Phillip Stroh

Phillip Stroh
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Vital statistics
Name	Phillip Stroh
Profession	Defense attorney, specializing in sex crimes
Gender	Male
Notability	Serial rapist/serial killer
Played by	Billy Burke
First appearance	“Power of Attorney”
Latest appearance	“By Any Means, Part 4”

Phillip Stroh is a defense attorney and serial rapist/killer during The Closer and Major Crimes.

Stroh acted as a major recurring antagonist for Brenda Leigh Johnson and the Major Crimes Division until his death in “By Any Means, Part 4”.

History[]

Not much has been revealed about Stroh personally besides the fact that he was a skilled defense attorney. He specialized in defending accused sex offenders, arguing that because they are labeled as such for the rest of their lives if found guilty they deserve the best possible defense.

Among his clients was Chris Dunlap, whom he defended twice for sex crimes against children and who was desperate for money to obey his mother's wishes and "fix his face". In 2008, Stroh became a serial rapist himself, having Dunlap, who worked at a delivery company, use his job to find victims for him, paying him $1500 per victim. Though Dunlap wasn't happy about it, he felt obliged to help him to repay him for keeping him out of prison. Over six months spanning from 2008 through February of 2009, Stroh performed six increasingly violent rapes.

On his attempted seventh rape, the victim, Jessica Goodall, fought back too much and eventually he was forced to kill her before he could rape her and flee, leaving his partner behind. When his partner was captured Stroh marched to his side and used this as an opportunity to look at all the evidence they had on him. While going through the evidence he discovered one of his victims, Lauren Clark, could I.D. him and went to visit her to contaminate her memory. Afterward, he had Chris claim he was the serial rapist they wanted and the Major Crimes Division believed they had him, until his conversation with Lauren was revealed when she went to pick him out of a lineup and he walked away.

After this, Brenda started stalking him everyday to try and catch him while he was taking a break from his life of crime for awhile. He eventually started up again without Brenda's knowledge because this time he killed his victims and buried them where no one would look. But eventually he decided to join Peter Goldman's lawsuit against her which forced her bosses to have her back off.

He was later suspected of another rape-murder when a woman named Gweneth Adler turns up dead in a hotel room. The room is registered to a man named George Harris, a man arrested for rape twelve months prior, though the DA declined to prosecute him because the victim went missing. Further investigation shows that both women drank at a bar called Stella's before the rapes.

It was later discovered that Stroh defended him against these charges and was suspected to be George's partner-in-crime. They eventually found the other woman George was accused of raping named Natalie Gilbert and try to get her to identify Stroh as George's partner. But things do not go exactly as planned as Natalie instead identifies Charlie, the bartender at Stella's. With that Stroh convinces his client to testify against his partner in exchange for a deal in George's favor.

One of his clients was Wade Weller, a rapist and serial killer whom he helped when Weller got spooked by the investigation into a crime he had committed. Stroh gave Weller advice and told him he'd call in the favor one day.

Stroh continued raping and murdering women. He tried to kill Rusty Beck, who witnessed him dumping a body. Rusty's report rekindled Brenda's vendetta against Stroh. Stroh eventually tried to kill both Rusty and Brenda in her home while Fritz happened to be away. Brenda shot Stroh and arrested him for two counts of attempted murder. Since he used the same MO to break into her house he is currently on trial for the rape-murders he committed.

During his time in prison he met a man named Florentino Reyes charged with rape and offered him a deal: find inmates in the infirmary about to leave to pass along a message to an accomplice named Wade Weller on the outside and Stroh would draft his legal motions expertly for free. Through this he started communicating with Weller who has him send threatening letters to Rusty and when the messages were delivered Stroh had him kill the channels so there couldn't be any direct link to him.

After about a few months when Rusty didn't back off Stroh sent another message to Weller stating that he start writing letters to Captain Sharon Raydor in addition to Rusty. Finally after they both stood firm in the case, Stroh decided to give Weller a new objective: kill either Rusty or Sharon. At the same time, Stroh offered his knowledge about Weller to the LAPD in exchange for a deal, but they turned it down. In order to fulfill Stroh's orders, Weller started communicating with Rusty under the guise of being part of his security team and killed someone in Sharon's building to prepare for the kill. Weller lured Rusty into the victim's apartment which Weller had commandeered, and tried to kill him but Rusty managed to dodge just in time as Sharon arrived to rescue him. Sharon and Weller exchanged gunfire but Weller escaped. While Rusty was testifying against Stroh, the Major Crimes division tracked down and killed Weller who was also a serial killer. Afterward, Stroh was put in solitary until they could decide what to do with him.

In “Leap of Faith”, Stroh fires his attorney, Linda Rothman, and decides to represent himself. He then begins trying to work out a plea bargain to get the death penalty taken off the table in exchange for him telling them about crimes his clients have committed. He has to check with another attorney first about privilege before he does this and Rusty has to make an Impact Statement.

In “Special Master Part One” and “Special Master Part Two”, Stroh begins going over his previous cases with a judge before suddenly predicting a murder. Stroh offers information to stop further killings, but demands a new deal which includes meeting with Rusty. During the meeting, Stroh claims that he and Rusty changed each other's destinies. After getting the terms of the deal fulfilled, Stroh murders the judge and escapes, leaving the message "find Jesus of Nazareth" and an arrow on the wall. He later makes it seem like he's buying a rifle to draw the police away and successfully escapes the city. Sharon Raydor believes that the true deal Stroh is giving them is the chance to catch the killer, who they call Burning Man in exchange for him having a chance to escape. Raydor eventually realizes he was tracking the killer through astrology. DDA Rios is able to identify the killer as Markos Christakis, a man Stroh had defended as a juvenile for disfigurement charges. With the help of an astrologer, they locate and capture Christakis who tells them the advice Stroh gave him on escaping which includes being prepared in advance and leaving no witnesses.

In “A Rose Is a Rose” there have been sightings of him in Cyprus and Crete and the LAPD believe that he has fled the country though Raydor kept a secret protective detail on Rusty for awhile.

In “Heart Failure”, Fritz Howard brings Sharon a report from Pennsylvania that Stroh may have returned to the United States. Fritz tells Sharon that the connection is thin, but felt she deserved to know.

In “Intersection”, Sharon shares a report with Andy Flynn that three people connected to Stroh's past have all mysteriously died. Sharon is now worried that Stroh is indeed back and may be planning to seek revenge on Rusty.

In “Sanctuary City, Part 1”, one of Stroh's step-mothers is found dead, making at least five people connected to Stroh who have turned up dead. Despite no sign of Stroh himself, protection is ordered for Brenda, Emma Rios, Rusty and possibly Linda Rothman. Sharon is forced to tell Rusty about Stroh's possible return and he decides to become "more proficient" in protecting himself in case Stroh has returned rather than letting Stroh ruin his life again. In “Sanctuary City, Part 2” Rusty begins seeking a permit to carry a concealed gun in case Stroh comes after him and creates a map board in his room of Stroh's possible victims.

In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 3”, Rusty brings Sharon a possible sighting of Stroh in Palm Springs, but it is unconfirmed. Sharon suggests that to figure out the reason for Stroh's return, they must first figure out why he came to LA in the first place as Stroh had no reason to set up a law practice there.

In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”, Stroh, now sporting a beard, is confirmed to have returned. He is shown to have visited the restaurant where Rusty's ex-boyfriend Gus works and engaged in conversation with an oblivious Gus about Rusty in the guise of a patron. As a result, Stroh learns of Sharon Raydor's collapse and states that he might see Gus again "before I go," suggesting that Stroh will target Gus.

In “By Any Means, Part 1”, “By Any Means, Part 2”, and “By Any Means, Part 3”, the victims Stroh has left in his wake during his journey in the U.S. are fully revealed. These include: Gordon Ducrest, Stroh's sixth-grade science teacher whom Stroh burned as a child with sulfuric acid. He was found electrocuted on the side of his house about a year ago; Lynn Porter, Stroh's former high school girlfriend. She was a former lifeguard from Ohio who drowned in her own pool. Her parents state that Lynn and Stroh broke up when they were sixteen but they don't remember much about him aside from being "odd"; Clyde Fowler, Stroh's former law school professor from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Supposedly shot himself a month after Lynn's death despite showing no signs of depression and leaving no note; Elizabeth Dunn, lived in Colorado and died in an apparent one car accident. Dunn was identified by Rusty Beck as the sister of Mary Wellington, Stroh's first victim; and Carolyn Sayles, Stroh's first step-mother, who purportedly fell off a hiking trail in Arizona.

During these episodes, the earliest victims of Stroh were also revealed, these being: Mary Wellington, disappeared in Chagrin Falls, Ohio in 1985 and was never found. According to Gwendolyn Stroh, Phillip's mother, Mary was murdered and raped by Phillip Stroh. She is suspected to be Stroh's first victim. Her body was buried in the foundations of a house by Gwendolyn and Phillip. Her body was later located by the Chagrin Falls Police Department due to information obtained from Gwendolyn Stroh. Mary is the sister of Elizabeth Dunn, one of Stroh's current victims; Emily West, went missing in August of 1992 and never found. Claimed by Gwendolyn Stroh to be one of Stroh's victims while he was in law school; Donna Anderson, went missing in November of 1992 and never found. Claimed by Gwendolyn Stroh to be one of Stroh's victims while he was in law school.

At the beginning of “By Any Means, Part 1”, Stroh drowned DDA Emma Rios, the prosecutor in his case, in her own pool despite her security detail in order to lure the LAPD into finding a forged medical record in Emma's computer which falsely suggested Stroh had Stage 4 terminal lung cancer. The Major Crimes Division began investigating the drowning as a murder even though Assistant Chief Leo Mason wasn't convinced they were dealing with one, but Lt. Provenza was able to convince him otherwise.

During Stroh's escape journey in Europe, more specifically in Cyprus, he helped Dylan Baxter, a 24-year-old British student and brilliant computer hacker, to escape statutory rape charges of a 15-year-old girl. In return, Stroh took Dylan with him to the U.S. and had him eventually hack into the cell phones of Major Crimes Division's detectives and their murder room SmartBoard in order to spy on the LAPD.

It was revealed that Stroh came back to the U.S. to find his mother, Gwendolyn Stroh, after her accounts in Cyprus were closed by her step-son, Hunt Sanford, thus cutting off Phillip's money. One of the reasons Stroh wanted to spy on the LAPD was to use them to find his mother who had changed her name and social security number and Dylan was unable to find her. To push the LAPD in the right direction in finding his mother, Phillip murdered Jim Bechtal, Phillip's former stepfather and ex-husband of Gwendolyn.

Eventually, Gwendolyn was located by Dylan, and later by the LAPD, and it became clear that Gwendolyn has dementia. That was the reason her accounts in Cyprus were closed by Hunt Sanford because she couldn't explain who was using the money.

Stroh was eventually able to locate Hunt Stanford's therapist, whom he murdered in order to get close to Hunt. When Hunt came to his therapy session, he found his doctor murdered and Phillip waiting for him. Stroh and Dylan had him transfer $15 million from Gwendolyn's accounts into a BitCoin wallet, which was supposed to be Stroh's but was changed by Dylan at the last second to his own, robbing Phillip of his money. When the money was transferred, Phillip murdered Hunt in the therapist's office. Before he left, he took a red marker pen and wrote something on the office wall, as he had done in Judge Schafer's office. The message was "Rusty is next."

Despite Stroh's threatening message, Rusty came to believe that Stroh was after something else. Having discovered Dylan's double-cross, Stroh kidnapped Dylan's girlfriend Ella to force Dylan into transferring the money into Stroh's own BitCoin wallet. Dylan did so and Stroh left before Major Crimes arrived and killed Dylan. Stroh warned the squad that they had the choice of chasing him or saving Ella before taking off in the young woman's car.

After Dylan's dead man's timer ran out, his dossier on Stroh was sent to the LAPD and the FBI. Following information in Dylan's files, the majority of the LAPD converged on the airport where Stroh was supposedly flying out on a chartered flight. However, Rusty remained suspicious of Stroh's actions and the fact that Tammy Bechtal wasn't answering her phone. On Rusty's insistence, Provenza, Buzz Watson, Rusty and Gus checked out Tammy's home and found Tammy murdered. Spotting a picture of Jim Bechtal's yacht, the Ms. Bechtel, Provenza realized that Stroh was on the yacht and planning to use it to escape and headed out to confront Stroh alone.

As Stroh prepared a sandwich, he heard footsteps on the yacht and realized he'd been found. Stroh armed himself with his knife in favor of his gun and hid until Provenza passed by. Stroh attempted to catch Provenza in a trap by calling Provenza's cell phone, but Provenza anticipated the trick and was able to get the drop on Stroh. Dropping his knife, Stroh surrendered and challenged Provenza to shoot him, knowing Provenza would not shoot an unarmed man. Reluctantly, Provenza conceded and tossed Stroh a pair of handcuffs. As Stroh bent down to take the handcuffs, Rusty suddenly entered and shot Stroh three times in the chest. As Stroh stared at Rusty in shock, Rusty shot Stroh twice more, killing him.

After confirming that Stroh was dead, Provenza discovered that Stroh had, in fact, a hidden gun in his boot and had likely been going for it. Thus, Stroh's death was not a murder. Rather than reveal Rusty's actions, Provenza decided to take credit for killing Stroh although both Fritz Howard and Julio Sanchez appeared to realize the truth. While investigated by FID for the shooting, it was quickly determined that Stroh's death was justified and Provenza was cleared. Fritz said that Brenda Leigh Johnson was having a hard time taking in the fact that Stroh was gone. After checking with the pilot of the plane that Stroh had chartered, it was discovered that Stroh had paid in advance and it was realized that all along his escape plan was the Ms. Bechtel while the airport was just another of Stroh's distractions.

Modus Operandi[]

Stroh targeted blonde, attractive women in their 20s who lived alone and found them with Dunlap's help. While making deliveries to them in the course of his work, Dunlap would use the bathrooms and unlock their bathroom windows. A few days later, Stroh and Dunlap would break in together through the same window at night and Stroh, wearing a mask to hide his face and a condom to avoid leaving behind DNA, would then rape them. During his later attacks, he was more brutal, even tying a victim to a bedpost and beating her. His initial series of rapes ended with him more or less by accident fatally smothering a victim with a pillow to muffle her screams before he could rape her. Eventually he got so violent that after his seventh victim he started killing his victims in addition to raping them. After Dunlap was arrested, he started approaching his victims pretending to be a photographer. After he was done raping them he would strangle them with a chain and bury their bodies at a separate location.

After being arrested, Stroh began using his former clients to try to get away with his crimes. In the case of Wade Weller, Stroh used a man named Florentino Reyes who had been charged with rape and was defending himself on the charges. Passing motions through library books, Stroh eventually had Reyes start passing messages through prisoners who are about to be released to Weller while making sure to never be seen with Reyes. To prove he'd gotten the messages, Stroh had the prisoners killed so there would be no witnesses and dumped in locations where Stroh would see it on the news so he'd know. When Weller started to fail, Stroh tried to use the opportunity to get himself a deal by passing on information. Later, he offered to open his old cases to stop future crimes and when the serial killer known as Burning Man began striking again, Stroh used the opportunity to back the police into a corner and make a deal with him, then take the chance to escape while the police focused on catching Burning Man.

Known Victims[]

The series of attacks committed when Stroh was an adolescent and in law school
- Gordon Ducrest (his sixth-grade science teacher, splashed with sulfuric acid, his first known victim of any kind)
- Mary Wellington (killed by Stroh when he was 16, his first rape and murder victim)
- Emily West (disappeared in August of 1992 when Stroh was in law school, claimed by Gwendolyn Stroh to have been murdered by him, body never recovered)
- Donna Anderson (disappeared in November of 1992 when Stroh was in law school, claimed by Gwendolyn Stroh to have been murdered by him, body never recovered)

The first series of attacks (committed with Dunlap as his accomplice; all raped except Jessica)
- Alexa Smart
- Monica Hill
- Vanessa Davis
- Kim Stansbury
- Rebecca Howl
- Lauren Clark (tied to a bedpost and beaten as well as raped)
- Jessica Goodall (fatally suffocated with a pillow)

The second series of attacks (committed alone; all raped and fatally strangled with a chain)
- Tracey Cook
- Anna Sills
- Becky Stanley
- Mary Claire Smith
- Karen Oncidi

Rusty Beck (attempted twice, not including getting Wade Weller to nearly murder Rusty)
Brenda Leigh Johnson (attempted)
Judge Stephen Schaeffer (suffocated with a compressed air duster)
Gary Roberts (an Uber driver; body dumped in the Salton Sea)
A bank employee in Cyprus who managed his mother’s bank account

The series of attacks committed by Stroh upon his return
- Gordon Ducrest (Stroh's sixth-grade science teacher; electrocuted)
- Lynn Porter (Stroh's high-school girlfriend; drowned)
- Clyde Fowler (Stroh's ex-professor; shot)
- Elizabeth Dunn (sister of Mary Wellington; ostensibly killed in a one car accident)
- Carolyn Sayles (Stroh's step-mother; fell to her death)
- Emma Rios (drowned in her pool)
- Jim Bechtal (stabbed five times in the abdomen)
- Doctor Daniel Perez (stabbed multiple times in the abdomen)
- Hunt Sanford (stabbed in the abdomen)
- Ella Stewart (kidnapped and hung up, rescued by Major Crimes)
- Tammy Bechtal (stabbed to death)

Victims by Proxy[]

The following were stabbed twice in the chest and once in the neck by Wade Weller on Stroh's orders

Keith Mapleton
Russell Jackson
Jesus Mario Chavez
Gregory Boone

Stroh's Clients[]

Markos Christakis (defended for disfigurement and mayhem)
Wade Weller (defended for child abduction)
Chris Dunlap (defended for indecent exposure and child molestation)
George Harris (defended for rape and murder)
Florentino Reyes (defended in secret for rape)
Dylan Baxter (helped escape charges in Cyprus, possibly through bribery)

Stroh's Accomplices[]

Gwendolyn Stroh (his mother; helped hide Mary Wellington's body, paid off his victims and provided him with money for an escape)
Chris Dunlap (his accomplice in the first series of attacks)
Florentino Reyes (his unwitting accomplice in passing Wade Weller information)
Wade Weller (his proxy in his attempts to silence Rusty Beck's testimony)
Markos Christakis (his accomplice in his escape from prison)
Dylan Baxter (his hacker accomplice after returning to LA)

Appearances[]

The Closer[]

Season Four[]

“Power of Attorney”

Season Five[]

“Elysian Fields” (Flashback only)

Season Seven[]

“Hostile Witness”
“The Last Word”

Major Crimes[]

Season Three[]

“Special Master Part One”
“Special Master Part Two”

Season Six[]

Trivia[]

Stroh's primary inspiration is Ted Bundy, a white-collar serial killer and rapist of women and girls with a significant inflammatory manipulative influence over civilians and the legal system, and responsible for two prison escapes with more rapes and murders during each spree.