Inside the Mind of Jennifer Jareau

-3-

Entry 2 - Monday, November 4, 2019:

A fifth girl was taken. Lindsey Creed. 11 years old. Blond hair, blue eyes, physically fit. Just like the others.

Entry 3 - Monday, November 4, 2019:

There was no evidence that Lindsey knew any of the other victims, but there was one major difference: Lindsey was from a broken home. Her older sister committed suicide 2 years ago. Their parents were drug addicts. Lindsey ran away from home just after her parents died. When police found their bodies this morning, Lindsey was nowhere to be found. Her school reported her missing, prompting the Amber Alert and our notification. She wasn't "perfect" like the other victims. They all had active PTA parents, younger siblings, played sports, got good grades in school. Lindsey didn't have the best parents, she had an older sibling, she didn't play sports, but she got good grades. What made this unsub choose her?

Entry 4 - Monday, November 4, 2019:

To find Lindsey, we needed to look closer at the victimology. We knew there was little overlap in their social lives, but their social class and lifestyles were very similar. Each of the victims were found in a secluded wooded area near a park or bike trail. There was no DNA on the victims are around the bodies. The only thing out of the ordinary found at the crime scene was a strip of fabric. It was pale blue, like a baby blanket.

"Look at this guys," Reid said, "the edges of the fabric are kind of jagged, like it wasn't cut professionally or with a sharp utensil."

"So the person who cut this is an ametur," I said.

"Not necessarily," Spence countered. "I mean, it could be, but it really just means that this guy has a dull pair of scissors."

"So where does that leave us?" Emily asked.

Rossi spoke next. "Well, we profiled this guy as a male in his young to middle twenties. JJ, you said this blanket looks like something Mont would have gotten when he was born. Maybe this is a blanket our unsub got when he was born."

"But why cut it up and give it away?" I asked.

"Maybe he has abandonment issues and deflects them onto his victims. This type of rage is fueled from a long hate, and it definitely could have originated in his childhood. Guys, I think our unsub was abandoned or put up for adoption as a baby."

Hotch quickly called Garcia. "Garcia, we need you to look up adoption records of male babies from 20 to 25 years ago."

"Okay, I am looking now. 1,253, that's a lot of names any way to narrow it down?"

"Look at birth parents who wouldn't have been good parents. Like Lindsey Creed's parents," said Reid.

"That didn't help much. Still 1,102. What else do you got?"

"Baby Girl, try looking at the parents that had another child before or after the adopted child. This guy may feel pushed out of the way by a 'perfect' sibling and that's why he's kidnapping and killing these girls."

While Garcia looked, I wondered "but why the switch to Lindsey? Her family was a complete 180 from the others."

"The unsub probably stalked her and saw an unstable household. Once he realized it was like his birth family, he couldn't resist. He probably feels a connection to her," Hotch reasoned.

"Alright crime fighters. I've narrowed it down to 5 boys. First up we have Carter Johnson... he moved to Rome a year ago according to his social media so it's not him. Shawn Riley, 23, put up for adoption right after he was born, still lives right here in Seattle, and he definitely hates his mom. Next we've got Ramond Harris, but he's African American and you said this guy likely isn't crossing racial lines."

"That's right, Garcia," Derek said.

"Okay, so now we have Lucas Wertt, 21, no, was 21. He died 3 months ago from an overdose. Michael Jerrik, 24, lives right here in Seattle... but, there's nothing on him from before 2015."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Derek Morgan, that there is no trace of this man existing in the world prior to 2015. Like literally nothing. It's like he just fell from the sky. There's no way this adoption paperwork is real."

"Send us what you have, Garica," Hotch directed.

"Already done, Sir."