Amber Canardo

"So what? You saved one little whore! Believe me, she'll never be the same!"

Amber Canardo (née Brooks) is the mastermind of a two-person killing team that appeared in Season Two of Criminal Minds. Her partner is her husband, Tony Canardo.

Background
Abused by her father and brother throughout her childhood, Amber, unable to cope anymore and when she was fifteen, managed to stumble into a Tallahassee hospital, showing signs of having been savagely beaten and raped. When doctors discerned her father and brother were the ones responsible, they convinced Amber to go to the police, but when Amber arrived at the station, her mother appeared and told the officers Amber was lying about everything including the rape. The abuse presumably continued, and as a result, Amber was psychologically, emotionally, and physically scarred for life, also causing her to become a misogynistic (due to her mother's neglect and apathy) sexual sadist. In 2003, Amber began abducting and murdering teenage girls in Jacksonville, Florida, somehow convincing a current boyfriend to aid her. The girls were taken to a secluded cabin in the woods, and would be tortured by Amber and her partner (who took turns filming each other) for weeks, before Amber strangled them to death. At some point, Amber presumably killed her boyfriend for unknown reasons, leaving the body to rot on the grounds near the cabin.

When he was released from prison in 2004, Amber met Tony Canardo, who became her new partner. The two married, and began killing girls together, having Tony's former cellmate Joey Davin dispose of the victims' cars over state lines. When the mother of her sixth victim, Bonnie Mossenberg, appeared on television, pleading for her daughter's safe return and begging forgiveness for her abductor, an enraged Amber sent a DVD depicting Bonnie being tortured and raped to Mrs. Mossenberg, as if to say "I don't want, or need, your forgiveness". Why she was so enraged by Mrs Mossenburg's willingness to forgive her is never revealed, but it is possible that it may have been because it reminded her of the way her own mother had forgiven the people who once abused her, drawing Amber's anger.

The Perfect Storm
When the BAU is given a series of DVDs by a number of murder victims' families, they are appalled that the killer or killers had recorded the murder and sent the videos to the victims' parents. The team is convinced that the unsub is actually a two-person killing team, and that the dominant one is most definitely male. Meanwhile, she is seen abducting Tiffany Spears when she approaches her for directions. Through investigation, the team finds a link to Joey, but he refuses to comply and gets himself killed. The BAU then tracks down Joey's old inmate, Tony, whom they believe is the dominant partner. Tony refuses to give up any information, so Amber is brought in to talk to Tony to find out the location of the missing girl. Tony pretends that the killing team was Joey and himself. As Reid and Gideon watch the tape, they realize that Amber looked too calm when in the room with all the pictures of the murdered women. They also noticed that she wasn't scared because she looked her husband dead in the eyes while talking. Hotch suspects that Tony is trying to protect her, and that Amber is definitely the mastermind behind the bizarre killings.

It was evident by the defensive wounds on the victims that the killer was not much stronger than they were. The victims appeared to have managed to get away for short periods of time and were recaptured. Amber's voice also appears in the videos, and it is evident that she is not afraid of the cameraman. This leads Hotch to deduce that she is the killer. Gideon manages to get Tony to reveal where Tiffany is being kept (a cabin in the woods), and when the team arrives, they find Tiffany with her face pressed against the window. Hotch sees Amber, who is tossing Tiffany around the room, beating her as she was once beaten. The team bursts in, arresting Amber. She states that the FBI has nothing on her Hotch replies that the BAU has her voice on tape, giving orders to Tony. She and Tony have presumably been incarcerated ever since, although it is never revealed what happened to her abusive family after her arrest.

Profile
Having been beaten and raped at a young age, Amber grew to desire inflicting the same pain on other young women. She and Tony (her unwilling partner) would kidnap young girls so that Amber could relive her earlier experience as the abuser.

Amber is a rarity among serial killers. A majority of serial killers are men. In this case, the fact that the abused has become the abuser is also a rarity among female killers. She is also an outspoken misogynist, which is slightly odd since she herself is a woman. It most likely stems from the sexual and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her family. It is possible that she may also suffer from self-hatred due to her misogyny, presumably for not being able to defend herself from her family.

Modus Operandi
Targeting teenage blondes, Amber and her partner usually took them while they were jogging, though some victims were taken from parking lots, along with their cars (which, after Amber met Tony, were given to Joey Davin, who sold them across the state line); if the victim was jogging, the partner would approach with a van and ask for directions to lure the victim close, so Amber could jump out, grab them, and drag them into the vehicle. The girls were then by taken to a cabin in the woods, where they would be tortured for weeks, with methods of torture including rape (presumably only done by whatever male partner was involved), beating, burning, cutting, bludgeoning, and flagellation. While the duo presumably took turns torturing the girls, it appears the partner was the primary torturer, working under the instructions of Amber, who filmed everything, and taunted the victims. It was always Amber who finished the victims off, which she did via strangulation (originally manual, later with a ligature of some kind). The bodies would be dumped in places where they could be easily discovered, and were left in demeaning positions for shock value. The only thing they wore was lengths of colored plastic film, which was wrapped around their pelvises and chests.

Amber eventually started sending DVDs of the torture sessions to the parents of the victims, as a form of psychological torment. The envelopes the DVDs were in were sent in were always addressed to just the mothers, and in the case of Laura Clemensen, included a fake letter from Laura written by Amber.

Real-Life Comparison
Commentary for the episode reveals Amber was based on a real case, presumably currently free serial killer Karla Homolka, who committed a series or rapes and homicides alongside her now incarcerated husband, Paul Bernardo.

Known Victims

 * 2003:
 * Erica Stern
 * Dee Cathell
 * Her unnamed previous boyfriend
 * 2004:
 * Amanda
 * Abbey Roxford
 * Madison B.
 * Bonnie Mossenberg
 * Laura Clemensen
 * Frank Clemensen
 * Tiffany Spears

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * "The Perfect Storm"
 * Novels
 * Jump Cut