Serial Killer Named Dennis Rader

Dennis Rader (the BTK Killer)

Dennis Rader BTK: The Killer

Serial killers can be defined as people who murder at least three people in at least three separate occasions over a span of time mainly to satisfy themselves psychologically. While many of them suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, they adapt and present a normal front to people around them - a state Hervey Cleckley refers to as 'mask of sanity'. Some of the murders may have some sexual aspect to them. The murders may have been executed in such a way that there was some common characteristic in them. This could be sex, occupation, race, etc. Nonetheless, the victim's and the serial killer's race is seldom the same (Vronsky, 2004).

It is not yet known who exactly coined the term serial killer. Many believe that Robert Ressler, an FBI agent, or Robert D. Keppel may have been the one who coined it. The term came to popular usage due to the infamous criminal activities of David Berkowitzin and Ted Bundy (Vronsky, 2004).

Dennis Rader, alias BTK killer, believed that he had reached an understanding with the Wichita, Kan., police lt. Ken Landwehr, who was then heading the task force that was then making attempts at catching him (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

Before Dennis was arrested, he had asked the police whether communications with them made through a floppy disk could be traced to him through any specific computer (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

Police's response was through a classified ad in a local newspaper. They told Rader that it would be OK to communicate through a floppy disk (Hansen, 2006).

The following weeks saw BTK send a floppy disk to a local TV station. Police traced the disk to a certain computer at Rader's church and it was discovered that Rader was actually BTK. Testing of DNA samples proved this. He had named himself 'BTK' which was an acronym standing for bind, torture and kill (Hansen, 2006).

The days that followed saw BTK put in custody. He had been the serial killer that had been terrorizing Wichita area from the 1970s. He had reportedly murdered ten people and vanished in 1991 to resurface just 2 years before he was arrested. He began communicating with the media and police after speculations were made by some news reports that he was either in prison or dead (Hansen, 2006).

Rader pleaded guilty to ten counts of first degree murder and is now in a state prison in Kansas serving ten consecutive life sentences (Hansen, 2006). He had been married to Paula Dietz for 34 years and his marriage crumbled when she learned that her husband was the serial killer. She was awarded divorce within a day of application, after Eric Yoast, the Sedgwick County District Judge granted her a speedy divorce allowing her not to wait the standard 60 days. The Wichita Eagle reported that in her divorce papers, Paula said that she had suffered emotional stress on learning of her husband's character. Basing on the favorable response from the judge, we can only assume that he was sympathetic to her plight (Barsdley, Bell & Lohr).

Crime Profiles

The criminal's actions in carrying out the crime are referred to as the modus operandi (MO). The MO is learned based on repeated criminal acts and perfected or evolves with each act as the criminal learns from his experiences. Dennis Rader, for instance, resolved to carry along his 'tool' after the experiences of killing Kathryn Bright. Dennis waited for her at her home; she came with Kevin, her brother. Rader had failed to carry his tools along with him and so he used those that he found at the scene of crime. Kevin managed to escape with two gun shot wounds. Kathryn, however, was not as lucky. She became the fifth person Rader had killed (LaBrode, 2007).

Rader was surprisingly not implicated in the killing of Kathryn. None the less, he stated that following the events at Kathryn's place, he resolved to bring along his kit in subsequent killings. There is a signature aspect in every murder. It is not the same as the MO in that it includes far much more than is needed to conduct the crime. It satiates the murderer's fantasies and its inclusion in the murder is very important for the killer to draw satisfaction from his deeds. While the MO evolves and adapts as the killer draws experiences from acts of murder, the signature aspect always remains the same. After Dennis had dumped his victims' bodies, he often returned to relive his criminal activities by engaging in sexual activities with the bodies. Dennis also taunted the police. He sent letters detailing his criminal activities and where his victims' bodies could be found. Most of the letters were signed BTK with the letters of the acronym arranged explicitly (LaBrode, 2007).

Rader Gets Caught

This section outlines how Rader was caught and how he almost escaped (Hansen, 2006).

Landwehr points out that what made it easy to catch Rader was his sending of the disk. Had he quit murdering people and went silent about it, the police would have never figured out who the killer was (Hansen, 2006).

Rader was hurt that he had been played by the police when they told him that the floppy disk was not traceable. He expressed shock on Feb. 25, 2005 after his arrest that he was intentionally deceived by the police. He also said that he believed he and Landwehr got along well (Hansen, 2006).

During the interrogation, Rader asked Landwehr why he actually lied to him to which Landwehr replied in a matter of fact manner that he was indeed trying to catch him. Referring to the floppy disk incident, Landwehr said that Rader could not believe that the cop had lied to him. He was indeed upset. Rader mentioned the floppy disk again in the interrogation saying he had a feeling that sending it to the TV station was indeed a risky gamble. According to him, he thought he could take Landwehr's word (Hansen, 2006).

The strategy used during the interrogation was to keep Rader talking. At the beginning, Rader played safe, hypothesizing about the whole saga and talking about BTK like it was not him. When he realized that there was no way out, he confessed, recounting chilling tales of his heartless torture and cold blooded murder. He had killed ten people. One was a boy aged 9 and another girl aged 11 (Hansen, 2006).

Landwehr recalls that Rader felt like he shared a strong bond with him and the police. He actually remarked at one instance that he and the police were fellows as they were all law enforcement officers. Turns out Rader served as a code compliance officer (Hansen, 2006).

During the interrogation, Rader talked about several things including his criminal ways. His egoism allowed the police to easily manipulate him and get him to reveal incriminating information. He was so infatuated with himself to an extent that he had tricked himself into believing that the police were his allies. He had gotten so comfortable with the police that he bantered with them (Hansen, 2006).

Rasch notes that a sophisticated and skilled user could have covered his tracks in the case of the floppy disk. However, bringing in a skilled expert who has the needed tools will ensure that even that sophisticated user's vague electronic trail will be followed to the slightest original molecules (Hansen, 2006).

It takes great skill to follow that kind of trail or to entirely wipe it out. This explains computer forensics, an entire area of study dedicated to this kind of thing. O'Connor thinks that the police should be given more credit for the way they handled the case. Their handling of the DNA aspect of the case and how they got BTK talking fully aware that he might implicate himself at some point was pure genius (Hansen, 2006).

A comparative Analysis: Motives of other Serial Killers and that of Dennis Rader

Serial killers' motives can be grouped into five categories. DeBurger and Holmes came up with these categories. There are some killers who may posses two or more characteristics (as cited in Vronsky, 2004).

Visionary

While it is popularly believed that serial killers may be insane or hallucinating, this is not usually the case. Many serial killers claim this as a way for them to be acquitted on grounds of insanity. None the less, some cases of insanity among serial killers do exist but the number is very small. One case is that of Herbert Mullin whose murderous ways claimed 13 lives. He committed these grave acts after he heard some voices tell him that doing so would help California avoid an earthquake. He actually tried the much he could to defend his theory that California avoided earthquakes in the period he committed homicides (Vronsky, 2004).

Ed Gein, on the other hand, claimed that eating women's corpses - women who resembled his mother - helped in preserving the soul of his mother inside her body. Ed Gein killed a woman who resembled his mother and ate her body. He was arrested during the act when killing a second woman. Mullin was indeed not stable mentally as he exhumed bodies belonging to women and fashioned for himself various household items out of them in the hope that they would make him his mother. He was admitted in a mental facility for life following his arrest (Vronsky, 2004).

Missionary

These killers have the view that they are doing a favor to the society by killing their victims. They justify their deeds that they are ridding the society of specific kinds of people. They often target sex workers or people with specific ethnic backgrounds. Ailen Wuornos and Gary Ridgeways are examples of killers under this category. Wuorno, however, did not kill prostitutes, he killed the patrons. Another missionary killer, Dr. John Bodkin Adams, killed members of the rich elite with the aim of redistributing wealth to the poor whom he deemed deserving of such wealth. The wealth seldom went to him. A noteworthy difference between other kinds of killers and missionary serial killers is that there is no sexual motive in their acts (Vronsky, 2004).

Hedonistic

Hedonistic killers gain pleasure from killing. In fact, they kill just because of the pleasure they draw from such acts. What aspect of the killing that is enjoyable to them varies from killer to killer. Yang Xinhai said that his killing ways excited him sexually. The excitement gave him inspiration to kill even more people. He continued on to say that whether the victim was deserving of living or not was not his concern. Some of the serial killers may enjoy the 'chase' - them hunting the victim - even more than they enjoy killing them. Others may enjoy torturing their victims before they kill them. Dennis Rader, for instance, enjoyed the hunt as well as the torture. The acronym BTK which stands for Bind Torture and Kill paints a picture of his fetishes. Some other serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer killed the victim quite fast then cannibalized the body or engaged in necrophilia with the body. Even though a sexual aspect is not obviously present from these killings, some of the killers do gain sexual excitement from these killings. Others like David Berkowitz may obtain excitement that may not be necessarily openly sexual. David got excitement from shooting and killing young couples while in their cars at random. He then escaped the scene without touching any of the bodies physically (Vronsky, 2004).

Gain Motivated

Criminals who kill for economic gain are often not classified under serial killers. These people, for example mafias, are mostly motivated by the prospect of economic reward for their killing. Never the less, not a clear line can be drawn between serial killers and these killers. One Marcel Petiot whose killings happened in France, could be called a serial killer. Posing as a French resistance member, he lured rich Jews to his place, promising that he was able to help in smuggling them out of France. Instead he killed them and took their stuff. By the time he was being caught, he had killed a reported sixty-three people. While Petiot may have been motivated by economic gain, it can't be denied that someone who goes to such lengths as killing sixty-three individuals for jewelry and clothes was indeed a violent and disturbed sociopath (Vronsky, 2004).

Power and Control

Most serial killers fall under this category. The main aim for killing their victims is gain and exertion of power over the victim. Such serial killers may have been abused when they were children and carry the effects of those abuses into adulthood. They feel powerless and inadequate. During their killing acts, rituals that mirror the abuses they suffered as children have been noted. Most of the killers under this category abuse their victims sexually. The difference between them and hedonistic serial killers is that the acts of rape is to dominate the victim and is not triggered by lust (Vronsky, 2004).

The Psychopathic Mind of Dennis Rader

During his interrogation, Dennis Rader, confessed revealing his nature as a true psychopath. The general population was shocked by his testimony and how coldly he made it. Medics or law enforcers were however not shocked as they understood the nature of psychopaths (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

These psychopaths never feel emotions as any normal person would. They therefore may reveal information cementing the fact they lack concern and conscience. They are so cold their actions will not resonate to any normally functioning human being. This state was well projected by Dennis Rader as he narrated his exploits, labeling the people he killed 'projects' and coldly illustrating how the victims were selected then given a code name. They were then comprehensively researched and followed till the perfect opportunity to hit arose (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

Dennis Rader is the real definition of a psychopath. How he was able to present himself and lead two contradictory lives is testament to his psychopathy. He admitted to being very cold on HAKE-TV while speaking to Larry Hatteberg. He detailed how he can change personalities: being very cold in one moment and extremely emotional the next. His mind was extremely compartmentalized (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

A number of psychopaths can make it big in business, academia or government due to their self-centered and narcissistic nature. The minority who lack self-control or intelligence enter crime. Some of these psychopaths in crime go on to be serial killers (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).

When Seattle University criminal justice professor Jacqueline Helfgott was asked how one could identify a psychopath living next door, she replied that it was impossible to do so. To be able to do that, you had to be aware of every aspect of their lives and piece it together (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr).