The Psychology of Dexter - Bella DePaulo [26]
This element is ripe for analysis. The taking of a blood slide psychologically reaffirms the trait of domination or control, as well as order. There is a certain sense of power and forced intimacy Dexter supposes in the performance of such an unusual action without explanation or obvious reason provided to the victim. Viewers can assume that cut provides Dexter with an opportunity to act out his childhood experience as a witness to his mother’s murder, this time in control as the aggressor. As we saw in “Born Free” (1-12), at some point during the crime young Dexter had endured a cut to his left cheek. Moreover, there is clearly some need to memorialize the murders and retain physical access to the memory in the future—like a prize. They help Dexter to relive the thrill of his kills. Finally, the slide aspect suggests a deviancy, a sort of abnormal gratification from blood or the orderly placement of blood. Dexter’s career as a blood spatter analyst supports this conclusion.
There are times, however, when Dexter does not seem to experience these needs, which explains the instances when no blood slides are taken during the kill. This is most apparent in unplanned or personally meaningful or unmeaningful kills. In regard to unplanned kills, such as Esteban and Chico, the drug dealers who arrived at the cabin where Sergeant Doakes was held captive in “Left Turn Ahead” (2-11), Dexter killed out of practical necessity or impulse. The brooding fantasy or psychological need to kill was not present. As such, Dexter had no desire to memorialize the event. The same explanation can be applied to Dexter’s meaningful kills. He did not take slides, for instance, from his brother the Ice Truck Killer, Lila his one-time girlfriend and Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, or Camilla Fig, family friend and retired police department employee. All of these individuals were personal to Dexter and he had no desire to recollect the kills. In the same vein, Dexter does not take slides for unmeaningful kills. For example, with Ken Olson in “Dex, Lies, and Videotape” (2-6), Dexter said, “No, I’m gonna kill you. I have to, I just don’t need to . . . It’s very empowering.” This statement and Dexter’s failure to take a blood slide suggest a lack of fantasy prior to the kill, and once again, no need to memorialize it.
The final piece of Dexter’s signature is the excessive use of force postmortem. Dexter’s current MO tends to involve a quick killing blow to the victim, usually a fatal stab wound to the chest, neck, or head. Any postmortem mutilation following the fatal blow is in excess of that necessary to accomplish the murder and by definition becomes part of Dexter’s signature. Following the fatal blow, Dexter saws or cuts up the body into smaller pieces. This is referred to by forensic experts as “overkill.” It produces a great deal of mess and blood that he easily cleans up using the plastic and garbage bags. Dexter’s excessive use of force suggests psychological traits toward extreme violence, aggression, and anger. This behavior could also function as self-protection, maybe a clean and efficient way to follow Harry’s Code and dispose of the body. But disposing of the body in one piece would arguably produce the same effect more quickly. Dexter does, after all, dispose of the body parts in the same location and leaves identifying marks, i.e., teeth and fingerprints, intact. This overkill suggests a need to not only kill his victims, who are murderers of innocent people, but literally slaughter them, defiling their bodies and rendering them unrecognizable. Like the blood slides, the process of this act may point toward a deviant gratification from blood.
Experts believe that an analysis of the signature elements, like those just described, can also reveal the criminal’s fantasies. This is important because fantasies are thought to be the driving force behind the crimes committed by serial offenders. If the fantasy is that