Bea Adams

CRIMINAL
Name	Bethany Elise Adams
Alias	Bea B
Gender	Female
Birth Date	c. 1996
Family	Paul Adams (father) Michelle Adams (mother) Kendra Adams (sister)
Occupation	Former high-school student
Pathology	Proxy Killer (originally) Unclassified Killer (later) Criminal Accomplice Gangster Robber
Signature	Vandalizing and robbing victims' homes (originally)
Modus Operandi	Proxy murder by shooting (originally) Shooting (later)
No. of Victims	1 killed 6 killed by proxy 2 attempted 2 hostages
Status	Incarcerated/Institutionalized
Portrayed By	Stevie Lynn Jones
First Appearance	"Seek and Destroy"

“	Mom. Dad. I'm home.	”
	— Bea

Bethany Elise "Bea" Adams is a psychopathic gangster, robber, proxy killer-turned-killer, and a member of Zeke's Gang. She appears in the Season Twelve episode of Criminal Minds, "Seek and Destroy".

Background

Bea was born around 1996 into a high-class, normal family living in Escondido, California, but she exhibited a number of behavioral problems as she grew up. All the way from kindergarten to the twelfth grade, she was expelled from a total of five different boarding schools, with her having to transfer into another after her parents Paul and Michelle would make hefty financial contributions. Eventually, Bea ran away from home and joined a close-knit gang of young burglars who would rob and vandalize high-class homes across the country. She became romantically involved with the gang's leader, Zeke Daniels, to the point that she began manipulating him. At some point, Bea was hospitalized in Jackson, Mississippi, for an accidental Oxycodone overdose, and she listed Zeke as her emergency contact. Later, when she found out that her parents had cut her out of the family and given her younger sister Kendra a position in their company, Bea became enraged and convinced Zeke to turn the gang back to San Diego, where they continued their spree. However, unbeknownst to the gang's other members, Bea manipulated Zeke into killing the owners of the targeted homes, who reminded her of her parents.

Seek and Destroy

"Zeke brought us together and made us a family. Don't you give a damn about family?!"

Bea is first seen with the gang in the residence of Rick and Lenore Purcell as they are tied up. As the gang ransacks and vandalizes the place, and has a party, Zeke kills the couple. Bea is next seen finding another house to target; while Viv and Kay's ruses don't work on their houses, Bea's ruse works, and a woman named Claire Vendl lets her in her home. After getting a check from Claire, Bea returns to the van and tells the gang about the house. Hours later, Bea returns to the home and tells Claire that she forgot her scarf. When Claire opens the door, the rest of the gang forced their way in and take Claire and her husband Joe hostage. After ransacking and vandalizing the house, Zeke kills the couple in front of the others, exciting Bea, but horrifying the others. While the gang is staying at a motel, Zeke tells the other members (Germ, Kay, and Viv) that he overheard their plans to leave and reminds them about the original plan. Sticking up for Zeke, Bea reminds Kay and Viv how he found them and took them in. Afterward, Bea and Zeke have sex on the bed.

Bea, Kay, and Viv leave the motel room at Zeke's request, but Bea returns, having forgotten something. She walks in on Zeke and Germ engaged in a struggle, which ends when Zeke shoots and kills Germ. The next day, the gang goes to Bea's parents' residence. When Bea's mother Michelle answers the door for Kay, the rest of the gang bursts in and ties up Michelle. Bea becomes increasingly violent and starts kicking her mother. As Zeke tells her to stop, Bea's father Paul steps in and is taken hostage too. Then, Zeke, in an effort to control her, points his gun at Bea, tells her that he is in charge, and orders her to put the gun down. Undeterred, Bea turns around and merely tells him that he doesn't have the guts. Then, Viv holds Zeke at knifepoint and tells him to put his gun down, which he does. Bea immediately apologizes to Zeke and claims that things got out of control. Viv lets Zeke go, and he and Bea both kiss. Seconds later, she shoots Zeke in the stomach. She then tells him that a girl has to know when to cut bait before finishing him off with a shot to the head. Afterward, Bea unmasks herself to her parents and tells them that she is home.

As Bea holds her parents at gunpoint with a revolver, Viv tries to reason with Bea, saying that she shot Zeke in self-defense. When Bea gets distracted by her parents, Viv and Kay attempt to escape, but Bea grabs Viv and fires a warning shot that stops Kay in her tracks. Bea orders Viv to drop the knife, which she does. Then, she begins ranting to Viv that she will not screw up her revenge scheme, then yells at her parents to stop moving. At that moment, Kay sneakily grabs Zeke's gun from the floor, holds Bea at gunpoint, and tells her to drop the revolver. In response, she yells at Kay that she will not screw it up, and shoots Kay in the stomach then proceeds to shoot Viv in the leg. Then, the BAU arrive at the house; Stephen swiftly disarms and handcuffs Bea, while the other agents arrest Kay and Viv. As Paul and Michelle watch their daughter being taken away, Bea scares them by attempting to charge at them and then laughs maniacally as she is restrained by Stephen. As Bea is taken into the police car, she sees Kay and Viv being put into an ambulance, then starts screaming maniacally. She is presumably either incarcerated or institutionalized afterwards.

Modus Operandi

Bea usually killed her victims through a manipulated Zeke. She had him kill the victims because they reminded her of her parents, who she couldn't attack yet because they were out of town at the time. However, during the Adams home standoff, she took charge, shooting her own victims with a revolver.

Profile

"Girl's gotta know when to cut bait."

Bea was initially profiled as one of the gang's soldiers by the BAU. She is one of the youngest members and is impressionable and eager. She could have escaped a negative home life and looked up to the leader as the father figure she craved. Later, as the case developed, it was found that one of the gang has issues with their family more than the others and that this family likely lives in the San Diego metropolitan area. Because the leader has no ties there and the muscle is the latest victim, this member is most likely one of the female soldiers. She comes from a wealthy background and is likely a drug user, which means she might have had an accidental overdose or had been injured. The gang isn't going after her family because they are out of town and they are waiting on them.

Real-Life Comparisons

Bea appears to be a combination of a number of female Manson Family members. They include:

• Mary Brunner, who was also romantically involved with her group's leader, and had ties to California (Bea lived there, while Brunner was employed there). Finally, both Bea and Brunner were captured with some other Manson Family members after a standoff and shootout. During these standoffs, both groups also debated whether to kill their hostages, though it is unknown which stance Brunner took.
• Lynette Fromme, who was also born and raised in southern California, and rendered homeless due to a tense relationship with her parents.
• Sandra Good, who was also a native of San Diego and the daughter of a well-off family, and who also attended a number of schools but could never succeed academically in any of them.

Known Victims

• California:
  • March 16, 2012, San Diego: Unnamed victim (assaulted; push down a staircase by a student she manipulated)
  • February 24, 2016, San Diego: A victimless vandalism
  • 2017:
    • January 3, Del Mar: Janelle Klecker (held hostage and robbed by her, then killed by Zeke)
    • January 9, Rancho Santa Fe: Rick and Lenore Purcell (held hostage and robbed by her, then killed by Zeke)
    • January 10, San Diego: Joe and Claire Vendl (held hostage by her, then killed by Zeke in front of the rest of the gang)
    • January 11:
      • Unspecified location: Michael "Germ" Sale (accomplice; assaulted by her, then shot in the neck by Zeke)
      • Escondido: The Adams home invasion:
        • Paul and Michelle Adams (her parents; both held hostage)
        • Zeke Daniels (her lover and accomplice; shot twice in the stomach and head)
        • Viv (accomplice; attempted, but survived; held hostage; then non-fatally shot in the leg)
        • Kay (accomplice; attempted, but survived; was non-fatally shot in the stomach)

Notes

• Bea seems to have been inspired by at least three other psychopathic female unsubs from the show's past:
  • Season Six
    • Sydney Manning ("The Thirteenth Step") - Both were psychopathic and manipulative killers and robbers who were members of a group of killers, and both confronted the source of their rage (their fathers).
  • Season Seven
    • Izzy Rogers ("Hit" and "Run") - Both are psychopathic killers and robbers who manipulated their male accomplices into believing they were the leaders of their respective criminal groups, and then killed them when they questioned their authority.
  • Season Eight
    • Sera Morrison ("All That Remains") - Both are psychopathic killers who were jealous of their sisters and had hatred towards one of their parents.
• One of the academies Bea was expelled from was Aldren Academy, which shares the name with an academy serial killer James O'Neill went to as a child in "Drive". However, they are both different academies, since Garcia's screen labels the Aldren Academy Bea went to as located in San Diego.
• According to her medical information, Bea's Social Security number is 902-00-8023.

Appearances

• Season Twelve
  • "Seek and Destroy"