Ian Coakley

Ian Coakley was a disabled serial killer who used an automobile to murder his victims in Season Four of Criminal Minds.

Background
Not much is revealed about Ian's life prior to the events of Roadkill, except that he was married and did military service. On 28 September 2007, he was driving his wife's car, a red, two-door coupé, along Route 7 in Bend, Oregon at night with his wife who was sleeping. At some point, he apparently fell asleep at the the wheel. As a result, the car slid off the road, flipping over a number of times. Ian's wife died and he suffered a spinal cord injury which permanently disabled his legs. He received therapy, but the guilt he suffered caused him to misremember the whole accident as having been caused by a car similar to the one his wife drove. In 2009 (Roadkill), he went out for revenge on the imaginary driver, looking for red coupés on his way to work. Whenever he saw one, he would stalk the victims for a while and then sabotage their cars to set up an ambush in some secluded area on Route 7. Within two weeks, he killed two women, Maria Delgado (a jogger) and Shannon Makely (a stranded motorist), the latter's murder being the one leading to the BAU being called in.

Roadkill
Not knowing of the BAU's presence apparently, Ian begins to devolve, killing a man at a parking lot in front of a witness. The following night, he has a nightmare of his wife's death. Meanwhile, a man named Gil Bonner came to them, claiming responsibility for the car accident that set Ian's killing off. Apparently, he was driving home in the middle of the night and dropped his cell phone, picked it up, taking his eyes off the road for a moment. When he looked around, the car was gone. Believing he had killed someone, he kept the incident a secret, although it took its toll on his professional life. However, the profile eventually led them to Ian, who, at the time, was about to kill his fourth victim as he biked with several others. As he was about to run him over, Hotch drove into the side of his car, stopping him. A local policeman confronted Ian with the truth, causing him to have a breakdown. Ian, followed by Hotch and Derek, sped towards a cliff in which he drove off, committing suicide. Gil Bonner was later exonerated, since the car accident he caused was completely unrelated to Ian Coakely and had resulted in some minor car damage, but no personal damage.

Profile
Ian was driven by revenge. His memory having been altered by his guilt, he targeted any red coupé driver and killed them as surrogates because he was too afraid of the real person, although that driver was imaginary. His profile said he would be a white male in his early 40s with military experience, apparently from either the U.S. Army or Marine Corps, who was handicapped as a result of an automobile accident. He would have a lot of knowledge about car engines and be good with his hands, possibly a mechanic.

Modus Operandi
Ian would stalk his victims for a while after finding them. He would then sabotage their cars so they would break down somewhere secluded on Route 7, on which the first two victims usually drove on. When they stopped and left their cars, he drove over them with his car, a black Dodge D100 pickup from 1979, customized to fit his handicap. After killing his victims, he would switch the grills and plates on his car to cover his tracks.

Known Victims

 * Sheila Coakley
 * Maria Delgado
 * Shannon Makely
 * Victor Costella
 * Garret Burke
 * Aaron Hotchner and Detective Quinn

Appearance

 * Season Four
 * Roadkill