Aaron Downing is the murderer of his son Ryan, using a volatile virus strain.
Background[]
Aaron grew up in average-class Meriden, Connecticut, majoring in biology at Brown University. As he wasn't accepted into medical school, his career ended up being case management at Foxbury Insurance. He married a woman named Paula, but by the time he was middle-aged, he was not happy with his life and considered it to be too ordinary and mundane. This resulted in Paula getting Aaron to join her in marriage counseling appointments. Aaron's condition deteriorated and he sank into a severe depression, bemoaning his own average life, and blaming Paula for everything all the way down to their poor sex life. He retreated into golf until that took time away from his responsibilities, which was replaced by a drinking problem. Then, Aaron decided to escape his problems by having an affair with Theresa Copeland, a woman in the claims department of the company, as well as embezzling a million dollars so he could start a new life.
Flight[]
All of Aaron's issues were projected onto his only child, his son Ryan, fearing he'd also live an unhappy life. When Paula mentioned she wanted another child, Aaron not only said he didn't need another kid who would grow up to be "miserable" like him, but snapped and decided to kill Ryan believing, in his sick mind, that Ryan wouldn't suffer growing up. It would also allow Aaron to be free of his current life and to begin a new one. Aaron purchased a strain of VRSA, a strong staph bacterium, from Allgen Corporation, a greedy, less-than-competent pathogen distributor who sold diseases without proper vetting processes. Aaron used fake info and listed a post office box as his address, where he picked up the bacteria. He then injected it into Ryan's thigh muscle, sent him off to preschool, and waited for the virus to take effect. Ryan was found non-responsive after naptime at his preschool and died shortly thereafter.
Aaron had thrown out the needle in a bin near Theresa's apartment building to frame her, where drug addict Clarence Meeks used it and also died from the virus. Theresa was found and admitted the affair and embezzlement, and Aaron was arrested on circumstantial evidence. After a failure of remand, they traced the pathogen to Allgen. The company stonewalled efforts to produce the records of Aaron's order, which was the evidence they needed. Aaron was released on his own recognizance and didn't leave home, but the administrators of Allgen were taken to court and sentenced to hefty fines for the damages they caused. The records of Aaron's false info and the P.O. box were tracked, and the clerk ID'd him. Aaron knew he was done for and fled to Secaucus, New Jersey, where he hanged himself in a room at the Eden Motel. The police turned over their evidence to Paula, considering the likelihood she would sue Allgen.
Known Victims[]
- Ryan Downing (his son; injected with VRSA in his thigh and died days later)
- Clarence Meeks (incidental; used the needle Aaron threw out and died days later from an infection)
- Theresa Copeland (attempted to frame)