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Slessman

Richard Slessman is the accomplice of serial killer Tim Vogel who appeared in Extreme Aggressor.

Background

Richard lost his parents in a fire when he was thirteen. After that, he and his sister went to live with their grandmother. Growing up to become a sociopath, Richard had an interest in serial killers and was a self-proclaimed fan of Gideon. Apparently, he also suffered from insomnia, taking medications and listening to heavy metal, more specifically Metallica's song Enter Sandman, to fall asleep. Eventually, he went to jail at the Cascadia Corrections Center for a short time. While in prison, he was frequently threatened by the other prisoners, resulting in Tim Vogel, who was a guard there, protecting him. When Richard got out, Vogel convinced him that he owed him, forcing him to aid him in his killings. Richard's exact assistance is not specified, although he apparently helped him install a webcam in the boat where Vogel kept his victims and may even have killed some of the victims himself.

Extreme Aggressor

When Heather Woodland was abducted by Vogel, Richard planted a time-triggered virus on an email sent from one of them to her, which wiped out the computer's hard-drive and left a message on the screen: "For heaven's sake catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself", a reference to a message written by real-life serial killer The Lipstick Killer on the bedroom wall in the victim's house. Gideon is called in from his medical leave to assist the case. He puts together the profile, which leads them to Richard, who is arrested. Realizing that the conflict behavior shown in the killings meant that there are two unsubs, not one. They keep questioning him, asking for the name of his partner. Since Richard feels that he still owes Vogel, he refuses to answer. As the BAU go to the Corrections Center to ask about his former cellmate, Charles Linder, who had died, they notice that Vogel's keychain has the symbol for the car used to lure Heather Woodland. They realize that he is the other dominant member and follow him. Eventually, they are able to get Richard to give them Heather's location. He was presumably incarcerated after that.

Profile

The BAU were led to Richard through the profile created from Vogel's murders. It is said that the unsub is a white male aged in his late twenties, who wouldn't be noticed at first because he can blend in with any crowd. The violent nature of his crimes suggest that he has a previous criminal record, either petty crime or auto theft. He is an intelligent, organized, careful psychopath, not a psychotic. He is also an anger-excitation rapist who probably records or videotapes his victims so that he can keep reliving the fantasy. He follows the news and has good hygiene. Because of his intellect, the only physical evidence he leaves is what he wants the police to find. He has a car that is in good condition, probably a Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows to conceal the victim's body.

The killer also rapes his victims, but it is rape without penetration, a form of piquerism, so he is likely sexually impotent. He also has a history of paranoia stemming from a childhood trauma, likely the death of a parent or a family member, and now, he feels persecuted and watched. With that paranoia, murder gives him a sense of power. Organized killers have a fascination with law enforcement, so he will inject himself into the investigation, even coming forward as a witness to see how much the police already knows about him, which makes him feel powerful and in control. With that said, the police may have already interviewed this man.

Appearances

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