NCIS, one of the longest-running crime dramas on television has seen its share of heinous crimes and villains. This military drama is built around a team of investigators from various backgrounds using their expertise to help the team solve crimes against Naval, Army, Marine, Air Force, and Coast Guard personnel. Led by their unflappable team leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the NCIS team has had different iterations in its 16 years on the air. The team has seen members come and go. Also, the team has seen different directors throughout the years as well. As great as the heroes are, NCIS wouldn’t be a show without the bad guys and the crimes they commit. Here are 10 of the worst crimes and criminals in the history of NCIS:
#10. Harper Dearing-Revenge against The Navy
Grief can be a powerful motivator for a villain. It’s hard for some people to deal with the death of a loved one especially when the people they worked for did not protect them. This was the case for Harper Dearing. He had a vendetta against the Navy when they failed to update the wiring on USS Brandywine, the ship his son served on. As a result, this businessman turned bomb maker and wreaked havoc through most of season 9 of the show.
#9. Rene Benoit-Arms dealer attempts to kill Agent Anthony DiNozzo
On the subject of grief, former director Jennifer Shephard thought Rene Benoit–aka La Grenouille–was responsible for her father’s death. She sends NCIS Agent Anthony DiNozzo deep undercover to sniff out “The Frog.” Dinozzo was sent undercover to gain the trust of Benoit’s daughter, Jeanne Benoit, but develops legitimate feelings for her. When this happens, Rene attempts to kill both DiNozzo and Jeanne.
#8. Randy Whitman-Anti-Government Militia
Some antagonists are born from their disdain of the government. Such was the case of anti-government militia leader Randy Whitman. Whitman, who was on the run 15 years, hijacked a Navy truck and killed two Marines. He should have known Leroy Jethro Gibbs was on the case. While living under the alias John Joseph Manning, Gibbs caught up to Whitman and arrested him after all those years on the run.
#7 Kai Chen- Orders a hit on NCIS Translator Qasim Naasir
There is no greater motivator for a bad guy than money. Kai Chen is the epitome of this idea. Chen was a cyber-terrorist that manipulated the stock market. Not only that Chen was responsible for the death of Renee Turner and put a hit on Eleanor Bishop’s boyfriend Qasim Naasir.
#6. Sergei Mishnev-Attempted to kill Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Sergei is the half-brother of one of the most infamous villains in the NCIS universe, Ari Haswari. Thinking it was Gibbs who shot his half-brother, he set out and hunted Gibbs to kill him and take revenge for his brother. We know, however, that it was Ari’s half-sister Ziva who shot and killed Ari, not Gibbs. It was Gibbs’ friend Tobias Fornell who shot Mishnev as he suffered the same fate as his half-brother; a bullet to the head.
#5. Lee Wuan Kai-Attempted to kill Director Leon Vance
Vance had been looking for Kai for years. After years of being on the run, Kai popped up in Los Angeles and attempted to kill the NCIS team in Los Angeles. While on the run, she ended up in Washington and found herself on the radar of her arch-nemesis Leon Vance. Kai tormented Vance while in DC. She even found her way into Vance’s home. As she terrorized her enemy, it was Vance’s wife Jackie–not Vance–who dealt the death blow to Kai.
#4. Benham Parsa-Paralyzed Agent Timothy McGee’s girlfriend
Parsa was one of the most dangerous bad guys NCIS has ever seen. Few villains the team tangled with were as dangerous as Parsa. Benham Parsa killed SECNAV Clayton Jarvis and injured former NCIS Director Thomas Morrow in two separate bombings. In another incident, Delilah Fielding–the girlfriend of Agent Timothy McGee was permanently paralyzed. Parsa finally met his maker at the hands of Agent Gibbs.
#3. Daniel Budd-Killed NCIS Agent Ned Dorneget
One of the worst things about NCIS is when recurring characters are killed or are no longer part of the show. One of the most beloved recurring characters on NCIS was Ned Dorneget. He was the loveable dopey nerdy guy who Gibbs loved to give a hard time. Daniel Budd was the leader of the terrorist group, the calling. The NCIS team literally chased Budd all over the world. It was a bombing in Cairo at the hands of Budd that cost Dorneget his life. After the tragic bombing in Egypt, Agent DiNozzo caught up to Budd in Shanghai where he met his ultimate demise.
#2. Jonas Cobb-Killed NIS Agent Michael Franks
The most beloved recurring guest character in the NCIS franchise was Agent Gibbs’ mentor and retired NIS agent Michael Franks. Franks was the consciousness–literally and figuratively–of both Gibbs and the team. It was one of the great tragedies in the show’s history when Franks was killed by serial killer Jonas Cobb. Jonas Cobb targeted Naval personnel and NCIS agents. Before killing agent Franks, Cobb killed NCIS agent Gayne Levin. Eventually, Cobb was tracked down by both Agent Gibbs and Director Vance and killed Jonas Cobb.
#1. Ari Haswari-Killed Agent Caitlin Todd
The first emotional tragedy that hit NCIS was Special Agent Caitlin Todd. Todd was new to the team and had just begun to acclimate herself to the squad when she was killed by terrorist Ari Haswari. Rarely do cases get personal amongst the team. This one got extremely personal with the agents. Not only was Caitlin Todd a fantastic agent who was beloved by the team and fans of the show, but we also find out that Ari is Agent Ziva David’s half-brother. After an elaborate game of cat and mouse, an introduction to Ziva’s father, and the revelation of Ari’s true motives the team–or Gibbs more specifically–finally caught up to Haswari. It was Ziva–his own sister–that ended his life.
