Dennis Benjamin

Dennis Benjamin, a.k.a. "The Primetime Kidnapper" was a delusional budding serial killer, abductor, and stalker who obsessed over news reporter Nikki Ware who appeared in Lethal Obsession in Profiler.

Background
Dennis Benjamin, a single resident of Atlanta working in mechanical engineering and defense for freelance contractors, was once featured in a segment covered by local news reporter Nikki Ware titled "Hero of the Day", where she covered local heroes who do extraordinarily good deeds. Benjamin saved a woman's life by pulling her away from a truck she didn't see coming in her direction, and he was personally interviewed by her, noticeably nervous and uneasy in his demeanor. Little did she know he would soon after develop an unhealthy obsession over her as a reporter, and he would send a total of seven fan letters to her. When this didn't get the attention from her he was looking for, he decided to take more drastic measures, providing her criminal events she could cover personally.

Lethal Obsession
"Agent Waters. I played a good game, didn't I?"

Benjamin first abducts councilman Norman Westfall, sending a video of his captivity with a discordant background song and a demand of one million dollars. At the drop point, St. Genevieve's church, Westfall is found hoisted up a flagpole, bound and hanged, with a flag saying, "Nevermind, Keep the Money". He soon after abducts Valerie Jackson from the parking lot of the apartment complex where she lives, sending another video with the same song and demand with a new drop location. The call is traced to a train station payphone, but Benjamin is nowhere to be found. At this point, he's been given the nickname "The Primetime Kidnapper". Nikki Ware soon agrees to make the drop herself, and directed by Benjamin, who calls the station and provides directions to patch in to her, she eventually reaches a broken tram system. Jackson is soon seen barely conscious from being choked, gagged and tied to the side of a tram car about to pass another coming in the opposite direction and hit Jackson. The system doesn't turn off, so Bailey Malone pulls the emergency switch in the cars, saving Jackson's life by a hair; in her pocket is the note, "Nevermind, Keep the Money". Soon after, Samantha Waters soon discovers the abduction and drop sites were locations for Ware's "Hero of the Day" segments. Benjamin is listed among two other suspects and is kept on the list after seeing his interview. Waters and John Grant go to interview him, and his house is shown staged to look like he has a girlfriend, with a picture of a woman, a cigarette butt with lipstick, and mail supposedly with her name on it. Waters and Grant casually remark on his interview and feign their praise him before leaving. Realizing Benjamin doesn't have much time left, he abducts Beth Bradley and sends a ransom demand as usual, but he leaves her tied down and gagged in his home with the TV switched to the news station and turned off as a diversion. The Violent Crimes Task Force by this point have determined the song in the videos is a code combining the alphabet with the letters of musical notes, spelling out "Nikki W Loves Dennis B Evermore", revealing he's the criminal. Bradley is found at his house, and the TV is turned on, showing the news station, but by then, Benjamin's already cut the wires in the circuit board, pistol-whipped a security guard, and taken Nikki Ware hostage, ordering everyone else to leave and the situation be broadcast live. The cameras a turned on to look like they're both live, and Ware recites what Benjamin makes her say about the perceived benefits of his crimes. Waters walks in, and the lights are discreetly raised, with Grant positioned with a sniper rifle. Waters agrees with Benjamin when he says he "play a pretty good game". Waters feigns appreciation for his actions, saying Ware would also if she's given a chance. Benjamin says he did by giving her stardom, and then she betrayed him. Waters tried to play into his fantasy, saying Ware didn't know how to respond to their beautiful love story. Benjamin chastises Waters for trying to be the end to their story, but she says it doesn't have to end and he wants everyone to understand. He sees through her bluff, saying she doesn't care and that no one can stop him and their all going down in history. Waters say he's already a part of it, but he says he won't tell the world but show them and still attempts to shoot Ware, but Grant responds by shooting him down, Waters pulling Ware out of the way. Benjamin, still alive, gets up and tries to fire again, but Grant finishes him off with a bullet through his head, Waters having her and Ware both duck and Ware frozen in shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Modus Operandi
Benjamin typically targeted people and locations in or associated with by location Nikki Ware's "Hero of the Day" segments or with some public notoriety. He would abduct them from or leave them in the locations of the segments, and he would record them being held captive, tied down and gagged. The videos would be sent to the news station where Nikki Ware worked, along with a message with a distorted voice stating a ransom demand of one million dollars, a drop location, and public release of the video as well as a recording of a homemade song with a hidden code using musical notes and the alphabet to spell out "Nikki W Loves Benjamin D Evermore". when the time to pay the ransom comes, Benjamin kills or attempts to kill the captives in various means at the location, leaving behind a note or flag saying "Nevermind, Keep the Money". He merely abducted Beth Bradley as a distraction to lure authorities away from the news station, where he too Nikki Ware hostage and held her at gunpoint in front of seemingly-live cameras. When he tried to kill her and Samantha Waters, he attempted to shoot them both with his Beretta pistol.

Profile
Male, age 25-50, very intelligent but emotionally immature, without a relationship and the ability to be direct, especially regarding women. He specifically chooses Nikki but gets her attention in a "roundabout" way, showing he has a deep-seeded fear of women; instead of introducing himself to a female neighbor next-door, he might steal her newspaper to get her attention specifically. His obsession with Nikki Ware most likely started with the two coming into contact before. He chooses kidnapping and murder sites based on her "Hero of the Day" segments, alluding to Benjamin's own appearance and showing he feels with his crimes, he's helping her career, and he will go after her if he feels she's somehow betrayed him. He doesn't see her as a person, but as a reporter, a media figure. The body language in Benjamin's interview is semi-evasive: he's almost facing Nikki Ware, but he doesn't make direct eye contact. He's clever enough to set up a fake relationship as a cover, with a framed picture of a "girlfriend", mail, and a cigarette butt with lipstick, and yet there's only one picture with only one woman and one butt with lipstick, revealing his ruse.

Known Victims

 * Norman Westfall (a councilman; bound and hanged on a flagpole over St. Genevieve's church, where a baby was delivered; left a flag flying near his body)
 * Valerie Jackson (lived in a neighborhood where a guard was shot and saved; abducted from parking spot 25; near-fatally strangled, left a note in her pocket, gagged and tied to a tram car, and left to be run over; was rescued)
 * Beth Bradley (in the background of a news segment covering her high school football team's winnings; abducted, left in his house, turned the TV to the news station and then off; was rescued)
 * The news station standoff:
 * Unidentified security guard (assaulted; pistol-whipped unconscious)
 * Nikki Ware (attempted; held at gunpoint and attempted to shoot twice)
 * Samantha Waters (attempted to shoot)