Claire Rinato is a 29-year-old drug addict battered and terrorized by her mother Grace Rinato, who murdered Claire's two siblings, as well as a rape victim of Arthur Felton.
History[]
Claire grew up in an abusive household, with her mother Grace beating her and her toddler sister Lisa regularly, especially after their father abandoned the family. Grace was especially provoked when Claire or her siblings cried, which led to their half-brother Anthony being killed before Claire and Lisa were even born. Thus, Claire was careful to keep Lisa from crying.
When Claire was 15, she came home from school late one day to witness Grace stomping Lisa to death. Grace called it an "accident", but Claire and Grace's mother Rose knew she was lying. Nevertheless, Grace hid Lisa's corpse in a trunk in the closet, and Rose, having known the truth about Anthony's death, quickly took Claire into her home and raised her with affection.
Despite her grandmother's efforts, Claire never recovered from her trauma and also was losing memories of Lisa, resulting in her spiral into drug addiction. Rose supported leniency for Claire by the system and bailed her out from her charges of substance possession and resisting arrest. Everything comes to the attention of the SVU when Claire goes to a party her date never shows up to. Arthur Felton drugs her on opiates and repeatedly rapes her. Felton escapes when the party hosts catch the rape happening, and Claire is rushed to the hospital.
She's suspected of Lisa's murder when Lisa's rotted finger is found in her purse, Claire having kept it as a memento to keep her sister close. After Felton is swiftly arrested, Claire is interrogated on Lisa's finger and reveals Grace's crimes. A search warrant reveals nothing, but the detectives stake out Grace's apartment and see her throwing Lisa's bones in the dumpster. They arrest her while Grace screams it was all Claire's fault.
Odafin Tutuola develops a personal sympathy for Claire and hopes to help her through her problems. Going by a tough love approach, he tells her the facts of her spiral and insists she get help. Claire overdoses in a motel room during the investigation, but Fin rescues her in time by calling the medics and waking her up in a shower. Trying to accuse her of wanting pity, he then asks her if she killed Lisa. Claire again reiterates the truth, but she weakly admits she blames herself since she was responsible for taking care of Lisa.
Judge Lena Petrovsky orders Claire's arrest as an accessory during Grace's arraignment, and despite Cabot's protests to the point where she's locked in a cell for contempt, Claire is taken into custody. However, Rose finally comes forward and confronts Grace, who confesses to both murders and argues with her mother on who's the bigger man-hater. Grace and even Rose are both charged, with Claire being released. Fin offers her a rehab service by giving her a brochure and gifts her a forensically-recreated photo of Lisa so she can remember her sister. Claire gives him a hug in gratitude. (SVU: "Denial")