Steven Fitzgerald

"No. I don't know Steven! I don't know Steven! Why do you want Steven?! Steven is stupid! He's... he's disgusting! He's filthy! Steven is filthy! He is filthy!"

Steven Fitzgerald is a serial killer who appeared in Season Three of Criminal Minds.

Background
Steven was raised in a strict household in Oakland Park, Florida. His father, David, was a prison guard who was deeply religious. It is implied that Steven was physically abused by his father, who claimed to be "protect[ing]" him from himself, and that his killing skills were learned in the process. The repeated abuse and chastising led Steven to believe that he was "filthy" and caused him to hate himself. Wanting to help her brother and get him away from their father, Sarah gave Steven some money, which he used to go on a trip to Miami in 2008. Encountering a gay man named Robert Feeney on February while in the city, Steven murdered him and stole his identity, successfully disappearing afterwards, being listed as missing and presumed dead. After Feeney, Steven murdered four more men, taking their identities as well.

In Heat
Two months after leaving home, Steven, after killing the vacationing New Orleans detective Charles Luvet, picks up Deacon Rogers, a tourist from Texas, at an outdoor poolside bistro. Hours later, when Deacon attempts a sexual advance outside a bar, Steven hits him, saying that he is disgusting and dirty. He suddenly apologizes next, then begins mocking Deacon, trying to copy his accent. Steven then begins to show affection to Deacon, but puts him in a stranglehold, killing him. Moments later, Steven is found with Deacon's body by a bus boy. Telling the bus boy he is a cop and that he and Deacon were mugged, Steven runs off, claiming he is going after the robber, and disposes of Detective Luvet's badge before breaking into and trashing Deacon's hotel room, searching for IDs or anything else that could help him pass as Deacon. Later, Steven is then seen driving away in Deacon's car. He passes a hitchhiker on the road, a German youth named Michael Aldridge. When Michael enters the car, Steven mimics his accent, foreshadowing the tourist's eventual murder.

After speaking to Steven's father and sister, the BAU realizes he is not a victim as previously thought and is in fact the killer. Realizing Steven would be compelled to go to the youth hostel Michael was hitchhiking to, Morgan and local detective Tina Lopez go there and clear the day room, leaving Steven sitting alone at a table. Steven begins reaching into his bag for a revolver. When referring to him by his real name fails to work, Morgan addresses Steven as Michael, gaining his attention. Growing agitated as Morgan and Tina try and talk him into coming with them, Steven begins frantically screaming that he has done nothing wrong and that he is Michael and not Steven, whom he yells is stupid and filthy. As Steven rants on, Morgan manages to calm him down by mentioning Sarah, saying she misses him and is worried about him. At the mention of his sister, Steven gives up peacefully and, while being led outside, desperately asks Morgan to tell his father he never did anything sexual with the men he killed.

Profile
The unsub is in his mid- to late-twenties and be charismatic, charming, intelligent, and familiar with the area, possibly offering assistance to those new to the city. He studies his victims' habits and learns how to gain their trust, and he also likely frequents or works in a gay establishment. How the victims were killed indicated the unsub may have had prior defense tactic training, meaning that he may possibly be in the military or was recently discharged. He steals his victims' possessions, but he doesn't pawn any of them. The victims all being homosexual men indicated that the unsub was either bigoted and/or struggling with his own sexuality.

It was mentioned the unsub may presumably be suffering from a Cluster B borderline-personality disorder. The unsub saw his victims living carefree lives without fear or judgment, and by killing them and taking their identity, he shed his own loathed personality. After taking someone's identity the unsub may also compulsively mimic them without intending to, an instance of this being when he hitchhiked to the youth hostel Michael Aldridge was heading to, despite having absolutely no reason to do so.

Modus Operandi
Steven would pick up gay men around Miami, mostly tourists, and befriend them. After successfully learning how to mimick their mannerisms and accent if they had one, he would kill them using a choke hold that didn't do any damage to the hyoid bone. The choke hold was learned from his father, who used the same choke hold at the prison where he worked. He then spent some time living under the identity of each victim before picking up another victim, killing him, stealing his identity, and repeating the cycle.

Real-Life Comparison
Steven may have some similarities to Larry Eyler, a.k.a. "The Highway Killer", a serial killer who sexually abused, murdered, and dismembered over 20 victims between 1982 and 1984. Both targeted homosexual men whom they would pick up on highways (although Steven stayed put in one location while Eyler was active in several U.S. states), were physically abused by father figures (although it was only implied that Steven was physically abused), and subsequently became angry at themselves for their homosexuality.

Known Victims

 * 2008:
 * February: Robert Feeney
 * February-March: Benjamin
 * March-April:
 * Unnamed victim
 * Paul Hayes
 * Daniel Brown
 * April 28: Detective Charles Luvet
 * April 29: Deacon Rogers
 * April 30: Michael Aldridge

Appearances

 * Season Three
 * "In Heat"