In the late 1970s, Wichita secretary Ruth Finley began to receive cryptic letters and chilling threats from a mysterious figure known only as ‘The Poet.’ For years, The Poet tormented Ruth and her husband, Ed, leaving them in a constant state of confusion and fear. Despite relentless efforts from the police, The Poet continued to evade detection. But as the investigation unfolded, the truth that emerged left everyone questioning what was real.---Narration – Anonymous HostResearch & writing – Milly RasoCreative direction – Milly RasoProduction and music – Mike MigasMusic – Andrew D.B. JoslynAudio editing – Anthony TelferSign up for Casefile Premium:Apple PremiumSpotify PremiumPatreonFor all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-308-ruth-finley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What happened to Ruth Finley in 1946?
It was getting late on Tuesday October 15 1946 when 16-year-old Ruth Smock was startled by the sound of a screen door creaking behind her. Ruth had recently moved into a rooming house in Fort Scott, Kansas to attend a larger high school that offered more varied classes than the one in her rural Missouri hometown.
Living in the city also allowed Ruth to work part-time as a telephone operator for Southwestern Bell so she could save some money. The problem was Ruth lived alone and she wasn't expecting any visitors that evening. A chilling realisation quickly set in. She had left the front door unlocked after returning home from the grocery store earlier. An unfamiliar man was now standing in her apartment.
The man was tall, appeared to be in his 50s, and was dressed in dirty bib overalls, the kind typically worn by farmers. He greeted Ruth casually, saying, Hi sis, before reaching for a wall switch and turning off the light. Moving quickly, the stranger grabbed Ruth and tore at her clothes. She fought back and managed to press her thumbs into his eyes. This only enraged him further.
I'll fix you so no one will look at you again, he threatened, shoving a rag against Ruth's face. Ruth felt herself growing dizzy and drowsy, her vision blurred. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed completely was the man heating a flat iron on the kitchen stove. By the time Ruth regained consciousness, it was 7.30 the next morning.
She was sprawled on the kitchen floor, her clothes torn with cuts and scratches across her legs, neck and face. These wounds were superficial, unlike the injuries to her thighs. Both of Ruth's legs bore painful first-degree burns which had been branded onto her flesh by the Flatirons. Ruth stayed silent on the floor until she was sure her attacker was no longer there.
She then called her parents, who contacted the police. They deduced that Ruth's attacker had soaked the rag he pressed to her face with chloroform, a sweet-smelling anesthetic, before burning her legs while she lay unconscious. Although a physician confirmed that Ruth hadn't been raped, police were certain the crime was sexually motivated.
Ruth was brought to her parents' home to recover but later moved in with a family friend as the thought of staying in her apartment overwhelmed her with such intense dread that it made her physically ill. Meanwhile, the violent incident made the local newspapers as authorities worked to identify the man responsible. By 1977, 31 years had passed since Ruth Smock was attacked.
47-year-old Ruth now went by the last name Finlay after marrying her high school sweetheart, 49-year-old Ed. The Finleys lived in a modest single-storey wood-frame house on a dead-end street in Wichita, Kansas, 150 miles west of Fort Scott. One warm June afternoon, Ed was taking a break from building a patio in the backyard when he suddenly collapsed.
Ruth frantically called for an ambulance and Ed was rushed to the hospital, where he regained consciousness in the emergency department. It was initially thought that Ed had suffered a heart attack due to the strenuous outdoor work, but doctors kept him overnight for further tests to make an official diagnosis.
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Chapter 2: Who is the mysterious caller targeting Ruth?
A serial killer had been targeting women in Kansas, and the media was obsessed with reporting on the lurid details of his crimes, which involved breaking into victims' homes and committing gruesome acts of sexualised violence. Being home alone at night did little to calm Ruth's nerves. Every creak and crack she heard only heightened her unease. Then, at around 10.30pm, the phone rang.
When Ruth answered, a male voice on the other line asked, Is this Ruth Smock from Fort Scott, Kansas? The question struck her as odd. Ruth had been married since 1950 and few people in her life knew her maiden name. The only connection she still had to her past in Fort Scott was her ongoing employment with Southwestern Bell, though she now worked as a secretary in the company's Wichita office.
Assuming the caller was an old acquaintance, Ruth confirmed her identity. The man began asking about her past, specifically the rooming house she had lived in when she was 16. He then asked cryptically, Do you still wear your brands? Feeling uneasy about his intrusive questions, Ruth cautiously gave vague answers. This irritated the caller, who snapped, Look, I know all about that night.
Confused, Ruth replied, I don't know what you're talking about. The man then read out what sounded like a newspaper article. Branded on both thighs by a hot flat iron, Ruth Smock, 16-year-old Fort Scott high school girl, was resting today at the home of her parents following an attack upon her early last night by a man police called a sex maniac.
The caller continued, recounting the violent assault against Ruth from over 30 years earlier. While Ruth's physical wounds from that night had healed, the case had never been solved. She had pushed the terrifying experience to the back of her mind, choosing to move forward with her life. It wasn't something she discussed with anyone, not even her sons knew about it.
The caller explained that he worked for a construction company and had recently discovered a stack of old newspapers while demolishing a building in Fort Scott. He claimed he'd found embarrassing stories about three people and planned to call them all, starting with Ruth.
The caller told Ruth he knew where she lived and worked and threatened to leave a copy of the article about her attack where everyone in her life could see it. However, he said he'd reconsider if Ruth sent him money. At that point, Ruth hung up the phone. The strange call left Ruth shaken.
Not only did it force her to confront a part of her past she had long since buried, she feared the man trying to extort her might show up at her house to confront her in person. Yet, the night passed without incident, and the next morning, Ruth visited her husband in the hospital. By then, Ed's sudden collapse had been linked to an untreated injury from a car accident the previous year.
Although Ruth was relieved to learn that Ed's heart was healthy, he remained in the hospital for several more days to recover. Meanwhile, Ruth nervously waited to see if the ex-daughter would contact her again, but he didn't. By the time Ed returned home, life for the Finleys returned to normal. Ruth didn't tell Ed about the caller, choosing to act as though nothing had ever happened.
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Chapter 3: How did Ruth Finley become involved with 'The Poet'?
Ruth realised the envelope must have been hand-delivered as there was no way it could have made it to her through the postal system without an address printed on it. Inside was a yellowed newspaper clipping from the Fort Scott Tribune. It was the same article detailing the 1946 attack on teenage Ruth that the anonymous caller had read to her weeks before.
Startled, Ruth tore up the article and threw it in the trash. Ruth's parents had raised her to be self-reliant, instilling in her the belief that emotions should be repressed and personal problems handled privately. As a result, Ruth chose not to tell Ed about the harassment. Over the following months, the man called the Finlay home six more times.
As soon as Ruth recognised his voice, she hung up immediately. Occasionally, Ed answered the phone, only to hear a dial tone. He assumed they were being pranked by mischievous children. Ruth kept the truth secret, along with the fact that her chronic headaches were getting worse. She just hoped the stranger would leave her alone once he realised she wasn't willing to engage with him.
By August, two months had passed since the anonymous caller first contacted Ruth. She was walking the streets of downtown Wichita after finishing work for the day, waiting for Ed's shift to end so they could carpool home together. As she crossed the road at the corner of Broadway and Douglas, a male voice suddenly said, You've done a good job at work this week. You can take the weekend off.
Ruth realised the comment was directed at her. It had come from a stranger who was walking alongside her. He was tall, lean and appeared to be in his late 40s with brown eyes and black hair that was beginning to grey. He seemed innocuous, dressed in jeans, a plaid shirt and white tennis shoes. The man tried to engage Ruth in small talk, but she wasn't interested and barely acknowledged him.
Undeterred, he kept pace, his questions growing more pointed. You work for the telephone company, don't you? Despite Ruth's clear disinterest, he pressed on. What do you do there? Are you an operator? No. Ruth remained silent as the man rambled on about his love of gambling in Las Vegas, even inviting her to join him for a trip there sometime.
He then began talking about his interest in photography. Annoyed, Ruth turned her attention to the nearby shop windows, hoping the man would take the hint and leave her alone. When it became clear that he wasn't getting the message, Ruth finally said she was waiting for her husband. The man then asked, Are you still married? Fed up, Ruth said nothing. The man's friendly demeanour abruptly changed.
He leaned in close and said menacingly, I like your face. I'll see you again. You can count on that. Some people's fantasies are other people's nightmares. With that, he stormed off. Ruth met up with Ed shortly afterward and told him about the unsettling encounter. Despite his wife's unease, Ed assumed the man had been flirting with her and had reacted poorly to her rejection.
Privately, Ruth couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that he might have been the same man who'd been trying to blackmail her. But as the months passed, the troubling calls stopped and the man in the city didn't reappear. Nearly a year later in July 1978, Ruth was walking the streets of Wichita during her lunch break when a hand suddenly shot out from an alleyway and gripped her wrist tightly.
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Chapter 4: What connection does 'The Poet' have with the BTK Strangler?
The Finleys were watching television in their basement one Sunday night when they were startled by the sound of glass smashing. Rushing upstairs, they found that the Christmas wreath on their front door had been set alight, the flames cracking the glass in the door. Ed quickly put out the blaze, then grabbed a pair of garden shears and sprinted down the road, intent on confronting the poet.
But he never caught up with him. Afterwards, the poet sent the couple a chilling poem written in the style of the famous Christmas classic, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". The verses ominously warned of Ruth's impending death. "'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Ruth wasn't stirring. You're as quiet as a mouse. Your stocking was tight, around your neck with care.
I hoped the lieutenant would not soon be there." Fearing an attack, a detective spent Christmas Eve at the Finleys' home as they hosted a family get-together. During the night, the Finleys' phone lines were cut for a second time, without anyone hearing a thing. Another holiday-themed poem alluded to Ruth's seedy past of sexual impropriety, saying,
Once upon the night so dreary, premonitions of disaster keep you weary. The whore bore her guilt in her bed of slime, from selling her ass and not charging a dime. Slept with strangers in evil bed, enraged demon hunters saw blood was red. All bitches should keep their names and faces secret. Defenseless instincts released with demonic slut's threats.
Blurred vision and suffering in accuser's cage. Umbilical cord connected by seed in a rage. In January 1981, the Finleys' phone lines were cut for a third time. However, after the poet's previous attack, Southwestern Bell had buried the replacement lines underground and installed dummy wires to prevent further sabotage. It was only those dummy wires that were severed.
In February, investigators set a trap for the poet by fitting Ruth with a bulletproof vest and letting her walk around downtown Wichita, accompanied by an undercover detective. The poet never appeared, but he wrote a letter after which read, I saw her Friday, but she was with some other female. This confirmed to detectives that the poet was observing Ruth in real time.
In March, the poet threatened to kill Ruth on St Patrick's Day. On April Fool's Day, he threw pieces of concrete at the Finleys' house. By this point, police had investigated over 300 individuals amassing 14 large binders of information. Weeks were spent surveilling potential leads, examining criminal histories, and executing search warrants, yet all their efforts proved futile.
Despite the significant time and resources invested, the police were left with nothing but the growing pile of anonymous letters. Ruth Finlay kept all of the poet's letters stored in a notebook, telling the press, I wonder how long it takes him to write this crap. He doesn't do a bad job of writing poetry. Some of them are kind of funny.
However, she admitted that the contents of some of the letters made her stomach ache, particularly the one Santa Christmas, which frightened her the most. Ed Finlay said of the poet, I don't think he's crazy or insane. I'm sure he's a coward. He knows what he's doing, what the risks are. As time dragged on and the poet remained unidentified, Ruth's mental and emotional health spiralled.
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Chapter 5: What were the consequences of Ruth's abduction and attack in 1978?
Dark-eyed bitch sat all alone, near the river and tied to a stone. Sink in 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 won. A search of Ruth's office at Southwestern Bell uncovered a book of prose and poetry, a swatch of red bandana, and a sheet of carbon paper bearing the poet's handwriting.
It was not uncommon for the poet to send an original letter to the Finleys and a carbon copy of the same letter to the police. For Chief Richard Lemunion, these discoveries vindicated his controversial belief that Ruth Finley was indeed the poet. However, the question of what role, if any, Ed Finlay played in the scheme lingered.
When Ed arrived at the Wichita Police Department headquarters on Wednesday October 1 1981 to hand over the Shirley Locks-style letter from the poet, he was led into an interview room and asked several questions about his wife and their recent experiences. Afterwards, Ed was hit with a bombshell. The detectives knew who the poet was.
Ed stared at them, processing the statement, before responding, I hope the hell you do. Let's go get him then. But the detectives had other plans. They showed Ed some photographs, the first of which was a candid shot of Ruth as she mailed letters at the Eastgate Mall. The detectives told Ed they'd caught Ruth mailing five letters from the poet in the past two weeks.
The poet is Ruth, they told him matter-of-factly. Ed seemingly couldn't believe what he was hearing. He repeatedly muttered, oh my god, as the detectives informed him of all the evidence they'd uncovered in Ruth's office. Ed agreed to take a lie detector test to eliminate himself from the investigation.
During the test, he firmly denied knowing that Ruth was the poet or helping her carry out the scheme. The examiner found that Ed was telling the truth, and Chief Lemunion agreed. After conducting his extensive research into the case, Chief Lemunion was confident that Ruth had acted alone.
A search of the Finley home uncovered another book of poetry, more pieces of carbon paper and scraps of red bandana. Meanwhile, detectives approached Ruth at work and requested she come to the station under the pretense of looking at mugshots of potential poet suspects. Ruth happily agreed.
She arrived at the station and cheerfully greeted officers there, asking how they were and flashing her trademark kind smile. She was then led into an interview room. The detectives informed Ruth that they were about to ask her some tough questions, starting with the 1946 attack in Fort Scott.
As they worked their way up to the stabbing incident of 1976, the detectives' tone shifted, becoming more pointed and accusatory. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Ruth's smile faded. She slumped in her seat, her expression turning cold. Have you ever written any of the poet's letters? The detective asked point blank. No, sir, Ruth replied staunchly. The detective pressed on.
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