Scripting a Murder

Summary

48 Hours: Scripting a Murder

Episode Release Date: May 7, 2025
Host/Author: CBS News

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Overview

In the gripping episode titled "Scripting a Murder," CBS News' award-winning correspondents delve into the chilling true story of Mark Twitchell, an aspiring filmmaker who blurred the lines between reality and fiction with deadly consequences. This detailed investigation uncovers how Twitchell utilized his passion for filmmaking to orchestrate real-life horror, resulting in the disappearance and murder of two men, Gilles Tetro and Johnny Altinger.

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The Victims

Gilles Tetro’s Ordeal

The episode begins with Gilles Tetro recounting his terrifying encounter:

Gilles Tetro (00:03): "When I was first telling the story, everyone thought it was a movie. They couldn't believe this happened to me and it was just a crazy story."

Tetro met a woman named Sheena on a dating site, Plenty of Fish, and agreed to meet her under seemingly innocent circumstances. However, the meeting took a horrific turn when he was attacked in a garage:

Gilles Tetro (02:30): "It was dark. Then I kind of looked around for the door. She told me to go through. And that's when somebody came out and attacked me from behind."

Despite enduring an assault from a masked assailant armed with a stun baton and a gun, Tetro managed to survive and later provided crucial information to the police.

Johnny Altinger’s Disappearance

Parallel to Tetro’s story is the mysterious disappearance of Johnny Altinger:

Johnny Altinger (08:58): "Where is he? What's going on? He wouldn't do this to us."

Altinger responded to a similar online dating ad and vanished without a trace shortly after, prompting his brother, Gary Altinger, to initiate a missing persons report.

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Mark Twitchell: The Perpetrator

Mark Twitchell, a 29-year-old married father and aspiring filmmaker, emerges as the central figure in this case. Initially appearing as a harmless individual renting a garage for his film projects, Twitchell's true nature is gradually unveiled.

Twitchell’s Obsession with Dexter

Twitchell’s fascination with the TV show Dexter becomes a critical piece of evidence:

Detective Bill Clark (30:27): "I know that in Twitchell's mind, he thought he could make the ultimate serial killer film if he became one."

Additionally, his social media activities raised suspicions:

Renee Waring (23:40): "I am a huge fan of the Showtime show Dexterity. So I thought, oh, well, you know, I'll be friends with him."

These behaviors indicated a blurring of his fictional interests with real-world actions.

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The Investigation

Initial Leads and Breakthroughs

Detective Bill Clark and his team focused their investigation on Twitchell after connecting his film project with the locations of the victims’ disappearances. A pivotal moment occurred when Twitchell inadvertently revealed possession of Johnny Altinger’s red Mazda:

Detective Bill Clark (17:44): "There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that you're involved in the disappearance of John Altinger."

Forensic evidence, including the infamous "SK Confessions" document found on Twitchell’s laptop, solidified the case against him:

SK Confessions (20:12): "I'm not sure when I decided to become a serial killer, but it was a feeling of pure euphoria."

Arrest and Tactical Maneuvers

On Halloween morning, 2008, Twitchell was apprehended after police set up a trap with an undercover operator posing as an investor. This strategic move led to his arrest without incident:

Detective Bill Clark (26:31): "We caught him on his first one."

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The Trial

Courtroom Evidence and Twitchell’s Defense

During the trial, the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence, including the SK Confessions, blood samples, and Twitchell’s own admissions:

Gilles Tetro (39:15): "One of the most important aspects was his ability to confirm the truth to the document that Mr. Twitchell had crafted."

Twitchell attempted to deflect responsibility by claiming his actions were part of a publicity stunt gone wrong, but the jury was not swayed:

Mark Twitchell (41:34): "He talks about how he was creating an urban legend and how he was going to lure Gilles in and Johnny in."

Verdict and Sentencing

The jury found Twitchell guilty of first-degree murder after just five hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to 25 years to life:

Judge (42:24): "He would have kept on killing. We caught him on his first one."

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Aftermath and Reflections

Impact on the Survivors and Families

Tetro and Altinger’s families grapple with the aftermath of the tragedy. Tetro expresses profound gratitude for surviving:

Gilles Tetro (43:52): "If I would have died that day, my son wouldn't have been born. I think about that all. I don't know if it's the willpower to live or some higher power was looking over me that day. But I thank God that I got away."

Johnny Altinger’s brother, Gary, reflects on the devastating loss:

Gary Altinger (38:19): "When something like that happens to somebody you love, you don't want to believe it because the truth is really, really difficult."

Detective Clark’s Insights

Detective Clark underscores the importance of Twitchell’s capture in preventing further crimes:

Detective Bill Clark (42:35): "There’s no doubt in my mind, or I think any in the investigative team that he would have kept on killing. We caught him on his first one."

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Conclusion

"Scripting a Murder" serves as a haunting reminder of how fiction can dangerously intertwine with reality. Through relentless investigation and the courage of survivors, Mark Twitchell was ultimately brought to justice, offering some closure to the victims' families and preventing future tragedies.

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Notable Quotes:

• Gilles Tetro (03:22): "He's a cold blooded heartless killer."
• Johnny Altinger (09:34): "I've met a woman named Jen and I'm going away with her to Costa Rica and I'll call you at Christmas time."
• Detective Bill Clark (18:26): "There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that you're involved in the disappearance of John Altinger."
• Gilles Tetro (44:03): "If I would have died that day, my son wouldn't have been born."

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This detailed summary encapsulates the harrowing true crime narrative explored in the "Scripting a Murder" episode of "48 Hours," highlighting the intricate investigation, the disturbing actions of Mark Twitchell, and the profound impact on those affected by his crimes.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Camera's rolling.

[Gilles Tetro]

Once again.

[Advertiser]

In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[Narrator]

Action. To hear how everything happened. It's like you watch in the movies. You see this stuff happen and you know it's a movie, but now we have it happening in real life.

[Johnny Altinger]

Actor, you ready?

[Narrator]

Ready.

[Gilles Tetro]

When I was first telling the story, when it first happened to me, everyone thought it was a movie. They couldn't believe this happened to me and it was just a crazy story.

[Narrator]

In early October 2008, Jill's Tetro was online on the plentyoffish.com website, which is a dating site.

[Gilles Tetro]

I saw this lady, she had blonde hair. She was about 5, 6. She was very attractive looking.

[Advertiser]

And what was her name?

[Gilles Tetro]

Her name was Sheena.

[Advertiser]

Sheena.

[Gilles Tetro]

Yeah. I messaged her. She messaged me back. How about we go to dinner and a movie? I thought that was a great idea. She wouldn't give me the house number, but she just sent me really, really good directions on how to get there.

[Narrator]

He thought, what's the worst that could happen?

[Gilles Tetro]

I was actually late, so I was driving quite fast to get there. She said, I'll just leave the garage door open for you, and then you just go in, go through the garage.

[Narrator]

I don't think he ever imagined in a million years what would happen to him in that garage.

[Gilles Tetro]

It was dark. Then I kind of looked around for the door. She told me to go through. And that's when somebody came out and attacked me from behind. Somebody puts me in this hole and he's prodding me with this thing. And all I can see is it's kind of almost like a baton and it's turning blue. Finally look back and that's when I see this man with this painted up hockey mask.

[Narrator]

This is just unbelievable. This is what movies are made of.

[Gilles Tetro]

We're just both standing there looking at each other. And that's when he pulls out this gun. He finally yells at me and he says, get down on the ground. Put your head down, close your eyes and put your hands in the back. I don't know if he's gonna kill me or not.

[Narrator]

He's a cold blooded heartless killer.

[Gilles Tetro]

It started tearing up while I was down on the ground.

[Narrator]

And he's deciding that I've got to do something or die. I mean, it's a life and death decision.

[Gilles Tetro]

All I could think about was that I never told anybody where I'd be if I died right then and there. No one would know what happened to me.

[Advertiser]

Screenplay for murder. Tonight's 48 Hours Mystery.

[Gilles Tetro]

When I first saw him, I look back and I see this man kind of hovering over me with a hockey mask. There's this chill down my back. Wow, this is no date.

[Advertiser]

Lured to a garage on the pretense of a date with an attractive woman he thought he met online, 33 year old Gilles Tetro was now being held hostage by an apparent madman in a scene straight out of a horror film.

[Gilles Tetro]

He's built like 6 foot and has this black and gold hockey mask.

[Advertiser]

The hockey mask wearing man had ordered him to the ground at gunpoint.

[Gilles Tetro]

And he tore a piece of tape and he covered my eyes with it. I start hearing different things, like a jingling noise and stuff like that in my head. It's just racing like. It's like thinking, what's going on? What is he going to do? Is he taking another weapon out?

[Advertiser]

Jill decided he wasn't waiting to find out.

[Gilles Tetro]

I can't do this. I got to fight back. So I got up and ripped the tape off my eyes. He was stunned that I got up and started yelling at me to get back down on the ground.

[Advertiser]

Instead, he grabbed the attacker's gun.

[Gilles Tetro]

When I grabbed the gun, I felt the gun was plastic. This is the greatest feeling I ever felt in my life. Because then I knew I had a fighting chance to get away. I punched him and I felt really weak. I'm like, wow, why was my punch so weak?

[Advertiser]

What Gilles didn't realize was that he had been weakened by the effects of the stun baton.

[Gilles Tetro]

And then he starts Punching me on the side of the head.

[Advertiser]

Just about then, he came up with a plan.

[Gilles Tetro]

He grabbed my jacket. I jerked forward to make sure he had a good hold on it. I thought, that's the perfect time.

[Advertiser]

That was part of your plan. You're thinking, okay, he grabs my jacket. Yeah, and I can get free.

[Gilles Tetro]

So that's when I slipped out of the jacket, rolled underneath the garage door, and then got up. And it worked.

[Advertiser]

But the developing real life horror movie plot was far from over.

[Gilles Tetro]

And I tried to run, and all of a sudden, my legs wouldn't work. I just fell. Boom, right on the gravel driveway. That's when he grabbed my legs and he started pulling me back to the garage. So I'm like, oh, no, what am I going to do now? I'm dead.

[Advertiser]

Gio was thrown back in the garage. But he surprised himself and the assailant by rolling out again. Terrified, Jill ran into the alley, collapsing in front of this couple out for a stroll. Marisa Gurhini and Trevor Hosinger.

[Gilles Tetro]

We were stunned.

[Johnny Altinger]

Yeah, we were just totally stunned.

[Advertiser]

And what did Jill say to you?

[Johnny Altinger]

He said that he was getting robbed.

[Narrator]

And can you help me?

[Gilles Tetro]

They didn't know what to do. And all of a sudden, the masked man came back out. And then I pointed to him and I said, that's the guy.

[Voiceover Artist]

Then the masked guy, he went around the corner here by the garage. He just watched us.

[Gilles Tetro]

Pete started pretending he was my best friend.

[Advertiser]

What did he say?

[Gilles Tetro]

He said something like, come on, Frank, or come on, friend. And he kind of gestured to me like we were playing.

[Advertiser]

You thought this was a trap?

[Voiceover Artist]

Yeah, we thought we were going to get robbed.

[Advertiser]

Fearing for their safety, Marissa and Trevor walked quickly away, leaving Gilles to fend for himself as he retrieved his truck.

[Gilles Tetro]

So I started walking back to the garage, and sure enough, I see his feet in the garage and he's pacing back and forth in the garage. So I quietly. I got out my keys from my pocket. I stuck the key in the ignition, and then I just sped away.

[Advertiser]

When Gilles went home, he discovered the profile had been deleted. And he did his best to erase his own memory. Why didn't you go to the police immediately?

[Gilles Tetro]

At first, I was in shock. I said, I told myself, I'll do it tomorrow. And tomorrow came, and I was. I felt so ashamed that I got duped.

[Advertiser]

Embarrassed and confused, Gilles convinced himself that perhaps it wasn't as serious as he first thought.

[Gilles Tetro]

I really thought it was a mugging at the time.

[Advertiser]

But Gilles didn't know how wrong he was. Just One week later, another lonely bachelor, Johnny Altinger, would answer a similar dating ad and disappear.

[Johnny Altinger]

Where is he? What's going on? He wouldn't do this to us.

[Advertiser]

Gary Altinger, Johnny's older brother, says the last time anyone heard from him was on October 10, 2008, when the 38 year old computer enthusiast left for a date with a woman named Jen.

[Johnny Altinger]

Not a message, nothing. And then not showing up for work, totally out of character. John was very, very, very responsible.

[Advertiser]

What happened next made no sense at all. And when did you grow concerned?

[Johnny Altinger]

When I received that email. And this email was completely out of character.

[Advertiser]

What did it say?

[Johnny Altinger]

I've met a woman named Jen and I'm going away with her to Costa Rica and I'll call you at Christmas time. I just thought right away after I had read this, that's got to be the weirdest message I've ever received.

[Advertiser]

That identical strange message had gone out to all of Johnny's friends as well. What did John's friends do?

[Johnny Altinger]

They contact the police and say, okay, I think it'd be appropriate to send out a missing person. There's something wrong, something doesn't feel right, something isn't right.

[Advertiser]

But police paid little attention. Desperate for some answers, Johnny's friends broke into his apartment.

[Johnny Altinger]

They found his passport and they found dirty dishes and they found everything just like as if he were going to return an hour or two later. And with that information, then they went to the police and they said, hey, listen, you've got to do something.

[Advertiser]

This time the police were listening. Veteran homicide detective Bill Clark was part of the investigation.

[Narrator]

So we talked about it and decided obviously our first priority was to try and find John. You know, it was his red Mazda was missing. He had taken his vehicle, it couldn't be found. So obviously that's what we're going to look for first. Easier to find a car than a person. Based on the emails and they talk about Costa Rica. The officers search all the parking lots at the airport. It's not found. Everything's turning up negative.

[Advertiser]

But there was one clue that would give police their first big break in the case. On the day he disappeared, Johnny Altinger had forwarded the directions of where he was going to friends.

[Narrator]

Well, John's friends were concerned. His friend even questioned Mondaymill, you know, be careful. And John said, yeah, well here's the directions and if anything happens to me, you'll know where to look.

[Advertiser]

Armed with the directions, police are led directly to this garage.

[Narrator]

You learned the garage is rented out to an individual named Mark Twitchell.

[Johnny Altinger]

Action.

[Advertiser]

Mark Twitchell, a 29 year old married father and aspiring filmmaker, had used the garage as a set for a recent movie project.

[Johnny Altinger]

I'm glad I got the chance to work with you all and I hope I see you all in the industry.

[Advertiser]

Mark denied knowing anything about a missing man or red Mazda, and he has no problem with the police wanting to search the garage. But he points out something odd about the lock.

[Narrator]

He had gone to the garage and made some comments about a lock being changed. And you know, based on what I'd been told, I'm going, okay, this sounds like someone else has been to this garage and tampered with it.

[Advertiser]

Police pry the lock off and in they all went.

[Narrator]

They have a look around and they see some what looks like blood and Mark Twitchell's explaining, oh no, that's my movie prop. We did a film about killing a guy in here and I filmed it all and I've been cleaning it up over the last couple weeks. There were some things that were, you know, raising your spidey sense in this one going, nah, this isn't right. Something going on here.

[Advertiser]

Foreign.

[Narrator]

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[Advertiser]

For detectives. The disappearance of Johnny Altinger was a mystery in more ways than one.

[Narrator]

It's a missing person's case. We don't know what foul plays happened here. We don't have a body. We don't even know if we have a crime.

[Advertiser]

Their only lead was Mark Twitchell's film set garage. Voluntarily, the amateur filmmaker came down to the Edmonton police Station to speak with detectives Altinger.

[Johnny Altinger]

Does that name ring a bell to.

[Advertiser]

You or mean anything to you?

[Johnny Altinger]

No, never heard it before.

[Advertiser]

Mark was eager to help. He came from a good home, had no history of violence, and was hardly a suspect.

[Johnny Altinger]

Action.

[Advertiser]

In fact, he seemed guilty of nothing more than wanting to brag about his film career.

[Johnny Altinger]

I'm working on a comedy right now, which is a. It's actually a full blown feature that's actually going to have a decent budget in the neighborhood of about three and a half million.

[Advertiser]

Mark Twitchell's first film project, a Star wars fan film, had received some media Buzz back in 2007.

[Johnny Altinger]

Word has gotten around that I'm making a $100 million movie for 60 grand, and some production and directing jobs have already come my way. Chewie, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

[Advertiser]

Jimmy Siokis, an actor and screenwriter who played Han Solo in the film, was struck by Mark's enthusiasm.

[Johnny Altinger]

He was a big kid at heart, like a lot of Star wars fans are. There's a little bit of a gap in between there. He set up everything. We were just excited to get the ball rolling and start filming. On the surface, everything looked great. Action.

[Advertiser]

But it soon became clear, though, that Mark may have had grand plans, but he didn't think them through.

[Johnny Altinger]

He was not prepared at all. He had gotten his money. He had permission to use this big studio. That was the extent of it. This fan film fell apart.

[Advertiser]

Yet reality didn't seem to dampen Mark's ambition in the least.

[Johnny Altinger]

He hears this guy saying, directing is in my blood and I'm gonna do this the rest of my life and I'm gonna make great movies. He was as delusional as any person I've ever met in my life. He wanted to be somebody at any cost.

[Advertiser]

As the police interview continued, detectives questioned Mark about his last production, a suspense thriller called House of Cards. The plot, A hockey mass serial killer lures a man to a garage via the Internet and kills him.

[Johnny Altinger]

I mean, it's kind of odd that you're filming that kind of thing and we end up going to that garage because of a missing person who supposedly went there. That's really freaky too. And as soon as they called me on the phone, I get this weird chill.

[Narrator]

He looked pretty comfortable in the interview. And when it was done and I watched, I went, wow, that guy interviewed.

[Advertiser]

Well, hours later, Mark Twitchell even agreed to let officers back into the garage where he had filmed House of Cards. Little did they know the case was about to take an unusual Turn.

[Narrator]

Detective Murphy goes, you know, and meets him and talks to him, and there's this huge revelation about, oh, yeah, I bought a red car off a guy. It's like, I remember getting the phone call at the police station, just thinking, holy crap.

[Advertiser]

That's because police were still looking for Johnny Altinger's red Mazda. So investigators called Mark again, and again, he voluntarily agreed to answer more questions. This time, Bill Clark conducted the interview.

[Narrator]

So, as you know, Mark, we're just here trying to find this John fella, John Altinger.

[Advertiser]

Clark listens while Mark tells him how he came into possession of a red car, a detail he failed to mention when he spoke with police earlier.

[Johnny Altinger]

This guy taps on my window, you know, hey, buddy, do you want to buy a car? I have shacked up with this really rich lady, and she's buying me a new car. So I'm just looking to unload.

[Advertiser]

Buying.

[Johnny Altinger]

How much do you have on you?

[Advertiser]

Mark claimed he bought the red Mazda for just $40 and that it was parked at a friend's house. So what are you thinking when you hear that? That he purchased a car for $40?

[Narrator]

I just thought, that's unbelievable. That's just. Right away I'm thinking to myself, this is a bunch of crap.

[Advertiser]

The serial killer movie being filmed, the strange story about the red car. For Clark, it could only mean one thing.

[Narrator]

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that you're involved in the disappearance of John Altinger. No doubt in my mind at all, Mark.

[Johnny Altinger]

Why?

[Advertiser]

But it was only a hunch. Clark had no hard evidence against Mark and was forced to let him go, though he wasn't going to make it easy.

[Narrator]

Then when we walked outside and I said, oh, by the way, I'm taking your car. And he says, he kind of fumbled for a bit and said, well, I need to get something out of it. And I said, well, you're getting nothing out of it. We were really worried that he was going to be destroying some evidence. I said, I'm going to get a search warrant to search that car.

[Advertiser]

While waiting for the warrant, police began digging deeper into Mark's background. They were interested in speaking with anyone who had worked on House of Cards. Enter Chris Heward, whose character meets an untimely, bloody end in the film. My character was killed with the samurai sword.

[Voiceover Artist]

They said they would have a mannequin.

[Advertiser]

Or a dummy to run the sword through. And when I got there, there was none. I looked at the weapons. That was my first sign. When I saw that they're real, I thought, this Is off. I'm thinking, why didn't I tell somebody where I am? He left the garage film set unharmed, but rattled. And his unease only escalated when police asked him about that allegedly fake movie blood they had spotted in the garage. How much of the blood splatter on the wall was from your filming? I said, none of the blood splatter was from us. The detectives concern for alting her safety intensified when they made an unexpected discovery in Mark Twitchell's maroon Pontiac, which bore the plate dark Jedi.

[Narrator]

In that vehicle, we found a laptop computer. They pulled off a hard drive, a deleted file titled SK Confessions.

[Advertiser]

SK Confessions. Police believed SK was shorthand for serial killer.

[Narrator]

One of the first lines, it says, I'm not sure when I decided to become a serial killer, but it was a feeling of pure euphoria.

[Advertiser]

SK Confessions told the story of a man who was lured to a garage and stabbed to death. A plot strikingly similar to house of cards. I plunged the knife deep into his neck.

[Narrator]

It was unbelievable. I just remember reading it all and just was fascinated by this document going, holy mackerel.

[Advertiser]

But was the document a screenplay, or was it in fact Mark Twitchell's confession of murder.

[Narrator]

It just doesn't make sense. And when it doesn't make sense, where there's smoke, there's fire.

[Advertiser]

Two weeks after the disappearance of Johnny altinger at a garage film set, police had sharpened their focus on filmmaker Mark Twitchell. Police cameras were rolling as a forensics team processed his car in the garage he rented. And seven miles away, detectives had been at the Twitchell home where they found Jess Twitchell, Mart's unsuspecting wife of two years.

[Narrator]

What I said was, we're investigating a missing person. I believe your husband's got something to do with it, and it's quite possibly, you know, could be a homicide. I didn't really go into anything more, but I think that was enough. I mean, she was emotional.

[Advertiser]

Police soon discovered that the Twitchell marriage was already fractured.

[Narrator]

They had been living in, basically sleeping in separate bedrooms. She was basically living on the main floor. He was living in the basement. So there was obviously troubles in paradise there. We knew that.

[Advertiser]

Twitchell had been having an affair with an old girlfriend and lying to his wife about having a job.

[Narrator]

We found out that he was telling his wife he was going to work every day. He had no job. He was getting his friends to invest in his alleged movie making business with his Hollywood connections. And basically Mark Twitchell was living off their money.

[Advertiser]

Curiously, the document police had found in Twitchell's laptop titled SK Confessions, also referenced a crumbling marriage and secrets. It read, I went through great lengths to bring my wife over to the comfortable belief I wasn't cheating on her.

[Narrator]

It was basically almost like a movie script.

[Advertiser]

But what was real and what was fiction? The closer police looked, the more the lines blurred. Police discovered Twitchell spent countless hours making elaborate Halloween costumes.

[Narrator]

It's almost like at times, Mark Twitchell lives in a fantasy world.

[Advertiser]

But it was Twitchell's Facebook page comparing himself to TV's fictional serial killer Dexter Morgan, that really raised eyebrows. Mark has way too much in common with Dexter Morgan. Read Twitchell status.

[Narrator]

He talked a lot about how he loved the show Dexterity. I need to kill him.

[Advertiser]

Twitchell even posed as Dexter Morgan on Facebook.

[Voiceover Artist]

We all have a dark side, some darker than others. And you're not the only one to relate to Dexter. It sometimes scares me how much I relate. I mean, look at this profile.

[Advertiser]

That profile had caught the attention of Renee Waring from Cleveland, Ohio.

[Voiceover Artist]

I am a huge fan of the Showtime show Dexterity. So I thought, oh, well, you know, I'll be friends with him.

[Advertiser]

Eventually, Twitchell revealed his true identity.

[Voiceover Artist]

He was a filmmaker.

[Narrator]

We are rolling.

[Voiceover Artist]

And he was working on a new thing called House of cards.

[Advertiser]

Camera's rolling. Renee was intrigued. After all, she was an aspiring writer, and her friendship with a movie maker could open doors.

[Voiceover Artist]

I thought it was gonna be like a working relationship, a working friendship. You know, we had a lot in common.

[Advertiser]

So, I mean, you spoke to him a couple of times a day online?

[Voiceover Artist]

Couple of times a day.

[Advertiser]

Was it flirtatious?

[Voiceover Artist]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I'm just a flirt, you know, with anybody.

[Advertiser]

Their email exchanges soon became dark. It was shortly before Johnny Altinger disappeared.

[Voiceover Artist]

We talked about, you know, serial killers and, you know, the psychology behind a serial killer.

[Advertiser]

At the time, Renee was upset with her ex husband's new wife, and I.

[Voiceover Artist]

Wanted her dead at the time, but I said I couldn't do it. And hypothetically, how would you get away with it?

[Advertiser]

How do you get away with her?

[Voiceover Artist]

He said, you cut her up in little pieces. You put her in trash bags like Dexter. And since I was close to the lake, you rent a boat and dump her out in the middle of Lake Erie.

[Advertiser]

For Renee, all the dark talk was just a twisted fantasy. That is, until she received a disturbing email from Twitchell in mid October.

[Voiceover Artist]

He said over the weekend, he did something and he liked it. I crossed the line and I did something, and I liked it.

[Advertiser]

And what did you take that to me?

[Voiceover Artist]

That he killed Somebody. What other line is there to cross? Something inside my head just gave me red flags and said, he did it.

[Advertiser]

Renee tried to get Twitchell to confess to her, but he never did. However, one of his last emails confirmed her fears.

[Voiceover Artist]

There's an enormous missing person, possible homicide investigation going on, centralized around a location I've been renting for film work. So of course the police have tossed my house and impounded my car. Not fun, considering they won't find anything.

[Advertiser]

But Twitchell had underestimated the police.

[Narrator]

He thought he was way smarter than the police. One of the biggest mistakes I think that he made was he had no idea how we do our job. And that was a huge advantage to us.

[Advertiser]

Adding to their circumstantial case, Twitchell possessing Altinger's car, the SK Confessions document, and his Dexter obsession. Investigators finally had hard evidence. They had found Altinger's blood in Twitchell's trunk.

[Narrator]

When we got the word that the DNA matched, we briefed our tactical team, our arrest team, and we had officers ready to make the arrest.

[Advertiser]

On Halloween morning, 2008, while Twitchell was putting the finishing touches on his Halloween costume at his parents home, police were busy laying a trap.

[Narrator]

We got an undercover operator to work the Internet and pretend he was an investor. He was lured out on the promise to meet this guy at this coffee shop. And when he got about three blocks from his house, tactical team swooped in on him and took him down. Tough guy. Mark Twitchell peed his pants. He was so scared. And it was a little taste of his own medicine, I guess.

[Advertiser]

Back at the station, Detective Clark and Twitchell came face to face in the interrogation room once again.

[Narrator]

As I told you that night, I knew that you were involved in the disappearance at that time of Johnny Altinger. That's changed slightly. I now know that you killed John Altinger.

[Advertiser]

Three weeks after Altinger's disappearance, police charged Twitchell with first degree murder. The once talkative movie director barely uttered a line. You didn't get much of a reaction, did you?

[Narrator]

No, he's. Well, he knows not to say anything. Talking to his lawyers, he's not going to admit to anything.

[Advertiser]

He didn't have to. SK Confessions, which police have been dissecting word by word, spoke volumes. They were now convinced it was no screenplay, but rather a diary of murder. One passage about a knife read, I thrust it into his gut. His reaction was pure Hollywood.

[Narrator]

We do believe, as investigators, that the account written by Mark Twitchell in that SK Confessions is exactly what he did to John Altinger.

[Advertiser]

But there was A crucial part of the story they couldn't verify about a victim who had survived.

[Narrator]

It was just a huge piece of evidence because not only would it verify what was written in SK confessions, it would also have a living witness. So it was paramount that we find this person.

[Voiceover Artist]

This episode is brought to you by Greenlight. Get this, Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes. Us parents, parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives. But are we investing in their future financial success?

[Advertiser]

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[Voiceover Artist]

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[Johnny Altinger]

When everything's on the line, real heroes rise to the occasion.

[Advertiser]

TV's hottest show is always Fire Country.

[Johnny Altinger]

We're firefighters. We're gonna find a way to get you out of here.

[Advertiser]

We take the hits together.

[Johnny Altinger]

We're on the same team.

[Advertiser]

I'm right here with you.

[Gilles Tetro]

No matter what.

[Voiceover Artist]

I would never leave you hanging in the deep end.

[Narrator]

This place is a way of giving.

[Advertiser]

You new family Fire Country. All episodes now streaming on Paramount. Plus.

[Narrator]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this, stop With Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying.

[Gilles Tetro]

No judgments.

[Narrator]

But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway.

[Gilles Tetro]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Voiceover Artist]

Of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail].

[Advertiser]

Detective Bill Clark's years in the hockey rink have taught him a valuable lesson that keeping your eye on the goal is often the key to victory. And now the game plan was finding the alleged victim who had escaped from Twitchell's garage.

[Narrator]

You know, one of the first things we did was check the police records, figuring hopefully someone called the police on this. And we have nothing.

[Advertiser]

But police had found a helpful clue during the search of Twitchell's home.

[Narrator]

One of the things they had found was a hockey mask. The SK Confessions talked about how Mark Twitchell had worn this mask when he attacked both victims. But we figured it was something the first victim would key on.

[Advertiser]

Police soon took to the airwaves.

[Narrator]

We have some details on this male victim who was attacked and we would like him to come forward.

[Advertiser]

Gilles Tetro was at home, oblivious to the horror he had escaped when a friend told him to watch the news.

[Narrator]

To date, we do not know who this victim is. I believe the victim entered the garage and was attacked by another male who was wearing a hockey mask.

[Gilles Tetro]

And it's the same hockey mask that I saw. Wow. Yeah, this is. This is the guy. This is what happened to me. It's the same mask. Everything.

[Advertiser]

What Gilles heard next came as an even greater shock. Another man had been lured to the same garage and met a gruesome end.

[Narrator]

We have not found John Altinger's body. Body.

[Advertiser]

And what were you thinking when you heard this?

[Gilles Tetro]

I couldn't believe it. Once you find out the whole story, I knew at that point it was not just a mugging. It was actually he was probably going to kill me. Like, wow. I said, I have to go forward now. I have to come forward.

[Advertiser]

Exactly one month after he was attacked, Gilles Tetro walked into the Edmonton police department and told police his incredible story.

[Gilles Tetro]

I was all off balance. I couldn't run. I fell down on the gravel driveway and basically crawling.

[Narrator]

It was just an unbelievable interview. It had me on the edge of my seat. I'm sitting there going, it's like watching a movie on tv, going, well, what's going to happen next?

[Advertiser]

But in reality, Detective Clark knew exactly what had happened next.

[Gilles Tetro]

So he dragged me back to the garage.

[Advertiser]

Jill's story matched nearly word for word what was in SK Confessions. I grabbed him by the leg as if to drag him back into the garage, caveman style.

[Narrator]

So I know that this diary we have is true.

[Gilles Tetro]

After this all happened, I realized how lucky I was.

[Advertiser]

Seven days after Gilles was attacked, Police say Twitchell wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. How did he kill John?

[Narrator]

We know that he lured him to the garage in the same way he lured Jules Tetros. And then in this case, because he learned from Gilles that the taser didn't work, he hit him over the head with a lead pipe.

[Advertiser]

Following the narrative, police believe Altinger was then stabbed and dismembered on a makeshift autopsy table. What was the most damning piece of evidence that you discovered?

[Narrator]

We had, you know, luminol tests done on the floor. Large amounts of blood had been spilled on the floor of the garage. Probably one of the biggest pieces, a piece of tooth that was found inside there. That piece of tooth matched up to our victim.

[Advertiser]

According to SK Confessions, the killer then broke into Altinger's apartment and sent out those emails about taking an exotic vacation. The killer then attempted to burn the remains in a barrel, but failed. He next tried to dump them into the river, but was afraid of being seen.

[Narrator]

Ultimately, Mark Twitchell drove around with it. According to the SK Confessions document, he even talked about driving around with them and pulling up beside people at red lights and looking at them and thinking that they don't know I have a dead body in the trunk of my car.

[Advertiser]

But where was Johnny Altinger's body? SK Confessions described the killer finally choosing a sewer to dump the remains. But that's where the pages stopped. It was a story without an ending.

[Narrator]

In any homicide investigation, you obviously want to bring closure to the family. So not only do you want to make that phone call saying, we got the guy that did this to your loved one, but in this case, we wanted to say to him, look, we found Johnny.

[Advertiser]

Detective Clark hoped Twitchell would provide the final chapter.

[Narrator]

I'm going to get the car ready. We're going to take a drive.

[Advertiser]

You guys were driving around and there was a camera trained on him in the back of the police car. Tell me about that.

[Narrator]

When you read all the experts books about these type of individuals is they tend to like the media attention. So we thought, well, maybe if we drive him around and we'll put a camera on him, maybe he'll just. We'll just take him to places. Because we had no idea where Johnny's remains were at that time. So in order to finish the movie, we find the body, take it back to the people family. Done. Movie's over. We write it all down.

[Advertiser]

Detective Clark was relentless, taking Twitchell on a tour of his old neighborhood.

[Narrator]

And we first drove to his parents house where he had been staying. We actually demanded that he tell us he wouldn't look familiar. Mark, are we parked right on top of the sewer where you dumped the body?

[Advertiser]

Next stop, the scene of the crime.

[Narrator]

So here we are back at the killing garage, the Dexter garage. Bring back any memories. You want to tell us where the body is now? We'll get the.

[Advertiser]

But Twitchell remained silent. So police kept searching on their own, looking in sewer after sewer.

[Narrator]

So all these manhole covers were pulled off in this alley. So anytime I'd see one, I always had my flashlight with me and would get out and actually take a look.

[Advertiser]

Weeks, then months passed, and still no luck. Frustrated, police would pay Twitchell many visits at the jail where he awaited trial, trying to get it out of him. Then on June 3, 2010, a year and A half after Johnny Altinger disappeared, the homicide unit received a call.

[Narrator]

Mark was willing to turn over something to the police. And right away when I heard about it, I go, he's going to turn over Johnny.

[Advertiser]

But did the filmmaker have one last plot twist?

[Johnny Altinger]

16 years from today, Greg Gerstner will.

[Voiceover Artist]

Finally land the perfect cannonball. Epic splash. Unsuspecting friends.

[Narrator]

A work of art only possible because.

[Voiceover Artist]

Greg is already meeting all these same people at AARP volunteer and community events that keep him active and involved and.

[Narrator]

Help make sure his happiness lives as.

[Voiceover Artist]

Long as he does. That's why the younger you are, the more you need AARP.

[Narrator]

Learn more at aarp.org local.

[Advertiser]

Nearly two years after his arrest, Mark Twitchell was finally ready to break his silence about the whereabouts of Johnny Altinger's body.

[Narrator]

They had three conditions, though. One was the police couldn't ask him any questions. The second one was no media could be present and no Bill Clark. So I kind of chuckled at that. So I thought I got to him.

[Advertiser]

So detectives met Twitchell in jail, where he gave them a Google map to the location where they would find the remains.

[Narrator]

Just up here on the left, it's about a block south of his parents house.

[Advertiser]

Police followed the map to an alleyway, ironically just a half block away from where they had stopped their search.

[Narrator]

And he had marked an X. X marks the spot. It took us right to this sewer cover here. We could see what looked like pieces of human torso down there.

[Advertiser]

For Johnny's brother Gary, the news was devastating.

[Johnny Altinger]

When something like that happens to somebody you love, you don't want to believe it because the truth is really, really difficult.

[Advertiser]

In March 2011, Gary Altinger faced his brother's accused killer in court. Edmonton crowned prosecutors Avril Inglis and Lawrence Van Dyke had a lot to work.

[Voiceover Artist]

With, considering Mr. Altinger's blood wasn't just.

[Narrator]

All over the garage. It was on Mr. Twitchell's clothes when.

[Voiceover Artist]

He was arrested three weeks later.

[Narrator]

That's a lot of evidence. We felt it was just like I say, without a doubt the strongest case I've ever gone to court with. But you always go in with a jury trial going. You never know.

[Advertiser]

Adding to the evidence was the infamous SK confessions document. Prosecutors called multiple witnesses to prove that it was Twitchell's diary. And who better to prove their case than Jill Tetrow, who came face to face with his attacker at the trial.

[Gilles Tetro]

I wasn't really afraid of him at that time. I knew he couldn't hurt me anymore.

[Advertiser]

How important was Gilles testimony?

[Voiceover Artist]

One of the Most important aspects was his ability to confirm the truth to the document that Mr. Twitchell had crafted.

[Advertiser]

The courtroom was mesmerized as SK Confessions was read out loud.

[Narrator]

When we actually were in front of.

[Advertiser]

The jury presenting that very graphic, gruesome.

[Narrator]

Horrific evidence, it was a full courtroom.

[Advertiser]

And you could hear a pin drop at times.

[Voiceover Artist]

Mr. Altinger's family was present in the courtroom, and you could hear them. You could hear their reaction. You could hear them crying.

[Advertiser]

Jurors heard a weeping Jess Twitchell, the filmmaker's now ex wife, testify that Mark had confided in her that he was incapable of feeling empathy for others.

[Narrator]

That was the first time Mr. Twitchell had seen her since the time he was arrested over two years earlier.

[Advertiser]

Throughout it all, Mark Twitchell sat emotional. That was until Detective Bill Clark took the stand and the interrogation tapes were played.

[Narrator]

He watched his wife testify. He watched his girlfriend testify with just a blank stare on his face, no emotion. I don't know much about your life yet. He's watching the video of me, and he starts to puff up and starts to cry. And he turns around to me and he says to me, I'm sorry for lying to you. And then I put my hand up and said, whoa, Mark, you can't talk to me right now. And I just thought, oh, it was so phony.

[Advertiser]

What did you say to Mark Twitchell in court?

[Johnny Altinger]

I called him a piece of.

[Advertiser]

And what did he say?

[Johnny Altinger]

He didn't say anything. He would never look at me, no matter how often I looked at him. No matter how often I stared at him. No, he would never look.

[Advertiser]

In the end, the only witness the defense called was Mark Twitchell. And the storyteller had one incredible tale, starting with SK Confessions, which he said was largely fiction and shorthand for a famous horror writer.

[Narrator]

If you believe Mark Twitchell in court, it was Stephen King, but everybody knows it means Serial killer Confessions.

[Advertiser]

Twitchell claimed that Altinger's death was nothing more than a House of Cards publicity stunt gone horribly awry. He called this PR scheme maple, an acronym for more Multiangle Psychosis Layering Entertainment.

[Narrator]

He talks about how he was creating an urban legend and how he was going to lure Gilles in and Johnny in. And there was never any intent to kill him. And they were just going to be part of this urban legend. And then it would be about a guy who lured people to a garage and they got away. And that was the whole plan.

[Advertiser]

Twitchell argued he had let Gilles go so that he would create a buzz when the film came out by telling people that this had actually happened to him in real life. But he claimed Altinger became enraged at being tricked and that he accidentally killed Johnny in self defense.

[Narrator]

He actually expected everyone to believe him in court. I had a tough time not getting out of my chair and just going, that's a bunch of crap, you know?

[Advertiser]

And the jury agreed. They took just five hours to find Mark Twitchell guilty. He was sentenced to 25 years to life.

[Narrator]

To me, he's a psychopathic killer that we've taken off the streets of this city. There's no doubt in my mind, or I think any in the investigative team that he would have kept on killing. We caught him on his first one.

[Advertiser]

The only question that remains is why? Detective Bill Clark is convinced that in Twitchell's mind, he thought he could make the ultimate serial killer film if he became one.

[Narrator]

I think that ultimately his goal was to produce a movie on what he had done. He could sit back while he's producing it and just go, these guys are all acting this out. But in real life, I've actually done.

[Advertiser]

It for Johnny's family. The pain will never go away.

[Johnny Altinger]

I miss his intelligence, his wit, his helpfulness. If I ever had a problem, you could always count on him. And he would come and visit, you know, he'd spend some time with my kids.

[Advertiser]

You said that your children suffer from nightmares they have.

[Johnny Altinger]

They remember their uncle fondly and they miss him.

[Advertiser]

Jill Tetro struggles with feelings of guilt. But meeting Johnny Altinger's mother has helped in his recovery.

[Gilles Tetro]

I didn't know how she'd take to me because I survived and her son. Did you know how she'd be with me? She was so nice. She grabbed my hand and she thanked me. She said, I'm so happy you're still with us. That was so nice.

[Advertiser]

So emotional.

[Gilles Tetro]

Yeah, yeah. That is.

[Advertiser]

For Gilles, life has changed for the better. He now has a son. But the reality of just how close he came to death that day and how lucky he was is not lost on him.

[Gilles Tetro]

If I would have died that day, my son wouldn't have been born. I think about that all. I don't know if it's the willpower to live or some higher power was looking over me that day. But I thank God that I got away.

[Advertiser]

Now streaming, when everything's on the line.

[Johnny Altinger]

Real heroes rise to the occasion.

[Advertiser]

TV's hottest show is Fire Country.

[Johnny Altinger]

We're firefighters. We're gonna find a way to get you out of here.

[Advertiser]

We take the hitch together. We're on the same team. I'm right here with you.

[Gilles Tetro]

No matter what.

[Voiceover Artist]

I would never leave you hanging in the deep end.

[Narrator]

This place is a way of giving.

[Advertiser]

You new family Fire Country. All episodes now streaming on Paramount plus.