Kathy Stabler

**Kathleen 'Kathy' Marie Stabler** was the wife of Detective Elliot Stabler and the mother of Maureen Stabler, Kathleen Stabler, Dickie Stabler, Elizabeth Stabler and Elliot Stabler, Jr.. In 2021, Kathy was severely wounded in a car bombing, committed by Sacha Lenski and Izak Bekher under the orders of Richard Wheatley, and eventually died from her injuries.

## History

Elliot and Kathy first met at a party. When she first saw Elliot, Kathy wanted to kiss him but was scared. Meanwhile, it took Elliot three beers to work up the nerve to say "Hello" and then they got really drunk while getting together. In previous SVU episodes, it has been said that Elliot and Kathy were married before Elliot went into the Marines, which he joined after graduating high school, so it's possible that Elliot and Kathy were high school students at Catholic School Sisters of Mercy School, and went to a college frat party with mutual friends. Elliot and Kathy have admitted to sneaking out of the house to see each other late at night, but when Elliot caught Maureen sneaking in late at night, he grounded her. Elliot and Kathy got married when they were 17 years old with a baby (Maureen) on the way. After Maureen was born, Elliot and Kathy took turns taking care of the baby and working to support themselves; Kathy would work days while Elliot would work nights. Elliot went into the Marines after his 18th birthday and came back after about two years when Maureen was a toddler. Kathy fell pregnant again while Elliot was unemployed so he chose to become a cop, and started attending the Police Academy; he was involved in a shoot out that was shown on television which Kathy saw, causing her to go into premature labor, giving birth to Kathleen. Elliot started working at the Manhattan Special Victims Unit around the time the twins, Richard and Elizabeth, were born.

Before being partnered with Olivia Benson in 1999, Elliot was partnered with Jo Marlowe (his first female partner), Pete Breslin, Dave Rosetti, and "Old Fatso" Alfonse. The relationship between Jo and Kathy is unknown, but Jo asked Olivia if she and Elliot ever slept together, which Olivia denied, saying that he's married and he loved his wife dearly. Pete remembered Kathy but after several years of not being in touch, he did not know that Elliot and Kathy were separated. Dave Rosetti committed suicide, and "Old Fatso" retired to Florida when Olivia joined SVU and became Elliot's partner.

## On SVU

Elliot did not like to bring his work home for a number of reasons. He did not want to be the window to the world that he saw every day on the job. He is overprotective of his children. This caused problems in their marriage because Elliot had a very difficult time opening up and it was making him difficult to live with. Kathy was also worried that Elliot preferred to spend most of his time with his partner, Olivia rather than with his family. Olivia being an attractive single woman scared Kathy into thinking she would lose her husband; but she didn't need to worry because Elliot would to talk about her all the time and Olivia respected their marriage. Kathy also came to see Olivia as a good friend and they grew extremely close, sometimes asking for advice while jokingly calling her Elliot's “work wife”.

Elliot was also briefly partnered with Detective Dani Beck while separated from Kathy, but they did meet when Elliot went to the hospital after being stabbed by a pen; Captain Donald Cragen was the one who notified a very worried Kathy. Although Kathy was pleasant to Dani, she later revealed to Benson that she did not like her, and possibly suspected that there was something going on between Elliot and Dani, who were holding hands before Kathy came in, after which Elliot quickly dropped Dani's hand. He introduced Kathy as his wife despite their separation.

Kathy even encouraged Elliot to be more involved in their children's lives because it was hard for them with their parents being separated.

After 20 years of being married, Kathy filed for separation and moved herself and the kids to live at her mother's. Kathy eventually filed for divorce, but Elliot had not signed the divorce papers, because he had them at home. He wouldn't talk to her or her lawyer about signing the papers until he was involved in a case where a married couple was abusive towards each other, accusing one of rape, and setting the other on fire while in a bitter divorce and custody battle. Elliot realized that love can warp into hate, and people are capable of doing terrible things to someone they once loved. He did not want Kathy to ever hate him, so he signed the divorce papers. However, after Elliot nearly lost his job for allegedly murdering a young man, he went over to Kathy's and wanted to return home because he didn't want to lose his family. Kathy gave him another chance, starting things slow, having drinks to discuss their future and to spend more time with their children. One night, Elliot was on the case of a deceased woman who was murdered and found out that she had a love affair with a married man who had three children. Later, Elliot and Olivia discovered the dead bodies of the wife and children which rattled Elliot, prompting him to check on his sleeping kids. That night, Elliot and Kathy got intimate. Two months later, Kathy confronted Elliot about him wanting to move back home, but instead, something had changed for Kathy who no longer cared about her ego or pride, she wanted Elliot to return home because she was pregnant with his child. Elliot was shocked at the news of the pregnancy but still chose to move back home.

Midway through her fourth pregnancy with her fifth child, Kathy was held hostage at knifepoint by Janis Donovan who claimed to have a multiple personality disorder. Elliot and Olivia rushed to the Stablers' home, Elliot managing to get Kathy out of the house and restrained Dori. Elliot had encountered a few cases that had him worried about the baby's health because Kathy was now over 40 years of age, but decided not to have anything tested because the family was Catholic. However, near the end of the pregnancy, Elliot was seriously injured after sustaining a head injury that caused him to temporarily lose his eyesight. Although the new child on the way was scary enough, the thought of not seeing his child terrified him enough to face his attacker in court. Then there was a case about a young child whose paternity turned out to be the result of an affair that was still going on which devastated the father, who asked Elliot how he would feel if the child who he believed was his turned out not to be. Elliot questioned if he was indeed the father of Kathy's baby, as they were separated at the time. Kathy did admit she dated while they were separated (as did Elliot) but the conversation was cut short when Elliot was called back to the case. The next day, Elliot was supposed to be taking Kathy to her doctor's appointment because her car was in the shop, but a new lead in the case had Elliot travel a long distance, so Olivia volunteered to take Kathy to her appointment. On the way, Olivia and Kathy were hit by a drunk driver. Kathy's legs were pinned beneath the dashboard, causing extensive blood loss, and resulting in her water breaking, sending her into labor. Kathy was in and out of consciousness with Olivia now in the backseat to assist the medics while the firefighters managed to get Kathy out of the car and into the ambulance, where she gave birth to a baby boy. Amidst the chaos, Kathy stopped breathing and the EMT had to perform CPR on her. Meanwhile, Elliot was notified of the accident by Fin and was rushed over to the hospital by helicopter. He came rushing into Kathy's hospital room, where he found her awake, holding their baby in her arms. She tearfully informed him that it was a boy. Elliot was extremely relieved that Kathy and the baby were alright, and they shared a moment together. Kathy then told him that he was indeed the father of her baby, which he assured her that he already knew. Kathy decided to name their son after him, calling the baby Eli for short.

Stabler and Kathy went through some tough times after the birth of their son when their daughter Kathleen was arrested again for breaking and entering, as well as stealing, before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which she inherited from her grandmother Bernadette Stabler (with whom Kathy had a close relationship). Stabler went into his old ways of not contacting Kathy before they separated and did not notify her about his undercover stint. Stabler got shot twice in the arm and chest but continued to see the case through. When he asked the undercover cop that had been arrested to call his family, he informed Stabler that his family left him a long time ago because they no longer could handle him being a cop. Stabler realized that he could have lost Kathy and his children again (she attempted to leave Stabler once more but was stopped by Olivia, who assured her that she would have Stabler call her) and stayed at home in bed with Kathy until Eli started crying. Kathy attempted to get him but Stabler stopped her, assuring her that he would take care of their son, despite being injured from the job. The next year, their son Dickie, who now wanted to be called Richard, got into trouble for trying to help his best friend, Shane Newsome, who had a history of drug problems, whom Stabler did not like. Shane and Dickie wanted to join the Army. Even after Shane was found murdered, Dickie still wanted to join the Army, begging Stabler to sign the consent form because he was underaged. but Stabler refused because he did not want to sign away his son. Some months later, Stabler was rattled by a threat made by a rich psychotic woman who insisted she would put a hit on someone he loved, so Stabler took Kathy and the kids to her sister's to keep them safe. Once it was safe, Kathy and the children returned home. After 26 years of marriage, Stabler and Kathy were still happy together and continued to be affectionate. Stabler moved to kiss Kathy after finding out that they were afraid to approach one another when they first met. Kathy found Stabler sitting on Eli's bed staring at him, a touching moment that Kathy left them alone for; and in another episode, Stabler and Kathy were asleep in bed when Olivia called with news about trumped-up molestation charges against Stabler had been dropped. While Kathy chatted with Stabler, he held her hand until she snuggled up to him.

## Death

Following Stabler's retirement, Kathy and Stabler resided in Rome with their son Eli because of Stabler's new job. In 2021, Kathy and Stabler got word of Benson receiving an award, so they returned to New York to support her and congratulate her. While Stabler was away, Kathy was caught in a car bombing and left comatose from her wounds. Kathy regained consciousness and expressed happiness to see Benson again, apologizing for making Benson miss the ceremony, but Benson was not bothered because "not fond of public speaking". Kathy remarked that it was good seeing them together and that it was just like the old days. Kathy couldn't believe that the pair hadn't spoke in a decade. When Kathy started to rest, Stabler was worried but Kathy assured him she was fine and told Benson on what she could remember. After Kathy experienced cardiac arrest, Kathy was stabilized, but she then suffered a spleen rupture and ultimately died from the injuries. (SVU: "Return of the Prodigal Son")

Following Kathy's death, a funeral was held with her husband, her children, and Benson being in attendance. Stabler and Eli took Kathy's death the hardest out of the family, with Eli going into a state of shock and breaking down crying at the end of the funeral while Elliot hugged and comforted him. Stabler also resolved to stay in New York to bring down Kathy's killers and managed to become a detective with the Organized Crime Control Bureau. (OC: "What Happens in Puglia")

It was revealed that Wheatley's bodyguard, Izak Bekher, created the pipe bomb used by Sacha Lenski to murder Kathy. Stabler confronted him along with the rest of the Organized Crime Control Bureau demanding reasons on why Wheatley would want to kill Kathy. Bekher revealed to Stabler that Wheatley didn't order the hit but it was actually Richard's ex wife, Angela, who did. (OC: "An Inferior Product")

Stabler arrested Angela for the murder of Kathy Stabler and put her in a cell. While Stabler was interrogating her, Angela claimed that Wheatley had manipulated her into believing that her son, Rafiq Wheatley, was murdered during a police raid lead by Stabler. After hearing this, Angela told Wheatley that she wanted him to suffer like she suffered. Angela claimed that they were just words and she didn't mean for anybody to die. Stabler then told her the truth about how Wheatley murdered Rafiq after catching him trying to sell his street drug. (OC: "I Got This Rat")

After Wheatley was arrested, he was charged with two murders such as Kathy's murder and the murder of his father, Manfredi Sinatra. However, Wheatley made a deal with a federal prosecutor, Vince Baldi, who wanted to take him to trial. Bell and Stabler convinced him to let Baldi take Wheatley to trial for Kathy's murder and he can take Wheatley to trial for the RICO charges. (OC: "Forget It Jake; It's Chinatown")

Wheatley was cleared of the drug trafficking, money laundering and assault charges but was not cleared of Kathy's murder charge. Wheatley's attorney told Wheatley that he must wait in Rikers until Kathy's murder trial. Later, Bell asked Angela if she would be okay to testify at Wheatley's trial for the murder of Kathy Stabler, regarding the murder attempt on Angela committed by Diego Morales, who was hired by Wheatley to murder her. (OC: "The Man With No Identity")

After Kathy's death, Olivia was given a letter by Stabler that Stabler claimed that he wrote. However, it was later revealed that Kathy wrote the letter and Elliot tried to write the letter but Kathy dictated it. Kathy wrote that what Olivia and Elliot were to each other was never real and that they got in the way of the person they needed to be. She also wrote that if Olivia had someone in her life, it would be a good man like Kathy deserved. Elliot then slipped in "but in a parallel universe, it will only be you and I" before sealing the envelope. (OC: "The Outlaw Eddie Wagner")

Richard was tried for Kathy's murder by Carisi and Baptiste and was represented by Rafael Barba at the trial. Benson testified about everything that happened when she was called to the scene of the crime. Angela testified about her relationship with the investigating officer and the murder victim's husband and about her alleged involvement in Kathy's death. Bell testified about how Wheatley became a suspect in Kathy's death. Stabler testified about what happened the night of the bombing. Richie testified against his father but later claimed that he didn't hear Richard conspire with Bekher to kill Kathy even though that's what he told Carisi when he was giving his statement. Later, Wheatley testified about how he doesn't have anything to do with Kathy's murder. However, the jury foreperson claimed that they were deadlocked and the judge asked them if they needed more time to come up with a verdict but the jury foreperson told him that they won't. (SVU: "People Vs Richard Wheatley")

After Wheatley was remanded to Rikers until the next, Barba visits Wheatley in his cell and tells Wheatley that the DA's office is not looking to move forward and that the case is weak. Barba then tells Wheatley that he has been cleared of the murder charge and he is a free man. (OC: "The Christmas Episode")

After Wheatley caused a blackout and held New York City hostage, Wheatley got Stabler to tell a crowd of people holding cameras about the shootings that he committed and the alleged crimes that he committed. However, when Wheatley asked Stabler to claim that he framed Wheatley for Kathy's murder, Stabler refused to do so which enraged Wheatley who continued to ask him to say that he framed him for Kathy's contract killing. (OC: "...Wheatley Is To Stabler")

After Stabler and Leonetti teamed up to work a case involving Mikael Abramov, Leonetti asked Stabler how he has been doing since Kathy passed away. Stabler mentioned to Leonetti the message that she sent him after hearing about her death, claiming that Kathy always loved Leonetti. (OC: "All That Glitters")

## On OC

### Season 1

Kathy made her first appearance in a video that Stabler was watching of the bombing, searching for evidence to find her killer. Stabler found out that a couple took a selfie at the park a few minutes before the bomb went off. Later, Stabler approached the woman who took the photo, Leslie Snow, and she offered to send him the photos so he can catch who did this to her. After she sent the photos, Stabler found out that Sacha Lenski was watching Kathy get into the car from across the street, meaning Stabler wasn't the target but Kathy was. (OC: "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of")

### Season 3

After Stabler comes home, Bernadette requests that Stabler would make dinner for her. Bernadette then set a third place for Kathy and couldn't believe that she forgot that Kathy had died. Stabler says Kathy will always be here with them anyway. Stabler then gets a call that Suarez had been tied to another murder. After handing the case over, Stabler goes into the interrogation room where he sees Kathy sitting on the chair looking at him. (OC: "Pareto Principle")

## Appearances

* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
	+ Season 1: "Payback" • "A Single Life" • "...Or Just Look Like One" • "Hysteria" • "Wanderlust" • "Sophomore Jinx" • "Uncivilized" • "Chat Room" • "Nocturne"
	+ Season 2: "Wrong Is Right" • "Countdown"
	+ Season 3: "Popular"
	+ Season 4: "Risk"
	+ Season 5: "Home"
	+ Season 6: "Blood
	+ Season 8: "Clock" • "Cage" • "Scheherazade" • "Burned" • "Dependent" • "Annihilated" • "Screwed"
	+ Season 9: "Alternate" • "Blinded" • "Paternity"
	+ Season 10: "Swing" • "Wildlife"
	+ Season 11: "Turmoil"
	+ Season 12: "Gray" • "Pop" • "Delinquent"
	+ Season 22: "Return Of The Prodigal Son"
* Law & Order: Organized Crime
	+ Season 1: "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"
	+ Season 3: "Pareto Principle"