Sophie Gerard is a Frenchwoman who was suspected of kidnapping her own son Nicholas Olsen.
History[]
Sophie was romantically involved with Paul Olsen, though the relationship broke down due to clashes and difference of opinion. Both were under the belief that they were right in their methods of raising their child. When Paul got full custody of their son Nicholas, she attempted to orchestrate his kidnapping, hiring a private mercenary named Jason Culross to do it, but he backed out after realizing Nicholas wasn't kidnapped by Paul like she told him. Her rage ultimately boils down to a tense standoff with the SVU team, after hearing that her son died in a car crash along with the kidnapper, Keith Bradman. Suffering a psychotic mental breakdown, Sophie steals an officer's gun and holds Benson, Marlowe, Paul, and Warner hostage.
She attempts to shoot Paul after he continued accusing her of their son's death, but Warner receives the bullet in the lung by accident. Sophie then allows Benson and Warner to go, so that Warner can get medical attention, but still holds Marlowe and Paul hostage, being somewhat deluded that Nicholas isn't dead. Eventually, Stabler learns from Cragen that Paul is the one who hired Bradman and framed Sophie for it by using one of her credit cards. Breaking into the room, Stabler reveals the truth to everyone, but this only incites Sophie to point the gun at Paul, angrily blaming him for Nicholas' death.
Exposed, Paul finally breaks down into tears and confessed to having hired Bradman, stating that he wanted to take Nicholas away from her. He admits that he didn't intend to have Nicholas killed. Eventually, Marlowe convinces Sophie to drop the gun and settle whatever thought she has for her dead son. Convinced, Sophie drops the gun and cradles over her son's corpse while Stabler arrests Paul. The charges against Sophie were dropped, but she was institutionalized due to her psychotic breakdown and the morgue standoff. (SVU: "Shattered")
Known Victims[]
- May 19, 2010: The morgue standoff:
- Paul Olsen (her ex-husband; attempted; shot at, but missed; later assaulted)
- A.D.A. Jo Marlowe (held hostage)
- Detective Olivia Benson (held hostage; was released)
- M.E. Melinda Warner (later accidentally shot in the lung; survived)
- Officer Eddie Nelson (held hostage; was released)
- Detective Elliot Stabler (attempted; shot at, but missed)