Detective Elliot Stabler
Warning: Contains spoilers for seasons 6+
Stabler is Irish-American, a devoted Catholic and has four children. He takes his responsibilities as a father very seriously. His protectiveness over his children causes him to sometimes obsess over cases involving children and he admitted in season one that he sometimes fantasises about killing paedophiles. His wife, Kathy, left him in season six, taking their children with her to live with her mother. This had a profound impact on Stabler, causing his anger issues to become more apparent. It was around this time that he revealed his father was sometimes physically abusive towards him when he was a child. His wife returned to him in season eight.
Stabler connects with child victims easily and they respond to his father-like approach. However, this connection can sometimes cause him to get too emotionally involved in cases, such as in episode 6.07 "Charisma", where a cult leader kills multiple children.
While Stabler tends to go by the book, he has been known to use his position. When his eldest child, Maureen, is charged with
DUI, he pulls in a favour to make it go away. However, he did later take her driver's license away from her, realising his mistake.
