New Letters Arrive 30 Years Later.

On March 19, 2004, over 30 years after the first murder, the Wichita Eagle received a strange letter. Postmarked March 17, 2004, the letter with a return address of Bill Thomas Killman (i.e. BTK), contained startling evidence. Inside the envelope were a copy of Vicki Wegerle's driver's license and three photograph copies of her body. In the three photograph copies, police noted that the body and clothing was moved to a different position in each subsequent picture. They quickly ruled out the possibility that the photos could be crime scene photos since crime scene analysts would never touch, nor certainly move, the body during the course of taking crime scene pictures. They determined that whoever had taken the pictures had deliberately moved the body to a different position before snapping the photo. They deduced the letter was most certainly from the BTK killer. Police had linked BTK to his 8th killing. Hurst Laviana of the Wichita Eagle reported:

“I think the family always in the back of their minds thought it was BTK but as far as I know, the police never fixed on him as a suspect until today.”

The return address on the letter was 1684 South Oldmanor. Police swiftly dispatched to the location only to find an empty, vacant lot.

On May 5, 2004 yet another piece of the baffling puzzle emerged. ABC affiliate, KAKE, Channel 12 in Wichita, Kansas received a puzzle and photocopies of two employees identification cards. A photocopy of the card of a Southwestern Bell employee and a Wichita Public School employee were enclosed. Neither employee had any idea how copies of their photo identification cards could have been obtained by a third party. Police were able to determine conclusively, that this letter was also sent from the BTK killer, although its precise meaning was unknown.

Police Release More Clues.

In late 2004, Wichita Police released new evidence to the public. As is common in criminal cases, not all evidence was exposed to the public. By keeping certain elements of the crime from the public, police gain the upper hand when the criminal is captured or confesses.

Wichita police Lieutenant Ken Landwehr, held a public news conference and released details about the BTK killer to reporters, details that were gained from the text of the BTK letters to the Wichita Eagle. Landwehr explained:

“In these letters, he has provided certain background information about himself which he claims is accurate.”

The contents of the letters revealed an amazing amount of detail including the fact that he was born in 1939 (which would make BTK around 65 years old in 2004), that his family moved around often and always lived near railroad tracks, that his father was killed in World War II and he had been raised by his mother with the help of his grandmother, that his mother dated a railroad detective, that his grandfather played the fiddle and died of lung disease, that he had a cousin named Susan who lived in Missouri, and that he had once had a friend named Petra who had a younger sister named Tina.

Police were not sure how accurate these statements were but did believe that at least parts of the information were correct.

Soon, additional letters arrived along with more personal items from the victims. Packages containing key evidence were purposely left in public places. Communications via electronic media began. It was clear that the BTK killer had resurfaced and was in the process of disposing of his "trophies" and he was doing so in a hurried and sloppy manner. He was also clearing up misconceptions about the previous murders.

When referring to the Shirley Vian killing, BTK expounded on the reason the children were left alive:

“They were very lucky; a phone call saved them. I was going to tape the boys and put plastic bags over their head like I did Joseph and Shirley - and then hang the girl. God-oh God what a beautiful sexual relief this would been.”

Some believed that the BTK Killer was readying himself to be caught. Possibly something in his life changed - something that was driving him to discretely provide the local authorities with clues that could lead to his arrest. Or possibly the BTK killer decided that the 30th anniversary of his first killing would be a good time to obtain the media hype he had so long desired. Others believed that the BTK Killer was jealous of the recent publicity given to the Green River Killer and the Washington Sniper cases. Whatever the rationale, the BTK killer was carelessly leaving additional clues.