Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Profiling 101 (2012)

Joe Mantegna: David Rossi

Quotes 

• Dr. Spencer Reid : He dumped his first victim Rachel in an alley, but he took the time to bury Tina, which suggests he felt more connected to her and perhaps even felt remorse.

  David Zimmerman : Did you ever catch this guy?

  David Rossi : What's your name, young man?

  David Zimmerman : David Zimmerman.

  David Rossi : Don't interrupt, Zimmerman.

• David Rossi : Irish statesman and author Edmund Burke once wrote:"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This job isn't just what I do, it's who I am.

  Devin : Is it worth it?

  David Rossi : For every life we save? Damn right it is.

  Derek Morgan : Absolutely it's worth it.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I can't imagine doing anything else.

• David Rossi : The philosopher Voltaire wrote: "To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth." The dead are the cornerstone of every homicide investigation. Victims give us a look into the killer's mind. If you want to know about a hunter, study his prey.

• Derek Morgan : Does anybody here know exactly what a serial killer is?

  David Zimmerman : Someone who's committed more than one murder.

  Derek Morgan : That's very good. By statute, three is the magic number. And it's actually more qualitative than quantitative for us.

  David Rossi : Today we're going to talk about how some serial killers get made. Because if you can understand that, then you can figure out a way to catch them.

• [first lines] 

  Aaron Hotchner : Morning.

  David Rossi : Oh, hey. Morning.

  Aaron Hotchner : Everyone's gathered. We're all ready if you are.

  David Rossi : Yeah, let's do it.

  Aaron Hotchner : You need that?

  David Rossi : Listen, Aaron. Thanks for letting me set this up, but the whole team really didn't need to be here. I'm the one that owed the favor.

  Aaron Hotchner : Everyone insisted. How you doing?

  David Rossi : Sorry, what?

  Aaron Hotchner : You okay?

  David Rossi : Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I'm great. I'm good. I'll meet you over there in a minute, okay?

• David Zimmerman : Agent Rossi, why'd you retire?

  David Rossi : Well, that's a good question. Well, the simple answer is I... needed a change. I was working on my third divorce...

  David Zimmerman : Third?

  David Rossi : Yes, Zimmerman, my third.

  [the class laughs] 

  David Rossi : So I needed a break, and I figured writing books might help give some peace of mind.

  Bianca : Did it? Give you peace of mind?

  David Rossi : For a time, yes.

• Thomas Yates : I've got something for you. It's a present. Open it.

  David Rossi : What is it?

  Thomas Yates : Open it and see.

  David Rossi : You shouldn't have.

  Thomas Yates : Surprise. Those are some of the girls I took, the ones you didn't find. There's forty there.

  David Rossi : Why should I believe you?

  Thomas Yates : I thought you might ask that. It's all part of the deal.

  David Rossi : Look, let's get something straight. There is no deal.

  Thomas Yates : Not yet.

  David Rossi : Not ever.

  Thomas Yates : There's actually a hundred and one names, and I remember all of them, and I'll tell you where I put them. Here's what I want: One, no death penalty. I don't care if I rot in here, but no chair and no injections. Two, I want a transfer to the East Coast. Grandma's dead. Nothing holding me here. Plus, I like the idea of snow in the winter. Never really had that growing up.

  David Rossi : I didn't come all this way to get smoke blown up my ass.

  Thomas Yates : After I get my sentence commuted and my transfer, I'll give you more names, but only one each year... to keep you honest, you understand.

  David Rossi : Anything else?

  Thomas Yates : Yes. I get to decide when you get the name. It'll be on a special day of my choosing, and you have to come and get it from me personally. What do you say, Agent? Hm? Deal?

• Thomas Yates : Any plans for the big day? Come on. You should get out and do something. Never know how many of these you got left.

  David Rossi : What's her name?

  Thomas Yates : I used to hate birthdays when I was a kid. That's why I like celebrating yours.

  David Rossi : Her name.

  [Yates throws a paper] 

• David Rossi : Yes, Mr. Zimmerman.

  David Zimmerman : So, you have to go visit this guy every year to get the name of another victim.

  David Rossi : That's right.

  David Zimmerman : So, what was the special day of his choosing?

• David Rossi : Thank you, Dr. Grant. Now, when she said I was an old friend, she was just referring to the fact that we've known each other for a very long time.

• David Rossi : In simple terms, at the BAU, we use behavioral science, research, case work, and training to hunt down monsters. Rapists, terrorists, pedophiles and, our specialty, serial killers.

• David Rossi : [in 1992, Rossi is at the morgue]  He held her but he didn't feed her, so she's weak. It's his sadistic way to subdue her.

  Dr. Castro : Several defensive wounds on her hands and forearms. She put up a hell of a fight.

  David Rossi : Atta girl.

• Emily Prentiss : This focus on reproductive organs could also indicate a deep-seated sense of self-loathing. He might have hated the fact that he was born.

  Jennifer Jareau : Or he had some sort of traumatic life-changing event associated with birth.

  Derek Morgan : And he could have hated his own mother. The strained mother/child relationship is a hallmark for many killers.

  Diane : That doesn't make any sense. "I hate myself or I hate my mother, so I kill women by ripping out their wombs"?

  David Rossi : It only needs to make sense to him. One man's logic is another man's crazy.

• David Rossi : [San Francisco, 1997]  Excuse me, I'm looking for the case agent.

  Aaron Hotchner : That would be me. Agent Rossi, I'm Agent Hotchner, Seattle division. We spoke on the phone. I inherited the case from Agent Bidwell. Thanks for coming so quickly.

  David Rossi : Yeah, I hopped the first flight from Dulles. Came straight from the airport.

  Aaron Hotchner : That's a long trip.

  David Rossi : With bad food.

  Aaron Hotchner : Let me show you what we found. A jogger discovered the first body dumped in the bushes about thirty yards over the road here. The M. E. said that she'd been there almost a month.

• Bianca : Did you actually make a deal with that maniac?

  David Rossi : We did. Not to bend to his will, but to bring the families of the victims some peace. I'd been on the case so long, I felt obligated to contact each of the families personally.

• Jennifer Jareau : Okay, this is Rachel Moore, a 17-year-old runaway from Spokane, Washington.

  David Rossi : Now, she grew up poor and in a broken home. Her mom left her dad because he liked to drink and beat on her.

  Jennifer Jareau : And this is Tina Dyson, a 19-year-old college student from Seattle.

  David Rossi : Now, she was a trust fund kid, and she got straight As and came from a loving family. Now, these two girls couldn't be more different, but the one thing that they had in common is they both crossed paths with the most prolific serial killer the BAU has ever seen.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : One thing you should understand is that no two killers are the same. They each occupy their own point on the behavioral spectrum. Uh, genetics, brain chemistry, psychology, and environment are all factors.

  Aaron Hotchner : But we believe that this particular killer grew up in an environment so adverse that he never had a chance.

  Emily Prentiss : He endured years of cruel and abject physical abuse.

  Aaron Hotchner : As well as horribly profound psychological abuse.

  Derek Morgan : And when he wasn't being ignored, he was being humiliated.

  David Rossi : Now, let me be clear. Most abused kids do not turn into killers. Not even all psychopaths become killers, but this particular unknown subject, or unsub, suffered extreme abuse, and it has everything to do with why he does what he does.

  Derek Morgan : Now, these are some of his victims. He kidnapped them, he restrained them, and he starved them for days.

  Emily Prentiss : Then he killed them by mutilating their reproductive organs. Right now, we know there are at least forty of them.

  Aaron Hotchner : But we believe that he may eventually claim over a hundred victims.

  David Rossi : Now, we chose this case for today because we've been discovering bodies up and down the West Coast since 1992. For lack of a better word, it's a classic. This unsub's entire childhood was a crucible, and in it, a psychotic killer was forged.

• Dr. Castro : Fifty-three stab wounds to the lower abdomen and genitals. The damage made it impossible to determine if there was any sexual assault.

  David Rossi : That might be a forensic countermeasure.

  Dr. Castro : Here's my report. Stay as long as you need. Her mother should be here in an hour.

  David Rossi : Hell of a way to see her after two years.

• David Rossi : [answering a phone call]  Yeah, warden. It's Rossi.

  [listening] 

  David Rossi : What? Riot? W-W-W-Wait. Look, he's not gonna give me a rain check. I have to see him today.

• Aaron Hotchner : It's a federal prison, Dave. We can't just call them up and tell them what to do.

  David Rossi : You have to know someone in Justice who can pull some strings. I've got to see him today, Aaron. You know that.

• David Rossi : [in 1992, being hounded by reporters]  I'll confirm something for you. "Womb Raider" is a name that you gave him. I won't glorify him. I call him a murderer.

  [he's asked how the murders are committed] 

  David Rossi : My only concern is capturing him and bringing closure to the families of the victims. No further questions.