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Things were just starting to get good again. I thought I was getting my family back. Why did this happen? Why is my family dead?
Amanda

Amanda Bergstrom is a bully-turned-familicide survivor who appears in the Season Twelve episode of Criminal Minds, "The Anti-Terrorism Squad".

Background[]

Amanda was born sometime around 1999 and raised in a happy household in Winona, Minnesota, which consisted of her father Scott, her mother Bridget, and her younger brother Kevin. However, the family dynamic was in danger of falling apart when Scott became addicted to Vicodin after suffering an accident that left a debilitating injury. As a result, his temperament changed for the worst, prompting Bridget to start having an affair with another man named Ron Fergusson. However, the affair ended when Scott started undergoing counseling and was showing signs of becoming better. Later, Amanda found out about her mother's affair and blackmailed Ron into silence, not wanting Scott to find out and therefore give up on his recovery. Also recently, Amanda started having conflicts with Bridget about being past her curfew while out of the house.

At Pillsbury High School, where she was a student, Amanda was popular among most of the students. However, she was also known as a bully, having had harassment complaints against her filed to the school administration, though they were never properly addressed. One night, she and several other bullies, led by a jock named Austin Settergren, somehow managed to lure one of their victims, Kyle Ecklund, to the basketball courts. There, they tied him up to a basketball pole and marked his face as a target, after which Austin began throwing a basketball in his face repeatedly while being cheered on by Amanda and the others. Austin threw the basketball in his face so many times that Kyle's glasses broke and were eventually knocked off. Afterwards, she and the bullies left him strapped to the pole, and Kyle was not found until the next day.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad[]

Amanda comes home late one night after hanging out with her friends past her curfew. After Amanda says goodbye to her friends, she steps inside the house to hear the alarm clock still buzzing. Investigating, she finds her parents dead, followed by her brother. After the BAU are called in, JJ and Prentiss interrogate Amanda, who is still traumatized. They ask her about Ron, who had been considered a suspect but had told them about Amanda's blackmailing. Amanda explains herself and tells them about Scott's road to recovery, which had been going good and benefiting the family. She then starts to cry and asks why her family is dead. It is later mentioned that Amanda would be taken in by her aunt and uncle in Seattle, Washington.

Appearances[]

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