Jason Nelson

"We've got a few more holes to dig."

Jason Nelson was a psychopathic serial killer, rapist, and pedophile who appeared in Season Eight of Criminal Minds.

Background
Little is revealed about Nelson's early life or how he became a psychopath and a pedophile. Sometime in his adulthood, he started his series of rapes and murders, claiming the lives of at least four girls, including one Kelly Taylor, whose disappearance was pinned on Mark Logan, one of three friends who were with him at the time of the murder; Mark actually participated in sexually assaulting her, while the other two apparently watched. After murdering Kelly, apparently without the knowledge of his friends, Nelson then disposed of her body. Mark took the fall for Kelly's disappearance and was sentenced to ten years in prison (since her body was never actually found at the time), which were spent being visited by Nelson and his other friends.

The Pact
After killing both Mark Logan and Paul Montgomery, two of the other men who were involved in Kelly's murder, Ellen Russell and Darlene Beckett (the latter of whom was Kelly's mother), broke into Nelson's apartment in the middle of the night and confronted him. Feigning remorse, Nelson offered to take them to where Kelly's body was buried in exchange for his life. As the three of them drove to the burial site in Ellen's SUV, Nelson revealed his true nature as he told the women how Kelly suffered in detail, then revealed that he'd been expecting someone to come for him ever since Mark and Paul were killed, and told his neighbor to write down the license plate numbers of any strange cars that showed up outside his place and report them to the police. Angered by his deception, Ellen pulled over and threw Nelson out onto the pavement, intending to kill him, but was stopped by Darlene, who wanted to find Kelly's body so she could have closure. Meanwhile, the BAU arrived at Nelson's apartment and found his trophy collection while searching for evidence. Reasoning that he would've moved Kelly's body after finding out his accomplices were dead, they examined Nelson's on-site storage unit and found a recently-used shovel. After the field agents identified the type of soil on the shovel's blade, an uncommon type for the area, Garcia was able to determine the location where Nelson had most likely reburied the remains.

Some time later, Nelson told Ellen to pull over again. When they all got out of the car, he told the women that he had decided that he wouldn't take them to Kelly's burial site unless they killed a random person, explaining he wanted Ellen and Darlene to know how he felt the day he decided to kill Kelly, and reminding them that the longer their trip took, the better chance the police had of finding them. Against Darlene's objections, Ellen opened fire on a passing motorist, causing his truck to careen off the road and down a nearby hill. As the group continued on to Kelly's burial site, Nelson taunted Ellen, accusing her of secretly enjoying shooting at a stranger for no reason. He also told her that they should team up and start killing across the country. Ellen responded by threatening Nelson, saying that she would kill him if he didn't lead them to Kelly's body soon. He eventually led them to an open field at the base of a hill just off the road, claiming that he wasn't sure exactly where Kelly's body was since he'd moved it after his friends were killed. When he finally found the right spot, Ellen handed him a shovel and ordered him to start digging. Eventually, Nelson unearthed Kelly's skull. When Darlene asked him where the rest of Kelly's remains were, he told her he'd dismembered her body and buried it in different places all over the field, and said they'd have a few more holes to dig to find the rest of her. Enraged, Darlene attacked Nelson, beating him to death with the shovel before she and Ellen fled the scene. Nelson's body was later found by Rossi when the BAU arrived at the burial site.

Modus Operandi
Nelson targeted young girls, attacking them when they were isolated and raping them before killing them. Because the bodies weren't found until the end of the episode, it is never revealed exactly how he killed his victims, but since Nelson alleged to have dismembered Kelly Taylor's body, it is possible they died this way. After killing them, he took jewelry or small articles of clothing as a trophy.

Profile
No official profile was made for Nelson, as the BAU were more focused on Ellen and Darlene. However, when examining evidence found at his apartment, they concluded that he was a clinical psychopath, incapable of feeling empathy but able to fake it in order to blend in or buy him time.

Real-Life Comparison
Elements of Kelly's murder, especially the method of disposal of her body and its subsequent discovery, seem to be similar to the murder of Jon-Niece Jones.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified dates: At least three unnamed victims
 * Unspecified date in 2002: Kelly Taylor
 * October 10, 2012: Unnamed motorist

Appearances

 * Season Eight
 * "The Pact"