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Samantha Maroun’s Painful Past Resurfaces on Law & Order During Difficult Case
When a violent murder hit too close to home for Samantha Maroun, the assistant district attorney nearly put her career in jeopardy on Law & Order.
Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun is used to handling some of New York City’s most disturbing crime cases on Law & Order.
But in the Season 24 premiere, Maroun, portrayed by Odelya Halevi, found herself putting her career on the line after the violent murder of a young attorney from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office brought up traumatic memories of her own past.
At nearly every turn, Maroun’s attempts to find justice for Macy Harper, who had been beaten to death and strangled by her wealthy fiancé, were thwarted. Tragically, the difficult case had heartbreaking similarities to the murder of Maroun’s own sister more than a decade earlier, pushing the attorney closer to the edge as she hit one roadblock after another, until she nearly made a decision that could have cost her career.
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What was Law & Order's Season 24 premiere about?
Harper was trying to leave her abusive fiancé when he forced his way into the home they'd once shared, chased her up the stairs and beat her to death.
Her fiancé Bradley Phipps claimed he'd been out that night with a friend, popular conservative journalist Kenneth Lane, and came home to find his fiancée dead on the floor, but detectives began to question his account after learning Harper spent the week before her death at a shelter for abused women.
They also uncovered a disturbing series of videos, including one taken in the hallway of a ritzy hotel, that showed Phipps physically abusing the women he was dating. Each time, however, Phipps paid Lane to track down the damaging video and buy it, keeping it out of the public eye.
When Phipps’ attorney was unable to keep the videos out of the trial, Phipps took his own life.
“Well, that’s it,” Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) said as he and Maroun arrived at the scene. “Got what he deserved, I suppose.”
“No, not even close,” a visibly frustrated Maroun shot back before walking away.
The murder suspect's suicide ended the case against him and it initially appeared that no one would be held accountable for Harper’s death, but Maroun found a way to prove that Lane had been an integral part of the murder.
She suspected the two men went together to Phipps’ home after dinner. That theory was confirmed when the attorneys tracked down a driver who had picked the men up not far from the restaurant they ate at, and drove them to the townhouse. The driver told the attorneys that during the ride, he overheard Phipps saying he was so mad that he could kill his fiancée. He added that both men got out of the car, and that he saw Lane knock on the door, while Phipps crouched down and hid, presumably because he knew Harper would never answer the door if she saw him.
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Prosecutors decided to go after Lane for his role in the murder — but just as the driver was set to testify, he had a sudden change of heart after getting an attorney and refused to take the stand. The prosecutors suspected that Lane had paid off the witness, but without his testimony, the case fell apart and District Attorney Nicholas Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) ordered Price and Maroun to drop the case.
“We just don’t have enough evidence,” he said. “And this one was always a long shot.”
The decision was a devastating blow to Maroun, who couldn’t accept that the case was over. When Baxter explained why the evidence wasn’t strong enough to support charges against Lane, she retorted, “Who the hell cares? He was there. He helped Phipps get inside the house... He deserves to go down."
Maroun stormed off, leaving Baxter stunned.
“What the hell was that?” he asked Price.
“I just think she’s having a hard time with this one,” Price replied.
“I understand, but she needs to learn to control her emotions,” Baxter said.
What happened to Samantha Maroun’s sister?
As Price explained to DA Baxter, it's “not that simple” for Maroun to turn off her emotions in this case, due to a tragic loss in her past.
“Her sister was beaten to death 12 years ago and police never arrested the killer either,” Price told a stunned Baxter.
Nolan Price stops Samantha Maroun from ruining her career
Price left to console Maroun, but she had already left the office, leaving behind an open file with the witness’ address on her desk.
Concerned that she had planned to take matters into her own hands, Price raced off to try to find her and tracked her down just as she was heading across the street to the witness’ home.
“You don’t need to be part of this. Please,” Maroun told him.
Price warned her that if she knocked on the door, she would likely be disbarred.
“I really don’t care,” she shouted. “I’m just so sick of these rich bastards getting away with murder, it’s not ok.”
In a frantic attempt to stop her from ruining her career, Price gently brought up her sister’s murder and the real reason this case had been so difficult for her.
“I get it and I know how painful this must be and I — I know how much you loved her,” he said.
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Samantha Maroun breaks down
“Don’t talk about my sister,” Maroun said, getting even more emotional.
“Please don’t throw away your career. This is not what she would have wanted,” Price pressed.
Maroun finally relented and fell into Price’s arms. He hugged her as she sobbed into his chest.
“It’s ok,” he consoled her as the screen faded to black.
To keep up with the latest drama in Season 24, watch Law & Order on Thursdays at 8/7c p.m. on NBC or stream episodes the next day on Peacock.
