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| “ | I'm your mother. And I raised a good son, didn't I? | „ |
| ~ Dinah manipulating her son Benjamin. |
Dinah Troy is the main antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "Rock Creek Park". She is the mastermind of her daughter-in-law's kidnapping, which she commits to boost her son's political career.
She was portrayed by Tess Harper.
Early life[]
Dinah was a graduate of an Ivy League college, where she majored in business. She had dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur, but she had to set aside her own ambitions when she got pregnant with her son, Benjamin. A few years later, she had another son, Paul, with her husband, who walked out on her soon afterward.
Her own ambitions having been thwarted, she lived vicariously through her sons, especially Paul, who had the charisma and good looks for a career in politics. Her hopes for Paul were dashed, however, when he was disfigured in an accident and became a drug addict. Dinah turned to Benjamin, grooming him for a political career; this time, her faith was rewarded when Benjamin was elected to a Congressional seat in Georgetown. He also managed to wean Paul off of drugs.
Dinah disapproved of Benjamin's wife, Sophie, but nevertheless encouraged him to present the image of a family man to further his career. Benjamin cheated on Sophie with intern Michelle Golivin, who threatened to reveal their affair unless he paid her off.
Meanwhile, Benjamin's approval ratings began declining, threatening his chances of re-election. Determined to see her son become president one day, Dinah came up with a plan to reinvigorate his popularity by arranging to have Sophie kidnapped, believing that the resulting public sympathy would right his faltering career.
"Rock Creek Park"[]
Dinah hires mobsters Taras Yudin and Roman Azarof to kidnap Sophie and hold her captive, threatening to kill her unless Benjamin pays them $2 million. Benjamin comes up with the money, but Yudin and Azarof raise their price to $20 million.
The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is called in to assist local police in recovering Sophie and arresting the kidnappers. They advise Benjamin to make a public plea for Sophie's safe return in order to increase the pressure on the kidnappers, but Benjamin loses his nerve during the speech and abruptly goes off the air.
The BAU finds the warehouse where Sophie was moved from, as well as a box containing her severed ear. Suspecting that Paul is behind the kidnapping, BAU Agent Kate Callahan asks Dinah if he has been acting strangely. Dinah responds that Paul has been fine ever since Benjamin helped him get sober. Supervisory Agent David Rossi asks her if her sons hate each other, but she says no and tells them about Paul's accident and Benjamin's efforts to help him.
Dinah's affect during the interrogation - particularly her inappropriate calmness and her dismissive tone when speaking of Sophie - makes Rossi and his fellow Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner suspicious of her, so they decide to question Benjamin and Dinah separately. They eventually deduce that she masterminded the kidnapping to help her son's career, and she eventually confesses when they threaten to publicly name Benjamin as a suspect, which would almost certainly doom his chances of re-election. She tells the BAU where to find Yudin and Azarof, and they manage to rescue Sophie.
After Benjamin releases a statement thanking the BAU for Sophie's safe return, he visits Dinah in prison. He condemns her for putting Sophie's life in danger, but he admits that her plan worked; his approval ratings are through the roof, and he is now considered a shoo-in for re-election and mentioned as a contender for higher office. Dinah smiles and says that she raised a "good son", with the implication being that he is as ruthlessly ambitious as she is.
Trivia[]
- Dinah and her accomplices are inspired by multiple real-life criminal cases:
- The kidnapping of John Paul Getty III by the 'Ndrangheta mob, who sent his family his ear in a box and threatened to kill him unless they paid the ransom.
- Elizabeth Ann Duncan, who hired two men to kill her daughter-in-law.
- Dora Cisneros, the mastermind of the murder of Joey Fischer, his daughter's ex-boyfriend.
- Rose Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy family, which is surrounded by conspiracy theories regarding the death of Marilyn Monroe, the inspiration for Sophie's kidnapping.
- John Gillooly, the ex-husband of athlete Tonya Harding and the mastermind of the attack on her professional opponent Nancy Kerrigan, in which Harding's involvement has always been questioned.
- Ronald James Ward, a serial killer responsible for shooting an acquaintance before going on the run, his motive, albeit disbelieved, being the victim attacked Ward’s wife.
External links[]
- Dinah Troy on the Criminal Minds Wiki
