Claude Barlow

Claude Barlow was an abductor and attempted murderer, and the accomplice of serial killer Antonia Slade. He appeared in Devil's Backbone.

Background
Because of a history of violent behavior, Claude was put in therapy. His therapist was Antonia Slade, who he soon developed a fixation towards. When Antonia was outed as a serial killer and arrested, he became even more unstable and began wandering around the prison she was held in, in an effort to see her again. He eventually managed to establish written communication with her, in which they exchanged coded letters under the guise of letters sent by groupies. In 2014, Antonia, seizing a possible opportunity at freedom, manipulated Claude into abducting boys and holding them captive. He did so, abducting Adam Morrissey and Jimmy Bennett and holding them captive in a shed at his property.

Devil's Backbone
While the boys are being held captive in the shed, Jimmy asks Adam if he's okay, to which he replies that he is cold. Jimmy gives Adam comfort by covering him with a blanket and telling him that he is going to find a way to get both of them out of the shed. Jimmy looks outside to see what Claude is doing. He sees him approaching the shed, so Jimmy goes to sit back down with Adam. Claude enters the shed, gives the boys animal food, and leaves the shed. Later, Claude sits in front of the computer reading a letter and typing. Claude goes back to the shed, wakes up the boys, and tells them to get up. Jimmy wakes up, but Adam doesn't, so Claude kicks him. Jimmy tells Claude that Adam is sick, which causes him to coldly point his gun at Adam, telling him that Adam can die in the shed then. This forces Jimmy to tell Claude that Adam is okay, so he carries him. Then, Claude forcibly drags the boys out of the shed and yells at them to let's go as they are leaving.

The following night, Claude drives his van to Kentucky while the boys sit in the back of the van. While he listens to the loud music on the radio, Adam vomits, so Jimmy tells Claude about it. Claude doesn't respond to him, so he turns up the volume to ignore them and continue driving. When Claude arrives in the woods, he goes to the back of the van, opens up, and tells the boys to get out. When they refuse, Claude shoots at the ground to have them comply. When the boys get out of the van, Claude tells them "It's time to meet your master". Claude leaves Jimmy in the shed to take Adam to the lake to kill him. The BAU arrive at the location in the woods and find Jimmy tied up in the shed. After being rescued, Jimmy tells them that Claude took Adam. They find Claude holding Adam hostage. Reid orders him to drop the weapon and let the boy go, but Claude demands to know where is Antonia and if they brought her. Reid tells him that Antonia led them to him in order to stop him. Claude tells Reid to be quiet after he orders him to put the gun down. Claude threatens to kill Adam if he doesn't see Antonia. This forces Antonia to appear and tells him to listen carefully as she has something to tell him, but first to let Adam go, which he does. Claude tells Antonia that he did everything she told him, to which she replies that she knows. Antonia whispers to Claude's ear which the team can't hear what she is telling him. Afterwards, Claude points his gun to his chin and commits suicide. Then, his body falls into the lake.

Modus Operandi
Little is known about Claude's M.O., including how he managed to find his victims. What is known is that he targeted runaways just like Antonia did, abducted them, and held them captive in a shed located on his property. He kept them alive long enough until Antonia gave him his next orders, which were to transport the boys to Kentucky and kill them by shooting them. Though he took his victims to Kentucky as instructed, he ultimately failed to kill them.

Known Victims

 * 2014, Virginia:
 * Franklin: Adam Morrissey
 * Richmond: Jimmy Bennett

Appearances

 * Season Eleven
 * Devil's Backbone