For its millions of ordinary fans, hit US crime drama Dexter has been the perfect binge-watch at the end of a long day.
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Dexter → hit → day
But for a twisted minority, it has ceased to be just entertainment and mutated into something far darker: a twisted inspiration for real-world violence.
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it → cease → violence
Within just 70 days, two British killers who styled themselves on TV serial killer Dexter Morgan have been convicted of the most gruesome of murders.
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who → style → murders
Forensics student Benjamin Day, 20, this week admitted to murdering Maria Saceanu, 24, after luring her to a plastic-lined 'kill room' inside a West Midlands Airbnb, inspired by his obsession with the TV show.
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Day → admit → show
His confession came just weeks after another Dexter-inspired serial killer, James Desborough, 40, was convicted of murdering and dismembering two men in his remote woodland cabin in Cornwall.
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killer → come → Cornwall
Astonishingly, two other Brits, Steven Miles and Mark Howe, Canadian film-maker Mark Twitchell, American teenager Andrew Conley and Norwegian Havard Nyflot have all been convicted of killings inspired by Dexter since 2009.
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Brits → convict → 2009
The hit series, which first aired nearly 20 years to the day, follows the life of Dexter Morgan, who by day works as a blood-splatter analyst for the police, and by night transforms into a vigilante serial killer who is expertly equipped to cover his tracks.
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who → air → tracks
Criminologists have today warned that Dexter – which has produced three spin-off shows – could be providing a 'how-to script' for copycat killers.
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which → warn → killers
Benjamin Day was arrested wearing a Dexter-style outfit after murdering Maria Saceanu in a 'kill room'
Dexter Morgan, played by Michael C. Hall, wearing a khaki shirt that Day changed into before killing his victim
Canadian filmmaker Mark Twitchell and British teen Steven Miles were inspired to kill by Dexter
Day's confession came just 70 days after James Desborough (pictured) was convicted of a Dexter-inspired double murder
Alex Iszatt, a behavioural criminologist, told the Daily Mail: 'Dexter gives them a ritual.
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Dexter → arrest → ritual
They can fully become him: follow the same code and principles, wear the same clothes, and use the same methods of killing and disposing of bodies.
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They → become → bodies
Dexter provides a usable identity.
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Dexter → provide → identity
They are ready to perform to an imagined audience.
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They → perform → audience
In the series, Dexter works as a blood-splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, but becomes a vigilante serial killer during the night.
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Dexter → work → night
His actions are strictly governed by a set of rules taught by his adoptive father, Harry Morgan, known as 'The Code'.
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actions → govern → Code
He can only kill proven murderers that have evaded justice – and he can never get caught.
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he → kill → justice
He feels an uncontrollable, innate urge to kill which he describes as his 'Dark Passenger' and follows a meticulous routine, using his police network to research suspects beforehand.
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he → feel → suspects
Dexter's modus operandi is to prepare a 'kill room', wrapped completely in plastic sheets to catch all evidence and blood.
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operandi → prepare → evidence
He tapes photos of the victim's crimes to the walls and forces them to look at what they have done.
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they → tap → what
Finally, he murders them and dismembers their bodies before dumping them deep in the ocean.
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he → murder → ocean
'What makes Dexter particularly useful to a violent personality is that he provides a justification for killing,' Ms Iszatt adds.
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Iszatt → make → killing
'You're not a monster with uncontrollable urges; you're a vigilante, with standards, and the people you kill deserve it.
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you → kill → it
It doesn't matter if they happen to be your mother, brother or girlfriend.
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they → matter → ?
'There's something inherently appealing about Dexter's dual identity; he is a dark version of the superhero fantasy, respectable and ordinary by day, secretly powerful and dangerous by night.
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he → be → night
For someone fascinated by control, violence and getting away with things, the fantasy is not simply being a killer, it's doing what everyone else can't, while remaining invisible.'
This week, the series was thrust back into the spotlight after University of Worcester student Ben Day set up a copycat Dexter 'kill room' and violently stabbed Maria Saceanu 78 times to death before attempting to dismember her.
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Day → fascinate → her
He changed into a Dexter-style khaki top and prepared the 'kill room' as a 'tribute' to the TV series.
Dexter fanatic Mark Howe (pictured) was jailed for at least 21-and-a-half years for murdering his mother, Katrina Wardle, at their home in Leicester in 2014
Andrew Conley strangled his brother to death.
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Conley → change → death
He too was obsessed with the US crime series Dexter
The murderer, who had changed his university course from journalism to study forensics and applied biology, also had a 'shopping list' of items required for the killing, including plastic sheeting, a staple gun, cleaning chemicals and microscopic slides.
Police said Day 'had an obsessive personality and had become obsessed with the character Dexter'.
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Day → obsess → character
Listing 'similarities' between the death and the TV series, prosecutor Rachel Brand KC told jurors: 'Dexter Morgan works as a forensic scientist in a police department – and the broad premise of the programme is that he is a serial killer who knows how to cover his tracks.
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who → list → tracks
'As you know the defendant changed his university course… to study applied biology and forensics.
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defendant → know → biology
He had changed into 'Dexter' clothing before Maria Saceanu arrived at the house.
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Saceanu → change → house
In the TV series Dexter prepares a 'kill room' when carrying out his attacks, lined with plastic sheeting which he fixes using a staple gun or duct/gaffer tape.
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he → prepare → gun
And this is exactly how the defendant had prepared the room.
'
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defendant → prepare → room
Dexter wears an apron, a plastic visor and gloves when killing his victims – all such items were found in the bedroom.
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items → wear → bedroom
Other similarities with the TV series included a canvas roll containing knives found in the bedroom, the dismemberment attempts and microscope slides thought to be a 'trophy' from the killing, Ms Brand said.
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Brand → include → killing
Ms Iszatt, a former crime scene investigator, said the 'kill room' is particularly significant because it turns murder into a ritual of control.
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it → say → control
'
'On the show it's clean, sterile and methodical; the plastic sheeting and protective clothing are presented as solutions to practical problems,' she added.
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she → present → problems
'For someone interested in forensics, it also feeds a fantasy of competence: not simply being capable of killing, but being clever enough to outsmart the police afterwards.
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it → feed → police
Dexter killer Day lying on a hospital trolley with his left hand heavily bandaged where he is arrested on suspicion of murder
Dexter was aired for the first time nearly 20 years ago to the day and has a cult following
Maria Saceanu, 24, was brutally murdered by Dexter fanatic Benjamin Day
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Saceanu → lie → Day
The University of Worcester, where Day studied, boasts of 'state-of-the-art research labs and dedicated crime scene simulation house provides immersive settings for working through real-world scenarios'
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boasts → study → scenarios
They tell prospective students: 'You'll get to use industry-standard geophysical equipment for detecting concealed burials, crime scene investigation kits and specialist fingerprint-enhancing tools.'
A spokesman for the university said it was 'deeply shocked and saddened by this terrible crime'.
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it → tell → crime
Ms Iszatt said the clothing Day was wearing was 'not merely practical, but a uniform'.
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Day → say → ?
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
