Bind Torture Kill: The BTK Investigation

• NCJ Number: 216775
• Journal: The Police Chief: The Professional Voice of Law Enforcement Volume: 73 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 16-20
• Author(s): Norman D. Williams; Kenneth Landwehr
• Date Published: December 2006
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the investigation of the BTK serial murders in Wichita, KS.

Abstract

The investigation, which was reinvigorated in March 2004 nearly 30 years after the first murder, combined three components: (1) a calculated media strategy; (2) the systematic elimination of potential suspects; and (3) the identification of a suspect through familial DNA. The BTK serial killer began his murder spree in 1974 with the murder of a family of 4 in their home and ended in 1991 after claiming 10 victims. Despite the collection of DNA evidence at the scene of the murders, the BTK killer remained at large for almost 30 years before reemerging with a letter to the local media in March 2004. The BTK investigation sped into high gear as a three-pronged investigation strategy was quickly mapped out and implemented. The first prong, the media strategy, involved the careful control and structuring of information to the media. The BTK Task Force lieutenant became the sole spokesperson for the BTK investigation in order to encourage a rapport between the BTK killer and the lieutenant. The second prong involved systematically managing thousands of leads and eliminating numerous suspects. Strategies for eliminating suspects were designed, which allowed police to quickly investigate and eliminate hundreds of suspects. The third prong to the investigation involved collecting the DNA of the primary suspect’s daughter through a court order for her medical records and comparing it to DNA collected from the scene of the murders. Investigators chose this tactic to avoid tipping off the suspect and it paid off when the results showed that the biological father of the suspect’s daughter was indeed the BTK killer. The combination of innovative and traditional law enforcement techniques brought to justice a killer that had terrorized a community for nearly 30 years.