The Canardos

The Canardos are a hostile couple that abducted, raped (in Tony's case), and murdered (in Amber's case) a number of women in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

History
See Amber and Tony Canardo's pages.

Modus Operandi
Amber and Tony targeted teenage blondes, which they would abduct while they were jogging or in a parking lot by having Tony drive up beside them in a van and ask for directions to catch their attention before Amber would jump out, grab them, and drag them into the van. If possible, they would also take the victims' cars, which would be sold across the state line by Joey Davin, who was unaware of their true activities. The victims were then taken to a cabin located in the woods, where they would be tortured for weeks through various means, including beating, burning, cutting, bludgeoning, and flagellation. Tony would also rape them, with Amber videotaping the act and giving him instructions from behind the camera. Once they apparently became tired with the victim, Amber would always finish her off, via ligature strangulation (though it was manual strangulation when Amber worked with her previous partner). The bodies would be dumped in places where people can easily discover them, and they were left in demeaning positions for shock value; additionally, the only thing the corpses wore were colored plastic film that was wrapped around their pelvises and chests.

They eventually sent DVDs of the torture sessions they committed on the victims to the victims' parents as a form of psychological torment. The envelopes that contained the DVDs were always addressed to the mothers, and, in the case of the envelope of the DVD containing Laura Clemensen's torture, it included a fake letter written by Amber that was meant to look like it was written by Laura herself.

Profile
Tony and Amber were initially profiled to be the exact opposites of each other: Tony would be the mastermind of the killing team, while Amber was the submissive partner. However, the BAU eventually realized that as an outspoken misogynist, Amber grew to desire the infliction of pain on other young women so they can suffer just like Amber did when she was beaten and raped at an early age. As for Tony, underneath his "tough guy" exterior, he is, in truth, deeply insecure, especially in his relationship with Amber. This is presumably because that under Amber's watch, he becomes intimidated.

Real-Life Comparison
Commentary for the episode reveals that Amber was based on a real case, presumably currently free serial killer Karla Homolka, who committed a series or rapes and homicides alongside her now-incarcerated husband, Paul Bernardo. The Canardos also resemble Bernardo and Homolka in the sense that their surnames sound similar to Bernardo's, and that both targeted women, with Tony raping them as Bernardo did. The difference between the Canardos and Bernardo and Homolka is that their roles were swapped, with Amber being more dominant over Tony, while it was vice-versa with Bernardo and Homolka. In addition, the Canardos seem to share similarities with David and Catherine Birnie, a killer Australian couple who also targeted women, who were usually abducted alongside the road, then raped by David (but in one case, Catherine had actually directly participated in the rape as well) before being killed by strangulation.

Also, a scene in the episode where Amber and Tony abduct a victim by driving alongside her in their van to ask for directions before pulling her into the vehicle through the side door is similar to how Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris, a.k.a. "The Toolbox Killer", abducted their victims.

Mutual Victims

 * Amanda
 * Abbey Roxford
 * Madison B.
 * Bonnie Mossenberg
 * Laura Clemensen
 * Frank Clemensen
 * Tiffany Spears

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * "The Perfect Storm"