The evil and sadistic Amber Canardo
Amber Canardo (Nicki Aycox) is the main villainess from "The Perfect Storm," episode 2.03 of Criminal Minds (airdate October 4, 2006).
Backstory[]
The backstory of Amber Canardo (née Brooks) revealed that she was sexually assaulted for years by her own father and brother, with the rapes beginning as a child and into her teenage years. 15-year-old Amber stumbled into a hospital in Tallahassee beaten and raped, and she was told to go to the police. However, after arriving at the police station, Amber's mother appeared and stated that Amber lied about the assaults, and following this, the investigation halted and the rapes continued.
Due to the assaults and her mother's apathy, Amber became a murderous sadist, and by the age of 18, she began abducting and killing teenage girls in Florida. She committed these acts with her unnamed boyfriend, who would help Amber torture the girls before Amber strangled them to death. Amber later killed her boyfriend for unknown reasons, though it was most likely because he was a loose end. She eventually met and married Tony Canardo, and he (along with Tony's cellmate Joey Davin, unwillingly) became a part of Amber's villainous and twisted routine.
Events[]
In the episode, Amber adopted the routine of recording the tortures and rapes on DVDs and sending them to the victims' loved ones, doing so with regarding two of her victims, Bonnie Mossenburg and Laura Clemensen. It was the DVD featuring the latter that caused Frank Clemensen, Laura's father, to have a fatal heart attack due to the shock. Amber, in a disguise, later abducted Tiffany Spears after she asked Tony for directions, and when she is shown for the first time in the episode, she played the role of a victim being abused by Tony. To further the ruse, the psychotic Amber beat up and bruised herself to make it appear that Tony was violent towards her, and while at the BAU station, she attempted to throw Tony under the bus when she was told that the wedding ring she was wearing belonged to Laura Clemensen. Amber did so by stating that Tony won the ring while gambling.
It was when Amber was alone with Tony that Hotchner began to sense that Amber, not Tony, is the true mastermind. A recording of Amber verbally snarling at Tiffany confirmed the reveal, and after Tony reveals that Tiffany is being held at a secluded cabin, Tiffany is found by BAU being assaulted by the evil Amber, who was trying to kill her. The group busted into the cabin and arrested Amber for her long list of murders.
Trivia[]
- Nicki Aycox is best known for recurring on Supernatural as the evil Meg Masters, and later played blackmailer Grace Clayton in 2007's Perfect Stranger.