Samantha Malcolm

"You're so pretty."

Samantha Malcolm is a psychotic, childlike serial killer and abductor who appeared in The Uncanny Valley.

Background
Samantha had lived in Atlantic City and sewn her whole life. When she was 10, her mother died. Her father, Dr. Arthur Malcolm, then began molesting her, buying dolls as an apology. The sexual abuse caused her to suffer from depression which, in turn, drove her to cut herself. Her father taught her to never reveal the abuse, punishing her with electric shock therapy when she got her story wrong. The "therapy" permanently warped her mind. At some point in her life, there was a competition held by a toy company to put together a doll and write an essay about its persona. The winner would have her doll produced in the next line. This did not turn out well, as having children recreate events with dolls is a common child's psychology tool. The result became that some entries contained thinly veiled references to physical and sexual abuse. The bad publicity ended the competition. Samantha took part in the competition, her entry referencing "the room with the lightning". The entry was passed on to the authorities as well, but Dr. Malcolm explained that the text referred to the electric shock treatment and was let go. Samantha kept receiving a treatment of anti-psychotic drugs from him at his own treatment facility, "New Lives". He later declared her incompetent and became the legal guardian of her property. A few months prior to The Uncanny Valley, she saw her father give her old dolls to another girl. This became the stressor that caused her to begin her abductions.

The Uncanny Valley
The BAU were brought in to help catch the unsub after the second fatal victim is found. She is seen abducting Bethany Wallace by pretending to be having trouble pushing a wheel-chair into her van. She then tasers her to knock her out and tells her she's pretty. She is then seen dressing up a victim. After taking one of her dresses to a professional tailor, JJ learned that a stitch pattern used to sew silk handkerchiefs by hand was used, suggesting that the maker is a master at sewing, even an artist, and has been at it for a long time. After that, the BAU learn that Bethany Wallace is a diabetic and will die within 24 hours if she isn't treated. Rossi consults with a doctor to ask about the matter. He explains that she probably died minutes after being dosed, but, on the other hand, her condition may also cause her to break down the drugs faster, resulting in her regaining control of her body sooner. When Reid and Morgan visited a professional doll maker, they learned about the competition.

Meanwhile, Bethany had managed to regain some control over her arm, being able to push down a teacup from the table. While going through the doll entries and reading the essays, the BAU found a doll whose dress had the same stitch patterns as the victims' dresses. Going through Samantha's past, they deduced that she was the unsub. In the meantime, Samantha headed for work and left her abductees alone. Bethany then used her limited control over herself to remove her IV and declared to the others, "We're leaving." Dragging herself across the floor, she got to a phone but found it to be unfunctioning. She then removed Maxine Wynan's IV before passing out. When visiting Dr. Malcolm's office, Rossi and Reid realized from Dr. Malcolm's collection of toys that he kept in his office that he had molested a number of his female patients. They promised to have some of them testify and bring him down but offered to tell the district attorney that he cooperated in exchange for Samantha's address. Shortly after Samantha came home and noticed that things were out of place, Reid entered the house and gave her back her old dolls. After he promised her that she could take her dolls with her, she surrendered and was arrested.

Modus Operandi
Samantha targeted small women in their late 20s. She would incapacitate them using a taser. She kept her victims sedated using neural inhibitors and muscle relaxants such as atracurium and doxacurium chloride. She would keep them well-fed intravenously, always making sure she had three at one time in order to fulfill the picture of a tea party for four, she being the fourth. While having a full "collection", she would pretend they were real dolls and play with them. After two months, their brains would stroke out because of the lack of stimulus and motor function, consequently leading to their deaths. Samantha would then place the bodies in areas associated with childhood and innocence, such as swings or a merry-go-round. Afterwards, she would then abduct another woman as a "replacement" for her deceased victim.

Profile
The unsub is a woman and an offender known as a "collector", a psychopathology similar to that of a hoarder. This type of offender is antisocial, extremely introverted, and has developed an obsession for certain objects. She will have attached a part of herself to her obsession, and if her fantasy is interrupted, she will respond very violently, even psychotically. These offenders suffer damage to their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain which regulates Freudian fantasy realities, but are still able to lead normal day lives, excelling at goal-oriented tasks, such as sewing or even the details of abduction. Their ability to differ the living from the dead is irreparably destroyed. It is believed that the unsub is collecting dolls and, having recently lost her original collection, which most likely served as her stressor, and is now abducting women as similar to them as possible and turning them into surrogates. The drugging and paralysis is a way for her to preserve her fantasy, by placing them in a state where they cannot talk back, so she can fetishize them like objects she has lost. The intent is not violence, but to create a collection which helps her feel in control of her life, probably in order to overcome some past trauma in her life. She only feels that control when the collection is complete, which is why she is repeating an abduction pattern with live victims; if she loses a woman who represents a doll, she has to replace it. She would work alone, have medical training, and is likely a nurse or an orderly who has been fired for lack of social grace, being unable to fake a bedside manner. She now likely works as a tailor or seamstress.

Known Victims
Note: The dates denote when the victims were abducted
 * 2009:
 * November 4: Rita Stuart
 * November 9: Stacia Jackson
 * November: Mary Newsome
 * 2010:
 * January: Cindy Amundson
 * January 11: Maxine Wynan
 * January 13: Bethany Wallace

Appearances

 * Season Five
 * The Uncanny Valley