An Oklahoma sheriff says that old photos taken by the notorious BTK killer, Dennis Rader, could possibly connect him to additional unsolved cases across three states.
According to KAKE, Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden said old Polaroid images taken by Rader before his arrest mirror the positions Rader placed his victims in. The photos also reportedly showed clothing he wore during some shots.
“What we believe is the items that he used like that were more trophy items which had more meaning than just breaking into an empty house and stealing some clothing,” said Virden.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Kansas police found evidence earlier this month while searching Rader’s former Park City, Kansas, home. For months, investigators had been considering a potential link between Rader and the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia “Cindy” Kinney, 16.
He’s also a person of interest in several cases out of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Virder added that Rader’s writings refer to the photos, indicating that he wore articles from three “projects,” which was his code word for “murders.”
The writings also allude to a brown fur coat, which caught Virden’s attention, as Rader’s description of it might establish a link to a missing Kansas woman, Mary Lang.
“Our understanding is she was last seen wearing a brown fur coat and that coat was later recovered neatly folded up outside of town,” Virden said.
The Hays Police Department in Kansas released a statement following the discovery of the photos.
“We have received inquiries related to the 1983 disappearance of Mary Lang. While the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hays Police Department will continue to explore all theories in this case, we do not presently have evidence that links Rader to this investigation.”
Meanwhile, a friend of Kinney’s, who heard Rader could possibly be connected to her disappearance, still remember the incident vividly, despite the case being nearly 50 years old.
“My friends and I drove around for years and years and years after that, every back road, every lake road, every oil lease, trying to find her, trying to find anything out of the ordinary,” Kinney’s friend, Tjuana Boulanger, told 12 News. “We just wanted to find Cindy and we just never had any luck.”
In 2005, police arrested Rader, years after he eluded and taunted investigators and the media. His trail of digital evidence is what eventually helped police capture him. He then nicknamed himself “BTK.” which stands for “bind, torture, kill.”
Rader is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences for the deaths of 10 people between 1974 to 1991.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: In this image made from video and provided by Court TV, Dennis Rader , 60, of Park City, Kan., speaks in court in Wichita, Kan., Monday, June 27, 2005. Rader, who admitted killing 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991, taunted media and police with cryptic messages calling himself “BTK,” for`Bind, Torture, Kill.” (AP Photo/Court TV, Pool)]
