Greg Phinney

"I want her to pay for what she's done."

Greg Phinney was a serial killer and stalker who appeared in Season Six of Criminal Minds.

History
Born in Chula Vista, California, on February 6, 1982, Greg was raised by his parents, Carl and Nancy Phinney. During his childhood, Greg began "experimenting" with animals and killed a household pet and a neighbor's cat. His mother was killed in a car accident when Greg was 11. His father remarried a year later to his old babysitter, Kate Jones. In 1995, when Greg was 13, he was arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center after threatening Kate with a knife. At the age of 17, Greg was institutionalized by his father after Kate filed numerous reports against him for violent behavior and animal cruelty. His father later passed away at the age of 53, four weeks before the events of The Stranger took place. Greg was released two weeks later and presumably started stalking and killing his victims, all of whom reminded him of Kate, once he started his work-release job as a data-entry clerk at the San Diego Register. After Greg murdered three women, the BAU was called in.

Greg is first seen at the workplace of Laurie Burgin, flirting with her online. He later follows her at the Jenkins home ﻿as she babysits the child. Laurie takes a picture of herself for him, unaware that he is outside and directly behind her. She later goes upstairs to respond to the child's cries as Greg enters the house. Following her upstairs, Greg watches as Laurie looks at the picture she took of herself and sees Greg. She looks behind her just as Greg attacks her in front of the baby. The BAU later realize that he fed the baby its milk right after murdering Laurie. He then later arrives at the Ellison home and watches Lily Droubay as she talks with her boyfriend on the phone. Waiting until the Ellison parents arrive, Greg attacks them and Lily when the Ellison father opens the front door to let Lily out. Killing the father and Lily while forcing the mother and the baby in the nursery at knife-point, Greg poses his victims' bodies so then they would be looking at each other before leaving the scene.

The next day, he watches Kate comb her hair and later confronts her inside her home right after organizing the items in the fridge. Strapping her to a chair and torturing her by cutting her wrists, Greg hears the BAU and local police arrive and allows Hotch and Seaver to enter when the former calls him on Kate's phone. During the resultant negotiations, Greg pulls out a gun from a drawer. Meanwhile, Rossi leads a squad of policemen to the back of Kate's house. When Greg becomes unstable, Rossi enters the home via open window and prepares to confront him when Greg notices him and attempts to shoot him, forcing Rossi to open fire on Greg, killing him instantly. Seaver later talks to Kate outside and reassures her that Greg didn't kill his victims just because of her; he did so because he was a sociopath.

Modus Operandi
Greg targeted young, female, brunette college students who resembled Kate, majored in childcare and/or education, and whose lives he gained access to through his job as a data entry clerk at the San Diego Register and/or by chatting them up on the Internet. The last two female victims were also babysitting when they were killed. As Greg's killings progressed, he developed habits of neatly organizing food packages in the house, smearing the victims' blood on the walls, and making considerable effort to keep any babies in the house safe. His last female victim was also sexually violated with a knife. To conceal his identity, Greg would dress completely in black with a cap and wrap a scarf around the lower part of his face.

Profile
His murders indicated that they were looking for a white male in his early 20s and, because he is stalking his victims, the BAU team believes he is working out of his house or a part-time job. This unsub strikes in the home rather then outside where he could more easily abduct his victims. Now, this tells them that his social skills are most likely lacking and that he may not have the confidence to talk to women. His confidence with killing, however, is growing. He's gone from hesitant strikes in the victim's house, to painting the walls with blood. The unsub is developing a taste for the kill. His victims share similar features and backgrounds and they believe that his victims represent someone who the unsub thinks has wronged him and he's taking out his rage on them.

Because the unsub shows signs of one neat aspect and started killing suddenly and effectively with no break, they believe he was recently incarcerated or institutionalized. They suggest looking at men who got out a month or so ago, their records will show a history of violence, anger toward women, and/or symbols of authority. They need to warn all young women to be hyper-vigilant, especially in their on-line acquaintances but also with service markers, maintenance staff, and delivery men. They suggest double-checking IDs and calling dispatch before letting anyone inside. It is stated that panic is inevitable but they should still keep everyone informed.

Since the Jenkins family found Laurie online, they believe the unsub may be using similar methods; profiles, job listings, anything that gives a little too much information the unsub could use to hunt his victims. With this type of unsub, time is not on their side as they believe he already has targeted his next victim.

Real-Life Comparison
Greg has shares some traits with serial killer Edmund Kemper and was compared to him by Reid. Both killers were active in California, targeted female college students, had close relationships with their fathers and part of their rage was driven by being separated from them; in Kemper's case, his father remarried, moved to another state and got a stepson, in Greg's case, his father remarried and died. Like Kemper, Greg also killed surrogates for his real intended target, Kate, in preparation for their killings: Kemper's intended victim was his mother, who had abused him; Greg targeted Kate, who was his stepmother and, as he erroneously believed, was the one responsible for sending him away. Also, the way Greg dresses completely in black and with a cap during his murders is similar to how Richard Ramirez dressed while embarking on his murders.

Known Victims

 * Monica Shanley
 * Natalie Wallace
 * Amber Lasko
 * Laurie Burgin
 * The attack at the Ellison home:
 * The Ellison family
 * Jake Ellison
 * Amy Ellison
 * Jake and Amy's unnamed baby son
 * Lily Droubay
 * The standoff at Kate Phinney's house:
 * Kate Phinney
 * David Rossi

Appearances

 * Season Six
 * The Stranger