Background: Lori Stark was born into a working-class Boston family. Her father, Patrick Stark, was a career cop until his untimely recent death from a heart attack at the age of 46, and her mother, Mary, is a home-maker who has not yet remarried.

Lori is the youngest of five children, and the only girl, but nevertheless wound up being the only one to join the force. Two of her brothers went into the Marines, one became a firefighter, and the other has been in and out of rehab and trouble since he was 16.

She attended college in Boston and earned a double major in psychology and criminal justice; immediately upon her graduation at the age of 21, she followed her fianc� to Pittsburgh, where she joined the police force. The relationship didn�t last, but she liked the city and the job did. After the customary two-year stint in patrol, she applied for a transfer to Vice, received it, stayed there another two years, and, after giving a sterling performance in Vice, was offered a position in Homicide.

It�s not always easy being a rookie detective, especially for the youngest woman in the Division. But Lori loves her job, and has devoted herself exclusively to her work for four years now. Her first major case ended in an arrest, and when all hell broke loose, she was at the State Prison, where the killer is being held for trial.