Shownotes
Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network
Show Name: Real Cases, Fictional Minds
Episode Title: BTKeystone Killer
You are listening to Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the podcast with your host Jaylli Kushi.
In this episode of Real Cases, Fictional Minds, the Podcast, we discuss Season 1 Episode 15, titled “Unfinished Business,” and how it mirrors the BTK Killer.
Segment 1: Keystone Killer
Former FBI agent Max Ryan is hosting a meet-and-greet for his new book, one of his biggest unsolved cases, the Keystone Killer. Back in the 1980s, he murdered 7 women around Philadelphia and then just disappeared. During the event, Ryan handed a letter that looked exactly like the ones the Keystone used to send, same handwriting, same crossword puzzle. The letter says that he is still alive. Inside are 2 driver's licenses: One from Amy Jennings, the last known victim back in 1987, who was strangled to death in 1987, and another from a woman named Carla Bromwell. The BAU is called into their own office and begins to review all the evidence, which is now considered a new development in the Keystone Killer case. While looking at the evidence, Agent Reid finds something, hidden within the crossword puzzle, are details about what Amy Jennings was wearing 20 years ago when she was found dead. When the police go to the address on Carla Brownell's license, they find her dead in her apartment. She's been suffocated with a plastic bag, but this time the killer used flex-cuffs instead of rope. The old victims were strangled with a specific knot, so the team realizes something's changed. At the new crime scene, the BAU starts noticing weird inconsistencies. For example, the crossword mentioned a “ rear window,” but Carla's room was in the front of the house. Then they find another note in a completely different room. It feels like someone's copying the killer, or maybe the real killer is trying to mess with them. They build a profile for the local police: While male in his late forties, he is organized, probably with a military background. Someone who lies in control collects trophies, and enjoys playing games with law enforcement. But the new murders totally line up. The killer is getting older, and so are the victims; the crimes are less controlled, and his signature, the tied knot, is gone. The team starts to wonder if something happened to him, maybe an injury that forced him to change his methods. While going over evidence with the team, Reid finds a name in the crossword puzzle in the new letter, Scott Harbin, which is also a name on Ryan's original suspect list. Scott has been in jail for 30 years, making him halfway through his sentence. He was put on parole 3 months ago, and he missed his last appointment, making him a prime suspect. The team, accompanied by law enforcement, storms his house, and after a short chase through the house, they catch him. They inspect his house and realize he is super neat and organized, and his clothes were folded with military precision, total control freak vibes, but when they check under his bed, they find a woman tied up and still alive. It's disturbing, but something still doesn't add up. As they are leaving Scoot's house, Ryan sees he's received another letter, placed on his car, this time from the real Keystone Killer. It reads, “Scott Harbin isn't the man you're looking for,” bringing them back to square one. Since they figured he must have been injured sometime after the killing, maybe losing mobility on one side, they started searching for men who fit the profile and have had major injuries in the past 18 years. Then they find something, an old car accident on I-95 near the airport. One of the drivers was a man named Walter Kern, a 48-year-old man who used to serve in the Air Force and now works as a home alarm installer. Due to his car accident he lost partial movement on his right side. It turns out, Walter worked with Scott Harbin, the guy they arrested earlier. That explains why there was no forced entry, people were letting them in because he was supposed to be fixing their alarms. The team heads to Walters house, but he's not there, but his wife is, he tells the agents there's one room she's never allowed to enter, his darkroom. When the team goes inside they find the walls covered in pictures of all his victims, newspaper clipping from his case, and even a scrapbook. Now this scrapbook is very interesting, each chapter is dedicated to a different woman, past ones and ones he has planned. The last unfinished chapter is for the woman he's with right now. After finding out who she is, the team rushes to her address. In the final scene, they catch Walter in the act, seconds away from killing her, finally ending the hunt for the Keystone Killer. What makes this episode so good is it's not just about catching a killer, it's about how time changes people, even monsters. The Keystone Killer couldn't control everything anymore, and that loss of power is what finally gave him away.
Segment 2: BTK Killer
That name belonged to Dennis Lynn Rader, born March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas. By day, he was a model citizen: a husband, father, church leader, and a Cub Scout volunteer. Rader seemed to have a normal childhood, but he later confessed to having sadistic sexual fantasies that involved bondage and the torture of small animals from a young age. He served in the US Air Force, got married in 1971, had two children, and graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in administration of justice. His jobs, which included being an installer for ADT Security Services and later a municipal compliance officer, gave him access to homes and an understanding of police procedures, which helped him evade capture for decades. He was obsessed with control and dominance, which he called “Factor X”, and his preferred method of killing was strangulation after binding and torturing his victims. By night, for nearly 2 decades, he prowled the suburbs of Wichita, Kansas, stalking victims, breaking into homes, and executing some of the most calculated and depraved murder the region had ever seen. Lets travel back to 1974, Rader selected victims near his home, often stalking them extensively before breaking in. His MO remained consistent with his self-chosen moniker: “Blind, Torture, Kill.” He preferred strangulation and often wore a mask during his crimes. January 15th, Rader broke into the home of the Otero family: Joseph Otero Sr., his wife Julie, and 2 of their children, Joey and Josie. He cut the phone lines, entered the home, bound and strangled each of them, and even hung their 11 year old daughter in the basement. This horrifying crime would mark the beginning of the BTK’s reign of terror. Rader later claimed the code words “Bind, Torture, Kill” as his personal motto. He left a letter in a public library in October of 1974 claiming responsibility and spelling out his name as BTK. The letter read, “Those three are dead. I am not a monster, I am the BTK killer.” In the letter, he described the murder in graphic detail. This was the first time the world saw the acronym “BTK”. He wanted a name that would make him infamous. He wrote that letter many months later, only because he was angry that the Otero case was going cold and that police and newspapers were not giving him credit. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, he continued sending letters, poems, and even drawings to the media and police. His letters showed a mix of pride, arrogance, and obsession with being remembered. Over the next 17 years, he murdered a total of 10 confirmed victims. They were mostly women, some middle-aged, he would stalk them for weeks and call them “projects.” April 4th 1974 he murdered Kathryn Bright, a 21 year old, he broke into her home, and got stabbed to death. His 3rd victim was in 1977, March 17th, her name was Shirley Ruth Relford, she was 24 years old and when Rader entered her home, he locked her 3 young children in a bathroom, sparing them but not her, he ended up strangling her to death. December 8th, he murdered Nancy Jo Fox, she was 25 years old, he stalked her before breaking into her home and strangled her with a belt. He called the police from a payphone to report the murder. Why would he do that? Primarily out of a narcissistic desire for attention and to taunt the authorities. The call was recorded and later released to the public, which made it the first time authorities heard the killer's voice, though it provided no immediate leads at the time. In 1985, April 27th he kidnapped and murdered Marine Hedge, who was a 53 year old, one of his oldest victims, he took her body to his church to photograph her in bondage, and later disposed of her body in a rural area. After the photo session, as daylight approached, Rader cleaned up the scene, put the body back in the trunk of her own car, and dumped it in a remote ditch before going to chaperone a Cub Scout camping trip. In 1986, September 16th he murdered a 28 year old named Vicki Wegerle. He gained access to her home by posing as a telephone company worker and strangled her. His oldest victim was Dolores Davis, a 62 year old, who was murdered on January 19 1991, his last known victim. He broke into her home, abducted her, strangled her to death, and dumped her body by a bridge. After 1991, the killings, the letters, they suddenly stopped. Many assumed the killer was dead, in prison, or had moved away. In 2004, after more than a decade of silence, Rader began sending letters and other communications to the media and police again. One of these included a floppy disk, which he likely thought was anonymous and untraceable. His communications were part of his need for attention and control, he wanted to prove he was still active and clever, taunting law enforcement. However, the police were able to analyze the disk using digital forensics. Even though it didn't contain his name directly, the metadata on the file reveals that it had been made on a computer at Christ Lutheran Church in Park City, Kansas. Investigators then cross-checked writing styles, phone records, and library logs, narrowing the suspect list of Dennis Rader, who was the church council president. A search of his home revealed binders filled with notes, photographs, and evidence of his crimes proving that he was BTK. In the binders and notebooks, he kept a record of his crimes over the decades. There were names, addresses, and personal details of the victims, there were also detailed notes about how he stalked, bound, tortured, and killed them, and dates and locations of his attacks. The photographs were photos of victims in bondage, which were often taken at or near the crime scenes. There were also items found that were used in his killings, like restraints or items linked to the crime scenes, were also found. The specific items found in Rader's home that were linked to his crimes included binding materials, like ropes, cords, and tape. There were also masks and gloves found that matched the disguises he used while committing murders. He would also use household items that could be used to subdue or restrain victims. Together this physical and digital evidence matched the BTK letters and crime details only the killer would know, leaving no doubt that Dennis Rader and BTK were the same person. He was taken into custody and he quickly confessed to all 10 murderers. During interviews, he described his crimes in chilling detail, explaining his obsession with control, bondage, and the Factor X that drove him. Following his confession, Rader was charged with ten counts of first-degree murder. In 2005, he was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. The raid not only ended decades of terror in Wichita but also revealed the horrifying double life of a seemingly ordinary man, a father, husband, and church leader who was secretly one of America's most infamous serial killers.
Segment 3: Compare and Contrast
When you look at Dennis Rader, the real BTK killer, and the fictional Keystone Killer, there are a lot of similarities. Both of them led double lives. By day, they seemed completely normal, Rader was a church leader and the keystone appeared as a veteran and home security installer. Both used their everyday roles to get close to victims, stalked them carefully, and relied on binding and strangulation. And both had this obsession with attention, they sent letters and clues to taunt authorities, which eventually helped investigators to track both of them down. But there are some key differences.. The eyestone killer's story adds a little, he gets injured over time, which forces him to change his methods. In real life, Rader's approach stayed consistent for decades. The show included copycats and red herring, while Rader acted alone, and it was digital forensics that finally caught him. Both stories show the chilling truth: monsters can hide in plain sight.
Signoff: Some killers hide in fiction, others walk among us… until nect time on Real Cases Fictional Minds
Music Credits:
- Intro/Outro: Deep Breath by KonovalocMusic
- Transition: From the Underworld by KonovalocMusic
