John Nichols

"You took my money, and you hoarded my servers for your little crusade, and none of that is free. Even those women knew that."

John Nichols is a serial-turned-spree killer (and later a copycat) who appeared in The Black Queen.

History
Little is known about Nichols, including why he started killing prostitutes alongside his partner Sam Russell. However, what is known about him is that he became a hacker, which is how he met Russell, also a hacker, with whom they were partners in hacking money and infrastructure; Nichols acted as the silent partner. Also, considering the high-end style of his house and the fact that he seemed perfectly capable to buy an address with a large sum of money, he may also have access to a fortune (possibly acquired through his hacking attacks). Together, they started killing in 2004. When Russell was arrested as a suspect for the killings, he convinced him to take the fall in exchange for supplying him with drugs and prayer beads with hair from his victims. When Russell agreed to the deal, Nichols stopped killing, but continued to send Russell strands of hair from his victims in order to reassure him that their deal was still in place. Sometime prior to "The Black Queen", he joined an activist organization of hackers called Starchamber, which investigated Russell's case and annotated the original case file with their own research. They then hacked the U.S. Justice Department website in 2014 and voiced its support of Russell's innocence, stating that the victims "died in vein ". This prompted Nichols to start killing again, in order to ensure that Russell would stay alive.

In "The Black Queen", he begins his second phase of killings by murdering two prostitutes on January 14, drugging them and then stabbing one and strangling the other as a reference to his and Russell's separate methods of killing. The next night, he kills another prostitute, strangling her, then stabbing her. The following day, Nichols learns from Shane Wyeth, the leader of Starchamber, that he loaned the BAU a file relating to the original killings, annotated by the organization. In response, he drugs Shane, abducts him, and takes him to a house, intending to fatally poison him with the illusion of suicide, therefore setting him up as the killer. He drugs Shane excessively with Oxycodone that he purchased under Shane's name, all the while angrily ranting on to him about how he used his money to fund activities for Starchamber and that the organization's purpose was useless. However, Nichols is about to administer the fatal dose when he is confronted by Morgan, Reid, and a SWAT team, who found that he purchased the house hours ago under Shane's name (despite the fact that Shane couldn't afford to buy it). He is arrested, while Shane is successfully revived by Reid.

Modus Operandi
Nichols targeted prostitutes alongside Russell, all of whom were drugged by a drink that they took. During the 2004 killings, he stabbed them to death. During the 2014 killings, he specifically targeted prostitutes who went independent from prostitution services recently; because details regarding the 2004 victims were unclear, it is also possible that these victims shared that same attribute as well. During the double homicide, he copied Russell's method of killing onto one of the victims, which was later repeated on the murder of Debbie Bloom. Also, judging by a couple of scenes in the episode, he apparently seemed to allow his drugged victims to crawl across the ground, presumably to taunt and/or psychologically torture them. When he tried to kill Shane Wyeth, he instead tried to fatally poison him with Oxycodone.

Profile
For the profile, the BAU had two theories regarding to the unsub:


 * One theory was that Russell was wrongfully convicted and the real killer has struck again. The unsub is controlled enough to stay dormant for a decade, but Russell's impending execution brought him back. Like Dennis Rader, he resurfaced to claim credit for his murders. The unsub's most recent murders could serve as a similar message.


 * The other theory was that the unsub was a copycat who was trying to cast doubt on Russell's conviction. To copy the case accurately, he would have to have access to the original case file, and since Starchamber has the file, he is possibly a member. Certain types of hackers thrive on the cachet of infamy; in this case, the unsub wants to show his peers that he was so evil that he can committ the murders that Russell didn't.

Later on in the investigation, the BAU deduced that elements of both theories were correct in the sense that Nichols resurfaced due to Russell's impending execution and that Russell was innocent for some of the murders, while Nichols was also a copycat and a member of Starchamber who wanted to demonstrate his evil to his peers.

Real-Life Comparison
Nichols bears a physical resemblance and the same surname of Terry Nichols, the accomplice of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. It should also be noted that Terry Nichols was a member of a two-person killing team, although he didn't directly participate in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified dates in 2004: Four unnamed prostitutes
 * 2014:
 * January 14: Gloria Holden and Marguerite Churchill
 * January 15: Debbie Bloom
 * January 16: Shane Wyeth

Appearances

 * Season Nine
 * The Black Queen