Craig Cross

"We played you like a tune!"Craig Cross is a major character in the Series 18 episode ''Sniper's Nest. ''He is the sixteen year old son of Martin and Sheila Cross. He is eventually revealed to be an accomplice in in a string of sniper killings and the murderer of his own father. He is portrayed by Adam Wilson.

Background
Craig lived with his father and mother in the suburbs of London and attended the same high school where his father worked as a coach. Craig was particularly gifted at chemistry, winning the top prize for the subject three years in a row and also had an interest in the military. He appeared to be a normal boy on the surface, but it eventually comes to light that his home life is extremely troubled. Martin had anger issues and would beat Craig's mother, who was very submissive and would drink whiskey to cope. Martin would also hit Craig on occasion; it's heavily implied that he broke Craig's arm after being passed over for a job and then forced him to make up a story about falling off his bike. He is also revealed to have deep scars on his back, presumably from his father beating him. As a result of this, Craig grew to deeply resent his father, who presented himself as being a charitable man and upstanding citizen, and was very popular. Craig exhibits traits associated with psychopathy, which may have resulted from his abusive homelife.

When Craig was in his teens, he befriended Adrian Turner, the owner of a local army surplus store, who also showed signs of psychopathy. Craig saw Adrian as a father figure and Adrian taught him how to fire a sniper rifle and use military tactics associated with sniping. They eventually plotted to commit a series of killings together, with Craig's primary target being his father.

Sniper's Nest
Craig first appears shortly after the fatal shooting of his father at the rest home where he volunteers. Craig pretends to grieve for his father and befriends Jack Hodgson, who takes a liking to him and tries to support him. However, the police and forensics team become concerned when they see video footage of what appears to be bullets in Craig's desk drawer. Upon inspection, Nikki and Jack discover it is only a flask shaped like bullets, but Nikki also discovers Craig's obsession with the military and an army knife hidden in his wardrobe. The police further suspect Craig is involved when they learn he has no alibi for the shooting of his father. They deduce that Craig is working with an accomplice and try to break down their relationship by releasing a false statement from the sniper's 'young male accomplice', implying their relationship is abusive. When Craig sees the report, he is infuriated. He is picked by the police and taken to the station for questioning.

Whilst on a bathroom break, Craig starts a small fire by stuffing a tissue into a fan to set off the fire alarms, forcing everyone to evacuate the building. This allows Adrian to shoot DC Gabby Lawson, shifting suspicion away from Craig and causing panic. Jack is not fooled and demands to know who the accomplice is; Craig reveals his true colours and tauntingly tells Jack "We played you like a tune" prompting an enraged Jack to slam him up against a wall. Craig plays the victim, crying for help and pretending to collapse from 'shock'. He is treated and sent home; he later presses assault charges against Jack. Craig realises that Adrian is not much different from his father and could also lead the police to him if he's caught, and kills him by setting up a bomb made of chemicals he'd stolen from school to explode in his store before the police can get to him.

When questioned about how he knows Adrian, Craig keeps up his innocent act, denying knowing Adrian was the sniper or any involvement. Even though the police know better, they have no proof of Craig's guilt. Even though he is supposed to stay away from Craig, Jack is sent to his house, secretly wearing a wire. Craig, intrigued, invites him in, where they both attempt to bait one another. Jack manages to keep his cool and riles Craig up by pointing out his clumsy technique in killing Martin, saying he missed and hit his foot. An infuriated Craig insists he shot his father's ankle deliberately in a military tactic, thus giving the police the evidence they need to arrest him. Craig is last seen sitting in an interview room guarded by two policeman, awaiting questioning.

Modus Operandi
Craig shot his father with a sniper rifle. He first shot him in the ankle, then in the chest. It is unclear if he did this intentionally or if he missed - the forensics team believed the shooting of Martin was committed by someone with less experience and a personal vendetta against him. He killed him out of hatred for his father for abusing him. Craig used a homemade bomb secretly planted in the Adrian's store to kill his accomplice, because Adrian turned out to be just as bad as his father - in Craig's opinion - and to frame him solely for the other murders.

Victims

 * Martin Cross (shot with a sniper rifle)
 * Gabby Lawson (in-directly, lured outside to be shot by Turner)
 * Adrian Turner (caused, blew him up with a bomb)