“ I head up an International Police Task Force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, otherwise known as L.” |
Lind L. Tailor (リンド=L=テイラー, Rindo Eru Teirā) is a convicted criminal sentenced to die. He is used as bait by L to determine Kira's location.
Appearance
Tailor is a pale man with long black hair that reaches past his jaw. In his television appearance, he wears a suit and tie. In the video game, he is less pale.
Plot
L places Tailor on television as a decoy. The network states that the broadcast is worldwide and that Tailor's statements (made in English) are being translated into Japanese by Yoshio Anderson.
After Tailor introduces himself as L, he declares that Kira is evil and he will be caught and his crimes exposed. Light, enraged by his ideologies being challenged, writes Tailor's name in the Death Note, and he dies of a heart attack on live TV.
Light writes Lind L. Tailor's name in the Death Note
Lind L. Tailor's death
The broadcast of Tailor is suddenly cut, and L's signature letter 'L' appears. Using a voice synthesizer, the real L announces that Lind L. Tailor was a stand-in and a criminal on death row, sentenced to die that day. He explains that Tailor's information was never made available to the public, so there was no way Kira could have killed him until now, before boldly challenging Kira to try to kill him. After several seconds pass, L confirms that Kira needs a person's real name and face to kill them, otherwise Kira would have already killed him. L announces that the broadcast, instead of being televised worldwide, aired only in the Kanto region of Japan as a ploy to determine Kira's location. There is no longer a need to continue broadcasting, as Kira's location has been found.
In other media
Live-action film
The main difference in Tailor in the film is his backstory. Tailor is a Caucasian man native to New Jersey. He was arrested in Texas in 1999 as a suspect in a sexual assault and murder, and in 2005 he was declared guilty and faced a death sentence.
Television drama
Tailor is a middle-aged Caucasian man with a British accent. He is laughing villainously when the 40 seconds expire and he dies of a heart attack.
Trivia
- Though not unveiled in the anime or manga, Tailor's crimes are revealed in the live-action films.