I remember the days, as a latch-key kid growing up in the Midwest, when I checked the phone wires immediately upon entering the house. If the wires were snipped, I knew to get out as fast as I could.
It was because of the BTK serial killer. Although he killed his victims in Kansas, even Iowans felt terror. We all knew he cut phone wires so victims could not call for help.
So I was astonished and relieved to see that he plead guilty to ten counts of murder today. He described the grisly slaying of the Otero family in detail:
``I made a decision to go ahead and put them down, I guess, or strangle them,'' he told Sedgwick County District Judge Gregory Waller. The hearing was broadcast on live television.
Rader testified that he had entered the Otero home by the back door, cut the phone line and, at gunpoint, tied the family up and killed them. Joseph Otero had back problems from a car accident, so Rader said he offered him a pillow and a coat to make him more comfortable while he was tied up. (quoted here)
He said he decided to kill the whole family when he realized he was not wearing a mask. Which I think says it all.
Notice his language: put them down.
He described how he did not know how to strangle at first:
"I had never strangled anyone before, so I really didn't know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take," he told District Judge Gregory Waller in describing those killings.
"The whole family just panicked on me. I worked pretty quick," Rader said. "I strangled Mrs. Otero. She passed out. I thought she was dead. I strangled Josephine. She passed out. I thought she was dead. Then, I went over and put a bag on Junior's head."
He then said he returned to the woman: "I went back and strangled her again." (quoted in the LA Times)
He called the killing "projects," as if they were some kind of experiment or art. They served as a sick sexual release - a lustmord fantasy.
I cannot imagine losing a loved one to something like this. On an interview with Court TV, prosecutors said many of the victims' families heard the details for the first time in court today. Can you imagine? I wish them healing.