Criminal Minds Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Shoot him! I don't want to! I said shoot him, you weakling. He's a Satan! He didn't do anything. I won't tell you another time, boy. ...Shoot him!
Tobias and the alter of Charles in "The Big Game"

Tobias Hankel was a delusional and psychotic serial killer, hacker, one-time angel of death, and later abductor who appeared in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

Background[]

Tobias originally had a happy upbringing and was a straight-A student. In 1984, his mother left his father, Charles, for another man. Afterward, Charles became abusive towards Tobias, quoting biblical scripture and using the Bible as a punishment guide. On one occasion, in 1987, Charles branded a cross on Tobias's forehead with a red-hot poker. On another occasion, he "baptized" Tobias by nearly drowning him in the bathtub. He would also take Tobias hunting against his will. Later, Charles became very painfully ill, eventually ordering Tobias to kill him in order to put an end to it. Tobias argued, "Thou shalt not kill" which Charles countered with "Honor thy father". In the end, Tobias shot and killed him in August of 2006 and placed the body in a large walk-in freezer under their house.

While his father had been around, Tobias had been addicted to the drug Dilaudid and would cut it with an unspecified psychedelic drug. He later went to Narcotics Anonymous and, with the help of his sponsor, became clean. This substance abuse, combined with the moral dilemma of killing his father, caused Tobias to develop Dissociative Identity Disorder with three alters: his own, a factive (alt4er of a real life person) of his father (likely as a way to keep him alive), and a fictive of Raphael, a ruthless Archangel hellbent on doing God's will. At some point, he got a job as tech support and would use his job to gain entry to the webcams of potential victims. In November of 2006, he made a false 911 call about a prowler breaking into the home of the Kyles (who would later become his future victims) to find out how long it would take for the police to respond. A month later, his dogs attacked one of his neighbors, but the man decided to not press charges since he knew Tobias well.

Season Two[]

The Big Game (Part 1)[]

Tobias is first seen at the house of a couple whom Raphael chose to kill because of their excessive wealth. While waiting for another couple present inside the house to leave, the alters Tobias and Raphael argue over their right to commit murder, but Tobias quickly submits to Raphael's influence. When the second couple leaves, Tobias gains entry to the house just as the couple goes upstairs. About to follow them, Tobias fronts to calls 911, telling the 911 operator of the couple's impending doom in a panicked tone before Raphael returns to front and rushes upstairs to murder the couple, recording the entire scene. The couple's death leads to the summoning of the BAU. Tobias is later seen looking through the webcam of the aforementioned couple, as Morgan looks through the other end back at the crime scene, having deduced that the unsub was watching. Later, Tobias hacks into a computer Reid was using, sending a message: "THE ARMIES OF SATAN SHALL NOT PREVAIL".

When reviews of the posted video of the couple's grisly death aren't what he originally expected, Tobias later enters the home of a woman Raphael chose to kill because they witnessed her committing adultery via her webcam. Calling 911 as Raphael, one of the alters calmly tells the 911 operator of what he is about to do and then goes upstairs. The BAU arrives to find the man the woman was cheating with dead and the woman missing. Later, the BAU finds a posted video of the woman held captive, and they watch helplessly as she is torn apart by three dogs. One of the local policemen recognizes the dogs from another case in which a man, Tobias, was a witness. JJ and Reid go to Tobias' to question him, but he doesn't supply much important information to them and thwarts Reid's entry inside his house in a suspicious manner. When Reid spots Tobias' webcams, he concludes that he is the unsub, and he and JJ split up when Tobias flees. JJ goes inside the nearby barn house to find herself standing on the remains of the adulterous woman and facing the dogs that killed her. Meanwhile, Reid, in the middle of a cornfield, hears Tobias arguing with his father before Charles slaps him (showing as slapping his own body). Upon hearing JJ's screams, Reid attempts to run out of the cornfield, only to be overpowered by Tobias and held at gunpoint. Reid watches in shock as Tobias and Charles argue again.

Revelations (Part 2)[]

Charles revolver

The alter Charles holding Reid at gunpoint.

The rest of the BAU team arrive at the Hankel farm to find a traumatized JJ in the barn beside the corpses of the three dogs, all of which she shot, but no sign of Tobias or Reid. They set up a base at the farm to begin investigating the bank of computers, realizing they are the source of the live feeds showing the murders. They also realize that Tobias has taken Reid, but they don't know where. Tobias is later seen driving in his pickup truck with an unconscious Reid on the floorboards, reminiscing of a time in which his father took him hunting against his own will. He then deliberately stops and asks for directions, dropping a huge clue he knows the police will pick up on. He then drives in the opposite direction, effectively losing anyone who might follow. When Reid regains consciousness, it is evening and he is sitting in a wooden chair in the middle of a rustic cabin (later revealed to be near a cemetery). His wrists are handcuffed in front with a leather strap between them binding him to the chair. He is confronted by Raphael, who has been waiting for him to wake up. After introducing himself as Raphael, he immediately shows him one bullet, calling it "God's Will." Raphael places the bullet in his revolver, spins the chamber, simulating Russian Roulette, aims it at Reid, and pulls the trigger, only to reveal it is a blank.

It is daylight when Tobias returns to the cabin with firewood gathered from the grounds. Reid realizes from one abusive exchange that he is not Raphael or Tobias, and his attempts to placate him fail when Reid is accused of lying. Reid denies this, saying he is neither a liar nor a sinner. Angered, the alter Charles strips Reid of his shoes and one sock and tortures Reid by beating the sole of his foot to extract a confession of sin from him. This is the first step towards their justification of murder: once the sin is confessed, the sinner can be executed. Reid's attempts to stave off the inevitable by quoting Bible scripture don't succeed, receiving only the reply "The Devil knows how to read, too". When Tobias returns to front, he is much kinder to Reid and implies that he intends to feed him with a sheep he had slaughtered. He gently answers Reid's questions and ultimately notices Reid's bruised foot from his father's abuse. Taking pity on him, Tobias tries to ease Reid's pain by injecting him with Dilaudid. The drug causes Reid to have flashbacks of his childhood. However, Charles briefly fronts and taunts the Dilaudid-induced Reid, saying that no one is going to find him.

Later, Charles forces Reid to choose someone for Raphael to murder and videotapes the session to the BAU in order for them to save the individual that Reid also has to choose to save. Raphael kills another couple in their home, as the husband is a defense attorney who defends criminals, then returns to the cabin. Charles is angered when Gideon and Garcia create a virus for Tobias' videos so that no one will watch them. Blaming Reid for halting his 'message', he sets up a camera and beats Reid, streaming the video feed to the rest of the BAU team back at Tobias' home. Charles then shoves Reid, still tied to the chair, to the floor. As a result, Reid begins convulsing and is unable to breathe. Tobias fronts again and revives Reid. Raphael now fronting, he compares the BAU team to the seven Archangels of the book of Revelations in the Bible. He orders Reid to choose one of his teammates to die, simulating Russian Roulette again. Reid chooses Hotch, calling him a classic narcissist, and misquotes a verse from Genesis in order to send the BAU a clue to his whereabouts. Raphael, apparently not noticing the error, raises the gun above Reid's head and fires the bullet.

After Tobias injects Reid with more Dilaudid, he has a flashback about him sending his mother to the asylum, causing him to unconsciously repeat the dialogue spoken. Charles overhears and tells him that he has dishonored his mother and broken one of Moses' commands, Exodus 21:17, "And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death". Charles then drags Reid to a cemetery and forces him to dig his own grave, but is distracted by the arrival of the BAU, who realized where Tobias/the system was keeping Reid due to the aforementioned tip-off. Realizing that they are there, Reid pretends to be too weak to keep digging the grave. Charles becomes frustrated, causing him to snatch the shovel away from Reid, calling him weak. Then, when Charles is distracted, Reid grabs his gun. Charles, who appears to be unaware that the three alters share a body, tells Reid that he cannot shoot all of them because there is only one bullet in the gun he is holding (it is also possible that he knew that the bullet was in a random chamber). However, Reid, knowing the error of that statement, pulls the trigger. The death of alters Charles and Raphael are not shown, likely pushed from the front, while Tobias is able to thank Reid for killing them and express hope that he will be reunited with his dead mother. Reid apologizes to him for what has happened seconds before Tobias dies, ending his sad and tortured life. Just before leaving, Reid takes with him Tobias' Dilaudid.

Reid's encounter with Tobias would haunt him for several years afterward. Two years later, a memory of Tobias inspired Reid to help an unsub who too had multiple personalities. Another two years after that, he was mentioned by Reid as they investigated an unsub obsessed with the afterlife. Five years after that, he was mentioned by Prentiss as the team flew down to Mexico when Reid became involved in a disturbance and when Alvez asked about him.

Modus Operandi[]

Raphael would target people he perceived as violating the laws of God, having spied on them in advance using the webcams of their computers, which he had gotten access to either through Hankel's job as tech support or by hacking into them. Striking at night (with the exception of the handyman and Helen Douglas, who were killed during the day), he would discreetly enter their homes while wearing latex gloves so as to not leave behind any prints. His first (and most distinctive) signature was calling 911 to tell them about the murders and use some biblical quote to explain what the victims were "guilty" of. He would then kill them by quickly slashing their major aortas with a knife, not unlike the way hunters kill their game. Having the webcams record the killings, he would then post the videos from his own computers online as warnings to potential sinners (though most viewers came to think of them as "cool", mistaking them for trailers for new horror films).

His second signature was leaving pages from religious books, such as Revelations and Isaiah, with a highlighted passage relating to the perceived sins committed by the victims, after killing them. When he killed the handyman who was sleeping with Helen Douglas, he only slashed his throat and no other parts of his body. As for Helen Douglas, he abducted her from her home, took her to the barn on his property, restrained and gagged her with duct tape, and fed her to three dogs as a reference to the scriptural account of Jezebel, "The Whore of Baal".[1] Raphael and Charles tortured Reid through various methods, such as beating him and playing Russian Roulette using a Smith & Wesson Military & Police Model revolver, while he was restrained to a chair, and would later attempt to kill him by burying him alive, while Tobias would drug him with Dilaudid out of remorse. In the case of his first victim, his father, Tobias shot him in the head, presumably with the same revolver, and left his body inside a walk-in freezer, making him the only victim whose body was hidden and whose murder was not recorded.

Profile[]

The unsub is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s whose killings are clinically efficient, having the earmarks of the slaughtering or sacrifice of an animal. One or two alters believe they are killing in the name of God, suggesting a psychopathy that should display extreme levels of disorganization, and yet, there are forensic counter-measures and somebody in control enough to do complicated computer work. One alter appears organized while another is disorganized. What is "strange" is that the one that is to be considered to be most in control is the one that cannot seem to prevent the other one from killing. Usually, the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head. While in captivity, Reid deduced the unsub to be a sadist suffering from some sort of a psychotic break.

Based on his M.O. and the motivations for his crimes, Hankel can be classified as an organized visionary-type serial killer.

Real-Life Comparisons[]

Hankel is similar to Herbert Mullin - Both were violently psychotic serial killers with domineering fathers, hallucinated their fathers were commanding them to commit murder, lived with their fathers (though Hankel preserved his father's corpse), abused hallucinogenic drugs that amplified their psychosis, self-harmed because of their delusions, varied in victimology, killed with bladed weapons, used firearms in at least one of their crimes, broke into some victims' homes to murder them, and were stopped in the process of trying to kill their final victim (though only Mullin succeeded).

Hankle is also similar to The Axeman of New Orleans - Both were serial killers and stalkers profiled as white, working-class men in their 30s with dissociative identity disorder, killed their victims primarily in home invasions, targeted couples, including a coupe in an extramarital affair, wore disguises during their murders, slashed their victims to death (though both killed by other means), left behind messages to the police and the public, left signature items at the crime scenes (Hankel left Bible pages, the Axeman left murder weapons), referred to themselves as "angels" of sorts (Hankel as avenging angel Raphael, the Axeman as an "Angel of death"), and made other religious and mythological references (Hankel would make Biblical references, the Axeman alluded to Satan and "Tartarus", the deepest pit of hell in Greek mythology).

Known Victims[]

  • 2006:
    • August: Charles Hankel (his father; shot in the head and hid his body in a walk-in freezer; killed as an act of mercy and under his orders)
    • December: Unnamed man (indirectly attempted; one of his dogs attacked him)
  • 2007:
    • February 4: Dennis and Lacy Kyle (both slashed to death for their excessive wealth; left a page with Revelation 6:8 in it at the crime scene; called 911 prior to the killings)
    • February 5:
      • The attack at the Douglas home:
        • Unnamed handyman (throat was slashed; killed in Helen Douglas's home for helping to her to commit adultery; left a page with Revelation 2:22 in it at the crime scene; called 911 prior to the killing)
        • Helen Douglas (abducted and later ripped apart by dogs in reference to Jezebel, the Whore of Baal, while recording the murder live)
      • The failed arrest attempt at his home:
        • Spencer Reid (abducted, tortured by beating, bastinado, and Russian roulette, and drugged; later attempted to bury alive, then stab, for sending his mother away; was rescued two days later)
        • Jennifer Jareau (indirectly attempted; attacked by the dogs that he used to kill Helen Douglas, but she survived)
    • February 7:
    • Pam and Mike Hayes (both slashed to death for defending accused criminals; left a page with Isaiah 59:4 in it at the crime scene; called 911 prior to the killings)
    • Aaron Hotchner (intended to kill for his alleged narcissism at Reid's faked request)

Quotes[]

Note: All alters are marked as accurately as possible..

911 Operator: 911, what's your emergency?

Tobias: (quietly) I'm at 1527 Chestnut Drive.

911 Operator: I know where you're calling from, sir, what's your emergency?

Tobias: Th-they are too greedy. They have too much.

911 Operator: Too much what?

Tobias: Stuff, p-possessions, things they don't need.

911 Operator: Are you calling because these people have too much stuff, sir?

Tobias: No, I'm calling because Raphael-

Raphael: That's enough.

Tobias: I don't want to!

Raphael: (into the phone) He's calling because Raphael is going to kill the sinners that live here.

911 Operator: I'm sorry, did you say somebody is killing someone?

(No one responds)

911 Operator: Sir? Hello? Hello?

(Lacy Kyle screams)


911 Operator: 911, what's your emergency?

Raphael: Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and then commit adultery with her, into great tremulation.

911 Operator: Excuse me?

Raphael: 222 Smith Road. Raphael must teach more sinners the way of the Lord.

(Raphael hangs up, unplugs a nearby laptop, and takes it upstairs)


Tobias: (to Reid) I could've stopped them by myself.

Reid: Okay, okay.

Tobias: I tried to warn everyone.

Reid: Just relax, Mr. Hankel, all right?

Charles: Shoot him!

Tobias: I don't want to!

Charles: I said 'shoot him', you weakling. He's a Satan!

Tobias: (struggles to not cry) He didn't do anything.

Charles: I won't tell you another time, boy. Shoot him!


Raphael (showing a single bullet to Reid) You know what this is? It's God's will.

(Raphael loads a revolver with the bullet, spins the cylinder, and points the gun at Reid's head)

Reid: You don't have to do this.

Raphael: I'm just doing this in the name of God.

(Raphael pulls the trigger and the revolver fires a blank shot)


(Reid watches as Charles enters the house, carrying several logs)

Charles: What are you staring at, boy?

Reid: You're not Raphael.

Charles: Do I look like Raphael?


Reid: The Lord spake unto Moses saying 'speak unto all of the congregation of The Children of the Lord and say unto them, you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.'

Tobias: You know Leviticus?

Reid: Every word of the Bible. I can recite it-

Charles: The Devil knows how to read too.

Reid: I'm not a Devil. I'm not a Devil, I'm a man, my name is Spencer Reid. I have a mother and I have a father just like you and they taught me the Bible. Let me, let me just recite the Bible.

Charles: It's time to confess, Spencer Reid. (whips Reid's foot repeatedly)


(Charles watches as a dilaudid-induced Reid mumbles while unconscious)

Reid: I'm not weak...

Charles: I don't give a damn whether you're weak or strong. You mumble, boy. Ain't anyone gonna hear you where you are.

(Charles begins roaring out loud)


Charles (to Reid) This ends now. Confess your sins.

(Reid doesn't respond, causing Charles to punch Reid)

Charles: Confess!

Reid: I haven't done anything!

(Charles punches Reid again)

Reid: Tobias, help me!

Charles: He can't help you, he's weak. Confess!

Reid: Tobias-

(Charles punches Reid again)

Charles: Confess your sins.

Reid: No.

(Charles tips Reid over in his chair and he goes into a seizure)

Charles: That's the Devil vacating your body.


(Reid grabs Charles's gun as he is distracted by the distant BAU)

Charles: (pointing his knife at Reid) Only one bullet in that gun, boy.

(Charles charges forward, forcing Reid to shoot him)


Tobias: (dying, to Reid) You killed them.

Reid: (quietly) Tobias...

Tobias: You think I'll get to see my mom again?

Reid: I'm sorry.

(Tobias dies)

Notes[]

  • Tobias' website, www.tobitnet.com, is actually a reference to the Book of Tobit (known as the Book of Tobias in Hebrew) of the Catholic and Orthodox Bible. In it, Raphael is sent from God as a human to heal Tobit, the father of Tobias.
  • Tobias appears to be partly inspired by the main antagonist of the 1995 crime/horror film Seven and its subsequent comic continuation, a serial killer known only as "John Doe." both are serial killers with abusive parental figures, were psychotic and religiously paranoid, self-harmed, murdered victims of random victimologies to have their messages get attention, and were shot to death by a law enforcement official.
  • Tobias is similar to Norman Bates, the fictional serial killer from the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho. Both were abused by parental figures as children, later killing their abusers and keeping their bodies in their homes. Both also used knives to kill their victims; and developed dissociative identity disorder after killing their first victims, in which they assumed the personalities of their abusers, who would kill their later victims for them.
  • James Van Der Beek, the actor who portrayed Tobias, would go on to portray an abductor in the 2009 film Taken In Broad Daylight, in which he has his victim dig her own grave, much like how Tobias did with Reid.
  • K'Sun Ray (the actor who plays him as a child) would go on to be arrested for trying to break into a store.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. It was erroneously stated by Gideon that Jezebel was killed by being fed to dogs, when the scriptural account actually states that she was killed by defenestration, then her corpse was eaten by dogs.
Advertisement