Those Who Knew Dexter's Secret

Despite Dexter Morgan's secrecy, there were characters who became aware that he was a serial killer, or suspected him of murder. By the end of Dexter: New Blood, only four were still alive, with eight being directly murdered by Dexter.

This list does not include people who found out Dexter was a murderer after he was exposed during the events of "Sins of the Father". It also does not include the many people who found out about Dexter just before he killed them, unless they already suspected him of murder.

Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan, Dexter’s adoptive father, discovered that he was killing and dismembering animals at a young age. As a homicide detective, Harry knew that behavior is linked to serial killers. To protect Dexter from being imprisoned or executed later, Harry began to train Dexter how to get away with murder. When Dexter was age twenty, Harry asked him to kill his first human victim, Nurse Mary, because she was murdering her patients. However, when Harry inadvertently witnessed Dexter dismembering Juan Ryness, another early victim, it disturbed him so much that he committed suicide three days later.

Brian Moser
Brian Moser, like Dexter, could easily hide his true self behind a mask of deception. As an adult, he tracked down Dexter, his younger brother (the only remaining family member and the only one with whom he felt a connection). He was pleased that Dexter was a serial killer, much like himself. He used Dexter's methods to set up two people (Tony Tucci and Debra) for him to kill -- both of which Dexter refused to follow through. To protect Debra from Brian, Dexter cut his throat and drained his blood.

James Doakes
James Doakes became suspicious of Dexter and uncovered evidence that pointed to him being a killer. He broke into and searched Dexter's apartment, stealing his box of blood slides. The FBI, however, found the slides in Doakes car and he became the prime suspect in the Bay Harbor Butcher Case. Doakes then went into hiding and tracked Dexter to a remote cabin in the Everglades where he caught him loading bags of body parts into his boat. After a struggle, Dexter captured Doakes and locked him inside a cage. Deciding not to kill him, Dexter began to set Doakes up as The Bay Harbor Butcher. As Dexter's prisoner, Doakes witnessed (through plastic sheeting) Dexter kill and dismember Jose Garza, a murderer and drug dealer.

Lila West
Lila West (under the name Lila Tournay) approached Dexter in a NA meeting and became his sponsor. While “helping” him deal with his non-existent heroin addiction, she developed an obsession with him. For awhile, they were sexually involved until Dexter broke it off. When she stole Dexter's GPS and located the remote cabin, Doakes revealed that Dexter was The Bay Harbor Butcher and begged her to free him. Instead, Lila murdered Doakes in an explosion in order to protect Dexter's secret. After Lila tried to burn Cody and Astor alive, Dexter tracked her to Paris and stabbed her in the heart.

Miguel Prado
Miguel Prado saw Dexter holding a knife with bloody hands Immediately after he killed Fred Bowman. To see if Dexter would kill again, Miguel presented an opportunity to take out a notorious wife-killer, Ethan Turner. When Ethan was reported missing, it was evident to Miguel that Dexter had killed him. After this, Miguel and Dexter began to work together, and killed Clemson Galt and Billy Fleeter. Their partnership ended badly, though, when Miguel went rogue and killed an innocent defense attorney, Ellen Wolf, and targeted another innocent, Maria LaGuerta, who was on to him. When Dexter tried to reign in Miguel, he threatened to expose Dexter. Subsequently, Miguel was garroted by Dexter and partially skinned in order to implicate the Skinner. Miguel had known that Dexter was a serial killer, but he didn't realize Dexter was the true Bay Harbor Butcher. Dexter had never dismembered bodies in front of Miguel, and Miguel thought (except for Ethan), Dexter disposed of his victims in open graves.

Lumen Pierce
Lumen Pierce was discovered by Dexter as she was watching him kill Boyd Fowler. Not sure what to do with her, Dexter kept her temporarily captive in a deserted tourist center. Although initially fearful of Dexter, Lumen began to trust and rely on him. Reluctantly, Dexter agreed to help her hunt down and eliminate members of the Barrel Girl Gang, the men who raped and tortured her. Dexter began to view Lumen as his partner. After one of the kills, they became lovers.

Jordan Chase
Jordan Chase realized that Dexter and Lumen were murdering his men in revenge, all four, before they killed him. He, though, never thought that Dexter was The Bay Harbor Butcher.

Debra Morgan
Debra Morgan walked into the church at the moment Dexter stabbed and killed Travis Marshall on its alter. Dexter’s acting skills and lying initially convinced her to let it go, but Debra started to piece things together. The fact that Travis was wrapped in plastic reminded her of being on The Ice Truck Killer's table. She then searched Dexter's apartment and discovered his blood slides and kill tools. Debra waited until he returned home, and asked him outright if he was a serial killer. Dexter had no choice but to tell her the whole truth.

Hannah McKay
Hannah McKay was targeted by Dexter after he confirmed that she had killed several people. He persuaded her to go on a "date" in which he sedated her and prepared her for his ritual. However, he didn't go through with the kill. Instead, he cut through the plastic and they engaged in spontaneous sex on the kill table. Afterward, Hannah asked Dexter why he was going to kill her and he said that he kills "bad people." Their mutual attraction led to a relationship.

Isaak Sirko
Isaak Sirko figured out Dexter’s secret on his own. It began when he traced the last signal of Kaja Soroka's tracking bracelet to Dexter's boat. Knowing it was the same bracelet that Viktor Baskov had with him before he disappeared, Isaak correctly deduced that Dexter had killed Viktor and dumped him in the ocean. While Isaak was seeking revenge for Viktor's death, Dexter admitted to him that he had killed many times before. This knowledge may have been known by George Novikov, Jurg Yeliashkevych, and Benjamin Caffrey, but they are now deceased.

Maria LaGuerta
Maria LaGuerta found a blood slide at Travis Marshall's crime scene, and she began to re-investigate the Bay Harbor Butcher Case in an effort to clear James Doakes' name. Soon, Dexter became her prime suspect as the true Bay Harbor Butcher. She even arrested Dexter, but he turned the tables on her by first framing her to look as if she set him up. Maria then knew that Dexter was guilty of the serial killings. Dexter concluded that Maria could not be dissuaded in gathering evidence against him. To eliminate the problem, he set up a scene that convinced the police that Hector Estrada and Maria had shot each other.

Evelyn Vogel
Evelyn Vogel was aware of Dexter's urges to kill since he was ten-years-old, unlike most of the others who did not have prior knowledge. Dr. Vogel's profession was the study of psychopaths and she had known for years that Dexter was a serial killer. In fact, she was proud of him. After reflection, Dexter decided against killing her because she could give him insight into the origins of his behavior, and had been the one to suggest the Code to his adoptive father, Harry. Due to her growing closeness with Dexter, she was murdered by her own son.

Zach Hamilton
Zach Hamilton, in order to stop his wealthy father's affairs which hurt his mother, killed his father’s mistress and attempted to kill his father. Zach ended up on Dexter’s kill table, where he learned that Dexter was a serial killer. As Zach was about to die, he admitted that he also felt a deep need to kill. Dexter recognized the similarities between Zach and himself, and spared his life. He took Zach on as a protege and taught him the Code of Harry, but Zach was soon murdered by The Brain Surgeon.

Oliver Saxon
Oliver Saxon hacked into Dr. Evelyn Vogel's computer and downloaded her files on Dexter. Therefore, he knew Dexter’s life history and that he was a serial killer. When Saxon met with Dexter in his apartment on the pretext of buying it, he expressed admiration that Dexter was able to create the perfect cover life, complete with son, sister, step-kids, girlfriend. After Saxon was jailed, Dexter told him that, when he looked back on own his life, he saw a trail of blood and body parts. Using a pen, Dexter then punctured Saxon's carotid artery, making it look like self-defense.

Harrison Morgan
Harrison found out about Dexter's dark urges after being rescued from Kurt Caldwell, but initially believed that he simply abducted murderers without killing them. He later worked out that Dexter killed Wiggles the Clown and asked how many other people he has killed. Dexter replied, "In the hundreds." Harrison was also present when Dexter killed Kurt, at which point Dexter admitted to killing Kurt's son when confronted. Initially, Harrison seemed to accept his father and his code, even though he was shaken when he witnessed Dexter dismembering Kurt's corpse. After Dexter admitted to him that he had killed Sergeant Logan, an innocent man, a shocked Harrison accused Dexter of not caring about justice before ultimately shooting him dead under Dexter's orders.

(When Harrison was a toddler, Dexter admitted to having murdered Little Chino and told him "Daddy kills people", but it's unlikely Harrison remembered any of this.)

Camilla Figg
Camilla Figg was a records supervisor for Miami-Metro PD and Dexter often asked to borrow files of suspected murderers, which she found curious. She never realized he was killing them, unless she made connections during the Bay Harbor Butcher Case. She and her husband had been friends with Dexter's adoptive parents, Harry and Doris, and so she had known Dexter since his childhood. When she read the file for the Shipping Yard Massacre, she realized that Brian Moser aka The Ice Truck Killer was Dexter's brother, but she kept it to herself. While dying of terminal cancer, she asked Dexter to put her out of her misery and referenced Harry "teaching him right." Dexter granted her request and injected an euthanizing agent into a piece of key lime pie. Before she died, Dexter whispered to her that he had killed his brother. Camilla's last words were, "It's good... you did." Brian was the only person that Camilla knew for sure Dexter had killed.

Jonah Mitchell
Jonah Mitchell only knew for certain that Dexter had killed one person -- Arthur Mitchell, his father. Dexter told him of this while he was in Nebraska. When Jonah begged Dexter to kill him because he killed his mother, Dexter refused.

Kurt Caldwell
Kurt Caldwell realized early on that Dexter had murdered his son Matt and burned the body in an incinerator after he found the titanium screws used to repair Matt's broken leg. He attempted to get revenge by kidnapping Harrison and trying to kill him, but Dexter stopped him. While Kurt was on Dexter's table, he discovered that Dexter killed people because of "some bullshit justice code" just before Dexter stabbed him. Matt was the only person Kurt knew Dexter had killed, and Kurt was unaware of Dexter's real name.

Angela Bishop
Angela Bishop was Dexter's girlfriend and chief of the Iron Lake Police Department. She discovered Dexter was lying about his identity after a chance meeting with Angel Batista at a police conference in New York and an offhand comment he made about Debra Morgan and her brother's son Harrison. She came to suspect Dexter had murdered drug dealer Jasper Hodge after she followed up with Miles O'Flynn about his altercation with Dexter and he tells her Dexter had poked him in the neck with a needle before attacking him. She finds an identical mark on Jasper's neck and that he had ketamine in his system from his autopsy. She searches the internet for information connecting ketamine and homicides in Miami and randomly connects Dexter to the Bay Harbor Butcher based on a website discussing the case which was the first result. Looking through the photos from the case. she finds a picture of a decapitated head with an identical mark clearly visible on the neck. She suspects Dexter killed Matt Caldwell after finding a note in her mailbox stating as much along with titanium screws from Matt's leg injury. She later discovers matching screws in the rubble of Dexter's cabin that had been burned down. She arrests Dexter for the murder of Matt and informs him of her suspicion that he is the Butcher. She contacts Batista to let him know that Dexter is still alive and threatens Dexter that they will charge him and extradite him to Florida. Dexter tells her where to find evidence that Kurt Caldwell has been killing all the missing girls for years and she leaves to investigate, returning to find that he has killed officer Logan during his escape.

Joey Quinn
Joey Quinn transferred to homicide and tried to befriend Dexter, but he was rebuffed, which led to a strained work relationship. Over time, Quinn became increasingly curious about Dexter's unusual behavior. This included Dexter's unexplained comings and goings from work.

Quinn was surprised that Dexter held onto his apartment for months after he married. When he asked, "What are you hiding, Dexter?" Dexter told him to stay out of his life.

One night, Quinn saw Dexter enter Club Whisper to stalk Jonathan Farrow and he went inside to spy on him. It annoyed Quinn that Dexter, a "lab geek," so easily ditched him.

During a confrontation in the police station’s parking lot, Dexter threw Quinn to the ground, proving to Quinn that Dexter had been trained in martial arts.

After Rita was murdered, Quinn suspected that Dexter was involved. This suspicion was caused by Dexter’s unemotional call to 9-1-1, the fact that Rita’s murder didn’t exactly fit Trinity’s M.O., and learning that Dexter had punched Elliot Larson for kissing Rita. Quinn also noticed a similarity between Dexter and the sketches of a Trinity suspect as described by the Mitchell family, but he was prevented from questioning Jonah.

When Quinn saw Dexter return home with tactical gloves in his back pocket, he hired Stan Liddy to look into Dexter. Liddy informed him that a pretty blonde woman (Lumen Pierce), who appeared at a Barrel Girls crime scene, was living in Dexter’s house. He soon presented Quinn with photos of Dexter and Lumen on a boat disposing of heavy, trash bags in the middle of the night.

Debra and Maria LaGuerta learned that Quinn was investigating Dexter and he received heavy backlash. Although, he did not pursue it any further, Liddy did.

When Liddy was found dead of a single knife thrust in his van, Quinn strongly suspected that Dexter killed him since Liddy had wanted him to arrest Dexter. Later, Quinn thanked Dexter for lying on his report about the blood on his shoe. At this point, he knew Dexter wasn't above breaking the law.

Quinn witnessed Dexter kill Oliver Saxon in self-defense, but he seemed to view it as an intentional set-up. Even if Quinn felt that Dexter was dangerous, he wasn't aware of the full extent of Dexter’s activities, and didn't realize that he was The Bay Harbor Butcher.

Stan Liddy
Stan Liddy, at the time of his death, was compiling evidence against Dexter and was very close to discovering his secret. He had taken photos and footage of Lumen and Dexter practicing a kill with a knife and loading luggage onto his boat, returning without it. When Liddy abducted Dexter to obtain a confession, he was overpowered by Dexter and stabbed in the heart.

Frank Lundy
Special Agent Frank Lundy was renown as a topnotch serial killer hunter. Since he suspected that the Bay Harbor Butcher was someone in the department, did he sense that something was off with Dexter, as did James Doakes? It's unlikely, though, that Lundy would have seriously suspected Dexter and not arrest him. Some fans believe that Lundy's personal relationship with Debra interfered with the investigation. Listed below are the reasons why Lundy may or may not have suspected Dexter.

Season Two


 * In "Dex, Lies, and Videotape," Lundy watched Dexter’s methodical actions in the Railroad Car, remarking that the Butcher is orderly and compulsive. He also asked Dexter if the vigilante fit the BHB's M.O.
 * In "An Inconvenient Lie," he talked privately with Dexter in the field morgue about the motives of killers, and he said the only acceptable reason for killing is to save an innocent life.
 * In "The Dark Defender," He mentioned knowing that Dexter docked his boat at Coral Cove Marina, the same marina the Butcher used. (Did he ever learn that Dexter moved his boat during the investigation? Did he realize there was deleted footage of the marina?)
 * In "That Night, a Forest Grew," Dexter anonymously mailed a “manifesto,” and Lundy could tell by the content that the killer has worked for law enforcement.
 * In "Morning Comes," Lundy questioned Dexter (whom he called "one of the most careful blood guys he has ever worked with") on why he performed sloppy blood work for Anthony Rodrigo.
 * In "Resistance Is Futile," Lundy’s focus turned to James Doakes when the blood slides were found in his car and he went on the run. Due to the cases that Doakes had worked on, his military history, and the fact that his father was an abusive butcher, he became the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Maria LaGuerta tried to prove that Doakes was innocent by showing he was on a stake-out with her, and that Doakes met with Leones in Haiti to have the slides analyzed. Lundy said she may be right, but could not use her evidence because she violated protocol.
 * In "The British Invasion," Doakes’ remains were found at the cabin, along with kill tools and Jose Garza’s dismembered body. This overwhelming evidenced forced Lundy to admit that Doakes was The Bay Harbor Butcher.

Season Four


 * Some fans speculate that Lundy, having hunted Trinity for decades, hoped that Dexter would find and kill him. However, other fans are certain that Lundy would never let any serial killer go free, even Dexter.
 * In "Living the Dream," when Lundy returned to Miami, he immediately came to Dexter with his Trinity info.
 * In "Blinded by the Light," Lundy explained his mindset when he told Dexter, "The only thing that really got my heart beating was the hunt. I’m sure you can’t relate.”

Related Pages

 * Dexter Morgan
 * Dexter's Kill List