“ | No! I have to make her see what I see. | ” |
— Bryan
|
Bryan Hughes was a hemophiliac, delusional abductor, and serial-turned-spree killer who appeared in the Season Eight episode of Criminal Minds, "Magnum Opus".
Background[]
Very little is revealed about Hughes's history and personal life, except that he had a severe form of hemophilia called Type B Christmas Disease. He also possessed the "universal recipient" blood type, AB positive. Three weeks before committing his first murder, Hughes was involved in a car accident from which he came out unscathed. At the same time, the other driver bled to death before EMTs arrived while he presumably watched. He eventually snapped and went on to kill Pamela Hurd and Gary Porter for their blood.
Magnum Opus[]
Hughes is first seen exsanguinating Lynn Stevens and filling a jar with her blood, which he then stashes in a refrigerator containing jars of Hurd and Porter's blood. He then lures Aimee Fortner to his residence, presumably under the pretense of a modeling opportunity, and proceeds to remove her eyelids with a scalpel and drains her of her blood. Hughes then visits an art gallery with the intention of selling his paintings to Madison Riley. However, she tells him that she is not interested, but might reconsider when he has a signature. Later, at Hughes's workplace, he and a coworker named Paul discuss a piece of art. Paul asks for a ride home and Hughes agrees but takes Paul to his home to take his blood, instead. When Paul struggles and bites Hughes's hand, he becomes enraged, grabs a nearby hammer, and bludgeons him to death. The next day, he returns to the art gallery with a painting he made using both Paul's blood and his own, only to be refused by Madison once again. Enraged, Hughes leaves the building, returning later to abduct Madison. He takes her to his residence with the intention of removing her's eyelids. Just then, the BAU arrive and try to reason with him. Listening to Hotch's words, he appears to consider them but changes his mind and moves to kill Madison. He is then shot by Hotch and dies within seconds. In "Carbon Copy," his murders are copied by Donnie Bidwell, who killed three women using his M.O.
Profile[]
The unsub is a white male aged in his 20s or 30s. He thinks of himself as a painter or artist. The placement of the victims near or facing artistic works around the city tells a lot about him: this placement is a compulsion, not accidental, as he is obsessed with art. All of the works of art the victims were placed at are neglected, ignored, or cast aside by the public, which is how he feels about himself. In evolving to removing the victims' eyelids, he is forcing them to see what he sees. There is no sexual component to these murders because the blood and the use of blood is his sexual release. It can be assumed that he is painting with the blood. He has a very quick killing pace because more blood means more paint for him. However, with the more paintings that he does, the greater the chance someone will recognize his work. Because of his need for acceptance, he may be attempting to sell the paintings, so he is likely associated with places that sell fringe art.
Based on his M.O. and the motivation for his crimes, Hughes can be considered an organized visionary-type serial killer.
Modus Operandi[]
"I know how to make you see me."
Seeking only for blood, Hughes selected his victims at random. After abducting a victim or luring them to his home with a ruse, Hughes would drug them with ketamine and edetic acid (an anticoagulant) in some unspecified way, then restrain them to a metal table. There, he would bore a hole into one of their thighs and drain their blood from the femoral artery (a large artery located in the thigh with a tube) into glass jars while the victim was still conscious. The victim would die slowly with little pain. As his M.O. evolved, Hughes began to remove the eyelids of his victims with a scalpel in order to make them "see what he saw" before killing them. As a hemophiliac, he separated the plasma from the blood out of habit, using a centrifuge. The separation of plasma and blood provided him with plasma to induce clotting in case of a cut, as well as thicker blood, which served as a better medium to use as "paint" for his own artwork. When drained, the victims' bodies were then wrapped in plastic. His signature was dumping the bodies near local pieces of artwork that were usually neglected by the general public, initially during the night, but Hughes later began dumping his victims during the daytime hours so more people could see them easily.
When his last victim struggled against him after attempting to remove his eyelids, Hughes fatally bludgeoned him with a hammer out of frustration, abandoning the exsanguination and instead of using the blood drawn from Paul's skull to paint a new image. He also kept Paul's body, likely because the bludgeoning damaged his face, and he didn't want him to be associated with a piece of artwork. With his attempted victim, Hughes tried to return to eyelid removal and exsanguination but was stopped by the BAU.
Real-Life Comparison[]
Hughes was compared to Fritz Haarmann by the BAU and may have been based on him - Both were serial killers who lured their victims to their homes with ruses (though Hughes also abducted victims through force alone) and collected their blood in some way while killing them.
Known Victims[]
- 2013:
- January 6: Unnamed female motorist (accidental; slowly bled to death in a car accident)
- January 27: Pamela Hurd (left her body near a painting done by little-known artist Henry Floyd)
- January 29: Gary Porter (left his body near a piece of graffiti art done by wanted street artist Cipher)
- January 30: Lynn Stevens (her eyelids were removed; left her body near a mural done by intercity youths)
- January 31: Aimee Fortner (her eyelids were removed like the previous victim; left her body near a statue of Saint Luke)
- February 1:
- Paul (attempted to removed his eyelids, then fatally bludgeoned him in the head with a hammer when he fought back; his body wasn't discarded)
- Madison Riley (assaulted, abducted, and attempted to remove her eyelids; was rescued)
Notes[]
- Hughes seems to have been inspired by Franklin Graney ("Plain Sight") - Both were serial killers who felt unappreciated and overlooked by society, primarily targeted women (though Hughes also targeted men), and both forced their victims' eyes open somehow (Graney glued his victim's eyes open, while Hughes outright removed their eyelids) to make them 'see'.
- In "Carbon Copy", Morgan referred to Hughes as "The Blood Artist", which was presumably a general reference to him making works of art with his victims' blood, not a nickname.
Appearances[]
- Season Eight
- "Magnum Opus"
- "Carbon Copy" (mentioned)