The Hollow Man

"Where is he? I want to see him right now. You tell him the Hollow Man is here!"

The Hollow Man (real name unknown) is a serial killer who appeared in Season Two of Criminal Minds.

Background
Like the Mill Creek Killer, nothing is known about the Hollow Man, other than he became active in St. Louis at the same time as the Mill Creek Killer, whom he later became involved in a competition with. Unlike him, the Hollow Man was motivated by fame. He would write letters to Jim Meyers, a journalist who wrote about the Mill Creek Killer, telling him about his murders and his motivation with phrases like, "I won't be ignored."

The Last Word
After the Mill Creek Killer murders another woman, the Hollow Man starts another hunt, eventually spotting prostitute Marci Mitchell and shooting her when she walks into a secluded alleyway. It is this murder, along with the Mill Creek Killer's latest murder, that calls in the BAU. When the Mill Creek Killer murders yet another woman and the attention is focused on it in its entirety, the Hollow Man becomes enraged and approaches two prostitutes at an alleyway in his taxi. One of the women approaches him and informs him that they are off-duty before he pulls out his gun and shoots her. The other woman screams and attempts to flee, but is shot in the back and instantly killed. He then drives away.

The BAU later find out his method of communication with the Mill Creek Killer and decide to use it to their advantage, using his alias to set up a trap for the Mill Creek Killer that works, resulting in a successful arrest. JJ initiates a press conference that informs the public of the Mill Creek Killer's capture and states that the Hollow Man's murders are most likely unconnected. This enrages him and he immediately arrives at the police station, allowing two security guards to scan him. When one of them finds his gun, he pulls it out and holds him at gunpoint. He then successfully orders the other guard to slide his gun away. He then takes the guard upstairs where he demands the Mill Creek Killer before accusing JJ of being ordered by the Mill Creek Killer to not give him credit for his murders. When he spots the Mill Creek Killer in a conference room, he is distracted and accidentally lowers his gun, allowing the authorities to quickly make an arrest. On the jet on their way back, the BAU read a preview of the next day's newspaper, in which the Hollow Man's victims are named and memorialized, though he himself isn't mentioned.

Profile
"I left you the newspaper! I gave you the Mill Creek Killer! What else do I have to do?!"

While the Mill Creek Killer is motivated by internal forces, the Hollow Man is motivated by fame. His usage of simple statements, all first-person, like "I won't be ignored", implies that he feels tired of feeling ignored in his professional and private lives. He may have a job that required him to work in solitude or wear a uniform, erasing his individual identity. It is a menial job for which he was overqualified and felt a need for respect that he necessarily deserves, or a job which he felt stripped him of his identity. His most recent shooting of two women says his confidence is growing, making him unpredictable and dangerous. The second and/or third aspects of the profile were correct, as he worked as a taxi driver. Shooting his victims was a way for him to avoid bodily contact with them, making it more difficult for him to catch.

Serial shooters like the unsub are typically loners. Since his victims were prostitutes, he may lack confidence with women or has poor social skills. He does not rape his victims, which means he might be impotent. His gun gives him power and lets him maintain distance from his victims, with whom he does not want to come into physical contact with. According to the graphological analysis of the letters, the Hollow Man's cursive handwriting suggested repression, that he is uptight and prone to overreacting, and that he solved problems in a practical, direct manner, such as shooting someone.

He contacted the Mil Creek Killer in the hopes that he would be his mentor and offered him admiration and respect, hoping to acquire encouragement and confidence from the latter. When he remained unnoticed by the press, he resented the Mil Creek Killer and turned their relationship into that of a rivalry.

Modus Operandi
The Hollow Man would hunt at night (except for the alleyway double homicide, which occurred during the day hours and was committed out of rage), shooting prostitutes with a .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver. His signature was using hollow-point bullets (hence his name) to kill his victims. He usually killed right after the Mill Creek Killer claimed the life of another victim.

Real-Life Comparison
The plot-line of the Hollow Man targeting prostitutes and fearing of being ignored due to the media's focus on the Mill Creek Killer seems to be reminiscent of Sean Vincent Gillis. Like the Hollow Man, Gillis actually feared of being "outdone" by Derrick Todd Lee, a.k.a. "The Baton Rouge Serial Killer", who was active in the same time and area as Gillis, and received an extensive amount of media coverage during his arrest. This was in comparison to the absence of attention Gillis (who had yet to be arrested at the time) received.

Known Victims

 * November 2005: Arlene Addison
 * 2006:
 * March: Tiffany Benson
 * June: Penny Clifford
 * August:
 * Grace Danielson
 * Suzette Freeman
 * October:
 * Gloria Earls
 * Diane Gladwyn
 * November 14: Marci Mitchell
 * November 15: The alleyway shootings:
 * Unnamed victim
 * Nicole B.
 * November 16: Unnamed security guard

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * The Last Word