Danielle Keyes (alias The Ice Princess) is the widow of Jonathan Keyes, whose murder she was acquitted of.
History[]
Danielle is a retired model from a struggling elite family, who married Jonathan, a tycoon whose last wife passed away, explicitly for his wealth. Jonathan’s son Lance and long employed house staffwoman Helge Holtz never wanted her in the family, knowing her intentions full well. The press referred to Danielle as “The Ice Princess” from her spoiled and apathetic personality. Jonathan delighted in Danielle as his gorgeous wife at first, but they began to pettily compete with each other, from taking lovers, Jonathan specifically seeking younger women, to insulin injections to keep their weight down.
When Jonathan was ready for divorce, Danielle cooked him a meal as a distraction to inject him with a fatal dose of insulin. Helge found him dead, horrified Danielle killed him and calling the police to the home. Danielle lied Jonathan died naturally and barred detectives from retrieving him, until Van Buren eventually promised an examination without autopsy. Danielle had already embalmed Jonathan out of anticipating an autopsy, but a search of the penthouse turns up a cotton ball Danielle cleaned insulin from the crime scene with.
One of Jonathan’s mistresses, Kathy Rogers, ruins Danielle’s alibi of being as Kathy overheard her with Jonathan the night of his murder. Lance hires a private investigator to search Danielle’s apartment, which turns up the needle used to kill Jonathan. His exhumation confirms his overdose, and Danielle is taken to trial.
Danielle is tried and convicted of murder, but the appeals court overturns her verdict on grounds of chain of evidence breaches. (L&O: “Black Tie”)