| "Soulless" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 4.25 | → |
| Production number: E3127 First aired: 16 May 2003 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen Directed By Chad Lowe | ||
A rape victim is kidnapped and murdered.
Summary
After a rape victim is abducted from the hospital and later found murdered, the detectives discover that one of the multiple suspects is a psychopath with a juvenile conviction for rape, torture and murder.
Plot
A rape victim, Chloe Dutton, is brought into the hospital one night with a bar stamp on her hand, and when Benson tries to interview her, she insists that she wasn't raped after all and that she was drunk; then she refuses to accept Benson's help. A short time later, the nurse announces that the rapist snatched Chloe from the hospital. The detectives locate the bar that the stamp is from, and they find that the ID that Chloe used to sign in belongs to Jenna Sterling.
It is discovered her sister Vienna stole her ID and that it was used by Chloe to get into the bar. Chloe's murdered body is found washed up on a riverbank and Warner determines that she was drowned in a toilet and gang-raped by four people. Checking the hospital's phone records, its determined that Chloe called Vienna and a flurry of phone calls went between her and three boys named Andrew, Seth and Davis who the squad figures to be three of the rapists.
After letting Seth go to Washington D.C. and arresting him as a suspect for a crime committed there, the detectives are able to take his DNA thanks to Virginia law and he is proven to be one of the rapists and quickly turns on the other two, making a deal. The other two confess and make deals, saying another young man named Max Van Horn got them in on the rape after Chloe passed out and they were too drunk to realize what was going on.
Benson and Stabler arrest Max, whose real name is Mitch Wilkens and is a parking attendant they encountered earlier in the case. He claims the other three pulled him in on the rape, he was just trying to fit in and Seth is the killer. Evidence is found that apparently proves this fact and Seth is put on trial, but a woman named Mrs. Leggit approaches them and fingers Mitch as the killer.
According to her, Mitch, who, at the time, went by another alias: Eric Wayne Proctor, brutally murdered her son when he was ten and her son was three, and he was tried as a juvenile and his record was expunged after he got released three years before. Once confronted, Mitch is very arrogant about things and believes that he is untouchable. His mother is in denial about his actions until Benson realizes that a bracelet she is wearing is the same Chloe is wearing in the hospital security photo.
Afterward, Mitch's mother testifies against her son, no longer able to deny what she has known deep inside all along. She begs the judge and jury to convict and the jury finds Mitch guilty of Chloe's kidnapping, rape, and murder. Benson and Stabler confront him as the brownstone apartment he lives in once belonged to an elderly woman named Emily Owens with no family or friends, and Owens is missing, leading them to believe he may have been responsible for her disappearance. They try to convince him to tell them where she is, but he has no knowledge of her whereabouts and leaves for death row.
Cast
Main cast
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch
- Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only)
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast
- Peter Hermann as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Sheila Tousey as Judge Danielle Larsen
- Welly Yang as C.S.U. Technician Georgie
- Susan Varon as Nurse Gruber
Guest cast
- Logan Marshall-Green as Mitch Wilkens, aka Max Van Horn
- Ann Dowd as Sally Wilkens
- Kieran Campion as Seth Wolfford III
- Matthew Bennett as Mr. Stark
- Danny Hoch as Kracker
- Brette Taylor as Mrs. Dutton
- Mark Jacoby as Phillip Dutton
- Siobhan Fallon as Linda Leggatt
- Daniel Letterle as Andrew Kenworthy
- Ashley Burritt as Vienna Sterling
- Mary B. McCann as Guidance Counselor
- Ashton Holmes as Davis Harrington
- Amber McDonald as Jenna Sterling
- Eisa Davis as Vera Galeano
- Ciaran Tyrrell as Keith
- Peyton List as Chloe Dutton
- Mary Beth O'Connor as Attorney Andrea Forbes
- Denise Wilbanks as Dora Stark
- Nicholas Hagelin as Bernie Thorkle
- Brian Letscher as Paramedic
- Heather Finn as Nancy
- Miche Braden as Nurse Tolentino
- Geoff Reinhard as Public Defender
- Brian D. Coats as Jury Foreman
- Dennis Vargas as Morgue Assistant
References
Peek-A-Boobs Andrew Stuart Lister
Quotes
- [after Benson's card is discovered in the victim's mouth]
- Benson: Please tell me this guy was stupid enough to leave his name.
- Dr. Warner: No. Yours.
- Benson: You're either born with a conscience or you're not.
- Mitch: [about his mother] Poor old thing. She got hate mail, death threats, people spit on her in the street. She stuck it out there just to see me. Now that's love.
- Benson: No, that's denial. You think that your mother can't be broken? You think you're in total control of her? You just watch me.
- Mitch: Bring it on, bitch. As I said, there's nothing to break, but do go easy on the old girl. I've put her through so much already.
- [after Mitch has been convicted]
- Benson: This is a capital offense, Mitch. Looks like you're going away forever.
- Mitch: Don't worry. I'll write.
- Stabler: Well, we did a little digging. You don't own that brownstone where you were living. You never paid rent. You had no lease.
- Benson: It's owned by an elderly woman called Emily Owens. No family, most of her friends have died, and we can't find her.
- Mitch: Huh.
- Stabler: Eric, everybody, including your own mother, believes that you are beyond redemption. That's not true. This woman deserves a proper burial. You know that's the right thing. Where is she?
- Mitch: [confused] Gee, I don't know. I guess I'm going away for a while, so I should probably give notice. Do let me know if you find her.
Background information and notes
- Inspired by the Jesse Pomeroy case
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fifth Avenue at 76th Street |
Sterling Residence |
Arlington Police Station |
Wilkens Residence |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Rikers Island |
Trial Part 35 |
Trial Part 35 |
| Previous episode: "Perfect" |
"Soulless" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 |
Next episode: "Tragedy" |