Karina Culver

**Karina Culver** (Aria Pullman) is the hidden plot-twist villainess of the 2020 Lifetime film *Birthmother's Betrayal* (originally titled *A Birthmother's Secret*; airdate June 20, 2020).

## Backstory/Prologue

Karina is the twin sister of Grace Culver (who was also played by Aria in a dual role), with the latter being impregnated 16 years before the film's events by her then-boyfriend Peter Sheppard. The two teenagers were not prepared to become parents, leading to them originally promising Karina—who had been in a accident which left her infertile—that their daughter would be hers to raise.

However, after Karina mentally worsened because of her jealousy, Grace secretly changed her mind and decided that their daughter (who she and Peter named Tara at birth) would instead be adopted by someone else. Enraged at their promise being broken, Karina attacked Peter and accidentally killed him. After that, the film's opening scenes had her sitting in her car, which was parked outside an adoption agency's building. Watching Tara being adopted by Amy Bennett, who was told by Colleen (the agent who handled the adoption) to not contact the birthmother whatsoever, Karina's villainy was immediately established when she followed them, and it also became clear that she wanted to kill Amy with a knife. Before she could, she was pulled over and arrested by the police for Peter's murder.

Other than being convicted and serving her prison sentence, Karina also lived in Costa Rica following her release, only to return to the United States by the time of the film's events. Hellbent on resuming her scheme, she was also determined to exact murderous revenge against Grace for breaking the promise she and her late boyfriend made to her.

## Events

Posing as Grace on a website known as DNAndME, Karina messaged and had video chats with Tara (now a 16-year-old girl), who performed a DNA test at the suggestion of her friend Jenny in order to reunite with her birthmother. Shortly after that, the sinister woman stalked her niece, tracking down her latest swim meet to her high school. While she was there, Karina ran into her former cellmate Rochelle, with the latter wanting to participate in what she thought was a con the former was running. However, their conversation turned into an argument which ended with the villainess using one of her car's doors to knock Rochelle into an oncoming car's path, killing her almost instantly.

She then pretended to be Grace and met her niece, convincing her to continue lying to her adoptive mother along with doing a driving lesson with her. Additionally, after Tara mentioned to Karina how Amy called the agency about who she thought was Grace, she quickly realized that her file would be released to her. Paying a visit to said agency's building, the madwoman demanded said file from Colleen, but when she refused to acquiesce, she fatally bludgeoned her with a crowbar and stole the file. On the next day, Karina continued her conniving ruse and deepened her bond with Tara, buying her bikinis that Amy forbade her from getting. All the while, Amy met Grace and reunited her with her biological daughter as a surprise, remaining unaware of either Karina's existence or her ongoing machinations.

## Introduction/Reveal

Later on, Grace felt lightheaded because of the excessive iron in her body (a genetic trait) and ended up sleeping on the front porch of the Bennett residence. It was on that night when Karina was officially introduced as the real culprit, as she glared at her twin sister while approaching said residence and claimed that she didn't deserve Tara. Stealing a set of keys, the ruthless criminal's reveal was cemented when she granted herself access to the house and drugged Amy's coffee.

The following morning saw Amy crashing her car as she was driving to work and failing a subsequent sobriety test, culminating in her being arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Karina filmed the incident from afar and anonymously uploaded it to social media, with Tara quickly becoming the subject of ridicule from her peers. She was then picked up by her evil aunt, with Amy telling her adopted daughter to stay away from "Grace" before going to the Culver residence and telling the *real* Grace to cease her unapproved time with Tara. This was followed by Amy learning about the Culver sisters' backstory.

Meanwhile, Karina packed a bag for Tara and voiced her intent to return to Costa Rica with her. When the latter didn't agree to do so, the former held up a mirror and tried to convince her that she was more of a mother than her adoptive mother ever was. Even though their blood relation and their physical resemblance were cited, Tara ran off anyway and came across Amy, who informed her of the truth. The female latter and Karina engaged in a tug of war for the teenage girl, with the villainess managing to flee and then knock Grace out while she was feeling lightheaded once again.

## Climax/Second Arrest

In the film's climax, Grace regained consciousness and found herself tied up, with Karina force-feeding her an iron pill and callously lashing out at her for what happened 16 years ago. The latter detailed how she was conspiring to kill Amy and then do the same to her twin sister—all so that she could make herself appear to be "Grace" saving Tara from "Karina," which she firmly thought would make her niece love her as though she was her mother. Her confession was followed by her resuming her impersonation of Grace, inviting Amy and Tara over for both a dinner and a slumber party while calling them. However, after Amy's boyfriend David arrived first and recognized Karina, the deranged lawbreaker struck him over his head with a shovel and moved him to her shed.

Trying to make herself appear to be her twin sister, Karina intentionally tried to run Amy over with her car in a parking garage, which was followed by her picking up Tara from her school and deceitfully stating that her adoptive mother was late. Additionally, Grace untied herself and grabbed a pair of scissors that had been put there earlier by Karina. Initially, the expected ensuing subterfuge went exactly as she intended for it to go, with Tara and Amy fighting Grace due to their belief that she was Karina. During the scuffle between the three, the *actual* Karina armed herself with another pair of scissors and tried to follow through with killing Amy.

In spite of the fact that she was still in a giddy state, Grace managed to tackle her to the floor. Caught, Karina finally exposed her true colors by lambasting her niece for choosing both her adoptive mother and her birth mother over her. During her latest attempt on the two women's lives, Tara knocked the villainess out by hitting her in her face with her shovel. Consequently, David was rescued from the shed, while Karina was handcuffed and arrested for the second time. She tried to profess her love for her niece as she was being led away, only to be met with an angry scowl from Tara, much to her distress. It can be assumed that she was convicted and then given a new prison sentence offscreen.