He was a married amateur film maker from Edmonton, Canada, with an eight-month-old daughter. Tetreault said he punched his attacker, taking some blows to the head during the struggle, then came up with a plan. However, he maintained a core group of friends. A jury's guilty verdict put would-be moviemaker Mark Twitchell behind bars for life and concluded one of the most macabre murder stories Edmonton has witnessed. southside garage on Oct. 10, 2008. of his disappearance. Why couldn't he just storm off like he was supposed to?" victim's body and his numerous attempts to dispose of the remains. After that, Mark also admitted to breaking into Johnnys house, sending those emails, and stealing his laptop and printer. [32], Twitchell's case was featured in the American magazine Crime Watch Daily on May 1, 2017. He admitted he lured Altinger, and another ", Later he went on: "I do not have any Most read in The US Sun MIGHTY MARCH Twitchell said, he knifed him in the heart, then panicked and cut The Crown alleges Mark Twitchell killed Altinger on Oct. 10, 2008, one week after he tried to kill another man who was lured to the same garage but managed to escape. fight back and flee the garage, just as described in the document. Late in the afternoon, the jury heard evidence from David Puff, a videographer who worked on Twitchell's film House of Cards in the fall of 2008. Mark Twitchell, 29, had rented the garage space to film his movie "House of Cards." Johnny Altinger's friends were also able to hand over the directions Johnny had forwarded them before his date. death of the Altinger character, named Jim, as a cold-blooded Seen here are Twitchell's handwritten directions on a Google map. The directions led police to a manhole where Twitchell had dumped Johnny's remains. [27] The media fought the application, but the judge agreed to both a sealing order and publication ban, stating in his ruling that "there is a real risk that pretrial publicity will undermine the accused's constitutionally protected right to a fair trial. laptop called SKconfessions, which the Crown called his diary and Tetreault harm them. Johnny Altinger's older brother said that family and friends last heard from Johnny on October 10, 2008, when the 38 . In murdering a man by luring him to his garage using fake online on his laptop is true, cut the head off his victim and played with and that Twitchell, if he was writing it as the truth, would not "He tore a piece of tape and he covered my eyes with it," Tetreault said. "It was actually he was probably going to kill me. In self defence, [10] The police, not believing this story, impounded Twitchell's laptop and car, and found Altinger's blood in the car's trunk. I try to tell myself that their fixated nature would have done it one way or the other, but it seems that Dexter had something to do with it. material outweighed its value as evidence. It really was like being on a legitimate movie set.. Days before Altinger's murder, on October 3, Twitchell invited another man named Gilles Tetreault to his garage. We have many as disturbing as the facts they did hear. The journalist also detailed the striking similarities between Twitchell's crimes and the TV show he admired. The author also self-diagnosed himself as During his trial, Twitchell admitted to killing Altinger and authoring the document, but claimed he had acted in self-defense. murdering human beings. "There are no deities or religious undertones As police were still trying to nail Twitchell for the crimes, Tetreault saw Johnny's murder and the hockey mask on the news. Johnny Altinger's older brother said that family and friends last heard from Johnny on October 10, 2008, when the 38-year-old headed out on a date with a woman named "Jen.". implication he would use one to "carry out a crime" and "destroys" sensationalized that it is unreasonable to expect any The names and events were altered slightly to protect the guilty. "[14], Another document found on Twitchell's laptop did not make its way into the evidence file for the jury to read during his trial. effect. publication ban until the jury was sequestered Tuesday afternoon On October 31, 2008, Mark Twitchell was arrested from the basement of his parents home in Edmonton, busy making his Ironman costume. the Murderpedia project stay alive. He goes onto online dating websites. on state of mind and credibility.". CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Mark Andrew Twitchell (born July 4, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker convicted of first-degree murder in April 2011 for the murder of John Brian Altinger. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Twitchell became known as the Dexter killer as cops said the Canadian was obsessed with the fictional TV killer Dexter Morgan and aspects of his real life crimes followed parts of the show. Mark Twitchell picked up thirty-eight-year-old John Brian "Johnny" Altinger from the same website as his next victim, convincing him to come to his garage on Friday, October 10, 2008. "For as long as I can remember I have always had a distinct lack of empathy, I've always had a dark side I've had to sugarcoat for the world. John Brian "Johnny" Altinger was a 38 year old "I start hearing different things like a jingling noise and stuff like that. Tetreault described what happened when he got to the location, saying he quickly realized that there was a sinister motive behind the meet-up. [17][18] Tetreault testified that he was lured using the website Plenty of Fish, expecting a date with a young woman named Sheena, only to be attacked by a man in a hockey mask with a stun baton when he arrived at the garage in Edmonton rented by Twitchell. In the end, the authorities opted not to charge him with the attempted murder of Gilles. defence and judge decided it was too inflammatory to be presented Police connected the details in the "SK Confessions" with the evidence they found in the garage. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. It was recovered from his laptop despite being deleted. In April 2011, Twitchell was found guilty of first-degree murder. [4], In October 2008, John Brian Altinger, 38-year-old former White Rock, B.C., oilfield equipment manufacturer known to his friends as Johnny,[6] unknowingly interacted with Twitchell on dating website Plenty of Fish. should not hear it because the terminology was emotionally loaded He argued in his notice of appeal that "the media attention surrounding my case was so extensive, so blatant and so overtly sensationalized that it is unreasonable to expect any unsequestered jury to have remained uninfluenced by it, regardless of judges' instructions in the charge. analyst for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department who of my progression into becoming a serial killer.". The production of Star Wars: Secrets of the Rebellion garnered some online attention and earned him a place on the local news. Twitchell was an aspiring filmmaker in the fall of 2008. ", But he admits to cheating regularly on his wife, who he describes as "an excellent mother to our child, and the greatest partner that anyone could ever ask for.". The film, still in post-production, never saw release. moved it while making a funny voice to make it look like it was The key piece of evidence presented by the Crown at Twitchell's friends broke into his condo only to find his passport, dirty the details of the case until the jury would hear it during the The other major consideration is his work, he said. The horrific attack that the victim endured inside Mark Twitchell's garage came after he was tricked into meeting the killer on a dating site. "I can direct my dark energies into my film work. Entitled "A Profile of a Psychopath",[15] and believed by investigators to have been written by Twitchell, it is a detailed self-analysis of personality and behavior. But as a serial killer I would get nothing more than a quick rush of adrenalin and a prison sentence to follow.". I never hurt animals as a child either. Twitchell, 31, was convicted of first-degree Cops say his fascination with the fictional TV killer carried over into his real-life crimes. April 22, 2022 / 7:40 AM "If I had a sense pretext of a date or possible sexual encounter. Twitchell, 31, used an online dating site to lure Altinger, 38, to a rented garage in south Edmonton on Oct. 10, 2008, before killing him. "I have no place for them and I find the whole ", Twitchell said SK stood for his writing hero A jury returned the. The author also claimed he has never felt empathy. With files from CBC's Janice Johnston and Briar Stewart, Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Twitchell was inspired by the character Dexter Morgan, of the While the filmmaker claimed this document was a screenplay, prosecutors successfully argued that "SK" stood for "Serial Killer," and that the document was actually Twitchell detailing his crimes. him from its glorious surface and would take my chance when I was Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. would pursue the charge of attempted murder upon securing a The 29-year-old Canadian man had a wife and a young daughter, and aspirations of becoming a filmmaker. argued in his notice of appeal that "the media attention attracted substantial media attention due to the fact that "I always apologized but never meant it and never corrected the behaviour.". The alley between 86th and 87th streets south of 130th Avenue where accused murderer Mark Twitchell told police to look for the remains of Johnny Altinger down a manhole. It is what it is, and I am what I am. Mark also maintained that he killed in self-defense. Then 31 years old, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He had a table set up for his victims. Mark Twitchell was married twice. Along with making movies, Mark Twitchell also made detailed costumes of his favorite fantasy story characters. Three months after his conviction in 2011 for first-degree murder, Twitchell made the same argument to Lillebuen, writing "I killed Johnny Altinger in a horrific accident of self defense. Twitchell's "SK Confessions" document also mentioned a victim who got away. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. MARK TWITCHELL [graduation video]: "I'm glad I got to work with you. I'm dead.'". Through the trial the jury heard 18 days of testimony and saw 111 exhibits. He worked as a Canadian filmmaker and was convicted of first-degree murder in April 2011. The plan, Twitchell argued in court, was to lure men who thought they were showing up for a date with a woman and then attack them, only to then let them escape so that when his film came out those men would come forward and say this had actually happened to them, thereby creating a buzz. It also describes the process of dismembering the Police arrested Twitchell on October 31, 2008,[11] and, on the same day, charged him with the first-degree murder of Altinger.[1]. American online pal with whom he shared dark secrets. From there, cops made a series of harrowing discoveries, including a suspiciously deleted file on Twitchell's computer labeled "SK Confessions.". In 2008, Twitchell was a 29-year-old aspiring filmmaker living in Edmonton, Canada, with his wife and young daughter. He talks extensively about preparing the room, what he's going to wear, the weapon that he chooses. Once Altinger entered the garage, Twitchell not only murdered him brutally, but also dismembered his body, playing with his victims skull, twisting the jaws, before dumping it into a north Edmonton storm sewer. They urged cops to look into the story of Altingers apparent vacation in Costa Rica. . The garage had plastic sheets covering all the windows, a table with blood spatter, and cleaning supplies laid out. When he wakes up, he's tortured by a man in a hockey mask who kills and decapitates him, Puff testified. However, the latest installment of Crime Junkie shows how a popular show about a serial killer inspired a person to try and be a copycat. I have to come forward. When investigative journalist and MacEwan University Professor Steve Lillebuen set out to write a book about the Dexter-obsessed murderer Mark Twitchell in late 2010, the last thing he expected was to get a jailhouse call from the killer himself. Now, you might be wondering where the 'Dexter Killer' is . He had been married to Jess Twitchell, but their relationship had been rocky recently, with them sleeping in separate rooms. Johnny Altinger's blood was found in the trunk of Mark Twitchell's family car -- a discovery which led to the filmmaker's arrest on Halloween day in 2008. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. He was then stabbed to death. over the police evidence, preventing the media from reporting on To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. moonlights as a serial killer. Johnny Altinger's blood was found in the trunk of Mark Twitchell's family car -- a discovery which led to the filmmaker's arrest on Halloween day in 2008. Jess Twitchell, 35, had been married to Mark Twitchellfor less than two years when John Altinger disappeared in October 2008. He first befriended a man called Gilles Tetreault and as Sheena, convinced him to pick him up for a date on October 3, 2008, from the garage he had rented. Family (1) Spouse Jess Twitchell (January 2007 - 2008) Megan Casterella ( 4 January 2001 - 2004) (divorced) Trivia (1) On October 31, 2008, Mark Twitchell was charged with the first degree murder. of logic and contradictions in reasoning to make any sense," he September 2008 he shot a short horror film at a garage he rented "What did you do?" In January 2007, he married Jess Twitchell, whom he met on the dating website plentyoffish.com in 2005. prosecutors and the defence that the inflammatory nature of the And while Twitchell claims in this document that he didn't "copy-cat the style of Dexter Morgan," he adds "I'd still like to pay homage to the character.". The names and events need your help for this. He described the document as fiction based on fact, as if he had planned Altinger's death deliberately, in order to craft a compelling story. His friends became concerned when they received strange emails was an ex-boss. People named Mark Twitchell Find your friends on Facebook With all circumstantial evidence seemingly pointing to Mark, all the police needed was physical evidence. At Marks trial, he claimed that the whole thing was supposed to create an urban legend that would, in turn, cause some buzz for his movie. murder would not add to the life sentence Twitchell had already defence to affirm or refute specific aspects of the actual She also told the court she thought her husband was gainfully employed as a salesman for a security company, but it turned out he had lost the job five months earlier and was pretending to go to work. no chance of parole for 25 years at a Saskatchewan prison - sent a [2] His trial attracted particular media attention because Twitchell had allegedly been inspired by the fictional character Dexter Morgan. When confronted, Twitchell refused to acknowledge that. Before he came Altinger informed his friends that he was going to meet a woman he had been chatting with online. Mark Twitchell's former wife fought tears on the stand Monday in the aspiring filmmaker's first-degree murder trial. victim and watching the organs slowly collapse. The horror wasn't yet over for Tetreault. But eventually, he dumped it in a sewer. In April 2011, Mark was found guilty of first-degree murder. But Twitchell testified that Altinger got angry The file also involved a description of another person who survived. Tetreault once again rolled out of the garage, and this time made it to his truck and sped off. The media fought the application, but the judge On October 3, 2008, Canadian man Gilles Tetreault followed directions to a location in Edmonton where he was supposed to meet a woman named "Sheena" he met online. self defense and that much of the document was a fictionalization They revealed his fascination with the fictional character Dexter Morgan an obsession that Lillebeun and police say Twitchell carried over into his real-life crimes. An initial search of the garage uncovered what appeared to be blood spatter, which Twitchell told police came from the "House of Cards" execution scene he was filming. Find that person, the police thought, and you've proved that "SK Confessions" is real and not the fictional screenplay Mark Twitchell claimed it was. Police say Twitchell was an avid viewer . "I had a conversation with my wife one night where we fully explored my lack of empathy," he said. were altered slightly to protect the guilty. After that she seemingly disappeared and did not reveal where she was going or what she was doing. Mark Andrew Twitchell was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on July 4, 1979. Filmmaker Mark Twitchell, 29, now sits in an Edmonton jail cell, charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance and death of John Brian Altinger. programs Dateline NBC and CBS 48 Hours Mystery. progression into becoming a serial killer.". On October 10, 2008, Twitchell posed as a woman online to lure 38-year-old Johnny Altinger to his death. Concern turned into alarm for Altinger's friends and family when, three days after he vanished, they received this unusual email from Altinger's account. ", "As a producer I can profit from the sale and distribution of my work. While Tetreault was on the ground he decided "if I'm going to die, I'd rather go my way than his way." The kill rooms are designed not to leave any evidence, while he disposes of his victims dismembered bodies without a trace. Twitchell admitted authoring the document, luring death of Johnny Altinger, still faced an attempted murder [33], Tetreault made several media appearances related to his experience, including Dateline NBC,[34] 48 Hours Mystery,[35] The Fifth Estate,[36][37] I Survived on Biography Channel,[38] Dates from Hell on Investigation Discovery,[39][40] and The Security Brief on REELZ.[41]. That call set in motion a correspondence with the would-be serial killer that lasted for almost three years. A month after he escaped Twitchell, Tetreault made the decision to come forward and went to police with his story. However, he did not report the incident to the police, giving Twitchell another chance. "The media attention surrounding my case was so It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. A MAN's chilling account of escaping "The Dexter Killer" and his so-called kill room in 2008 helped put the murderer behind bars. Mark Twitchell's former wifefought back tearsin the witness boxin an Edmonton courtroomMonday during the aspiring filmmaker's first-degree murder trial. In later correspondence with Steve Lillebuen, who was writing a book about Mark, the killer said, There is no root cause no school bully or impressionably gory movies or video game violence or Showtime television series to point the finger at. "It has been a very difficult case, even for some of us who have been in this business for a long time," said Clackson. Jess testified at his murder trial that on the days he was committing his crimes a note on the family kitchen calendar stated that he was seeing his psychiatrist. [25], Extensive media coverage of the case created debate both inside and outside of the courtroom. Much of that day's program focused on Twitchell's methods and featured interviews with Gilles Tetrault, his first intended victim, and Steve Lillebuen, author of the book The Devil's Cinema, which focused on the case. unreasonable to expect any unsequestered jury to have remained Who is Angela Rayner's husband Mark and do they have children? On returning to Canada in the late 1990s, he undertook a course on television and radio at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), graduating from there in 1999. "This is the greatest feeling I ever felt in my life, because then I knew I had a fighting chance to get away.". WARNING: Graphic content may disturb some And to be frank, he's he's wrong. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. His trial attracted wide attention, and the international press flocked to the court to document the details of the unique and strange story. Part of the report included a return trip by Tetreault to the garage in which the incident had taken place. The police questioned Twitchell, and when his story didnt hold up, they arrested him on October 31, 2008. He had a table set up for his victims," Lillebuen said. Twitchell related an improbable account to police of having met Altinger before his trip to Costa Rica. Photo by John Lucas . Subsequently, they retrieved a deleted document called SK Confessions (serial killer confessions), which helped them capture him. He put on the guise of filmmaking to plan out a perfect murder, inspired by his reel-life hero Dexter Morgan. Gilles Tetreault managed to escape the assault, but Johnny Altinger was murdered by the masked man. She gave birth to a daughter a year after they were married. resignation letter by email, but never got a response to his They don't have the Twitchell. For other inquiries, Contact Us. They also received an email they thought was out of character for Johnny, which led them to uncover that Johnny forwarded directions to friends of the location of his date. extensive, so blatant and so overtly sensationalized that it is He had this kind of processing kit that was very similar to what Dexter uses. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Gilles Tetreault quickly realized this wasn't a date, as he came face to face with a man in a hockey mask who shocked him with this stun baton. Investigators say Twitchell was obsessed with the fictional serial killer at the center of the TV series "Dexter," which airs on Showtime, a division of Paramount Global, which owns CBS. In it he writes, "I diligently set up my kill room," explaining how it included "several rolls of painters plastic sheeting" and "a forty five gallon steel drum for the body parts" as well as a "game processing kit which contained a butcher knife a fillet knife and a serrated saw for the bones. According to Kenworthy, Twitchell was a good guy, but not trustworthy. ", "He wrote me probably 30 or 35 different letters up to about 350 pages like an entire book worth," Lillebuen, the author of "The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room" tells "48 Hours." In his letters, the convicted killer also claims that he killed Johnny Altinger not in an act of cold-blooded murder, but in self-defense. ", Steve Lillebuen writes about these letters in his book "The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room. Wars, weapons and TV serial killer Dexter Morgan. But a conviction of attempted Currently, he is serving his sentence at Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary, a medium security facility located one kilometer west of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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