David Walker

David Walker, a.k.a. "The Palm Beach Bomber", was a con artist-turned-copycat serial bomber who appeared in Season One of Criminal Minds.

History
Walker was an antiquities dealer. In his early twenties, he spent four years in prison for a series of forged checks. After being released, he established a business and opened a store which sold maps, coins, and historical documents with most of the inventory being fake. When he started promising his customers antiquities he didn't have time to forge, Walker got into debt. One of his clients, Barbara Keller, found out about the fake coins Walker had sold her. If she had outed him, all his forgeries would have been discovered. As a result, Walker plants a bomb to kill her. He then sets off other bombs in order to throw the police off his track. Walker's bombs were exact duplicates of those made by Adrian Bale, a.k.a. "The Boston Shrapnel Bomber", who was responsible for the deaths of six FBI agents from Gideon's former unit; Walker came to admire Bale after following news reports of him. When Walker sends an innocent man with a necklace bomb to the police station, Hotch and Elle confront Walker, who blows himself up. Gideon then tries to make a deal with Adrian Bale. Bale leads the bomb squad through disabling the bomb until there is just one move to make - cut the red or blue wire. Bale tells him to cut the red wire. Gideon hesitates and then tells the bomb squad to cut the blue. The timer stops and Bale goes back to jail. When Elle asks Gideon how he knew, Gideon answers that Bale had said, given the opportunity of pressing that button, he'd have no choice.

Modus Operandi
Walker perfectly copied the M.O. of Adrian Bale, right down to the delivery system and the color of the ink written on the packages the bombs were delivered in. His first victim, Barbara Keller, was specifically targeted in order to prevent her from exposing his frauds, while the victims after her were all randomly targeted to ensure that the bombings looked random, and therefore the police would stay off the trail of his frauds.

Profile
Bombers are typically non-confrontational: if they, for example, bump into someone, they will apologize even if it wasn't their fault. Based on the meticulous design of the bombs used, the unsub is highly organized with above average intelligence. He probably has a job that requires skill and allows him to have his own work-space, like a furniture maker or a jeweler, which is how he is able to make a sophisticated device without raising suspicion. However, this does not necessarily mean that he has a background with explosives. Also, he is not like a typical bomber who gains a release from the explosions, but simply a murderer who uses bombs as weapons. The attacks are not committed at random, since he made bombs that are designed to kill and he chose his victims specifically by placing these bombs outside their homes, meaning that he has a direct motive, either profit or to conceal another crime.

Real-Life Comparisons
Walker was possibly based on forger-turned-bomber Mark Hofmann, while the bomb collar he placed on Chicu Reddy was apparently inspired by the Brian Douglas Wells case.

Known Victims

 * 2005:
 * October 4:
 * Barbara Keller
 * Two injured in the second bombing:
 * Gil Clurman
 * Joe Reese
 * Jill Swenson
 * October 5:
 * Emily and her unnamed mother
 * The escape from his house:
 * His unnamed wife
 * Elle Greenaway
 * Chicu Reddy
 * Attempted to take the following with him when he blew himself up, but failed:
 * Aaron Hotchner
 * Elle Greenaway
 * Officer Worthy
 * Three unnamed policemen

Appearances

 * Season One
 * Won't Get Fooled Again
 * The Fisher King, part 1