Viswa Vanapalli
One night in October 2008, Gilles Tetreault was on his way to what he thought was a date with a woman. Little did he know he was being lured into a trap. CBS News’ ‘48 Hours: The Dexter Killer’ delves into how Mark Twitchell impersonated a woman online to lure men to a garage, only to kill them. While Gilles was lucky enough to fight back and escape, Johnny Altinger wasn’t.
Gilles Tetreault Endured An Ordeal Unlike Any Other
On October 3, 2008, Gilles was supposed to meet a woman named Sheena at a location in Edmonton, Canada. He spoke to her online and received detailed instructions regarding how to get to the meeting point. But as soon as he entered the garage, he knew it was no date. Gilles later said, “When I first saw him… I look back, and — and I see this man– kinda hovering over me with a hockey mask. …There’s this chill down my back, as I – ‘Wow, this is no date’ He’s about 6 foot and has a black and gold hockey mask painted — all painted upon his face.”
The assailant used a stun baton on Gilles and taped his eyes at gunpoint. But Gilles decided he would fight back and escape somehow. So, he ripped the tape away and went for the gun. That’s when he realized the gun was fake. As Gilles tried to punch the attacker, he realized that the stun baton had weakened him. Once the masked man grabbed Gilles’ jacket, he wriggled out of it and rolled from underneath the garage door.
However, the attacker pulled Gilles by his legs. Somehow, he escaped yet again and ran into an alley, running into a couple this time. But the couple quickly left after seeing the masked man, thinking they would be robbed. Eventually, Gilles got to his truck and took off. At the time, he didn’t go to the police because he was embarrassed about being catfished. But back then, he thought that it was just a mugging.
Then, a few days later, Gilles heard from a friend about a similar attack that resulted in the death of another man, Johnny Altinger. The authorities were led to Mark Twitchell, and physical evidence linked him to the murder. Soon after that, Gilles went to the police and told them about the extraordinary escape. The investigators realized that Gille’s account closely matched a deleted story found on Mark’s hard drive.
Gilles Tetreault Now Leads a Quiet Life
At Mark’s trial in April 2011, Gilles testified regarding the attack; it was instrumental in eventually garnering a conviction. In his defense, Mark stated that the attack was staged as part of a hoax to develop buzz around his entertainment project. Ultimately, Gilles was happy to help put Mark behind bars but later dealt with guilt since he survived and Johnny died. However, meeting Johnny’s mother helped him.
Gilles said, “I didn’t know how she’d take to me ’cause I survived, and her son didn’t. You know, how — how she’d be with me. She was so nice. She grabbed my hand, and she thanked — she said, ‘I’m so happy you’re still with us.’ And that was so nice.” In the years after the attack, Gilles released a book titled ‘The One Who Got Away’ that detailed his account of the attack. With it, he hoped to spread some awareness about the perils of online dating. Gilles also has a son, and today, the sports enthusiast still lives in Edmonton. On the personal front, he has been engaged to his partner, Irene, since 2018.
Read More: Where is Mark Twitchell Now?
