Bones enthralled fans from its debut in 2005 until its final episode in 2017 thanks in no small part to the memorable Bones villains and particularly the episodes involving serial killers. A crime drama show’s main characters are sometimes only as good as their worst counterparts, and villains like the Ghost Killer and Jacob Broadsky acted as perfect counterbalances to Brennan and Booth. There were even Bones villains who made multiple appearances and delivered chilling moments every time they appeared.
For crime shows revolving around unique and memorable serial killers, Bones has always been on the list of fan favorites. Loosely based on the life of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, who produced the show, it took a different spin on solving murders. Throughout the show’s duration, the team at the Jeffersonian encountered many hair-raising murderers and serial killers and had to piece things together, often from just the remains of a skeleton. Some Bones villains stayed etched in audiences’ minds, from the terrifying cannibal Gormogon to the master manipulator Christopher Pelant.
One of the many characters that appeared on Bones was played by a star, as Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring from Breaking Bad) played the serial killer Richard Benoit in “The Man in the Morgue.” Richard owned a voodoo shop in New Orleans and it was the only one left standing in his area after Hurricane Katrina. He killed someone during Hurricane Katrina, which was unimaginable considering the already massive tragedy that befell Louisiana. Benoit reasoned that he wanted to take his victim’s soul to gain influence on everyone voodoo priest Rene Mouton influenced.
Things got worse when he realized that he was being closed in on, and he murdered a forensic anthropologist and tried to kill Brennan (Emily Deschanel). It only got worse as Benoit killed another anthropologist to cover up his first murder, and he even tried to frame Brennan for it. Benoit became afraid that the team would realize he was the Bokor, a Secte Rouge Sorcerer, and killed his daughter to keep them off his tracks. He committed four murders and one attempted murder before the team finally stopped him.
Many fans can agree that one of the most riveting storylines the show produced involved Gormogon (Laurence Todd Rosenthal), a ruthless killer and cannibal. His apprentices were just as evil as him too. One of them was Jason Harkness (Andrew James Allen). As a teen, Jason was expelled from six different private schools for attacking students while they slept. As community service, he would clean the building where Gormogon’s vault was.
The team discovered his identity by a marking made on the skulls of the victims he ate caused by a diamond implant in his teeth and, when arrested, he hinted he had killed more people than were discovered. He killed and ate an unnamed baby, a victim named Gavin Nichols, and arguably many more. No one will ever know all his victims because Andrew died by suicide in his jail cell to avoid a prison sentence.
Cannibals showed up many times as Bones villains, including one early in the first season. In “The Man in the Bear,” audiences are introduced to a new cannibal, Dr. Andrew Rigby (Alex Carter), and his reasoning for his cannibalistic ways stems from a spiritual origin. Rigby believes he can gain power and knowledge by consuming certain parts of his victims. It is thought that he had only killed two people before completing his ritual, but it’s revealed that Rigby has the same disease as his patients (prion), and it was assumed he killed more to try and survive.
Dr. Rigby is the local doctor and coroner in Aurora, and he was setting out to complete his ritual when he killed Ann Noyes to consume her heart (gaining her spirit) and Adam Langer to consume his arm (gaining his strength). He needed to kill two more people to complete the ritual, but Brennan and Booth stopped him. The murders were horrific, and Rigby was the first cannibal on the show, but Booth pointed out he likely would end up pleading insane, which Brennan agreed with.
Kevin Hollings (Greg Ellis) appeared in “Two Bodies in the Lab.” He was a budding serial killer with a particularly horrible quirk where he would use keys to gouge out his victim’s eyes (making him known as The KeyMaster). He was the prime suspect in one of Booth’s old cases and left a distinct impression. He killed two young women by gouging out their eyes and slashing their throats, but he was not prosecuted because of a lack of evidence. That brings the story to this episode and Brennan’s ability to find evidence.
This was ultimately used against Booth as Hollings was used as a distraction by another killer who knew Booth well, corrupt FBI agent James Kenton (Adam Baldwin), who murders Hollings and attempts to frame him for his crimes. Hollings was a brutal murderer and someone who seemed to be on the path to an eventual conviction for the second murder. However, when Jamie Kenton killed him, it eliminated one of the most disturbing Bones villains and made Booth’s life a lot tougher when dealing with Kenton.
Glen Durant (JD Cullum) was a special type of Bones villain. He appeared in four episodes (starting with “The Conspiracy in the Corpse”) and he orchestrated multiple murders. What made him particularly interesting was that he came into possession of J. Edgar Hoover’s blackmail files from his stepfather. Using them, he would blackmail government officials and would later orchestrate murder plots to get rid of anyone who was a threat.
It was even revealed that he helped cover up the murders of the Ghost Killer and her father. What makes him one of the worst and most unforgivable Bones villains on the show, however, is that he orchestrated the death of Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley), by sending a Navy Seal named Kenneth Emory to kill him. That was easily the most heartbreaking death in the entire series, and Durant remains one of the most hated characters on the show as a result of this heinous crime.
Pete Geller (Nathan Anderson) was a serial murderer from early on in the show’s run and appeared in the season 3 episode “Mummy in the Maze.” He was also known as The Killer Clown, which is enough of an indication as to why he stands out so much. He would dress up in a clown costume, sedate his victims, and literally scare them to death. He would later mummify their bodies to use in a Halloween maze. It was one of the creepiest Bones villains on the entire show.
Even more disturbing is that, other than his role as a killer clown, he was also an EMT and worked as a first responder. This means that he is the person called in when people see the dead bodies in the Halloween maze and helps them, which is how he made his initial appearance on Bones. It wasn’t until he tried to kill Booth and Brennan when they were closing in on the truth that they realized it was him and Booth ended up shooting and killing him before he could do any more damage.
A lot was going on in the episode “Bodies in the Book.” Brennan and Booth were called to a body found at the marina covered in red tape and, in a chilling twist, the team soon discovers the murder to mimic a made-up murder from Brennan’s book. Soon after, two more murders occur using her book as a basis. It seems the killer was using Brennan’s writing as an inspiration, which really shook her up and made her begin to question what she was doing. However, it then turned out that it wasn’t one killer — it was three.
The three killers, Ashton (Steve Braun), Hank (Jonathan Slavin), and Greg (Colby French), all used Brenan’s book because they were die-hard fans. The trio really got under Brennan’s skin in a personal way, as it made her question her culpability in the deaths for having designed a part of them. As an author and someone who worked with law enforcement, it shook her confidence to see people who considered themselves fans doing the one thing she was sworn to stop — senseless murders.
Jacob Broadsky (Arnold Vosloo) was a highly-trained army sniper who turned into a serial killer and was the main antagonist in season 6. He appeared in three episodes, including “The Bullet in the Brain,” “The Killer in the Crosshairs,” and “The Hole in the Heart.” Broadsky was also an associate of Booth’s but developed an intense hatred for him following the death of Broadksy’s accomplice. In his first appearance, he shot and killed one of the most infamous Bones villains — The Gravedigger.
Killing a villain as despicable as The Gravedigger might not seem that bad. However, Broadsky went rogue and started killing people who escaped the justice system, making him a serial killer as well (including killing several innocent people along the way). In his final appearance, he tries to kill Booth, but accidentally kills fan-favorite intern, Vincent Nigel-Murray, instead. In the end, Booth shoots Jacob but refuses to kill him and instead sends him to prison.
Mihir Roshan (Ravi Kapoor) made his first appearance in season 11, “The Monster in the Closet.” Before this, authorities believed Dr. Zack Addy (Eric Millegan) of the Jeffersonian was the serial killer known as The Puppeteer, and he managed to keep his true identity in the dark for quite some time. Roshan’s murders were first introduced to the team after he killed a social worker and lived with the body before disposing of it.
He would taxidermize his victims, dressing them like dolls and hoisting them up, hence the nickname. In another creepy twist, he also killed a young woman and dressed her up like Brennan. When he is discovered, he even tries to kill Zack but fails, allowing Zack to get the upper hand. But, when Zack spares him, he tries to kill Zack again before Booth shoots Roshan in the back just in time. In all, he killed three people and was responsible for one death by suicide (George Gibbons).