Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Real Cases, Fictional Minds

Episode Title: Lipstick Wheel

You are listening to Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the podcast with your host(s) Jaylli Kushi.

In this episode of Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the Podcast, we discuss: Season 4 Episode 22 titled “The Big Wheel” and how it is based on the real-life case of the Lipstick Killer.

This episode starts in Buffalo when the BAU receives a mysterious package containing a DVD from the killer himself. In the video is footage he filmed of one of his murders, he records as he follows a woman into her home and kills her. And over the video, he has added a text message directed at the FBI saying: “Help me". The plea sets the tone for the entire case. The unsub isn't taunting them, he's begging them. The victim in the video is a woman killed quickly and efficiently, with no sign of torture or struggle. The attack is almost mechanical. But the emotional intensity comes from the fact that the unsub filmed the entire thing, suggesting he is compelled to watch his own violence, almost as if he's horrified by himself. As the team digs into the case, more victims emerge. They're all women killed inside their homes, with little to no defensive wounds, meaning he surprises them and finishes the attack rapidly. His murders are methodical, not frenzied, each one carried out with the same precision, rhythm, and emotional detachment, but the most important behavioral clue comes from his filming Style. He records from behind doors, through windows, or from angles that prevent the victims from ever seeing him. is as if he's watching life from the outside, and he will connect, repeating the cycle again and again. The team builds a profile for the unsung, a white male and is 30 to 40s, intelligent but socially isolated, living with high-functioning autism, contributing to the rigid behavioral patterns. He is killing as part of a compulsive cycle triggered by guilt, not anger or sexual gratification. So how did the BAU actually figure out who the answer was? well in the video that he sent them in the beginning of the episode, he accidentally gave them a clue. well entering the victim's home, the camera briefly caught a reflection showing part of his face. The team noticed something unusual, he had a rare eye condition. One of his pupils doesn't respond normally, something called heterochromia with a defect. It was subtle but distinctive. Because it was so rare, the BAU is able to cross-reference medical and local records to narrow down the list of placental suspects. When they found a man who matched the condition, lived in multiple crime scenes, and had a personal history consistent with the behavioral profile, the pieces fell into place. The unsub's name was Vincent Rowling, a solitary man who lives alone, works minimal jobs, and struggles with severe emotional trauma. He also has high-functioning autism, which affects his social interactions and contributes to the way he obsesses over patterns, routine, and repeated imagery. The team learns that years earlier, he witnessed his mother's death in a traumatic accident involving a ferris wheel. That moment became the core of his lifelong emotional pain. They also learn that he is secretly watching over a young blind girl named Stanley, who lives in his neighborhood. She represents the innocence of someone he wants to protect, not harm. His connection to her shows that he isn't a sadist or through a pillar. He's someone trying to balance the violence he can't stop with a desperate wish to do something good. That internal conflict is exactly why he reaches out to the bau. He isn't proud of his crimes. He's terrified of who he becomes when he kills. has been since stress escalates, his patterns become more unstable. He...