| “ | I am not 'most people', Mr. Stone. | „ |
| ~ Danielle condescending to Ben Stone. |
Danielle Keyes is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Black Tie". She is a trophy wife who murders her wealthy husband for his money and tries to make it look like an accidental drug overdose.
She was portrayed by Caroline Lagerfelt, who would later portray Agniezjka Bogdani in Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Early life[]
Danielle was originally a model from an "old money" family that was in financial decline. Famous for her cold, aloof demeanor, she was known in the press as the "ice princess". She caught the eye of Jonathan Keyes, a wealthy, much older businessman and widower who married her after a short courtship. Keyes' adult son Lance and his longtime housekeeper Helga despised her, suspecting (correctly) that she only wanted him for his money. Keyes was smitten, however, and insisted that everyone in his life give her whatever she wanted.
She rewarded his generosity by repeatedly cheating on him and banishing him from her bedroom. Keyes put up with it for a little while, but eventually grew tired of her abuse and started having affairs of his own with women younger than Danielle just to spite her. He also started injecting himself with insulin to lose weight, a practice that the notoriously vain Danielle took up herself.
Eventually, Keyes decided to divorce Danielle. Determined to keep the lifestyle she had grown accustomed to, he killed him by feeding him a rich meal and intentionally injecting him with an overdose of insulin.
"Black Tie"[]
After discovering Keyes' body, Helga suspects Danielle of killing him and calls the police. NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Mike Logan arrive at the scene, but Danielle refuses to let them or their superior, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, take possession of his body or give it to the coroner to perform an autopsy. Van Buren eventually convinces her to turn over the body by promising to order a non-invasive examination. When medical examiner Elizabeth Rodgers finally examines the body, however, she finds that it has already been embalmed, which turns out to have been ordered by Danielle. Briscoe and Logan search Danielle's apartment and find a cotton ball soaked with insulin and theorize that she purposely overdosed him.
Briscoe and Logan talk to Keyes' latest girlfriend, Kathy Rodgers, who says that she had heard Danielle's voice in the background when she talked to Keyes the night of his death, which contradicts Danielle's account of having been at a party at the time of her husband's death. Danielle insists that her husband died of natural causes, but Lance believes that she killed him. He pays a private detective to search her apartment, where he finds a needle coated with insulin. This provides Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone and Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid probable cause to have Keyes' body exhumed and another examination performed, proving that Keyes died of an insulin overdose. Briscoe and Logan arrest Danielle for murder.
During her trial, Danielle's lawyer, Norman Rothenberg, argues that the syringe is inadmissible as evidence because it was obtained illegally by a private detective. He also says that a junior associate of his will be taking over her defense, which makes Stone suspicious that he is purposely throwing the trial in order to have a guilty verdict thrown out during the appeals process. Stone cross-examines Danielle, where she claims not to care that Keyes cheated on her and says that she and Keyes were not like most people, with the haughty tone of her voice implying that she believed that she was better than everyone else. This also leads Stone to suspect that Rothenberg is betting that the jury will hate her, which would make his case for an appeal.
Danielle is ultimately convicted of murdering Keyes, but Rothenberg appeals the verdict to the State Supreme Court, arguing once again that the needle was obtained through an illegal search. Stone argues that the evidence was presented in good faith, but the court sides with Rothenberg and overturn Danielle's guilty verdict. Danielle then sells the apartment she shared with Keyes for $6 million and moves to an estate in the south of France.
External links[]
- Danielle Keyes on the Law & Order Wiki
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Law & Order Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: LA Law & Order: Organized Crime Law & Order: Toronto Law & Order: UK Homicide: Life on the Street Chicago Fire Chicago: Med Chicago P.D. FBI FBI: Most Wanted FBI: International | ||