Whatever you do, don’t be a character on a police procedural network drama. You’ll either end up being the victim, the culprit, or you’re one of the regular characters — which means you’ll be put through the ringer as your plotlines get ever darker, week in, week out for seasons on end.
Prime example? The tragic tale of Nadia Decotis from Chicago P.D. Debuting in only the fourth ever episode of the second show in the One Chicago universe, Nadia (as played by Stella Maeve) was an underage prostitute and drug addict who Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) was determined to help get clean. Taken under Lindsay’s wing, Nadia landed a job at the CPD Intelligence Unit as an administrative assistant, becoming part of the extended team. After a sporadic recurring role in season 1, Nadia was practically a regular part of the cast in season 2.
That is until one of the show’s most dramatic events in its long run took the character away from us in a truly devastating fashion.
How did Nadia die in Chicago P.D.?
In season 2, episode 20, “The Number of Rats,” convicted serial killer Gregory Yates broke out of jail and, wanting to get revenge on Lindsay for putting him away, he decided to punish someone she cared about. Abducting Nadia, he escaped to New York, which put him in the crosshairs of the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. Yes, this whole storyline played out across a major crossover between Chicago P.D. and Law & Order: SVU. The arc continued in SVU‘s season 16, episode 20, “Daydream Believer.”
Tragically, however, even the combined forces of Lindsay and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) couldn’t save Nadia, and the detectives found her body too late, after she had been brutally raped, tortured, and murdered by Yates. In classic Law & Order style, Yates’ trial played out over further episodes of SVU, in which the arrogant yet intelligent killer decided to represent himself in court. However, this proved to be his undoing when his sick delight in the details of Nadia’s death became obvious to the jury and he was convicted.
Nadia’s death stands as one of the most heartbreaking in One Chicago history, as she had worked so hard to turn her life around. As well as working at the precinct, she was also studying criminology and hoped to become a police officer herself one day. Her dream was achieved, in a sense, as she was posthumously recruited as an officer for the CPD. What’s more, a memorial plaque was erected in her honor outside of the precinct.
Who knows how long Stella Maeve could’ve lasted on the show if the writers hadn’t decided to kill Nadia off to fuel Lindsay’s storyline, which saw her descend into alcoholism and depression following her protege’s death. Honestly, that may have contributed to Bush’s decision to leave the series in season 4, after admitting that starring in the show had become a “miserable” experience.