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Bill Thomas is the main antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode “Coda”. Thomas is the kidnapper of the parents of Sammy Sparks, a child with autism, the only witness to the crime, which puts the family in jeopardy from Thomas’ desperation.
He’s portrayed by Lew Temple.
Biography[]
A fisherman and deliveryman, Thomas’ earnings massively declined after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Needing to foreclose his home and default his boat loan even for electricity, his wife filed for divorce and sole custody of their sons. Panicked, Thomas remembered Charlie and Alison Sparks from his delivery route, and in February 2011, he held the couple at gunpoint on the doorstep of their house while Sammy stayed unresponsive except for playing the piano. When Charlie makes a motion to stop Thomas, Thomas shoots Charlie in his stomach and refuses medical treatment, kidnapping the couple and leaving Sammy speechless and still at the piano, stained with Charlie’s blood.
Cuffing Charlie in his boat while he bleeds out, Thomas forces Alison to make money withdrawals, hoping to amount to 40 grand to pay all his bills and look like a fit father to family court. Sammy instinctively walks to school, still bloody and in shock, and the police, realizing the situation, request the Behavioral Analysis Unit to assist them in questioning Sammy. Agent Spencer Reid, a prodigy in his own right, does his best to connect with the young savant for answers. Alison struggles to get the full 40 grand, only able to withdrawal 10 grand and cash a check for 25 grand. When the two return to the boat, Alison is horrified to find Charlie died, Alison wailing in devastation and Thomas himself speechless from the consequences of his crimes.
Alison continuously shouts at Thomas over his guilt, but he just keeps pacing around the boat, trying to withhold a hair-trigger predisposition to reckless reaction. Mentioning his sons, Thomas is appealed to by Alison mentioning her son, but Thomas is beyond reason when even contemplating killing Alison to dispose of a witness when she tries to fight back and escape. However, Sammy’s drawings of his surroundings, which Reid realizes when the patterns even come from small details, like the patterns on Reid’s socks, give the missing details to match with the profile, which lead to Thomas’ identification. When law enforcement surrounds the boat, Thomas gives into defeat, but refuses to surrender. He gives his gun to Alison, ordering her to shoot him so his life insurance goes to his family. When she refuses, he pains her with the reminder she’ll be without her husband and raise her son alone. Alison finally snaps and fires, killing Thomas instantly. She’s rescued in tears and emotionally reunites with Sammy.
Trivia[]
- Thomas is inspired by multiple real-life and fictional killers:
- Thomas Knight, an American serial killer first imprisoned for murder after kidnapping a couple, forcing a bank account withdrawal from them to rob them, and shot them both once police were closing in.
- William Foster, the main antagonist of Falling Down, a spreeing violent offender motivated by an emotional breakdown over the loss of his job and his wife’s divorce taking his daughter from him. Foster similarly goaded the policeman who stopped him in a standoff to shoot him, believing his family would get his life insurance, pretending to draw a gun from his pocket.