| “ | It's eighteen below [zero degrees]. How long do you think he has? | ” |
— Kanak
| ||
Jon Kanak is a psychrophilic budding serial killer and abductor who appeared in the Season Ten episode of Criminal Minds, "The Forever People".
Background[]
When he was still a child, Kanak went hiking with his parents in the wilderness. When they got lost and temperatures dropped to dangerous levels, the three had to resort to extreme measures to survive. There aren't any specific details regarding these measures, but the event obviously had a lasting impact on Kanak's psyche. As a result, he developed a sexual attraction to freezing and decided to join The Forever People, a Nevada cult that froze newcomers alive and then resuscitated them as an initiation ritual. He became a member but became unsatisfied by the absence of other freezing rituals. As a result, Kanak began killing members of the cult who wanted to leave, using a walk-in freezer he apparently purchased.
The Forever People[]
After killing Sarah Rhoades and Adam Lewis, Kanak abducts Carl Mason, Rhoades' romantic partner, who is searching for his and Rhoades' son Bobby, one of the children Kanak is assigned to watch over. Succumbing to his desire to watch someone be frozen, he takes Mason to his house, where the freezer is and leaves him inside. He is about to kill Mason when JJ bursts into the freezer and holds him at gunpoint. Kanak tells her that if she fires her gun or if he switches on his lighter, the acetylene gas he is using (which is leaking all over the freezer) will ignite and kill them in an explosion. However, JJ realizes that the low temperature of the freezer will prevent a gas explosion and shoots Kanak. Both Kanak and Mason survive, with the former being taken to prison while the latter reunites with Bobby.
Modus Operandi[]
Kanak targeted members of The Forever People who wanted to leave the cult, to ensure that no one would miss them. He would take them to his house, tie them up using zip-ties, and lock them in a walk-in freezer, where they would slowly freeze. After a while, he would reenter the freezer, cut the victims loose, and then kill them by spraying them with nitrogen gas. He would then wrap their bodies in plastic, tie them down, and dump them in the nearby Lake Mead.
Profile[]
It was initially believed The Forever People as a whole was responsible for the murders, but this was ruled out when their leader, Colton Grant, was horrified by the crime scene photos and didn't condone the deaths. The BAU then profiled the unsub as a secondary member. He is a male who is replicating The Forever People's M.O. of freezing their members, even though law enforcement is watching his every move. Unlike the cult, he isn't resuscitating his victims and is solely interested in watching them as they freeze to death because it is his compulsion. This means he would have to be a psychrophile, or someone who is sexually attracted to the cold. It would make sense for him to join the cult, since their rituals would satisfy his sexual desires, much like a pedophile who uses pornography to control his urges. However, when he cannot control his urges any longer, he murders the members who were trying to get out of the cult, people the cult wouldn't miss. He was smart enough to consider the possibility of Sarah Rhodes's body rising to the surface of Lake Mead, but not experienced enough to effectively execute the disposal, which means she is most likely his first victim.
Known Victims[]
- 2015:
- January 13 (found): Sarah Rhoades
- January 14: Adam Lewis
- January 15:
- Carl Mason (Sarah Rhoades's romantic partner; abducted and non-fatally frozen; was rescued)
- Jennifer Jareau (threatened to blow up with acetylene gas)