Landmark Cases
BTK Case
Also Known As BTK Strangler
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A series of murders committed in and around Wichita, Kansas, from 1974, by an offender who called himself BTK. The case was closed in 2005 when investigators recovered identifying metadata embedded in a Microsoft Word document that Dennis Rader had sent them on a floppy disk, revealing his identity despite his belief the file had been safely deleted.
Facts
Case YearSourced to the subject's own account LocationSourced to the subject's own accountWichita, Kansas, United States 1 Investigative or Reform SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountRecovered file metadata proved decisive in identifying the offender, an early and influential demonstration of digital forensics in a criminal investigation. 1 Case StatusSourced to the subject's own account Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Ressler lectured on the then-unidentified offender years before Rader's arrest and correctly profiled his background.
Exemplifies
The case lay dormant for decades before the offender resumed contact in 2004.
Investigated By
Officers from the Wichita Police Department, together with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the ATF, searched Rader's properties after his arrest; the Wichita Police Chief announced the arrest publicly.
Used In
Metadata recovered from a floppy disk identified Dennis Rader in 2005.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
Lead sectionQuote, Lead section
is an American serial killer and mass murderer who killed at least ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991.
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
infobox, Other names fieldQuote, infobox, Other names field
BTK Killer
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
Associated With: Robert Ressler, Profile section, Ressler lectureQuote, Associated With: Robert Ressler, Profile section, Ressler lecture
At a lecture at WSU, former FBI agent Robert Ressler correctly assumed the killer was a graduate student in the criminal justice field.
1. Wikipedia: Dennis Rader
Investigated By: Wichita Police Department, Arrest sectionQuote, Investigated By: Wichita Police Department, Arrest section
At a press conference the next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams announced, "The bottom line: BTK is arrested."
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did it take so long to catch him, given he had contacted police and media for decades?
Rader went silent for long stretches, over a decade at one point, and left no forensic or documentary trail. He resurfaced voluntarily in 2004 after seeing a television retrospective on the case, and it was that renewed communication, specifically a floppy disk he sent investigators in 2005, that led directly to his identification.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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