Frances Goren was the mother of Bobby and Frank Goren. She spent much of her adult life suffering from schizophrenia, and this would inspire Bobby to become an expert in criminal psychology. She died from cancer in 2006, just after revealing to Bobby that his father had been Mark Ford Brady, who later became a serial rapist and murderer.
Biography[]
In her youth, Frances Goren was a relatively happy, vibrant woman, but as she reached adulthood, she seemed to be plagued by bad fortunes. Her husband was a horrible gambler and womanizer, but she hoped he would settle down when Frank was born in 1958. When this failed to make Mr. Goren change his ways, she began having an affair with a navy officer, Mark Ford Brady. She has said that the affair began around the time that John F. Kennedy was elected. (CI: "Endgame")
On August 20th, 1961, Frances gave birth to Robert, the result of her tryst with Brady. For four years afterward, Brady (or "Uncle Mark", as Frank knew him) would visit Frances whenever her husband was away, always bringing little gifts for young Bobby, though as an adult, Bobby had no memory of these visits.
Eventually, things grew sour between Frances and Brady, and on one terrible night in 1965, he savagely beat and raped her, though for years, she would claim they'd merely been in a car crash. "Uncle" Mark never visited her again, and went on to pursue a career as a serial murderer and rapist that lasted for over a decade. After this traumatic event, she spent several days with her mother. Frances was never the same after that.
Around 1968, when Bobby was just seven years old, Frances began exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia. In 1972, Mr. Goren walked out on her, and this time, he never came back. Abandoned by her husband, Frances only grew more mentally ill, and this was very hard for her sons to deal with. Frank began to follow in his father's footsteps, drinking and gambling himself into the gutter, while Bobby devoted himself to his studies, trying to become better than his parents, and eventually ended up in the Criminal Investigation Division of the US Army. Soon Frances found herself alone with her madness, and would remain in this state for several years. Occasionally, Frank would visit, seeking money for his habits, and Frances mistook these visits for affection.
Eventually, Bobby returned home, becoming a police officer. He'd found a new father figure during his time in the army, criminal profiler Dr. Declan Gage, who'd helped him to find peace with his family. He put his mother in the Carmel Ridge, calling her up every day and visiting her at least once a week. For a long time, Frances misconstrued Bobby's tending to her care as overcompensation for his long absence overseas, but they grew very close.
It would seem the only true constant in Frances' life was misfortune; sometime around 2005, Frances developed lymphoma. (CI: "Siren Call") She underwent major surgery in an attempt to treat it, but her health grew worse and she hated all the treatments that were supposed to keep the cancer at bay. (CI: "The War at Home")
After a year of chemotherapy, Frances chose to terminate her treatments and return to Carmel Ridge. Around that time, Bobby was investigating the unreported rapes and murders committed by Mark Ford Brady, and learned that Frances may have been one of Brady's earliest victims. When he questioned her about it, she grew very upset, vividly flashing back to the rape and starting to cry while trying to avoid a direct answer; she died not long after, and the thought that he may have contributed to her death was one of several factors that drove Bobby into his "William Brady" days.
In "D.A.W.", Bobby suggests that his mother had prearranged and prepaid for her own cremation to save money. It can be asserted that Goren followed through with his mother's wishes.