History Characters / MindhunterInterviewSubjects

%%* BadWriting
%%* BlatantLies

* {{Dissimile}}: Holden says that everything comes around in Hance's story, meaning back to his claimed vigilante group "The Forces of Evil". Hance smiles and adds, "like a doughnout".
%%* FromCamouflageToCriminal

%%* NiceJobFixingItVillain
%%* SayingTooMuch
%%* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial
%%* TokenMinority
%%* TooDumbToLive

[[folder:Henley]]
!!Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr.
->'''Portrayed By:''' Robert Aramayo

The former accomplice of serial killer Dean Corll. He ended Corll's crimes by shooting him in 1973.

* BerserkButton: He reacts ''very'' angrily to any insinuation that he's homosexual.
* DoNotCallMePaul: He becomes enraged when Wendy and Gregg try to call him by his first name, shouting that they will only address him as Mr. Henley. This is likely due to the negative association between the name and his father, who is implied to have been abusive.

!!Suspected Serial Killers

[[folder:Bateson]]
!!Paul Bateson
->'''Portrayed By:''' Morgan Kelly

A criminal believed to have preyed on gay men.

* AmbiguousSituation: Like in real life, he was only convicted for the death of one man and the suspicion for his supposed other killings arose from his own bragging which he then recanted. It's unclear if he's actually the killer or just harbors dark, violent fantasies.
* ManipulativeBastard: He plays Wendy like a fiddle, happily talking about himself but ending the conversation the moment he gets irritated.

* SayingTooMuch: When asked if he murdered "the housekeeper", he says he didn't murder ''Virginia''. He also says ominously that some "shop-bitch" called him moron [[DeadlyEuphemism once]]. Right after denying murdering any women.

A serial killer who is believed to have murdered four women from 1977 to 1978, and was convicted of three of them.

* ComplexityAddiction: He devised an extremely confusing scheme to throw the police off his trail, which eventually backfired when he got caught. Given what he says about the Stocking Strangler being active at the time (and given that the Strangler was identified as another black man), he might have gotten away with it if it weren't for the aforementioned scheme.
* InsaneTrollLogic: The way in which he tried to divert the police from his crimes is so roundabout and ridiculous (i.e., sending letters claiming to be a vigilante group of seven white men holding his already-murdered victim hostage and ''telling the police where another one of his victims' bodies was)'' that Holden and Jim can't make any sense of it and give up on him.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindhunter_berkowitz_7.png]]

* RedBaron: Known as the "Son of Sam", the name he claimed in his taunting letters.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindhunter_kemper.jpg]]

A serial killer who killed nine people between 1970 and 1971.

* BlatantLies: He claims to know seven languages, then proceeds to demonstrate that he clearly does not.
* DelusionsOfEloquence: He fancies himself a CunningLinguist, claiming to fluent in seven languages, and constantly peppering his speech with exotic words (or at least words he himself believes are exotic), but it quickly becomes rather clear that he has really no idea what some of these words means, or even how to properly pronounce them:

* JerkassHasAPoint: He claims that he wrongfully confessed, and Holden says that's not how it works -- at least in the eyes of the law. Present day viewers, especially those versed in True Crime, know that in the American legal system there is a very real problem with investigators getting coerced confessions and with people giving guilty pleas for the guaranteed lighter sentence because they can't afford good lawyers and don't want to risk the harsher sentences that often come with pleading innocent and being found guilty.
* {{Malaproper}}: Is prone to these.
* SweetTooth: Jim Barney gets him to talk by offering him Mallomars, and Holden later sees a picture of Pierce with sweets all over his cell.

%%* CompensatingForSomething

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/son_of_sam.png]]

A disorganized killer who shot eight couples in New York City between 1976 and 1977. His recent arrest spurs Holden's interest in researching the motives of killers.

* AxCrazy: He claims to have carried the murders on behalf of a dog, and everyone is at a loss to find a motive.

* TheGhost: The team can't interview him while his trial is underway, but they fully intend to in the future. They finally do in season 2.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Yet some others believe that he did it for the wealth and notoriety, leading to the passing of a law that bans criminals from profiting off their crimes. Holden also manages to make him fess up his true motive for his murders by playing on this; when he implies to Berkowitz that people will just remember him as some madman who took orders to kill from a dog, the resulting look on Berkowitz's face betrays the fact that the idea ''really'' wounds his pride, and after some hesitation he admits that he made the part about hearing voices up to make his killings appear more interesting.

%%* HolierThanThou

%%* IJustWantToBeSpecial[=/=]ItsAllAboutMe

%%* LogicalFallacies

%%* SayingTooMuch

%%* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill
%%* UndyingLoyalty
%%* WouldHitAGirl

[[caption-width-right:350:''"It didn't seem crazy at the time, the idea of takin' her. But I kept hearing Charlie's voice, "Kill 'em all." He told me over and over again, "Make sure everyone's dead." I did what Charlie told me."'']]

* SeriousBusiness: Either this or Hypocritical Humor. When asked about the Tate murders, he claims he didn't go to the house at the time because he'd break his parole conditions.

* TheBrute[=/=]GiantMook: Tex was easily the most physically intimidating member of the Manson family, hence why he spearheaded the murders. Charles Manson himself is a little man, and the other members were all young women. He has to bow down to talk to Holden.

%%* NeverMyFault
%%* NotSoDifferent

* DragonWithAnAgenda[=/=]TheStarscream: What Manson implies he was, and Wendy supports through her theory that the murders were precipitated by Manson's need to reign in Watson and Susan Atkins because they were on the verge of rebellion.
* GiantMook: Tex was easily the most physically intimidating member of the Manson family, hence why he spearheaded the murders. Charles Manson himself is a little man, and the other members were all young women. He has to bow down to talk to Holden.

%%* HopeSpot

%%* OldShame

%%* OneSteveLimit

%%* TakeMeInstead

* ConMan: Murders aside, he stole his entire religious discourse from another man and used it to gain free room, board (and most likely [[HookersAndBlow sex and drugs]]) from duping some hippies. It went well until [[GoneHorriblyRight they decided to speed the prophesized end of times themselves]].

* GoneHorriblyWrong: His cult, if you believe it was only a con operation and he never believed a thing of what he preached. His followers went from patiently waiting for the [[ApocalypseHow Apocalypse]] to actively trying to engineer then, resulting in a lot of grievous murders and their capture.

* BigBadWannabe: Kemper says that he lies constantly about having committed the Tate-[=LaBianca=] murders (the same he denies vehemently in front of law enforcers), and he steals

* TheOldCon: He knows everything about life in jail because he has been imprisoned in some institution or another for most of it. Starting when he was ''eight''.

%%* StarvingArtist
%%* UndyingLoyalty
%%* WoundedGazelleGambit
%%* XanatosGambit

A former follower of Charles Manson who participated in both the Tate and [=LaBianca=] murders.

* AffablyEvil: In spite of the terrible things he's done, he's polite and forthcoming with Holden, talking candidly about Charlie Manson's manipulative tactics.
%%* TheAtoner
%%* BrainwashedAndCrazy
%%* DefectorFromDecadence
%%* DragonWithAnAgenda[=/=]TheStarscream
* GiantMook: Tex was easily the most physically intimidating member of the Manson family, hence why he spearheaded the murders. Charles Manson himself is a little man, and the other members were all young women.
* HeelFaithTurn: He certainly likes to believe that he has undergone this by becoming a born-again-Christian during his time in jail. Wendy is not so convinced, saying that he has merely replaced his worship of Mason with worship of God in attempt to cope with his guilt and distance himself from his own part in it all.

* TheOneGuy: He was the only male among Manson's followers.

%%* GiantMook

%%* TheOneGuy

%%* WouldHurtAChild

* DelusionsOfEloquence: He fancies himself a CunningLinguist, claiming to fluent in seven languages, and constantly peppering his speech with exotic words (or at least words he himself believes are exotic), but it quickly becomes rather clear that he has really no idea what some of these words means, or even how to probably pronounce them:

%%* IceCreamKoans
%%* JerkassHasAPoint
%%* KneelBeforeZod

%%* MadArtist
%%* ManipulativeBastard

%%* ObfuscatingInsanity

%%* TheOldCon
%%* SeriousBusiness
%%* ShroudedInMyth
%%* StartOfDarkness

A former follower of Charles Manson who participated in both the Tate and LaBianca murders.

%%* EvilGenius

%%* GoneHorriblyRight
%%* HiddenDepths

%%* DisasterDominoes

* TheGhost: An ominous and often referenced presence through the first season, but he never makes it in the flesh. He appears in an episode of Season 2.

* TheNapoleon: Kemper warns the agents not to stare at how short he is, and he perches on the chair back to look down at them.[[note]]The real Manson was variously measured from five-foot-two to five-foot-six.[[/note]]

* {{Cult}}: He led a serial-killing one.

* TheDreaded: By 1977, he has already acquired mythical status; it is nearly impossible to see him in prison.

[[folder:Berkowitz]]
!!David Berkowitz
->'''Portrayed By:''' Oliver Cooper
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/son_of_sam.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"You go out every night, but... maybe once every few weeks, you find the right girl in the right place, at the right time. I never knew what I was looking for, but I knew her when I saw her."'']]

A disorganized killer who shot eight couples in New York City between 1976 and 1977. His recent arrest spurs Holden's interest in researching the motives of killers.

* AffablyEvil: He's surprisingly forthcoming about his murders and methods with Holden and Bill, helping them to understand BTK.
* AttentionWhore: He was outraged when his murders were initially reported as simple sex crimes, and created the Son of Sam persona to gain control over his image.
* AxCrazy: He claims to have carried the murders on behalf of a dog, and everyone is at a loss to find a motive.
* TheDreaded: His arrest is the big news story at the time of the series debut. Upon interviewing him, Tench notes that he held an entire city in terror in a way no other killer in history achieved.
* TheGhost: The team can't interview him while his trial is underway, but they fully intend to in the future. They finally do in season 2.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Yet some others believe that he did it for the wealth and notoriety, leading to the passing of a law that bans criminals from profiting off their crimes. Holden also manages to make him fess up his true motive for his murders by playing on this; when he implies to Berkowitz that people will just remember him as some madman who took orders to kill from a dog, the resulting look on Berkowitz's face betrays the fact that the idea ''really'' wounds his pride, and after some hesitation he admits that he made the part about hearing voices up to make his killings appear more interesting.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: After a bit of prodding by Holden, he admits the entire story about demons was made up.[[note]]The real Berkowitz did recant the story, but still later replaced it with another fanciful story that he’s actually the only member of a Satanic cult to get caught, which he continues to maintain.[[/note]]
* RedBaron: Known as the "Son of Sam", the name he claimed in his taunting letters.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Manson]]
!!Charles Manson
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/DamonHerriman
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindhunter_manson.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Well, you don't see it, but the only truth is now. Now is the only thing that's real."'']]

The leader of a cult responsible for ten killings in California in 1969.
----

[[folder:Kemper]]
!!Edmund "Ed" Kemper
->'''Portrayed By:''' Cameron Britton
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindhunter_kemper.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The only way I could have those girls was to kill them, and it worked. They became my spirit wives. They're still with me."'']]
A very organized serial rapist and killer who murdered eight women including his mother in Santa Cruz, California between 1972 and 1973, and also his grandparents in 1964.

[[folder:Speck]]
!!Richard Speck
->'''Portrayed By:''' Jack Erdie
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindhunter_speck.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Fuck you, peckerhead! - You know why those cunts died? Because it just wasn't their fucking night."'']]

A spree killer who murdered eight student nurses in a Chicago dorm room in 1966.

* BadLiar: He'll just shout the first bullshit he can come up with if he doesn't want to admit something. When his suicide attempt is brought up, he claims that he got those very obvious slash marks on his wrist from a fight with some unknown man he then killed but which wasn't reported.
* BerserkButton: His failed suicide, and apparently, women crying. Either one makes him become violently defensive and angry.
* CommonalityConnection: Holden tries to connect with him by calling the victims "eight ripe cunts." It backfires on an epic scale and causes problems for both him and the unit. For Speck's part, his reaction is the only time he displays anything other than bitterness or fury: he actually *laughs*, and looks a little shocked by Holden's language.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: He didn't even keep track of how many women were in the house, as a result he left one alive. The kicker? It was [[FailedASpotCheck the one woman who opened the door]] when he knocked.
* DisasterDominoes: The atack in the dorm room. He robs and rapes one girl, then another girl comes home, so he kills her. The girls kept coming home, and he kept killing them. In his own words, "they just kept coming".
* TheDreaded: Even his "deeds" are exaggerated by the public to make him look scarier.
* DrivenToSuicide: After the multiple murder, he slashed his wrists in a motel, but he was found before he died. Now he adamantly denies that it was a suicide attempt and claims that they were injuries from fighting some guy.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When he's introduced, Speck is having his cell tossed, ranting and raving with a string of non-sensicial expletivies. He keeps this demeanour up.
* HairTriggerTemper: Why he really killed those women. It doesn't take him long to show it off during the interview.
* HellholePrison: Kept in a dark, overcrowded prison where alcohol and drugs are almost freely traded. The place looks like it's about to fall apart.
* HollywoodHistory: In-universe. He is said to have systematically tortured and raped eight women ForTheEvulz. The reality is that he got inside to rob the place, and then the victims just kept coming. He still didn't intend to do anything with them, but then he raped one. Her crying made him lose it and kill her, so he felt he had to kill all the others too.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's the least personable of all the killers interviewed. Kemper was polite and accommodating, Brudos was chummy in an AffablyEvil way and Rissell wasn't anywhere near as volatile as Speck.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Speck raises an official complaint against Holden for "fucking with his mind". From a certain point of view, this is exactly what Holden is doing.
* MoralityPet: He has a pet bird he fed while it healed a broken wing. But the trope is subverted when he [[KickTheDog kills it]] in front of the FBI agents during a fit of rage.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Throughout his conversation with Holden and Bill, Speck displays his homophobia, racism, and sexism.
* SirSwearsALot: A more raging, spontaneous example than Rissell.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pierce]]
!!William Pierce, Jr.
-> '''Portrayed By:''' Michael Filipowich
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pierce_3.png]]

A serial killer who killed nine people between 1970 and 1971.
----

[[folder:Watson]]
!!Charles "Tex" Watson
-> '''Portrayed By:''' Christopher Backus

A former follower of Charles Manson who participated in both the Tate and LaBianca murders.

* AffablyEvil: In spite of the terrible things he's done, he's polite and forthcoming with Holden, talking candidly about Charlie Manson's manipulative tactics.
* HeelFaithTurn: He certainly likes to believe that he has undergone this by becoming a born-again-Christian during his time in jail. Wendy is not so convinced, saying that he has merely replaced his worship of Mason with worship of God in attempt to cope with his guilt and distance himself from his own part in it all.

[[folder:Hance]]
!!William Henry Hance
->'''Portrayed By:''' Corey Allen

A serial killer who is believed to have murdered four women from 1977 to 1978, and was convicted of three of them.
----
* ComplexityAddiction: He devised an extremely confusing scheme to throw the police off his trail, which eventually backfired when he got caught. Given what he says about the Stocking Strangler being active at the time (and given that the Strangler was identified as another black man), he might have gotten away with it if it weren't for the aforementioned scheme.
* InsaneTrollLogic: The way in which he tried to divert the police from his crimes is so roundabout and ridiculous (i.e., sending letters claiming to be a vigilante group of seven white men holding his already-murdered victim hostage and ''telling the police where another one of his victims' bodies was)'' that Holden and Jim can't make any sense of it and give up on him.
[[/folder]]

* TheGhost: The team can't interview him while his trial is underway, but they fully intend to in the future.

Interview Subjects

!Interview Subjects