Filmmaker inspired by TV show Dexter became a serial killer using dating sites to lure victims

We know that art imitates life, but unfortunately sometimes art can influence real life in the most horrific ways, which is exactly what happened when a convicted serial killer became obsessed with showtime hit Dexter.

Father and husband Mark Twitchell appeared an unassuming man to most, but behind his seemingly ordinary life, the aspiring filmmaker was carrying out a gruesome plot to lure and kill as many men as possible.

The now 43-year-old, who has since earned the moniker of 'the Dexter killer', took inspiration from the American drama series, which saw Dexter Morgan, a blood splatter analyst, solving crimes throughout the day and committing them at night.

Spurred on by what he had seen on TV, Twitchell began plotting his own Dexter-like storyline, renting a garage much like the character's famous 'kill room,' before trawling dating apps looking for potential victims.

On October 3, 2008, Twitchell successfully lured Gilles Tetreault to his kill room garage by posing as a woman called Sheena on dating site PlentyOfFish. The then 29-year-old wrote out directions, rather than providing an address, and told his victim the garage door would be open for his arrival.

But as soon as he entered the garage, Tetreault was attacked from behind, and when he turned around, he saw a man hovering over him with a hockey mask.

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Fortunately, Tetreault was able to fight back and escape the clutches of his attempted killer, before making a run for it.

Sadly, Twitchell's next victim, Johnny Altinger, wasn't so lucky.

Just a week after Tetreault's escape, the Dexter killer lured his second victim, 38-year-old Altinger, to the garage, before beating him over the head with a pipe and stabbing him to death.

Following the brutal murder, Twitchell began carrying out a plan to hide his tracks, which began with texting Altinger's friends pretending he had gone on a "nice long tropical vacation" with a wonderful woman he'd met named Jen.

Understandably, this roused suspicion among the friends, who reported Altinger missing and also provided police with the directions he'd received from his 'date,' leading cops directly to the garage.

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There, police found a horrifying Dexter-like scene, consisting of plastic sheets, a blood splattered table and cleaning supplies - but it was traces of the victim's blood in Twitchell's car which led to him being arrested for murder on October 31, 2008.

When questioned by police, the killer claimed he'd been filming a movie called House of Cards, which coincidentally followed men being lured to a garage to be killed. However, he claimed he planned to let his victims escape to create a 'buzz' around the film.

His so-called defence came crumbling down, however, when police found a deleted file containing a 'script' called SK Confessions, believed to stand for Serial Killer Confessions, which detailed all of Twitchell's crimes.

In the document, he wrote that while his crimes were not a 'copy cat of the style of Dexter Morgan,' they were a 'homage to the character.'

During the trial, investigators discovered that Twitchell was a member of several online Dexter fan clubs, and had told a fellow member he was scared by how much he could relate to the character.

After being found guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison, the killer continued to deny any correlation to the fictional show.