Tom Mesner was the father of Henry Mesner, a psychopath.
History[]
Tom loved his children but his parenting skills were not enough to handle a child like Henry. Fully aware of his son's behavior, he tried several tactics such as timeouts and banning video game systems or television but this failed. Desperate to improve Henry's psyche, Tom refused to prescribe him medication or send him to therapy, fearing that this would have only worsened the situation.
When Henry slashed his mother Viola's hand, Tom got angry in front of Rollins at Henry and yelled at him, which resulted in Henry yelling back at him directly in his face. Tom tried to firmly hug Henry and tell him he loved him in an attempt to calm him down but this also failed.
After Henry held a boy hostage and attempted to murder his sister Ruby by suffocating her and starting a fire in her room, he was sent to juvenile detention, which devastated Tom. (SVU: "Born Psychopath")
In 2021, eight years later, Tom had remarried a woman named Holly after Viola died in 2016 and had a third child, a boy named Arlo. Tom frequently visited Henry with Viola, Holly and Ruby. Since Henry seemed genuinely sorry for what he did as a child, Tom testified on behalf of his son for his release. After Henry was released from juvenile detention, Henry had fought with Tom about getting a job. Filled with rage and vengeance, Henry murdered Tom, Holly and Arlo in their own home, stabbing all of them several times. Henry was institutionalized for his crimes. (SVU: "Post-Graduate Psychopath")
Appearances[]
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2 seasons, 2 episodes):