Stabler harbors a great deal of anger that is sometimes fueled by his job. He is often openly aggressive and intimidating toward suspects, which can either complicate the case further or lead to speedy confessions. When his wife Kathy (Isabel Gillies) leaves him in Season 6, Stabler's anger rises closer to the surface and in a few episodes threatens to boil over. One such instance occurs when Stabler investigates serial killer Gordon Rickett (Matthew Modine), whom he had investigated 14 years earlier. During interrogation, Ricketts tells Stabler that they harbor the same kind of rage and that if it weren't for his family and his job, Stabler would be just like him. When Benson and Stabler catch Rickett about to murder a young girl, Stabler appears ready to kill him in cold blood; it's only Benson's intervention that prevents him from doing so.