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It's a boy.
Robert as he takes Carol's newborn son

Robert Reimann is an ephebophilic serial killer, serial rapist, abductor, and the dominant partner of a husband-and-wife killing team that appears in the Season Five episode of Criminal Minds, "Cradle to Grave".

Background[]

Little is known about Robert's early life, other than he lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and had a history of sexual abuse. He eventually met Linda, who submitted to his torture and whom he later married. Eight months after getting pregnant with his son, the child died while she was still carrying him, forcing her to give birth to him anyway on October 2, 2004. In spite of the baby's death, they named him Michael anyway. Later that month, the Reimanns began renovating their basement, turning it into a dungeon, and started abducting teenage runaway girls, starting with Monica Winmar. Robert would impregnate the victims and hold them captive for years until they gave birth to a healthy child in an attempt to recreate his and Linda's lost child. If the victims gave birth to a girl, the baby would be placed outside churches in order for them to be adopted by the state and the mothers were killed shortly thereafter. However, if the victims gave birth to a boy and it died, the victims were kept alive so they can deliver another baby. Once they received a healthy baby boy, they kept it, called it Michael, and kept the victim, starting the cycle of impregnation with the same victim again.

Cradle to Grave[]

Kristie Taylor, the third victim, who was abducted three years prior, had several miscarriages until finally successfully giving birth to a daughter. Since she could not provide him and Linda a son, Robert kills her and dumps her body near a highway. The BAU is called in after her body is found and local police connect the pattern to two other victims. After a long and tiresome investigation, they are able to track down Robert and Linda, who at the time has fourth stage breast cancer, and arrest them both, rescuing four hostages in the process.

Modus Operandi[]

See section on The Reimanns' page

Profile[]

See section on The Reimanns' page

Real-Life Comparisons[]

Robert appears to have been based on Josef Fritzl (who was mentioned in the episode) - Both are serial rapists who were married, had histories of sexual abuse (though Reimann's isn't further specified), had at least one child with their wives who was the fixation for their later crimes (Fritzl raped his captive daughter for many years, while the Reimann's son was a stillborn), held their female captives (temporarily bound) in dungeons they made in their homes, they raped them repeatedly and subsequently fathered children with them (including a daughter named Lisa and a son named Michael), their wives raised these children outside the dungeons as non-captives (though this was unbeknownst to Fritzl's wife in his case), and their crimes went undetected for years before they were finally apprehended in the mid 2000s.

He may have also been based on Gary Heidnik (who was also mentioned) - Both were ephebophilic serial rapists and abductors who began their crimes after a family member died (Heidnik's mother committed suicide, while Reimann's wife miscarried), sexually abused their wives, targeted women (at least some of whom were either teenaged or lived high-risk lifestyles), kept them captive in modified dungeons in their basements, raped them, at least one of their captives miscarried their child (though this was an abortion prior to her abduction in Heidnik's case), and had at least one of their captives help with their crimes in some way (Reimann had some of his act as either nurses or midwives, while one of Heidnik's succumbed to Stockholm syndrome and began helping him torture the others and tell him of their escape attempts). Also, the way the BAU profiled Linda as possibly being a nurse may be a slight nod to Heidnik actually being one.

Robert is partially similar to John Jamelske - Both were ephebophilic serial rapists and abductors whose wives died from illnesses (though Jamelske's died prior to his crimes), had a young son who also died (a stillborn in Reimann's case), created make-shift dungeons in their homes, targeted women (at least some of whom were teenaged runaways), held them captive in their dungeons for prolonged periods of time, and raped them before eventually releasing them (though Reimann only did this after killing his victims, wherein Jamelske never killed any).

Although his crimes didn't come to light until years after the episode aired, the Reimanns (Robert in particular) are very similar to Ariel Castro - Both were abductors and serial rapists who had wives (who they abused) with terminal conditions (Reimann's had cancer, Castro's had a brain tumor), they had at least one child with their wives, and fortified their homes prior to their abductions. They targeted teenage girls (though one of Castro's was a woman he mistook for one), abducted and imprisoned them in their modified basements, raped and impregnated their captives (and even made efforts to ensure they would have healthy deliveries), one captive miscarried several times and another gave birth to a girl (with the other captives assisting in the birth), they raised these children as their own, attempted to strangle one of their captives, their crimes went unsolved for years, and the BAU was consulted to investigate them. Also, Castro's initial desire to abandon the daughter he conceived with one of his captives at a church is vaguely similar to the Reimann's habit of actually doing this.

Known Victims[]

The dates denote when and where the victims were abducted or attacked

  • Unspecified date(s) and location(s): Some unspecified prior sex crime(s)
  • Unspecified year-2004, Phoenix, Arizona: Linda Reimann (his wife; abused and presumably raped)
  • New Mexico:
    • October 2004, Lovington: Monica Winmar (abducted and raped repeatedly; fathered a son and a daughter with her; killed on March 24, 2006)
    • July 2005, unspecified location: Janeen Atterman (abducted and raped repeatedly; killed on April 1, 2008)
    • December 2006, Farmington: Kristie Taylor (abducted and raped repeatedly; killed on October 19, 2009, shortly after giving birth to a girl)
    • March 2008, unspecified location: Carol (abducted and raped repeatedly; was rescued on October 21, 2009, shortly after giving birth to a boy)
    • October 20, 2009, Albuquerque: Julie (non-fatally suffocated with a plastic bag and abducted, but not raped; was rescued the next day alongside Carol)

Notes[]

  • Robert appears to have been based on at least two unsubs from the show's past:
    • Season Three
      • Francis Goehring ("Identity") - Both were serial killers, rapists, and abductors who were also sexual sadists, were dominant members of a killing team, both also raped their wives, and targeted women who they would abduct, rape, and eventually kill.
      • Robert Wilkinson ("Birthright") - Both were serial killers, rapists, and abductors who were also sexual sadists who shared the same victimology (Caucasian female runaways in their mid to late-teens), raped and held their victims captive for long periods of time before killing them, had one victim that they raped, which led to that victim being impregnated and giving birth to a baby boy, and had stressors that involved their wives and their pregnancies (Reimann's wife miscarried during childbirth, while Charlie's wife left him after learning she was pregnant).
  • Starting in 2013, following the discovery of Ariel Castro's captives, it has been noted that Robert's case is much more closer in detail to that case than those of Jamelske and Heidnik. Like Castro, Robert abducted and held a certain number of victims captive in the basement of a home, impregnated one of them, forced the other victim(s) to assist in the childbirth, and raised the children afterwards as captives themselves.

Appearances[]

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