Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior s01e09 Episode Script

Smother

You're tired, sweetie.
Let's get you home.
Okay.
Forgetting something? Thank you.
All right, honey.
Squeezing me in here.
Mommy's going as fast as she can.
Oh.
What the hell is this? But it got there, right? Good.
Good.
Yeah, I knew it would look good on you.
Yeah, I just wanted you to know I was thinking of you.
Yeah, I, uh-- I miss you too.
Uh, look, um, Jenna, I've got to go.
Okay, I love you.
Bye.
Who's Jenna? Don't tell me the FBI's most eligible bachelor is in love.
What exotic port of call have you left her in? You know, I thought you didn't really care about my, um-- my exploits, right? Ordinarily, I don't.
But the sound of you being all kind of bashful and sweet on the phone does hold a certain allure.
So come on, details.
Oh, look.
It looks like we're about to gather.
No, no, no.
We have time.
Let them go.
Let them go.
We should really get to work.
Hey.
Any word on where we're off to? Manchester, New Hampshire.
They've had three women go missing over the past nine days.
Local police need our help.
There's, uh, Sarah Travers, age 34.
She was last seen leaving a coffee shop with her infant son.
Rebecca Keels, 29-- she took her six-month-old baby girl to the pediatrician and never got home.
And this one right here, Tanya Reston--she's 31.
She went missing yesterday after going on a shopping trip with her daughter.
What about the kids? Are they missing too? In every single case, the children were left unharmed at the scene.
The women were taken, not the children.
That's fairly out of the ordinary.
And a difficult abduction.
No woman's gonna separate from her child easily.
There's gonna be a lot of commotion and noise.
Please tell me there were some witnesses.
Just one--the security camera from the parking lot where Tanya Reston was taken.
Footage is pretty bad, but Penelope's working on it for us.
I hate to say it-- might be too late by the time we get it.
- Talk to me.
- Six days passed before the second victim was taken.
Only three days passed before the last.
- He's speeding up.
- Oh, we know the odds.
The chances of these first two women being alive-- Slim to none.
I know.
I explained that to the chief.
He needs us to guide him on where to start looking.
Here are the abduction sites.
They're all on the outskirts of the city.
If our unsub doesn't stray from the area of control, the bodies should all be in the same vicinity.
We need to look for places with unfettered access, where there's no attention brought to people coming and going.
What are you thinking-- abandoned buildings and warehouses? I put my money here in the woods.
It's isolated, and it's secluded.
Plus, there's plenty of unrestricted roads-- free range for anyone that knows the trails.
Hope y'all packed your hiking boots.
I'll call the police in Manchester.
Tell them we'll be on the next flight out.
Sometimes, it's as subtle as a few broken branches.
Sometimes it's as obvious as a freshly dug grave.
But somewhere the unsub left us a bread crumb.
We find it, we find the victims.
Over here! Chief Shelley, I'm Sam Cooper.
This is my team--Agents Simms, Rawson, Griffith, and LaSalle.
Thank you for being here.
You were right.
The northwest access road had been closed for months, but someone tampered with the gate.
What can you make of it? Judging by the way they're posed, I'd say our unsub spent a lot of time with these bodies.
Look at the way their hands are folded Feet placed together.
There's an extreme attention to detail going on here.
That's a lot of makeup, man.
Mascara, lipstick-- her hair's been combed.
Her clothes are spotless.
They were made up to look like they had just fallen asleep.
Look at them.
They're so serene.
Then he dumps them out here in the wilderness exposed to the elements.
Look.
Look here.
There's deep lacerations down to the bone on the chest area, mutilation.
It's just overkill.
Yeah, it's the same here.
All this work-- all the cleaning, the dressing-- it's all to cover up some seriously violent slayings.
These are two completely different extremes.
What does that tell you? That these killings are really emotional.
Something about this is personal.
So was the aftermath.
There's a lot of guilt going on here.
If the unsub's been this thorough with the bodies, I can't see us finding any DNA.
I don't see any blood on the ground.
I think they were killed elsewhere.
They were dragged here and left in the open.
The unsub wanted us to find them.
It's like Gina said, this is guilt carried to the extreme.
The unsub wanted to undo the horror of these murders.
This right here is an apology.
Agent Cooper, the K9 unit's back.
No sign of the missing third woman in the area.
Tanya Reston may still be alive.
We're running out of time.
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior 1x09 Smother Hey, guys, did Penelope get the security footage from the last abduction? Just uploaded it.
That's Tanya.
I can't see the minivan plates from this angle.
There's no view of the driver either.
Right there.
What did she see? It's out of frame.
Let me go see if anything was recovered from the crime scene.
The driver's got her attention.
She's smiling so let's assume she's not threatened.
Ah, but she hesitated.
Only for a moment, like she thought that she was gonna turn around in a second.
There was a pacifier found on the ground near Tanya's vehicle-- bagged it with her belongings.
That's it.
The baby drops the binky.
Mama's obviously gonna go get it.
That is the window of opportunity the unsub seized to get her attention.
Tanya's a new mother.
Her protective instincts are heightened.
But whatever happened here overrode those instincts.
So she looks in the van.
She sees someone that totally disarms her.
She gets in.
What does that tell us about our unsub? Our unsub could be a woman.
I don't think so, 'cause in cases involving children, the female offender's gonna be much more interested in the baby, not the mom.
Yeah, but, I mean, a-a female unsub would fit in with what we found at the crime scene, right? The posing, the makeup.
The clothes being cleaned after the attack.
We need to dig deeper into these victims' lives.
Prophet, you and Mick, go over and talk to the families.
See if you can find anyone or anything that bonds these two together.
Gina, I want you to do a vehicle check on, uh, gray late-model minivans in the area.
Talk media strategy with the chief-- we need to alert the public.
- Okay.
- What about us? I need you to accompany me to the medical examiner's.
The autopsy reports should be in.
Mr.
Reston? Mr.
Reston, I know how hard this is, but every second counts.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Of course.
Um, what did you need? We need a list of places and people she's associated with, anything you could think of.
Organizations she belongs to, places she brings the kids, even anyone who might have worked in your home.
My wife's a stay-at-home mom.
But she's always on the go with our kids-- playdates, trips to the library, music classes, all that stuff.
It all matters-- every detail.
Hey, we got company.
I, uh--I thought you were playing a video game, Ben.
It froze.
Well, Ben, you know, I think I know a thing or two about video games.
Do you want to see if I can get it going for you? - Sure.
- Yeah? Okay.
I don't want him hearing too much, you know? What have you told him so far? That his mom's somewhere we can't find her, and everybody's looking for her, and she'll be home real soon.
That part's not true, is it? We don't know.
The important thing is that you've given your boy faith.
That can get us through a lot.
Whoa, man.
Whoa, man! You just run me right off the road.
Where'd you get your license, eh? Let's go again.
This time I'm gonna win.
Are you gonna bring my mom back? I'm gonna try, buddy.
I know my dad's worried about me, so I let him think I don't hear when he's on the phone.
It's our secret, right? Oh, there you go.
Oh, must be time for a nap.
Hey, shh, shh, shh.
Your baby doesn't use a pacifier, right? No.
Neither of our kids ever have.
Why? The cause of death in both cases is blood loss due to multiple stab wounds.
There's extensive damage to the organs and the tissue, but many of the wounds are superficial.
They look like hesitation marks-- tentative or clumsy.
Shows inexperience.
I think that these are the first kills of our unsub.
And right here, there's this bruise, probably from a blitz attack in the van.
Was there any sexual assault on these victims? No.
Still, the mutilation centers around the breast area.
Fetishism or displaced anger caused by extreme body dysmorphic disorder.
I think our unsub is acting out her insecurities on her victims.
When were they killed? Sarah Travers was killed five days ago.
Rebecca Keels died approximately three days ago.
These women These women are special to him 'Cause they're recent mothers.
There's a connection.
Yeah? The pacifier from the abduction site, it doesn't belong to Tanya Reston's baby.
Think it belonged to our unsub.
I think that our unsub is a mother just like our victims.
So we're looking for a mother, maybe a new mother-- perhaps a severe postpartum depression.
I've seen that lead to family annihilation.
I just never seen that lead to annihilation of other people's families.
So what if it's a clinical depression, existed since childhood, then you add to that all the hormonal changes of pregnancy, and she's left with a completely disconnected emotional network? So women with happy, healthy families make her feel inadequate? Well, for lack of a more nuanced analysis, yeah, she's consumed with jealousy, and it triggers a homicidal rage.
Then the guilt and remorse sets in, and she tries to undo the crime, but she can't.
Hiya.
I'm here to make your life easier.
Penelope, I need you to look into recent birth records in Manchester.
Flag new mothers with a history of mental illness.
Okay.
Feel free to narrow that down for us special analysts working double time.
Okay, so the disparity between the violence of the killings and the remorse of the disposals We may be dealing with a dissociative personality disorder.
Like split personalities? I thought the bureau doesn't recognize that as an actual condition.
Yeah, but that doesn't mean that the shrinks dismiss it.
There may be, um, a record of a split personality that fits our profile.
So you want me to do multiple searches on multiple personalities? Something like that, yeah.
Multitasking now.
Okay.
We have breaking news.
We now go live to Chief Shelley.
We believe the gray minivan in question is being driven by a woman.
Someone in the community knows who's responsible for this.
We urge people to call in with any information they might have regarding these abductions.
Tanya Reston is still out there.
And her husband and children need her to come home safely.
Tanya Reston's been missing for two days.
Tell me something that puts time back on our side.
We got the information back from all three families.
But so far, we're unable to find anyone fitting the profile who would have intersected with each of these women.
She didn't need to know them beforehand.
She had the baby to gain their attention and their trust.
She exploits her victims' maternal instincts.
She leaves the babies behind without-- without a second thought.
I mean - What is it, Coop? - Something's not right here.
I mean, if this unsub is a mother, where are her maternal instincts? No luck on the minivan search.
And the DNA testing came back on the pacifier-- dead end.
Never been used.
So why would our unsub carry a pacifier if her baby doesn't use it? Well, maybe we're wrong.
Maybe we're not looking for a mother and her baby.
Okay, so she uses the pacifier as--as a prop, like bait.
Garcia found two recent moms with mental health issues.
One moved out of state.
The other one committed suicide.
We're thinking the unsub may not be a mother.
Maybe she lost a baby, or maybe she was never able to have a baby to begin with.
We could have Garcia widen the search.
Include any women in the area who have suffered from mental illness.
I'm not sure that would help find her.
This woman-- she feels inadequate, unworthy.
She's desperate for help, but probably too afraid and ashamed to get it.
Meaning she may have hidden her problems from everyone.
She takes great pains to cover them up, just like she's taking pains to cover up the brutality of the murders that she's committing right now.
Oh, honey.
Did Bingo wake you up? I'm sorry, sweetie.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Are you aware of the recent abductions in the area? You need to take care when you're out, especially if you've got a little one with you.
Bingo, come! What has he got? Yeah, it's Tanya Reston.
Same signs of undoing-- body's been posed and cleaned, made up.
Also consistent with the other victims-- deep lacerations on the breasts.
- You with us? - Yeah.
So tell me what's changed for unsub? The surroundings are different.
It's all over the news.
Her dump site's been compromised.
She had to go somewhere else.
No, it's not just about a location.
Take a look around.
Look around.
How did our unsub get Tanya's body from the road to here? This is a woman.
She--she's carrying roughly her own body weight, dead weight no less.
How does she do it? She doesn't.
Not without any help, she doesn't.
Maybe there's a second unsub.
We thought that this was the work of one person, someone with a mental disorder that is so severe it would explain the-- the contrast between the killings and the disposal of bodies.
But maybe this is two different people.
So you think it's possible that one person is killing the victims, and another person is cleaning them up? Yeah.
I mean, these acts are polar extremes.
One person is brutalizing these women.
It's angry.
It's violent.
There's no regret in these murders.
And the other one feels so much guilt and remorse that they're cleaning them up and leaving them for us to find.
It could be a couple, maybe a husband and a wife.
Whoever it is, we're gonna have to make up two different profiles.
Prophet and Mick I want you to profile the disposal of the bodies.
Beth and Gina, let's take another look at these killings.
Tanya's autopsy report-- Mick put a rush on it.
Is he all right? Yeah, I think cases involving children are particularly hard on him.
- Because of Jenna.
- His girlfriend Jenna? Jenna's his little sister.
They're very close.
They lost their parents when they were young.
Oh, man.
I feel like an ass.
No, it's okay.
He doesn't really talk about it with anybody.
All right, so Tanya's murder was consistent in every way, every way with the others.
It's the same person doing the killing.
Who are you? So let's assume that only one of our unsubs is caring for these victims postmortem.
What does that entail? Just like with the other victims, Tanya Reston's clothes were laundered-- no traces of blood on them.
Makeup was applied.
Hair was styled.
Fingernails were scrubbed and, in some cases, filed.
Sarah Travers' jewelry was even polished before it was put back on.
This isn't someone cleaning the victims as a forensic countermeasure.
This is someone who takes pride in appearances.
I'm still thinking it's a woman.
We're on the same page there, mate.
What if your unsub isn't a mother? It's not even a woman? How does this mutilation profile? Fascination with or rejection of the female body.
Could point to some form of sexual frustration.
Now, despite the unpleasant task of handling a dead body, she was unwavering.
I mean, could that kind of focus be attributed to some form of OCD? Washer/cleaner type or obsessive-- maybe a combo of the two.
The superficial wounds that the M.
E.
pointed out, maybe these aren't hesitation marks, Beth.
Experimental.
The victims never endured any sexual assault.
The unsub could be exploring the body with a knife.
It's for gratification, release.
He's stabbing over and over again.
The lack of control, the impulsiveness-- these killings could be the unsub's only sexual experiences.
So what does that tell you? Every time she's made them up, they all look the same.
- She sees herself in them.
- Or a version of herself.
She's mourning the loss of her own identity.
What if she's older than these victims? Maybe they remind her of the person that she once was.
And caring for them is like caring for herself.
Piquerism-- he's puncturing or cutting the targeted areas on the body-- typically favored by teenage boys.
What do you guys got? We think the bodies are being redressed by a woman, roughly 35 to 50, probably suffering from some sort of untreated OCD.
And we believe that we're looking for a teenage boy who's killing his victims in this form of slow knife torture.
Mom? Where are the car keys? They're in a safe place.
Give me the damn keys.
This has to stop.
Last night needs to be the last time.
You never stop telling me what to do.
Don't you get it? I don't need you anymore.
- Trevor, I can fix this.
- Don't you touch me.
How can you talk to me like that, after everything I've done for you? On the TV, they're looking for our car.
They think that I'm the one who did it.
I don't care what they think.
Fine.
Go.
You'll come back.
You always come back to me.
We're looking for an adolescent male, Caucasian, 14 to 18 years old.
He most likely is awkward around people, gets frustrated, angry easily.
Probably doesn't interact with his peers.
Because of his age, he would seem endearing to his victims.
We can check the high schools, start pulling kids who fit the description.
I don't think you're gonna find this kid there.
Chances are he wasn't allowed to attend public school.
He's probably been kept from teachers, doctors-- anyone that would look too closely into his personal life.
He's been kept on a short leash.
Now he's rebelling.
He's seeking his freedom from the one person who was cleaning up his murders--his mother.
Can we make some sort of public appeal for her to turn her son in? I'm not sure that would work.
We think that she might be suffering from some form of untreated mental illness.
She's also very protective of her relationship with her son.
She's lost control now.
She's in over her head.
She's scared of what her son has become, and she's trying to cloak his darkness with her own.
Oh, good.
You're awake.
Oh, don't be like that.
It's okay.
It happens.
Mommy will take care of you now.
The way he's luring his victims indicates to us that he's criminally advanced.
He probably has a record-- nuisance offenders, peeping, maybe even stalking.
We want to pull juvie records, see if anything comes up.
Follow me.
Finding the kid's only half the equation.
We still need the mother.
This woman smothers her son to hide the abuse.
People tend to notice things like that.
Perhaps a neighbor or extended family member saw something.
Yeah, and they could have been alert enough to call social services.
Let's get C.
P.
S.
involved.
We're gonna have so much fun at the zoo.
You're gonna love all the animals.
Oh, you're gonna love it.
Yeah, you are.
Here we go.
Put this down.
Here we go.
Get in the car.
I'm Sam Cooper.
Thanks for taking the time to come in.
Oh, of course.
Of course.
Uh, but, uh, from everything your agents told me, I'm not sure I can be much help.
No doubt you've seen some dire situations.
Well, I have been on the job for 15 years.
That's a lifetime among my colleagues.
I understand.
The family that we're looking for, um, would seem normal-- loving mother, happy son.
We see that a lot.
Kids are afraid to speak up.
They, uh-- they'd rather take the abuse than risk losing a parent or their home.
Well, this kid mutilated his victims' breasts.
His actions speak to sexual abuse in his past, probably at the hands of his mother.
It's possible that he's fusing her nurturing with violence and sex in his mind.
Please, just throw it out.
It was about ten years ago.
The boy was six, seven years old.
We were informed that he was still being breast-fed at home.
His peers had found out.
He was being taunted, ridiculed.
The school had asked us to step in.
- And did you step in? - Yeah, I visited the mother.
She was defensive.
It was clear she was not gonna stop nursing.
- So what happened? - Ultimately, nothing.
I mean, I couldn't even file a report.
Breast-feeding a seven-year-old is not illegal.
You remember their names? Oh, man, I'm sorry, but that was years ago.
Coop, we got something.
Juvie records are sealed, but Chief Shelley made some phone calls.
He was arrested last year on charges of sexual assault.
We contacted the victim.
She's here, and she's prepared to talk.
Trevor Norris-- you remember him? Yeah, I do recall the name.
That's him.
Thank you.
Let's get Gina.
I'm Agent LaSalle.
Um, they said you wanted to talk about Trevor.
Why? We think he may be involved in the murders we're investigating.
Oh, my God.
What can you tell us about Trevor? I used to work at, uh The coffee shop by the school.
He would hang out during my shifts.
I would catch him staring at me.
Guess I liked that.
Stupid, right? No, that's--that's not stupid.
We all like attention.
He'd just gotten his driver's license, so he offered to give me a ride home.
I never should have said yes.
Did he do something that scared you? I told the police that it came out of nowhere But that's not really true.
Look, what you say here, it won't leave my team.
He He wanted to have sex.
I knew it wasn't a good idea.
I barely knew him.
But he couldn't take his eyes off me.
It made me feel powerful.
But it all went so wrong.
The report said that, um, there was treatment for bruising and lacerations to your breasts.
He bit me Not just a little A lot.
I'm lucky the doctors were able to fix me.
But I'll have a scar the rest of my life.
Thank you, Reagan.
Trevor, get out here and apologize to me.
Do you hear me? Wait, where is he? Asher! You're not my son anymore.
- Where's my baby? - You don't love me anymore.
Please just don't hurt my baby! I'm through.
Did they just leave you all alone, handsome boy? FBI! Open up! That's how he did it.
Still warm.
Trevor, stop! Just stop! Hey.
Hey, hey, hey.
Hey.
We need an ambulance right away.
- Bring him back to his house.
- Come on.
Can you hear me? It's okay.
You got to stay with me.
Stay with me.
Where--where's my baby? Your husband's been called.
He's gonna meet you at the hospital.
His baby's name is Asher.
He has blue eyes.
He's gonna be seven months old on Sunday.
We have an Amber alert in progress.
I promise you, Julie, we will find him.
Cooper and Mick got the kid inside.
We're gonna question him now.
We got an A.
P.
B.
on Deirdre's car.
We'll hit the streets, see if we can catch her.
If you find out anything You got it.
You'll be first to know.
Take a seat.
Where did your mom take that baby? You got one chip left on the table, now I suggest you play it.
Where can we find them? I don't have anything to say.
Well, then you need to listen closely.
You're done here.
This game you're playing, it's over.
We know every horrific thing that you've ever done, and we're gonna make you pay for it.
This is your last chance.
Tell me Where is she, and where is the baby? I don't know what she did with that kid.
I need you guys to tear this house apart and find me something that lets me know where she's gone! Your mother Your mother doesn't tell you much.
But you always have to answer to her.
It makes you crazy.
But, honestly, it--it would make anybody crazy.
You have no idea what that's like.
You're right.
I never knew my mom.
She gave me up, 'cause she knew I would have a better life without her.
But your mom She kept you.
She trapped you.
Tell me what that's like? I need to understand that.
Don't waste your time.
Yeah, you're right.
Our time will be better spent finding your mom before she ruins somebody else's life.
You think she ruined my life? I think That you killed all of those women, but, unfortunately, the person that you really wanted to kill was your mom.
We were so happy once.
Where did it all go wrong? Never mind.
We're gonna start again.
I'm gonna take care of you now, right, my boy? When did it start? When did she first molest you? It seems like it's always been happening.
Trevor Your mom destroyed the most sacred bond that exists in this life.
She was supposed to protect you, and instead she abused your trust and made you do things that no child should ever have to do.
I always knew when it was coming.
She'd wake me up in the middle of the night.
She'd be singing to herself.
I can't get that voice out of my head.
There were times when you just-- you just wanted to hurt her, but you didn't, because you also didn't want to leave her.
Where would I go? Help me to undo what your mother did.
How? Don't let her manipulate you anymore.
Even though you may not realize it, you brought that little boy back here as a replacement.
But you don't want to let her hurt somebody else.
We could stop her.
Just tell me where you think she is.
She never really left this house.
You didn't want to leave her.
But was there a time when she threatened to leave you maybe? Just think.
When I got back from juvie, I wouldn't let her near me anymore.
You know, she'd get angry, and she'd tell me I was a mistake.
And she'd say she wished she can get in her car and just drive off back into her old life.
Nothing-- no maps, no journals, nothing to indicate where she might have gone.
She must've left in a hurry.
I need to talk to Penelope.
I need you to find all previous addresses for a Deirdre Norris.
She lived in Vermont from 1998 to 2000.
Go back further.
Oh There is it, 20 years ago-- she went by her maiden name Deirdre Fisher.
And I got an address in Vero Beach, Florida.
Back to her old life.
Got a gray minivan heading west on I-93.
Roadblock setting up two miles ahead.
Sending available units now.
The suspect is a woman driving a gray minivan.
Chief Shelley, I need you to ask your officers to stand down.
We don't want to risk anything happening to that baby.
Gentlemen, stand down! Prophet, Beth, double back and cover that vehicle from behind.
You two stand by here.
Deirdre, I need you to put your hands on the steering wheel so we can talk.
What do you want from me? I can't let you leave with that baby.
You can't stop me.
I have rights.
I'm his mother.
You're his mother, okay.
But do you see all these police here? He's not safe.
His place is with me.
I'll keep him safe Except He doesn't love me anymore, does he? He's never going to forgive me.
If you want forgiveness, you have to be willing to ask for it, from your son and from yourself.
You have to begin to heal your own wounds first.
Don't take my son! No! Don't take my son! Your son is behind bars.
If you want to see him, come with me.
This ends here.
You're right.
This ends now.
- And stop, stop.
- Stay right there! Move it out.
Get out, get out! Wow.
Look at all these people.
I'm gonna go talk to him.
Hey I'm so sorry, buddy.
I know it's not my place, but do you mind if I give you some advice? I'm taking anything I can get these days.
When he's ready, tell Ben that you need his help with the little one.
Let him know that it's his job to tell his sister about their mother.
It'll keep her alive for both of them.
All things considered, this feels pretty good.

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