The Angel Maker

Does Hotch have lasting injuries from the SUV explosion? Read the BeeSight BeeCap of the second episode of the fourth season of Criminal Minds to find out what happened and join in the discussion.

BeeCap

A woman, alone in her home, hears a strange noise. She investigates and finds it's just her cat getting into a pot in the kitchen. She looks out the window and sees a shooting star. As she closes her eyes to make a wish, a shadowy figure darts across the room. The woman goes to bed and before she wakes in the morning, a person comes out of her closet and attacks her with a hammer.

Hotch meets with his doctor to talk about the pain he still feels from the explosion. He says he still has a little ringing in his ears, but it's not too bad. She tells him that he shouldn't go back to work because he could lose his hearing permanently. He pleads with her to let him go back and she agrees as long as he avoids loud noises. Hotch's phone rings, but he doesn't hear it. When the doctor tells him, he answers it and gets the details of the murder.

The team gathers to analyze the crime. The victim had her arms crossed, was assaulted sexually, and had several post-mortem puncture wounds in her stomach from a screwdriver. The details match the work of a serial killer dubbed 'The Angel Maker', who had murdered 6 other women many years ago. They realize that it has to be a copycat killer since the Angel Maker was executed last year. The killing occurred on the 1 year anniversary of his death.

The team is stumped, however, by the presence of semen in the woman. The DNA is an exact match to the Angel Maker. Spencer floats the idea of an 'eviler' twin.

They fly to the town where the murder occurred and while on the plane, Hotch's ears start ringing. When they meet with the local police, they're told that all the windows were open just like how the Angel Maker would leave the scene. They're told that detail was never released to the press, so the copycat had to be close to the Angel Maker. They also find traces of notebook paper in the stab wounds, which is something the Angel Maker didn't do and is new to the copycat.

They find out that the Angel Maker had no family, so all of his belongings were held by the state prison. The team asks Sid, the prison guard, if the Angel Maker had had any frequent visitors. The guard tells them that all sorts of weird people came to visit him, one guy even gave him sheet music written in blood.

The local paper then contacts the team with a letter they've just received claiming to be written by the Angel Maker. The letter turns out to be authentic, but the team's not sure if it was written before his death. They then learn that there is a rumor around town that the Angel Maker's execution didn't work and that he never died. The team heads to the grave and find the casket is empty. The noise of the digging equipment causes Hotch's ears to ring and he reels in pain.

The team then contacts the doctor who was present at the Angel Maker's execution. He explains that there were problems with his catheter falling out and that it took several tries and more than an hour to finally complete the execution, but assures them that the Angel Maker was dead. He also tells them that before he died, the Angel Maker told everyone that he'd come back.

The team then researches fans of the Angel Maker. Garcia calls in with information she found of Angel Maker paraphernalia dealers and buyers. They're told that the only local merchant was the prison guard. They go to his house and enter to find him shot to death. They figure the killer must have gone to him after finding out that he released the visitor logs. They find a box of love letters and realize that the killer was a woman.

The team profiles the type of woman that would become infatuated with a serial killer. Spencer says that she is probably attractive and successful. They figure out that she was probably committing the murders to feel closer to the Angel Maker. Unlike the Angel Maker who picked victims he was attracted to, the copycat must have just picked easy targets and used an object to sexually assault them.

After examining the prison logs and the love letters, Emily and David narrow their search to one woman, Shara Carlino. They approach her and she tells them about her and the Angel Maker's relationship. She tells them about the love letters they exchanged and how one day she received a letter that was meant for someone else that he called 'My Dove'. She said she destroyed the letter out of anger. Since she was out of town on the night of the murder, she couldn't be their suspect.

The team then tries to figure out who 'my dove' is. They think that since the killer has access to the Angel Maker's semen, she may have been pregnant. They find letters addressed to 'My Dove' written in binary code. Spencer decodes the letters and finds one that contains good news. They research hospital birth records to find who gave birth around that time and discover a woman named Chloe Kelcher, whose baby died at birth. Chloe was a member of the jury that convicted the Angel Maker.

Meanwhile, another woman is killed. When they investigate the scene of the second murder, Emily notices something odd about the puncture wounds. They are always different which makes the patterns seem random. When the second victim's wounds have traces of paper like the first, Emily realizes the killer was using a template. They research the patterns and find that they match the Heavenly Waters constellations. There is only one constellation left in that group that hasn't appeared, so they figure there will be one more murder to complete the set.

The team finds that all the women who were killed lived alone and ran home business. That would make them easy targets since the killer could go to their house for business and sneak off to crack open a window and break in later. They then get a call from a woman who was attacked in her home by another woman.

BeeThoughts

I think Hotch may be losing his hearing. It would be interesting if the show had a hearing impaired detective. As for the episode, it was fairly suspensful, but really gross. I wish CBS would ease up on the female victims for a change, but I guess they've found their niche in the market. The team was really focused on the crime and didn't have any time for relationship development., I thought we would see Derek and Garcia become closer after he almost blew up.

- Kristine R.