James Barrett

"You still think she has a chance, huh?"

James Barrett was an abductor and attempted murderer who appeared in Season Six of Criminal Minds.

Background
James met Syd Pearson in middle school when the Barrett family moved to Maryland. Though Barrett came from a working class family and Syd came from a wealthy family, the two became good friends and committed a number of petty crimes together, such as shoplifting, assault, and arson. In 2010, Barrett met Kate Joyce at the jet ski rental where he worked. They met later that date at a party, which Barrett attended along with Syd. When they got up to the room, Syd and Kate had sex. James tried to do the same, but Kate rejected him. Later the boys left but James decided to turn back to get revenge on Kate without Syd knowing. He went back to her hotel under the guise of returning her phone, which had been left in the car, abducted Kate by drugging her, and brought her to the inlet on his boat. He then proceeded to shove her overboard in an area where sharks would be feeding at that time of day because of fisherman dumping their loads. He then took the GPS out of his boat and disposed of it in an unknown way and headed back home.

J.J.
He was later taken into BAU custody where the BAU and local police interrogated both him and Syd on where Kate's location is. Because of Syd's behavior at getting off on the attention, they suspected him more and questioned James lightly. This, however, backfired for him eventually as Hotch noticed his body language when he was asked if he knew Kate. He said he didn't but Hotch didn't believe him. He later agrees to a polygraph and seemingly passes. It is later determined that he passed not because he wasn't guilty, but because he answered the questions honestly as he did not kill Kate or know where she was, as her position is currently unknown in the water and it was most likely that she was killed by sharks. But thanks to Reid they were able to pinpoint her location and were able to save her in time. It is presumed that James was arrested and incarcerated for abduction and attempted murder.

Modus Operandi
James would incapacitate Kate by drugging her before bringing her to the inlet of his boat and riding it out to sea. Once he entered an area where sharks fed due to fishermen dumping their loads, he would shove Kate overboard and leave her to get eaten. Unfortunately, this process failed, as she was a good swimmer.

Real-Life Comparison
Elements of the Kate Joyce case are similar to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Known Victims

 * Several counts of assault
 * Set several presumably victimless fires
 * Kate Joyce

Appearances

 * Season Six
 * "J.J."