Post by LadyBlue on Feb 28, 2005 22:53:33 GMT -5
At Wednesday's news conference, Landwehr read a note aloud.
His tone was remote, formal.
"The Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI has confirmed two letters as authentic communications from BTK," he began.
"The letter that was dropped in a UPS box at Second and Kansas Streets in October 2004 has been authenticated. This communication contained information about BTK that was subsequently released to the public on November 30, 2004. The FBI can confirm that its a BTK communication, but cannot confirm the accuracy of the information he wrote about himself in the letter.
"The other communication that the FBI has confirmed is from BTK is the package that was located in December by a Wichita resident in Murdock Park. This package contained the driver's license belonging to (murder victim) Nancy Fox, which BTK took with him from the crime scene.
"Recent communications from BTK have included several items of jewelry. There was jewelry included in the Post Toasties box that was left on North Seneca Street, as well as in communication number seven (a package police found in an undisclosed location) and in the package received yesterday by KSAS-Fox 24. The contents of yesterday's KSAS-Fox 24 communication has been sent to the FBI.
"We are in the process of determining whether or not any of this jewelry belonged to our victims."
Landwehr looked up from his printed text.
People already knew most of this.
Now Landwehr glanced at the cameras, as though addressing a person. And in a friendlier tone, he continued:
"I have said before ... that the BTK investigation is the most challenging case I have ever worked on, and that BTK would be very interesting to talk with," he said.
"I still contend that this is our most challenging case, but I am very pleased with the ongoing dialogue through these letters."
After Landwehr finished, no one asked him a question. Landwehr never takes questions at these briefings.
But there it was:
Landwehr had spoken directly to BTK.
Other people have tried this. A local television station years ago, encouraged by then-police chief Richard LaMunyon, tried to communicate with BTK using "subliminal communication," a message flashed on the screen to appeal to the killer's subconscious.
Anchors at the same television station, KAKE, recently tried again to get BTK to talk by announcing "we're listening."
LaMunyon himself tried publicly several times to communicate with the killer. Hearing Landwehr talk to BTK on Thursday reminded him of why doing such a thing is worth trying.
LaMunyon became Wichita's police chief in 1976, two years after BTK's first victims died. He remained chief until 1989, three years after BTK's last known victim was killed.
He says it was he who assigned Landwehr to BTK, years ago.
What Landwehr did on Thursday, no investigator would do lightly, LaMunyon said.
"There would have to be meetings, a strategy, a plan,'' he said. "There would be a logical reason for every word spoken."
He knows this because he tried it himself, several times. He spoke out to BTK.
It was LaMunyon who announced on Feb. 10, 1978, that a man calling himself the BTK Strangler had killed seven Wichitans and would probably kill more.
Later, LaMunyon tried to talk to BTK through the media.
Some of the conversations that local police and the FBI had before LaMunyon did this became intense.
"There were a lot of strong feelings on both sides," LaMunyon said.
Here's how it played out, LaMunyon said:
After BTK's sixth victim, Shirley Vian, was found dead on March 17, 1977, police and other investigators knew they were investigating a calculating serial killer and not a series of unrelated killings.
Some investigators wanted to go public about it, LaMunyon said. The investigators debated long and hard.
Should they tell the public, warn them that there was a serial killer stalking people, breaking into their homes?
Or would that cause panic, and disrupt the investigation? Would this merely give the murderer a notoriety he obviously craved?
"In the end, after Vian, I made the decision not to go public about it," LaMunyon said.
But nine months later, on Dec. 8, 1977, BTK began to take notoriety into his own hands.
He bound and strangled Nancy Fox in her home at 843 Pershing.
BTK then called a police dispatcher from a pay phone to report the murder, in his own voice, which he must have known would be recorded.
Weeks later, he then began to communicate directly with the media. He sent a letter containing a poem to The Wichita Eagle, on Jan. 31, 1978.
A few days later, he sent a package to KAKE, containing a poem, and a note claiming he killed Vian, Fox, and another person.
LaMunyon, hearing that the station had the package, decided to call a news conference himself. He did what BTK wanted.
He announced "BTK" in public. And the media machine began to grind.
Later, LaMunyon spoke to the killer through the media.
Which is what Landwehr did again on Thursday.
"Why not?" LaMunyon said.
"I myself would love to have the guy come see me and have a cup of coffee. It's the most fascinating case I've ever seen, in Wichita, or in all the cases of serial killers I ever studied.
"I'd love to have him tell not only that he did it, but why."
It's clear that BTK is dying to tell his story, LaMunyon said.
"And ... it's clear that there's something of a pattern here," he said.
"The Strangler has told us who he is, in code. I don't believe that the details he gave us in the biography he sent are true; but I think they are true in a form of code. I think also that some of the stuff he's told us is true.
"It's clear that he feels guilt. He knows he can't justify what he did. But he is trying to tell us why he did what he did.
"So he's leaving us a trail.
"And it's clear that he respects Kenny, and that Kenny respects his communications.
"And who better to tell it to than Kenny Landwehr?
"So Kenny is doing what any good investigator would try to do," LaMunyon said.
"He's trying to establish a rapport with The Strangler."
CNN REPORT
FBI investigators believe two letters found last year in Wichita, Kansas, are from the so-called BTK killer, police said Thursday.
Authorities blame the self-named BTK (bind, torture, kill) for eight Wichita-area killings between 1974 and 1986.
Based on behavioral analysis, the FBI has determined that a letter dropped in a UPS box in October comes from BTK, said Wichita Police Lt. Ken Landwehr.
The FBI cannot confirm the accuracy of personal information the author included in the letter, said Landwehr, who commands the BTK task force.
A second letter -- found in December in Wichita's Murdock Park -- contained a driver's license for Nancy Fox. Police believe BTK killed Fox in her home on December 8, 1977. Landwehr said the killer took the license from the crime scene.
Other packages
Landwehr also said that the FBI is investigating other recent communications related to the case, including a package found at a television station and a cereal box found by the roadside. Police said both contained jewelry which may have belonged to BTK victims.
On Wednesday, Wichita's KSAS-TV received a package that included notes, a photograph and a piece of jewelry, said Roger Cornish, news anchor for KWCH-TV, which produces the KSAS newscast.
"Police have told us they believe [the package] may be legitimate," Cornish said. "But as with their other communications, they won't know for sure until they send it on to the FBI."
In late January, a cereal box left on the side of a Wichita street bearing initials BTK was found to contain jewelry.
From 1977 until 1979, police and news media received letters written by someone claiming to be the killer.
Twenty-five years later, in March of 2004, a letter believed to be from BTK was found which linked BTK to an eighth killing and included details about the author.
In December, police released details contained in the letters including the writer's claim that he was born in 1939, which would make the killer 64 or 65.
The author of the letter said his father died in World War II, and his grandparents raised him while his mother worked. He said his hobbies include hunting, fishing and camping.
The letter writer said he attended military school around 1960, then served in the military. After he was discharged in 1966, he repaired copy machines and business equipment and had a female Latina acquaintance named Petra, he wrote. He solicited prostitutes and had a lifetime fascination with railroads and trains, the letter writer wrote.
Authorities said they believe the killer frequented the campus of Wichita State University during the 1970s, and used false identification to gain access to people's homes.
tinyurl.com/59rxa
His tone was remote, formal.
"The Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI has confirmed two letters as authentic communications from BTK," he began.
"The letter that was dropped in a UPS box at Second and Kansas Streets in October 2004 has been authenticated. This communication contained information about BTK that was subsequently released to the public on November 30, 2004. The FBI can confirm that its a BTK communication, but cannot confirm the accuracy of the information he wrote about himself in the letter.
"The other communication that the FBI has confirmed is from BTK is the package that was located in December by a Wichita resident in Murdock Park. This package contained the driver's license belonging to (murder victim) Nancy Fox, which BTK took with him from the crime scene.
"Recent communications from BTK have included several items of jewelry. There was jewelry included in the Post Toasties box that was left on North Seneca Street, as well as in communication number seven (a package police found in an undisclosed location) and in the package received yesterday by KSAS-Fox 24. The contents of yesterday's KSAS-Fox 24 communication has been sent to the FBI.
"We are in the process of determining whether or not any of this jewelry belonged to our victims."
Landwehr looked up from his printed text.
People already knew most of this.
Now Landwehr glanced at the cameras, as though addressing a person. And in a friendlier tone, he continued:
"I have said before ... that the BTK investigation is the most challenging case I have ever worked on, and that BTK would be very interesting to talk with," he said.
"I still contend that this is our most challenging case, but I am very pleased with the ongoing dialogue through these letters."
After Landwehr finished, no one asked him a question. Landwehr never takes questions at these briefings.
But there it was:
Landwehr had spoken directly to BTK.
Other people have tried this. A local television station years ago, encouraged by then-police chief Richard LaMunyon, tried to communicate with BTK using "subliminal communication," a message flashed on the screen to appeal to the killer's subconscious.
Anchors at the same television station, KAKE, recently tried again to get BTK to talk by announcing "we're listening."
LaMunyon himself tried publicly several times to communicate with the killer. Hearing Landwehr talk to BTK on Thursday reminded him of why doing such a thing is worth trying.
LaMunyon became Wichita's police chief in 1976, two years after BTK's first victims died. He remained chief until 1989, three years after BTK's last known victim was killed.
He says it was he who assigned Landwehr to BTK, years ago.
What Landwehr did on Thursday, no investigator would do lightly, LaMunyon said.
"There would have to be meetings, a strategy, a plan,'' he said. "There would be a logical reason for every word spoken."
He knows this because he tried it himself, several times. He spoke out to BTK.
It was LaMunyon who announced on Feb. 10, 1978, that a man calling himself the BTK Strangler had killed seven Wichitans and would probably kill more.
Later, LaMunyon tried to talk to BTK through the media.
Some of the conversations that local police and the FBI had before LaMunyon did this became intense.
"There were a lot of strong feelings on both sides," LaMunyon said.
Here's how it played out, LaMunyon said:
After BTK's sixth victim, Shirley Vian, was found dead on March 17, 1977, police and other investigators knew they were investigating a calculating serial killer and not a series of unrelated killings.
Some investigators wanted to go public about it, LaMunyon said. The investigators debated long and hard.
Should they tell the public, warn them that there was a serial killer stalking people, breaking into their homes?
Or would that cause panic, and disrupt the investigation? Would this merely give the murderer a notoriety he obviously craved?
"In the end, after Vian, I made the decision not to go public about it," LaMunyon said.
But nine months later, on Dec. 8, 1977, BTK began to take notoriety into his own hands.
He bound and strangled Nancy Fox in her home at 843 Pershing.
BTK then called a police dispatcher from a pay phone to report the murder, in his own voice, which he must have known would be recorded.
Weeks later, he then began to communicate directly with the media. He sent a letter containing a poem to The Wichita Eagle, on Jan. 31, 1978.
A few days later, he sent a package to KAKE, containing a poem, and a note claiming he killed Vian, Fox, and another person.
LaMunyon, hearing that the station had the package, decided to call a news conference himself. He did what BTK wanted.
He announced "BTK" in public. And the media machine began to grind.
Later, LaMunyon spoke to the killer through the media.
Which is what Landwehr did again on Thursday.
"Why not?" LaMunyon said.
"I myself would love to have the guy come see me and have a cup of coffee. It's the most fascinating case I've ever seen, in Wichita, or in all the cases of serial killers I ever studied.
"I'd love to have him tell not only that he did it, but why."
It's clear that BTK is dying to tell his story, LaMunyon said.
"And ... it's clear that there's something of a pattern here," he said.
"The Strangler has told us who he is, in code. I don't believe that the details he gave us in the biography he sent are true; but I think they are true in a form of code. I think also that some of the stuff he's told us is true.
"It's clear that he feels guilt. He knows he can't justify what he did. But he is trying to tell us why he did what he did.
"So he's leaving us a trail.
"And it's clear that he respects Kenny, and that Kenny respects his communications.
"And who better to tell it to than Kenny Landwehr?
"So Kenny is doing what any good investigator would try to do," LaMunyon said.
"He's trying to establish a rapport with The Strangler."
CNN REPORT
FBI investigators believe two letters found last year in Wichita, Kansas, are from the so-called BTK killer, police said Thursday.
Authorities blame the self-named BTK (bind, torture, kill) for eight Wichita-area killings between 1974 and 1986.
Based on behavioral analysis, the FBI has determined that a letter dropped in a UPS box in October comes from BTK, said Wichita Police Lt. Ken Landwehr.
The FBI cannot confirm the accuracy of personal information the author included in the letter, said Landwehr, who commands the BTK task force.
A second letter -- found in December in Wichita's Murdock Park -- contained a driver's license for Nancy Fox. Police believe BTK killed Fox in her home on December 8, 1977. Landwehr said the killer took the license from the crime scene.
Other packages
Landwehr also said that the FBI is investigating other recent communications related to the case, including a package found at a television station and a cereal box found by the roadside. Police said both contained jewelry which may have belonged to BTK victims.
On Wednesday, Wichita's KSAS-TV received a package that included notes, a photograph and a piece of jewelry, said Roger Cornish, news anchor for KWCH-TV, which produces the KSAS newscast.
"Police have told us they believe [the package] may be legitimate," Cornish said. "But as with their other communications, they won't know for sure until they send it on to the FBI."
In late January, a cereal box left on the side of a Wichita street bearing initials BTK was found to contain jewelry.
From 1977 until 1979, police and news media received letters written by someone claiming to be the killer.
Twenty-five years later, in March of 2004, a letter believed to be from BTK was found which linked BTK to an eighth killing and included details about the author.
In December, police released details contained in the letters including the writer's claim that he was born in 1939, which would make the killer 64 or 65.
The author of the letter said his father died in World War II, and his grandparents raised him while his mother worked. He said his hobbies include hunting, fishing and camping.
The letter writer said he attended military school around 1960, then served in the military. After he was discharged in 1966, he repaired copy machines and business equipment and had a female Latina acquaintance named Petra, he wrote. He solicited prostitutes and had a lifetime fascination with railroads and trains, the letter writer wrote.
Authorities said they believe the killer frequented the campus of Wichita State University during the 1970s, and used false identification to gain access to people's homes.
tinyurl.com/59rxa