Sandy Jareau

Sandy Jareau is the mother of SSA Jennifer Jareau and a recurring character on Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Evolution.

Background[]

Sandy raised two daughters, Roslyn and Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, with her husband in East Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Roslyn committed suicide when she was seventeen years old, leaving the entire family distraught, especially Sandy since she and her husband chose to ignore the warning signs of Roslyn's depression. Eventually, the Jareau family moved on from the tragedy. Sometime prior to the start of the series, Sandy's husband left her, apparently also walking away from their surviving daughter, JJ, and married another woman around the events of Season Fourteen. After JJ left East Allegheny to pursue a career in the FBI, Sandy was left saddened and living alone in the former Jareau family home, however, she and JJ did keep in touch over the years. She was mentioned in "Zoe's Reprise", where it is stated she had created a whole album full of photos of her grandson Henry.

Criminal Minds[]

Season Seven[]

In "Run", Rossi calls her over to attend to her daughter's wedding with Will, loaning her beloved wedding gown, which fits onto her with ease. Sandy walks JJ down the aisle during the wedding and then watches in pride as JJ and Will get married. Sandy later participates in the wedding dance and toasts to the happy couple.

Season Ten[]

In "If the Shoe Fits", she comes to visit JJ and Henry for a couple of days. While she and Henry go over a set of childhood photos of JJ, which she planned to convert online, Henry spots a photo of a younger JJ with Roslyn, who he asks about. Sandy gives him an honest answer and innocently tells him that Roslyn is in a better place, explaining why he hasn't seen her. When JJ finds out from Henry about it, she confronts Sandy about it, telling her about her and Will's plan to tell Henry about Roslyn when he was older. The two have an argument, during which Sandy warns JJ about what she and her husband had done to ignore Roslyn's depression. Their argument is cut short when JJ is called over to the BAU headquarters to have a team meeting concerning a case. Off-screen, Sandy returns back to her hometown.

Season Fourteen[]

Sandy reappeared in "Hamelin", where she stays with JJ temporarily after a flood in her living room, stating that her insurance didn't cover the damage so her daughter wouldn't be able to refuse her. JJ discovers this and subsequently confronts Sandy, leading to an argument.

Criminal Minds: Evolution[]

Season One[]

In "Pay-Per-View", it is mentioned that at some point after Season Fifteen, Sandra moved from Pennsylvania closer to JJ's home in Virginia, allowing her to spend more time with her grandsons, who stayed over with her the night before the episode.

Season Three[]

In "Time to Say Goodbye", Sandy reappears attending Will's funeral after he died of an aneurysm in the previous episode. She is seen with her daughter and grandsons walking to the front of the church and speaks with Rossi and Will's mother before standing by their sides at the cemetery.

Appearances[]