Gayle Janaway is the main antagonist from "Baby, It's You", a two-part crossover episode of Law & Order and Homicide: Life on the Street.
She was portrayed by Maureen Anderman.
History[]
Gayle Janaway is the wife of plastic surgeon Steven Janaway and the mother of teenage model Brittany Janaway.
Gayle harbored intense jealousy of her own daughter, Brittany. Gayle had been very popular and had caught the attention of many boys at Brittany's age, but as Brittany grew up and blossomed, she envied her daughter for getting the attention that she no longer received. She even thought that Steven had sexual feelings for Brittany, which in her mind explained their failing marriage; she was apparently unaware that Steven was having an affair with a coworker, Andrea Plotkin.
Gayle took her frustrations out on Brittany, beating her so severely - but never where bruises would show - that the girl had to be hospitalized more than once. On a few occasions, Gayle went so far as to rape Brittany with foreign objects, at one point causing internal bleeding. Steven realized what Gayle was doing to their daughter and tried to protect her, but he did not notify the police for fear of damaging Brittany's modeling career.
One night, Gayle sexually assaulted Brittany so violently that she tore her daughter's vagina, causing Brittany to go into toxic shock and develop an infection that killed her, despite Steven's attempts to revive her.
NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green question the Janaways, who both appear to be devastated by Brittany's death. Briscoe and Green initially suspect a mentally ill fan who had been seen hanging around her, but upon unconvering more evidence, they think that Steven did it, provoking Gayle to vociferously defend him. When the evidence suggests that Gayle committed the rapes and the murder, Baltimore PD Homicide Detective John Munch interrogates Gayle, who insists that she is a good mother. Steven, however, reveals that Gayle regularly assaulted Brittany.
While interrogating Gayle, Munch offers her sympathy, saying that Steven paid more attention to Brittany than to her; Gayle responds by insulting her own deceased daughter. She says that she and Brittany fought often, and that Steven was never around when she wanted to talk to him. Munch shows Gayle a picture of Brittany and asks gently if she raped her daughter; Gayle pushes the photo away and bursts into tears. Gayle is then arrested for sexually assaulting and killing her daughter.
Trivia[]
- Gayle is loosely based on the late Patsy Ramsey, who in 1997 was briefly suspected of murdering her six-year-old daughter Jon-Benet.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Gayle Janaway on the Law & Order Wiki
