Tim Nelson

Tim Nelson, a.k.a. "Roderick", was the right-hand man of Joe Carroll and supporting antagonist of Season 1. While Joe was in prison, Tim was responsible for rounding up several followers to work for Joe and became the second in command of the followers. After his identity is compromised by Mike Weston, Tim, now seeing that Joe has just been using him all along, betrays Joe. He kidnapped Joey Matthews and hid him to keep himself safe from being killed by Joe's hands before meeting his end at the hands of Joe's followers after finding his location.

Biography
It is revealed in Havenport that Tim Nelson is from Crowley, Virginia. His mother was a retired mayor and his father was an army colonel who died in the Gulf War when he was a child. He graduated from Winslow University where he majored in political science and minored in literature, in which his faculty advisor was Joe Carroll, who saw promise in him and started training him in killing. During that time, Tim killed two girls the same way Carroll killed his victims. When Carroll went to jail, he took the blame for Tim two murders to keep him out of jail, strengthening their bond.

It is revealed in Whips & Regret that Tim may have been abused as a child, as he does not like being touched by others.

Over the years, Tim was responsible for recruiting more and more followers in various departments: teachers, law enforcement, average citizens, sociopaths, and even former military that, according to Debra Parker, could be over as many as fifty to over a hundred followers.

Tim is the one who Emma, Paul, and Jacob were waiting to hear from before they were separated after the farmhouse incident.

2013
He was unseen until the episode Welcome Home. Tim had taken over for Joe when he was in prison. When Ryan asks Joe about Tim Joe quickly changes the subject, again saying that Roderick is not his real name. He is introduced as a sheriff that was mistaken for a police officer looking for the cult, and later revealed to be known as Sheriff Tim Nelson of Havenport, MD. Joe Carroll recognizes him later, and explains to Emma that he's known him a little longer than her. Tim helped set up the new headquarters for the cult, a large property/mansion where they will be living. He is on a quest to find Claire Matthews, as a repayment for his debt to Joe. This debt goes back to when Joe was in prison. After being schooled by Joe personally, Tim committed two murders for which Joe was accused, but Joe took all the blame to let Tim free. Tim feels a strong need to repay Joe and has an utmost respect towards him. He was in a sexual relationship with Louise Sinclair till her death.

With Claire's location now needed to be found, Tim takes Louise and several other Followers to kidnap Mike Weston. He tries to be "nice" to Mike and asks for Claire's location, knowing he has the location and not even Ryan knows. He refuses and is brutally assaulted by Charlie and later stabbed by him and as they prepare to finish him off, Ryan arrives and kills some of the followers while Roderick escapes. He later watches as Charlie dies at the hands of Joe willingly for failure. He later angrily chokes Louise, but later has rough sex with her.

After a call to Claire's location, Tim reveals this to Joe and introduces militia members Brock and Vincent. Joe has Tim go with them stating he failed twice now and demands his wife back, which Tim reluctantly goes with. At the hotel, Tim murders a guest and goes after Claire, but she escapes with Ryan. However, Vincent tagged her and they find her location. When coming face with her, Tim tells her to end this and manage to take her to her son.

The next day, Joe expresses his delight having his family together, to which Tim is pleased in completing his mission. Tim then asks to start the next phase, to which Joe says they will soon. Tim then tells him he said they would start after he got his family back and scolds him over how his followers have been dying for him, to which Joe retorts angrily for him to be quiet and they'll start soon. Tim leaves annoyed. When Vince asks to deliver a package to "that place", he agrees. Unfortunately, Vince lead Ryan directly to their militia hideout and all there followers in training, all murdered there. When Joe reveals this to Tim, he's left shocked and horrified, to which Joe retaliates with a punch to Tim face and bleeding from his nose. Joe tells him he does not make decisions anymore and tells him to leave, to which Tim leaves angry at Joe, slowly losing his trust in the man.

In the morning, Vince reveals everything at the hideout they have is all their major equipment, greatly angering Joe and even more so when a source who gave them that location, Daniel Monroe, a friend of Tim says he wouldn't sell them out, but Joe says he can't be trusted and says he'll do it himself since Tim can't do it on his own, pushing Tim even more and Joe takes Jacob with him. He also catches Claire trying to leave with Joey, but Tim and others stop her revealing they have the whole place under watch and put an ankle monitor on her. He later talks with Claire and she tries to persuade him into not trusting Joe, which seems to work. After Joe kills Daniel, Tim appears in front of Ryan and the others as the sheriff, intend on "helping" them.

This does not last however, as Mike, who got out of the hospital, recognizes Tim and tries to stop him, but Tim shows frustration on him being alive and mocks him that he won't shoot him and casually walks out of the police station and is stopped by police officers before they realize what Mike was doing. At the house, a very frantic Tim comes in and warns Joe how Mike recognized him and that his position as sheriff is done. He tries to have Joe and everyone else leave, but Joe refuses, stating he needs to calm down. Tim finally snaps saying they are in trouble and its Joe's fault over killing Daniel which Joe scoffs at him stating he had to die. He says he's done everything for Joe and sees he's hiding something and wants to know as he points out Joe's faults over writing his book and how he's trying to win over a wife who will never want him, causing Joe to angrily strangle him and throw him across the room. Tim gets up and yells at Joe how he's done everything for him and now realizes Joe used him, like Claire told him before, to which Joe just tells him to calm down. Tim then storms off.

He then kidnaps Joey from Claire and abducts another person after murdering two state troopers. However, Ryan stops him with Mike after punching Tim to the ground. In interrogation, Tim mocks Mike over his wounds, which seems to anger Mike. He then tells them about Joey and demands a deal: freedom for Joey. Nick Donovan refuses after he murdered two police officers and many more, but Ryan, not wanting Joey to suffer, makes Tim leave and will make the deal as long as he takes him to Joey. Tim however forces Ryan to lose his gun and phone stating he will let Joey die unless he does so. They arrive at the house and Ryan finds a tied up Joey, when Tim pulls a gun out of a couch revealing he lied and was planning to murder both of them as payback to Joe, to which Mike, who was in the car trunk, arrives and points his gun at him, but Tim is then shot from behind three times by Joe's followers and dies on the ground.

Known Victims

 * 2003:
 * Two teenage girls (killed the same manner Joe killed his victims)
 * 2013:
 * Mike Weston (abducted; attempted to kill; was rescued)
 * The attack at the hotel:
 * Unnamed hotel guest (killed for access to his room)
 * Unnamed marshall
 * Marshall Ferguson (shot through a door)
 * Two unnamed state troopers
 * Unnamed house owner
 * Joey Matthews (abducted; attempted to kill; was rescued)
 * Ryan Hardy (shot through a window)

Trivia
In the uncut scenes Tim was student and police offcer in 2002 Joe ask if Tim wanted to kill and Tim was in the police when Joe started murdering  and Daniel Monroe help find the house in 2010
 * Tim was mentioned in Trust Me, where it was revealed that Tim helped to switch Joe's DNA in the event they had to fake his death. Tim was later mentioned again in Fly Away and Sacrifice.