Robert Wilkinson

Robert Wilkinson was a serial rapist and killer who appeared in Season Three of Criminal Minds.

Background
Seemingly a farmer Robert lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife Mary, who left Robert after becoming pregnant, fearing for her and her baby's safety due to Robert being a violent alcoholic. His wife anandoning him caused Robert to snap and in 1979 he abducted a troubled girl named Karen Foley, who he tortured and raped for days, keeping her captive in his barn and a small cave on the outskirts of his property. One night Robert passed out drunk and Karen, realizing her bonds were loose and the barn door was unlocked, managed to escape, though her story went largely unbelieved due to her being a drug addict with a history of running off.

After Karen's escape Robert went on to abduct and rape another five women, keeping them captive for weeks before killing them with an axe and dumping the body parts in a nearby Civil War battlefield. A year after leaving him Mary returned to Robert and within hours realized what he was. Wanting to protect her son Mary killed Robert with his own combine harvester, making the death look like an accident.

Birthright
Mary and Robert's son Charlie eventually discovered what his father was and felt connected to him, coming to believe it was his birthright to be like Robert. While investigating Charlie's murders the local police and the BAU also managed to discover Robert was responsible for the 1980 murders.

Profile
The profile of the original 1980 unsub could be a migrant farm worker and would be a reckless drinker, meaning he may have had DUIs and been charged with other minor crimes. The unsub was meticulous and had two areas of control, one torture his victims in and another to keep them captive, the locations likely being privately owned facilities such as a barn, workshop or garage. As his wife leaving him was his stressor Robert was likely unable to deal with abandonment, meaning his mother may have left him when he was young. Such an event could have also instilled Robert with a type of Madonna-whore complex, which caused him to think of his wife as pure and untouchable, so he would find disposable girls to act as substitutes for her.

Modus Operandi
Robert would abduct female drug addicts and runaways, keeping two at a time. In his barn Robert would force the girls to dance to music (an event he called "a party") and rape and torture them via beating and burning. After a "party" in the barn Robert keep the girls to a secluded cave near his residence, putting a burlap sack over their heads while taking them to and from the cavern. After a couple weeks Robert would kill one of the girls by hacking them up with an axe, spreading the body parts around the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Robert also wrote about his murders in a private journal, which his son Charlie eventually found.

Known Victims

 * Karen Foley (escaped, raped and tortured)
 * Anita Milwerth
 * Unnamed woman
 * Sharon Chroniger
 * Two unnamed women

Appearances

 * Season Three
 * "Birthright"