Just when you think you've seen it all, a newspaper article like this comes across your computer screen, thanks to TV Squad commenter Robert Getch. It seems as though an Edmonton filmmaker has been arrested for murder, in what looks to be a Dexter copycat killing. Creepy.
Apparently, the murder that Mark Twitchell committed mimicked the same one in the movie script he had created, which was found in his home by the police, about a cheating husband who gets murdered because he falls for an internet dating scam. Twitchell is supposedly an avid Dexter fan, which clearly explains why he decided to kill the cheating bastard, Dexter style. Can Twitchell really be blamed for the murder, since Dexter basically planned it?
It gets creepier, folks...
The elements of Twitchell's film script, on which the real killing was based, continue to show similarities to Dexter: the killer worked for the police force and decapitates his victims with a power saw (which I don't believe we've seen from Dexter this season, but we did in seasons past).
So the question is this: who is to blame for this murder, the actual killer, Twitchell, or the producers of Dexter? C'mon, Dexter is fiction, people, and just because a psycho decides to kill in the style of the main character doesn't remove personal responsibility from the actual murderer. It will be interesting to see what defense is used when Twitchell goes to trial. Or will Melissa Rosenberg, Dexter's executive producer, be blamed?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-10-2008 @ 11:18AM
cate said...
Craziness. This is tragic but you have to remind yourself: this man would have killed someone anyway. If he's an avid fan of the series, maybe he's read the book too, and maybe he's also read American Psycho, Helter Skelter, and Mein Kampf. There's one thing to be said for the influence that exposure to violence has on young children, be it TV, video games, or in real life as the show's namesake exemplifies. But an adult, with his mental faculties intact, knows the difference between right and wrong and a TV show won't change his mind. If the man is mentally ill, treat him. If he's not, send him to jail.
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11-10-2008 @ 11:18AM
khamel said...
so when someone gets charged for sexual assault they can say law and order svu made them do it?
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11-10-2008 @ 11:43AM
0megapart!cle said...
I wouldn't be surprised if the defense attorney used Dexter in his defense, depending how strong the case against him is (it would be interesting to hear Bruce's take on this), but yea, the guy made the choice, the show didn't make him do it.
Anyway, the guy didn't follow the Code, since the victim cheated on his wife, he didn't kill anybody, right? So he's obviously guilty. ;)
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11-10-2008 @ 2:29PM
Modwild said...
First and foremost...does he have and pay for Showtime? If not, then he must be a downloader, and there you go. THAT could be the slippery slope!
But...seriously. About a month ago someone was killing animals in Pennsylvania taking patches of their hide, a la Dexter.
People are crazy, and trying to say it is because of any one thing is just more so. There have been stories of thievery and murder from before the printed word, I am sure. I seriously doubt the tribunals took down the story teller for bringing the idea up in the first place.
They try to make it strictly sociological, when the need to kill should more likely be placed on psychology (and if you're going to talk about children of killers, we can still be talking about a medical link). A fight between the two ologies.
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11-11-2008 @ 1:03AM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Please, this guy must not take very good notes. The first rule of the Harry's Code: Don't Get Caught.
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11-11-2008 @ 4:28PM
Ashley Boyd said...
To be fair if its anyone's fault its going to be Jeff Lindsay's and not the producers :p
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