Amber Canardo

Amber Canardo (née Brooks) is a misogynistic, "wound collector"-type serial killer, abductor, and the mastermind of a two-person killing team that appeared in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

Background
In her childhood, Amber was abused by her father and brother, which continued on into her teenage years. They would often abuse her in nearby local woods. Finally, on March 19, 2000, while she was still fifteen, she had 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 that Amber was lying about everything, including the rape, and they stopped investigating. The abuse presumably continued, and as a result, Amber was scarred for life, both physically and mentally. She also became a misogynistic sexual sadist, due to her mother's neglect and apathy. In 2003, Amber began abducting and killing teenage girls in Jacksonville, Florida, somehow convincing a boyfriend to assist 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 in 2004, Amber presumably killed her boyfriend for unknown reasons, leaving the body to rot on the grounds located near the cabin.

The following year, Amber met Tony Canardo, who became her new partner, when he was released from prison. The two married, and began killing girls together, recording the torture and murders. They would then have Tony's former cellmate Joey Davin dispose of the victims' cars over state lines; he would do so without realizing what the two were actually doing. 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, not knowing at the time Bonnie was dead, 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 the act 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, Amber is seen abducting Tiffany Spears after Tony asks 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 looks too calm when she is in the room with all of the pictures of the murdered women. They also notice that she isn't scared because she looks at 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 is evident by the defensive wounds on the victims that the killer is 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, but Hotch replies that they have her voice on tape giving orders to Tony. She and Tony are incarcerated afterwards, 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 abduct young girls so that Amber could relive her earlier experience as the abuser.

Amber is a rarity among serial killers, as a vast 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 Caucasian women in their teens to early twenties who live low-risk lifestyles, Amber and her partner usually abduct 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 them 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 are then taken to a cabin in the same woods where Amber would be abused by her father and brother. There, 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 take turns torturing the girls, it appears the partner is the primary torturer, working under the instructions of Amber, who filmed everything, and taunted the victims. It is always Amber who finished the victims off, which she did via strangulation (originally manual with her boyfriend, but later with a ligature of some kind while working with Tony). 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 were lengths of colored plastic film, which was wrapped around their pelvises and chests.

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

Real-Life Comparison
Amber is similar to Carol Bundy, a.k.a. "The Sunset Strip Killer", and seems to have been based off of her. Both were female serial killers who were abused by their fathers at a young age, were members of killing teams, targeted women, and had their male partners sexually assault their victims. Amber is also similar to Myra Hindley, one of the "Moors Murderers". Both were female serial killers who were abused by their fathers as children, were members of killing teams, targeted young girls (although Hindley also targeted males), used ruses on their victims before forcing them in their vehicles and abducting them with their partners, had their partners rape their victims, and killed their victims by strangulation.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified dates in 2003:
 * Erica Stern
 * Dee Cathell
 * Unspecified dates from 2004 to 2006:
 * Her unnamed boyfriend
 * Amanda
 * Abbey Roxford
 * Madison B.
 * 2006:
 * August: Bonnie Mossenberg
 * October 1: Laura Clemensen
 * October 5: Frank Clemensen
 * October 6: Tiffany Spears

Appearances

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