The BTK Killer -- does anyone remember this guy?

[oustemnow]

As someone with a probably less-than-healthy interest in horrid, morbid crimes, I've been stumped by the recent uproar over the BTK killer's sentencing -- not because I think the crimes, as reported, aren't horrid, but because I'd never heard of the guy before this past year. And, at 37, I should remember at least the tail end of his murderous spree. I mean, ask me about Richard Ramirez, the Hillside Stranglers, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, etc., and, oh yeah, I remember hearing the news reports about the wave of terror they were creating. But the BTK Killer? Never heard of him, before this recent media coverage.

Has anyone else experienced this? More to the point, does anyone remember hearing news accounts of the BTK Killer when these murders were supposedly going on? If his crimes were so horrific, surely they would have created a memborable ripple in the sensationalist media.

[XanaDUer]

1. I'm a true crime fanatic

and, yes, I did hear about it, but I had to seek it out. I think crimelibrary.com has a chapter on it.

A local news anchor said that Dennis Radar would have been big news if he did his murders in a larger news market.

[CornField]

2. I did, but I lived in a neighboring state

[Connie_Corleone]

3. I only heard about BTK last year.

I remembered Ted Bundy even though I was just a child. When I was 12, I read the book, "The Stranger Beside Me". Scared the crap out of me, especially where he went into the Women's dormitory.:scared:

But, BTK? Nope. I think he sent the police a letter or something last year bragging. I'm not really sure. I might be getting him confused with some other serial killer.

[oustemnow]

4. see, that's the thing

plenty of other crimes have gone unsolved, yet received tons of attention (see: the Zodiac killer, who also mocked law enforcement -- in fact, the arrogant serial killer seems to be a particularly popular media subject). But the whole frenzy over this BTK Killer's sentencing -- it doesn't make sense. Why, if this guy's crimes are so horrid to warrant national media attention now, weren't they whenthey were actually occurring?

[murielm99]

5. It might depend on how long ago you became interested in

morbid crimes.

This crime spree started in the seventies, and then dropped off the radar for about thirty years. That might be why you never heard of it.

Also, it happened in Wichita. We hear more about crime sprees in centrally located and larger metropolitan areas. If this had happened in New York city, LA, or Chicago, you might have heard more about it. Wichita sounds like a backwater to many media and crime reporter types.

My husband knew about it because he lived in Wichita in the seventies. The whole city was terrorized. BTK typically cut phone lines before he killed. At that time, people did not have cell phones or alternate methods of getting help. There was no 9-11 then.

I think another reason it became a big story recently is because of the type of reporting we have today. The corporate media would rather report about a serial killer than national or world events. I do not mean to be callous about the lives lost in Wichita. It is important to catch someone like BTK. But years ago, after brief intense interest, it would have been a more regional or local story.

[greyl]

6. Nope - my girlfriend and I both made that comment tonight.

Never heard of him till recently. (Our ages are 37 and 28.)