05x06 - The Eyes Have It

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Criminal Minds". Aired: September 2005 to February 2020.*

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The cases of the BAU an elite group of profilers that analyze the nation's most dangerous criminal minds in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.
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05x06 - The Eyes Have It

Post by bunniefuu »

JJ: previously on "criminal minds"...

The bureau thinks that my ability to lead this team Has been compromised.

I'm resigning as unit chief at the end of the week.

What?!

I'm not leaving the team.

I'm just no longer in charge.

Me?

You are.

Ms. barnes, I'm sorry for your brother's death.

I know that sounds like something people say, But I truly am sorry.

Thank you for helping me through this.

Of course.

I think you need to cut contact with tamara barnes.

Penelope, she lost her brother.

She just wants answers.

I'm not involved.

Man: let's go.

We have to hurry.

We are.

It's 10 minutes before curfew.

I'll get you there.

What just happened with ben?

It was just a peck.

Only because you weren't alone, but next time--

So are you going to text him tonight?

Maybe.

Well, you should.

I don't know. I have homework to do still.

So what?

I guess he is pretty cute.

Um, yeah.

Aah!

No! no! please!

Stop! stop! aah!

I don't know, it sounds like a promotion to me.

Well, yeah, it--

It's complicated.

What isn't?

Hmm.

Yeah.

It's just everything's happened so fast, I mean, we haven't even had a chance To tell the rest of our team yet.

You know, I wanted to thank you again for...

Coming to the hearing.

I didn't know if it was fair to ask you.

Tamara, I'm glad I could be there for you.

I think that the only time that I have felt sane at all In the past few weeks is when I've talked to you.

Really? i...

I feel like I'm the one who's been doing all the talking here.

You've helped me reconnect to my job.

To myself, really.

It's good to see you again.

It's really nice to see you, too.

So, listen, I know that your new job is a lot of responsibility And you're gonna have to commit a hundred percent, and you should.

But maybe when things calm down, I'll buy you a drink?

Fair?

Yeah. it's more than fair.

Also, I wanted to give you something.

It was william's.

I can't take this.

I want you to have it.

Please.

For being there for me.

When you lose a brother the way that I did, It's nice to have someone like you at my side.

So, did anyone explain why hotch is stepping down?

All morgan said this morning is that it's happening.

And it's business as usual.

So we're just supposed to move forward without any discussion?

After foyet, I think we'd have to be ready for anything.

Strauss: did you pick a case?

Agent jareau and I reviewed the requests this morning, And I've decided on oklahoma city.

Why this one?

Locals have more evidentiary information In other priorities.

This one, they have nothing.

They need us the most.

Good.

If that's all, I'd like to gather the team.

I'll be checking in.

I expect to be briefed.

Yes, ma'am.

If you need privacy, please use my office.

That's ok. we're done here.

And when we get back, I'll clear everything out And it'll be all yours.

Hotch, I don't want your office.

I agree with agent hotchner.

The team leader needs a proper office.

All due respect, ms. strauss, But both of you have trusted me To step in as acting unit chief.

I'm asking that you respect my decision.

I've decided that I don't want hotch's office.

That's where he belongs.

If necessary, we can discuss this again at a later date, But right now, we really need to get started on this case.

Guys.

Grab rossi.

This is megan chertow and her friend bina sukarto, Both 17, found 2 nights ago in a parking garage, Carotids severed.

This is john o'heron, 61.

He was found dead in a wooded area 4 days ago, Blunt force trauma to the head.

Different m.o.

And completely different victimology.

Rossi: how are the cases linked?

JJ: their eyes have been removed.

Oh, he's an enucleator.

There's a name for this?

It's a rare subset of criminal behavior, But there have been case studies of assaultive enucleators.

The overwhelming majority of them suffer from diagnosed mental disorders.

Reid: and they're usually males, Lack social skills, Their kills are disorganized and sloppy.

The typical enucleator gouges the eyes out, But he doesn't normally take them with him.

This guy did?

We need to figure out why.

There are noticeable shifts From the first to second m*rder.

He goes from k*lling in seclusion To a public place.

And he escalated from one victim to 2.

What concerns me most is there's less than 48 hours Between the murders.

That's why I chose this case.

Hotch: and from what we know about enucleators, They're almost always multiple repeat offenders.

Exactly. which means he's going to need to k*ll again soon.

All right. let's meet on the plane in 30.

Aah!

Morgan: "and if thy right eye offend thee, Pluck it out and cast it from thee."

Matthew 5:29.

The color of all the victims'

eyes are different, So that probably doesn't factor in to victimology.

It's more likely what he sees in the eyes.

Case studies show that most enucleators Suffer from delusions.

They hear voices and see things in people's eyes.

Usually something evil.

They're driven to enucleate to destroy the devil.

It points to someone who may have been institutionalized And recently released.

I'll have garcia start looking.

All right, so talk to me.

What makes these att*cks so different?

With victim one, there were multiple blunt force strikes to the head--

A more personal k*ll.

And he disposed of the body, Maybe as a forensic countermeasure.

The next murders seemed less personal, More opportunistic.

I think we need to look at why the first victim Was bludgeoned and dumped.

Perhaps the unsub knew him.

Prentiss, I want you to go to the disposal site, See if you can figure out why he was dumped there.

Rossi, you and I are gonna go to last night's crime scene.

Actually, uh, the girls' families Asked to speak to our team leader.

All right. um...

Ok, in that case, rossi, you can handle the crime scene solo.

Jj, you're with me, And, hotch, reid, I want you to get into john o'heron's life, See if anything at all points to a personal motive.

Hey. phil brantley.

Appreciate you all coming.

Agent hotchner.

This is dr. reid.

You'll meet the rest of the team later.

Here's one.

Excellent.

Ok, here's where the first body was found, Just outside of town.

And last night's murders were here.

And that's about 22 miles apart.

What?

That's unusual.

Serial K*llers usually have a smaller k*ll zone.

[cell phone rings]

It's our technical analyst.

Hey, garcia, you're on speaker phone.

So, I looked up recently released mental health patients Who have a history of eye gouging, Eye as*ault, and other gross things You can do to eyes and sockets.

And there's no bingo for okie city residents.

Any other recent att*cks involving assaults on eyes?

There's one 9 months ago.

He's not your guy 'cause he's in jail.

We'll call you later.

10-4, breaker breaker.

Bye.

You think he's fresh out of an asylum?

Either that or he's been held somewhere and he's now free.

We've seen eye assaults before, You know, bar brawls, rage, domestic abuse cases.

But nothing like this.

What the hell's he doing with the eyes?

He could be collecting them as a trophy of some sort.

Reid: they wouldn't keep long as trophies.

Eyes are 80% vitreous humor, Which is essentially water.

After a few hours, they begin to get cloudy and wilt.

Any other theories?

There have been cases where after enucleation, Mental patients have consumed the eyeballs.

Are you serious?

Thank you for coming here.

It's no problem.

We can't leave our house.

We have to mourn for 3 days.

Buddhist rituals?

Yes.

Did your sister call you While she was out last night?

No. I knew something was wrong.

She always comes home by curfew.

Does this man look familiar to you?

No.

Why do you ask?

We believe he and your sister Were k*lled by the same person.

It helps us to rule out any connection between the victims, And it tells us that your sister was most likely att*cked at random.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

I asked to speak to you Because we need you to do something for us.

[takes breath] mm.

It's ok.

Take your time.

Grandma said she saw bina's ghost last night.

Her eyes were just big black holes.

Bina was looking for her eyes.

She says bina's cursed.

She can't rest.

She's stuck for eternity Looking for her eyes.

We want to cremate her.

But we need all of her.

Can you find her eyes for us?

We will try.

But realistically, we may not be able to.

Then she will be cursed forever.

She may never rest in peace.

O'heron's friends say he has a history of drunken behavior, But they don't know anybody with a grudge against him.

He was last seen leaving a bar.

Bartender on duty said he left without incident.

Where did he go after that?

I checked out the disposal site Where john o'heron's body was dumped.

It's a remote farm road.

The unsub didn't just stumble on it, he knows it.

We need a list of people Who work or live near the area.

I got a bad feeling about this guy.

Why is that?

He chose that parking garage.

He was patient.

He hid and waited for the right victims And the right time and place.

He blitzed them.

It was all strategic.

That sounds way too organized for a typical enucleator.

Add to that his lack of a cooling-off period between kills, It's not gonna be easy to get ahead of him.

I just got off the phone with the m.e.

She says there's something we should see.

The eyeball is held in the socket By 6 different muscles, fatty tissue, And the optic nerves.

These are pictures of john o'heron's eye sockets.

See the optic nerves protruding?

Trauma. they were ripped out.

Maybe with fingers.

Now compare this to my body on the table.

Smooth inside, no bruising, no sign of trauma.

Optic nerves retracted into the muscle And they have a clean edge.

So you're saying these were cut out.

With a sharp-edged tool.

He managed to avoid cutting the sockets Or the eyelids.

This was precise work.

The kind of work only a doctor could do?

All I'm saying is that with both of these girls, It was a clean excision.

Ok, so he was crude with the first victim, Surgical with the others.

The amount of effort he's going through To remove the eyes now, he wouldn't destroy them.

He's keeping them.

[panting]

[rustling]

Ohh!

He's not afraid to get caught.

This is far from the other crime scenes.

What brought him here?

Well, he only k*lled one person this time.

It could have been more.

Hey, we found a car parked nearby.

I.d.'d her from a dmv photo.

Tracy copper, 32.

Husband said she was an avid jogger.

Single Kn*fe wound to the neck, eyes are missing.

Cut out as carefully as the last ones.

Hey, garcia. so we have the list of local doctors, But we need to back it up one step.

Where shall I splice, my pretties?

Give me a list of all doctors Who've had infractions like malpractice suits.

Got it. bouncing your way.

Narrow it down to eye specialists.

Whoo, that's still a lot of names.

We'll chip away when we know more.

Hey, wait.

Before you hang up, How's my morgan doing?

Fine.

I know the man is fine.

How's he holding up as head honcho?

Well, he's stressed, but he's on top of it.

Speaking of which, There is something you could do for him.

Name it.

He must have hidden in these trees lying in wait again.

So he picked his location and then waited for a victim of opportunity.

He blitzes her because he lacks the social skills to charm.

That feels like the same pattern As the girls in the parking lot.

But he was quiet in the parking lot.

If he hid in these trees, there's too much dry brush.

He would have made noise.

No, it's too sloppy for him.

She was a serious jogger.

If she'd heard him, She might have been able to outrun him.

Unless he surprised her some other way.

Guys.

What is that?

A tripwire.

We need to look at her ankles.

He used the tripwire to get her off her feet.

She's stunned and she doesn't have time to run away.

He laid a trap for her.

All this, plus the way he bleeds her at the neck.

It's the behavior of a game hunter.

Hunting's a big part of this city's culture.

Yeah, hunting animals is.

What triggered him to start hunting humans?

This guy is taking people's eyes, So he's definitely disturbed.

What bugs me is that people like this Usually unravel, get sloppy.

And this guy's only getting better.

They're back.

Morgan, I'm fielding calls left and right here.

What's happening?

Case made national news.

They're starting to call him the eye snatcher.

All right, um, You're gonna hold a small, controlled press conference.

Answer their questions, but try to squash that name.

I want the people to be aware, but I do not want to make A bogeyman out of this guy.

You understand?

Yeah. yeah.

Is there something else?

You're not answering strauss' calls.

She's just trying to keep tabs. she can wait.

Morgan. maybe you should take the time to field the call.

Hotch, we have to set up a tip line.

We have to go over jj's talking points.

We haven't gotten the profile out yet.

All of that takes priority over dealing with strauss.

I understand all that.

Let us help you set up strategy while you talk to her.

We'll regroup with you before we proceed.

We have enough battles.

Believe me, you don't want to fight her, too.

Let me get this profile out, And then I'll go talk to strauss.

He's doing a good job.

He is.

Have you thought about how this is going to end?

What do you mean?

Morgan as our unit chief is a temporary thing.

It is.

He's a natural leader.

He'll excel.

What happens when he's asked to step down?

[inaudible conversation]

We believe that our unsub May have known his first victim, Yet the rest were random.

Most enucleators have a mental disorder And are frenzied and sloppy when they att*ck.

This one has more control.

We are not calling him by any nickname.

He is simply a m*rder*r that the fbi is trying to apprehend.

He lays in wait to k*ll his victims, Knows how to cut them so they bleed out.

This indicates he might have a hunting background.

We're urging citizens to be hypervigilant at night.

He is k*lling in different areas of the city In public places.

His large k*ll zone could be related To some type of travel pattern in his life, Which indicates a comfort with these neighborhoods.

Why, all of a sudden, is he k*lling people every day?

The escalation might be caused By a self-imposed time line.

He has to m*rder so many people, Take this many eyes, to accomplish a task.

So he's crazy, but he's got a mission?

Actually, yes.

He's acting on a delusion That's fueling this m*rder spree.

For example, A man named herbert mullin.

He had a fear of a catastrophic earthquake hitting california.

Now, he believed that by k*lling people And offering their blood as a sacrifice to the earth, He could prevent an earthquake.

He was a paranoid schizophrenic, And his delusion led him to k*ll 13 people.

Uh, what should we look for when we're on the streets?

We believe he's a white male, 27 to 35.

We believe he is driving a van or a pickup truck With a removable cab.

Something utilitarian that can get bloody and wash out easily.

He may also have applied for hunting licenses.

He has some sort of medical or surgical training But fell short of making a career out of it.

JJ: he may have been in a halfway house Or have been granted leave from a treatment facility.

Maybe his family moved him away and now he's back.

If you know anyone who fits these types of scenarios, Please call our tip line.

Our unsub kills at night, Employs hunting tactics, and is patient.

He will wait until he can be alone with his victims.
[cell phone rings]

[ring]

Chief strauss.

You're answering my calls now?

Listen, I apologize for this morning, But I'm sure you can understand how busy we were.

So what's the strategy tonight?

I have the team visiting precincts all over town Helping locals set up patrol.

And media outlets are warning citizens To be hypervigilant.

What about suspects?

Nothing viable yet.

So ultimately, you're no closer to catching him tonight.

Trust me, I am well aware that he is probably out there hunting as we speak.

Now, if I wake up in the morning and there are more victims, That is all on me.

Look, I'm not criticizing you.

In fact, there are a lot of people who have faith in you And want to see you succeed.

Do you understand that?

Yes, ma'am.

I'm just checking in to make sure your team is intact And that you have everything you need to do your job.

This team is solid, And we will get the job done.

We'll touch base tomorrow.

I'm dreading going to work.

You always say that.

Hey, I'll start looking for a new job.

We'll grab a paper in the morning And start circling whatever looks good to you.

[metal snaps]

Did you hear something?

That's weird.

I see someone.

[metal snaps]

Hello!

Hello?

What the hell's he doing?

Wes?

I'm freaking out.

There's no reception.

Let's go.

No, sandy.

Not that way.

Wes, can you see?

Quiet, baby.

He can hear us.

He's behind us.

Get in front of me.

I can't see anything.

Get to the car.

Down the hill.

[car alarm chirps]

Go. go, go.

Go, sandy. go.

Uhh! ohh...

Uhh!

[rustling]

Wes.

Wes?

Wes.

No, please don't.

Thought I'd b*at everyone here.

No.

You here all night?

You know you can't do that again, right?

Rossi, when you walked in here, I really thought you were gonna tell me that there was another victim.

We're having no luck at all trying to find this guy on paper.

That's why we step away, Get some sleep, come back fresh.

We're looking for a doctor who is also a hunter And a former mental patient who happens to be cutting people's eyes out.

Trust the profile.

When we get him, it'll all make sense.

Good morning.

No, it isn't.

Don't tell me.

Brantley: a male and a female.

Rossi: he's back to k*lling 2?

There's something different about this crime scene, though.

He cut the wires in the electrical boxes, k*lled all the lights.

So they couldn't see.

He wanted to force them off the trail So he could hunt them in the dark.

If they couldn't see, he couldn't.

He probably used some kind of night vision aid, Like a scope, something a hunter would use.

Her carotid was severed, And her eyes are missing, just like the others.

He didn't take the boy's eyes.

Well, why not?

What's so different?

There's a laceration on his left eye, The right eye he didn't even touch.

He's got defensive wounds on his arms.

He probably tried to fight back to protect the girl.

During the fight, the unsub could have cut his eye.

We said he might be collecting them.

What if he needs a set?

An injury like that ruins the collection.

They're trophies.

Oh, my god.

What?

I know this sounds crazy, but just hear me out.

A taxidermist?

Morgan might be onto something.

The unsub's collecting sets of eyes that need to be flawless.

Because he's preserving them as a trophy of some kind.

We said he was a hunter.

What do hunters collect for trophies?

What if we're wrong about him being a doctor?

It makes sense.

A taxidermist has all the skills and supplies Needed to preserve eyes and other body parts.

Do they know how to surgically remove eyes like this?

Yeah, they have anatomy knowledge.

They have to cut through muscle, tissue, and nerves In order to remove hide.

It's the exact same thing for eyeballs.

[cell phone rings]

Garcia, you're on speaker.

Comrades, I cross-referenced This john o'heron with okie city animal stuffers.

Turns out he wrote a $250 check as some sort of deposit For lloyd's wild game shop 6 weeks ago.

Now, this place is scant miles from the farm road Where our first victim was dumped.

Does lloyd have a record?

Uh...lloyd bulford Has one recent record from the city, and it is...

A death certificate.

He d*ed 4 weeks ago.

JJ: of what?

Emphysema.

Any employees with criminal records?

He's got no employment records at all.

He has a 28-year-old son named earl who lives with him Who has a petty crime record And 3 counts of animal cruelty.

Garcia, get everything on the son.

Garcia: okey-dokey.

Morgan, we may have someone.

[drill buzzing]

[telephone rings]

[drill stops]

Woman: I'm calling from oklahoma city bank and trust.

This is our fifth attempt to reach mr. earl bulford.

We just want to remind you that you need to collect all your belongings And vacate the premises by sunday.

The eyes aren't right.

Where's your dad?

He's gotta fix those eyes.

The eyes are good.

You can't do eyes!

Here! I'm taking it somewhere else.

You can't do eyes.

Is there any record of mental illness?

No, but mom had a degenerative eye disease Called retinitis pigmentosa, Which would eventually lead her to go blind, And considering his crimes, that's super weird, right?

So, anyway, she d*ed in a car accident when he was 8, And then he gets expelled from school For getting in a fight with a kid And trying to gouge the kid's eyes out.

I have no record of him returning to school, He has no employment records, He's never filed for taxes, he doesn't have a credit card in his name.

Besides his driver's license, there's no record on him at all.

That's probably why he didn't show up on any of our lists.

Sounds like he's totally dependent on his dad, And when dad dies, there's no one left to check up on him.

Ok, dad drove a 1990 dark-brown chevy cargo van.

Hot news--creditors took the house this week, And a lien was put on the business.

Lost his dad, his house, about to lose the family business.

Care to choose a stressor?

I'll take the back with brantley.

There's no van here.

Morgan: copy.

I don't see anything.

Hotch, I see blood.

We're going in.

Prentiss: clear.

That's gotta be john o'heron's blood.

So he comes here to see his animal, They argue, and then this happens.

Clear.

He's been sleeping here.

Well, if he's not here now, then he's out hunting again.

This one doesn't have eyes.

Neither does this one.

This one does.

This is what's he's doing with the eyes.

Look at these.

He's been hunting Since he was a kid.

Never went to school.

Probably spent his entire childhood in here.

Somebody this socially isolated no doubt has mental issues.

Looks like he only knew two things--

Hunting and taxidermy.

Which was fine as long as daddy was supervising him.

Now his gatekeeper's gone and he's loose.

Right over there, please.

Yes, ma'am.

This is much later than you guys said it was gonna be.

Let me see it.

Wow.

My daddy's gonna love it.

What?

I need something from you.

I think this is all of his customer information.

Morgan, prentiss.

Wait. this address, junction road, It's close to where the teenage girls got k*lled.

I think he's attacking all over town Close to where his customers live.

I know the customer on dry creek road, Close to where that jogger got k*lled in the park.

And what about where the couple was m*rder*d last night?

Close to this address here.

Ok, so he's delivering these animals to his clients' homes And then sticking around the neighborhood to find victims.

And there are 2 more addresses here.

All right, we should split up and go.

I'll get units to these locations.

All right, thank you so much.

The woman at the bleaker address hasn't seen him today.

No response at the other residence.

[telephone rings]

[knock on door]

[knocking]

[ring]

What the hell?

[knocking]

[ring]

May I help you?

I'm agent hotchner with the fbi.

This is lieutenant brantley.

May we come in?

Yeah.

Did you get a delivery today From a taxidermy shop from this man?

Yes, I did.

I need an apb in my area.

How long ago was this?

About an hour ago.

He said he needed something from me.

The balance I owed.

I paid him and he left.

He creeped the hell out of me.

These are glass.

What is this about?

Agent hotchner.

They found the van.

It's close.

Excuse us.

He must be close by.

You take the street to the north.

Uhh! uhh!

Aah! uhh!

Aah!

[groaning]

Aah!

Help!

I need backup near motor and descanso.

Aah! aah!

Fbi, earl!

Get off of her!

We got him.

We got him!

Call an ambulance!

We need medical assistance.

8800 block of descanso, south side of the street.

Hotch: secure him.

Can you hear me?

Help is on the way.

Hold still.

Hold still.

Brantley: you can talk to the fbi when we come back.

What happened here?

Took him down by himself.

Morgan: hotch.

Brantley says you took him down solo.

He wasn't far behind me.

You know you should have waited for backup.

Would you have?

What?

Nothing.

We got him.

We're coming home.

[sighs] you guys rock.

Right back at you.

So how are you doing on that special ops mission?

Mission accomplished.

I had no doubt.

Bye.

[chuckles]

Keep it.

There he is.

The team's at the hotel packing.

You think we can leave in about an hour?

Yeah. yeah, we can try.

Hey, that's my stuff. hey!

Where did you get that stuff?

Hey. hey!

Keep your voice down.

That guy was mean.

He deserved it.

You know, you've got...

Real pretty eyes.

Get him out of here--now.

Sorry.

Jj, did they find any more human eyes at the shop?

Yeah, a few.

They're still looking.

They're hoping to match the eyes To the rest of the victims.

Uh, listen, I may need more than an hour.

Ms. sukarto.

Agent morgan.

Did you find them?

We did.

They're at the coroner's office right now.

They need to be processed for evidence first, But they can be sent to the funeral home of your choice tomorrow.

You have no idea what this means to us.

I really hope your sister can rest in peace now.

Good night.

Morgan: "dwell in peace in the home of your own being, And the messenger of death will not be able to touch you."

Guru nanak.

You are here late.

Reports.

Hotch always stayed later than the rest of us, And now I understand why.

He doesn't have to write them anymore. why is he still here?

I don't know.

But I do know I need to get some rest.

I got another case starting tomorrow.

Um, i--before you go, can you help me get something out of storage?

Yes, baby girl.

Anything for you.

Thank you.

Hey, what's that?

I haven't seen it before.

Penelope, there's a lot of my stuff that you haven't seen before.

Wow, you are a tease.

Voila.

What are we doing in hall's office?

Um, it's kind of not hall's office anymore.

It's your office.

What?

Jj made some calls.

Agent hall's retiring in a month, But he's finishing his caseload at home, So, while you all were away, Mama set to work clearing out the rest of his boxes And setting up an uber office fit for our acting unit chief.

Garcia, this is for real?

It's kind of blah for my taste, But I figured you needed to keep up with agency standards.

I did make you your own...

Secret fun zone.

[toy squeaking]

Woman, you have lost your mind.

Mm-hmm.

But you are the best.

I completely agree.

Come here.

I will leave you alone To mark your territory.

Hey.

Thank you.

Very much.

You are ever so welcome.

[dialing]

Hey. it's me.

Yeah, I'm back.

Listen, uh...

Does that offer for a drink still stand?
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