Herman Kotchman

Herman Kotchman is a serial killer mentioned in the Criminal Minds novel "Killer Profile".

Background
Herman was born on a secluded farm, where he and his brother were abused physically and sexually by their father. The boy's mother was aware of the abuse, but did nothing to stop it, believing that as long as her husband was preoccupied with the children, he would leave her alone. Eventually, Herman's brother died at the hands of their father, a murder which Herman's mother covered up with Herman's reluctant help, burying the boy in a shallow grave near the house. When his father died, Herman's mother coerced him into helping her bury him as well. After his mother's death a few years later, Herman, unstable since childhood, finally snapped and began murdering men who reminded him of his father, burying them alive in homemade coffins. After one of his victims managed to escape, Herman was tracked down and arrested. During his trial, Herman, despite overwhelming evidence, claimed he was completely innocent, but was ultimately convicted and incarcerated, and is presumably still imprisoned. BAU profiler-turned author Max Ryan would go on to mention Herman in his book Serial Killers and Mass Murderers: Profiling Why They Kill.

Killer Profile
Copycat killer Daniel Dryden discovered Herman through Max Ryan's book and copied his MO, though the victim he buried, tracked down after Daniel's arrest, was saved in time. Like with all his copycat crimes, Daniel altered the MO in some way - unlike Herman, Daniel didn't leave supplies or a hammer with his victim.

Profile
Herman completely disassociated himself from his crimes; while he admitted to the burials, he claimed no responsibility for the deaths of his victims, claiming that he gave them everything they needed to survive and escape and that it was entirely their fault that they died, going so far as to claim that the victims should have tried harder to get away and because they did not, they evidently did not value their lives at all.

Modus Operandi
Herman targeted men who reminded him of his abusive father, so all the victims were balding, somewhat overweight middle-aged white males. The victims would be incapacitated (presumably through a blitz attack) and placed in a homemade coffin, which had a pipe attached to it, allowing the victim to breathe after they were buried. A few days worth of water and a claw hammer, which the victim could use to try and escape with, would be left in the coffin with the victim, to give them false hope.

Known Victims

 * Numerous unnamed victims
 * Unnamed victim

Appearances

 * Novels
 * "Killer Profile"