Mindy O'Dell is the wife of Cyrus O'Dell, who is Dean of Hearst College. Mindy first appears to be a caring and devoted wife, mother, and stepmother. Mindy and Cyrus share no children of their own, but parent Cyrus's adolescent son from a previous marriage and Mindy's younger son by her first husband, Steven Batando).
Biography
In President Evil, the O'Dells hire Keith Mars to locate Batando, in the hopes that his bone marrow would be a match to that of his biological son, who's been diagnosed with leukemia. Keith locates Batando, who refuses to donate his marrow. When Batando later disappears, Keith suspects that the O'Dells kidnapped him and took the donation against his will, but looks the other way.
In Hi, Infidelity, Veronica finds Mindy sharing a hotel room with Hank Landry, her criminology professor at Hearst College, and an employee of Cyrus's.
In Spit & Eggs, Keith puts Mindy under surveillance after Cyrus hired him to find out if she's having an affair. Keith discovers no affair, but Veronica reveals the affair with Landry to her father, Keith, who reveals it to Cyrus. Cyrus confides in Keith, saying that Mindy was too young and too beautiful, and their marriage had been doomed to fail. Mindy is preparing to leave Landry in the Neptune Grand hotel room they shared when Cyrus enters and confronts them both about the affair, brandishing a loaded pistol.
When Cyrus is found shot to death in his office, the insurance company rules his death a suicide, leaving the O'Dell family with no compensation for the loss of income. In Show Me the Monkey, Mindy returns to Keith Mars and hires him to prove that Cyrus was murdered. The Dean's murder is the mystery for the second story arc of season 3. The arc stretched over episodes 10-15.
In Papa's Cabin, Mindy finally gets the insurance money from her husband's murder, buys a boat and leaves town after being questioned by Acting Sheriff Keith Mars. Hank Landry catches up with Mindy on her boat and confesses to accidentally killing her the night before being found.
Appearances
Season 3
- 3x05 President Evil
- 3x06 Hi, Infidelity
- 3x09 Spit & Eggs
- 3x10 Show Me the Monkey
- 3x12 There's Got to be a Morning After Pill
- 3x13 Postgame Mortem
- 3x14 Mars, Bars
- 3x15 Papa's Cabin