Rita Morgan's Tragic Death Chapter 10, a dexter fanfic

Article 10 – 'Rita Morgan's Tragic Death'

Miami Daily Herald Newspaper article, written by reporter Mike RePort, 1/23/10

"Suspected Miami Serial Killer Arrested"

"Dexter Morgan Charged with Multiple Murders"

This is day 6 in the continuing questioning of Mr. Dexter Morgan. The amount of detail obtained so far is staggering. His attorney has issued the following statement.

"Mr. Dexter Morgan is cooperating fully with the FBI and the MMPD. His wish is to keep his case from going to trial because of his family. A long trial would just prolong the pain he knows that his family is already feeling. He does not ask for forgiveness. He is asking for understanding and patience so that he can tell his own story in his own words."

I have talked to Dexter Morgan and have permission to publish this article with our interview. He granted this interview knowing full well that his words will bring pain to his family. But he wants his statement published to help explain his situation. I am cooperating with him and his attorney as part of my arrangement with them and of course the FBI and the MMPD. I have been told that he will be working with several world renowned Psychiatrists and Criminologists to do a study of his life.

I was asked to print this interview word for word so that Dexter Morgan could take full responsibility for his own words. This is the interview.

Mr. Morgan, may I call you Dexter?

Yes.

As you know by now the world knows that you are one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Having said that it seems that most of your victims if not all were actually bad people, other serial killers, murderers, pedophiles, and more. Is that true?

Yes. I have a code. A code that I followed to channel my urges to kill only those that deserved to die. That is the single most important fact that I want everyone to know. I did not kill randomly. I did not kill innocent people; at least that was my intention. I admit I made a few mistakes but overall that is what I did. I did not kill children. I lived by the code to keep from getting caught, until now, and to make sure that the people I chose were actually guilty.

What makes you want to kill?

You covered that in one of your articles already. I witnessed the death of my mother when I was three years old. She was killed using a chainsaw. I didn't remember that until just a few years ago but I know that was the catalyst that changed me from a normal person into a person with no conscience or feelings. I turned off my emotions to survive after witnessing her death.

I did cover that and wrote about your brother, Brian. We know your brother as the Ice Truck Killer and know about those victims. We have to assume that he was killing before that but we don't have anything about those murders or how many. Do you?

No. We were separated immediately after our mother was killed. As it turns out he was institutionalized and I was adopted by Harry Morgan. Obviously we were both affected the same way by what we witnessed. He used the string of killings as the Ice Truck Killer to get back into my life. It's complicated. He had set up our mother's old home as a kill site for my sister Deborah and actually wanted me to kill her. I couldn't do that. Brian and I were so similar but yet different.

How different?

He didn't have a code. He would kill innocent people, I wouldn't. Plus it was Deborah. I could never kill her. Never. Even though most people will consider me a monster I have evolved over time, at least to some degree.

That brings up another question then, several in fact. Let's start with what you have called 'the code'. What is 'the code' and how or where did you establish 'the code'?

The code is a list of rules to follow so that I would not get caught. In fact that is rule number one. Obviously I have been caught but not during a kill. Let's call a kill an execution of a deserving individual. That is another rule in the code. I knew you would ask about the code so I've prepared a list for you to publish.

MR comment

This is the list that Dexter Morgan gave me. It was on a printed sheet of paper. I was advised that he now has access to a computer and a printer.

My Code

1) Never get caught.

2) Killing innocents is never allowed.

3) Always take time and make sure you have the right person through EVIDENCE.

Be sure!

4) Preparation for the kill must be extremely well planned.

5) All evidence must be destroyed.

6) Blend in, maintain appearances.

7) Control my urges, channel them.

8) Killing must serve a purpose otherwise it's just plain murder.

9) It's not about vengeance, not about retaliation, or balancing the books.

It's about something deep inside that I must control.

It's something that I call my Dark Passenger.

When I read this list, Dexter Morgan's code, I thought it sounded like something an older person would have derived based on years of experience, not a young child growing up with what Dexter calls his Dark Passenger. So I asked him the following question.

Dexter, where did you get this code?

My father, Harry Morgan.

MR comment

That answer sent chills down my spine. I have been a reporter for many, many years and have covered hundreds of horrific stories but that one comment took my breath away. Dexter Morgan spoke four simple words, "My father, Harry Morgan". The first thought I had was that Harry knew about the Dark Passenger and gave Dexter the code to live by to survive. Harry trained a serial killer. The gravity of that hit me full force and it took me a few moments to gather my thoughts and gain control of myself to continue with the interview.

I'm sorry to have reacted that way but your last comment took me by surprise. I have to ask then based on that comment, when did Harry first talk to you about your urges, what you now call the Dark Passenger?

I don't remember exactly but I was still very young, before my teens. I had been killing small animals, cutting them up, and then burying them in the back yard. Harry found those graves and questioned me. That's when we started talking about my urges and how I felt about people and my lack of normal emotions. We continued with those discussions and my lessons up until the time he passed away.

My first reaction would have been to get you professional help. Did that ever come up at all?

Yes but not like you might think. I was questioned by professionals at various times and Harry gave me some advice which I followed. He told me to answer all of their questions, written or verbal, with the opposite of what I actually felt. I passed their tests. Harry did what he felt was right for me, gave me the code to follow so I would survive.

That means that you never had an opportunity to be helped, to be different, to be normal, using your words.

By the time I thought of that it was too late. I don't know why Harry didn't explore that. I have to assume that he felt I was past that point and his best effort as my father was to guide me with the code and his training to help me survive. He always told me that he loved me. I believe he did what he could for me considering my Dark Passenger and his profession, a cop.

Let's get back to Harry in a moment. You mentioned that you have evolved over time, at least to some degree. How so?

I have moments when I feel something, emotions maybe. I didn't use to experience that at all. I have feelings for Harrison and the kids. At least I know I want what is good for them and I want them to be safe, I care. All of this of course has ruined that at least for now. I have regrets about Rita. I was at the point just before her death that I felt I could change. It was because of me that she was killed. I didn't follow the code.

I made a mistake in not killing Arthur Mitchell when I should have. I was intrigued by his ability to kill and yet have a family. I tried to learn how he did it and found out that his family was just a cover, not a family at all. By the time I figured that out and finally killed him it was too late for Rita. I hold myself responsible for her death even though I didn't kill her.

If I may I would like to make an observation and get your response. Is that okay?

Yes.

When you just described your involvement with the Trinity Killer and how that led to your wife's murder you never mentioned having remorse or that you loved her. Your response was more in line with your code and how you did not follow the code and the results were something you feel responsible for. To be honest that is not an emotional response but one of cause and effect. It comes across as an answer that one would get from a soldier talking about death in the battle field, involved but detached. I would have to say that even a soldier would feel remorse to some degree. If you can please elaborate.

This is the internal battle I have been fighting for years, no conscience and no feelings versus the desire to be normal. It's complicated. I don't have the answer. I know that I did not want Rita killed and that I wish she were here for the children. I tried to protect her but fate intervened and here we are. I am who I am. I can't put a label on it. I'll leave that to others to figure out.

MR comment

I must add at this point that Dexter Morgan is an enigma. When we spoke I could see from his body language and facial expressions that he was truly struggling to come to terms with who and what he is but at the same time his words told me that he is truly lost. I had several emotions at the same time as we spoke and he revealed his inner struggle. I felt sorry for him and at the same time repulsed by his lack of true emotion that led to him being a serial killer. I don't mean to over simplify his mental condition but that was how I felt during our interview.

Thank you for your honesty. Let's get back to Harry. You mentioned his training. Can you give us the details?

Harry started out by letting me know that he was there for me no matter what. We talked about my urges and lack of emotions. He knew that he could not change me and yet he wanted to help me. He was a cop and knew how the system worked. He knew what mistakes criminals would make and that those led to their capture. He schooled me in the ways that I would need to cover my tracks, to not leave any evidence. He was a man of principal and gave me the code to guide me as much as a way to keep me from getting caught as it was a way for him to live with what I was. I'm not sure if he was successful with the last part but that is not something I will talk about.

You went on to college and have become a Blood Spatter Analyst; one of the best as I understand from your peers. It seems to me that this career path fits with your urges and has allowed you to work amongst those that eventually caught you even though that took over 15 years. What are your thoughts on that?

You are correct. The irony is that I would help solve crimes by day and would follow my urges by night. As a forensic scientist I had insight by day and obviously training that helped me during my other deeds by night.

One of the issues at hand now is that you worked on several thousand cases where your direct testimony or your expert reports were used to convict criminals. That has now become a hot issue in light of your capture. Your thoughts please.

My work as a Blood Spatter Analyst stands on its own. Rules 1 and 6 come into play. First off my work for the MMPD has been reviewed by my peers as the work was presented and by opposing counsel at the time. Many appeals in the past have already brought my work up for review and I've never been overturned. Any new appeals will have the same results. Rule 3 was always there in my work for the MMPD. Rules 1 and 6 emphasized that. It was in my own best interest as a professional at the MMPD to separate my work for them from my personal deeds by night. I never falsified or manufactured evidence. This was for several reasons. Some I mentioned above.

The other was that if I couldn't present evidence that would convict in a court of law but felt that the individual was guilty I took the situation into my own hands to find the evidence through my own methods which were not hampered by the legal system. The result for the community was the same.

None of the cases I was involved in will be overturned because of evidence being tampered with or manufactured in any way. This I know for a fact.

Is there anything you would like to say that has not been brought up yet?

I alone am responsible for my actions and deeds. I have hurt those that were close to me and for that I only ask that they try to understand. I never asked for any of this but yet here I am. I would like to believe that even though my own Dark Passenger is a monster and has controlled me all these years that the code helped channel my urges to help society in the long run. I would hope that would be my legacy.

Thank you Dexter for this interview. Our time for today has run out. If we have an opportunity to get together again we can continue where we left off.

We will see.

MR comment

You be the judge. What is Dexter Morgan? Each of us will have to answer that one for ourselves. The consequences of his Dark Passenger's deeds are many. He lost his family. He lost his professional standing in the community. He opened Pandora's Box in so many words to describe the legal ramifications concerning his efforts as a Blood Spatter Analyst. He now only has his reasoning to help him justify his acts. Dexter Morgan is alone now. No one close to him will ever be able to see past what we now know about him. Everyone close to him is suffering. Time is on their side. Time for Dexter Morgan has run out.

After my interview with Dexter Morgan and before this article could be published I was informed that he committed suicide. I have not been given the details concerning how he did it but for him, Mr. Dexter Morgan, his struggle is over.

This concludes this series of articles and I want to thank you, the reader, for taking your time to read them and for the letters and phone calls I have received giving me your support.

My final comment is that Dexter Morgan touched all of our lives at some level. No one that knew him or about him was left untouched.

Article 10 – 'Rita Morgan's Tragic Death'

Author's note;

The ending to season 4 was shocking to me. That left me with one question that had to be answered. What are the consequences for Dexter Morgan's actions and deeds? This story told through articles has been my outlet to answer that question. In any case I hope it was entertaining for you, the reader! Any review you wish to leave would be appreciated.