Steve Valentine

Steve Valentine (a.k.a. Puffalump the Clown) is a character in the Dexter Novels.

He was a pedophile that targeted small boys.

Summary

 * Double Dexter

Steve Valentine was a children's entertainer who dressed as a clown. He ran ads in the local papers and was hired for kids' parties. "He was arrested and released twice when parents pointed out to the police that you don't really need to take a child into a dark closet to show him balloon animals."

His apartment was number eleven on the second floor of an old, run-down building north of Opa-locka airport. His balcony overlooked the playground and he would sit there, drink beer, and watch the children play. He would think about playing with them, and he did. He got away with the murders because he had a police scanner in his apartment. When he heard that cops were in the vicinity, he would leave and the photos of his victims with him.

Valentine drove a Chevrolet Blazer which Dexter hid inside and garroted him. He forced Valentine to drive to an empty house where Dexter set up a kill room in the kitchen. He slowly cut away pieces from Valentine while he was still alive. When Valentine was near death, Dexter showed him pictures of the three boys and Valentine spoke his last words. "They were... beautiful..."

Doug Crowley/Bernie Elan witnessed Valentine's murder which sets up the Double Dexter storyline.

Victims

 * Three young boys (Dexter believed he had killed more) - Valentine sexually abused and strangled the boys. He then disposed of their bodies in a canal.

Trivia

 * It is possible Valentine was based on real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy who raped, sexually assaulted, and strangled at least thirty-three young men in Des Plaines, Chicago, Illinois. Gacy was also a children's entertainer who dressed as a clown.