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Stranger

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"Stranger"
← SVU, Episode 10.11 →
Production number: 10011
First aired (US): 6 January 2009
First aired (AUS): 15 April 2009
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
← th of 502 released in SVU →
  th of 1271 released in all  
Stranger
Written By
Dawn DeNoon

Directed By
David Platt

Plot[]

A girl arrives at the Hallander apartment, where the door is answered by Mrs. Hallander. When the girl thinks Mrs. Hallander doesn't remember her, Mrs. Hallander's eldest daughter, Erica, comes to the door and sees the four-leaf clover tattoo on the girl's hand. She instantly recognizes the girl as her disappeared younger sister, Heather. The two quickly bring Heather inside and call the police. When Elliot and Olivia show up, the police officer on site says that Heather was kept in captivity for four years and held as a sex slave. The Hallander's middle daughter, Nikki, appears irritated and hostile towards Heather upon her return home. Because Nikki and Heather had a fight, which caused Heather to storm out of the apartment never to be seen again, Nikki thought her family blamed her for Heather's disappearance. After Heather showers three times, Olivia has the chance to talk to Heather. Heather laments that she was first chair clarinet at school, and was abducted just before the spring concert. Olivia convinces Heather to go to the hospital for a medical examination and give her statement about her years in captivity. She says she was held in a concrete room with a steel door that had a combination lock on it. The room itself had only a mattress, a clawfoot tub, and a lawn chair with the seat cut out over a bucket to use as a toilet.

When they leave the hospital, Elliot and Olivia get Heather to retrace her steps from the Hallander's apartment to where she was held captive. When Heather mistakes one of the streets, she becomes overwhelmed and the detectives decide to take her home. A reporter and photographer from the Ledger accost them outside of the Hallander's apartment building, leading to a scuffle between Elliot and the photographer. Despite Elliot breaking the camera, they manage to get a picture of Heather off of it, which becomes the front page of the morning paper. Erica storms into the precinct, upset about Heather being splashed all over the front page of the Ledger. She's not happy with how the detectives are handling Heather's case, calling them no worse than the missing persons detective who worked with the family when Heather first disappeared.

Mr. Hallander calls the precinct, saying that Heather's not feeling well enough for another ride-along, as Nikki slipped her a copy of the paper with her face on the front page. John is fed up with Nikki's attitude and suggests they bring her in for a sit-down. He says that when Heather ran out of the apartment, the parents sent Nikki to bring her back, but Nikki never found Heather. John suggests that Nikki may have seen Heather being abducted, but never said anything, possibly because she was glad to see her sister leave. Forensics prove that Heather was sexually assaulted and that she has a vitamin D deficiency due to lack of sunlight.

A call is placed to the precinct about a priest from St. Francis' Cathedral, who says he's seen Heather at mass the last four Sundays, accompanied by an older man. When Olivia asks Heather about it, Heather angrily denies it. Huang says that Heather's suffering from extreme Stockholm syndrome, that her captor's control over her is so complete, she feels compelled to protect him even after she's escaped from him. Olivia then receives a call from the Hallanders that Heather slit her wrists. Olivia meets with them at the hospital. The doctors quickly ask for Heather's blood type so they can transfuse. Mr. Hallander says he and his wife are both type A, so Heather should also be type A. Olivia sees Heather after she gets out of surgery and apologizes to her for how she acted last time they saw each other. Heather says she didn't try to kill herself because of Olivia. She says no one feels comfortable around her and Nikki hates her. Olivia assures her she's just having a hard time adjusting, and it's going to take some time and counseling.

Elliot talks to Heather's doctor, who has to place her on a 72-hour hold so she doesn't attempt suicide again. He then tells Elliot that because both of Heather's parents have type A blood, Heather can only be type A, but she's type B. At the precinct, John lays "Heather's" picture over her picture from her missing persons flyer and shows that they have difference face shapes. The detectives speculate that the age difference and weight loss made it easier for the girl to pass herself off as Heather. They also examine the four-leaf clover tattoo and realize that "Heather's" tattoo is a mirror image of the one in her missing persons flyer. Olivia returns to the hospital with Heather's clarinet and asks her to put it together and play something for her. "Heather" declines, saying she wouldn't remember how. Olivia then asks her about the tattoo and where she got it. "Heather" says she got it at a tattoo parlor, but Olivia immediately debunks her story, telling her how it really happened. She also mentions that when Heather disappeared, the missing persons detective took DNA from her toothbrush, so they can compare it with "Heather's" DNA. "Heather" starts crying and admits the whole thing is a sham, that she was able to pass herself off as Heather after finding her online and seeing that they had the same hair. She says she did this because she needed a family and the Hallanders needed a daughter. She refuses to give her real name.

Elliot relays the information to the Hallanders, who are furious at being deceived. Erica is convinced that the girl knows where Heather is, even if she got information on Heather from the Internet. The Hallanders have "Heather" arrested and charged with fraud and identity theft. At her arraignment, she pleads with the Hallanders not to do this to her, and still refuses to give her real name. Her bail is set at $20,000 and she has to finish her 72-hour hold in the Bellevue Prison Ward before she’s transferred to the tombs. After the judge moves to the next case, Erica tells the judge to put "Heather" under oath and tell the Hallanders where Heather is, despite Nikki saying that "Heather" doesn't know anything. At the precinct, John shows Erica how "Heather" got all of her information, from the website Erica set up to find her sister. SVU takes over Heather's case.

Olivia still believes "Heather" was abused and receives a tip about the tattoo parlor where she got the four-leaf clover. She was accompanied by a man who matches the description of the man who took her to St. Francis' Cathedral. He paid for her tattoo with a credit card, which gives the detectives his name: Carl Vasko. When they track him down armed with an arrest warrant, he tries to make a run for it, but Fin manages to get him before he escapes. Olivia makes her way down to the basement of Vasko's home and finds the room where "Heather" said she was kept, down to the lawn chair with the seat cut out over a bucket.

During the arrest, Vasko bloodied up his nose on Fin's sleeve, which he passed onto Dr. Warner. She couldn't get DNA results that fast, so she ran an individual specific auto-antibodies test against the semen on "Heather's" dress, and got a match. The DNA also came back on "Heather" and matched a CODIS sample to a girl named Kristen Vucelik. Kristen had been abducted from Ohio six years ago, with her mother, Marcie, believing her ex-husband had taken her. Her ex-husband Carl Vucelik, who had changed his last name to Vasko when he abducted Kristen. Vucelik claims that Marcie filled Kristen's head with lies about him, and says that Kristen would never say a word against him now. Olivia leaves Elliot to sucker a full confession out of him, and heads off to get Kristen out of jail.

Kristen has a very bleak outlook on her life once she gets out of jail, believing there to be no good in the world. She had dreamed of escaping that basement and finding a real family. She was also afraid the Hallanders would kill her if they found out she wasn’t their daughter. It had taken so long for her to gather the courage to escape, and she couldn't turn Vucelik in, since the Hallanders already thought she was their daughter. Vucelik had also tricked Kristen into thinking her mother was dead, but Olivia reveals to her that Marcie's still alive and is still looking for her. Marcie arrives in New York and the two are reunited when Kristen is released.

Vucelik is denied bail at arraignment, and Kristen and Marcie are prepared to go back to Ohio. However, Olivia gets a call from Marcie that Kristen went to see someone before they left for the airport and never came back. She and Elliot go back to the Hallanders and ask if they saw Kristen come by. Mrs. Hallander denies it, but Erica says she saw Kristen leave the apartment building with Nikki. Kristen told Mrs. Hallander that Nikki knew she wasn't Heather, and that she'd better leave before the same thing happened to her that happened to the real Heather. Erica is shocked that Nikki killed Heather, and even more shocked that her mom found out about it afterwards and didn't do anything because she couldn't lose two daughters. Mrs. Hallander tells them where Nikki killed Heather, and they rush over there to find Nikki trying to pull Kristen up to the top of the roof of a building. Erica confronts Nikki about what happened to Heather, and Nikki admits that Heather caught her doing drugs, and she killed her to keep their parents from finding out. Nikki is about to jump off the roof but she's coaxed down by her sister and then arrested. As she's taken away, she says to Kristen, "The police gave up looking for Heather a long time ago. Why did you pick us?"

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Heather Hallander: [hounded by the press as she returns home] Are they gonna print my photo?
Benson: Not if he has a conscience.
Steve Harris: Heather, what was the lowest point of your four years in captivity?
Stabler: You take a step in that building, I'll arrest you for trespassing.
[to Harris' photographer] You, be a human being. Erase the photos.
Steve Harris: What world do you live in? Cute, middle-class white girl held as a sex slave. The story's huge.
Stabler: [ignoring Harris, he turns to face the photographer again] I asked you nice once. Come on. I'm asking you nice.
Photographer: [retreating, he stumbles and falls, his camera breaking on the pavement] Son of a bitch!
Stabler: [sarcastic] That's a shame. Looks expensive.
Cragen: $4,595 for one 35mm digital camera, and the Ledger is demanding disciplinary action against you.
Stabler: I never touched the guy. I just can't believe the vultures got a photo off their memory card.
Cragen: "Sex Slave and the City". Classy.
Stabler: Used to be no one would ever publish a rape victim's photo.
Cragen: Well, that was before newspapers started going the way of the dodo. I'm sure readership will be up today.
Benson: That was Heather's father. She's not feeling well; drive-along's off.
Stabler: She saw the paper.
Benson: They tried to keep it from her, but the sister Nikki slipped her a copy.
Munch: The brat sister isn't helping at all. You ask me, we bring Nikki in here for a sit-down.
Stabler: What, are you a social worker now?
Munch: Hardly. The day Heather ran out after Nikki called her fat, mom sent the brat after her to apologize.
Benson: Nikki never found Heather.
Munch: Yeah, so she claims.
Stabler: Nikki was sixteen years old. What'd she do, sell her younger sister as a sex slave?
Munch: No, but maybe she saw her get in the van.
Benson: And never said anything?
Munch: Nikki admitted that she tormented her little sister. Maybe she was glad to see her go. Parents said that she's been on a downward spiral ever since. Sounds like guilt to me.
Stabler: Or acting like a teenager. [Munch heads to his desk] Anything back from forensics?
Benson: Scarring from long-term sexual abuse, but no DNA in the rape kit.
Stabler: Well, Heather scrubbed herself clean. We kind of expected that.
Benson: The lab found semen on the dress. They're working up a DNA profile now.
Stabler: If we're lucky, the perp's already in the system.
Benson: Heather, the man that was holding you, did her ever take you outside?
Heather Hallander: No, never. I've told you that.
Benson: We have a chance to catch your abuser. That's why there's no reason for you to hold back any important details.
Heather: Like what?
Benson: Like St. Francis Cathedral.
Benson: I don't know what you're talking about.
Benson: Based on your reaction, I would say that you do. Somebody saw you there. They saw you with an older man.
Heather: They're lying.
Benson: I really want to help you. But I can't unless you're honest with me.
Heather: I want you to go now.
Benson: Heather, please, listen to...
Heather: Go! He raped me every day. He stole my childhood from me. And if you don't believe me, then get out!
Stabler: Doc, was she abducted or not?
Dr. Huang: I wouldn't rule it out.
Cragen: Even with the lies about her field trips to church?
Dr. Huang: After four years, he's established total domination over her. Heather's programmed to follow orders blindly and without question. The ultimate test of his power is taking her out in public.
Stabler: Well, that doesn't bother me. I mean, he took her to a church. You got two hundred people there, it's a sanctuary. Why not scream, ask for help?
Dr. Huang: Because his control over her was so complete she couldn't. I once worked a case in Rochester where the perp took a victim who he had kept for two years to a karaoke bar. They got up and they sang a song together. No one suspected.
Cragen: Heather is safe now. Why isn't she helping?
Dr. Huang: Extreme Stockholm syndrome.
Benson: She's bonded with her captor as a survival mechanism and now has this misguided need to protect him. [her phone rings] Detective Benson. Where are they taking her? I'm on my way. [hanging up] Heather slit her wrists.
Benson: I don't understand how a mother wouldn't know her own child.
Stabler: Yeah, but Mrs. Hallander didn't recognize this girl until sister Erica saw that tattoo on her wrist.
Tutuola: Munch, zoom in on the ink. Put 'em up side by side.
Benson: Looks the same to me.
Munch: Except they're mirror images. On this one, the stem curved to the right; on this one, it curves to the left.
Stabler: Girl's a con artist.
Benson: Then why would she try to kill herself?
Stabler: Maybe she knew the game was up.
Tutuola: Who's gonna break it to the Hallanders that their real daughter's still missing?[walks away]
Benson: Let me talk to Heather first.
Stabler: Liv, she's not Heather.
Cragen: What, are you waiting for an invitation?
[Olivia and Elliot turn around to Cragen]
Benson: Just thought we'd give Vasko a taste of his own medicine.
Cragen: I think he's familiar with the tactics of breaking someone. All you're giving him is time to lawyer up.
Stabler: We're buying ourselves some. [Melinda comes] You got something?
Dr. Warner: It's too soon for DNA results, so I ran an individual specific auto-antibodies test on Mr. Vasko. It's not admissible in court yet but, uh, it only takes two hours.
Cragen: Well, how did we get a court order for his DNA already?
Stabler: We didn't need one. Vasko ran, Fin clotheslined him, bloodied up his nose on Fin's sleeve.
Dr. Warner: And Fin was kind enough to pass it along to me. He's a match for the semen on your girl's dress.
Benson: [smiles slightly] That's all we need.
[starts walking]
Dr. Warner: Hold on. I'm not finished. I did get the DNA results from your Jane Doe's rape kit. She's not Heather.
Stabler: We figured that one out ourselves.
Dr. Warner: Did you know her name is Kirsten Vuscelik?
Cragen: What, she's in the system?
Dr. Warner: No, in CODIS. She was abducted in Ohio six years ago. Her mother Marcie was certain it as a parental kidnapping.
Stabler: How did she manipulate you into getting her that tattoo?
Carl Vasko: It was my idea. She showed me a picture. I wanted her to have it for good luck.
Benson: Well, it worked. She needed it to pass herself off as another person. She ran away to another family. Complete strangers are better than you, you disgusting piece of filth.
Carl Vasko: Where's Kristen? I would like to see her.
Benson: And I would like to see you castrated with a rusty steak knife. Neither are going to happen, but we can both dream.
Stabler: You know something, I think you need a sick day. You're obviously on the rag.
Benson: Touch me again, and I will sue you for sexual harassment!
Cragen: That was a little too convincing.
Benson: It was brilliant. Elliot's gonna sucker a full confession out of that idiot.
Cragen: While you do what?
Benson: Kristen's seventy-two hour psych hold is up. I gotta get the Hallanders to drop the charges before she's transferred to the Tombs.
Cragen: Liv, I checked. Kristen's already on her way there.
Benson: Well, I gotta get her out.
Cragen: Munch and Fin went to talk to the Hallanders.
Benson: Where's Greylek?
Cragen: She's tracking down Judge Andrews at a black tie event.
Benson: You didn't see that basement. I cannot let this girl sit in a cell all night.

Background information and notes[]

  • This episode shares many similarities to the season 19 episode Complicated:
    • Both episodes revolve around a storyline of an imposter presenting herself as a girl who'd gone missing years prior.
    • It is revealed at the end of both episodes that the missing victim was actually murdered by their sibling.
    • In both episodes, it is revealed that one of the victim's relatives was in fact aware that the sibling murdered the victim, but chose to conceal the act in order to shield the sibling from any consequences of her/his actions.
  • Goof: It is stated multiple times that because Heather's parents are both blood type A, she must also be type A. However, if both parents are heterozygous, Heather could potentially be type O.
  • Goof: When Munch is comparing the tattoos of the fake Heather and the real Heather, the camera juxtaposes the images. Munch says the real Heather's four-leaf clover tattoo leans to the right but the camera shows the tattoo leaning to the left. Then, when he says the fake Heather's tat leans left, the camera zooms in on the clover that leans right.
  • At the start of the episode, Mr. and Mrs. Hallander can be seen holding Wii remotes and a shot of the TV shows they are playing one of the baseball training games of Wii Sports.
  • "Erica", the name of Heather's sister, is Latin for "Heather", specifically as it relates to the heather flower, or Calluna.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4 5

Saint Francis Cathedral
525 West 110th Street
Monday, December 1

Arraignment
Part 34
Thursday, December 4

Residence of
Carl Vasko
607 West 101th Street
Thursday, December 4

Manhattan
Detention Complex
125 White Street
Thursday, December 4

679 West 49th Street
Wednesday, December 10

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