Danny Murphy

Danny Murphy is a child 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, who 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 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 2009, while up in the middle of the night working on one of his planes, Danny is found by Kyle, who tells him their parents will be mad if they find him up this late. Not caring, Danny, when Kyle asks to see his new plane, tells him he can look at it but not touch it. While gone for only a few seconds, Danny returns to find Kyle has accidentally smashed the plane and, in a fit of rage, kills 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 fail to notice how disturbingly nonchalant Danny is throughout the entire affair, rationalizing he simply does not understand what is going on when the boy's odd behavior is noticed.

A Shade of Gray
When news of Kyle's disappearance reaches the media and the BAU is called in to help investigate it and the other abductions, Danny appears on a televised plea made by his parents for their son's safe return. When Prentiss questions the family, she asks Danny if anyone suspicious has been around and tried to talk to either him or Kyle; Danny answers with a no before asking his father if he can go play, which Dan allows. After the pedophile is caught, and it becomes apparent that Kyle (whose body was eventually found in the woods) was not one of his victims, Prentiss confronts the Murphy's and brings them into the local police station, where Detective Lancaster has just falsely confessed. As his parents are questioned, Danny is left in the break room with Prentiss, who takes note of the fit of rage the boy goes 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 is 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 is brought to her by JJ, Prentiss leaves Danny with her and confronts the Murphy’s and Detective Lancaster, revealing Danny killed their puppy, killed his brother by stuffing model plane parts down his throat, and is a textbook sociopath in need of help, causing Dan and Sarah to break down. It is presumed Danny was either incarcerated or institutionalized.

Profile
Danny was described as a sociopath by Prentiss, which she stated made him incapable of feeling anything, most notably remorse. This is shown when Prentiss asks him how he felt after killing his brother and Danny's answer is a deadpanned "like I would get in trouble".

Modus Operandi
Danny killed his younger brother by force-feeding him parts of one of his model planes, causing him to choke to death.

Known Victims

 * Kyle Murphy

Appearances

 * Season Four
 * "A Shade of Gray"