Josie
02-28-2005, 03:27 PM
Ive been watching this whole thing unfold, like a hawk.. Insane.
WICHITA, Kansas (CNN) -- The man suspected of being the notorious BTK serial killer is expected to appear in court Monday or Tuesday, where he will hear charges linking him to 10 murders over three decades, authorities said.
The Associated Press, citing a single, unnamed source, said the suspect, Dennis Rader, confessed to six killings. But in an interview with CNN on Monday, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams was tight-lipped, saying that any information from interviews with suspects would not be released to the public.
Rader "has been cooperating with us," he said.
In a news conference, Williams called on the media to stop reporting information from anonymous sources. He struck down an earlier report that said the BTK killer may be linked to three additional killings. Rader "has been connected with only 10 homicides," he said.
Williams said he would contact the district attorney "and ask what legal recourses do we have in regards to information that is inaccurate and inappropriate being disseminated in the community."
He said speculation complicates "an already complex investigation" and does a disservice to families and friends of the victims, as well as the community.
"I have a responsibility as chief of this organization to make sure that we have a successful prosecution in regards to this case," he said.
Authorities say they are certain that Rader -- a 59-year-old city employee with a degree in administration of justice -- is the man who terrorized the region with a string of killings beginning in 1974.
The killer taunted authorities as well as the media through letters and packages he sent over several years. Some of those packages included before and after photos of victims.
The killer named himself BTK after a pattern he followed with most of his victims: bind, torture and kill.
The last murder blamed on BTK was in 1991.
Rader is being held at Sedgwick County jail, with bond set at $10 million, authorities said. He has not made a public statement.
Rader faces eight counts of first-degree murder and two other homicide charges. Initially, eight killings were linked to the BTK killer. But Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said over the weekend that police also would file homicide charges with the district attorney for two previously unsolved murders in Park City.
The death penalty does not apply because it was reinstated in Kansas in 1994, three years after the last known BTK killing.
Rader worked as a compliance supervisor for Park City in charge of animal control, nuisances, inoperable vehicles and general code compliance and is married with two grown children. He recently became president of his Lutheran church council.
There are conflicting reports on the role DNA may have played in his arrest.
The Rader family's pastor, Michael Clark, said Rader's daughter provided a DNA sample to federal agents. But it was not clear when the request was made or if the sample led to Rader's arrest.
Earlier, a source close to the investigation told CNN that Rader's daughter had not provided DNA to investigators and was not involved in her father's capture. But CNN affiliate KAKE, which has investigated the BTK killings and received messages from the killer, reported that authorities somehow obtained the daughter's DNA and compared it to something they had.
Over the weekend, Lt. Ken Landwehr, commander of the task force investigating the case, praised investigators for handling evidence carefully over the years, thereby preserving crucial DNA, according to KAKE.
Rader was arrested Friday afternoon in Park City, Kansas, just north of Wichita, during a routine traffic stop.
Investigators later swarmed his house, searching for evidence.
Interest in the case was reignited last year, when the killer contacted media after 25 years of silence.
Some people who know Rader say they can't imagine that he is the killer.
"When we found out, all we could say was that it's impossible, it couldn't be," said Freyja Carlsted who attends church with Rader and has known him for 30 years. She said Rader's wife, Paula, is "wonderful."
Clark, the pastor, said Rader has always seemed like a "family man." Clark said he has seen nothing "that would even tend to lead to these accusations."
He said he is in touch with the family, which is in seclusion.
Rader became president of Christ Lutheran Church in Park City in January, and under the church's rules he will remain president, Clark said.
But relatives of victims expressed relief. "Now, my mom can rest in peace," said Steve Relford, the son of 1977 victim Shirley Vian. Relford was 5 when his mother was killed. He and his two siblings were locked in a bathroom at the time, but he said he witnessed her death by peeking through a hole.
"Every day of my life brings back to that day," Relford said. "I would just like to thank everybody that helped catch him. I've waited 28 years for this day."
Mayor Carlos Mayans said Monday that the community is "relieved."
"People are able to sleep much better at night," he said.
WICHITA, Kansas (CNN) -- The man suspected of being the notorious BTK serial killer is expected to appear in court Monday or Tuesday, where he will hear charges linking him to 10 murders over three decades, authorities said.
The Associated Press, citing a single, unnamed source, said the suspect, Dennis Rader, confessed to six killings. But in an interview with CNN on Monday, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams was tight-lipped, saying that any information from interviews with suspects would not be released to the public.
Rader "has been cooperating with us," he said.
In a news conference, Williams called on the media to stop reporting information from anonymous sources. He struck down an earlier report that said the BTK killer may be linked to three additional killings. Rader "has been connected with only 10 homicides," he said.
Williams said he would contact the district attorney "and ask what legal recourses do we have in regards to information that is inaccurate and inappropriate being disseminated in the community."
He said speculation complicates "an already complex investigation" and does a disservice to families and friends of the victims, as well as the community.
"I have a responsibility as chief of this organization to make sure that we have a successful prosecution in regards to this case," he said.
Authorities say they are certain that Rader -- a 59-year-old city employee with a degree in administration of justice -- is the man who terrorized the region with a string of killings beginning in 1974.
The killer taunted authorities as well as the media through letters and packages he sent over several years. Some of those packages included before and after photos of victims.
The killer named himself BTK after a pattern he followed with most of his victims: bind, torture and kill.
The last murder blamed on BTK was in 1991.
Rader is being held at Sedgwick County jail, with bond set at $10 million, authorities said. He has not made a public statement.
Rader faces eight counts of first-degree murder and two other homicide charges. Initially, eight killings were linked to the BTK killer. But Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said over the weekend that police also would file homicide charges with the district attorney for two previously unsolved murders in Park City.
The death penalty does not apply because it was reinstated in Kansas in 1994, three years after the last known BTK killing.
Rader worked as a compliance supervisor for Park City in charge of animal control, nuisances, inoperable vehicles and general code compliance and is married with two grown children. He recently became president of his Lutheran church council.
There are conflicting reports on the role DNA may have played in his arrest.
The Rader family's pastor, Michael Clark, said Rader's daughter provided a DNA sample to federal agents. But it was not clear when the request was made or if the sample led to Rader's arrest.
Earlier, a source close to the investigation told CNN that Rader's daughter had not provided DNA to investigators and was not involved in her father's capture. But CNN affiliate KAKE, which has investigated the BTK killings and received messages from the killer, reported that authorities somehow obtained the daughter's DNA and compared it to something they had.
Over the weekend, Lt. Ken Landwehr, commander of the task force investigating the case, praised investigators for handling evidence carefully over the years, thereby preserving crucial DNA, according to KAKE.
Rader was arrested Friday afternoon in Park City, Kansas, just north of Wichita, during a routine traffic stop.
Investigators later swarmed his house, searching for evidence.
Interest in the case was reignited last year, when the killer contacted media after 25 years of silence.
Some people who know Rader say they can't imagine that he is the killer.
"When we found out, all we could say was that it's impossible, it couldn't be," said Freyja Carlsted who attends church with Rader and has known him for 30 years. She said Rader's wife, Paula, is "wonderful."
Clark, the pastor, said Rader has always seemed like a "family man." Clark said he has seen nothing "that would even tend to lead to these accusations."
He said he is in touch with the family, which is in seclusion.
Rader became president of Christ Lutheran Church in Park City in January, and under the church's rules he will remain president, Clark said.
But relatives of victims expressed relief. "Now, my mom can rest in peace," said Steve Relford, the son of 1977 victim Shirley Vian. Relford was 5 when his mother was killed. He and his two siblings were locked in a bathroom at the time, but he said he witnessed her death by peeking through a hole.
"Every day of my life brings back to that day," Relford said. "I would just like to thank everybody that helped catch him. I've waited 28 years for this day."
Mayor Carlos Mayans said Monday that the community is "relieved."
"People are able to sleep much better at night," he said.