Timeline of Allegations involving Mark Twitchell
Created by edmontonjournal on Mar 11, 2011
Last updated: 07/13/11 at 02:04 PM
Twitchell's first-degree murder trial starts.
Edmonton police find partial remains of Johnny Altinger in a sewer two blocks from Twitchell's parents' house.
Police issue a public plea for witnesses who may have spotted Twitchell’s Grand Am in remote areas between Oct. 14 and Oct. 19. They have not located Altinger’s body.
Twitchell’s wife files for divorce.
Two lawsuits are filed against Mark Twitchell for $35,000 and $30,000 respectively. The lawsuits were filed by two city businessmen who put up funds to finance Twitchell’s films.
Police locate and interview the man spotted running from the garage on Oct. 3. Police allege he was attacked by someone wearing a gold and black hockey mask when he arrived at the garage after being lured there online. Twitchell is charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident.
Police arrest Mark Twitchell near a home at 131st Avenue and 87th Street for first-degree murder in connection to the death of Johnny Altinger.
Police confirm foul play in Altinger’s disappearance.
Twitchell updates his Facebook status to read: “Mark is blah.”
A friend of Johnny Altinger reports him missing to police. The same day, Altinger’s Facebook status is updated to read: “Wondering why anyone would leave sun and surf to come home to snow and stress.”
Johnny Altinger’s friends receive an e-mail sent from his e-mail account. It reads: “I’ve met an extraordinary woman named Jen who has offfered (sic) to take me on a nice long tropical vacation. We’ll be staying in her winter home in Costa Rica, phone number to follow soon. I won’t be back in town until December 10th but I will be checking my e-mail periodically.”
Police allege Johnny Altinger, a 38-year-old who works for a Nisku oilfield manufacturing company, is lured to a garage on the premise of a date with a woman he met on an online dating site. He does not see or speak to anyone after this date and police believe he is killed.
Twitchell is actively fundraising for a film project called Day Players. He updates his Facebook status to read: “Mark is funding Day Players right ... meow,” a reference to the cult comedy Super Troopers.
A couple spots a man with a perm and a gold shirt running away from the same garage in southeast Edmonton, apparently being chased by a man in a hockey mask, say police.
Filming starts for House of Cards at a rented garage at 5712 40th Avenue in southeast Edmonton. In the short film written and directed by Twitchell, a man shows up for what he believes to be a date with a woman he met online, but is instead tortured to reveal social networking passwords, then dismembered and killed. In the last scene of the film, Twitchell appears behind a computer. The murder story his character has written is apparently a plan, about to be acted out by his character in the film.
Twitchell films Star Wars: Secrets of the Rebellion, a green-screen fan-flick that garners significant buzz online. He casts the actor who played Boba Fett in the original films.
Twitchell marries a woman in Edmonton. It is his second marriage. The couple later has a baby girl, born in January 2008.
Twitchell founds Xpress Entertainment, a film promotions company in Edmonton.
Twitchell graduates from NAIT’s television and broadcasting program.

