deadmonton 2008 - johnny brian altinger

The call was put out by homicide detectives who believed that his disappearance was suspicious and they were concerned for his safety because of a possibility of foul play. No details supporting the theory were immediately offered by a police spokesman.

Friends of Altinger said his absence was out of character and they had reported him missing to police on October 16th. A media alert was not issued until October 22nd.

Altinger was described as 6-feet 3-inches, approximately 170 lbs, with brown eyes, brown hair and silver-rimmed glasses.

No description of the clothing he was wearing at the time of his disappearance was provided. A larger image of the missing man can be seen here.

Police said Altinger was not known to them prior to his disappearance.

On October 19th a search warrant was executed at a house on 57th Street.

While investigators said Altinger did not live at the location, his car was found nearby and was seized for examination.

Police cordoned off the residence and seemed to pay particular attention to the home's garage.

Their presence at the south side home continued for more than two weeks.

Friends set up a Find Johnny Altinger group page on Facebook, the popular social networking web site, in hopes it would generate clues to the man's disappearance.

Some reported receiving an email from Johnny on October 13th which they doubted came from the man. Three days later his personal Facebook page indicated that he had left Edmonton and had gone to the Caribbean.

An email from Altinger's account was sent to his workplace stating that he had quit his job.

"My boss received an e-mail saying: 'I quit. I'm going on extended leave,' " Hans-Wilhelm Adam told the Edmonton Sun.

Adam has spent the past year and-a-half working with Altinger at Argus Machine in Nisku. He told the Sun his co-worker may have crossed paths with the wrong person online.

"On Friday night [October 10th], he was online chatting with a girl," Adam said. "And she basically said, 'Come on, let's meet together.' "

Directions were given by the woman that didn't lead to a specific address, according to Adam.

Police continued to say little about Altinger's disappearance and refused to comment on the 'date theory.'

"So far detectives have explained to me that they can't get into any details of the ongoing investigation and wouldn't want to speculate on any rumours," a police spokesman said.

Officers were seen handing out a flyer of their own.

Police said that a couple reported that they "may have observed what appeared to be a struggle between two men, either inside or just outside that garage, and one of those men running or driving away from the area."

The incident had occurred sometime between September 1st and October 10th, police said.

A woman who lived in the area told the Edmonton Journal she thought the house was rented, and that she saw one man come and go.

"He would come maybe once a week or two for a few minutes," she said.

Around the September long weekend "there were four guys that seemed like they were making a movie," she said.

"There was a big movie light outside, but certainly no flyer saying they were going to be doing a movie outside.

"There definitely looked like there was movie-making going on that one day. But after that, there just seemed to be one guy that occasionally would come over. It's very odd."

Police said they had identified several persons of interest who may have information about the man's disappearance. However, no further comment was offered.

Edmonton police vehicles showed up at the house at 30 Dayton Crescent at about the same time they began investigating the residence at 5712 40 Avenue in Edmonton where Altinger was last seen.

Neighbours said several renters, a young couple with a baby and young child, had moved in about August and kept to themselves.

Edmonton police said little about why they were there or what led them to the home. They continued to offer no comment on whether there was a link between their activities at the St. Albert location and Altinger's disappearance.

A forensic team was observed removing items from the home after a four-day Edmonton police presence.

St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Ted Soltys told the Edmonton Sun though his department wasn't involved in the search, they were aware of it but he couldn't say why the house was targeted.

"It's an Edmonton police matter," Soltys said.

Investigators believed that Altinger went missing on October 10th, 2008 from the area of 40th Avenue and 57th Street and was "victimised" after responding to an online ad that seemed to have come from a woman.

Det. Mark Anstey said the man charged was writing and producing movies in the garage, and that "John Altinger did not know Mark Twitchell."

Anstey alleged that Twitchell had planned Altinger's death and had even made a movie about how he would do it.

"The movie was about luring a male from a dating internet site and basically killing the male in the garage and chopping up the body parts and getting rid of the body," the detective read from a prepared statement.

Friends of Altinger had earlier said he had told them he met a girl online and agreed to meet with her. Police said that was part of a murder plot outlined in a script they had seized by search warrant (see below).

"It was about a killer luring a male off the internet, off a dating site, on the pretense that he'd meet a lovely, sexy girl," Anstey said.

"Once he was in the garage, he was knocked unconscious and duct-taped to a metal chair that they have as a prop."

The victim was then forced to reveal personal information, such as bank account numbers and passwords for social networking sites and email accounts, which are then used to contact friends to make it appear everything was fine.

According to the script, the victim is then decapitated.

"His body was chopped up in little pieces and disposed of," Anstey said

While police believe they know how Altinger died, the homicide detective declined to elaborate. He offered only that even more "bizarre" details were being withheld to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

"It was actually filmed and there are actors; we interviewed the actors. We've interviewed everybody and that film actually did take place."

None of the actors or crew were suspected of wrongdoing.

Homicide detectives had returned to the garage earlier on November 1st along with Twitchell. They hoped the man would lead them to Altinger's remains.

Police admitted that Altinger's body had yet to be located but enough forensic evidence was found to lay a charge of first-degree murder.

"This is very rare. There is a lot of evidence to prove he is deceased," Anstey said.

Officers also believed another male victim, who may have been lured by a similar online ad prior to Altinger, had managed to escape. Police believe he may have been the original murder target.

Detectives said they were hoping to speak with this person who they said was lured to the garage at 5712 40 Avenue on October 3rd, 2008.

“I believe this male entered the garage and was attacked by another male who was wearing a hockey mask. The male was able to break free and run into the lane being chased by the male in the mask," Anstey told reporters.

"At about this exact time a couple was walking by and saw the altercation. The male wearing the hockey mask backed away and the other male may have escaped,” Anstey added.

Police described the escaping man as 5-feet 11-inches, 180 to 190 lbs, well-dressed wearing a gold shirt, dark-skinned or tanned in complexion, with hair in a tight perm with jell in it.

The man had welts over his left eye, was named possibly Francis, Hank or Fred, and may drive a black Ford Ranger.

“I would like to reiterate that this individual did nothing wrong and he is not in trouble, we would just like to speak to him and this would assist us greatly in our Altinger investigation,” Anstey said.

Det. Anstey displayed the mask to media and a larger image of it can be seen here.

Police said the mask was recovered from Twitchell's home and that it was used in his movie, adding it was likely the same one used in connection with Altinger's death.

"It was definitely planned and it was definitely ... he put a lot of thought into it, a lot of work into it," Anstey told reporters after the press conference had concluded.

Police alleged that Twitchell acted alone, and indicated that further charges may be pending against him.

"Once he got in there [to the garage], he would get a phone call from her and she would direct him to her real address. It's very, very strange, and that's why he called his friends," Anstey said.

The detective said that soon after Altinger disappeared, so did the woman's profile from the dating web site, as did Altinger's, which suggested he had surrendered his password.

"I believe very strongly he was dead at that time," Anstey said, referring to "lots of forensic evidence that would suggest the person in that garage is not alive any longer."

"The only reason we are here today is that John Altinger e-mailed the directions to a friend. If he didn't e-mail those directions, the police would not even have been involved," Anstey continued. "They would have put him as a missing person, and we would have made our efforts to find him, and we wouldn't have found him."

A check with the rental company that owned the garage turned up Twitchell's name. Anstey said this "sloppy" use of his real name was critical to making the arrest.

Anstey revealed Twitchell has had no involvement with police other than a minor theft years ago. Drugs and alcohol were not thought to have been factors in the crime, and Anstey could not comment on possible mental illness.

The detached double garage and the house in the Mill Woods neighbourhood of Greenwood were rented separately.

In an interview with ABC News, Anstey hinted at what was to come.

"This is as bizarre as it gets," Anstey said. "Some of the evidence we can't disclose is even more bizarre. Once the trial goes, it will be even more mind-boggling."

On August 27th, 2008 – on a Facebook discussion group for the Xpress Entertainment film "House of Cards" – a call is made for actors.

On August 29th "xpressdirector" of St. Albert, Alberta orders an 800,000 volt stun gun online from iOffer.com, an online buy, sell and trade site. "xpressdirector" reports receiving it on September 14th.

Filming for Twitchell's 8-minute "House of Cards" movie is scheduled to take place September 26th, 27th and 28th. Residents living near the garage on 57th Street report four men came to take part.

On October 3rd a man police said was the original intended murder target in Twitchell's alleged plot was able to escape an assault at the garage on 57th Street. When investigators arrested Twitchell they issued a description of the man. He contacted police on November 2nd.

On or about October 10th Altinger responded to an online invitation from a woman named 'Jen' to meet him at the garage in Mill Woods.

"We believe he was set up by a profile that was not a female. It was a fake female," Det. Anstey said.

Altinger later called friends to say there was a man there with a replica gun who was making a movie. Johnny told his friends he left quickly.

"She sent him directions, and maybe John wasn't very comfortable," friend Hans-Wilhem Adam later said.

But the woman contacted him again and for some reason he returned to the garage.

Three days later Altinger's condo was broken into and the only thing stolen was his laptop computer. A suspicious email was then received by everyone on Johnny's mailing list.

"It definitely was not Mr. Altinger," Det. Anstey said.

Although Altinger's birth certificate reads "Johnny," friends said he always referred to himself as "John." The same email was also sent from Altinger's Shaw email account to eBay and PayPal. Those who knew the man said he was "internet savvy."

Ironically, Costa Rica had come up before in the case – on Mark Twitchell's Facebook account in a post dated July 5th, 2007.

On October 16th, friends of Altinger reported his absence to police. A man named Derrick said he then checked Altinger's condo.

"Nothing was gone. His toothbrush was there, his suitcase was there ... showing you something was up. Eventually we found his passport. When we gave that to the cops – they switched [the case] to homicide," Derrick said. Also found in the condo was the man's birth certificate.

CBC Radio One Edmonton AM host Ron Wilson's interview with Derrick can be heard here.

Altinger's Facebook page was updated and it appeared to friends as though he was in Costa Rica.

"John is taking off to the Caribbean for a few months. See you all when I get back. Wondering why anyone would leave sun and surf to come home to snow and stress," his profile now read, with his status changed to "in a relationship."

On October 19th a search warrant was executed on the house and garage on 57th Street. Police contained the area for nearly two weeks, with two officers guarding the site round the clock.

At about the same time a search warrant was executed on the house in St. Albert – now confirmed to be Twitchell's.

"He looks normal, not like a creepy guy," Cory Rutberg described his neighbour.

A media alert was issued by police on October 22nd. The missing person notice was unusual in that it had been issued by homicide detectives.

On October 31st, Mark Andrew Twitchell was arrested at his parent's home in north Edmonton.

Police spent hours searching that property as well.

"And I'm not happy that it happened behind my house," a neighbour named Don told CTV Edmonton.

"He just said it had nothing to do with the homeowners," Don said a detective told him. "It happened somewhere else and this was like a secondary crime scene."

Instant analysis of the crime came from a usual source.

"It's vary rare for someone to have this degree of sophistication, degree of layering, the amount of planning and programming and writing – to go into what ultimately is a fantasy – and it's a sexual fantasy," criminologist Bill Pitt told the CBC. For more, see expert analysis below.

The man police were looking for – the one they believed was the original murder target – contacted police late November 2nd. He was interviewed by detectives the next day for two hours. No details from the interview emerged.

On November 3rd, 2008 police announced they were checking missing persons records in an effort to determine if others had fallen prey to the "snuff film" scenario posed by investigators.

"It is shocking, there's no other way to describe it," Edmonton police chief Mike Boyd said.

"This is a terrible thing to happen, especially in our city and that's why investigators are looking for as much help as they can possibly get."

"We don't deal with cases like this very often and thank goodness, but again, sometimes these are warning signs for us," Boyd said.

Police also urged anyone who may have had contact with Twitchell to come forward.

With the matter now before the courts, authorities said there would be no further comment on the case.

Investigators asked for information or reports of sightings regarding a red 2003 four-door Pontiac Grand Am bearing the Alberta vanity licence plate DRK JEDI.

In particular, they identified the dates of October 14th through 19th, 2008, and were interested if the vehicle was seen in remote or rural areas.

During a media scrum at police headquarters, homicide Det. Mark Anstey said police believed the Grand Am may have been driven some place where it wouldn't be noticed, most likely late at night.

"We're interesting in speaking with anybody who may have seen that vehicle, say in a farm area or in any secluded area, and it might have been acting suspiciously" Anstey said.

"We believe there is some evidence he may have tried to get rid of some evidence during those dates – the 14th through the 19th – and that could include the body, yes."

"Is this a whole body or a body that's cut in pieces?" an off-camera reporter asked.

"I'm not going to – I can't say for sure," Anstey replied.

Police revealed Twitchell drove his car to police headquarters around October 20th when detectives called him in for an interview.

The vehicle was seized but Anstey wouldn't comment on whether any forensic evidence was found in the car.

"I know he's been to the Wetaskiwin area ... and I know he's been on the Anthony Henday a lot but other that than ... it could be anywhere," Anstey said, adding the car was probably driven within a 70-kilometre radius of Edmonton.

The Edmonton Police Service web site entry for Johnny Brian Altinger (no longer avaialble) suggested he was murdered on October 10th.

Police asked those with information about the car to contact them at 780-423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or online at www.tipsubmit.com

Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).

In a story update published November 19th, the Edmonton Sun reported police had yet to receive one call regarding possible sightings of Twitchell's car.

"I just checked with Det. Mark Anstey," said a police spokesman. "Unfortunately he tells me that investigators didn't receive one tip regarding any of the new information released last Thursday [November 13th]."

"I think the public's going to be shocked with what's going to eventually come out when you guys are allowed to report on this," Det. Bill Clark told reporters.

"Surprised? No. Shocked? Yes."

Clark described the case as one of a kind.

"It's without a doubt the most interesting case ... from a homicide investigator's perspective, I know not only myself but the other officers that worked on this file ...

"It's a career file with overwhelming evidence. You can't top it. We feel our case is probably one of the strongest ones we've ever worked on in our careers."