Transcript

EP 61 - Floppy Trap: The Metadata Mistake That Caught BTK · Case Cracked

HOST: A serial killer asked police if a floppy disk could be traced. They said no. That lie ended BTK. [SFX: scary sting] HOST: For three decades, Dennis Rader hid behind three letters: Bind, Torture, Kill. Wichita knew his crimes; nobody knew his name. [AD_BREAK:1] HOST: In 2005, Rader sent a purple 1.44-megabyte disk to KSAS-TV. Detectives opened one deleted Microsoft Word file and checked the metadata. The author field said “Dennis.” The company field said “Christ Lutheran Church.” [SFX: surprise pop] HOST: Investigators found a Dennis Rader listed as church council president. Then they pulled a DNA sample from his daughter’s medical record, with a court order, and compared it to semen from a 1974 crime scene. It matched the killer’s family line. [AD_BREAK:2] HOST: The floppy didn’t prove every murder. It gave detectives the door. Behind it were Rader’s car, his schedule, his trophies, and finally, his confession to ten murders. [SFX: confused beep] HOST: Case cracked: not by bravado, but by metadata—and one killer who trusted the police to tell him the truth.