List of Dexter characters

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

Dexter Morgan

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

Dexter Morgan, adopted son of respected Miami police officer Harry Morgan, has a secret. He may appear a likable, if slightly strange, young man with a genius for blood spatter analysis and problems with women, but his knowledge of the world of serial murder goes deeper than just a C.S.I.: Dexter spends his nights tracking down those who have escaped justice (rapists, child molesters, other serial killers and etc.) and ritually murdering them (which he refers to as “taking out the trash”). It is hinted that his troubles originate from a suppressed memory in which he witnessed his mother being cut to pieces by a chain saw and trapped in a cargo container two inches deep with blood.

Police associates

Debra Morgan

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

Debra, Dexter’s adoptive sister, is a vice cop desperate to be transferred to Homicide, a goal she accomplishes in the second episode. Deb is smart, but unsure of herself, and so relies on Dexter’s “expertise” to solve difficult cases. When one of Dexter’s victims is found, Debra formulates a theory that could expose him. Dexter steers the investigation in a different direction, pointing to her lack of experience and knowing all along that her theory is correct.

Books

In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, when LaGuerta is slain by Brian, Deborah finds out her brother is a killer.

Sergeant James Doakes

• Erik King

Sgt. Doakes apparently worked as a Special Forces operative in Haiti about 15-20 years before becoming a Homicide detective. He is the only one on the force who doesn’t like Dexter. The cheery, innocent-seeming young man gets on his nerves, and his passion for blood spatter gives him the creeps. What irritates him even more is that Dexter is usually right about cases, being in the right place at the right time. He hates Dexter to the point of where he physically assaults him, but Dexter fights back and could've broken Doakes' arm, had they not been interrupted. Later on, Doakes discovers that Dexter practiced martial arts, which probably explains Dexter’s skill in hand to hand combat. LaGuarta refers to him by his first name and he listens to her, since they used to be partners until she found drugs and got promoted, but this does not bother Doakes. When he is angrily questioning a seemingly innocent Dexter, Maria, due to her affection for him, tells Doakes to back off, and he does. In the end of the first series, Doakes begins to follow Dexter around based on his suspicions. After finding Dexter attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Doakes comes to erroneously believe that Dexter is a drug addict. However, Doakes' false conclusion works in Dexter’s favor, as he believes Dexter’s (non-existent) drug addiction is caused by work related stress which, as Doakes recounts, led many policemen down the same path. Feeling sympathetic to Dexter, he apparently ends his stalking, but not before telling him to “stay clean”. Eventually he realizes Dexter was lying, and stalks him once again, and stumbled upon Dexter’s secret: that he was the Bay Harbor Butcher, but not before Lundy made Doakes his prime suspect as the Butcher after finding Dexters blood slides in Doakes' car. Doakes attempts to apprehend Dexter himself in the Everglades but fails and Dexter locks him in Jimenez's cabin where he waits to decide what to do with Doakes. However, Lila makes that decision for him and, after finding out from Doakes that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher, she blows up the cabin. Doakes's burned body is found along with the dismembered body of Jose Garza.

Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta

• Lauren Vélez

Lieutenant LaGuerta is a no-nonsense woman who is not above making her subordinates feel intimidated. She has a sincere dislike for Debra. She does, however, make no secret of her attraction to Dexter, who she flirts with constantly, to his discomfort. At the end of the first season, she was demoted to the rank of detective, but returned to her old job once the new Lieutenant proved to be unstable. When her friend and former partner James Doakes becomes the prime suspect in the Bay Harbor Butcher case, she tries to clear his name. She learns from a questionable source of two Special Forces missions Doakes was on that directly conflicted with the deaths of two Butcher victims. However, Doakes is found dead in a seemingly accidental explosion along with the body of Jose Garza and the case is closed. The evidence LaGuerta finds is ignored. After his death, LaGuerta starts a memorial fund for him, asking police officers for donations, and refusing to believe that her friend was a serial killer.

Angelo “Angel” Batista

• David Zayas

Batista, a homicide detective, works closely with Dexter during the day. While he does not share Dexter’s fascination with blood, he can appreciate the art of murder. He is undergoing a painful separation from his wife that has lasted three months when the show begins. Apparently, their relationship fully ended by the time the second season began. In the show he is the closest thing Dexter has to a best friend.

Vincent “Vince” Masuka

• C. S. Lee

Vince works alongside Dexter in the lab and in crime scenes. He often cracks innuendo to the rest of the team, and is knowledgeable about amputee devotees and other unusual sexual topics.

Camilla Figg

Camilla is the records supervisor at the Miami police station. She is Dexter’s main source of information for criminals who have escaped the traditional justice system. However, she is unaware that Dexter hunts down and kills the people whose records she gives him. He tells her that he looks over old records as a hobby in hopes that he can “help out”. On Harry Morgan's orders, she destroyed the file of the crime scene where he had found a young Dexter.

Captain Tom Matthews

• Geoff Pierson

Tom Matthews is the Captain of the Miami Police Department’s homicide division and immediate superior of Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta; while he originally promoted her to her position as Lieutenant, he also demoted her after several embarrassing mistakes during the Ice Truck Killer case. Tom harbours a racist attitude and a strong desire to use political leverage to increase his power in the law-enforcement agencies, the latest of which involved Tom planning to use the fame of successfully ending the Bay Harbor Butcher case to propel himself to the position of Deputy Chief.

Esmee Pascal

• Judith Scott

A Haitian-American police officer who replaces LaGuerta as Lieutenant at the end of the first season, described by Captain Matthews as “a real up-and-comer." In the second season, she is revealed to be having personal problems with her fiancé Bertrand. She suspects him of adultery on little real evidence, casting doubt on her rationality. Her obsession becomes so strong that she uses department resources to investigate him. She tracks his phone calls and has the forensics department do tests on his shirt. Because of this Captain Matthews returns control of the Homicide Division to LaGuerta, who is revealed to be the one having an affair with Pascal’s fiancé.

Frank Lundy

• Keith Carradine

Frank Lundy is a high-ranking and illustrious FBI Special Agent recruited by Captain Matthews to lead the task force dedicated to identifying and arresting the Bay Harbor Butcher. Frank is an extremely intelligent and competent agent, to the point he openly relaxes and takes breaks on duty without fear of missing anything on cases. Frank is most famous for his work with high-profile criminal cases including the Green River Killer and the DC Sniper, which has made many, including Sgt. Doakes, consider him a “rock star”. He is also involved in a relationship with Dexter's sister, Debra.

Kyle Chutsky

Chutsky is a federal agent who appears only in the book series. He is a former Special Forces operative who worked alongside Albert Doakes. When a member of their old unit is found with most 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 Deborah. 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 Deborah. The ring is found by Rita, who mistakes it for an engagement ring. In Dexter in the Dark, Chutsky is staying with Deborah and has not been returned to work for his agency due to his handicap.

Chutsky may be the inspiration for the TV character Frank Lundy. Both are older federal agents who are called in to help with a police case and both have romantic relationships with Debra.

Other friends and relatives

Rita Bennett

• Julie Benz

Rita is a mother of two who is slowly recovering from being abused by her ex-husband, Paul. Debra saved her on the domestic violence call and introduced her to Dexter. He is glad to meet a woman who doesn’t want to have sex, since he describes “every time I have sex with a woman she sees me for what I really am, empty”. She is tentatively starting a relationship with Dexter, but is unaware of how he spends his free time. Dexter states that he 'chose Rita because she’s broken' and fears that if she gets better he'll lose her. They don’t actually have sex until the episode 'Shrink Wrap' but she came on to him twice before that. Rita stands up to Paul by demanding he sign the divorce papers he refused in prison and she offers supervised weekly visits, he at first tries to intimidate her, but she doesn’t back down and he signs them. Paul comes into the house drunk one night. Rita doesn’t want her children to see him this way and reluctantly lets him in. He wrestles her on her bed and she successfully knocks him out by smacking him with a baseball bat, he then sues her for custody of the kids. Dexter takes it into his own hands by knocking him out and making it appear Paul had taken illegal drugs again and he is sent off to jail, much to Rita’s joy. Paul pleads with her in prison not to let Dexter near their children, but she brushes him off. He describes a shoe of his lost when Dexter dragged him to his car, and, to her horror, she finds the shoe.

In season two, Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes troubled. After finding out what Dexter did to Paul, she suspects that Dexter owned the drugs Paul was injected with. Dexter allows her to think he is an addict as it is better than saying he is a serial killer. She pushes him into Narcotics Anonymous and threatens to leave him when he expresses reluctance. After Dexter has an affair with his sponsor Lila, Rita breaks up with him, though her children still try to maintain a relationship with him. 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 convince Rita to start dating him again. By the last episode of Season 2, their relationship is happily back to where it was in Season 1.

Cody and Astor Bennett

• Daniel Goldman (Cody) - Season 1
• Preston Bailey (Cody) - Season 2
• Christina Robinson (actor) (Astor)

The children of Paul and Rita Bennett.

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. Astor, who remembers her father's abusiveness, is saddened but comes to love her father, who appears to have changed. They have a good relationship with both Paul and Dexter, oblivious to the tension it creates between the two. At the end of the first season, Paul is back in prison 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, Astor and Cody try to maintain their relationship with Dexter even though he broke up with their mother. Cody 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 become his girlfriend again.

Gail

• JoBeth Williams

Rita Bennett's mother. She is a former schoolteacher who was fired by the school board due to "philosophical disagreements." Gail disapproved of what she saw as the gradual acceptance of mediocrity in the way schools treated children. She has high standards, making her judgmental of her daughter and her grandchildren. She also distrusts Dexter, who she believes is a drug addict, and believes Rita is repeating her mistake with Paul by getting involved with another addict.

Harry Morgan

• James Remar

A respected member of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Harry was Dexter’s adoptive father and the first to discover the young boy’s blood-lust. He taught Dexter how to channel his violent urges into vigilante justice, and how to cover his tracks. Dexter operates under what he calls “the code of Harry”, named after his father. Harry appears only in flashbacks, having passed away before the series begins. Dexter later discovers that Harry committed suicide after he witnessed Dexter's work first hand.

Doris Morgan

• Kathrin Lautner

Debra and Dexter’s mother, who died of cancer when Debra was 16. She is seen briefly in episode 9 of season 1, urging her husband to contact Dexter's biological father for a blood transfusion, and again in episode 4 of season 2, suggesting that Dexter be tested by a psychologist.

Laura Moser

Dexter and Brians's biological mother who was involved in the drug trade. She and three others were sawed into pieces in a shipping container as her two sons watched. 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.

Joe Driscoll

A character whose first appearance on the show is his death. He claims that Dexter is his son and next-of-kin, leaving him a house in his will. As Dexter, Rita, Deborah, and Rudy visit his house and go through his records, they find nothing about the first thirty years of the sixty-year-old man's life. When Dexter goes to see Joe's body, he finds a distinctive spiderweb tattoo done in ballpoint ink, which suggests that Joe was once in prison. It triggers a long lost memory of Dexter's childhood. He remembers riding in a car with a man with a similar tattoo. He takes blood samples of himself and Joe and sends them to Vince Masuka to perform a DNA test. Dexter then finds a handmade thank you card in Joe's closet which he had made as a child. The card thanked an anonymous donor, who had the same rare blood type as Dexter, for a blood transfusion when he was injured. Dexter later finds out that his DNA and Joe's are a match.

Brian's legal last name is "Moser," so it is likely that "Driscoll" is an assumed name.

Manny Borque

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.

Manny has not appeared in the television series but he may be the inspiration for a marine biologist by the same name who appears briefly in the second season to examine some algae found in the bags used to dispose of Dexter's victims. Vince describes the marine biologist as a "prima donna", which describes the caterer's personality perfectly.

Enemies and villains (Season 1)

Paul Bennett

• Mark Pellegrino

Rita’s abusive and manipulative husband and father of Astor and Cody, who has been in prison for various crimes. Paul (correctly) suspects Dexter for framing him for the drug charge that sent him to his latest stint in jail. After a short while in a federal prison, he loses hope after failing to convince Rita of Dexter's plan to frame him, so he starts a fight with another inmate and is killed.

Jorge and Valerie Castillo

• Jose Zuniga (Jorge)
• Valerie Dillman (Valerie)

A husband-and-wife team of human traffickers who transport illegal immigrants from Cuba. If an immigrant cannot pay them, he 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. Shortly after Dexter dumped their bodies, the Ice Truck Killer dived into the ocean and placed Valerie’s corpse back in the junkyard, where it was discovered by the police and almost led to Dexter’s capture.

Norberto Cervantes

• Cristos

One of Carlos Guerrero’s hit men. He is implicated in the deaths of both Ricky and Kara Simmons. A piece of his flesh is found in Ricky’s mouth and a drop of his blood in the Simmons' house, where Kara was murdered. LaGuerta intends to offer him a more lenient sentence if he can give them evidence to convict Guerrero. Because of this, he is stabbed to death in prison by an assassin disguised as a guard.

Matt Chambers

• Sam Trammell

Also known as Matt Brewster and Matt Rasmussen. Dexter first learns of him in court by noticing the crying family of his latest victim. 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.

Rudy Cooper

• Christian Camargo

Rudy Cooper (born Brian Moser) is a prosthetist who first appeared in the series when he treated Tony Tucci, a victim of the Ice Truck Killer. He begins dating Debra after she visits Tucci in the hospital once more. It is revealed that he is the Ice Truck Killer and Dexter’s biological brother Brian Moser. Like his brother, Brian watched their mother’s brutal murder, which is the cause of his homicidal urges. When Rudy threatens to kill Debra, Dexter has no choice but to kill Rudy himself in the season finale. Rudy wanted to reunite with Dexter and continue killing alongside him. However, Dexter only wanted to kill the killers themselves, not the innocent. This conflict in ideology led to Dexter killing Rudy by slitting his throat and allowing his blood to pour, his body upside down. Dexter then unbound Rudy’s wrists and put his fingerprints on the knife, making it appear that Rudy killed himself.

Mike Donovan

A pastor and choir conductor who killed and buried several young boys. He is Dexter’s first victim in the series. Dexter kills him out in the woods, where he had buried several of his victims (who are dug up by Dexter and presented to Donovan shortly before his death).

Jeremy Downs

• Mark L. Young

A nineteen year old boy living in a halfway house after he is released from prison. 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. After Jeremy killed a second, innocent, boy, Dexter tracks him down to kill him, but Doakes arrests Jeremy before he can ambush him. Jeremy revealed to Dexter that the trauma from his attack has left him just like Dexter; “empty”. Dexter realizes Jeremy couldn’t help himself, and urges him to kill only those that deserve to die before leaving. Dexter later visits Jeremy in prison for the purpose of training him, only to find Jeremy had taken his words to heart after all and killed someone who deserved to die...himself.

Carlos Guerrero

• Rudolf Martin

A drug lord responsible for the death of Officer Ricky Simmons and his wife Kara. Sergeant Doakes becomes his main target after accusing him of murder in front of his church and his daughter Rose. Several officers use Doakes as bait, luring Guerrero into attacking him and giving them the evidence they need to convict him.

Jamie Jaworski

• Ethan Smith

A valet with a taste for sexual sadism. He recorded his rape and murder of Jane Saunders and posted it on the Internet. He escaped justice due to a faulty search warrant. Dexter kills him at a deserted construction site where Jaworski had been stealing copper pipes. He is Dexter’s second victim on the show.

Cindy Landon

A black widow who appears in a flashback. Her only line is “I'll fuck you if you let me go."

Gene Marshal

An arsonist 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?"

Emmett Meridian

• Tony Goldwyn

A psychiatrist who, as Dexter figures out, has encouraged at least three of his female clients to commit suicide. Dexter kills him, but not before having a few sessions to work out some intimacy issues.

The “Last Nurse”

• Denise Crosby

A nurse who kills her patients by morphine overdose. 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 gets sick and is placed in her care. She is Dexter’s first human victim. The nurse is never explicitly named in either the books or the television series. “Last Nurse” is the nickname Dexter gives her in the novels.

Neil Perry

• Sam Witwer

A brilliant yet socially inadequate computer analyst who mutilated the dead body of his abusive mother and buried it next to the location of his trailer. While photographs of the Ice Truck Killer’s victims that only the police or the killer could have taken were found in his home, and his confession included information regarding the killings which was not previously known to the general public, he was merely a pretender. Dexter saw him as the fraud he was straight from the beginning, and was proven correct in thinking so after the two met while Perry was in custody, as Perry failed to identify Dexter (already in the first episode it was established that the Ice Truck killer was familiar with Dexter.). After being left out by Captain Matthews from the press conference announcing the Ice Truck Killer’s capture, and after being told by Dexter about his disbelief in Perry’s guilt, LaGuerta decides to investigate Perry again in the hope of having him recant his confession (which she ironically also extracted). She eventually manages to do so, and realizes that incriminating photos found in Perry’s trailer and his vast and intimate knowledge of the case was the result of him breaking into the police department’s computers. Despite this, the captain and district attorney refuse to release Perry. Later on, the Ice Truck Killer pours blood he drained from several of his victims in a hotel room. When the blood is matched by DNA to the victims, Perry’s innocence in the killings is proven to police.

Alex Timmons

A sniper who appears in a flashback. His only line is “Yes, I did it. Is that what you want to hear?"

Enemies and Villains (Season 2)

Little Chino

• Matthew Willig

A very big member of a gang called the Twenty-Ninth Street Kings who uses a machete to kill any witness of his gang’s crimes. For every kill he makes, he has a teardrop of blood tattooed on his arm. Still reeling from the death of his brother, Dexter makes several failed attempts to kill him before finally succeeding. He is Dexter’s first victim in Season 2.

Jose Garza

Also known as Christopher Harlow. He is a murderer and drug trafficker connected to Santos Jimenez. He calls the now-dead Jimenez's cell phone, trying to buy cocaine. When he finds out about Jimenez's cabin, where Dexter holds Doakes captive, Dexter captures him. Dexter brings Garza to Jimenez's cabin and kills him in front of Doakes.

Roger Hicks

• Don McManus

A car salesman who targets 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 Dexter tells him about his relationship problems with Rita, he seems to empathize and rants on his hatred of women. Enraged, Dexter quickly stabbed him in his chest. Dexter also compliments Hicks on his talent for lying.

Santos Jimenez

• Tony Amendola

One of the three men present at the murder of Dexter’s mother, Laura Moser. Having made a deal with the police, he is the only one of them who is free at the time of the show. In his old age he runs a tavern in Naples, Florida. When Dexter first tracks him down, he beats him up and attempts to kill him. However, Lila convinces him to stop. This lets Jimenez assault Dexter with a knife outside a bowling alley. 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 his mother. He later finds out that Lila helped Jimenez find him in order to rekindle the closeness in their relationship.

Lila Tournay/Lila West

• Jaime Murray

Dexter’s former Narcotics Anonymous sponsor. 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 later 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 rekindled his relationship with her, and Dexter immediately ends their relationship afterwards. When Lila's intrusion on Dexter's personal life and her false accusations against Det. Batista incur the wrath of Debra, she runs a background check and discovers Lila's real surname (West) and the fact that she has been illegally living in the United States on an expired visa. Debra then confronts her with this information 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 and takes his GPS device and finds the address for Jiminez's cabin. Arriving at the cabin, she finds Doakes caged inside and upon hearing from him that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher decides to protect Dexter and ignites propane canisters inside the cabin killing Doakes. Later, she abducts Astor and Cody although Dexter manages to track them down Lila traps them inside her loft and sets it ablaze. Dexter and the kids narrowly escape, and Lila manages to flee Miami. While living in Europe, 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 say his peace to her while also ensuring her a painless death) and lays her 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 come to terms with and embrace what he is, and then stabs her in the heart.

Ken Olson

• Silas Weir Mitchell

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 afterwards). The other was an abusive husband, whose wife Olson slept with, provoking his anger. His third attempted victim, a robber who hurt Olson’s mother, escaped by stretching out the rope Olson used. Olson may also be the first of Dexter’s victims (except for Brian) from whom Dexter did not obtain a blood sample. Dexter said he “had” to kill him (out of necessity) but did not “need” (feel the urge) to kill him.

Juan Rinez

A pimp who murdered one of his prostitutes. 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. When Harry finds his son standing over Rinez's dismembered body, he vomits and commits suicide days later, unable to face the reality of what he trained his son to do.

Jimmy Sensio

• Glenn Plummer

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.

Enemies and Villains (Book Series Only)

Dr. Danco

A surgeon who mutilates people while keeping them alive. He removes everything in a body that is not essential for life, leaving his victims unable to move or communicate, driving them insane. In medical school, he learned that he could cut people open without feeling any empathy. A patriot, 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. 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.

IT

IT is a mythical, godlike entity which 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 making them 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.

Alexander “Zander” Macauley

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". A seemingly charitable man, Zander often goes to impoverished areas and employs a homeless person to work on his family’s ranch. However, Dexter finds that according to Zander’s tax records, the ranch is idle. Zander murders the homeless people he employs 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. The Watcher first learns of Dexter by watching him kill Zander.

Randy MacGregor

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 the adult Dexter “I hope one of them was yours,” meaning that he sadistically hopes Dexter is the parent of one of the boys he assaulted and killed. A red cowboy boot worn by the photographer in one picture shows Dexter that MacGregor has an accomplice. He appears in Dearly Devoted Dexter.

The Old Man

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.

Steve Reiker

A pedophile and murderer who photographs kidnapped young boys. 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. He is Randy MacGregor’s accomplice.

Dr. Darius Starzak

A former professor of religious philosophy at the University of Krakow. He was fired for membership in an illegal society, a cult worshiping Moloch. He is shot to death by Dexter at the end of Dexter in the Dark.

Kurt Wagner

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.

The Watcher

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.

Dr. Wilkins

A professor at the University of Miami. He attempts to frame a colleague for the murders of the Moloch cult. He is shot by Dexter during an attempted sacrifice to Moloch, which would have ended in Astor and Cody’s deaths.

Differences Between Book & TV Characters

• Deborah Morgan / Debra Morgan: In the books, the character's name is spelled "Deborah," and she is described as "voluptuous." She also talks about how she has not been taken seriously because she has large breasts. In the TV series, the character's name is spelled "Debra," and the actress playing her (Jennifer Carpenter) does not fit the "voluptuous" description. In the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter and the follow-up novels, Deborah finds out her brother is a killer, and appears to accept it; in the TV series, Debra remains unaware that Dexter is a killer, at least consciously. She may, however, have subconscious memories of Brian's attempt, at the end of the first season, to convince Dexter to kill her. That conversation took place over her bound and apparently-unconscious body, but her eyes opened just as Brian drove the knife down toward her chest, and Dexter lunged to stop him.

• Brian Moser: 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 first meets Dexter face-to-face in the shipping container 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.

• Sergeant Doakes: In the novels, Doakes's first name is “Albert,” and he served in El Salvador with the US Marine Corps alongside Kyle Chutsky and the butcher “Dr. Danco.” After LaGuerta’s murder at the end of Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Doakes believes Dexter was the killer, and tails Dexter in Dearly Devoted Dexter, intending to “catch him in the act.” Instead, Doakes himself is captured by “Dr. Danco,” who tortures him by removing his feet, hands, and tongue. In Dexter in the Dark, Doakes returns briefly, but cannot communicate (Erik King, who plays Doakes in the TV series, has joked in an interview that in the second book, his character becomes "a stub"). In the show, Doakes is killed by Dexter's psychopathic ex-girlfriend Lila when she ignites propane tanks inside the cabin he is locked up in during the Season Two finale.

• Lieutenant LaGuerta: In the novels, LaGuerta’s first name is “Migdia,” but in the TV series, her first name has been changed to "Maria." In both Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the first novel, and in the TV series, LaGuerta is portrayed as being skilled at political maneuvering and self-advancement. In the novel, she is portrayed as incompetent when it comes to actual police work; in the TV series, she appears competent, but allows her emotions to take precedence over both ethics and police procedure, lessening the value of her work. In both the novel and the TV series, she flirts with Dexter, although the flirtation -- and Dexter's response to it -- are handled more subtly in the TV series. In the novels, LaGuerta is stabbed to death by Brian at the end of the first book; in the TV series, LaGuerta remains alive and very much a factor in the lives of Dexter and Deb.

• Vincent Masuoka: In both the television series and the novels, Vince is socially and emotionally awkward, but in the TV series, his character is more prominent, and much funnier. In the novels, Dexter views him as a kindred spirit, believing that Masuka's displays of emotion are faked because he (Masuka) doesn't know the appropriate responses to events, and that therefore Masuka is another person “pretending to be human.”

• Angel Batista: In the book series, Angel Batista habitually introduces himself as "No relation" (to former Cuban dictator Batista), and as a result is nicknamed "Angel-no-relation" by Dexter. He also plays a less prominent role in the novels than in the TV series, and is a forensic scientist rather than a homicide detective.

• Camilla Figg: Camilla Figg in the novels is an entirely different character from the Camilla in the television show. While the show’s Camilla was old enough to have worked with Dexter’s father, the book’s Camilla is a young woman who is infatuated with Dexter and works with him in forensics.

• Rita Bennett: In the book series, Dexter's love for Rita seems less sincere than it does in the television series; he only considers her a part of his disguise. However, their relationship does not go through the troubles in the television show. They are, by a humorous misunderstanding, engaged in Dearly Devoted Dexter and married at the end of Dexter in the Dark.

• Cody and Astor Bennett: In the book, they have developed sociopathic personalities, which Dexter hopes to mold using Harry’s code. On the TV series, however, they appear to be normal.

• Paul Bennett:In the book series, Rita’s ex-husband is mentioned but never makes an appearance. 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.

• Mike Donovan: 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.

• Jamie Jaworski: 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.

• The Last Nurse: In the novels, the Last 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.