5 Dark Facts Every NCIS Fan Needs To Know About Mark Harmon's Gibbs
"NCIS" and its spinoffs are some of the most popular procedurals on television. Since 2003, audiences have peered into the unique, technical world of naval special investigations. At the forefront of the journey was Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), the silver-haired supervisor of the Washington D.C. NCIS Major Case Response Team. Between his trademark personal set of rules and his loyalty to the job, Gibbs is both a dedicated leader and a mentor to his team. But throughout 18 seasons, audiences were presented with details and instances of his life that showcased some darker aspects of his character.
Between his tragic background and his own regretful actions, Gibbs is not without demons. But these demons and experiences shaped him into the man he is — and helped him become the character audiences love. Any NCIS fan who has followed Gibbs since the first season should know these five dark, unsettling facts about him.
His daughter and first wife were murdered before the series
Gibbs has been married four times, and the last three all ended in divorce. But the end to his first marriage was owed to much more tragic circumstances. His wife Shannon (Darby Stanchfield) and eight-year-old daughter Kelly (Mary Mouser) were murdered by cartel member Pedro Hernandez (Thomas Rosales Jr.). While Gibbs was fighting overseas in Operation Desert Storm, Shannon witnessed Hernandez kill a Marine sergeant from Camp Pendleton and agreed to testify against him in court.
Before the court proceedings, they were being driven to a safehouse when Hernandez, armed with a sniper rifle, fired a round into the driver's head. The car crashed, killing Shannon and Kelly. Upon learning of his family's slaying, and being unable to attend the funeral, Gibbs tried to commit suicide by walking directly into enemy fire during an engagement. He survived, but was in a coma for days. And this self-destructive behavior continued, with it being the depressing reason why Gibbs never locks his front door.
His ex-fiancé was murdered as part of a coverup
Despite losing his first wife, Gibbs would try to find love again. At one point, he became engaged to fellow Marine Ellen Wallace (Erin Cummings). In 2001, Ellen started digging into a coverup regarding a 1998 military operation in Kosovo. Daniel Kent (Doug Savant), another Marine, killed her to hide his involvement in the coverup. The murder took place on September 10, 2001, and for years it was believed that she was a victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on The Pentagon.
Despite having called off their engagement the previous July, her death affected Gibbs tremendously and carried a heavy amount of guilt. Gibbs does, however, eventually gain some closure in Season 16's "Hail and Farewell." When a construction crew discovers Ellen's remains, Gibbs realizes she was not killed in the attacks. Despite being removed from the case, he still works to find her killer and is able to extract a confession from Kent (now a brigadier general), giving justice to Ellen.
He knowingly botched his former mother-in-law's interrogation so she'd remain free
Most of the time, when Gibbs breaks his own rules or goes out of character, it's to benefit his team or help a case. But sometimes it's more personal. In Season 7's "Mother's Day," Joanne Fielding (Gena Rowlands) — the mother of his late wife Shannon — makes an appearance. When the team is investigating the death of Captain Joseph Norton, who was dating (and recently proposed to) Joanne, they uncover that she was the killer. Norton had ties to the same cartel Pedro Hernandez belonged to, and she believed he was responsible for the deaths of her daughter and granddaughter.
Gibbs takes her down to his basement and reveals (without naming Hernandez) that Norton was not the killer. Joanne breaks down and finally confesses. He initiates an arrest, but her lawyer Margaret Allison Hart (Rena Sofer) halts him, explaining that he did not read her Miranda rights. As such, the confession is not valid. By knowingly "violating" Joanne's civil rights in front of Margaret, Gibbs was able to secure her from charges.
His mother committed suicide when he was 14 years old
Gibbs' family troubles have unfortunately been present since childhood. In Season 10's "The Namesake," he speaks with his father about the fact that his mother Ann Gibbs (Clare Carey) committed suicide via medication overdose. Ann had developed cancer, and she could not bear the thought of her husband Jackson (Ralph Waite) and her son watching her waste away. The only person who knew of her plan was Jackson's best friend Leroy Jethro Moore (Billy Dee Williams). Upon learning the true circumstances of his wife's death, and Leroy's knowledge of it, Jackson stopped speaking to him and maintained to his son that Ann died of cancer.
However, Gibbs apparently knew the truth all along. Throughout his childhood following his mother's passing, he was full of rage and resentful towards his father. This caused a rift that lasted into adulthood. Despite this dark part of Gibbs' life, he did help repair some of the fallout from his mother's death. Notably, he made Leroy and his father finally bury the hatchet.
He hunted down and killed the man who murdered his family
What may be Gibbs' most dark, defining aspect is the secret he harbored for years about Pedro Hernandez, his family's killer — he tracked him down and murdered him. After killing Shannon and Kelly Gibbs, Hernandez fled to Mexico while still working within the cartel. Gibbs located him, and shot him execution-style with a high range sniper rifle. Since the cartel did not want to look vulnerable from this assassination, they covered his death up and pretended he was still alive. This helped Gibbs escape from legal repercussions.
However, killing Hernandez and keeping it a secret weighed heavily on Gibbs. He later broke his fourth rule by revealing it to Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham), Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama), and Tim Mcgee (Sean Murray). His actions also make him a target of Miles Deakin (Mike Farrell), the leader of a network of vigilante judges who discover his past.