Victor Paul Gitano was a rapist, kidnapper, and spree killer, and a registered sex offender.
History
A pathological liar and registered sex offender, Gitano kidnapped two children after murdering the rest of their family. He had previously encountered one of the children at her elementary school, where he flashed her and other girls. Gitano escaped an attempt by police to apprehend him at a bus station, during which he injured Detective Olivia Benson and then murdered one of the children, traumatizing Detective Elliot Stabler.
He was tracked down to an old U.S. Air Force warehouse, where he held Stabler hostage with a shotgun. A standoff ensued between him and Benson, to whom he issued threats that he would shoot Stabler if she didn't drop her gun. Benson relented to shoot Gitano under Stabler's urging, but refused to lower her gun. In the end, Gitano was shot and killed by a police sniper, and the surviving child was safely rescued.
Trivia
- Victor Paul Gitano is based on real-life serial killer Joseph E. Duncan III. Duncan kidnapped two children after killing the rest of their family, after skipping bail for a prior sex crime and disappearing. Prior to that, he served his sentence for sodomizing a young boy and claimed to have raped dozens of younger boys.
Known Victims
- Unknown date in 1987, Pennsylvania: Unnamed boy (raped, burned with cigarettes, cut with a hunting knife, and sodomized; survived)
- 2006:
- Unknown date, Pennsylvania: Unnamed girl (molested)
- New York City, New York:
- March 28: The Clifford family:
- The triple homicide:
- Simon Clifford (stepfather; slashed his throat)
- Lyla Clifford (mother; slashed her throat)
- Amy Clifford (eldest daughter; attempted to rape, then choked to death)
- The double kidnapping:
- Ryan Clifford (son; later slashed his throat the next day)
- Rebecca Clifford (youngest daughter; was rescued two days later)
- The triple homicide:
- March 29: Olivia Benson (attempted, but survived; superficially cut her neck)
- March 30: Elliot Stabler (held at gunpoint with a shotgun and threatened to murder)
- March 28: The Clifford family: