Deirdre Lovejoy

The city anxiously anticipates the arrival of Heather Taffet, more notoriously known as “The Gravedigger,” for her final appeal after being sentenced to death for a kidnap-murder and a series of similar coldblooded crimes. But when a bullet targeted at The Gravedigger is fired from a distance and hits her, the Jeffersonian team is tasked to piece together the sniper’s precise location as well as identify the suspect and his motives. With the help of probing investigator Caroline Julian (guest star Patricia Belcher), Booth and Brennan put together a list of likely suspects, but the evidence and the remarkable skill needed to pull off the crime leads the team to believe that the crime was an inside, professional job, leaving Brennan’s father Max (guest star Ryan O’Neal) and even Booth as plausible suspects. Meanwhile, Sweets attempts to put on a brave face after being caught in the firestorm just moments following a chilly encounter with The Gravedigger.

When Brennan, Hodgins and author Thomas Vega are summoned by a Federal Judge along with the United States Attorney regarding the ongoing investigation of the Grave Digger, they learn that evidence from the case has recently gone missing. With Brennan and Hodgins having been victims of the Grave Digger and Thomas Vegas currently writing a book about it, they become prime suspects in the missing evidence case. However, when Brennan and the team receive a phone call from the Grave Digger informing them that Booth has been buried alive with only 24 hours worth of oxygen, the Grave Digger threatens to leave him to die unless Brennan brings the missing evidence. The team immediately goes to Booth's apartment to assess the crime scene, knowing from Sweets' psychological assessment of the Grave Digger that they cannot tell the authorities about the situation or else the Grave Digger will retaliate against Booth. As Booth struggles to free himself from confinement, the team joins forces to locate him with precious time ticking away.

The BAU hits the road to track down a pair of young lovers on an interstate murder spree. Also, Prentiss hears frightening news from her former boss at Interpol.

An old murder case of a teenage girl is reopened, when Detective Lake (Adam Beach) is caught in a gunfight and wounded by the case's former investigator, Detective Mary Kralik (guest star Eva Kaminsky). The shooting leaves Kralik dead, and Lake's uncooperative answers lead to confusion in the squad room. The case intensifies when Lake escapes from the hospital, and takes hostage the original case's only witness, Celina Cruz (guest star Victoria Cartagena). The SVU squad is left to revisit the original murder case, as Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) search for Lake and his hostage. Also starring: Dann Florek, Ice-T, Diane Neal, Tamara Tunie, Richard Belzer, and BD Wong.

The trial of The Gravedigger hits close to home for members of the team, and everyone at the Jeffersonian must work overtime to uncover the forensic evidence to elicit a conviction.