Roger Murray is a retired teacher who was secretly a pedophile responsible for the rape and murder of Haley West in 1996.
Background[]
Murray acted as a mentor and surrogate father figure to Haley after the death of her father. He would often spend time with her and visit her home every day. Unbeknownst to all, Murray was secretly a pedophile who took an interest in Haley. In 1996, Haley confided in Murray about her date with boyfriend Ian Ridley. Falling into a jealous rage, he stalked the couple to the football field where they were making out. He took the champagne bottle Ridley had and knocked him out. He then acted on his pedophilic feelings by abducting West. Taking her to a secluded spot, he raped and strangled West to death.
After Ridley woke up, Haley was gone. After they found her body, Ridley convinced himself that he committed the murder and confessed leading to his arrest. Murray was also interviewed by Captain Donald Cragen but was cleared because of his credible record as a good man. In the 25 years after the murder, Murray went on to become a family man marrying a woman named Sissy and having at least one child with her and then going on to have a granddaughter. Murray also kept his persona of a good man by visiting Mrs. West and giving her comfort in the death of her daughter.
The Five Hundredth Episode[]
In 2021, Amaro asked the Special Victims Unit for help in catching West's real killer and they brought in a true crime writer, Burton Lowe, to assist them in the case, whom had a personal connection with Benson. Later, they started to suspect Murray of West's murder. Murray had a connection with Haley, who was an athlete, and saw her potential. Murray tutored Haley on her SATs and helped her with college planning. Murray is brought in and questioned by Carisi and Amaro. It did not take long for him to realize that they were on to him and he immediately asked for a lawyer.
After his DNA is matched, Murray was later taken to trial and eventually confessed to rape and murder. His statement left his wife and Joyce West in shock while he admitted every detail of the murder and expressed heavy remorse for his actions. Carisi later stated the judge would go over Murray's statement to ensure it wasn't on a whim. As a result, Murray was imprisoned while Ridley was released from prison and his record was cleared. (SVU: "The Five Hundredth Episode")