[3] At the University of Alberta, he served as an editor and writer for The Gateway, the campus newspaper.
[12][13] While at the newspaper, he covered homicides and major crimes across Alberta and northern British Columbia, including the case of Mark Twitchell.
[14][15] The criminal investigation and first-degree murder trial drew substantial media attention[16] due to its connections to Dexter Morgan,[17] a fictional serial killer and bloodstain pattern analyst featured in the Dexter television program and series of books.
The Mark Twitchell case and trial became the focus of The Devil's Cinema, Lillebuen's first book, after he left the newspaper.
[23][24] A film adaptation of the book was acquired by David Permut with Sam Hobkinson set to direct in April 2022.