Police: BTK is arrested; Dennis Rader named as suspect in killings
Wichita Police said that Dennis Rader, a 59-year-old Park City resident, has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the 10 deaths now tied to BTK.
Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams also said that work on the case brings BTK's victim total to 10. Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said investigations closed the cases of two other victims believed to be connected to BTK. They are Marine Hedge, 53, and Delores "Dee" Davis, 62.
Both women were residents of Park City.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, the Wichita Police Department and the KBI arrested Rader shortly after noon Friday after a traffic stop was made on East Kechi Road, Wichita police Lt. Ken Landwehr said this morning at a news conference at City Hall.
There was no incident, he said.
Rader was arrested in connections with the killings of Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox and Vicki Wegerle, Landwehr said.
Rader also was arrested in connection with the deaths of the Otero family: Joseph and Julie Otero and their children Josephine and Joseph Jr., Landwehr said.
Rader is being held at this time at an undisclosed location, Landwehr said. Officials will approach the district attorney's office next week to see if charges will be filed against Rader.
Williams said this was "a very historic day" for the Police Department and numerous other agencies instrumental in helping with the investigation.
The killer known as BTK is Wichita's most notorious serial killer, now connected with 10 homicides from 1974 to 1991.
BTK stands for "Bind, Torture and Kill," a style of killing he used. The serial killer used the initials in letters he sent to local media.
District Attorney Nola Foulston thanked law enforcement officials who worked on the case.
In the year since BTK has resurfaced, she said, she has maintained a staff available to work around the clock with law enforcement officials.
Foulston said her office will review the case, including the statute of limitations, or deadlines that govern what penalties can be applied to past crimes. She said the death penalty will not apply.
There is no statute of limitations on murder, she said, but the death penalty was not approved in Kansas until 1994.
No death penalty applies to murder cases committed before then, she said.
Prosecutors will not be discussing the case publicly after any charges are filed, Foulston said, to ensure that information released does not harm the trial.
"Victims whose voices were brutally silenced by the evil of one man will know have their voices heard again," Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said.
The full story cannot be made known now to protect the judicial process, he said, but justice brings hope.
The two additional killings now attributed to BTK involved women who were abducted from their homes and strangled, but their bodies were dumped in rural areas far from their homes. In the other known BTK crimes, the victims were tied up, murdered and left in their own homes.
Hedge's death occurred on April 27, 1985, she was abducted from her home at 6254 Independence in Park City. Her body was found eight days later along a dirt road near 143rd East and 37th North. Although her hands weren't tied, a knotted pair of pantyhose was found nearby.
An autopsy showed that Hedge was strangled. As was the case in many known BTK cases, the phone line at Hedge's home was cut. Her 1967 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was later found in the Brittany Center parking lot at 21st and Woodlawn. In at least two of BTK's known cases, he drove a victim's car away from the crime scene.
Davis' homicide occurred on Jan. 19, 1991, the latest death now linked to BTK. She was abducted from her home a half-mile east of town. She was found 13 days later under a bridge in northern Sedgwick County on an unpaved stretch of 117th Street North near Meridian.
An autopsy report said that Davis was strangled, and that her feet, hands and knees were bound with pantyhose. The killer cut her outside phone line, then threw a brick through a glass door at the rear of her home to get inside.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, said the BTK investigation was a community law enforcement effort.
"I hope this is a good first step for the families of the victims towards some reconciliation," said Tiahrt, who secured $1 million for use by the Wichita Police Department to investigate the BTK case.
Others in attendance at the news conference were: families of BTK victims, the Wichita City Council, national media and others.
"It has been a very long journey that has brought us to this day," Mayor Carlos Mayans said. "The past year certainly has been a challenge."
He said the arrest was made "through diligence, tenacity, determination and just plain good police work."
"This has not been an easy task," Mayans said.
Wichita Police said that Dennis Rader, a 59-year-old Park City resident, has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the 10 deaths now tied to BTK.
Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams also said that work on the case brings BTK's victim total to 10. Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said investigations closed the cases of two other victims believed to be connected to BTK. They are Marine Hedge, 53, and Delores "Dee" Davis, 62.
Both women were residents of Park City.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, the Wichita Police Department and the KBI arrested Rader shortly after noon Friday after a traffic stop was made on East Kechi Road, Wichita police Lt. Ken Landwehr said this morning at a news conference at City Hall.
There was no incident, he said.
Rader was arrested in connections with the killings of Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox and Vicki Wegerle, Landwehr said.
Rader also was arrested in connection with the deaths of the Otero family: Joseph and Julie Otero and their children Josephine and Joseph Jr., Landwehr said.
Rader is being held at this time at an undisclosed location, Landwehr said. Officials will approach the district attorney's office next week to see if charges will be filed against Rader.
Williams said this was "a very historic day" for the Police Department and numerous other agencies instrumental in helping with the investigation.
The killer known as BTK is Wichita's most notorious serial killer, now connected with 10 homicides from 1974 to 1991.
BTK stands for "Bind, Torture and Kill," a style of killing he used. The serial killer used the initials in letters he sent to local media.
District Attorney Nola Foulston thanked law enforcement officials who worked on the case.
In the year since BTK has resurfaced, she said, she has maintained a staff available to work around the clock with law enforcement officials.
Foulston said her office will review the case, including the statute of limitations, or deadlines that govern what penalties can be applied to past crimes. She said the death penalty will not apply.
There is no statute of limitations on murder, she said, but the death penalty was not approved in Kansas until 1994.
No death penalty applies to murder cases committed before then, she said.
Prosecutors will not be discussing the case publicly after any charges are filed, Foulston said, to ensure that information released does not harm the trial.
"Victims whose voices were brutally silenced by the evil of one man will know have their voices heard again," Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said.
The full story cannot be made known now to protect the judicial process, he said, but justice brings hope.
The two additional killings now attributed to BTK involved women who were abducted from their homes and strangled, but their bodies were dumped in rural areas far from their homes. In the other known BTK crimes, the victims were tied up, murdered and left in their own homes.
Hedge's death occurred on April 27, 1985, she was abducted from her home at 6254 Independence in Park City. Her body was found eight days later along a dirt road near 143rd East and 37th North. Although her hands weren't tied, a knotted pair of pantyhose was found nearby.
An autopsy showed that Hedge was strangled. As was the case in many known BTK cases, the phone line at Hedge's home was cut. Her 1967 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was later found in the Brittany Center parking lot at 21st and Woodlawn. In at least two of BTK's known cases, he drove a victim's car away from the crime scene.
Davis' homicide occurred on Jan. 19, 1991, the latest death now linked to BTK. She was abducted from her home a half-mile east of town. She was found 13 days later under a bridge in northern Sedgwick County on an unpaved stretch of 117th Street North near Meridian.
An autopsy report said that Davis was strangled, and that her feet, hands and knees were bound with pantyhose. The killer cut her outside phone line, then threw a brick through a glass door at the rear of her home to get inside.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, said the BTK investigation was a community law enforcement effort.
"I hope this is a good first step for the families of the victims towards some reconciliation," said Tiahrt, who secured $1 million for use by the Wichita Police Department to investigate the BTK case.
Others in attendance at the news conference were: families of BTK victims, the Wichita City Council, national media and others.
"It has been a very long journey that has brought us to this day," Mayor Carlos Mayans said. "The past year certainly has been a challenge."
He said the arrest was made "through diligence, tenacity, determination and just plain good police work."
"This has not been an easy task," Mayans said.
