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“ | They can't keep us apart. | „ |
~ Mike Hicks to Keri Derzmond. |
Mike Hicks is the main antagonist of the Criminal Minds episode "The Crossing". He is a stalker who has preyed on coworker Keri Derzmond for years, motivated by the delusion that she loves him.
He was portrayed by Scott Lowell.
Biography[]
Hicks suffers from erotomania, a mental illness that causes people to believe that total strangers are in love with them and are meant to be with them. It is implied that he developed this illness as a result of being consistently rejected throughout his life.
He works as a technical support specialist for a law firm in Atlanta, Georgia, where he becomes fixated on lawyer Keri Derzmond after she accidentally touches his hand while working at her computer; he takes this as a clear sign that she loves him. He begins obsessively calling her and writing her letters until she moves to Maryland to get away from him. Undeterred, he tracks her down through her email and moves to Maryland to be near her.
"The Crossing"[]
Hicks finds Keri's address and sends her a picture of his bicep to impress her and alert her to his presence, even writing "I'm back." on the photo. Frightened, Keri calls the police, who bring in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Meanwhile, Hicks goes to the house that Keri shares with her boyfriend, Ryan, and steals their dog. Ryan is supportive at first, but their relationship is strained when the investigation inadvertently reveals that she had aborted their child years earlier without telling him.
Hicks pays a man to walk Keri's dog in her neighborhood to get her out into open, and kidnaps her. He transports her in his van, which is covered in pictures of her that he took secretly over the years. He demands to know why she moved away and "abandoned" him. Remembering BAU Agent Emily Prentiss' advice, Keri plays along with his delusion, apologizing for hurting his feelings and showering him with compliments. The ruse works, as Hicks unbinds her hands and massages her sore wrists. He kisses her, and she reluctantly kisses him back. She then asks him to go on a walk with her by the river, where she knows that the BAU is lying in wait.
As Hicks walks with Keri with a gun pressed to her back, the agents of the BAU spring into action, ordering home to let Keri go and surrender. Hicks puts a gun to Keri's head, threatening to kill her. Prentiss lowers her weapon and tells her fellow agents to stand down as a gesture of good faith. She tells him that Keri wants to be with him in order to get him to put his guard down, and Keri plays along by taking Hicks' hand and telling him that he has made her very happy. Sure enough, Hicks lowers his weapon, and BAU Agent Derek Morgan tackles and handcuffs him. As Morgan takes him into custody, Hicks shouts and curses at Keri for "betraying" him. He is then imprisoned for stalking, kidnapping, and attempted murder.
Trivia[]
- Hicks appears to be inspired by at most all of the following real-life criminals:
- The unidentified stalker and killer of Cindy James.
- The unidentified stalker and killer of Dorothy Jane Scott.
- Richard Farley, a stalker and mass murderer primarily targeting a colleague he was stalking even after she changed offices of employment.
- He is the third villain in Criminal Minds to suffer from erotomania. The others being: Vincent Shyer, Maggie Lowe, Ben Bradstone, Bill Rogers, Carl Finster, Diane Turner, Dana Seavers, and Kevin Peck.
External Links[]
- Mike Hicks on the Criminal Minds Wiki