Raina Press (Kate Vernon) is the main villainess from "Turn of the Screws," the antepenultimate episode of CSI's fourth season (airdate May 6, 2004). She is a waitress and the divorced mother of 13-year-old Tessa Press, who was found dead. Raina presented herself to Catherine Willows as a caring and grieving mother following the discovery of Tessa's body, though as revealed later on, her grieving covered up her callous personality. Raina had harbored twisted jealousy of Tessa, as she had repeatedly accused Tessa of attempting to steal her boyfriend, Justin Mack, from her. She gave Tessa a bus pass to use to head to school, doing so to keep Tessa away from Justin.
However, Raina spotted Tessa arriving home in Justin's truck; a sight that drove Raina mad with fury. After Tessa exited Justin's truck, the evil Raina snarled at her daughter, once again accusing Tessa of seducing Justin. The villainess continued her rant just as Tessa's back was turned, and it was at that moment that Raina picked up Justin's shovel and killed Tessa with a single blow to her head. After the murder, Raina took Tessa's body and drove to a secluded area, where she dumped her deceased daughter near train tracks.
As part of Raina's villainous ruse, she falsely claimed that Tessa was sleeping over at a friend's house, which is why she didn't report her missing. Raina's reveal began when Warrick discovered that a substance known as ZooDoo (a mix of fertilizer from different animals) was on Tessa's wound, with the substance being connected to Justin's landscape business. After searching Justin's truck, the shovel was found, and Raina's prints confirmed her as the killer. With her lawyer present, Raina coldly admitted to killing her daughter, and made rambling accusations that Tessa was stealing Justin from her. Raina's callousness continued when she stated that Justin, not Tessa, was the best thing in her life, and after this, she was arrested (off-screen) for her daughter's murder.
Trivia[]
- Kate Vernon returned to CSI five seasons later as the evil Dr. Penelope Russell, and also appeared on Bones as the villainous Rowan.
- Kate Vernon previously appeared as psychotic villainess Kaye in Bloodknot.
- Raina Press shares similarities with another CSI villainess: Carla Dantini. Both were single mothers who cruelly believed that their children (daughters in both cases) stood in the way of their relationships, and resorted to murder to get them out of the way. While Carla only saw her daughter as an obstacle, Raina delusionally saw her daughter as a romantic rival.
Quotes[]
- "I bought Tessa a bus pass, and that little slut still gets my guy to pick her up after school?" (Raina's cruel rant about her daughter, Tessa)
- "We all know why. (Catherine: "Why don't you tell us?") She was trying to steal him from me!" (Raina's delusional accusation)
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