<P> Executive producer and head writer Neal Baer has said that an unaddressed sexual tension exists between Cabot and Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Baer said, "We read the fan sites . We know that people are into the Alex - Olivia thing . All the codes are in there ." When asked in a 2009 press call if Cabot and Benson were in love, March said, "I'm not saying we're not...I'm not saying we're not in love ." </P> <P> After three seasons, Cabot made her departure from SVU in the season - five episode "Loss", in which she is prosecuting a rapist named Rafael Zapata Gaviria, who worked for the notorious drug lord Cesar Velez . Zapata had brutally raped and murdered an undercover NYPD officer who was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Cabot receives a threat on her life, as well as that of her mother . Despite warnings from the rest of the SVU squad, Cabot continues to prosecute the case, unwilling to let Zapata scare her . Timothy Donovan, a key witness and DEA special agent, is murdered in a car bombing right before Cabot's eyes . Cabot initially wants to try Zapata, even with no witness and her own life on the line, but after pressuring from the SVU detectives and District Attorney Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson), she drops the charges . However, Zapata is immediately arrested by federal agents for the witness's murder and is subsequently killed in his cell . </P> <P> At the conclusion of the episode, Cabot is apparently killed in a drive - by shooting while saying goodnight to Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). In the following scene, a cold, quiet SVU squad room is shown with Stabler reading a newspaper proclaiming her death . Benson and Stabler are called to a deserted area by federal agents, where Cabot emerges from the car . She tells the stunned detectives that she had insisted on telling them the truth before disappearing into the Witness Protection Program . She is replaced in the following episode by ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal). </P> <P> In the season - six episode "Ghost", events surrounding the arrest of Liam Connors, the assassin who shot her, led to Cabot's return from the Witness Protection Program as Connors is arrested for her murder while being pursued for several others and an attempted murder of a young boy who witnessed one of his crimes . She reveals that the assumed identity she was given was an insurance salesperson originally from Tulsa, that she was living and working in Wisconsin under the name "Emily", and that she missed her mother's funeral in New York due to what happened . She is reluctant to see him convicted of a murder he did not commit (he does not know she is alive, either), but still wants justice and testifies against him in court . Connors goes to prison, having been found guilty under two counts of attempted murder (Cabot and an eight - year - old boy), plus five counts of murder . Upon winning the case, the SVU squad goes to Novak's office to celebrate, awaiting Cabot to join them . She does not show up, as the federal agent informs them that she has moved under a new identity and she asked him to say goodbye . </P>

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