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“ | I have served Him. They were unclean, and I cleansed them in their own blood! | „ |
~ Varney's delusional confession. |
Daniel Varney is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Scourge". He is a serial killer who murders prostitutes and women he believes are prostitutes under the influence of delusions brought on by undiagnosed syphilis.
He was portrayed by Richard Thomas, who also portrayed Adam Ames in Chicago P.D.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Varney was a loving husband and father who suffered a complete psychotic breakdown when his undiagnosed syphilis reached the tertiary stage and began eating away at his brain. He started having hallucinations that God was telling to destroy His enemies, and he was plagued by constant migraines. His wife Paula reluctantly separated from him after she found him standing outside their twin daughters' room with a knife, sobbing that he had to spare them the pain of living. Taking pity on him, his church hired him as a janitor and let him live rent-free in a small apartment on their grounds.
As his sanity deteriorated, he developed a delusion that God was commanding him to kill "unclean women", so he went out one night and murdered a prostitute and a woman coming home from a night of clubbing, believing the latter to be a prostitute as well because she was wearing a short skirt and nylons. He attacked both victims while babbling about eternal damnation, and mutilated them with a kitchen knife, removing their sexual organs post-mortem.
"Scourge"[]
The NYPD's Special Victims Unit begins investigating Varney's murders, and forensic psychiatrist George Huang profiles the killer as a mentally ill man who suffers from command hallucinations. The murders soon create public hysteria, making the investigation extremely difficult, especially after an angry mob attacks an innocent homeless man who had approached a prostitute.
Meanwhile, Varney wanders into an arcade and attacks a family of tourists, killing the father and his young son because the hallucinations are telling him that the video games are putting "evil thoughts" in their heads. He then catches a cab back to the church, paying the driver with a bloodstained check from a checkbook Paula gave to him when he moved out.
SVU Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler speak with the cab driver, and then to Paula, who explains Varney's history of mental illness. They go to the church to arrest Varney, who becomes agitated, shouting that God has sent them to punish him for his sins. Benson recites the Lord's Prayer with him, distracting him long enough for Stabler to handcuff him and take him into custody.
The District Attorney's office tries to seek the death penalty against Varney, but their efforts are thwarted when prison doctors discover his syphilis, as it is illegal for the state to execute a sick person. Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot finds out that Varney's insurance company knew he had syphilis and failed to alert him or the state medical board, making them legally responsible for his crimes and liable in any civil suit filed by his family or his victims.
Varney receives medication that makes him lucid, and he is overcome with guilt and shame upon realizing what he did. His syphilis is too advanced to be cured, however, meaning that he will never be sane enough to stand trial for the murders. He is sentenced to a psychiatric hospital until he is deemed fit to stand trial - which will never happen, meaning that he is effectively institutionalized for life.
Trivia[]
- Varney is loosely based upon the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper.
External links[]
- Daniel Varney on the Law & Order Wiki
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