Catherine Jensen (Reimagined)

Catherine Jensen is a Pittsburgh homicide detective who tracks down serial criminals.

Catherine Reese Jensen was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of eight, her father, David Jensen, passed away. Three years later, her mother, Janine remarried to Howard Burgess, a city judge. Catherine grew up in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh's East End. After graduating from the Winchester Thurston School, she went on to the University of Pittsburgh.

Catherine graduated from Pitt summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice. She then applied to join the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. After completing the entire application process, Catherine went on to the Pittsburgh Police Academy. Upon graduating from the Police Academy, she was assigned as a patrol officer to the Zone 2 Police Station on 2000 Center Avenue.

Catherine demonstrated exceptional skill as a police officer. As a result, she was recommended for promotion to a detective position by her superior officer four years into her career with the Pittsburgh Police. Upon the police merit board's approval of her appointment, Catherine was assigned as a detective to the Homicide Squad of the Major Crimes Division. In that capacity, she investigated homicides, suspicious or unnatural deaths, aggravated assaults where the victim may die, police involved shootings or critical incidents, kidnappings, drug overdoses, suicides, and fatal accidents.

Although Catherine garnered a reputation for overstepping her boundaries, she became well-regarded for her natural profiency in the field of criminal investigative analysis. In her unrelenting pursuit to solve gruesome murders, again and again she displayed a deep psychological understanding that connected her to a killer's victims and to a killer him or herelf, driving her to pursue each case to the end of the line.

Because of her impressive record in criminal profiling, after only three years as a homicide detective, Catherine was assigned to the newly-established Serial Crime Task Force by the Pittsburgh Police Chief. With city-wide jurisdiction, this small but elite team is authorized to investigate any repetitive violent crimes in Pittsburgh that appear to have been committed by the same perpetrator.

Catherine's an intelligent, fearless, strong, determined, woman whose work is her life, professional yet with an air of sadness, or possibly anger, that drives her. A woman of enormous empathy towards murder victims, for whom they are never just a body or a name. Fast becoming a favorite of her superior, Commander Frank Bisgaard, for her courage, intuition and dedication, Catherine can also be a thorn in his side for her lack of following protocol and "do whatever it takes" attitude.

She often finds herself emotionally connected to the victims she's investigating. Catherine has enlisted the help of Dr. Thomas Schaeffer, a forensic psychologist who has a tumultuous relationship with the Pittsburgh Police, to provide insight into her cases. He too finds himself deeply connected to each case, but often through the criminal, which proves to be a hazardous undertaking. The pair shares a skewed sense of judgment that often puts them, and sometimes even their families, at risk. As these two captivating yet flawed characters come together, their bond often rescues them from their individual demons but may be the source of more harmful tribulations.

Note

 * A version of this character appeared on the American television series Those Who Kill, which was based on the Danish television series Den som dræber.