Antonia Slade

"There's a storm coming, Agent Hotchner. And you're about to be swept away."

Antonia Slade, a.k.a. "The Runaway Killer", is a now-incarcerated female serial killer who appeared in Season Eleven of Criminal Minds.

Background
Antonia was an only child born at a farm in Kentucky. When she was fourteen, she was impregnated by her boyfriend, who was a year older than her. Her father, a strict minister, disciplined her severely and forced her to give birth to the baby, while he killed her boyfriend. Antonia then presumably gave the child away. As an adult, she became a therapist and oversaw several patients, but later moved to Virginia and began working with the Center for Social Services. Developing a desire to project a fantasy in which she would kill herself over and over again, she began serial killing in Virginia, targeting runaways who were lured over to her house after they contacted a hotline she set up. In her crimes, Antonia was assisted by a submissive accountant named Phil Garmon, who cut off all of his social ties after becoming affiliated with her. At some point, a would-be victim, a boy named Hector Ramon, escaped her clutches, though she managed to kill Hector's companion, who was her ninth and last victim.

Afterwards, Antonia was identified and tracked down by the BAU, which was led by Jason Gideon at the time, and arrested, while Phil committed suicide. Antonia was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment, and as a result, she was forced to terminate her therapy. In order to gain respect, Antonia put up a facade, portraying herself as a narcissist who craved constant control over a situation. During her incarceration at Fletcham Correctional Facility, she earned the trust and respect of her fellow inmates and even some corrections officers. She attempted to escape once with the help of two other inmates and a new prison guard, but failed. In 2000, she wrote a letter to a newspaper editor accusing them of libel after they falsely claimed she confessed to the murders. Fifteen years after being incarcerated, Antonia got into contact with Claude Barlow, one of her old patients in therapy, who developed a severe fixation on her. Taking advantage of his instability, Antonia manipulated him into abducting boys and holding them captive for her. Four weeks prior to "Devil's Backbone", the prison found a road map of the state in her cell and sentenced her to solitary confinement. It is currently unknown if Claude mailed it to her.

Devil's Backbone
Antonia is first seen sleeping in her cell. She is then awakened by Warden Bart Shulman who tells her that the FBI is coming to question her. He then asks her the reason why, but tells Antonia that nothing comes for free. Antonia tells Bart about her fourth victim Helen McGill. When Antonia tells Bart about how she "gave Helen tea" after complaining about the pain in her stomach, in reality, she killed her. Bart doesn't find it funny and tells Antonia, she won't know why the FBI is coming and gives her an extra month in solitary confinement. Antonia replies that she already knows why; it's because of the package with bloodied clothes from the missing boys. She tells Bart to send the FBI in when they arrive as she has certain requirements. Hotch and JJ arrive to the prison. Hotch first interrogates Antonia about the two boys missing in Virginia and if she knows anything about it and who sent it. She doesn't respond, but throws a paper at Hotch which says some mocking comments about him. Next, JJ goes to Antonia's cell and introduces herself to Antonia. While being interrogated, Antonia is being asked the same questions, but Antonia still doesn't respond, but tells her about the infected area on her leg and asks JJ about her background. Antonia still doesn't respond to the question about the bloodied clothes. She says it can be her ex boyfriends and asks JJ if she is respected as Hotch, to which she replies she does. Antonia tells JJ since she is not going to be released, she wants to be transferred to a prison in Kentucky to smell the blue grass hills, but JJ says it is not possible. This causes Antonia to say that she has nothing more to say to her.

Later, Reid meets Antonia to interrogate her. While Antonia is eating her lunch, Reid shows her a copy of the letter she wrote earlier and asks her what happened to the original. Antonia mockingly replies that she threw the letter and it is incinerated at the moment. Reid asks who is the letter for and who sent it. Antonia doesn't respond to him and asks if Reid lost someone in his life, to which he replies "Derek Morgan". Antonia says that she can cipher the letter, and when Reid gives her the letter, Antonia grabs his arm spits out the spoiled food to his hand and tells him that it's okay and relax. She ciphers "CH" to his hand and tells Reid the boys are still alive, but for how long. Later, Rossi and Lewis meet Antonia to interrogate her. They ask her who is "John Smith". When she refuses to reply, Rossi and Lewis start saying about Gideon and before Antonia was caught. When they are about to leave, Antonia says that Gideon was a fool. She knows about the backgrounds of both agents and tells them that if they transfer her to Kentucky, she will reveal everything to them. Rossi refuses, and wants to know where the boys are and then they will talk about prison transfer. Antonia asks Lewis about her background, which she does. Then, Lewis wants information, which impresses Antonia and gives her a chance to redeem herself and asks who was the person close to her.

Reid determines the code that Antonia gave him and it is not CH, but it is C++ and the team realizes that they have five hours to find the boys or they will die. The BAU have no choice but to transfer Antonia to Kentucky. Reid, Rossi, and Lewis bring Antonia to the plane. During the plane ride, the team figures out the identity of Antonia's accomplice: Claude Barlow. This impresses Antonia and wants one more request before she tells them where Claude is holding the boys captive. They put the phone on speaker and Garcia finds the address that Claude grew up in has changed twice since he left and can't find anything further for Antonia. Hotch tells Rossi to do what she says. Reid removes the shackles from Antonia while Lewis points the gun at her and tells her don't get comfortable as her Glock is going to be on her all the time. When the BAU arrive to Kentucky, Antonia tells them to take Highway 60 and head east. During the drive, the teams knows that Antonia is playing games with them as she is taking them to the wrong direction.

The team arrives at the location in the woods and they find Jimmy tied up in the shed and tells them that Claude took Adam to the lake. Afterwards, Reid goes back to the SUV and wants Antonia to show them where she would take Claude. Antonia leads them to a trail. They arrive at the lake where Claude is holding Adam hostage at gunpoint. Antonia obliges to Claude's demand to see her in order to save Adam's life. After Antonia convinces Claude to release Adam, she whispers something to his ear which the team can't hear what she is saying to him. Claude commits suicide afterwards by shooting himself in the chin. Antonia realizes that the BAU lied to her about transferring her to Kentucky. As Antonia is being taken back to Fletcham Correctional Center, Hotch meets her again. She thinks that she is getting a reward, but Hotch says to her that she set everything in motion the last few days. He tells Antonia about her past, the baby and her profile. When Hotch asks Antonia what happened to the baby, she refuses to respond to the question, but tells him that there is a storm coming and he is about to be swept away. This leaves Hotch to consider what Antonia said to him.

The Storm
She will reappear in this episode.

Modus Operandi
During her original crimes with Phil Garmon, Antonia targeted runaways of both genders, who she would lure in using a hotline she set up for potential victims. Once they were brought to her house at her request, she would provide them with shelter and initially treat them with kindness. However, as time passed, she would become abusive towards them. Eventually, Antonia would kill them with single gunshots to the back of the head. The bodies of the victims would be wrapped in plastic and encased behind the drywall of her house's basement.

Profile
At first, Antonia was profiled by the BAU as an extreme narcissist who craved control over a situation, but Hotch would later reveal that it is just a cover. In reality, she is full of self-loathing, and every time she killed a victim, she was just killing herself or her boyfriend for lacking discipline.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified dates in 1999 to 2001:
 * Sarah Young
 * Elizabeth Green
 * Daniel Walker
 * Helen McGill
 * Brian Jones
 * Mary Wilson
 * David Brooks
 * Jessica Johnson
 * Sam Meckler
 * Hector Ramon
 * 2016: Adam Morrissey and Jimmy Bennett

Appearances

 * Season Eleven
 * "Devil's Backbone"
 * "The Storm"