Research Files

A floppy disk did not catch a killer on its own. The technical traces and DNA chain in the Wichita case

Online retellings often reduce this case to one sentence. A killer forgot his name on a floppy disk and the police caught him. In reality, the disk only pointed investigators in a direction. That lead was tested through open web research, security footage, surveillance, preserved biological evidence, and a targeted kinship DNA comparison authorized by a court. This article follows the evidence chain rather than the legend.