Criminal Minds
Summary
Criminal Mindsepisodes based on real cases ensure the show cover some disturb crime of any weekly procedural drama on internet television . Criminal Mindsfocuses on the FBI ’s Behavioral Analysis Unit ( the BAU ) and the UnSubs ( Unidentified Subjects ) they hunt down . The show ’s serial killers are often fantastically sinister and disturbed , with their sinister number made all the more chilling in theCriminal Mindsepisodes based on actual cases — as many are . From infamous name like the Zodiac Killer to more obscure cases like the forties Lipstick Killer , Criminal Mindsoften delves into true law-breaking for inspiration .
WhileCriminal Mindsended in 2020 after its 15th time of year , Paramount Plus brought the show backwith the rebootedCriminal mind : Evolution . Like the show ’s original run , Evolutionhas also drawn on rightful criminal offence to invigorate its story . While the UnSubs inCriminal Mindsare all fancied , many of their destiny and crimes are based on material masses and actual events — a fact Paramount+ capitalized on by orderingThe Real Criminal Minds , which is a docuseries about these veridical - life serial killers ( viaDeadline ) .
25“JJ” (Season 6, Episode 2)
Natalee Holloway Inspires The Case Of A Missing Young Woman
While this particular installment is often remembered asthe one that leads to JJ leaving the team(though her expiration sprain out to be brief ) , it also features a case involving a overleap untried fair sex . A teenage young woman on holiday at the beach is n’t seen for three twenty-four hours , and the last fourth dimension she was seen alive was with two immature workforce who claim to have dropped her off at her hotel .
If that particular case voice familiar , that ’s becauseit ’s almost an exact parallel to Natalee Holloway ’s disappearance . In the case of Holloway , she was on holiday in another body politic when she croak missing , whileCriminal Mindsstill sees the untried woman disappear in the United States . In both cases , there is no torso , but a pair of suspects that the local legal philosophy enforcement is sure did it , but they can not prove it .
Criminal Minds , however , does have a twist in that the grammatical case remains a overlook persons case rather of a execution case . While there have been legion witness statements and a written confession by Joran van der Sloot more than 20 years after Holloway ’s disappearance , her body has never been recuperate . The missing young womanhood in the serial , however , is eventually found alive , giving the fibre ’s family a glad ending .
24“Cradle To Grave” (Season 5, Episode 5)
Phillip and Nancy Garrido Inspire The Kidnapped Women Giving Birth
Phillip and Nancy Garrido are a real - life married couple who kidnapped 11 - twelvemonth - old Jaycee Duggard on her path to schoolin the morning , and then held her in their home for over a decade before they were caught . Duggard was assail and give way nascence to multiple children . While the Garridos got rid of any male children born , they allow Duggard to keep her daughter with her .
Duggard ’s narration has inspired a few episodes ofCriminal Minds , including “ Mosley Lane,”in which a married couple repeatedly snatch new children . The one that parallel her chronicle the most . However , is “ Cradle To Grave . ”
The episode have a married yoke with a dominant man and subservient woman who kidnap vernal , white charwoman , that the hubby then assaults repeatedly . When they give birth to girl , they are discarded , but the couple keep start the boy . While Duggard was relieve , this episode kicks off with one of the young womanhood who has been hold for three years being murdered right after chip in nascence . They do n’t delineate up on the button , but it ’s not hard to see where the writers find oneself their inhalation .
Custom image by SR Image Editor
23“Reflection Of Desire” (Season 6, Episode 8)
The Hill Ripper Is Comparable To Ed Gein
Ed Gein has provided the inspiration for many repulsion movies . A man who was controlled by a domineering female parent , he kept the body of his female parent in his dwelling house after she died . He alsokilled and mutilated the bodies of young woman . His story inspired writers to create the fancied villains in the moviesPsychoandThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre .
InCriminal Minds , the homo who becomes recognize as the Hill Ripper is actually inspired himself by Norman Bates ofPsychoand reference his story in the script . Rhett Walden continue the body of his mother in his home , and he also cuts pieces from the body of woman he kills to practice .
Interestingly , this instalment also has a nod to another fictitious floor inSunset Boulevard . Rhett ’s net scenes homage the picture show in which an actress who has fallen into obscurity vote down someone and then believe the police coming to arrest her are a camera crew . Rhett sees himself walk down a red carpet when he ’s accept into custody .
22“Broken Wing” (Season 14, Episode 9)
Donald Harvey Was An Angel of Death
This particular episode sees the BAU squad investigate a funny number of overdoses at a rehabilitation facility . The sequence takes a turn toward look into the facility scam patient out of money , but it also has an “ angel of death ” as the unknown subject .
Angels of demise are a particular case of killer who believes they are providing mercy for their victim , belt down those who are already in some variety of distraint . In this case , with the killer make overdoses and poisoning his victims , he ’s belike inspired by Donald Harvey , who has been advert on the show a few time .
Though Harvey did kill those in his life alfresco of work , his basal victims were killed in hospitals where he was employed . Most often he place older or terminally ill hoi polloi , turning off their oxygen or injecting poisonous substance into their IVs . He was convict of killing 28 people , but there were in all probability many more .
21“A Shade Of Grey” (Season 4, Episode 21)
The Episode Has Been Compared To The JonBenét Ramsey Investigation
“ A Shade of Grey ” feature one of the youngest killers in the entire series . A untried son kills his little buddy , tempestuous with him for continually taking his toys . Throughout the installment , however , it ’s believed the son was kidnap by someone outside the family , and eventually revealed that the parents cover up the dying because they believed their son did n’t understand what he was doing .
The events of the sequence correspond with one of the civilian possibility that run after the JonBenét Ramsey investigating . While the trivial female child was initially reported as missing , her body was eventually constitute in the family home . The law-breaking scene was traverse by law enforcement , neighbors , friend , and reporters , making for a chaotic environment and one in which grounds was compromised . Her murder is still unsolved , but one theory present not long after the initial probe is that her older brother could have unintentionally obliterate her . He , however , has never been treated as a defendant .
Criminal Minds follow the FBI ’s Behavioral Analysis Unit as they hunt down manslayer across the country , but not every season is at the same standard .
20"Children of the Dark" (Season 3, Episode 4)
Gary & Ervin Robles Are Based On Two Notorious Serial Killers
" Children of the Dark " provides a disturbing geographic expedition of the psychological psychic trauma that fuels such grisly acts . While not straight off observe or referenced in the installment , " Children of the Dark"draws stirring from the ill-famed consecutive grampus Leonard Lake and Charles Ng . The episode follows a duette , Gary and Ervin Robles , whobreak into suburban homes , murder the parent , and provide the fry alive . Like Lake and Ng , the Robles brothers are a serial killing squad , family annihilator , and robber .
Their partnershipmirrors the ill-famed duo in several means : both pairs included a Caucasian male person and a cooperator of a different wash , and both had at least one member who was abused by parental digit ( Ng was abuse by his father , while Gary and Ervin were abused by their surrogate parents ) . Additionally , just like Lake and Ng , one Robles team member assumes a victim ’s identity before getting arrested .
19"The Perfect Storm" (Season 2, Episode 3)
The Criminal Minds Episode Takes Inspiration From Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka
Inspired by the infamous " Ken and Barbie Killers"Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka , Criminal Mindsweaves a chilling tale in " The Perfect Storm . " The instalment ’s unsubs , Amber and Richard Canardo , share eerie similarity with Bernardo and Homolka . Both pairs areserial killer , rapists , and abductors who point women , luring them in with the artifice of ask for directions . Like the " Ken and Barbie Killers , " the Canardos recorded their heinous act of violation before strangling their victims and deck their naked body in commodious locations .
Amber Canardo , one ofCriminal Minds’most memorable unsubs , plays a manipulative role , usingher charm to draw in unsuspicious dupe , while Richard becomes the dominant aggressor during their flack . The BAU squad finds disturbing footage revealing the curse inflicted on their victims , mirroring Bernardo and Homolka ’s recorded crimes . The installment delves into Amber ’s troubled yesteryear , revealing a history of trauma that transformed her into a remorseless killer . The distorted moral force between prevailing and slavish partner in offence is play up as Amber manipulates Richard to fulfill her sadistic desire .
18"The Boys of Sudworth Place" (Season 9, Episode 7)
Glen Westbrook & Jerry Sandusky Have Many Similarities
" The Boys of Sudworth Place " presentsa disturb story inspire by the crimes of Jerry Sandusky . Glen Westbrook is strikingly like to Sandusky ; both were widely regarded as upstanding somebody , hook up with with children and mold at young person facilities . Their public image masked their predatory conduct , as both were paedophile who aim boys give ear their facilities . They used baby - grooming tactics to make the boys vulnerable before molesting them repeatedly . The episode follow the BAU as they look into Westbrook ’s heinous criminal offence .
Despite being confronted with accusations , he maintains his ingenuousness , denying all actus reus . His façade of respectability allowedhis criminal offense to rest undetected for over a decade . The BAU uncovers the extent of Westbrook ’s misuse , let on how he manipulated and exploit the trust of vulnerable children . " The Boys of Sudworth Place " serves as a chilling reminder of the wickedness that can hide behind a charming exterior and the annihilative impact such predatory animal can have on their victim .
17"There’s No Place Like Home" (Season 7, Episode 7)
James Heathridge Draws Inspiration From The Notorious Jeffrey Dahmer
In " There ’s No Place Like Home,“Criminal Mindsintroduces James Heathridge , an unsub whoappears to be ground on the notorious Jeffrey Dahmer , who is directly mentioned in the sequence . Both Heathridge and Dahmer were nonparallel killer and snatcher with similar victim profile , targeting Caucasian teenage boys with high - risk lifestyles . Heathridge lured his dupe to his trailer with promise of beer and sex , much like Dahmer would attract his dupe to his apartment . Once there , he disable them by spiking their crapulence with ataractic agent .
After hit his victims , Heathridge discerp their bodies post - mortem and hold on body parts as ghastly prize , reverberate Dahmer ’s gruesome practices . moreover , Heathridge being molested by someone living in the same lagger park as him could be a nod to claims that Dahmer was molested by a neighbor during childhood . The BAU races against time to stop Heathridge before he take more animation , revealing the dark ancestor of his conduct and the harm that shaped him .
The Criminal Minds : Evolution season 2 finale had a cliffhanger conclusion and even more plot construction that left a lot unreciprocated . There are multiple storylines that need to be resolved in Criminal Minds : Evolution season 3 , but some questions are more urgent than others . The biggest question is whether Voit will pull through after he was attacked in prison , but there are also questions about what Emily involve FBI Director Madison for . The Criminal Minds : Evolution season 2 finale did a beneficial job setting up time of year 3 .
16"Seven Seconds” (Season 3, Episode 5)
Criminal Minds' Richard Jacobs Has Many Similarities To Richard Allen Davis
In " Seven Seconds,“the BAU faces a wash against time to line up Katie Jacobs , a young daughter who has gone missingduring a kinsfolk gathering at a mall . The investigation reveal that Richard Jacobs abduct Katie and intend to down her to forestall her from place him . His wife , Linda Jacobs , acted as his accomplice , helping to pass over up the criminal offense . “Seven Seconds " draws inspiration from the existent - liveliness case of Richard Allen Davis , the infamous abductor and murderer of 12 - class - onetime Polly Klaas .
In the episode , Dr. Reid even directly references Davis , noting how he killed Klaas to prevent her from key out him . Both Davis and Jacobs were pedophilic abductors who targeted young girls and had female accomplices who helped traverse up their crimes . The sequence highlights the chilling latitude between Jacobs and Davis , disclose how manipulation and control can falsify family dynamics and lead to annihilating outcomes .
