Catherine Jensen

Catherine Jensen is a Pittsburgh police detective who tracks down murderers and relentlessly seeks the truth behind the disappearance of her brother.

Catherine Reese Jensen was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of eight, her father, Henry Jensen, passed away. Three years later, her mother, Janine, remarried to Howard Burgess, a family court judge. Catherine grew up in the Shadyside neighborhood of the East End area of Pittsburgh. When she was fifteen years old, her twelve year old brother, David, disappeared. After graduating from the Winchester Thurston School, Catherine went on to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Penn summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology. Catherine then returned to Pittsburgh and applied to join the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

After completing the entire application process, she went on to the Pittsburgh Police Academy. Upon graduating from the Police Academy, Catherine was assigned as a patrol officer to the Zone 4 Police Station on 5858 Northumberland Street. She demonstrated exceptional skill as a police officer. As a result, Catherine was recommended for promotion to a detective position by her superior officer just four years into her career with the Pittsburgh Police. Upon receiving the police merit board's approval of her appointment, she was assigned as a detective to the Homicide Squad of the Major Crimes Division. In that capacity, Catherine investigates all 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 she has garnered a reputation for overstepping her boundaries, she is known for her unrelenting pursuit to solve gruesome murders. Again and again Catherine has displayed a deep psychological understanding that connected her to a killer's victims and to a killer him or herself, driving her to pursue each case to the end of the line. She'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. Catherine's 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, she can also be a thorn in his side for her lack of following protocol and "do whatever it takes" attitude.

Catherine brings a deeply personal gift to the job, having been a victim of her dark past. Motivated by her past, including the disappearance of her brother and the suspicion that her stepfather is a serial killer, 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 and her personal investigation into her stepfather. 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

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