"He killed my son!"
Patrick Meyers is a vengeful budding spree killer and stalker who appeared in Season Five of Criminal Minds.
Background
On January 3, 2009, Patrick's eighteen-year-old son, Jason, was involved in a car crash. He suffered brain damage as a result, while a middle-aged Hispanic man named Hector Ledezma survived. Patrick became angry with the operating surgeon, Doctor Tom Barton, because he wouldn't try to operate on Jason since the brain damage was too extensive and it was too late to save him. He was also enraged by the fact that the doctor didn't even appear to be aware of Jason, having to look down at his notes to remember the name. Jason, despite not having any brain activity, was put on life support and kept alive (presumably at Patrick's request) until three days prior to Nameless, Faceless, when he was disconnected and declared legally dead. A grief-stricken Patrick then set a revenge plan in motion, sending a threat letter to Barton, which he signed LC, short for "Living Children", a hospital administrative term. In it, he claimed that he would kill his fifteen-year-old son, Jeffrey, and, every day until he did so, another man would die in his place. The next day, a middle-aged Hispanic man was shot repeatedly outside his apartment. The day after that, Nelson Martinez, also Hispanic and in his 40s, was shot in his apartment. The local police made the connection to Barton's letter and called in the BAU.
Nameless, Faceless
During the investigation, Reid and Prentiss deduce that Patrick intends to kill Barton instead. Confronting him outside his house as he is about to pick up Jeffrey, Patrick attempts to shoot Barton, but he is saved by Reid, who sustains a bullet injury to his leg. He then places himself in front of Barton, who quickly recovers Reid's gun for him and tries to talk Patrick down. Patrick is unable to deal with Barton's innocence for Jason's death and raises his gun in an attempt to commit suicide by cop after hearing the incoming police sirens. Reid shoots him in the stomach, though not fatally. Patrick is then treated by Barton, who keeps him alive until the EMTs arrived, to which he is taken away. It can be assumed that Patrick survived his gunshot wound and was incarcerated afterwards.
Modus Operandi
Patrick used a .38 Smith and Wesson Model 10 revolver as his weapon. The men he killed were both Hispanic men in their 40s, intended as a reference to Hector Ledezma, the man who survived the car accident. His killings were sloppy, as he operated during the middle of the day, where he was at risk of having witnesses, and he also fired several rounds into the victims' chests as overkill. His signature was writing LC on the ground near the victims' bodies with white chalk, referencing the "Living Children" term.
Profile
Based on the threat letter, which is direct and lacks no adjectives and specific details, which are used in letters written by females, the unsub is a male, most likely a grieving father driven by revenge. He has watched Tom Barton and his son, which means he either has enough money to be away from a regular job or he is currently unemployed. He has taken great measures to make sure Barton feels his pain. He may have lost a child in the last six months and even though Barton's son Jeffrey is fifteen years old, the unsub's child may not be of the same age. Revenge-driven offenders like him tend to commit suicide by cop in order to end their suffering while simultaneously making a statement of some sort. The unsub was initially believed to be forcing Barton to play God with his own son to avenge a moment when he made a misjudgment with a patient related to the unsub, although this plan later turned out to be a ploy to lure Barton out of the house so he could personally kill him.
Known Victims
- 2009:
- May 19-21: Jeffrey Barton (Barton's son; stalked only)
- May 20: Unnamed Hispanic man (shot repeatedly outside his apartment)
- May 21:
- Nelson Martinez (was shot repeatedly in the chest inside his apartment)
- Doctor Tom Barton (attempted; shot at, but missed and hit Reid instead; tried to shoot again; previously stalked for two days)
- Spencer Reid (attempted, but survived; was non-fatally shot in the leg by the bullet meant for Dr. Barton)
Appearances
- Season Five
- "Nameless, Faceless"
- "Haunted" (referenced)
- "Solitary Man" (referenced)
- Season Eleven
- "Entropy" (indirectly referenced)