Darlene Beckett

"When I wake up in the morning, I see Kelly's face. When I close my eyes, she's still there. I don't know too long I can go on like this..."

Darlene Beckett is a killer and the submissive partner of a two-person killing team led by Ellen Russel. She appeared in Season Eight of Criminal Minds.

The Pact
Darlene and Ellen carry out their revenge scheme, with Darlene going to San Diego and murdering Brenda Whitley. However, out of pity, Darlene instead kills Brenda by bludgeoning her to death instead of dragging her with a car as planned. She later meets up with Ellen at a restaurant and tells her of what happened with Brenda. This confession is met by a brief spout of anger from Ellen, who then tells her that Mark confessed to having two other accomplices, and Darlene hysterically tells her that she cannot kill again. However, she is persuaded to continue with the plan. The following night, the two ambush Paul Montgomery, one of the accomplices, outside of his workplace. Darlene shouts at Paul, accusing him of killing her daughter, and then contemplates on killing him already, but is talked down by Ellen; the both then get into a car that they chain him on and kill him. The next morning, she caves in under the pressure and throws up into a toilet. Ellen arrives and comforts her, convincing her that 'they' did this and that they deserved what was coming to them.

Modus Operandi
With the exception of her first victim, Brenda Whitley, Darlene targeted people associated with her daughter Kelly Taylor's disappearance. She killed her victims by bludgeoning them with some sort of object.

Profile
The unsubs were two vigilante women who were killing people of heinous crimes. Unlike solo vigilantes, they're working in concert and they're planning and executing coordinated attacks. Their mentality is like a lynch mob. They believe the justice system has gone wrong and it's up to them to set it right. Due to the pre-planning and level of commitment, their ages are estimated to be somewhere over 30. They probably learned about the crimes they're avenging through the media. It's possible they were involved in these losses personally and now feel that they ned to act. The more recent attacks seemed more improvised and personal. They didn't lure their victim. Instead, they blitz attacked him outside of his job.

During a killing spree, the threat is that the unsub will either strike again or disappear. If they have completed their vendetta, they'll most likely disappear. The unsubs may not have prior criminal histories, as they see themselves as do-gooders. Based on the fact that one victim was dragged postmortem and the others were dragged alive, one woman is not as confident in the mission while the other is domineering. They're probably mothers, relatives or friends who have lost children. Looking at the collateral damage of the crimes the victims committed years ago, as this is the only thing the unsubs have in common, it reveals that as time goes on their friendship will become strained and ultimately fall apart.

Known Victims
Note: All of the following were attacked in California


 * San Diego: Brenda Whitley
 * Los Angeles:
 * Paul Montgomery
 * Jason Nelson

Appearances

 * Season Eight
 * "The Pact"