welcome to very scary people. i m donnie wahlberg. the serial killer known as btk began terrorizing the city of wichita, kansas, in 1974, stalking and savagely killing his victims in their homes, then taunting police and reporters with disturbing letters detailing the carnage. demented, elusive, btk was actually hiding in plain sight, but his true identity and motive would remain a mystery for decades. it all began on an ordinary day with the otero family. this is part one of btk: bind, torture, kill. rader: i came to the back door, cut the phone lines, waited at the back door had reservations about even going or just walking away, but pretty soon, the door opened and i was in. jordan: the otero family was a family of seven, headed by father joseph and his wife, julie. they had both been born in puerto rico, but they moved to new york as children and there, they met in high school. otero: my family was your typical military family. my father was an air force
welcome to very scary people. i m donnie wahlberg. after torturing and killing seven people, demented serial killer btk contacted police to boast about his brutal acts. he threatened more victims would follow. his real identity was still a complete mystery. he dared cops to find him. the city of wichita was on edge. wichita police form a secret task force of seasoned detectives to track down btk. they need to capture him before he kills again. here is part two of btk: the taunting. hatteberg: wichita, kansas, was in the middle of america, and nobody locked their doors. it was a great little town to be from. jordan: the morning of january 15, 1974, was just a regular school day in the otero household until the unthinkable happens. an intruder enters their home and commits atrocities against this innocent family. i saw my parent s bodies it just felt like somebody had ripped my chest wide open and pulled my heart out. jordan: and investigators are trying to piece
And changing and morphing over time. singular: this is a change again in his m.o. because he was also selecting an older victim because he was now older, and he wanted to be able to physically control the person. jordan: btk s next murder occurred in 1991, with a 62-year-old victim, dolores davis. rader: i had cased the place before, and i really couldn t figure out how to get in, and she was in the house, so i finally just selected a concrete block and threw it through the plate-glass window. [ glass shattering ] he didn t mess around on this one. he just threw a big block through the window
Btk studied a lot about police techniques. he knew that the police, basically, were looking for a common m.o. the btk nomenclature bind, torture, kill. and that s how he wanted to be known. so he then sits down and creates a very elaborate letter that he will then send to kake-tv. the writer, who claimed to be btk, admitted to the murders of the otero family, shirley vian, nancy fox. he admitted to and gave details of all of those homicides. we have an individual who apparently has the uncontrollable desire to kill at times. this individual is responsible for seven murders in our city. nobody knew where, when, why, or who was going to be next.
The police had no real reason to link this to the same person. morton: btk studied a lot about police techniques. he knew that the police, basically, were looking for a common m.o., a method of operation. he would wear disguises, so if witnesses saw him, he would look different. he would speak with an accent if he talked to anybody so there would be misinformation out there because he didn t want to get caught. otis: later in 1974, towards the fall, two brothers and a friend of theirs claimed knowledge of the otero homicides. eagle reporters found out about it and wrote a story about it. otis: and then, one day, a wichita eagle reporter took a phone call at his desk. the caller advised him that there was a letter at the wichita public library and named a library book that the letter would be in, told the reporter, if you go get that letter and read it, i think you ll enjoy it.