Aretha Green was the daughter of Cora Green, who went missing on 9/11.
History[]
Her grandfather Coleman Green started sexually abusing her at a young age, something witnessed by his other granddaughter Nina. By the time she was 13, Green ended up impregnating Aretha and panicked after realizing that his crimes would be exposed. He tried to have her get an abortion but Aretha wanted to tell her mother causing Green to become upset and violently shake her to talk some sense into her. However, Aretha ended up hitting her head on the tub and died and a panicked Green dumped her body in the lake at a park. The morning of September 11, 2001, NYPD officers begin a grid search near the Harlem Meer in Central Park for 13-year-old Aretha Green, who had been reported missing 14 hours earlier. However, the search is halted after the officers are called to respond to what would become the events of 9/11.
In the present day, NYPD recovers the skeletal remains of a young female in the Harlem Meer after a kid searching for coins fished out human finger bones. Christian Garland, who worked as a patrol officer on Aretha's case, learns of the remains found in the Meer and contacts Olivia Benson, believing the remains may belong to her. The remains are sent to the coroner's office to gather a DNA profile. At the coroner's office, SVU learns that a fetal skeleton was also recovered, meaning that the victim was pregnant at the time of her death. The remains are later confirmed to be Aretha's, after testing their DNA against Aretha's baby teeth, provided by her mother Cora.
Eventually, SVU discovered from Nina that Aretha confided in her of the abuse and discovered through a DNA test of the fetus that Green was the father of the baby but not the biological father of Cora nor the biological grandfather of Aretha and Nina. After bringing him in, Green admitted the murder was an accident but tried to justify the rape was beautiful because they weren't blood, leading to him being sentenced to life in prison. Cora cut ties with Green and reconciled with Nina, planning to honor Aretha and give her a proper burial.