Criminal Minds (TV Series)

In the Blood (2013)

Thomas Gibson: Aaron Hotchner

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Quotes 

• Aaron Hotchner : Mr. Sykes, we're investigating a murder. And I don't speak in parables, so this should be very easy to understand: if you interfere with us in any way, I will see to it that you are charged with, and prosecuted for, obstruction of justice.

• Dr. Spencer Reid : The pattern in the branding mark has design characteristics similar to family crests from the late middle ages. I found this encyclopedia of heraldry and look.

  Aaron Hotchner : It's the seal of William Stoughton, a magistrate.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Check when and where he's a magistrate.

  David Rossi : Salem, Massachusetts, 1692.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Stoughton was the lead prosecutor in the Salem witch trials.

  Aaron Hotchner : So this UnSub believes he's hunting witches.

• Aaron Hotchner : We're looking for a physically fit male from his late twenties to mid-thirties.He's brazen, confident, and organized.

  Derek Morgan : This person may be a moral vigilante. Abby Stafford had drug issues, Gloria Carlyle moved in with her boyfriend, Parker Mills was a sexual deviant.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : Moral vigilantism typically has its roots in repression and guilt. This generally manifests itself in low self-esteem and self-loathing. By punishing others, the unsub may also be punishing himself.

  Aaron Hotchner : He's also literally branding his victims. We're not sure why, but he's likely marking them as his own.

  Alex Blake : His organizational skills suggest someone who can get and keep a full-time job.

  David Rossi : But the work is likely low-level. His impaired social development would not allow him to move very far in the professional world.

  Jennifer Jareau : Consequently, this is someone most comfortable working in solitude, having minimal interaction with others.

  Derek Morgan : And this makes it a challenge to determine how and where this person is choosing his victims.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : The two female victims were reserved and studious; Parker Mills lived quietly in the margins of conventional society.

  Jennifer Jareau : So the killer may frequent or work in locations that attracts this type of person. Uh, places of solitude, contemplation.

  Alex Blake : Museums, gardens and parks, bookstores.

  David Rossi : His choice of a city square, rather than a remote canyon, means he's gaining confidence.

  Derek Morgan : But the recklessness of killing in such a public space suggests that this confidence may be stemming from a delusion.

  Jennifer Jareau : He may believe he's in a place in time that makes him invulnerable.

  Aaron Hotchner : And if his delusion is gaining in strength, then his next killing may be riskier and more dramatic. Thank you.

• Jennifer Jareau : We profiled the unsub as delusional. What if Stoughton being a great-great-great whatever is just part of his delusion?

  Aaron Hotchner : Or the discovery of being a direct descendant triggered the delusion.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : He'd look into his ancestry.

  Sgt. Joe Mahaffey : That would be easy to do here. Salt Lake City has the largest family history library in the world.