Stanley Howard

Doctor Stanley Howard was a serial killer who appeared in Season Three of Criminal Minds.

Background
Born in Portland, Oregon and raised by an abusive mother Stan developed a severe fear of the dark in his childhood, it having presumably originated from his mother locking him in the closet as a means of punishing him. Stan grew up to be a psychiatrist, telling his wife Jane (who he adopted a daughter named Jessica with) that his mother was the inspiration for him taking on the profession, never elaborating on what he meant by that.

Stan's mother died in 2006 and he shut down his practice a short while, not telling his family and covering his tracks by keeping the lease on the building he once operated out of, even after the structure was demolished. Setting up an office in a building his wife's family owned Stan made the empty building appear as if it was in use and began his killing spree, murdering ten people over several months by using their fears against them, at least three of his patients being killed through hanging, exsanguination and burning.

Scared to Death
Killing a woman named Jenny Whitman by sealing her in a box until she suffocated Stan dumped her body in the same backwoods trail he put the rest of his victims, the mass grave being discovered by the authorities only a short while later. Killing an aquaphobic patient by letting him drown in a lake he had taken him to Stan hears a news broadcast about the discovery of his dump site afterward, the broadcast also warning potential victims.

Going home Stan is nagged at by his wife for his lateness and throws a tantrum, briefly viewing Jane as his abusive mother. Going to see Jessica after the ordeal with his wife Stan wishes her goodnight and, against her wishes, turns out the lights, noticing the fear that flashes across his daughter's face when he does so.

The next day Stan meets another patient, Missy Cassell, who has a fear of being buried alive. Telling Missy he can cure her anxieties in just one session Stan tells her to come back later. Taking a shovel and several bags of dirt down to the basement of the building and when Missy returns Stan drugs her with some tea, takes her downstairs and pushes her into a hole, the fall knocking her out. Preparing to fill the whole Stan suffers from a flashback to his traumatic childhood and falls to the floor, muttering to himself, being brought back to his senses moments later when Missy regains consciousness and starts pleading with.

Completely covering Missy with dirt Stan hears sirens approaching and calmly walks outside, where he is spotted by Hotch and Morgan. Chased to the top of the building Stan stands on a ledge. Trying to talk Stan down Hotch tells him that he will not be able to overcome his own fear by killing others and himself; ignoring Hotch's words Stan tells him that most people join law enforcement to help others and tells Hotch "I think your greatest fear is that you can't save everyone" before committing suicide by allowing himself to fall off the roof.

Profile
Stan's profile stated that he was sadist who craved control, meaning he was likely abused in his childhood, and due to there being no sexual component to the murders he may be impotent, possibly adopting a child to keep up appearances if he was married. As the victims had no defensive marks on them it was apparent they put themselves in the situations that killed them willingly, meaning the unsub was probably a figure of authority. While the unsub would likely be a legitimate psychiatrist his use of the outdated word "phobia" meant he probably received his training sometime in the 1980s.

Modus Operandi
Stan set up a fake office in one of the empty commercial buildings his wife's family owned and lured victims by setting up a fake company which promised one-hundred dollars for participating in a program that claimed to be able to cure phobias. Stan placed flyers advertising the program in public places and had those who called fill out a questionnaire, asking questions like if they were close to their family and made friends easily, with those who answered no being picked, due to it likely taking longer for it to be noticed they were missing. When his patients felt they were ready to face their fears Stan would let them die in the scenario he had set up to test them, rhetorically asking "Is it worse than you thought?" as they panicked and struggled to escape. After his victims expired Stan would write down their name, how they died and how long it took them to in his notebook, finishing by rating their anxiety level on a scale of one to ten (all were presumably ten). Stan disposed of the bodies in the Wildwood Trail deep in the woods and sent fake going away messages to the his victims' families.

Known Victims

 * Ten unnamed patients
 * Unnamed man (hanged)
 * Unnamed woman (exsanguinated)
 * Rick Holland (burned)
 * Jenny Whitman (suffocated)
 * Patrick Walker (drowned)
 * Missy Cassell (rescued, attempted via burial)