Issue 50 Vol III, October 31, 2007

L I T E R A T U R E

Making of a Serial Killer
Dr. Amrik Singh

Dennis Rader, (BTK-Bind Torture Kill) who was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms 175 years for killing ten people in Wichita, Kansas from 1974 to 1991, is still baffling Americans with his macabre stories narrated in a nonchalant manner. In the last dispatch to Wichita Police BTK wrote a question, ”How many do I have to kill before I get my name in the paper or some national attention?” In the package, there was also a photocopy of the title of a novel about a serial killer, Rules of Prey. Dennis Rader, in fact, had answered the question by giving vital clues for his arrest in Feb, 2005. Realizing that he could kill no more at 60 he decided to explode his story by becoming the star attraction of the media he desperately craved for. His earlier interest in detective stories, fascination for serial killers’ life style and media’s fixation for it, perhaps were some of the factors in the making of BTK character. On the day of his arrest he wrote a poem ‘Black Friday’ which was also put on auction on Ebay as Serial Killer Memorabilia.

Is he an artist? The question reverberated in the Court for the trial of Dennis Rader. He used to trace the design and drawing of devices he needed to execute his victims. Dozens of exhibits were shown in Court to sketch his Modus Operandi. After the announcement of the verdict, he read a statement confessing to all crimes, congratulating the Wichita Police for their hard work, appreciating the trial court for an excellent job, mentioning names of all those who came into his contacts whom he claimed to have befriended during his trial. He apologized to family members of victims and shed some tears for their agony. “There is no way I can ever repay them. That is all, Sir” During all this Rader was fully in control of the situation. He stated that in a way his last victims were his wife and children. He asserted he showed an extreme honesty in cooperating with the police and the trial court for having confessed to each detail of his crime. He still believed that he was a Christian who bared his heart in front of the whole world. In the end he quoted John 8:12 with declaration that the Bible would help him. “I am the light of World. He who shall follow me shall not walk in darkness but have light of life. Now that I have confessed, put myself out to everybody to know what is going on, I expect to be healed and have life and hopefully some day God will accept me”

Paula 57, Rader’s wife and his two children in their 20’s perhaps never had doubted his commitment to Christian values. For his son and daughter he was ‘Cub Scout Leader’ always eager to provide for a good life. He was a proud father of “son’s earning the Eagle Scout Award” and the daughter’s qualifying for the state high school Golf Championship.’ Paula a bookkeeper at the local convenience store went into hiding after Rader’s arrest obviously to avoid predatory media. On July 27th, she was granted divorce on the grounds of danger to her mental health. She was a choir singer in the Church and was envy of many for Rader’s love and care.

Dennis Rader in his five page statement corrected the police version by convincing everybody that he was the ultimate truth on what he did. He said that though it wasn’t going to make any difference to his life, but he was doing it for propriety’s sake. In the stunning silence he impressed upon everybody, he was the epitome of truth. He also disclaimed the pornography recovered from him. He said it was inserted at sometime during the search. Again, the prosecution was congratulated for preparing a wonderful case.

BTK case will be a scary reminder to us about the sadomasochistic, uncanny and ailing mindset serial killers are made of. No murder is without a motivation, whatsoever. While studying the case of BTK, one thing comes to mind that he desired to become a media attention incognito during his serial killings, and later during the trial. He read about stories of other killers and was fascinated with the horror those stories symbolized. He wanted to outsmart them. During his testimony he had everybody spellbound in his power. He knew that Wichita Police could never catch him until he gave them some clues. He was preparing for it unconsciously. Each of his acts had a lot of planning, designing, devising and detailing. After getting the instruments of death, he scanned object on to CD. After the murder he would write his story detailing what part of the body was tortured and how the victim writhed in pain.

He maintained a journal giving details of how he killed his victims. The Wichita Police recovered it and found a credible evidence of all his murders. The Journal had 13 pages in Rader’s handwriting which analysts believe he maintained for media attention. He worked on paper to draw the diagram of the house of his victims. He marked places to dump the dead bodies and the graves he dug to play his sadomasochistic self-bondage in his victim’s clothes.

One of his victims Doleres Davies was the last one he murdered in 1991. She pleaded, “Please, Sir, I have children’ He tightened pantyhose round her neck strangulating within minutes. He stole her dresses, bra, and other feminine stuff later to masquerade his fantasy scenario. Clad in Doleres Davies dress with a painted mask, Rader took pictures of self with a remote device. A chilling message in his eerie rituals is perhaps an attempt to horrify the readers of his stories.

His face belied the truth. The power came to him since he was so much in control. Rev. Michael Clark at the Church Rader was present at his trial and even came to meet him in the jail. His power had wide ranging sweep all over the Church. He commanded great authority and to some it had spiritual dimensions. However, it proved a total contradiction. The monstrosity of his acts still was not showing on his face. He knew people’s image of a bad man was an ugly, unkempt, dark and devilish but what they looked at was clean, well kept, fair and trusting one. He maintained his composure until the end. He knew that power was still in his hands. How he relates to the victims and their families, all yearned to listen to him. When there were so many oedpalized to give audience to him, he knew he had their minds in his grip. He exploited our hungry minds to fill with the food he had in store for us. That is why he wanted to hold the stage until it was the time for the final verdict.

It looks as it he prepared himself for the final act. He knee that as he would spend his life in his dingy cell for the rest of his life, there still would be a lot of talk in the media, clubs and academia. Many writers will research about his motives and there may be many fantasy stories based on his life and his victims. Books, films, panel discussions and seminars will be devoted to find a route to his dynamics. It appears as if Rader will still hold the stage from Kansa prison cell by giving his own theory of what he did during his 60 years of existence. Still he will keep sending messages to the world about what he did. There may be millions of readers restless to know what he wants to say. Maybe he will take readers from darkness to light with his candid confession about his killings.

There are some horrible questions associated with this horrible character. Since he was not a black or a Latino or a Mongoloid or an Asian but a whiteman so his crime is not as gruesome as that of others. This is America after all and incidentally almost all serial killers have been non-blacks! Had Dennis been a black, wouldn’t the entire Afro-American community have been painted as ghostly brutes by the media of the “civilized” world?

Secondly, a crime indeed by the Christian doctrine of “confession” is not as disgusting and hideous as it is otherwise since it gives a spiritual dimension to crime that impels the criminals gloat over their horrendous actions. Such criminals nourish an unconscious longing for an afterlife in “heaven” because they have confessed their crimes and now the gates of heaven are supposed to be open for them as promised by the scriptures. Would Christianity review the institution of “confession” so that this escape route does not incite individuals to commit crimes with impunity?

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