Did he use free classified ads to target people?
Feb 4, 2018 2:18:51 GMT
Red909XMZ1 and nyc123 like this
Post by metalhead on Feb 4, 2018 2:18:51 GMT
Hello all. I'm new here, so maybe this has been brought up before? Anyway...so, I was thinking about how the LE in BTK's case used classified ads in the Wichita Eagle newspaper to establish contact with him. Because they knew from letters he had sent, that he was a reader of the Eagle. I think that might be what eventually took him down.
I got thinking about the modern age of Craigslist and how you commonly hear stories about people getting jacked or robbed when selling something on there. (It happened in my town just recently) and I think there's even a guy rotting in jail now that was known as the "Craigslist Killer"....
So, back in the day, when there was no internet and newspapers were the thing, is it possible that he used the free classifieds to target people in his area? Here's my thoughts. So, he answers an ad (which is how he could have obtained the person's phone number, name, or street address) went to the seller with the ruse of being interested in whatever they were selling but ultimately said "No thanks" or "I'll come back later" or something. This would give him an opportunity in broad daylight to see / meet the seller(s), and they might have even let him in the house to see whatever it was, if it was a big item. This would let him right in and be able to case, and to see the layout...and also don't forget how trusting and naive the general public still was in the 1970's..they may have given him all the information he needed about themselves, inadvertently, during general pleasantries /conversations. Then he would collate whatever his "recon" intel gave him and decide to target or not. If he did, that's when he'd begin calling and casing places until he was sure he could pull off an attack.
The stealing of the china and class rings and stuff, makes me think he was someone who probably frequented resale shops, pawn stores, flea markets, "antique" stores, rummage sales, and the like..maybe out of economic necessity. Maybe he stole some things he "came to look at" in the first place? Just an idea. Do we know if any of the victims placed classified ads before their attacks? Sometimes to catch bad guys..ya gotta think like one would.
I got thinking about the modern age of Craigslist and how you commonly hear stories about people getting jacked or robbed when selling something on there. (It happened in my town just recently) and I think there's even a guy rotting in jail now that was known as the "Craigslist Killer"....
So, back in the day, when there was no internet and newspapers were the thing, is it possible that he used the free classifieds to target people in his area? Here's my thoughts. So, he answers an ad (which is how he could have obtained the person's phone number, name, or street address) went to the seller with the ruse of being interested in whatever they were selling but ultimately said "No thanks" or "I'll come back later" or something. This would give him an opportunity in broad daylight to see / meet the seller(s), and they might have even let him in the house to see whatever it was, if it was a big item. This would let him right in and be able to case, and to see the layout...and also don't forget how trusting and naive the general public still was in the 1970's..they may have given him all the information he needed about themselves, inadvertently, during general pleasantries /conversations. Then he would collate whatever his "recon" intel gave him and decide to target or not. If he did, that's when he'd begin calling and casing places until he was sure he could pull off an attack.
The stealing of the china and class rings and stuff, makes me think he was someone who probably frequented resale shops, pawn stores, flea markets, "antique" stores, rummage sales, and the like..maybe out of economic necessity. Maybe he stole some things he "came to look at" in the first place? Just an idea. Do we know if any of the victims placed classified ads before their attacks? Sometimes to catch bad guys..ya gotta think like one would.