You’ve probably seen the phrase floating around on Tumblr or tucked into the corner of a true crime subreddit. It sounds like a comfort mantra. Maybe a line from an indie song? "Rex it will be ok." On the surface, it’s soft. Reassuring. But the actual origin of this sentence is anything but cozy. It wasn’t written by a therapist or a supportive friend.
It was written by the police. And they were talking to a serial killer.
The chilling origin of Rex it will be ok
In early 2005, the city of Wichita, Kansas, was paralyzed. After decades of silence, the BTK killer—Dennis Rader—had resurfaced. He was playing a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the authorities, sending packages filled with trophies from his victims and taunting letters to local media.
Rader was obsessed with his own legacy. He wanted to know if he could communicate with the police via a floppy disk without being traced. He literally asked them in a letter. He told them to place a classified ad in the Wichita Eagle to give him the "go-ahead."
The police, desperate to catch him, complied. They took out an ad in the personal's section. The message? Rex it will be ok.
Why "Rex"? It was a code name Rader had suggested. The police used the phrase to bait him into a sense of security. They lied, obviously. They told him through that tiny newspaper blurb that they couldn't trace a floppy disk.
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He believed them.
Why the phrase still haunts us today
Honestly, the reason this specific string of words stuck in the public consciousness is the sheer irony. It’s a phrase of peace used to trap a monster. When Rader saw that ad, he felt a sense of relief. He thought he was in the clear.
Shortly after, he sent a purple 1.44-MB Memorex floppy disk to KSAS-TV. Within hours, forensic experts traced the deleted metadata to a computer at Christ Lutheran Church. The user? "Dennis."
It didn't take long to find him.
Today, the phrase rex it will be ok has mutated. In the digital age, meanings shift like sand. Some people use it as a niche meme, a nod to the "golden age" of forensic breakthroughs. Others, who don't know the dark history, post it as a genuine message of support for friends named Rex.
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You’ve got this weird overlap where true crime buffs see a death warrant, and everyone else sees a Hallmark card. It’s a classic example of how the internet strips context from reality.
The psychological game of the BTK investigation
The detectives weren't just guessing. They worked with FBI profilers to understand Rader's ego. He was a man who felt "underrated" (much like the lyrics in some songs people confuse this with). He wanted to be the smartest person in the room.
By saying rex it will be ok, the lead investigators—including LT. Ken Landwehr—were performing a kind of "digital hug." They leaned into his narcissism. They made him feel like he was collaborating with the law rather than being hunted by it.
- The Medium: A simple newspaper classified ad.
- The Target: A man who had murdered ten people.
- The Result: The end of a 30-year cold case.
Common misconceptions: Is it a song?
If you search for this phrase, you might stumble upon music. Specifically, people often link it to Rex Orange County or various lo-fi tracks. There is a song by an artist named Rex called "Be Alright," but that's a completely different vibe.
It’s easy to see why the confusion happens. "It will be okay" is the most generic comforting phrase in existence. But if you see it written specifically as "Rex, it will be ok," you're looking at a piece of Kansas history.
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I’ve seen TikToks where people use the phrase over aesthetic videos of rainy windows. It's kinda surreal. They think they're being deep and "indie," but they're inadvertently quoting a police sting operation used to capture one of America's most prolific killers.
Actionable insights: What we can learn from Rex
So, what do we actually do with this information? Beyond just having a creepy fact for your next dinner party? It tells us a lot about digital footprints and the psychology of communication.
First, metadata is forever. Even in 2005, Rader thought "deleting" a file was enough. It wasn't. If you’re handling sensitive documents—for work or otherwise—remember that the file itself carries a history of who touched it and where.
Second, context matters. Before you tattoo a "cool sounding phrase" or put it in your Instagram bio, do a quick search. You might be wearing a slogan that has a much darker weight than you realize.
If you want to look deeper into the case, I'd suggest checking out the book Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Next Door by the reporters who actually covered the Wichita Eagle at the time. It breaks down the exact moment they decided on the wording for the ad.
The story of rex it will be ok is a reminder that sometimes the most comforting words are the most dangerous ones. It wasn't a promise of safety; it was the sound of a trap door swinging shut.
To understand the full impact of the BTK capture, research the forensic techniques used on the Memorex disk and the specific role of the Wichita Eagle in the 2005 investigation.