History Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS7E7Name

"Only took 30 years to do it."\\

--Millie and Stabler

* ThatOneCase: The boy in the box case was this for Millie's father; Stabler refers to it as his "bottom drawer case". She took over after he died, hoping she could finally bring some closure to this case that consumed her father's life.

* AbsenteeActor: Creator/MariskaHargitay (Olivia Benson) does not appear in this episode.

In interrogation, Novak offers the terminally ill Kerrick a deal: she'll go easy on him if he tells them the name of the Boy in the Box, or anything else he knows that might help them identify him. But Kerrick claims he doesn't remember, and refuses to budge from that claim. The episode ends with Millie and Stabler standing at the grave of the still-nameless Boy in the Box. Millie admits to Stabler that she resented the boy because her father seemed to pay more attention to the case than to her. Stabler tells her it's understandable.

* BittersweetEnding: The killer is found and arrested, but he refuses to provide any information about the Boy in the Box, so while they've solved the boy's murder, they're no closer to identifying him. What's more, the killer is already virtually on his deathbed, so [[KarmaHoudini he'll likely serve only a few months of his sentence before he dies]]. The only true bright spot is that Anna and Carlos are finally reunited after they each thought that Sawyer had killed the other.

* AdultFear: Your child disappears and you never hear from them again, and it's thirty years before you even know what happened.
** One scene references a black-market baby operation, where a nurse was kidnapping babies from a hospital to sell for adoption. She was caught, but not all the babies were able to be recovered and returned to their parents.

* BittersweetEnding: The killer is found and arrested, but he refuses to provide any information about the Boy in the Box, so while they've solved the boy's murder, they're no closer to identifying him. What's more, the killer is already virtually on his deathbed, so [[KarmaHoudini he'll likely serve only a few months of his sentence before he dies]].

Back in the squad room, the detectives run down this new lead. There was a real Robert Sawyer, but Stabler deduces that he probably died in 1968 and their suspect stole his identity. They had run Sawyer's prints, but those belonged to the real Sawyer and not their suspect. However, their suspect was fingerprinted when he was first interviewed in the 1978 case, so Millie runs those prints. Cut to a scene of Stabler and an ESU team raiding the home of one Sheldon Kerrick, who is clearly the same man as "Robert Sawyer". They appear to have found him just in time, finding him on his bed, hooked up to a respirator, and clearly having difficulty breathing.

* ThatOneCase: The boy in the box case was this for Millie's father; Stabler refers to it as his "bottom drawer case". She took over after he died, clearly having come to view the boy in the box as a surrogate brother.

* ThatOneCase: The boy in the box case was this for Millie's father. She took over after he died.

Back in the squad room, the detectives run down this new lead. There was a real Robert Sawyer, but Stabler deduces that he probably died in 1968 and their suspect stole his identity. They had run Sawyer's prints, but those belonged to the real Sawyer and not their suspect. However, their suspect was fingerprinted when he was first interviewed in the 1978 case, so Millie runs those prints. Cut to a scene of Stabler and an ESU team raiding the home of one Sheldon Kerrick, who is clearly the same man as "Robert Sawyer".

In interrogation, Novak offers a terminally ill Kerrick a deal: she'll go easy on him if he tells them the name of the Boy in the Box, or anything else he knows that might help them identify him. But Kerrick claims he doesn't remember, and refuses to budge from that claim. The episode ends with Millie and Stabler standing at the grave of the still-nameless Boy in the Box. Millie admits to Stabler that she resented the boy because her father seemed to pay more attention to the case than to her. Stabler tells her it's understandable.

Initially, they focus in solely on the 1978 case, but then Stabler unexpectedly notices a connection: the box from the Boy in the Box case was from a water heater, and the primary suspect in the 1978 case was a plumber. The suspect, Robert Sawyer, has an alibi, but Stabler is skeptical because the alibi witness, Carlos Guzman, was employed by Sawyer at the time. He goes to talk to Carlos while Millie goes over the Boy in the Box evidence. Carlos sticks to his story, but Stabler is pretty sure he's lying.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: "Robert Sawyer" is a stolen identity. It's never confirmed what happened to the real Robert Sawyer, but given that there's been no activity on his SSN in 25 years and only the identity thief's activity for 12 years before that, it's probably safe to say he's dead; detectives conclude that he was likely dead when the fake Sawyer began using his identity.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: "Robert Sawyer" is a stolen identity. It's never confirmed what happened to the real Robert Sawyer, but given the lack of activity on his SSN, it's probably safe to say he's dead.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: "Robert Sawyer" is a stolen identity. It's never confirmed what happened to the real Robert Sawyer, but given the lack of activity on his SSN, it's safe to say he's dead.