Bad Blood (Season 1, Episode 11)
Premise: When the gay son of an anti-gay activist is beaten to death, a DNA match to a paroled serial rapist points the detectives toward his brother.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 1, Episode 11
- Starring
- Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Det. John Munch (Richard Belzer), Det. Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd), Det. Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek)
- Guest stars
- James McCaffrey as Jesse Hansen, Amy Ryan as Lorraine Hansen, Stephen Beach as Ray Gunther, Peter Rini as Joe Bandolini, Angie Harmon as ADA Abbie Carmichael
- Director
- Michael Fields
- Writers
- Story: Wendy West & John Chambers; Written by: Lisa Marie Petersen & Dawn DeNoon
Summary
“Bad Blood” begins on a Manhattan rooftop, where 21-year-old Seth Langdon is found beaten to death, his head smashed against an air-conditioning unit and semen from two men on his body. His father, William Langdon of the Moral Coalition, preaches that homosexuality can be cured; he insists Seth was straight and had completed a sexual-rehabilitation program two months earlier. Seth had been at a party in his building, where the hosts say a blond man left angry after Seth flirted with others. A tenant, Lorraine Hansen, says her husband, Jesse, went upstairs about the noise around 1 a.m., and she saw a blond man leave in a chauffeured car.
The car service leads to Steven Hale, a married aide to Langdon who denies being gay. He says Langdon sent him to keep watch on Seth, and his wife confirms he was home by 12:30. A conductor at the party mentions a guest’s video, but its owner, Officer Joe Bandolini, is closeted, and a Gay Officers’ Action League representative threatens to sue if he is exposed. A preliminary DNA hit then names Ray Gunther, the “Parkway Rapist,” paroled a month earlier after 15 years for raping seven women. His registered address is the Hansens’ apartment, and Jesse turns out to be his brother, who changed his surname.
Lorraine says Ray stayed with them until she objected. Detectives arrest Ray at a motel with his girlfriend, Cindy, but full testing shows the match was mitochondrial: the semen came from Ray’s bloodline, not Ray. Jesse declines to give blood. After a private appeal, Bandolini hands over the tape, and a mirror reflection shows Ray at the party door. Lorraine admits Ray pulled Jesse back out until after 2 a.m. Ray calls his role a prank: he told Seth to wait on the roof for Jesse. Jesse admits that his brother’s trial claim was true, and that their father abused both boys.
Jesse says that, drunk, he found Seth performing a sex act on him with Ray laughing in the doorway, and he beat Seth’s head against the unit while picturing Ray. ADA Abbie Carmichael plans first-degree manslaughter for Jesse and counts against Ray including incitement and depraved indifference. Meanwhile Munch, who learns that Benson’s father raped her mother, digs into the 1968 file, which includes Serena Benson’s recorded statement, and finds the name of a suspect, Carl Kudlak.
Spoiler, the ending: The prosecutors expect Ray, with his record, to serve longer than Jesse. The squad concludes that Ray’s years of pressure, not blood, drove Jesse. In the last exchange Benson says she is certain Kudlak is not her father, and the old case stays open.
Why it stands out
- Munch begins investigating the decades-old rape of Benson’s mother, Serena, and her taped police statement is heard, one of the first looks into Benson’s origins.
- Angie Harmon makes a special appearance as ADA Abbie Carmichael, her character from Law & Order.