Horatio Caine

Horatio Caine is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American crime drama CSI: Miami, portrayed by David Caruso from 2002 to 2012. He is the head of the crime lab, under the rank of Lieutenant of the MDPD.

Background
Horatio Caine formerly worked in New York City as a detective with the NYPD, much like Caruso's NYPD Blue character Det. John Kelly, before moving to Miami. He killed the man who murdered his mother; his own father. In 1995 he was stabbed while investigating a case in which children were locked in closets while their parents were murdered. The perpetrator, Walter Resden, harbored a grudge against Caine, collecting the blood from the stabbing and preserving it for 10 years in order to frame him for the murder of Caine's girlfriend, Rachel Turner.

After his arrival in Florida, Caine joined the Miami-Dade Police as a homicide detective but later transferred to the bomb squad, where he was mentored by Al Humphries, an older cop whom Caine respected and considered a good friend; Humphries was killed after accidentally triggering a bomb he was attempting to disarm.

Caine worked undercover as "John Walden" in Pensacola, Florida for some time during the early 1990s (this is the date given on the show, despite the fact it was previously understood on the show that he worked in New York until at least 1995). During his time there, he dated a woman he believed to be named Julia Eberlie, and the two conceived a son named Kyle. Caine was not aware of Kyle's existence for another 16 years. Sometime later he returned to Miami and to being a detective. In the episode "Out of Time" he references previously working on the bomb squad.

Finally, Caine moved to the crime lab, accepting a promotion to lieutenant, which earned him the animosity of Sergeant Rick Stetler, who was also vying for the position. When veteran CSI Megan Donner went on personal leave following the death of her husband, Horatio became the permanent head of the lab.