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| “ | Maxie! Boy, am I happy to hear from you. I am taking heavy fire. Request immediate extraction. | „ |
| ~ Woodridge to former comrade Max Weston during one of his PTSD episodes. |
Roy Woodridge is the main antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "Distress". Woodridge is a military veteran who goes on a killing from a psychotic episode after flashing back to wartime.
He's portrayed by Holt McCallany, who also portrayed Walter Innes in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Biography[]
Woodridge worked in Special Forces during his military service, being stationed in Somalia in the 90s to escort a UN vehicle to refugees during wartime. The vehicle was attacked in Mogadishu, and Woodridge and his comrade Max Weston narrowly escaped to take shelter in empty construction. On the night of October 3 in '93, Weston woke up with the barrel of an assault rifle in his face, so Woodridge came to his rescue and snapped the neck of the gunman on instinct. Only after did Woodridge see the boy was only twelve, which would haunt him for the rest of his life out of horror and guilt. Woodridge and Weston repaired a radio two days later, putting an S.O.S. out to Black Hawks who rescued them. Woodridge came back home to Houston, Texas, with his wife Dana and found in security consultation. He was obviously post-traumatic, hating loud noises, crowds, and burning smells that sickened him on reaction, as well as having debilitating nightmares. He never confined in Dana, and even Weston was rebuffed when he told Woodridge to seek a professional for his declining mental health.
Shortly before Valentine's Day in 2007, Woodridge took a detour off the freeway and was changing a flat tire at the Fifth Ward, when a nearby building collapse resulted in all his traumas flashing back. Woodridge rushed for cover and started hiding and scavenging in the abandoned area, loud noises from nearby construction and otherwise resulting in him flashing back to killing the preteen who nearly shot him. In the four days following, Woodridge had violent episodes leading to him fatally breaking the necks of four men, consisting of a homeless man, two construction workers, and a security guard whose gun Woodridge stole. He set up flag signals in the interest of calling for help based on his training, as well as stole a communications radio before hiding behind a pipe supply store. The owner, Edward Ramos, tries to get Woodridge to leave, tapping a dumpster with a wooden plank, assuming Woodridge is homeless. Woodridge misinterprets this as an attack and is a split second from killing Ramos, until his daughter Maria screams for him seeing him attacked. Woodridge, after punching Ramos out, has a moment of conscience and carefully asks Maria what's wrong, before Ramos grabs his daughter and runs back inside, again setting Woodridge off.
The BAU have successfully figured out who he his from his combat training and PTSD, among his other profile characteristics, which horrifies Dana from her own disbelief. As Weston knows Woodridge is post-traumatic, he gets on the radio when Woodridge calls him and tells him to stay put so help can arrive. Construction is paused, and helicopters are flown over the area so Woodridge can see them for a sense of safety. Weston arrives with the police, and Woodridge is glad to see all the signs he's being recovered from his breakdowns. But when a jackhammer starts, he sees a child on a bike, then a sniper on a rooftop, believing the child to be in danger and the sniper an enemy combatant. Woodridge rushes to the child to protect them, only for the sniper to shoot him once in his back. As he lays bleeding, he asks if the child is safe, which is all the peace he needs just before he dies. Dana and Weston are heartbroken to hear what happened once the agents tell them.
Trivia[]
- Woodridge is inspired by multiple real-life criminals:
- Anthony Howard Brennan, a Vietnam War veteran responsible for the murder of Kyle Dinkheller in an episode of PTSD when the late deputy pulled him over for speeding. Dinkheller recorded their gunfight on a dash camera, which is now used in police training.
- Mark Essex, a.k.a. "The New Orleans Sniper", a military veteran and extremist responsible for a killing spree that ultimately ended in his death.
- Joseph Danks, a.k.a. "The Koreatown Slasher", a serial killer with severe schizophrenia responsible for several violent murders of homeless people in the same Los Angeles neighborhood.
- John Rambo, the main protagonist of the book First Blood and the Rambo film franchise, a traumatized Vietnam War veteran triggered by torture by dirty cops into flashbacks of his experiences of facing war and child soldiers, later engaging countless law enforcement divisions in a massive manhunt.
