bloodrayne
04-01-2004, 12:16 AM
Letter from serial killer ties him to '86 death
BTK resurfaces after 25 years
A serial killer who terrorized Wichita during the 1970s by committing a series of seven murders has claimed responsibility for an eighth slaying and is probably now living in Wichita, police said Wednesday.
A letter The Wichita Eagle received Friday suggests that the BTK strangler was responsible for the Sept. 16, 1986, strangulation death of Vicki Wegerle, who was found dead in her home at 2404 W. 13th St. The crime was never solved.
The letter contained a single sheet of paper with a photocopy of Wegerle's driver's license and three pictures that apparently were taken of her body. Each picture shows the victim in a slightly different pose and with her clothing arranged in a slightly different manner.
The letter was postmarked from Wichita on March 17.
The victim's relatives said Wednesday that the driver's license was the only thing they know of that was missing from the home.
Police said there were no crime scene photographs of Wegerle's body because it was removed by EMS workers before police arrived. At that time, police said, EMS policy was to transport injured people to the hospital as quickly as possible even if there was no pulse.
"The photographs appear to be authentic," said Lt. Ken Landwehr, who has been working on the BTK case for 20 years. "I'm 100 percent sure it's BTK. There's no doubt that that's Vicki Wegerle's picture."
Landwehr said the letter contained no suggestion that the killer planned to strike again, and he asked residents to take normal safety precautions.
Landwehr said the letter is being processed for fingerprints and DNA evidence at the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center.
He said evidence from the Wegerle homicide also has been sent to the forensic center and is being processed using technology that was not available in 1986. He said detectives planned to run any evidence they find through national fingerprint and DNA databases.
Landwehr said detectives also would be studying other unsolved homicides to see whether there may be more BTK victims.
Detectives also are looking through lists of prison inmates who have recently been released to make sure that BTK's silence wasn't caused by his incarceration.
"We're going to work it as a strong cold case," he said. "This is going to be homicide's top-priority case."
The return address on the letter said it was from Bill Thomas Killman -- initials BTK -- with the address in the 1600 block of Oldmanor.
"There has never been a Bill Thomas Killman," Landwehr said.
There is no Oldmanor street in Wichita, although there is an Old Manor. An apartment at that address on Old Manor, which is in a group of brick four-plexes, is vacant, Landwehr said. He said he did not know whether the address had any significance.
Although BTK cut the phone lines of most of his victims, the lines at Wegerle's home were not damaged, Landwehr said.
Landwehr said detectives are setting up hotlines that will allow the public to relay information anonymously by telephone, through the mail or by e-mail.
"This is most challenging case I've ever worked on, and the individual would be very interesting to talk to," Landwehr said.
Norma Wegerle, who was Vicki Wegerle's sister-in-law, said her family was hopeful after hearing of the development in the case. She said relatives had often wondered whether BTK could have been involved.
But Norma Wegerle said she also was saddened by the reopening of old wounds.
"We just want it to be solved so we can get closure," she said. "There's hopefulness that somebody might actually be found. We want it to be solved."
Wichita lawyer Robert Beattie, who is working on a book about the BTK killings, said most people he has talked with thought the killings stopped because BTK was dead or in prison.
"The vast majority of police officers thought he was dead," he said. "I thought he was probably dead.
"But now you have to allow for the possibility that he's been walking around Wichita, getting his hair cut and acting like a normal person."
Beattie and Landwehr said they had no idea why the killer would contact the paper after remaining silent for nearly 25 years.
"Maybe he wants more publicity than the guy who's writing the book," Beattie said.
BTK resurfaces after 25 years
A serial killer who terrorized Wichita during the 1970s by committing a series of seven murders has claimed responsibility for an eighth slaying and is probably now living in Wichita, police said Wednesday.
A letter The Wichita Eagle received Friday suggests that the BTK strangler was responsible for the Sept. 16, 1986, strangulation death of Vicki Wegerle, who was found dead in her home at 2404 W. 13th St. The crime was never solved.
The letter contained a single sheet of paper with a photocopy of Wegerle's driver's license and three pictures that apparently were taken of her body. Each picture shows the victim in a slightly different pose and with her clothing arranged in a slightly different manner.
The letter was postmarked from Wichita on March 17.
The victim's relatives said Wednesday that the driver's license was the only thing they know of that was missing from the home.
Police said there were no crime scene photographs of Wegerle's body because it was removed by EMS workers before police arrived. At that time, police said, EMS policy was to transport injured people to the hospital as quickly as possible even if there was no pulse.
"The photographs appear to be authentic," said Lt. Ken Landwehr, who has been working on the BTK case for 20 years. "I'm 100 percent sure it's BTK. There's no doubt that that's Vicki Wegerle's picture."
Landwehr said the letter contained no suggestion that the killer planned to strike again, and he asked residents to take normal safety precautions.
Landwehr said the letter is being processed for fingerprints and DNA evidence at the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center.
He said evidence from the Wegerle homicide also has been sent to the forensic center and is being processed using technology that was not available in 1986. He said detectives planned to run any evidence they find through national fingerprint and DNA databases.
Landwehr said detectives also would be studying other unsolved homicides to see whether there may be more BTK victims.
Detectives also are looking through lists of prison inmates who have recently been released to make sure that BTK's silence wasn't caused by his incarceration.
"We're going to work it as a strong cold case," he said. "This is going to be homicide's top-priority case."
The return address on the letter said it was from Bill Thomas Killman -- initials BTK -- with the address in the 1600 block of Oldmanor.
"There has never been a Bill Thomas Killman," Landwehr said.
There is no Oldmanor street in Wichita, although there is an Old Manor. An apartment at that address on Old Manor, which is in a group of brick four-plexes, is vacant, Landwehr said. He said he did not know whether the address had any significance.
Although BTK cut the phone lines of most of his victims, the lines at Wegerle's home were not damaged, Landwehr said.
Landwehr said detectives are setting up hotlines that will allow the public to relay information anonymously by telephone, through the mail or by e-mail.
"This is most challenging case I've ever worked on, and the individual would be very interesting to talk to," Landwehr said.
Norma Wegerle, who was Vicki Wegerle's sister-in-law, said her family was hopeful after hearing of the development in the case. She said relatives had often wondered whether BTK could have been involved.
But Norma Wegerle said she also was saddened by the reopening of old wounds.
"We just want it to be solved so we can get closure," she said. "There's hopefulness that somebody might actually be found. We want it to be solved."
Wichita lawyer Robert Beattie, who is working on a book about the BTK killings, said most people he has talked with thought the killings stopped because BTK was dead or in prison.
"The vast majority of police officers thought he was dead," he said. "I thought he was probably dead.
"But now you have to allow for the possibility that he's been walking around Wichita, getting his hair cut and acting like a normal person."
Beattie and Landwehr said they had no idea why the killer would contact the paper after remaining silent for nearly 25 years.
"Maybe he wants more publicity than the guy who's writing the book," Beattie said.