Mark Twitchell
UPDATE: Twitchell entered a plea of “Not Guilty”—or rather, someone did it for him. For the third time, neither he nor his lawyer appeared in court, sending a representative instead. Twitchell will face trial on October 5, 2009; perhaps he’ll show up for that.
Mark Twitchell, the Canadian fan filmmaker accused of murder, is due—for the third time—to make his first appearance before a judge today (Dec. 3, 2008). This comes just days after footage from his “torture porn” short, House of Cards, aired across Canada on Global TV’s 16×9 news show.
Twitchell, who made his name in fan film circles as the writer/director of an unfinished, $60,000 flick, Star Wars: Secrets of the Rebellion, is said to have killed Johnny Altinger in a macabre reenactment of his horror film. In House of Cards, a man meets the girl of his dreams on an internet dating site; lured to meet her, he’s abducted, tortured and killed in a garage by an anonymous man wearing a hockey mask. Police have yet to find Altinger’s body, but claim they have enough evidence to charge Twitchell with first degree murder.
Twitchell was a no-show at his two previous court appearances, although he remains under arrest. He is now being sued by investors who gave him $65,000 towards what would have been his next project, a feature comedy entitled Day Players.
FanCinemaToday has covered earlier parts of this story:
Star Wars Fan Film Director Arrested For Murder (Nov. 3, 2008)
Fan Film Murder Suspect Hits Court Wednesday (Nov. 4. 2008)
More On Mark Twitchell Fan Film Murder Case (Nov. 11, 2008)
News video from throughout the Twitchell case, including the 16×9 segment, after the jump.
Twitchell’s Initial Arrest (aired Nov. 2, 2008)
Twitchell Sued by Day Players Investors (aired Nov. 20, 2008)
Twitchell Case with House of Cards footage on 16×9 (aired Nov. 30, 2008)
Day Players Promo Trailer (posted online Dec. 19, 2007)
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