Bay Harbor Butcher Case

Bay Harbor Butcher Case is a police investigation in Season Two of the Showtime series DEXTER. It's looked into again in Season Seven and Dexter: New Blood.

It involves a series of murders of known killers by an unknown killer dubbed The Bay Harbor Butcher.

This case is the second major case in the series and the biggest case in Miami Metro Homicide's history, even more so than the Ice Truck Killer Case. The next major case is the Skinner Case.

History of the Killer[]

When Dexter Morgan was three-years-old, he witnessed his mother being chainsawed to death inside a shipping container, referred to as the Shipping Yard Massacre. Two days later, he was found sitting in blood and rescued by a homicide detective, Harry Morgan.

From an early age, Dexter showed signs of psychopathic tendencies (killing and dismembering animals). His adoptive father, Harry, (a homicide detective) realized that Dexter was a potential serial killer.

After attempts to curb Dexter's behavior failed, Harry concluded that Dexter's need to kill must be focused. Making the best out of a bad situation, Harry trained Dexter as a vigilante killer (with guidance from Dr. Evelyn Vogel) to solely hunt other murderers (arguably making society safer). To avoid arrest, Dexter learned to follow a set of guidelines, referred to as the Code of Harry.

After Harry died, Dexter bought a fishing boat and began to bury his victims at sea. For easier disposal, Dexter generally dismembered his victims, packed the body parts into several trash bags, and dropped them off his boat into deep water. During Season Two, scuba divers discovered some of the body bags, and they were labeled the Bay Harbor Butcher 18.

Because The Bay Harbor Butcher seemingly only killed other killers, much of the public expressed support for the unknown figure (including Rita's own mother, who believed that he should be left alone). This led to the creation of The Dark Defender, a comic book hero concept based on The Bay Harbor Butcher.

By the end of the OG and New Blood series, Dexter had killed at least 149 people.

The Investigation[]

“Just as the worst heat wave in years hits Miami, the heat is also on me. It's Week Three of the Bay Harbor Butcher Investigation, and super-duper Special Agent Lundy has yet to throw up his hands and say, ‘Wow! This guy's good. I give up.’ ” ~Dexter ("See-Through")

Scuba divers discovered many trash bags containing body parts, an expedition team retrieved them, and they were laid out in an air-conditioned field morgue. Due to the location where the bodies were found and how they were cut up, the media dubbed the unknown killer 'The Bay Harbor Butcher' -- a moniker that Dexter hated.

When a renowned serial-killer-hunter, FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, arrived in Miami to help with the investigation, Dexter took steps to deflect suspicions away from himself. These actions included deleting video footage from his marina; moving his boat to a different location; changing his dumping site to the powerful Gulf Stream; sending an anonymous, confusing manifesto to the press; sabotaging the air conditioning in the field morgue; and planting evidence to frame Sergeant James Doakes.

After the FBI found Dexter's Blood Slide Box that James Doakes had stolen, Dexter was ordered to analyze its 46 slides. He matched 18 of the blood slides to the 18 recovered bodies. The other 28 slides were matched to missing persons. Additional events seemed to confirm that Doakes was The Butcher and the case was closed.

Several years later, Captain Maria LaGuerta found a blood slide near the scene of Travis Marshall's presumed suicide and she tried to reopen the case to clear Doakes' name, but failed.

Dexter: New Blood[]

Around ten years after LaGuerta's death, Chief Angela Bishop of the Iron Lake Police Department accuses Dexter of being the Bay Harbor Butcher. She develops suspicions after learning that he is living under the alias "Jim Lindsay" in Iron Lake. Dexter spins a story to explain why which she struggles to believe.

Angela's investigation ramps up when a drug dealer accuses Dexter of pricking his neck and leaving a wheal mark which matches one on a dead drug maker. Both had Ketamine in their systems, a drug that Dexter had obtained, supposedly for his "goat." In a retcon of the original series, Angela learns from a questionable google search that Ketamine was the drug used by the Bay Harbor Butcher. However, not only had Dexter used M-99, it was never discovered by Miami Metro or the FBI that the BHB injected his victims with anything. (In Season One, Vince Masuka found a needle mark on Valerie Castillo and there was M-99 in her body. This was before the BHB investigation and Valerie's murder was pinned on her husband.)

After Kurt Caldwell plants evidence (titanium screws and an accusatory note) that Dexter killed his son, Angela arrests Dexter for the unrelated murder. She vows to prove that he is the Bay Harbor Butcher and contacts Captain Angel Batista, notifying him that Dexter is alive and reveals her suspicions.

Feeling backed into a corner, Dexter ends up snapping the neck of Sergeant Logan and escaping his cell to flee with Harrison. Ultimately, Dexter is shot dead by his son at his urging, with the killing reported by Angela as an officer-involved shooting.

Suspects[]

Brian Moser - Initially, he was suspected of being the Butcher based on the fact that Brian's victims were dismembered. Eventually, he was ruled out because Brian's M.O. and method of dismemberment didn't match the Butcher. Also, Brian's victims were mostly female, while the Butcher's victims were mostly male.
Ken Olson - He was suspected of being the Butcher but, because Olson's M.O. was sloppy, he was cleared for the Butcher murders and managed to evade arrest for his actual murders. Later, Olson was killed and dismembered by Dexter (the real Butcher) to discourage any more vigilante attacks.
Charlie Lewis - A drug dealer who was briefly suspected because his car was used to kidnap Anthony Rodrigo. However he was cleared after it was discovered that he was in jail at the time and his car had been taken from impound.
James Doakes - He was a Sergeant in the Miami Metro Homicide division. Doakes had a weird feeling that Dexter was hiding something and he began to follow him. When Doakes hid Dexter's blood slides in his car, he unintentionally set himself up as the killer. After Doakes died in a blaze, his body and the dismembered body of a criminal were found near each other. The police viewed this as conclusive evidence that Doakes was the Bay Harbor Butcher. In reality, Dexter had killed the criminal using his own M.O. and left his corpse and Doakes in the cabin so that the police would think that Doakes was guilty of the murder.
Dexter Morgan (the true Butcher) - In the early stages of the investigation, Frank Lundy may have suspected him. However, he later came to believe that Doakes was the Butcher. Lundy never found out that Dexter was the true killer.

Detectives on Case[]

FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy - Worked on the case from the beginning of the case, coordinating the Miami Metro officers and his fellow FBI agents.
Officer Debra Morgan - Assigned to the Task Force from the beginning of the case, using her experience with Brian Moser to help determine this killer's motives.
Detective Angel Batista - Assigned to the Task Force from the beginning of the case. Acted as the supervisor of the Miami Metro officers part of the Task Force.
Lieutenant Esmée Pascal - Initially ran the Miami Metro personnel until she was fired from her position.
Captain Thomas "Tom" Matthews - Appeared in the beginning of the case to help set up Lundy's Task Force and use the case to bolster his campaign for Deputy Chief.
Deputy Director Max Adams - Took over the investigation from Lundy after he let James Doakes leave during questioning when he was a potential suspect.

Other Operatives[]

Forensics Specialist Vince Masuka - He was brought in to cover the bodies since there was no blood.
Forensic Blood Spatter Analyst Dexter Morgan - Temporarily assigned to collect bone marrow samples. Later, he worked the Train Yard Crime Scene after Lundy gets disturbed by Masuka's off-color-remarks.
Sergeant-Detective James Doakes - Investigated Dexter himself, but was not part of the task force.
Detective - Lieutenant - Captain Maria LaGuerta - Unofficially started investigating when Doakes was named the prime suspect. She tried to establish Doakes' innocence by providing an alibi for one of the murders, but her attempt was rendered moot when Doakes died.
Marine Biology Specialist Dr. Manny Pena - Called in by Masuka to examine algae found on the bodies.

Iron Lake Operatives[]

Police Chief Angela Bishop - Believed that Dexter was the true Butcher based on intuition after suspecting that Jasper Hodge was murdered and started investigating.
Sergeant Logan - Assisted Chief Bishop in arresting Dexter, and afterwards guarded him until he (Logan) was murdered by Dexter.
Captain Angel Batista - Unofficially provided Chief Bishop with information about the Butcher case, and identified Dexter from an emailed photo.
Medical Examiner Victor Lopez - Conducted a post-mortem examination on Jasper Hodge.

Bay Harbor Butcher 18[]

At least 28 victims are mentioned and/or have their body parts shown. (Listed in alphabetical order)

Indirect Victim[]

John Henry - Attacked, but not killed. Initially suspected of being an attempted victim of The Butcher, but further investigation revealed that it was the work of a copycat killer named Ken Olson.

Additional Victim[]

Ken Olson - Decapitated by the real Bay Harbor Butcher. His body parts were left in Olson's planned kill site (Railroad Car) as a warning that The Butcher wouldn't tolerate copycats.

Blood Slide Victims[]

Of the 46 blood slides in the first box, 18 of them matched the bodies found. The other 28 blood slides (listed below) were matched to missing murderers and presumed dead

Frame-Up Victims[]

Jose Garza and James Doakes - Police found their bodies after the Cabin in the Everglades exploded. It was officially ruled that Doakes had first killed Garza and then killed himself to avoid being arrested. In reality, Dexter had murdered Garza as part of his plan to frame Doakes. Afterward, Lila found the cabin by using Dexter's GPS tracker. In desperation, Doakes told her that Dexter was The Bay Harbor Butcher, thinking she would release him. However, in order to protect Dexter, Lila turned on the gas and flame, which caused the cabin to explode, killing Doakes. It was ruled that Doakes committed suicide.

Iron Lake Victims[]

Jasper Hodge - Chief Angela Bishop of Iron Lake noticed similarities between needle marks found on Jasper's body and those on one of the Butcher's victims (retcon), which led her to believe that her boyfriend "Jim" (Dexter Morgan) was the true Bay Harbor Butcher.
Matt Caldwell - Dexter killed and incinerated Matt. After receiving an anonymous note from Matt's father Kurt and later finding titanium screws from Matt's leg in the remains of Dexter's Cabin, Dexter was arrested and charged with Matt's murder to keep him in custody while Angela prepared to have him extradited to Miami.
Elric Kane - (not linked to BHB) Police were unaware that Dexter killed Elric at Roaring Forks Summer Camp.
Kurt Caldwell - (possibly linked to BHB) Harrison watched Dexter kill, dismember, and incinerate Kurt, which police may have discovered later.
Sergeant Logan - To escape captivity, Dexter snapped Logan's neck and recovered the keys to his cell. Angela later found his body and realized Dexter had escaped.

Closure of Case[]

Dexter Morgan successfully framed James Doakes as the Bay Harbor Butcher and the case was officially closed. However, an investigation many years later in Iron Lake is unknown if it exonerated Doakes.

Fallout from Case[]

James Doakes' reputation as an officer of the law was ruined when he was labeled the Bay Harbor Butcher. Several years later, Captain Maria LaGuerta found a blood slide at Travis Marshall's crime scene and she tried to reopen the case. However, no one believed Maria when she brought forward her suspicions that Dexter was the true Bay Harbor Butcher. Later, Maria was shot and killed by Debra Morgan to protect Dexter, but her death caused Debra severe emotional distress for months.

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