After Years of Silence Serial Killer Reappears (Part 3/4) | Forensic Files

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website. Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all
listeners. >> [music] >> On Sunday, June 9, 2004, a Wichita man spotted something [music] strange on the
southeast corner of First and Kansas streets downtown. Duct taped [music] to a stop sign was a
clear plastic bag containing a brown envelope. The man collected the package and
continued on his way to work. He discarded the [music] tape and bag as he walked, but kept the envelope to show
his supervisors when he arrived. Typed on the front were the words BTK field gram.
Inside the envelope was several photo copied pages that had been [music] reduced in size.
One listed the 13 chapter titles for the BTK story, but chapter 8, MOID Ruse, had
been blacked out. An accompanying sketch depicted a bound woman hanging naked from a rope along
with the caption, "The sexual thrill is my bill." BTK's unique signature was scrolled in
the corner. The remaining pages were marked as C1, indicating they were part of the first
chapter of the BTK story, A Serial Killer is born. The long rambling passage read like a
personal diary entry. Titled Death on a Cold January Morning, >> [music] >> it began,
"If a person happened to be out one of these cold mornings in a certain part of Wichita, that [music] is the northeast
part on a particular morning in January, he might have noticed a man park his car
in a store parking lot, pause briefly, then walk across the street and [music] disappear among the house and commercial
building." BTK described the man slinking through the neighborhood unnoticed, dressed in a
heavy parka with his head lowered. His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the windows and front door of a
nearby house. It was a corner property with a detached garage, a fenced-in yard, and enough
distance from neighbors to offer privacy. The man looked [music] up and down the
street before climbing over the wooden fence into the backyard. He had spied on the family that lived at
the residence long enough to know their routine. The man of the house left for work at
8:00 a.m. At 8:45, [music] the mother took her five children to school in her station
wagon. She returned home 7 minutes later, alone. >> [music] >> In BTK's words, it was, quote, "the
perfect [music] setup. A victim all to himself. A person he could tie up, torture, [music]
and maybe kill." What followed was a meticulous step-by-step account of the Otero family
murders told from BTK's perspective. Within the text, he referred to himself as Rex, the Latin word for king.
He explained that he had fantasized about torturing women since childhood. His imagination had satisfied him for a
while, but as he got older, his fantasies intensified until he felt the urge to, quote, stake his prey.
After noticing Julie Otero around town, BTK [music] said he chose her as his first victim.
He planned to force her into a car, bind her, [music] and drive her into the countryside where he would rape and
strangle her before leaving her body in a culvert. BTK watched the Otero station wagon come
and go on the morning of Tuesday, January 15, 1974, assuming the family had followed their
usual routine, and that Julie had returned home alone after dropping her children off at school.
In actuality, her husband, Joe, was behind the wheel as he was off work due to an injury.
>> [music] >> Joe had only dropped off the three oldest Otero children, while Julie
remained home with 11-year-old Josie and 9-year-old Joey, [music] who would be driven to school later.
BTK approached the rear of the Otero house, cut the phone line, and pulled a nylon mask over his face.
He tried the back door only to discover it was locked. He then lay in wait until Joey Otero
suddenly stepped outside with the family dog. Startled, BTK swiftly ordered Joey back
inside and followed him in. The rest of the Oteros were gathered around the kitchen table preparing
school lunches when BTK entered armed with a knife and a pistol. He announced that it was [music] a stick
up saying that he was a wanted man in need of food, money, and a car. The frightened Otero children pressed
against their parents who insisted they had no money. BTK instructed them to remain calm and
that everything would be okay. Throughout this, the Otero's dog barked incessantly.
BTK wanted the dog gone saying that things would go better if it was out of the way.
Joe agreed to put the dog in the backyard while BTK watched on closely warning him against any funny tricks.
Once the dog was outside, BTK herded the family into the main bedroom at gunpoint
and ordered them to lie on the bed with their hands behind their backs. BTK stated that he trembled from
nervousness [music] but he remained alert and in control as he bound Joe and Julie's hands and feet.
He then turned [music] his attention to the children. Once all four family members were
restrained, BTK collected the keys [music] to Julie's station wagon in preparation for his escape.
>> [music] >> He then returned to the bedroom and slipped a plastic bag over Joe's head.
Muffled screams broke out from the others who pleaded with him to stop. Julie begged BTK to leave promising
[music] him they wouldn't tell anyone what he'd done. Instead, he moved toward her with a
length of cord. BTK went on to graphically describe how he murdered Joe, Julie, [music] Joey,
and finally Josie Otero. Afterwards, he collected his things, [music] took one last look at the bodies
he had left throughout the house, and then drove away in Julie's car. It was evident from the tone of the
writing that BTK took pleasure in reliving the terror he had inflicted on the Oteros.
Although some of the details, like dialogue, might have been fictionalized or embellished, his account of the
murders aligned closely with the crime scene evidence, giving it a chilling authenticity.
Its specificity and accuracy made it feel less like a retrospective written decades later, and more like something
composed in the direct aftermath of the attack. A date at the top, February 3, 1974,
indicated the document was created just 19 days after the murders. BTK's compulsion to journal his crimes
offered valuable insight into his psychology, confirming that he was a controlling, ego-driven offender.
>> [music] >> The journals likely served as yet another gratifying trophy, allowing him
to relive his attacks over the years while maintaining mastery over [music] his victims.
In the month following the discovery of chapter one of the BTK [music] story, a Wichita Public Library employee was
emptying out the book return box when he discovered a plastic bag at the bottom.
Inside were several papers marked [music] BTK Flashgram, each bearing the killer's familiar signature. [music]
It was the second time BTK had left information at the library. The first being the Otero murders confession
letter back in 1974. This latest submission was meant to continue BTK's autobiography,
specifically chapter two, Dawn. However, he admitted he had been sidetracked by an entirely different
event and wanted to write about that instead. The name of Jakey appeared at the top of
a two-page document. Since none of BTK's victims were known by that name, investigators feared they
were about to learn of another they didn't know about. "I was so excited about this incident,"
BTK wrote, [music] "that I had to tell the story." The incident in question had occurred
less than two weeks before the flash drive was discovered at the library. In the early hours of Sunday, July 4,
2004, 19-year-old Jake Allen was struck and killed by a freight train near his family's farm, 35 miles outside of
Wichita. His death stunned the community and made local headlines. Jake came from a large and supportive
Catholic family, [music] and his parents ran a successful business. Easygoing, popular, and creative, he was
homecoming king, class valedictorian, a National Honor Society student, and a star athlete in football, basketball,
and track. Those who knew Jake couldn't imagine him caught up in anything sinister.
Yet, he was found naked with his sweatshirt and pants recovered a short distance away from his remains.
Worse still, he'd been bound with baling wire and tied to the railway tracks. In his latest writings, [music] BTK
claimed he'd become acquainted with the Jake Allen through online chats, during which they discussed sadomasochism,
amongst other things. Posing as a detective investigating the BTK case, he allegedly lured Jake to the
train tracks, convincing him [music] to act as bait to draw out the elusive serial killer.
BTK said he played quote games with the Jake before leaving him bound on the tracks to die. The vibration of the
approaching train sexually arousing him. As evidence of his claims, he included photo copies of four grainy Polaroid
photos showing a portly older man in the woods. He was bound in bondage and partially
naked with a hood covering his face and white tube socks on his feet. It was clear that the man was not Jake
Allen, nor did Jake appear in any of the images. When investigators examined Jake's
death, they confirmed the bailing wire had come from his family's farm. Additionally, [music]
Jake's computer showed no evidence of any online conversations as BTK had claimed.
As improbable as it seemed, [music] it was determined that Jake had taken his own life.
It marked the first time BTK had falsely claimed credit for a death. Although this was new for him, it
aligned with his history of attention-seeking. Even now, [music] he still craved power
and recognition. He was also likely taking pleasure in the psychological control he exerted by
misdirecting and diverting authorities. But it was what BTK wrote after his fictitious story about Jake Allen that
caused genuine alarm. Writing in the present tense, he outlined his plans to kill again.
He claimed he had his sights set on either a woman who lived alone or a child that was left unsupervised after
school. "Just got to work out the details," he explained. "I'm much older, not feeble now, and
have to condition myself carefully. Also, my thinking process is not as sharp as it used to be.
Details, details, details. I think fall or winter would be just about right for the hit.
Got to do it this year or next [music] as time is running out for me. The threat mobilized the Ghostbusters,
[music] the specialized task force that had overseen the BTK case in the 1980s and
reassembled following the killer's reemergence in 2004. In the wake of the flash gram, the
23-member team was expanded to 40. As they scrambled to prevent the forewarned murder, the killer's next
communication arrived. It surfaced late on Friday, October 22, 3 months after he falsely claimed
responsibility for the death of a Jake Allen. A United Parcel Service delivery driver
discovered the package in a secluded drop box outside an office building near Interstate 135.
It was another plastic bag with an envelope marked BTK field gram. Inside were eight pieces of paper
copied, recopied, and reduced multiple times, making their text difficult to read even when enlarged.
One page contained an updated list of the 13 chapters of the BTK story, now with the chapter one, A Serial Killer Is
Born, blacked out. A four-page document labeled C2, Dawn, was the anticipated second chapter of
BTK's autobiography. The content appeared to chronicle BTK's childhood, adolescence, and early
adulthood. He was a dull writer and story was a monotonous read. He described having an inappropriately
close relationship with his mother from a young age, sleeping beside her at night, feeling her underclothes, and
being allowed to rub her hair. Then, when he was between 10 and 11 years old, his mother discovered semen
stains in his underwear. She held BTK's hands behind his back and whipped him with a belt, warning,
"If you masturbate, God will come and kill you." Although the beating hurt, BTK admitted
that he found it strangely arousing. He carried this fascination into his youth by reading books about
sadomasochism. By age 18, he was peeping through windows, breaking into homes, and
stealing women's underwear. He escalated into animal abuse, confessing that he had hanged a cat
[music] and later a dog. He drew sketches of his violent fantasies, but destroyed them whenever
he moved, seeking a fresh start. Yet, the urges always returned. In his early 30s, he began visiting sex
workers and experimenting with bondage. Some refused to see him again, as BTK explained,
"Because I was too scary." Between the ages of 32 and 34, his violent urges grew considerably to the
point that he described them [music] as bad. During this time, he studied well-known
serial killers, including Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy, and Richard Speck.
He noted that "They all got caught except the Ripper." He wondered whether he could avoid
capture if he became a serial killer. In addition to chapter two, BTK [music] supplied a rambling two-page list titled
three, one, two, [music] three, uno, dos, tres theory. The BTK world works in threes
and is based on the eternal triangle. In it, >> [music] >> he listed examples of bizarre
triangulations such as universe, cosmos, elements, God, Holy Spirit, [music] Son,
women, man, sex, psycho, serial killer, BTK, BTK, victim, police, details, time, hit,
hit, thrill, [music] kill. The list confirmed a long-standing suspicion that the number three held
particular significance for the killer, as it had appeared in the house numbers of each of his known victims.
The reason why remained a mystery. The final item in BTK's latest package was titled after a local phone book,
Wichita and Vicinity. It consisted of a collage of photographs of children cut from newspaper
advertisements. Scrolled over the children in black permanent marker were gags, ropes, and
bindings. While BTK's latest offering provided several potential clues to his identity,
the Ghostbusters remained wary. Although much of his previous correspondence had proven reliable, BTK
had also shown the ability and willingness to lie, as evidenced [music] by his recent false claims about Jake
Allen's death. Nevertheless, [music] the task force took a calculated risk and held a press conference outlining
more than 20 claims BTK had made about himself in chapter [music] two. They included that he was born in 1939
making him 64 [music] or 65 years old in 2004. He apparently had a cousin named Susan
who had moved to Missouri, a grandfather who played the fiddle and died of lung disease, and a father who had perished
in World War II. His mother had supposedly worked during the day near a railroad, which led to
BTK's lifelong fascination with trains and his preference [music] to live close to their roots.
As a boy, he said that he'd built and operated a ham radio and attended church and Sunday school.
His hobbies [music] included hunting, fishing, and camping. He had a Hispanic acquaintance named
Pedro who had a younger sister named Tina. He had repaired photocopiers for work,
possessed a basic knowledge of photography and developing images, and had served overseas as part of the Air
Force before being discharged in 1966. These disclosures sparked conversation, though not all of it positive.
Many were skeptical of BTK's claims with a former FBI profiler warning, "This whole scenario could be contrived
just to set up false leads and keep the police running." Still, he defended the decision to
release the material publicly arguing that withholding it would be irresponsible.
"The key could be there," he said. "There could be something that leads to this guy's apprehension."
Critics simply wanted the press to stop reporting on BTK. One Wichita resident expressed [music]
fatigue with the media frenzy, stating, "The only reason BTK should be in the news is if he is captured, period.
The media should stop feeding into his ego with all the coverage." Even those who were inclined to believe
that the information was genuine [music] cautioned against treating it as significant.
A psychologist who consulted on the case in the 1970s noted that many of the details were hardly unusual, telling the
Wichita Eagle, "All boys in the early '50s were playing with radio kits. Photography was a contemporary thing
back then." What struck him as more meaningful was BTK's alleged upbringing without a
father figure. He stated that this was not uncommon among sex offenders and sociopaths.
As it was hard to imagine BTK could still be actively killing in his '60s, >> [music]
>> the psychologist suggested he was more likely indulging in memories of his, [music] quote, "glory days,"
perhaps because he sensed his time was limited. After all, he had mysteriously written
in his latest letter that "Time is running out for me." Former Wichita Chief of Police Richard
LaMunyon agreed, saying the tone of the communications suggested that BTK wanted
to be identified and the case brought to a close. "I could be wrong," he acknowledged,
>> [music] >> "but I truly believe this is an individual who doesn't want to go to his
grave without telling us who he is." >> [music] >> BTK's reported backstory sparked a fresh
wave of tips as investigators contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
>> [music] >> for to compile a list of mining sites where workers might have contracted a
lung disease. They cross-checked [music] suspects against railroad employees and hobbyists
while launching a nationwide search for sisters named Petra [music] and Tina. They identified 27 such pairs.
One even lived in Wichita, >> [music] >> but they were of Bulgarian descent, not
Hispanic. By December 2004, BTK had been sporadically communicating with the police and the press for almost a year.
If he had claimed any more lives during his resurgence, he wasn't willing to reveal it yet.
On Wednesday, December 1, 64-year-old Wichita retiree Roger Valdez felt feverish and decided to spend the day in
bed. >> [music] >> At 7:30 p.m., he overheard people talking outside his home followed by
loud knocking on his front door. Not wanting to entertain visitors in his condition, Roger ignored the sounds.
>> [music] >> Suddenly, a group of about 20 plain-clothed men stormed into his home,
prying open the dead-bolted storm door and forcing their way through the wooden door behind it.
>> [music] >> One of the men pointed a handgun at Roger and ordered, "Put your hands up. You're under
arrest." Roger realized the men were police. They said they had a warrant to collect
his DNA, [music] but Roger didn't know why they wanted it and refused to give a sample.
"Well, we're going to take it from you one way or the other," he was told. Two officers held him by the shoulders
as a swab was forcibly rubbed against the inside of his mouth. >> [music] >> Roger's house underwent a dramatic
search. Holes were put through walls and several bags and boxes of items were seized,
including papers, photographs, and typewriters. >> [music] >> He was taken to jail for outstanding
warrants alleging criminal trespass and housing code violations from years earlier.
Meanwhile, news of Rogers' dramatic arrest spread quickly through Wichita's media.
>> [music] >> Although the name was never added to Roger during his ordeal, reports [music]
were quickly going to print that authorities had finally caught BTK. >> [music] >> A tip-off to the BTK hotline that
morning had apparently led investigators to Rogers' door. He fit the profile somewhat in that he
was in the right age bracket, was a lifelong Wichita resident, had served in the armed forces, and lived near a
railroad track. Rogers' three adult children were stunned by the allegations. They knew their father as a hardworking,
honest, and good man, and they were baffled that anyone could consider him BTK. Though the charges laid against him were
for unrelated misdemeanors involving housing code and trespassing violations, Roger spent 24 sleepless hours in jail.
It wasn't until a phone call with his daughter the next day that he learned the true pretext behind the search of
his house. By the time of his release, his name and address had been widely broadcast as a
BTK suspect. Roger couldn't go back home. Crowds of reporters and stunned onlookers staked out his house wanting
to catch a glimpse of the elusive killer who had haunted the city for more than three decades.
News reports did a little to acknowledge Roger's potential innocence. Instead, they fixated on how creepy it
seemed that he had children's toys in his yard without mentioning the fact that he was a grandfather.
Roger watched the chaos unfold in horrified awe as neighbors who knew him well told reporters,
"We can't believe that BTK had been this close to here or that we'd have a murderer in our midst."
Three days later, the results of the DNA test came in. Roger Valdez was not BTK.
His misdemeanor charges were resolved, but his reputation had been tarnished with some in the community unwilling to
accept his innocence even in the face of scientific proof. In an effort to clear his name and
restore justice for his family, Roger sued the parent companies of three media outlets, all of which invaded his
privacy [music] by broadcasting his name and address on television, radio, and the internet in their rush to be the
first to report the capture of BTK. Roger ultimately won a $1.1 million judgment.
The defendants vowed to appeal, but Roger, who had spoken openly about how the ordeal had caused him immense pain
and stress, passed away a month later. To investigators, the arrest of Roger Valdez was purely procedural.
They had deliberately avoided accusing him of being BTK, mindful that a false accusation like that could ruin a man's
life. The media's response, however, underscored just how far the relationship between the police and the
press had deteriorated since BTK first emerged. In the early years, the two had cooperated, mutually agreeing to handle
the case discreetly to protect the integrity of the investigation. By the early 2000s, the atmosphere had
shifted. The media was swept up in scandal and sensationalism, each outlet eager to be
the first to announce an arrest and reap the resulting acclaim. When BTK had contacted the press in the
past, journalists had alerted police immediately. By 2004, however, they held on to
evidence, examining and documenting it before notifying authorities. They appeared unannounced at suspects'
homes, pursued confidential information, interfered with surveillance, and followed leads so aggressively that at
times officers threatened to arrest them. The relationship between police and the
media had eroded so severely that investigators no longer viewed the press as a potential asset, but as a
liability. And they knew only one person stood to benefit from that breakdown. BTK.
Merely days after Roger Valadez was cleared from the BTK investigation on Wednesday, December 8th, 2004, the phone
rang at a QuickTrip convenience store on East Harry Street, a major thoroughfare
in downtown Wichita. "Do not hang up," the irritated male caller demanded. "There is a bomb in your store."
He spoke quickly to ensure that he wasn't cut off, announcing, "This is BTK." The store's assistant manager took over
the call, with BTK instructing him to write down the following details. "I'm calling to tell you of a package at
9th and Minnesota on the northeast corner," he said before abruptly hanging up. Investigators raced to the location
provided, which was near the serene grounds of Murdock Park and adjacent to Interstate 135.
The Interstate had appeared frequently in BTK's recent movements, leading investigators to suspect [music]
it was the route he used when traveling around the city to drop off his packages.
Perhaps he lived nearby, or maybe he knew that even if police attempted to monitor the roadway, it would be nearly
impossible to single out his vehicle among the thousands of drivers who used it every day.
With flashlights in hand, investigators scoured the streets, trash cans, and the
bushes around Murdock Park, >> [music] >> but found nothing of note. The bomb threat was ultimately deemed to
be a hoax after it was discovered that BTK had attempted to call through the coordinates of his latest drop to other
businesses as well, including the jewelry store where victim Nancy Fox had worked.
However, [music] after hearing the caller announce, "This is BTK," the others assumed it was a prank and had
immediately hung up. The bomb threat to QuickTrip was likely intended to ensure that police would be
contacted. [music] 5 days later, a local man was walking through Murdock Park when he spotted a
package by a tree on the south side, facing away from the corner pinpointed by BTK.
It was a small white trash bag with a clear plastic Ziploc bag inside that contained a doll.
Several sheets of paper were secured to the doll with rubber bands, including an
index card labeled Dollgram. Once again, the papers included the list of BTK's 13 story chapters. This time
with chapters 1, 2, and 8 crossed out. >> [music] >> The doll's hands and ankles were bound
with white string, and it was naked from the waist down with pubic hair crudely drawn on in black marker.
The Ziploc bag had been tied in a way that made it appear as though the doll was being suffocated, and a piece of
pantyhose was wrapped around its neck. The string around the doll's ankles was woven through a punctured hole in the
corner of a driver's license. >> [music] >> It belonged to Fox who had been killed
by BTK in 1977. The license was in pristine condition, indicating that BTK had carefully
preserved it during the 27 years since Nancy's murder. Why he chose to surrender it now was
puzzling to investigators, given that serial killers typically hoard their trophies to maintain a lasting sense of
power, control, and ownership over their victims. Once again, speculation arose that BTK
was nearing the end of his life and was relinquishing everything before his story could end unfinished.
>> [music] >> The call alerting police to the doll gram was placed on the 27th anniversary
of Nancy Fox's murder. The package included a two-page document titled chapter nine hits and was
subheaded PJ Fox Tail, December 8th, 1977. >> [music] >> The date Nancy was killed.
Sure enough, the writing detailed the crime from BTK's perspective. I spotted Nancy one day while cruising
the area, he explained, adding that her age was right and that she had the look of a BTK victim.
He described how he stalked her, [music] explaining "Found out her name by checking her
mailbox and tracked her to work. I visited the store where she worked, asking for some jewelry on display, and
bought some cheap jewelry." [music] BTK went on to detail the murder in a conversational tone.
He said that he parked a few blocks away from Nancy's apartment, walked there, [music] cut the phone line, broke in,
and waited until she arrived home from work. He then provided a graphic account of
how he killed Nancy Fox. Before leaving, he took mementos from her apartment, including lingerie,
jewelry, and her driver's license. His written confession of Nancy's murder ended with the letters [music] SBT,
though it was unclear what they stood for. BTK [music] also revealed that he had
given a piece of Nancy's jewelry to a girlfriend, writing, "Naturally, I didn't tell her where it
came from." It was confirmed that a necklace belonging to Nancy was missing following
her murder. Police issued a public appeal for the piece, a gold chain set with two
vertically aligned pearls, speculating [music] that BTK might have given it to a woman in December 1977 or early 1978.
But no one [music] came forward claiming to have received it. On Tuesday, January 25, 2005, over a
month after police received a BTK's doll gram, local Wichita television station KAKE-TV received another communication
from the killer, adding to the long list of messages he had sent them over the years.
This time, it was a postcard labeled communication number eight. He gave his name as S. Killett and he
used the Otero's former family home on North Edgemoor Street as the return address.
The postcard contained a set of directions and strangely referenced the box of cereal called Post Toasties.
Date: Week of January 17th, 2005. Where: Between 69th and North and 77th and North on Seneca Street.
>> [music] >> Contents: Post Toasties box, C9, PJ, little Max and a doll, haunt of KS, acronym list, and a
jewelry. >> [music] >> Instead of contacting the authorities straight away, KAKE TV's news director
dispatched reporters and a film crew to the location. They arrived on Seneca Street, an
isolated rural dirt road in North Wichita. Leaning against the base of a road curve
sign, they found a Post Toasties box adorned with a red crepe streamer and weighed down with a brick.
By the time police were alerted, the scene on Seneca Street had been compromised.
The KAKE TV staff had driven right up to the sign and walked within a foot of the
cereal box, destroying any [music] tracks that BTK might have left in the dirt. However, the box itself remained
untouched. Inside was a note from BTK explaining the abbreviations he'd used in previous
correspondence. He clarified that SBT, which had ended the chapter on Nancy Fox's murder, stood
for Sparky Big Time. Sparky being the nickname he'd given his penis and Big Time referring to masturbation.
PJ [music] stood for projects. SFX meant sexual fantasy. DBS death by strangulation and
DTPG >> [music] >> death to pretty girl. There were many others. To investigators, his excessive [music]
use of cryptic acronyms showcased his desire to be perceived as intelligent or cunning, kind of like a spy.
But they weren't impressed. >> [music] >> The Post Toasties box contained another
doll, also naked from the waist down with marker drawn pubic hair. This one had its wrists, waist, knees,
and ankles bound with a thin white cord and a gag across the mouth. A piece of rough rope extended from the
doll's neck to a short piece of white plastic PVC [music] pipe. It was a grotesque representation of the
murder of 11-year-old Josie Otero. The Otero murders were once again the focus of an accompanying document, which
was part of the ninth chapter [music] of BTK's story hits. This time, he asserted that Josie, not
Julie Otero, had been his intended target all along. Interestingly, the Post Toasties [music]
box was left in an area where BTK had never been known to operate. >> [music] >> It was within walking distance of Park
City, a growing suburb north of Wichita. Home to around 7,000 people, Park City functioned as its own independent city
within the wider metropolitan area. This got investigators [music] thinking. Almost two decades earlier, in the early
hours of Saturday, April 27, 1985, 53-year-old widow and grandmother Marine Hedge had disappeared from her home on
North Independence Street in Park City. Marine, who lived alone, had hosted a friend that evening.
The pair stayed up talking until the friend left around 1:00 a.m. Hours later, Marine failed to show up
for her shift at the coffee shop where she had worked for 13 years, which was highly uncharacteristic of her.
Park City police were called, and although Marine's home appeared normal, her phone line had been cut and her car
was missing. It was found 2 days later abandoned at a shopping center a short drive southeast.
It was locked and the keys were missing. The driver's side windshield was partially broken, and it was unusually
muddy, though it had been wiped clean around the trunk and sides. Inside [music] the trunk, police found
two bed covers, a purple bedspread, a tan curtain, and a pink electric blanket, all belonging to Marine.
Pine needles from an evergreen tree were also scattered throughout the vehicle, adding to the mystery.
The following day, Marine's purse was spotted alongside a rural road on the eastern outskirts of Wichita, stripped
of all forms of identification. Nine days after Marine's disappearance, [music] her naked body was discovered in a wet
ditch 7 miles from her home in an area known for illegal rubbish dumping. Displacing her car, purse, and body
would have required as little as a 20-mile round trip, or roughly a 30-minute drive on back roads in the
early hours. Her killer had attempted to conceal her remains with grass, twigs, and a small
section of an evergreen tree. A pair of knotted pantyhose lay nearby, and although Marine had been strangled
to death, the act had been carried out by hand. The case marked Park City's first murder
in 5 years, leaving the neighborhood shaken. Marine had spent her days working, playing bingo, tending to her garden,
and attending church. Given her quiet, trouble-free nature, locals were convinced her killer
couldn't have been someone she knew. "I just hope the hell they catch them," one neighbor told the Wichita Eagle.
Yet, as time passed, >> [music] >> Park City authorities made no arrests, and the case remained unsolved.
6 years later, on Saturday, January 19, 1991, Park City police responded to a report of a possible robbery at a
residence on North Hillside Street. A visitor had raised concerns after finding the curtains drawn with the
porch light left on. Their knocks on the door had gone unanswered despite the homeowner's car
sitting in the driveway. Inside, the doors throughout the house appeared to have been wiped clean.
A cinder block had been thrown through a sliding patio door and lay on the living
room floor amid the shattered glass. The cord to the kitchen phone had been pulled from the wall jack, a jewelry
display had been raided, and a lingerie drawer rifled through. A bed had been stripped of its linen,
and the pillows had been piled against the wall with their cases removed. The keys to the car out front had been
inexplicably tossed onto the roof of the garage. Inside the trunk, which also appeared to
have been wiped clean, was a rug. Most troubling of all, the homeowner herself, 62-year-old Dolores Davis, was
missing. It was a peculiar scenario. Dolores was a beloved grandmother who lived alone with her pet cats, and she
never [snorts] left home without her car. But something had been troubling her lately.
Days before she went missing, she was on the phone to her son when she said that
she heard a rustling sound outside her window. Her cats seemed spooked by whatever was
out there, and one even began batting at the glass as if trying to get to it. Dolores worried that someone was
watching her. Two weeks later, Dolores's body was found partially covered in snow under a
rural bridge, [music] a 12-minute drive north of her home. She was clad in nightclothes with her
breasts exposed. Her legs and wrists were tied with pantyhose, [music] and another pair was
wrapped tightly around her neck. A bedspread lay close by, [music] as did a strange and sinister mask of a woman's
face. It was made from heavy plastic and was pale in color, but someone had hand-painted eyebrows, black eyelashes,
and red lips on it. Although the murders of Marine Hedge and Dolores Davis fell under the
jurisdiction of Park City authorities, >> [music] >> Wichita-based police took notice.
They saw hints of BTK's presence in both crime scenes, including the break-ins, cut phone lines, bondage, [music] and
strangulation. However, FBI specialists weren't convinced he was responsible for either
killing. To them, it simply wasn't his style. BTK's previous murders had been confined
to victims' [music] homes with no instances of him attempting to remove any bodies from the scene.
He had also never struck in Park City before. All of his confirmed victims lived
closer to downtown, Wichita, [music] specifically a small pocket in the eastern region.
While they varied overall, he typically targeted younger women with everyone else being collateral damage.
Additionally, Marine and Dolores' home addresses didn't include the number three, a digit that held particular
significance to BTK when selecting [music] victims. Rumors persisted that Marine and Dolores
were BTK victims, even though he never referenced either murder in his correspondence over the years.
This belief was substantiated in 2005. In the piecemeal narrative BTK was slowly releasing, he admitted that he
had originally intended to [music] bind, abduct, and kill Julio Tero before disposing of her body in a culvert
resembling what had happened to Marine [music] and Dolores. Chronologically, Marine's murder fell 7
years after Nancy Fox and a little over a year before Vicki Wherry, possibly making her BTK victim number eight.
Dolores' murder occurred 4 months after Vicki Wherry's, which would potentially make her BTK's 10th and final known
victim. This raised a compelling question. If BTK was responsible for these two additional murders, why hadn't he owned
up to them? What was it about the murders of Marine Hedge and Dolores Davis that made him
less inclined to boast or even hint at his involvement. Investigators wondered who Marine and
Dolores were to BTK. Perhaps they weren't random strangers, but people he could be traced to.
Or maybe the answer lay in the location of these crimes. Could BTK be found in Park City?
Going back [music] to the communication number eight postcard BTK had sent to KAKE TV that triggered this latest
discovery, >> [music] >> investigators were intrigued by a cryptic note he had included.
It read, "Let me know if you or police department received number seven at Home Depot drop
site January 8th, 2005. Thanks." It seemed that BTK had left them another package earlier that month, which had
gone unnoticed. Wichita's Home Depot building and gardening retail store was situated on
North Woodlawn Boulevard in the city's northeast. >> [music] >> Interestingly, it sat on the same road
as the shopping center where Marine Hedge's car had been found, adding another potential link to her unsolved
homicide. Police visited the location where BTK said he left the package weeks earlier
on Saturday, January 8th. They searched [music] the store and surrounding area thoroughly and spoke to
Home Depot staff and customers, but no one reported noticing anything unusual around that time.
It wasn't until Home Depot employee Edgar Bishop returned from vacation and saw a notice about the police inquiry in
the break room that he made the connection. On January 8th, Edgar discovered that
someone had placed a box of Special K cereal in the bed of his truck, which had been parked in Home Depot's lot.
Black block letters scrolled on the box read "bomb" and "BTK pre". [music] Inside was a blue beaded necklace and
several pages of computer-typed notes that made a little sense to Edgar. One page [music] labeled "boom"
described a BTK's lair, a three-story house with a bondage room and kill room that was rigged with a propane and
gasoline bomb [music] designed to detonate if police entered. Believing the box and its contents were
a prank, Edgar discarded them in the trash can at his home. Luckily, because Edgar had been on
vacation, he hadn't taken the trash to the curb, where its contents would have been nearly impossible to recover.
Investigators retrieved the Special K box. It contained more of BTK's egotistical
musings, including further references to himself as Rex. He also included a list titled PJ, which
authorities now understood [music] meant projects, essentially BTK's victims. He assigned each a code name and a brief
descriptor of the attack. He wrote about Josephine Otero, whom he incorrectly referred to as {quote}
[music] "Little Mac" despite the fact she was Puerto Rican. He referred to Nancy Fox as {quote}
"Foxtail". He also detailed other unnamed victims he had considered targeting but
ultimately did not murder for various reasons. If he had carried out those attacks, his
victim count would have been at least twice as high. As usual, BTK's writing lacked any real
[music] substance. But the special K box itself proved useful. A code on the box indicated it had been
sold at a grocery store in Park City. And this wasn't the only major breakthrough.
Home Depot had three security cameras covering its parking lot. [music] Investigators poured over the footage
from January 8th until they spotted Edgar Bishop's truck. It had been a busy day of trade as the
city was recovering from a recent ice storm. Hundreds of vehicles came and went that
[music] day as customers purchased items to repair the damage left in its wake. Just after 2:30 p.m., a dark-colored
Jeep Cherokee [music] SUV entered the lot, circled a few times, and then parked.
The male driver got out, walked over to Edgar's truck, and stood beside it for a
moment before placing something in the bed. He then returned to his Jeep and drove
away. Investigators rewound and enhanced the footage repeatedly, straining to discern
any details of the man and his car. Records showed that 2,500 dark-colored [music] Jeep Cherokees were registered
in the Wichita area, but the man remained frustratingly indistinct. [music] Yet, even his blurred figure was enough
to raise anticipation. It marked the first time police had ever laid eyes on BTK. [music]
For the first time in the exhaustive [music] three-decade-long investigation, police had narrowed down BTK's vehicle
type and pinpointed his potential location in Park City. And that wasn't all. "Can I communicate with floppy and not
be traced to a computer? Be honest." BTK had written in the special case serial box correspondence.
He was forthrightly asking whether he could send police further messages via a floppy disk.
These square, flat plastic devices were widely used for computer data storage in
the 1980s and 90s before higher capacity media like CDs and USB drives became standard.
Essentially, BTK wanted to know whether using a floppy disk as a means of communication would allow him to remain
untraceable. Given the painstaking effort he poured into sending his messages while avoiding
detection and then distributing clues about how to find them, he seemed to be looking for a way to streamline the
process. He requested that police run an advertisement in the local newspaper with the message, "Rex, it will be okay
if a floppy disk couldn't be traced." If he received this assurance, he then promised to do a test run and send them
a disk in the near future. The Ghostbusters were dumbfounded by the audacity of BTK's request, debating
whether he was even serious. Surely, he wouldn't be foolish enough to trust them either way.
To test him, they went ahead and ran the ad in the Wichita Eagle's classified section.
"Rex, [music] it will be okay." it said, followed by the address of a PO box where he could send the floppy disk.
13 days later, on Wednesday, February 16, 2005, a padded envelope arrived at the Wichita-based television station
KSAS-TV. The return address bore the name PJ Fox, the code name [music] BTK used to
reference victim Nancy Fox. Inside the envelope was a gold chain with a pendant and three index cards.
One card contained a photocopy of the front cover of the 1989 novel Rules of Prey by John Sandford.
The book follows the hunt for a serial killer who kills for pleasure and delights in placing elaborate obstacles
to keep police baffled. Notably, the killer lived by a specific set of rules. Never kill anyone you know. Never have a
motive. Never follow a discoverable pattern. Never carry a weapon after it has been
used. Isolate yourself from random discovery. Beware of leaving physical evidence.
A second index card listed several of BTK's recent communications, seemingly to ensure that authorities had located
them all. The final card explained how police could contact BTK via yet another newspaper advertisement.
But, most significantly, the package contained a purple floppy disk. The Ghostbusters had mixed feelings.
They were wary that the disk might hold nothing of value and be just another setup designed to toy with them.
Nevertheless, they gathered around a computer as the disk was inserted. It contained a single file named test
a.rtf, which opened a Microsoft Word document containing a brief message. This is a test, it read.
See 3 by 5 card for details on communication with me in the newspaper. In his previous communication, BTK had
asked whether a floppy disk could be traced. He urged the police to be honest with
him, seemingly because he lacked knowledge of modern computer technology. Unbeknownst to him, the officers were
not forthcoming. They assured him it would be safe to send the disk, while in reality, they
had the means to examine it for potentially valuable information. Running the disk through a premier
forensic computer program uncovered a second document that had been previously stored on the disk, but since deleted.
It was an agenda for a church council meeting. Simply clicking on the file's properties
revealed far more than BTK had likely anticipated. Look at that, one investigator remarked.
The file was titled Christ Lutheran Church, and it had been accessed on a public library computer in Park City.
Surely it couldn't be that easy, the investigators wondered. Oh my god, another investigator muttered
in disbelief [music] as they read on. There was also a name. To be continued [music]
next week. >> [music] >> Hey.

[Part 3 of 4] B.T.K resumed his cat-and-mouse game with police, who raced to identify and capture the serial killer before he could strike again…

CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Production & music – Mike Migas Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

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RESOURCES

Brief Summary

The episode details the BTK killer's communications and the chilling Otero family murders, including a wrongful accusation of Roger Valdez.

Key points

The Discovery of BTK's Envelope. A Wichita man finds a mysterious envelope marked 'BTK field gram' containing chilling details.
BTK's Disturbing Confession. BTK describes his meticulous plan to murder the Otero family in graphic detail.
The Threat of Future Murders. BTK outlines his plans to kill again, targeting vulnerable individuals.
Skepticism Surrounds BTK's Claims. Experts question the validity of BTK's backstory and motivations behind his communications.
Roger's Arrest. Plain-clothed officers storm Roger's home, claiming to have a warrant for his DNA.
Media Frenzy. News of Roger's arrest spreads quickly, mistakenly linking him to the BTK case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

A victim all to himself. A person he could tie up, torture, and maybe kill.

3:18WatchMar 21, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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