“They’ll find the body before that two-bit magician can say, ‘Abra cadaver!’” claimed Tellor.
Photo by Maria Dhilla
Daniel Siegfried, more commonly known by his stage name, Dynamic Dan, remains the prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Helen Anderson, reported the San Diego Police Department in a statement last Saturday. Anderson, a fellow magician and frequent collaborator of Siegfried’s, was reported missing this past November.
Siegfried filed a missing person’s report with the San Diego Police Department after his wife failed to return from her 7:00 p.m. meeting with the local branch of the Canterbury Magic Union, a social club for illusionists, magicians, and all procurers of parlor tricks. When asked why he did not attend the meeting that night, Siegfried claimed, “The last time I came, I was made to feel weak by the insults of my peers. People I thought my friends laughed at the suggestions I had for the union. So no, I did not want to attend that night. Helen was sad to see that we would not be coming together, and now, with her lost, I wish more than anything that I had provided her company.”
Despite Siegfried’s insistence that his wife left for the meeting, other members of the union claim that Anderson never arrived on the night in question, and that she had in fact not attended a meeting in years. According to witness statements, Siegfried remained fully occupied during the hours of the meeting, performing on Twitch through the duration of the meeting time. Siegfried had recently started live streaming magic sets from his La Mesa home, claiming his passion for “engaging with magic lovers through the world’s largest stage: the internet.” In his first stream, Siegfried explained: “Like an illusionist pulling a rabbit from a hat, the internet allows us to stick our hand into the unknown, and pull out that which will surprise and amaze.”
Despite Siegfried’s alibi, many remain unconvinced. Donovan Wilson, an online magic reviewer and self-proclaimed “pillar of the magic enthusiast community,” released a Youtube video dissecting Siegfried’s performance from that night. Although the video, titled “Not Only is Dynamic Dan a Washed-up Hack, He’s a Fraud Too!” began with several minutes of Wilson promoting his merch-store, he later revealed that Siegfried’s set was both “derivative of Lance Burton’s earlier work” and “not actually a livestream, but a pre-recorded video, likely edited to appear more impressive.” Wilson pointed to the David Copperfield novelty clock mounted on the wall behind Siegfried as evidence of this claim. “It is clear that the Copperfield clock reads 2:30. This is well before the 7:00 time Dynamic Dan went live. It seems like the only real magic that happened was studio magic!”
The investigation into Helen Anderson’s disappearance remains open, and no charges have been brought forward, yet Pennon Tellor, a local prosecutor, remains convinced that Siegfried will eventually be charged and convicted. “He better start studying Houdini if he wants to get out of cuffs,” said Tellor, “Personally, I’d love to see him attempt an escape from county jail. I’ve been around there enough times to know those guards are some real mean sons of bitches.”
Flattened in a distro cart accident, the MQ replaced his bones with leftover printer ink. With his increased lank, Matt has become a pivotal writer for the MQ through his fluidity. Whether demonstrated through his mastery of satire or being used as a keycard when we lock ourselves out of the office, Matt is a key asset to the writing team.
