Posted on 03/01/2005 12:09:22 PM PST by Pyro7480
BTK Suspect Charged With 10 Murder Counts
By DAVID TWIDDY, Associated Press Writer
WICHITA, Kan. - Dennis Rader, the churchgoing family man and Cub Scout leader accused of leading a double life as the BTK serial killer, was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of first-degree murder.
Rader made his first court appearance since his Friday arrest by videoconference from his cell at the Sedgwick County detention center. During the brief hearing, Rader sat with his hands folded behind a small desk.
The BTK killer, whose nickname stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill," was suspected of eight deaths beginning in 1974, but authorities said Saturday they had linked two additional victims to the serial killer.
Rader's arrest has also prompted nearby law enforcement agencies through Kansas to reinvestigate any cold cases that bear similarities to the string of slayings.
Sedgwick County District Judge Greg Waller read the charges during the hearing, which lasted about five minutes. A preliminary hearing was set for March 15, when Rader is likely to be arraigned.
Rader's only comments during the hearing were short "yes" and "no" answers to questions.
He was accompanied at the hearing by a temporary attorney. Waller appointed the state's public defender office to represent Rader.
In Indiana she could get a divorce in a couple of months....Possibly right after he is arraigned....SHe'd keep at least 50% of everything they accumulated together including his pension (which he'd have no need for now)
A lenient judge could give her more.....Any one know the laws there?
Imagine being put in the position of facing the fact your husbands a brutal killer and the need to divorce him immediately to keep from financial ruin. His last victims are his family.
"If he stopped prior to '94, it would be interesting to learn the reason."
Well, he started the killing in 1974, and the death penalty had been in effect here in Kansas until 1972. Do the math.
"Thats all any of us have is hindsight though."
Some of us were here in Wichita in the 1970s and are still here today. There is a lot that was learned then that has not been brought out lately. Much of it is the reason that BTK killings are described as terrorizing Wichita throughout the 70s.
"Can anyone show me the evidence against this man before we too-hastily judge him guilty?"
Good question. The evidence will come out at the trial. I do not really know of any evidence other than reports, and I do not know how accurate they are.
Wait and watch for the evidence at the trial.
you and I and everybody with at least a HS education could figure most of this stuff out....
a profiler is like a bureaucrat....always looking to make himself more needed than what is really necessary....
and , they have been more often wrong that right, it seems....
we all remember the DC sniper situation, where no profiler ever came even close to who the sniper was, let alone, two of them.....
police depts do a bad job of critiquing their work, though....
"He abused that entire neighborhood."
That is not the whole situation. Many he did abuse, but many others thought well of him, including my sister and a friend of mine.
In the 70s when BTK was a household word here in Wichita, he was thought to probably be "the person that you would lease suspect". And yet, this was a brutal killer. I do not know him or his victims. I do remember that the evidence that was reported back then was like hot and cold. Almost like 2 completely different human beings. He really liked to taunt police and the media, but did a very good job of muddying the field of possible suspects by knowing what and when to clean up after himself. I think the only thing that will really get him will be DNA because he could not know what the future would bring in terms of technology. Maybe computer data bases also.
Gee, thanks a lot!
Profiling seems to be worthless. It can send them in the wrong direction. I've followed this case rather closely as my daughter lives in Wichita. She's actually very close to where he lived. Yesterday she said she could see smoke coming from ditches. Evidently they're burning off brush in ditches where they think there may be more evidence.
About a month ago, I told my daughter that I thought those "clues" were not clues at all--that they were deliberately attempts by BTK to see how long he could fool them.
I think perhaps I was right as I haven't seen that those "clues" helped at all. In the end, it was his own sloppiness that did him in.
No Kidding.
Granted I'm not an 'accredited' FBI profiler, BUT this "Middle aged white guy, loner, working a menial job" stuff was always utter bull baloney IMO. Mainly because that 'profile' fit about 97 gazillion people.
And I wonder if 'they' added an addendum to their 'profile standards ' after the DC Sniper??? Nah..... that would be racial and 'religious' profiling (barf).
While I'm not *legally* required to presume innocence, it's my preference.
Too many times people's emotions get so caught up in the hideousness of the crime itself, and *need* someone on whom to place their disgust and hatred. I've known several people falsely accused of crimes, and have learned to give the benefit of the doubt until they're proven guilty.
But like I said, if what is said about this man is true, the evidence against him is pretty strong.
"Why don't young people understand the legal concept 'presumption of innocence'?"
While I'm not *legally* required to presume innocence, it's my preference.
Too many times people's emotions get so caught up in the hideousness of the crime itself, and *need* someone on whom to place their disgust and hatred. I've known several people falsely accused of crimes, and have learned to give the benefit of the doubt until they're proven guilty.
But like I said, if what is said about this man is true, the evidence against him is pretty strong.
*Your stance is well taken. I try to maintain an objective distance from snap judgement. I've followed the BTK case on a net site dedicated to BTK's capture. The site published a profile of BTK, before Rader's arrest, that is fairly close to Rader, the suspect. http://www.catchbtk.com
I did. Rader could be the poster boy for the deterrence element of the death penalty.
He already confessed. In addition, items belonging to the victims were found on his property or in his possession, I don't recall which. Apparently, they have DNA matches with him, too.
Excellent point.
I've always said that criminal profiling is a very inexact science, as are all the social sciences. There is such a wide variance from the norm in all areas of human behavior. No criminal investigative team should put all of their eggs in the basket of psychological profiling. It is voo-doo science.
John Wayne Gacy too
Maybe he could not be certain whether or not his potential victims had cellphones.
He liked to cut telephone lines to houses to make it impossible for his victims to call for help. Cellphones would wreck that routine.
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