Abigail Beethoven "Abby" Sciuto is the former Chief Forensic Scientist for the NCIS Major Case Response Team.
In May 2018, after sixteen years with NCIS and following the murder of her colleague, Clayton Reeves, Abby resigned from NCIS and left to head to London in the United Kingdom to bury Reeves's body and start a charity in honor of his mother.
Following her departure from NCIS, Kasie Hines temporarily took over as Forensic Scientist up until October 2018 when Kasie herself became the permanent Forensic Scientist, officially replacing Abby.
Biography
Pre-Series
Abby was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
She was given up for adoption by her birth parents as an infant and was taken in by a loving family, raising her as their own along with their biological son Luca Sciuto with Abby taking on their surname. She didn't know she was adopted while growing up.
Her parents were deaf, which meant that Abby and Luca Sciuto spoke American Sign Language (ASL) as their first language as a result.
During her youth, Abby moved and got a chance to experience most of the southern United States. At the age of ten, she learned how to drive a manual transmission.
At the age of eleven she began fingerprinting her (adoptive) relatives at family reunions.
Upon finishing high school, she went to college, graduating with full honors from Louisiana State University with a triple major in Sociology, Criminology and psychology.
She had earned her master's degree from Georgia State University in Criminology and Forensic Science.
A while after, Abby joined Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
JAG Season 8
Abby in the JAG Season 8/NCIS backdoor pilot episode, "Ice Queen".
Abby made her debut appearance in the JAG Season 8/NCIS backdoor pilot episode, Ice Queen where she was seen in the computer area of her lab, drinking her fourth cup of Caf-Pow while presumably watching a group of fellow scientists conduct a test in the next room when NCIS Special Agent Tony DiNozzo arrived into the lab, having brought a sample of DNA he'd gotten from the bridge.
Upon finishing her Caf-Pow, Abby headed to the main area of her lab to begin processing the evidence.
Once she'd slipped on her official NCIS lab coat, she produced some gloves and began working while discussing the fact she'd chosen to do a bit of decorating in order to brighten up her lab a bit with the two paintings she had chosen, the first one being of a shotgun-shattered backbone and the second a Duodenum with a lye chaser" or in Abby's own words, "The Sad End of A Drano Drinker".
When Tony informed her she needed to get out more, Abby wondered if that was an invite.
A few hours later, with Gibbs, Tony and Viv in the lab, Abby told them of her findings and revealed that the DNA sample or blood Tony had given her earlier was AB.
She then told the name of a bar: Berzinger's and informed them of the analysis she had conducted which had been examining Lieutenant Singer's stomach contentions with the victim's last meal being two hours before her death which had consisted of peanuts, pretzels and crackers or a bar mix.
She also informed them of the phone number as well as the airline ticket she had managed to retrieve.
When Lieutenant Singer's vehicle, a Golf, was found and brought into the NCIS evidence garage, Abby began dusting the inside of the car for fingerprints while noting it would take twelve hours for the match to occur but when Tony offered her a dinner at Cafe Atlantico if she got a match in two hours, Abby agreed to do so.
Eventually, Abby arrived at Observation while Gibbs was busy interrogating Navy Commander Harmon Rabb and informed Tony and fellow NCIS Special Agent Vivian Blackadder that Harm's fingerprints were all over Singer's car.
NCIS Season 1
Commonly seen wearing different dog collars.
Reveals to Gibbs and Tony that she owns a Victorian chastity belt, in which Gibbs replied it was more information than he needed to know.
NCIS Season 2
NCIS Season 3
NCIS Season 4
NCIS Season 5
NCIS Season 6
NCIS Season 7
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1
Abby appeared in the NCIS: Los Angeles Season 1 episode Killshot where NCIS Director Leon Vance contacted her for help in reviewing evidence at a crime scene after NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye had informed him it would be twenty-four hours at the earliest for it to be processed.
NCIS Season 8
NCIS Season 9
One of the biggest reveals about Abby is revealed in the episode Enemy on the Hill when she discovered she was the adopted child of her family and she had a biological brother named Kyle. Initially, she took the news she was adopted quite hard and had not planned to tell Kyle of their familial relation.
NCIS Season 10
During the episode Recovery, Abby was suffering effects from the bombing and was shown to be having doubts of not telling Kyle he has a sister. Upon realizing she did not want to keep this a secret in case she might never get the chance to tell him, she met Kyle at his pet store and told him everything, at last connecting as siblings.
NCIS Season 11
NCIS Season 12
NCIS: New Orleans Season 1
NCIS Season 13
NCIS Season 14
NCIS Season 15
In One Step Forward, Abby was shot and wounded by former Army Specialist Kent Marshall who had been working as a hitman since being dishonorably discharged in 2008. Marshall also killed Clayton Reeves for defending Abby.
In Two Steps Back, it was revealed that Marshall had been contracted by Tom Reese aka Robert King to assassinate Abby.
At the end of the episode, Abby announces that she is going to escort Reeves' body to London, England as he had always wanted to be buried next to his mother. She told them that she was going to make the funeral arrangements as he did not have any family left.
She also informed Donald Mallard, James Palmer, Eleanor Bishop, Timothy McGee and Nicholas Torres that she was leaving NCIS after working there for 16 years. Abby also said she was going to start a charity in honor of Reeves' mom, as he had always wanted to do that. All five of them gave her their blessing and told her they would miss her.
Personality
Abby is a very loving person, who everyone seems to adore. She is very protective of herself and the people she loves. She doesn't care about others opinions about her and is okay with being considered different and weird. She jokes and talks a lot and spread a lot of joy to the people around her.
Physical Appearance
Abby is a tall white woman, with black hair and green eyes. She has a goth style and like to dress in black. She often wear pigtails and wears dark makeup. She has a lot of tattoos, most prominent is her spider web tattoo on her neck, as well as a large cross who covers most of her back. She also likes to wear a lot of jewlery and even dog collars.
Abilities
As a Forensic Scientist, Abby is trained to process evidence found at a crime scene such as blood, hair, DNA, and any items including garbage. She is very skilled with her lab work and even shows an interest for autopsy.
Firearms
Despite expressing a hatred for guns, Abby is able to use a gun or rifle which she often does to see if a round she fired came from the exact same weapon.
Hacking
Like her ex, NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, Abby is skilled in hacking and can easily access a database or defend NCIS's database via firewalls. She loves computers and machines.
Relationships with NCIS Colleagues
Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Abby has admitted to seeing Gibbs as a second father and has hoped he saw her as a second daughter; both in terms of their close work relationship and to help ease the pain of familial loss they each experienced. It is revealed that Gibbs usually takes her out for dinner the night before her birthday every year. He is also very understanding about her clothing style and lifestyle even if that has been an issue in administration. Abby is very dependent on him and his opinion matters to a large degree and she will often ask him for advise. Abby respects and admires Gibbs so much that she was even willing to assist in covering that he had killed the man who murdered Shannon and Kelly.
She is also the person Gibbs seems to have the most patient with. Abby is rarely straight to the point, which he will often point out is annoying, but he seems sweeter and more understanding with her than he does with his other teammates. He also regularly brings her Caf Pow, and rarely buys anything for any of the other team members. He often kisses her cheek and comforts her when she is sad, and she cares deeply for him.
Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo
Tony and Abby have a brother-sister relationship and Abby, often called "Abs" by Tony is one of the few women Tony does not hit on regularly. They love each other as friends and are very protective of each other. They are always worried if one of them is in trouble and Abby has shown she will not rest to help Tony when he is in a bad spot or thought to be dead.
Vivian "Viv" Blackadder
Caitlin "Kate" Todd
Kate and Abby were friends from the first time they met and very close. Although they are very different, they respected each other and hang out outside of work. Abby was very sad and affected by Kate's death and mourned her for a long time.
Ziva David
Initially Abby did not like Ziva, but they grew close over the years. They are very different, but still respects one another. Abby came to admire Ziva's many trained abilities and came to think of her as another family member.
Eleanor "Ellie" Bishop
Timothy McGee
Abby and McGee are stated to have dated for a while but ended things on good terms. Despite this, they maintain a healthy work and casual friendship. They can be described to have a sister/brother relationship, even though McGee sometimes seems interested in her and is visibly attracted to her. Abby at times teases McGee romantically even with the knowledge he still may be in love with her. Although he can sometimes go overboard with his protectiveness of her, she is grateful nonetheless. They work together a lot because McGee is the most technically advanced out of all the team members and they often solve cases together.
Donald "Ducky" Mallard
Ducky and Abby are mutually fond of each other. They act as if they are family and care very much for one another. They are also the two team members who knew Gibbs the most and have a similar family relationship with him.
James "Jimmy" Palmer
They were close, but Abby often treated Palmer as if he was inexperienced and illogical in the first 8 seasons. Then they became great friends with Jimmy occasionally helping Abby in her lab.
- Clayton Reeves: A former MI6 agent who joined NCIS for a short while prior to his death. Abby is shown to have been close to Reeves, having a bond similar to siblings with Abby getting to know Reeves and his past quite well. Upon his death and remembering that he had saved her life from a hired assassin, Abby came close to her breaking point and nearly murdered King in retaliation, but the attempt wasn't a real poisoning as she really just wanted a confession. To honor his actions and fulfill his desire to open a charity in honor of his mother, Abby followed Clay's body to England to lay him to rest and open the charity in his place.
Family
Gloria Sciuto
For majority of her life, Abby believed that Gloria was her true birth mother and was unaware that Gloria was really her adoptive mother. Abby describes how they had a close relationship like a true mother and daughter. In Enemy on the Hill, Abby discovered that she had been adopted and took the information quite hard but soon was able to accept that Gloria still raised and loved her as her own.
Luca Sciuto
Abby's younger non-biological brother. Abby states that she and Luca have a close sibling relationship since they were young and she occasionally acts as the protective older sibling to him. However, she knows Luca's weaknesses extremely well and how much trouble he can get into because of them and will therefore scold him heavily for not taking the time to think things through.
Kyle Davis
Abby's biological brother. First meeting in Enemy on the Hill, Abby was originally unaware she had another brother until she learned she had been given up for adoption. She at first did not tell Kyle of their relation because she did not want to upset his life in any way but after the bombing at NCIS she began having nightmares that subconsciously revealed she may not want to keep their connection hidden. In Recovery, Abby decided to tell Kyle the truth because she feared passing and never being able to tell Kyle he had a sister. Since then, she recovered from the bombing trauma and established a strong sibling bond with Kyle.
Other Adoptive Relatives
Abby has a maternal aunt named Gert/Gertie. She also had four Uncles: Horace, Teddy, Larry and Charlie, although it's unknown which side of the family they are from. In addition, she had a niece.
In season 10's You Better Watch Out, she mentions a great-uncle Cooper and an Aunt Trixie.
Trivia
- The only main characters on the mothership she never met were Alden Parker and Jessica Knight.
- In Enemy on the Hill, Abby discovered that she was the adopted child in her family and not her brother Luca. In the same episode, she met her real biological brother, Kyle, but didn't tell him they were related until the episode Recovery.
- Abby has displayed in several episodes that she knows American Sign Language (ASL) and can read lips.
- In majority of her appearances, she can be seen with a Caf-Pow drink and knows the taste and effects so well that she was able to tell when the formula had been changed.
- She owns a coffin that she sleeps in and will be the one she wants to be buried in.
- She once got McGee to sleep in it but didn't tell him what it was until afterwards.
Appearances
For a more detailed list, see Abigail Sciuto/List of Appearances.
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| Season 1 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 23 | ||
| Season 2 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 23 | ||
| Season 3 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 4 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 5 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 19 | ||||||
| Season 6 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 25 |
| Season 7 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 8 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 9 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 10 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 11 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 12 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 13 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 14 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 24 | |
| Season 15 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | - | - | 22 | |
| Season 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | |
| Season 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | |||||
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| Season 19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | ||||
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