The Collins family was a family who worked together in the murders of several prostitutes, with the son, Jeffrey, killing them and the parents, Donald and Linda, disposing of the bodies. They appeared in Season Seven of Criminal Minds.
History
See Jeffrey, Donald, and Linda Collins's pages
Modus Operandi
Donald would get Jeffrey potential victims by parking his van in the loading zones of places prostitutes frequent. After he is approached by a prostitute, Donald would pay them $250 to attend to Jeffrey, to which they would accept. Jeffrey would then have sex with them, but due to his paraplegic state, there are no signs of sexual activity. Enraged by this, Jeffrey would them stab the women to death as they leave. After he is finished, Donald and Linda would dispose of the bodies in parks, with the former posing them remorsefully face-up with their hands clasped together. Later, the family shifted its choice of victims to other women.
Profile
The family was initially profiled as a two-person killing team consisting of a dominant and a submissive partner. Both would be two white males in their late-twenties to early-thirties. The dominant, who commits overkill on the victims, is most likely impotent or experimenting with other forms of sexual release, as there are no signs of sexual assault in the victims. Since he is inducing pain and creating terror without a sexual element in the kills, therefore providing him with stimulation and excitement, the dominant is probably committing what is called "thrill kills". Like any narcotic, the violence of the kills leaves satisfaction on him, but it eventually fades, explaining the nearly-nonexistent cooling-off periods. The submissive partner, who is remorseful, follows the dominant's rules, knows his type of victimology well, obtains the victims, and disposes of their bodies once the dominant has completed his killing ritual. The ritual is unknown, but it may involve some form of bondage since all of the victims have bruising on their legs. The ongoing police investigation does not stop the unsubs from continuing to kill, and the risk of getting caught still doesn't trump their need.
It was later revealed in the investigation that there was a third unsub involved in the team, which is a family working together. The dominant unsub, who is also the son of the family, is in a wheelchair, which explains the bruising on his victims' legs. Given his anger and inability to perform, the son's injuries are not recent. His explosive outbursts could be a result of built-up frustration, which usually manifests when something happens out of one's control, like an accident. If the accident damaged his orbital cortex, it would explain why killing is his release. If the parents felt responsible for his accident, they might have rationalized that doing anything for their son would make him happy.
Known Members
- Jeffrey Collins (son; incarcerated). Portrayed by Derek Magyar.
- Linda Collins (mother; deceased). Portrayed by Kathy Baker.
- Donald Collins (father; deceased). Portrayed by William Russ.
Mutual Victims
- March 31, 2007: Ginger Palmont
- 2012:
- February 23: Shannon Buller
- February 27: Kate Evans
- February 29: Rebecca Moore
- March 1: Julie Harmon (was non-fatally stabbed by Jeffrey, then killed by Donald via blunt-force trauma)