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Karsten Emerik (pronounced: [kor:shtɛn em:ɛr:itsh]) was the former leader of a brutal militia in the Balkan region, who later absconded to America. His past would catch up to him, however, leading to his murder in Mr. Monk Falls in Love. He is portrayed by an uncredited actor.

Biography[]

Karsten Emerik was a feared Slavic warlord during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990's, earning the nickname "zemenski morderca", roughly translating to "Butcher of Zemenia", for his massacring of innocents. As such, he was an international fugitive, wanted for the war crimes he committed in his home country of Zemenia. He had since settled in San Francisco, living under the alias Drazen Mirko, working as a taxi driver.

One night in 2008, Emerik picked up an elderly woman, Ms. Zlatavich, from the airport, who, unbeknownst to him, was a Zemenian national, having come to visit her daughter Leyla in the United States, her last remaining relative, as her husband and two sons were killed in an attack perpetrated by Emerik's forces in 1993. Though she didn't recognize him at first, his identity was revealed by pure coincidence, when he turned around during a red light. Faced with the man responsible for the deaths of her loved ones, she became overcome by rage, pulled out a needle pin from her hat and repeatedly stabbed him in the neck before hurriedly fleeing the scene. His body was found by an off-duty Randy Disher, mere minutes after the crime, and while initially identified by his assumed name, Monk found out about the cabbie's hidden history after seeing Emerik's wanted poster in a Zemenian restaurant.

In her haste, Ms. Zlatavich forgot both the murder weapon and the present she had brought for her daughter, all of which inadvertently incriminated her instead. When eventually confronted by Monk and Natalie, who serves as a (poor) interpreter, Ms. Zlatavich breaks down in anguish and agrees to turn herself in. Monk says that she'll likely get lenience for the murder and will only have to serve a minimum of 2 years, if not less, due to the circumstances, as well as her cooperation.

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