Cecilia Strayer (Law & Order: SVU)

Cecilia Strayer (Shannon Woodward) is the villainess of "Svengali", episode 9.06 of Law & Order: SVU (airdate November 6, 2007). She was a twisted follower of imprisoned serial killer Robert Morten, who was the cellmate of her father (who had been sent to prison for bank robbery). The 17-year-old Cecilia even got a job at the law agency that defended Robert so she could continue their relationship. In adulthood, Cecilia continued to pine for Robert and wanted to prove her loyalty to the sadistic killer when he began to pull away from her--by committing a murder of her own.
Her chosen victim was college student Tina Snow, who often frequented the bar Cecilia worked at. One night, Cecilia gave Tina a drink spiked with GHB before taking her to the elevator shaft of an office building (Tina being an avid thief and thrill seeker). Once Tina broke the lock into the shaft, the evil Cecilia strangled Tina to death with her pantyhose before cutting off her breasts, the crime mirroring one from a graphic novel series inspired by Morten's murders. When the SVU detectives questioned her at the bar regarding Tina's murder, Cecilia claimed that there had been an unstable bar patron that she suspected might be responsible. 
To keep her ruse going, Cecilia called Benson at the squad house, making it appear that said patron was attacking and kidnapping her, cutting herself and smearing her blood on the floor in the shape of the Venus De Milo (again mirroring the graphic novels). When the SVU squad found Cecilia, she was at Morten's childhood home, having taken GHB and cut her breasts in a similar way to how she cut Tina's, making herself initially appear to be a victim. But once O'Hallaran determined that Cecilia's wounds were self-inflicted, Benson interrogated Cecilia and eventually got her to confess to killing Tina, breaking down as she talked about how Robert made her feel whole inside.
On trial, Cecilia's lawyer tried to argue that she was coerced by Robert into committing her heinous crime, even having her show off the injuries she gave herself to the jury. To help make her case, Novak went to Morten and he agreed to testify. After initially backing up the claims that he had instructed Cecilia to kill Tina, he went back on his statements when he saw the crime scene photos, calling Cecilia's "art" uninspired and proclaiming her to be a talentless hack. Upset, the psychotic Cecilia ran up to Morten on the stand, breaking down and telling him that she'd killed Tina for him. After he rejected her affections, Cecilia was escorted out of the courtroom. She was later sentenced to a mental institution.
== Trivia ==
* Shannon Woodward also appeared in Psych's first season finale as the evil Alice Bundy.
Category:2000s
Category:Brunette
Category:Deceiver
Category:Delusional
Category:Knife
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Makeshift Weapon
Category:Murderer
Category:Murder: Strangulation
Category:Psychotic
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Villain's Lover
Category:Fate: Arrested