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1The entire ''Criminal Minds'' franchise is such a recurrent offender of RippedFromTheHeadlines, the trope now has their own pages for each series produced.
2
3!BackdoorPilot
4* "Beyond Borders":
5** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joran_van_der_sloot Joran van der Sloot]] is referenced directly multiple times, and shares the killer's background of being a Dutch citizen in the Caribbean.
6** Oddly, the killer's horrible childhood is much like the horrible childhood of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Pomeroy Jesse Pomeroy]], a 19th century, American, underage, budding serial killer.
7** The killer giving his victims water bottles laced with rohypnol to abduct them was inspired by Erika Messer imagining what if that happened to her in a vacation.
8
9!Season 1
10* "The Harmful One": Includes a passing reference to the 2014 murders of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, although the episode's case has nothing to do with it (other than also being in Thailand).
11* "Love Interrupted": The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Castro_kidnappings Ariel Castro kidnappings]].
12* "De Los Inocentes": The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Beresford-Redman Bruce Beresford-Redman]] case.
13* "Harvested": The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurgaon_kidney_scandal Gurgaon Kidney Scandal]]. Also mentioned is New York City's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bid_Rig#Operation_Bid_Rig_III Operation Bid Rig]].
14* "The Ballad of Nick and Nat" deals with the reopening of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba.
15** Fitting the premise of Cuba being a time capsule from the 50s, the killers resemble [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Starkweather Charles Starkweather]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caril_Ann_Fugate Caril Ann Fugate]], with the latter being combined with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos Aileen Wuornos]].
16* "Citizens of the World": The kidnappings of Westerners by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda_in_the_Islamic_Maghreb AQIM]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Mali_conflict Tuareg conflict in Northern Mali]].
17* "Denial": Probably the most loaded, with direct references to the Arab Spring, Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood, terrorism in the Sinai peninsula, [[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26626367 the use of deadly tear gas by the Egyptian police]] and the issue of gay rights and homophobia in Egypt.
18* "The Lonely Heart": Notably [[AvertedTrope averted]]. Set in Paris, zero reference to Islamist terrorism.
19* "The Matchmaker": All about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant ISIS]], down to featuring an unnamed {{expy}} of it. Most notably, the existence of ISIS's internet (female, western) propagandists and recruiters such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_LaRose Colleen LaRose]] and the recruitment of Western teen brides like the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amira_Abase,_Shamima_Begum_and_Kadiza_Sultana Benthal Green girls]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabina_Selimovic_and_Samra_Kesinovic Austrian girls]].
20* "Whispering Death": [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aokigahara Aokigahara forest]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Maeue Hiroshi Maeue]].
21* "Iqiniso": The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Sithole ABC Murders]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlakplaas Vlakplaas]].
22* "El Toro Bravo": The disappearance/murder of Denise Pikka Thiem.
23* "Paper Orphans": The Madeleine [=McCann=] case [[RecycledInSpace recycled]] in post-earthquake Haiti. Both events get a direct mention.
24
25!Season 2
26* "Lost Souls" is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown Jonestown]] moved to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shabaab_(militant_group) Al-Shabaab]]-infiltrated northern Tanzania.
27* "The Devil's Breath": The recent spike in the use of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopolamine Scopolamine]] (one of whose common names is "Devil's Breath") by robbers and kidnappers in Colombia, and by Colombian gangs in other countries.
28* "Cinderella and the Dragon":
29** Like [[NeverLiveItDown any other reference]] to {{UsefulNotes/Singapore}} in American media, the title and the general depiction of Singapore as a draconian police state harks back to ''Wired'''s 1993 opinion piece ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_with_the_Death_Penalty Disneyland with the Death Penalty]]'' and the caning of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay Michael P. Fay]] (which is explicitly referenced).
30** The reveal that the smuggling ring is trafficking endangered dragon fish (hence the title) rather than drugs is likely ripped from stories about crime arising from demand for this species in SE Asia, such as [[http://nypost.com/2016/06/05/this-fish-is-worth-300000/ this]].
31* "Il Mostro": In 2014, a Romanian prostitute was found "crucified" in Florence. The testimony of other prostitutes pointed to a man in his 50s or 60s being responsible, prompting press speculation about the possible return of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_of_Florence Monster of Florence]], a serial killer active in the 1970s and 1980s who was never apprehended. [[spoiler:Unlike in the episode]], this turned to not be the case.
32* "Made In...": The spike of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_by_Islamic_extremists_in_Bangladesh Islamist-motivated machete murders of foreigners and atheists in Bangladesh]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Savar_building_collapse Savar building collapse]].
33* "Pretty Like Me": South Koreans obsession with plastic surgery. [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3439638/Cosmetic-surgery-addict-injected-cooking-oil-into-her-own-face.html Disasters like this]], in particular.
34* "La Huesuda": [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvia_Meraz Silvia Meraz]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Constanzo Adolfo Constanzo]].
35* "Pankration": The Greek economic meltdown and the immigration crisis.
36* "Blowback": The war in Afghanistan, despite the country getting the NoCelebritiesWereHarmed treatment.
37* "Abominable": The 2015 Nepal earthquake and the accompanying Mount Everest avalanche.
38* "The Ripper of Riga":
39** The 2014 opening of the former KGB prison in Riga as a museum, probable inspiration of the name.

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