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| B.T.K. |
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| The B.T.K. Strangler of
Wichita, Kansas is unique in at least one way. He's |
| the only serial killer that
I know of who appeared to stop killing, then reappeared |
| in order to communicate and
to claim a previously unconnected victim. |
| |
| On January 15, 1974, four members of the
Joseph Otero family were brutally murdered |
| in their home by an unknown intruder. Joseph
had retired from the Air Force the previous |
| August, and was a mechanic and flight
engineer at Cook Airfield. Julie had been recently |
| laid off from her job as a short term
assembler for the Coleman Co., and was recomended |
| for rehire. Two of their five children,
Joseph Jr., and Josephine were the remaining victims |
| of this attack, while the older three
children were at school. The phone lines were cut, |
| the family dog had been put out in the yard,
and the killer used venetian blind cords that he |
| brought with him to bind the victims, then
strangled them. He took the Otero's car, leaving |
| it less than a mile from the home. Officers
at the crime scene described it as the worst |
they had ever seen.
| |
| Less than two months
later, Kathryn Bright and her brother Kevin were
confronted in her |
| home by a man who
tied them up, cut the phone lines, and told them
he needed a car |
| because he was
wanted in California. Kevin was able to work his
bindings loose and grab |
|
| the gun from the attacker, who then
retrieved it and shot Kevin twice. Kevin was able to |
| escape while the attacker was in another
room, but by the time help was summoned, |
| Kathryn had been fatally stabbed 3 times. |
| |
| In October of the same year, someone called
the Wichita Eagle, directing them to a letter at |
| the Wichita Public Library. It was from the
killer, claiming the Otero killings, and offering |
| details of the crimes as proof. |
| |
| The next time the killer appeared was March
17, 1977, when he showed up at the home of |
| Shirley Vian. It is thought that her
children may have opened the door to him. He tied Shirley
up |
| with venetian blind cords that he brought
with him, then strangled her while her children were |
| locked in another room (some reports say
closet, some say bathroom). He later commented |
| in a communication that the children were
saved by their crying and by the ringing of a phone. |
| |
| On December 8, 1977, a phone call was made
from a phone booth in Wichita. |
| |
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher |
|
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Caller:
Yes, You will find a homicide at 843 S. Pershing. Nancy
Fox. |
|
| |
Dispatcher:
I'm sorry, sir, I can't understand you. What is the
address? |
|
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2nd
Dispatcher: 843 S. Pershing |
|
| |
Caller:
That is Correct |
|
| Nancy Fox's body was found by police in her
home. The killer had entered after smashing a |
| rear window, and her purse contents were
dumped out and her drivers license was missing. |
| Her phone line was cut, and she was bound
with her own pantyhose. She was fully clothed, |
| but her murderer left physical evidence
behind. |
| |
| Two more communications followed within the
next several months. A poem titled |
| "Shirleylocks" and addressed to
the Wichita Eagle was misdirected at the newspaper to the
|
| classified section due to confusion that it
was a Valentines ad. The other was the more directly |
| titled poem "Oh! Death To Nancy".
Both of these poems were rewordings of other works. |
| |
| On April 28, 1978, the killer waited in the
home of 63 year old Anna Williams. It is believed |
| that he entered through a basement window.
Fortunately for her, he grew tired of waiting, |
| and left before she returned home around
11:00 pm. She found that she was missing $35, |
| and some articles of clothing and jewelry.
Two months later she received what was possibly |
| an original poem titled "Oh Anna, Why
Didn't You Appear?", along with an article each of |
| her clothing and jewelry. The next day, KAKE
TV received a duplicate of these items. |
| |
| In December of 1987, a letter was received
by a woman whose husband and two daughters |
| had been murdered and suspicion had fallen
on BTK. The letter purported to be from BTK |
| and claimed not to be responsible for these
killings. |
| |
| Nothing more was heard from the killer until
March 17, 2004, when an envelope was received |
| at the Wichita Eagle. It contained a drivers
license belonging to Vicky Wegerle, who was |
| murdered on Sept. 16, 1986. Also enclosed
were photocopies of three pictures of the crime |
| scene, with slight differences in each.
These pictures could only have been taken by the killer |
| as her body was transported by medical
technicians before investigators could take any. |
| |
| More communications followed. On April 7th,
a picture of an unidentified baby (this has |
| never been confirmed by law enforcement as
definitely being from BTK) was sent to KSN |
| TV. May 5, KAKE TV received 3 photocopied
pages. One page was a list of 13 "Chapter |
| Titles". Another was a page of word
search type puzzles. The third consisted of a photo of |
| an ID and a badge of some sort. In June, the
Wichita Police Dept. received a letter, |
| reportedly containing more details of the
Otero crime scene. July 18th, a package, possibly |
| a mailer envelope, was retrieved at the
Wichita Public Library. It was later confirmed by the
Kansas Bureau of Investigation that it does appear to be
from BTK. |
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