Marvin Doyle

"They always lie."

Marvin Doyle was a schizophrenic serial killer and vigilante who appeared in Season One of Criminal Minds.

History
Marvin had worked as a court stenographer in New York City's courtroom 103. His parents had both recently been shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Having been present at the trials of numerous criminals who were acquitted of their crimes for various reasons, Marvin took it upon himself to punish them. In A Real Rain, Marvin is first seen murdering cab driver Walter Derbin, his third victim. The BAU theorizes that both of the murders were premeditated and begin to investigate any link between the victims. After Marvin murders his fourth victim, Father Breeman, Morgan suggests they are looking for a "serial killer groupie"; that is, a copycat recreating the crimes of different serial killers. This is soon disproved when an accused cop killer is the next to die.

It is later discovered that Marvin was a court stenographer who was present at the trials of all of his victims. The team tracks down the court records of all the cases involving the victims, and find him to be the only common denominator. Marvin is then tracked down when he attempts to murder Ted Elmore. Ted is saved by Hotch and Gideon, the latter of which managing to talk Doyle into surrendering, but as Doyle moves to put down his weapon he is shot by Hotch, who thought Marvin was attempting to shoot Gideon as he was moving towards him without putting down the gun. After Marvin's death, the general public opinion of him throughout New York proved to be divided. Some were grateful for his work, stating things like "He only did what the rest of us wish we could do." and "This is why we need gun control.", while others believe that he, too, got what he deserved. A woman being interviewed even went so far as to claim that the investigators deliberately shot Marvin because they felt that he would be acquitted.

Profile
Marvin was a schizophrenic vigilante whose murders have the characteristics of both organized and unorganized killers. He first shoots his victims in order to subdue them. The flint knife provides both an efficient kill and a symbolic retribution. Finally, the victim is blindfolded like the statue of Lady Justice. He has heightened and poetic sense of right and wrong. Serial vigilantes are extremely rare. The exaggerated drama of the killings suggest that they are somehow personal. He, or someone close to him, is likely a victim of a violent crime. His first killing was possibly against the original attacker, and since then, he has developed an overblown sense of justice in order to justify that killing to himself. Because he chooses the imagery of Lady Justice, it is possible that he works in or around the criminal justice system, such as a lawyer, paralegal, bailiff, or even a judge. Whatever his job is, he is someone who is a cog in the judicial machine. He is overworked, undervalued, and used to not being noticed. His sense of theatrics is a way to enhance his own self-esteem, convincing himself he has a higher purpose, and he also knows that people look right through him. Being faceless is his best defense against detection.

Modus Operandi
As mentioned above, Marvin always shot his victims, using a Beretta 92FS pistol, to quickly subdue them, then pushed a flint knife through their ears into their heads. He then blindfolds them to make them look like Lady Justice. He targeted people who had been acquitted of various charges, in particular ones who claimed to be some kind of victims themselves, and was convinced that they had lied during their trials. Each of his victims had been found innocent by their juries: Cooley, Holman, and Surrani had been acquitted of murder/manslaughter, Breeman had been acquitted of child molestation, Derbin had been acquitted of spousal abuse, and would-be victim Elmore had been acquitted of shooting and killing both of his parents. Additionally, all of his victims claimed to have been victims of something themselves (Holman and Surrani claimed to have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, Father Breeman claimed to have been a "victim of modern hysteria", and Ted Elmore claimed to have killed his parents in self-defense because they abused him). This drove Marvin to kill them, as he believed that they were all lying when they claimed innocence.

Known Victims

 * 2006:
 * February 25-26: Rachel Holman
 * March 11-12: Kaveh Surrani
 * March 18-19: Walter Derbin
 * March 20:
 * Father Breeman
 * Shaun Cooley
 * March 22: Ted Elmore

Appearances

 * Season One
 * A Real Rain