By DAVID TWIDDY, Associated Press Writer
PARK CITY, Kan. - He lived among them for nearly 30 years, having arrived in the community before graduating from college. But Dennis Rader, the man police believe is the BTK serial killer, wasn't well liked by some of his neighbors.
Most residents who lived near Rader described him as a bureaucratic bully, an ordinance enforcement officer for this Wichita suburb who often went out of his way to find reasons to issue citations.
One neighbor said Rader was once seen measuring grass in a front yard with a tape measure to see if it was too long. Another recalled catching Rader filming his house, documenting possible violations.
And yet, there were hints at a pleasant side. He helped elderly neighbors with yard work, was active in his church and served as a Cub Scout leader.
Police say BTK — the killer's self-coined nickname stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" — may have killed as many as 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Police arrested Rader on Friday and said Saturday they were confident he was the killer.
"He was definitely two-sided," said Jim Reno, who lived across the street from Rader and his wife for 16 years and experienced several confrontations with him over what he called Rader's "harassment."
Rader, 59, moved into the neighborhood almost 30 years ago after graduating from Wichita State University in 1979. Although he studied criminal justice, Rader never became a police officer, instead going into code enforcement, or what Reno called "a glorified dog catcher."
Park City Mayor Emil Bergquist, citing a request of investigators, declined to comment about Rader's employment record or any part of the case.
Rader lived with his wife, whose parents lived around the corner. No one answered the door at the residence Saturday afternoon. Public records indicate he has two adult children.
Bill Lindsay, 38, lived behind Rader and said something about the man unnerved him. Lindsay said his wife caught Rader in their adjoining backyards filming the back of their house.
"He really acted really funny," said Lindsay, a truck driver. "I'd be on the road and my wife would tell me, 'Dennis has been out again, taking his pictures.'"
And yet most neighbors never suspected Rader of any connection to the serial killings.
"I didn't start thinking about (BTK) until I started seeing increased law enforcement in the neighborhood" in the last few weeks, Lindsay said.
Jason Day, 28, described the working-class neighborhood 7 miles north of Wichita as "very quiet. You'd never consider something like this happening here."
Day said his brother was in Rader's Cub Scout pack at the nearby Park City Baptist Church, but their mother pulled him out because of Rader.
"It was his demeanor," he said. "He was so strange."
Rader also was a scout leader at Christ Lutheran Church, where he had held leadership positions for about 30 years. Church members "are in a state of shock and bewilderment about the turn of events that have unfolded this week," said Michael Clark, the church's pastor.
Not everyone had a bad story about Rader. David Cool said he had lived next to Raders' in-laws for most of his life, and his parents knew Rader. He said Rader helped his parents, now in their 70s, with yard work.
"Mom doesn't have a bad word to say about him," Cool said.
Unconfirmed from kansas.com:
According to a very reliable source, the key break in the case was contained in the package received by our FOX affiliate, KSAS. As has been reported, in the package was BTK's chapter outline, photocopies of a book cover (title had something to do with "Friends don't kill friends" ... can't provide specific title nor can I tell you if it was merely the cover or pages within the book), a CD-Rom, and a piece of jewelry described to me as a rather large, ornate, oval necklace ... pendant or broach-like. This was not Nancy Fox's necklace, rather a larger piece of "costume" jewelry.
KSAS routinely recieves tapes and CD-roms so initially nothing was suspected unusual until the piece of jewelry was pulled out of the envelope. While I was not told definitively who the necklace belonged to, I believe it may have been the property of Delores Davis. It was recently that KAKE, I believe, who interviewed her son and I believe it was at that time he mentioned a large "broach" or "pin" was taken from the house. Again, I speculate on ownership.
As for what broke the case? The CD rom. While I am not a techie nor did I querry further, I'm not exactly sure how this could have happened (would love someone to explain it to me) but the CD contained a data (folder) that had DR's name. From what was described to me, the folder had been deleted from the CD but even though it had physically been removed from the disc, there remained remnants of the folder name somewhere beneath the "visible" folders and files. In short, DR / BTK provieded WPD his name.
From there, WPD put the man on surveillence and thoroughly checked his background, previous life and locations. Then, at some point between the KSAS letter and last Monday obtained a Kleenex® used by Rader. An initial DNA test was conducted and match made.
Once the match was made and WPD knew they had their man, they scheduled their "pick up" away from the home in order to preserve the home and reduce the potential for immediate detection of their intended purpose of approach. The bomb squad was sent in merely for precauntionary purposes ... fearing that a potential existed that if any evidence was in the home Rader may have protected it by methods that may have destroyed it. Again, I was told it was merely precautionary and that it was unlikely DR had gone to those lengths.
As for the board's speculation that the daughter provided insights or dna I cannot shed any light on whether this is factual or not. Nor can I confirm or deny the suggestion that DR was caught by surveillence cameras at the YMCA or Home Depot. I hope you understand, I merely listened and did not want to appear too enthusiastic so avoided asking any questions that would show my interest or knowledge in the case. I promise, however, should I get another opportunity or chance, I will provide what I learn.
Having said that, I'm glad BTK is in custody and look forward to the trial. As I've posted here before, I think we all will be in for a very long and quiet period of much speculation and very little fact. I hope those with insights and facts will also share here.
they never "suspected" him - the first people killed, weren't they in his immediate neighboorhood?