Mean

"Mean"
←	SVU, Episode 5.17	→
Production number: E4421 First aired: 24 February 2004
	th of 502 produced in SVU
←	th of 502 released in SVU	→
	th of 1271 released in all
Written By Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas Directed By Constantine Makris

A group of school bullies murder a young girl in a rage of jealousy. But the victim was their best friend.

Summary[]

Teenager Emily Sullivan is found brutally murdered in the trunk of a car. When her friends, Brittany, Paige, and Andrea reveal that Emily had an older boyfriend, he is first considered a suspect, but then it is discovered that Emily and her friends tormented an overweight girl, Agnes Linsky which makes her a suspect. After Agnes' brother attacks Brittany for sending nude pictures of Agnes in the locker room, the detectives soon find a link that Brittany, Andrea, and Paige were responsible for Emily's murder.

Plot[]

Teenager Emily Sullivan is found brutally murdered in the trunk of a car. The detectives investigate and learn that the victim had been tortured and eventually murdered. According to the coroner Emily had been beaten, burned with cigarettes, and stabbed repeatedly with a small bladed object. When the detectives interrogate Emily’s friends, Brittany, Paige, and Andrea they reveal that Emily had an older boyfriend, he is first considered a suspect, but then it is discovered that Emily and her friends tormented an overweight girl, Agnes Linsky which makes her a suspect.

Later on they learn that Agnes' brother had attacked Brittany and ended up sending her to the hospital. He reveals that he attacked her because she sent nude pictures of Agnes in the locker room one of which he himself received from one of his friends. Olivia eventually talks to Brittany in the hospital and asks her about the photo and she claims she did so because they learned that the detectives spoke to Agnes and believed she killed their friend Emily. Eventually they interrogate Emily's boyfriend again and pressure him into revealing that Brittany, Andrea, and Paige visited him in Emily's car the night she was murdered and that he bought them beer and when he tried to put it in the trunk of their car they freaked out.

After arresting them in front of the whole student body during a pep rally, the detectives along with ADA Novak interrogate Brittany, Andrea, and Paige in separate rooms. They reveal that Emily's boyfriend told them that he met them the night Emily was murdered. After pressuring them Andrea and Paige confess revealing that Brittany was the one who tortured and murdered Emily. Andrea and Paige also confess that they just stood by and watched due to the shock of what Brittany was doing. Brittany confirms this saying that they did nothing wrong, but loses control when she learns that Andrea and Paige blamed her for everything.

Eventually they decide to take this to trial as the detectives believe and want to prove that Brittany, Andrea, and Paige were all responsible for Emily's murder. However their lawyers want to put all the blame on Brittany to help their clients as they believe they did nothing wrong. Novak talks with Brittany in holding and convinces her to testify against Andrea and Paige, who states that she does not care about them anymore. In court Brittany testifies and reveals that Andrea and Paige helped her kill Emily by restraining her and hitting her a few times as well.

Paige and Andrea's lawyers try to turn this against her by making Brittany admit that she alone was responsible for torturing and killing Emily which she admits to. Eventually Andrea takes the stand and she testifies saying that it was all Brittany and everyone knows you never say no to Brittany. However, Novak asks her about her birthday and her birthstone Andrea says it is Garnet. Novak notes the ring she is wearing and reveals it holds a Sapphire stone which happens to her and Emily's birthstone. She reveals that Emily was missing her Class Ring which looks exactly like the one she is currently wearing.

Novak also reveals that the ring is engraved and asks that the ring Andrea is wearing to be examined. Seeing that she has been cornered she then starts to blame Paige who fires back claiming that Andrea stole Emily’s purse during the night of the murder which seals their fates. Novak reveals to Elliot and Olivia that all the girls were found guilty and will be sentenced to prison. However a few seconds later Elliot receives a call: shots fired at Tanner Day. They arrive and find Agnes's locker and the lockers next to hers have been sprayed painted with the words "Agnes The Pig Squealed" along with a pig carcass hung in front of her locker.

Near the lockers is a corpse belonging to a popular girl who has been shot to death. Olivia spots Agnes being arrested and being read her rights. Olivia asks Agnes what happened. Agnes breaks down in tears and says that even though her three bullies were arrested, it changed nothing. Agnes was still being bullied and she had hoped that her bullies' arrest would change things for the better but it was all for naught, that no matter what anyone did, it will never gonna stop. As Agnes is being taken away, Olivia stands there and watches in sadness.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

• Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
• Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
• Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch (credit only)
• Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
• Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola (credit only)
• B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang
• Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen

Recurring cast[]

• Linda Emond as Dr. Emily Sopher
• David Thornton as Defense Attorney Lionel Granger
• Ned Eisenberg as Defense Attorney Roger Kressler
• Caren Browning as C.S.U. Technician Judith Siper
• Joanna Merlin as Judge Lena Petrovsky
• Blair Brown as Defense Attorney Lynne Riff
• Jake Robards as Assistant M.E. Cardillo
• José Zúñiga as T.A.R.U. Technician Miguel Cruz

Guest cast[]

• Kelli Garner as Brittany O'Malley
• Arielle Kebbel as Andrea Kent
• Kimberly McConnell as Paige Summerbee
• Lindsay Hollister as Agnes Linsky
• Robert Iler as Troy Linsky
• Zachary Knighton as Lukas Ian Croft
• Cindy Katz as Mrs. Kent
• Jason Kravits as Principal Andrew Kilgore
• Brent Popolizio as Comic Book Store Guy
• John Ahlin as Pat Linsky
• Brad Holbrook as Gregory Sullivan
• Larry Cahn as Mr. Summerbee
• Nancy Meyer as Mrs. Summerbee
• Elizabeth Fye as Shauna Goletz
• Shayna Ferm as Terri Walsh
• Kimberly Ross as Sarah O'Malley
• Gwen Stewart as Cheryl
• Elvis Nolasco as Andre
• Philip LaSalle as Uniform Officer
• Anthony Mangano as Security Officer Kubiak
• Kent Cassella as Westchester County Uniform Officer
• Justin McCarthy as A.D. Doyle
• Jim DeMarse as Commercial Director

References[]

• CSU
• Mount Vernon
• Mr. Kent 
• Napa Valley
• NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner
• NYPD Traffic Control Division
• One Police Plaza
• Scarsdale
• Tanner Day Academy 
• TARU
• Thirteenth Dimension Comics
• Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP)
• Westchester County
• Westchester County Police Department
• Serena Benson
• Emily Sullivan (victim)
• Attack on Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots
• Crown Heights riot
• Kathleen Turner
• Prada

Quotes[]

Stabler: Psychos. They always love comics.

[while reading a murder victim's archived text messages]

Stabler: Right. Now, this stuff is very deep. "Danny is so..." ten O's. "cute."

Pat Linsky: [to Benson and Stabler about Emily Sullivan] We've been trying to get a restraining order against that girl for over a year and nobody cared. Now someone kills her and you're acting like it's some kind of tragedy? She made my daughter's life miserable and God help me, I'm not sorry she's dead.

Agnes Linsky: My mom died when I was nine. When I was twelve, Emily started the rumor that my mom left us because she couldn't stand how ugly I was. Funny, right? People still believe that.

Benson: So you've known Emily a long time.

Agnes: When we were little, we were all friends. Well, I don't really know why it changed. In seventh grade, Emily got a fake screen name and pretended to be a boy I liked. He emailed me. The next day, I talked to him, and he didn't know what the hell I was saying. He pushed me into the mud. Emily and her friends thought it was hilarious.

Benson: So her friends were in on it, too.

Agnes: Brittany and the rest of them were pretty terrible, but I was Emily's special project. She used to pretend to be my friend for a week and then use it against me. I gave her my cell phone number and she started sending all these awful messages to me; how fat I was, how I should just kill myself because nobody liked me. My dad saved up to buy me that phone, and I hardly use it anymore. It's not worth it.

Benson: Your dad seems pretty angry about this.

Agnes: It's like I'm disappointing him. That's the worst part, you know? Oh, it sounds stupid. My brother says I should ignore it, but it just builds up. Every day, it's something else and you start to feel like you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning. I know it sounds awful, but I'm happy. I'm happy she's dead.

[about Agnes Linsky being bullied]

Stabler: The school knew what was happening to that girl. They didn't do anything about it.

Dr. Huang: Victims of bullying are often social outcasts. It's typical for school officials to identify with the "normal" kids...

Cragen: Meaning, the teachers believe the bully's story and think the victims are being "overly sensitive".

[When Stabler talks to Agnes' brother, Troy after he assaults Brittany O'Malley]

Troy Linsky: I pushed her. That's it.

Stabler: Hard enough to send her to the hospital.

Troy Linsky: She hit her head against the locker. It was an accident. I was mad.

Stabler: You got some anger management problems there, pal.

Troy Linsky: Do you know what they did to my sister?

Stabler: Emily Sullivan tortured your sister. I know that. And someone taught that bitch a lesson, right?

Troy Linsky: Wasn't me. I didn't touch Emily.

Stabler: I'm not saying you did, but why are you beating up Brittany?

Troy Linsky: I want Brittany to admit what she did.

Stabler: What's that?

Troy Linsky: She took pictures while Agnes was changing in the locker room. She sent them to anyone with a camera phone. Look for yourself. On my cell, in the bag on the desk. [Stabler looks at the photos of Agnes on Troy's phone] Those girls, they've got everybody snowed. They're evil.

Stabler: How do you know Brittany did this?

Troy Linsky: She has gym class with Agnes. You know, Brittany sent that to 20 different people. My buddy's sister got it. He sent it to me.

Stabler: You think this is enough to hurt someone, huh?

Troy Linsky: Hey, look, nobody's protecting my sister, okay? Not the school and not the cops.

Stabler: I'm trying to help your sister. Okay? I'm trying to help Agnes.

Troy Linsky: Well, taking naked pictures of someone, well, that's illegal, right? So when are you going to do something about that?

Benson: [to Brittany] Why do you think Troy Linsky attacked you?

Brittany O'Malley: Because he's psycho. His whole family is crazy.

Benson: Did you see Agnes today?

Brittany O'Malley: She's kind of hard to miss.

Benson: Did you talk to her?

Brittany O'Malley: Why would I?

Benson: You know what, Brittany, I'm starting to wonder why it is you girls do any of the things that you do. Did you take this picture of Agnes and send it around to your friends? [shows Brittany the photo of Agnes] Keep in mind that we can trace it back to the sender, in case you're thinking about lying to me again. Look at it.

Brittany O'Malley: [getting tearful] I'm sorry I did it.

Benson: Why would you do that, Brittany?

Brittany O'Malley: To get back at Agnes.

Benson: To get back at her for what?

Brittany O'Malley: Everybody knows that you spoke to her today. Because she did it, didn't she? She did it. She killed Emily. She killed my best friend!

Judith Siper: Why the rush, Detectives?

Stabler: We've got a bunch of teenagers trying to kill each other. I'd like to, uh... arrest one of them.

Dr. Huang: Boys tend to get into conflicts with acquaintances or strangers. Girls typically attack within tightly-knit friendships.

Benson: Well, that's definitely been my experience. The people that made me feel the worst were always my best friends.

Dr. Huang: Boys are socialized to express their anger. Girls are socialized to be nice, and It's not nice to start a fight.

Stabler: Feelings got to come out sometime.

Dr. Huang: Often as rumor-spreading, ostracizing or secret-telling.

Benson: In other words, don't tell your friend you're mad at her. Just get everybody else to hate her.

Stabler: I love these little cliques. They're like the mafia; nobody knows nothing.

Shauna Goletz: Oh, yeah, I totally know Brittany and all those girls. Everybody does.

Stabler: Has anyone had any trouble with them?

Shauna Goletz: Um, except this is, like, therapy, so I can't really break a confidence.

Stabler: Okay. So what do you think of them?

Shauna Goletz: Actually, they're really nice. I can totally see how somebody with, you know, low self-esteem would have a problem with them. I don't.

Stabler: But you know people who do?

Shauna Goletz: Well, yeah. But what I say to them is, "Hey, we're all insecure. Brittany and Paige and Andrea are just like you. It's their defense mechanism."

Stabler: Right. What's their defense mechanism?

Shauna Goletz: You know... being mean.

Novak: No one's going to believe that, Andrea. This lie you and your friends cooked up, it's a bad one, so if you've got anything you want to say to me before I walk out that door, you better say it now.

Brittany O'Malley: No. They didn't do anything.

Cragen: I'm glad you're saying that, Brittany, because it's consistent with your friends' stories: that they're innocent and you killed Emily all by yourself.

Brittany O'Malley: They're not saying that.

Cragen: You better believe they are, little girl.

Lionel Granger: Okay, I think that wraps it up for today...

Brittany O'Malley: No. What are they saying?

Cragen: That you killed Emily because she stole your boyfriend. Oh, and that you're nuts.

Sarah O'Malley: They're clearly lying.

Brittany O'Malley: [stands up] Shut up! You're not helping.

Benson: Brittany, sit down.

Brittany O'Malley: No! Where are they? I want them to say this to my face! [crosses the room to the two-way window and starts to pound it with her fists] Huh? BITCHES! SAY IT TO MY FACE!

Granger: [on the defendants] They're us, Casey. Our sisters, our daughters, our high school girlfriends. No one wants to believe...

Novak: No, they're monsters. They're mean, vicious little girls who think they can do whatever they want and up until now, they've gotten away with it. Not anymore.

Lynne Riff: So, uh, you say Andrea and Paige never asked you to stop. Let me ask you this: did Emily?

Brittany: [scoffs] I guess.

Riff: You guess? What, didn't she beg you to stop? Didn't she offer you money, her diamond earrings, anything you wanted?

Brittany: Yes.

Riff: Didn't she cry out for her mother, and you thought that was funny?

Brittany: [defiant stare] Yes.

Riff: Who was it that cut Emily's skin with scissors over 100 times?

Brittany: I did.

Riff: And who brought a knife and later used it to cut Emily's throat?

Brittany: Me.

Riff: And the cigarettes you went out to buy, you used those to burn Emily's skin, right?

Brittany: Right.

Riff: So the truth is, you didn't want Andrea and Paige to help you torture and kill Emily. You just wanted an audience.

Novak: Objection.

Riff: Withdrawn. Nothing further.

Benson: [to Casey] Remind me to give you the names of all the girls I hated in high school.

Benson: [after Agnes is arrested for shooting a classmate] Agnes, what happened?

Agnes Linsky: They went to jail and it didn't even make any difference. It was never going to stop. No matter what anybody did, it was never going to stop.

Background information and notes[]

• It is revealed that Casey Novak's birthstone is sapphire, meaning she has a birthday sometime in September.

Episode scene cards[]