| “ | They said they'd clean 'em off the streets. They lied. What was I supposed to do?! I had to do something! | ” |
— Weems during his arrest by the BAU
| ||
Ronald Weems is a "house cleaner"-type serial-turned-spree killer and vigilante who appears in "Sex, Birth, Death".
Background
Not much is known about Weems, as the BAU's investigation centered on a disturbed local teenager named Nathan Harris. All that is known is that he had previously acted out strange sexual fantasies with his wife and then suddenly stopped. He ran an anti-crime advocacy group called "Decency Watch" and apparently had an intense hatred of prostitutes, calling them "low women".
Sex, Birth, Death
In the episode, Weems is seen several times typing evangelistic-style passages into his laptop. The paragraphs he writes claims that "prostitutes are the lowliest form of life and must be terminated". After the BAU finally concludes that Nathan is not the unsub, they come to Weems's house, questioning his wife. Later, Weems is seen dressed in his signature black clothing, asking a prostitute, "How much?" She recognizes him from a police sketch and blows a panic whistle. He is subsequently arrested and a friend of one of his victims maces him. While Weems is being dragged away, he claims that he had to get rid of the prostitutes himself since no one else was going to clean up the streets. Weems is presumably incarcerated afterwards for the four murders afterwards.
Profile
The unsub is stabbing his victims, indicating he's probably impotent. The fact that he chops off their hair and operates early in the morning indicates the unsub feels powerless. It could be more than sexual; he could feel impotent in his professional life. If that is indeed the case, he is killing prostitutes because that's easy access.
- First kill - He got a taste for it.
- Second kill - He sent a message: 'HELP' (It was originally thought that this was a plea to help him stop killing; later, it is revealed that he was asking for help taking prostitutes off the streets).
- Third kill - He sent a message: 'FAILURE' (It was originally thought that this referred to the authorities failing to catch him, though it is later revealed that he referred to the failure of politicians to get prostitutes off the streets).
- Fourth kill - No ritual, no message, just a brutal murder.
Modus Operandi
Dressed in all-black clothing in the early morning hours (the period of activity for his victims), Weems would approach prostitutes and solicit them. He would then take them to a secluded area, usually an alleyway, tell them that they are whores and lowly women, and then stab them to death with a knife. Afterwards, for reasons unknown, he would cut off lengths of their hair but wouldn't take them with him, presumably his signature. In the case of his last victim, he killed her on a sidewalk at nighttime and didn't cut off her hair. On his second and third victims, a message was carved into their abdomens, with the marks showing signs of hesitation.
Real-Life Comparison
Weems seems to be based from Gary Ridgway, a.k.a. "The Green River Killer". Both pressured their wives into fulfilling sexual fantasies before becoming serial killers, campaigned against prostitution in their neighborhood, and lured prostitutes to kill them because they had a pathological hatred of them. However, unlike Ridgway, who was a necrophiliac, Weems did not have a sexual component of any kind to his crimes and was solely dedicated to killing prostitutes as part of a perceived cleansing mission.
In addition, Weems's habit of writing messages to law enforcement on his victims' skin may have been based from Moses Sithole, who did that with his first victim.
Known Victims
- 2006:
- August: Unnamed victim (stabbed to death; no message was carved into her abdomen post-mortem)
- November 23: Unnamed victim (stabbed five times; "Help" was carved into her abdomen post-mortem)
- November 28:
- Holly (stabbed three times; "Failure" was carved into her abdomen post-mortem)
- Unnamed victim (stabbed twice; no message was carved into her abdomen post-mortem)
- November 29: Unnamed prostitute (intended)