Chad Mills

"You should recognize the signs. Your people did this to me!"

Chad Mills was a firefighter-turned-serial killer suffering from tuberculosis, who appeared in The Fallen.

History
Prior to "The Fallen", Mills worked as a Santa Monica firefighter and became well-known for his rescue of six homeless people from an electrical fire at a warehouse; nine others were killed by the fire. In this rescue, he went into the burning building without wearing protective gear, hoping that this would help him be easily seen as a hero. However, two of the people he saved were infected with a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis, and he himself became infected through the unprotected contact. As a result, he was discharged from the fire department because of his illness and began suffering from mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He blamed the homeless people for preventing him from becoming "someone important" and viewed them as being a virus to the city. Eventually snapping, Mills started killing, claiming the lives of two homeless men, burning their bodies, and dumping the remains at the city's famous pier.

After claiming his third victim, Lindsay Leeman, Mills murders a homeless man named Jeremy the next day, this time by drowning him in bleach as a means of cleansing. At the same time, the BAU, called in to investigate Mills's killings, receive help from Rossi's former sergeant from the Vietnam War, Harrison Scott, who is now a homeless man familiar with other vagrants in the city. The following night, Mills approaches a homeless woman named Sarah Mapes and asks if she needs any help. She declines, just as Mills bitterly states that she has a disease. Scott, who was coincidentally nearby, recognizes Mills as the killer and attacks him just as he tries to abduct Sarah. After a short fight, Mills is able to subdue Scott and make his escape with Sarah, nearly running Scott over with his car in the process. Surviving the attack, Scott relays what he saw to Rossi, and this enables the BAU to find Mills at his residence. Though they are able to rescue Sarah before she is killed, he is able to escape and carjack a vehicle. Being familiar with the homeless population, Mills is able to easily find Scott and abducts him from an alleyway, angrily stating, "You've ruined everything." Taking him to the same warehouse where he rescued the six vagrants, Mills douses Scott with a flammable liquid and activates a lighter, but Rossi, JJ, and Morgan burst in and attempt to convince him to put away the lighter. Mills refuses, and Scott orders Rossi to back down. He obliges and leaves, followed by JJ and Morgan, but the three sneak back into the warehouse as Scott distracts Mills. JJ and Morgan hold him at gunpoint while Rossi unties Scott. The four try to appeal to Mills, but they are unsuccessful and Mills, standing on the flammable liquid, sets himself on fire and dies.

Modus Operandi
Targeting homeless people of both genders, Mills killed his first three victims by stabbing them to death, then burned their bodies to dispose them. Later, he killed his fourth victim and attempted to kill his fifth victim by drowning them in bleach, shaving their hair beforehand.

Profile
"I would've mattered!"

The UnSub is hunting the homeless and strikes at night. He is trying to make a social or political statement by targeting the homeless community. He has evolved from obliterating his victims with fire to wanting them to be identified while still personalizing them. He is burning his later victims with bleach in an effort to scare the homeless. Shaving the head of his victims is another way of humiliating his victims. This UnSub has a method of transportation and the facility to bleach and burn his victims. He dumps the bodies prior to the morning commute, so he could have a day job. It would be hard to detect him, as he blends in with the community. Because of this, he is probably a local who feels wronged by the homeless community. He does not draw attention to himself and he is meticulous in his planning. The fact that he is now dumping his victims away from the pier means he is aware of the ongoing investigation and the killings were far from over.

Known Victims

 * Two unidentified men killed prior to The Fallen
 * Lindsay Leeman
 * Jeremy
 * Sarah Mapes
 * Harrison Scott

Appearances

 * Season Eight
 * "The Fallen"