Tara Janssen (Susie Abromeit) is the main villainess from "Double Fault," episode 13.12 of CSI (airdate January 23, 2013). She is a famed tennis player and a friend/rival of fellow player Claudia Weber, who defeated her in an important match in the beginning of the episode.
Tara shook hands with Claudia after the match, but as revealed later on, she whispered a shocking admission to Claudia: she was having an affair with Claudia's husband/coach, Ivan Cafferty. Tara and Ivan's affair began a year prior to the episode's events, with the adulterous tennis star having full knowledge of the problems between Ivan and Claudia. Late one night, Tara watched and eavesdropped while Ivan and Claudia were arguing, as she expected Ivan to tell Claudia that he was filing for divorce. Instead, Ivan told Claudia that he loved her and wanted to work on their marriage, with Claudia agreeing.
Seeing the couple embrace each other enraged Tara, and after Ivan left, Tara turned heel by bludgeoning Claudia with a tennis racket, which she later snapped in half and plunged one end into Claudia's neck, killing her instantly. After the murder, the evil Tara dumped her former friend's body in the ball machine, where she was found in the early scenes of the episode. Tara was suspected of Claudia's murder when her DNA was found on Claudia's racket (the murder weapon), but during her interview, Tara stated that they shared rackets while working as partners. and acted as a supportive and grieving friend to mask her heel persona, even while a video of Tara arguing with a side judge was played to her as evidence of her anger problems.
The episode's progression featured a revelation that Claudia was adopted and that her birth parents were killed by her older brother, Brent Abbotts, who was a huge suspect in Claudia's murder. However, not only was Brent innocent, he revealed that he spotted Tara at the scene while he was trying to approach his sister, and that and further evidence ended up revealing Tara as Claudia's killer. During her interrogation by D.B. Russell and Jim Brass, the video of Tara revealing her affair was played, and it was after this that Tara confessed to the affair and to killing Claudia; accusing Claudia of taking everything from her on that fateful evening. Tara was later arrested (off-screen) for killing Claudia.
Trivia[]
- Susie Abromeit later played evil adulteress Dahlia Deering on Devious Maids, and appeared as the Queen Dominator on Legends of Tomorrow.
Quotes[]
- "I loved him. He was going to ask Claudia for a divorce. That's why he went over there that night. But instead he told her that he still loved her and that he wanted to work on their marriage. Claudia agreed to give him a second chance. She didn't even love him. She just didn't want me to have him. (Brass: "That's enough to set anybody off, especially someone with a temper like yours.") She took everything from me that night. She took the match and she took Ivan. I hated her for that." (Tara Janssen expressing her love for Ivan and her bitterness towards Claudia)
- "I killed her and I stuffed her body in the ball machine. Me and Ivan, we were good together. We were. She just should have walked away." (Tara confessing to killing Claudia)
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