Annika Bergeron was a painter who worked for the Studio Arts League, and the ex-girlfriend of Daniel Lester.
History[]
Annika lived in an apartment on 501 East 11th Street and had a sister named Laura. Six months after her break-up with Daniel, he came over to pick up some documents to do his taxes. They ended up having sex after three glasses of wine, which resulted in Annika becoming pregnant, but she decided not to tell him about the baby. She did tell Daniel's new girlfriend, Melinda Granville, about the pregnancy. Melinda shared this information with her mother, Rose Granville. Rose decided that it was for the best to get rid of the baby and arranged for Annika to be kidnapped.
Annika called 911 during the kidnapping, but her attacker forced her to drive them to a secluded spot. Because of the similar M.O., the Detectives briefly thought that she had been kidnapped by the carjack rapist, but soon realized that the baby was the reason for the crime. Detectives Elliot Stabler and Odafin Tutuola found Annika while she was in labor. Her gynecologist had previously warned the cops that she was scheduled for a C-section, because the placenta was blocking the birth canal. After Annika had made it clear to Elliot that she wanted to save the baby at all costs, a little baby girl named Celia was born. Annika died shortly after delivering her daughter from blood loss.
In order to protect Melinda, Daniel initially wanted to take the fall for everything that had happened. When he and the Detectives realized that Rose was the mastermind behind Annika's murder and kidnapping, Daniel distanced himself from the Granvilles. Detective Olivia Benson introduced Daniel to his daughter.
Rose was eventually arrested for Annika's first-degree murder and kidnapping, and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. (SVU: "Tragedy")