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| “ | What are you gonna do that she hasn't already ruined? | „ |
| ~ Jeffrey condemning his mother Linda as he is arrested. |
Jeffrey Collins is the main antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "A Family Affair". He is a paraplegic serial killer of prostitutes who manipulates his parents into acting as his accomplices.
He was portrayed by Derek Magyar.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Jeffrey was a star athlete as a teenager, the captain of his high school's football team with ambitions of playing professionally. Those dreams were crushed, however, after he was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident caused by his alcoholic father, Donald, who was drunk at the wheel at the time. Jeffrey is consumed by rage and bitterness over his disability, for which he blames his parents, particularly his mother, Linda, who enabled Donald's drinking and altered the accident report to hide the fact that he was drunk.
While his dreams of playing college football were dashed, however, Jeffrey did manage to get into Georgia State University. He went on a date with classmate Ginger Palmont, who had a record for prostitution, and whom he murdered in a fit of rage after he could not perform sexually with her. He then moved back in to his parents' house, where Donald and Linda started bringing him prostitutes in a misguided effort to lift his depression. This only made him angrier, however, and he started killing the women after having sex with them. After each murder, Donald and Linda disposed of the bodies to protect Jeffrey, who only resented them more for "turning him into a killer".
The only person Jeffrey truly cares about is his physical therapist, Erika Taylor, who treats him like a person rather than a pity case, like everyone else in his life.
"A Family Affair"[]
Jeffrey kills his latest victim, Rebecca Moore, after he is unable to perform sexually with her. His parents once again dispose of the body, and try again to appease their son with another prostitute, Julie Harmon. Jeffrey tries to kill her, but she manages to get away, only for Donald to kill her to keep her from going to the police.
Jeffrey demands another victim, but his parents refuse, and beg him to resume taking his medication, which he had stopped taking shortly before committing his first murder. Jeffrey refuses, saying that the pills "mess [him] up", and later briefly contemplates killing Linda when he sees her slipping pills into his lunch.
Meanwhile, the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) profile the murders as being committed by a two-person team of thrill-killers, with one of the killers being dominant but impotent and the other submissive and remorseful. Eventually, however, the evidence points toward a third suspect who is killing to prevent the other two from being caught, which suggests a loving bond like that of a family. From the bruising on the victims' legs, they determine that the dominant killer uses a wheelchair, while the upper body strength he used in the murders suggests that he is younger than the other two killers; finally, they theorize that they are looking for a disabled killer whose parents are acting as his accomplices because they feel responsible for his condition. BAU technical analyst researches families in the area in which an adult son suffered a spinal cord injury, cross-referenced with the locations of the bodies and dates of the murders, and finds the Collinses.
Donald and Linda invite Erika to have dinner with them and Jeffrey in a last ditch effort to find him a companion. Jeffrey later talks to Erika, who is unnerved by his agitated, predatory behavior and asks him if he has been taking his medication. When he does not answer, she goes to the bathroom to get his pills, but accidentally knocks them over and finds a bloodstained necklace that had belonged to one of Jeffrey's victims. Horrified, Erika tries to run, but Jeffrey and Linda hold her hostage. A guilt-ridden Donald, meanwhile, gets drunk and commits suicide by ramming his car into a telephone pole.
Just as Jeffrey and Linda are about to kill Erika, the BAU charges in and arrests them, while also informing them of Donald's death. Unwilling to let Jeffrey go to prison, Linda puts a gun to his head, intending to "put him out of his misery"; this leaves Supervisory Agent David Rossi no choice but to shoot her dead. He arrests Jeffrey, who is presumably sentenced to life in prison.
Trivia[]
- The Collins appear to be inspired by the historic Kelly Family and ”Bloody Benders” family, two American families of serial killers who’d invite guests for meals before killing them right at the dinner table and burying them on their properties, all in collective, coordinated efforts from each and every one of them.
External Links[]
- Jeffrey Collins on the Criminal Minds Wiki
