  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
 |
Darkseid has declared that this article requires immediate Cleanup in order to meet a higher standard. Help improve this article by improving formatting, spelling and general layout - lest it fall victim to an Omega Effect |
Kevin Wilcox is the main antagonist of the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Contagious". He was a teenage pedophile and lacrosse player who raped and murdered Laura Swift and later raped Holly Purcell.
He was portrayed by Zach Gilford, who also portrayed James Miller in another episode, as well as Elias Voit in Criminal Minds: Evolution.
Biography[]
Background[]
A teenage pedophile, Wilcox would often use his position as a lacrosse player to watch the young girls playing next to the field. He eventually acted on his urges and molested Laura Swift, before shooting her to death and buried her body in a vacant lot, while wiping down the blood in his trunk. He later raped Holly Purcell, threatening her severely with the same fate as Swift if she talked; as a result, Holly developed PTSD and kept quiet of her situation.
"Contagious"[]
Following Holly's medical disclosure, Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit interviewed everyone Holly knew at the academy, including Wilcox. He used his charisma to point the detectives in different directions as he continued monitoring the girls playing sports.
Wilcox maintained his profile hidden during the hysteria about his coach, Mark Dobbins, as the authorities accused the latter of not only committing crimes against Holly and Laura but also against two different girls that were later revealed to be coached by their mothers. Holly recanted her accusations before trial as she only accused Dobbins out of fear of Wilcox, still believing that he would kill her if she talked. Benson, Stabler, and forensic psychiatrist Rebecca Hendrix realized their grave error in identifying Holly's abuser, as the drawings Holly made had given them clues of a male figure that was wearing a sports uniform with a yellow stripe on the arm.
After Benson and Stabler realize he was the murderer thanks to Holly's identification along with the yellow stripe on his uniform sleeve, they bring him in. Wilcox tries to make it look like Holly was lying because she previously accused coach Dobbins of raping her. Stabler and Detective Fin Tutuola countered him by stating that he threatened Holly with a gun that was hidden inside the spare tire of his car. Wilcox continued denying his crimes, but Stabler made him clear they discovered the trauma, not only on Holly but also on Laura, whom Wilcox claimed to not know anything about her. Tutuola told Wilcox that he left a shell casing in the boathouse as the forensics lab gathered other details of the gun. Stabler mentioned that no matter how hard he tried to eliminate evidence by cleaning out blood, the forensics would always recover it. As Wilcox believed them to be bluffing with him, the detectives got him to confess his crimes by threatening to make sure the other inmates knew his crimes that would get him beaten or even killed. Fearful of going to prison with a pedophile tag, Wilcox revealed the location of Laura's body, which Tutuola and the authorities rushed to recover.
Wilcox was subsequently imprisoned after he pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and second-degree murder to avoid the maximum sentence.
Trivia[]
- Wilcox's murder of Laura Swift is inspired by the murder of Jacob Wetterling, who was still missing at the time of the episode. His murder was tied to the sexual assault of another boy, and he would be found dead once a suspect was arrested a decade later.
- The case and its resulting fallout are heavily inspired by the iconic Australian novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.
External links[]
- Kevin Wilcox on the Law and Order Wiki
