For some reason it posted my other theory as "Murphy" ??? Anyway just also a thought on Mashburn. He may have been the Mitchell Washburn on Sophie Miller's list and therefore Red John, not J Roth. J Roth is so obvious - he knew Patrick would be looking for him on the list, and RJ didn't want his files etc found. Seems funny to me.

Not actually sure it is Mashburn, it only just crossed my mind. I have also been suspecting Haffner.

My theory is that Bret Stiles killed the two bodies in 1998, and his son - maybe Walter? seen this, left him damaged and he's been copying his dad, that could explain the gap in the murders, Tyger Tyger, Bret's knowledge and lack of fear of Red John, and many other things. It could also be why we can trust the list - because the original RJ was Bret, yet the actual RJ that we know is his son.

(Aswell as the theory being a wild guess, Walter is a guess too, could be someone else)

Walter Mashburn=Robert "Bob" Kirkland=Red John

I feel that you have to take the entire series into consideration to find out who Red John really is.

Walter Mashburn always appeared strange and totally qualifies to be Red John, but in this text I wont focus on what makes him a Red John suspect, but rather how he can be the same person as Robert Kirkland.
For some reason Mashburn was completely removed from the series, about the same time that Patrick Jane killed "Red John" (Timothy Carter). I don't know if it's just me, but I can see strong resemblances between Walter Mashburn and Timothy Carter, which isn't strange since Timothy is trying to imitate Red John.

Walter Mashburn's latest appearance in the series was in the episode "Red Hot" (S03E07).
Robert Kirkland doesn't appear in the series until "Red Dawn" (S05E05), which means that Mashburn had more than enough time for plastic surgery (and more than enough money to afford it). 

This could be the reason why Kirkland asked Jason Lennon if he recognized him before killing him.

Mashburn was a suspect on Jane's original suspect list (people he had shaked hands with), but he isn't on the latest list. Robert Kirkland is on the latest list, while he isn't on the first one. So, when Heller says Red John is definitely on the list, he isn't lying. His identity has just changed.

In the latest episode (S06E02) Rigsby checks the names of Sophie Miller's patients. Jane immediately focus on the name Jay Roth, due to Roth meaning Red. I think this is a red herring, and not Red John himself. Another patient is Mitchel Livingston Washburn, whom I think is the real Red John (Mashburn, Washburn, M/W upside down).

If this is true, nothing in Sophie Miller's recording about Jay Roth can be taken into consideration, which means that the part about a phobia is another red herring, which might lead to one of Red John's accomplices, but not Red John himself.

I guess several of the names on the list can be accomplices of Red John, but I don't want to believe that the majority of them are. Brett Partridge can for sure be an accomplice, but I don't think all of Bertram, McAllistor and Smith are. 

I might have missed something here, but right now it's all I come to think of.

Anyways, my main suspect for Red John is Walter Mashburn, in the appearance of Robert Kirkland.

I think that most of your opinions are wrong. The list has to be wrong otherwise Jane would not smile when he saw that somebody broke into his room. ( kirklands guys )
we all know that scene with a toothpick when jane smiles when he sees that its broken. So that could only mean that he planned this to happen which means that he planted false list to fool red john. I doubt he would reveal his real suspects to red john so i think he kept it for himself and he has some kind of trick that he is going to pull later on in the series. So if the list is fake and no one from that list is red john that means that kirkland is only red johns helper. And if other guys from the list arent red john i would suspect mashburn because he is the smartest guy in the show aside the guys on the list.

Season 02, Ep. 13
In thw panting that Mashburn gave Liselle as a gift there is  tyger in the center of the image. If anyone knows which is the name of the painting, please tell me! Thanks 

we can not identify red john by the physical descriptions it will be poor , the main fact that this show in some how is related to william blake...........in this 6 th season the episode 7 called The Great Red Dragon......and the 8 th one called Red John................( it 's kind an equation )the great red dragon has 7 heads , that match perfectly with the list of 7 suspectsso we can say that red john afterall is not individual , it 's a groupe......but it 's kind a weird ......... a groupe of such organisation ....so perhaps those are 7 heads , the 7 tools .......so who 's the one we are lokcing for...........to answer this question , at all implies a sight..it 's in the general idea of the show ...it 's isn't about jane it's about the mentalist .....and ther is no need to describe a mentalist....so from this point we can  predict red jhon's identity to be  ( charming , manipulator , tricky , powerfull, romentic ............) and i think those 7 or 6 persones they may have some of this descriptions but whose the one who have its all.........a person could trick even jane ...i blieve red john is Walter Mashburn................( sorry for bad english)

Walter Mashburn

I have a whole theory, but I`ll make it as short as I can,
by pointing out only the major clues:

1.       “The
night I gave back his ring and told him about Yuri, I could see something crack
inside him”- is what the women who he was engaged with said about him (s03 e
07) -  so we know that he was disappointed by a women that he loved

2.      
He has no family, but a lot of friends

3.      
He`d do anything for a thrill – so I assume he
started killing for fun, and he preferred women because he wanted to teach them
a lesson

4.      
He is arrogant, vain, narcissistic, and he hates
to lose

5.      
When he asks Jane “What, you`re a psychic?” we
can easily observe his disgust when talking about psychics

6.      
He likes to wear red a lot

7.      
When he`s at the CBI, we often can see him
talking with CBI Ron. And Ron is always in the background when Mashburn is there

8.      
When he figures out that Lisbon almost took a
bullet in order to save him (same episode 7 from season 3) he`s very surprised;
like he wouldn`t expect that.

9.      
He`s charming. He seems the perfect man. Rich,
handsome, smart, willing to make anything to make people around feel nice. He
offers a lot of gifts, so people can easily be attracted to him.

10.  
He definitely has something to hide. Jane knows
that.

11.  
He had many wives. But when reffering to them,
is he actually talking about the women who he got married, or about his
victims?

12.  
That supermodel was willing to kill anyone who
even dared to approach him. Many women are crazy, but still, it is a little
awckward.

13.  
The name Wasburn appeared on Sophie Miller`s
list of patients.

To me, Walter Mashbun is the perfect Red
John. Is the kind of person that people can easily love and hate intensily, at the
same time. He is like the darker side of Jane, but equally charming and smart.
If Lisbon slept with him, that is not a coincidence. It is because, besides
Jane, only he has the power to make her “fall in love with him” somehow.