not the killer: he would have used his own knife to kill the first Julie, rather than a steak knife in the house. He's interrupted when Matthew manages to get away from the station and runs off to find Julie.

Disher and Monk go to the second dead Julie's house where Monk finds a piece of a yellow box. He recognizes it and realizes what has happened. Meanwhile, Natalie takes Stottlemeyer's car and drives off to the DMV where Julie is taking her test. Matthew gets there first and chases Julie around the testing lot. Julie finally is cut off and forced to stop, and Matthew approaches her... and gives her his lucky rabbit's foot. The police prepare to shoot him but Monk shows up to stop him and tell them that Matthew isn't the murderer.

Everyone goes to George Teeger's house and Monk reveals that he saw the yellow box at George's house when they were there before. Monk has figured it out: George Teeger was having an affair and argued with his mistress. For revenge she mailed his personal things at her house to his wife. However, the label was torn and it went to the second Julie Teeger. She brought the package over just as the first Julie Teeger and George were arguing. He stabbed her to death with the steak knife and the second Julie saw it. George chased after her and ran her off the road and then killed her. The third Julie's death was by a heart attack and while Matthew stuffed her and kept her around the house, there was no murder involved.

Later, Stottlemeyer is forced to wait for a bus while his car is in the shop. Julie has passed her driver's test and convinced Natalie to get her a car. She's driving by with her friends and offers Stottlemeyer a ride and he accepts, while offering her driving tips.

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