Helen Torrance

"Why do I always assume the worst about people?"

Helen Torrance is a main character on Eyewitness. She is a former big-city homicide detective who left her harrowing career to become a small-town sheriff and loving wife. But Helen is thrust back into the traumas of her past when a grisly crime occurs, just as she’s begun her hardest case yet: fostering a teenage boy.

Helen holds a somewhat strained relationship with foster-son Philip Shea in the beginning, believing that he is lying to her at every opportunity. She is especially annoyed when Gabe announces that, without discussing it with her, Philip is welcome to stay at the house long after the foster term is served. However, in the end, the relationship between foster mother and son is greatly strengthened and Helen fully embraces Philip as her son.

Buffalo '07
Helen is seen driving to work as the Sheriff of Tivoli, she is listening an audio tape on how to care for a foster kid. The next morning, Helen is seen paddling on the lake with her husband, Gabe. Once they have finished rowing, Helen heads back to the house to make breakfast for the two of them and their foster child, Philip. However, Helen quickly realizes that Philip isn't at the house and, upon tracking his phone, realizes he is in New York with his drug-abusing mother. The breakfast is interrupted by Bo Waldenbeck, a local farmer, who announces that there are several people dead in his fishing shack. Helen goes to investigate, however, upon arrival, is greeted by FBI agent Kamilah Davis, who informs Helen that the incident is under FBI jurisdiction. However, Helen is adamant that something is not right, and follows up with the investigation back at the Station. After thorough investigation of CCTV, Deputy Michaels finds that one of the victims made a call to none other than FBI agent Davis. The following morning, Helen meets with the FBI agent and informs her that she isn't dropping the case, but would like to help, however, Agent Davies states that she didn't think she was ready after the Buffalo '07 case.

Helen is seen at a storage locker, which contains only one box labeled 'Buffalo '07'. Helen opens the box and pulls out a bottle of pills labeled 'CLONAZEPAM', at that moment, she gets a text from Gabe, asking where she is as she missed Philips meeting with the Principal.

Bella, Bella, Bella
Helen and Gabe are out on the Lake in the Kayak. Helen opens up to Gabe, telling him that the parents of recently-deceased Tommy and Tracy do not believe that their children died of a drug overdose, which is what the official report states. She tells Gabe that they want to meet, to discuss the death.

While following up on a missing persons report on Bella Milonkovic, Helen runs into Agent Davies outside of Platinum Bar. Agent Davies tries to steer Helen away, by telling her that all law enforcement needs to be clear of the area before Bella's father, Mithat Milonkovic, arrives. However, Helen retorts that they need to interview Mithat about his daughter. Agent Davies, however, states that her operation doesn't involve Bella, but they only want to bust the Vescovi for drug dealing, to which Helen shows Kamilah her nephew's pacifier and states that she should ask her sister what happened in the explosion. Helen asks Kamilah to set up a meeting with her boss, to which she agrees if it will get her to leave the scene. Helen finds Mithat, and asks to question him, he quickly agrees after Helen threatens an arrest. Helen enquires to why Mithat lied to her about the whereabouts of his daughter, despite the fact that she was at home with him. He explains that he is a good father and does everything for his daughter and that he is hiding her at home because she keeps secrets from him. Mithat gives Helen a location that she could find Bella, a hookah bar. However, when she checks, she has missed her by an hour. Despite this, Helen finds a letter from Bella addressed to an older man she has been seeing, asking to meet up. Back at the station, Helen encounters a man whom Bella has stolen a wallet from, she asks him not to cancel his credit card, and gives him some petty cash to makeup for Bella's spending.

Helen meets up with Agend Davies, and asks her to trace a credit card. However, Kamilah says she cannot, because everything must be authorised by her boss, Ryan Kane. Helen hands over the pacifier as a sign of good will.

After the meeting with Tommy and Tracy's parents, Gabe meets Helen at the Station and tries to consul her, giving her Lillies. Helen explains that she lied to the parents faces as she knows that the overdose was staged by the Cabin killer.

Helen is waiting for Philip to get back from his school trip, when she is called away by information from Kamilah related to the credit card. She finds Bella hanging from a signpost, in what seems to be a suicide.

Helen and Gabe
Helen met Gabe shortly after the Buffalo '07 case. Helen had gotten a bottle of pills through a forged prescription, written a suicide letter, and planned to kill herself. Helen drove into the closest town, Tivoli, and bought a bottle of Vodka to take with the pills, however, she met Gabe, who made her laugh. The two began dating, and got married somewhere along the way. Although married, Helen had never told Gabe about the Buffalo '07 case, or the storage locker. However, she eventually does.

Helen and Philip
Helen is the foster mother, and presumed, after the death of Philip's mother, adoptive mother. At first, the relationship between the two was strained due to Helen's lack of experience. Helen did not know how to care for a child and listened to audio advice while driving. Although Helen tried to strenghten the relationship between the two, the relationship was strained due to Helen's lack of trust for Philip. Helen often took other peoples word over his, including Lukas Waldenbeck's. Helen also seemed visibaly annoyed when Gabe mentioned that Philip could live with them indefinite. However, she soon came around and welcomed Philip by having him his own set of keys made.

Trivia

 * Helen stole pages from her psych analysis after the Buffalo '07 incident.
 * These pages were presumably kept in her storage locker along with the other Buffalo files.

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