00:00:09
[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
00:00:18
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:00:26
and for a more detailed list of content warnings please please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
00:00:33
our website it was getting late on Tuesday October 15 1946 when 16-year-old Ruth's
00:00:46
smok was startled by the sound of a screen door creaking behind her Ruth had recently moved into a
00:00:53
rooming house in Fort Scott Kansas to attend a larger high school that offered more varied classes than the one in her
00:01:00
rural Missouri Hometown living in the city also allowed Ruth to work part-time as a telephone
00:01:07
operator for Southwestern Bell so she could save some money the problem was Ruth lived alone
00:01:14
and she wasn't expecting any visitors that evening a chilling realization quickly
00:01:21
set in she had left the front door unlocked after returning home from the grocery store
00:01:27
earlier an unfamiliar man was now standing in her apartment the man was tall appeared to
00:01:35
be in his 50s and was dressed in dirty bib overalls the kind typically worn by Farmers he greeted Ruth casually saying
00:01:46
hiis before reaching for a w switch and turning off the light moving quickly The Stranger
00:01:54
grabbed Ruth and tore at her clothes she fought back and managed to press her thumbs into his eyes this only
00:02:03
enraged him further I'll fix you so no one will look at you again he threatened shoving a rag
00:02:11
against Ruth's face Ruth felt herself growing dizzy into drowsy her vision blurred the last
00:02:19
thing she saw before her eyes closed completely was the man heeding a flat iron on the kitchen
00:02:27
stove by the time Ruth regained Consciousness it was 7:30 the next morning she was sprawled on the kitchen
00:02:35
floor her clothes torn with cuts and scratches across her legs neck and face these wounds were superficial
00:02:44
unlike the injuries to her thighs both of Ruth's legs bore painful first deegree Burns which had been
00:02:52
branded onto her flesh by the flat iron Ruth stayed silent on the floor until she was sure her attacker was no
00:03:01
longer there she then called her parents who contacted the police they deduced that Ruth's attacker
00:03:09
had soaked the rag he pressed to her face with chloroform a sweet smelling anesthetic before burning her legs while
00:03:16
she lay unconscious although a physician confirmed that Ruth hadn't been raped police were certain the crime was
00:03:25
sexually motivated Ruth was brought to her parents home to recover but later moved
00:03:32
in with a family friend as the thought of staying in her apartment overwhelmed her with such intense dread that it made
00:03:39
her physically ill meanwhile the violent incident made the local newspapers as authorities
00:03:46
worked to identify the man responsible [Music] [Music] by 1977 31 years had passed since Ruth smok
00:04:19
was attacked 47-year-old Ruth now went by the last name Finley after marrying her
00:04:26
high school sweetheart 49-year-old Ed the Finley lived in a modest singl story woodframe house on a dead end Street in
00:04:36
witchar Kansas 150 Mi west of Fort Scott one warm June afternoon Ed was taking a break from building a patio in
00:04:46
the backyard when he suddenly collapsed Ruth frantically called for an ambulance and Ed was rushed to the
00:04:54
hospital where he regained Consciousness in the emergency department it was initially thought that Ed had
00:05:01
suffered a heart attack due to the strenuous outdoor work but doctors kept him overnight for further tests to make
00:05:08
an official diagnosis in the meantime Ruth returned home alone overwhelmed at the thought of
00:05:15
almost losing her husband she called the couple's two adult sons as well as other family and
00:05:22
friends to update them on his condition as the night wore on Ruth anxiously waited for an update from the
00:05:31
hospital she kept herself occupied with the television and radio but this only made her anxiety
00:05:39
worse a serial killer had been targeting women in Kansas and the media was obsessed with reporting on the lurd
00:05:46
details of his crimes which involved breaking into victim's homes and committing gruesome acts of sexualized
00:05:54
violence being home alone at night did little to calm Ruth's nerves every Creek and crack she heard only
00:06:03
heightened her unease then at around 10:30 p.m. the phone rang when Ruth answered a male voice on
00:06:14
the other line asked is this Ruth smok from Fort Scott Kansas the question struck her as odd
00:06:24
Ruth had been married since 1950 and few people in her life knew her maiden name
00:06:31
the only connection she still had to her past in Fort Scott was her ongoing employment with Southwestern Bell though
00:06:38
she now worked as a secretary in the company's witchar office assuming the caller was an old
00:06:45
acquaintance Ruth confirmed her identity the man began asking about her past specifically the rooming house she
00:06:54
had lived in when she was 16 he then asked cryptically do you still wear your Brands feeling uneasy about his
00:07:06
intrusive questions Ruth cautiously gave a vague answers this irritated the caller who
00:07:14
snapped look I know all about that night confused Ruth replied I don't know what you're talking
00:07:25
about the man then read out what sounded like a newspaper paper article branded on both thighs by a hot
00:07:33
flat iron Ruth smok 16-year-old Fort Scott high school girl was resting today at the home of her parents following an
00:07:42
attack upon her early last night by a man police called a sex maniac the caller continued recounting
00:07:51
the violent assault against Ruth from over 30 years earlier while Ruth's physical wounds
00:07:58
from that night had healed the case had never been solved she had pushed the terrifying
00:08:04
experience to the back of her mind choosing to move forward with her life it wasn't something she discussed with
00:08:12
anyone not even her sons knew about it the caller explained that he worked for a construction company and had
00:08:21
recently discovered a stack of old newspapers while demolishing a building in Fort
00:08:26
Scott he claimed he'd found embarrassing story about three people and planned to
00:08:31
call them all starting with Ruth the caller told Ruth he knew where she lived and worked and threatened to
00:08:40
leave a copy of the article about her attack where everyone in her life could see
00:08:45
it however he said he'd reconsider if Ruth sent him money at that point Ruth hung up the
00:08:58
phone the the strange call left Ruth shaken not only did it force her to confront a part of her past she had long
00:09:06
since buried she feared the man trying to extort her might show up at her house to confront her in
00:09:13
person yet the night passed without incident and the next morning Ruth visited her husband in the
00:09:21
hospital by then Ed's sudden collapse had been linked to an untreated injury from a car accident the previous year
00:09:30
although Ruth was relieved to learn that Ed's heart was healthy he remained in the hospital for several more days to
00:09:37
recover meanwhile Ruth nervously waited to see if the exd daughter would contact
00:09:43
her again but he didn't by the time Ed returned home life for the Finley returned to
00:09:51
normal Ruth didn't tell Ed about the caller choosing to act as though nothing had ever happened
00:10:00
less than a month later in early July Ruth was sitting in her office at Southwestern Bell going through her
00:10:06
Daily Mail when she came across a peculiar brown envelope her name was written on it in
00:10:13
childlike handwriting but there was no address Ruth realized the envelope must have been hand delivered as there was no
00:10:22
way it could have made it to her through the postal system without an address printed on
00:10:27
it inside was a y bowed newspaper clipping from the Fort Scott Tribune it was the same article
00:10:34
detailing the 1946 attack on teenage Ruth that the anonymous caller had read to her weeks
00:10:41
before startled Ruth tore up the article and threw it in the trash Ruth's parents had raised her to
00:10:50
be self-reliant instilling in her the belief that emotions should be repressed and personal problems handled privately
00:11:00
as a result Ruth chose not to tell Ed about the harassment over the following months the
00:11:07
man called the Finley home six more times as soon as Ruth recognized his voice she hung up
00:11:15
immediately occasionally Ed answered the phone only to hear a dial tone he assumed there were being pranked
00:11:24
by mischievous children Ruth kept the truth Secret along with the fact that her chronic
00:11:31
headaches were getting worse she just hoped The Stranger would leave her alone once he realized she
00:11:38
wasn't willing to engage with [Music] him by August two months had passed since the anonymous caller first
00:11:49
contacted Ruth she was walking the streets of downtown witchar after finishing work for the day waiting for
00:11:56
Ed's shift to end so they could carpool home together as she crossed the road at the corner of
00:12:02
Broadway and Douglas a male voice suddenly said you've done a good job at work this
00:12:09
week you can take the weekend off Ruth realized the comment was directed at her it had come from a
00:12:19
stranger who was walking alongside her he was tall lean and appeared to be in his late 40s with brown eyes and black
00:12:28
hair that was beginning to gray he seemed innocuous dressed in jeans a plaid shirt and white tennis
00:12:37
shoes the man tried to engage Ruth in small talk but she wasn't interested and barely acknowledged him undeterred he
00:12:46
kept pace his questions growing more pointed you work for the telephone company don't
00:12:54
you despite Ruth's clear disinterest he pressed on what do you do there are you an
00:13:03
operator Ruth remained silent as the man rambled on about his love of gambling in
00:13:09
Las Vegas even inviting her to join him for a trip there sometime he then began talking about his
00:13:17
interest in photography annoyed Ruth turned her attention to the nearby shop Windows
00:13:24
hoping the man would take the hint and leave her alone when it became clear that he
00:13:29
wasn't getting the message Ruth finally said she was waiting for her husband the man then asked are you still
00:13:39
married fed up Ruth said nothing the man's friendly demeanor abruptly changed he leaned in close and
00:13:49
said menacingly I like your face I'll see you again you can count on that some people's fan IES or other people's
00:14:02
nightmares with that he stormed off Ruth met up with Ed shortly afterward and told him about the
00:14:11
unsettling encounter despite his wife son e Ed assumed the man had been flirting with
00:14:18
her and had reacted poorly to her rejection privately Ruth couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that he might have
00:14:27
been the same man who had beeny trying to blackmail her but as the months passed the
00:14:33
troubling calls stopped and the Man in the city didn't [Music] reappear nearly a year later in July
00:14:44
1978 Ruth was walking the streets of witchar during her lunch break when a hand suddenly shot out from an Alleyway
00:14:51
and gripped her wrist tightly she turned to find the man who had accosted her 11 months earlier
00:15:00
frightened she broke free and sprinted across the street as the man yelled Ruth get back here you stupid [ __ ] and talk
00:15:08
to me Ruth darted into a nearby department store rushed into an elevator and frantically pressed the button for the
00:15:17
fifth floor when the doors reopened she hurried out and concealed herself among the shop displays hoping the man
00:15:25
wouldn't find her As Time passed Ruth's nerves began to settle eventually she left the store and
00:15:35
made her way to a pay phone she called her husband telling him to come and get her right
00:15:42
away when Ed arrived Ruth finally broke down and told him everything about the harassment she'd endured over the past
00:15:51
year Ed was shocked and upset to learn what his wife had been dealing with in silence he drove her to to the police
00:15:59
station to file a report but the officer the Finley spoke to never followed up with them leaving the couple uncertain
00:16:06
as to whether their case had been investigated or brushed aside months later Ruth was at home when
00:16:15
the mail arrived an envelope addressed to her in large black block letters caught her
00:16:23
attention inside was a single sheet of lined paper it featured the same childlike
00:16:31
handwriting that had been on the envelope she received the previous year that had contained the newspaper article
00:16:37
about her 1946 attack scrolled at the top of the page was the line [ __ ] You [ __ ] the Police [ __ ] the
00:16:47
telephone company the rest of the letters contents were a rambling mess filled with poor
00:16:55
spelling grammar and punctuation yet scattered throughout were several complex words that seemed
00:17:02
oddly out of place in essence the writer demanded money from Ruth and threatened to hurt
00:17:10
her if she didn't comply Ruth showed the letter to her husband and they took it to the witchar
00:17:17
police department headquarters Ruth was certain that she had no connection to her harasser she
00:17:25
was well-liked with no known enemies and couldn't think of a single person who would Target her so
00:17:32
maliciously the finleys were introduced to the seasoned detectives of the major crimes
00:17:38
division Ruth and Ed were surprised that their case had been escalated to such an
00:17:43
elite unit they would soon learn the troubling reason why witcha had spent the last three
00:17:55
years gripped by fear it had never felt before the city's first known serial killer had
00:18:02
claimed the lives of seven victims including four members of the same family the killer had adopted the Monica
00:18:11
BTK Strangler which was short for bind torture kill a reflection of his sadistic method of
00:18:18
attack his crimes made headlines and were a Hot Topic among locals who lived in a state of Perpetual Terror
00:18:26
uncertainty and suspicion by late 1978 police had no substantial leads on who the BTK Strangler was only
00:18:37
vague witness descriptions and a series of graphic taunting letters that he'd sent to authorities and metor
00:18:44
outlets in them the BTK Strangler detailed his crimes and sometimes included disturbing cryptic
00:18:52
poems most were handwritten in distinct blocky handwriting when witch's Major Crimes division
00:19:01
learned of Ruth Finley's case they noted troubling similarities to btk's emmo but
00:19:07
there were enough differences to prevent an unequivocal connection since Ruth didn't appear to
00:19:14
be in immediate life-threatening danger her case was relegated to the bottom of the pile of leads the division was
00:19:20
sorting through in the larger investigation a week later Ruth received another letter
00:19:29
filled with similar writing errors to the previous one this long-winded note demanded that Ruth leave $100 under a
00:19:37
seat in Ed's pickup truck and park it in a location where the cash could be collected the author made it clear that
00:19:45
they knew Ruth had Enlisted the help of her husband her colleagues at Southwest and bell and even the police
00:19:52
warning I can tell if anybody is watching me don't be a dumb [ __ ] again and blow this I will have to see you
00:20:01
soon if you do the letter ended with a poem wherever you go on water or land you still got to pay or I'll tell about
00:20:13
your brand I am smart and know things to do you talk to people I despise like police lieutenant and telly
00:20:25
spies Ruth took the letter to the police and soon more arrived each more erratic
00:20:31
elgible and profane than the last the writing featured near incomprehensible abbreviations and was
00:20:39
sometimes panned upside down backwards or scribbled in circles at the corners of the
00:20:46
page the police struggled to make sense of them Ruth took it upon herself to type
00:20:52
out the content of each letter in an effort to clarify and decode them though poorly written the letters
00:21:00
contained sophisticated words like prominis constantan and jactitation suggesting that the author
00:21:08
was more intelligent than they were letting on Ruth had to look up these words in
00:21:14
the dictionary to understand their meaning she also discovered that some of the Letter's elaborate terms like SED
00:21:22
and psychos theia were entirely made up the author remained fascinated by Ruth's past and frequently mentioned
00:21:31
wanting to see her Brands a reference to the burns she had sustained in her teens she passed her research on to the
00:21:40
police who were grateful for her help but still didn't treat the situation with urgency at the same time the troubling
00:21:49
phone calls resumed if Ruth answered the Man simply said Ruth before hanging up if Ed
00:21:57
answered the caller immediately hung up one day Ed decided to stay on the line and wait to see what happened
00:22:07
several minutes of silence passed before Ed was startled by a whistling sound blowing down the
00:22:14
line who is this he demanded an unfamiliar voice finally spoke up this is the damnedest thing I was
00:22:24
walking by this phone here at the post office downtown and it's just hanging off the hook who are
00:22:31
you it was a bust whoever had made the call had fled the area by October 1978 the call stopped
00:22:43
the Finley were relieved thinking the man had finally given up and moved on marking the end of their 16-month ordeal
00:22:58
it was cold and wet in witchar on the afternoon of Tuesday November 21 1978 when Ruth Finley stepped out on her
00:23:06
lunch break to run a few errands after picking up a birthday card for a friend she crossed North Market
00:23:13
Street and was struck by an unnerving feeling that she was being followed she turned around but no one
00:23:21
was there Ruth continued on her way when all of a sudden an old blue green 196 before
00:23:28
Chevrolet Belair pulled up to the curb blocking her path A man jumped out of the vehicle and
00:23:36
demanded have you got my money it was the man Ruth had encountered twice before this time
00:23:44
wearing a denim jacket over a sweater and black framed glasses he demanded that Ruth get into
00:23:50
his car but she froze in fear unable to move or speak the man kicked Ruth hard in the
00:23:57
shin causing her to double over in pain he then forced her into the back seat of
00:24:03
the Bair and climbed in beside her a second man sat behind the wheel he hit the accelerator and the car
00:24:12
shot forward the car had seen better days the tattered back seat was cluttered with
00:24:20
the junk that Ruth assumed had come from a Farm gas cans chunks of concrete chains and rags
00:24:28
the left rear window was taped with plastic the passenger door was bashed in and the dashboard was patched with white
00:24:36
tape as they drove along the two men talked incessantly taking long swigs from a bottle wrapped in brown paper
00:24:44
that they passed between them Ruth strained to catch as much of their conversation as she could she
00:24:52
deduced that the driver was called buddy but she didn't catch the name of the man
00:24:57
who'd grabbed her the man soon turned his attention back to Ruth and demanded she give him her
00:25:05
purse Ruth handed it over and the man rummaged through it before announcing gleefully we've struck it
00:25:13
rich but his mood soured when he found a business card for one of the detectives
00:25:18
working on her case he showed it to Buddy and the two men exchanged a volley of angry
00:25:26
profanities without warning the man struck Ruth in the side of the face with a chunk of concrete barking you damn
00:25:34
stupid [ __ ] Ruth sat back dazed and silent while buddy drove aimlessly through the
00:25:42
city she occasionally caught glimpses of her cap door wielding a switchblade thoughts of Escape crossed
00:25:51
her mind but the door handle next to her was broken and she wasn't sure she'd survive if she jumped from the speeding
00:25:58
car her purse had been returned and inside it was a can of ma but she couldn't figure out how to retrieve it without
00:26:07
the men noticing at one point Ruth overheard buddy ominously say wait until dark her anxiety sparked when he pulled
00:26:18
into the parking lot of the Twin Lakes Shopping Center the other man muttered we'll get
00:26:26
rid of her but not here meanwhile back at Southwestern Bell Ruth's colleagues noticed that she
00:26:37
hadn't returned from lunch calls were made to Ed Finley and then to the police but without anyone
00:26:44
knowing Ruth's exact location her situation grew dire hours passed and the sunset as
00:26:52
Ruth's captors continued driving her around the town all the while Ruth despaired over
00:26:59
what might be in store for her at one point the man in the back seat sneered do you like beer we'll get some
00:27:08
beer and have a party I'll be real nice to you by the fourth hour of her ordeal Ruth Finally Found the courage to speak
00:27:18
up telling the men that she needed to use the restroom they laughed at her so Ruth
00:27:25
forced herself to gag explaining that she would throw up if she didn't get to a toilet although they seemed dubious
00:27:33
buddy pulled up at a small park near West 21st Street and Selena close to the little Arkansas
00:27:40
River to prevent Ruth from fleeing the men ordered that she hand over her coat and
00:27:47
shoes Ruth's captor got out of the car and dragged her by the arm into the park remarking I'll watch you and you'll
00:27:56
watch me doesn't that sound like fun as they walked Ruth discreetly tucked her hand into her purse gripping
00:28:06
the can of Mace when they reached a small Lake The Man released his hold on Ruth so that he
00:28:13
could urinate first as he unzipped his pants Ruth grabbed the mace and sprayed it at
00:28:20
him the man collapsed in a coughing fit giving Ruth the opportunity to flee be their foot she darted across the
00:28:29
muddy ground slid down an embankment and crouched behind a large Bush she heard the man yell you'll
00:28:38
freeze if we leave you here come and get your shoes and your coat and we won't bother you
00:28:45
anymore Ruth remained silent her body shivering and her feet numb from the cold she stayed hidden in the dark until
00:28:54
the man stopped shouting and she sensed he had gone Ruth crept out from behind the bush and
00:29:01
climbed back up the small rise scanning the area for the B air it was nowhere to be
00:29:09
seen she quickly left the park and ran to a liquor store across the road yelling someone's after
00:29:17
me the store clerk immediately called the police who arrived to collect Ruth and take her to the station where she
00:29:25
was reunited with her husband dad Ruth learned that her abductors had stolen her $315 paycheck a $100 US
00:29:36
savings bonds and a few other random items including some stationer police examined the park where
00:29:44
Ruth had been taken they found her shoes and coat near the embankment she had fled down along with Footprints showing
00:29:51
her Escape Route however the asants had left behind no other Clues a localized check on every model of
00:30:01
Chevrolet that matched Ruth's description was conducted with each vehicle tracked down and ruled
00:30:08
out detectives also Revisited the 1946 attack on Ruth traveling to Fort Scott to search for
00:30:19
leads in the meantime Ruth continued to receive long rambling letters from her Tormentor in one he enclosed the
00:30:29
stationer that was stolen from her purse confirming that the letter writer and the abductor were one and the
00:30:36
same in another letter he accused Ruth of deliberately confusing him he claimed to have mistaken Ruth's sister Jean for
00:30:46
her a common mistake as the Two Sisters looked alike Jean was rattled when she learned
00:30:53
that the man had been mistakenly stalking her as well Ruth tried to reassure her saying he doesn't want you
00:31:02
he wants me Ruth was in a state of despair her headaches were now a daily occurrence
00:31:10
and accompanied by crippling abdominal pain things worsened when the man began leaving letters about Ruth throughout
00:31:18
witchar and writing to the local papers this thrust Ruth into the spotlight and made the otherwise private
00:31:26
and reserved woman the subject object of local gossip the man claimed he was a poet
00:31:33
though people didn't know it this along with his habit for Penning violent and sexual Rhymes led to him
00:31:42
being referred to as the poet sometimes his poems were long and elaborate other times they were short
00:31:49
and simple resembling children's Rhymes in his writings he called Ruth a [ __ ] an accusation that seemed
00:31:58
completely unfounded detectives spoke at length with Ruth and concluded that she was a
00:32:04
kind upstanding churchgoing woman who was fiercely devoted to her husband this wasn't a case of a married
00:32:12
woman living a secret double life they could tell Ruth's fear was genuine and that she truly had no idea
00:32:20
who the poet was or why she was being targeted despite this the poet continued to apply a personal connection between
00:32:30
them writing you know in your [ __ ] up mind you are going to die you don't know when
00:32:37
but you do know why in a letter to local newspaper the eagle Beacon the poet gloated about his
00:32:47
anonymity good or evil my secret shall not be known I unnoticed go my way I may just Prosper for one day
00:32:59
he also scolded the publication for mentioning both him and the BTK Strangler in the same article warning
00:33:06
them not to confuse the executioners again I am not dangerous he claimed just to those who are too dumb to do what
00:33:16
they are told he even sent a letter to a detective overseeing Ruth's case accusing him of protecting a quote [ __ ]
00:33:26
from death in an effort to generate more leads the detective appeared on a live radio talk
00:33:33
show and described Ruth's ordeal in detail during the broadcast Ruth listened closely to each incoming call
00:33:42
to the radio station but none of the callers sounded like her stalker each night while Ruth slept Ed
00:33:51
kept watch over the house hiding in the bushes armed with a 12 gauge shotgun and
00:33:56
a revolver the Finley continued to receive letters sporadically into 1979 sometimes as many as two at a time
00:34:09
they tried to maintain a sense of normaly in their lives even preparing for their annual trip to a Ranch Resort
00:34:15
in western Colorado on Monday August 13 while Ruth was packing for the trip she realized
00:34:23
she needed a new pair of jeans putting her fears aside she drove to Town East Mall and bought what she
00:34:31
needed by the time she finished shopping it was late and the sun was setting as she walked back to her car
00:34:39
Ruth was struck by the unsettling Sensation that someone was following her however each time she turned around
00:34:48
the parking lot seemed deserted with no one Insight nervous Ruth hurried toward her
00:34:55
car when a familiar voice called out hey Ruth I didn't know you were going to make this so
00:35:03
easy Ruth broke into a Sprint she reached her car and jammed a key into the door but it wouldn't open she had
00:35:13
used the wrong key a gloved hand appeared from behind her and grabbed her WR it was the same
00:35:21
man who had abducted her the year before he pushed Ruth's head against the car and ordered her to get in tossing a
00:35:29
brown paper shopping bag through the partially open rear window we'll go to a nice little place
00:35:36
where it says keep out he said Ruth pushed the man away and tried to run but within seconds he pulled an 8
00:35:47
in boning knife from his pocket and stabbed her twice in the back and once in the
00:35:52
S fueled by adrenaline and a desperation Ruth scrambled into her car the man reached through the open
00:36:01
driver side window but she managed to wind it up quickly trapping his hand for a moment before he
00:36:10
withdrew Ruth started the engine and sped off the boning knife still lodged in her
00:36:17
sight blood soaked into the car seat as she fought back tears her body racked with
00:36:23
pain she pulled into a gas station and called the police from a p phone they urged her to stay Port but
00:36:31
terrified that the man might be following her Ruth got back into her car and drove
00:36:37
home by the time she arrived her vision blurred and she was on the verge of passing
00:36:44
out Ed rushed to Ruth the moment she pulled up he gently moved her into the passenger seat and drove to the hospital
00:36:53
while Ruth drifted in and out of consciousness [Music] the doctors concluded that Ruth had been
00:37:01
incredibly lucky if the knife had been a fraction of an inch deeper her kidney would have been punctured and she would
00:37:09
have died the paper bag her attacker threw into her back seat painted a harrowing
00:37:15
image of his intentions it contained clothesline rope white tape a red bandana and a half
00:37:23
empty bottle of wine after a successful surgery and 9 days of recovery under 24-hour police
00:37:31
protection Ruth was cleared to return home before she arrived the police thoroughly examined every inch of the
00:37:39
Finley's house and deemed it safe not long after Ruth was released from hospital a detective arrived at the
00:37:48
Finley's door visibly shaken he explained that he'd received a call from the hospital where Ruth had
00:37:55
been treated a man had shown up asking specifically for her a nurse believed he might have been
00:38:03
Ruth's as salant but by the time authorities arrived he'd already left fearing for her safety police
00:38:11
quietly moved Ruth to a safe location in the days that followed they kept the Finley's house under constant
00:38:19
surveillance but the man didn't appear news of Ruth's stabbing made headlines across witchard with composite
00:38:28
sketches of the offender widely circulated and a $3,000 reward offered for information leading to his
00:38:35
capture at one point the poet case generated more tips than the higher profile BTK Strangler
00:38:44
investigation detectives began looking into individuals with criminal backgrounds that matched the poet's
00:38:51
Behavior they showed Ruth photos of potential suspects but she ruled each of them out
00:38:59
at one stage the investigation turned toward the Finley themselves Ed was questioned thoroughly
00:39:07
but he assured the police that he would never hurt his wife the FBI compared his handwriting
00:39:13
with that of the poet and determined it wasn't a match additionally a medical report
00:39:20
ruled out the possibility that Ruth could have inflicted the stab wounds to herself at such an angle and with such
00:39:28
Force an independent doctor reached the same conclusion for a while Ruth was closely
00:39:37
monitored by eight plain clothes police officers as she went about her daily activities outside the
00:39:43
home on some occasions a detective hit out of sight in the back of her car armed with a
00:39:50
shotgun others patrolled the city in unmarked police cars or went undercover spending weeks lurking through witcha
00:39:58
keeping an eye out for the poet but he managed to elude them in an attempt to lure him out Ed
00:40:08
Finley posted a coded message in the classified section of the eagle Beacon the ad
00:40:15
read poet tell me what I owe you it was signed with Ruth's initials rsf to Ed surprise the poet seemingly
00:40:28
responded to rsf the price of my service to stay alive can now be settled at five the cryptic nature of the message
00:40:39
left Ed and the police baffled the poet continued to communicate to them through the
00:40:46
newspaper though his messages offered no new or helpful [Music] information as time wore on Ruth's fear
00:40:55
gave way to profound depression she felt utterly helpless resigned to the belief that the poet
00:41:02
would eventually get her the sense of dread grew when the Finley found another letter from the
00:41:09
poet wedged in the slats of their front porch marking the first time he'd personally delivered a letter to their
00:41:17
home at night they began hearing strange noises coming from their garage leading
00:41:22
them to believe someone was lurking there then on Christmas Eve of 1979 their phone lines were
00:41:34
cut Ruth agreed to undergo hypnosis in an attempt to uncover any suppressed memories of her abduction and
00:41:42
stabbing in the first session she quickly slipped into a trance and recounted the events in Vivid detail
00:41:49
even shouting I want out of the car as she relived the abduction however no new insights
00:41:57
emerged from this first session during her second session a few days later Ruth recalled that her
00:42:06
attacker had mentioned something about a bridge over a river near the Airfield east of
00:42:12
town detectives followed this fresh lead and eventually located a bridge matching
00:42:17
Ruth's description but they couldn't determine its relevance to the case later the poet sent the police
00:42:25
written instructions to meet him at the bridge but he never showed up in another letter he referred to a
00:42:33
box full of things the police would love to find allegedly near a rocky stream officers spent 8 hours digging
00:42:42
along a dry riverbed near the Airfield but found nothing the psychologist who had
00:42:50
hypnotized Ruth suggested that the poet might have received psychological treatment or spent time in a state
00:42:56
Institution he described the attacker as withdrawn seclusive secretive and suspicious after reviewing the poet's
00:43:07
letters the psychologist confirmed that the author was highly intelligent a prominent psycholinguist
00:43:14
created a psychological profile of the poet describing him as severely psychotic schizophrenic pathologically
00:43:22
paranoid and a loner with a deep sense of persecution although he acknowledged that the poet
00:43:30
and the BTK Strangler shared a highly similar style and pathology he didn't believe they were the same
00:43:39
person while the investigation kept stalling the letters to Ruth continued to arrive one
00:43:48
read you'll not go directly to your tomb your mind must give thought there will be Gloom your face no more will anyone
00:43:57
meet at home day or night or in the street your mind is beaten dark forever more hid all because of what you did
00:44:08
this game is fun to plan and plot but can you stop me no you [Music] cannot the poet remained active into
00:44:20
1980 and a new officer in command was assigned to oversee the case the poet mocked him in a letter
00:44:29
writing there once was a captain who had an [ __ ] for a heart the Finley's house gate was rigged
00:44:37
with an alarm and the police hit a surveillance camera in a birdhouse in the backyard the wires snaked through a
00:44:44
garden hose leading to a monitor on the Finley's dining table producing a live feed police officers worked Round the
00:44:52
Clock to monitor the feed 24/7 but eventually the poet managed to inconspicuously cut the garden
00:45:02
hose in January Ruth received a call at work I have a surprise for you in the lobby the poet said before abruptly
00:45:11
hanging up Ruth immediately contacted the police who arrived to find a 12-in butcher
00:45:18
knife wrapped in a red bandana in the Lobby's phone booth two witnesses reported seeing a
00:45:25
man matching the poet's description near the booth but he had left by the time authorities
00:45:32
arrived 2 Days Later Ruth received another chilling poem shut your eyes and think of the
00:45:40
12-in blade will you remember the hole It Made dream of me and obey my commands think of me with a knife in my
00:45:52
hands in February the poet sent Ruth a strip of red bandana tied with twine accompanied by a letter that
00:46:01
read Here's to You tender Valentine read with blood and tied with twine nothing too much for a valentine gone from here
00:46:11
by whim of Mind by this point the Finley's entire life was consumed by the poet much of
00:46:20
their day was spent examining their home for letters attempting to decode his latest ramblings speaking speaking with
00:46:27
the police and worrying about his next move they barely slept with Ed reaching for his gun at every Creek in the
00:46:37
night the poet went to Great Lengths to upend every facet of Ruth's life he sent
00:46:44
a letter to a local florist instructing them to deliver a single black flower to
00:46:49
her he wrote to Ruth's Bank demanding the transfer of all her funds he contacted the Kansas dep
00:46:56
Department of Motor Vehicles falsely claiming that Ruth had been driving recklessly and urging them to revoke her
00:47:03
driver's license utility providers received a letters requesting that the Finley
00:47:09
household's gas and electricity be shut off a locksmith was asked to create a new set of keys for their home while a
00:47:17
construction company was instructed to dump am Mount of dirt in their driveway a towing company was told to
00:47:24
collect the Finley's vehicles and the Health Department was falsely informed that Ruth was spreading venial
00:47:32
diseases the most chilling correspondence was sent to a local Mory warning them that Ruth would soon be in
00:47:39
need of their services detectives compared the poet's handwriting to samples from a wide range
00:47:47
of sources but no match was found the letters underwent extensive analysis focusing on word choice
00:47:55
phrasing and writing patterns but these efforts also yielded no results Chemical Testing for
00:48:03
fingerprints or saliva on the envelopes came up inconclusive at one stage the police
00:48:10
received a call from someone claiming to be buddy one of the men who had abducted
00:48:15
Ruth back in November 1978 the men promised to call back but never followed through numerous hoaxes and mentally ill
00:48:27
individuals also claimed to be the poet further complicating the investigation in early June 1980 the
00:48:39
first letter from the poet arrived that wasn't postmarked from witchar but from Oklahoma City 160 Mi to the
00:48:48
South around the same time police received an anonymous tip saying that a man resembling the poet was living in a
00:48:56
trailer west of the city having been fired from his job 7 months earlier detectives looked into his
00:49:04
psychological profile which appeared to match the poets hopeful that they finally had a
00:49:10
promising lead they organized for Ruth Finley to view the man in a police lineup she determined that he was not
00:49:18
her stalker over a month and a half later the poet escalated once more leaving a
00:49:26
bottle of urine on the Finley's front porch this was just one of many disturbing items he had placed on the
00:49:33
couple's property during his reign of terror among the other objects were an ice pick firecrackers cigarettes hair
00:49:42
matches and trash on several occasions the Finley discovered ingredients for Molotov
00:49:50
cocktails eggs were thrown at their house broken glass was scattered on their front steps and the lock on their
00:49:57
gate was damaged Ed was horrified when he found a bag containing feces the situation reached a horrifying
00:50:07
peak in December 1980 the Finley were watching television in their basement one Sunday night when
00:50:15
they were startled by the sound of glass smashing rushing upstairs they found that the Christmas wreath on their front
00:50:22
door had been set a light the Flames cracking the glass in the door Ed quickly put out the blaze then
00:50:30
grabbed a pair of garden shears and sprinted down the road intent on confronting the poet but he never caught
00:50:38
up with him afterwards the poet sent the couple a chilling poem written in the style of
00:50:45
the famous Christmas classic toward the Night Before Christmas the verses ominously warned of
00:50:52
Ruth's impending death it was the night before Christmas and all through the house Ruth wasn't
00:50:59
stirring you're as quiet as a mouse your stocking was tight around your neck with
00:51:06
care I hoped the lieutenant would not soon be there fearing an attack a detective
00:51:14
spent Christmas Eve at the Finley's home as they hosted a family get together during the night the Finley's
00:51:22
phone lines were cut for a second time without anyone hearing a thing another holiday themed poem alluded to
00:51:31
Ruth's seedy past of sexual impropriety saying once upon the night so dreary premonitions of disaster keep you weary
00:51:41
the [ __ ] bore her guilt in her bed of slime from selling her ass and not charging a dime slept with strangers in
00:51:50
evil bed enraged demon Hunters saw blood was red all [ __ ] should keep their names and faces secret defenseless
00:52:00
instincts released with demonic [ __ ] threats blur Division and suffering in accusers cage umbilical cord connected
00:52:09
by seed in a rage in January 1981 the Finley's phone lines were cut for a third time however
00:52:21
after the poet's previous attack Southwest and Bell had buried the replacement line underground and
00:52:27
installed dummy wires to prevent further sabotage it was only those dummy wires that were
00:52:35
SED in February investigators set a trap for The Poet by fitting Ruth with a bulletproof vest and letting her walk
00:52:43
around downtown witcha accompanied by an undercover detective the poet never appeared but he
00:52:51
wrote a letter after which read I saw her Friday but she was with some other female this confirmed to detectives that
00:53:01
the poet was observing Ruth in real time in March the poet threatened to kill Ruth on St Patrick's Day on April
00:53:12
fo's day he threw pieces of concrete at the Finley's house by this point police had
00:53:18
investigated over 300 individuals amassing 14 large binders of information weeks were spent surveilling
00:53:27
potential leads examining criminal histories and executing search warrants yet all their efforts proved
00:53:35
futile despite the significant time and resources invested the police were left with nothing but the growing pile of
00:53:42
anonymous letters Ruth Finley kept all of the poet's letters stored in a notebook
00:53:50
telling the Press I wonder how long it takes him to write this crap he doesn't do a bad job
00:53:56
job of writing poetry some of them are kind of funny however she admitted that the
00:54:03
contents of some of the letters made her stomach ache particularly the one sent at Christmas which frightened her the
00:54:10
most Ed Finley said of the poet I don't think he's crazy or insane I'm sure he's
00:54:17
a coward he knows what he's doing what the risks are as time dragged on and the poet
00:54:25
remained unidentify ified Ruth's mental and emotional health spiraled she confided in her sister that
00:54:32
she felt as though she were coming out of her body though she struggled to articulate what that
00:54:38
meant Ruth often spent hours staring blankly out of the windows of her home disconnected from the world around
00:54:46
her the constant anxiety and fear left her body aching with persistent cramps and pains which she believed were
00:54:54
physical manifestations of the overwhelming stress she was under Ruth was also plagued by Vivid
00:55:02
nightmares in one she reached the top of a stairwell with the poet close behind her only to find that the door at the
00:55:10
top wouldn't open allowing him to grab her in another she was surrounded by police but couldn't get their attention
00:55:19
as the poet closed in panicking Ruth ran into the street only to be struck by a bus
00:55:27
us there were also moments where Ruth's sense of reality seemed to slip she could be going about her daily routine
00:55:35
when she'd suddenly feel as though the world was spinning out of control after one of these dizzying
00:55:42
episodes she woke up on the bathroom floor disoriented and Confused privately Ruth had reached a
00:55:50
Breaking Point and was planning to take her own life on Wednesday October 1 1981 just over 4
00:56:00
years after Ruth Finley's ordeal began her husband Ed arrived at the witchar police department headquarters with
00:56:07
another letter from the poet this one contained a poem resembling Shirley locks a piece penned
00:56:15
by the still unidentified BTK Strangler in 1978 Ed intended to Simply hand the letter over for the police's records and
00:56:25
return to work but instead he was escorted into an interview room confused and taken off guard Ed was
00:56:36
immediately read his rights he was then questioned about his relationship with Ruth from their first
00:56:43
meeting to the recent attacks after he answered to their questions the detectives delivered a
00:56:50
shocking statement we know who the poet is Ed a few weeks earlier a letter had arrived
00:57:04
from the poet that differed from the others in it he claimed that once he was finished with Ruth Finley he would be
00:57:12
turning his attention to a new Target the wife of witch's chief of police Richard
00:57:19
lanan the letter included personal details about Chief Lan's wife including the make a model of her car and the
00:57:27
route she regularly drove home from the city normally Chief lanan adopted a hands-off approach trusting his officers
00:57:36
to manage their investigations independently however with the poet case now striking close to home he took the
00:57:44
threat personally over the weekend Chief lyion immersed himself in the poet's massive
00:57:51
case File meticulously combing through every little detail but by Sunday evening he was convinced he had solved
00:57:59
the case Chief lanan held a confidential meeting with 16 of his officers who had
00:58:06
worked tirelessly on the PO case over the years many of them had become personally
00:58:12
acquainted with the Finley some even forming close friendships with Ruth and Ed beyond the confines of the
00:58:20
investigation by all accounts the Finley were warm hospitable people who were deeply grateful for the dedication the
00:58:27
police had shown in trying to bring their Tormentor to Justice the only person in the room who
00:58:34
hadn't met the Finley was Chief lanan himself the officers sat in stunned silence as Chief lanan presented his
00:58:46
theory he pointed out that the Finley lived on a quiet Dead End Street yet none of the neighbors or the police
00:58:53
surveillance team had ever cided any one suspicious in the area when the poet struck similarly there were no witnesses
00:59:02
to the times Ruth had been confronted in public despite these incidents occurring
00:59:07
in heavily frequented areas when the police installed the clandestine security camera in the
00:59:14
Finley's backyard the only other people who knew about it were Ruth and dad this raised the question of how the
00:59:22
poet had managed to avoid it entirely moreover the poet struck at the Finley's house when there wasn't a detective
00:59:31
present to guard them how did he always seem to know when the Finley were unprotected whenever the couple went
00:59:40
away for extended periods the poet's Communications in the eagle Beacon's classified section immediately ceased
00:59:47
only to resume once the Finley returned when a new detective took over the case in 1980 he received a taunting
00:59:56
letter from the poet yet the Finley were the only ones who knew about the change
01:00:02
in leadership at the time as for the November 1978 abduction there were inconsistencies in Ruth's
01:00:10
story such as the time the attack took place she also described the backseat of the belir as being filled with random
01:00:20
farmyard junk including gas cans and chunks of concrete but as Chief lanan pointed out
01:00:27
if the car was packed with such items how could two people fit in the back seat Ruth claimed that one of the
01:00:35
captors had chased her through the muddy park yet when police examined the park only one set of footprints were
01:00:43
uncovered ruths Ruth claimed to have been struck in the face with a piece of concrete
01:00:50
during the attack but she had no injuries consistent with such a blow as for the stabbing attack Ruth said she
01:00:59
rolled up her car window after fighting her way into the car yet the door had been locked when she
01:01:08
arrived Chief lanan found it strange that she had left her car locked but with the window down to him nothing
01:01:16
about the case made sense Chief lamion announced to the group The Poet is Ruth Finley
01:01:29
herself the claim flew in the face of everything the case detectives believed as well as the information gathered from
01:01:37
medical personnel and other experts doctors were certain Ruth couldn't have stabbed herself Chief
01:01:45
lanan disagreed he insisted that Ruth had inflicted the wounds on herself and everything else about the situation had
01:01:53
been fabricated he felt the same way about the abduction and all the other acts attributed to the
01:02:01
poet Chief leion sensed the other detectives incredulity and reluctance to accept his
01:02:08
theory what he was suggesting contradicted everything they knew about the Finley Ruth was neither unstable nor
01:02:17
attention seeking she was modest and gentle and her distress seemed undeniably genuine Chief Lund believed he could
01:02:26
view Ruth with suspicion because he'd examined the case File objectively without biases that might come from
01:02:34
knowing her personally Chief lanan proposed 24-hour covert surveillance of the Finley
01:02:41
starting that very night while the other detectives remained uncertain about his assertions
01:02:48
they ultimately agreed to his plan on Thursday September 17 Ruth and dead Finley drove to Eastgate Mall
01:02:57
oblivious to the fact that they were being tailed by an unmarked police car Ed pulled into the malls parking lot
01:03:05
and stopped at a mailbox Ruth got out and deposited several letters before returning to the
01:03:12
vehicle after the Finley drove off officers converged on the mailbox and retrieved five letters that Ruth had
01:03:20
mailed three were identified as personal business or private correspondence one was addressed to a police reporter
01:03:28
at a local television station and the final one was addressed to Ruth herself both of these letters were from
01:03:38
the poet and featured his unmistakable handwriting the one to Ruth was written in the style of the children's poem
01:03:46
Hickory Dickory Doc and referenced her attack in 1946 Hickory Dickory doc the name on
01:03:55
this face is smok heat the iron for the brand cooperate for games planned Hickory Dickory
01:04:05
Dock the next day Ed and Ruth continued with their normal routine then on Saturday Ed drove Ruth to Eastgate Mall
01:04:14
once again this time she deposited four more letters another of which was addressed
01:04:20
to herself from the poet Dark Eyed [ __ ] sat all alone near the river and tied to a stone sink in
01:04:30
the water and in fear call for help and no one's near weep no more the race is run you lost the battle and I have
01:04:43
won a search of Ruth's office at Southwestern Bell uncovered a book of pros and poetry a Swatch of red bandana
01:04:51
and a sheet of carbon paper bearing the poet's handwriting it was not uncommon for the poet to send
01:04:58
an original letter to the Finley and a carbon copy of the same letter to the police for chief Richard lanan these
01:05:07
discoveries Vindicated his controversial belief that Ruth Finley was indeed the poet however the question of what role
01:05:16
if any Ed Finley played in this game lingered when Ed arrived at the witchar police department headquarters on
01:05:24
Wednesday October oober 1 1981 to hand over the Shirley loock style letter from the poet he was led into an interview
01:05:32
room and asked several questions about his wife and their recent experiences afterwards Ed was hit with a
01:05:41
bombshell the detectives knew who the poet was Ed stared at them processing the statement before
01:05:50
responding I hope the hell you do let's go get him then but the detectives had other
01:05:59
plans they showed Ed some photographs the first of which was a candid shot of Ruth as she mailed letters at the
01:06:06
Eastgate Mall the detectives told Ed they'd caught Ruth mailing five letters from
01:06:13
the poet in the past two weeks the poet is Ruth they told him matter of factly Ed seemingly couldn't believe
01:06:24
what he was hearing he repeatedly muttered oh my God as the detectives informed him of all the
01:06:31
evidence they'd uncovered in Ruth's office Ed agreed to take a lie detector test to eliminate himself from the
01:06:39
investigation during the test he firmly denied knowing that Ruth was the poet or
01:06:45
helping her carry out the scheme The Examiner found that Ed was telling the truth and chief lanan
01:06:54
agreed after conducting his extensive research into the case Chief Leman was confident that Ruth had acted
01:07:04
alone a search of the Finley home uncovered another book of poetry more pieces of carbon paper and scraps of red
01:07:13
bandana meanwhile detectives approached Ruth at work and requested she come to the station under the pretense of
01:07:20
looking at mug shots of potential poet suspects Ruth happily agreed read she arrived at the station and
01:07:28
cheerfully greeted officers there asking how they were and flashing her trademark
01:07:33
kind smile she was then led into an interview room the detectives informed Ruth that
01:07:41
they were about to ask her some tough questions starting with the 1946 attack in Fort
01:07:48
Scott as they worked their way up to the stabbing incident of 1976 the detective's tone shifted
01:07:55
because BEC more pointed and accusatory sensing the change in atmosphere Ruth's smile
01:08:02
faded she slumped in her seat her expression turning cold have you ever written any of the
01:08:10
poet's letters the detective asked point blank no sir Ruth replied staunchly the detective pressed
01:08:20
on what if I told you I have evidence that shows you did it's time to come clean Ruth appeared puzzled and
01:08:30
struggled to respond the detectives weren't convinced they asked Ruth do you want to
01:08:38
keep playing your game telling her you got a problem lady Ruth seems confused when did I mail those letters
01:08:50
she asked softly the detectives showed her the photos they took of her at the Eastgate
01:08:58
Mall Ruth shook her head refusing to meet their eyes as tears began to well do you need help the detective
01:09:07
asked gently in a quiet voice Ruth responded Yes Ruth gradually admitted she was
01:09:17
responsible for all of the incidents attributed to the poet except for setting fire to the Christmas wreath on
01:09:24
her front door the abduction in 1978 had never happened either in reality Ruth had taken the bus
01:09:33
to the park where she planted her coat and shoes and staged the scene of her Escape she based the description of her
01:09:42
abductor on an unrelated man who once stopped her on the street as for the stabbing Ruth admitted
01:09:50
that was a lie too but she claimed to have no recollection of it whatsoever when asked why she made the whole thing
01:09:58
up Ruth buried her head in her hands and responded I don't know Ruth claimed she couldn't remember
01:10:08
what was going through her mind when she wrote the letters from the poet regarding the single letter sent
01:10:15
from Oklahoma City she explained that she had mailed it directly to the post office there requesting that they
01:10:22
forward it back to witchar detectives didn't even know such a scenario was possible they remained perplexed as to
01:10:31
why Ruth had gone to such a lengths to manipulate those around her and she seemed equally
01:10:38
puzzled she denied ever wanting the publicity that came with her ordeal and could offer no explanation as to why she
01:10:45
had done it when asked if Ed was involved Ruth firmly replied absolutely not she maintained that he had always
01:10:56
been a good husband and that he' done nothing to influence her behavior detectives worked to uncover
01:11:03
more information about Ruth's scheme but she only gave vague responses in an effort to reassure her
01:11:11
the detectives said there were no hard feelings between them there should be Ruth replied
01:11:19
quietly when asked how she felt Ruth admitted I wish I was dead [Music] a doctor arrived to assess Ruth but he
01:11:31
was unable to provide a clear explanation for her behavior either I guess I am just crazy Ruth told
01:11:39
him sadly she was subsequently admitted to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation where she said she remembered
01:11:47
some flashes of things such as writing a letter while seated next to her washing
01:11:53
machine overall though Ruth could recall very little about her time as the poet regardless she maintained that her
01:12:02
actions hadn't been willful and that something else entirely was at play Ruth was eventually deemed stable
01:12:10
enough to return home though she continued to work with a psychiatrist named Dr Andrew Pickins to better
01:12:17
understand herself and her actions during one of their therapy sessions Ruth broke down in tears as she
01:12:25
grappled with the profound humiliation of her deception being exposed she referred to herself as a bad
01:12:32
person before suddenly composing herself and saying I'm a bad little girl for crying this moment sparked a crucial
01:12:44
conversation with Dr Pickins about the Deep shame Ruth felt whenever she expressed
01:12:50
emotions she traced this shame back to her mother's dismissive attitude toward her feelings during
01:12:57
childhood Ruth had initially described her mother with reverence remembering her as strong confident and Flawless an
01:13:05
ideal she admired and sought to emulate but as Dr Pickins gently guided Ruth through her feelings it became
01:13:14
clear that she held conflicting emotions Ruth had been told she was an unplanned pregnancy one that led to a
01:13:23
difficult birth that traumatized her her mother who then developed a drinking problem her parents also expressed the
01:13:30
disappointment that she hadn't been born a boy and Ruth felt her mother favored her
01:13:37
sister sex was a forbidden Topic in the smok household and whenever Ruth expressed curiosity her staunchly
01:13:44
religious mother would snap why do you have to talk this filth when speaking with Dr Pickins Ruth
01:13:53
often apologized for any negative comments about her mother before recounting more positive
01:14:00
memories during a therapy session Ruth recalled an uncomfortable childhood memory of sitting naked on someone's lap
01:14:08
she couldn't remember who it was but the thought made her feel terrible she broke into tears before
01:14:15
quickly dismissing the memory saying it's not right to cry it took time for Ruth to open up
01:14:24
about her negative feelings toward crying and expressing emotions she eventually admitted that as
01:14:30
a child she was very clingy and emotional which she believed embarrassed her mother Dr Pickins understood that
01:14:39
clinging in children often stems from overprotective parenting or from feeling rejected by
01:14:45
caregivers in Ruth's case he believed her mother fell into the latter category whenever Ruth cried her mother
01:14:55
mother scolded her saying it made her look ugly Ruth recalled how her mother displayed an unflattering photo of a
01:15:03
child screaming in a picture frame at home claiming it was a picture of Ruth herself what a big crybaby you are her
01:15:12
mother would say Ruth later realized the photo wasn't of her at all but her random child
01:15:19
clipped from a magazine Ruth also remembered an incident from her her childhood where a
01:15:26
man took her into a room and tied her to a bed though she couldn't remember what
01:15:32
happened next she vividly recalled the fear she felt sobbing in the dark until the man untied her and let her
01:15:40
go when Ruth later told her parents about the ordeal they showed no concern and were instead irritated by her
01:15:50
crying when Dr Pickins asked how she felt about this incident as an adult Ruth starkly
01:15:57
replied I don't have any feelings about it but as therapy progressed Ruth began to express anger at her parents lack of
01:16:07
care that poor little girl she said aloud why didn't her parents do something yet she quickly blamed herself
01:16:17
saying her parents were right and that she shouldn't have cried it was determined that Ruth had
01:16:24
used repr depression since childhood to bury what she had been taught were unacceptable feelings hiding her true
01:16:31
emotions and needs behind a mask of being agreeable over time Ruth unlocked more
01:16:41
repressed memories until she came to the painful realization that she had been the victim of severe childhood sexual
01:16:49
abuse the perpetrator was an adult neighbor with most of the abuse taking place in a barn near her family's
01:16:57
Farm during each attack Ruth was filled with fear and often cried which angered her abuser he threatened to put her in a
01:17:06
sack and throw her into a river if she told anyone terrified Ruth stayed silent when her parents noticed her
01:17:17
distress they called her a crybaby instead of offering support or trying to understand the cause
01:17:25
Ruth blocked out these painful memories only confronting them years later in therapy at the time recovered memory
01:17:34
therapy was a popular form of psychotherapy it is worth noting however that it has since been widely
01:17:40
discredited and its legitimacy remains Up For Debate among clinical and legal professionals recovered memory therapy
01:17:49
is no longer recommended by professional mental health associations as evidence has shown it can result in patients
01:17:56
developing false memories Ruth told Dr Pickins that during the abuse she would Envision a
01:18:02
beautiful young girl like a guardian angel who distracted and comforted her Dr Pickins believed this was an
01:18:10
early sign of Ruth disassociating from reality during trauma he also believed that the poet
01:18:17
was another psychological manifestation born from trauma the poet first appeared the n of
01:18:25
Ed Finley's suspected heart attack in 1977 the presence of the BTK Strangler in witchar at the time likely
01:18:33
contributed as his crimes resembled Ruth's childhood abuse like the guardian angel from her
01:18:40
childhood the poet felt very real to Ruth however unlike the angel he appeared as a figure to punish her
01:18:49
embodying her repressed guilt and anger elements TI to the poet such as the red bandana chunks of concrete and
01:18:58
the bridge over the river were connected to the man who had abused her one of the earliest memories Ruth
01:19:06
could recall hinted at why her Punisher took on the identity of a poet one day while flipping through a
01:19:14
cherished book of children's poems something strange happened the familiar Rhymes Like Hickory Dickory Doc and Mary
01:19:22
had a little lamb were replaced by dark unsettling verses that told Ruth she was
01:19:27
a bad little girl the poems frightened her so deeply that she hid the book away and never
01:19:35
opened it again Ruth was ultimately diagnosed with a typical impulse disorder with the
01:19:42
disassociative and depressive features a condition marked by sudden temporary changes in Consciousness Identity or
01:19:50
motor Behavior this can cause memory loss confusion about one's identity or a distorted sense of
01:19:58
reality in hindsight the connection between the poet and Ruth was clear one letter
01:20:07
stated a [ __ ] up childhood causes anger and hate while another described two fiends housed in a throbbing head
01:20:17
one with fumbling and weaken grasp winning one tighten to the ropes strangling clasp
01:20:25
the poet also wrote that it felt like people were exploding to get out of his head in another letter he
01:20:33
asserted dear Ruth the game is over the players are dead I can play any part coming out of my head blunder on and win
01:20:43
the fight stealthily unquestioned day or [Music] night Ruth claimed to remember nothing
01:20:53
about the stabbing incident at Town East Mall as part of her recovery she returned to the scene and envisioned
01:21:01
snakes ring on the parking lot ground over time through therapy her memories of that day became
01:21:09
clearer she recalled hearing the words you have to do it as she looked down at a knife in her hands before stabbing
01:21:18
herself Ruth accepted that the acts she had attributed to the poet were either fabricated or committed by
01:21:26
her however her unreliable memories left many questions about what was real she maintained that the 1946 attack
01:21:36
in her Fort Scott apartment had happened and that the burns on her thighs were caused by an intruder though some
01:21:44
questioned the truth of these claims despite the uncertainty the realization that she and the poet were
01:21:53
the same person brought the sense of wholeness still she feared he might resurface and take control again if she
01:22:02
experienced further trauma the poet's dark verses continued to surface in Ruth's mind though they
01:22:10
now focused on her unloving mother and childhood abuse Ruth would sit at her table
01:22:17
letting the words flow onto paper without consciously thinking about them sometimes these poems exceeded
01:22:24
2,000 words she brought them to therapy reading them aloud and discovering their
01:22:31
content for the first time this process provided insight into how she had written as the poet without
01:22:39
remembering it at first the poems were incredibly dark and self-critical a little girl alone in
01:22:49
tears the worst person born in years I don't have a mother I I am not born no one upset and she's not
01:23:00
forlorn in time however the poems began to reflect feelings of self forgiveness and a Readiness to
01:23:08
heal one read a child was born but was not anywhere she wanted you to find her she
01:23:16
was so sad she wished you would not think of her as bad she searched for you but then she knew knew her childish ways
01:23:26
it was time she outgrew but just the same I dread the day when I remain and you Fade
01:23:38
Away in total the witchar police had spent over $370,000 investigating the poet the
01:23:46
equivalent of over a million dollar today after reviewing Ruth Finley's psychiatric reports authorities found no
01:23:54
evidence of malicious intent and concluded that she wasn't a threat to the community only to
01:24:01
herself prosecutors decided not to press charges after 6 years of therapy Ruth worked to repair her reputation in
01:24:12
witchar outraged locals misunderstood the context believing she had acted intentionally Ruth was initially
01:24:20
reluctant to speak publicly about her childhood trauma but read to a televised interview for the local news accompanied
01:24:27
by her therapist Dr Andrew Pickins in the interview Dr Pickins expressed his belief that the poet no
01:24:36
longer existed a sentiment Ruth shared following the broadcast Ruth received overwhelming
01:24:45
support it inspired many people to share their own stories of childhood abuse for
01:24:50
the first time Ruth publicly thanked every one who had helped her during the four years she
01:24:56
had been taunted by the poet including the doctors and nurses who treated her and her family who continued to stand by
01:25:04
her she expressed immense gratitude to the officers of the witchar police department
01:25:11
saying in the end they saved me from either a mental breakdown or my own self-destruction Ruth later shared her
01:25:21
experience with author Jean Stone who released an depth book on the case titled little girl fly away with
01:25:28
additional input from Dr Pickins in 20124 a film based on Ruth's story The Killer Inside the Ruth Finley
01:25:37
story was released Ed Finley remained unwaveringly supportive of his wife even after
01:25:44
learning the truth they went on to live a stable and happy life together Ruth Finley dedicated her life
01:25:53
to advocating for mental health awareness and encouraging others to seek therapy she also learned to write
01:26:00
Braille and volunteered for the Braille Association of Kansas manually transcribing textbooks for people with
01:26:07
vision impairments a lover of needle work and knitting she donated handmade hats and
01:26:13
scarves to US troops in Afghanistan Ruth passed away in May 2019 at the age of 89
01:26:25
during her final therapy session with Dr Andrew Pickins Ruth read a poem she'd written for the
01:26:33
occasion thank you for helping me see as a goal having the little girl melted into me and being
01:26:40
whole I can't be rescued except in my mind but that's only possible because you have been so
01:26:48
kind my heart feels it might break on this sad day as I leave here and you go away but my heart is also happy inside
01:26:58
that I gained my freedom and also some pride in my mind when the need may arise I'll be with you and I'll shut my eyes
01:27:09
in my heart your spot will always be there close to a little girl who felt you did
01:27:19
care after that Ruth never wrote another poem again [Music] [Music]