I think Bret Stiles started out as Red John and has been grooming Ray Haffner to take over. In a recent interview, Robin Tunney joked that it couldn't be Stiles because Malcolm McDowell earns too much as an actor. But Red John could be revealed and killed in one episode. McDowell could easily mimic RJ's voice. Who else is like Jane: brilliant and charismatic, a showman, with a sense of humor and a desire for revenge.  

Stiles is charming enough to entrance both women and men, even at his age. Ray is also handsome and charming, and he could do some of the more strenuous work. 

Brett Partridge might have been killed because he stumbled upon some important clue. Those who got together in 6:02 may be Visualize members who suspect Stiles but don't have the evidence to take him down. 

I've reread "The Tyger" and it has so much to do with understanding how killers can exist in the natural world. It seems like RJ might be someone who truly has spiritual beliefs. 

The poem also talks so much about who could have created such a monster. At first, RJ seemed to be a serial killer of women, at least one of whom was raped. He is more likely to kill men when they anger him or get in the way. Is there some secret about his childhood that made him a sociopath/psychopath?  

I agree with others that there has to be a reason that RJ has not killed Lisbon or anyone else on her immediate team since he clearly has no problem killing others who matter to PJ. 

Bret Stiles + his visualize cult 'disciples'

all remaining suspects are working for/with/as 'Red John'

Okay, this might sound ridiculous, but hear this out.
Brett Partridge's death was practically irrelevant in last night's episode. Skipped over entirely. Jane didn't even bat an eye. Probably the most uncharacteristic Jane moment of the whole series, honestly. I caught that.

I think maybe this is like "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie (don't want to give away a great book, but those who have read it will get that reference).

This is from Wikipedia, from the page about Partridges (the bird):

"According to Greek legend, the first partridge appeared when Daedalus threw his nephew, Perdix, off the sacred hill of Minerva in a fit of jealous rage. Supposedly mindful of his fall, the bird does not build its nest in the trees, nor take lofty flights and avoids high places."

Acrophobia. 

Heller wants us to think it's Haffner (the whistling thing) or Kirkland (overall just a sketchy dude), I'm sure, but I stand by what I said the moment the list of seven was published-- it's Partridge. It has to be.

-rvmiller

Here are
some facts which, when putt together, might mean something and be a little help
in the investigation of Red John.



An anagram
for one of the meanings of the name Roy Tagliferro is "ruler
incognito," and that is how Red John seems to want to be like and he gets
other people to play by his rules. The last episode of season five is titled
"Red John's rules".

Roy means
red, therefore can Red also stand for Roy. One meaning of Roy is
"king" and of John "blessed by God ", thus Red John means
"the king blessed by God". The poem The Lamb by William Blake is related to the poem Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright, as yin and
yang. At the end of the poem The Lamb,
the lamb gets blessed. Red John seems to see himself as the lamb and Patrick as
the tiger (the poem Tyger, Tyger was aimed
at Patrick). The lamb has a "tender voice" and he is "meek ​​and
mild". Anyone who knows Red John seems to perceive him as a gentle person,
while Patrick upsets almost everyone he comes in contact with. Red John might
want to make it appear as he is the lamb chased by the tiger.



Bret
Stiles, the leader of a cult, sees himself as a god. The symbol "the seeing
eye" is actually a symbol for the devil. An anagram of Bret Stiles is
"blest rites." Red John was a member of Visualize Self-Realization
Center, and Stiles may have personally "blessed" Red John. In one
episode, Bret says to Patrick that he knows more than Patrick and Red John
could possibly ever imagine. This statement makes two things clear: (1) Bret
Stiles sees himself as a god, above everyone else, and (2) he knows Red John
personally.



An anagram
of the name Kirkland is "dark link" and another is "dark kiln."
In the poem Tyger, Tyger was mentioned
something about brain (probably thoughts) created in an oven. Robert Kirkland
means "bright fame of church-land." Visualize Center is one kind of a
church. If Stiles can be considered as the eye of the Visualize symbol, then Red
John could be the bright around the eye. Kirkland always wears ties which are
red or tiger striped with prominent red color. In the last scene of episode 16 seasons
5, when Patrick and Lisbon are walking toward the crime scene, before we see
Red John’s smiley face on the wall, we get a glimpse of Kirkland and his red
tie and the unpleasant soundtrack increases a little bit. In the episode “Flame
Red” (S01E09) Patrick said to the killer Tommy Olds (whose voice by the way are
quite similar to the voice of Red John) that “only an idiot would wear a
t-shirt

like that
to a house in mourning ... an idiot or a daring killer with a warped sense of
humor.” Well, the same thing could be said about Kirkland and his red tie on
the Lorelei’s murder scene.



Regarding
CBI Ron, his name means "ruler's counselor".



If you
reason by Ockham's razor, then Kirkland becomes the prime suspect.

Alright, let's piece together what we learned from the latest episode, to the 6 suspects.

The recorded session mentions that Red John is middle aged and Healthy. We can eliminate Smith and Stiles right away from this. I would also say Bertram and McAlister as well, but that depends on your definition of middle aged.

I think that one episode with Kirkland really sealed him not being Red John, when he killed someone that knew his identity. He would have recognized him. I honestly think Kirkland wants to kill Red John, that's why he is trying to figure out who he is as well.

At this point,  I think it's Haffner. He just seems like the last "Logical" one left. I honestly thought it was going to be Partridge though, and we saw how that turned out. It was also very creepy how he visited her, and it personally seems like he was toying with her, since he knows that Jane gave her the list of suspects.

There is some more Evidence that needs exploring, like the whole nurse and "Carmen Lee" thing, this episode.

I think it is setting up to be Bertram because he is so interested in the case and his voice could easily disguise as Red John and he would have been next Boss after the whole limo fiasco with Wainwright. Or it could be Ray because Red John didn't kill Lisbon because he "liked her" (Jane said) and Ray visited Lisbon in hospital and said "I like you Lisbon. You and me, we'll have our time." Or if Partridge really isn't dead, it could be him because he's creepy and all plus his voice sounds calm and weird like Red John. How else would he know to say "Tiger Tiger"? If Red John told him to tell Lisbon that, I don't think he would waste his dying moments on that. And what better way to hide your true identity than to make Jane think your real identity is already dead?