Podcast - "The Company"

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Post #5 - "Heathridge Manor"

The episode that aired last night began with a mother reading a story to her son. In the middle of reading she was interrupted and dragged back to her room. She was in a psychiatric ward due to serious delusions she suffered from. After the introduction, it flashes forward and shows the boy grown up. Various victims are women being found sewn in elegant, old fashion dresses on along with white makeup on their face. Their feet and hands were tied as well. What killed them was that the dresses were coated with a lethal amount of nicotine. It is later found out that the victims were "tested" before their deaths. The killer threw them into a well and if they drown it meant that the girl was innocent. If the girl survived, it meant that they were witches possessed by the devil. The killer keeps seeing visions of his deceased mother. Whenever he sees these visions is when he goes out to find his victims because his mother tells him to. He believes he is fighting evil and protecting his disabled sister. His sister lives under his harsh rules that basically shuts her off from the world in order to protect her. She doesn't know this, but when she was an infant her mother actually cut her arm off during one of her delusions because she felt that it would prevent evil from wanting her. In the end, the brother believes he needs to use his sister as bait to attract evil and end everything once and for all. The BAU enters the house and one goes to help the sister while the others search for the brother. Agent Hotchner and the killer get into a physical fight and the killer gets shoved into a well to his death.


This whole episode was just messed up. I can't believe someone could actually chop their own baby's arm off but she obviously did it in a state of dementia. In the show they said that there are some cases where mental diseases are hereditary. The mother had a very serious case as well as the son. Unfortunately, the sister does as well. At the very end of the show it shows her hallucinating and talking to people that aren't even there. This episode was very sad and showed just how traumatic mental diseases are.

Criminal Minds Cast Members

Google Map of 15th Annual Crime Victims' Rights Conference

Since my blog is about Criminal Minds I felt like a type of crime victims conference in the local area would be relevant. I chose to post the location of the Crime Victims' Rights Conference. This conference takes place on April 11th and 12th at the Capital Plaza Hotel. It's purpose is to educate people in various law career and to help victims and survivors heal. There will be various workshops and speakers that will attend.
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Post #4 - "How to 'Save' a Life"

Unfortunately last night's episode wasn't new. It was a rerun from a previous season. However, it is still an interesting episode to talk about. The show basically starts off showing a boy locked in a room while his mother tries killing herself. After authorities were dispatched the boy was kidnapped. His kidnapper gave the boy the choice if he wanted to see his mom or if he wanted his mom to be happy. Since he was a child, of course he misunderstood and told his kidnapper he wanted his mom happy. In order to "save" the boy and make the mother "happy" he believes killing her is the right thing to do. This kidnapper is driven to "save" children in unhappy or unsafe households. He ends up kidnapping two boys and a girl but thankfully only the first mother died. The BAU stepped in just in time to save the other two mothers by figuring out that the killer knew what houses to find since he was a 911 operator.

When the kidnapper was just a boy his father wasn't in his life. His mother had attempted suicide before so he felt neglected and unloved. He blamed his mother for these feelings so he did what he thought would be best for both of them. As his mother was sitting on a bridge, he pushed her off to her death. He felt this resulted in her being "happy" and him being "saved". Having those feelings because of the environment he was raised in as a child, those feelings lingered with him into adulthood. Therefore he was compelled to "save" children and make them happy no matter what the cost.

CRIMINAL MINDS trailer

Post #3 - "A Family Affair"

On tonight's episode, as you can see from the title, it dealt with one very disturbed family. The victims in this case were escorts or prostitutes. They were brutally stabbed but then buried with $250. One noticeable but mysterious injury on the bodies was parallel bruising on both legs. As the viewer, in this episode, you are able to see the killer before he is caught. Surprisingly, the killer is actually a paralyzed man living with his parents. He was bound to a wheelchair after a car accident. The parents knew he killed women and they were the ones that actually found the women for him. They felt like it was their job to do anything they could to make him happy because they felt that his condition was their fault. His father was an alcoholic and was the driver in the crash that paralyzed the killer who was only 15 years old at the time. After the parents covered up for multiple murders their son committed it became too much for both of them. One night, the killer's physical therapist was invited to supper with the family. That night, the father took his own life by crashing his vehicle the same way his son was paralyzed. When he was found, he had a note placed on the passenger seat that said he was confessing to all of the murders and he said he was sorry. Meanwhile, back at the house the physical therapist runs into trouble and is held at gunpoint by the mother. Just in the nick of time, the BAU breaks down the door. The mother is shot and then her son is handcuffed.

When the Behavioral Analysis Unit was profiling this killer, one question arose. Why did he become so violent after his accident? Their first thought was that a particular part of his brain was damaged in the accident. To provide some background research here is a link to an interview discussing this matter. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128339306

Also, my next post will be a video trailer of Criminal Minds so everyone that doesn't watch can get a little peek of what it's about!

Post #2 - "A Thin Line"

On tonight's episode, the main topics were home invasions as well as political campaigns. The show started off with a family waking up in the middle of the night to find out that there was an invader in the house. One of the children was told to hide under her bed and call 911. While on the phone, the 911 operator ends up hearing their gruesome deaths. No one in the family survived. The mother, father, daughter, and baby were all shot and perished. These murders continue to happen and a political campaign is going on at the same time. The man that is running for mayor comes off as racist with his snide remarks about how he won't let gangsters or Mexicans take over his beloved city. In the end, it is discovered why the killer focuses on white middle class families. The killer was a victim of a home invasion when he was a child. His father and sister where murdered and his mother was left with permanent brain damage. The politician hired two black men to go kill the family. That way he could easily sell the house with his real estate business and base his campaign on making the city a better place to live. The man that the BAU caught was not emotionally stable by any means. He was just an easy asset to control. He was brainwashed into killing families and staging them too look like men of other races did it. It's purpose was to make the politician overcome with positive votes and win the election. Instead, it backfired and he was caught red handed.

While this particular criminal didn't have a specific mental disorder or condition there isn't really a topic of that nature to discuss. This show was basically just a brainwashing misfortune. However I felt like it would be a good idea to post a glossary on here so if followers to choose to watch the show they aren't confused but their frequent terminology. So here's the link. http://www.criminalmindsfanwiki.com/page/Criminal+Minds+Glossary. I can't wait until next weeks show!

Post #1, "Snake Eyes"

This past Wednesday, the Criminal Minds show that aired was called "Snake Eyes". In this particular episode, it involves a man who gambles excessively and associates killing with his winning streak. It is clear that this man, Curtis, is addicted to gambling. He began going to the casino after he lost his job for punching his boss. Once he began to win big he was unable to stop and would continue to gamble until he lost everything. Curtis snaps after his wife tells him she wants a divorce and he begins his killing streak. He feels compelled to kill because he believes he will win big afterwords. Curtis also carries with him an eight-ball whenever he gambles. The profile that the Behavioral Analysis Unit gives police helps them to understand that gamblers are associated with being superstitious and this particular gambler is focused on the number eight. In the end, Curtis holds his wife and sister-in-law hostage but the police convince him to let them go. After releasing them, Curtis repeatedly looks at the clock. When the hand strikes eight o'clock he says, "The house always wins", and kills himself.

When researching gambling characteristics, I found that there is a common factor in those that are obsessed with it. There is an action called 'chasing', where if one gambles and loses they are unable to quit: thinking they can win their losses back but essentially end up in deeper debt than before. Serious gamblers, like Curtis in the show, have a variety of irrational beliefs. Most believe that persistence will lead to winning more. An additional mental factor that hindered Curtis was created because of his relationship with his father. In the show, his father was an excessive gambler and a drunk as well. His father ending up leaving and it was apparent that it had a profound effect on his life.

I really enjoyed this particular show. It was interesting to see how serious and tragic gambling can be if one has an unstable mind. I definitely encourage others to watch Criminal Minds.