The Capilano Brothers were a pair of robber brothers who appear in the Season Thirteen episode of Criminal Minds, "The Capilanos".
Background
"I've been in your family all your life, and now what? I let Dad beat on me instead. I got...got this so you wouldn't have to."
Sal and Tony Capilano were raised by their abusive, alcoholic father, but Sal took the brunt of it to protect Tony. One day, their father cut Sal, leaving a permanent scar on the left corner of his mouth. Their father eventually killed the boys' mother and abandoned them. They would later be raised by the traveling circus that their father worked for. While Tony loved being a clown, Sal dreamed of being a daredevil like his father, having wanted to experience both thrills and the adrenaline rush. At some point, Tony began a relationship with a woman named Dina, with whom he had a kid named Mikey. Despite Tony now having a wife and kid, he still managed to travel the U.S. with them while keeping his job. In December 2017, the circus Sal and Tony worked for went out of business and they subsequently went to work at another circus. Their time working for the new circus ended shortly after Sal got into an altercation with one of the circus's bullfighters and almost cut his face. This resulted in them being blacklisted from every known circus still operating in the U.S. Due to the circus life being the only kind of life they knew, they decided to work for migrant rodeos, but because they were not being paid enough, they resorted to robbing people's homes and pawning the stolen items, with Sal being the one who broke into the homes and stealing the items, and Tony acting as the getaway driver. One night, Sal broke into the home of Sam Franklin, who was home at the time of the robbery. Sal decided to kill Sam (who acted as a surrogate for his abusive father), with Tony assuming that he had just tied him up. Dina had no knowledge of their criminal activities.
The Capilanos
At the beginning of the episode, a man named Mark Wilson arrives home one night carrying his son, Dylan, entering their house and putting him to bed. He kisses him good night and walks away. The boy, hearing a sound, wakes up, grabs his teddy bear, and runs into the hallway to his father's bedroom. As they both fall asleep, Sal, dressed as a clown, appears suddenly under the bed, his eyes flickering over to the sleeping pair. He beats and stabs Mark, but spares Dylan despite being a witness.
In his car, Sal still has his clown makeup on as he gets off. A list of maps sits next to the driver's seat, the houses he targeted crossed off with smiley faces.
A family of four named the Richardsons have just arrived home, exhausted. The two children go to the bed while the mother Bella decides she will go to bed as well. The father Jon goes to the kitchen and opens the fridge. As he closes it, Sal appears. He later murders both parents, but spares the children, escaping to the van where Tony, is waiting.
The brothers see a police road blockage after their latest crime. Tony, begins to get nervous and says they shouldn't have done it again, saying they should have turned back. Sal, wiping the makeup off of his face, tells him to not get worried about it. They are just getting challenged. Tony asks him why they had to break in two nights in a row. Sal says they are not going to get caught. He sees blood on the costume. Sal bluffs and says the father and him got into a fight. Tony was promised no one was going to get hurt, but Sal says not to worry about it. He says to turn the van around and go.
Tony walks into a run-down motel room to Dina and Mikey, blowing a balloon. Dina, asks if he made enough for them to head down south to Florida. She says her parents found them an affordable trailer and a good school for Mikey. A news report flashes on TV behind her about the latest murder. Dina turns the TV off, disgusted. Tony is surprised, and walks out shocked, saying he's ill. He walks out the motel and confronts Sal about the murders. Sal admits he killed four people. Tony is shocked, but his brother stands up and says he is sorry. He demands his half, but Sal admits he lost the $3800 they made to gambling. He proposes that they hit a rich guy. Sal tells him that he has no choice if he wants to send Mikey to Florida.
Both men later trespass onto a larger estate. Sal grabs a key and begins to pick the lock as the homeowner opens the door, with a gun in hand. Both men begin to struggle for dominance, landing onto the floor until a gunshot rings. The homeowner is shot in the shoulder and critically injured, and the brothers are scared off.
Tony wallows to Sal, asking him why he had to shoot him and worries that their faces will be over the news. They have to get out, Sal says they don't have any money. Tony retorts that he has a wife and a son to support, not him. Sal says he has been his family all his life. He says their father beat him, and he took it for Tony.
On the road, Dina is gushing over old pictures. While Tony wishes their son would grow up like they did, his wife says they should dream a new dream. They stop at a rodeo, where she asks him if this is where he has been going. Tony assures her that it's only to get money for gas, to go on Florida. Tony leaves the van and walks up to the managers and asks for a gig. One of them says they are full, but Tony says he needs it bad, and the man gives in. Outside, Dina is looking at the window when Sal appears in full clown makeup, tapping the window and looking sinister. He forces her out of the van, drunk and accusing her of taking Tony away from him. Dina defiantly tells him he has a family now, enraging Sal and he begins to choke her until Mikey wakes up. He runs into the rodeo after Tony.
Sal enters Tony's dressing room, crazed and tells him he didn't care that he left him behind. But, Tony brings up his wife and son, further upsetting Sal. He suddenly says he is going out to be with the bull. Tony tried to stop him, but the manager named Lenny Borman confronts Sal, telling him to never come back here. Sal demands his money out of him, pulling out a gun and shooting him in the knee. He is convinced that Lenny has a few grand on him, but Tony begs him to get the wounded Lenny help and to come with him. Sal says they are going to put him away, and dares Tony to call the cops. Sal jeers and says Tony's wife will leave him eventually since he can barely survive, and suggests he rents her out. Tony becomes enraged and both brothers begin to fight, leaving Sal on the floor with Tony standing over him with the gun pointed at him. Then, JJ and Simmons arrive, convincing Tony to stand down and Sal presses his forehead against the gun. He relents, and both men are arrested, while Sal is still laughing maniacally.
At the police station, a remorseful Tony apologizes to them. Tony tells Mikey that he has to go away and his mother will take good care of him in Florida. Dina insists that they will stay here, but Tony says he is facing 5-10 years and Mikey will be in high school by the time he is released. He begs Dina to not let him forget him. He looks back as Mikey blows a balloon, saying he is proud of him.
Profile
The unsubs are two males in their thirties driving a van. One is a power-assertive dominant who robs and kills while the other is a submissive who drives the getaway vehicle. The dominant likes to kill with his bare hands and cut his victims post-mortem, the latter of which is his signature. It is possible the submissive has no idea what the dominant is doing, as it is common for criminal partners to keep secrets from one another. While the submissive waits in the vehicle, the dominant works alone in the killings and chooses not to harm the children. The sparing, which could be because of the submissive's influence, may result from one of them having a child or having unresolved childhood issues. The use of a clown disguise can be seen as a forensic countermeasure, but the choice of disguise is a predictor for deindividualization, a form of anti-social behavior that allows the offender to be anonymous and act their worst. It can be determined the dominant paints his face because he hates his own, possibly because of a facial disfigurement or a speech impediment he can't control that frustrates him.
Mutual Victims
- 2018:
- Unspecified dates:
- Eads, Colorado: A victimless robbery
- Lamar, Colorado: A victimless robbery
- Springfield, Colorado: A victimless robbery
- Compo, Colorado: Sam Franklin (robbed and killed by Sal)
- Guymon, Oklahoma:
- Mark Wison (robbed and killed by Sal)
- Jon and Bella Richardson (robbed and killed by Sal)
- Unspecified dates:
Real-Life Comparison
- The Capilanos may have been inspired by Gary and Ervin Robles - both are killing teams (though both Gary and Ervin killed people while Tony was unaware of Sal's murders) and robbing duos who were brothers (Gary and Ervin were foster brothers) raised by abusive parental figures (the Capilanos' father and Gary and Ervin's foster parents) that committed a series of victimless home invasions that escalated to murder when at least one of the brothers began killing residents of the homes they burglarized as surrogates for their abusive parents.