Tanya Kingston (1969-1977) was the girl from Athena's hometown who went missing. Her disappearance inspired Athena to become a police officer.
History[]
Tanya lived in the same neighborhood as Athena in Belleville, Florida. She was a year younger than Athena.
One night in 1977, Tanya's sister Joanne sneaked out of the house, and Tanya quickly followed, both slipping out through their bedroom window. Joanne went to a bonfire party, where she is embarrassed to find Tanya followed her, something witnessed by Franklin Junior and another friend who were amused especially by the argument until an agreement was made between them. A while later, Tanya started to leave the party, per the agreement with Joanne. She was noticed by Junior who offered her a ride home as it was late at night. Sometime later, Tanya and Junior talked about her sister, but when Junior started to make sexual advances on her Tanya felt uncomfortable and ran away into the orange grove, screaming for her sister. Not wanting to be exposed as a predator, Junior followed her and once he caught up, he dragged her and then killed her. Junior called his father, and the latter guilted him into helping him. Reggie Sr. buried the body beneath the Carter home, where he was doing renovations.
Legacy[]
Tanya's disappearance caused a neighborhood search to be launched but they only found one of her hair barrettes in the groves, where she had been dragged. This event profoundly affected her family and her parents died of grief over the years, while her guilty sister became a recluse. Joanne never altered the room, in the hope Tanya would come back. Athena also swore to find Tanya and became a cop in time. Athena frequently brought up Tanya, as her motivation for the job.
45 years later, Tanya's body was discovered buried under the Carter home after Samuel Carter drove through the house and Athena immediately knew it was Tanya. The investigation was reopened, and eyes directed at Samuel. However, Junior later abducted Joanne with the intention of killing and framing her for the murder. It was here that Joanne realized her supposed friend was the true killer, but Joanne was saved by Bobby Nash After chasing him through the groves, Athena personally avenged Tanya by arresting Junior.
Reggie Sr. was brought in and attempted to justify his role of hiding Tanya, by defending his boy until he was shown a box of shoes. It was revealed that Tanya's murder triggered Junior, who went onto kill at least six more girls over the decades. Horrified, Reggie Sr. stated his son told him it was an accident but realizes it was a lie. Athena informed Joanne who was shocked there were more victims. Joanne thanked her Athena for finally bringing justice to her family by solving the case.[1]
Appearances[]
| Season Six | |||||
| "Let the Games Begin" | "Crash & Learn" | "The Devil You Know*" | "Animal Instincts" | "Home Invasion" | "Tomorrow" |
| "Cursed" | "What's Your Fantasy?" | "Red Flag" | "In a Flash" | "In Another Life" | "Recovery" |
| "Mixed Feelings" | "Performance Anxiety" | "Death and Taxes" | "Lost & Found" | "Love Is in the Air" | "Pay It Forward" |
Note:
* denotes flashback only appearance.