Roy Colson

Roy Colson, also known as Mr. Nobody, is the main antagonist of the first Kay Scarpetta novel Postmortem, written by Patricia Cornwell. Colson is a 911 operator with a sadistic pension for murdering women in their homes, being so menial enough to be difficult to track.

Biography
Almost no details revealed about Roy Colson, except name, job as 911 operator, which is how information in the targeted women were gained, and a series of strangulations (and presumably rapes) of the women in question. Being a blue-collar worker with a generic sexual sadist's MO merely for gratification, Colson ended up being nicknamed "Mr. Nobody" repeatedly throughout the investigation. Even Colson's motives and first homicidal snap aren't revealed, but it's heavily implied Colson would be aroused by certain traits in women's voices. By the time the book starts, Colson has already killed Brenda Steppe, Patty Lewis, and Cecile Tyler, with Kay Scarpetta called by Sergeant Pete Marino to the murder of Lori Anna Petersen. FBI Agent Benton Wesley is also assigned to the case, specifically to build a profile. At Petersen's murder scene, traces of the killer's soap used to clean the scene are found, along with semen stains and an unknown, off odor in the bedroom. Husband Matt Petersen is suspected, even after fitting Wesley's profile, but Scarpetta disagrees and continues to investigate.

Troublingly, the city doesn't much equipment for DNA profiling and databases, making the case all the more difficult. Eventually, news leaks come or from the coroner's office, and Scarpetta's job is in danger when she finds out her database really has been infiltrated. But things get even worse when reporter Abby Turnbull has to grieve over her reports perceeding the murder of her sister, Henna Yarborough. Scarpetta realizes the killer wants attention and accurate reports to feed a hungry ego. To snuff out the killer, Scarpetta and Wesley form an alliance with Turnbull to confabulate a report saying the odor at the crime scenes is from a metabolic disease and the killer is "mentally handicapped". This nearly gets Scarpetta put in danger, as Colson breaks into her home and forces her still open her bed with a knife to her throat. Growling "shut up" at her several times and sneering about the "fun" Colson wants, Scarpetta fights for her life, at first failing to get a gun she had hidden, but succeeded to shove Colson off. As Colson charges her with the knife one last time, Marino, knowing she'd be a target, shoots Colson several times before Colson falls dead. Marino marks Colson's last words to be "oh shit", and it's proven Colson really did work as a dispatcher, which Scarpetta figured out from the women's phone records and hearing they have similar traits in their voices.

Modus Operandi
Colson targeted young women with similar voices in Richmond, Virginia whose information was obtained by their emergency hotline reports. Stealthily breaking into their homes with gloves and stalking mask using a professional burglary kit, the women were threatened into compliance at knifepoint. They would be tied to their beds, with rope Colson brought or ligatures from the house, by then which Colson would presumably rape them. The women would be killed by strangulation, usually by the same types of ligatures used to bind them. Colson would then meticulously clean the scene of most or all evidence to leave little to no traces behind, using a specialized liquid soap that glows in the dark.

Victims

 * Brenda Steppe
 * Patty Lewis
 * Cecile Tyler
 * Lori Anne Petersen
 * Matt Petersen (Lori Anne Petersen's husband; framed temporarily for her murder)
 * Henna Yarborough
 * Kay Scarpetta (broke into her home, held at knifepoint, and attempted to rape and kill; was rescued)

Trivia

 * Patricia Cornwell cites the inspiration for Roy Colson as Richmond serial killer and rapist Timothy Wilson Spencer, also known by the moniker "The Southside Strangler". Spencer was responsible for raping and strangling three Richmond, Virginia women in their homes in the summer of 1987.