The BTK (Bind, Torture, and Kill) killer case played a huge role in the media and the media played a huge role in the investigation. The investigation began in the mid-1970s and spanned into thirty years. “The investigation was very challenging, but the police department in Wichita, Kansas, where the killings took place, were able to apprehend the killer by using a creative approach that used local media to maintain contact with the killer and release information about the case” (Williams) . The BTK killer first started killing in 1974 when he murdered the Otero family in their home and committed his last murder in 1991. “Thirty years after his first murders, the BTK killer resurfaced between 2004 and 2005 and caught the media’s attention, …show more content…
This theory is associated with the BTK killer because it’s based on personality defects that is caused by improper developement during the early years. The theory states that the criminal is not responsible directly for their behavior, but is blamed on non-conforming personality traits which include aggression, impulse, and discord. The BTK killer fits this description because he was able to maintain a normal appearing life while killing ten victims. He went to work everyday while representing a church as a deacon. The aggression and impulsivity of the BTK killer’s crime gave him a nice fit for personality …show more content…
There was a $5000 reward in the newspaper for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the BTK killer. The police and the media were not doing this for publicity, but also for community awareness. The BTK killer loved to be in the media’s spotlight and he loved to manipulate the police, the public, and the media with his killings. The BTK killer demanded the media’s attention by writing ‘‘How many do I have to kill before I get my name in the paper or some national attention?'” In January 2005 BTK left a cereal box containing a message to the police in the back of a pickup truck. In the message he wrote: “ Can I communicate with a floppy and not be traced to computer. Be honest. Under miscellaneous Section, 494, (Rex, it will be OK), run it for a few days in case I’m out of town. I will try a floppy for a test run some time in the near future—February or March”