Ellen Wolf is a character in season three on the show DEXTER. She worked as a defense attorney and was Miguel Prado's main rival. Ellen knew that Miguel would often bend the rules to put innocent people in prison, while Miguel believed people like Ellen were at the root of problem that guilty people went free.
Description
Personality
Ellen sometimes came across as an arrogant and unpleasant person. Despite the respect she earned from her reputation as a skilled defense attorney, there is no evidence that she had friends other than Maria LaGuerta, a person she developed a good relationship with. The fact that Miguel believed that her murder would be blamed on "one of her scumbag clients" suggests that generally they did not like her, either.
Ellen had no problem with making her strong dislike of her rival Miguel perfectly clear. When Dexter met her for the first time, she (despite his politeness) casually threatened his credibility. While smirking, she claimed that she could convince the jury that Dexter had planted the forensic evidence against her client and declared that he "looked like the type." Clearly offended, Dexter thought to himself, "Do I see sheets of plastic in your future?" ("Easy as Pie")
Ellen did, however, have a kinder side, and showed it when she was alone with her friend, Maria. They first became friends when Maria provided evidence that proved that a client of Ellen's was innocent. From that moment, as much as Maria disagreed with Ellen's warnings about Miguel. for the most part, Ellen and Maria enjoyed each other's company. The two were so close that when Ellen was murdered, while everyone else was sympathetic but not terribly upset, Maria was devastated and broke down in tears. Upon realizing that Miguel was Ellen's murderer, Maria was determined to find evidence against Miguel and bring him to justice, which caused him to attempt to kill her, too.
Miguel viewed Ellen as a completely selfish person who cared only for the money she earned from her job and was willing to let murderers walk free and endanger the public. He did not think of her as an "innocent" person and reacted angrily when Dexter referred to her as this in a conversation regarding her murder. However, the fact that she betrayed Albert Chung, a client of hers who was unquestionably guilty of the murders he had been accused of, suggested that Miguel's assessment of Ellen was incorrect. She may have believed that her other clients (the ones she did not betray) were innocent but, regardless, she proclaimed that everyone deserved a fair trial, and that she would even defend Miguel.
Summary
Ellen is first seen outside a courtroom after her client Chicky Hines was sentenced, although Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta had brought Miguel proof that Hines was innocent. LaGuerta goes to Wolf's house and brings her the evidence, proving Hines' innocence. This led to them to becoming friends, although LaGuerta initially can't accept Wolf's negative attitude towards Miguel. Later, she found reason to believe Ellen's accusation that Miguel engaged in illegal tactics - missing evidence, witness intimidation, and jury tampering.
After a man named Albert Chung kills a young college valedictorian Miguel tells Dexter Morgan that he was Wolf's client and she had set him free, when he pushed an old lady down the stairs, killing her. Miguel thinks that Dexter should kill her, but Dexter is reluctant . Later, Wolf shows up at LaGuerta's office to discuss Chung's surrender terms and gets in a heated argument with Miguel, in the presence of Dexter and Maria. However, Wolf decides to betray her client and with her help, the police arrest Chung. After Miguel learns of this, he then admits to Dexter that he was right about not killing Ellen Wolf.
Later, Wolf goes with LaGuerta to a police convention. After that, they visit a bar where she flirts with the bartender Toby Edwards. That night when Wolf is at home she is visited by Miguel, who kills her and buries her body in cemetery. The next day when LaGuerta can't seem to find her, Dexter becomes suspicious, goes to her house and eventually understands what Miguel has done. Dexter then goes to the cemetery and digs her body up to teach Miguel a lesson, but also removes any potential evidence of the killers' identity.