Turner's Group

"It was fun, boss."

Turner's Group was a gang of thrill killers responsible for brutally killing a number of people in Hopeless.

Background
Not much specific information about any of the group's members has been revealed; their first names aren't even specified other than the first letters. At some point prior to September 2009, they all got jobs as construction sub-contractors and shared the same address. On September 3, 2009, and afterwards, they began committing acts of vandalism on symbols of wealth like luxury cars, a boutique, and a townhouse, presumably just for fun. When they attacked the latter on October 1, 2009, they killed their contractor, James Morris, who apparently caught them in the act, and vandalized the house except for the nursery, in which they built Morris into a wall. Aroused by their murder of Morris, they later attacked two couples in a house twelve days later, videotaping the attack for future amusement. At this point, the BAU were called in.

Hopeless
The group was first seen watching the videotape of their latest murders, taking pleasure as they viewed it and even repeating the recorded dialogue to themselves. Later, they are seen constructing a house before Turner insults their new contractor's client, to which he is scolded at and forced to apologize to the woman. Angered by the incident, Turner leads the group to a parking lot the following night and they attacked Jessica Miller, a waitress coming out of her workplace, and Doug Taylor, her boyfriend, beating them to death so badly they were barely recognizable. The next night, a riot occurred in DuPont Circle, way far from the group's operating area. Though the group wasn't involved in the riot in any way, they became aroused by the view of it in a newspaper and left the construction area in a rush. Eventually heading out to attack a bar, the bartender and the present customer were brutally killed by them. The BAU noticed that the bartender's hands had also been nailed to the bar counter, but since the nails hadn't been slammed in, they figured the unsubs used a nail-gun, which a job at a construction site would give them access to.

Figuring that the escalation from vandalism to mass murder happened a bit too fast, the BAU went to the townhouse and discovered Morris's body inside the wall. Narrowing down the list of potential suspects by counting the skills required to construct a wall like that, they found Turner, Vincent, and Baker responsible. Heading to their apartment, they found Baker alone, the other two having been outside for an unknown reason before spotting the officers and driving away. Hotch finds the videotape of the couples' murders and Baker replies that there's more. When Morgan asks him why they kept killing, Baker simply replied, "It was fun, boss". Turner and Vincent were shortly tracked down to an empty building next to the house they were constructing. Surrounded by the local authorities and with no way out, the two readied themselves and committed suicide by cop by pretending to holding household appliances as if they were guns and rushing out. Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss walked away as the officers fired their guns, while Morgan watched on as Turner and Vincent were shot dead. Baker was last seen being put in a prison cell while Reid, JJ, and several policemen watch.

It is later mentioned in The Eyes Have It that Baker went to trial for the killings, indefinitely being found guilty afterwards.

Members

 * J. Turner . Portrayed by Travis Aaron Wade.
 * C. Vincent . Portrayed by Clayne Crawford.
 * J.R. Baker . Portrayed by Blake Shields.

Modus Operandi
The group usually attacked their victims using blunt iron objects, like crowbars and steel rods, or simply their fists. They would beat the victims violently, while torturing them psychologically and videotaping the attacks. During the bar killings, they also nailed the hands of a bartender to a desk counter using a nail-gun.

Profile
"Why are you doing this? Why?"

"Why not?"

The group's members are three males between the ages of 25 and 45 who are physically fit and share a pack mentality. They all also would come from troubled backgrounds including broken homes, youth detention centers, and would have bonded through their anger. They are completely disenfranchised, feel like they have nothing to live for, and would look for anyone or anything else to blame. Despite the anger brought on by the recession, they would go unnoticed and do not appear to be out of place. They plan to create a confrontation and will take any excuse for violence that they can get. They also think of themselves as a form of gangsters, in which the laws of society do not apply to them, and in which they equate violence with power and respect, as well as self-respect. The crimes are not robberies and none of the female victims were sexually assaulted, the murders are about pure violence simply for the fun of it. It is certain that they have some connection to southeast D.C. They would be obsessed with the media coverage of their murders, looking for any way to relive it. As a result, they may also revisit the previous crime scenes.

Real-Life Comparison
Turner's Group shares some similarities to the Dnepropetrovsk maniacs, a group of spree killers who were active in Ukraine. Both groups consisted of three members (though only two members of the maniacs directly participated in their murders, while all three members of Turner's Group participated in their murders), killed solely for entertainment, and used blunt objects (such as a crowbar) in their murders, some of which they also videotaped. Both trios also bludgeoned their victims to the point of complete disfigurement.

Known Victims

 * 2009:
 * Three victimless acts of vandalism committed over a month:
 * September 3: A total of fifteen luxury cars
 * September 14: A newly-opened fashion boutique
 * September 24: Two high-ranking restaurants
 * October 1:
 * Vandalized a new townhouse
 * James Morris
 * October 13-14: Bludgeoned two couples inside a house with a crowbar. They are:
 * William Barnes and Nicole
 * Scott and Samantha
 * October 14-15: Doug Taylor and Jessica Miller
 * October 16: Two killed in the bar attack:
 * Unnamed bartender
 * Unnamed bar patron

Appearances

 * Season Five
 * Hopeless
 * Cradle to Grave
 * The Eyes Have It