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Stefan Tanzic (Serbian: Стефан Танзић, Stefan Tanzić) also known as Steven Panachek and Steven Green, is the overarching antagonist of "Payback", the pilot episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is a Serbian war criminal, serial rapist, and mass murderer who is castrated and murdered by Anya Ragova and Marta Stevens, two of his former victims.
Biography[]
Early life[]
An officer in the Serbian Army during the Bosnian War, Tanzic commanded an ethnic cleansing unit in which he raped, tortured, and murdered hundreds of women. He was known for his sadism, even blinding one of his victims, Ileana Jashari, while raping her. He was especially brutal with his former neighbor Marta Stevens, raping her repeatedly over a period of weeks, at one point penetrating her with the firing end of his rifle and various other objects. He got Stevens pregnant, and she later escaped the country and settled in New York City, where she married and raised her and Tanzic's son, Nicky.
After the war, he was charged with crimes against humanity, but he fled to the United States under another name, Stephen Green, before he could be prosecuted. He settled in New York City, where he got a job as a cab driver, married, and fathered a son; his family had no knowledge of the crimes he committed in Serbia.
"Payback"[]
One night, one of his victims, Anya Ragova, gets in his cab by coincidence, and recognizes him immediately as the man who raped her and killed her husband and grandson. Ragova tells Stevens, an old friend of hers, and the two of them stalk Tanzic. After learning his routine, they both get into his cab, castrate him, and stab him to death.
While investigating the case, Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit learn about Tanzic's past, and interview Ragova and Stevens, who both deny knowing anything about his death. After investigating further, however, they discover conclusive evidence of their guilt. Ragova commits suicide when they arrive at her restaurant to arrest her, while Stevens confesses and is sentenced to 18 months in a psychiatric facility.
External links[]
- Stefan Tanzic on the Law & Order Wiki
