BTK reporter
Six months ago, I blogged about the arrest of Wichita's self-dubbed "BTK" (bind, torture, kill) killer. I'd heard of the case previously -- in part because BTK resurfaced in 2004 when the Wichita Eagle wrote a big story to mark 30 years since the first victim was killed. As a crime reporter, it was certainly intriguing for me to see just how much power an article can have.Since then, I've followed the Eagle's impressive coverage. The national media spotlight returned to Wichita today, as the sentencing hearing got underway. Decades after the church president and admitted serial killer plunged the area into permanent fear, it's coming to a close.
What has interested me perhaps more than anything else is the crime reporter who has followed the BTK case for close to 20 years. Today, he watched on TV and kept a running blog-type commentary. (It reads in reverse, with newest stuff on top and updates separated by bold type.) When this is over and Dennis Rader goes off to prison, a huge book is going to close not only for the police department but for the reporter, who has probably heard an incredible amount of off-the-record stuff about this case over the years. He'll no doubt be filled with relief that the killer was finally caught. But he'll probably feel a strange, unexplainable void. I imagine the cops will, too.
Posted by Layla at 1:26 AM, August 18, 2005
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