Skinner Case

The Skinner Case is a police investigation in Season Three regarding a series of murders connected to Fred Bowman aka Freebo.

It is the third major case in the series. The major case proceeding this one is the Bay Harbor Butcher Case and the next major case after this is the Vacation Murders Case.

Suspects

 * Fred Bowman - When it was found that the first victim, Jane Doe, was a strawberry working for Freebo, he became homicide's number one suspect. Later, it was strengthened by the fact that the next victim was the man who pointed homicide towards Freebo. He was later cleared as a suspect after they learned that Jane Doe's real name was Teegan Campbell and that Freebo had solid alibis for each of the murders.


 * Ramon Prado - Was suspected of being the Skinner based on Ramon's motive, means and opportunity for Javier and Wendell's murders. Officer Morgan tailed him to see what he was up to in his spare time. This lead to her witnessing him abduct and torture a man named Felipe Cepeda. Although what Ramon did was illegal, he was ruled out as a suspect based on his willingness to release Felipe.


 * Mario Astorga - Suspected of being The Skinner after it was discovered that the killer was using tree trimming as a cover for surveillance on his victims. The suspicions were further flamed when it was revealed by George King that he had an assault record. But, due to his fear of George King, Morgan and Quinn quickly realized he wasn't The Skinner and tricked him to get information on George King.


 * George King - Initially not considered a suspect until it was revealed that The Skinner was using tree trimming as a cover. He was questioned and tried to hand Homicide a new suspect in his assistant Mario. He was discovered to be The Skinner after Mario's information on George King revealed the location of Anton Briggs, and when King fled.

Killer

 * George King - He was labeled The Skinner because he partially skinned his victims while they were still alive.

Unsuspected Killer

 * Dexter Morgan - The real killer of Miguel Prado, he copied The Skinner's M.O. to avoid suspicion of himself.

History of The Skinner
George King - He was born as Jorge Orozco and conscripted into the Venezuelan Army, where he rose to the rank of Captain in the Resistencia Nicaraguense; heading an interrogation unit. He tortured and killed people for a living, to the point he was affectionately referred to in his homeland as "The Blade." It is implied that his army experiences caused him to be a control freak who strongly valued respect. Orozco eventually left the army and moved to the United States and settled in Miami; founding and becoming boss of his own tree-trimming company and changing his name to George Washington King. At some unknown point he lent money to Fred Bowman aka Freebo. When he didn't pay George back, George felt that he had been disrespected and was determined to find Freebo by any means necessary.

Detectives on Case

 * Officer (then) Debra Morgan - Assigned to case from the beginning and eventually connected the investigation to the Oscar Prado Murder Case.
 * Detective Joey Quinn - Transferred to homicide from narcotics dept.
 * Sergeant-Detective Angel Batista - Assigned to the case since the first victim and the personnel on the case
 * Lieutenant (then) Maria LaGuerta - Ran the political game on the case when it became high profile

Other operatives involved in the case:


 * Forensics Specialist Vince Masuka - Assigned to the case since the first body, running forensics at the crime scenes.
 * Forensic Blood Spatter Analyst Dexter Morgan - Assigned to the case since the first body, running blood spatter analysis at the crime scenes.
 * Senior Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado - Helped legal aspects of the case and kept their prime suspect trapped in the legal system.
 * Confidential Informant Anton Briggs - Gave Debra information about Fred Bowman that later helped in this investigation. He was later used as bait for The Skinner.

Victims

 * Teegan Campbell - The first victim whose identity was unknown to police at first but later discovered to be Freebo's girlfriend. She was skinned alive for information and then strangled. Her body was dumped on a patch of grass near the bay.


 * Javier Garza - The second victim who was skinned alive; however, this time more skin was missing. He had been strangled, like Teegan. His body was then dumped on the beach for police to find.


 * Wendell Owens - The third victim and the only victim to actually die from the skinning process itself. His body was left sitting in a lawn chair outside the Downtown Marina.

Attempted Victims

 * Anton Briggs - An attempted victim who was skinned. The killer took his time with Anton and removed two long patches of skin from his shoulder at two separate intervals. He was later rescued by Officer Morgan and Detective Quinn after finding The Skinner's location.


 * Dexter Morgan - Captured and taken to a warehouse. However, he escaped and framed George for suicide, with police unaware that Dexter was involved.

Assumed Victim

 * Miguel Prado - The supposed final victim of The Skinner. In reality, he was killed by Dexter Morgan who then copied The Skinner's M.O. avoid suspicion of himself.

Similar Kill

 * Dlana Nelson - She was killed and skinned so it originally looked like the work of The Skinner until forensics done by Vince Masuka revealed that she was suffocated and the patch of skin removed was a tattoo, and done postmortem.

Related Torture

 * Felipe Cepeda - Ramon Prado abducted him and brought him to a warehouse while Ramon was under suspicion of being The Skinner. Ramon tortured Felipe using soda bottles for information about Freebo which Felipe didn't have. This resulted in Ramon setting Felipe free, after which Ramon was arrested for his crimes, but proven innocent of the murders.

Fallout from Case
Because of his unruly behavior and illegal activities undertaken in this investigation, Ramon Prado was forced into early retirement for his abduction, imprisonment, and torturing of Felipe Cepeda.

Acclaim from Case
Because of her actions and investigative skills seen during this investigation, Officer Debra Morgan was promoted to Detective by Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta despite her relationship with a key witness in the Skinner case.

Closure of Case
The case was officially closed due to the overwhelming evidence against George King and his "suicide."

Fate of Killer
George King met his end when he was killed by Dexter Morgan after he abducted him. Acting fast, Dexter threw King's body over a railing so it would land on a police car and look like a suicide. In the process, it caused King's face to be skinned. Dexter escaped justice once again. He previously framed George King for the murder of Miguel Prado.

Related Pages

 * Downtown Marina
 * Secret Skinning Spot
 * Tobacco Warehouse