The question as to who killed Layla Briggs in “Law & Order: SVU” didn’t take long to figure out, though this is probably due to the overwhelming skill and aplomb of the Special Victims Unit’s detectives. Layla Briggs was a financial analyst at Martin Global Fund Incorporated, and she was found hanging and clad in BDSM gear by her mother. Briggs’ story is told in Episode 9 of Season 1, and the episode is grimly called “Stocks and Bondages.” As the SVU squad unravels the details and clues of the case, the cause and perpetrators of her murder are eventually exposed as not one, but two different individuals that happened to be Briggs’ coworkers and sexual partners.
Revealed to be Frederick Tucker (V. Craig Heidenreich) and Frank Martin (Geoffrey Nauffts), these two people have a long history of sadistic acts, blackmail, and money laundering, though they never intended in actually killing Briggs. Although Tucker and Martin are eventually charged with crimes, if one were to be absolutely technical about who truly killed Briggs, it would be Tucker. The reason why Briggs is killed in “Law & Order: SVU” is a tragic accident that occurs while Tucker, Martin, and Briggs are engaged in group sexual activity, and in the throes of passion, Tucker accidentally asphyxiates Briggs. Despite this, their fear of apprehension lead them to cause another murder in an attempt to obfuscate their actions and make good on a threat.
Due to their fear, Martin kills one of their money laundering accomplices
Both Frederick Tucker and Frank Martin worked alongside Layla Briggs at Martin Global Fund Incorporated, and besides their dalliances, Tucker and Martin were also part of a vast money laundering scheme involving diamonds and embezzled money. In addition, there are other women that Tucker and Martin have abused in the past, which begins to paint a powerful image of who the SVU detectives are dealing with. However, as Tucker and Martin grow concerned that the SVU team are getting close to figuring out their illicit activities and involvement in Briggs’ death, they make the decision to kill David Kelp (Christopher McCann), who is the boyfriend of Angela Torres (Lourdes Benedicto) as both Angela and Kelp are connected to the diamond scheme.
Kelp was important to Martin and Tucker because Kelp ran a charity program involving diamonds, and he was an integral part of the conspiracy — this means that both Angela and Kelp were very much aware of what Tucker and Martin were up to. The motivation for this crime is that Martin believes that Angela, who goes by Sho Ling-Fu, has turned on them and blown the cover on their scam even though she hasn’t when she is spotted talking to the SVU detectives.
However, Kelp’s death causes Angela to offer testimony for a plea deal, and after some fine detective work and interrogation, both Tucker and Martin are found guilty of their crimes, which include not only the death of Briggs but Kelp as well. The two are sentenced to death.
