List of Dexter characters: Difference between revisions

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Dexter intertitle.

List of characters, with biographical details, from the Showtime series Dexter and the Jeff Lindsay novel series, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter (on which the Showtime series was based), Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark, and Dexter by Design.

• Michael C. Hall
• Devon Graye (teenage Dexter)
• Dominic Janes (young Dexter)
• Maxwell Huckabee (little Dexter)

Dexter Morgan (formerly Dexter Moser) is the main character and narrator of the series. Dexter is a forensics expert and blood spatter analyst employed by the Miami Metro Police Department, but has a double life as a serial killer. As a young boy, he and his older brother Brian witnessed their mother's murder and were left in a freighter cargo box filled with blood for days. The incident left them both psychologically scarred for life and soon after Dexter was adopted by Harry Morgan. Initially Harry was hoping to simply repress or discourage it, but soon realized Dexter had an insatiable urge to kill that would only get stronger. Harry, frustrated with the amount of killers who use and abuse the justice system and continue to escape to continue their killings, decided instead to train Dexter as a serial killer that only targeted and expertly dispatched other killers.

Dexter Morgan considers himself emotionally divorced from the rest of humanity; in his narration, he often refers to "humans" as if he is not one of them. Dexter makes frequent references to an internal feeling of emptiness, leading to many youthful attempts to "feel alive". Dexter claims to have no feelings or conscience and that all of his emotional responses are part of a well-rehearsed act to conceal his true nature. In the first season of the television series he had no interest in romance or sex; this changed when he became involved with Lila in season two. Initially he considered his relationship with Rita to be part of his "disguise". However, by the end of the fourth season, Dexter has fully evolved into a family man that wishes to rid himself of his "Dark Passenger". He also grows a conscience, as he says "How is it I can show no remorse for killing a man, but feel like the scum of the Earth for having her pick me up at the police station," referring to Rita.

There are flaws in Dexter's emotional armor, however. He acknowledges loyalty to family, particularly his dead adoptive father: "If I were capable of love, how I would have loved Harry." Since Harry's death, Dexter's only family is his sister, Debra Morgan, Harry's biological daughter. At the end of the first novel, Dexter admits that he cannot hurt Debra or allow Brian to harm her because he is "fond of her".

Dexter likes children, finding them to be much more interesting than their parents. The flip side of this affection is that Dexter is particularly wrathful when his victims prey on children. In the book Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter realizes that Rita's son Cody is showing the same signs of sociopathy as Dexter himself did at that age, and looks forward to providing the boy with "guidance" similar to that which Harry provided him; in his way, he sees Cody as his own son. (This theme of Cody's perceived sociopathy has not been expressed in the television series.)

This also gives him a reason to continue his relationship with Rita who, as of Dearly Devoted Dexter, he is engaged to because of a misunderstanding. In the beginning of the third book, Dexter in the Dark, it has been shown that Cody is not the only one with dark impulses, as both children pressure Dexter to teach them. Dexter has come to accept his role as stepfather to both children very seriously in Dexter in the Dark, albeit in his typical fashion. For example, while on a stakeout, he begins to wonder if Cody had brushed his teeth before bed and if Astor had set out her Easter dress for photo-day at her school. These thoughts distract him while he is waiting for an intended victim, which thoroughly annoys him. In the TV series, Dexter also takes a detour in his code of only killing murderers in order to dispose of a pedophile who is stalking Astor.

Animals do not like Dexter, which can cause noise problems when Dexter stalks a victim who has pets. He is quoted as having once had a dog who barked and growled at Dexter until he was forced to get rid of it, and a turtle, which hid in its shell until it died of starvation rather than have to deal with Dexter.^[1]

• Jennifer Carpenter
• Haley King (teenage Debra)
• Laura Marano (young Debra)

Debra (known as Deborah Morgan in the book) is the younger foster-sister of Dexter and biological child of Harry Morgan. Debra believes she truly knew her father, but is in reality completely unaware of the secrets he kept—especially concerning Dexter (who she sees as a true brother). Inspired by their fathers' legendary police career; Debra joined the police and desperately yearned to become a Homicide Detective. Initially assigned to Vice, she was desperate to be transferred to Homicide, a goal that was accomplished in Season 1. Being incompetent at her job, she is unsure of herself, so instead relies upon Dexter's seemingly limitless expertise on murderers to solve difficult cases. Debra meets Rudy Cooper (real name Brian Moser, see below), who unknown to her is the Ice Truck Killer using her to get close to Dexter. Because of her extremely promiscuous nature, she sleeps with him, and later falls in love with him, but is later kidnapped by the Ice Truck Killer in order for him to reveal himself to Dexter. She is bound to a table in the same manner that Dexter kills his victims, while Dexter and Brian discuss her fate. On the show, she is unconscious; however, in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, she is wide awake, and finds out that her brother is a killer. Debra is severely affected by Rudy's betrayal; she moves in with Dexter for fear of being alone.

Throughout Season 2, Debra stays in her brother's apartment as she deals with the trauma of what happened, leaving Dexter's apartment a total mess to the point he had to say "I will not kill my sister" to calm himself down. Debra is a key member of the police task force that is trying to find the Bay Harbor Butcher, who the audience knows is her brother. She falls for an older man, Frank Lundy, the FBI agent in charge of the case, all the while improving her ability on the job. By the end of Season 2, Debra is recovered from the trauma of the Ice Truck Killer, confident as an officer, and she is determined to get her detective shield.

As Season 3 begins, Debra has had her hair cut to shoulder length, has "sworn off men, liquor and smokes" and is even more determined to get her silver detective shield. She is working with a new partner, Detective Quinn, but has been approached by an Internal Affairs officer who tells her that her partner is being investigated as a dirty cop; so far she has refused to assist IA. She was originally part of the team investigating the murder of Miguel Prado's brother Oscar, but because of her lack of tact and people skills she has been removed from the case by the newly-promoted Detective Sergeant Batista; however, the case she has been assigned to (the murder of a young woman) was eventually found to have been the connected Skinner case, which she solved with the help of Anton, a C.I. whom she entered into a relationship with after saving his life from the Skinner. Because of her success on the Skinner case, she was given her detective shield at the end of the season.

She is known to have a very foul mouth, and there is hardly a sentence that she speaks in which she does not swear. This has nearly gotten her into trouble on several occasions as she often speaks profanely to her superiors, only to realize afterwards and apologize. It finally got her into trouble in the 3rd season, as a poorly-timed public comment caused her to be kicked off the Freebo case. She is also known for being easily angered and frustrated by suspects (even more evident when something happens to someone close to her). Despite her foul mouth and anger issues, it is evident that Debra really loves her brother, and is an excellent police officer. Though she is frustrated at his inability to open up to her, she has defended him on more than one occasion. For example, she threatened Quinn when he called Dexter a "dweeb".

A conversation between her and Dexter leads to her finding out her father slept with one of his confidential informants. She investigates the files on Harry's informants and interviews them, hoping to find the one Harry slept with. One of the files is shown to be Laura Moser. Also during this time, her relationship with Anton has been breaking, especially now that he had a gig in the city instead of on a cruise ship. This is put on hold by the return of Frank Lundy to Miami to hunt the Trinity Killer, and Debra once again becomes involved with Lundy. Soon, both she and Lundy are shot by an unknown assailant suspected to be the Vacation Killers, with adding insult to injury, she confesses to Anton that she slept with Lundy, prompting them to immediately break up. Lundy dies, and she eventually concludes the Trinity Killer must have been the shooter. As a result, Debra opens an investigation to the Trinity Killer. However, it is later determined that Trinity could not have been the shooter. Since her wounds from the bullet were in a horizontal line, someone of Masuka's height had to be the shooter. During a Thanksgiving dinner Debra remembers a conversation she had with Christine Hill and realizes she has knowledge of the shooting that no one outside the police department knew about. This leads Debra to believe that she was the shooter. This is backed up later when it is revealed that Hill is the daughter of Trinity. Hill later confesses to Debra that she was the shooter, moments before she shoots herself in the head. Due to her solving the Lundy killing, she restarts her search for Harry's C.I. mistress, and finds out about Laura Moser, and the fact that Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer are brothers.

• Julie Benz

Rita was Dexter's girlfriend, and later wife. Rita is portrayed as a mother of two who is slowly recovering from being abused by her) ex-husband, Paul. Rita tentatively started a real relationship with Dexter, while remaining unaware of how he spends all of his free time. Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes troubled. After discovering that Dexter framed her ex-husband Paul with drug abuse, she suspects that Dexter owned the drugs himself. She pushes him into Narcotics Anonymous, but begins to suspect (incorrectly) he is having an affair with his sponsor, Lila, and breaks up with him. In anguish, Dexter then turns to Lila, and consummates what had before been (on his part, at least) a platonic relationship. After Dexter lies to Lila about working late (he had gone to kill Jimenez), Lila breaks into Rita's house, afraid that they had rekindled their relationship. Angered, Dexter breaks up with her. His breakup with Lila, his love for Rita and her children, and his sincere regret over what he had done convinces Rita to start dating him again.

Rita suddenly discovers, unexpectedly, that she is pregnant with Dexter's baby (later revealed to be a boy). Knowing that being a single parent was one of her few achievements, Rita decided to keep the baby, and left Dexter's role in the child's life entirely up to him. After much deliberation, Dexter decided (with the help of Debra and an ensuing punch) that he'll be there for the child and Rita eventually accepts his marriage proposal. Rita lost her job when she was rude to a customer, but got back on her feet by being hired by Sylvia Prado, her friend, as her assistant.

After the baby (named Harrison after Dexter's father) is born, Rita and Dexter move in together to a house in the suburbs. Rita begins to notice a pattern of lies by Dexter, including lying about the concussion he suffered in the car accident, how serious the accident was, and the fact that he kept his old apartment. Rita and Dexter then go to a marriage counselor, who sorts out their problems and puts peace between them. However, their neighbor, Elliot, begins to fall for Rita, kissing her and pointing out that Dexter is never home. Though she initially kisses him back, she quickly ends it before something begins. In the Season 4 finale, Rita is the apparent last murder of the Trinity Killer.

• Lauren Vélez

Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta is a tough, determined woman in command of the Homicide division who is not above making her subordinates feel intimidated. At the series' beginning, she had a sincere dislike for Debra which in later series has all but disappeared.^[2] In the first season, she made no secret of her attraction to Dexter, with whom she flirted constantly, to his discomfort. After the first season, however, it is suggested that she sees him more as a good friend. At the end of the first season, she is removed from command^[3].

She returns to her old job once the new Lieutenant, Esme Pasquale, proves to be unstable (a state she contributes to by having an affair with Pasquale's fiance).^[4] When her friend, former partner and former lover James Doakes becomes the prime suspect in the Bay Harbor Butcher case, she tries to clear his name. However, Doakes is found dead in a seemingly accidental explosion, along with the body of drug dealer Jose Garza, and the case is closed. As she recovers from the trauma of Doakes' death, she leads an investigation into the murder of Oscar Prado, the brother of her ex-boyfriend and longtime friend Miguel Prado. She also develops a close relationship with defense attorney Ellen Wolf, and is devastated when Wolf is found murdered. After Miguel's own murder (ostensibly at the hands of the Skinner, but in reality by Dexter), she becomes distraught that the Cuban community is thinking about naming a highway after Miguel. She wants to find admissible evidence to prove he killed Wolf, but Dexter is able to convince her that doing so would only hurt Miguel's family and the Cuban community, and that even then there is a high chance that nothing will be proved. Reluctantly, LaGuerta drops it.

At the start of Season 4, she is shown to be romantically involved with Angel. This fact, however, is kept hidden from the rest of the staff within the homicide department, aside from Dexter, who both Angel and LaGuerta confide in. Their relationship hits a roadblock when she tells their superiors about their relationship so that it cannot be used against them during a trial. The consequence of her disclosure is a threat of reassignment; either Angel or LaGuerta will have to move out of Homicide. Deciding that their jobs are integral parts of who they both are, the two decide to end their relationship, and sign affidavits to that effect. Staying away from each other does not prove easy, however, and they begin having secret liaisons once more. In order to circumvent a reprimand from higher up, and also as a result of their deepening feelings for one another, they secretly get married with Dexter as witness.

• David Zayas

Angel Batista is a Detective in Miami Metro Police Department's Homicide Division. Batista works closely with Dexter during cases, often teaming up with him for his expert advice on serial killers, and considers himself Dexter's best friend. Batista is basically good-natured, with a dry sense of humor. He is also totally honest, at the request of his beloved father on his deathbed.

After having an affair with another woman, confesses his actions to his wife; she immediately ends their relationship, although it takes months for the painful separation to conclude.

Angel takes an interest in Lila and eventually ends up sleeping with her. However, Lila takes a date rape drug and then files charges against Angel. During which, Dexter admits that if he was "normal", he would want to be a man such as Batista. Eventually the charges are dropped once Lila moves to Paris.

Eventually, Batista is promoted to Sergeant and made the department's new lead case investigator to replace the now-deceased Doakes. However it appears as his life as a divorced father is beginning to take its toll on Angel, as he risks his career to get a hooker who turns out to be an undercover cop. After persistent but gentlemanly advances, Angel begins a relationship with the other officer; Barbara Gianna.

By the start of Season 4, it appears that Angel and Barbara have amicably split, and he has a romantic involvement with LaGuerta, although this is kept hidden from those they work with. As of "Hello, Dexter Morgan", they secretly get married with Dexter as witness.

• Erik King

James Doakes is a police detective with the rank of Sergeant serving as lead case investigator to Miami Metro PD's Homicide. Doakes had killer instincts—which drove him to divorce his wife; confessing that if he had stayed with her he would have killed her.

Doakes hates Dexter; the only person in Dexter's life who can see through his mask of sanity, Doakes suspects that Dexter is hiding something, and has no reservations about telling him so. Ultimately, Doakes realizes that Dexter is withholding vital information on the Ice Truck Killer case, to the point that he is driven to physically attack him, only for Dexter to expertly fight back. LaGuerta, Doakes' old partner, tells him to back off, but Doakes merely begins following Dexter in secret.

Doakes ends his investigations when he finds Dexter attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, supposedly for heroin addiction; Doakes erroneously believes Dexter's dark secret is that he is a drug addict; a (non-existent) drug addiction that Doakes believes is caused by work-related stress, which Doakes known about—having seen many policemen led down the same path. Feeling sympathetic towards Dexter for once, Doakes briefly leaves him alone.

Doakes resumes the hunt, however, after Debra reveals that Dexter does not so much as smoke. After Doakes starts investigating Dexter's past, Dexter goads him into a fight—seemingly unprovoked—in front of the entire squad room. Doakes, in the course of following Dexter, stumbles upon Dexter's blood slide collection box, and realizes Dexter's secret—that he is the Bay Harbor Butcher. Ironically, Doakes is by now the prime suspect in the case, thanks to Dexter's expert manipulation of the evidence.

Doakes attempts to apprehend Dexter himself in the Everglades, but Dexter gets the upper hand and locks him in Jimenez's cabin until he could decide what to do with him. In the end, Dexter decides to frame and turn in Doakes to the FBI. Lila Tourney, however, finds the cabin, and makes the decision for him: after finding out from Doakes that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher, she blows up the cabin by igniting propane tanks. Doakes's incinerated remains are found along with the dismembered body of Jose Garza, and so the case is closed, with the official conclusion being Doakes was the Butcher.

• James Remar

Dexter's adoptive father, now deceased. Harry Morgan was a detective and highly-respected member of the Miami Police Department. In the course of a high-stakes drug case, Harry began an illicit relationship with Laura Moser, Dexter's biological mother, to gather information and evidence on the drug lords in question. Laura was discovered and made an example of; she and three others were executed with chainsaws in a shipping container. Her sons Brian and Dexter were left in the container for several days until Harry and a police team recovered them. Harry adopted Dexter, while Brian was sent into foster care.

At first, Harry attempted to manage Dexter's violent urges by only allowing him to kill animals, but he eventually came to the conclusion that Dexter's pathology could not be repressed, only controlled: Harry decided to train the boy as a vigilante, to hunt and kill murderers without leaving any clues. Dexter prized these lessons as a means to fulfill his desires with his father's approval, dubbing them the "Code of Harry". Harry's relationship with his biological daughter Debra, meanwhile, was more complicated. She craved her father's approval, but felt that he favored Dexter. (She of course was kept in the dark about Dexter's "training".)

When Dexter was 19, Harry fell seriously ill and gave Dexter "permission" to kill one of his nurses, who was intentionally poisoning him with morphine. A year later, when Juan Rinez, a pimp who was murdering his own prostitutes, was released due to a faulty search warrant, Harry lost his temper and told Dexter he was right in training him. When Dexter killed Rinez, Harry was horrified by the way Dexter proudly showed him the pimp's dismembered body. Harry committed suicide a few days later by deliberately overdosing on his medication.

• C.S. Lee

Vincent "Vince" Masuka is the Miami Metro Police lead forensic investigator and works alongside Dexter in the lab and in crime scenes.^[2] He often cracks innuendo to the rest of the team, and harbors decidedly unrequited feelings for Debra. He is portrayed as obsessed with sex—the kinkier the better—and is not shy about propositioning every woman he meets. However, he has been able to tone it down when the situation calls for it, like when Angel was in the hospital, as well as calming Debra down when Lundy returned. Detective Joey Quinn even confronted him about that in stating that is the reason no one likes to be around him, only for Vince to harshly brush him off. However, he seems to accept Joey's explanation when no one came to see his speech on his newly published work, for which he cleaned up his act and dressed formally. He returned to his old self at the end of the episode. In the books, Dexter feels a kinship with him as, like him, he hides who he really is. As in the novel, he sets up Dexter's Bachelor Party and kidnaps him to get him there (where, in the belief that he had been kidnapped by the Skinner, Dexter slugged Vince in the eye just as he opened the car trunk). However, he falls for the female Party Planner and it has been suggested they are still in a relationship. He is also shown to be greatly distraught after seeing Rita kiss another man, leading him to try to tell Dexter.

In the novels, he is the closest thing Dexter has to a friend; Dexter senses that they are both pretending to be normal, albeit for completely different reasons. In Dearly Devoted Dexter Vince throws a large bachelor party for Dexter within a few hours of finding out about his engagement, and in Dexter in the Dark takes his role as best man so seriously that he calls in favors to hire Manny Borque, a famous caterer, for Dexter's wedding.

• Desmond Harrington

A cop who transferred to the Homicide division after being in narcotics before Season 3. Quinn seems to take a liking to Debra, even going as far as to help her by giving a C.I. to help her with the Oscar Prado case. Quinn's past is unknown and even called into question, as Debra Morgan is pressured by Internal Affairs agent Yuki Amado (unknown to Quinn) to report him. Quinn got the Internal Affairs case dropped, and later confesses to Debra that the real source of the Internal Affairs investigation was from the death of a former partner of his and Yuki's who had a crystal meth addiction. Quinn knew about the partner's addiction but tried to offer private help instead of informing his superiors. He is seen at Dexter's wedding, despite the fact that Debra recommended to Dexter that he should not invite Quinn.

Quinn becomes very infuriated with Dexter for botching a case he worked on; however, after Dexter sees Quinn taking money from a crime scene, he tries to establish a friendship with Dexter by buying him expensive football tickets and making attempts at friendship. Meanwhile, Quinn starts a relationship with Christine Hill, a seductive reporter who frequently accompanies her flirts with solicitations for police information. After a confidential police lead ends up in one of Hill's articles, Lt. LaGuerta warns Quinn to be wary of any reporter who squeezes him for confidential information over pillow talk. Nonetheless, Quinn tells Hill about numerous police reports (supposedly "off the record"), and she uses this information to expose that Frank Lundy has returned to Miami. Quinn breaks up with Hill after she published the article about Lundy, but the two soon return to a relationship. Though more careful about what he says around her, Quinn still defends Christine when Dexter tells her to leave Debra alone, as Hill wanted to do a hero piece on her about the shooting. All of this leads to Quinn developing a confrontational relationship with Dexter. However, after Hill shoots herself, he is clearly distraught.

• Christina Robinson (Astor)

Astor Bennett is the daughter of Paul and Rita Bennett.^[2]

When Paul returns home from prison, Astor, who remembers her father's abuse (and is in fact the one who called the police on Paul), is saddened but comes to love her father, who appears to have changed; she did, however, force Paul to promise that he would not hit Rita again. She has a good relationship with both Paul and Dexter, oblivious to the tension between the two men. At the end of the first season, Paul is back in prison (courtesy of Dexter) and Rita tells him that he can either explain to Astor and Cody all the bad things he had done or never see them again.

During season two, Astor tries to maintain her relationship with Dexter even though he broke up with her mother. Dexter's love for Astor and Cody helps convince Rita to rekindle their relationship.^[5]

In Season 3, Astor brings out a protective streak in Dexter, in that Dexter kills a pedophile who was targeting her. He also considers her and Cody his family; in the aforementioned episode, he refers to them as his "cubs", and later says that nobody hurts "his children". Astor is the maid of honor at Dexter and Rita's wedding

In season 4, Astor starts acting out: being rude to both Dexter and her mother, being in a constant angry mood, completely selfish and flirting with older, clearly delinquent, boys. She and Dexter come to a peace after he promises to stop treating her like a child; and admits that sometimes he is simply "dumb". Her attitude improves following this, though not by much, as when he tries to become more involved with Astor's life, she will often become hostile for no apparent reason, sometimes even asking "why do you hate me?" when he tried to suggest some after school activity.

The TV show's characterization of Astor is different from the book series, in which she is a budding sociopath to whom Dexter provides the same "guidance" that Harry gave him.

• Daniel Goldman (Cody)—Season 1
• Preston Bailey (Cody)—Season 2–4

Cody Bennett is the daughter of Paul and Rita Bennett.^[2]

Cody does not remember the abuse his mother suffered at the hands of his father and so, when Paul returns home from prison, he is overjoyed. He has a good relationship with both Paul and Dexter, oblivious to the tension between the two men. At the end of the first season, Paul is back in prison (courtesy of Dexter) and Rita tells him that he can either explain to them all the bad things he had done or never see them again.

During season two, Cody tries to maintain his relationship with Dexter even though he broke up with their mother; he hides toys in his bag, forcing him to come to their home to return it, and asks Dexter to attend an oral report he makes in class. Dexter's love for Cody and Astor helps convince Rita to rekindle their relationship.^[5]

As Season 3 begins, Dexter's relationship with the Cody has developed to such an extent that Cody asks him to be a speaker at his school for Parent's Day (while Dexter's presentation of himself as a blood-spatter specialist does not go over too well with the other kids, Cody tells him that it would have been worse if Dexter had not been there). He also considers Astor and Cody his family; he refers to them as his "cubs", and later says that nobody hurts "his children". Cody is the ring-bearer at Dexter and Rita's wedding. In season 4 Cody still has his same personality.

In the book, Coyd is a budding sociopath who Dexter hopes to mold using the "Code of Harry". In the TV series, however, he appears to be normal.

• Brandon Michael Bass (Dexter's vision version in Season 3)

Baby son of Dexter and Rita Morgan and half-brother of Cody and Astor. Harrison first appeared in season 4 crying in the car while Dexter was trying to calm him down. His crying kept Dexter constantly fatigued in the first part of Season 4 which in turn made him make mistakes whilst practising his "hobby". Dexter appears to care for him genuinely. At the end of season 4, he was found by Dexter, crying in a pool of his mother's blood, much as Dexter had been found by Harry when he was three.

• Margo Martindale

The Camilla Figg of the books and television series differ significantly. In the books, Camilla Figg is a young member of the forensics team who has a crush on Dexter. In the television series, Camilla is older than Dexter, and had a close relationship with his father. She was a records supervisor at the Miami Metro Police Station. She and her husband, Gene, were good friends with Harry Morgan and his wife. She also knew Dexter and Debra while they were children and was still very good friends with Dexter who often brought donuts to her workplace at the records room. She knew far more about Dexter's past than she let on to him and was even willing to say that the case files had been destroyed, in order to protect Harry's secret. On Harry Morgan's orders, she destroyed the file of the crime scene where he had found the young Dexter. Near the end of the second season, she informs Dexter this will be her last year working as she is retiring. In season 3, it is revealed that she has terminal lung cancer just like her husband, who died one year earlier, as they both "smoked like chimneys", and in her deathbed Figg reveals that she knew that the Ice Truck Killer was Dexter's brother as she read his report before destroying it. During her agony, she frequently asks Dexter to bring her the "perfect key lime pie" until he realizes it is meant as a euphemism for euthanasia: she was asking for a poisoned pie. Dexter complies to her wishes, but before she dies he tells her that it was he who killed his brother. She surprises him by smiling and telling him that he "did good" right before she dies. She is the first victim of Dexter's who wanted to die by his hands as well as the first victim he felt he showed mercy towards.

Camilla Figg in the novels is an entirely different character from that in the television show. While the show's Camilla is old enough to have worked with Dexter's father- to the extent that she helped him conceal the records about Dexter's discovery to help protect Dexter from his past-, the book's Camilla is a young woman who is infatuated with Dexter and works with him in forensics.

• Geoff Pierson

Tom Matthews is a high-ranking Miami Metro PD police official who serves as its Deputy Chief. Previously, he served as commanding officer of Miami Metro PD Homicide Department and the immediate superior of Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta. Before this, he was a Lieutenant himself, serving as superior of, and best friend of, Harry Morgan. When Harry committed suicide, apparently having burned out from witnessing too many failures in the justice system, Matthews used his influence to bury any indication of suicide, and fulfilled a promise he made to Harry to look after Dexter and Debra; which is what he has done to this day.

Matthews is portrayed as having flaws: nominal racism and serious political ambition, neither of which are ever shown in the novel series.

While having originally promoted LaGuerta, he frequently clashed with her, trying to keep her focused on hunting the Ice Truck Killer correctly. Later, however, he fails to take his own advice, as, when Neil Perry was mistakenly arrested, and Matthews received all the praise, he went so far as to try to bury any evidence to the contrary. Seeing the investigation was being jeopardized, LaGuerta revealed that several mistakes during the Ice Truck Killer case had been made, landing Matthews in a world of trouble. Due to the fact he was friends with both the Commissioner and the Review Board, Matthews escaped punishment and, having been personally embarrassed and wanting vengeance, Matthews laid all the blame on LaGuerta, and so gained approval to install Esmee Pascal as the new Lieutenant; to supervise her. This proved temporary, however, as, having later seen Esmee break down and regained his confidence in LaGuerta's abilities, Matthews restored her to her previous position.

Matthews' latest political effort, applying for the position of Deputy Chief, succeeded after Matthews used the fame of successfully ending the Bay Harbor Butcher case to propel himself to that position. Matthews did not appear in Season 3, but re-appeared in Season 4, having succeeded in being promoted to Deputy Chief, personally invested in the investigation surrounding Frank Lundy's death, and Debra's shooting. After LaGuerta and Angel reveal their relationship, he initially wants to transfer Angel out of homicide to avoid complications during a trial. Eventually, LaGuerta and Angel both agree to end their relationship to continue working in homicide; and while accepting this, Matthews warns them that there will be serious consequences if their relationship continues. After revealing a video of LaGuerta and Angel kissing, LaGuerta calls Tom out, asking if it was because of her gender or race for why he seems to have a grudge against her. Tom simply replies he has a grudge against her because of her arrogance.

• Keith Carradine

Frank Lundy was a high-ranking and illustrious FBI Special Agent; serving as one of their manhunters and the Bureau's top agent. Lundy was recruited by Cpt. Matthews to lead the task force dedicated to identifying and arresting the Bay Harbor Butcher.

Lundy was cool, calm, confident and incredibly intelligent and learned about the criminal mind, often finding the important case evidence the frustrated Miami PD normally overlooked. Lundy, himself, was infamous with police agencies due to him breaking impossible high-profile criminal cases (e.g. the real-life Green River Killer and the DC Sniper). On a personal level, he had a wife, who died due to cancer, and a daughter. Unknown to anyone else, Lundy had secretly devoted 15 years of his career to hunting down the "Trinity Killer", tracking him and seeing him as the most elusive serial killer he has ever encountered.

During the hunt for the Bay Harbor Butcher, Lundy became dangerously close to finding out Dexter is the Butcher he is seeking, and at the same time becomes involved in a relationship with Debra, helping her get over her left-over chaotic emotions from her time as the prisoner of the Ice Truck Killer. In the end, Dexter outmaneuvers and frames Doakes as the Butcher, leading Lundy to lead the entire police forces in a full-scale manhunt to find Doakes. After Doakes is killed in a seemingly accidental explosion, the case is considered closed and Lundy moves on to find another serial killer in Oregon.

Lundy retired from the FBI some time later, but continued his mission to hunting Trinity. After tracking him to Miami, Lundy, no longer possessing access to the full resources of the FBI, asked for Dexter's, and later Debra's, help in pursuing the Trinity Killer—and, eventually, it seemed Lundy was closing in on Trinity. In the process, Lundy and Debra rekindle their relationship. No sooner had they agreed to continue seeing each other, both Lundy and Debra were attacked and shot by an unseen gunman, who robbed them and left them to die. Lundy bled out and died from his injuries.

Dexter mourned Lundy's death; having seen him as a "worthy adversary" and felt he deserved a more fitting end. Debra, however, blames herself for what happened. It was originally believed the Vacation Murderers were responsible, but Dexter suspected Trinity. Debra's own investigation, however, reveals that neither the Vacation Murderers nor Trinity were the shooter. Quinn's girlfriend, Christine Hill, who was revealed to be a daughter of Trinity, was revealed to be the shooter.

• Kathrin Lautner

Debra's biological and Dexter's adoptive mother, who died of cancer when Debra was 12. She is seen briefly in a flashback in season 1, seen for a picture that is replicated by the Ice Truck Killer and another episode urging her husband to contact Dexter's biological father for a blood transfusion,^[6] and again in another flashback in season 2, suggesting that Dexter be tested by a psychologist.^[4]

• Sage Kirkpatrick

Dexter and Brian's biological mother who was involved in the drug trade and had a habit of painting each of her fingernails a different color. She and three others were sawed into pieces in a shipping container as her two sons watched, causing their murderous urges.^[3][7][8] In the second season, it is revealed that Laura had an affair with Harry Morgan and was working as a police informant, trying to get evidence against Santos Jimenez's boss. She is not named in the books and no such revelation is made. Laura appears in season three during two of Dexter's visions of Harry. While Dexter is tracking a victim on a cruise, she sits with Harry as if they were vacationing together. In the season finale, she appeared, again with Harry, at Dexter's wedding appearing to be happy for her son. Her mugshot was also seen briefly on Debra's desk as she investigated her father's infidelity. When Debra's investigation of another informant (coincidentally the file before Laura's) leads her to discover her father having multiple affairs with informants, she angrily gives up on her search; Dexter takes this opportunity to shred Laura's file and her photo, but is unable to go through with the photo ("I can't let her be cut up again") and keeps the upper half in his desk. Despite Dexter's efforts, Debra and a former informant locate Laura's house, which ultimately links Dexter to Laura, and to Brian; Dexter, feigning ignorance, is able to convince Debra that he did not know.

• JoBeth Williams

Rita Bennett's mother and Cody, Astor and Harrison's grandmother and Dexter's mother in law.^[4] Gail is a former schoolteacher who was fired by the school board due to "philosophical disagreements" (she disapproved of what she saw as the gradual acceptance of mediocrity in the way schools treated children and made her feelings well-known). She has extremely high standards, making her judgmental of her daughter and her grandchildren. After she arrives, she becomes suspicious of Dexter, claiming that he is hiding something. She distrusts Dexter, and believes him to be a drug addict, and believes Rita is repeating her mistake with Paul by getting involved with another addict. Near the end of season two, her attitude causes Rita to break off all ties with her mother and force her to leave her home, not wanting her children to be exposed to her the way she was. In season 3, Gail refused to attend Dexter and Rita's wedding, claiming that because she had started teaching again she was too busy. She did, however, send a scathing card expressing her hope that Rita's third marriage would be "the charm", though Rita is hiding that fact in stating that her mother means the third child. (It is also revealed that her surname, and therefore Rita's maiden name, is "Brandon"). She appeared in four episodes in Season 2.

• David Ramsey

A pot-smoking guitarist who is a confidential informant (CI) for Detective Joey Quinn. Quinn helps Debra out by giving her Anton's information in hopes that he will help her find a lead to Freebo, to which he obliges. Debra continues to meet with Anton to help her find information about both Freebo and later The Skinner because of his connections. Debra becomes close to Anton and eventually develops a romantic relationship with him, which occasionally clouds her judgment. She also finds out that Anton is not officially a CI because Quinn was trying to do him a favor by keeping it off the books. The police end up using Anton as bait in a possible trap for The Skinner, but Debra objects. The Skinner kidnaps Anton and removes two strips of skin from his back before Debra and Quinn rescue him. After Debra finds out that her father cheated on her mother with a CI, she becomes wary of Anton and they eventually break up. At the end of Season 3, they get back together when Debra realizes (with the help of Dexter) that her father Harry would have been so proud of her for being a great cop and getting her detective shield, regardless of her relationship with Anton. At the start of Season 4, their relationship starts to move forward just as Lundy returns and admits he still has feelings for Debra. Debra, who had begun to feel claustrophobic in her relationship with Anton, eventually realizes she returns Lundy's feelings and sleeps with him. This results in Anton and Debra breaking up and Debra leaving his place after she admitted she slept with Lundy to Anton. He has not been seen since.

• Mark Pellegrino

Rita's abusive and manipulative ex-husband and father of Astor and Cody,^[2] who was imprisoned for nearly beating Rita to death. After his release, he tries to rekindle a relationship with his children, though he still harbors disdain for Rita. Paul (correctly) suspects Dexter of framing him for the drug charge that sent him to his latest stint in jail.^[7] After a short while in a federal prison, he loses hope after failing to convince Rita of Dexter's plan to frame him. Rita later tells Dexter that he provoked a fight shortly thereafter with another inmate, who beat him to death with a pipe.

In the book series, Rita's ex-husband is mentioned but never makes an appearance (or is named) since he is dead before the events of the books. In the TV series, by contrast, Paul appears in the second half of the first season and in early episodes of the second season, and his interactions with Dexter lead to a key plot point. In the books, he beat Rita's children as well as beating and raping her; in the series he clearly loves his children, the two of them appearing ignorant of the full reasons why their parents split up, and his violent tendencies are directed toward only Rita, though she says that "she bore his abuse so they wouldn't have to", suggesting that he would have beat them too. In the TV series, it is Astor who finally calls the police on Paul, while in the book series Rita does when he begins to beat Astor and Cody as well.

• Christian Camargo
• Brandon Killham (child)

Brian Moser aka Rudy Cooper, was Dexter's biological older brother and the main antagonist of the first season. As children, both brothers witnessed their mother, Laura, being murdered with a chainsaw while they were in the same shipping container with her, after which they were both left for two days until the police found them. The officer-on-scene, Harry Morgan, immediately gathered Dexter up and sent someone in to retrieve Brian. While Dexter was adopted by the Morgan family, Brian was left in the state's care. Brian stated that in his opinion, Morgan did not want anything to do with him because he saw him as a "fucked up kid" (Brian suffered severe psychological trauma due to the experiences in the container and was left in a mental institution, where over time he became a violent sociopath.)^[7]

Upon being released, he went underground, refining his ability to kill and taking on the identity of a plumber he killed (Rudy Cooper) as an alias, all while searching for his brother. Eventually, Brian not only discovered Dexter's location and history upon being separated, but also discovered he was similarly "damaged"; upon learning this, Brian immediately plotted to reunite with Dexter for the purpose of killing people side-by-side.

Brian went to Miami, working as a prosthetist and murdering prostitutes as the "Ice Truck Killer". At some of his kills and at Dexter's apartment, Brian left clues to his and Dexter's past. Brian developed a relationship with Debra, Dexter's foster sister while treating one of his own victims Tony Tucci. As Debra fell in love with him, he used Debra as a means to get closer to Dexter. The week before Dexter was informed of the death of his biological father (Joseph Driscoll) and met Brian Moser for the first time, Brian disguised himself as a cable repair man and visited the house of the deceased man. At the end of the ninth episode of the first season it was implied that Brian had murdered Joseph Driscoll while in disguise by injecting him with diabetic insulin. The body was cremated before Dexter could find any evidence of murder. Brian began slowly to show more of an interest in spending time with Dexter. When Brian talked to Dexter about possibly marrying Debra, he lied about a cut on his lip. He told Dexter it was a lab accident, but in reality he received the cut after attacking and nearly killing Angel Batista. This led Dexter to the realisation that Brian was the Ice Truck Killer. Brian immediately kidnapped Debra, which led to the police suspecting his involvement in the Ice Truck Killer case.

After searching through Brian's apartment, Dexter tracked him down at the site of their childhood home, where Dexter recalled that they were brothers. Brian told Dexter his history upon being separated, and tried to convince Dexter to kill Debra in the same manner that he killed his victims. Dexter refused, leading to a fight between the two as the police arrived. Brian escaped the house and disappeared.

Brian later attempted to kill Debra when he thought she was staying at Dexter's apartment, but instead fell into a trap set by Dexter, who then brought him to the cooling room where Brian committed his murders. After a few choice words between them, a heartbroken Dexter slashed Brian's throat and drained his blood into a bucket, killing him in the same manner as Brian did his victims, but making it appear to the police that Brian killed himself.^[7]

Brian's death left Dexter in great pain, to the point that he began making mistakes in his killing rituals. In early episodes of the second season, Brian appeared to Dexter as a vision and in the end, Dexter learned he needed to let go of his feelings about his brother before he could move on with his life.

In Darkly Dreaming Dexter (unlike in the TV series), Brian does not use the name Rudy Cooper and does not get romantically involved with Deborah. He is noted as having a very strong resemblance to Dexter, to the point that upon seeing an image of Brian with dismembered corpses, Dexter and Deborah are convinced that Dexter is the murderer of the novel. The only physical differences noted by Dexter when they meet are that Brian is an inch or two taller, thicker through the shoulders and chest, and paler. He first meets Dexter face-to-face in a shipping container located in the same place as the one where their mother was murdered, with Deborah tied up and ready for Dexter to kill. Rather than killing either Deborah or Brian, Dexter lets him go, whereas he kills him in the TV series, recognising that it is the only way to save his sister. Their professions differ as well; the books have Brian working with imports, while the series has him as a prosthetic surgeon. The age gap between Brian and Dexter is noted as being only 1 year in the book, while the television series has it at 2. In the books he is known as the Tamiami Slasher; in the show, he is known as the Ice Truck Killer.

Joe was the biological father of Dexter and Brian, and boyfriend of Laura Moser. Joe was in the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War, and later became a drug-addicted criminal, at some point being imprisoned. When Laura was exposed and murdered for being involved with the police in their attempts to bring a gang to justice, Joe went underground, abandoning his sons to the justice system, and settled in Dade City, Florida. This was the reason Joe adopted the name "Joseph Driscoll"; his real name remains unknown. Dexter does not know or remember anything about Joe. He later finds out he is an expert bowler and recovered from his drug abuse.

Harry Morgan, Dexter's adopted father, was able to track Joe down, and convinced him to give a transfusion of his rare blood when Dexter was injured in an accident and needed surgery. Joe then received a handmade thank-you-card, which he apparently treasured, and, in the event of his death, named Dexter his son, next-of-kin and executor-of-his-will, leaving him his house and all his possessions.

Joe met his death at the age of 60, when Brian (now the Ice Truck Killer and going under the alias of "Rudy Cooper"), who knew it was the best way to reconnect with his long-lost brother, tracked Joe down and got access to his house while disguised as a cable repairman. Brian was able to slip Joe a sedative, and then injected him with diabetic insulin, causing Joe to have a seizure and die of cardiac arrest.

When Dexter, Rita, Debra (Dexter's adopted sister) and "Rudy" came to sort out Joe's house, Dexter took blood samples of himself and Joe and sent them to Vince Masuka to perform a DNA test, which came back as a match. Dexter suspected that Joe's apparent heart attack was actually murder. However, the body was cremated before Dexter could obtain proof, and as such, he never found out what "Rudy" had done. After Rudy and Dexter stole the ashes, Joe was laid to rest by his sons when they scattered Joe's ashes at the entrance of Joe's favorite bowling alley.

Joe and Dexter, when compared, are shown to have great physical resemblance, and Dexter also inherited his father's bowling skill.

• Denise Crosby

Dexter's first victim, a nurse who over-medicates her patients with morphine who will eventually die from overdose. Dexter incapacitates her with a syringe which is where he obtained his syringe technique. She believes that she is helping her victims by "ending their pain", and keeps an album containing their obituaries. Harry Morgan almost becomes one of her victims when he has a heart attack and is placed in her care. Harry gives Dexter 'permission' to kill her and he ambushes her at her house. Her victims were Phoebe Burns, Jason Kheel, David Nammers among others. The nurse is never explicitly named in either the books or the television series.^[9] "First Nurse" is the nickname Dexter gives her, but in the novels, her nickname is "Last Nurse". In the novels, the nurse is basically the same as in the TV series. However, her motivation for killing her patients is never given in the novels. In the TV series, she claims to be helping her victims by "ending their pain".

• Jorge (José Zúñiga) and Valerie Castillo (Valerie Dillman) are a husband-and-wife team of human traffickers—known as "the Coyote", as only one of them was officially known about—who transport illegal immigrants from Cuba. If an immigrant cannot pay them, he or she is locked up in Jorge's junkyard, taken out on Jorge's boat and drowned. Dexter kills them both, but not before getting relationship advice out of them.^[10] Shortly after Dexter dumps their bodies, the Ice Truck Killer dives into the ocean and places Valerie's corpse in the junkyard, where it is discovered by the police, almost leading to Dexter's capture.^[11]

• Tony Tucci (Brad William Henke) is a security guard in an ice skating rink. LaGuerta initially thinks that Tucci is the Ice Truck Killer, and puts out an arrest warrant for his arrest—one quickly rescinded when the real killer kidnaps him. The killer amputates Tucci's left arm and right leg and leaves them as clues for Dexter to find. The killer eventually leaves Tucci in an abandoned hospital for Dexter to find, as a sort of invitation to kill him. He fails to meet Dexter's code, however, and Dexter sends Debra an anonymous tip leading her to the hospital and Tucci. Because of LaGuerta's rash decision to brand him as the Ice Truck Killer, this (along with a few other rash decisions) led her to be demoted.

• Norberto Cervantes (Cristos) was a professional hitman and assassin working for Carlos Guerrero. Norberto was dispatched to kill Officer Ricky Simmons when Carlos discovered that he was an undercover cop trying to infiltrate his organization, and Norberto did so by throwing him off a freeway overpass, but not before Ricky bites and takes a chunk of flesh out of Norberto's arm. Norberto then checked Ricky's phone, and discovered he had been in constant contact with his wife, Kara, and to prevent information leaking to the police, Norberto went to the Simmons residence, and shot Kara in the back and departed, but not before his bleeding arm left a drop of blood at the scene. When Kara succumbed to her injuries in hospital, her secret lover, Doakes, was driven to investigate harder and soon discovered the DNA trail and arrested Norberto. LaGuerta offered Norberto a more lenient sentence in exchange for providing enough evidence to bring down Guerrero, and he seriously considered this, but somehow Guerrero knew, and arranged for another one of his assassins, disguised as a prison guard, to bring Norberto to the prison's showers, where he stabs Norberto to death.

• Matt Chambers (Sam Trammell), also known as Matt Brewster and Matt Rasmussen, is a 35-year-old alcoholic. Dexter first learns of him in court by noticing the crying family of his latest victim, Alexander Pryce (18). Chambers uses his AA sponsor to vouch for his false recovery and he is found not guilty due to a mask of emotions that instill empathy and sympathy from people. Matt is a repeated drunk driver who has killed and crippled several people. Whenever this happens, he changes his name and moves to a new city. Dexter kills him in an abandoned liquor store.^[12]

• Mike Donovan (Jim Abele) is a 42 year-old pastor and Church choir conductor who raped and killed at least 3 young boys, Corey Balanti, Tyler Kale and Joe Bigalow. He is Dexter's first victim shown in the series. Dexter chokes him inside his Ford Taurus and forces him to drive to a house on the outskirts of Miami and forces him to look at his crimes. He then kills him with a hand saw, where Donovan had buried several of his victims (who are exhumed by Dexter and shown to Donovan shortly before his death). His wife comes to the station the next day to report his disappearance. Dexter shows particular anger towards him, which could be because of a personal hate for pedophiles or that they were still finding the character of Dexter.^[2] In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, this character is referred to as "Father Donovan", suggesting that he is a Catholic priest. There is no mention of him having a family. Unlike the television show, Father Donovan's victims include both boys and girls. Also he thanks Dexter for killing him, recognising his own 'sickness' and grateful for the relief.

• Jeremy Downs (Mark L. Young) is a 19-year-old boy living in a halfway house after he is released from juvenile hall. At the age of fifteen, he was convicted for killing another boy. Dexter attempts to kill him, but lets him go after finding out that his victim raped him. Before leaving he encourages Jeremy to only kill those who deserve to die.^[9] After Jeremy killed a second innocent boy Doakes arrests Jeremy. While he is detained, Dexter talks to Jeremy who revealed to Dexter that the trauma from the rape has left him just like Dexter, "empty", and he kills to feel something—although he does admit that it does not help, and in fact makes the feeling worse. Dexter later visits Jeremy in prison, as he is the only one who can understand him, and vice versa, but finds Jeremy had taken his own life.^[13]

• Carlos Guerrero (Rudolf Martin) is a powerful drug lord responsible for the death of Officer Ricky Simmons and his wife Kara. Dexter at one point thinks about killing him but decides that he did not fit the code and that he had just chosen to live in a dangerous world. Sergeant Doakes becomes Guerrero's main target after accusing him of murder in front of his church and daughter Rose. In an act of retaliation, Guerrero has men tail Doakes in several attempts to scare him off. Guerrero eventually kidnaps him, and is ready to execute him when Guerrero is shot by several officers who used Doakes as bait—thus the police had the evidence they needed to convict him.

• Jamie Jaworski (Ethan Smith) is a 29-year-old hotel valet with a taste for sexual sadism and snuff films. He recorded his rape and murder of Jane Saunders, mother of 2 small boys, and posted it on the Internet. He had been formerly arrested but escaped justice due to a faulty search warrant. Dexter, whilst stalking him, noticed a red devil tattoo on his arm and identified him from it in the video on the fetish website. In order to capture him Dexter lures him with a photo of his latest kill and then sticks a syringe in his neck. He kills him at a deserted construction site where Jaworski had been stealing copper pipes.^[2] He is Dexter's second victim on the show. In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jaworski works as a janitor who abducts young girls. Frustrated by the Tamiami Slasher case, Dexter kills him very sloppily, even forgetting to take a blood sample from him. The Slasher kills his next victim in a similarly messy way as a form of satire.

• Jane Sauders (Neeona Neel) was a mother of two boys. She was raped and killed in a snuff film by Jamie Jaworski. Her children were emotionally devastated after her death and Dexter avenged her by killing her murderer.

• Cindy Landon (Julia Dolan) is a black widow who appears in a flashback. Her only line is "I'll fuck you if you let me go."^[11] She was the focus of an episode of Dexter: Early Cuts. She was a freelance magician’s assistant who married men and killed them for their money.

• Gene Marshall (Benton Jennings) is an arsonist, who ironically was a fire inspector, who appears in a flashback. Dexter places candles around him before cutting him up. His only line is "Have you ever watched someone burn alive?"^[11]. Marshall was a real-estate developer and millionaire who set one of his own apartment complexes on fire, killing seven people. His psychiatrist deemed him mentally unfit to stand trial. After three months in a psychiatric institution, Marshall was released and went back to his usual life of luxury. Dexter killed Marshall in June 1993. Dexter surrounds him with candles when he straps him to the table.

• Emmett Meridian (Tony Goldwyn) is a psychotherapist who, as Dexter figures out, targets financially successful women and has encouraged at least three of his female clients to commit suicide. Dexter stalks him by taking therapy sessions under the guise of Sean Ellis and to Dexter's surprise ends up making a psychological breakthrough with him. Emmett puts Dexter into a state of calm and helps him to remember his dark past, seeing a boy in blood but initially not understanding the meaning. This also helps him to let his guard down and helps his relationship with Rita. Dexter also manages a major catharsis by telling Meridian about his murders before killing him. He sees a camera recording in his office and breaks in at night to find the files on Meridian's computer showing him talking women into suicide. His victims were Meghan Dowd, Carolyn Jillian and Vanessa Gayle.^[14]

• Neil Perry (Sam Witwer) is a brilliant, but deeply disturbed, computer analyst with a compulsion to kill animals. Neil was regularly abused by his mother, but never struck back; only when she died of a heart attack did he finally lash out, mutilate her corpse and bury it outside his trailer home. Neil began to see the chance for fame during the Ice Truck Killer case, using his own skills to hack into the police database and reading the newspapers. Eventually, he set himself up as the killer, kidnapping a prostitute in a fake attempt to kill her, possessing photographs of the corpses not released to the public, allowing his mother's corpse to be discovered, and readily confessing to the murders. While in prison awaiting trial, Dexter, who had been contacted by the true Ice Truck Killer earlier, realized Neil was a fraud when Neil failed to recognize him. Despite Dexter and LaGuerta's insistence, Captain Matthews refused to acknowledge the possibility that they may have the wrong man, and publicly announces Neil's identity as the Ice Truck Killer. Dexter's subtle manipulation eventually drives LaGuerta into investigating Neil's innocence, and she soon realizes that he found the information in the database, though the Captain and District Attorney continue to refuse to release him. LaGuerta appears to deliberately fail to convince the Captain of Perry's innocence as a scheme to undermine him. Later on, the Ice Truck Killer pours the collected blood of several of his victims in a hotel room. Shortly after its discovery, the blood is matched to the drained victims by DNA, proving Neil's innocence to the police and leading to his release.^[3] After LaGuerta undermined the Captain by publicly stating Neil's innocence behind his back was the final straw that caused her to be demoted.

• Alex Timmons (Demetrius Grosse) is a sniper who appears in a flashback. His only line is "Yes, I did it. Is that what you want to hear?"^[11] His death appeared in the animated webisode series "Dexter: Early Cuts" where it was shown that he was the first of Dexter's kills from which a blood-slide trophy was taken. Timmons had been a hunter since he was young, developing a fondness for killing. He later became a U.S. Marine Corps sniper, allowing him to kill in the open while masking it as warfighting. Eventually, his impulse to kill overcame him and he shot and killed three civilian children and received little punishment for it, only being discharged from the Corps. Dexter first approached him at a gun range which Timmons often practiced at. He then pretended that his car had broken down and asked Timmons for assistance. While he was distracted, Dexter sedated him, abducted him and killed him in his home with a Marine Corps combat knife. Before his death Alex admitted that he had committed the crimes which brought him there.

• Sean (Richard Gunn) is a mechanic and temporary boyfriend of Debra's. Dexter and Rita double dated with them and Debra got on well with him, but later he turned out to be married and after Debra found out that he was using her as a bit on the side, she dumped him. He plays a part in making Dexter's relationship with Rita uncomfortable as she notes that they get on well with each other and that she and Dexter do not have the same fluency in their relationship.

• Oscar (Cesar Flores) is a Cuban child immigrant who is found locked in the trunk of a car by Jorge and Valerie Castillo. He witnesses Dexter injecting his captors and taking them away from the keyhole in the car. After this, he develops attachment issues, trusting only Maria LaGuerta, who in turn develops maternal feelings for him. When asked to draw a picture of the person he saw, he draws Jesus Christ, thus saving Dexter from being caught. He is then put in his uncle's care.

• Kara Simmons (Maureen Moldoon) was the wife of Ricky Simmons. She became evidently unhappy with her relationship with Ricky and became unfaithful to him by sleeping with the sergeant James Doakes. After her husband was shot for working undercover, Carlos Guerrero sent a man, Norberto Cervantes, to their house and shot her in the stomach, she tried to call her husband during the attack. Soon after, Maria LaGuerta and James Doakes arrive on the scene to find her gutshot. James Doakes becomes very concerned with her recovery and stays by her side while she is in hospital, to the suspicion of LaGuerta, who later confronts him with her theory that he is sleeping with her, to which he admits that he was. Doakes seems upset and vengeful about her death.

• Bob Hicks (Scott Atkinson) was Paul Bennetts' sponsor from Narcotics Anonymous for his recovery from drug abuse. Bob came around Rita's house to plead that Paul was innocent and that there had been a mistake and was there to tell him that Paul had been clean for over a month and that it was unlikely that he committed the crime. Rita politely but firmly tells him to mind his own business and he is not seen again.

• Mrs. Tucci (Gina Hecht) is Tony Tucci's mother. She was inconvenienced by Maria LaGuerta by the lieutenants false accusation of her son, followed by his kidnap and Maria was forced to apologize to her by Captain Matthews, but she was thankful rather than displeased that she came in person. Throughout the time her son was kidnapped, she prayed almost non-stop and towards the end of the episode reminded Maria of her faith.

• Dave Baez

Writer and boyfriend to Debra. He first appeared in the episode "Waiting to Exhale" where he met Debra Morgan at a workout gym. Noticing that Debra was checking him out, he offered to help her start training with a punching bag. This did not bode well; while taping up his hands, Debra had a flashback to her abduction by Rudy Cooper. She quickly ran from the scene with little explanation. She apologizes a little later however and they start going out, she takes him back to Dexter's flat where she handcuffs him to the bed on the grounds that the last person she slept with tried to kill her and Dexter walks in on them by accident. She begins to wrongly become suspicious of him and goes as far as searching his belongings and checking his e-mails. She finds an e-mail concerning a story he has written called "The Ice Princess" and believes that he is writing a story about her and leaves him accusingly. She then finds out that he is trying to be a children's writer and apologizes. They go on several more dates but breaks up with him due to her increasing attraction to Frank Lundy.

• Judith Scott

Esmee Pascal, also known as Esmee Pasquale, is a Haitian American police officer who becomes well-respected (considered a "real up-and-comer" by Captain Matthews) after being shot in the line of duty but recovering. When LaGuerta oversteps her authority and embarrasses Captain Matthews with new developments in the Ice Truck Killer case, Matthews brings Pascal in to replace her. Pascal remains Lieutenant of the department well over a month after the end of the case, earning the trust of the police officers and friendship of LaGuerta, but soon begins to crack under pressure when she starts to experience personal problems with her fiancé Bertrand. She suspects him of adultery on little real evidence, which gradually casts doubt on her rationality. Her obsession becomes so strong that she uses department resources to investigate him, tracking his phone calls and having the forensics department do tests on his shirt (stating it had the smell of another woman on it). As a result of this, Captain Matthews returns control of the Homicide Division to LaGuerta, who is later revealed to be the one who had an affair with Pascal's fiancé in the first place as a way to get her old job back. She broke it off as soon as that goal was accomplished out of guilt.

• Jaime Murray

Dexter's former Narcotics Anonymous sponsor and the main antagonist in season 2.^[15] She works as an artist, often using stolen items in her work. Dexter has an affair with her, leading to his breakup with Rita. She confesses to Dexter that she went sober after unintentionally killing her ex-boyfriend while intoxicated. This is later revealed to be a lie; she is in fact a sociopath who hangs out in support groups as an attempt to feel emotions she is otherwise incapable of. She immediately sees through Dexter's "mask" and becomes obsessed with him, believing him to be her soulmate.

She sets her own loft on fire and helps Santos Jimenez attack Dexter, believing that she and Dexter are closest in times of crisis. She also breaks into Rita's house, afraid that Dexter might have gotten back together with her, and Dexter immediately ends their relationship.

In retaliation, she has rough sex with Angel Batista and then accuses him of rape; she had taken Rohypnol immediately after sex so it would look like he had drugged her. Enraged, Debra asks Lundy to run a background check and she discovers Lila's real surname (West) and that she has been illegally living in the United States on an expired visa. Debra then confronts her and demands that she leave the country or be deported. Lila, following Dexter and watching him on his boat with Rita, Astor and Cody, breaks into his van, takes his GPS device and finds the address for Jimenez's cabin. Arriving at the cabin, she finds Doakes caged inside and, upon learning from him that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher, decides to protect Dexter and ignites propane canisters inside the cabin, killing Doakes.

After finding evidence that Lila killed Doakes, Dexter has the justification he needs for killing Lila. Dexter gathers his tools in a bag and goes to Lila's apartment under the guise that they will leave town together. Dexter's plan is foiled when he finds Debra at Lila's and Lila walks in on them. Lila leaves the apartment, taking Dexter's bag with her. Upon examination of the bag, Lila learns of Dexter's plan to kill her. Later, she abducts Astor and Cody. Although Dexter tracks them down, Lila traps them inside her loft and sets it ablaze again. Dexter and the kids narrowly escape, and Lila flees Miami. While living in Paris, Lila checks her mail and discovers a postcard from Miami with Doakes' picture on the back. Dexter, who was in the room the entire time, injects Lila with a spinal epidural (so he can speak his peace to her while also ensuring that her death is painless) and lays her down on the couch. Lila pleads for her life and tells him that she killed Doakes and tried to get rid of the children for Dexter's sake. Dexter thanks her for helping him embrace what he is, and then stabs her through the heart. He wraps her corpse in a plastic garment bag. Lila is so far the only main antagonist who was not given an official nickname. However she's been called a vampire by Debra in a cruel way due to her pale skin. She was also known for setting things on fire, but never got an official nickname for that reason either. She was mentioned once by Rita and once by Vince in season 4. ^[5]

• Little Chino (Matthew Willig) is a powerful and dangerous, yet surprisingly cunning and intelligent, member of the Twenty-Ninth Street Kings gang, serving as an enforcer. Chino, despite his nickname, is extremely tall and well-built (his mugshot photo indicates he is just short of 6 foot 9 inches) and used a machete to kill any witnesses of his gang's crimes; and for every kill he makes, he has a teardrop of blood tattooed on his arm. Dexter targeted Chino for death after he personally killed a man, and then arranged the death of the man's mother (the only witness), thus leaving the woman's daughter psychologically scarred—just like Dexter. While still reeling from the death of his brother, Dexter finally pulled it together after his initial failure to kill Chino, and later after a failed ambush by Chino. When the gang was betrayed and arrested, Chino escaped to hunt down the young boy who sold out his gang, but Dexter intercepted and captured him. Dexter later killed Chino, making him the first victim of Season 2.

• Jose Garza, or "Christopher Harlow", is a murderer and drug trafficker connected to Santos Jimenez. Initially supposed to make a deal with Jimenez for Garza to buy a quantity of cocaine, he was surprised and angered when Jimenez did not show up, and texted Jimenez's cell phone. By this point, Jimenez had been killed by Dexter, and the cell phone was in Dexter's possession. When Garza announced he knew where Jimenez's cabin was, where Dexter was holding Doakes captive, Dexter, knowing about Garza's crimes, saw a way to get rid of him: by killing him. Luring Garza into an ambush outside of Jimenez's bar, Dexter sedated and brought him back to the cabin and killed him in front of a horrified Doakes with a hand saw. Later, after the cabin is destroyed by Lila, Garza's brutally dismembered body parts are found as well as that of Doakes himself; which the task force considers conclusive evidence that Doakes was the Bay Harbor Butcher.

• Roger Hicks (Don McManus) is a car salesman who targets and murders brunette women. He uses credit checks to obtain information on his victims, ensuring that they are single, have no pets, and live in a place that keeps neighbors at a distance. When researching Hicks for his next kill, Dexter ends up buying a new minivan from Hicks. This ends up working to Dexter's advantage when he realizes it is an ideal vehicle to aid him in his killings. Dexter manages to match Hicks' DNA with semen found at a crime scene. When Dexter tells him about his relationship problems with Rita, he seems to empathize and rants on his hatred of women. An enraged Dexter quickly stabs him in his chest after Hicks uses a nasty slur to refer to Rita. Dexter also compliments Hicks on his talent for lying as he is able to change his story on a whim.^[15]

• Santos Jimenez (Tony Amendola) One of the three men present at the murder of Dexter's mother, Laura Moser. Jimenez was able to cut a deal with police and he was included in the witness protection program. In his old age he was running a tavern in Naples, Florida, while at the same time he continued to sell cocaine. Dexter tracks him down and finds that he is a bartender, he waits for him and beats him and attempts to kill him but in a moment of confusion, Lila is able to convince him to stop. Later, in an attempt to bring Dexter and her back together, Lila gives Jimenez the address of the bowling alley Dexter will be leaving. Waiting outside his truck, Jimenez slashes Dexter's arm with a knife and escapes. After Lila's influence nearly gets him exposed as a killer, Dexter abandons what she taught him and kills Jimenez with a chainsaw, the same weapon used to kill Laura Moser. Afterwards, Dexter had to leave his body at the cabin because he had to go to Rita since Lila had broken into her home. Dexter went to Jimenez's cabin at night and attempted to dispose of his body. Later, Jose Garza came looking for Jimenez, because he wanted to get his cocaine, but was caught by Dexter.

• Ken Oldson (Silas Weir Mitchell) is a wannabe vigilante inspired by the Bay Harbor Butcher. He has successfully killed two criminals. One was a drug dealer he ran down with his car (Olson stole his drugs afterward). The other was an abusive husband whose anger was provoked when Olson slept with his wife, who was pushed down a flight of stairs. His third attempted victim, a robber who hurt Olson's mother, escaped by stretching out the rope Olson used. Dexter originally planned to stop Olson without killing him. Upon learning about Olson's first two victims, who Dexter believes did not deserve to die, Dexter decides that Olson must be killed. Dexter did not obtain a blood sample from Olson. Under Lila's influence, Dexter said he "had" to kill Olson (out of necessity) but did not "need" (feel the urge) to kill him.^[16]

• Juan Rinez is a pimp who murdered one of his prostitutes, he was Dexter's second human victim. He is arrested, but let off due to a faulty warrant. When Tom Matthews visits Harry Morgan during Debra's birthday party to inform him of Rinez's release, Harry loses his temper and later tells Dexter that he was right in training him. However, Dexter finds and kills Rinez himself; Harry finds his son standing over Rinez's dismembered body. Dexter later learns that Harry committed suicide days later, rather than dying of natural causes as he had previously believed, and guesses that he was unable to face the reality of what he trained his son to do.^[17]

• Jimmy Sensio (Glenn Plummer) is a blind Voodoo high priest nicknamed "the man with God in his mouth". He can be hired to perform "death curses" by selling his targets drinks poisoned with ricin. He appears to be truly insane, claiming to be possessed by a spirit and cursing Dexter. After weeks of being stalked by Doakes, Dexter's murderous urges have become unbearable. However, he is for some reason reluctant to kill Jimmy and lets him go. Jimmy quickly leaves town, alive and well.^[18]

• Curtis Barnes (John Marshall Jones) is a former U.S. Army Ranger who served several tours of duty in the Gulf War. Curtis experienced, did, and saw many terrible things during his time in the armed forces, leaving him emotionally scarred. Settling down in Miami with his Vietnamese wife Alicia, Barnes' problems never leave him; he repeatedly wakes up screaming and punches holes in the walls of his home. Alicia repeatedly tells him to get help, and arranges for him to see a psychiatrist, but Barnes never goes, believing no one could help him. Alicia eventually could not take it anymore and declared to Barnes she was leaving him. In response, Barnes shoots Alicia twice through the heart, and once again through the head, all with his arm remaining steady and in the space of a split-second. Barnes flees for his life, and the police begin hunting him for his wife's murder. Somehow, Barnes learns that James Doakes, who also served as an Army Ranger, is leading the investigation, and arranges with his friends in the military to lead Doakes to him on his boat. Doakes goes with no support, as he was informed the man he was meeting was a member of Barnes' unit, rather than Barnes himself. Doakes sympathizes with Barnes, as he shares his emotional problems, and Barnes tries to convince Doakes to stall the investigation long enough for him to arrange passage to Cuba. Doakes, however, tells Barnes that turning himself in is a better way to deal with his pain. Barnes refuses to surrender, and raises his gun, forcing Doakes to kill him.

• Esteban (Gilbert Saldivar) and Teo Famosa (Wilmer Calderon) were Cuban brothers and drug dealers who, after finding James Doakes in the Everglades, knocked him unconscious and brought him back to the cabin where Santos Jimenez had planned to sell them cocaine. Dexter, while protecting himself, also saves Doakes by killing them both, he snaps Esteban's neck and then shoots Teo in the head.

• Jimmy Smits

Miguel was a senior Assistant District Attorney, infamous for his harsh enforcement of the law, making him powerful, influential and popular with the regular police and citizens of Miami, and one of the primary antagonists of season 3. He has a romantic history with Lt. LaGuerta and he comes from a well-connected family, about whom he cares greatly. As such, Prado takes it hard when his younger brother Oscar is found dead in the house of a drug-dealer nicknamed "Freebo", and even worse when it was found Oscar was a drug addict to whom Freebo sold and that Oscar was in Freebo's debt, making it look like he was killed for not paying his debts. Oscar was indeed battling Freebo when Dexter arrived, and while Freebo fled, Oscar was killed by Dexter himself in self-defense. Prado asks Dexter to join him at Freebo's house, where Prado expresses great appreciation to Dexter not only for helping to track down Freebo, but also for trying to understand why Oscar had been killed, and invites Dexter to attend Oscar's wake. Prado finds Freebo's hideout and goes to kill him, but finds Dexter there after already killing him. He expresses appreciation to Dexter for killing Freebo and later, gives Dexter his shirt with Freebo's blood on it as a form of mutual assurance that he will not betray Dexter. Dexter and Prado form a close bond, often drinking beer and watching television at each others homes, and Prado becomes Dexter's first true friend. He eventually finds out that Dexter is a killer, a fact that earns great admiration from Prado. Prado even goes as far as to learn the Code from Dexter, and is the second person to witness Dexter in a kill room. With Dexter's guidance he would go on to kill a mob enforcer.

Later that same night, without Dexter's knowledge, Prado kills Ellen Wolf, a defense attorney who was trying to ruin his career by claiming some mistakes he made in his cases were "proof" of Prado's claimed "illicit prosecution tactics, which include witness tampering and deliberately ignoring evidence". Dexter was disappointed with Miguel's violation of the Code and digs up Wolf's body for the police to find to teach Prado a lesson. Prado seems to have learned his lesson after a talk with Dexter, but Dexter later begins to doubt the authenticity of Miguel's friendship when he learns Miguel used exactly the same language he used in a talk between them in a talk with Rita about trust. Dexter's suspicions are confirmed when he examines the shirt Miguel gave him after the murder of Freebo. The blood on the shirt is in fact cow blood, and Dexter realizes that Miguel has been manipulating him all along. After a game of one-upmanship with regard to Ellen Wolf's murder case, with Miguel threatening to expose Debra Morgan's relationship with the CI Anton and use his position as ADA to make trouble for Dexter, Dexter decides to kill Miguel using the MO (Modus Operandi) of a sought-for killer, just as LaGuerta discovers Miguel killed Ellen. When Miguel discovers that LaGuerta is investigating him, he plans to kill her, but Dexter discovers what Miguel is planning, traps him at LaGuerta's house when Prado goes there to kill her and kills Miguel by garroting him, but not before telling him that he killed his brother.

The entire city of Miami mourns the passing of Miguel Prado, a hero to all, and so the City Council votes to name the city's main freeway interchange after Miguel. This greatly upsets LaGuerta, who is ready to accuse Miguel of murdering Ellen Wolf. Dexter is able to convince her that doing so would only hurt Miguel's family and the Cuban Community, and even then there is a high chance that nothing could be proven, so she drops it.

It was later discovered through Miguel's brother, Ramon, that he also lied about the story of being beaten up by his father and that it was in fact Ramon who did it. He stated that Miguel "always had to be in the spotlight" and that he had been covering up for Miguel for years.

• Jason Manuel Olazabal

Ramon Prado was one of the three Prado brothers, and was a county sheriff with the rank of lieutenant. Ramon and Miguel were both devastated at Oscar's death, with Ramon steadily becoming more and more unstable with time, frustrated with the Miami Police Department's handling of the murder case. Initially, Ramon attempts to keep working, though he steadily slides into alcoholism. In an effort to help his brother, Miguel tried to convince Dexter to tell Ramon about Freebo's death, but is convinced otherwise when Ramon, with a little provoking from Dexter, attacks an innocent person in front of his brother. His increasing recklessness eventually drove him to the point of kidnapping and torturing one of Freebo's clients, which in turn got him arrested by Debra and Quinn. Instead of prison, Ramon, largely disgraced in the eyes of his Miami Metro PD colleagues, unwillingly accepted the offer from the police union of early retirement with benefits, and so surrendered his gun and badge.

After Miguel was seemingly killed by The Skinner (really Dexter to stop his murderous rampage), Ramon, desperate for someone to blame, went out of control. Having been taken on earlier as a bodyguard for Miguel against Dexter (who he had always had a slight distrust of), and so was driven to hunt Dexter. Dexter tried to find Ramon without success, but instead Ramon showed up in a drunken rage at Dexter and Rita's rehearsal dinner, and pushes off Dexter's calm attempts at discussion. He instead draws his pistol and jammed it in Dexter's face, but was stopped and arrested by Batista and Debra.

Even though Harry recommended Dexter kill Ramon out of mercy, Dexter, instead, elected to speak to him while he languished in the county jail. Dexter's words made Ramon understand and face his own demons, as well as bringing peace between them. The end result was Ramon finally coming out with the source of all his pent-up anger, frustration and distrust: Miguel. All of his life, Ramon remained in his famous brother's shadow (and even helped to build it—such as knocking their abusive father down the stairs and letting Miguel take the credit), that, while Miguel had the appearance, charm and even the intelligence, Ramon had the strength and spent his whole life holding Miguel's legend together. Now that Miguel was dead, Ramon let go of his harsh behaviours so as to not pass it on to his beloved son and daughter.

As one last favor from his famous brother, Ramon was released a matter of days later.

• Liza Lapira

An Internal Affairs officer who was pressuring Debra Morgan to give her information on Joey Quinn, promising to help her become a detective in return. Debra has not yet agreed and has been shown to become extremely irritated with how much Yuki is forcing her, to the point that Yuki is giving Debra orders like she has said yes to the case. After being confronted by Debra that Quinn told her that it was just a personal grudge of hers, she states that he is lying and is investigating him because of his tendency to cut-corners. In a way it was both a personal grudge as well as his tendency to cut corners.

• Anne Ramsay

A defense attorney and Miguel Prado's main rival. Ellen believes Miguel (who she derides as a "fascistic prosecutor") bends the rules to put innocent people in prison while Miguel believes Ellen helps guilty people get off. Miguel believes that people like Ellen are the root of the problem that Dexter tries to solve through killing. However, his opinion of her seems to change favorably when Wolf betrays her client, a murderer named Albert Chung. Later, after participating in one of Dexter's murders, Miguel realizes he's capable of cold-blooded killings himself, comes to Wolf's house alone and murders her. Wolf was a close friend of Lt. LaGuerta, who is devastated upon Wolf's death. LaGuerta quested to solve the crime, and in the end discovered Miguel's actions. She initially vowed to tear what life he left behind apart (Miguel had recently been killed by Dexter, although everyone thought it was the Skinner), though Dexter makes her understand she would be hurting Prado's family, the local community who supported and admired him and the city at large, and there was no guarantee she would find anything. In the end, LaGuerta accepted Dexter's advice and closed the case, keeping Prado's actions a secret and saying goodbye to her friend.

• Jesse Borrego

Jorge, later known as "George King", was a man from Nicaragua who was conscripted into his country's army, and one of the primary antagonists of season 3. Jorge rose to the rank of Captain in the Resistencia Nicaraguense Army; heading an interrogation unit. Jorge tortured and killed people for a living, to the point he was affectionately referred to in his homeland as "The Blade". His time in the army left him with a deep need for respect.

Jorge left the army and moved to the United States and settled in Miami, founding and becoming boss of his own tree-trimming company. Jorge was driven to become a serial killer; named "The Skinner" (for cutting off portions of skin from his victim's bodies after, or in some cases before, killing them) when one of his criminal associates, Freebo, disappeared while owing him a large amount of money (in reality he was killed by Dexter). Feeling he had been disrespected, Jorge decided to hunt him down and make him pay for his affront, though Dexter sees this as just a weak excuse for his own sociopathic needs. Monitoring the investigation carefully, Jorge trailed Debra Morgan around town as she met with Freebo's old associates in an attempt to find him, covertly watching their homes under the cover of trimming their trees, and eventually kidnaps, tortures and kills them one-by-one.

When Jorge was first suspected, he was held for questioning, but deflected attention to one of his violent employees, though suspicion centered on him entirely when the employee had a near-panic attack when he learned Jorge was involved. Jorge was ultimately exposed when he kidnapped and tortured Anton Briggs, a former-confidential informant the police had set up to appear to know where Freebo was, but was stopped from finishing him off and forced to flee when Debra and Joey Quinn arrived at their location.

The man-hunt continued, escalating when Dexter framed Jorge for ADA Miguel Prado's death (in reality by his own hands), but Dexter was ultimately captured and abducted by Jorge, having been released by Prado and informed that Dexter was the only person who knew where Freebo was. Jorge intended to torture and skin Dexter for information, but instead Dexter effectively strips him of his control (by revealing the truth that Freebo was long dead), and quickly breaks free and engages in a brutal fist-fight with Jorge until Dexter snaps Jorge's neck, killing him. The police arrive, having tracked down Jorge's hideout, but Dexter is able to avoid detection by dropping Jorge's body in front of one of the speeding squad cars, making it look as if the collision caused the death. Getting hit by the car skins his face; Debra jokes that "what goes around comes around".

• Carnival worker - the first victim of Dexter seen in Season 3, but no background story was given as Dexter was telling his dentist that he "had fun at a carnival" and "won a prize". It also reveals that he has at least one-eighth of his new blood-slide box filled, showing there were many more off-screen.

• Oscar Prado (Nick Hermz) is the first victim of Dexter's that does not follow "Harry's Code". While attempting to eliminate "Freebo", Dexter is caught by Oscar, who he mistakes as a junkie who is looking for drugs; Oscar attacks him and in self-defense, Dex grabs the bayonet Oscar is holding and stabs him in the chest, severing his aorta and killing him almost instantly. Dexter expresses feelings of remorse after killing him, especially after learning he worked with at-risk youth and that for the most part, despite his drug use (which Debra discovered he bought from Freebo), and a few traffic tickets, he had not harmed anyone. He is the brother of ADA Miguel Prado, and Prado is distraught over the loss of his brother. Because of this, Dexter attends his funeral.

• Fred "Freebo" Bowman (Mike Erwin) was a drug dealer who has murdered two college girls. Dexter's initial try at killing him did not go as planned. When Dexter goes to Freebo's house, he expects to take him to a nearby house and kill him, but is instead attacked by Oscar Prado. The police believe that Freebo is the killer of Oscar Prado. Thus, Freebo becomes the prime target of policemen throughout the city. Dexter eventually finds and kills Freebo, but at the scene of the crime, Miguel Prado finds Dexter with the killing tool. Dexter tells Prado it was self defense, but Prado admits to Dexter he was going to kill Freebo himself. Meanwhile, the police search for Freebo is halted when people associated with him end up being killed.

• Teegan Campbell (Jelly Howie) was the drug addicted girlfriend of Freebo. Dexter witnesses a falling out between Freebo and Teegan before he initially goes to kill Freebo. When Teegan is found dead with a piece of skin cut off, she is considered a Jane Doe, but Dexter recognizes her. Teegan is assumed by Debra to be a "strawberry", a rich college girl who pays for drugs with sex. This helps Dexter locate her apartment where he surprisingly finds Freebo hiding out. After killing Freebo, Dexter secretly helps Debra (unbeknownst to her) figure out Teegan's identity and that she is linked to Freebo. Debra, and initially Dexter, assumes that Freebo is Teegan's killer, though in reality she was actually killed by George Washington King, aka The Skinner.

• Albert Chung is a criminal who pushed an old woman down the stairs and escaped prosecution with the help of Ellen Wolf. Afterwards, he breaks into a house and, being discovered by a young college student named Lisa Morton, kills her and flees. He is identified by Vince Masuka because he left bloody sock prints at the crime scene, something he had done numerous times before. Wolf tries to get his charges lessened as well as several other benefits. However, she later helps turn him in to the police. Masuka shows hatred towards him as he states that "he gives Asians a bad name", even more so when Dexter observes that Masuka and Chung look strikingly similar.

• Billy Fleeter (Jeff Chase) is an ex-football player who gave up sports for gambling. Running up serious debts, he pays them off by helping his bookie kill others who cannot pay their debts. Dexter uses Fleeter to help train Miguel Prado in his trade. He shows Miguel how to research his victims to be sure they deserve to be killed (or meet the "Code of Harry" in Dexter's case). He also reveals to Miguel how to stalk and subdue his victims, as well as how to kill them and not leave any traces behind. Fleeter is killed by Miguel Prado in an old casino storage room.

• Sylvia "Syl" Prado (Valerie Cruz) Miguel Prado's wife. She is a real-estate agent and becomes close friends with Rita, even hiring her as her assistant. Later she confides in Rita that she suspects her husband is having an affair. After a miscommunication with Dexter, Rita believes that Prado is cheating on his wife with LaGuerta, which she later tells Sylvia when trying on bridal outfits. Due to bad timing, she sees her husband leaving LaGuerta's house and she believes he has been cheating on her all this time and forces him out of her house. Syl was devastated when Miguel was apparently killed by The Skinner (really Dexter). She has not been seen in Season 4.

• Javier Garza (Ray Santiago) is a pimp who Debra pressures information out of about Freebo. Javier is soon found dead with his skin peeled off, and it is assumed that Freebo killed him. However, Dexter killed Freebo before Javier died, and the police eventually figure out that Freebo is not likely to have killed Javier or Teegan. It was later revealed Javier was killed by The Skinner.

• Ethan Turner (Larry Sullivan) is a man who married wealthy women, killed them, and took their money and assets; leaving their families destroyed. Ethan has killed at least two of his wives. Miguel Prado tried to get him prosecuted, but could not, supposedly due to lack of evidence. Miguel brought his frustrations about the case to Dexter's attention, who investigated as well and decided to do his friend a favor by seeking out Ethan in Bimini. Upon boarding the same cruise ship Ethan was on, he trapped Ethan in his room, killed and dismembered him, then got off the ship. Miguel's office later received a fax reporting that Ethan had been reported missing, and, having been told by the Coast Guard Dexter wasn't where he said he was "fishing", knew immediately that Dexter had killed Ethan. Miguel confronted Dexter about this, and revealed he had deliberately mentioned Ethan to Dexter in the hope he would avenge Ethan's victims, who the justice system had failed. Having seized this opportunity, Miguel expressed his admiration and respect for Dexter and his vigilante ways.

• Clemson Galt (Blake Gibbons) is a neo-Nazi who murdered his girlfriend for getting pregnant as well as the family of an "Aryan defector". He was found not guilty for the killings after his associates frightened or killed all witnesses. However, he was found guilty for an unrelated armed robbery and was sentenced to fifteen years in a maximum security prison. Dexter intended for the idea of murdering Galt to scare Miguel Prado into realizing killing people was too dangerous and risky to do. However, Prado surprises him and manages to bring him to a Miami courthouse as an expert witness and release him. Dexter, posing as a fellow neo-Nazi, picks him up only to capture him, and kill him. Dexter says that Galt had been on his "Top Ten" list of people to kill for years, but he never got the opportunity to do it, although this could just be a lie in order to sell Miguel Prado onto the idea.

• Wendell Ownens (Marc John Jefferies) A 15-year old boy who once served as the doorman for Freebo. Debra finds him and questions him, in the process establishing a friendly relationship with the boy. A short time later, when Owens is found to be the latest victim of the Skinner who unlike the previous victims died from the skinning process and not strangulation, Debra takes it personally. His murder leads Debra to the conclusion that the Skinner is tracking the investigation and using her leads to find Freebo.

• Nathan Marten (Jason Kaufman) is a pedophile who approaches Astor while Dexter, Rita, and the kids were shopping at a grocery store. Later, while at the beach, Dexter sees Marten taking pictures of Astor. While initially hesitant to kill Marten because he does not satisfy "The Code of Harry" (he is not a killer), Dexter strangles him after it becomes apparent that Marten will eventually try to rape Astor.

• Barbara Gianna (Kristin Dattilo) is a detective with Miami Metro Police Department's Vice Division, was the girlfriend of Sgt. Batista. According to Masuka, her work has made her a "Wikipedia of perv". She is attacked and beaten by a would-be "john" and Sgt. Batista has Dexter run her keys for blood and DNA. She appears suspicious of Sgt. Batista's rapid devotion to her and subsequent good behavior. This is reasonable considering she met him "strolling for hookers". In the beginning of season 4, it is revealed that they have broken up. Angel credits this to them "wanting different things".

• Toby Edwards (Vincent Pagano) was a bartender who Ellen Wolf hit on when she went in to his bar, he flirted back and later that day calls her several times and goes around her house. She doesn't answer because she has been killed by Miguel Prado. Toby is later taken in for questioning and was Lt. LaGuerta's prime suspect and she vented some of her emotions on to him, but Quinn finds an alibi for him and he tips her off on the fact that he saw an SUV at the time he was there. This leads to Maria suspecting Miguel of Ellen Wolf's death.

• Mario (Jerry Zatarain) was a tree trimmer and illegal immigrant. He had a family but would rather get deported than divulge any information on The Skinner. But when Debra puts trimmed trees in his drive to make him think that the Skinner had come to his house, he tells them that he has a cabin under a highway.

• John Lithgow

Main antagonist of the fourth season. He is an unassuming suburbanite man who has been living a double life as one of America's most prolific and deadliest serial killers.

• Courtney Ford

A reporter who meets Joey Quinn at the scene of Lisa Bell's murder. She starts a relationship with Quinn, often seducing classified police information out of him, including the Vacation Shootings, and the return of Frank Lundy to Miami. The police use her to help catch the Vacation Murderers. It turns out that Christine is the daughter of Arthur Mitchell/Trinity, and is also the shooter of Frank Lundy and Debra. She also reveals that she saw Arthur commit his first murder, and she shot Lundy to prevent Arthur's arrest. The police find out the biological connection and arrest her. She did not confess, however, until Arthur, despite his daughters protection of him, said he wanted nothing to do with her. Hill tells Debra she shot Lundy, then shoots and kills herself. When Dexter tells Arthur that she killed herself, he is initially upset, but then claims that her being "weak" led to her suicide, not his actions.

• Alicia Lagano

High school sweethearts Johnny Rose and Nikki Wald (Alicia Lagano) are a pair of robbers who target tourists and shoot those who are uncooperative. When LaGuerta and Batista approach the suspects house for questioning, the Vacation Murderers shoot at them. In the fourth episode of the season, being suspected of gunning down Detective Debra Morgan and former FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (actually committed by Christine Hill), Sergeant Angel Batista decides to reveal to the press that one of the killers, named Johnny Rose, has syphilis and has numerous partners. Within hours, the news is spread around Miami. This revelation of information was designed to create dissension between the Vacation Murderers, thus making them easier to catch. Johnny Rose was gunned down by his female partner in crime, being shot three times in the chest. She was shortly found in the street, gun in hand, having a nervous breakdown. She was tasered by Detective Joseph Quinn, and taken into custody. Wald confessed to the vacation murders and robberies but stated she did not kill Lundy or shoot Debra.

• Benito Gomez (Gino Aquino) is a former boxer who has beaten two people to death, to the point of disfiguration. A fatigued Dexter is set to testify his forensic evidence at Gomez's trial, but he brings the wrong evidence, leading to Gomez being freed. As a result, Joey Quinn was very upset with Dexter. Dexter later catches and kills Gomez in an abandoned boxing ring. He is the first victim in Season 4. It initially appears as though Dexter crashes his car with Gomez' body parts in the trunk; but it is later revealed that Dexter stored Gomez' body parts in the boxing ring where he killed Gomez.

• Zoey Kruger (Christina Cox) is a policewoman who shot and killed her husband and daughter, and hid the crime by killing the suspect. Kruger finds out that Dexter is stalking her but is initially suspicious that his motive is to re-open her murder case. She explains how family life forced her to kill her family. Dexter realizes the similarity between them but realizes he would rather get caught than kill his family. He also realizes (to his own surprise) that he does not want to lose his family. He then kills her. Dexter noted that she seems to have some kind of fascination with rape, stating that she was going to claim that he tried to rape her when she pointed her gun at him as well as asking if he was going to rape her then kill her when he was about to kill her.

• Sally Mitchell (Julia Campbell) is the wife of Arthur Mitchell and mother of Jonah and Becca Mitchell. In "Dirty Harry" and "If I Had a Hammer" it appears she has an ideal family. The entire family appears loving, is a pillar of the community, church-goers, and involved in a project to build homes for the homeless. However, this is revealed in "Hungry Man" to be a facade; Arthur is very controlling and abusive. His wife, fearing her husband, perpetually puts on a cheery facade and is willing to let her daughter continue a perceived affair with Dexter as long as Arthur remains unaware. She is last seen in tears being taken out of her home by the police when they uncover that Arthur is Trinity.

• Jonah Mitchell (Brando Eaton) is the oldest son of Arthur and Sally. Though at first they seem to have a great father/son relationship, it is soon revealed that his father is very domineering on him and physically abusive, going as far as to break his fingers for breaking Arthur's car. Jonah tells Dexter he always comes up with excuses to explain the injuries given by his father to the school, but due to the number of injuries, is running out of excuses. He later snaps during Thanksgiving dinner and destroys his father's awards as well as smashing Arthur's sister's urn, causing him to nearly kill Jonah by strangulation but he is saved by Dexter. When Dexter is trying to find a child Arthur kidnapped, Jonah goes on Arthur's computer, discovering his father had been looking up vacant houses (although he doesn't know Arthur's intent for doing so). He is last seen being taken out of his home by the police when they uncover that Arthur is Trinity.

• Becca Mitchell (Vanessa Marano) is the youngest daughter of Arthur and Sally. Though she is a teenager her room resembles that of a young girl. After running away once Arthur now has locks on the outside of the door and on the windows. Arthur sometimes calls her "Vera", the name of his deceased sister. When Dexter asks her about this and tries to console her, she asks him to take her away, saying she would do "anything", implying she will give him sexual favors to do so (which Dexter flatly refuses). Both Becca and her mother believe he will take Becca up on her offer, however, the latter hopes that Dexter will not allow Arthur to find out. She is last seen in tears being taken out of her home by the police when they uncover that Arthur is Trinity.

• Stan Beaudry (Ian Patrick Williams) is a trucker who allegedly murdered a prostitute, but was never arrested due to contamination of the chain of evidence of the alleged murder weapon by the police. Dexter sets him up to be the primary suspect for the Trinity killer as Miami PD is closing in, and then kills him in his truck. This kill was done very hastily on scant evidence, lacking even the picture of Beaudry's victim, which Dexter acknowledges. Later, the Police tracking the movements of Beaudry from city to city on his truck routes and the Trinity killer's post cards to his daughter Christine clears him as being the Trinity Killer after finding rock solid alibis for Beaudry being hundreds of miles from the scene of some of the Trinity Killings at the time of the murders. They determined correctly that the DNA, murder weapon, and Lundy's files were planted, but attributed this to the real Trinity (the evidence was actually planted by Dexter).

• John Farrow (Greg Ellis) is a contemporary artist and photographer who enjoyed having his subjects slightly beaten and cut, creating violent photos that disturbed even Dexter. He was also accused of a rape years before but the charges were dropped when the victim recanted; however, the lead detective believed she was paid off. When an arm of one of his models is found in an alligator, Farrow becomes the prime suspect on her and several other murders and, despite Harry's demands that he focus on Trinity, Dexter considers him a potential victim. After suggesting he photograph Debra like his models, Dexter immediately decides to kill him. After finding blood and a fingernail of the dead model at his studio, Dexter sets out to find him at a club, only for Quinn to interfere. After camping with Cody the next night, Dexter instead heads to Farrow's house and kills him in typical style, albeit using Farrow's equipment for a much more dramatic kill room. Even while strapped down, Farrow maintains his innocence, defending his work as a contrast of beauty and violence. The next morning, to Dexter's shock, Farrow's assistant is arrested for the murders on airtight evidence. This revelation left Harry greatly disappointed in Dexter and left Dexter feeling what could only be described as guilt for killing the wrong person. It can be said that Farrow is at least the second innocent person Dexter has killed. The first being Oscar Prado, the drug user who entered Freebo's home as Dexter was looking for Freebo to kidnap and later kill. Dexter stabbed him to death when Prado attacked him because he thought Dexter was looking for drugs to steal.

• Valerie Hodges (Mary Mara) was one of Harry Morgan's many lovers. She had a romantic relationship with Harry at the same time that he was with Doris Morgan. Debra tracks her down and asks her about Harry. She initially doesn't remember much but later remembers the address of one of his lovers, which turns out to be Laura Moser's old house which leads to Debra discovering Dexter's brother was the Ice Truck Killer and that he witnessed his mothers' death.

Carl is a serial killer who murdered 11 people before being captured by Harry Morgan. After catching a teenaged Dexter trying to kill a school bully, Harry introduces him to Carl to teach him the importance of not getting caught. Carl appears in Dexter in the Dark. He also appears in season 2 as Harry took a teenage Dexter to an execution to teach him the importance of not getting caught. After the exhilarating experience, the teenage Dexter learns the importance of not getting caught.

Chutsky is a federal agent who appears only in the book series. He is a former Special Forces operative who worked alongside Sgt. Doakes. When a member of their old unit is found with all of his body parts removed, Doakes recognizes the work of his former comrade, Dr. Danco, and Chutsky is called in to help with the case. In the course of the investigation, Chutsky is captured by Dr. Danco. His little finger, on which he wears a distinctive ring, is amputated and mailed to Debra. Chutsky is later found missing an arm and a leg but fortunately, not much else. Dexter, after examining Chutsky's finger, pockets the ring, intending to return it to Debra. The ring is found by Rita, who mistakes it for an engagement ring. In Dexter in the Dark, Chutsky is staying with Debra and has not been returned to work for his agency due to his handicap.

A surgeon who mutilates people while keeping them alive. He shaves his patients, then removes everything in a body that is not essential for life (arms, legs, penis, teeth, tongue, etc.), leaving his victims unable to move or communicate, driving them insane. His procedure also involves chemicals that cause brain damage. In medical school, he learned that he could cut people open without feeling any empathy. He offered his services to the United States military as a torturer. His comrades, who included Sergeant Albert Doakes, nicknamed him "Danco" after a vegetable slicing machine. The joke was that Dr. Danco, like his namesake, made sliced "vegetables". Dexter makes a similar conclusion about his victims, before the name is revealed, calling them "yodeling potatoes". Dr. Danco likes to listen to Tito Puente while working on his victims. He also plays a warped version of hangman, with his subjects being the 'hangman' in question. During a covert operation in El Salvador, he was turned in to the enemy in exchange for several prisoners. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dr. Danco is released and goes to Miami, looking for revenge on his former comrades. His real name is revealed to be Martin Henker.

At the end of the novel, Dexter tracks him down, but is uncharacteristically unprepared, allowing Danco to overpower him. Just as Danco is about to mutilate Dexter, however, Deborah bursts in and shoots him dead.

A victim of Dexter's who appears in Dexter by Design. Dexter suspected him of stabbing his sister Deborah as well as displaying several decorated corpses around Miami. Dexter feels some semblance of guilt when he learns that Doncevic's fingerprints do not match the ones on the knife that stabbed Deborah and that the corpses were stolen from a morgue rather than killed.

IT—introduced in Dexter in the Dark—is a mythical, godlike entity which has existed since the beginning of time and has several similarities to the Dark Passenger. IT's story is explained with a somewhat Biblical tone. IT takes great pleasure in entering creatures as a "passenger" and influencing them to kill other creatures. IT works to create other murderous entities similar to ITself but soon turns against many of them, causing them to flee. IT and IT's offspring go to war, with IT being victorious. Some of IT's remaining children stay in hiding, fearing IT's power.

Zander is the son of a rich family who owns citrus groves, a large ranch, and a business that Dexter says "[dumps] phosphates into Lake Okeechobee". Zander is publicly hailed as a philanthropist for employing homeless people to work on his family's ranch. In reality, however, Zander murders them and disposes of their bodies in large drums of acid, keeping a single shoe as a trophy. Zander is also connected to the cult of Moloch. While looking through Zander's tax and travel records, Dexter finds out that the ranch is in fact idle, and that Zander takes frequent, unexplained flights in his private jet. Dexter kills him in much the same way he (Zander) kills his victims, even wondering if he, too, should take a shoe as a souvenir.

A conceited caterer who appears in Dexter in the Dark. He is hired for a very high price to cater Dexter and Rita's wedding. He claims to be booked two years in advance. Through a contractual loophole, Manny is able to make whatever he wants and charge whatever price he decides. He is killed by members of the Moloch cult. This makes Dexter a murder suspect as he was the last person to see Manny alive and owed him a large amount of money, giving him a motive.

A real estate agent who rapes and murders young boys. He takes the boys out on his boat, equipped with toys and children's movies, and, when he is finished with them, ties their bodies to anchors and drops them overboard. He keeps several photos of his victims. When confronted with these photos, he says to Dexter "I hope one of them was yours." A red cowboy boot worn by the photographer in one picture shows Dexter that MacGregor has an accomplice. He appears in Dearly Devoted Dexter.

A character exclusive to the books, McHale is arrested for the Tamiami Trail killings after he confesses to them. Dexter finds out that McHale is a security guard at the arena, and that McHale is prone to getting drunk, robbing gas stations and beating his wife. His character is separated into two for the TV show, with Tony Tucci as the arena security guard and Neil Perry confessing to the killings.

The unnamed leader of a cult that worships the ancient god Moloch. His cult is responsible for several murders in which the bodies were burned and decapitated, the heads replaced by ceramic bull heads. He wields an ornate bronze dagger with the Aramaic letters "MLK" (Moloch) etched into it. He is killed by this dagger, wielded by Cody Bennett, at the end of Dexter in the Dark.

A pedophile who photographs the young boys that Randy McGregor rapes and murders. Dexter wishes to kill him, but cannot because Sgt. Doakes keeps following him. Dexter is finally able to kill him at the end of Dearly Devoted Dexter.

A former professor of religious philosophy at the University of Krakow. He was fired for membership in an illegal society, a cult worshipping Moloch, and was suspected in a string of child murders. Dexter shoots him dead at the end of Dexter in the Dark.

A college student and a member of the cult of Moloch. He is responsible for several murders in which the bodies are beheaded, burned, and given ceramic bull's heads. One of his first victims is his girlfriend. He has a distinctive tattoo of the Aramaic letters MLK on the back of his neck. He is found killed in a fashion similar to his own victims.

Wagner shares his name with popular Marvel Comics character "Nightcrawler". It is unknown if this is coincidental or a deliberate homage to his Marvel namesake, given Nightcrawler's own religious background and demonic appearance.

Members of a cult that worships the ancient god Moloch. The Watcher is not a single person, but a group of cultists who believe that the spirit of Moloch jumps from one person to another. The Watcher tails Dexter, who he refers to as "The Other", in Dexter in the Dark, believing that Dexter's Dark Passenger is a child and enemy of their god.

A character from Dexter by Design who is suspected of stabbing Deborah and leaving decorated corpses all over Miami.

A professor at the University of Miami. He attempts to frame a colleague for the murders of the Moloch cult. He attempts to sacrifice Astor and Cody to Moloch, but Dexter intervenes and shoots him in the head.

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