Dr. Nicole Keller
| “ | I'll always be your mother, no matter what you've done. Do you hear me? I'll always be your mother! | „ |
| ~ Dr. Nicole Keller |
Dr. Nicole Keller is the main antagonist from "Motherly Love", the 400th episode of Law & Order: SVU.
She was played by Sarah Wynter.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Dr. Nicole Keller is a psychiatrist who is divorced from her husband, Dr. Daniel Keller (also a psychiatrist), as well as the mother of their son, Luke Keller. Nicole is also a serial statutory rapist; she engaged in a sexual relationship with Luke's classmate Ethan Miller, and later moved on to Luke's best friend, Trey Franklin. In the beginning of the episode, Luke arrives home and heard what he believes to be screams of pain from Nicole. After grabbing his father's hunting rifle, Luke finds Nicole and Trey having sex, only for Nicole to scream that she was being raped. Panicked, Luke shoots Trey, unintentionally killing him.
When SVU detectives arrive at the scene, Nicole tells Lieutenant Olivia Benson that Trey came after her in her kitchen, and later forced himself on her on the kitchen counter. Later on, however, detectives discover photos of Trey posing nude with Nicole. When Benson presents them to Nicole, the villainess claims that Trey was obsessed with her, and that he broke into the house and took photos of himself with her while she was asleep; however, suspicion was falling on Nicole. After evidence of Trey's presence at the home was discovered (counteracting Nicole's claim that he was never upstairs), Benson and Detective Fin Tutuola appear at Nicole's office and arrest her, charging her with third-degree rape and second-degree murder.
At her trial, Nicole sticks to her story during her testimony: that she was raped by Trey and she cried for help when Luke appeared. However, when she senses that the jury doesn't believe her, Nicole changes her defense: she says that her sexual relationship with Trey was consensual, and that Luke shot Trey because he was jealous. Nicole claims that Luke witnessed an earlier sexual encounter between them while he was in the doorway, and masturbated to it.
Devastated and confused, Luke actually considers pleading guilty for killing Trey. After a conversation with Benson, however, Luke testifies against his mother, counteracting every one of her false claims. Nicole is convicted of second-degree murder and third-degree rape. As she is led away, Nicole accuses Benson of poisoning her son against her, making him believe that she is the Devil; Benson replies that Nicole did that herself.
Personality
As described by her ex-husband, Dr. Nicole Keller is a malignant narcissist who might have borderline personality disorder; while she has no true sense of self, she believes she is special and therefore entitled to special treatment, and has a pathological need for constant attention and praise. She has no conscience, remorse, or empathy, but is superficially charming enough to manipulate people - usually boys and young men - into giving her what she wants. She also has no qualms about using and destroying people, even her own son, once they are no longer of use to her.
