Cranston

M.E. Cranston (first name unrevealed) is a minor recurring character on Criminal Minds.

Background
Very little is known about Cranston's personal life. According to him, he was from New York and spent four years in medical school. He was later stationed in Wichita, Kansas, as a local medical examiner. Cranston has shown members of the BAU the bodies of victims whenever they investigate cases that are conveniently located near Wichita.

There's No Place Like Home
Cranston escorts Rossi and Reid into the morgue, which is packed with the bodies of people killed in a recent tornado outbreak. He shows them the bodies of Jason Meredith and Eric Genelle, victims of the delusional, storm-chasing serial killer Travis James. He tells them that he became convinced they weren't killed by the tornadoes because of their identical head wounds, which could have been caused by bludgeoning. He also confirms Reid's remark that alcohol and dextromethorphan, a type of cough medicine, was found in their systems. Then, Cranston informs them that most of their injuries were caused by the tornadoes, but that their missing limbs were chopped off by a bladed weapon. All the while, he idly eats a sandwich, clearly unfazed by the gruesome sight of the bodies.

The Sandman
Years later, Cranston reunites with Reid and is introduced to Lewis while showing them the bodies of Jim and Lyla Brewer, a couple killed by Patrick Sorenson. When Lewis asks about Reid's familiarity with Cranston, they tell her about the Travis James case, with Cranston remarking it was "one for the books". He explains Jim and Lyla's respective causes of death and points out the higher amount of macrophages found on Lyla's glued eyes compared to that of Jim's. This indicated that Jim's eyes were glued shut before he was killed.

Appearances

 * Season Seven
 * "There's No Place Like Home"
 * Season Eleven
 * "The Sandman"