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sharinbo
12-02-2004, 11:34 AM
From KSN.com:
USA - Wichita police have taken a man into custody they believe could be linked to the BTK case.

Officers, including those involved in the BTK investigation and members of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, surrounded a home on East Mt. Vernon Wednesday around 7:30 p.m. They booked a man, said to be about 64 years old, into the Sedgwick County Jail about an hour later on charges unrelated to the BTK murders.

As police lieutenant Ken Landwehr said during a media briefing on Tuesday, new clues suggested the serial killer had a fascination with trains. The home on Mt. Vernon is located near railroad tracks.

The BTK suspect is linked to a string of eight killings in Wichita, dating back to 1974.

A news conference is scheduled later this morning, but at this time police are not releasing the suspect's name.

From kake.com:
December 2 - Wichita police investigators are working what appears to be a major crime scene.

A 64 year old man is arrested in his south Wichita home after a flurry of activity since Wednesday evening.

Police will not confirm or deny that the arrest has anything to do with the BTK case. But, sources are telling KAKE News they believe the arrest is related to the BTK case.

Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, at least half a dozen police and detective cars were in front of the home on East Mount Vernon. Several lead investigators on the BTK case are there.

The man was arrested at 7:30 Wednesday night and booked into the Sedgwick County jail on criminal trespass charges. Later, a second warrant was issued for housing violations.

KAKE News has learned the man was born in November of 1940, which makes him 64 years old. That is the same age BTK investigators believe the serial killer to be.

The man's home is located just yards from railroad tracks. In a news conference earlier this week, police say information from BTK indicated he lived near railroad tracks all his life, and had a fascination with trains.

Again, police will not confirm or deny if the arrest has any connection to the BTK case, but his bond has been set at $25,000 cash, plus $1,500 bond, which means he needs $26,500 to get out of jail, a very high amount for trespassing and housing violation charges.


From kwch.com:
BREAKING NEWS: Possible BTK suspect in custody


By Cindy Klose
KWCH 12 Eyewitness News Team
Thursday, December 2, 2004


Wichita police were at a house in southeast Wichita into the early morning hours Thursday in a raid that may be connected to the BTK serial killer.

Lead detectives on the BTK investigation were among those seen by reporters leaving the house.

Police officers were also seen wearing gloves and carrying out plastic bags from the home in the 1400 block of Mt. Vernon.

Eyewitness News has learned police were executing a search warrant in connection with the BTK case but police would not comment on activities at the home on Mt. Vernon.

Wichita police booked a 64-year-old man into the Sedgwick County jail Wednesday evening on an old trespassing charge. The Wichita Eagle reports bond was increased to $17,000 after a second warrant charged the man with housing code violations.

Police have not confirmed anything about the developments overnight Wednesday into Thursday. But a reporter with our News Partner KFDI saw the initials BTK on the booking paperwork for that man.

The house on Mt. Vernon sits next to railroad tracks and Eyewitness News crews could hear trains pass by several times through the night. On Tuesday, Wichita police released details information about the BTK Suspect, including his admitted fascination with trains.

Name of suspect: Roger Valadez
KBI states that they are doing DNA tests as we speak.

nanajoanie
12-02-2004, 12:34 PM
OMG!! What wonderful possible news. Sure hope they got the correct creep. With as much publicity as been about this case, I'm sure they didn't make arrest until they had something positive to nail him to the wall. If this is true, what a wonderful Christmas present for your town and surrounding area :)

YNKYH8R
12-02-2004, 01:32 PM
Since I live under a rock and only come out for air every twenty years I have to ask what is BTK?

justme23
12-02-2004, 01:51 PM
Since I live under a rock and only come out for air every twenty years I have to ask what is BTK?

BTK is a serial killer from a LONG time ago... and then he just disappeared til I think 2 years ago... he resurfaced.

janelle
12-02-2004, 02:04 PM
Go to www.kwch.com or www.kake.com to find out more. He was a serial killer in the Wichita area who killed in the 70s and early 80s. Strangled his victims and then when they were on the verge of dying he brought them back to strangle them until they died. A real psycho. Do a search on BTK and you will find web sites who discuss the case. I think there is also a coldcase web site. Shari posted it yesterday, I think.

If this guy is the one they can find out very fast. They have his seman and it can only be his. I hope it is since he resurfaced this year and has been mailing letters to the police taunting them but then an expert on serial killers said they never tell the truth so what he told them about himself may be all lies. If he is setting this man up the seman will prove him innocent. I hope they have the ----- whatever you want to call him.

janelle
12-02-2004, 02:07 PM
Man in custody may be linked to BTKKSNW-TVWICHITAUSA - It appears police may have made a major break in the BTK serial killer case. Wichita police raided a house Wednesday night and arrested a 64-year-old man.

The house is in the 1400 block of East Mount Vernon in Wichita.

Officers arrested 64-year-old Roger Valadez and booked him on outstanding warrants for trespass and a domestic violence case from 1995.

We do know KBI agents were at the scene and witnesses saw them taking out bags of what may have been evidence.

Wichita Police will not comment on the arrest except to say this is just another lead in the BTK serial killer case.

One of the unusual aspects of the case is that Valadez is reportedly being held on a $40,000 bond. Many consider that a high amount for the misdemeanor charges against him.

The Associated Press is reporting that Valadez' DNA is being checked by officials.

He will reportedly be arraigned Thursday afternoon.

Who is BTK?

In January 1974, police found four members of the Otero family slain in the 800 block of North Edgemoor.

In April 1974, Kathryn Bright was murdered in her home in the 3200 block of East 13th Street. BTK later claimed responsibility.

Three years later, in March 1977, officials found the body of Shirley Viann at her home at 1311 South Hydraulic.

Then in December of 1977, Nancy Fox was murdered at 843 South Pershing.

Authorities also pinned the September 1986 murder of Vicki Wegerle on BTK after he sent a letter to the Wichita Eagle in March of 2004. Wegerle was murdered in her home in the 2400 block of West 13th Street.

What's the connection?

Shirley Vian was murdered by BTK in 1977. Valadez purchased his home about half a mile away from Vian's home in 1976.

In a profile released Tuesday by Wichita Police, it was noted that BTK had been in the military. Two vehicles at Valadez' home have veteran plates.

The profile also stated BTK had an interest in trains and lived close to railroad tracks.Valadez' home is just across the street from a set of railroad tracks.

Police were staking out the house Wednesday during the day. They approached the home around 7:30 p.m. and made their arrest.

Who is Roger Valadez?

Valadez was born in 1940. He has lived in the home on Mt. Vernon for 28 years.

Court records indicate Valadez was arrested in 2000 on 24 counts of fraud and obtaining unemployment benefits.Because he had no prior record, he was given a diversion.

Valadez comes from a large family with four brothers and three sisters.One of his brothers died this past January.

Neighbors say Valadez is divorced and has three grown children of his own.In fact, one daughter and a grandchild share the home with Valadez.

Neighbors react

When neighbors awoke to the news that one of their neighbors had been arrested they were shocked.

Wes and Dorothy Barrow sold Valadez his home in 1976.

"I was totally shocked.We drive by here almost every day. We have said he has let the house run down," said Dorothy. "He has his toys for little kids out here in the yard but during the summer you would not see one child around those toys."

While most neighbors were shocked by news that their neighbor may be BTK, others were not so surprised.

"It's like, when we walk by, he won't look at us and turn away.He just stares at us as we walk," said one teenage girl in the neighborhood.

Other neighbors say Valadez was quiet, kept to himself and was rarely seen by those who live near him.

BTK author reacts

Author Robert Beattie is in the process of writing a book about BTK.He urges the public to be cautious about assuming Valadez is responsible for the BTK killings.

He points out that many years ago another man was arrested for the Otero murders then let him go.

But Beattie also said he would not be surprised if there is a connection.

Earlier this week, police released personal information about BTK that was provided by the killer himself.Beattie said police will probably find more than one man who fits that profile.

Beattie also said he doesn't understand why BTK would provide police with so many clues.

"This guy's behavior is not what most people would consider, I don't think anybody would consider, rational -- either his behavior as far as committing the crimes or in communicating with the police and the press," said Beattie.

Beattie said one of the victim's families called him Thursday morning and was very tearful and uncertain about these latest developments.

Where did the tip come from?

There are many amateur investigators around Wichita who have tried to solve the BTK case. Now it appears one of them may have provided evidence that led police to the house on Mt. Vernon.

Two women in the right place at the right time may have witnessed the tip that ended the hunt for BTK.

Tia Ortiz and Tina Foults are sisters. They were at the south police substation Wednesday to file a complaint involving a personal matter when, they say, that's when a man walked in and told police he knew the exact identity of BTK and provided plenty of evidence to back up his claim.

"He had direct pictures of the front of the house, side of the house, vehicles. He pointed out to the Police Department that they were veterans and that BTK was military and the railroad tracks also," said Ortiz.

The sisters say the tipster has tried for years to convince Wichita Police the man who lives in the house is BTK.

"When he left there, he slammed his hand on the door holding the pictures. He pushed the door open and he was out of there," said Foults.

"Because the officers were laughing him off," said Ortiz.

But before he left, the man was given the number of a detective working the BTK case. If he made the call and provided valuable evidence, this mystery man may have helped break the BTK case.

Tia and Tina say they were shocked by what they saw on the news this morning.

"I'd been up all night long. I woke my sister up at 6:00 this morning and said 'Tina, the house the guy showed the police officers is on TV. They arrested somebody,' said Ortiz.

"I was like, 'no way,'" said Foults.

They may have witnessed history, but it is important to remember that police have not confirmed that information provided at the South Substation Wednesday had anything to do with the arrest on Mt. Vernon Wednesday evening.

It is also important to note that police have not made a connection between Valadez and the BTK murders.

sharinbo
12-02-2004, 05:41 PM
On the news, the police are saying "We have NOT made an arrest in connection with the BTK case"

So people are all saying No, it's not him. I, on the other hand, wouldn't be surprised if it IS him, but at this point, they sure don't want to say it is him. It could ruin their case if they don't have definitive proof and he has already been tried and convicted in the media. It's been a media circus all over town today. The man's neighborhood is packed with reporters, (and police cars, too), and the courthouse has every single news station you can think of stationed outside it. It's wall-to-wall satellite dishes mounted on vans downtown. All the police substations had reporters filming outside them today, too. The media could easily mess up the police departments case, so of course, the police are going to say, "No arrest in the BTK case". The man has been arrested for other warrants, so technically, even if they think they have the right guy, they are being truthful.
JMO!

Jolie Rouge
12-02-2004, 10:31 PM
Police dismiss reports of 'BTK' arrest
But state authorities say man's DNA tested for links
Thursday, December 2, 2004 Posted: 10:49 PM EST (0349 GMT)

(CNN) -- Police in Wichita, Kansas, dismissed television reports Thursday that said a 64-year-old man arrested on minor charges may be linked to the so-called "BTK" killings in the 1970s.

"We have not -- and I repeat -- we have not made an arrest in connection with BTK," said Police Chief Norman Williams, using the shorthand for "bind, torture, kill" that the killer has called himself in letters to police and the news media.

The Associated Press quoted Kansas state police as saying the DNA of a man arrested Wednesday night on minor trespassing and housing code violation charges was being tested for links to the serial killings that terrorized Wichita in the 1970s.

Officials noted that hundreds of samples of blood and DNA in the case have been screened by police since the 1980s, the AP reported.

Williams expressed dismay at the overwhelming response by members of the news media to unverified reports that the arrested man had been linked to the killings. "A community, a neighborhood will be forever impacted by what has happened to their neighborhood, and that's unfortunate," he said.

The media attention, he said, "has taken away from our ability to focus on following up on different types of leads."

From 1977 until 1979, police and news outlets received letters from a writer claiming to be the killer. After 25 years, the letters resumed last spring, with BTK linking himself to an eighth killing and divulging what he said was more information about himself.

On Tuesday, Wichita police began releasing some of the details contained in those letters, including his claim that he was born in 1939, which would make him 64 or 65. He said that his father died in World War II and his grandparents raised him while his mother worked. He said his hobbies include hunting, fishing and camping.

Around 1960, the letter writer said, he attended military school, then served in the military. After he was discharged in 1966, he repaired copy machines and business equipment and had a female Latina acquaintance named Petra, he said. He added that he had solicited prostitutes and had a lifetime fascination with railroads and trains.


Authorities said they believe the man frequented the Wichita State University campus during the 1970s and that he used fake IDs to gain access to people's homes.


http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/02/btk.killings/index.html

Jolie Rouge
02-17-2005, 06:18 PM
Police: BTK Killer Sent Three Packages[i]
By ROXANA HEGEMAN [i]

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The BTK serial killer sent investigators at least three packages containing jewelry, and investigators were trying to determine whether any of it was taken from his victims, police said Thursday.

Along with a padded manila envelope sent Wednesday to KSAS-TV in Wichita, the communications were a cereal box found in a rural area northwest of Wichita in late January and a package found a few days later that police identified only as Communication No. 7.

All were sent to the FBI for analysis, said police Lt. Ken Landwehr, commander of the BTK task force.

The BTK killer - the initials of the killer's self-coined nickname stand for ``Bind, Torture, Kill'' - has been linked to eight unsolved killings committed between 1974 and 1986. He resurfaced last March after years of silence, sending letters to media and police.


Landwehr said he was ``very pleased with the ongoing dialogue through these letters.''


The FBI's behavior analysis unit has confirmed two earlier letters as authentic communications from BTK, Landwehr said Thursday. They were a letter dropped in a United Parcel Service box in October 2004 and a package found in Murdock Park in December, containing the driver's license of Nancy Fox, who was killed in 1977.


The envelope received Wednesday at KSAS contained a piece of jewelry, a letter and another unidentified item, said Don North, news director at KWCH-TV, which produces the KSAS newscast. He declined to further identify the items at the request of police. BTK has communicated primarily with Wichita's KAKE-TV, but the letter in Wednesday's package suggested the killer wanted to spread his correspondence to other stations.


``KAKE is a good station, but I feel they are starting to be single (sic) out, because of me, and causing problems among the people. Let's help the news media and WPD (Wichita Police Department) by using this package as a start,'' the letter read. The letter's return address said ``PJ Fox'' and listed KSAS's address.

``It was an unusual letter, kind of weird. It wasn't real long at all,'' North said. ``The way it reads, I don't know if the guy felt sorry for KAKE or felt sorry for the other TV stations.''


http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20050217/1420181474.htm


On the Net:


Police: http://www.wichita.gov/cityoffices/police



02/17/05 14:20

nanajoanie
02-17-2005, 06:38 PM
Jolie, hope this is true and they finally got the devil himself. This has been such a scary and sad story going on thru the years. Maybe the families can finally have some kind of closure knowing he can't kill or destroy anyone else.

tsquared
02-17-2005, 06:38 PM
They are talking that the killer is trying to give them clues as to who he is.........so he can possibly get caught............they will have a real time on their hands when they do catch the right person trying to keep the vigilantees away..........
Sad to say the killer will get a fair and just trial, but his victims didnt have that choice!!!

nanajoanie
02-17-2005, 06:46 PM
They are talking that the killer is trying to give them clues as to who he is.........so he can possibly get caught............they will have a real time on their hands when they do catch the right person trying to keep the vigilantees away..........
Sad to say the killer will get a fair and just trial, but his victims didnt have that choice!!!

Thanks T for clearing that up for me. I misunderstood and thought he had already been captured. Regardless what us mere mortals think, feel, wish, God will get him for that. That's and old "Maude" TV show quote :cool:

Jolie Rouge
02-21-2005, 08:29 AM
BTK Killer's Writing Style Has Changed
By ROXANA HEGEMAN

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The letters and poems began arriving in 1974. Shot through with spelling and grammatical errors, they alternated between tortured rambling and cold-blooded, gleeful detail. Then, the BTK killer - since linked to eight unsolved killings between 1974 and 1986 - vanished. But he resurfaced last March with new letters to police and media and, although still enigmatic, they have taken a new tone.

The frequency of the new communications and the accompanying attention concern at least one researcher. ``For some of these killers, there is kind of a cycle that once the spiral begins to accelerate the next step is to kill and get a whole new generation of people scared,'' said Dirk Gibson, author of "Clues from Killers: Serial Murder and Crime Scene Messages.''

The killer once raved about his inability to control a ``monster'' living inside him and gave graphic descriptions of his crimes. The few details released about the new messages indicate a businesslike, almost cordial approach.


Officials said last week the killer had recently sent at least three packages containing jewelry, and investigators were trying to determine whether any of it was taken from BTK's victims. Along with a padded manila envelope sent to KSAS-TV in Wichita, the communications included a cereal box found in a rural area northwest of Wichita in late January and a package found a few days later that police identified only as Communication No. 7.


Gibson, who has studied more than 500 serial killers, said BTK loves the attention. That was already apparent in the 1970s, when the self-named BTK - the initials stand for ``Bind, Torture, Kill - terrorized Wichita. When one of his messages, a poem sent to the Wichita Eagle-Beacon on Jan. 31, 1978, was mistakenly routed to the classified ads department, BTK sent a letter to KAKE-TV days later complaining: ``How many do I have to kill before I get my name in the paper or some national attention?''


Another letter to the newspaper also underscored BTK's need for recognition. ``P.S. How about some name for me, its time: 7 down and many more to go,'' it read in part. ``I like the following. How about you? 'THE B.T.K STRANGLER, 'WICHITA STRANGLER', 'POETIC STRANGLER', 'THE BONDAGE STRANGER' OR 'PSYCHO', 'THE WICHITA HANGMAN', 'THE WICHITA EXECUTIONER,' 'THE GAROTE PHATHOM', 'THE ASPHYXIATER'.''


KAKE-TV has also received communiques from BTK since his re-emergence, some of which contain messages for police. But the tenor has changed: In a postcard sent earlier this month, BTK thanked the station for its quick response to two other messages and expressed concern for two news anchors after a passing comment one made on the air about having the flu.

Randy Brown, a senior fellow at Wichita State University's Elliott School of Journalism, was a reporter at the now-defunct Wichita Sun when the weekly paper first broke the story about BTK in the 1970s. ``This is a very different BTK than the original,'' Brown said. ``The first letters were full of horrifying details of these crimes, ravings and very graphic information about the victims and the monster in his brain - ugly, nasty, scary, terrible kinds of things that people who saw them still have bad dreams about.''


Although no recent deaths have been officially linked to BTK since he resurfaced last year, the case has received worldwide attention. ``It is hard to believe this is really the same twisted killer that was scaring the heck out of everybody - had a town completely on edge - in the late 1970s and 1980s,'' Brown said.


http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-us-12-l10&flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050221%2F0512422918.htm&sc=1110


On the Net:


Wichita Police: http://www.wichita.gov/cityoffices/police



02/21/05 05:12

jayhawkfan
02-25-2005, 10:27 PM
BIG UPDATE

They have a new "Person of interest" in custody. News conference in the AM with police, FBI, District Attorney, State Rep. Tiahrt, and there is a meeting with victims family members at 9 in the morning.

Its a whole new kind of news conference than they have had before, so I guess its wait and see for now :eek:

sharinbo
02-26-2005, 10:38 AM
They got him! DNA is apparently a match. See other thread for more info.

nanajoanie
02-26-2005, 07:19 PM
They got him! DNA is apparently a match. See other thread for more info.


Just happened to walk thru the room and saw where they got the guy. His daughter went into the police station and said she thought her dad was the BTK. Seems him name was Rader or something like that. It will be on all the news channels tomorrow I'm sure.

june72
02-26-2005, 09:23 PM
BTK is a serial killer from a LONG time ago... and then he just disappeared til I think 2 years ago... he resurfaced.


apparently i live under a rock to. thanks for asking, was goin to

Jolie Rouge
02-28-2005, 08:31 AM
Source: 'BTK' suspect confesses to at least 6 killings
Rader could make court appearance Monday
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 8:53 a.m. ET Feb. 28, 2005

WICHITA, Kan. - The man arrested on suspicion of being the BTK serial killer confessed on the day of his arrest to six slayings, a source close to the investigation said Sunday.

Investigators, who allege Dennis L. Rader committed a decades-old string of 10 slayings, also are looking into whether he was responsible for another three killings— including at least one that occurred after the restoration of the Kansas’ death penalty in 1994, the source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Rader made the confession Friday, the day of his arrest, according to the source. “The guy is telling us about the murders,” the source said.

When asked for comment, District Attorney Nola Foulston said, “Your information is patently false,” but she refused to say whether Rader had made any confessions or whether investigators are looking into Rader’s possible involvement in more unsolved killings. Police spokeswoman Janet Johnson also declined to comment specifically on the accuracy of the source’s statements.


Now, the source said, police are looking whether Rader was responsible for the deaths of two Wichita State University students, as well as a woman who lived down the street from another known victim of BTK, the killer’s self-coined nickname that stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill.” It was unclear when the three slayings occurred, but the source said one of them took place while Kansas’ death penalty was in effect.

Prosecutors had said initially they could not pursue the death penalty against Rader because the 10 murders linked to BTK occurred when Kansas did not have the death penalty.

Rader, 59, could appear in court as early as Monday, when he would stand in front of a judge on video while prosecutors recite yet-to-be-filed criminal charges against him. The judge would also review Rader’s bond and set a permanent amount.

The hearing could happen Monday but was more likely to be postponed until Tuesday, the district attorney’s office said Sunday. It was unclear whether Rader had a lawyer.

30-year manhunt

Police were confident Rader’s arrest last week would bring to an end 30 years of fear about the BTK strangler. But as they pored over news of a suspect’s capture, many residents here were left with an unsettling feeling — that he had been hidden among them all along.

Charlie Otero, whose parents and two siblings were BTK’s first victims in 1974, said Sunday that he was “waiting with anticipation” to learn more about the DNA evidence that has been credited with helping crack the case.

Otero believes his family was targeted, although the rest of BTK’s victims were likely chosen at random. He isn’t sure why the family was targeted but said it’s interesting that Rader and his father served in the Air Force at the same time in the 1960s. “I’m sure this will all come out during the trial,” he said.

Rader, a married father of two, a Cub Scout leader and an active member of a Lutheran church, was anything but a recluse.

His job as a city code enforcement supervisor required daily contact with the public, and he even appeared on television in 2001 in his tan city uniform for a story on vicious dogs running loose in Park City.


'By-the-books' employee

Before becoming a municipal employee, Rader worked for a home-security company, where he held several positions that allowed him access to customers’ homes, including a role as installation manager. He worked for ADT Security Systems from 1974 to 1989 — the same time as a majority of the BTK killings.

Mike Tavares, who worked with Rader at ADT, described him as a “by-the-books” employee who would often draw diagrams of houses and personally make sure technicians installed systems correctly.

While Rader was known as a blunt person and rubbed some people the wrong way, it never struck co-workers as anything other than businesslike.

“I’ve spoken to some co-workers who were around then, and everybody is very numb,” said Tavares, who left the company in 2001.


'Disbelief, absolute disbelief'

At his church and around town, many expressed shock that Rader was accused of being the BTK killer.

“Disbelief, absolute disbelief,” said a tearful Carole Nelson, a member of Christ Lutheran Church, where Rader was an usher and the president of the church council. “I never would have guessed in a million years.”

The church’s pastor, Michael Clark, said Rader’s wife, Paula, was in a state of shock when he visited the family, who remained in seclusion Sunday. “Her demeanor and voice indicated she was suffering,” Clark said.

Just days before his arrest, Rader brought spaghetti sauce and salad to a church supper, even though he was unable to attend himself, church member Paul Carlstedt said. “The guy that walked in here was not the face of evil,” said Bob Smyser, an usher at the church.

Still, a sense of relief was palpable around Wichita after the apparent capture of the killer who had sent taunting letters to the media since the 1970s. “Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” Gaylene Brown said over breakfast Sunday at Don’s Restaurant, where Rader’s face was a common sight.

Police disclosed little about how they identified Rader as a suspect and have said they will not comment further on the case, but bits and pieces of the investigation have filtered out.

DNA credited in breaking case

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told The Associated Press that DNA evidence was the key to cracking the case. It was unclear whether BTK’s letters helped lead to the arrest. Police have said they obtained semen from the crime scenes even though the killer did not sexually assault his victims.

Wichita television station KAKE, citing sources it did not name, reported that DNA from Rader’s daughter, Kerri, was instrumental in his capture, though KAKE anchor Larry Hatteberg said it did not appear the daughter turned in her father.

Parts of the profile released earlier by police seemed to match up. Investigators said they believed the killer was familiar with a professor at Wichita State University. Rader graduated from the university in 1979.

In the 1970s, Rader worked at a nearby Coleman camping gear plant where two of his alleged victims were employed.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6988048/

Jolie Rouge
03-01-2005, 08:49 PM
Updated 3/1/2005 3:45 PM

BTK suspect charged in 10 murders

WICHITA (AP) — Dennis Rader, the churchgoing family man and Cub Scout leader accused of leading a double life as the BTK serial killer, was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Rader made his first court appearance since his Friday arrest by videoconference from his cell at the Sedgwick County detention center. During the brief hearing, Rader sat with his hands folded behind a small desk.

The BTK killer, whose nickname stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill," was suspected of eight deaths beginning in 1974, but authorities said Saturday they had linked two additional victims to the serial killer.

Rader's arrest has also prompted nearby law enforcement agencies to reinvestigate cold cases that bear similarities to the string of slayings.

Sedgwick County District Judge Greg Waller read the charges during Tuesday's hearing, which lasted about five minutes. A preliminary hearing was set for March 15, when Rader is likely to be arraigned.

Rader's only comments during the hearing were short "yes" and "no" answers to questions. He was accompanied by a temporary attorney. Waller appointed the state's public defender office to represent Rader.

About a dozen family members of victims were in the courtroom. They did not speak to reporters.

Rader, 59, was arrested Friday. Authorities have declined to say what led them to concentrate on the married father of two, a scout leader and an active member of a Lutheran church.

New details of the investigation emerged from Michigan. The Wichita Eagle and The Daily Oakland Press of Pontiac, Mich., reported Tuesday that FBI agents had visited the Farmington, Mich., home of Rader's 26-year-old daughter, Kerri, on Friday to get a DNA sample.

The timing indicated she was not visited until after her father had been arrested that same day in Kansas, the Eagle said, suggesting her DNA helped confirm his identity but was not the original break in the case as some initial reports had suggested.

Charles Nebus, public safety director and police chief in Farmington, Mich., said Tuesday that the FBI told him Friday they were conducting an interview in the city in connection with the BTK case.

He said the family that was interviewed had since contacted police repeatedly complaining of being bothered by reporters. He would not confirm that the person interviewed was Rader's daughter, though public records indicated she had lived in Farmington.

One of the two deaths newly attributed to Rader was that of Delores Davis, who was abducted from her home near Park City and whose body was found 13 days later near a river in northern Sedgwick County.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson said that was similar to the 1977 death of Gail Sorensen, who was also kidnapped and whose body was found two days later near the Arkansas River near Hutchinson. "We're looking at one," Henderson told The Associated Press. "We've got five cold cases. But the other four didn't have the same details, the same modus operandi."

Harvey County Sheriff Byron Motter said Tuesday he is reopening a cold case from 2001 in which a 46-year-old Wichita woman was strangled and dumped in a creek. "With this information that BTK has been caught, we are opening up cases to see if we have anything," Motter said.

In addition to the 10 deaths attributed to BTK, a source close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity that authorities were looking into whether the serial killer was responsible for the deaths of two Wichita State University students as well as a woman who lived down the street from a BTK victim.

Rader's younger brother, Jeff Rader, told The Wichita Eagle that no one in the family believes his brother is the BTK serial killer. "I don't think my brother is BTK," he said. "But if he is — if that's the truth — then let the truth be the truth. And may God have mercy on his soul."

Jeff Rader, 50, said the family never saw any sign that his brother could be a killer. "My mother still can't believe it," he said. "She's still very much in denial. And so am I. But maybe, with me, acceptance is starting to creep in."


www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-01-btk-killings_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

Jolie Rouge
03-01-2005, 08:51 PM
A timeline from 1974 to present surrounding the BTK case
The Associated Press

• Jan. 15, 1974: Joseph Otero, 38, and his wife, Julie, 34, are strangled in their home along with two of their children, Josephine, 11, and Joseph II, 9.

• April 4, 1974: Kathryn Bright, 21, is stabbed to death in her home. Police later conclude she was a BTK victim.

• October 1974: The Wichita Eagle-Beacon gets a letter from someone taking responsibility for the Otero family killing and including crime scene details.

• March 17, 1977: Shirley Vian, 24, is found tied up and strangled at her home.

• Dec. 8, 1977: Nancy Fox, 25, is found tied up and strangled in her home. The killer's voice is captured on tape when he calls a dispatcher to report the crime.

• Jan. 31, 1978: A poem referring to the Vian killing is sent to The Wichita Eagle-Beacon.

• Feb. 10, 1978: A letter from BTK is sent to KAKE-TV claiming responsibility for the deaths of Vian and Fox, as well as another unnamed victim. Police Chief Richard LaMunyon announces a serial killer is at large and has threatened to strike again.

• April 28, 1979: BTK waits inside a home, but leaves before the 63-year-old woman who lives there returns. He later sends her a letter letting her know he was there.

• Aug. 15, 1979: Police get more than 100 tips in the first day of radio and TV broadcasts that repeat the voice of the BTK strangler from the 1977 recording.

• Sept. 16, 1986: Vicki Wegerle, 28, is strangled in her home.

• March 19, 2004: A letter arrives at The Wichita Eagle containing a photocopy of Wegerle's driver's license and photos of her body. Police link it to BTK.

• Feb. 26, 2005: After receiving several more letters, authorities announce the arrest of BTK.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-02-26-btk-timeline_x.htm

janelle
03-01-2005, 10:11 PM
A CD Rom floppy disk tripped him up and led to his arrest. He likes to send things to TV stations and the police so they will report about him. The last package he sent contained a floppy disk that had been erased and he had put other things on it but computer experts could retreave what was on the whole disk and his name appeared on it.

Technology caught him. The computer and the DNA the police kept from way back in the 70s when DNA wasn't so prevalently used to solve cases but the police thought ahead to save it.

Jolie Rouge
05-04-2005, 05:51 AM
BTK Killer's Prosecutor Vows No Plea Deal
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 4, 2005



WICHITA, Kan. - Prosecutors vowed there will be no plea bargain in the case against a former church leader and city employee charged with 10 counts of murder in the BTK serial killings that terrorized Wichita since the 1970s.


"I look forward to a trial of this case because it is important after 30 years for people to know and for people to understand and appreciate, not only the work of law enforcement, but to be able to say, 'It's over, it's over,'" District Attorney Nola Foulston said Tuesday after the arraignment of suspect Dennis Rader.

Rader, 60, stood mute during the brief hearing, leaving it to District Court Judge Gregory Waller to enter a not guilty plea for him. Waller set trial for June 27 — a date likely to be postponed.

Rader, a former city compliance officer from suburban Park City, was arrested Feb. 25 and charged in 10 deaths linked to the serial killer known as BTK, which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill." The killings began in the 1970s and made headlines again last year when the killer started sending cryptic messages and packages to media and police.

Authorities have declined to say what led them to Rader.

Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty because all the crimes were committed before 1994, when Kansas passed its capital punishment law.

But in a dramatic moment at the arraignment, Foulston stood across the table from Rader and looked him in the eye as she handed him a court document seeking a harsher sentence for the most recent of the 10 killings.

Foulston told Rader she would seek a so-called hard-40 sentence for the death of Dolores Davis, 62, who was abducted from her Park City home Jan. 19, 1991, and found strangled two weeks later.

The sentence means Rader, if convicted, would have to serve at least 40 years without a chance of parole.

As Rader was being taken out of the courtroom, one of victims' family members yelled out to him: "Don't worry, you won't last that long."

In the other nine killings, Rader would have a chance of parole after 15 years even if sentenced to life in prison under law on the books at the time of those crimes.

Foulston told reporters she wanted the case to go to a jury trial to determine Rader's guilt or innocence.

"Without that we still will wonder and live with the question for the rest of our lives in this community — and there isn't a book, there isn't anything that can make sense of this case — without a jury making a determination," she said.

Rader's defense team is considering seeking a change of venue but had not made a final decision, Osburn said, adding attorneys do not anticipate making Rader's competency a part of the defense.

Defense attorney Steve Osburn said Rader, despite his lack of cooperation in the courtroom, "cooperates with us. We are able to work with him and he is able to help with his defense."

Prosecutors have listed 247 potential witnesses, and the public defender's office has said a trial is likely more than a year away. Rader last month waived his right to a preliminary hearing, meaning prosecutors will not have to reveal details of their case until trial.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050504/ap_on_re_us/btk_killings;_ylt=Al8bLGwDjhBPBJUqadZtlOJH2ocA;_yl u=X3oDMTA5YWl2ajRrBHNlYwNsbjcxOA--