Name: Aaron Hotchner
Gender: Male
Date Of Birth: 02 November 1966
Family: Haley Hotchner (Ex-Wife Deceased)
Jack Hotchner (Son)
Sean Hotchner (Brother)
Job: BAU Unit Chief
Rank: Supervisory Special Agent
Specialty: Profiler
Status: Alive
Portrayed By: Thomas Gibson
First Appearance: Extreme Aggressor
Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner is unit chief of Quantico's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and the direct superior of all special agents.
Hotch was a former profiler in the Seattle, WA field Office before transferring to Quantico. Previous to that, he was a prosecuting attorney. His struggles to maintain his family life have been an ongoing theme of the show.
After a two-week suspension for releasing a serial killer, Hotch requested a transfer by Erin Strauss, who was pressuring him for such a request. This pleased his wife, until Agent Morgan begged Hotch to come help on a case in Milwaukee and while he was packing up his desk, Garcia handed him the case file and lied to him, telling him that his transfer was held up and that JJ wanted him to have the file. Hotch decided to stay with the BAU against his wife's wishes—when he returned to Virginia, his wife and son were gone. In episode 311 (Birthright) he was served with divorce papers as he was leaving the office; he is seen signing them in a later episode.
In episode 301 (Doubt) it was revealed that Hotchner had previously worked as a prosecutor - more specifically, episode 319 (Tabula Rasa) indicated he had been with the District Attorney's office. In 108 (Natural Born Killer), when he is interrogating Vincent Perotta, Hotchner comments on the fact that it is logical for some abused children to become killers. Perotta notes Hotch's use of the word "some"; Hotch responds only by saying: "And, some grow up to catch them." This comment seems to imply that Hotchner was also abused as a child. His hearing has been damaged as a result of a car explosion at the beginning of Season 4. The doctor tells him that if he isn't careful he will go deaf, instead he goes on a case and a gun is fired near his ear which nearly causes him to lose his hearing permanently (The Angel Maker). In episode 404 (Paradise) he started to doubt himself when a suspect he interviewed turned out to be the Unsub.
At the end of the Season Four episode To Hell and Back, part 2, Hotch comes home to find that George Foyet (The Reaper) is in his apartment. He had been waiting for Hotch. George, dressed in full regalia, points his .44 Magnum at Hotch stating, "You should have made the deal"[3]. The episode ends with the sound of a gunshot, leaving the question as to whether Hotch is now dead.
Hotch is found alive at a nearby hospital, bloodied and unconscious, but alive. He had been held captive by George Foyetand tortured for several hours. Foyet had stabbed him several times and dumped him off at a local hospital. It has become clear in "Haunted" that Hotch is now obsessed with capturing Foyet, an obsession which has his teammates concerned with his sanity and work conduct.
As of the episode Cradle to Grave, Hotch has come under fire from his superiors, who are now requiring him to justify all of his tactical decisions. This has caused him to put pressure on his subordinates, which is gradually creating tension among the team members. At the end of the episode, Hotch announces that he is stepping down as Unit Chief and promoting Derek Morgan to take his place.
In The Eyes Have It, Hotch oversees Morgan's performance during his first case. Hotch is pleased with Derek's abilities to lead. Rossi offers the hypothetical question as to whether Morgan will be willing to step down if asked.
While Derek is shown to his new office, Hotch is seen mulling over George Foyet's criminal file.
In Outfoxed, Hotch and Prentiss visit Karl Arnold in prison to ask for his input on a current case. After the interrogation, Karl reveals that he has received communications from George Foyet, and that the killer is planning to return to make a final stand against Hotch. Karl reveals several notes featuring George signature symbol, The Eye of Providence.
In "100" episode Hotch is frantic when George Foyet attacks Hotch's wife and son. Hotch tells Jack to "work the case with him." This is a game the two of them play where Jack hides in Hotch's office. In this case, it is a code telling Jack to hide from Foyet. He engages in an intense battle with Foyet and beats Foyet to death. He faces an inquiry about this attack. He is cleared due to the fact that since Foyet killed Haley, Hotch's ex-wife, Hotch believed whole-heartedly that if Foyet got up from the floor he would kill Hotch's son. Jack is safe, having hidden in Hotch's office in a chest next to Hotch's desk. It is unclear as of the end of the episode whether Hotch can continue to work at the BAU and raise his son as a single parent. It is also unclear if Hotch returns to the BAU whether he will return as Unit Chief or as a Senior Supervisory Special Agent, his position during Morgan's tenure as Acting Unit Chief.
In the episode The Slave of Duty, Hotch is sitting by Haley's grave when Rossi asks him whether he will come back to the BAU. Hotch says that he has known all along that he will never give up and his place is 'fighting the bad guys'. InRetaliation, he has returned to duty, his former sister-in-law, Jessica Brooks, taking care of Jack while he's away.
- His sidearm is a Glock 17, with a 26 backup at his ankle
- Hotch met his wife, Haley, at a theater group, which he joined to get close to her
- He is left-handed, a trait that he shares with Penelope Garcia.
David was in early retirement until his voluntary return to the BAU. He had retired in order to go on lecture and book tours but returned to settle some unfinished business which wasn't immediately specified. Upon joining the team, it is obvious that he has had a previous working relationship with both Hotchner andErin Strauss, the BAU's Section Chief. Unlike most of the other team members, Rossi is not intimidated by Strauss's personality, and he often calls her by her first name (much to her chagrin).
In "Birthright" Rossi revealed to Sheriff Caulfield his reasons for returning. He held out a charm bracelet with the names of three children from one of his first cases. The children had come into their parents' bedroom to find them in bed, covered in blood and he promised them he would find out who did it. Each year on Christmas Eve, Rossi calls the children to let them know he hasn't forgotten them and he hasn't given up on solving the case of their parents' murders. He kept with this tradition through his return to the BAU, though none of the children had replied to his most recent calls. Rossi finally told Caulfield that the case had gone unsolved for 20 years; it was finally solved in "Damaged". He steps in as a hostage negotiator--his forte--in "Minimal Loss" when fellow agents Reid and Prentiss are held hostage.
On The Job
Like his predecessor Gideon, Rossi is an experienced agent that acts as the team's official profiler. He is adept at getting into the minds of criminals and works in tandem with Hotch to develop these profiles. He is also the glue that holds the team together, taking over as confidant and adviser to the team's personal and professional dilemmas
Notes:
- Carries an M1911 pistol
- He hates Los Angeles (The Performer)
- He has interviewed Charles Manson 3 times (The Fight)
- He interviewed Ted Bundy at least once (Limelight)
Morgan is a confident and assertive everyman character, the son of an African-American father and Caucasian mother. He holds a black belt in Judo, runs FBI self-defense classes, and previously served in a bomb squad unit and as a Chicago police officer. He and his two sisters grew up in a tough urban Chicago neighborhood. After the death of his father when he was ten, Morgan struggled somewhat --- youthful fighting earned him a juvenile criminal record. He was taken under the wing of a local youth center coordinator, Carl Buford. Buford acted as a surrogate father to Morgan and helped Morgan to obtain a college football scholarship, but also sexually abused him — the episode Profiler Profiled revealed and focused on this.
On The JobIn the episode Lo-FI it is told that he is being looked at to replace SSA Joyner and head up the New York field office. In Mayhem, Hotch doesn't recommend him because he said that Derek doesn't have enough trust in his coworkers. In Catching Out he chases the Unsub to a train where he hangs on for dear life until Hotchner shoots the suspect and saves his life.
In Omnivore, Derek came very close to being killed by The Reaper. The Unsub had tackled him through a window and Derek was rendered unconscious. Since The Reaper is a power/control type killer, Derek's unconscious state was a turn off and The Reaper spared him, leaving behind a .44 Magnum round to let him know that he easily could have killed him. He also took Derek's credentials.
In Cradle To Grave, Hotch tells Derek that he is stepping down as Unit Chief and in order to keep the team together, by promoting from within the Unit, and would like Derek to be Unit Chief.
In The Eyes have It, Morgan is successful in his first case as Acting Unit Chief. At the end of the episode, he is given his own office. JJ had pulled some strings to get Morgan the space, as its previous occupant, one Agent Hall, is set to retire soon.
Notes:- His sidearm is a Glock 17, with detatchable flashlight.
- Derek is an insomniac.
- He is a Metallica fan.[1]
- Derek was originally named "Tim". ("Compulsion")
- Derek's favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut, with his favorite Vonnegut novel being Mother Night[2]
- He usally kicks down the doors and storms in.
- Derek Morgan is portrayed by former soap star Shemar Moore.