Mark Twitchell: Canada’s ‘Dexter’ wannabe

‘Altinger’s’ E-mails and Facebook Page

Police now had reason to narrow their focus on Mark Twitchell as a prime suspect in the disappearance and, they now believed, murder of Johnny Altinger. Detectives also believed that Twitchell had used Altinger’s key to enter Altinger’s apartment and send emails to the missing man’s friends prior to his friends breaking into the apartment to try and learn what had happened to Altinger. Detectives also alleged that while in Altinger’s apartment Twitchell had used Altinger’s computer to change his Facebook status from “Single” to “In a Relationship” to coincide with the emails being sent out about Altinger leaving for an extended vacation to the Caribbean. A Facebook status update was also posted that stated: “John is taking off to the Caribbean for a few months. See you all when I get back. Wondering why anyone would leave sun and surf to come home to snow and stress.”

Police revealed that during the time frame when Altinger disappeared, a friend and co-worker emailed him to inform him that he hoped to purchase a condominium in the neighborhood where Altinger resided and expressed a desire that they could carpool to work. The reply Altinger’s friend received stated: “No car pool for me. I’m taking an extended vacation. Good luck.”

Similarly, Altinger’s employer received an email stating, “I quit. I’m going on an extended leave.”

The emails stopped almost as suddenly as they had begun.

In the meantime, investigators began looking at Mark Twitchell’s Facebook posts. His profile stated, “Mark has way too much in common with Dexter Morgan.” They noted that about a month before Altinger disappeared, Twitchell had updated his own Facebook profile to read: “Mark feeds on the souls of his defeated foes.”

Within hours of their first contact with him, detectives placed Twitchell under 24-hour surveillance and literally began watching his every move. On October 19, 2008, police brought him in for a voluntary sit-down interview with investigators in an interrogation room.

Police Interviews and Search Warrants

Twitchell was first interviewed by Detective Mike Tabler, who told the murder suspect that Johnny Altinger had sent a text message to a friend describing how he’d met a man inside a garage, the same garage that Twitchell was renting. At first, he denied knowing anyone named Altinger. According to police sources, it was the first time that Twitchell had learned that Altinger had contacted someone about going to the garage. Twitchell later emailed Tabler and told him that he had forgotten to mention that he had purchased a red Mazda from someone for $40. Edmonton police, however, did not learn of the email until later because Tabler had left for vacation right after the meeting with Twitchell.

However, later that same day, Twitchell was again asked to come into the police station, again voluntarily, for an interview with Detective Brian Murphy. Although he still denied knowing anyone named Altinger, Twitchell seemed eager to assist the police and told them how he had purchased a red Mazda from a guy who walked up to his car and tapped on his window.

“Hey buddy, do you wanna buy a car?” Twitchell quoted the man as saying. “I’ve shacked up with this really rich lady. She’s even gonna buy me a new car, so I’m just looking to unload mine. How much (money) do you have on you?”

Twitchell explained that he gave the man $40 and parked the Mazda at a friend’s house. It seemed an unlikely story to Murphy and to the cops who later watched the taped interview.

Having learned about his background as a filmmaker, detectives questioned Twitchell about his latest project, a suspense thriller called House of Cards. The plot involved a serial killer wearing a hockey mask that lured a male victim to a garage by way of the Internet and, once there, killed him with a Samurai sword and cut up his body on a makeshift autopsy table.

Murphy told Twitchell that it seemed a bit odd that he was filming such a movie given the fact that police had been sent to a garage in search of a missing man who they believed had gone there. Twitchell responded that it was indeed “really freaky,” and claimed that he had gotten a “weird chill” as soon as the police had called him on the phone.

Investigators recalled later that Twitchell had done very well in his interviews with them. He’d seemed eager to help, and his background showed that he came from a good home and had no history of violence. If not for his story about purchasing a red Mazda for $40 he didn’t seem like the type of person the cops were looking for, but gut instincts, not hard evidence at that point, told them he was their guy.

Before finishing with him, Detective Clark had some words with Twitchell.

“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that you’re involved in the disappearance of John Altinger,” Clark said. “No doubt in my mind at all, Mark.”

Although they had no choice but to release him at that point, the cops had been working behind the scenes to obtain a number of search warrants in addition to the search warrant for the rented garage: one for his car, another for Altinger’s car when it was located, and one for Twitchell’s home. Some of the warrants were awaiting approval by the time the cops were ready to release Twitchell, and Clark walked him outside.

“By the way, I’m taking your car,” Clark told him, much to Twitchell’s surprise.

After a moment of protestation, Twitchell finally told Clark he needed to retrieve something from inside his car, which bore a vanity or personalized license plate that read “DRK JEDI.”

“You’re getting nothin’ out of it,” Clark said, concerned about possibly losing important evidence.

The Laptop

When police searched Twitchell’s maroon-colored Pontiac they found, among other things, a Toshiba laptop computer. It was turned over to Constable Michael Roszko, a computer forensic examiner. An expert technician, it didn’t take long for him to spot a deleted temporary file that he deemed suspicious. When he recovered the file, Roszko discovered that it was a 42-page document titled “SK Confessions.” After reading through a portion of the document, Roszko concluded that the “SK” meant “serial killer.”

Police alleged that Twitchell was the author of the document, which described in great detail a failed attempt to kill one man who tried to fight off his attacker, and a second attack in which a man was brutally killed and dismembered and whose remains were deposited into a storm sewer.

As Roszko, and later the other detectives, read the document they saw that its author described using an online dating service to “rope in my victims.” The document’s author described in great detail how he fashioned female profiles used in the online dating service to lure men to his “lair,” and how he carefully planned every detail so he wouldn’t get caught. He told of how he had installed an IP blocker on his computer to mask his online presence, making it difficult for anyone to be able to trace his activities back to the online dating service he was using. He also claimed to look for victims he believed would be easy to manipulate into doing what he wanted.

Detective Clark would later recall how remarkably similar the “SK Confessions” document was to the plot of Twitchell’s House of Cards movie.

The author also described how he’d purchased a hockey mask to help conceal his identity when he confronted his victim. The description of the hockey mask was very specific, right down to how it was painted with gold streaks. The document’s author also claimed to have purchased a wild game processing kit used by hunters—police believe Twitchell bought it to dispose of his victim’s corpse. There was also a description of the preparation of a “kill room,” not unlike that which is often depicted in the Showtime series, Dexter, in which large sheets of plastic are taped to the walls and floor of the room being used to catch any blood spatter or drippings, and how disposable coveralls had been purchased to prevent blood from getting on his clothes or body.

Also collected from the trunk of Twitchell’s car was blood evidence, which was sent to the crime lab for DNA analysis.

Note: The entire “SK Confessions” document can be found in the Crime Library post titled Evidence File: Mark Twitchell’s Murder Manuscript.

The First Attack

The detectives were, naturally, interested in the information about a first attack contained within the pages of the “SK Confessions” document. It contained a description of how a man, who was not identified, was lured to the garage under the pretext of a date with a female. The man fought back with his attacker despite having been shot with a stun gun, and had been able to escape.

“My head was rushed with adrenalin, my stomach had a half-second flutter of butterflies before my resolve strengthened and I stood there, ominous in the dark, prepared to strike,” wrote the document’s author of the first attack. “It was then that I told him that if he did what I told him to do, that I would let him live.”

Following the failed attack, the “SK Confessions” document detailed how the author went to work looking for a new victim, and when everything was in place described his “kill room.”

“My kill room was still set up perfectly from the last time, plastic sheeting hanging from the walls, on the floor, and of course around my glorious table, duct tape sealing the seams to create a bubble to work within,” the document stated.

He also wrote about how he had struck the man on the head with a metal pipe, and how he had stabbed him. He also wrote about how he had dismembered the victim’s body, attempted to clean up the blood with ammonia and paper towels, and how he attempted to dispose of the victim’s body. He first tried to burn the body parts in his parents’ backyard, and decided that burning would not destroy all of the evidentiary traces. He also considered dumping the victim’s remains in a river, but couldn’t decide on a good location where his actions would go undetected. He finally decided to dump the body parts into a sewer in eastern Edmonton.

“The sewer. Of course, how obvious. No one ever goes down there,” read the document.

Next: A Visit to Twitchell’s Home and the Evening News