Pablo Vargas

"How did I do?"

Pablo Vargas is a serial killer (originally serial rapist) who appeared in Season One of Criminal Minds.

Background
Employed as the floor manager of women's plus sizes in a clothing factory in Allende del Sol, Mexico, Pablo, at some point, apparently killed his mother, leaving her corpse in the living room of their home, situated in front of a television that was constantly running. In 2003, Pablo began raping young women, ambushing them in the street, forcing them into desert at knifepoint and blindfolding them before committing the act. Once it was over, Pablo would kiss the woman's neck, and ask "How did I do?" and leave.

In the fall of 2004, Pablo attacked his forteenth victim, a waitress named Milagros Villanueva, who struggled more than the other women, managing to give him several minor injuries. After being wounded by Milagros, Pablo was mocked and laughed at by the woman, who had noticed he was wearing a dress. Discouraged and humiliated, Pablo fled the scene.

A month later, Pablo attacked the mother of his first victim, believing the elderly would be easier to rape. During the attack, Pablo, having been unable to get over the feelings of emasculation his failed rape of Milagros left him with, was unable the rape the old woman, and in a rage, stabbed her, discovering murder was a satisfactory substitute for rape. Targeting the mothers of his rape victims, Pablo killed one about every nine weeks, committing eleven murders in two years. While the Mexican media was convinced a serial killer was on the loose, the government was reluctant to admit this, and the slayings continued.

Machismo
Going on vacation from his job, Pablo murdered Lupe Trejo on his first day off and, seemingly in a frenzy, killed Isabel Santiago only two days later, taking a necklace she was wearing (which belonged to her daughter) and bringing it back to his house. Once home, Pablo placed the necklace on his mother's body, along with other accessories he had stolen from his victims, and applied makeup to himself, throwing a fit in the midst of doing and smashing the mirror, before going to caress his mother's hair.

Later, Pablo heads to the home of Nina Villanueva, Milagros's mother, and is attacked on the property by his rape victims, who had discerned his identity due to the local police and the BAU's investigation of the murders. After being brutally beaten, Pablo is castrated with a kitchen knife (Milagros stating "He pretended to be a woman. Now he doesn't have to pretend") and is left bleeding outside, where the BAU and police find him. If he survived his injuries, Pablo was presumably arrested and incarcerated.

Profile
The unsub was profiled as being a heterosexual male, aged thirty-five to fifty, who blended into the poor neighborhoods he targeted and, as the homes of his victims showed no signs of forced entry, appeared non-threatening and was capable of making his victims feel at ease due to disguising himself as a woman, as evidence at the scene and the testimony of Roberto González indicated. Using his disguise, the unsub probably pretended to be a nurse or social worker, like most Old Lady Killers-type offenders. The heavy mutilation inflicted to the face, chest and genitals of the victims indicated the murders were sexually motivated, with the unsub attacking the subjects of his attraction. Before escalating to murder, the unsub probably committed other sex crimes, such as peeping and rape, and when rape stopped being enough, he began killing women who reminded him of a repressive authority figure in his life, like his mother of grandmother, who he blames for his perceived impotence.

After interviewing his rape victims, the BAU classified the unsub as a power-reassurance rapist, meaning he is passive, non-athletic, lacks confidence, is incapable of having normal relationships with women, and lives or works near his victims. The unsub probably fantasized that the women he raped were his girlfriends, and would by dissuaded if they had fought back or screamed. The unsub asking "How did I do?" after the sexual assaults confirmed he lacked confidence, as the confident do not need reassurance that they did a good job, they just assume they did. In his workplace, he may act somewhat inappropriately around female coworkers, would be unable to look his boss in the eye, and he desperately wants approval from his superiors, no matter how small the job.

The stressor that caused the unsub to stop raping young women and begin killing old ones was assumed to be rape victim Milagros Villanueva fighting him off and mocking him, making him feel humiliated and emasculated. Deciding to attack an older woman after the incident, likely thinking she would be easier to overpower, the unsub found he was unable to go through with the rape, his feelings of emasculation still lingering heavily, and thus he grew enraged and murdered the victim, discovering killing gave him the same sexual release that rape did. Until he is stopped, the unsub will continue killing, his cooling-off period growing shorter as his need for sexual release grew.

Modus Operandi
Originally, Pablo approached young women in the streets, came up behind them, put a knife to their backs and took them out to the desert, where he would blindfold and rape them. When he was finished, Pablo would kiss his victim's neck, and ask "How did I do?" At home, Pablo would place flyers showing his victim's face on the living room wall, presumably using them to relive the rapes.

After he escalated from raping young women to killing to their elderly mothers, Pablo, disguising himself as a woman using plus-size clothing presumably taken from his workplace, would knock on their door and, pretending to be a nurse or social worker from a city, enter when they answered. Once inside, Pablo would overpower the victim, and stab them repeatedly in the face, chest and genitals with a knife, possibly taken from the kitchen, as was the case in Lupe Trejo's murder. Once the victim was dead, Pablo would take pieces of jewelry belonging to the their daughter and bring it home to place on his mother's corpse.

Real-Life Comparison
Pablo appears based on female serial killer Juana Barraza, also known as Mataviejitas ("The Old Lady Killer")

Known Victims

 * His unnamed mother
 * Numerous rape victims, they are:
 * 01/05/03: Julia Torres Morales
 * 22/05/03: María Gómez Fuentes
 * 06/07/03: Michelle Cortez Torres
 * 07/08/03: Rosario Reyes Espinoza
 * 12/09/03: Juana Robles Pérez
 * 01/11/03: Carmen Morales Rivas
 * 28/11/03: Nicolasa Martínez Reyes
 * 09/12/03: Conchita Ochoa Morales
 * 27/05/04: María Sánchez Tovarez
 * 02/07/04: Susana Montes Hernández
 * Unnamed woman
 * Rosa Trejo
 * Anna Santiago
 * 30/08/04: Milagros Villanueva Cruz
 * Numerous murder victims, they are:
 * 21/09/04: Elena Gutiérrez Torres
 * 14/01/05: Juanita Rodríguez Gómez
 * 06/03/05: Patricia Fernández Cortez
 * 03/04/05: Marielys Espinoza Reyes
 * 27/06/05: Gloria Rivas Robles
 * Carla Chávez Morales
 * 19/12/05: Adriana Flores Martínez
 * 31/01/06: Isabel Silva De Ochoa
 * 14/02/06: Regina Cortez Sánchez
 * 30/06/06: Linda Quintanilla Montes
 * 06/09/06: Raquel Trevino
 * 01/11/06: Lupe Trejo
 * 03/11/06: Isabel Santiago
 * 04/11/06: Nina Cruz Villanueva

Appearances

 * Season One
 * "Machismo"