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Law & Order: SVU Was Inspired By A Real Murder?

By Rita Ryan

Law & Order SVULaw & Order SVU spoilers tease that the long-running crime drama was actually inspired by a real murder. The series debuted in the late 1990s and still going strong, with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) starting as a detective with Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) as her partner, and now sitting in the captain’s seat. Part of Law & Order: SVU’s popularity stems from many viewers’ interest in seeing sexual predators be taken down; hence, the whole title Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, or SVU.

Law & Order: Special Victims’ Unit Spoilers – The Show Has Had Many Storylines Based On Headline Gripping True Crimes

Throughout its twenty-plus years on the air, the show has had many storylines based on headline gripping true crimes. Several episodes have featured criminal figures based on real life criminals such as Jeffrey Epstein, with an episode having Benson’s Special Victims Unit tracking down a New York based millionaire who assaulted a number of young girls. Another, from season fifteen, called “Reasonable Doubt” played out a case SVU had where a television director named Frank Maddox was accused of sex crimes against his adopted daughter – eagle-eyed fans drew parallels to the real life case of Woody Allen’s accusations by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.

Season ten had a show called “Selfish”, based on the Casey Anthony case, “Murder Book” was based on the OJ Simpson case, while “Baby It’s You” was based on the still unsolved murder of Jon-Benét Ramsey. Other SVU episodes were based on high profile real life crimes were “Pattern of Conduct”, “Weeping Willow”, “Blood Brothers”, “Sick”, “Bombshell”, “American Disgrace”, “Funny Valentine”, and in 2018, an SVU episode entitled “Accredo” was based on Keith Raniere’s sex cult, NXIVM.

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But the headline gripping case that the premise of the show was based on, namely sex crimes, was that of Robert Chambers, the “Preppy Murderer” who strangled a young woman after having sex with her, named Jennifer Chambers in Central Park in 1986. Law & Order: SVU has made waves over the years for its openness regarding tough real life crimes and issues and has received 91 award nominations over the years.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Spoilers – The Preppy Murder Was One Of The First Real-Life Cases Dealing With Date Rape

Longtime crime watchers will remember that “The Preppy Murder” as it was called was one of the very first real-life cases dealing with date rape, which in this case ended in the victim’s death. Prior to Jennifer Levin’s death at the hand of her assailant, she and Robert Chambers had been romantically involved. In the late 1980s it was very difficult to prosecute a case of rape where the victim knew her rapist, as well as deaths and assaults stemming from domestic abuse.

Chambers’ defense and excuse that he stuck with all throughout his trial were that they were having “rough sex”, that obviously went very wrong. The high-profile case was very controversial, as the case of OJ Simpson and his abuse and later presumed murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson was about ten years later. It took years for womens’ right advocates, such as Olivia Benson and her team portray, to make headway in the predominantly old-school male culture. The Chambers – Levin case was also portrayed on an episode of the original Law & Order series, which led to the SVU spinoff.

Unfortunately, even though Chambers had a rap sheet even before this incident happened, the court, ruling partially in favor of the assailant, granted Chambers a plea deal, with his being released for the murder in 2003. Jennifer’s parents sued the bar where Chambers had become inebriated prior to the murder and received an undisclosed sum, and later sued Chambers himself, receiving $25 million. Jennifer’s mother became a victims’ rights advocate. However, Chambers’ crimes came back to bite him with an arrest in 2007 for resisting arrest and dealing drugs, and he and his then girlfriend were charged with running a cocaine ring out of their apartment. He returned to prison in 2008 and the earliest he’ll be eligible for parole will be 2024.

Stay tuned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for more compelling drama ripped from the headlines, and keep checking Law & Order Special Victims Unit spoilers for all the latest news, updates and developments.

Rita Ryan

    Rita Ryan has been writing since the age of thirteen, starting with songs and later short plays and articles. In her teenage years she was known as “Rita Lorraine” and tried to get into the country music recording industry in the 1970s and later the gospel music industry in the 1990s. Now, she concentrates her writing on soap opera spoilers specializing in General Hospital, aspires to write a series of family-friendly mysteries in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries style, and the rest of her time is spent being grandma to her three grandchildren and cat mama to Mollie & Missie. She is married to her childhood sweetheart whom she rediscovered after 30 years apart.

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