“ | Gotta hand it to you, Dr. Hunt. You just don't give up. Unfortunately, that's also going to get you killed. | „ |
~ Angela Martin's ominous words to Megan Hunt, leading to her reveal as a villainess |
Angela Martin (Lorraine Toussaint) was the hidden main villainess from the third and final season of Body of Proof.
Introduction[]
Angela Martin was the Chief of Police for the Philadelphia PD, and she was introduced as such in her debut episode, "Doubting Tommy." Her role grew in the series finale, "Daddy Issues," which saw Megan Hunt investigate the death of her father, David Hunt, which was ruled as a murder that was committed decades prior. David, a therapist, was originally believed to have committed suicide, but the note left at the scene led to his death being labeled as a murder, as it was determined that the note was written under duress.
Heel Turn[]
The investigation revealed that David's death was connected to the murder of a woman named Lindsay Pratt back in 1977, which was believed to be committed by convicted serial killer Earl Brown. After Arthur Wilcox and Glenn Fitz were murdered in the episode, Megan went to Angela with her findings on the case, leading to Angela riding in the car with her. Megan revealed everything to Angela, who praised Megan for her drive and determination in her quest. However, Angela began turning heel when she ominously informed Megan that her quest would get her killed, and her sinister words were followed by Angela pointing a gun at Megan, cementing Angela's heel turn and reveal as a villainess.
Angela ordered Megan to drive to her father's office, where she boldly revealed her evil actions. As it turned out, Angela was Lindsay Pratt's killer; Lindsay was a perceived romantic rival who dated Angela's former boyfriend, and Angela killed her with a chokehold. After the murder, Angela worked with colleague Arthur Wilcox to frame Earl Brown for the murder, and when David Hunt started asking questions about Lindsay, the evil Angela shot David to death and set it up as a suicide, after which she stole David's body just as he was set to be buried. During Angela's confession, the villainess claimed that she spent 35 years atoning for her crimes, but Megan's investigation led to Angela reverting to her murderous heel persona, as she also killed Wilcox (and mutilated his body afterwards) and Fitz (the latter of whom also had some knowledge of the events) to cover up the truth.
Megan disregarded Angela's claims of atonement by referring to the villainess as a cold-blooded killer, after which Angela referred to Megan as one final loose end and that she would kill her just as she did David: staging her death as a suicide. Before she could, Angela was shot and killed by Trent Marsh.
Personality[]
- Angela Martin was introduced as a woman who was dedicated to her profession, though as revealed in "Daddy Issues," her dedication was an attempt to mask her past as a murderess. Despite her claim that she wanted to atone for her murderous actions from decades past, Angela willingly turned heel and became a murderess once again, doing so to cover up her actions. As a result, Angela went through the Heel-Face Revolving Door; serving as a heel in her backstory and a face throughout Season Three, but turned heel again in the events of "Daddy Issues."
Trivia[]
- Angela Martin was Body of Proof's final villainess.
- Lorraine Toussaint also played vengeful witch La Bruja on The Finder.
- Angela Martin is similar to Dana Lewis, the hidden villainess of a Season 14 episode of Law & Order: SVU. Both were members of law enforcement who committed murder in their past, and in both cases, the murder victim was a romantic rival. In addition, both women used their budding careers in an attempt to "make up" for their evil actions, only to resort to villainous methods years later to cover up their past. One difference is that Dana only attempted to frame a known killer for her crime, while Angela resorted to killing others to hide her murderous role.