Melinda Batson

Melinda Batson is the main villainess from "The Scarlet Letter," episode 2.02 of The Mentalist.

She was played by Fay Masterson.

Melinda Batson is a U.S. Senator who was secretly engaging in an extramarital affair with her female intern, Kristin Marley. When her husband, Elliott, found out about his wife's affair, he made a deal to be publicly rumored as having the affair with Kristin to protect Melinda.

Melinda, however, had suspected that Kristin was seeing someone else, and her suspicions were confirmed when she discovered that her father was sleeping with Kristin. Melinda found out about her father seducing Kristin while following her lover, and in the aftermath, Melinda went to Kristin's apartment and confronted her. During the confrontation, Melinda grabbed one of Kristin's stone bookends and blugeoned her to death with it. After killing Kristin, Melinda phoned her father, who informed Melinda that he knew someone who could "fix" it. Melinda was later arrested for killing Kristin.