Amateur filmmaker turned killer Mark Twitchell has leave bid denied

Mark Twitchell, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2011, requested two escorted visits to see his parents in Edmonton. The parole board denied it.

An Edmonton man serving a life sentence for a murder that mirrored the serial-killer TV show “Dexter” has been denied temporary leave from prison.

The parole board today denied Mark Twitchell’s request for two escorted visits to visit his parents in the Alberta capital.

In saying no, the parole board cited the psychological impact the leave could have on the victim’s family, as well as the fact that Twitchell would be visiting the city in which they reside.

Twitchell is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the 2008 death of Johnny Altinger.

At trial, court heard Twitchell lured Altinger to a residential garage on an internet scam, killed him, cut up the body and dumped it in a sewer.

The case made international headlines as Twitchell was an amateur filmmaker and police found a document on his laptop that detailed the murder in graphic detail and spoke of his desire to become a serial killer like his fictional TV hero Dexter Morgan.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2026.