"We feel it is necessary at this point in our investigation to request swabs from some former police personnel," Lt. Ken Landwehr said. "We are collecting swabs to eliminate with certainty personnel who were employed during the time period in which the BTK murders occurred. It is our contention that by being as thorough as possible at this time it may counter defense strategies at a later date."
The BTK Strangler is suspected in eight unsolved murders from 1974 to 1986 in the Wichita area. "BTK" stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" which is what the killer did to his victims. The killer himself named himself BTK in letters to the news media during the 1970s.
The BTK Strangler was not heard from for more than 20 years, but he resurfaced in March 2004 when he sent a series of letters to The Wichita Eagle, KAKE-TV, the public library and the police.
Lt. Landwehr's request for DNA swabs from former Wichita police officers were published in a quarterly newsletter for the Wichita Retired Police Officers Association. In the letter, Landwehr told officers that "the samples we are requesting will not be put in any other database or compared to other crimes."
But some former officers, who know of the long-time existence of the Wichita Police DNA database, do not believe that claim. Some are refusing to submit DNA samples for the investigation for privacy reasons.
Wichita police have also called some former officers asking for DNA samples, but have gotten mixed results.
Getting DNA samples from police involved in investigations of serial killers is not new. Police in the Baton Rouge area, for example, were asked for samples before Derrick Todd Lee was finally arrested for a series of murders.
