| “ | Eenie-meenie-mini-moe. Catch a piggy by the toe. If she screams, let her go. Eeny-meeny-mini-moe. | ” |
— Kozar before mutilating Felicia Pope
| ||
Ivan Kozar was a budding spree killer, stalker, abductor, cop killer, bomber and accomplice of prolific serial killer Oleg Antakov who appeared in the Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Season Two episode, "The Ripper of Riga".
Background[]
Ivan lost his father when he was very young. As an adult, he worked a part-time job as a prison guard at Erdeli Prison, a secret high-security prison outside Saint Petersburg, Russia, and was one of the men tasked to watch over former KGB interrogator-turned-serial killer Oleg Antakov. He was also an obsessive fan of rising American ballet dancer Felicia Pope, but when she won the main female role in the classic Russian ballet Les millions d'Arlequin (a.k.a. Harlequinade) instead of a Russian dancer, his love for her turned to hatred. Using his skills as a former interrogator, Antakov took advantage of this and Ivan's lack of a father figure to gain his trust and have him help him get revenge on the man he blamed for his imprisonment, Jack Garrett.
The Ripper of Riga[]
Under Antakov's instructions, Ivan sneaks into the theater through the roof and turns back the security cameras pointed at the stage to make it a blind spot. After a rehearsal, four days before the ballet's premiere, Ivan waits until he is alone in the stage with Felicia, and harasses her by manipulating the lights and sending photographs to her cellphone. He then abducts her, binds her hands, and takes her to his residence, where he leaves her on an armchair, in the dark and surrounded by bear-traps, to ensure that she will hurt her feet if she tries to escape. Afterward, he ties Felicia to a table, bites one of her toes off using a set of metal dentures fashioned after those used by Antakov in his own crimes, and leaves the toe in a teacup served to the IRT during their investigation to taunt them. The nature of the toe's cut clues Garrett in about Antakov's involvement, and he decides to visit him in Erdeli.
Meanwhile, the IRT closes on Ivan as the abductor when they learn that he recently was in the kitchen where the tea was prepared, and discover his Internet harassment of Felicia. They find Felicia at Ivan's apartment and rescue her, but a bomb kills two Russian officers at the scene. This, coupled with Antakov's escape, causes a crisis between the IRT and the Russian government, who asks them to leave immediately. After finding a file about Garrett's family in Ivan's apartment, the IRT realize that they are Antakov's real target and activate the protocol to ensure they are safe. Everyone is quickly accounted for, except for Garretts's eldest son Ryan, who is abducted by Ivan outside a conference in Helsinki and taken to Saint Petersburg. After delivering Ryan to Antakov, Antakov shoots Ivan in the back of the head and leaves his corpse in Ryan's car for Garret to find it.
Modus Operandi[]
Ivan worked under Antakov's orders to lure Jack out. He started by copying Antanov's M.O. by abducting Felicia Pope, whom he earlier stalked, and using Antakov's signature "Metal Fang" to bite off her toe, which he then later left in a teacup for the IRT to find. He then rigged a bomb to go off with the intent of killing the IRT and the FSB when rescuing Pope, but two FSB officers are the only ones who were killed, and Simmons was only injured form the blast. His final crime is abducting Ryan Garrett for Antakov to kill, but at that point, Antakov had no use for Ivan and killed him to dispense him.
Profile[]
The unsub is organized and knowledgeable. He had a plan to sneak in and out of the theater, and cover his tracks. He knew where the security cameras were and how to avoid them. He was also familiar with the victim, or at least he thought he was. He is confident in not getting caught, and wants to send a message or a warning. The symmetrical marks on the toe indicate that he bit it off with an artificial biting device.
Real-Life Comparison[]
Kozar is implied to be heavily inspired by Robert John Bardo - Both are murderers and celebrity stalkers primarily targeting a performer they originally admired, then hated for one of their later roles (Kozar hated Felicia Pope for a ballet role he wanted for a Russian prima donna, Bardo hated Rebecca Schaffer for a role that showed the maturation of her career), had an accomplice on hand who provided them information to track their victim down (Kozar had an ex-KGB officer and serial killer, Bardo had a private investigator), and attacked their victims in a fashion to end their careers (Kozar bit Felicia's toe off with sharp metal dentures, Bardo went to Rebecca's front door and shot her).
Kozar also appears to be inspired by Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun - All are Russian law enforcement agents targeting public figures, infiltrated security as part of their attacks, and tampered with a cup of tea in some fasion.
Kozar appears to have been partially inspired by John Wayne Gacy - Both were killers who had stressors involving their fathers (Gacy's was abusive, while Kozar's died), admired a serial killer, abducted and bound at least one victim, and wore similar costumes while committing their crimes. Also, while the Harlequinade is a real ballet, the appearance of the titular Harlequin (and by extension, Kozar's disguise) seems to have been slightly altered to resemble Gacy's "Pogo the Clown" costume.
Known Victims[]
All of the victims were attacked under the orders of Oleg Antakov
- 2017:
- Saint Petersburg, Russia:
- Felicia Pope (stalked, abducted and mutilated by biting off her toe; later attempted to kill in the apartment bombing; was rescued)
- The bombing at his apartment:
- Two unnamed FSB officers (killed)
- Major General Galina Glazunov (intended)
- Matthew Simmons (attempted, but survived; was injured in the bombing)
- Mae Jarvis (attempted; but survived)
- Clara Seger (attempted; but survived)
- Helsinki, Finland: Ryan Garrett (abducted and delivered to Oleg in Russia; was rescued)
- Saint Petersburg, Russia: