Grace Rinato (Law & Order: SVU)

Grace Rinato (Mary Steenburgen) is the main villainess of "Denial", episode 3.21 of Law & Order: SVU (airdate May 3, 2002). She is the daughter of Rose Rinato and also the mother of Claire, Lisa, and Anthony Rinato.
== Backstory ==
Grace harbored longtime resentment towards her mother, believing her to be responsible for her father abandoning their family. Later on, she became a short-tempered and abusive mother, which led her to kill Anthony by smothering him with a blanket when she became frustrated with his crying. Wanting to protect both Grace and her own reputation, Rose helped her daughter cover up her cold act by suggesting that they place his corpse in a crib and wait to call for help. Furthermore, Lisa's weeping prompted Grace to murder her as well, and she did so by viciously stomping on her multiple times. After Claire learned about her mother's second homicidal deed, the ruthless villainess threatened to kill her as well if she told anyone about her evil secrets. She then disposed of Lisa's body by storing it in a trunk and then placing it in her bedroom's closet.
== Events of "Denial" ==
13 years later, when Claire (who had become a heroin addict in order to remember what Lisa looked like) was found raped and with one of her dead sister's fingers in her purse, SVU Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler went to talk to her mother. Grace's gradual reveal as a villainess began when she reacted with cruel indifference to her daughter's sexual assault, saying that she should be blamed for her predicament since she was using drugs before the crime took place. After finding out that the finger belonged to someone related to Claire, Benson and Stabler interrogated her, where she revealed that her mother killed Lisa.
When confronted by the two detectives, though, Grace denied the (true) accusation and claimed not to have had another daughter. She eventually allowed them to search her house, but only after she got back from work. The suspicious detectives (including Odafin Tutuola) began watching Grace's residence due to their belief that she was planning to dispose of evidence—which she attempted to do by putting Lisa's bones into a trash bag and then placing the bag into a dumpster. As Grace was arrested, the malicious sociopath blamed Claire for killing Lisa, and when Olivia and Elliot questioned her again, she claimed that she had hidden her corpse to protect her.
Although she initially defended both her daughter and her granddaughter, Rose eventually came forward and confessed to Grace's murderous past while speaking to her in prison with the detectives present, not wanting harm to come to Claire. During their conversation, the uncaring and sadistic criminal cemented her official villainous reveal, doing so by bitterly breaking down and accusing her mother of both not loving her as much as she loved her granddaughter and driving her father away. Furthermore, Grace went into detail about how Rose had helped her cover up Anthony's demise, saying that she only did so to protect herself. As the latter left the room (after which she calmly allowed Stabler to handcuff and arrest her), the former's attorney was refused a deal from ADA Alexandra Cabot, who planned to make sure that the villainess received the maximum sentencing for her crimes.
Category:2000s
Category:Bondage Used On Villainess
Category:Brunette
Category:Callous
Category:Child Murderer
Category:Conspirator
Category:Deceiver
Category:Family Murderer
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Makeshift Weapon
Category:Mother
Category:Murderer
Category:Murder: Bludgeoning
Category:Murder: Suffocation
Category:Prison Uniform
Category:Sociopath
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Would Hurt a Child
Category:Fate: Arrested