Happy October! For this month of thrills and spooks, we are going to dive into Criminal Minds and one of the episodes based on a real life serial killer! Spoilers ahead for any who have yet to see the crime drama!
Criminal Minds is focused on a group of profilers who work in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU, at the FBI. By examining the crime scenes, victimology, and the method of murder, the team is able to build a psychological profile that enables them to narrow down a list of possible suspects. While the show dramatizes the process and speed of building a criminal profile and details of the position, they also take creative liberty in the design of some of their criminals. Often they take a real case and alter details to create a new criminal for the show. Here is one of the most notable examples.
In the season four two-part finale, two brothers, Lucas and Mason Turner, bring the BAU team out of the United States to Canada. The deadly duo preys upon local sex workers and the homeless, kidnapping them and bringing them to their family farm. While there, they perform medical experiments on their victims. Lucas and Mason then dispose of the bodies by feeding them to their pigs, where little to no evidence remains after they are consumed. The only indication that the victims were ever present is a pile of shoes, unofficial tombstones of the casualties. Neither brother survives the episode, with Lucas being fatally shot by police and a victim’s family member shooting Mason.
The writers of this episode pair likely inspired inspiration from serial killer Robert Pickton. Pickton is also a Candian native with a penchant for murdering prostitutes. The police received a search warrant to search the Pickton farm for illegal firearms, however, when they found personal belongings of local missing women they arrested Pickton. While in prison, he confessed to his cellmate, an undercover cop, that he had killed 49 women. Pickton was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in 2007. One of the more disturbing details of this case is the lack of remains found. There are several theories regarding how the bodies were disposed of, ranging from feeding his victim’s bodies to his pigs or even possibly grinding and mixing them with pork to be given to friends and family.
Hope you enjoyed this true crime and pop culture mashup! Thanks for listening to the Witching Hour and make sure to stay updated by following us on instagram: @thewitchinghour.khdx!
Sources:
https://screenrant.com/criminal-minds-episodes-based-real-cases/
https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Lucas_Turner
https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pickton-robert.htm
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