Danny Murphy

"He was always breaking my stuff. I'm not going to miss that."

Danny Murphy is a young, murderous sociopath who appeared in Season Four of Criminal Minds.

Background
A boy with an affinity for building model planes, Danny lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey with his parents and younger brother, Kyle, whom Danny absolutely loathed due to him being "a baby" and because of his habit of breaking his toys. Possessing an explosive temper, Danny once killed a puppy that his parents brought home for no reason, apparently making it look like the animal had died some other way after killing it. One night in April 20, 2009, while up in the middle of the night working on one of his planes, a World War II-era B-25 Mitchell bomber, Danny was found by Kyle, who told him their parents would be mad if they found him up this late. When Kyle then asked to see his new plane, Danny told him he could look at it but not touch it. While gone for only a few seconds, Danny returned to find that Kyle had accidentally smashed the plane and, in a fit of rage, killed his brother. Discovering what he had done, Danny's parents, Dan and Sarah, having just lost one son and finding the thought of the other being taken away unbearable, made it look Kyle was the latest victim of a pedophile who had been abducting, raping, and murdering young boys in the area; their friend, Detective Bill Lancaster, helped out with the plan. Too preoccupied with Kyle's death and trying to cover it up, Sarah, Dan and Bill failed to notice how disturbingly nonchalant Danny was throughout the entire affair, rationalizing he simply did not understand what was going on when the boy's odd behavior is noticed.

A Shade of Gray
When news of Kyle's disappearance reached the media and the BAU was called in to help investigate it and the other abductions, Danny appeared on a televised plea made by his parents for their son's safe return. When Prentiss questioned the family, she asked Danny if anyone suspicious had been around and tried to talk to either him or Kyle; Danny answered with a no before asking his father if he could go play, which Dan allowed. After the pedophile, Hugh Rollins, was caught, and it became apparent that Kyle, whose body was eventually found in the woods, was not one of his victims, Prentiss confronted the Murphys and brings them into the local police station, where Detective Lancaster had just falsely confessed. As his parents were questioned, Danny was left in the break room with Prentiss, who took note of the fit of rage the boy went into after being unable to open a bag of chips and the bored demeanor he has during a rerun of his parents heartfelt plea for Kyle's safe return. Talking to the boy, Prentiss realizes Danny was Kyle's actual killer and that his parents and Detective Lancaster were trying to cover it up so Danny wouldn't be taken away. After Kyle's autopsy report was brought to her by JJ, Prentiss left Danny with her and confronts the Murphys and Detective Lancaster. She asked if they knew everything that Danny did to his brother. She then revealed that Danny stuffed model plane parts down his brother's throat and that Danny also killed their puppy earlier. Prentiss then tells them that Danny is a textbook sociopath in need of help, causing Dan and Sarah to break down. It was presumed Danny was institutionalized soon afterwards.

Profile
Danny was described as a sociopath by Prentiss, which she stated made him incapable of feeling anything, such as empathy or guilt, most notably remorse (however, he is capable of feigning emotions, such as when he stated he was sorry after killing Kyle). This was shown when Prentiss asked him how he felt after killing his brother and Danny's answer was a deadpanned "like I would get in trouble". He is also quick to anger and easily frustrated, as shown when he was unable to open a bag of potato chips and then began hitting the bag out of rage.

Modus Operandi
Since Danny only killed one person, his younger brother Kyle, the term "M.O." is somewhat misused. He killed him in a fit of rage in an unspecified manner, though parts of one of Danny's model planes, which Kyle broke, were forced down his throat. This may have been the cause of death, but it is not specifically stated, though suffocation or strangulation is most likely, given this fact. The two blows to Kyle's head, with the first being more hesitant, were dealt by Detective Bill Lancaster in his attempt to make Kyle's death look like the work of Hugh Rollins.

Real-Life Comparison
Kyle's murder may have been inspired by media speculation that JonBenét Ramsey (6) was murdered by her brother Burke (9) on a fit of rage. Some followers of this theory believe that a toy train set was involved in some fashion. However, it should be noted that while Burke Ramsey testified before a grand jury, he was never considered or treated as a suspect in his sister's murder.

Known Victims

 * April 20-21, 2009: Kyle Murphy

Appearances

 * Season Four
 * "A Shade of Gray"