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BTK Suspect Pleads Guilty to Murdering 10

Posted on: Monday, 27 June 2005, 12:00 CDT

WICHITA, Kan. - BTK suspect Dennis Rader pleaded guilty Monday to 10 counts of first-degree murder, admitting in a chillingly matter-of-fact voice to a series of slayings that terrorized the city beginning in the 1970s.

Rader, 60, of Park City, entered the guilty pleas as his trial was to begin.

Referring to his victims as "projects," Rader laid out for the court how he would "troll" for victims on his off-time, then stalk them and kill them.

"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 told the court in describing his first killings in 1974, a couple and two of their children.

Most of the victims' relatives who were in the courtroom sat silent and stared at Rader; one woman wiped away tears.

Prosecutors had said before the hearing that no plea deal had been made. Rader was arrested Feb. 25.

Saying he was motivated by sexual fantasies, the onetime president of the church council at Christ Lutheran Church and Boy Scout leader, Rader admitted killing 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991. The serial killer known as BTK - the self-coined nickname that stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" - taunted media and police with cryptic messages.

"Today in court, for the first time, our community and the nation has now heard Dennis Rader reveal that he has committed those homicides," District Attorney Nola Foulston said. "Today we have some resolution."

Sentencing was set for Aug. 17. Rader will not face the death penalty because the state had no death penalty at the time. But it's likely he'll never leave prison because each count carries a possible life sentence.

Rader, wearing a beige coat and dark tie, told District Judge Gregory Waller he understood the charges and that 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."

Asked by Waller if he was pleading because he was guilty, Rader answered, "Yes, sir."

The earliest crimes linked to the BTK strangler date to Jan. 15, 1974, when Joseph Otero, 38, and his 34-year-old wife, Julie, and their children Josephine, 11, and Joseph II, 9, were found dead in their home.

"The whole family just panicked on me. I worked pretty quick," he said. "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."

He later said about Mrs. Otero: "I went back and strangled her again."

When questioned by the judge about the motivation for the Otero slayings, Rader said: "That was part of what you call my fantasy."

Pressed further, Rader said, "Sexual fantasy, sir."

Rader has not been accused of sexually assaulting his victims, but he admitted masturbating over some of them.

BTK's next three known victims were young women found strangled in their homes: Kathryn Bright, 21, in April 1974; Shirley Vian, 24, in March 1977; and Nancy Fox, 25, in December 1977.

After years of silence, the killer resurfaced last year with a letter to The Wichita Eagle that included photos of the 1986 strangulation of Vicki Wegerle and a photocopy of her missing driver's license. Her case had not been linked to BTK until then.

That letter was followed by several other cryptic messages and packages. The break in the case came after a computer diskette the killer had sent was traced to Rader's church.

Rader also was charged with the killings of Marine Hedge, 53, who was abducted from her Park City home on April 27, 1985, and found dead along a dirt road eight days later, and Dolores Davis, 62, who was abducted from her Park City home Jan. 19, 1991. Those deaths were not linked to BTK until Rader's arrest.

He described to the court how he chose his victims.

"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."

He said he told Nancy Fox he had "sexual problems," forced her to strip, then handcuffed her and strangled her with a belt. After she was dead, he said, he removed the handcuffs from her body and masturbated over her.

Rader has lived in the Wichita area almost his entire life, earning a criminal justice degree at a local university. He worked in suburban Park City as a compliance officer, handling code violations and stray dogs. He has been married for 34 years and has two grown children.

Victim families left the courtroom, escorted by officials into another building, and did not speak to reporters.

Steve Osburn, one of Rader's defense attorney's, said prosecutors' evidence against Rader included a confession, DNA and "personal trophies" Rader collected from his victims.

"It was a very solid case," Osburn said.

He said defense attorneys explored an insanity plea, but decided not to proceed.

"From a legal standpoint, we had nothing to work with," Osburn said.

Rader did not apologize during the hearing, though Osburn suggested later that Rader may apologize at his sentencing.

"Mr. Rader basically wanted to take responsibility for his actions," Osburn said.

After the guilty pleas, the Rev. Michael Clark, pastor of Rader's church, said: "That's what I hoped he would do."

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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