Herman Kotchman

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Criminal Minds Wiki

*"They had at least a week before they died of thirst. I'm innocent. If they died, it was because they decided not to free themselves."*

- Herman Kotchman's confession

**Herman Kotchman**, also known as **"The Premature Burialist"**, is a referenced antagonist in the "Criminal Minds" novel *Killer Profile*. Kotchman is an imprisoned, sadistic serial killer of gay men in the "bear" population out of years of brutality and trauma from his stepfather.

## Background

Kotchman was born sometime in 1948 on a secluded rural farm in California, where he and his brother were abused physically and sexually by their stepfather. The boys' alcoholic mother was aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it, believing that as long as her husband was preoccupied with the children, he would leave her alone. One night, the stepfather murdered Kotchman's brother when he tried to run away, and the family covered it up, burying the body in the backyard. Kotchman's stepfather would refer to the incident as "a terrible accident" and "our family secret". In 1966, Kotchman joined the army, barely making the cut, despite the lowered standards due to the Vietnam War. Shortly after enlisting, he was dishonorably discharged when he attacked a fellow soldier in the showers, claiming the man had been giving his penis a "funny" look. A year after his discharge, Kotchman, currently living in an apartment in Modesto, was called by his mother, who told him his stepfather had died, from what was later discovered to be cirrhosis of the liver. She convinced him to help her bury her husband's body in the backyard and cover the death up, so she could continue to cash the dead man's social security checks.

Being back in his childhood home caused Kotchman, unstable since childhood, to snap and begin killing men who reminded him of his stepfather. Luring victims from gay bars and nightclubs, he buried them in homemade coffins in his backyard, giving them a small amount of water and a claw-hammer, which they could try and escape with. After killing four people, Herman was arrested when a would-be victim actually did manage to escape. Found guilty of four counts of murder, as well as kidnapping and attempted murder, Kotchman was sentenced to life in prison and placed in a California correctional facility. BAU profiler-turned-author Max Ryan (who, along with Gideon and Rossi, helped with the investigation) would go on to mention Kotchman in his book *Serial Killers and Mass Murderers: Profiling Why They Kill*.

## Killer Profile

Copycat killer Daniel Dryden would later discover Kotchman through Max Ryan's book and copied his M.O., though the victim he buried, tracked down after Dryden's arrest, was saved in time. Like with all his copycat crimes, Dryden altered the M.O. in some way, in this case by not giving the victim water or a claw-hammer. Dryden was eventually tracked and arrested in an attempt to commit a massacre.

## Profile

Kotchman completely disassociated himself from his crimes. While he admitted to the burials, he claimed no responsibility for the deaths of his victims, claiming that he gave them everything they needed to survive and escape and that it was entirely their fault that they died, going so far as to claim that the victims should have tried harder to get away and, because they did not, they evidently did not value their lives at all. Because Kotchman's motive was his stepfather, he spoke to the men as if they were in control from the power he projected onto them and considered they would be capable enough from saving themselves and beating Kotchman from brute force, which is characteristic of aggression and violence. Judging by his victimology (the victims all being males lured from gay establishments) and the reason for his military discharge (attacking a man for allegedly staring at his groin), it was possible Kotchman was a homophobe or misandrist, but most certainly weaponizing his PTSD. Kotchman's M.O. of burying men alive and leaving them to die emulates his isolation in a violent environment that escalated to death over years of brutality, the hammers in the coffins symbols of that violence and placed in the possession of the victims to blame them as surrogates for Kotchman's stepfather. The coffin and limited water were meant to teach his stepfather a lesson and make the victims fully aware of a long-standing torture he himself was put through one with limited vital resources, implying experiences Kotchman himself feared would kill him while cut off from rescue and safety. Deliberately seeing gay men with aging looks resembling his stepfather shows Kotchman deliberately sees out imperfection that's visible as an excuse for crimes, as well as a masochism from Kotchman from trying to find his father simply for reliving his murderous fantasies to make a sense of action, redemption, completion, and closure. The Bible verse Kotchman recited cited his motive for revenge and redemption, saying because he was traumatized, he would be the torturer for a change, as well as saying exactly who he wanted to punish. The quote was meant to signify humility and solemnity, yet rage is what mirrored the verse in Kotchman's perspective.

## Modus Operandi

Finding his victims at gay bars and nightclubs, Kotchman specifically targeted men who reminded him of his abusive stepfather, so all the victims were balding, somewhat overweight, middle-aged males. The victims would be incapacitated and placed in a homemade coffin in the backyard of his childhood home. These coffins had a pipe attached to it, allowing the victim to breathe after they were buried. A few days worth of water and a claw-hammer, which the victim could use to try and escape with, would be left in the coffin with the victim, to give them false hope. Before completely burying his victims, Kotchman would say, "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." This was a quote from the Book of Matthew.

## Known Victims

* Unspecified dates:
	+ An unnamed soldier (assaulted in a shower room)
	+ Four unnamed victims
	+ Unnamed victim (c|attempted; he escaped)