Police: BTK [serial killer] is arrested

[johnfunk]

Police—BTK is arrested

BTK is arrested, said Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams this morning at a press conference at City Hall.

His announcement drew applause.

Williams called today a very historic day for the police department and numerous other agencies instrumental in helping with the case.

[Renew Deal]

1. BTK gave himself up.

Why would he want to get caught?

[Blue_Tires]

2. attention

psychologically, i think the BTK is someone that starves for the limelight and notariety

[lonestarnot]

3. now who would wonder about how he got into custody? n/t

[bettyellen]

5. he had been writing again a lot all of a sudden-- leaving lots of clues

about his personal history, and they had his DNA.
maybe he was feeling too old to pull anything off anymore, but still needed to relive it. god knows. i hope it's him. btk was incredibly twisted and cruel.

[Zuni]

51. His daughter went to the police

she became convinced that he was BTK---she gave a DNA sample and it was genetically very similar to the DNA in semen found on several corpses

[Must_B_Free]

4. Wouldn't he be a suspect until he is convicted?

[lonestarnot]

6. Not in these days of MSM n/t

[bettyellen]

8. technically, but they have his dna and he is being charged.....

so i think now he's beyond being a person of interest or suspect and is now an alleged serial killer.

[BiggJawn]

32. Ain't no "alleged" about it, according to Chief Wiggums...

Uh, I mean Williams....

So will they dispense with the messy expense of a trial? After all, Kansas' budget can't be all that good, even though the state is a perfect model of what "Bushannia" could be...

Do Kansas cops say "Boy, youinna HEAPA trubble!" like Georgia sheriffs used to?

[bettyellen]

40. well whoever did it, saved lots of souvenirs, and if they found him and

have videotape of him mailing the pkg to the police, and his dna matches and he has the souvenirs...... i would not be suprised if the police are pretty fucking satisfied.
sometimes the pieces fall into place, see: david berkowitz , and this guy left a lot of pieces to fit together.
not suprising at all they might be damned certain. sometimes it works that way.

[Zuni]

53. This is like the Green River Killer capture

It took the cops twenty years to catch the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway.
He was a suspect as early as 1984, and the top suspect in 1986-1987.

He wasn't arrested until 2001, when DNA evidence linking him to the killings was conclusive

[BiggJawn]

67. And they can bring all that out at the trial.

Guess that''s just that "Liberal" part of me, the belief that EVERYONE deserves a trial before their declared "guilty"

[diamond14]

14. that used to be correct: INNOCENT until proven guilty.....but under bush*

you can almost expect MOB VIOLENCE again, perpetrated against INNOCENT suspects.....

many District Attorney's are under a LOT of pressure to arrest someone, actually ANYONE.....here in Virginia, several people have been released from DEATH ROW, after it was revealed that THEY DIDN'T commit any crimes and were TOTALLY INNOCENT, and spent YEARS in prison...


we must force OUR government to get back to reality....ALL AMERICANS ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY....

[OldLeftieLawyer]

44. No

If he's charged, then he becomes the defendant.

If he's convicted, he's the murderer.

But, until then, he's just another citizen, albeit one in custody, awaiting arraignment.

[Zuni]

52. Technically yes, but the state probably has a VERY strong case

After 30 years, I suspect that the authorities are absolutely positive that this is the guy. They wouldn't have moved on this guy after this long unless they were sure of a conviction.

Just like how they caught Gary Ridgeway in 2001. In 1982-1984 Ridgeway was the "Green River Killer" who killed at least 48 women, possibly as many as 71.
In 1986-1987 Ridgeway was a major 'person of interest' but was never arrested.
In 2001 DNA samples taken from the bodies and DNA taken from Ridgeway were sent to a lab in DC. Ridgeway's DNA was on 4 of the bodies.

Ridgeway pleaded guilty to 48 murders and proved to the detectives he was the Green River Killer.

The cops didn't arrest Ridgeway until they were sure they could convict---I suspect the cops and DA in Witchita did the same thing here.

[Cooley Hurd]

7. The press conference makes me want to vomit...

..talk about self-congratulatory, mutual ass-kissing.:eyes:

It's great they caught him, but it took them 30 years - I wouldn't be patting myself on the back so much, if I were them...

[dray178355]

9. agree...

I was completly repulsed by it. Turned it off right after that DA started ranting. What a bunch of fools. If I were a member of one of the victims families I would be appalled. Where do they get these people?

sigh, edited for spelling.

[dray178355]

15. Also...

If you go to the Wichita Eagle site they have a discussion board re. the BTK Killer. He is supposedly some kind of city worker in Park City, Kansas. Code enforcement. I don't want to post his name because it could be bad info. They've linked to a picture on the city's website but the page has been taken down. A couple of people have saved it and last I checked the picture from the web site is stored on Altavista.com in their images. I saved the picture to my hard drive but if you're interested you might go to the newspaper's web site. It links to a BTK discussion board. They start talking about who it is right around post 400 or so. Kind of interesting to read over there. Don't know why but I've always been fascinated by serial killers. I just can't imagine what it is that allows them to cross that line.

Had to edit this one for spelling too.

[bettyellen]

18. they named him on cnn just now.........

dennis rader.
they didn't show but a quick image of the press conference. it just showed a bunch of smiling people. i think i'd be smiling too if it was all over.

[0007]

69. The hog farms!

[bettyellen]

10. whow many of those people were working the case 30 years ago... jeeze

listen to you guys, damned if they catch him , damned if they don't.
this was one brutal sick fuck who inflicted a lot of intense pain on these women before killing him.
why shouldn't they be thrilled? i'm happy for them.

[barbaraann]

12. Just like with the Green River killer in Washington State.

They passed up several opportunities to get him and Sheriff Reichert was rewarded with a seat in the House of Representatives.

[Zuni]

54. They didn't arrest because they couldn't convict

If they took it to court Ridgeway would have walked, and they couldn't prosecute him again.

It was DNA evidence that convinced the DA in King County to arrest Ridgeway, when they were sure they could put him away.

[Skittles]

59. yes they could - if they tried him for one murder at a time

when several murders are involved they sometimes try them for less than all of them because they can still prosecute for the others

[Zuni]

60. I don't know if they could have convicted Ridgeway for any in 1986

It was the DNA findings in 2001 that really made a conviction likely. Before that all the evidence was circumstantial, although I read that one of the bodies had some paint from the Kenworth plant where he worked on it.
Even in 2002, they were looking to try him for only 7 of the 49 "Green River" murders---4 with DNA, 3 with circumstantial evidence---he was pulled over with one victim in his car, and another was last seen in his car.

[girl gone mad]

50. Yes, it was awful.

I caught the press conference this morning and it's been weighing on my mind ever since.

They were patting each other and themselves on the back for doing their jobs. They called a press conference and then refused to answer any questions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they think they caught the guy, but:

1. He hasn't been convicted yet.
2. From the questions being asked by the media, it sounds as if someone in his family turned him in.
3, Would they ever have caught the guy if he hadn't started writing letters agian? I don't think so.

My son had a good comment. He said the fact that they are so self-congratulatory about catching this guy is a sign that maybe they don't have very many successes.

[Bo]

11. Glad to hear the terror is over

Let him rot forever in some hole where only the smell of death is his companion

[bettyellen]

13. it's nice to see someone not blaming the police in this thread.......

if people knew more about the crimes and early letters they might understand why the cops were so giddy. becasue he's an incredibly sick vileperson.

[dray178355]

16. Oh I don't blame the police...

I think the Chief was great. It was the group from the prosecutor's office I thought was repulsive.

[bettyellen]

17. i didn't see them.. i just know a little about the letters that weren't

released, and i have a good idea why they are that excited. i hope it's him and that it sticks.
truly horrifying stuff.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

19. I hate it when you're tuning in to watch a news conference and

the talking heads won't STFU.

I'm watching the BTK news conference on CNN and just when they're going to announce the name, the talking head Andrea Koppell interrupts and then they show a long ass clip of some footage. That shit pisses me off. Just a comment about how these talking heads love to hear themselves yammer on. I tuned in (don't know why I turned on CNN, actually; they suck) to listen to the news conference, not you, lady! Grrrrrrrrr...

[Pattib]

20. It made me sick that some of the people at the press conference wouldn't

shut up. One whole hour of telling the public how great they are, naming practically everyone in the state government...rounds of applause and self-congratulations all to end without any information on the suspect. Amazing.

I kept waiting and waiting and all we get is "I'm sorry, I can't comment on that". Why even bother going before the cameras? It's like they were so busy blowing their own horns they forgot why they were there.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

21. I know what you mean. I understand they don't want to compromise

the case (after all that time and hard work, they don't want to risk blowing it by screwing up; they can rely on the media to do that for them!?).

I was literally yelling like a mad woman at the TV for Koppell to shut up. Then, I turned to MSNBC and they stopped covering the news conference.

[Zuni]

55. I have been familiar with this case for a while

I read a lot of true crime books in my spare time.

If you go to www.crimelibrary.com they have a whole section on him. His first killing, he killed a whole family---father, mother and kids. He bound, tortured and executed them in their own home.
He left the girl hanging from a pipe without pants.

[IndianaGreen]

22. MSNBC just showed video of Dennis Rader in park police uniform

Rader was interviewed by the local NBC TV station on an unrelated story. It was quite something to see BTK killer wearing a badge and uniform.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

29. Wearing the uniform, he could have used this as a means to

lure his victims into thinking they could trust him. What he a park ranger or something? Sick bastard.

[IndianaGreen]

34. Yep, he was a park ranger, and he was the president of his church

and he also installed home security systems for a living.

All kinds of info about him on a GD thread.

[Rockerdem]

23. These press conferences usually suck -- this one was the worst

I dont know much about this case, so I tuned in. I expected the normal 15 minute delay at the beginning, followed by 10 minutes of local pols and law enforcement back slapping.

But this one took the cake. The ineptitude of Wichita law enforcement was on display for the nation to see. With a tin ear to public needs, every Barney Fife ever connected to this case took the moment to preen and to rationalize 30 years of police fuckups in the case. After one studio talking head rattled off all the clues that these idiots had, it became clear why they didnt want to talk about the details and resorted to bragging. Wichita LE is a national laughingstock, and no amount of chest thumping is going to make it any better.

[murielm99]

33. My husband lived in Wichita when the first BTK killings took

place.

He said the police tried to downplay it at first, instead of turning to the public or other law enforcement agencies for help. They tried to stifle publicity about the murders.

[Zuni]

56. That is the WORST thing you can do in a serial killer investigation

or any stranger to stranger homicide case.

A good portion of serial killers are caught by alert citizens. If the Seattle Police were interested, a number of people left Ted Bundy's name with themn early in the investigation. The description of the suspect was a young man with a Yellow VW named Ted. Even Ted's girlfriend called the Seattle PD and told them she was dating a Ted who drove a yellow VW

[marigold20]

43. "I'd like to thank my agent, co-star, of course, the producers..."

I wasted 15 minutes of my life watching them congratulate each other - then turned it off. It truly reminded me of the academy awards - but unfortunately they didn't have any music to make them shut-up.

[emad]

24. Police: Man arrested in BTK serial killings

IBLNEWS

Wichita police today said they have arrested a man in connection with Wichita's notorious BTK serial killings. "Today is a very historic day," Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams said. "The bottom line: BTK is arrested." Authorities questioned a "person of interest" in the BTK killer investigation Friday, and converged on a home in Park City, Kansas, just outside Wichita, sources told CNN.

Sábado, 26 febrero 2005
IBLNEWS, AGENCIAS
CNN affiliate KAKE, a Wichita station that the killer has sent letters to in the past, said authorities were awaiting results of DNA tests to see whether they could be linked to the case.

The killer calls himself BTK, for "bind, torture and kill," a pattern he has followed with most of his victims. Sources said the person of interest was questioned for several hours Friday, and that they were growing increasingly confident that the 30-year investigation may be nearing an end.

The BTK case -- at least eight killings, dating back to 1974 -- has come under renewed scrutiny in recent months, with the killer taunting law enforcement through a series of letters.

http://iblnews.com/news/noticia.php3?id=124973

[WeGotBTK]

25. Parties EVERYWHERE tonight in honor

of catching the loser, BTK, that's terrified our city for 30 years!!!!
May God NOT have mercy on your soul, asswipe!!!

[johnnie]

27. How did you know they caught him yesterday? n/t

[WeGotBTK]

36. My husband on the Wichita PD n/t

[Rose Siding]

26. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1267884

[MidwestTransplant]

28. I would love to find out he is a poster on Free Republic.

[Ilsa]

30. This BTK man was a child killer and torturer from what I had heard.

I'm glad they got him. I've also heard he was probably looking for this notoriety, wishing he could compare himself to Ted Bundy or something. He'll get his 15 min, and then off to death row with him, if he is the one.

(Yes, I want them to make absolutely sure this is the right guy. But I have nothing for this monster. He raped and killed one or two kids, too, from what i heard on tv yesterday.)

[WeGotBTK]

37. Yep. He hung a 9 y/o girl from a beam in her house

BTK's daughter is the one who fingered him. She suspected him and surreptitiously got the FBI a DNA sample from her father!!!

[bettyellen]

41. how old is she?

what did she see to put the finger on him?

[bloodyjack]

38. No capital punishment for him

that is, unless he has committed a homicide in the past eleven years

OH WELL

[FourStarDemocrat]

31. CNN identifies him as "Dennis Rader"

I googled the name, and found that a "Dennis Rader" was on some Sedgewick county boards in Kansas during the mid '90's.

[brentspeak]

35. Google search suggests this guy is a Republican

Rader was appointed by a Commissioner Betsy Gwinn to be Sedgewick Cty,Kansas animal control officer.

http://www.sedgwickcounty.org/countyclerk/1996/regular/reg04-10.pdf

"RESOLUTION APPOINTING DENNIS RADER (COMMISSIONER
GWIN'S APPOINTMENT) TO THE SEDGWICK COUNTY ANIMAL
CONTROL ADVISORY BOARD.
Mr. Plummer said, "Next you have a Resolution appointing Dennis Rader to the Sedgwick
County Animal Control Advisory Board. That's Commissioner Gwin's appointment. I
recommend you adopt that Resolution and make that appointment."
MOTION
Commissioner Gwin moved to adopt the Resolution.
Commissioner Hancock seconded the Motion.
There was no discussion on the Motion, the vote was called."


Gwinn is a Republican:

http://www.govtech.net/magazine/gt/1999/jan/snapshot/snapshot.php

Kansas

"Election officials in Sedgwick County had to reverse some results of an August election after a computer glitch resulted in incorrect vote totals being announced. Sheldon Kamen was proclaimed the winner over Betsy Gwin in the Aug. 4 Republican primary for a county commission seat. The corrected results showed that Gwin had defeated Kamen."

[genieroze]

42. A park ranger, head of his church, security system installer, Rethugnakin,

and a serial murderer. Bet he's a freeper too.

[Zuni]

57. He seemks like a Repuke

from what his neighbors said---a real petty, obnoxious man who harrassed his neighbors.

[Conservativesux]

63. Another Bible-Belt Thumper hypocrite serial killer bites the dust...

...they always seem to be conservatives, just like S/K Ted Bundy, who was a Repuglycan also.

[Zuni]

71. But Gacy was an active Democrat

He was very active in Chicago-area democratic party fundraisers.

Bundy was a committed repuke, you are right about that.

[Conservativesux]

74. Gacy was also homosexual, but most S/K's are Heterosexuals

[Mizmoon]

39. A sigh of Relief

I remember when they caught Son of Sam. It was nice to walk around without that fear that a killer could be out there somewhere. Glad Kansas can enjoy the same relief. I hope it's really really him - they arrested and released someone once before ...

[OldLeftieLawyer]

45. Yeah, same here

The snipers in the DC/VA/MD area a couple of years ago had us all spooked. One woman was gunned down a few stores down from my favorite bookstore. It was scary here.

[True_Blue]

46. Yahoo: Suspect in BTK Case Disliked by Neighbors

PARK CITY, Kan. - He lived among them for nearly 30 years, having arrived in the community before graduating from college. But Dennis Rader, the man police believe is the BTK serial killer, wasn't well liked by some of his neighbors.

Most residents who lived near Rader described him as a bureaucratic bully, an ordinance enforcement officer for this Wichita suburb who often went out of his way to find reasons to issue citations.

One neighbor said Rader was once seen measuring grass in a front yard with a tape measure to see if it was too long. Another recalled catching Rader filming his house, documenting possible violations.

And yet, there were hints at a pleasant side. He helped elderly neighbors with yard work, was active in his church and served as a Cub Scout leader.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=718&e=8&u=/ap/20050227/ap_on_re_us/btk_killings_profile

[ruggerson]

47. BTK Killer Was Dogcatcher, Church Leader

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/26/btk.investigation/index.html

Why does the fact that this serial murderer was a "Church Leader"
not surprise me?

<snip>

WICHITA, Kansas (CNN) -- The man whom Wichita authorities arrested in the area's notorious BTK serial killings lived an unremarkable life as dogcatcher for suburban Park City, one-time president of a Lutheran church and father of two, according to media reports.

Even the capture of Dennis Rader on Friday was undramatic. He was arrested without incident shortly after noon Friday during a traffic stop in Park City, just north of Wichita, police said.

Police plan to file 10 counts against Rader, 59, in connection with the killings between 1974 and 1991 -- eight counts of first-degree murder and two other homicide charges -- Lt. Ken Landwehr, commander of the task force investigating the case, and Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said Saturday. (BTK-related killings)

None of the charges have yet been filed with Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston.

Initially only eight killings were linked to BTK, but Steed said police will file homicide charges for the previously unsolved killings of two Park City women: Marine Hedge in April 1985 and Dolores Davis in January 1991.

In letters to the police and media, the killer called himself BTK, for "bind, torture and kill," a pattern he has followed with most of his victims

<snip>

[lonestarnot]

48. And apparently a boy sprout leader! n/t

[Kelvin Mace]

49. Has there ever been a "liberal" serial killer?

When these folks are caught they seem to me to be either drifters or upstanding members of the conservative community.

[Zuni]

58. John Wayne Gacy

Gacy was an active member of the Illinois Democratic party. He even had a picture taken with Rosalyn Carter.
He had a number of contacts in the Chicago Party Machine.

Ted Bundy, on the other hand, was an active Republican who even worked on some GOP Gubernatorial Campaign in Washington State.

[hadrons]

61. Cub Scout Leader Arrested in BTK Killings (also active Church member)

WICHITA, Kan. - A 31-year manhunt for a serial killer who taunted police with letters about his crimes ended Saturday when authorities said they finally caught up with the man who called himself BTK and linked him to at least 10 murders.





"The bottom line: BTK is arrested," Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams said Saturday, setting off applause from a crowd that included family members of some of the victims.


The suspect was identified as Dennis L. Rader, a 59-year-old city worker in nearby Park City, who was arrested Friday. Police did not say how they identified Rader as a suspect or whether he has said anything since his arrest.


BTK — a self-coined nickname that stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" — stoked fears throughout the 1970s in Wichita, a manufacturing center with 350,000 residents, about 180 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo.


....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050227/ap_on_re_us/btk_killings

[DemBones DemBones]

62. Does NOT fit the serial killer profile of a loner.

This guy is a city worker, Scout leader, active in his Lutheran church, and is married with grown children.

Surprising.

[DARE to HOPE]

64. I am wondering if he is a grown-up child victim of MK-ULTRA...

...from the early years? Isn't he about the right age?

[Zuni]

73. I don't know if they ever gave kids LSD

and there is no evidence to suggest he was anyway involved.

Not all serial killers are loners. Many have double lives. Many have had wives and kids.
Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer, stopped his main 1982-1984 killing spree when he hooked up with his third wife.

[Zuni]

70. Neither did Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy

Ted Bundy was popular, outgoing and personable.
John Wayne Gacy had a family that left him because his wife realized he was gay and sleeping with young men. He also had a lot of friends, was active in community affairs and a 300,000$ a year contracting business.

[NNN0LHI]

65. His Pastor is praying for him. Thats nice

http://christ-lutheran.org/people/

<snip>Dennis is a member of Christ Lutheran Church. He has held leadership positions here at Christ Lutheran over the course of approximately 30 years as a member.

We are all concerned for Dennis Rader and his family. We lift up our prayers in support of all of them. The members of Christ Lutheran Church are in a state of shock and bewilderment about the turn of events that have unfolded this week.

[DemBones DemBones]

68. Jesus would pray for him, despite his sins.

It doesn't mean his pastor approves of what he has done.

[Zuni]

72. exactly. love the sinner, hate the sin

[tanstaafl]

66. Did anyone notice the running text show on CNN

Did any of you notice the text they usually run underneath the picture on CNN, you know the ticker thing. They also have a text box they sometimes show just slightly above the ticker. I was watching the press conference during a workout at the healthclub and at one point the had a text box with something along the lines of ...

"Attorney General send his sympathies to the families , yada yada yada"

That is not exactly what it was, but something real similar. And, I thought that is both a very subtle mind game as well as takes a lot of gaul for Mister Alberto R. "toture memo" Gonzales to "send his sympathies" to families whose relatives were "bound, TOTURED, and killed"!