'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAHhAAAgEEAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQFERITkSH/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADBP/EABgRAAMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEQIh/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDKcLHctbTSG5PasKOW1vkQzAb8qBLnbkyuZJHLknkRr6fKUp9KJQkz1un/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Criminal Minds isn’t just another crime drama. It’s a show that digs deep into the human soul, especially the broken ones. While the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) team tracks down some of the darkest criminals, the show often peels back the layers to show us why these people snapped.
Some of the killers, or unsubs, don’t just commit crimes, they carry decades of pain, trauma, and heartbreak. And sometimes, you can't help but feel sorry for them.
Let’s dive into three Criminal Minds killers with the saddest backstories. These stories don’t excuse the crimes, but they do explain the pain behind the madness.
Have you ever watched an episode and thought, “That could’ve been me in another life”? That’s what Criminal Minds does so well. These killers weren’t born evil. Many of them were victims first, abused, abandoned, or broken in ways no child or person should be.
Top 3 Criminal Minds unsubs
1. Samantha Malcolm – A life full of pain
In Criminal Minds Samantha Malcolm’s story is like something ripped from the darkest pages of a novel. She lost her mother early and was left in the care of her father, Dr. Arthur Malcolm. But instead of being a safe place, her home became a prison. Her father was supposed to heal her. Instead, he used medical tools to control her.
When Samantha started showing signs of depression, her father didn’t take her to a therapist. Instead, he performed electroshock therapy on her. This wasn’t treatment. This was punishment, meant to keep her quiet about a dark secret.
The real reason behind Samantha’s depression? Her father was sexually abusing her. The shock treatments were to silence her. After every abuse, he’d gift her a special doll, as if a toy could make up for what he did.
As an adult, Samantha lost her mind when her father gave away those dolls. In her broken mind, those dolls represented her stolen innocence. She started kidnapping women and treating them like life-sized versions of her dolls, keeping them in awful conditions, trying to control what she couldn’t fix inside herself.
It’s horrifying. But it’s also tragic. Samantha was a little girl crying for help, and no one listened.
2. William Taylor – A father’s worst nightmare
William Taylor was just a regular dad in Criminal Minds. One night, after working back-to-back shifts, he picked up his 5-year-old daughter, Tatiana, from her dance recital. On the way home, he felt too tired to drive and pulled over to nap. That one decision changed everything.
He accidentally slept for hours. When he woke up, Tatiana was gone. No parent should ever experience that kind of fear. He later in Criminal Minds remembered a man with a skull tattoo approaching the car, but due to his exhaustion, no one believed him. They thought he imagined it.
Tatiana’s body was found a week later. William couldn’t live with the guilt. He started kidnapping and torturing random men, believing one of them was the kidnapper. His mind created a villain he could fight, even if it was the wrong person.
William wasn’t evil. He was broken. Losing his daughter destroyed his world. In his mind, hurting others was his way of finding answers. It wasn’t justice, but it was a desperate cry from a grieving father.
3. Paul Westin – The wounds of forced conversion
Paul Westin knew he was gay from a young age. That should’ve been the start of a journey to understanding himself. Instead, it turned into a nightmare.
When he came out to his father in Criminal Minds, John, the reaction was cruel. Paul was sent to a conversion camp, a place meant to “fix” him. But it only broke him. Worse still, his father hired a sex worker to “make him straight.” That moment became one of Paul’s deepest scars.
Paul grew up full of shame, pain, and confusion. He couldn’t accept his own identity. That internal war made him violent. He killed the men he slept with out of guilt and the women who reminded him of the trauma he suffered.
His story is one of pain turned inward, then outward. He didn’t know how to be who he was. And he hated himself for it. Paul’s crimes came from a place of deep, unresolved trauma. Watching his episode hurts because you realize that he was never given a chance to love himself.
What do these three killers have in common in Criminal Minds? They were all failed by the people who were supposed to protect them. Parents. Society. Systems that should’ve saved them, but didn’t.
Their crimes in Criminal Minds are horrifying, yes. But behind each one is a story of someone begging for help, only to be ignored or silenced.
Criminal Minds reminds us that not every villain starts as one. Sometimes, they’re victims of deeper horrors, ones we often don’t see.
Samantha Malcolm. William Taylor. Paul Westin. These are not just characters in Criminal Minds. They’re mirrors reflecting how trauma, when left untreated, can twist even the kindest soul into something unrecognizable. Their stories leave us with questions, not just about justice, but about how we treat pain, mental health, and each other.
And maybe, just maybe, the saddest part is how real their pain feels.
Trending
For more updates, keep reading Soap Central!
Reply
