How is Detective Lutun drawn to Jennifer, not only professionally but also personally?

Detective Luton is a linchpin for the story. How is she drawn to Jennifer, not only professionally but also personally? She says that her heart had been broken long ago, and it is being broken again with Jennifer. How does the detective bring both hunches and skill to the case?

She has lost her life partner to Alzheimers and experienced seeing the one she loved disappear before her eyes. She relates to Jennifer personally because she knows what is happening to her. She probably suspects things that Jennifer can't or won't acknowledge because she experienced similar problems with her partner. Her particular skill is in the gentleness she shows Jennifer. She misses the truth at the end but seems satisfied with her conclusions.

She is drawn to her through her own experience with losing a loved one to this horrible disease. I think it made her treat Jennifer less harshly than she would have otherwise.

She understands what is happening to Jennifer through her own experience with her partner that she lost to the same disease. I think she has more empathy than the other detectives.

Besides the more obvious connection to Alzheimer's, the detective could see a fellow professional in Jennifer. Both women took pride in their work and its consequences. I wondered if the detective also saw her own self in Jennifer, this woman who was now slowly deteriorating but who once played by the book and did it well.

I believe she recognizes the disease made Jennifer unaware of her actions, thus she's not necessarily responsible. And it wouldn't do Amanda any good now, as I believe she commented. Putting Jennifer in jail for something she won't recall having admitted to doing is of questionable morality. She's already suffering the ultimate human suffering slowly dying of dementia. What would a jail sentence do to help anything? Detective Lutun is a compassionate soul.