The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen is a crime scene in Season Six of the Showtime series DEXTER.

It is the third of the Doomsday Tableaus. It symbolizes the biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Episodes

 * "Once Upon a Time..." (Nathan is kidnapped)
 * "Smokey and the Bandit" (Nathan held captive)
 * "A Horse of a Different Color" (tableau)

The Crime
Nathan Roberts is murdered and dismembered at Santa Maria de Loreto, a church,

Method
Travis Marshall pretends to be hurt to get Nathan's attention and then knocks him over the head with a rock. He abducts Nathan, takes him to the church, and demands that he beg for forgiveness for his sins against God. Once Travis is convinced that Nathan has truly repented, he kills him with the Sword of John the Revelator, and uses a bone saw to dismember his body. He attaches each of the body parts to four mannequins and sets them on top of four horses. He also paints the Alpha-Omega symbol onto the horses' foreheads. The horses are then let loose into the streets of Miami.

Motive
Nathan Roberts is chosen at random for Travis Marshall's second Doomsday Tableau. This tableau, like the others, is meant to convey the message that the Last Judgement is at hand. It foreshadows his greater plan -- to trigger the End of Days.

Clues and Evidence
At the scene, the clear evidence is the body parts attached to the mannequins on top of the horses. Further investigation reveals that they are from one person, Nathan Roberts.

Dexter Morgan makes note that this murder is reminiscent of the way in which his brother had killed, dismembered, and displayed his victims. Mike Anderson suggests that the scene portrays the end of the world based on the fact that the four horses are pale, red, black, and white -- the colors of the The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Upon further investigation, Dexter discovers a number within the eyelid of the victim, Nathan Roberts (revealed to be 1242). He then searches the body of Omar Rivera (recovered from another crime scene) to no avail until he checks the intestines where he finds a second number (1237). It's theorized that the victims' numbers count down to 1260, which refers to the End of Days.

It is also discovered that the murder weapon is a centuries-old sword that supposedly belonged to John the Revelator and that a Professor James Gellar was suspected of stealing it.

Victim

 * Nathan Roberts, a 34-year-old man who happened to be out for a jog, only to become the unfortunate victim and suffer a horrible death. Nathan is the second victim in the Doomsday Tableaus.

Suspects
The suspects in this crime are various religious zealots. The primary one is Professor James Gellar after it becomes clear that the killer is obsessed with the end of the world. The actual killer, however, is Travis Marshall, a 33-year-old man who works at the Miami Cultural Center.

Detectives, Forensics, Agents On Scene

 * Angel Batista
 * Debra Morgan
 * Dexter Morgan
 * Joey Quinn
 * Mike Anderson
 * Sergeant Lee
 * Vince Masuka
 * Eight-Ten Uniforms
 * Dozens of witnesses

Additional law enforcement officials involved in connected cases:


 * Detective Hill
 * Louis Greene
 * Ryan Chambers

Related Pages

 * Doomsday Tableaus
 * Horses
 * Santa Maria de Loreto