When trying to figure out a new dumping ground, Dexter "looks" to several notable serial killers for advice. The first serial killer shown as Ed Gein, also known as "the Butcher of Plainfield" or "the Plainfield Ghoul", Gein was a convicted murderer and suspected serial killer. Gein was arrested in 1957 in Plainfield, Wisconsin after the body of the owner of a local hardware store, a 58-year-old woman named Bernice Worden, was found hanging in his barn, she had been shot with a .22 caliber rifle, her body was hanging upside down and dressed out in the same manner as a deer. A number of items made from human bone and skin were found in his home, including lamps, trashcans, bowls made from human skulls, a corset made from a skinned female torso, masks made from the skin of female faces, a belt made from human female nipples, and wind-chimes. A box containing 9 human vulvae was also found in his freezer, most were believed to come from teenage girls, Gein confessed to digging up graves and mutilating corpses, he also confessed to killing local tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954. Gein was a suspect in at least seven other murders, including three girls aged 8, 14 & 16, although he was only convicted of two murders. However he was found to be legally insane and had his death sentenced commuted, Gein was incarcerated at a maximum security psychiatric facility for the criminally insane, where he remained until his death in 1984 at the age of 77.
The next serial killer Dexter researches is David Berkowitz, aka "Son of Sam" or "the .44 Caliber Killer". In New York City, between 1975-1977, Berkowitz killed 6 people, and wounded 11, his first two victims he stabbed, and when they survived Berkowitz switched to using a gun, specifically a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special revolver. Berkowitz terrorized NYC not only with his killing spree, but also with letters sent to the NYPD and major newspapers, in these letters Berkowitz mocked the police for not being able to catch him. Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977, and subsequently indicted on six counts of murder in the first degree, and seven counts of attempted murder in the first degree. He confessed to all of them, and initially claimed to have been obeying the orders of a demon manifested in the form of a black dog, "Sam" which belonged to his neighbor. After being found mentally competent to stand trial, Berkowitz accepted a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, he agreed to pled guilty to six counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He subsequently admitted the dog-and-devil story was a hoax. Berkowitz became eligible for parole in 2002, but refused to submit a request for early release, he even sent a letter to New York Governor George Pataki requesting that all his future parole hearings be canceled because he "believes with all my heart heart that I belong in prison for the rest of my life". As of 2025 he is still incarcerated at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, New York.
Dexter's third serial killer in his research was John Wayne Gacy, aka "the Killer Clown", a serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys between 1972-1978 in Norwood Park Township, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In 1968 Gacy worked as a manager at a KFC in Waterloo, Iowa when he was convicted of sodomy after raping a 16-year-old boy that worked for him, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released after only 18 months. After being released, he moved to Norwood Park, Gacy worked as a clown, and also used it as a ruse to lure victims to his home. Typically, he would lure a victim to his home and dupe them into donning handcuffs on the pretext of demonstrating a magic trick. He would then rape and torture his captive before killing his victim by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a garrote. Twenty-six victims were buried in the crawl space of his home, and three were buried elsewhere on his property; four were discarded in the Des Plaines River. Gacy was arrested on December 21, 1978, he was charged with deviate sexual assault, indecent sexual contact with a child, and 33 counts of aggravated murder, this was the most counts of murder anyone in U.S. legal history had been charged with. Gacy was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death on March 13, 1980, and was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
