This article contains discussion of death, suicide, sexual assault, and violence.
Though not every episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitresults in a death. The series often features investigations into events surrounding survivors of crimes that contain a sexual component without a murder victim.
When the series does feature death, however, those deaths often hit the audience hard. Many of the victims inLaw & Order: SVUare the most vulnerable in society, and they have no one to protect them. Likewise, some of the most devastatingSVUdeaths are the very people assigned to protect the vulnerable.
John Munch (Played By Richard Belzer)
Season 25, Episode 1 “Tunnel Blind”
John Munch is a fan-favoritecharacter. He made hisSVUdebut in the pilot episode of the series, but the character originated on Homicide before appearing in multiple television programs over the years.
Munch’s death is particularly heartbreaking forSVUbecause it’s not one that happens in the line of duty, and it’s one thatechoes the real-life death of Richard Belzer.
Following Belzer’s passing, the show decided to honor him. His former coworkers toast him and honor his memory after his death is announced. It happens in the same episode that sees the Christening of Amanda Rollins’ child, making it feel like a full-circle moment for the series.
Ryan O’Halloran (Played By Mike Doyle)
Season 10, Episode 22 “Zebras”
Ryan O’Halloran is one of the forensic technicians who helped break many cases for the SVU. He always brings a unique sense of humor to his explanations and is ready with plenty of sarcasm and snark for the detectives.
That lightness from him is a helpful distraction in a series that is otherwise very dark. That’s why his death hits a lot of fans very hard.
At the time, a major recurring character had not been killed off yet, so seeing him murdered while finding a break in the most recent case - andthe reveal that he was murdered by his own assistant - was huge for the show.
The shock of the character being killed off is not padded with any kind of memorial service either. By the next episode, the main characters all move on, and the audience did not really get the chance to grieve him.
Ed Tucker (Played By Robert John Burke)
Season 21, Episode 12 “The Longest Night Of Rain”
It’s not often that police officers who work for internal affairs get to be fleshed out and humanized in crime procedurals. They are usually antagonists for the main characters. While Tucker starts out as an antagonist in the early seasons ofSVU, that changes.
Ed Tucker and Olivia Benson develop a relationship that turns romantic in the series, and for many, he isOlivia’s best love interest inSVU. The audience gets plenty of time to know and understand him.
Though their relationship does not work out, they remain friendly. Ed does not tell Olivia his plans to end his own life, though. After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, and after he retires from the force,Ed Tucker decides to end his life on his own terms.
Ed does not want to put his friends and family through a long, drawn-out illness. It’s a difficult one for the audience because it hurts Olivia as much as it hurts us.
Elijah Okello (Played By Gbange Akinnagbe)
Season 10, Episode 17 “Hell”
Not all of the most devastating deaths inLaw & Order: SVUare those of major characters. There are quite a few from characters who only appear in a single episode, like Elijah Okello.
Elijah is a suspect in an assault and attempted murder case that comes SVU’s way. It is also uncovered that he is a former child soldier from Uganda. He was abducted from his family as a child and forced to participate in the army. His background is already tragic, but so are the events of the episode.
Elijah is suspected of attacking a young woman, but in reality, he is near the crime scene because he plans on killing the man who had enslaved a young girl in Uganda before they both escaped to the US.
Elijah becomes desperate to stay in the country after his illegal status surfaces, and he is told he will be deported. He takes a church choir hostage. Rather than be sent back to Uganda, where more trauma awaits him, he decides to charge the reporters covering the hostage negotiations to force Elliot Stabler to shoot him.
Elijah’s life is so full of tragic circumstances, and his death only demonstrates how the cycle of violence persistsand weighs on those who should be innocent.
Mike Dodds (Played By Andy Karl)
Season 17, Episode 23 “Heartfelt Passages”
Mike Dodds is not a detective the SVU squad likes right away. It’s also initially hard for the audience to connect with him. Just as he’s proven himself to the other detectives and the audience, his time on the show comes to an end.
Dodds is on his last day of work at the SVU when he decides to accompany Benson to visit a woman whose husband is facing a prison sentence. The woman confides in Benson that she planned to leave her husband while he was in jail, but when he makes bail, he comes home to see her and the kids packing.
When the situation turns tense, it’s Dodds who stays inside with the man, his wife, and the gun, while Olivia tries to negotiate over the phone and keep the kids safe. Dodd is shot during the confrontation, but it seems like he is on the road to recovery at the hospital.
SVUpulled a switch on the audience, though, seeing Dodds suffer from bleeding in the brain that ultimately killed him.It’s incredibly sad to see Dodds celebrated as a recovering hero, only for the storyline to change in an instant.
Keesha Houston (Played By An Uncredited Child Actor)
Season 17, Episode 4 “Institutional Fail”
One thing thatSVUis very good at is using its cases to highlight flaws in the existing government systems. One of those flaws is highlighted through the death of Keesha Houston in season 17.
The investigation of the circumstances surrounding a malnourished child leads the SVU detectives to find Keesha Houston, a severely malnourished little girl kept in a cage. This opens the door to investigate a representative from the Department of Children and Family Services who was supposed to be responsible for her.
Keesha falls through the cracks because the DCS worker is negligent, but also because the staff are spread too thin and find themselves unable to adequately cover all of the complaints and cases that come their way.
Keesha’s death highlights a heartbreaking reality of how children who end up in abusive households can be overlookedby the very people who are meant to help them.
Elias Barrera (Played By Nicholas Salgado)
Season 2, Episode 5 “Baby Killer”
Elias Barrera is a first-grader who appears in a season 2 episode about a school shooting. Elias is the shooter. As the investigation unfolds, however, the events that transpired are more complicated than they first appeared.
Elias has a gun because he picked it up from a drug dealer in his neighborhood. The little boy actually witnessed a drug dealer murder another man, and he thought the gun would help protect him from the same fate.
When he shot the little girl in his class, it was an accident - he was aiming for the drug dealer outside of the school grounds. Because of the events surrounding the case and Elias’s age, he does not get a prison sentence.
Instead, Elias gets to go home to his parents, though his family is burdened by his mistake. When Elias attempts to play with other children in the neighborhood, one of them kills him to avenge the death of the little girl.
The tragic ending of Elias’ story highlights the teaching of violenceand how it affects even those who should be the most innocent.
Avery Parker (Played By Christopher Dylan White)
Season 17, Episode 3 “Transgender Bridge”
Avery Parker is a transgender teen who is the target of bullying while she is taking photographs on her way home. When three boys taunt and tease her, one of them pushes her, and she falls from a bridge and breaks her leg.
Because of Avery being a teenager and a member of a marginalized group, the case becomes one for SVU. It also is investigated as a hate crime. The boy who pushed her, however, regrets his actions. He got caught up with his friends and wanted to prove to them he was not gay.
When Avery dies because of an embolism from her broken leg, the boy who pushed her is tried as an adult. Prior to Avery’s death, however, he apologized and even drew Avery pictures, and Avery forgave him for his actions.
The reveal of Avery’s forgiveness during his trial does not save him from a prison sentence. Avery’s death is particularly hard to swallow because it’s not the result of a murder or a typical SVU case.It’s a situation in which kids stray too far into bullying without understanding the consequencesuntil it is too late.
Kathy Stabler (Played By Isabel Gillies)
Season 22, Episode 9 “Return Of The Prodigal Son”
Though Kathy Stabler does not appear in a huge number of episodes forLaw & Order: SVU, she is one of the recurring characters to appear the most. She is such a large part of the story because she is Stabler’s wife and she helps to flesh out his story.
That stops when the Stabler family returns toSVUafter a decade away because Kathy is killed. During the season 22 episode, Kathy is severely injured by a car bomb. Though she survives the initial attack, wakes from a coma, and even survives a heart attack, she dies from a ruptured spleen.
Kathy’s death is particularly heartbreaking because it is specifically used to push Elliot Stabler back into theLaw & Orderfranchise. Stabler gets theLaw & Order: Organized Crimespinoff series at the expense of his wife.
Kathy’s murder feels senseless in the larger narrative and like a classic case offridging a female characterto push a male character forward.
Sister Peg
Season 12, Episode 24
Sister Peg’s death isthe most devastating inLaw & Order: SVU. She is a fan-favorite recurring character who does nothing but attempt to help those who are in rough spots. She is one of the most compassionate characters in the series.
Sister Peg takes the church’s idea of helping the poor to the streets. She stocks her van with things like condoms and food for those living on the street. She also keeps a list of “bad tricks” for sex workers to help protect them from dangerous men.
…a heartbreaking end for a woman who always tries to help the overlooked…
Sister Peg wants nothing more than to do the most good in the smallest ways. Her death is a case of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time.Peg is in the bullpen at SVU when the daughter of a rape victim comes in with a gunto go after the suspects.
When she opens fire, Sister Peg is caught in the crossfire. It’s a heartbreaking end for a woman who always tries to help the overlooked inLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Cast
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a television series that premiered in 1999. Set in the criminal justice system of New York City, it follows an elite team of detectives who investigate sexually-based offenses, focusing on their efforts to solve complex cases and seek justice for victims.
