Franklin Graney

"Stupid, incompetent sons of bitches! I don't make mistakes! I am Death! You hear me? I am Death! You'll see now, tomorrow. Mark my words, you will see. And while I'm taking her, I'm gonna be thinking of you."

Franklin Graney, a.k.a. "The Tommy Killer", is a serial killer and rapist who appeared in Season One of Criminal Minds

History
Franklin worked as a phone technician for Bell San Diego and lived with a nagging female relative, presumably either his mother or wife. Franklin began raping and murdering women he who lived on his routes in 2005, spying on them for some time before attacking them, destroying symbols of wealth in their home and gluing their eyes open after killing, which he did by strangling them with a length of cord. After his first three murders go unconnected by the police, Franklin, angered by this, began leaving snippets of a 16th century ballad The Great Messenger of Mortality or A Dialogue Betwixt Death and a Lady at the scenes of all his subsequent murders, as a means of getting the attention from the press, which, after his affinity for gluing eyes open comes to light, dubbed the Tommy Killer, after The Who's rock opera Tommy (which features the line "See me, feel me, touch me").

After Franklin claims six victims in only three weeks, the BAU is called in to help with the investigation. When a black youth is brought in (the boy had tried and failed to rape an elderly woman) as a suspect, Franklin, enraged by this development, calls the police station and claims he will rape and kill another woman tomorrow. Since Franklin routed his call through twenty-five different substations he is unable to be traced. In the early morning, Franklin sneaks into Shelly Hart's house, forcing her into an upstairs bedroom under threat of hurting her infant son. Tying Shelly up, Franklin begins verbally abusing her when he hears Gideon coming down the hallway. When Gideon enters the room, Franklin points a handgun at Shelly's head and threatens to shoot her. By appealing to Franklin's desire for recognition and infamy, Gideon starts talking him down, saying that if he gives up he will be immortalized, but if he forces Gideon to kill him, Gideon will claim he was just a simple burglar, a nobody who will never be remembered by anyone. Mulling this over, Franklin, after making Gideon promise he will tell everyone about him, drops his gun, and allows himself to be arrested by Hotch and Elle when they arrive.

Profile
The unsub is classified as a highly-organized exploitative rapist and stated to be a middle-class white male in his late 30s to early 40s, who is diurnal, as his attacks occur during the day. Due to the fact that he goes completely unnoticed in a highly-patrolled neighborhood (despite watching his victims for days to get their schedules down and striking in broad daylight), he likely has a vehicle related to his work, such as a company car or truck, which will be well-kept and obsessively clean, as well as his home. He brings his own weapons and takes them with him after killing his victims, rather than leaving them behind at the crime scenes. It is believed that he watches his victims for long periods of time, learns the rhythms of the home, and knows his time frame, so he will not be caught accidentally. Destroying some of his victims' possessions, all of them symbols of wealth, means that he harbors envy and hatred toward people of a higher social status, whom he feels ignored and dismissed by, making him feel invisible, though he appears to belong in the neighborhoods where he kills at and blends in. He feels in control at the crime scenes but inadequate everywhere else in life.

The victims all represent a dominant female who he feels is controlling, and by raping and killing, he is acquiring a sense of control. Like all other exploitative rapists, the unsub wants his victims to see him, hence him gluing their eyes open. The goal is more related to the victims watching him than the act of rape itself. Additionally, the unsub would be obsessed with getting recognition from the authorities, which is what leaving the lines from the ballad at the crime scenes does. They are simply a means of getting attention and not actually needed for any kind of emotional release, just like the gluing of the eyes.

Modus Operandi
Franklin spied on his victims for days, completely memorizing their schedule and routines to pinpoint the perfect time to strike, which was always in the morning. Using a "kill kit" filled with items used in his job, which consists of duct tape, cords, and glue, Franklin would incapacitate his victim, bind them to the bed, rape them and finish them off by strangling them with a length of wire. After killing them, Franklin would glue the victim's eyes open and make them face out a window, towards the telephone lines he worked on. After doing all this, Franklin would go on to destroy symbols of wealth he found in the house (objects such as small appliances, silverware, and fine china) and clean up the crime scene, even organizing and putting away miscellaneous objects.

Real-Life Comparison
Franklin's habit of targeting women, attacking them through home invasions, and raping and then killing them through strangulation is similar to the M.O. of The Boston Strangler, a still-unidentified serial killer and rapist who murdered a total of thirteen women in the early-to-mid-1960s.

Known Victims

 * 2005:
 * September 18: Chandler
 * September 26-October 7: Four unnamed victims
 * October 8: Brenda Samms
 * October 11: Shelly Hart

Appearances

 * Season One
 * "Plain Sight"