Dr. Abel Hazard (nee Vorsichtiger) is a sociology professor and a serial killer, directly and by proxy, who targeted couples after the torture of his family during the Holocaust.
Background[]
Hazard's grandfather was forced by a Nazi experimenter to choose whether he or his wife would be killed or else both of them would be shot along with his son Leon, Hazard's father. He conceded with the sadist and chose his wife, who was executed at the camp the family was imprisoned at. The surviving family were later rescued from the concentration camp. When Hazard's father had him, his memories of the camp had come back, so his father taught him to never hold his family in shame under the threat and violence they were oppressed by. Hazard could never fully wrap his head around his grandfather's decision, so to vindicate him, he became a social scientist, preaching at the greatest stakes, choice's freedom is stolen by survival. He had changed his last name by then to Anglicize it.
When his teachings still weren't enough, Hazard set up a torture chamber and began targeting couples in his line of work reminding him of his grandparents. Kidnapping them and strapping them to chairs while regulating their vitals, one partner would be holding a gun and forced to shoot the other under the threat of being killed to save them. If the partner pulled the trigger, Hazard disposed of the murdered partner's corpse while leaving the killer partner to be found in a hospital gown wearing a wristband saying "CTS", meaning "Chose to Shoot". If the partner holding the gun refused, they would die, and their partner would be released. Whichever partner lived would often to take the fall for the crime.
Abel & Willing[]
Hazard targeted Ted and Linda Stoddard when Hazard evaluated their competency case for having a baby. Ted was forced to take the gun and gave into the duress, shooting Linda in her heart. He was released and hysterically exclaimed "I might have shot my wife!" before running and trying to flee the country, where he was promptly arrested. Tracking Ted's case, Major Case finds four other couples, including the Kalens. Ronnie Kalen shot her husband Leeland on Hazard's orders. She claimed that he had refused to shoot her and was murdered for it in order to protect herself, but was convicted despite little damning evidence.
In a battle of wits, the detectives continue to quibble with Hazard on his philosophies, while he denies even knowing the couples and continues to give his lectures, while also secretly re-watching the snuff films of his experiments. After the detectives find no evidence at his home, he files a cease and desist. But the torture was bought under his birth surname, so that has free grounds for a warrant. Hazards found watching his tapes and, in a final altercation, has a psychotic breakdown on how his crimes are his "legacy" to prove the Nazi torturer wrong. He is then promptly arrested. (CI: "Abel & Willing")
Known Victims[]
- Numerous unnamed couples (all kidnapped; half were killed by him or each other, while the other half were released)
- Three unnamed couples (all kidnapped; half were killed by him or each other, while the other half were released)
- The Kalens (kidnapped; the wife held the gun and chose to shoot):
- Veronica "Ronnie" Kalen (was released)
- Leeland Kalen (murdered)
- The Stoddards (kidnapped; the husband held the gun and chose to shoot):
- Linda Stoddard (murdered by Ted)
- Ted Stoddard (was released)