Law and Order
Register
Advertisement
"Tortured"
SVU, Episode 4.16
Production number: E3121
First aired: 14 February 2003
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Munch Fin Tortured
Written By
Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen

Directed By
Steve Shill

A Tibetan woman, who was a victim of torture in her own country, is found murdered with a foot missing. The search is on for a killer with a foot fetish.

Summary[]

A Tibetan woman who was tortured in her home country is found murdered, with her foot missing and after an exhaustive search of potential suspects, the killer is a victim of torture himself.

Plot[]

Episode summary

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Stabler: There's blood on the boot maybe she got a piece of him.
Benson: I'll get an evidence bag.
Stabler: [unzips the victim's boots and see that the foot has been cut off] Liv, I don't think the bloods our perps, its hers
Benson: [to the canvas cops] Guys, anybody find a severed foot?

[about the murder victim's injuries]
Tutuola: Restraints, painful game of shock the kitty. Smacks of S&M to me.
Cragen: I know one woman's pain can be another man's pleasure, but this girl was not spanked to death.

Stabler: I'm not buying it. Kathy didn't come home all night, I'd be out looking for her.
Benson: That's you.
Stabler: That's everybody.
Benson: That's bull. How many times have we been working on a case and Kathy doesn't hear from you?
Stabler: That's different. I'm on the job.

Benson: [to Preston Bennett] Kunsong screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night on a regular basis.
Stabler: How's that open to interpretation?
Preston Bennett: She had nightmares! She tried everything, even sleeping upright in a chair. Still, she'd wake up thinking she was back in Tibet. The nightmares were so real, even with me holding her, she couldn't stop screaming.
Stabler: Well, someone shut her up with a wire across her vocal chords.

[about the couch that he stole]
Benson: You don't strike me as a floral, shabby-chic kind of guy.
Paulie Obregano: I'm not. That's why I sold it. It belonged to my ex.
Benson: Now why would she leave a catch like you?
Paulie Obregano: Cause she's a whore and she found a fatter wallet.

Laurie Schneider: I had to ride home in my stocking feet.
Munch: At least you got to keep both of yours. The next woman wasn't so lucky.

[Public defender Gina Bernardo flags down Alex while she's walking down the hall with her assistant]
Gina Bernardo: Oh Alex, yoo-hoo!
Cabot: Hi, Gina. [to her assistant] I'll see you back at the office.
Gina Bernardo: Hi.
Cabot: Nice shoes.
Gina Bernardo: Thanks, I hate them too.

Bernardo: You're prosecuting, right?
Cabot: You know I am, Gina. You've served me with enough motions.
Bernardo: Right. I've got a few more. You saved me a trip. I don't want to wear out these puppies. Request for a 7:30 hearing...
Cabot: Psych eval. Very original.
Bernardo: Thanks. [hands her the documents] IQ...and physical... and neurological.
Cabot: What, no proctologist?
Bernardo: No, not this time.
Cabot: Gina, you and I both know any affirmative defense you come up with is going to be a load of crap.

[Bernardo is questioning a neurologist on the stand about the function of the frontal lobe]
Gina Bernardo: Dr. Shelton, what exactly does the brain's frontal lobe do?
Dr. Shelton: It controls emotions, urges, knowledge of right and wrong. Basically, it's our impulse control center.
Gina Bernardo: So say I had the urge to call opposing counsel an uptight, self-righteous, little bitch, my frontal lobe knows that means sanctions and it keeps my mouth shut?

[Alex is questioning the same neurologist]
Cabot: Dr. Shelton, are you saying that everyone who suffers a blow to the frontal lobe will kill?
Dr. Shelton: No, of course not. There are numerous cases in the history of brain--
Cabot: Thank you. You've offered a provocative theory. What it lacks in substance, it makes up for in pretty colors.

Benson: Jerry, your mother's used to taking out her frustrations on somebody. Now who's that person gonna be when you're out of the house?

Krug: [about Jerry] I didn't make him the way that he is. There's always something wrong with him. I did everything I could to fix it.
Benson: With blows to the head?
Krug: Nothing else worked! You don't know what he put me through! Oh, don't look at me like that. I am not the one that's sick.
[to her customers as she is being arrested] You know me. You know that I'm a good mother. You tell them that I'm a good mother! Tell them!

Background information and notes[]

  • Goof: The medical examiner mentions damage on the victim. She refers to "nine metacarpal bones." There are eight carpal bones (the wrist) and five metacarpals (the palm).
  • Continuity Error: This episode takes place in late January, early February. In the episode "Pandora," which takes place on some of the same days, Stabler was in Prague. In this episode, on the same day, he's in New York.
  • A proctologist is a doctor specializing in disorders of the rectum and anus. Yet another example of Alex being a smart-ass.
  • The character Jerry Dupree is loosely based on the American serial killer Jerry Brudos. Brudos killed four women in or around Salem, Oregon, through 1968-69. He had a foot fetish and was infatuated with women's shoes. At the time of his death on 3/28/2006, he was the longest-incarcerated inmate in the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4

B&C Importers
42 Prince Street
Wednesday, January 29

Bellevue / NYU
Program for the
Survivors of Torture
Wednesday, January 29

Hello Dalai Restaurant
623 West 8th Street
Thursday, January 30

Paulie's Apartment
462 East Houston Street
Thursday, January 30

5 6 7

Ma's Bakery
642 East Houston Street
Friday, January 31

Trial Part 77
Monday, February 3

FDNY
Engine Company #29
Tuesday, February 4

Previous episode:
"Pandora"
"Tortured"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 4
Next episode:
"Privilege"
Seasons 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
Advertisement