In Criminology, a Copycat is a criminal who mimics the crimes, M.O.s, or victimologies of another criminal. It is theorized that criminals of this type copy the crimes of others in order to find their own "style"--or lack thereof.
On Criminal Minds[]
- Season One:
- David Walker ("Won't Get Fooled Again") copied serial bomber Adrian Bale.
- Will Sykes ("A Real Rain") partially copied vigilante Marvin Doyle.
- Season Two:
- Sarah Danlin ("Jones") copied Jack the Ripper's style of killing.
- Season Three:
- Anna Begley ("Doubt") partially copied Nathan Tubbs.
- Henry Frost ("Identity") attempted to copy the M.O. of his mentor, Francis Goehring but failed.
- Charlie Wilkinson ("Birthright") copied his father, Robert.
- Season Four:
- Chloe Kelcher ("The Angel Maker") copied Cortland Bryce Ryan.
- Shara Carlino ("The Angel Maker") attempted to copy Cortland Bryce Ryan but failed.
- Floyd Hansen ("Paradise") copied Clint Barnes for his first murder in order to frame him.
- Eric Olson ("Zoe's Reprise") initially copied the styles of many real-life serial killers, such as Jack the Ripper, David Berkowitz, The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, etc.
- Season Five:
- Ronald Boyd ("A Rite of Passage") started copying the style of the Lugo Cartel, a Mexican drug cartel, in order to pin his own murders, including that of his own Sheriff, on them.
- Season Seven:
- Robert Adams ("Painless") copied the bomb design used by school shooter and bomber Randy Slade, as well as a notable aspect of Slade's M.O.
- Caleb Rossmore ("True Genius") copied several of the Zodiac Killer's murders.
- Herman Scobie ("Unknown Subject"), in an attempt to pass off as him, partially copied the serial rapist Hamilton Bartholomew, a.k.a. "The Piano Man".
- Dylan Kohler ("Divining Rod") partially copied Rodney Garrett during the former part of his killings.
- Season Eight:
- John Curtis ("The Silencer", "The Apprenticeship", "Magnificent Light", "Zugzwang", "Broken", "Carbon Copy", "Brothers Hotchner", and "The Replicator") partially copied the M.O.s of unsubs the BAU apprehended during the course of Season Eight, as well as the Amerithrax case.
- David Roy Turner ("The Apprenticeship") copied the M.O. of Rudy Stein, which he taught to Toby Whitewood.
- Willie Kestler ("Perennials") partially copied Russell Smith.
- Donnie Bidwell ("Carbon Copy") incorporated the M.O.s of two killers into his M.O.: Jack Lee Kemper and Bryan Hughes.
- Season Nine:
- Jesse Gentry ("The Inspiration" and "The Inspired") copied the M.O. of his identical twin brother Wallace Hines when he killed his first victim.
- John Nichols ("The Black Queen") copied the M.O. of his partner Sam Russell when he killed two of his victims.
- Owen McGregor ("Angels" and "Demons") copied the torture Justin Mills inflicted on one of his prostitutes on several of his own victims in order to frame Mills the murders McGregor committed.
- Season Ten:
- Allen Archer ("Hero Worship") copied the bomb design used by serial bomber James Burke.
- Season Eleven:
- Michael Peterson ("Tribute") copied with full extent several real-life serial killers, including Andrei Chikatilo, Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler, and David Berkowitz. However, he began to devolve as he continued killing and attempted to copy real-life mass murderer Richard Speck.
- Season Twelve:
- Brian Phillips ("The Crimson King") was forced by Peter Lewis to copy the M.O. of Daniel Cullen while under the influence of several drugs.
- Lindsey Vaughn ("Spencer", "Unforgettable", "Green Light", and "Red Light") copied the M.O. of Peter Lewis as part of an elaborate plan to frame Reid for the murder of a woman named Nadie Ramos under the orders of Cat Adams.
- Sara McLean ("Unforgettable") copied the M.O. of Russian espionage assassinations during her poisonings in order to divert law enforcement attention away from her role in her husband's death.
- Season Thirteen
- Marcus Manning ("Lucky Strikes") copied the M.O. of cannibalistic serial killer Floyd Feylinn Ferell in an attempt to exonerate him of the crimes he was institutionalized for following his first encounter with the BAU.
- Jeffrey Whitfield ("Neon Terror") copied the M.O. of the carjacker who killed his childhood babysitter when he killed women who resembled her.
- Season Fourteen
- The Murderous Manchild ("Starter Home") copied the M.O. of his grandparents by placing victims inside the walls and floors of his and their homes.
- Jeremy Grant ("Luke") copied the M.O. of Eduardo Ramos, a prominent drug cartel leader in his string of murders, in an attempt to mock Ramos.
- David Smith ("Flesh and Blood") copied his father, Joe.
- Season Fifteen
- Louis Chaycon ("Ghost") via proxy, copied the M.O. of Phillip Dowd in order to lure out Luke Alvez and Matthew Simmons so that he could extract information from them about his brother's death.
- Novels:
- Daniel Dryden ("Killer Profile") copied with full extent several real-life serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz, and Ted Bundy. He also attempted to copy several real-life rampage killers, like Richard Speck, Charles Whitman, and Howard Unruh but failed.
Real World[]
- Veronica Compton (attempted copycat of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi)
- Heriberto Seda (copycat of the Zodiac Killer)
- Shinichiro Azuma (copycat of the Zodiac Killer)
- Stella Nickell (copycat of the Tylenol Killer)
- Shawn Lester (copycat of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo)
- Charles McCoy Jr. (copycat of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo)
- Derek Brown (copycat of Jack the Ripper)
- Matthew Milat (copycat of Ivan Milat)
- Sylvia Seegrist (copycat of James Huberty)
- The Academy Maniacs (copycats of The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs)