How Well Do You Know Your UnSubs On Criminal Minds?

Over a dozen seasons of Criminal Minds, we watched the BAU solve hundreds of cases and encounter some seriously dangerous bad guys—but not all UnSubs are alike.

After hearing all those expert profiles, how well do you know the different types of UnSubs? Click through to find out.

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"Criminal organization" is an umbrella term for a variety of groups, including crimes perpetrated by couples or even whole families. We've seen only a handful of literal "crime families" over the years, but Roger and Anita Roycewood are arguably the most memorable.

In "Mosley Lane" (Episode 16, Season 5), the team found a connection between local kidnappings spanning more than 10 years. Catalyzed by a young girl's disappearance at a festival in broad daylight, the BAU was able to recover children who had been missing—and presumed dead—for over a decade.

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This “Angel of Mercy” usually kills victims because he / she decided they should no longer suffer from their illnesses. Also known as the medical killer, this type of murderer usually works in a hospital or doctor's office, concealing their kills under the guise of natural causes.

The BAU caught one—Dr. Stanley Howard—who was killing his psychiatric patients with their own crippling phobias. The team was called in after he drowned a young man terrified of water, but was quick enough to save a claustrophobic woman from being buried alive in "Scared to Death" (Episode 3, Season 3).

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This umbrella term can be used to define both spree killers and mass murderers. The two have minor differences, but both kill multiple people in a short period of time with no cooling-off period.

In "Thirteenth Step" (Episode 13, Season 6), the BAU raced against the clock to stop two young lovers, Sydney and Ray, who were on an interstate killing spree.

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Mass murder can be generally defined as 'killing more than four people at one location at one time."

In "Minimal Loss" (Episode 3, Season 4), Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid went undercover to investigate allegations that cult leader Benjamin Cyrus was sexually abusing young women. Things went awry when Cyrus found out that Emily was an agent and—believing the FBI was staging an attack—instructed his 15-year-old wife to blow up his compound.  

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Serial killers murder three or more victims on separate occasions and are divided into three categories: visionary, mission-oriented, and hedonistic. These murderers are known for carefully planning their crimes and having a distinct type of victim.

Much like The Replicator, a disgruntled FBI employee, many serial killers put detailed plans into motion. He used the BAU's previous cases against them by copycatting their crime scenes. The team took him down in "The Replicator" (Episode 24, Season 8), but not before he murdered the unit's supervisor, Erin Strauss.

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The most common visionary serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks or believe that they are controlled by an outside entity that wants them to kill.

In "Reflections of Desire" (Episode 8, Season 6), the team was called in to investigate a string of murders in the D.C. area. After tracking down leads and building a profile, the BAU captured Rhett Walden, who was plagued by hallucinations of his dead mother and killed women resembling her.

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Justifying their actions as necessary to rid the world of a specific group of people, mission-oriented serial killers view themselves as saviors of society.

The BAU travelled to a Texas border town in "A Rite of Passage" (Episode 19, Season 5) to help find a serial killer targeting illegal aliens. The killer turned out to be a member of the local sheriff's department. 

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Hedonistic serial killers are further classified according to their primary motive: lust (sexual gratification), thrill (adrenaline highs), or profit (cash). 

In "Entropy" (Episode 11, Season 11), Spencer Reid went undercover in an attempt to trap Cat Adams, a hit woman for the Dirty Dozen. Driven by greed, she was faithful to almost all of her clients, but double-crossed men who tried to put hits out on their wives.

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Serial arsonists are a specific type of pyromaniacs who habitually and compulsively set fires. A serial arsonist, like a serial killer, has a cooling-off period between three or more fire-setting episodes.

We haven't seen many over the seasons, but the team did encounter a serial arson case in "House on Fire" (Episode 19, Season 4). They helped catch Tommy Wheeler, a disgruntled young man using death-by-fire to punish the people of a small town.

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Proxy killers are almost always a member of a large criminal organization that deals in illegal goods and services terrorists, mobs, and gangs. Proxy killers convince other people to carry out killings for them.

Ian Doyle, a notorious former member of the IRA seen in "Lauren" (Episode 18, Season 6), was both a serial killer and a proxy killer. Doyle wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, but would generally order one of his many men to carry out murders for him.

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The most common form of abduction is defined as "the taking or keepings of a child by a family member in violation of a custody order, a decree, or other legitimate custodial rights." 

The BAU doesn't typically handle such matters but they stumbled upon Sera Morrison in "All That Remains" (Episode 14, Season 8). Originally investigating her father, the team turned their attention to his daughter after putting together the profile. Sera kidnapped and killed her little sister, as well as her mother in years prior, because she hated that her sister was the family "favorite." She tried to pin the murder on her father, who had dissociative identity disorder.

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This type of kidnapper, who the BAU tracks down frequently, uses the threat of physical harm to detain a person in an isolated place.

In "Hope" (Episode 8, Season 7), the BAU investigated a case with personal implications—the kidnapped victim was a member of Garcia's support group, whose daughter was kidnapped years prior. William Rogers had kidnapped Hope and kept her trapped in his attic for years. After she committed suicide, Rogers kidnapped her mother in a morbid, deluded attempt to feel close to his victim.

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