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Anita Roycewood (Beth Grant) was the main villainess from "Mosley Lane," episode 5.16 of Criminal Minds (airdate March 3, 2010).

Backstory[]

Anita Roycewood's slight backstory revealed that she was born Anita Weld, and that her family owned a funeral home in Leesburg, Virginia. She married Roger Roycewood, and sometime in 1999, the couple began abducting children (for reasons that were never revealed), with young Karla Hartaway being their first victim.

The routine for the abductions had Anita claiming to be looking for her son, using the deception as a ruse so Roger could abduct their target. Anita would keep the children as their own, but when they became too old or defiant (both in Anita's mind), she would kill them by drugging them and placing them in coffins, before burning them in the crematorium. The only exception to the age limit rule was Charlie Hillridge, who she and Roger kidnapped when he was eight, and kept as an unwilling participant in his teenage years.

Events[]

The episode's events began with the evil Anita working her routine, pretending that her son had gone missing while an unwitting Charlie took young Aimee Lynch during the Winter Festival in Ashburn, Virginia. After Aimee was taken to the Roycewoods' home, Anita was shown killing another of her victims, Stephen Shepherd (who she abducted in 2003), doing so by cremating him. Anita and Royce kept Charlie, Aimee, and another victim, Mae Hall, and portrayed them as their own children in the episode. Charlie's mother, Sarah, had spent eight years believing that Charlie was still alive, and had even saw him recently as a teenager. It was her determination that led to the other parents believing that their children were still out there, as they were abducted in the same fashion.

Derek Morgan and Emily Morgan later appeared at the Roycewood house during their search, prompting Anita to hide with her victims, covering Aimee's mouth and threatening to kill her mother if she screamed. After this, Anita planned to kill Aimee, drugging her and forcing Charlie to place her in a makeshift coffin so she could be cremated. However, Charlie (who had been taking pictures of the victims and left them as evidence) suddenly pulled a gun on Anita, causing the villainess to scoff in disbelief. Charlie later fired his weapon and shot Anita to death, right before he, Aimee, and Mae were found and rescued.

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