Cops Make Arrest in BTK Probe
Friday, February 25, 2005
Cops Seek to Profile 'BTK' Serial Killer
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita police arrested a "person of interest" in BTK serial killer (search) case Friday, turning him over to the FBI for questioning.
Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans (search) told reporters that there would be a news conference at 11 a.m. ET Saturday on the case, but he would not comment any further.
The man was arrested in suburban Park City, just north of Wichita, and his home was subsequently searched. Police made the arrest near where one of the BTK killer's recent packages was left.
Authorities considered him a person of interest in the 1980s, but did not resume investigating him until recently. He is married and 59 year old.
The person of interest, who works in the code enforcement department for Park City, graduated from Wichita State University (search) in 1979 with a degree in administrative justice. Detectives believe the BTK killer has ties to Wichita State because some of the communications from him were copied on machines at the university.
Furthermore, one missive from the BTK killer, in which one of the murders was described, included a variation on a poem entitled "Oh Death." The poem was on the syllabus in a class taught by Wichita State professor P.J. Wyatt, and authorities believe the person of interest took a class from Wyatt.
The BTK killer — the initials of the killer's self-coined nickname stand for "Bind, Torture, Kill" — has been linked to eight unsolved killings, committed between 1974 and 1986.
Police said they would make an announcement about their activity, but did not say when. Earlier in the afternoon, uniformed police officers were standing outside Wichita's city hall, which houses the police department. Police were also talking to the family of the person of interest.
Police in Wichita, the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office and the FBI all declined to comment to The Associated Press about the activity or any possible connection to the BTK case.
In December, the arrest of a Wichita resident on minor charges sparked widespread speculation of a possible link to the BTK serial killings. That man, who had no connection to the case, later filed a lawsuit alleging defamation against the media outlets that named him.
After taunting police with letters to news organizations throughout the 1970s, BTK disappeared before resurfacing a year ago, when he sent a letter to The Eagle claiming responsibility for an eighth killing in 1986.
In that letter, the killer included a copy of the victim's driver's license and photos of her slain body.
Police said they have received more than 5,000 tips from the public since BTK resurfaced.
FOX News' Carol McKinley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Anyone watching this news conference? They police are praising themselves for catching this guy. Didnt this guy commit these murders like 20 years ago and only recently started taunting the police again? I don't see the police having much to feel good about. BTK sounds like he wanted to get caught.
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