James Colby was an itinerant painter responsible for a string of murders in 1781.
History[]
James Colby was once hailed as a visionary, a man who would document the birth of America on canvas, but in the end gained no notoriety. His talents were wasted on drink and lechery. He was ultimately cast out by Washington's circle of acquaintances. When he was left with no further patronage, he became a artist for hire, traveling the Hudson Valley, offering portraits in exchange for room and board. He disappeared without a trace in 1782.
He was also responsible for a string of murders in 1781 known as the Durham Killings, mainly targeting orphans and vagrants whose disappearances would be less likely remarked upon. All found hanged by their heels, their throats slit; the carotid artery had been targeted. That, along with the precision of the cuts, led Abigail to conclude that the killer must have a medical background, perhaps a surgeon. Not only would a surgeon have an understanding of human anatomy, however, so, too, would an artist. Abigail Adams did not want the victims forgotten; her husband, John Adams, was the lawyer seeking justice for the victims, and she began an investigation of her own in order to stop the killer.
Abigail Adams ultimately discovered Colby was the killer, and enlisted the help of Alfred Knapp, unaware, apparently that her friend Katrina was also a witch. Abigail allowed herself to be captured by Colby. Reverend Knapp cast an entrapment and imprisoned the killer within the canvas of his own self portrait. Abigail kept the painting to keep watch over him and prevent him from killing again.
When Colby was inadvertently released during a restoration of the painting in 2015, he immediately killed the restorer, and took another victim into the painting. Crane and Katrina followed him there and rescued the second victim. As they then escaped the painting, Abbie arrived and Crane directed her to shoot the painting, destroying the demonic Colby.
Appearances[]
| Season Two | |||||||||||||||||||
| "This Is War" | "The Kindred" | "Root of All Evil" | "Go Where I Send Thee..." | "The Weeping Lady" | |||||||||||||||
| "And the Abyss Gazes Back" | "Deliverance" | "Heartless" | "Mama" | "Magnum Opus" | |||||||||||||||
| "The Akeda" | "Paradise Lost" | "Pittura Infamante" | "Kali Yuga" | "Spellcaster" | |||||||||||||||
| "What Lies Beneath" | "Awakening" | "Tempus Fugit" | |||||||||||||||||