| “ | "She belongs here. With me." | ” |
— LaBeau
| ||
Saraphina Labeau is a Haitian child abductor who appeared in the Season One finale of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, "Paper Orphans".
Background[]
In 2009, Saraphina gave birth to a stillborn baby. Later that same year, her husband died in the aftershock of an earthquake while scavenging for metal rubble. Then, in 2010, a massive outbreak of cholera killed thousands, including two of Saraphina's three children; her oldest, Elsie, was the only survivor. Elsie was then taken away from Saraphina, triggering a psychotic break from the latter. Elsie died afterward, after being pregnant for some time, and was buried in a mass grave along with her father, siblings, and four other people.
Paper Orphans[]
One night, Saraphina breaks into a hotel room, which is occupied by the Wagners. Saraphina proceeds to abduct the youngest daughter, Abby. Owen and Emily wake up to find their daughter missing, which leads to the International Response Team being called in. During the investigation, Owen and Emily are thought to be suspects, but the team finds new evidence. Garrett interrogates Owen and he tells him about seeing Saraphina at the park. While Abby was playing at the park, Abby dropped her stuffed elephant and Saraphina handed it back to her. Later, Saraphina comes into the room holding two buckets where Abby's unconscious body is in a ritual circle surrounded by candles. Saraphina crouches down, chants in Haitian, and rips the clothing. Then, Saraphina holds Abby in her arms, takes the water from the bucket and pours it onto Abby while continuing to chant. While doing so, she hallucinates Elsie calling out to her and her family standing in front of her. After the IRT finds out that Saraphina is the unsub, they raid her residence and find her in the ritual circle, still holding Abby in her arms.
When Garrett tells her to put Abby down, she denies her to be Abby and calls her Elsie. When Garrett walks close to Saraphina, she hallucinates them of the time when the men came into her home. Garrett and Seger try to tell Saraphina that they are not here to hurt her and no one is going to hurt her. When Seger asks to see Abby, Saraphina has a flashback of the men who took Elsie away from her mother and yells at them to get away. Seger asks Saraphina to tell her about Elsie. She tells her that she prayed for Elsie to have a better life, but she was buried in the grave with strangers. Saraphina also explains that she had to get her daughter back as Elsie belongs to her. Afterwards, Seger tells Saraphina that her hope should mean something and she was being a good mother and she still can. This convinces Saraphina to release Abby. When Garrett takes Abby away from her, Saraphina has another flashback when after her daughter was taken away from her mother, she was holding onto her doll. Saraphina sobs hysterically and Seger comforts her. Due to her mental state, its plausible she was institutionalized afterwards.
Modus Operandi[]
Saraphina abducted Abby Wagner from her hotel room, and took her to her residence. Under the delusion that she was bringing Elsie back to life, she used a ritual by drawing a ritual circle.
Profile[]
No profile of Saraphina was made by the IRT.
Known Victims[]
- 2015: Abby Wagner (abducted; was rescued)