Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Miasma (2018)

Moe Irvin: Chief Thomas Wheeler

Quotes 

• Dr. Spencer Reid : Medieval medical practitioners believed that chickens could absorb illness. They would rub the birds all over the bodies of the diseased in an attempt to rid them of their sickness.

  Jennifer Jareau : See, uh, this is a venetian bird mask. During the 17th century, doctors would stuff these with herbs and spices and wear them to protect against infection.

  Chief Thomas Wheeler : From the plague.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : That, along with the burning of the bodies and the burial ground, Tremé Cemetery number two, and the fact that it was originally built to house victims who died from cholera and smallpox, tells us that this unsub believes himself to be a modern-day plague doctor.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : A vigilante or angel of death whose job it is to stop sick people from spreading disease.

  David Rossi : Our unsub wants to eradicate not just the sick, but the sickness within them.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : In fact, it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that humorism, the belief that illness was caused by an imbalance of the fluids in the body, was discredited. Before that, it was believed that there were four humors in the body: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm, all of which were susceptible to miasma, or bad air, that carried disease.

  David Rossi : Our unsub's fixation on these ancient medical practices speaks to a very specific kind of stressor.

  Jennifer Jareau : It indicates a distrust in modern medicine. He or a loved one may have suffered a loss brought on by illness or disease.

  David Rossi : Or he may blame modern medicine for failing to save a loved one.

  Jennifer Jareau : Our unsub was living on the fringes of society. His van was not just his means of transport, it was his whole life. And now that he's lost it, there's no telling what he'll do next.

• Chief Thomas Wheeler : Five of the ten victims have been identified. These three, Jason Chambers, Lindsay Montoya, and Gary Keulchy, were homeless. And these two, Sonequa Fox and Daniel Rikers, were working professionals.

  Jennifer Jareau : And Mr. Rikers and Ms. Fox were both reported missing a week and a half ago.

  Chief Thomas Wheeler : That's correct. They both left their homes in mid-city and never returned.

  Matt Simmons : And the three homeless victims were last seen in a shelter near the French Quarter?

  Chief Thomas Wheeler : Yes. We periodically check the night roll calls when we find a body. They were most likely panhandling in the area.

  David Rossi : Our unsub crossed racial and gender lines.

  Luke Alvez : And he's mobile.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : You know, realistically, it's likely each victim was abducted, killed, and disposed of individually.

  Jennifer Jareau : We need to see what the M.E. can tell us about the timeline of the murders.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : And we'd expect an unsub like this to start with high-risk victims like the homeless and then move on to low-risk victims like Sonequa and Daniel, but until we ID the remaining victims, it's really hard to draw any conclusions.

  Luke Alvez : So he'd need somewhere to hold them and do his bloodletting business before bringing them back to the crypt.

  Dr. Spencer Reid : I've already started a geo-profile, but the more we can learn about the victims' last moments, the more accurate it'll be.

• Chief Thomas Wheeler : Found another burned body. This time in a crypt in Tremé Cemetery number two.

  Jennifer Jareau : Just one?

  Chief Thomas Wheeler : Yeah. And the crypt wasn't nearly as secluded.

  David Rossi : We've disrupted his routine. Another tomb, but now he's improvising.