The villainous Erin Russ
Erin Russ (Lauren Ward) is the hidden villainess of "Futility", episode 4.22 of Law & Order: SVU (airdate April 25, 2003). She was the attorney and illicit lover of Michael Gardner. When Michael was arrested for a string of rapes, he called Erin to defend him, who adamantly believed in Michael's innocence even when victim Carrie Huitt identifies him as her assailant. She served as his standby counsel when Michael took over his own defense in an attempt to intimidate his victims.
When Michael suddenly disappeared and a woman was found murdered and raped in the same fashion as Michael's surviving victims, Erin still refused to believe Michael's guilt when presented all the evidence by the SVU detectives. But as the squad began to learn about Erin's secret relationship with Michael, Erin discovered the knife Michael used to kill his latest victim in her car (which she often let Michael use). She confronted Michael and, when he denied his crimes, Erin flew into a rage and stabbed him to death. The detectives arrived soon after this and Erin calmly surrendered, revealing how she had discovered Michael's depraved secret. When Benson told Erin that her murder was in self-defense, Erin agreed that it would be......if Michael had attacked her, revealing that he hadn't. It can inferred that Erin was arrested.