How Sherlock Holmes Deduced “Break the Case Clues” on the Btk Killer, the Son of Sam, Unabomber and Anthrax Cases: With Analysis on the Mad Bomber and the Unsolved L.I. Gilgo Beach Murders

By Tom Walker

This is not fiction. This is the true story of how a former New York City Police Captain of Detectives used his extensive knowledge of the deductive methods of Sherlock Holmes to provide the FBI and other agencies with break the case clues to some of the most baffling and horrific criminal cases of the last half century.

Not only does the author provide break the case clues to The Unabomber, BTK Killer, and Son of Sam cases, but on the Anthrax Killer case he has uncovered a secret code, one not found by the FBI, which will re-open the debate on the FBIs closing of the case as solved.

If you love detective stories, be they true or fiction, or a true crime deductive challenge, you shouldnt miss this fascinating journey with the author and the Worlds Greatest Detective, Sherlock Holmes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475932270

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Copyright © 2012 by Tom Walker

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Grateful acknowledgment to Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. for permission to quote from and use the character of Sherlock Holmes created by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-3226-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3227-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012910255

iUniverse rev. date: 6/15/2012

This book is dedicated

To my wife

Mary

Not only has she put up with my

late night detective musings and telephone calls,

but she was also the person who persuaded

me to make some practical use of

those nocturnal activities.

And, of course, our children –

Ellen, Thomas, John, Mary Anne and

Cathy, who resides with The Lord.

and

Grandchildren –

Matthew, Michael

and Katie.

And of course,

to the rest of the family.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 The BTK Killer

Chapter 2 The Son of Sam

Chapter 3 The Unabomber

Chapter 4 The Anthrax Killer

Chapter 5 The Mad Bomber

Chapter 6 The L.I. Gilgo Beach Murders

Epilogue

Introduction

My name is Tom Walker. I am a Sherlockian, a devotee of Sherlock Holmes, and in my heart a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. Doctor Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 4 novels and 56 short stories (referred to by Sherlockian scholars as the Canon) about a mind boggling deductive genius and his faithful chronicler and foil, Doctor John Watson.

In my formative years, I experienced a wondrous youthful joy while reading those adventures while, at the same time, unknowingly absorbing the wisdom and logic presented on those pages.

In July of 1956, after a two year stint in the U.S. Army, I joined the New York City Police Department as a patrolman. I spent my nights getting a college education at the City College of New York (CCNY). After acquiring my B.S. in Physics, I began to polish my deductive skills as a member of the Instrumentation Section of the Police Laboratory (X-ray diffraction, electron microscope etc.) under the tutelage of a wonderful gentleman, Dr. Dunn.

What follows is true, it is not fiction. However, I readily acknowledge that none of these deductive successes would have been possible without Sherlock Holmes walking behind me and occasionally whispering in my ear.

So, as Holmes and I walk together into the tortured minds of some of the worst monsters in the last half century, I will alert the reader as to just what advice the brilliant Holmes is urging me to follow.

But remember, this is not a novel. It wasn’t meant to be. These are the actual reports made to the FBI/agency involved to provide a break the case clue.

Reports on the Unabomber and the Anthrax case were all sent* prior to any arrests in those cases.

Reports on the BTK Killer were sent* to Wichita investigators and the Wichita Eagle prior to any arrest in this case.

The Mad Bomber and Son of Sam reports were developed while I was a member of the NYPD.

The structure of the book is as follows:

The first two chapters are devoted to criminals who were at the scene of the crime when the killings took place.

The next three chapters are devoted to criminals who weren’t at the scene of the crime when the killings took place—they either mailed to or deposited at the crime scene their instruments of death.

The last case is one in which I am seeking information to hopefully assist the police in catching the killer.

*Sent means it was hand delivered, mailed or telephoned to a tip hotline established by the agency listed above that was handling the case and/or to those investigating the case.

Chapter 1

The BTK Killer

I AM NEITHER A psychiatrist nor am I a criminal profiler. I don’t study the crime scenes of grisly rape murders and make deductions. To be perfectly honest, that type of murder scene, especially involving children or helpless female victims generates in me an emotionally unstable state that makes me want to kill the bastard who did it. I can’t even watch it at the movies. I walked out of the movie, The Silence of the Lambs, when I saw that woman trapped in a pit in the psycho’s lair. It made me sick.

My method is simple. Let me study the clues on paper—the letters sent, the information on the bomb, the return addresses on the envelopes, the telephone conversations that might have been taped, the clues found at the scene by the assigned detectives, etc.

While I work alone, I need and appreciate the expert help that I am offered by the assigned detectives. While our methods might differ, our objective is the same—catch the bastard(s) who committed the crime.

The BTK case didn’t grab my attention until 2004.

In the 1970’s, I was too busy trying to survive Fort Apache, the Bronx. I was less than interested in reading reports, if there were any, about a serial killer in Wichita, Kansas. We had too many of our own murders to solve in the 41st Precinct and, unfortunately, we were less than successful in many of those cases.

But in 2004, I was retired, writing books, and still interested in trying to solve murder cases.

So when in December the New York media started to air some weird and strange happenings in Wichita, Kansas, I took notice.

It was such a bizarre case that I’m sure Watson would have alerted Sherlock Holmes. That being the case, I decided to investigate.

I began to gather information from the papers and on the internet (I found Websleuths to be particularly helpful).

Since my purpose here is not to chronicle every media contact made by the killer, let it be said that the killer’s unprecedented media blitz included eleven (11) communications (horrible crime scene photos, souvenirs from the victims, 3 puzzles, a package with graphic pictures posted on a stop sign, etc.).

I will not linger on the lurid details of this case—one murder scene will disclose the barbaric, perverse sexual nature of this beast—BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill).

As Holmes told Dr. Watson in the case of The Hound of the Baskervilles, I am not sure that of all the 500 cases of capital importance which I have handled, there is one which cuts so deeply.

The killer’s first attack took place on January 15,1974 at 803 North Edgemore Street in Wichita, Kansas in the home of Joseph Otero and his family.

Wielding a gun, the BTK Killer used Venetian blind cord to bound the wrists and ankles of his four victims—Joseph Otero (38), his wife Julie (34), their son Joseph (9), and their daughter Josephine (11).

God only knows what happened next. The father was apparently strangled using a belt. His wife was found lying across a bed, beaten, bound and gagged. Their son Joseph was found strangled with three plastic bags over his head and their daughter Josephine was found hanging by a pipe in the basement—she was nude from the waist down.

And so the horror began. But on April 4, 1974 it could have ended just as quickly.

The killer had broken into the home of Kathryn Bright, a pretty 21 year old, at 3217 East 13th Street in Wichita. He was waiting for her. Apparently, this was one of his Modus Operandi (M.O.’s)—break in and wait.

Upon entering her apartment, Kathryn and her brother, Kevin, were shocked to find a man with a gun. He made Kevin tie Kathryn up, then took Kevin to another room and began to pull a cord around his neck. Kevin grabbed the killer’s gun, and pulled the trigger twice into the attacker’s stomach. The gun failed to fire. The killer got it back and shot Kevin twice in the face and figured he was dead. Kevin escaped and flagged down a car. The driver took Kevin to the hospital. The passenger called the police.

When the police