| “ | I don't know this kind of psychopath, never read about him. I don't even know if he's a psychopath. He's not insensitive, he's not shallow.
— Will to Jack
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” |
Garret Jacob Hobbs (also known as "The Minnesota Shrike") was a serial killer who abducted and killed eight young women. They were all from eight different Minnesota campuses and had the same eye color, hair color and were the same age. However, he risked getting caught so he could tuck Elise Nichols back into her own bed, as her body was imperfect and he couldn't "honor" it the way he did the others. Garret's resignation letter led Will Graham to investigate him. After receiving a call from Hannibal Lecter, he murdered his wife and attempted to do the same thing to his daughter but was stopped by Will Graham who shot him nine times. Graham and Hannibal saved the life of his daughter, Abigail.
Killing method
Although the murders of other girls weren't seen onscreen it is known that Elise Nichols was strangled with bare hands. It is assumed that all the other victims were killed using the same method. Afterward, Hobbs took them to his cabin, where he mounted them on deer antlers and dismembered them and removed their internal organs. The flesh and organs were then consumed; Hobbs may have served some of the flesh to his family. Elise Nichols' liver cancer, however, made her unsuitable for his purposes, so he attempted to apologize for what he'd done by returning her organs and tucking her body back into bed as he couldn't honor her.
After the warning call from Hannibal, Garret killed his wife and attempted to kill his daughter out of desperation.
- "He wouldn't disrespect them that way. He doesn't want these girls to suffer. He kills them quickly, and to his thinking, with mercy." (Will to Jack)
Method of Disposal
He left hardly any evidence. Bodies were never found, except for the body of Elise Nichols, which was found in her bedroom. In addition to serving the victims' flesh to his wife and daughter, Hobbs used the rest of the bodies for other purposes, similarly to what he did with deer he hunted. Abigail even found that he had been using their hair to stuff pillows.
- "You're not gonna find any of those girls. He would honor every part of them." (Abigail)
The Minnesota Shrike
The series started with Will Graham being brought in to help catch the Shrike. There were eight victims in eight months. All of the victims were taken from different campuses. The eighth victim having been taken about three minutes before Jack Crawford walked into Will's lecture hall. Will believes that none of the victims have been taken from where Jack thinks they where.
Nothing is found of the victims of the Shrike.
| “ | No bodies, no parts of bodies, nothing that comes out of bodies. Nothing.
— Jack to Will
|
” |
Known Victims
In order of first to last:
- S. Olsen
- L. Sorenson
- D. Latimer
- P. Cohen
- R. Winn
- A. Anderson
- D. Woodward
- Elise Nichols
- Louise Hobbs (his wife; slashed her throat)
- Abigail Hobbs (attempted; slashed her throat)
Episode appearances
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Quotes
- "He couldn't honor her. He feels bad." (Will)
- "Sensitive psychopath." (Jack)
- "He can't stand the thought of losing her. She's his golden ticket." (Will about Abigail)
- "Our cannibal loves women. He doesn't want to destroy them. He wants to consume them, keep a part of them inside." (Will to Jack)
- "Eating her is honoring her. Otherwise, it's...it's just...murder." (to Abigail)
- "See?" (to Will, his last words)