BTK Killer Dennis Rader Pleads Guilty To First-Degree Murder

Although the media is calling him a "suspect," Dennis Rader stood in court Monday telling the judge and the world that he did commit the BTK murders that terrorized Wichita for over 25 years. The 60-year old former church council president left very little to the imagination as he discussed each gruesome act in an emotionless, matter-of-fact voice, saying he was motivated by sexual fantasies. Relatives of most of his victims sat in the courtroom silently, horror-stricken, staring at Rader as he described how he had tortured and killed their loved ones, referring to each victim as a "project." Rader methodically laid out for the court how he would "troll" for victims after he got off work, then he would stalk them, torture them, and eventually kill them, sometimes masturbating over them. Calling himself "BTK"—which stands for blind, torture, kill—Rader often taunted the police and the media by leaving cryptic messages at the crime scene.

The first crimes linked to the BTK killer occurred on January 15, 1974, when Joseph Otero, 38, his wife Julie, 34, and their children Josephine, 11, and Joseph, 9, were found dead inside their home. In his surreal recreation of the crime for the court, Rader explained that the events of that day were a learning experience for him. Rader was disturbingly calm, quiet, and polite while describing his heinous crimes to the judge and the packed courtroom. "I had never strangled anyone before, so I really didn't know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take," he said. He continued with more details. "The whole family just panicked on me. I worked pretty quick. I strangled Mrs. Otero. She passed out. I thought she was dead. I strangled Josephine. She passed out. I thought she was dead. Then I went over and put a bag on Junior's head." Later, he said, he went back and strangled Mrs. Otero again. When the judge asked Rader what his motivation was for killing the Otero family, he replied, "That was part of what you’d call my fantasy." Asked to explain further, he added, "Sexual fantasy, sir."

Rader’s next three known victims were young women found strangled in their homes in 1974 and 1977. Shirley Vian, 24, was killed in Marh of 1977. Rader said that Vian helped him lock her children in the bathroom, and then he tied her up in her bedroom. "I think she was sick. She threw up. I got her a glass of water and sort of comforted her," Rader said. "Then I put a bag over her head and strangled her." Rader said the kids were making a lot of noise in the bathroom, so he quickly cleaned up and gathered and packed up what he called his "death kit," and then he left. Rader laid low for several years until he resumed his murderous activities in 1985 when he abducted a 53-year old woman from her home and left her body along a dirt road eight days later. That killing, and another one in 1991, was not linked to the BTK killer until after Rader was arrested. The killing that eventually led police to Rader occurred in 1986, but it was not linked to BTK until last year when Rader resurfaced by sending a letter to The Wichita Eagle that included photos of Vicki Wegerle, who was strangled in 1986. Also accompanying the letter was a photocopy of her missing driver’s license. Rader followed up this cryptic package with several other messages and packages, one of which contained a diskette that led police to Rader’s church. Police swiftly traced the diskette to Rader, and he was arrested on February 25, 2005.

Rader lived in the Wichita area for most of his life, where he attended a local university and earned a degree in criminal justice. He has been married for 34 years and has two adult children. His jobs throughout the years have included working in Park City as a compliance officer, handling code violations and other civic compliance matters such as stray dogs. Friends and family were both shocked and horrified to learn that the soft-spoken easygoing man they knew through church and civic groups was actually a vicious and cold-blooded murderer. In describing his actions to the court, Rader explained his methodical approach to preying on the community that never knew a monster was living in their midst. "If you've read much about serial killers, they go through what they call different phases. In the trolling stage, basically, you're looking for a victim at that time. You can be trolling for months or years, but once you lock in on a certain person, you become a stalker. That might be several of them but you really hone in on one person. They basically become the ... that's the victim. Or at least that's what you want it to be."

District Attorney Nola Foulston was relieved to finally be able to close the case of the BTK killer. "Today in court, for the first time, our community and the nation has now heard Dennis Rader reveal that he has committed those homicides,"she said. "Today we have some resolution." Prosecutors have said that no plea deal was made before the hearing. Steve Osburn, one of Rader’s defense attorneys, gave reporters details of the evidence officials had collected against Rader, including his confession, DNA samples, and "personal trophies" collected from his victims. "It was a very solid case," Osburn said, adding that he and the other defense attorneys had considered suggesting an insanity plea for their client, but "from a legal standpoint, we had nothing to work with." Osburn suggested that Rader may apologize for his actions at his sentencing hearing, although he did not apologize during Monday’s hearing. "Mr. Rader basically wanted to take responsibility for his actions," Osburn said. At the conclusion of the hearing, Rev. Michael Clark, the pastor of Rader’s church, told reporters, "That’s what I hoped he would do."

Sentencing was set for Aug. 17. Rader will not face the death penalty because the state had no death penalty at the time, but Rader will probably never leave prison because each count carries a possible life sentence. But even life in prison is far beyond what such a monster deserves. Although some may say justice has finally been done, there is no penalty severe enough to serve as justice for the cold-blooded, methodical killings Rader committed, not to mention the time, money, and emotion spent over the past 30 years while the Wichita community nervously wondered who BTK was and if he would strike again. During Monday’s hearing Rader told District Judge Gregory Waller he understood the charges against him, and that he understood that by pleading guilty he was waiving his right to a jury trial. "The defense worked with me real well," Rader said. "We went over it. I feel like I'm pretty happy with them." I’m sure the citizens of Wichita are pleased to hear that he’s happy. In a perfect world, a self-admitted serial killer would be forced to suffer and die horribly just as his victims did, not live the rest of his life watching television and being served three square meals a day.