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| “ | I won't be ignored! | „ |
| ~ The Hollow Man's most famous line. |
The "Hollow Man" (real name unknown) is the secondary antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "The Last Word". He is a serial killer who "competes" with the Mill Creek Killer, another serial murderer active in St. Louis, Missouri.
He was portrayed by Scott Michael Morgan.
Biography[]
Nothing is revealed about the Hollow Man's past or personal life, not even his real name. He begins killing prostitutes via drive-by shootings in St. Louis, Missouri, apparently inspired by another serial killer, the Mill Creek Killer, who began killing women in the same general area several months before. However, unlike the Mill Creek Killer, whose motivation for killing is necrophilia, the Hollow Man simply wants to be famous, a "celebrity serial killer" like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy.
The Hollow Man begins sending the Mill Creek Killer anonymous, coded messages in the personal ads section of his local newspaper, and the Mill Creek Killer answers them in the same fashion, and the two become rivals, altering their respective killings to "outdo" each other. Both the Mill Creek Killer and the Hollow Man are fans of the late J.D. Salinger's 1947 novel The Catcher in the Rye, and so sign their communications "Holden" and "Sunny", respectively, after characters in the book.
The Hollow Man also mails anonymous letters to reporter Jim Meyers, who wrote a book about the Mill Creek Killer, in the hopes that he would write a book about him, as well.
The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) profiles the killer as an insecure, socially inept man with a menial job who feels ignored, inadequate, and powerless in both his personal and professional life. They also theorize that he kills, but does not rape, prostitutes because he lacks the confidence to approach women and may well be impotent.
"The Last Word"[]
In order to "compete" with the Mill Creek Killer's latest murder, the Hollow Man murders prostitute Marci Mitchell, shooting her as she services a client in an alley. The BAU is called in to investigate both murders. Upon discovering that the two killers communicate with each other, the agents of the BAU decide to direct media attention to the Mill Creek Killer and say nothing of the Hollow Man, in hopes of feeding the former's ego to the point that he becomes sloppy, while angering the latter to the point that he reveals himself.
The BAU's press officer, Jennifer Jareau, holds a press conference which she devotes almost entirely to the Mill Creek Killer, and says that the Hollow Man murders are the work of several people and are unconnected. The plan works, as the Hollow Man is enraged by not getting the credit he thinks he deserves, while the Mill Creek Killer gets lazy and is eventually caught.
The Hollow Man drives to the police station where the Mill Creek Killer is being interrogated. While going through security, he pulls a gun and takes a police officer hostage. He demands to see the Mill Creek Killer and accuses Jareau of deliberately allowing the other killer to take credit for his murders. He briefly glimpses a man in an interrogation room being arrested by Supervisory Agent Jason Gideon and deduces that he is the Mill Creek Killer. He is distracted long enough to allow the police to overpower and arrest him. The Hollow Man and the Mill Creek Killer momentarily pass each other as they are taken into custody, but do not acknowledge each other. They are both imprisoned for life.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Hollow Man is inspired by multiple real-life and fictional serial killers:
- Sean Vincent Gillis, a.k.a. "The Other Baton Rouge Killer", a serial killer of high-risk women in competition with another simultaneously active serial killer in the area, Derrick Todd Lee.
- William Henry Hance, a.k.a. "The Forces of Evil", a serial killer/rapist of black women in reaction to the murders committed by Carlton Grey, Hance pretending to be a supremacist in retaliation against Grey's murders of white women to distract the police when sending messages to them.
- William Randolph, a.k.a. "The Gentleman Caller", the secondary antagonist of the book and film adaptation Kiss the Girls, a serial killer/rapist of high-risk women with an M.O. od dismemberment from body part fetishism, and, in the movie, in competition with his accomplice, Nick Ruskin, a.k.a. "Casanova", with whom he communicated about their murders.
External Links[]
- The Hollow Man on the Criminal Minds Wiki
