Mike Hicks

"How could you do this?! After everything I've done for us! They can't keep us apart!"

Michael Hicks is a stalker who appeared in Season Three of Criminal Minds.

Background
Not much specific detail about Mike's past is disclosed, but what is known is that he is delusional and has a deceased grandmother. At some unknown point prior to The Crossing, Mike began stalking a woman named Keri Derzmond in Atlanta, believing Keri is in love with him, possibly because of a casual smile she may have given him on the street. Determined to win her love, he began lifting weights to improve his appearance. Eventually becoming scared, Keri moved to Maryland, much to his distress.

The Crossing
Somehow finding Keri again in Maryland, Mike sends her a photograph of his bicep and a message that reads, "I'm Back." On Keri's request, JJ, Prentiss, Morgan and Reid are called in to investigate. Meanwhile, while spending time together, Keri and Ryan find their front gate and their dog missing. Mike is then shown with the dog in his apartment and says to it, "You miss her, don't you? I miss her, too." Prentiss and JJ show up and speak to Keri and Ryan, advising her to play along with the stalker, should he confront her, as they do not believe that he has any intention of hurting her.

Garcia does some researching and discovers that Keri had previously had an abortion and the baby was Ryan's, but she never told him. Ryan storms out when he overhears the news, only to find that the windshield to his car has been broken. The next day, Keri sees Mike on the street and recognizes him as the man she has seen on several occasions in Atlanta.

Later, Ryan returns home to meet with Keri and sees his dog across the street, being walked by a stranger. He attacks the man, who explains that a man paid him money to walk the dog. Meanwhile, Mike has crept into the house and confronts Keri, later holding her captive in his van whose walls are covered with pictures of her. She plays along like the BAU told her, mentioning that she saw him for the first time on the 21st, and he is relieved, happy to know that she noticed him too. Overjoyed to hear compliments from Keri, Mike releases her from her bonds and rubs her bruised wrists, leaning down to kiss them and hold them against his face before he begins kissing her, and Keri tries hard to respond correctly. She then asks if they could leave the van and walk along the water, to which Mike agrees. Holding her tightly, he leads her from the van and then reaches inside to take a pistol from behind the seat.

Mike and Keri walk along the pier when the BAU and Maryland police erupt from their positions, guns drawn. When Mike places the gun against Keri's head, Prentiss motions for the agents to put their guns away, claiming that she just wants to talk. She tells Mike that Keri wants to be with him and Keri repeats it, saying that she is very happy now. She then reaches over and touches his hand, still talking, and Mike slowly begins lowering the gun. Having been waiting for this moment, Morgan leaps out from behind a fence and tackles Mike, handcuffing him, and he is held back as he shouts angrily at Keri.

Profile
Being rejected throughout his entire life caused the unsub to develop a fantasy in which he believed he had found someone who loved him. His delusions were so deep that he went as far as following Keri over six-hundred miles, which is unusual with stalkers, who will normally obsess over someone else if their current "love" moves a long distance away. The unsub obscuring his face in photos he sent and writing instead of calling implicated he had self-esteem issues, though over time he began growing more confident, sending Keri gifts (instead of just cards), while expecting something in return, and began to make himself resemble Keri's boyfriend Ryan, in an attempt to replicate what Keri was attracted to. Though normally passive, this type of stalker may become violent if they feel others may be "stealing" their obsession's affection or if they feel they would be unable to ever be with the one they loved.

Modus Operandi
Mike would follow Keri everywhere, taking photos whenever he could, and send her letters with an occasional picture of himself. As he grew more confident, Mike began sending Keri gifts and, presumably out of jealousy, took her dog and smashed the windshield of her boyfriend's car. While holding her captive, Mike kept Keri in line with a knife and handgun, the latter of which he threatened to use on her when they were surrounded by the BAU.

Known Victims

 * Keri Derzmond

Appearances

 * Season Three
 * "The Crossing"