Francis Goehring

"In feudal times, the lord lived on high ground to spot the invader. He had serfs to serve his kingdom. The lord never had to leave his castle. The serfs would bring him everything. They were the appendages of his will. First, I will build a compound, a kingdom. Second, I will arm, protect, and fortify my kingdom. Third, I will keep women as serfs to serve my every need. This is my right. As a man with free will in America, I will make my kingdom a reality."

Francis Goehring, dubbed "The Master" by himself, was a serial killer, abductor, and the dominant partner of a two-person killing team, who appeared in Identity.

History
Goehring was born and likely raised in Great Falls, Montana. In 1978, he joined the U.S. Army, but was dishonorably discharged on January 23, 1979, because of a bar brawl that left three others hospitalized and a long scar on his face. The same year, he joined the Great Falls local militia. He also got married to a woman named Diane Marie on March 23, 1996. Being a sexual sadist, he would regularly torture and degrade her, until the militia found out sometime before the events of "Identity" and threw him out of the community. At this point, he moved to a cottage positioned on a piece of land previously owned by Diane's parents (which she had inherited and been forced to sign over to him) along with a local, highly submissive man named Henry Frost. He treated him very much like a common slave and, over time, developed a kind of messianic delusion, making up a set of rules for the compound in which he was referred to as "The Master" and studying medieval hierarchy structures. He abducted three local women, tortured them for some time before killing them and had Frost bury them and plant rosebushes on their graves. In the beginning of Identity, local police caught him driving the third victim's car. He tried to drive off, but wasn't able to, so he waited until one of them came close and then detonated a hand grenade, killing himself and the officer. Henry Frost later killed Goehring's fourth abducted victim and attempted to copy his crimes, but was tracked down by the BAU and killed.

Modus Operandi
Goehring would abduct his victims from public places and bring them to his compound, where he would torture them sadistically using homemade, medieval-style tools, such as the pear of anguish or heretic's fork. After a few days, Goehring would kill the victim (who was kept in a coffin-like enclosure) in an unspecified way. When he saw himself trapped and about to be arrested, he committed suicide by detonating an M26 hand grenade while still inside his car, intending to injure and/or kill the police officers surrounding him by letting them get close to his car before he released the grenade's safety pin.

Real-Life Comparisons
Goehring may have been based on real-life serial killer Leonard Lake, a survivalist who abducted women, took them to his secluded ranch and videotaped himself and his partner, Charles Ng, raping and torturing them. Francis and Lake both viewed their victims as something akin to slaves and buried their bodies on the grounds of their hideouts, which they obtained through identical means (coercing an ex-wife into giving the property to them). When cornered, both also committed suicide rather than face imprisonment for their crimes.

Known Victims

 * January 23, 1989: A maximum of three unnamed people
 * September 2006: Michelle Lawford
 * 2007:
 * June: Jennifer Hillbridge
 * October: Darcy Cranwell
 * November 5:
 * Angela Miller
 * The suicide bombing:
 * An unnamed police officer
 * Two other unnamed police officers

Appearances

 * Season Three
 * "Identity"