by Brandon Peace
The Crimes and the Victims
Joseph Otero |
Julie Otero |
Joseph Otero II |
Josephine Otero |
January 15, 1974 ...
It was a chilly
morning, Joseph drove Charlie, the oldest of his children and two of his
other children, Danny and Carmen to their schools. Two
other Otero children had stayed home sick that day. When the three children
arrived home at 803 N. Edgemoor, and went
into the house, it was unusually quiet and Charlie called out for his family
members. He walked into his parents room and saw his dad tied up and strangled
on the bedroom floor. His Mom was tied up and strangled on the bed. Charlie
ran out as fast as he could to get help.
When police arrived at the house,
they found Charlie's 9-year old brother strangled in his bedroom, a
plastic bag was around his head. His little 11-year-old sister Josephine was
found hanging from a pipe in the basement. She was partially clothed. Mrs.
Otero had a broken cheekbone, obviously from trying to defend her children.
All four were tied at the ankles and wrists by cords that came from Venetian
blinds. They had been tortured, slowly then strangled to death.
The only thing missing was the dad's watch.
The assailant had cut
the phone line and entered the home carrying his own rope, tape, and wire
cutters. Only one fingerprint unaccounted for was found on
the back of a chair that may have been moved by the killer.
A neighbor reported a
six feet tall white male with dark shaggy hair about 8:45 a.m. Yet another
neighbor reported seeing a man with a dark complexion and hat leaving the
house in the Otero's car,1966
beige Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon,
at about 10:30 that morning. It was found later that evening in the parking lot of
the Dillon's at Central and Oliver in a parking lot.
The authorities came up
with nothing and had no idea that it was to be the first of a string of
murders which would puzzle them for decades to come.
April 4, 1974 ...
A 21-year-old woman named Kathryn Bright who resided at 3217 E. 13th St. was
found tied up in her home. The killer had
stabbed her three times in the stomach. She was still alive when police
arrived but died five hours later, without revealing any clue as to the
identity of her assailant.
She had marks
suggesting she had been strangled, but the item used to strangle her was
removed. Her brother, Kevin Bright, was also shot two times after being asked
by the killer "Haven't I seen you at the University?" ... Fortunately, Kevin
escaped and went for help.
Kevin described the
killer as a 25 year old white male. He was wearing a black stocking cap,
orange shirt and orange jacket. According to a police
report by Kevin Bright, the intruder told them that he would not hurt them and
that he only needed money and their car to get to New York. He told them that
he was wanted by police in California. He then forced Kevin to tie up
his sister to a chair, then he took Kevin to another room where he was tied
and gagged. The man left the room and rummaged through the house then returned
to where he had left Kevin and began strangling him with a rope. The man
then shot Kevin in the forehead. The killer then returned to the living room,
where Kathryn was. He came back after some time and began strangling Kevin for
a second time. The man shot him again in the face just above the mouth.
Kevin pretended to be dead and when the stranger went back to where his sister
was he escaped through a side door and flagged down a passing motorist and
contacted authorities
In the beginning, there was nothing to link this murder to the Otero murders.
There were people that attested to the crimes and the police even arrested
some, but later found they were not the one's responsible.
March 17, 1977 ...
A 26 year old Mom of three children, named Shirley Vian was feeling ill that
morning and her two oldest children had stayed home from school. According to
her children's later testimony, a man came to their front door located at 1311
S. Hydraulic with a gun in one hand a bag of sorts in the other. He forced his
way in with the gun and told them that he was not going to hurt them. He
locked the children up unharmed in the bathroom. By the time the children were
able to get the bathroom door open, the man had left. Their Mom was face down
on her bed, with a plastic bag over her head, a cord around her neck, nude and
her hands and feet were tied. The children described the assailant as a
thirty to forty year old, dark haired man with a pot belly.
The killer had stopped one of the children earlier that morning, on the
street, to ask for directions.
It is strange that both the Otero's and the Vian's household had illnesses.
Although it was obvious from the M.O. that it seemed to be the work of BTK
there were no anonymous calls or letters from BTK this time.
December 8, 1977 ...
Nancy Fox, a 25 year old woman, was killed. A man called the police from
a pay phone and reported a murder at 843 South Pershing. It was a duplex, and
the other unit was vacant. When the authorities arrived at the address, they
found a broken window and the body of Nancy Fox. She was tied up and strangled
with a nylon stocking. The
phone had been taken off the hook and the lines had been cut on the outside of
the house. Detectives said the contents of her purse had been dumped on a
coffee table.
The murder had occurred
at night, semen was found at the scene, but an autopsy later revealed that
Nancy Fox had not been sexually assaulted.
A witness later told police that he had seen the caller. According to
police, the witness said the caller was a white male, about 6 feet tall and
had blondish hair. Police said the witness told police the caller was
wearing a "blue-gray industrial-type uniform or outfit and possibly a hat
which had earflaps." Police said the caller apparently was driving a
"late-model van, probably not over two or three years old, which may have had
some type of writing, possibly advertising, on the side of it." He said the
van did not have windows.
The police did have BTK's voice on audio tape now because of his 911 call but
the killer's voice was distorted and no recognition was made. The
police said they were reasonably certain that the man who called to report the
homicide was the same man who killed Fox ... "He knew too many things about
her."
April 27, 1985 ...
Marine Hedge, a 53 year
old woman was abducted from her home in Park City Kansas. She was strangled
and her body was found 8 days later, dumped on a rural road. BTK left clues
near the scene of the crimes in 2005 to reveal that he was responsible for her
death.
September 16, 1986 ...
Vicki Wegerle who was 28 years old and lived at 2404 West 13th St. had taken
her 10 year old daughter to School at about nine that morning and returned
home with her 2 year old baby. When her husband came home for lunch around
noon, he found his wife on the bedroom floor. She was tied at the ankles and
wrists and had been strangled. However, she had not been raped. A
neighbor reported hearing barking from their dogs at around ten o'clock
that morning and another neighbor saw the family car, a 1978 gold Monte Carlo,
pull out of the driveway at around ten thirty that morning. The car was
found a couple blocks away. The only thing missing was the victim's driver's
license. The authorities considered BTK as a suspect, but there was no
way to know ... YET.
January 19, 1991 ...
Deloris Davis was abducted from her home which was one half mile east of Park City
Kansas. She was strangled and her body was found 13 days later, dumped under the
bridge of an unpaved road. BTK left clues in 2005 to reveal that he was
responsible for her death.
THERE COULD BE MORE ...
The information on this website was gathered from many sources
including:
The Wichita Eagle
KAKE TV 10
KWCH12
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