Michael Pike was the boyfriend of murdered young actress Dana Canton. It's revealed he arranged her murder at the hands of his childhood friend Ed Lang.
History[]
Pike and Lang were aspiring actors hoping to make it big on the New York scene. However, Pike was a narcissist and wanted to be the first to get his name in lights out of everyone he knew. When Lang got a role in a movie with Matt Damon, Pike dosed himself with ipecac to seem sick and beg Lang to take care of him, causing Lang to be replaced in his position.
Pike eventually started dating Kelly West, but when she was too devoted and unable to suit Pike's needs of control, he dumped her for young actress Dana Canton. West would stalk them both, and when Pike saw his fame was slagging, he decided to use West, Canton, and Lang as part of a plan to gain himself the notoriety he craved.
Buying an engagement ring to look like a fiancé-to-be, he had Lang dress up in a mugger's outfit and shoot Canton dead, Lang also shooting Pike's shoulder as part of the ruse. Pike would then "grieve" over Canton's loss and gain nationwide attention. West would be the easy patsy when the investigation proceeded.
Goren and Eames saw the profile through the façade and started to suspect the two actors. Bringing them both in for questioning, they started by making them uncomfortable with their suspicions, then they revealed to Lang Pike's deception targeting him with the ipecac. When Lang hears this, he reveals the entire plan in both their roles in devastation and hate, which Pike keeps trying to deny. But as he's led out in cuffs, Pike keeps shouting Lang's the one that shot Canton and degrades his chances of acting by calling him an "amateur".
The two conspiring actors are found guilty of their crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. (CI: "The Unblinking Eye")