June 1989--A Month of Terror in Kansas

June 1989 was not a good month for young women in Kansas. One would die in her apartment, one would escape with her life, thanks to her quick thinking and survival skills. And three others would be kidnapped and presumed murdered. Who was responsible for this reign of terror in Kansas? Was it the BTK serial killer reemerging?

On June 7, 1989, Terri Maness didn't make it to work. That in itself was unusual. Terri was known to be prompt, and if she was going to be late she always called her employer. However, she didn't call in, and most importantly if she was was ill or she was going to miss work for any other reason, she always called her parents to let them know. Her co-workers were worried. They repeatedly called Terri's home, to no avail. Finally, they called Terri's parents. Of course, Terri's parents were worried. They tried to call her home also, but the answering machine didn't pick up their calls. Finally, Terri's parents called her neighbor, Wichita Police Officer, J.C. Stevenson.

Officer Stevenson was off duty at the time the call came from Terri's parents, but he went to check if Terri was home or if her car was parked in her usual spot. He called her parents to report that Terri wasn't home and her car was not parked in her spot. He told her parents that he left a note for Terri to call them as soon as she arrived home. More time went by, but Terri still didn't call her parents. So, Terri's parents called J.C. again. This time they asked him to please enter Terri's apartment, and take a look around to make sure Terri wasn't inside injured or ill. J.C. said he would go right over and call them back as soon as he was finished.

J.C. climbed in an open window after repeatedly knocking on Terri's door, and he searched the ground level and the upstairs bedroom and bathroom. He didn't find anything that looked out of order in those two levels, so he went downstairs to the basement where the recreation room was located. There he found something he wished he would have never found. Terri was laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, stabbed repeatedly. J.C. knew he had to get help.

J.C. called 9-11. Then, he realized that he needed to call Terri's parents, but he couldn't bear to tell them that Terri was dead. He called them and told them they needed to come to Terri's apartment, that it was an emergency. Terri's parents didn't ask any questions, they just agreed to come. In the meantime, Terri's employer and a secretary that worked with Terri decided to come to her apartment to check on her. They were met with the sight of seeing crime scene tape around Terri's apartment and LE officials all over the scene. The secretary asked what was going on. The answer, the woman that lived in the apartment was apparently murdered. Terri's employer had the unenviable task of comforting Terri's parents after they found out the grim news.

Who could have done this to Terri? She worked in a small law firm that handled civil cases, she had no enemies, but yet she was dead. There was no sign of forced entry into her apartment and her car was missing.

Detective Ken Landwehr of the Wichita Police Department caught the case to investigate Terri's murder. When he looked at the scene, he thought that maybe the BTK serial killer had reappeared (BTK was later identified, arrested, and convicted in 2005). Landwehr's first order of business was to see if any witnesses had seen anything unusual around Terri's apartment. A witness was located that said that Terri's car had left the apartment at around 5:30 a.m. that morning, but she couldn't tell who was driving, but she assumed Terri was. Terri's car was located two blocks away at another apartment complex. Inside the car, items including Terri's answering machine were recovered. The police believed these items were stolen from Terri's apartment at the time of her murder.

It seemed there were no easy answers about Terri's murder. Whoever killed Terri seemed to come in her apartment and disappear, leaving no trace of himself. Who was this monster? Was it really BTK? Or was it someone else?

Read here tomorrow and find out who this terrible monster was and see what other terrible crimes against young women like Terri he committed.

(Source Material: "Suddenly Gone" By Dan Mitrione, 1995)