Darlings, Last Night They Broadcast My Favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, of course I am talking about my favorite 'SVU' episode, entitled "Mean," which was first broadcast in February of 2,004. It certainly has personal associations for me, but more to the point, I know what case this episode was based on. So let's start there, loves!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, if you want to read about the case for yourselves, there are two books, "Little Lost Angel" by Michael Quinlan and "Cruel Sacrifice" by Aphrodite Jones. I have read the latter, which was my introduction to this grisly story.

But let me say something about Shanda's parents, who, for all intents and purposes seemed like good people who cared about their daughter. Nevertheless, I have to question why they would allow a 12 year old girl to hang out with girls 15-17years of age, a good deal older than she, and why said girls would want to hang out with someone so much younger. Especially at that age.

Nevertheless, on the night of January 11, 1992, Shanda Sharer was kidnapped, bound and thrown into the trunk of a car in her hometown of Madison, Indiana. Her perpetrators were her alleged friends--Melinda Loveless, 16; Laurie Tackett, 17; Hop Rippey, 15; and Toni Lawrence, 15.

The motive was one of jealousy--namely that of Melinda's for Shanda seeing this girl, Amanda Heavrin, for whom Melinda held a lesbian attachment.

Shandra was abducted, thrown into the car, and taken to an abandoned house, known as the Witch's Castle, where she was stabbed, strangled with rope, having her body sprayed with Windex, then being set afire, and left to die!!!!!!!!!! The remains of Shandra were not found here, but at U.S. 421, a place known as Proving Ground.

All 4 of these monstrous bitches were tried as adults and should have gotten the Death penalty. They pleaded down, with Melinda and Laurie Tackett getting the worst of it, 60 years in Indiana Women's Prison, where they still are and will, presumably and deservedly, rot. Toni Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years, but was released in 2,000, which was a mistake. Maybe she will be walking down the street, and someone will take a shot at her!!!!! I would be careful, Toni, if I were you!!!!!!! Same goes for Hope Rippey, who also received a 60 year sentence but was released in 2,000.

"Mean" pretty much follows the trajectory of the incident--it even takes place during the month of January!!!!--with two differences. There are three perps, instead of four, and the jealousy motive was heterosexual, not lesbian.

But here is what happens.

Stabler and Benson get called to the site of an abandoned car. Inside is the mutilated corpse of a teenage girl. She has been cut, bound, and burnt with cigarettes. She is identified as Emily Sullivan, 16, of Westchester. Her father, Greg, reported her and the car missing when she did not show up for school that day.
Emily and her clique--Brittany O'Malley, Paige Summersby and Andrea Kent--were your typical teen alpha bitches. They deny knowing anything about Emily, but Olivia right away spots a phony ruse on Brittany's cell phone, to throw off her father. They said Emily was afraid of being caught trying to sneak out, that she was supposed to have a big, romantic date with this 20 something guy, a New York actor named Lucas Croft. He is questioned, says he went out once, but when he found out her true age, he broke it off. His story checks out.

Meanwhile, Emily's cell phone has gone missing, and is traced to someone at a nearby Comic Books shop making calls on a sex line. He is fantasizing about Kathleen Turner, when she was skinny, which should call into question his sexuality, I am telling you!!!!!!! They find him guiltless of the murder. But the phone reveals a string of messages from Brittany--nothing unusual there, but a series of derogatory messages sent by Emily to, it turns out, a girl named Agnes Linsky.

Agnes' father is questioned. He says they have been trying to get a restraining order against Emily, who has been harassing the overweight, unpopular teen, for two years. He delivers the classic line, "She made my daughter's life miserable. And, God help me, I'm not a bit sorry she is dead."

The next day, when Olivia questions Agnes, she pretty much says the same thing. But she gives good cause--Emily and she were friends when little, then it changed with age. At nine, Agnes' mother died, and Emily started the rumor she left because she could not stand how ugly Agnes was. Then she got a fake screen name and emailed Agnes, pretending to be a boy she liked. For this, she gets pushed into the mud, and ridiculed. Agnes says she knows she should ignore it, but it builds to a point where you don't want to get out of bed. Honey, I know all about THAT, because I have been there!!!!!!!!!!

Agnes is the prime suspect, but Olivia does not think she killed Emily.
Meanwhile, Brittany is attacked at school by Agnes' brother, Troy. He says he did it to get back at her for texting nude photos she took on her cell of Agnes in gym class. He shows them to Stabler. They are real. At the ER, Brittany tries to bitchily blow off Olivia, then confesses she did what she did to get back at Agnes for killing Emily, who was her best friend.

Everyone seems stumped. Then the M.E. tells them the cuts were inflicted with manicure scissors, and dyed blonde hair and pink nail polish were found on the victim's body. Now they have three key suspects--and Agnes is off the hook!

The girls are arrested and brought in. It looks like emily was killed, because Brittany wanted to test the friendship, asking Lucas, whom she was dating, to hiot on her, except Emily went for Lucas. Page and Andrea say Brittany did everything; they stood there and watched, horrified. When Brittany finds out what they are saying, she loses it. Casey Novak says another classic line--"No, they're monsters. They're mean, vicious little girls, who think they can do whatever they want, and up until now, they have gotten away with it. But no more."

In order to avoid a life term in prison, Brittany agrees to testify against Andrea and Page, saying they held Emily down, pushed her back inside the car, were left alone with her while she (Brittany) went to get cigarettes and did not free her. Andrea, on the stand, is found to be wearing Emily's class ring; she says Page gave it to her, Page turns on Andrea, with another classic line, "You liar! You took her Prada purse!" The jig is up for the girls; they are found guilty and sent off to the prison they deserve. Too bad the parents were not sent, too, for raising such monsters!!!!!!!!!!!

But in the piece de resisitance, Elliot gets a call that gunshots were fired at Tanner Day Academy, the school. They go to a cordoned, roped off area. From a ceiling, they see a hanging dead pig, and on the locers is written in red, maybe blood, "Agnes The Pig Squealed!" A body is discovered; a popular senior girl has been shot. Olilvia sees Agnes being led out, and read her Miranda rights. She asks what happened, and Agnes gives the classic closing line--

"They went to jail. And it didn't make any difference.
It was never going to stop. No matter what anyone did.
It was never going to stop."

Honey, when I first saw this, it blew me away. It could have been my high shcool, in Highland Park, New Jersey, let me tell you! But we did not have the technology. But I CAN tell you who the Brittany, Andrea and Page of MY day would have been--the Misses Debra and Diane Dyukeman, and Debby Germann. All of whom today are washed up. Debra Dykeman died six years ago, coming to a bad end. The other two are suburban nothings who haven't done anything with their lives. Let them rot!!!!!!!! I am surprised the same murder sceneario did not unfold back in my day.

This is MY all-time favorite episode in the series. I have LIVED it!!!!!
And it should be seen as a wake-up call to bullying. Especially in the face of the more recent Tyler Clementi tragedy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bully for you, 'SVU'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!