Home today I watched some of this today on TV :eek:. It was so bad I actually had to flip the channel. I don't know how much ground was covered because I had to turn it off ... it was truely sickening. I watched parts of a detective's testimony of one of BTK's confessions, where he detailed one of his 10 murders. I started to but I won't even type here some of the things I learned today, too disturbing. I only hope that someone studies his mind and finds out how he came to be this way so it can be prevented. I pity all involved with this horrific case.

I am including a link to courttv.com article if you think you can take it (hope its ok to do so): http://www.courttv.com/news/2005/0817/btk_sentencing_ctv.html

The scary thing about killers like him is they look so "normal". I don't understand why he didn't get death instead of life?

If you want it all try the Wichita, Kansas paper.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/

As to the death sentence - was not inacted in Kansas at the time of the crimes so it does not apply. The last woman he murdered can get him the hard 40.

His confession was enough to send him away. Many people are of the opinion all the information being made public is the DA making a name for herself. This is why the circus is going on.

Yes - they live among us.

Thanks for the link ... I read thru as much as I could stomach. I wonder about the info being made public. At first I was disgusted, thinking oh no I don't wanna know this stuff ... then a thought - knowledge is power, best to be aware.

Several times now I've read that when younger he strangled dogs and cats. Surely that must be a warning sign and now maybe that warning sign won't be ignored or excused away. They live among us, how frightening ... may God help us all.

I've seen some court t.v. shows. They are raw. I know he did a lot of his killings in Kansas but he also did in Missouri. Is Missouri going to do anything or let Kansas handle it? They are saying life in prison wich depending on who you are could be worse than death. Every one was flipping out around here when he came back the last time.

Sunshine, don't know the answer to your question and I didn't realize he was in other states. If I see anything though I'll come back and post it. What I couldn't take is hearing the details of the torture. A real live boogeyman but worse than I ever imagined.

Strangling dogs and cats is a symptom of conduct disorder..which in later life gets called antisocial personality disorder.

He admitted to stangling the cats and dogs as practice to kill people b/c he said strangling people was much harder than he thought.

Before I go any further I must state that I am very strongly opposed to the death penalty for everyone including Dennis Rader, believe completely in the importance of a strong and free press, and understand very well why people are so interested in serial killers. That said, I really wish that the sentencing hearing for this fiend was done very quickly with as little media coverage as possible. No coverage would have been perfect.

It may be fascinating that such an ordinary looking person could be such a monster, or that any human being could do such horrible things to entire families, but the fact is that it is true. It is also true that serial killers love the idea that they fill people with fear. There is no question that they crave attention. From the very start of his reign of terror, BTK has gotten off on all of the press coverage. We know that to be true because of the letters that he wrote to newspapers and some of the statements that he gave to police.

As far as I'm concerned, even though Dennis Rader will die in prison he essentially got off scot free. He had a long career murdering innocent people and became a household word. Even after he goes to prison he will probably have a following of groupies who will write to him everyday, inflating his ego. The man is already in his sixties. The odds are that he will only at most live another 15 or so years. Personally, I hope that he lives to be a hundred and that each day of every year is a day of pure misery, but that probably is not going to be the case.

Please understand that I see nothing wrong with writing to people in prison or even becoming good friends with them. I've had several pen pals who were doing LWOP for murder. All of them were involved in obscure cases that received relatively little, if any, media coverage. They didn't kill children, they didn't get off on all the attention, and frankly I don't think that any of them set out to hurt anyone.

I don't know if there is a decent bone in Dennis Rader's body, and frankly I don't care. There is little that we can do at this point to make him pay for the crimes that he committed relative to all the pain and suffering that he caused. But I do know that ignoring him is exactly what he deserves. My wish, which absolutely isn't going to happen, is that nothing further ever be said about him in the media or written about him in books or on the internet.

Strangling dogs and cats is a symptom of conduct disorder..which in later life gets called antisocial personality disorder.

He admitted to stangling the cats and dogs

I didn't follow it because what he's done is the epitome of disgust. I'm just learning now that he killed cats and dogs -- you guys are stronger than me because I can't digest the things this man has done. I think I'd have an easier time tongue kissing Barbara Bush with my eyes open than I would to sit and listen to the things this BTK person has done.

I grew up in Wichita when DR was doing his killing and his BTK plays cat and mouse with law enforcement and the local media outlets. :angry:I grew up being literally terrified of the guy...I didn't know if my family and I were going to be his next targets...in fact there were many nights I didn't sleep, and had "Faceless Man Nightmares" watching that ol' so and so make me watch him kill my Dad and my Grandma in those nightmares..VERY terrifying for a nine year old...(The BTK/ Faceless Man Nightmares continued until I was seventeen! And, randomly in the last year- since the resurface, until the arrest...) Honestly NO ONE in town knew who was going to be next, and for all anyone knew BTK could be your Dad, your brother, your husband,uncle,cousin, lover, best male friend?

Prior to Mr. Beattie's book (Nightmare in Wichita) being published, and prior to BTK's resurfacing, I honestly thought that the guy was either dead, incapacitated, incarcerated, or perhaps in a mental institution. - something along those lines.I had NO clue that he was in Park City of all places! Well, when it came out he was back, and up to the same old tricks, well,minus committing murder until he was caught, I can't tell you HOW many nights I sat up,unable to sleep clutching my chef's knife, and the iron heated up waiting for him on the ironing board....:angry:Just waiting for him to try his stupidity on me and mine! Let's just say if he had tried, 'I would've done my best to put one heck of a hurting on him,or die trying!

The Day of the Arrest, I didn't wonder far from home, and was almost glued to the tv, watching it all unfold...I was hoping against hope that maybe they finally had that ol' so and so....afraid that it was going to be another no go, and they didn't have the idiot.

The next day, I sobbed tears of joy as I watched and listened to the press conference. But, as the information slowly trickled out, each time there were new revelations, it was always MORE than I wanted to know...always leaving me with knots of dread and nausea afterwards.

I have to admit, being a local, I was baffled at his non response at the plea, then TOTALLY shocked that he plead out in June. ( Even though I was certain that it MIGHT go to trial, I was still filled with trepidition and mixed emotions- did I REALLY want to sit through ALL that testimony and see horrific evidence? Did I really want to hear or see the atrocities one man committed against TEN innocent people, two of which were children...???- I wrongly surmised and guessed that possibly, given Rader's penchant for his little cat and mouse games with LE and the media...in addition to his terrorizing my home town and county at large, it would be something he'd get off on- he could gloat about what he'd done and the like...- SO in that respect, I really was shocked that he plead out. Truthfully, I was expecting some sort of insanity defense...Although I don't doubt that he has SOME mental illness, but, not to the extent to satisfy what's stipulated as per Kansas Law!- )
Even with that two hour Dateline special, and Judge Waller's pointed, exploratory questions at the Plea.... I was in NO way prepared for the depravity, and sheer horrific cruelty and atrocities that man was clearly capable of...Just as I was in no way prepared for the extent of the sexual nature of the evidence disclosed,either...By the time it was ALL said and done, I felt literally mentally,and emotionally numb....and totally disgusted,if not flabbergasted at what was revealed- and, that's putting it mildly.... The only way I can describe it is that I was profoundly disturbed by the Profoundly Disturbed....and maybe, just maybe my home town and county had it's own Marquise De Sade...and no one had the FIRST clue..I know I didn't! :eek::confused:

Nita

Wow, I can't even imagine the fear you must have gone through during this time. I've been around the block quite a few times but I had never in my life heard the things I heard that day. The cruelity and the torture most especially got to me. Even though I am far away I feel the same as you about how disturbing it all was, still makes me cringe. Just the thought of it makes me wanna go get a couple german sheppards! I hope you are feeling safer now!

I watched the movie last night. That actor looked amazingly like him. I wondered about two things. One, if they know serial killers look like reg guys, why do people continue to think men who have a lot of tatoos must be criminals? And I wondered if his wife still loves him, from the movie he appeared to be a great husband. Also I had a 17 year old cousin who was murdered by the green river serial killer in WAsh. state about 30 years ago.