In the second set of letters Dennis Rader sent to the media in 1978, there was a great deal to be gleaned about the man’s psyche. It was obvious the killer had an admiration for other serial murderers. Interestingly, he listed Harvey Glatman among the much more famous names like Son of Sam, Jack the Ripper, and the Boston Strangler. The mention of Harvey Glatman in conversation could have given someone away as being suspect, for Glatman was virtually an unknown.
The desperation he felt for attention was obvious in the beginning of the letter where the killer asks how many people will have to die before the media gives him some well-earned publicity. However, the fragility of this man’s ego and his voracious appetite for attention are underlying threads throughout. He talks about coming home from his murders and becoming just another guy like everyone else. It is obvious that his murders are the only thing in his life that sets him apart as extraordinary, something he desperately wants everyone else to know he is...even if they can’t know it’s him, specifically. He emphasizes how involved the process of murder is; that it takes time and planning and is not easy to get away with. This only bolsters his ego, making people understand that you have to have a special something extra to pull this off. Just before the end of the first page, BTK puts out a “teaser” of things to come and promises more sensational communications in the future. At that point, he was shamelessly courting the press, as many killers like him have done. He even tried to give the media some sensational names to choose from for future stories about him. He would have been likely to comment to friends or co-workers had the media chosen a name he did not feel was suitable or sensational enough.
In his descriptions of his victims, it becomes obvious that he has something of a God-complex. He further degrades Shirley Vian by pointing out what a mess her house was and asserts that the children took toys to the bathroom with them, as though they were content to just let her die while they played. In contrast, he specifically mentions what a great housekeeper Nancy Fox was in the very next paragraph.
Interestingly, in BTK’s conversation with Nancy Fox, he admitted to her that he had sexual problems and that he was a sick man. In the letters, however, he blames his urges on “Factor X,” as though all killers are under the influence of this unknown force and helpless to fight it or make a different choice. This is not as much a contradiction as it seems, rather it is a definite indication of a psychopathic, antisocial personality. They will admit their faults to people with whom they feel intimate, and then put on an amazingly charming game of “it wasn’t me” with everyone else. This is seen in compulsive domestic abusers as well. The man will tell his wife he knows he is sick and needs to get help, but then tell society and other relatives that he is deeply and sincerely concerned for his wife’s mental and emotional condition. People with this type of personality are able to easily be literally all things to all people at all times. Why? They have no emotional investment in anyone but them.
Though the content was not well-organized in its presentation, the substance was a step-by-step account, not only of the basic events, but also of the location and placement of all articles he encountered in the house.
Regardless of how untidy the letters appear, the specificity and chronological order of the facts and events indicates the writer has a very calculating mind with an appreciation for the precision of more superficial details. He would be the type of person used to working with checklists and following a specific order of procedures at his place of employment. This would include a position like that of an auto mechanic or even middle- management at a factory or shipping business.
With the exception of the Otero family, all the victims of BTK were Caucasian. This indicates the killer would also be a Caucasian, as serial murders invariably select victims within their own ethnic background.
Additionally, the fact that all of the victims’ homes were within a three mile radius would tend to indicate the residences were located in an area that was part of his normal routine: either near home, work, or en route to or from either one. Despite the police attachment to the theory of an “outsider” being the killer, the locations, as well as the ease of the killer’s entry and escape without detection, strongly suggest a local man who is intimately familiar with the area.
Within all of the communications received from BTK, it becomes obvious that he enjoys creating his own alphabet soup. The name he chose for himself, of course, along with SBT (Sparky Big Time) which was used in his notations on the murders to indicate an erection. This may help him feel more in-league with members of organizations that communicate in such ways: military, police, federal law enforcement organizations.
Some of the things he said: “for the sake of the tax payer,” “you have in custody,” “since sex criminals do not change their M.O.,” “There is no help, no cure, except death or being caught,” “Chose at random with some pre- planning,” these are manners of speech most used in law enforcement circles.
Other indications of this can be seen in his frequent mention of “society” and how “society” is affected by what’s going on. He also mentions his knowledge that typewritten communications can be traced and that handwriting can be used to identify a strong suspect. This is definitely someone who is interested in law enforcement or may have been involved with law enforcement on some level. He might have had a limited military background or applied for police academy admission at some point. Perhaps he was a student of criminal justice.
It is also notable that the poems he sent display none of BTK’s characteristically foul spelling and grammar. This is likely because his poems are rip-offs of actual poetry. He most probably looked at the originals even as he copied their form or style to create his own accounts of his victims. This only reinforces that this man would be someone craving notoriety without the ability to accomplish great things on his own talents and abilities.
Also telling are the names he gave the media to choose for him. The BTK STRANGLER was by far the most accurate and appropriate of the list, WICHITA STRANGLER comes in a strong second. Though, as he had already come up with the BTK monniker in the first letter and that was what he’d been called for the three years he’d been known, it was unlikely that BTK would not at least be part of his permanent name. POETIC STRANGLER caught me as being the most amusing suggestion on the list. Let’s face it, this guy was no poet and that he wrote poetry at all was virtually unknown to everyone and had nothing to do with his crimes. Not to mention that his poetry sucked and was copied. THE BONDAGE STRANGLER would have been accurate, but again obviously created for notoriety. It sounded similar to the Boston Strangler, who was well-known, and advertised his penchant for sexually aberrant activities which would have been shocking to the public during that time period. PSYCHO was clearly chosen because it hearkened people’s thoughts back to the film which had inspired such terror in Hitchcock fans and WICHITA HANGMAN was highly provocative if not entirely indicative of any victim beyond Josie Otero. THE WICHITA EXECUTIONER would fill his need to be seen as dominating and controlling the people of Wichita, as well as giving the implication that he had God-like power over the deaths of people who were powerless to escape him. His final two choices were simply new ways of expressing his favorite method of murder, strangulation. Garroting obviously inspires fear, but THE ASPHYXIATOR, which he misspelled “asphyxiater”, is pretty typical of a man with little creativity attempting to make himself sound formidable...and it falls flat.
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