| “ | He really was gonna leave her! I went to get his things, she wasn't supposed to be there, and I flew into a rage, and it just happened! It just happened... | „ |
| ~ Susan's confession to killing Emily Cutler. |
Susan Delzio is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Bedtime". She is a former NYPD officer who murdered her love rival and framed it on a serial killer.
She was portrayed by Jaclyn Smith.
Biography[]
While working as a patrol cop, Susan was repeatedly called to domestic disturbances involving wealthy mattress salesman Cal Cutler, his wife Emily, and various women Cal had affairs with. She herself eventually began having an affair with Cal, who promised her he would leave Emily for her like he had with the others. As the affair progressed, Cal began to fall in love with Susan and genuinely began planning to leave Emily and start a new life with her.
One night, Susan went to Cal's house to gather his things and ran into Emily, who Cal had told her wouldn't be there. She became enraged and killed Emily on the spur of the moment before posing her body on the bed and carving an X into her face in order to make her look like the victim of an unidentified serial killer known as the Bedtime Butcher. Susan told Cal what she had done, but he forgave her and the two of them began planning to fake Cal's death so they could begin a new life together without being suspected of the murder.
Eight months after Emily's murder, Susan was assigned to drive a convict named James Rodgers after he was released from jail. She drove him to a rendezvous with Cal, where they placed him inside Cal's car and set it on fire with Rodgers inside in order to make it look like Cal died in a drunk driving accident. However, the fire failed to burn properly and Cal went back to throw more gasoline onto it, at which point the blaze flared up and immolated Cal. He survived, but was permanently disfigured and spent the next thirty years living in Susan's apartment. Susan meanwhile was decorated repeatedly for her service before eventually retiring from the NYPD.
"Bedtime"[]
Thirty years later, Ned Bogden, the real Bedtime Butcher, is arrested after killing another woman. He is soon identified as the killer, but he is able to provide an alibi for Emily Cutler's murder. Evidence from Emily's murder is tested for DNA, revealing that hairs belonging to another woman were found on her body, and the Special Victims Unit realize that the killer is female.
Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson interview Susan after discovering that she was the one who responded to all of Emily's domestic disturbance calls, not suspecting that she is the real killer. Susan keeps them from discovering Cal by claiming her apartment is being remodelled and tells them more about the domestic disturbance. She identifies three - Jenny Coswold, Claire Lockton, and Rita Wills - as especially unstable, with Rita in particular having assaulted both her and Emily. Susan tells Benson and Stabler that she suspects Rita of the murder; Rita's blood is later found on Emily's mattress from where she had her period while having sex with Cal, leading her to be arrested.
While Rita is in custody, Benson and Stabler begin to suspect her of killing Cal and arrange for his body to be exhumed for autopsy. However, the autopsy reveals that the body is not Cal, but James Rodgers, who was last heard of being released from jail on the day of Cal's supposed death. Benson and Stabler discover that Susan was the one who checked Rodgers out of custody and realize that she is the killer and helped Cal to fake his death.
Benson interviews Susan about the murder, accusing her of having an affair with Cal and convincing him he was about to be arrested for killing Emily so he would fake his death and she could have him all to herself. Susan denies everything until Stabler goes to search her apartment and finds Cal, who realizes they are caught and tells him everything. Stabler arrests Cal and brings him into the room where Susan is being interviewed, at which point she breaks down and tearfully admits to killing Emily and Rodgers. Susan is then arrested by Benson and is last seen being led down to the cells while screaming to Cal that she loves him.
Trivia[]
- Susan is primarily inspired by Stephanie Lazarus, a former cop guilty of the murder of Sherri Rasmussen, the wife of a man she had an affair with.
