Retired-10
11-30-2004, 07:00 PM
Elusive 'BTK' serial killer resurfaces
Witchita authorities appeal to public with more clues
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Posted: 5:19 PM EST (2219 GMT)
WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- The serial killer known only as "BTK" suggests in letters that he was born in 1939 and is a railroad buff, authorities said Tuesday as they appealed to the public for clues to his identity.
Police released a summary of personal details provided in recent letters they believe were sent by the killer.
The killer -- known by the self-coined nickname BTK, which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" -- is linked to eight unsolved homicides that terrorized Wichita between 1974 and 1986. After years of silence, the killer surfaced again, sending messages earlier this year.
"In these letters, he has provided certain background information about himself which he claims is accurate," said Lt. Ken Landwehr, who read a statement to reporters but took no questions.
According to police, BTK claims to have been born in 1939, making the killer either 64 or 65 years old. The statement did not say where he was born or where he lived, but that his family moved frequently and always lived near railroad tracks.
BTK's communications indicate a lifelong fascination with trains, police said.
Attention has refocused on BTK since March, when The Wichita Eagle received a letter with information on an unsolved 1986 killing. The letter contained a copy of the victim's driver's license and photos of her body.
It was the first communication from the killer known as the BTK Strangler since the late 1970s, and police said it linked the serial killer to the 1986 slaying. The other seven slayings were in the 1970s, with BTK claiming responsibility for those deaths in letters to the newspaper and a television station.
Police have received thousands of tips from the public since March.
Among other details provided by police:
BTK's father was killed in World War II, and he was raised by his mother, with his grandparents caring for him while she was at work. When he was about 11, his mother began dating a railroad detective.
His grandfather played the fiddle and died of lung disease.
BTK's communications include accounts of a cousin named Susan who moved to Missouri, and of a woman he knew named Petra who had a younger sister named Tina.
Witchita authorities appeal to public with more clues
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Posted: 5:19 PM EST (2219 GMT)
WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- The serial killer known only as "BTK" suggests in letters that he was born in 1939 and is a railroad buff, authorities said Tuesday as they appealed to the public for clues to his identity.
Police released a summary of personal details provided in recent letters they believe were sent by the killer.
The killer -- known by the self-coined nickname BTK, which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" -- is linked to eight unsolved homicides that terrorized Wichita between 1974 and 1986. After years of silence, the killer surfaced again, sending messages earlier this year.
"In these letters, he has provided certain background information about himself which he claims is accurate," said Lt. Ken Landwehr, who read a statement to reporters but took no questions.
According to police, BTK claims to have been born in 1939, making the killer either 64 or 65 years old. The statement did not say where he was born or where he lived, but that his family moved frequently and always lived near railroad tracks.
BTK's communications indicate a lifelong fascination with trains, police said.
Attention has refocused on BTK since March, when The Wichita Eagle received a letter with information on an unsolved 1986 killing. The letter contained a copy of the victim's driver's license and photos of her body.
It was the first communication from the killer known as the BTK Strangler since the late 1970s, and police said it linked the serial killer to the 1986 slaying. The other seven slayings were in the 1970s, with BTK claiming responsibility for those deaths in letters to the newspaper and a television station.
Police have received thousands of tips from the public since March.
Among other details provided by police:
BTK's father was killed in World War II, and he was raised by his mother, with his grandparents caring for him while she was at work. When he was about 11, his mother began dating a railroad detective.
His grandfather played the fiddle and died of lung disease.
BTK's communications include accounts of a cousin named Susan who moved to Missouri, and of a woman he knew named Petra who had a younger sister named Tina.