Nightmare in Wichita The Hunt for the BTK Strangler by Robert Beattie

Author Robert Beattie

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Several months ago, we had several people over for a cookout. As often happens, the men wound up around the kitchen table and the women went out on the deck to visit. The subject turned to BTK. Being new in Wichita and living overseas for a few years, I wasn't familiar with BTK. So they filled me in. I did live in Wichita in the late 80's and early 90's but during that time, news about this murderer was slim. 

In 1974, BTK embarked on a murder spree in Wichita, Kansas. He killed men, women and children. He then taunted the media with clues, puzzles and letters. He vanished in 1979. The killings appeared to have stopped. Then in 2004 BTK started sending clues again.

After the discussion with my friends, I made a decision that this country girl needs to be a bit smarter about simple, small things. Lock my car, make sure if we are in the house the garage door is closed and doors are locked. I wasn't making these decisions out of fear but out of the logical need to just be smarter about my surroundings. Being naive is not being smart. So I started being more careful.

Randy and I attend many garage sales looking for books to sell. At one of these sales, I saw a book "Nightmare in Wichita the Hunt for the BTK Strangler" by Robert Beattie. I bought it and read it.

True Crime is not a genre I usually read. This book is exceptionally written and is not a book about BTK. What struck me very early in the book was that it wasn't a book written to "scare" or to frighten people or to glorify a man that committed these horrendous crimes. As friends would ask what I was reading I would tell them, then say, "I am learning so much about Wichita!" So it was especially interesting to me to find - close to the end of a book - the author saying " ...while I was telling the story of these crimes, this investigation, and its consequences, my book was about the people and our community. I am not writing 'the BTK story.'"  This is quite evident in the contents of this book. And the author makes you very aware of that from page 1.

It was informative, not sensational. It was easy to read and was very interesting to see the progression in how crimes are solved with the wonderful discovery of DNA as opposed to trying to solve crimes in the 70's and 80's. 

For those of you wanting to get "inside" the head of a murderer, this book is not for you. For those of you interested in how much time, effort and work was put into solving this crime, I highly suggest Beattie's book. 

I would have to put it down every once in awhile to shake my head and contemplate the many many lives that were affected by this man (BTK). I just can not imagine living these crimes day in and day out like these people did.

Mr. Beattie was one of the only people to have interviewed every level of men on this investigation. As new officers, detectives were assigned to this case they were cautioned to not speak with previous investigators, as they were looking with fresh eyes.

Beattie captures the fear that permeated the Wichita area during these years. He gives you a glimpse of how one monstrous man can destroy the innocence of a large city.

One of the past presidents of the Retired Wichita Police Officers Association said about Beattie, "This man is the greatest single repository of knowledge about the BTK case. ... Bob is the only person to talk with all the cops who worked on this case.... He also talked with all the laboratory guys, victims' families, the district attorneys, the press, and everyone with a story to tell. [he is the right one to tell this story].  

You can learn more about Robert Beattie here.