The villainous Lauren Ridgeway
Lauren Ridgeway (Catherine Hicks) is the main villainess from "Guardian Angel," episode 1.14 of Diagnosis Murder, (airdate April 1, 1994). She was the wife of L.A. mayor George Ridgeway, and at a gathering, she briefly encountered Mark Sloan before stating that she had to leave due to a migraine.
Later that night, however, Lauren broke into an apartment owned by Benjamin Strand, who despises the mayor, and took two things: Strand's handgun and a small statue. On her way out, Lauren accidentally ran over a homeless man, but drives away from the scene. Back home, Lauren called Strand and posed as a reporter (based on a letter written to Strand); telling him to meet him at a parking garage. At the garage, Lauren confronted George and shot him to death, and later placed a gun and a note on his body before fleeing the scene.
At the episode's end, Mark confronted Lauren and gave a summation of her machinations, with a photo of Strand shown with the statue used as proof that she broke in to Strand's apartment. Lauren revealed that her daughter, Melissa, made it for her for her birthday, and later gave another shocking revelation: Melissa was sexually assaulted by George, her stepfather, driving Lauren into a rage and leading to her killing her husband. Lauren is walked to her front door by Mark, and is later arrested for killing her husband.
Trivia[]
- Catherine Hicks later played hidden villainess Hazel Burroughs in 2016's Honeymoon From Hell.