Shelley Chamberlain

"My God, why won't you help him? Why won't you help him?!"

Shelley Chamberlain is a female spree killer who appeared in Season Six of Criminal Minds.

Background
Shelley was originally happily married to Don Chamberlain, a firefighter, and had a son with him, Damien. In 2010, a liquor store was robbed by a man named Hanley Waters, who fled the scene in a car, leading to a high speed pursuit. Shelley was driving not far from the chase with Damien in the backseat. It was Damien's birthday. When he kept kicking the backside of her seat, she turned around for a second to tell him to stop and was hit by Waters' car. She survived without serious injuries but Damien died. As a police officer was also killed in the incident in some way, his demise got all the focus and Damien's death went by almost unnoticed. Shelley and Don's marriage was badly hurt by their son's death and greatly deteriorated. Three months prior to Hanley Waters, Don filed for divorce and moved out, taking a .38 revolver he owned with him. He did, however, leave behind a stash of ammo, likely by accident.

Hanley Waters
After waking up from a nightmare about Damien's death, Shelley finds several rounds of the ammo, goes to a gun store in West Tampa and tries to purchase a .38 revolver. When the clerk learns that she doesn't have a gun permit, he gives her an application, saying the state has a minimum waiting period of three days to get a permit. While the clerk goes to help another customer, she loads the gun, and uses it to kill the owner, the clerk, and the present two customers when the former spotted her attempting to flee with it. She then goes to a mall in Ybor City to meet Don, only to find him not there. She helps a boy when he fell and hurt his knee, but a security guard misinterprets her actions as a possible abduction attempt and takes the boy to his mother, forcing her to shoot and kill him in a blind rage in front of many witnesses. Shelley then flees to the road, where she comes across a road block in Riverside Heights and attacks the two police officers there while escaping. She then turned back to Oakford Park and shot at two paramedics present at the scene.

Later reuniting with Don, she draws her gun when he turns his back on her, but then puts it away and instead pressures him into going to Sir Burger, where they celebrated Damien's third, fourth, and fifth birthdays. There, a waiter approaches them and Don asks for a birthday surprise, but the waiter replies that it is reserved for children, causing Shelley to snap and pull out her gun. Only Don and the waiter are aware of the unfolding situation, and, when Shelley becomes distracted by a couple celebrating their son's birthday, the waiter evacuates the rest of the customers. However, Shelley approaches the family and kindly allows them at gunpoint to proceed with the birthday. Outside, the BAU and local police arrive, and Hotch tells everyone to stand down before going inside. He distracts Shelley with a picture of the entire Chamberlain family while the waiter, who still remained at the scene, evacuated himself and the family. Distraught, Shelley tells Hotch and Don that she yelled at Damien right before Waters' car crashed into them and that she blames herself and Don for his death, Don having not responded to the car crash. When Hotch hands her the picture of her family, she breaks down, allowing Don to seize the gun and hand it to Hotch. Shelley appears to finally accept Damien's death and looks at Don with a soft smile.

Profile
"They don't remember. No one remembers!"

The unsub is a white female between the ages of 30 and 40 driving a teal station wagon. But the only thing that matters is her behavior, which is random. She's all over the place. She could have escaped through that roadblock but she circled back instead, which tells them that she's got a score to settle in that particular area on that day. When emotional decisions drive an unsub it is usually connected to a significant loss, the idea that there is nothing to live for. They believe that this woman has been through the devastating loss of a child. That day means something to her. She has been lashing out at the hero and they believe it is because she feels deeply betrayed by one who let her down. The fact that her anger seems to be focused on first responders rather then hospital personel or doctors indicates that her child probably didn't die of natural causes, most likely it was some kind of accident, and, if so, believes that he should have been saved but wasn't. Rage like this has been built over time over years and has been debilitating. She most likely has not been a functioning member of society since the loss of her child and this rampage is her last chance to be heard. Whatever she started ends that day.

Modus Operandi
Shelley killed all her victims with a .38 revolver she stole on the day of the spree. Besides the victims in the gun store, they were typically local heroes, such as EMTs and security guards, and were apparently only shot once.

Known Victims

 * The April 6, 2011 killing spree in Tampa, Florida:
 * West Tampa: Four killed in the gun store massacre:
 * Larry Connors
 * The two unnamed customers
 * The unnamed clerk
 * Ybor City: Paul Lyons
 * Riverside Heights: Two policemen injured in the road block attack:
 * Officer Gibbs
 * Officer Sparks
 * Oakford Park: Two unnamed paramedics
 * The Sir Burger standoff:
 * Took the following hostage:
 * Don Chamberlain
 * An unnamed family
 * The unnamed parents
 * Sam
 * Bill
 * Aaron Hotchner

Appearances

 * Season Six
 * Hanley Waters