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A company called Gab has taken a different approach with something they call Tech in steps. That means phones and watches designed specifically for kids with no social media and and features that are matched to their age. From GPS enabled watches for younger kids to phones for tweens and teens with parent approved apps, each device helps kids build independence more safely. Bottom line, kids don't need devices made for adults. GAB helps them stay connected without the pressure of social media. I can't recommend Gab enough and right now use our code to get the best deal on a kid's phone. That will make parenting easier and give you more peace of mind. Visit gab.comcasefile and use code casefile for an exclusive offer. That's Gab G A B. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre for suggested phone numbers, for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings. Please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all listeners. On Sunday, June 9, 2004, a Wichita man spotted something strange on the south east corner of first and Kansas streets downtown. Duct taped to a stop sign was a clear plastic bag containing a brown envelope. The man collected the package and continued on his way to work. He discarded the tape and bag as he walked, but kept the envelope to show his supervisors when he arrived. Typed on the front were the words BTK fieldgram. Inside the envelope were several photocopied pages that had been reduced in size. One listed the 13 chapter titles for the BTK story, but chapter eight, mo id ruse, had been blacked out. An accompanying sketch depicted a bound woman hanging naked from a rope, along with the caption the Sexual Thrill is my Bill. Btk's unique signature was scrawled in the corner. The remaining Pages were marked C1, indicating they were part of the first chapter of the BTK story, A Serial Killer is Born. The long, rambling passage read like a personal diary entry titled Death on a Cold January Morning. It began, if a person happened to be out one of these cold mornings in a certain part of Wichita, that is the north east part, on a particular morning in January, he might have noticed a man park his car in a store parking lot, pause briefly, then walk across the street and disappear among the house and commercial building. BTK described the man slinking through the neighbourhood unnoticed, dressed in a heavy parka with his head lowered. His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the windows and front door of a nearby house. It was a corner property with a detached garage, a fenced in yard, and enough distance from neighbours to offer privacy. The man looked up and down the street before climbing over the wooden fence into the backyard. He had spied on the family that lived at the residence long enough to know their routine. The man of the house left for work at 8am At 8:45 the mother took her five children to school in her station wagon. She returned home seven minutes later, alone. In BTK's words, it was, quote, the perfect setup. A victim all to himself, a person he could tie up, torture, and maybe kill. What followed was a meticulous, step by step account of the Otero family murders, told From BTK's perspective. Within the text he referred to himself as Rex, the Latin word for king. He explained that he had fantasised about torturing women since childhood. His imagination had satisfied him for a while, but as he got older, his fantasies intensified until he felt the urge to, quote, stake his prey. After noticing Julio Taro around town, BTK said he chose her as his first victim. He planned to force her into a car, bind her, and drive her into the countryside where he would rape and strangle her before leaving her body in a culvert. BTK watched the Otero station wagon come and go on the morning of Tuesday, January 15, 1974, assuming the family had followed their usual routine and that Julie had returned home alone after dropping her children off at school. In actuality, her husband Joe was behind the wheel as he was off work due to an injury. Joe had only dropped off the three eldest Otero children, while Julie remained home with 11 year old Josie and 9 year old Joey, who would be driven to school later. BTK approached the rear of the Otero house, cut the phone line and pulled a nylon mask over his face. He tried the back door only to discover it was locked. He then lay in wait until Joey Otero suddenly stepped outside with the family dog. Startled, BTK swiftly ordered Joey back inside and followed him in. The rest of the Oteros were gathered around the kitchen table preparing school lunches when BTK entered armed with a knife and a pistol. He announced that it was a stick up, saying that he was a wanted man in need of food, money and a car. The frightened Dotero children pressed against their parents, who insisted they had no money. BTK instructed them to remain calm and that everything would be okay throughout. Despite this, Theotero's dog barked incessantly. BTK wanted the dog gone, saying that things would go better if it was out of the way. Joe agreed to put the dog in the backyard while BTK watched on closely, warning him against any funny tricks. Once the dog was outside, BTK herded the family into the main bedroom at gunpoint and ordered them to lie on the bed with their hands behind their backs. BTK stated that he trembled from nervousness, but he remained alert and in control as he bound Joe and Julie's hands and feet. He then turned his attention to the children. Once all four family members were restrained, BTK collected the keys to Julie's station wagon in preparation for his escape. He then returned to the bedroom and slipped a plastic bag over Joe's head. Muffled screams broke out from the others who pleaded with him to stop. Julie begged BTK to leave, promising him they wouldn't tell anyone what he'd done. Instead, he moved toward her with a length of cord. BTK went on to graphically describe how he murdered Joe, Julie, Joey, and finally, Josie Otero. Afterwards, he collected his things, took one last look at the bodies he had left throughout the house, and drove away in Julie's car. It was evident from the tone of the writing that BTK took pleasure in reliving the terror he had inflicted on the Oteros. Although some of the details, like dialogue, might have been fictionalised or embellished, his account of the murders aligned closely with the crime scene evidence, giving it a chilling authenticity. Its specificity and accuracy made it feel less like a retrospective written decades later and more like something composed in the direct aftermath of the attack. A date at the top, February 3, 1974, indicated the document was created just 19 days after the murders. BTK's compulsion to journal his crimes offered valuable insight into his psychology, confirming that he was a controlling, ego driven offender. The journals likely served as yet another gratifying trophy, allowing him to relive his attacks over the years while maintaining mastery over his victims. In the month following the discovery of Chapter one of the BTK story, a Wichita Public Library employee was emptying out the book return box when he discovered a plastic bag at the bottom. Inside were several papers marked BTK Flashgram, each bearing the killer's familiar signature. It was the second time BTK had left information at the library, the first being the Otero Murders confession letter back in 1974. This latest submission was meant to continue BTK's autobiography, specifically Chapter 2 Dawn. However, he admitted he had been sidetracked by an entirely different event and wanted to write about that. Instead, the name Jakey appeared at the top of a two page document. Since none of BTK's victims were known by that name, investigators feared they were about to learn of another they didn't know about. I was so excited about this incident, btk wrote, that I had to tell the story. The incident in question had occurred less than two weeks before the flashgram was discovered at the library. In the early hours of Sunday, July 4, 2004, 19 year old Jake Allen was struck and killed by a freight train near his family's farm, 35 miles outside of Wichita. His death stunned the community and made local headlines. Jake came from a large and supportive Catholic family and his parents ran a successful business. Easygoing, popular and creative, he was homecoming king, class valedictorian, a National Honour Society student, and a star athlete in football, basketball and track. Those who knew Jake couldn't imagine him caught up in anything sinister, yet he was found naked with his sweatshirt and pants recovered a short distance away from his remains. Worse still, he had been bound with bailing wire and tied to the railway tracks. In his latest writings, BTK claimed he had become acquainted with the Jake Allen through online chats during which they discussed sadomasochism, amongst other things. Posing as a detective investigating the BTK case, he allegedly lured Jake to the train tracks, convincing him to act as bait to draw out the elusive serial killer. BTK said he played games with Jake before leaving him bound on the tracks to die, the vibration of the approaching train sexually arousing him. As evidence of his claims, he included photocopies of four grainy Polaroid photos showing a portly old a man in the woods. He was bound in bondage and partially naked, with a hood covering his face and white tube socks on his feet. It was clear that the man was not Jake Allen, nor did Jake appear in any of the images. When investigators examined Jake's death, they confirmed the baling wire had come from his family's farm. Additionally, Jake's computer showed no evidence of any online conversations as BTK had claimed. As improbable as it seemed, it was determined that Jake had taken his own life. It marked the first time BTK had falsely claimed credit for her death. Although this was new for him, it aligned with his history of attention seeking. Even now, he still craved power and recognition. He was also likely taking pleasure in the psychological control he exerted by misdirecting and diverting authorities. But it was what BTK wrote after his fictitious story about Jake Allen that caused genuine alarm. Writing in the present tense, he outlined his plans to kill again. He claimed he had his sights set on either a woman who lived alone or a child that was left unsupervised after school. Just got to work out the details, he explained. I'm much older, not feeble now, and have to condition myself carefully. Also, my thinking process is not as sharp as it used to be. Details, details, details. I think fall or winter would be just about right for the hit. Got to do it this year or next as time is running out for me. The threat mobilised the Ghostbusters, the specialised task force that had overseen the BTK case in the 1980s and reassembled following the killer's re emergence in 2004. In the wake of the Flashgram, the 23 member team was expanded to 40 as they scrambled to prevent the forewarned murder. The killer's next communication arrived. It surfaced late on Friday, October 22, three months after he falsely claimed responsibility for the death of Jake Allen. A United Parcel Service delivery driver discovered the package in a secluded Dropbox outside an office building near Interstate 1 135. It was another plastic bag with an envelope marked BTK Fieldgram. Inside were eight pieces of paper, copied, recopied and reduced multiple times, making their text difficult to read even when enlarged. One page contained an updated list of the 13 chapters of the BTK story. Now with chapter one, A Serial Killer is Born blacked out. A four page document labelled C2DAWN was the anticipated second chapter of BTK's autobiography. The content appeared to chronicle BTK's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, he was a dull writer and the story was a monotonous read. He described having an inappropriately close relationship with his mother from a young age, sleeping beside her at night, feeling her underclothes and being allowed to rub her hair. Then, when he was between 10 and 11 years old, his mother discovered semen stains in his underwear. She held BTK's hands behind his back and whipped him with a belt. If you masturbate, God will come and kill you. Although the beating hurt, BTK admitted that he found it strangely arousing. He carried this fascination into his youth by reading books about sadomasochism. By age 18, he was peeping through windows, breaking into homes and stealing women's underwear. He escalated into animal abuse, confessing that he had hanged a cat and later a dog. He drew sketches of his violent fantasies but destroyed them whenever he moved, seeking a fresh start. Yet the urges always returned. In his early 30s, he began visiting sex workers and experimenting with bondage. Some refused to see him again, as BTK explained, because I was too scary. Between the ages of 32 and 34, his violent urges grew considerably to the point that he described them as bad. During this time, he studied well known serial killers including Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy and Richard Speck. He noted that they all got caught except the Ripper. He wondered whether he could avoid capture if he became a serial killer. In addition to chapter two, BTK supplied a rambling two page list titled 3 1, 2, 3 Uno, Dos, Tres. Theory the BTK world works in threes and is base on the eternal Triangle. In it he listed examples of bizarre triangulations such Universe, cosmos elements God, Holy spirit, Son, women, man sex Psycho Serial KILLER BTK BTK VICTIM Police Details Time Hit, hit, thrill, kill the list confirmed a long standing suspicion that the number three held particular significance for the killer as it had appeared in the house numbers of each of his known victims. The reason why remained a mystery. The final item in BTK's latest package was titled after a local phone book, Wichita and Vicinity. It consisted of a collage of photographs of children cut from newspaper advertisements. Scrawled over the children in black permanent marker were gags, ropes and bindings. While BTK's latest offering provided several potential clues to his identity, the Ghostbusters remained wary. Although much of his previous correspondence had proven reliable, BTK had also shown the ability and willingness to lie, as evidenced by his recent false claims about Jake Allen's death. Nevertheless, the task force took a calculated risk and held a press conference outlining more than 20 claims BTK had made about himself in chapter two. They included that he was born in 1939, making him 64 or 65 years old in 2004. He apparently had a cousin named Susan who had moved to Missouri, a grandfather who played the fiddle and died of lung disease, and a father who had perished in World War II. His mother had supposedly worked during the day near a railroad, which led to BTK's lifelong fascination with trains and his preference to live close to their roots. As a boy, he said that he'd built and operated a ham radio and attended church and Sunday school. His hobbies included hunting, fishing and camping. He had a Hispanic acquaintance named Petra who had a younger sister named Tina. He had repaired photocopiers for work, possessed basic knowledge of photography and developing images, and had served overseas as part of the Air Force before being discharged in 1966. These disclosures sparked conversation, though not all of it positive. Many were sceptical of BTK's claims, with a former FBI profiler warning this whole scenario could be contrived just to set out false leads and keep the police running. Still, he defended the decision to release the material publicly, arguing that withholding it would be irresponsible. The key could be there, he said. There could be something that leads to this guy's apprehension. Critics simply wanted the press to stop reporting on btk. One Wichita resident expressed fatigue with the media frenzy, stating, the only reason BTK should be in the news is if he is captured. Period. The media should stop feeding into his ego with all the coverage. Even those who were inclined to believe that the information was genuine cautioned against treating it as significant. A psychologist who consulted on the case in the 1970s noted that many of the details were hardly unusual, telling the Wichita Eagle all boys in the early 50s were playing with radio kits. Photography was a contemporary thing back then. What struck him as more meaningful was BTK's alleged upbringing without a father figure. He stated that this was not uncommon among sex offenders and sociopaths, as it was hard to imagine BTK could still be actively killing in his 60s. The psychologist suggested he was more likely indulging in memories of his, quote, glory days, perhaps because he sensed his time was limited. After all, he had mysteriously written in his latest letter that time is running out for me. Former Wichita Chief of Police Richard Lamunion agreed, saying the tone of the communications suggested that BTK wanted to be identified and the case brought to a close. I could be wrong, he acknowledged, but I truly believe this is an individual who doesn't want to go to his grave without telling us who he is. Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors.