Adam Jackson

"Adam doesn't need you anymore."

Adam Jackson is a serial killer who appeared in Season Four of Criminal Minds.

Background
Born in Corpus Christi, Adam's mother, Rosemary, died when he was five, causing Adam's stepfather, Mark Harrison, who been abusive towards Rosemary, to begin channeling his aggression towards Adam. Mark would beat Adam, force him to wear girl's clothes, and possibly molested him. To cope with the abuse, Adam developed an alternate female personality that referred to itself as Amanda, and took the abuse for Adam. In and out of emergency room throughout his childhood, Adam was eventually put into a foster facility in Dallas, and was shunted from home to home. Adam was emancipated at the age of sixteen, and was at some point expelled from school due to bad grades, drug possession, and petty theft. While he was in foster care, Adam met Julie Riley, a university student who volunteered at the foster care facility. Julie befriended Adam, and got him a job and a home at the Hudson Street Hotel at South Padre Island, Texas, when she became manager of it. When Adam was jailed on two occasions, Julie bailed him out, and possibly helped acquire drugs to help counteract his severe migraines. The drugs enforced the Amanda personality, which eventually drove her, in Adam's body, to kill William Browder at the hotel, a man he previously had a fight with while in the Amanda personality as he was trying to save a hotel employee, Madison Cooke, from Browder, who was making inappropriate advances on her.

Conflicted
Adam, as Amanda, is first seen meeting Daniel Keller in an elevator at the hotel, and Daniel takes him to his room, where Adam kills him. The following morning, he, as himself, finds Daniel's corpse inside a closet, which leads to the BAU being called in. After Adam kills Carl Cade at a different hotel, the BAU investigates its employees. Adam is initially interviewed by Reid and Morgan. He does appear to fit the profile the team puts together, as he is a submissive male. The team theorizes that the unsub is actually a killing team, comprising of a dominant male and a submissive female. It is thought that the female lured the young men into the hotel rooms, tied them up (with consent), then the male would rape them and kill them.

The team, being prompted by info from Garcia, begin to suspect Julie and Adam as the killers, but with roles reversed; Adam was the submissive. After the two of them pass a polygraph, Reid realizes that Adam suffers from a split personality. He comes to this conclusion after Adam stares him down confidently upon his release; an uncharacteristic act for a submissive. Julie searches for Adam later on in his hotel room and finds several items belonging to the previous victims. She confronts him, but his female alter-ego takes over again, waylays her, and escapes. The team now knows that Adam is the sole killer and his female side is dominant and confident; a stark contrast to Adam's personality. Adam, in the Amanda personality, travels to Corpus Christi to find his stepfather. The team confronts Adam as he holds his stepfather hostage and tied up with a plastic bag over his face. Reid, who wanted Adam alive, talks him into allowing Morgan to arrest her, but beforehand, the Amanda personality, in an act to protect Adam from the consequences of her actions, apparently takes permanent possession of his body, much to Reid's dismay. "Amanda", in full wig and makeup, is then interviewed by Reid in a mental institution. Reid, who, ironically, had a past encounter with a serial killer named Tobias Hankel who had suffered from the exact same condition that Adam had, believes that Adam can be saved, if only he could reach him.

Profile
Adam was initially profiled to be a two-person killing team comprised of one man and one woman, both in their twenties. The man would probably be a heterosexual who is submissive in his everyday life and with everyone except for his partner, to whom he becomes dominant with. The female was probably be socially awkward, of average intelligence, emotionally unstable, have a problem with authority, and can't interact with dominant personalities. When the BAU declared Julie Riley as a suspect, the profile changed the roles of the killing team. However, it is revealed that Adam, the sole killer, suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder due to numerous childhood abuses. His default personality, Adam, is submissive and meek. His dominant personality, Amanda, is confident, violent, and vengeful. Amanda chooses victims that resemble Adam's stepfather; abusive alpha males who feel that everyone is their property. Adam/Amanda is highly intelligent and is able to slightly thwart the team's investigation by changing venues and passing a polygraph test. It is obvious to Rossi, however, that Adam has no idea what he does when Amanda takes over, which is why he passed the polygraph.

Modus Operandi
The Amanda personality would lure alpha males into a hotel room where, while dressed like a woman in Adam's body, she would convince them to let her tie them up. She would then rape and strangle them. His first two victims were killed at Hudson Street Hotel, but after the BAU turned up, the third victim, Carl Cade, was killed in a different hotel to prevent being spotted.

Real-Life Comparison
The fact that Mark dressed Adam up in girls' clothing seems to be loosely based on Henry Lee Lucas, whose mother, a prostitute, also dressed him up in girls' clothing. He also seems to be based on Billy Milligan, who also had multiple personalities, one of which was a woman who raped three people.

Known Victims

 * William Browder
 * Daniel Keller
 * Carl Cade
 * Julie Riley
 * Mark Harrison

Quotes
Note: Whenever Adam speaks as Amanda, he will be labeled as such to prevent confusion.



Psychiatrist: I'd like to talk about Adam. He's still missing.

Amanda: So I've heard.

Psychiatrist: Will you help us find him?

Amanda: No.

Psychiatrist: Why not? What more do you need to hide?

Amanda: I'm not hiding anything.

Reid: Did Adam... get what he deserved?

Amanda: Adam was special.

Reid: Well if he's so special, why don't you tell me how to find him?

Amanda: Because he's in a better place now.

Julie: I wanna believe you, Adam.

Adam: Believe me!

Julie: I think that we should go to the police, together.

Adam: (sobbing) No!

Julie: I'll be right here with you, we'll figure this out. Or I'll go by myself.

(Adam stands up)

Amanda: I said no.

(He turns towards Julie)

Amanda: (to Reid, referring to Adam) I could take it. I was stronger than he was.

Reid: I'm just waiting for you to do the right thing.

Amanda: Well I'm afraid you'll be waiting for a very long time.

Appearances

 * Season Four
 * Conflicted