When a Superfan Goes Too Far For His "Art" - The Wanna be Dexter Killer | Mystery & Makeup

Mark Twitchell was born on July 4th, 1979, in Edmonton, Canada, and developed an enduring fascination with movies and filmmaking from a young age. Dreaming of cinematic glory, Twitchell channeled his passion into an early career path.

Film-focused Education and Creative Endeavors

Early Demonstrations of Creativity and Skill

Twitchell's journey into the film industry began with his studies at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, where he was a part of the school's radio and television arts program. He showcased considerable creativity and craftsmanship, particularly in the domain of prop and costume design. His talent was evident as he won costume contests, impressing judges and peers with elaborate, self-made costumes inspired by iconic franchises like Star Wars and Transformers.

Pursuing a Dream in Filmmaking

With a clear vision for his future, Twitchell pursued his filmmaking aspirations through writing, producing, and directing his own projects. His work included the Star Wars fan ...

Mark Twitchell's personal life was marked by difficulties and a deceit that played a significant role in the background of his criminal activities.

Twitchell married a woman named Megan in 2001, but the marriage ended in divorce after three years.

Mark Twitchell married Megan shortly after graduating from college. The couple moved to Illinois together seeking to start a new life. However, after three years, their marriage came to an end with a divorce, leading Mark to return to the dating scene.

Twitchell later met and married another woman, Jess, with whom he had a daughter.

Years after his first marriage ended, Mark met a woman named Jess through the dating website Plenty of Fish around 2005. The relationship between Mark and Jess quickly progressed, and they decided to get married. The couple celebrated the expansion of their family approximately a year later with the birth of a daughter.

However, the happiness was short-lived as their relationship began to deteriorate.

However, Twitchell's marriage to Jess deteriorated, with the two sleeping in separate rooms and seeking marriage counseling.

Jess Twitchell revealed that their marriage began to decline in the fall of 2008. The couple's issues escalated to the point where they were sleeping in separate rooms and seeking the help of marriage counseling in an effort to salvage their relationship.

...

In a sinister turn of events, Mark Twitchell's nefarious actions surfaced with attacks on two men, Gilles and Johnny, which he orchestrated by luring them under false pretenses.

In October 2008, Twitchell lured a man named Gilles to his garage under the guise of a fake online dating profile, intending to attack him.

Gilles, who was using the website plentyoffish.com, believed he was meeting a woman named Sheena but it was actually Twitchell behind the fake profile. Gilles received detailed directions to a location which led him into an open garage door. Upon entering, he was immediately attacked by Twitchell who was wearing a hockey mask and armed with a stun baton. Twitchell also pulled out what appeared to be a real gun and tried to subdue Gilles with duct tape. However, Gilles fought back, discovered the gun was plastic, managed to free himself, and escaped from under the garage door while Twitchell desperately attempted to drag him back inside. Embarrassed and trying to downplay the severity of the attack, Gilles initially did not report the incident to the police.

A few days later, Twitchell used a similar ruse to lure another man, Johnny Altinger, to his garage, where he murdered and dismembered him.

Johnny Altinger fell victim to Twitchell's brutal crime in a grimly similar scenario as Gilles. Twitchell, posing as a woman on Plenty of Fish, instructed Altinger to go to the same garage, where he was then savagely attacked with a lead pipe and stabbed to death. Twitchell went to grim lengths to cover his tracks; he dismembered Altinger's body, attempted to burn parts of it, and produced emails from Altinger's account claiming he was leaving for an extended trip. Using a document Twitchell wrote, which chillingly detailed his murderous exploits, the prosecution argued that Twitchell aspired to be a serial killer, ...

The meticulous police investigation into the murder for which Mark Twitchell was charged, led to the uncovering of substantial evidence implicating him in the crime, including blood evidence, the murder weapon, and a chilling document found on Twitchell’s computer that narrated the murder in detail.

Police investigation uncovered significant evidence linking Twitchell to Altinger's murder, including blood evidence, the murder weapon, and a detailed "confession" document found on Twitchell's computer.

When police conducted a luminol test in Mark’s garage, they discovered there had been an attempt to clean up a significant amount of human blood. Mark Twitchell was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Johnny Altinger on October 31st, 2008. During his arrest, police searched his home and car, seized his laptop, and discovered the "SK Confessions" document, which detailed the murder and Twitchell’s development into a serial killer.

The "SK Confessions" document detailed Twitchell's plans and actions in carrying out the murder, matching the evidence discovered by police.

This troubling document, which Twitchell had attempted to delete, started with the line "This story is based on true events," and proceeded to describe in a first-person narrative the lack of empathy or sympathy for others, as well as the contemplation, decision, and reactions to becoming a serial killer. The document aligned closely with the murder details and revealed the psychological workings behind Twitchell's actions.

Johnny's blood was found on Twitchell’s clothing, and his knife, identified as the murder weapon, was recovered by police. Dozens of pieces of evidence were found across various locations, including Twitchell's home, car, parents' house, and the garage where the murder wa ...

The trial of Mark Twitchell and his subsequent conviction for first-degree murder highlights issues of self-defense claims and the complexities of the justice system.

At trial, Twitchell tried to claim the murder was an act of self-defense, but the overwhelming evidence led to his conviction for first-degree murder.

Twitchell, while insisting he was innocent, claimed he accidentally killed Johnny in self-defense. He took the stand at his own trial, describing the killing as a horrific accident. His defense attempted to negotiate a plea for a lesser charge of interfering with a dead body in order to avoid facing the first-degree murder charge, but this was rejected by the prosecution.

Twitchell was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years.

The prosecution initially sought to charge Twitchell with not only Johnny's murder, but also the attempted murder of another victim, Gilles. However, the judge decided to keep the two cases separate. During the trial, Twitchell admitted to killing Johnny and to writing the "SK confessions" document, but he claimed self-defense, asserting that the document was meant to be a fictional recounting of actual events, as if he had premeditated Johnny’s death for the sake of a story. After only five hours of deliberation, the jury found Twitchell guilty, sentencing him to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. As ...

The case of Mark Twitchell, commonly referred to as the "Dexter killer", garnered widespread attention due to his peculiar obsession with the television series "Dexter".

Significant media attention and the "Dexter killer" label

Twitchell's case triggered a media frenzy, which was only intensified by his attempts to maintain his film career from behind bars.

The media coverage regarding Twitchell was amplified by a combination of his morbid interest in "Dexter" and the details that emerged about him watching the show in prison and endeavoring to continue his filmmaking. The attention was such that Twitchell, in his written appeal, argued that the extensive, sensationalized media portrayal of his case made it improbable for jurors to remain unbiased, thus impacting his ability to receive a fair trial.

Steve, an investigative journalist from the Edmonton Journal, corresponded with Twitchell in the penitentiary and documented these interactions and other el ...