Mistaken for a Serial Killer

WICHITA, Kan., Jan. 12, 2005 — -- Roger Valadez's life was sliced and diced for all to see when some media outlets identified him as the prime suspect in the investigation into a serial killer who stalked the city decades ago.

For at least 12 hours, acting on a tip, sources told ABC News affiliate KAKE-TV in Wichita that police thought they had captured the alleged serial killer known as BTK, after his own claim to "Bind, Torture, Kill" his victims -- and that Valadez, 64, was either related to the case or BTK himself.

He wasn't, but those hours have turned his life upside down, Valadez said.

Hoping to clear his name and put his life back together, Valadez described in an exclusive interview with KAKE-TV's Larry Hatteberg what happened when police entered his home on Dec. 1.

"I had thought what I heard were knocks on the door," Valadez said. "The next thing I knew, there were people in my house. Several plain-clothed policemen and some uniformed, with guns drawn. There were at least five 9-mm's pointing at me at that time."

Valadez's home was under surveillance for 12 hours before officers burst in with guns drawn. But when Valadez was arrested, it was not on murder charges. Instead, he was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and housing code violations.

Publicly, police would only say it wasn't a BTK arrest. But privately, sources told KAKE-TV, they believed they had their man.

That was also the impression that they gave Valadez, he said.

"I was guilty and then I was going to be proven innocent," Valadez said. "I mean I was guilty right off the bat. Everybody assumed we got this guy. The police department, I bet they had two dozen people out there; KBI [Kansas Bureau of Investigation], the CSI unit, they were at my house. You don't bring all those people out for a code violation."

Items from Valadez's home were taken out in bags and boxes for processing. Members of the major case squad were involved, including homicide detectives assigned to the BTK investigation.