Lawrence Coleman

CRIMINAL
Name	Lawrence Coleman
Alias	Prepper Coleman
Gender	Male
Occupation	Former civil engineer
Pathology	Abductor Proxy Killer (once) Cult Leader
Signature	Abducting victims at times corresponding to the Doomsday Clock
Modus Operandi	Abduction and imprisonment Brainwashing
No. of Victims	1 killed by proxy 12 abducted 8 captives 2 attempted
Status	Incarcerated
Portrayed By	Darrell Hammond
First Appearance	The Bunker

“	Don't listen to any of their lies.	”
	— Coleman

Lawrence Coleman is an abductor, one-time proxy killer, and the dominant half of a two-person abduction team that appears in the Season Thirteen episode of Criminal Minds, "The Bunker".

Background

Little is known about Coleman's past aside from the fact that he worked as a civil engineer and became obsessed with the Doomsday Clock in his adult years, even setting up a website called "Prepper Coleman's Blog" dedicated to the topic. He came to believe that some sort of apocalyptic event was inevitable and took to internet chat rooms to reach out to others with similar views, with whom he discussed preparing for this event. Sometime in or prior to 2012, he came into contact with a woman named Irene Jacobs, who held beliefs identical to Coleman's own, through one of these chat rooms. Jacobs had the deed to acres of land just outside of Culpeper, Virginia that was also the site of an underground bunker used by the government as a strategic command center until its discontinuation in the 1990s. Upon learning of this, the two embarked on a mission to ensure the survival of themselves and the human race.

This plan included abducting pregnant teenage patients Irene treated through her work as a substance abuse counselor whose children would serve as the citizens of their post-apocalyptic society followed by high-functioning professional women that could cater to the basic needs of both the mothers and children. In preparation, Coleman started to stockpile food, water, and weapons, among other supplies. He also purchased chloroform to use in the abductions. They set the plan in motion on October 16, 2012, by abducting sixteen-year-old drug addict Chrissy Miller and later that week, a runaway named Kylie Prichard. They then took Dr. Roberta Childs, an obstetrician that could care for the pregnant women while captive. Coleman and Jacobs managed to brainwash them into accepting their beliefs as their own and, although Childs did attempt suicide twice while captive, both Miller, and Prichard gave birth to healthy children, a son named Joe and an unnamed child respectively, who were also taught the group's ideology. Over the next five years, they went on to abduct six more women in total and successfully brainwash all of them. Eventually, Coleman stopped living in his house and a few months prior to the episode, he abruptly quit his job, relocating to the bunker and dedicating all of his time to his and Jacobs' survival plan.

The Bunker

At the start of the episode, Coleman and Jacobs abduct a chef named Allie Leighton as she leaves the restaurant where she works. Bringing her back to the bunker, when Jacobs and Dr. Childs attempt to introduce Leighton into the cult, she tries to escape, but Coleman seals her in a room before she can and appears in front of her wearing a hazmat suit. Meanwhile, Leighton's disappearance is connected to four of the duo's abductions, which leads to the BAU being asked to investigate. During Jacobs' tour, Leighton resists again, but is apparently drugged and examined by Childs. During the exam, she condemns what is being done by the three and this causes Childs to attempt suicide again. Despite the best efforts, Childs dies so Coleman trips an alarm and Jacobs comes running. He then says "We have to get rid of her". They then dispose of the body and abduct Paige Burrell, a pediatrician, to take Childs' place. Coleman is seen incapacitating Burrell on a recording made of the abduction. At the bunker, Coleman and Jacobs argue about Childs' death with her criticizing the way they disposed of her body, but Coleman expresses only anger at the 'betrayal' to their mission and how Jacobs wrapping the body in a blanket was "more than she deserved". They briefly talk about the apocalyptic event before looking at a camera monitoring Burrell. Bringing her on a tour of the facility, a less-than-enthused Coleman asks Miller to gather the other women and the children. When the entire group enters the room, Coleman introduces Burrell to "her patients".

Later, Coleman comes across Leighton and Burrell, who have taken Jacobs captive at knifepoint. He and the women have a brief argument in which Coleman states that the world is "imploding" and "beyond repair". Then, an alarm is triggered, alerting Coleman that Reid and JJ have entered the bunker through its escape hatch. Jacobs tells him that he needs to get the rest of the group to the second level. Coleman agrees, but, then starts to leave. When Jacobs pleads for help, much to her dismay, he replies "Do what you want with her" before walking away. He returns to his control room and sees the two agents on one of the monitors as they make their way through the bunker. They soon enter the same corridor he had previous trapped Leighton in and Coleman seals them inside. Leighton, Burrell and Jacobs find them as well just before Coleman appears in the adjacent room. Reid orders him to release them all, but Coleman only mocks him. Then JJ recognizes Miller and tells her that her sister, Joanna, has been searching for her. Coleman responds "Don't listen to any of their lies" and tries to maintain control over the group. JJ shows Miller a photo Joanna gave to her and tells her what her sister had said to her about Millers interests and a neighbor named Parker, who she had been friends with. When Reid tells the women what had happened to them, Coleman maintains that the agents are lying. Finally, JJ asks about Miller's son and deduces that she named Joe after her sister. Miller furiously turns to Coleman and asks "How could you do this to us?". Jacobs mirrors Coleman's betrayal and shouts "Do what you want with him!". Miller then hits Coleman with a large flashlight, knocking him unconscious and Jacobs surrenders the code to unlock the door, freeing the agents. Afterwards, Reid arrests Coleman and he is last seen being escorted to a police car by him and Alvez.

Modus Operandi

Coleman and Jacobs abducted women as part of their plan to repopulate society and thrive in a post-apocalyptic world in two different stages. The first stage consisted of abducting pregnant teenage girls whose children would serve as the citizens of this new society. This was followed by the abductions of professionals who would help them cater to the medical, dental, educational and nutritional needs of the other captives. More specifically, in abducting Roberta Childs and Paige Burrell, an obstetrician and a pediatrician respectively, they acquired professionals specializing in prenatal care and the care of young children. They targeted pregnant teenagers with histories of substance abuse, whom Jacobs met through her job as a counselor. She would learn of their pregnancies in their counseling sessions and relay that information to Coleman before abducting them. It is unknown how they selected the professional women they abducted. However, it is possible they targeted them through their social media accounts as each woman had an active online presence prior to their abductions. They would wait until the women were isolated in some way, such as in a parking garage leaving their workplace or, as was the case with Diane Pearl, alone in their homes. When abducting Allie Lieghton, they also used a ruse to distract her. Irene would drive beside them while Coleman would incapacitate them using chloroform and drag them into Jacobs' van. Because of his obsession with the Doomsday Clock, Coleman would wait until a particular moment before grabbing them. In each case, the victim was abducted at the time corresponding to the current setting of the clock.

After abducting the women, they would transport them to the underground bunker on Jacobs' property and lock them in one of the bedrooms. After they regained consciousness and their resolve was weakened, they would indoctrinate them into the cult. Jacobs would appear, apparently as a sort of comforting figure, and give them a tour of the facility, which set an atmosphere similar to that of a mental institution. In the case of Allie Leighton, they apparently drugged her somehow. It is unknown if they did the same with the other captives, though this is unlikely. Afterwards, they would be shown a propaganda video prepared by Coleman, featuring images of mass destruction ranging from tornadoes to nuclear blasts. In their vulnerable states, the women would have perceived his words as the truth and either stay with them voluntarily or because they felt that they had no other options. The abducted mothers-to-be would then pass the same apocalyptic beliefs onto their children, who were born during their captivity. When he tried to kill Reid and JJ, Coleman sealed them in an airtight room lined with bomb-resistant glass and tried to suffocate them. In the case of Roberta Childs, she eventually committed suicide by unknown means several years after her abduction.

Profile

The unsub is abducting women based on the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic clock that indicates how close the world is to total destruction. Midnight on the clock represents a hypothetical global catastrophe, such as a nuclear war, and the number of minutes to midnight stands for how soon it can happen. Since a group of atomic scientists created the clock, the minute hand has been reset many times, a total of twenty-two. For the last five years, the clock has been subtlety ticking down and it was last set at two and a half minutes to midnight, which is consistent with the time the latest victim, Paige Burrell, was abducted: 11:57:30. The unsub's obsession with the clock is so great, he took the time to wait until that exact moment before taking her and the fact that he abducted a pediatrician means that the missing teenagers and their children are still alive. The times of the other abductions coincide with the times set on the clock in the past five years. This means the abductions are most likely the work of a doomsday cult.

The concept of preparing for the end is moving from the fringes of society into mainstream culture. They call themselves 'preppers' and their aim is to maintain a certain standard of living for themselves and other while riding out the apocalypse, whether it be nuclear or civil unrest. The victims are part of the unsub's prep to repopulate a new civilization in a post-apocalyptic world and the trigger was the clock starting to tick down five years ago was the trigger. The suicide of Dr. Childs, a long-term captive, could cause descent among the rest of the group. Given this plus the proximity to midnight and the pressure from the investigation, the unsub may decide it is time to sever all ties to the outside world. It is vital that the unsub is found before this happens.

Real-Life Comparison

Coleman appears to be primarily inspired by Gary Heidnik - Both are serial kidnappers who resembled each other in appearance, abducted underage and adult female victims, held them all captive together in underground locations, targeted the victims for pregnancy, akilled at least one victim as a consequence of the captivity (Coleman pushed one captive victim to suicide, Heidnik killed two victims, one from torture and the other from bacterial infection), and the victims were reacued when at least one of them made an attempt at escape.

Coleman also appears to be inspired by Ariel Castro - Both are serial abductors who snatched multiple underage female victims over a prolonged timeline, held them captive simultaneously and in separate rooms, at least some or the victims were pregnant, their children were held captive with them once they were born, and the victims were rescued and the abductors arrested once they made an attempt to escape.

Known Victims

Note: The dates denote when and where the victims were abducted.

• Virginia:
  • 2012:
    • October 16, Richmond: Chrissy Miller (a drug addict; abducted, held captive and brainwashed; was pregnant at the time of her abduction; was rescued in Culpeper, Virginia in 2017)
    • October 19, Richmond: Kylie Pritchard (a runaway; abducted, held captive and brainwashed; was also pregnant at the time of her abduction; was rescued in Culpeper, Virginia in 2017)
    • October 21, Richmond: Dr. Roberta Childs (an obstetrician; abducted from a parking garage, held captive and brainwashed; attempted suicide twice in her captivity, but failed; successfully commited suicide in 2017)
  • Unspecified dates between 2012 and 2017:
    • Four unnamed women (all abducted from unspecified locations, held captive and brainwashed; were presumably pregnant at the time of their abductions; all were rescued in Culpeper in 2017)
    • Culpeper: Their four unnamed children (all held captive from birth; all were rescued in 2017)
  • 2013:
    • April, Culpeper: Kylie's unnamed child (held captive from birth; was rescued in 2017)
    • May, Culpeper: Joe Miller (Chrissy's son; held captive from birth; was also rescued in 2017)
    • Unspecified date, Richmond: Diane Pearl (a schoolteacher; abducted from her home, held captive and brainwashed; was rescued in Culpeper in 2017)
  • Unspecified date in 2015: Elise Waterston (a dentist; abducted from her office, held captive and brainwashed; was rescued in Culpeper in 2017)
  • December 2016(?)-January 2017: Mia (surname unrevealed; abducted from an unspecified location, held captive and brainwashed; was pregnant at the time of her abduction; was rescued in Culpeper in 2017)
  • 2017:
    • Late July-to-early August, Culpeper: Mia's unnamed daughter (held captive from birth; was rescued on October 27)
    • Early September, unspecified location: Lacey (surname unrevealed; abducted, held captive and brainwashed; was pregnant at the time of her abduction; was rescued a month later in Culpeper)
    • October 25, Richmond: Allie Leighton (a chef; also abducted from a parking garage, held captive and apparently drugged; was rescued two days later in Culpeper)
    • October 26-27, Richmond: Dr. Paige Burrell (a pediatrition; abducted from a store parking lot, held captive; was rescued in Culpeper)
    • October 27, Culpeper: Spencer Reid and Jennifer Jareau (attempted; sealed them in a room and tried to suffocate them)

Appearances

• Season Thirteen
  • "The Bunker"