Lyov Lysowsky

"I am going to love cutting you to pieces...old man."

Lyov Lysowsky was a rogue Russian mobster and killer who was responsible for several "mutilation kidnappings" in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

History
The son of a Russian mob boss, ("pakhan") Lyov's father, Arseny, was unable to acknowledge his son due to one of the principals of the Russian mob stating that members had to cut all ties to their family and never have children. Lyov began abducting Russian immigrants in Baltimore, Maryland in 2006, alongside his girlfriend Natalya Chernus and partner Fyodor, planning on using the money received from the ransoms, which Arseny always paid from the mafia's fund, to flee the country and live a life of luxury. A year after starting the abductions, Lyov abducted Natalya's father while he was returning home one night. Keeping Mr. Chernus captive in a meat locker, Lyov taunted and brutally beat the man, barely kept in check by Fyodor.

When the BAU became involved in the kidnapping investigation, Lyov, angered by this, cut Mr. Chernus's ear off two hours before the ransom deadline and had a boy drop it off at the Chernus home, along with a note saying the ransom had been raised from $100,000 to $500,000. When the money was finally sent by his father, Lyov killed Fyodor and prepared to kill Mr. Chernus when Natalya arrived. Realizing his girlfriend is conflicted about killing Mr. Chernus, Lyov tells her that they cannot leave him as a witness and allows Natalya to say goodbye. When Natalya goes to wait outside while Lyov deals with her father, several Russian mobsters appear, sent by Arseny, who had become fed up with what his son was doing. After being ordered to drop the knife he had planned to kill Mr. Chernus with, Lyov is shot to death by the mobsters, alongside Natalya. The mobsters cut up the couple's bodies and put the pieces in garbage bags, which are thrown off a pier.

Profile
Lyov is never actually profiled by the BAU, though he was depicted as taking immense pleasure in pummeling, taunting, and cutting pieces off the completely helpless Mr. Chernus and presumably subjected his other victims to similar treatment.

Modus Operandi
Lyov and his partner Fyodor would ambush men, beat them into submission, put a bag over their heads, and throw them into their van, cutting off the abductees' ring finger and leaving it at the scene, wrapped in a ransom note. The abducted would be kept in a meat locker until the ransom was paid. If the money was late, the victims would be mutilated further, losing a body part every six hours past the deadline.

Known Victims

 * Numerous unnamed Russian immigrants
 * Anton Gorban
 * Sergei Chernus
 * Fyodor

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * "Honor Among Thieves"