Jeffrey Charles

"Tracy... Let's just go home. I was only playing. Why'd you have to be such a baby? ...Tracy..."

Jeffrey Charles is a young serial killer who appeared in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

Background
A resident of Ozona, Texas and the son of a school guidance counselor named James, Jeffrey was born with a severe allergy to dairy, necessitating every food product in his home containing even small traces of it to be sealed shut with duct tape. After his mother abandoned him and his father, Jeffrey came to deeply resent other children, who his father would spend almost all his time with due to his job. This resentment ultimately caused Jeffrey to bludgeon a schoolmate, Robbie Davis, to death with an aluminum baseball bat after luring him deep into the woods on September, taking his red baseball cap afterwards as a trophy and keeping it in his dresser drawer at home. Out hiking one day after killing Robbie, Jeffrey stumbled across the body of local hermit Joseph Finnegan, who had died of a heart attack while setting a bear trap. Hiding Finnegan's body by covering it with leaves, Jeffrey broke into the old man's house, used it as a hideout, and made it appear as if Finnegan was still living there by taking in his daily deliveries, including dinners dropped off by his father.

The Boogeyman
In a matter of hours, Jeffrey claims two more victims, Nicholas Faye and Sarah Peterson, killing them in the same manner as Robbie and then taking their schoolbags afterwards as trophies, hiding them in Finnegan's house. When the BAU arrive in town to investigate the case, Jeffrey attends an assembly with the other neighborhood children and is told about the unsub on the loose (who was initially believed to be an adult) and is instructed to use the buddy system for safety. Jeffrey is later taken along to the local police station when his father, who is helping with the investigation, attends a meeting discussing a profile created by the BAU for the unsub. James eventually discovers that his son is the unsub when he finds Nicholas's hat, prompting him to call the school and lie about Jeffrey being sick in an effort to protect him. Shortly afterwards, James is arrested as a suspect due to the BAU finding his fingerprints on the discarded dinner trays in Finnegan's house and Nicholas's hat on his person.

With his father in custody, Jeffrey, after the school day ends, approaches Tracy Belle at a bus stop, offering to walk her home (through a shortcut) when the boy she was supposed to be buddies with leaves her alone. While leading Tracy to the woods Jeffrey becomes irritated when she walks too slow and begins complaining, prompting him to throw her schoolbag away, shove her to the ground and take a swing at her with his bat. Jeffrey misses and is kicked in the leg by Tracy, who runs off into the woods. Giving chase Jeffrey tries and fails to lure Tracy out by claiming he was just playing around and can take her home if she comes out. Jeffrey eventually finds Tracy hiding behind a tree and attacks her, wildly swinging his bat as she desperately crawls away, avoiding his blows. Before he can kill her Tracy is saved when Gideon, who had deduced he was the unsub, grabs Jeffrey and pulls the bat from his grasp. Jeffrey is last seen being taken away in the back of police cruiser with Gideon, who asks him why he hurt all those kids. In tears Jeffrey responds by saying "Because I wanted to" before placing his hand on the car window after his father does so on the outside.

Profile
A profile created by the BAU stated that the unsub (who was believed to be an adult at the time) would be trusted, shy, physically fit, and small in size. The anger caused by the combination of his mother leaving him and his father never being around caused Jeffrey to develop an intense hatred of other children, who he felt were stealing all his father's attention away from him. Jeffrey killed out of rage, but was also methodical and organized. After claiming his first two victims Jeffrey became more brazen and violent, continuing to beat Sarah Peterson even after she had expired.

Modus Operandi
Jeffrey would lure other children deep into the woods and bludgeon them to death with an aluminum baseball bat, taking their backpack (and, in one case, an article of clothing) as a trophy.

Known Victims

 * 2006:
 * September: Robbie Davis
 * October 23: Nicholas Faye
 * October 24: Sarah Peterson
 * October 25: Tracy Belle

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * "The Boogeyman"
 * "No Way Out II: The Evilution of Frank"