"Yeah, we're gonna have fun tonight."
Matthew "Matt" Franks was an ephebophilic serial killer and stalker who appeared in Season Eleven of Criminal Minds.
Background
Little details were revealed about Matt's personal life, other than he was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. As a teenager, he developed a fetish for cheerleaders along with psychopathic tendencies and began stalking one at his high school in 2010. Matt was arrested, though the charges were dropped and the girl moved away from the city. In 2012, another cheerleader at his school was killed and Matt was considered the prime suspect, but the police didn't have enough physical evidence against him and were forced to let him go. Following this, Matt and his family moved out of the state, and he eventually settled in Glenport Village, Florida, an experimental community housing mostly convicted sex offenders. He also got a job as an IT serviceman who took jobs in Glenport Village and the surrounding communities. He became the next-door neighbor of the community's Sheriff, Paul Desario, and developed an obsession with Desario's daughter Riley, who was trying out for cheerleading.
Pariahville
"There's no cure for me...alright? There's no cure for those guys over at Glenport Village either."
In November 2015, Matt's obsession with cheerleaders spiraled out of control again, and he attacked a Glenport Village resident, statutory rapist Paige Lincoln, hoping to live out a cheerleader-themed fantasy. However, Paige proved to be too old for him, and he subsequently stabbed her to death, dressing her body in a cheerleader uniform to frame her husband Kyle, who also had a fetish for cheerleaders. Two days later, he goes to Sumac Cove, a nearby community, and attacks a local cheerleader, Victoria Taylor, killing her after she couldn't fulfill his fantasy. The following night, Matt, driving around, spots Riley walking on the street. He gets her into his car, claiming he will drive her back to the police station, then knocks her out. Taking her to her home, Matt dresses Riley in her cheerleader uniform and threatens her at knifepoint, explaining his motives to her. In a bid to survive, Riley plays along with his fantasy, luring him to the bedroom, where she tries to grab her father's shotgun. However, Matt subdues her, just as Desario, Lewis, Morgan, and Sheriff's Deputies arrive at the scene. Held at gunpoint by the agents and officers, Matt accuses them of ruining his plans. When Lewis says she is willing to talk to him about anything and asks him about his parents, he lowers his guard, giving her the opportunity to fatally shoot him through the neck.
Modus Operandi
Matt's murders revolved around his obsession for cheerleaders. He would use his job to enter residents' homes and find out if the females had cheerleader uniforms. Later, he would stalk them to know when it was the best time to kill them in their daily schedules. He killed his second known victim, a fellow resident of Glenport Village, by stabbing her repeatedly in the arms, chest, and stomach, and then dressing her body in her own cheerleader uniform post-mortem because of his fetish and to frame her husband for the murder. He then targeted an actual cheerleader in nearby Sumac Cove, stabbing her to death as well. During his attack on Riley Desario, he lured her into his car and knocked her out by stopping his car abruptly while she didn't have her seatbelt on, causing her to smash her head into the dashboard. Then, he took her over to her house, dressed her in her cheerleader uniform, and attempted to force her to fulfill his sexual fantasy at knifepoint, though he was unsuccessful. It is unknown as to how he killed Rose Tamlyn, though since he killed his later victims by stabbing them, it is possible he killed her in the same manner as well.
Profile
The BAU's original profile of the unsub was that he was a male aged in his late 30s to early 40s, based on the age of everyone from Glenport Village without a surgically implanted tracking chip. He may also be a resident of a community close to Glenport Village. Regardless of the locations of where he kills, he is experienced, organized, patient, and has practiced extreme self-control to sublimate his desires. Based on these fetishized murders, he may have committed crimes such as peeping and petty larceny of objects such as undergarments. He probably fantasized about committing these murders for years, and now that he has gotten a taste for it, he is going to keep killing. In the process, he is taking increased risks, evidenced by his second murder being committed just a couple of days after his murder in Glenport Village, which is being investigated by police and federal investigators. He gets off on the thrill of the risk of capture as much as killing his victims. 125 residents of Glenport Village have had their tracking chips removed, but it is possible the unsub is not from there.
The unsub was later revealed to be an IT serviceman in the ages between 18 and 25 after servicemen in the original age range couldn't be found and they tended to be younger. Also, Matt confessed to Riley that despite the organization of his crimes, the killing itself was motivated by impatience and impulsiveness, contradicting the BAU's theory that the unsub would be patient and have self-control over his fetish.
Real-Life Comparison
Matt seems to be based on Harvey Miguel Robinson, one of America's youngest serial killers. Both were young ephebophilic stalkers and serial killers who killed their victims by stabbing them and only stalked their victims to know when it was the best time to kill them in their daily schedules. Both also abducted at least one of their victims. Interestingly enough, the police officer who Robinson attempted to shoot and kill shares the same surname as Tara Lewis, who killed Matt.
Matt shares some similarities with serial killer Craig Price. Both stabbed their victims to death, were at a young age during the murders, and most importantly, targeted neighbors. Matt is also partially similar to James Koedatich. Both were serial killers who killed their victims in two different states (one of which was Florida) and killed a woman and a high-school cheerleader by stabbing them to death.
Known Victims
- October 5-14, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia: Amanda Danhorn (stalked only)
- Unspecified date in 2012, Atlanta, Georgia: Rose Tamlyn (killed by unknown causes)
- 2015, Florida:
- November 2, Glenport Village: Paige Lincoln (stabbed repeatedly in the arms, chest, and stomach; dressed in a cheerleader uniform post-mortem)
- November 4:
- Sumac Cove: Victoria Taylor (stabbed repeatedly in the chest)
- Glenport Village: Riley Desario (abducted, dressed in a cheerleader uniform, assaulted, and held at knifepoint; was rescued)