Paula Ashwaldt

Paula Ashwaldt was a villainess from "The Killer in the Crosshairs," episode 6.15 of Bones. She was a discharged military officer turned U.S. Marshal, who later became a conspirator in Jacob Broadsky's plan to kill Heather Taffet (among others).

She was played by Marisa Ramirez.

Paula Ashwaldt was a Federal Marshal, though her backstory revealed that she served in the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2002. She served from 2002-2005, but on April 3, 2005, Paula was injured in combat in Afghanistan, and was one of 12 people saved by sniper Jacob Broadsky during the raid. Paula received the Purple Heart and an Honorable Discharge, and she began her stint with the Federal Marshals in 2005.

At some point in 2010, Paula turned heel and aligned with Broadsky in a plan to kill Heather Taffet, the notorious abductor/serial killer known as "The Grave Digger." The villainous conspirator gave Broadsky access to her computer, which had classified info on Taffet as well as a counterfeiter named Walter Coolidge, though Paula's actions would result in Broadsky killing an innocent woman named Tracy Leveque, as Broadsky stabbed Tracy to death for access to her apartment, where he fired the shot that killed Taffet in the episode, "The Bullet in the Brain."

Broadsky killed Coolidge in the beginning of the episode's events, and the investigation established Broadsky as a vigilante who was killing bad people, though Tracy was considered "collateral damage" to the sniper. Seeley Booth's investigation led to Paula, who he confronted as she was leaving her office. The villainess attempted to brush off Booth and refuse to answer questions regarding Broadsky, but following Booth's pleas and assessment that Paula's actions were committed as a result of her gratitude to Broadsky, Paula admitted to giving Broadsky info on Taffet, who she referred to as a monster. In addition, Paula stated that Broadsky told her that no one else would get hurt, and she expressed shock when Booth informed her that Broadsky had killed Tracy and Coolidge.

After also admitting to allowing Broadsky acces to her computer, Paula pleaded with Booth to give her time to "do the right thing" before she turns herself in, and promised to call Booth if she found anything. However, as Booth found out later in the episode, the evil Paula committed suicide; whether it was out of guilt over her heel persona or to avoid prison remained unknown.