16 Horrifying True Crimes That Inspired Episodes Of "Criminal Minds"

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Criminal Minds has been giving us a chilling insight into the psyche of a killer for years, so it makes sense for the show to take inspiration from some terrifying real-life cases...

1. ...Like in "The Big Wheel," the unsub (unidentified subject) shares striking similarities with the Lipstick Killer, who left messages at his crime scenes begging the authorities to catch him.

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In the show: A mysterious killer sends the BAU (The Behavioral Analysis Unit) a videotape of one of his crimes, and it includes the message "help me." He's revealed to be a man named Vincent who has psychological damage and a compulsion to kill.

In real life: William Heirens also had a compulsion to kill, and he got his nickname after leaving messages at his crime scene, including this chilling one: "For heaven’s sake catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself." He killed three women, and spent 65 years in prison.

2. The killer in "There's No Place Like Home" had a lot in common with Jeffrey Dahmer – from choosing similar victims, to the way they dismembered them after the gory murders.

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In the show: JD lookalike Travis James lured teenage boys in with beer, before drugging, killing, and dismembering them. Although he wasn't a cannibal like Dahmer, Reid and Prentiss compare the two, noting that they both kept their victims' body parts as souvenirs.

In real life: Known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, Dahmer lured his 17 victims – all young men – into his home before drugging, torturing, and ultimately murdering them.

3. Not only does the unsub in "Seven Seconds" share the same name as murderer Richard Allen Davis, but they both abducted little girls with the help of a female accomplice.

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In the show: After a little girl goes missing, the BAU discover that her uncle, Richard, is a paedophile. They soon work out that his wife was the one who abducted the niece. Reid points out the similarity in victims between the two, but the fictional Richard did not go on to commit murder.

In real life: Richard Allen Davis was a petty criminal who committed a string of victimless crimes, before abducting and killing 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her home. The aftermath of this awful crime led to America ruling in favour of the "Three-Strikes and You're Out" law.

4. The BAU themselves compared The Boston Reaper to the notorious Zodiac Killer. Just like the unidentified murderer, the Reaper taunted the police and his investigation went cold, to name a few similarities.

CBS / San Fransisco Police Deptartment

In the show: Every Criminal Minds fan knows the relentless havoc the elusive Boston Reaper, a.k.a. George Foyet, caused. As the Reaper, he would dress in all black and taunt his victims, before brutally killing them and taking their personal items. When he somehow managed to escape from prison, he started stalking and taunting Hotch.

In real life: The Zodiac was described as a narcissistic serial killer, believed to have dressed in all black when he committed his crimes. Despite the taunting cryptic letters he sent to the authorities, his identity has never been discovered and he is believed to have around 37 victims (George Foyet had 36).

5. The murderous pair in "The Perfect Storm" were directly inspired by The Ken and Barbie Killers – a young married couple who videotaped themselves assaullting and murdering teenage girls.

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In the show: The Canardos are a young couple who abducted and tortured teenage girls, before killing them and sending a DVD of the murder to their victim's mums.

In real life: Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (nicknamed the Ken and Barbie Killers because of their wealthy backgrounds) were a Canadian couple who filmed the torture and murder of their teenage victims, one of whom was Karla's 15-year-old sister. Bernardo was allegedly abusive to Karla, who only served 12 years for her involvement.

6. The crimes in "Hostage" are almost identical to those committed by Ariel Castro, a serial rapist who kept three women in his basement for almost 10 years.

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In the show: After a teenage girl escapes from captivity, the BAU attempt to rescue the other girls who were held hostage with her. They discover that a man had held them captive in his basement for around a decade, continually raping and abusing them. The details of this episode are almost identical to the crimes Castro committed, with both abductors fathering a child with one of their victims.

In real life: In 2013, one of the women Ariel Castro had held hostage managed to escape, which then led to the rescue of the two other women he was abusing in his basement. All three women were abducted between 2002-4, and they had initially trusted Castro as he was their friend's father.

7. In Criminal Minds, Charles Manson and his cult are mentioned all the time, but in "The Tribe," there are some serious parallels. Both charismatic cult leaders planned to start race wars and killed people by proxy.

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In the show: The BAU are called in to investigate some murders that look like they were attacked using old Native American war rituals. The killings turn out to have been carried out by a cult, led by a man who was on a mission to create a war between Native Americans and Caucasians.

In real life: Charles Manson had some wild theories, one of them being "Helter Skelter" – his belief that there would be a race war between black and white people. Manson ordered his followers to commit the Tate LaBianca murders as a way to kick-start the race war.

8. The crimes in "Alpha Male" were inspired by misogynistic spree killer Elliott Rodger, who went on a rampage and killed six people in 2014.

CBS / Robyn Beck / Getty Images

In the show: A number of "attractive" people are left disfigured after a series of acid attacks, and the team track down Alan Crawford as the man behind them. After investigation, they learn that he's a misogynistic stalker who had also planned to go on a murdering spree.

In real life: in 2014, Elliot Rodger published a manifesto and video where he detailed his frustrations with loneliness and rejection from women. He vowed to have his retribution against humanity, then went on a spree near the University of California, Santa Barbara, killing 6 and injuring 24.

9. The fictional Turner brothers disposed of their victims' bodies by feeding them to the pigs on their farm, which is exactly what real-life killer Robert Pickton did.

CBS / Getty Images

In the show: Possibly one of Criminal Mind's most gruesome cases, these brothers abducted, dismembered, and killed 89 people. They managed to fly under the radar for so long because they targeted people who were often looked down on in society and they disposed of their remains by feeding them to the pigs on their father's farm.

In real life: Robert Pickton is widely known as one of Canada's worst serial killers – he admitted to killing 49 people. Pickton would lure sex workers onto his farm where he would then rape, murder, and dismember them. As well as feeding his victims' remains to his pigs, it's also believed that he mixed some of them with animal meat which he then sold to the public.

10. The show's notorious Billy Flynn has similarities with many famous criminals, especially serial killer Richard Ramirez who killed 20 victims, usually during home invasions.

Adam Rose / ABC STUDIOS

In the show: Flynn, who the press nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness", was a drug addict, rapist, and robber who committed his first murder in California in 1984.

In real life: Like Flynn, Ramirez, who was nicknamed the Night Stalker, was a serial rapist, robber, and killer who began murdering in 1984. Ramirez went uncaptured for over 10 years. One of the most notable similarities between these two is that they both locked children in closets during their murderous home invasions.

11. The leader of the cult in "Minimal Loss" was almost exactly like Jim Jones, who orchestrated one of the biggest mass suicide-murders in history – 908 people died.

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In the show: While investigating child abuse claims, the BAU find Benjamin Cyrus, a rapist and cult leader who has plans to encourage his followers to drink poison to prove their loyalty to him.

In real life: in 1977, Jim Jones – also a serial rapist and cult leader – moved over 1000 members of the Peoples Temple to a compound in the Guyanese jungle. He named it Jonestown, and a year later he gathered all the members together and forced them to drink a cyanide-laced concoction. Until the 9/11 attacks, this awful event was the biggest loss of US citizen lives, and is where the phrase "drinking the Kool-aid" comes from.

12. The creepy Reimanns may have seemed unbelievable, but their crimes are almost identical to Cameron and Janice Hooker, a married couple who abducted and kept women captive.

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In the show: Led by sadistic husband Robert, The Reimans would abduct and assault young runaways in their basement. Once the victims became pregnant, housebound Linda would care for the women until they gave birth. The girl babies were abandoned and their mums killed, but the boys were raised as Linda and Robert's own.

In real life: Just like Linda and Robert, the Hookers were a pairing of a sadistic husband and submissive wife who abducted two young women as sex slaves in the late '70s. Their first victim, Marliz Spannhake, was killed through torture while their second, Colleen Stan, was held captive in a coffin-like box for seven years. Unlike the fictional couple, they didn't raise their abductees' children, but they did have kids of their own at the time of the kidnaps.

13. Just like the Hill Ripper, real-life killer Ed Gein was a necrophiliac with some serious mummy issues.

CBS / Imagination Worldwide

In the show: After the body of a woman dressed in 1950s clothes is found, the BAU work to track down the killer. It turns out to be the work of Rhett Walden Jr, the son of an abusive failed actress who is suffering from schizophrenic delusions, and has the corpse of his mother in his house.

In real life: Ed gain was a mentally ill man who killed and dismembered young women during the 1950s. When he was caught, he admitted that after the death of his abusive mother, he robbed graves and killed two women that resembled his mum in an attempt to make a "suit" from human body parts. His chilling story didn't only influence this episode – Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs were also inspired by some of his life.

14. The cannibalistic Eddie from "Blood Hungry" might have seemed like a work of grim fiction, but he has a lot in common with Richard Chase. Chase, AKA the "Dracula Killer" believed he had to drink the blood of his victims to stay alive.

CBS

In the show: The BAU track down Eddie after three people are brutally murdered and cannibalised. Once caught, the police find food containers filled with blood and body parts at the scene of the crime.

In real life: Like Eddie, Richard Chase was a mentally ill former drug addict. Before he murdered people, he disemboweled animals and drank their organs in a Coca-cola slurry. He went on to kill six people and killed himself while in prison.

15. In "Broken Wing," it was no coincidence that Donald Harvey was mentioned by the BAU. Just like the episode's murderer, he was an angel-of-death type killer who poisoned patients at the hospital he worked at.

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In the show: When the BAU investigate a string of suspicious overdoses, the team soon discover that the ex-rehab patients were poisoned by doctor Douglas Knight, who killed over 35 addicts.

In real life: Donald Harvey, who was known as the Angel of Death, was a hospital worker who killed between 45-87 people (but was convicted for 37), most of whom were patients. He typically killed them by smothering, poisoning, or using faulty equipment on them.

16. “The Thirteenth Step” follows two crazed lovers who are on an impassioned robbing and killing spree. It sounds wild, but it's pretty much the same story as Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate – a real teen couple who robbed and killed eleven people.

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In the show: In this whirlwind of an episode, Ray and Sydney blow up a gas station, get married, and end up going on a robbing and shooting spree, killing 26 people.

In real life: In 1957 Charles shot a gas station attendant who wouldn't sell him a stuffed toy for Caril, who was 14 at the time, on credit. Just a few months later, the pair joined up and Charles shot all of Caril's family, then went on a killing and robbing spree. They killed 11 people in total. Charles was sentenced to death, while Caril was charged as his accomplice.

What's your favourite Criminal Minds episode? Tell us in the comments!