 Robert
Beattie is the author of The New York Times
and USA Today nonfiction bestseller Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler and the true crime book Language of Evil.
After Dennis Rader was captured, Rader told the news media that he resurfaced as BTK out of jealousy of Beattie and his book. The board of the Wichita Retired Police Officer's Association voted Beattie an associate member of their organization and their 2005 Distinguished Associate Member Award. Beattie was awarded the 2005 Sons of the American Revolution, Washington Chapter (Kansas) Law Enforcement Commendation Medal.
Robert Beattie became a paid writer in 1974 when he wrote a Teen Talk column for The Wichita Beacon newspaper. In 1989 his stageplay Fire Escape won third prize in the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War Cease Fire contest. In 2010, his teleplay Witness to Necessity was produced and broadcast by KCTU-TV43, a Wichita UHF and internet television station. He wrote the feature article The Best Books of the 20th Century for the Mensa BULLETIN millennium edition. He wrote peer-reviewed papers on emergencies in spacecraft that were published in The Case for Mars technical series.
Beattie worked as a firefighter-medic for many years and received a commendation for resuscitating a drowned child. He earned degrees with majors in Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Human Resources Management, and Law. He served two years on the Wichita Airport Advisory Board. Currently he is writing a novel, The Election Day Murders. He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his wife, a pediatrician, has three children, and four grandchildren.
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