Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Cold Comfort (2009)

Shemar Moore: Derek Morgan

Quotes 

• [their victim's mother is making a public appeal to her daughter's kidnapper] 

  David Rossi : Wish she would have waited until we had a chance to coach her.

  Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau : I don't know, she seems to be doing a pretty good job.

  Derek Morgan : Good enough to make the unsub think twice about killing Brooke.

  David Rossi : If he hasn't already. Chances are this is all too late.

  Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau : It's her daughter. She has to have hope, right?

  David Rossi : Hope's one thing. False hope is something else.

  Derek Morgan : I guess you've worked with psychics before?

  David Rossi : Yeah. Not by choice.

  Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau : You know, there are cases where people believe they've helped.

  David Rossi : When people are vulnerable, they'll believe a lot of things.

• Aaron Hotchner : By now, we know the DNA found on the victims did not match anyone in the system, so we're gonna have to look beyond physical evidence to identify the killer.

  Emily Prentiss : Our unsub is a white male in his mid to late 20s, and he has money. He lives alone, in a large residence. There's enough space and ventilation to accommodate an embalming suite.

  Aaron Hotchner : He's awkward with people, especially women. An inability to relate socially is common in homicidal necrophiles.

  Derek Morgan : Because of the alterations to the bodies, we believe the unsub is attempting to recreate a woman he once loved.

  Detective Duran : Like a girlfriend?

  Aaron Hotchner : Or a wife, a mother. Someone who left or died suddenly.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : This projection of the loved one coupled with his need to preserve the victims through embalming is similar to the psychopathology of serial murderer Ed Gein. Gein had an Oedipal complex which developed in the years he nursed his paralyzed mother back from a stroke. After she died, his obsession compelled him to dig up corpses of women who resembled his mother. So persistent was his desire to resurrect his dead mother that he actually dressed in female suits fashioned from human skin. Eventually, Gein grew unhappy with the flesh of dead bodies, which had a tendency to dry and crack, so he shifted his focus to live victims, whose bodies he could better preserve.

  Aaron Hotchner : The evolution from dead to live victims will also be mirrored in our unsub's maturation.

  Emily Prentiss : We've put together a list of incident reports prior to 2006. You're gonna want to follow up on these. Uh, they are inappropriate postmortem conduct, cadaver theft, and graveyard disturbances.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : 60% of necrophiles work in the death business, so be sure to canvas local cemeteries, mortuaries, and morgues.

  Derek Morgan : And since we have the killer's DNA, we're gonna be sending you out with kits to swab potential suspects.

  Aaron Hotchner : The odds of finding Brooke Lombardini alive are slim, but the quicker we identify the killer, the better her chances are. For her sake, let's work fast.