After the end of season 5, I had an intuition that there was some sort of conspiracy going on, and that Red John is only a parsona created by this conspiracy to hide their actions. Then the series reveal the Tyger conspiracy, which includes at least three of the suspects. 

As individuals, none of the suspects give me the sense that they could be Red John. They lack the Red John drive to make killing a form of art, improving on his art and the need for reckognition (which is his self-destructive drive). They are all nascissits, but not the kind of psychopath who would kill just for the kiiling, to express themselves "one-upping" the police. They lack something. 

But the "Tyger club" has all of it. The smiley face would serve as a marking that that killing was done by someone in the club, and the others should cover it up. The other parts of the M.O. (painted fingernails, face drawn with the left or right hand -- or with a plane --, weapon of choice, etc) would identify each member of the group as the one who did the killing. And the killings of people who talked thrash about Red Jonh in TV would be some sort of "brand improvement" needed to keep the conspiracy out of the media.

This would explain the incredible mobility that Red John has, and why the killing in Mexico don't fit the M.O. (did you notice that in that killing the face is not the first thing you see, like in all others?): someone new to the club did it, and got it wrong.

My other intuition is that this conspiracy spans outside law enforcement, and even created outside law enforcement, to cover powerful people doing dirty jobs to increase their power.

If that's the story, then someone in the conspiracy did kill Jane's family. I think this kind of job is usually done by a thug, so my guess is Smith.

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Some random stuff from 6x02: Haffner is displeased with Lisbon, as show by him shaking his head while saying that he likes Lisbon (a classic display of a desagreement between someones words and their true intentions/feelings). Bertram is so certain that he will "be there when [Patrick] catches [Red John]" that he smiles and nods his head. 

"The simplest answer is usually the right answer" -  Patrick Jane

Bret Stiles-  He's 70 years old. To old to be Red John. The man that attacked miss blonde the other night wasn't a 70 year old man. The man who attacked her was pretty strong and unless Bret Stiles has kept himself in amazing shape I dont see him being able to do that. He knows who Red John is but out of fear and loyalty wont reveal Red John is. Lastly I think Sophie Miller would have recognized who Bret Stiles was when she met him. Brett Stiles- Not Red John.

Brett Partridge, Walter Mashburn, Michael Kirkland and any other person not on this list is not Red John. I repeat none of them are Red John.

Gale Bertram, Reede Smith and Tom McAllister- The person who attack blonde had a head full of hair so obviously that eliminates Bertram. Also I dont think Bertram would be able to run the CBI, be a part of this group and be Red John at the same time. Gale Bertam- Not Red John.
    Reede Smith- Red John is known for being cool, calm and collective. Reede Smith is known for being a loose cannon with a bad temper. Red John is also has a slender build. Reede does not. Reede Smith is obviously the muscle of the Tyger Tyger group and does some of the dirty work for them. That, working for the FBI and still being able to be Red John would be almost impossible to pull off. Reede Smith- Not Red John.
     Tom McAllister- Is the Napa valley Sheriff. Does anybody know how far it is from Las Angelas to Napa Valley? It takes you exactly six hours and that's one way. Most of the murders if Im correct have been in the Los Angeles area. So basically McAllister would need 12 hours to drive there and back plus whatever time it would take for him to commit the murder and draw the smiley on the wall. So add another hour or so. Dont you think the Napa Valley Sheriff's Department would notice a bunch of days where their sheriff has been gone all day long??? He like Bertram is balding and is 57 years old. That in my opinion is to old to be Red John. He also seems to be a part of this Tyger Tyger group.  Tom Mcallister-Not Red John

 Ray Haffner- While many of you say he isn't smart enough to be Red John let me remind you that Bertram needed janes help to win at poker, Jane beat McAllister at rock, paper, scissor multiple times and Bret Stiles needed Jones help to beat a murder rap. So everybody in some way appears not smart enough to be Red John.  Ray Haffner has a knowledge of wiretaps and surviellance. Probably how he knew about Jane's list of suspects. Also with that type of knowledge he would know how to set up fake accounts just like Red John does. Haffner is also a member of Visualize and a possible protege of Bret Stiles. Sophie Miller wouldn't have recognized who Haffner is and that is key. Haffner fits the Red John perfectly and if you watch closely always seems to be jealous of Patrick. He's in love with Teresa and that's why he didn't kill her. Ray Haffner is RED JOHN...

Ok so many of you are wondering why Red John would have used a P.I and a $300 bug to bug the CBI. Its called a trap. Red John knows time is running out so while it may look like he's being careless I would almost bet that he's set up one last trap for Jane. I mean there is an explosion in the next episode people.   

My money has always been on Haffner, but last night made it seem much more likely to me.
The PI told Cho that she was hired by visualize, but then we learn that Cooper had no knowledge of this.
However, Haffner was also involved in this case and could have easily been the one to hire the PI to bug the CBI.
As we know, Haffner is an expert in surveillance and while people will say he could have easily done it himself, if he were caught for any reason then he would be in trouble.
The only reason the PI got caught was because Jane happened to get a glimpse of her and knew something was off.
Otherwise she would have been fine.
Since Cooper was not the one to bug CBI, it makes sense that Haffner did it.
Remember too, that Cooper said he did not know where Haffner was after the investigation ended, and thats because Haffner was off to kill the PI.
Also, if you look at the shadow in the door, the hair does resemble Haffner. 

One final food for thought.
Haffner is introduced in Season 4, Episode 2.
The fake Red John is killed in the Season 3 finale and we find out in Season 4, Episode 1 from Jane that the person he killed was a fake.
What better time to introduce the real Red John then right after we are led to believe that Red John has been killed.

(spoiler)
In the last episode (5th season 6), there is no evidence that it's Red John who has this tattoo, the victim didn't say his name, and there is no smiley signature on no wall. Red John doesn't kill in a hurry, and we know that he has ears into the CBI. So he won't go him self to take risks to kill this watched woman. He is a master in his killing art, never mistakes. The tattoo belongs to an accomplice and Jane knows it. He led Lisbon on a wrong lead by saying that this is a Red John's act. Why? Is it a genius trap?

If Red John is one of seven suspects in the list, that means that Mentalist will have the most boring and simplistic riddle in the world! It's impossible. The problem when I'm reading most of your theories (with all due respect) , I notice that you are analyzing with the obvious of appearance only, without taking into consideration the psychological complexity of the characters. We want absolutely to accuse Brett Partridge and Ray Haffner , because obviously they are both ideal suspects through their personalities , behaviors and especially the naive image that we've made ​​of Red John (strong, charismatic, rich, elegant . ..). So all the clues that we learn make us accusing them unconsciously. I saw even theories accusing Partridge even if he's died !

But throughout the six seasons of Mentalist, we learned that the most obvious suspects weren't in the end. We also learned that P. Jane is a genius in his art, and he sets traps to prove his accusations. He knows the murderer almost from the start of each investigation and uses a psychological profiling of suspects to get there. He never based on the most obvious clue ou evidence (on the contrary of the CBI team who are always wrong).
Anyway, I think Patrick Jane Knows already who is Red John. I think he is preparing a trap at the height of his genius. Something spectacular. I think he knows that it is none of the seven suspects on the list (each episode of this 6th season lead us to this logic). They are only accomplices for some! I think Red John is one of the recurring characters in the series, so probably a member of the CBI team.

But then it's impossible to discover Lisbon as RJ, she's a woman. Cho is Asian! He can't be P. Jane himself, this will destroy the hero's image of all the show. So is he Wayne Rigsby?Many will say that he doesn't match, he hasn't the right profile, because of its gentle nature, easily manipulated and uncharismatic! But who said that Red John was charismatic? This is an imaged profil, a fantasy we have made as viewers.

Look at the reality of the serial killers , they don't have the face of the job (among the largest and most dangerous)! Some had a double life (often were adorable fathers and husbands). They have a banal physical, often without strong charisma. Red John is a psychopath. So it has a high IQ. He knows not only manipulate people but also naturally develop a split personality (generally opposite to the real one) like all the true psychopaths in this world to socially protect themselves.

Wayne Rigsby has a blurring past as Red John. RJ has a link with Tyger Tyger and involved into Visualize ( therefore with Stiles, ... ), nothing says that Wayne Rigsby wasn't an former membrer, he had Stiles as montor (who knows from the beginning that Rigsby is RJ), being part of Tyger Tyger organization or he is acting secretly against it.Generally, psychopaths fascinate people because they able to be very very kind and sweet. The majority of people who have closely attended psychopaths never imagined that they were monsters. They fascinate especially women by their complicated personnality! Hence we can explain the incredible number of disciples and accomplices of Red John. The way that these disciples act and make sacrifice  suggest that they are following  a sort of guru of a cult with a specific ideology ( to discover soon the real reason for all these murders).

Rigsby has the perfect role. It is even the only character in the series who meets the specifications of the socially integrated perfect psychopath. He works in addition to the CBI, so he has full access to all the informations about the Red John case and what surrounds it. He has the profile of guys soooo friendly and a bit silly at the edges, a little too much for this big manly strong guy. It represents the perfect contrast to the scheme angel / monster of a psychopath.

And if Mentalist wants to keep its famous reputation as a worldwide succesful tv show, it should surprise us by an unexpected Red John's identity; a historical surprise, and shocking reveal. Mainly after 6 years of waiting !

Don't forget also that the actors who are starring Rigsby and Van Pelt will leave the show in the midle of the season (it's official). Maybe because they will be killed, or all simply because they will find that Rigsby is Red John and maybe Van Pelt will leave CBI after such a disappointment or will die.

Red John is Wayne Rigsby   ;)