The Devil's Cinema (49 page)

Major hiccups were obvious: how much was truth and how much was fantasy? Mark Twitchell was an admitted liar, convicted murderer, and self-professed psychopath. It was a challenge to decide what I could actually use from the wealth of material he was providing. After all, anyone in his position would use the opportunity to portray himself in the best light possible, to fudge the facts, or manipulate me with continued lies.

I therefore attempted to confirm everything he revealed. While he did embellish at times, and dodge the most serious of questions, many of his stories contained details that could be verified through court proceedings, my own research, and interviews. In those cases, I used his information. I excluded his accounts of events that could not be confirmed by a third party, of which there were many.

In the end, I had to make a judgment call on what could be trusted as fact, what was Mark Twitchell's version of events, and what should be entirely ignored. Upon reflection, I am confident that I have struck the right balance.

J
OURNALISTS ARE OFTEN TOLD
“no comment” throughout their careers, but never before had I faced so many slammed phones, closed doors, and unanswered emails. I am therefore grateful and indebted to the many witnesses, acquaintances, victims, and sources who eventually shed their fears or concerns and agreed to help tell this story. You've helped write history, and in return I offer you my sincerest and deepest thanks.

Special thanks must go to Darcy Henton, a fine journalist, editor, and author, who provided direction and support throughout this entire project. This book would not have been possible without his critical and guiding hand. Fellow writers Ben Gelinas and Ryan Cormier also deserve a mention, as does novelist Todd Babiak.

It would be impossible to name all of the 112 police officers involved in this case, but I must acknowledge Detective Bill Clark, Retired Detective Mark Anstey, and the rest of the Edmonton Police Service homicide unit for their assistance beyond what is clearly evident within the text.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the Edmonton media for providing extensive coverage of the case, especially CTV Edmonton. And I would be remiss if I didn't also thank my informal researchers and supporters: Jag Dhadli, Kris Berezanski, Amri Benjamin, Kate Rossiter, Gabe Wong, Gene Dub, my former colleagues at the
Edmonton Journal
, and a handful of friends and relatives.

Thank you to my editor, Anita Chong, who was a joy to work with despite our differing time zones, and my agent, Martha Magor Webb, for her enthusiasm, dedication, and efforts in seeing this book published.

And lastly, I offer my thanks to Edmonton. I admit that the city may not be a pretty sight at times, but I still love it nonetheless.

Grateful acknowledgement is expressed to the following people and sources for permission to reprint these images.

Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders. In the event of an inadvertent error or omission, the publisher would be happy to amend credit lines as necessary in subsequent printings.