The Psychology of Dexter - Bella DePaulo [23]
As compared to his slip-ups with Mary, Dexter’s future murders were more sophisticated. Re-watching the very first episode, “Dexter” (1-1), it is clear that he had come a long way since that first kill. Dexter’s victim, Mike Donovan, was a forty-something boys’ choir director who had murdered at least three children. On the night of the kill, Dexter stalked his victim at an outdoor concert. He lay in wait, unseen in the dark night, for the choir director in the backseat of his vehicle. The concert ended and Mike walked down the road to his car. He settled into the driver’s seat, plainly oblivious to the danger that was awaiting his return. Dexter swiftly and expertly popped up and choked him into submission with wire. Dexter directed the bound and gagging but still conscious victim to drive to a remote cabin in the woods. As the car came to a stop, three empty graves were visible in the light of the headlamps. Enraged, Dexter violently dragged Mike from the car and into the cabin where the remains of three young boys were displayed on plastic wrap. He forced the terrified man to look at the decaying bodies and admonished him for what he had done to the boys. Standing against the cabin wall crying, Mike admitted, “I couldn’t help myself.” Dexter, facing him, listened and responded to his pleas and justifications, then stepped forward and abruptly sedated him via injection. Conscious again, Mike found himself gagged, nude, and tied to a table with plastic wrap. Dexter was clad in what we would later learn was his traditional kill suit, an apron, and a welding mask. Seeing that Mike was awake, he quickly went to task. Grabbing a scalpel, he moved to his victim and made a small incision on right side of his face. He took a blood sample from the bleeding wound, encasing a droplet of blood between glass slides. This completed, Dexter chose a tool—a saw—and killed the man by sawing his neck. In the process Dexter stated, “Soon, you’ll be packed into a few neatly wrapped Heftys and my own small corner of the world will be a neater, happier place.” The show cut immediately to Dexter in his boat, and viewers were left to presume that Dexter chopped up Mike’s body, loaded it into garbage bags, and dumped it in the ocean.
By comparing the case of Mike to that of Mary, we can see that Dexter had made a few noteworthy changes to his MO to lessen the risk of being caught. First, he learned that it was easier to subdue his victim from behind. Caught from behind, the choir director was unable to see the attack coming, unlike nurse Mary, who did and had opportunity to prepare and fight back. Second, Dexter learned that it was safer to make the initial attack in a less-populated location. Although Mike was apprehended after a well-attended concert, his car was parked on the side of a dark road. This was in contrast to Mary, who was assaulted in what appeared to be an apartment building, most likely populated with close-by neighbors. This led to the third change, a more remote kill room. As compared to Mary’s apartment, Dexter dramatically decreased his chances of getting caught at Mike’s remote cabin. Fourth, Dexter had perfected a quick kill. Mike was presumably killed and therefore silenced after the first cut to his neck, while Mary yelled, albeit muffled by the gag, with each stab to her side. Finally, we know that Dexter had mastered the