Christian Bateman

Evil-doer
Full Name	Christian Bateman
Alias	Orion Rhett Ellis
Origin	Criminal Case: The Conspiracy
Occupation	Venture Capitalist (formerly) Member of Ad Astra CEO of Orion Inc
Powers / Skills	Business Expertise Accounting Skills Wealth Deception High Intelligence Cyrokinesis
Goals	Kill Meera Kat for rejecting his advances (succeeded) Get away with her murder (failed) Take over Grimsborough, along with the other members of Ad Astra. (failed)
Crimes	Murder Assault Bribery Aiding fugitives Conspiracy
Type of Villain	Power-Hungry Psychopath

“	You think I'M crazy? I'm the sanest person in this room! I'm the only one honest enough to face my darkest fantasies!	„
	~ Bateman after he was sentenced to life in prison for killing Meera

Christian Bateman is a major antagonist in Criminal Case: The Conspiracy, the fifth installment of the Criminal Case franchise. He serves as one of the two main antagonists of the Money Mile district (alongside Meera Kat), a supporting antagonist in the Spring Fields district, and a major antagonist in both the Airport and Newmark districts.

He was a venture capitalist operating in the Money Mile district both prior to and after the Grimsborough earthquake. Unknown to most people, he was secretly a psychopath who fantasized torturing women for his pleasure. He would later be arrested for murdering Meera Kat after she cruelly rejected his advances towards her.

Later on in the game, it's revealed he was one of the five members of Ad Astra, who operated under the name of Orion. He would also be released from prison due to "good behavior" and made multiple attempts to interfere in the player's investigations. After taking a serum that granted superhuman powers, he gained the power to manifest and control ice and used it to freeze as many people as he could. Though, he would later be killed by Joe Warren as a mercy killing after the former suffered from intense pain as a side effect of taking the serum.

Biography

Prior to the events of the storyline, he went to University at Grimsborough University, and joined Ad Astra, a secret society dedicated to the concept of superhumans and taking over the world to control "sheeple".

Christian became a venture capitalist living in Money Mile, the city's financial district. He was involved in the murder of lawyer Stella Ziarati after Bateman found Ziarati decomposing and walled up in his penthouse. An earthquake centred on Money Mile revealed the body. He was found innocent after the player arrested socialite Guadalupe del Prado for the murder.

Later, Christian became a suspect in the murder of male stripper Voodoo Vince after it was revealed that Bateman owned a VIP pass to the strip club. Bateman was found innocent again after strip club client Nicolette Butler was arrested for the murder.

Finally, Christian became a suspect yet again, this time for the murder of artist Meera Kat. In the end, he was found guilty of the murder. He admitted he fell in love with Meera, but Meera rejected him. So, Christian knocked Meera out with a wrench, locked her in a cage, and lowered the cage into a lava-filled crevasse, taking pleasure in Meera's pain when she woke up. Bateman was sentenced to life imprisonment, pending psychiatric evaluation.

In prison, Christian's psychiatrists claimed he was "under psychological duress" and was not truly responsible for the murder. He was promptly released from prison, and moved to Spring Fields, the agricultural district of the city.

He was involved in the murder of his own mother, Cora Bateman. After socialite Jacinta Linares was found guilty of the murder, car mechanic Maylin Park came to the police to file a restraining order against Bateman. It was discovered that Bateman tried to hit on Park when he was drunk at a bar, and he mentioned a certain "Plan Supernova."

He was then involved in the murder of Mia Loukas, but was found innocent, following the arrest of hitman Brock Perry.

Later, after talking with the mayor's assistant, Mandy Pregodich, the player discovered that mayor Joe Warren was meeting with Bateman in Bateman's vineyard. The player spied on their conversation and discovered that they were discussing a plan called "Plan Supernova."

Finally, after fellow Ad Astra member Louis Leroux was murdered, Bateman broke out Ad Astra members Rozetta Pierre and Julia Brine, both of which have been arrested for their involvement in Plan Supernova. During the breakout, he attacked prisoner Willie Redfern and locked him in a storage cabinet. Willie revealed that Bateman had cyrokinesis powers and used those powers to attack Redfern.

The members of Ad Astra were finally found in a cave in a forest. However, before the player could capture the members, the Ad Astrans used their superpowers against them and escaped, kidnapping Jake Hayes and his son, Carter.

It was revealed that Christian had bought and owned the getaway van used to kidnap Jake and Carter Hayes. Then, Bateman bribed microbrewer Troy Cassidy to act as an accomplice in the kidnapping. Cassidy was arrested for accepting the bribe.

He was then recorded by botany student Summer Klein, attacking iPear CEO Eoin Cafferey with his superpowers. It was then revealed that Bateman bought a helicopter to escape Grimsborough with the rest of Ad Astra.

It was revealed that the superhuman serum was slowly killing the members of Ad Astra. They started fainting and having fits. The members of Ad Astra refrained from using their powers, but Christian continued using his powers frequently. He started convulsing and becoming incoherent. Still, he insisted on buying the helicopter and making an escape. Mayor Joe Warren and Rozetta Pierre met Bateman at the helipad, only to find Bateman in excruciating pain. Wanting to put Bateman out of his misery, Warren euthanized Bateman by shooting him in the heart with an M99 animal tranquilizer. As euthanasia was not an acceptable defence for murder under US law, Warren was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Trivia

• Christian is most likely based on Patrick Bateman from the 1991 novel American Psycho. Furthermore, his first name may been derived from Christian Bale, who portrayed the character in the 2000 film adaptation of the novel itself.
  • Furthermore, one of his aliases, Rhett Ellis, is based on Bret Easton Ellis, the author of the novel.
• Christian is one of the characters to physically appear in four districts of The Conspiracy.
• Christian is one of the characters to appear as a suspect in six cases.
  • He is also one of the characters to appear as a suspect in two consecutive cases in The Conspiracy.
• Christian is one of the killers who are interrogated once more during the Additional Investigation.
• Christian is one of the characters to become a suspect, killer, and victim.
  • He is also one of the characters to appear as a suspect, quasi-suspect, killer, and victim.
• Christian is one of the characters who animate (or move) during at least one cutscene in the game.