| "December Solstice" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 16.16 | → |
| Production number: 16016 First aired (US): 25 February 2015 First aired (UK): 12 April 2015 First aired (CAN): 25 February 2015 First aired (AUS): 11 June 2015 | ||
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| Written By Ed Zuckerman Directed By Sharat Raju | ||
A literary icon's life becomes a tabloid headline.
Summary[]
Celebrity author Walter Briggs is the focus of a feud between his sixth wife, Charmaine, and his daughters from previous marriages. The fight over control for both his well-being and his estate becomes a criminal case when Charmaine is accused of abusing her husband. Meanwhile, Barba struggles with his own family drama when he goes against his grandmother's wishes.
Plot[]
Famous author Walter Briggs' two daughters went into the station to talk to Sergeant Olivia Benson and Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr. They had come in to report a rape because they felt that their father was being raped by his wife Charmaine Briggs. According to Walter's daughters, Charmaine had been giving Walter pills to help him maintain an erection and forcing him to engage in sexual intercourse with her every day. Walter's daughters Delilah and Judith Briggs also said that Walter has a heart condition and that, as a result, it is not safe for him to take these pills. The women then said that Walter is divorced from both of their mothers, and they have been prevented by Charmaine from seeing their father. They told Benson and Carisi that Walter's housekeeper had given them all of this information. While one the detectives pointed out that what the women were accusing Charmaine of, technically wasn't rape. One of Walter's daughters then said that Walter is close to 80-years-old, has dementia, and can't legally consent to having sex with Charmaine.
When Olivia asked the women why Charmaine would do this, they told her that their father's will is divided between Charmaine herself and Walter's daughters. Olivia then figured out that Charmaine was sleeping with Walter every day to try and get pregnant so when he passes away, her child will get his money. The detectives then brought Walter's housekeeper to the station to question her. She told them that she has worked for Walter for 30 years and that what Charmaine is doing to him is wrong.
Detectives Amanda Rollins and Carisi then went to Walter and Charmaine's house to question them. They said they had come by to perform a welfare check of Walter. As he was talk to the detectives, in the middle of a sentence, Walter forgot what was going on. Charmaine then said that Walter was simply tired.
In the next scene, the couple's housekeeper called Rollins to tell her that Walter was being taken to the hospital due to a heart attack. By the time the detectives got there, they were told Charmaine had had him moved to an unknown hospital, just after his daughters got a court order stating they could visit him. Further investigation determined that Charmaine took Walter to an upstate New York airport to fly to Canada. The detectives then met the couple at the airport.
Charmaine went before a judge in an upstate New York courtroom. The judge ruled that Walter be admitted to a hospital for an evaluation of his mental state. Back at the station the next day, the detectives found out that the previous night Walter died of another heart attack while in the hospital. Since his daughters didn't get guardianship from the judge fast enough, the detectives realized that Charmaine was still legally in charge of Walter and could make the decision about what to do with his body. The detectives then got a court order to take custody of Walter's body. Based on the coroner's report, semen was found on Walter's body, meaning Charmaine extracted sperm from him shortly after his death. ADA Barba came to the conclusion that Charmaine killed Walter. In court, the judge filed a not guilty plea on Charmaine's behalf and set her bail amount.
The media confronted Charmaine as she got out of her car and tried to ask her questions about Walter's death. Back in the courtroom, ADA Barba put Walter's housekeeper on the stand and asked her about Charmaine giving Walter erectile dysfunction pills. The housekeeper testified that Charmaine would crush the pills and put them in a glass of orange juice without Walter seeing her do it. She then testified that though she likes Walter's daughters, she does not like Charmaine. She said it broke her heart that his daughter Delilah was not able to visit him.
Barba then put the doctor on the stand that had been assigned Walter as a patient following his heart attack. Charmaine’s lawyer argued that since Walter was in bad health he could have died doing the simplest thing, so Charmaine couldn’t be blamed for his death. Several people in the courtroom, including Charmaine herself, received a video message from Walter at that moment. The detectives determined the video had been filmed three years prior and an online company sent the video to recipients as soon as Walter’s obituary was published. In the video he said both his daughters' mothers had turned the women against Charmaine.
The video was then shown to the judge and jury in the courtroom. Charmaine then testified that Walter knew he was going to die and that is why she took him from the hospital. That's when the defense attorney calls Walter's eldest child Judith to the stand without Barba's knowledge. The judge calls for a recess to give Barba an hour to question Judith. Just then, Charmaine then tells Delilah, Judith, and Barba that she had taken her eggs and Walter's sperm and got the couple a surrogate. The surrogate ends up being pregnant. Charmaine was found not guilty of murder of Walter Briggs.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Sergeant Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola (credit only)
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
Recurring cast[]
- Jefferson Mays as M.E. Carl Rudnick
- Sharon Washington as Judge V. Hayes
- Susie Essman as Attorney Arlene Heller
- Sandy Duncan as Judge Virginia Farrell
Guest cast[]
- Marcia Cross as Charmaine Briggs
- Mercedes Ruehl as Lucia Barba
- Emily Bergl as Judith Briggs
- Susan Pourfar as Delilah Briggs
- Kate Jennings Grant as Judge Marian Adams
- Michelle Hurst as Ms. Thwaites
- Anne Betancourt as Catalina Diaz
- Jennifer Van Dyck as Dr. Brenda Tedroe
- Steven Shaw as Fred Worth
- Robert Vaughn as Walter Briggs
- Jason Bowen as Devon Wallace
- Chris Harnick as Reporter #1
- Drew Grant as Reporter #2
References[]
Quotes[]
Episode quotes
Background information and notes[]
- Emily Bergl and Susan Pourfar, who play sisters in this episode, previously guest-starred together in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent season 5 episode "Vacancy", although they didn't share a scene together.
- Another case centered around the electroejaculation method is the season 7 episode "Design", where April Troost drugged her victims with Rohypnol and used this method to sell their sperm at a sperm bank where she worked at.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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Townhouse of |
Gollier Lemay Health Center |
349 West 47th Street |
Westchester County Courthouse |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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Apartment of |
Westchester General Hospital |
Arraignment Court |
Supreme Court |
| 9 | 10 | 11 |
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|
Saint Teresa Assisted Living |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Undercover Mother" |
"December Solstice" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 16 |
Next episode: "Parole Violations" |