George Foyet, nicknamed "The Reaper", was a prolific serial killer that Hotch had once hunted ten years ago in Boston. He reappears on the BAU's radar in the Season four episode Omnivore.
Background
The Reaper murders first occured in Boston ten years earlier. Hotch's mentor, Tom Shaunessy, a former BAU Senior SSA, had chased the killer for years, unable to catch him. One night Tom receives a written contract from The Reaper stating that he would stop hunting "them" if Tom would stop hunting him. The deal is struck and the murders stop. After six weeks, Shaunessy sends Hotchner away, believing that The Reaper is gone for good.
George Foyet comes forward as the sole survivor of The Reaper's killing spree, and begins to live a life undercover, waiting to kill again.
Season Four
The Reaper in full regalia
The Reaper stands over Morgan's unconcious form.
The Reaper confronts Hotch in his home in the season four finale
George is now living as a computer support specialist. With the fast-approaching death of agent Shaunessy, The Reaper rekindles his killing spree. He starts with a couple who are stranded on the roadside with a flat tire. The husband is knocked out with a tire iron, then The Reaper approaches the wife. He holds his .44 Magnum pistol at point blank range to her forehead, but then promises not to shoot her. Instead, he reveals a bladed weapon and cuts her throat. He then returns to the husband, who is regaining conciousness, and shoots him in the head.
Later, posing as a police officer, he stops an older couple and murders them both, leaving behind the watch that belonged to Nina Harvey, one of the previous night's victims. This time, he takes a wedding ring belonging to the man, Arthur Lanessa.
He later speaks with Hotch and Rossi--who are unaware that he is The Reaper--and tells them how he survived the attack ten years earlier. The Reaper had apparently stabbed his girlfriend 67 times.
Later that evening, George calls Hotchner to offer the same deal he offered Shaunessy. Hotch refuses, which angers George. He then boards a bus and kills all six passengers and the driver. He leaves Arthur Lanessa's wedding ring behind. The team then deciphers a cryptic message left on the windows and realizes the numbers that were left correspond with George Foyet's addresses. They race to George's current address. Morgan spots The Reaper and chases after him, but is shot in the shoulder. The Reaper stands above him ready to finish him off, saying "Wake up Derek, it's time to die." But, as Derek is unconscious, The Reaper leaves him.
Later, after finding out Foyet's former aliases, Hotch realizes that Foyet is The Reaper, and the team seeks him out at the home of Ray Colson, the local reporter who detailed the Reaper's original killing spree. He wants to kill Ray because he did not report the correct story as to why the killings stopped. He then attacks Ray, holding a gun to his head, demanding he write the correct story.
Hotch and Rossi then burst in and Foyet is arrested. He would then later escape from custody.
George returns in the season four finale. He had been waiting in Hotch's apartment and sneaks up behind him while Hotch is making a drink. He points his gun at Hotch and says "You should have made the deal." A gunshot is heard as the screen goes black.
Profile
The Reaper is a cunning narcissist, who was able to manipulate the authorities into surrendering. He feels the need for power, and that power was lost with the death of Tom Shaunessy, prompting him to kill again. He is described as a predator and an omnivore. He is disciplined and focused, making it difficult for him to maintain order in his day life. He is attracted to teenage girls, and the BAU reasons that he may be working as an authority figure in a field involving teenagers, possibly a teacher.
When George kills, he does so mercilessly; without an ounce of pity. He also wants his victims to know they are going to die by his hand. For this reason, Derek Morgan survives an attack later in the episode, as he was unconscious at the time.
Serial vs. Spree
George Foyet is a hybrid serial/spree killer. He goes on multiple killing sprees with very short cooling off periods between, then may go into hiding for months or years only to begin again. Unlike a typical spree killer, George has no desire to die himself. But unlike a serial killer, George kills multiple victims at once--usually using firearms. For this reason, it is difficult to classify him in either category. He could be a new "breed" of killer that may be classified later.
Modus Operandi
The Reaper dressed in a black trenchcoat, with a black hooded sweatshirt, a black resin paintball mask and black leather gloves. He spoke with a low, guttural growl, adding to his already fearsome appearance. He usually attacked couples in cars on unpopulated highways at night, approaching them with some kind of ruse, like pretending to be a lost traveller (when he killed the Lanessas, he pretended to be a cop).
George's M.O. would always vary, as would his victimology. His victims were of both sexes and all sorts of ages and races. He would either stab them with a small sickle-like knife, shoot them with a .44 Magnum revolver or bludgeon them with some incidental object, like a tire iron. The only solid victimology he had was that he would always stab his teenage female victims, they younger they were, the more time he would take, since the stabbing was a substitute for sexual penetration. During the massacre on the bus in Omnivore, he used a pair of his usual revolvers to put most of the victims down, then finished them off with his knife.
After the murders, George would take some item from his victims, like a watch, a pair of glasses or a piece of jewelry, and put that item on his next victim, in order to make sure the police would know that he was the killer. He would also paint the Eye of Providence[2] and/or the word "FATE" in his victims' blood. Also, until he killed Amanda Bertram and injured himself, he would call 911 so emergency workers would find his victims. He stopped doing this after they saved him.
Known Victims
- 1995-1998 21 unnamed victims
- 1998 Amanda Bertram, his girlfriend (was stabbed several times)
- 2009 Nina Hale and Evan Harvey (she was stabbed several times, he was bludgeoned, then shot)
- 2009 Arthur and Diane Lanessa (stabbed him in the throat, shot her)
- 2009 7 unnamed victims aboard a bus, including the driver (were put down with guns, then finished off by stabbing)
- 2009 Sgt. Michael O'Mara
- 2009 Derek Morgan (attempted)
- 2009 Roy Colson (attempted)
- 2009 Aaron Hotchner (possibly)
Quotes
George Foyet: Do you have any idea how long it takes to stab someone 67 times?
The Reaper: [to Hotch] You should've made the deal.
The Reaper: Are you scared? You should be.
Appearances
Notes
- ↑ The official CBS website lists George as a Spree Killer, but his M.O. suggests that he is instead a Serial Killer
- ↑ Wikipedia article on the Eye of Providence