For those who haven’t read the Karin Slaughter book series on which Will Trent is based, the mystery of Will’s (Ramón Rodríguez) parents hangs over the show from the very beginning. Will’s backstory is introduced early on: he never knew who his parents were, and he grew up in foster care, where he ended up in a number of abusive homes. It was during that time that Will met and became very close with Angie (Erika Christensen), with whom he was in an on-again-off-again relationship until he later arrested her in the Season 2 finale.
At the end of Season 1 of Will Trent, the GBI deals with a case that led Will to learn about his mother, Lucy Morales (Raiany Silva), and the details surrounding his birth and her death. The following season only focuses on her side of the family, mainly through Will’s relationship with his uncle and her brother, Antonio (John Ortiz). It seemed for a while that Will might never learn the identity of his biological father, but Season 3 of Will Trent answered this question with the introduction of Caleb Broussard (Severance’s Yul Vazquez). So, who exactly are Will Trent’s parents? Let’s break it down.
Will Trent’s Mother, Lucy Morales, Died While Being Held Captive By a Serial Killer
The final two episodes of Will Trent’s first season show the GBI trying to catch a resurfaced serial killer from the ’80s. It is revealed that this killer was none other than criminal defense attorney James Ulster (Greg Germann). Ulster was a serial killer who targeted sex workers, including Will’s mother, Lucy. He was one of Lucy’s clients before he abducted her, and he only grew more infatuated with her, so he decided to keep her alive. Lucy was pregnant with Will at the time, and she died in childbirth while Ulster kept her locked away.
Ulster then left Will in a trashcan, where a young Amanda Wagner (Sydney Park) found him. Amanda had been working the case with Evelyn (Imani Hakim), but they got to the crime scene too late, and were unable to save either Lucy or catch the killer. Ulster did not get caught until four decades later, when he started killing the former residents of one of Will’s foster homes as revenge for Lucy’s death.
The tragedy of the situation only grew from there, as Amanda tried to adopt Will but was unable to, due to the misogynistic laws in place at the time. She ended up giving him her father’s first name and mother’s maiden name, which was why she recognized him when he got arrested nineteen years later. Will initially feels hurt by the fact that Amanda (Sonja Sohn) never told him the truth about his origins, or about what happened to Lucy. He had spent his whole life wondering about his parents and imagining what they would be like, and for the many decades that he’d known her, Amanda had never told him what she knew about Lucy. A
manda always blamed herself for not being able to catch the killer before he took Lucy, and she was afraid that Will would blame her as well, but he didn’t. Will went on to learn more about Lucy through Antonio, as he became more involved with her family in Season 2. Like the murder victims Will sees while solving cases, he imagined Lucy in both Seasons 1 and 2, and would have conversations with her.
Will Trent’s Father, Sheriff Caleb Broussard, Entered His Life in Season 3
For a while, Will Trent kept the identity of Will’s father hidden from both Will and the viewers. When Lucy was asked about the father in the flashback, she simply said that the baby was hers, showing how much she loved Will before he was even born. It was never clear whether Lucy knew who the father was and kept it a secret, or whether she had no idea. There was even the possibility that Ulster was Will’s father, which was explored and left unresolved in the Season 2 premiere.
Season 3 finally answered this question in the most unexpected way. While investigating a double homicide in Bradford County, Will and Faith (Iantha Richardson) butt heads with the Sheriff, Caleb Broussard. When some glass shatters at the crime scene, everyone there has to have their blood tested to avoid tampering with the evidence any further. This is when a match is found between Will and Caleb, providing the shocking reveal that Caleb is Will’s father.
