Tara Price

Template:CSI character Dr. Tara Price is a fictional character on the television show CSI: Miami. She is portrayed by American actress Megalyn Echikunwoke.

Character's background

Tara first appeared in the second episode of season 7, Won't Get Fueled Again, as the replacement for murdered coroner Shannon Higgins (the original replacement for the departed Alexx Woods, who appeared only in the season 6 finale). Tara's first job was to examine the body of a burnt man on a beach. Eric later met her in the lab and thought she was cute, which he discussed with Horatio.

She became part of the main opening cast credits in the season 7 episode Bombshell (705).

In the episode Cheating Death (707), Eric and Ryan switched out the body of a victim for a fake dummy, and attach it to a wire. When Tara walked in, Eric lift the body up through a remote in the observation deck. Tara, not seeing Eric, thinks the body is moving on its own and freaks out. She yells at Eric when he reveals the prank, and later snaps at Ryan when she takes their crime scene photos to recreate the body's original position to determine the weapon used. Calleigh helps Tara recreate the body position, and reassures her that it's not personal, that they just like to play a prank on the newbie. She informs Tara of when Ryan was new and Calleigh and Eric sent him to his first autopsy, only to find a severed head.

In Divorce Party (717) Tara joined the team to investigate a homicide where the victim was hung from a gazebo. While working the crime scene, the architecture collapsed, resulting in Tara injuring her shoulder. Later that day, Horatio convinced Tara to hire his son, Kyle, as an intern in the morgue to protect him from the erratic behavior of his mother, Julia Winston. A bottle of oxycodone subsequently went missing from a car accident victim. Julia was instantly accused of stealing them, even by Kyle, as she is seen visiting him on his first day. At the end of the episode, Tara was seen putting the pills into her pocket. In a later episode, Kyle witnesses her popping a pill into her mouth while examining a body- he confronts her about it and she defensively replies, "I don't have to explain myself to you, Kyle." In Collateral Damage when a homemade grenade goes off in autopsy, she frantically tries to pick up the pills (which fell out of her pocket during the blast). Ryan notices this, and he suspects she's hooked. He tells her to "kick it" because he "won't be able to cover for her next time."

However, she wasn't able to "kick it". In Dissolved (724) Wolfe catches her pocketing pills again and again he urges her to come forward. She refused and Ryan reminds her what would happen if he caught her again. After more false assurances by her, Wolfe calls and tells Horatio about her problem. Horatio and Ryan get a search warrant for her workplace locker, where they discover a bag of pill bottles containing multiple prescriptions for oxycodone stolen from morgue intake. Ryan goes to the morgue and he matches the prescription names to the corpse's tags. Dr. Price sees him do this and their eyes lock. Before either of them could say anything, Julia Winston, suffering a psychotic break, fires a shot and demands her son come with her. Later, after the shooting is resolved with no casualties, Ryan tells Dr. Price in the autopsy room that they are wanted by Internal Affairs, supposedly to get their depostions after the shooting in the morgue by an off-her-medication Winston. However, both know (but it is unstated by either) that it is in reference to Dr. Price directly. As she leaves the morgue, she turns and looks back into the room, knowing she will never be back. Meeting with IAB Sgt. Rick Stetler, she is told what they know, including the framing of Julia Winston which precipitated the chain of events that lead to the shooting by her. Dr. Price is arrested for felony theft, burglary and tampering with evidence. As she gets up and is handcuffed she says to Wolfe "Ryan?", desperate for help. In both regret and resignation, he says to her "I gave you every opportunity, Tara." As the police take her into custody in her blue scrubs, Eric Delko and Wolfe watch her go. As she is led into the elevator, Tara looks at both of them in both a plea for help and shame, alternately making and avoiding eye contact as the elevator door shuts.

It is unknown if Tara will make an appearance in Season 8.