| “ | Take heart, my love. I will bring a part of you back into the world, and forever you will watch over us from the stars. | ” |
— Kelcher
| ||
Chloe Kelcher was a delusional necrophilic serial killer, budding serial rapist, one-time cop killer, and copycat of Cortland Bryce Ryan who appeared in the Season Four episode of Criminal Minds, "The Angel Maker".
Background[]
"I'm coming to you, baby."
Little is known about Kelcher's early life (though elements of her profile indicate an abusive and or absent father). At some point she became a member of serial killer Cortland Bryce Ryan's jury on August 28, 2007, which gave her access to evidence and knowledge of the murders that were kept secret from the public. As the trial progressed, she fell in love with him. Since she knew they could never be together, she went so far as to obtain his semen through Sid Rutledge, one of his guards, who demanded sex in exchange, which she gave. After Ryan was executed, she used the semen to impregnate herself, presumably through in vitro fertilization, listing the father as "unknown". When she gave birth to their child, it suffered from microvesicular steatosis and died. Kelcher then resorted to the only way she could think of to keep Ryan alive: continuing what he started. Before doing so, she dug up Ryan's body, took it with her, and reburied the coffin.
The Angel Maker[]
Kelcher's first victim, Delilah Grennan, is killed on the anniversary of Ryan's execution. The murder catches the attention of the local authorities, who, in turn, calls for the BAU. She then kills Rutledge when he realizes what she is using the semen for, and then another woman named Maxine Chandler. The BAU is able to track her down the same night she is going to kill Faye Landreaux. They distract Kelcher with letters Ryan sent to his other female fans, while Morgan sneaks in to get Landreaux out via a backdoor. When Kelcher notices what is happening, she throws a tantrum in the house. Eventually, she steps outside and aims a revolver at Sheriff Merrill Dobson, effectively committing suicide by cop. Dobson and Prentiss examine her body and find that she had punctured herself in the constellation of Columba, effectively completing what Cortland had started. At her house, Ryan's corpse is recovered from inside a makeshift shrine and presumably reburied.
Profile[]
The unsub is a resident of Lower Canaan and a highly intelligent white woman aged in her mid-30s. She got the semen planted at the first crime scene from Sid Rutledge, her second victim, and Ryan's mule, who had been blackmailing her. The unsub is not just one of Ryan's fans, she is a groupie. She would suffer from a condition called hybristophilia, which is a sexual attraction to men who commit acts of violence because they gave her a power that she lacks. This feeling is most likely brought on by low self-esteem and the need for a father figure.
Modus Operandi[]
Kelcher copied every aspect of Ryan's M.O., even down to the rape. The differences were that she targeted women owning home-based businesses, used a hammer instead of her fists (since she lacked the arm strength), had to draw dots on paper to form the Heavenly Waters constellations (she couldn't remember them as well as Ryan), leaving bits of paper in her victims' puncture wounds, and, since she couldn't physically rape her victims, she simulated it by penetrating the victims with an unknown instrument, even planting Ryan's semen in the body. When she killed Sid Rutledge, she shot him in the head and genitals with a .38 Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver, which she was later equipped with during her attempted murder of Faye Landreaux.
Real-Life Comparison[]
The inspiration for Kelcher may have been real-life attempted copycat killer Veronica Compton - Both were infatuated with a male serial killer who targeted women, and both attempted to replicate their crimes (though Compton failed). Both even went as far as acquiring semen from their idolized serial killers (though for different reasons).
Known Victims[]
- 2008:
- May 23: Delilah Grennan (punctured in the constellation of Vela post-mortem)
- May 24: Officer Sid Rutledge (shot twice in the genitals and head with a revolver)
- May 27:
- Maxine Chandler (punctured in the constellation of Carina post-mortem)
- The Landreaux home standoff:
- Faye Landreaux (tied up, attempted to kill, and intended to puncture in the constellation of Columba post-mortem)
- Sheriff Merrill Dobson (attempted to shoot with a revolver)