Suspect Profile - Jack Rivers

From the office of Dr. Kieran Schultz, PhD

Det. Kurgewicz - Please note that this psychological sketch assumes that your theory has a basis, and that Jack is responsible for these killings. I am not in a position to verify your claims, but I hope this profile will help you in your investigation.

In my professional opinion, Jack Rivers' psychological profile reveals a man whose grief and anger have morphed into a distorted sense of justice and twisted purpose. As a former teacher, Jack was once deeply rooted in community and connection, traits that likely made his wife's lonely death even more painful. Watching Pauline suffer in isolation could have bred a deep resentment toward the residents of Doveland, whom he blames for failing to support her during her trials with the disease. This resentment festers into a desire to "correct" what he sees as their failure by making them “better friends” to Pauline in the afterlife, rationalizing his murders as acts of retribution and loyalty.

Jack's lack of a specific victim profile speaks to a certain complexity in his motivations; I believe that he views his victims as interchangeable stand-ins, linked only by their shared failure in his mind. His kills are less about personal vendettas or fulfilling a violent impulse and more about creating a "collection" of people he believes Pauline was owed: acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers on various projects, etcetera. The age range of his presumed victims also reflects a deep-seated association of guilt with femininity, perhaps due to unresolved issues with female authority or a projection of his own grief over Pauline's passing.

The tokens he collects from his victims further reveal Jack's compulsions. By stealing these items, he maintains a twisted link to each victim under the guise of his "museum", giving him an outlet to relive his crimes under the appearance of normalcy. This virtual museum allows him to channel his morbid "curiosity" while providing a shield from suspicion, as it cleverly hides his trophies in plain sight. This is perhaps best seen with the writeup on the "Digital Camera", something that previously belonged to likely victim Jackqui Holmes, who remains missing to this day. No record of the sale of this camera has ever been found.

Notably, Jack Rivers has long had a reputation as a compulsive liar, dating back to his childhood, a trait that lends itself to a potential diagnosis of sociopathy, something seen frequently in recent serial killing cases. His ability to lie convincingly and manipulate others would make him a dangerous person to have on the streets, especially if he believes he's acting in the name of some perverse justice for the sake of his wife's memory.

Ultimately, Jack Rivers embodies a chilling combination of grief, anger, and moral justification, convinced he's merely avenging his wife's loneliness. His actions reveal a fractured psyche that has replaced genuine emotional connection with objectified mementos of his victims, transforming his grief into a mission that serves as both punishment and homage in his mind.

It is my professional opinion that Jack Rivers is a sociopath, either born as one or molded into it by the death of Pauline Rivers. Whether he is responsible for the Doveland murders is up to you to determine, Detective.