Most Shocking and Heartbreaking ‘Criminal Minds’ Deaths Through the Years

After 19 seasons, Criminal Minds has found opportunities to kill off beloved characters over the years.

Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005, follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit. The crime drama explores different fictional cases and shows how behavioral analysis helps the team locate their unknown subjects.

The original Criminal Minds series was revived by Paramount+ after its initial conclusion in 2020. Criminal Minds: Evolution brought back most of the cast with Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster reprising their characters Other key characters — such as Matthew Gray Gubler’s Reid — have made cameos.

After pulling off numerous surprise character deaths in the revival, showrunner Erica Messer addressed what is still to come.

“I don’t think we can ever be prepared anytime anything has ever happened with a beloved character,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2026 before hinting at giving the audience a break.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, praised Criminal Minds for how they navigated character deaths.

“We love being there. This is such a dream job. It is just such a wonderful place to show up and go to work every day. Nobody wants it to be over and nobody wants to leave,” he told Us in May 2025. “So hopefully we get to do the show for a long time.”

He continued: “Hopefully nobody gets sacrificed for the sake of good television and we find some other people that we can build enough merit. Will ended up serving that purpose this year. But I think it just brings something else to the show that fans can enjoy and suffer through with us.”

Keep scrolling to relive the show’s most devastating deaths:

Haley

CBS

Everyone remembers where they were when George Foyet a.k.a The Reaper murdered Hotchner’s (Thomas Gibson) wife while the BAU were forced to listen on the phone.

Maeve

CBS

Reid’s romance with Maeve (Beth Riesgraf) was cut short when her stalker killed her in season 8.

Gideon

CBS

It had been years since Mandy Patinkin left the show as Gideon but Criminal Minds still found a way to reveal he was murdered off screen in season 10 by a serial killer from one of his past cases.

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Strauss

CBS

Despite her ups and downs with the BAU, Strauss (Jayne Atkinson) had won Us over when she was poisoned by an unsub known as The Replicator in season 8.

Will

Michael Yarish /Paramount

Josh Stewart had a recurring role as Will on Criminal Minds since 2007. Stewart raised eyebrows in 2024 when he revealed that he would not be reprising his role in future seasons of the show. His character died in a 2025 episode when Will collapsed after experiencing a headache.

Roxy

During a May 2026 episode, Luke (Rodriguez) was mourning a personal loss while helping the BAU solve a case. It wasn’t until the end of the two-episode premiere that viewers found out his dog, Roxy, had to be put down.

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