Transcript of Dennis Rader sentencing August 18, 2005 Part 7: Victims' families testimony; Dennis Rader's statement
IN THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
DISTRICT COURT, SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS
CRIMINAL DEPARTMENT
STATE OF KANSAS, )
Plaintiff, )
Case No. 05 CR 498
)
vs. ) VOLUME VI
DENNIS L. RADER, ) THURSDAY, 8-18-05
Defendant. ) P.M. SESSION
8 _______________________________)
9 TRANSCRIPT OF SENTENCING HEARING
10 PROCEEDINGS had and entered of record before the
11 Honorable Gregory L. Waller, Judge of Division 5,
12 Eighteenth Judicial District, Sedgwick County,
13 Kansas.
14 APPEARANCES:
15 State of Kansas appeared by and through Ms. Nola
16 Foulston, District Attorney, Ms. Kim T. Parker, Chief
17 Deputy District Attorney, Mr. Kevin O'Connor, Deputy
18 District Attorney, and Mr. Aaron Smith, Assistant
19 District Attorney, Sedgwick County Courthouse Annex,
20 535 North Main, Wichita, Kansas 67203
21
22 The Defendant appeared in person and by and through
23 Mr. Charles S. Osburn, Chief Public Defender and Ms.
24 Sarah McKinnon, Assistant Public Defender, 604 North
25 Main, Suite D, Wichita, Kansas 67203.
2
1 I N D E X
2
3 Statement by Charlie Otero 4
4 Statement by Carmen Otero Montoya 6
5 Statement by Kevin Bright 11
6 Statement by Steve Relford 15
7 Statement by Richard Vian 15
8 Statement by Fred Fox 16
9 Statement by Beverly Plapp 16
10 Statement by Rod Hook 17
11 Statement by Bill Wegerle 18
12 Statement by Stephanie Clyne 18
13 Statement by Jeff Davis 20
14 Statement by Laurel Keating 27
15
16
17
18 Argument by Mr. Osburn 31
19 Statement by Mr. Rader 37
20 Argument by Ms. Foulston 55
21 Sentence 74
22
23
24
25
3
1 THE COURT: Thank you. Please be
2 seated. All right. We are back on the record
3 in state versus Rader. As I indicated, I
4 would --
5 MS. MCKINNON: Judge, could we have a
6 minute, please.
7 (Sotto voce conversation followed by a
8 brief recess, after which the
9 defendant returned into court and the
10 following proceedings were had.)
11 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Rader is
12 now back in the courtroom. We're ready to
13 proceed. As the Court indicated before the noon
14 recess, I will at this time hear statements from
15 the families of the victims involved in this
16 matter. There's been a certain procedure
17 established. There's a fixed microphone to my
18 right. It's my understanding that those who
19 desire to come forward and speak will come to
20 that microphone.
21 I will advise everyone who desires to speak
22 from the family, and I've been given a list of
23 those people who do desire, that they come
24 forward and identify themselves for the record,
25 speak slowly and clearly enough so that the
4
1 court reporter can hear everything that you
2 desire to say. Now, counsel, it's my
3 understanding this is the order in which these
4 people desire to speak?
5 MS. PARKER: Yes, Your Honor.
6 THE COURT: All right. Well, I'll
7 call upon Charlie Otero first of all.
8 Mr. Otero.
9 MR. OTERO: Your Honor, my name is
10 Charlie --
11 THE COURT: Mr. Otero, you can adjust
12 that microphone, I believe, if you desire. All
13 right.
14 MR. OTERO: My name is Charlie Otero.
15 I am not here to recant the personal loss I have
16 felt for over 30 years, but to speak for all the
17 members of my family, living and dead. Not only
18 my siblings and I, but the entire families of
19 the Oteros and the Burgoses suffered from the
20 actions of one Dennis Rader. I would like at
21 this time to state that the criminal actions of
22 Dennis Rader caused irreparable damage to the
23 very fabric of my blood family: sons, daughters,
24 uncles and cousins, a father and mothers, aunts
25 and grandmothers. All lost the precious moments
5
1 my family's very existence would have brought
2 them during their lifetimes. Their lost lives
3 are missed yet to this day.
4 Dennis Rader did not ruin my life though.
5 He caused me to challenge my faith, change my
6 future forever, and separated me from the rest
7 of my loved ones for over 30 years. Yet I have
8 never allowed his actions to send me to the dark
9 side. A son's love for his mother would not
10 allow Dennis Rader to tarnish her memory. The
11 lessons I learned from my father and mother
12 transcend the evil doings of Dennis Rader.
13 No action or sentence bestowed upon Dennis
14 Rader will begin to compare with the reckoning
15 he will endure when his time for judgment comes
16 before the Lord. I truly believe the Lord will
17 pass judgment and sentence as is befitting
18 Dennis Rader's actions and beliefs. No amount
19 of posturing or deception will save him from the
20 eternity he has created for himself with his
21 time here on earth.
22 I only hope that the sentence passed onto
23 him by the judicial system of the State of
24 Kansas denies him the opportunity to spend his
25 remaining days with anyone or anything besides
6
1 himself, for that is more than he deserves.
2 Despite Dennis Rader's efforts to destroy
3 my family, we survive, stronger and closer now
4 more than ever. Our love for each other was
5 forged with pain and loss. Yes, it took years
6 of straying down different paths, but in the end
7 we all, Danny, Carmen and I have found our ways
8 back to each other with the unity and love to be
9 proud of.
10 As far as I'm concerned, when it is all
11 done, Dennis Rader has failed in his effort to
12 kill the Oteros. Thank you.
13 THE COURT: Thank you very much,
14 Mr. Otero. You may have your chair. All right.
15 Danny Otero is the next person on the list.
16 Mr. Otero, would you come forward, please. He's
17 not here?
18 MS. REESE: He's going to pass, sir.
19 THE COURT: All right. Well then, the
20 next person is Carmen Montoya. Ms. Montoya.
21 MS. MONTOYA: I'm Carmen Julie Otero
22 Montoya. Although we have never met, you have
23 seen my face before. It is the same face you
24 murdered over 30 years ago. The face of my
25 mother, Julie Otero.
7
1 I will not address you as Mr. Rader,
2 because mister is a word of respect. As in,
3 mister, can you help me; not mister, are you
4 going to kill me. BTK is how you want to be
5 known and I will not give you that satisfaction.
6 Rader is an appropriate name for you, as one who
7 invades, a surprise attack. That is nothing to
8 be proud of.
9 Rader, when you took away my mother, you
10 took someone who meant a lot to a lot of people.
11 My mother loved life, her friends, a good laugh,
12 dancing with my dad, and she loved to help
13 people. But most of all, she loved and lived
14 for us, her family. She showed me how to love,
15 to be a good person, to accept others as they
16 are and, most of all, to face your fears. I'm
17 sure you saw that in her face as she fought to
18 live. My mother against your gun. You are such
19 a coward.
20 Since they were children, my father
21 lived -- loved my mother more than any kind of
22 love you could ever comprehend. He adored her.
23 To this day, I love to hear stories of how they
24 were. My father was a hard-working man, and we
25 always felt secure. He made sure we had what we
8
1 needed, but at the same time we understood there
2 was always someone else more in need.
3 My dad loved to see us having a good time,
4 and he never passed on it -- passed on a dance
5 with my mom even in the commissary. He loved
6 trips to the beach and to the country. We
7 always went with friends and family. Those good
8 times were very important to him.
9 The thing that everyone remembers of my
10 father is that he demanded respect, but that he
11 gave it in return. Everyone knew you didn't
12 mess with Joe's family. I'm sure you could feel
13 his love for his family as you took away his
14 last breath. You are such a coward.
15 My sister Josie, you should not have the
16 privilege of even saying her name. Such a sweet
17 girl. All she ever wanted was to be happy and
18 successful in school. She had dreams. She was
19 my shadow and at the same time her own person.
20 When we moved to Wichita I told her that I hated
21 it because it was so cold and people were so
22 different. She told me, you'll get used to it,
23 give it a chance. That was part of Josie's
24 beauty. She always tried to see the bright side
25 of everything. It's amazing to me that you
9
1 could be so cruel to a sweet, beautiful child.
2 His name was Joey, NOT Jr., but I guess it
3 really doesn't matter to you. You took away the
4 most loveable, fun, outgoing, friendly and
5 adorable little brother anyone could ever
6 imagine. He tried so hard to keep up with
7 Charlie and Danny. Joey was a magnet. He
8 attracted people of all ages. He could have
9 done something big with his life, but you took
10 care of that, didn't you? A man with a gun
11 against a little boy. You are definitely a
12 coward.
13 Rader, you not only affected my life, but
14 you took away the joy of the ultimate
15 grandparents, aunt and uncle relationship my
16 children deserve. My children, my
17 grandchildren, my nieces and nephews will be
18 told of their family with love. You see, in my
19 world family is everything, not your social
20 obligations.
21 Just recently I realized that I could not
22 remember my mother's voice. It was a painful
23 discovery, but as I put my thoughts on paper it
24 comes to me. I am my mother's voice and I know
25 we've been heard.
10
1 THE COURT: All right. Thank you,
2 ma'am. Now, I might state before we proceed any
3 further, I believe the media coordinator should
4 have communicated with the media. If people do
5 not want to be pictured, then the camera people
6 are not to be photographing them. I don't know
7 what Mr. Otero's desire was nor Ms. Montoya.
8 But you can voice it at this time, if you do not
9 desire to be pictured. I note that the TV
10 camera has not been pointed toward you.
11 MR. O'CONNOR: Judge, Ms. Montoya
12 couldn't hear you.
13 MS. MONTOYA: We can't hear you back
14 here.
15 THE COURT: I notice that the TV
16 camera has not been pointed, however the still
17 camera has been pointed toward these witnesses.
18 Have any of these witnesses indicated they do
19 not desire to be on camera? State rules of the
20 state Supreme Court say that if a witness does
21 not desire to be on camera, he or she does not
22 have to be.
23 MS. REESE: Everybody's fine, sir.
24 THE COURT: All right. I would ask
25 that anyone else who is going to come forward
11
1 indicate whether or not you want to be placed on
2 camera. The next person I have is Mr. Kevin
3 Bright.
4 MR. BRIGHT: Your Honor, my name's
5 Kevin Bright.
6 THE COURT: Do you want to be on
7 camera, Mr. Bright?
8 MR. BRIGHT: That's fine.
9 THE COURT: All right. You may
10 proceed.
11 MR. BRIGHT: And this is a victim
12 impact statement, and I'm here representing my
13 late sister, Kathy, and my mother, Dorothy. And
14 I would like to say that as far as this is
15 toward his sentencing, that the pain and
16 suffering that he's caused our family and the
17 loss of such a beautiful young lady of 21 over
18 31 years ago, and I -- you know, I think about
19 her, you know, and what she'd be doing nowadays,
20 you know, if she could have had a life.
21 Her -- her execution by that monster was --
22 you know, he's got to go on and live his life 31
23 years now raising a family, children and career
24 and everything; and, you know, he snuffed out
25 ten people's lives that had done nothing, and my
12
1 sister, and she suffered so much, and this
2 wasn't told in the -- it was brought out here
3 that she -- it was brought out that she fought,
4 his quote was like a hell cat. I'm so proud of
5 her for that because I knew, you know, that she
6 had that in her. And -- but she lived on
7 approximately five hours after that, and she
8 received over 20-pints of blood before she lost
9 her battle. And I just think, you know, how
10 much she fought. The only thing I wish is
11 different was that when I wrestled the gun from
12 him or cut my hand, that it would have gone off
13 and that would have been the end there. But you
14 know, God was in control. So, you know, I don't
15 second guess that.
16 But for -- and my mother, you know, she had
17 to live the rest of her life -- she died at the
18 age of 62 of cancer, and on losing her daughter
19 and almost losing her son, you know, that just
20 devastated her the rest of her life; and I think
21 it ended, made her life, you know, with the --
22 the depression and all the stress caused, I
23 think that had a lot to do with her. So I
24 really blame Dennis Rader for, you know, causing
25 her death, you know, that -- that brought that
13
1 about.
2 And as far as myself, the damage I
3 received, looking at me you don't see, you know,
4 that much. I have a scar here and some up here
5 where he shot me. But I have -- it was reported
6 that I had brain damage and, you know, permanent
7 brain damage, and I don't have that. But I have
8 permanent nerve damage, which causes me to
9 suffer with -- my body doesn't regulate the heat
10 very well and humidity, so I overheat and I, you
11 know, get weak and everything. So that's one
12 thing I've suffered with for every day. And
13 then I also have damage, nerve damage that
14 causes me not to be able to participate in, you
15 know, eating food. My digestive system is -- is
16 out of whack. And it's like we've had these
17 dinners, you know, lunches. I can't participate
18 in anything like that because I don't know how
19 my body's going to react. It might be okay, but
20 it might not. So that's one thing I have to
21 live with because of that.
22 And -- but what I'd also like to say is I'm
23 glad that I was there that day, because of what
24 Dennis Rader and his fantasy world was going to
25 do to her, probably if I wasn't there, and I'm
14
1 so thankful that I was there, and could, you
2 know, prevent him from doing anything, and I
3 just also would like the Court to give him the
4 maximum sentence that he could get, but also
5 that he could be isolated. I don't know, you
6 know, if this is possible, but I'd like to see
7 him just serve the rest of his -- I want him --
8 the death penalty doesn't -- you know, isn't
9 going -- is not an option. But like I say, my
10 sister and the other victims, they received
11 their death penalty by his hands, and I would
12 like to see him spend the rest of his life -- I
13 hope he lives 40 more years, but I want him to
14 be, you know, aware. Right now he's not shown
15 any remorse, no remorse, no compassion, no -- he
16 had no mercy, and I think that's what he ought
17 to receive. And I just, you know, pray that
18 he'll get the toughest sentence possible, and
19 that he won't have what -- you know, we have,
20 like newspapers and magazines and -- and I've
21 heard him talk about he's going to miss pizza
22 and all this kind of stuff. But you know, like
23 I say, my sister and the other victims, they
24 didn't get to live their lives out.
25 And I just -- Charlie was saying he's being
15
1 judged here now, but eternity, when he stands
2 before the Lord for eternity, for his judgment,
3 if he's still in his sins that he's committed
4 here, he will spend it by himself in darkness.
5 And you know, that's -- that's what I'd like to
6 tell him. Thank you for letting me speak.
7 THE COURT: Thank you. All right.
8 Mr. Steve Relford. Mr. Relford, you may come
9 forward.
10 MR. RELFORD: My name's Steve Relford.
11 Shirley Vian is my mother. I haven't prepared
12 for this statement but, you know, I'd just like
13 for him to suffer for the rest of his life and,
14 you know, I don't -- that's all.
15 THE COURT: All right. Thank you,
16 Mr. Relford. Mr. Rick Vian.
17 MR. VIAN: Richard Vian, Shirley's
18 husband. I read a little bit of the victims
19 statement, like then and now. Back then he was
20 driving by, I sat on the front porch, wondering
21 if the family ought to live or die. I got faces
22 now of what I was thinking. It's all coming
23 back. He talked about Shirley throwing up. A
24 lot of blood in that crushy stuff I cleaned up.
25 I mean, I don't know what to say. He thought
16
1 she smoked a cigarette. I remember the
2 cigarette burns and broken fingers. And I know
3 where he's going, but I'm out here and I'm like
4 that package you wrote.
5 THE COURT: Mr. Fred Fox. Mr. Fox,
6 you may come forward.
7 MR. FOX: My name is Fred Fox, the
8 older brother of Nancy Fox. (Witness made an
9 onomatopoeia) We miss her very much. We love
10 her. She's still in our hearts. This monster
11 took her life. We all have -- we're all -- the
12 rest of us are married, have kids. They will
13 never, ever get to meet her. She's never had a
14 life. And there was fear in my life after she
15 passed away. I don't want to give the monster
16 the right to -- to know all that fear. But I
17 hope his sentence is the worst it can be, and
18 that he will be put away for the rest of his
19 life. Thank you.
20 THE COURT: All right. Thank you very
21 much. Beverly Plapp.
22 MS. PLAPP: My name's Beverly Plapp,
23 and Nancy Fox is my sister. I cannot begin to
24 explain to you, there are not words to make you
25 understand what losing Nancy has meant to me and
1 my family. I lost a friend, a confidant. My
2 children will never have an aunt, and I'll never
3 have another sister. Nancy's death is like a
4 deep wound that will never, ever heal.
5 As far as I'm concerned, Dennis Rader does
6 not deserve to live. I want him to suffer as
7 much as he made his victims suffer. But then
8 when I think about that and his sick, perverted
9 way, he'd probably find that as some kind of
10 pleasure or reward. This man needs to be thrown
11 in a deep, dark hole and left to rot. He should
12 never, ever see the light of day.
13 And I have some afterlife scenarios for
14 him. On the day he dies, Nancy and all of his
15 victims will be waiting with God and watching
16 him as he burns in hell.
17 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Rod Hook.
18 Mr. Hook, if you desire, you may come forward.
19 MR. HOOK: My name's Rod Hook. I'm
20 representing the family of Marine Hedge. I
21 would only ask that the Court provide the
22 maximum sentence allowed by law to this monster
23 that created this. I would also like to thank
24 all the members of the task force for making
25 this possible. And I know in most of our minds
18
1 we can't imagine what our families went through.
2 But I respectfully request that the Court think
3 of that when you provide Mr. Rader with the
4 sentence he so deserves. Thank you.
5 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
6 Mr. Bill Wegerle. Mr. Wegerle, you may come
7 forward, if you so desire.
8 MR. WEGERLE: Your Honor, my name's
9 Bill Wegerle. Sorry. Dennis Rader killed my
10 wife in 1986. The past couple of days the
11 courts, the news media, the general public knows
12 what kind of person he is, the vicious, cruel
13 individual he is. It's all in the light now.
14 All we can do, there's no punishment that you
15 can exact upon him that will satisfy our needs.
16 We can just ask the Court to bestow upon him the
17 most that you can, and hopefully we will not
18 have to deal with him or see him or hear from
19 him ever again. Thank you.
20 THE COURT: All right. Thank you,
21 sir. Ma'am, you are Stephanie Clyne?
22 MS. CLYNE: Yes, Your Honor. My name
23 is Stephanie Clyne. My mother's Vicki Wegerle.
24 I'm speaking to you today on behalf of myself
25 and my brother, Brandon. It's been almost 19
19
1 years now that my brother and I had the most
2 important woman in our lives taken from us. My
3 brother and I had to go through so many
4 important moments in our lives without her.
5 Every day is a struggle to get through without
6 her. It's not fair that we had so little time
7 with her. I only had 10 years with her.
8 Brandon only had two.
9 Anyone who knew my mom knew how much she
10 loved her family. She loved her children, her
11 husband, her parents and her sister. And she
12 loved her inlaws like they were her own parents,
13 brothers and sisters. She adored her nieces and
14 nephews. Even our friends were considered
15 family to her. There's nothing she wouldn't do
16 for any one of us. We didn't have enough time
17 with her.
18 It's not fair that her three grandbabies
19 will never get to know her. She doesn't get to
20 see me with her grandchildren, and she doesn't
21 get to see her baby Brandon with his first
22 child. My mom would so love the fact that that
23 baby girl looks just like Brandon did when he
24 was little. She won't ever get to hold them or
25 watch them grow up. She would have loved being
20
1 a grandma. It's not fair that my four-year-old
2 son has to ask why his mema can't come home. He
3 draws her pictures. We should be able to take
4 these to her, but they just sit on the fridge.
5 Even at four he knows it's not right, that she
6 should be here with us. And what did my baby do
7 to deserve feeling this way? What did any of us
8 do to deserve this?
9 My mother begged for her life, yet he
10 showed no remorse. He saw that she had a family
11 and a little boy right there in the house with
12 her, yet he continued with his sick plan. I ask
13 you today, Your Honor, to show no remorse for
14 him. Don't let this monster have any comforts
15 as he lives out his remaining years in prison.
16 He isn't worthy. Thank you, Your Honor.
17 THE COURT: All right. Thank you very
18 much. All right, Mr. Jeff Davis. Mr. Davis,
19 you may come forward, if you so desire.
20 MR. DAVIS: I'm Jeffrey Davis, son of
21 Dolores Davis, BTK victim January 18th, 1991.
22 May it please the Court to allow me to
23 express my thoughts and feelings to all the
24 victim survivors here among us today in the hope
25 that we can leave this courtroom with some sense
21
1 of peace and legal resolution.
2 For the last 5,326 days I have wondered
3 what it would be like to confront the walking
4 cesspool that took my mother's precious life.
5 Throughout that time I always envisioned this
6 day as being one for avenging the past. I could
7 think of nothing but savoring the bittersweet
8 taste of revenge as justice is served upon this
9 social sewage here before us today. Now that it
10 has arrived, surprisingly, I realize that this
11 day is not just about avenging past crimes.
12 Sitting here before us is a depraved
13 predator, a rabid animal that has murdered
14 people, poisoned countless lives and terrorized
15 this community for 30 years, all the while
16 relishing every minute of it. As such, there
17 can be no justice harsh enough or revenge bitter
18 enough, in this world at least, to cause the
19 pain and suffering which a societal malignancy
20 like this has coming. Therefore, I have
21 determined that for the sake of our innocent
22 victims and their loving families and friends
23 with us here today, for me this will be a day of
24 celebration, not retribution.
25 If my focus were hatred, I would stare you
22
1 down and call you a demon from hell who defiles
2 this court at the very sight of its cancerous
3 presence.
4 If I embraced bitterness I would remind you
5 that you are nothing but a despicable, child
6 murdering, cowardly, impotent eunuch and pervert
7 masquerading as a human being.
8 If I were the animal that you are I would
9 say that I relish the thought of you being
10 treated to the same despicable brutality, terror
11 and agony at the hands of your soon to be fellow
12 inmates that you relished inflicting on your
13 defenseless victims.
14 If I were spiteful I would remind you that
15 it is only fitting that a twisted, narcissistic
16 psychopath, obsessed with public attention, will
17 soon have his world reduced to an isolated
18 solitary existence in an 80-square-foot cell
19 doomed to languish away the rest of your
20 miserable life, alone.
21 If I had your devil nature, I would delight
22 in the fact that your congregation has turned
23 its back on you, that your friends have deserted
24 you, that your wife has divorced you, that your
25 own children have disowned you. And then I
23
1 would remind you that you will never have any
2 warm, loving human contact again for the
3 remainder of your twisted existence.
4 If I were cynical I would remind this Court
5 that you would return to your murderous ways in
6 a heartbeat if given the opportunity, so for the
7 safety of society you must remain caged forever
8 like any other vicious predatory animal.
9 If I were to sink to your level I would say
10 that this world would have been much better off
11 had your mother aborted your demon soul before
12 you were unleashed on this world, sparing ten
13 innocent lives and avoiding untold heartache for
14 this community.
15 If I were vindictive I would wish you many
16 long, emotionally-tortured years in your cage,
17 haunted every night by your victims' hopeless
18 pleas for mercy as you played God and pronounced
19 their death sentences upon them.
20 If I had your sadistic nature I would
21 delight in the pain you feel now in realizing
22 that your own arrogance and ego got you caught;
23 that if you had just kept your big mouth shut
24 you would still be a free man today, able to eat
25 pizza and walk your dog Dudley.
24
1 If I wanted revenge I would pray that you
2 develop a lingering illness from which you
3 suffer for many, many years before you
4 ultimately choke to death one lonely night on
5 your own vomit.
6 If I were judgmental I would call you the
7 most despicable form of hypocrite for profaning
8 Christianity by daring to associate yourself
9 with my faith and for blaspheming God's house
10 with your demonic actions.
11 If I were unforgiving, I would tell you
12 that I will accept any shameful, meaningless
13 attempts on your part to feign remorse by
14 responding that I will grant you forgiveness the
15 same day that hell freezes over; although I know
16 that my mother in her Christian grace has
17 already long since forgiven you.
18 But I won't hurl these invectives at you or
19 I won't rain these curses down upon you because
20 you're not smart enough to understand most of
21 the words I would use anyway. And if you --
22 even if you could begin to fathom the depth of
23 my hatred for you, I would still refuse to waste
24 any breath on you because that would once again
25 allow you the satisfaction of being in the
25
1 limelight, and that attention I refuse to allow
2 you. As of today, you no longer exist.
3 Today, the focus finally moves out from
4 under the shadow of your depraved shadow of
5 Hell's darkness into the light of your victims
6 and their families. Speaking for my mother,
7 with us in spirit, for my own family, and I hope
8 for the entire family of survivors here today,
9 we dedicate this day to the memories of those
10 who cannot be with us. Today we also celebrate
11 with this community the relief in knowing that
12 we will never again be terrorized by a monster's
13 demented fantasies.
14 Today, we will each silently remember a
15 father, a brother, a wife, a mother, a sister, a
16 daughter, a grandmother; all those who we loved
17 so deeply and miss so dearly still. Today, we
18 will quietly reminisce on all that they meant to
19 us. We will smile at all the silly things they
20 did that made us laugh, and we will renew our
21 pride in who they were. Today, we will thank
22 them for shaping our lives, for being there when
23 we needed them, for setting the example of what
24 we should be, for making us who we are, and for
25 allowing us to be their living legacies.
26
1 From this point on, we declare our
2 independence from the tyranny of your actions.
3 While you begin your slow and painful descent
4 into hell, we will choose to rise above our
5 pain. While you sink into an emotional abyss of
6 hopelessness and despair, we will channel our
7 grief into positive endeavors, those life
8 activities which would please the ones we have
9 lost. While you agonize over the reality that
10 your last victims were ironically your own
11 family, we will embrace the new family we now
12 have, with whom we will always share a common
13 bond forged from the pain of adversity and loss.
14 While your body wastes away in prison, we will
15 renew ourselves by incorporating into our lives
16 those characteristics modeled by our loved ones:
17 humility, compassion, honor, integrity,
18 kindness, selflessness and love; traits which
19 your twisted, cancerous mind cannot comprehend,
20 I realize. While your wretched soul awaits
21 pronouncement of the one true justice, your
22 damnation to hell for eternity, we will thank
23 God for every day He gives us, realizing as only
24 we can just how precious life really is.
25 Finally, we want you to know that we who
27
1 could so easily have succumbed to your quagmire
2 of madness, will not give you that satisfaction.
3 Your despicable actions will not defeat us. Our
4 very lives will be testimony that good can
5 triumph over even the most hideous form of evil
6 and perversion. Just as your days are now over,
7 ours are just beginning. In the final analysis
8 you have to live with the cold reality that
9 while all of us here will overcome your
10 depravity, you have now lost everything and you
11 will forever remain nothing. May that thought
12 torment you for the rest of your tortured
13 existence. Thank you, Your Honor.
14 THE COURT: Thank you very much,
15 Mr. Davis. Laurel Keating.
16 MS. KEATING: I'm Laurel Keating,
17 daughter of Dolores Davis. This is an impact
18 statement written by Nan Davis, the
19 daughter-in-law of Dolores Davis.
20 It hadn't been that long since my
21 retirement in the fall. What an exciting day
22 that was for me. After many years as a
23 corporate secretary I was so looking forward to
24 the relaxing days awaiting me. I was ready for
25 travel, spending time with my family, and was
28
1 anticipating the birth of my third grandchild.
2 My son, daughter-in-law and kids from Florida
3 were here at Christmas of 1990, as well as my
4 daughter and her husband. It was wonderful
5 having them visit. We had snow and the children
6 loved playing in it with their dog, which also
7 made the trip. What fun for each of us. Times
8 we spent together were always short. Of course,
9 when families get together there is lots of
10 food, laughter and, unfortunately, even
11 disagreements. But that is just life.
12 I loved to cook. I wanted to be sure
13 everything was just right for them. I know my
14 daughters treasured my passing along recipes and
15 tips to them, and so did I. We truly had a
16 great visit, and I was sad to see them leave,
17 but knew that I would be able to see them soon,
18 especially to help my daughter with her first
19 baby to be born in just three months.
20 Then life changed for all of us. Mine was
21 ended in a way that no one should ever have to
22 endure. But my heart broke knowing and seeing
23 what would lie ahead for those left behind. It
24 is always those left behind who suffer the most,
25 but as I always taught my children, it is
29
1 important to look for the positive and the best
2 that you possibly can in any situation. Trials
3 produce endurance and patience, and Lord knows
4 we all need more of those attributes. Evil
5 exists in the world in all forms, even in human
6 form. To rise above the carnage and hell
7 produced by one individual is what I wished for
8 my family. No longer would I hurt or cry, and I
9 really was a part of all the events that
10 happened in the last 14 years and will continue
11 to be. Physically I was not present for new
12 births, birthdays, graduations, family events,
13 celebrations, and even disappointments, but
14 there was -- but there, because my family
15 carries me in their hearts and their love and
16 faith has sustained each other. I hope my
17 legacy and love will live on in my dear ones,
18 and I know that they have risen above the pain
19 and suffering that could have so easily brought
20 much despair and destruction to their lives. I
21 am very proud of them and for their tenacity in
22 seeking to have this horrible matter come to
23 some closure. It is also good that the question
24 will finally be answered for the other families
25 as well.
30
1 Remember that no one so evil should ever be
2 allowed to hold control over others, and that is
3 a choice each person must make as to how they
4 live, will live their life. It is good that the
5 terror has been revealed for what it is and for
6 all to begin their lives anew without the ever
7 present shadow over them. My family has chosen
8 well and I do love them as I know they love me.
9 THE COURT: Thank you, ma'am. That
10 concludes the list of those of the victims'
11 families who desire to speak to the Court. For
12 the record, I will advise I have received
13 written victim statements and impact statements,
14 and I have read those. We will now proceed to
15 sentencing. Mr. Rader, would you please stand.
16 You are Dennis L. Rader?
17 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
18 THE COURT: Sir, based upon your plea,
19 which occurred on the 27th day of June, 2005,
20 before this Court, I once again adjudge you
21 guilty of murder in the first degree, in Count
22 One, for the murder of Joseph Otero; murder in
23 the first degree in Count Two for the murder of
24 Julie Otero; murder in the first degree in Count
25 Three for the murder of Josephine Otero; murder
31
1 in the first degree in Count Four for the murder
2 of Joseph Otero, Jr.; murder in the first degree
3 in Count Five for the murder of Kathryn Bright;
4 murder in the first degree in Count Six for the
5 murder of Shirley Vian; murder in the first
6 degree in Count Seven for the murder of Nancy
7 Fox; murder in the first degree in Count Eight
8 for the murder of Marine Hedge; murder in the
9 first degree in Count Nine for the murder of
10 Vicki Wegerle; and murder in the first degree in
11 Count Ten for the murder of Dolores E. Davis.
12 You may be seated.
13 At this time I will call upon defense
14 counsel. Who is going to speak?
15 MR. OSBURN: I will, Your Honor.
16 Should I do it here from the table?
17 THE COURT: You may. Mr. Osburn, at
18 this time do you desire to make any statements
19 on behalf of your client in mitigation of
20 punishment?
21 MR. OSBURN: Your Honor, for 31 years
22 the shadow of BTK hung over the city of Wichita,
23 Sedgwick County. It started in 1974 with the
24 murder of the Otero family, progressed to other
25 murders and through the taunting, through the
32
1 media of law enforcement.
2 And then for a period of time the BTK
3 disappeared, only to resurface in the spring of
4 2004. At that time there were numerous
5 communications that progressed in both frequency
6 and the information that they provided, and they
7 culminated with a floppy disk that was provided
8 to law enforcement that basically had
9 Mr. Rader's first name, his church, and city
10 that he lived in on this floppy disk. This disk
11 was provided to law enforcement after Mr. Rader
12 had basically communicated with them asking them
13 are you going to be able to get this information
14 off the disk. He basically knew they probably
15 could, Your Honor, even though they told him
16 they couldn't. In effect, he basically turned
17 himself in.
18 He was arrested. There were, my
19 understanding, over 200 officers sent to arrest
20 him. But the arrest was peaceful. He got in
21 the car. He said hello, Mr. Landwehr. He got
22 in and went peacefully. And then he began his
23 confession. And 95 percent of what we've heard
24 here in the last day and a half came out of that
25 confession, from the mouth of Mr. Rader. He
33
1 didn't hold back anything, as the Court is well
2 aware. Mr. Rader is a human being, Your Honor,
3 albeit a flawed one. He believes that he is
4 possessed by demons. He names these demons
5 factor X. He believes that he had these from
6 early on in childhood, and they have taken
7 control of him at various times and caused him
8 to do these acts that Your Honor has heard
9 about.
10 As soon as we got the case we found the
11 best team of psychologists that we could find to
12 have him evaluated. We were concerned whether
13 or not there might be a psychological defense
14 here. Because quite frankly, Your Honor, me and
15 I believe everybody in this audience cannot
16 conceive that these acts could have been
17 committed by a sane person. However, what we
18 would term sane and what the law determines to
19 be sane are not always the same thing.
20 And after exhaustive evaluations, which was
21 all completed prior to the arraignment on May
22 3rd, our team of psychologists determined that
23 there was no viable insanity defense in this
24 case. They noted that there were some
25 personality disorders, but nothing that rose to
34
1 the level anywhere near a psychological defense.
2 And at that time we -- we proceeded on the
3 assumption that we would be pleading guilty, and
4 at the first opportunity at the jury trial,
5 that's what we did.
6 Your Honor, despite the fact that these are
7 some horrible acts, and there's no excusing
8 that, there's no explaining that, Mr. Rader is a
9 human being, and he maintained at least a
10 semblance of a normal life. He was a husband
11 for over 30 years, a father of two children, he
12 was a church member. In fact, at the time of
13 his arrest, of course, he was president of the
14 congregation. He was active in the Cub Scouts,
15 Boy Scouts. He was a compliance officer with
16 the city of Park City, which while not
17 technically a law enforcement officer, is a
18 position of respect and authority. He would
19 monitor other people, and in fact he would issue
20 citations. Mr. Rader does not see himself as a
21 monster. He sees himself as having a monster
22 inside him that takes over and controls him.
23 The one mitigating factor that I can
24 present to the Court is Mr. Rader's cooperation
25 with law enforcement. He acknowledged his acts
35
1 right from the very start. As one of the
2 victims' family representatives said, all
3 Mr. Rader had to do was keep his mouth shut and
4 he would never have been caught, there would
5 never have been closure, we would never have
6 known who BTK was or what happened. Mr. Rader
7 was compelled, by whatever reason, to come
8 forward and to keep sending these informations
9 to the police department until it eventually
10 resulted in his arrest. And as painful as the
11 last day and a half has been, Your Honor, for
12 everyone involved, if this matter had gone to
13 trial it would have been a lot worse. By
14 Mr. Rader's cooperation, the emotional strain,
15 the expense, the time of a jury trial has been
16 avoided.
17 Mr. Rader's currently 60 years old, Your
18 Honor. His sentences on each of these counts is
19 a mandatory life sentence. Mr. Rader's been
20 aware of that from the start. We've advised
21 him. Irregardless of what the Court imposes
22 today, Mr. Rader is going to spend the rest of
23 his life in prison. There's no getting around
24 that. His acts are indeed monstrous. They were
25 heinous and atrocious. He admitted that. We
36
1 admitted that at arraignment -- or at jury
2 trial, at plea. He has acknowledged that fact.
3 Acts do not make a man, Your Honor, but it's the
4 acts that you must sentence here today. To
5 judge Mr. Rader as a human being, as a man is
6 beyond this Court's jurisdiction, and that's
7 something that Mr. Rader will have to face at a
8 later time in front of a higher being.
9 This is a sentencing, and you must impose a
10 sentence on 10 first degree murder sentence --
11 charges spread out over 17 years. Mr. Rader
12 knows what he's done, and he's placed himself
13 before the Court today by his actions of
14 communicating to the police and his detailed
15 confession.
16 When Mr. Rader was arrested and BTK caught,
17 the shadow of BTK unfortunately turned into a
18 light, a light of celebrity and a light that is
19 bad for all. And others have basked in that
20 light while condemning its source. It is time
21 for it all to end, Your Honor. Mr. Rader stands
22 before you now and places himself at your mercy.
23 THE COURT: All right. Thank you very
24 much. Mr. Rader, do you desire to say anything
25 on your own behalf in mitigation of punishment?
37
1 THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, Sedgwick
2 County, victims. I do realize that the crimes
3 I've committed -- Continue or --
4 THE COURT: You may continue.
5 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. The atrocious
6 crimes I've committed has continued. Sedgwick
7 County has a monster. I've brought the
8 community, my family, the victims dishonor.
9 There's no -- it is all self-centered. It was
10 what they call -- I would call a sexual
11 predator. Today is my final judgment for me.
12 The last couple of days in court presented by
13 the State, their PowerPoint presentation was
14 very powerful. There are a couple of things I
15 might point out toward the last, but overall
16 most of that was true. And I think Sedgwick
17 County ought to be proud that they do have a
18 good state, that the evidence was there earlier,
19 the DNA, the floppy. There was no way that I
20 was going to get out of this.
21 With remorse, responsibility, with
22 corrections, concepts of apology, the old me
23 started whatever it was, factor X, sexual
24 predator. The volcano was the building of all
25 these years was the Otero, and probably the most
38
1 devastating, upsetting to everybody is
2 Josephine. I just don't know. Self-centered,
3 very selfish, and it exploded on that day. And
4 it did continue off and on. Dishonesty,
5 definitely. Dishonesty, probably the first
6 thing to the people that I encountered, that
7 they trusted me, that I was going to tie them
8 up, take their money, and leave, and then I
9 killed them. That's dishonesty to my family,
10 that -- I would lie and cheat to be
11 self-interested. To my employers and to the
12 county, the taxpayers' money.
13 Ideal responsibility, yes, I had pride back
14 then. To some degree I'm trying to drop down to
15 that. But that's the media. I just seemed to
16 crave the attention of the media. I think
17 through the years that's quite present during
18 the presentation and all the archives they had.
19 You can understand that. The bottom line is of
20 the old selfish, very disassociated with
21 society, self-centered for my own purposes, and
22 I take that full authority on my shoulders.
23 The victims. I wrote some notes down. I
24 don't know if this is really appropriate or not.
25 And then these things came -- a lot of these
39
1 came out of the paper because I didn't -- I knew
2 the people, you all know why I chose them. But
3 I thought I'd share some things.
4 Kathleen Bright, and I hope I don't tread
5 on the media, because I did use some of this
6 from the media because I didn't know this much
7 from the people. She spent time at her
8 grandparents farm. Well, I did too as a kid. I
9 have many, many, many fond memories of that, and
10 I took that from her. She went to Valley
11 Center. I was a Valley Center high schooler for
12 two years there, walked the halls, probably the
13 same line, shared maybe the same teachers,
14 although they would have been older. She worked
15 at Coleman, just like I did, trying to fill a
16 job, as anybody would. Tried to keep, you know,
17 our heads above water. And I took that from
18 her.
19 Dolores Davis. She loved animals and I
20 worked in animal control. I realize that the
21 early years I probably did have some cruelty to
22 animals. But I don't think if anybody asks Park
23 City or anything they would say I was -- I was
24 always pretty good to animals. I have a great
25 fondness for animals. I have pets and I know
40
1 she had. And I read somewhere she had her last
2 Christmas with her family, and I did too. That
3 was a wonderful time, but I took that from her.
4 Nancy Fox, she was a wonderful person and I
5 did -- I did track her just like a predator.
6 She was a wonderful young lady, well organized,
7 hard worker. And I took her life.
8 Marine Hedge. She was a neighbor, one I
9 walked by and waved to, a gardener. I love to
10 garden, flowers. She attended church, the same
11 church I had been to with the Boy Scouts.
12 Joseph Otero. He was in the Air Force. I
13 was in the Air Force. He was a husband. I was
14 a husband. Although I always wanted to be a
15 pilot, I always had a fascination with
16 aeronautics. He was a pilot. One time I even
17 thought about taking pilot lessons. And a
18 veteran, I was a veteran. So our threads are
19 close.
20 Julie Otero is a lot like my wife, a loving
21 mother, raised kids, and she also worked at
22 Coleman.
23 Josephine. She would have been a lot like
24 my daughter at that age. Played with her Barbie
25 dolls. She liked to write poetry. I like to
41
1 write poetry. She liked to draw. I like to
2 draw. Someone mentioned that she was like peas
3 in a pod. I think that probably comes from the
4 Wichita Eagle Beacon wrote that down, give the
5 credit to them.
6 Joseph Otero, II. He was just like me at
7 one time, a boy and a dog. Again, that comes
8 from the Eagle. I have many, many, many -- many
9 memories of a dog. Excuse me. I had a lot of
10 memories as a kid with my pets. A boy and a dog
11 is a thing you have to have when you're a kid.
12 Shirley, she was in the choir, mother,
13 probably a very beloved mother, and I took her
14 life.
15 Probably out of all the people I didn't
16 know Vicki Vian very much. Although I walked by
17 her place and listened to the piano. I
18 appreciate music. That's one of the things I
19 always wanted to learn was piano, and I took her
20 life. She was also a beloved mother. She
21 attended a church that I went to once, St.
22 Andrews.
23 I hope I haven't left somebody out. I have
24 to rebuild humility, basically humbled myself
25 now. The detention center I'm going to, tried
42
1 to realize -- worked with the police department,
2 worked with my defense. Tried to realize my
3 faults, honesty. Again, I think I cooperated
4 with the police as well.
5 I -- I understand there were some smoke
6 blowing, and that was probably my demise. The
7 afterlife is smoke. The thing about JT Allen is
8 smoke. BTK story early, parts of it were smoke.
9 The problem is I did -- blew so much smoke that
10 now nobody knows facts or fiction, and that's
11 basically my demise. I have been very honest
12 with my attorneys. They've worked very hard.
13 And we met almost every day earlier, before the
14 plea, somewhat less after that. But it's
15 basically all over.
16 And Steve encouraged me not to go with an
17 early plea so he could do more. They did all
18 the things they could with the floppy, had an
19 expert come in, go over the floppy to see
20 whether there was any problems with that. They
21 did extensive research on the DNA. There is a
22 sore spot with me when they took my daughter,
23 but I understand in law enforcement you have to
24 do certain things.
25 And I think honesty, people will say I'm
43
1 not a Christian, but I believe I am. So anyway,
2 I faced up to the man himself now, my boss. I
3 think that all points to accountability and full
4 responsibility now.
5 And my remorse, I think -- I think it's
6 here. And I know the victims' families won't
7 ever be able to forgive me. I hope somewhere
8 deep down eventually that will happen.
9 When this happened, I was what I would say
10 not total at one time. Part of me only the
11 thoughts that compartmentalize. That is
12 probably as the -- the State started to show
13 today was the compartmentalization of me. And
14 that has been my biggest wreck back and forth.
15 I'm not proud of that. It's just an escape
16 mechanism, defense mechanism. I could switch
17 back and forth fairly fast. I explained to the
18 defense I was kind of like an 18-wheeler, either
19 uphill or downhill I could switch gears very
20 fast and rapidly, back and forth. And as I
21 stand here in this humble way maybe people think
22 I've done that and gone back to
23 compartmentalize, but I don't think so. So
24 anyway, it's given me the face to see today and
25 not the things in the past, only remorse --
44
1 Corrections. I accept full responsibility.
2 I'm going to a penal institution, full board,
3 and I do not expect anything but the Hard 40
4 today. I expected that on the plea. That's why
5 I stepped up to the plea. I knew after I talked
6 to the police, the evidence, there wasn't any
7 way I was really going to get out of this unless
8 we found some way of -- some evidence that was
9 just totally out of it. And the trial would
10 have been a long, drawn out, to the plea. There
11 was no way that I was ever going to get out of
12 this. I think the corrections, I'm away from
13 society now. I'll do my healing process there
14 as well as I can, start my new chapter in life.
15 And I suppose in all good time, as
16 everybody knows Rader has to complain a little
17 bit. So I would like to do some minor ones.
18 Not because I want to complain today, but I want
19 to set the record. This is my last time.
20 Probably the biggest problem I have right now,
21 and we're still trying to answer is what
22 happened to Mendoza. I had a trust with that
23 person, the psychiatrist. The defense is
24 working on it, I know other people are working
25 on it. But that was a -- I just don't know what
45
1 happened, and maybe that will happen.
2 Another one is the -- and I -- I'm just
3 basically expressing this. I don't have control
4 on it, but wish somebody would take heart to it
5 is the lien on my house. That final victim, as
6 Mr. Davis, said is my wife. She --
7 (Sotto voce conversation)
8 THE DEFENDANT: Excuse me, Judge.
9 Anyway, get back to that. She is my final
10 victim, that and my family. She knew nothing
11 about this, and yet the laws, as I understand
12 it, is the lien went on the house because I have
13 property. There's a lot of defendants that
14 stand up here, don't have anything to go after.
15 I know this is very expensive. Probably the
16 defense is running somewhere 80, 90,000, just
17 about what the house sold for. If we'd have
18 gone to trial it would have been millions and
19 years. So I just basically ask that whoever
20 does that final judgment, that they think about
21 my wife.
22 The other one is, not a biggie, it's not
23 this last issue, but I'd ask for my wallet so I
24 could get some personal pictures out of it. I
25 was hoping the defense would have a court order
46
1 that before I leave today I could go through
2 that wallet and take some family pictures. But
3 that's not a big issue, because I understand
4 through code of ethics the defense will turn
5 that probably over to the family as well as my
6 clothes. So those are really the only
7 complaints.
8 Except for PowerPoint. I don't -- and
9 again I don't want to pick on the law
10 enforcement. They've done a very good job, but
11 I do want to clarify a few things just for the
12 records, because this is basically my final say.
13 First of all, there was two actors that
14 were brought out, the chain walk, or John Wayne
15 and James Bond. The action of that with Kevin
16 was the shooting, not because I stood up and
17 shot him. It's because when I was working with
18 the police, that was what I call a quick draw,
19 just like that (indicating). That's what I call
20 the John Wayne shot. It's not that he would do
21 something like that.
22 Secondly, we fought and for us to fight, he
23 had to have both his hands open. The PowerPoint
24 said that he basically stood up, he was tied and
25 I shot him, and that is incorrect. We fought
47
1 and I backed off. He had his hands out, and I
2 shot him again. And again, these are only
3 minor. It does not make any difference. It's
4 probably irrelevant. I just want to set the
5 record straight and that's all, sir.
6 Vian, it was -- the PowerPoint was
7 perceived that I was strangling Shirley, I
8 stopped to comfort the kids. That's just the
9 opposite. She or I both put the kids back in
10 the bathroom, comforted them there before we
11 went in and what happened. So the toys and all
12 that were put in there earlier. It's basically
13 to clarify that on that.
14 And this is really minor, although it makes
15 you wonder whether the information is tainted or
16 not, the evidence, or makes you speculate what
17 law enforcement did do, although it looked like
18 they did a good job, a hundred percent.
19 The Dolores Davis graves, they put back and
20 forth. If anybody knows anything about geology,
21 structure, those trees and stuff were not at
22 Lake Cheney. They were over in the eastern part
23 of the United States. And those pictures that
24 came in the mail were not -- were not the other
25 ones, they were all from the grave site at
48
1 Cheney.
2 Probably the most damaging to me was the
3 pornography they displayed. Yes, they have
4 pornography of what I drew. But I didn't see
5 where they had a lot of pornography, but they
6 brought two pictures out. Family will know I
7 didn't own a camper. I had a pickup with a
8 camper top, but I didn't have any shelves in
9 that. So basically the evidence was totally
10 tainted. They either picked up a picture from
11 somewhere else or inserted it or didn't realize
12 it. That may have been a relative, I'm not
13 sure, but I would think if they had more
14 pornography they would have showed it. That's
15 basically the clarifications.
16 The other thing is with the law
17 enforcement, there seemed to be -- I was
18 portrayed as a dog catcher. I did go to HA law
19 enforcement. I felt like I did have a rapport
20 with the law enforcement people during the
21 confession, as they probably said in the paper,
22 I'd still probably be talking if the defense
23 person didn't show up. We had a good rapport.
24 I almost felt like they were my buddies. At one
25 time I asked about LaMunyon maybe coming in and
49
1 having a cup of coffee with me. So there was a
2 rapport. I have always had a great respect for
3 law enforcement, although I wore a black hat
4 instead of a white hat.
5 Thanks. I can't believe the people that
6 have helped me on this. Starting with, I think
7 you as a society have to -- even though I am a
8 criminal, I think you have to appreciate the
9 police department. They have done a lot of
10 work. Even though it took long time, they
11 gathered evidence, they had that evidence. When
12 they got the key suspect, they zeroed in on them
13 very rapidly. So they have the dedication.
14 Like Mr. Landwehr for all these years is great.
15 So I think Sedgwick County really has a good
16 police force.
17 Defense. This has been a unique, probably
18 a different type case than they've ever had.
19 We've had our ups and downs, but also they've
20 been good. It's just like a new learning curve.
21 It's just a new curve. And the media has just
22 been terrible. I worked with the media
23 afterwards. It -- I mean, it just -- it's just
24 tremendous. They've done very good. Sarah has
25 probably been my -- probably my work horse. I
50
1 really appreciate her. She's done a lot of good
2 work. Steve, he had to keep heads on all this.
3 It was very hard, very hard for him.
4 I want to go ahead, since I worked with
5 defense very close, to give them a personal,
6 make sure I go through the list here. I already
7 mentioned Steve, Sarah McKinnon. Everybody
8 knows Steve. Another one that helped me was
9 Jama Mitchell. I think she's on a case today
10 probably, is that correct, In El Dorado. Okay.
11 Lea Ann Standrich, she was a social worker that
12 did a lot of research for me earlier. I
13 appreciate her helping that. Jenny Blaine,
14 special investigator, and the Janie Chambers,
15 she's the one that cut my hair, brought my
16 clothes up. So I have -- they were basically my
17 family, so I appreciate that.
18 On professional staff, although we have
19 some questions with Robert J. Mendoza and what
20 happened there, I think that in time will be
21 solved, but I still have to give him credit for
22 coming in and helping me and working with me.
23 And I'm sure -- I hope I pronounce that right,
24 Paula K. Walters, she was the other doctor that
25 came in and they were all from Cambridge
51
1 Forensic Society or Consultants. So I really
2 appreciate the defense. They've done a lot for
3 me, kept me advised.
4 Sedgwick County Detention Center. I was
5 really scared when I first came in here, never
6 been -- I've never been arrested before. I
7 really didn't know what to look -- I was
8 basically 43 days, 42, 43 days up there in
9 isolation. First the officers, the patrol
10 officers, they call them deputies there, pod
11 deputies. They didn't know me, I didn't know
12 them. But they finally opened up and they
13 became human, and I think they realized I was
14 human too. Eventually I moved over to pod 2,
15 and that's very much camaraderie with what I
16 call the dirty dozen or the peas in the pod.
17 They were a bunch of great guys. Most of those
18 guys are now -- I have a lot of respect. I sat
19 down with them, all have crimes, but there's --
20 you basically build a camaraderie with those
21 type people.
22 The people who moved me around. I'm what
23 they call -- I call it hot pepper or habanera
24 red. We have special movers. Again, I hope I
25 pronounce these -- from the detention area. I
52
1 hope I pronounce these people's last names
2 right. If I leave somebody out, I apologize for
3 that. One I have is Robert Hinshaw, Captain
4 Barbara Maxwell, Captain Gwen Kurtz, Lieutenant
5 Larry Bratz, Sergeant, he's my main Sergeant,
6 he's the one that's been very, very close with
7 me, worked with me, David Millen, and I have a
8 lot of respect for him. He's been my main
9 Sergeant.
10 On the judicial, I'll probably mess up this
11 last name, but it's Daniel Bardezbain, and I
12 messed that up. I'm sorry. Brad Hoch. There's
13 many, many, many more beyond those. I would be
14 here a long time, so I do appreciate all those
15 people that helped.
16 Pastor Clark. He has been my main man,
17 come to see me every day -- or not every day,
18 excuse me, at least once a week, sometimes twice
19 a week. If anybody I was dishonest to was that
20 man right there, under the house of God created
21 these things, these atrocious acts, and for him
22 to -- for him to stay with me and remain strong,
23 well, he's a good man. I appreciate that. He
24 also went with me early this week, went through
25 confession, I sat down, went through each of the
53
1 people I killed, confessed on that. And I felt
2 the strengthening of some bonds there at that
3 time with him.
4 Family, the last victims. I don't even
5 want to start with them. You know, there's --
6 they're still supportive a little bit. My
7 wife's gone on, divorced, she's trying to stay
8 out of harm's way. Since my kids are away, I
9 don't get much letters or anything from them,
10 but they're basically supportive.
11 (Sotto voce conversation)
12 THE DEFENDANT: Friends. Without
13 friends a person, I don't think in this -- what
14 I've been here 175, 176 days, you couldn't
15 survive without friends, if you didn't have
16 family to support you, you didn't have something
17 or somebody come to you like Pastor Clark, you'd
18 go down, just mentally you'd go down. So
19 friends have been a very key part.
20 People in the pod, pod deputies, Sergeant,
21 although they can't have a real friendly
22 relationship, they're friends. I got this out
23 this morning, the other day when I was working
24 out. This comes from the daily devotions, a
25 Christian book. It's called Touched By a
54
1 Stranger, which is an article, and at the bottom
2 there's an article. It's by Hess. There isn't
3 a first name for it, but is something like a
4 friend would do. I would appreciate it. Like
5 refreshing rain in summer, the gentle breeze in
6 spring. Just a little gift of kindness, joy
7 someone's heart can bring.
8 With the media exposure my family basically
9 had to almost just stay away, so I really didn't
10 have any support. There was one people -- one
11 person that stepped up, Christina Casarona, that
12 really helped, and I really appreciate her
13 support. There's another one out on the west
14 coast, Andrew Pershaw. He's another Christian
15 and really supportive. I would have gone down a
16 long time ago without their support, so I do
17 want to mention their names.
18 Christian Bible verse I found and I think
19 helping me, will help me, leading me. This is
20 John 8:12. I am the light of the world. He who
21 follows me shall not walk in darkness but have
22 light of life. Now that I've confessed, put
23 myself out to let everybody know what's going
24 on, I expect to be healed and have life, and
25 hopefully someday God will accept me.
55
1 I think Sedgwick County, myself, we speak
2 of a man as an evil man, a dark side is there,
3 but now I think light is beginning to shine. So
4 I appreciate the family and friends and all I
5 can be thankful for. And I think that will keep
6 me from finally going to the dark side early on.
7 Finally, my final apologize to the victims'
8 families. There's no way that I can ever repay
9 them. That's all, sir.
10 THE COURT: All right. Thank you very
11 much. Does the State care to be heard?
12 MS. FOULSTON: Oh, certainly, Your
13 Honor.
14 THE COURT: Are you going to speak on
15 behalf of the State?
16 MS. FOULSTON: I will, Your Honor.
17 THE COURT: All right. You may
18 proceed.
19 MS. FOULSTON: Thank you. If I may be
20 seated from here and do that?
21 THE COURT: You may.
22 MS. FOULSTON: As a matter of
23 clarification, I know that things in hearings
24 oftentimes take an emotional twist or turn.
25 Mr. Rader did not turn himself in and go
56
1 peacefully. Mr. Rader was caught and intended
2 to commit an 11th murder, but for the actions of
3 the Wichita Police Department in bringing him to
4 the justice system. That was just as a matter
5 of clarification.
6 We are here today on ten homicides, and
7 under the statutes of Kansas Statutes Annotated
8 21-4606, the Kansas sentencing statute, the
9 Court must look at the underlying nature of the
10 statute in making determinations on the
11 defendant's sentencing.
12 What we are looking at are a number of
13 different portions of that statute. The first
14 section of the statute being Rader's prior
15 criminal history. I believe the Court has seen
16 that while in the past Mr. Rader had not
17 developed any criminal history on NCIC or any
18 offender statutes, but that through the years
19 and in each of those different and several cases
20 in which he was involved, there were a plethora
21 of individual crimes that he committed while
22 committing each of those independent crimes
23 themselves, including stalking and aggravated
24 kidnapping, battery, first degree murder as an
25 attempt, aggravated burglary, burglary, theft,
57
1 criminal theft --
2 THE COURT: Would you please slow
3 down.
4 MS. FOULSTON: -- aggravated indecent
5 liberties --
6 THE COURT: Slow down so the reporter
7 can get this.
8 MS. FOULSTON: Oh, I'm very sorry. I
9 was going through them rapidly so that -- not
10 for that reason.
11 During the testimony we noted that other
12 criminal activities that were outside the
13 statute of limitations had been committed by
14 Mr. Rader between the years of 1974 and 1991.
15 That included stalking, aggravated kidnapping,
16 aggravated battery, attempted first degree
17 murder, aggravated burglary, burglary, theft,
18 criminal threat, aggravated indecent liberties
19 with a child, aggravated sexual battery, animal
20 cruelty, misuse of public funds, and terrorism
21 in connection with the terroristic acts towards
22 the Sedgwick County community. And while those
23 were not independently charged because the
24 statute of limitations, they certainly did form
25 part of Rader's prior criminal history and
58
1 should be taken into consideration in addition
2 to the actual ones that were within the statute
3 of limitations and those that have been charged
4 in this case.
5 In the prior history of Mr. Rader you will
6 also note that even as a young person the
7 defendant began, by his own admission, killing
8 animals and had a -- a life that is very
9 suggestive of sexual predation. Animal killing,
10 as well as other crimes, including thefts, even
11 from his own church, thefts in college, and also
12 the activities that would surround what one
13 would consider to be and name him as a
14 pedophile. So we're talking about not only an
15 individual who commits homicides, but one who is
16 a sexual predator and even more categorized as a
17 pedophile. So we're dealing here with a
18 dangerous offender with a prior criminal
19 history.
20 In addition, we're talking about an
21 individual who in the statutory framework is one
22 that cannot be rehabilitated by the nature of
23 the crimes. So we're talking about punishing an
24 offender and keeping him away from society for
25 the benefit of society and for society as a
59
1 whole, not to have an individual of his
2 predilection loose again in our communities.
3 And so in that nature, we present the
4 information to the Court consisting of the
5 testimony and relating to each and every crime,
6 and the -- the complete nature of those crimes,
7 including the horror that was attended to each
8 crime, the stalking nature of it, the
9 preplanning and premeditation, and the sense
10 that Mr. Rader did this not for any reason
11 other than for his own gratification, and the
12 gratification again was predatory in nature and
13 sexually predatory in nature.
14 Most of these criminal activities, as the
15 State has shown, were those that caused not only
16 harm to the individual, but also harm to the
17 community. As Mr. Rader began to bring the
18 community into this by his threatening and
19 terroristic activities through the media, in
20 wanting to make sure that the community was
21 aware that they could be next.
22 We have these premature deaths of ten
23 individuals under these most egregious and
24 terrifying circumstances. But not only that,
25 the pitiless conduct of Rader in carrying out
60
1 the deaths as he selected these individuals from
2 random, leaving the community in a complete
3 state of shock and dismay as to whether or not
4 they might be next. And as we go through these
5 30 years of Mr. Rader being in our community and
6 committing these acts in anonymity, individuals
7 were changing the locks on their doors, each
8 night checking their telephone wires to make
9 sure that their wires had not been cut, doing
10 all that they could to protect themselves and
11 their homes. And having lived through that
12 period of time, as many individuals in this --
13 in this room had, the -- the wave that hit our
14 community when each of these particular
15 homicides occurred was resurged again as the
16 next one would occur, or at any time when media
17 was contacted and the names again resurfaced in
18 the paper. And again, that feeling of terror
19 again struck our community. And each time of
20 that, any of those activities occurred, again
21 the community was infused again with terror and
22 uncertainty over what was going to happen.
23 The section entitled 21-4603 requires that
24 the Court take into consideration whether Rader
25 intended that his criminal conduct would cause
61
1 or threaten serious harm. And I believe that
2 the knowledge of what was happening within our
3 community is very clearly satisfied by Rader's
4 own admissions, by his communications with the
5 law enforcement officers, by the information
6 that we have put out during the last day and a
7 half. And you know, in part of this testimony,
8 again I quote from his testimony given to the
9 law enforcement officers, he stated, gee, you
10 know, a guy kills somebody in premeditation,
11 went home and got rid of the stuff. The guy
12 knew exactly what he was doing. Well, yeah.
13 When Dr. Jeckle or Dr. Hyde takes over he
14 certainly does, because normally I'm a pretty
15 nice guy. I'm sorry, but I am. You know, you
16 know I've raised kids. I had a wife and, you
17 know, president of the church, been in the
18 scouts, and it goes on and on. But yeah, I have
19 a mean streak in me and occasionally it flares
20 up and takes control. So what, do you want more
21 description of this? And in continuing his
22 discussions with law enforcement he was always
23 able to tell them and explain to them that he
24 knew what was happening in the community, and
25 that this was all part of his scheme and plan.
62
1 In analyzing the degree of culpability that
2 the defendant would have in his conduct toward
3 victims, you always look at the time degree of
4 provocation. Under Section 4606, Section 4, we
5 have found there has been no degree of
6 provocation in the killings of any of the
7 victims in these cases. Mr. Rader was not
8 provoked into any of these homicides.
9 We also find that there is, under Section
10 5, no substantial grounds tending to excuse or
11 justify his criminal conduct. Though failing to
12 establish a defense, we still find that there is
13 no excuse or mitigating circumstances.
14 Under Subsection 6, 21-4606, there's a
15 question that the Court must respond to as to
16 whether or not the victims of the crimes induced
17 or facilitated its commission. And again, we
18 find that there was no action by the victims
19 that would have induced or facilitated the
20 commission of the crimes upon them.
21 Under Subsection 21-4606, Subsection 6,
22 again, the Court must determine whether
23 Mr. Rader has or will compensate the victims of
24 his conduct for the damage or injury sustained.
25 Regardless of the fact that we would be asking
63
1 for restitution, it is unlikely and in the cases
2 of a homicide the likelihood of recompense for
3 deaths of individuals should not be considered
4 in sentencing an individual as anything that
5 would mitigate the sentence for an individual
6 after a homicide case. So that should not be
7 even a consideration.
8 In those cases we feel that there is
9 adequate statutory authority for going and
10 sentencing on the cases, Counts One through
11 Nine, on the maximum sentencing of 15 years to
12 life in prison, with a mandatory sentence of 15
13 years for the parole eligibility.
14 When we get to the second part of this,
15 which would be the Hard 40, looking at the case
16 of Dolores Davis there is significant data and
17 information that was testified to and in his own
18 words from the defendant and in his own writing,
19 information that was put forth regarding the
20 time frame in which the death of Dolores Davis
21 took place and what she knew at the time of her
22 death. I don't think that anyone could have put
23 it more fittingly within the statute and the
24 case of State v. McClanahan or the case of State
25 v. Spry (Ph.), that the impending death was well
64
1 recognized by Mrs. Davis as Mr. Rader
2 contemplated it to occur that way and also
3 detailed it in his notes that she knew in
4 advance that she was going to be killed, begged
5 him for mercy, and for two to three minutes in
6 anticipation of her death was aware that he was
7 killing her.
8 And in fact, under State v. McClanahan,
9 found at 254 Kansas 104, specifically at page
10 130, the Court has stated a crime is committed
11 in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel
12 manner when the perpetrator inflicts serious
13 mental anguish or serious physical abuse before
14 the victim's death. Mental anguish includes a
15 victim's uncertainty as to her ultimate fate.
16 In the case of Dolores Davis we have asked
17 that the Court consider two aggravating factors.
18 That being that the crime was especially
19 heinous, atrocious or cruel, the manner being
20 the strangulation; her knowledge of her
21 impending death; her request to him not to kill
22 her when she knew that he was bound and
23 determined to do so; the length of time that it
24 took to kill her; and the fact that she was
25 aware of that. Also, the fact that he had prior
65
1 to her death changed her from handcuffs to a
2 different kind of binding and spent a number
3 of -- several minutes with her and had talked
4 with her about the fact that she had children
5 and she knew that she was going to be killed
6 because the manner and method. And it is a --
7 and in addition, all of the killings of the --
8 you know, the Hard 40 would have been applicable
9 to each and every one of the other cases had
10 they been within the statute permitting it.
11 Because each and every one of them, it was part
12 of his modus operandi to -- to the torture part
13 of his killing of people, was to enjoy them
14 expiring before his eyes with their knowledge
15 that he was killing them. But unfortunately,
16 the statute did not provide that in all those
17 cases until 1990, and that is the -- the test
18 that only applies after the other killings had
19 already been accomplished.
20 We also ask that the aggravating factor of
21 the premeditated killing of Dolores Davis was
22 done in order to prevent or avoid a lawful
23 arrest or prosecution. And certainly as she
24 said, had she lived, she would have gone to the
25 police as a witness, and certainly that would
66
1 have foiled his continued success in eluding the
2 police. So we are therefore asking that the
3 evidence is supported not only by his writings,
4 not only by the photo, the picture that he drew
5 that specifically states -- shows her with her
6 eyes open and says PJ dogside moments before her
7 death, and also the statements that he had made
8 directly to Captain Sam Houston, are all
9 supportive of the Hard 40 sentence. So in
10 adding those years up, we would ask that he
11 receive ten life sentences, with a Hard 40 on
12 the Dolores Davis case, which would be Count
13 Ten, which would add up numerically to 175 years
14 without the possibility of parole.
15 Now, the -- the State would also ask that
16 these cases all be run consecutively. They were
17 completed over a period of time within a life
18 span of the -- of a young adult of 30 years, and
19 Mr. Rader did those starting as a young man
20 until he reached the age of 59, and during this
21 time hid from law enforcement. There would have
22 been other crimes that would have been added had
23 he been caught at various stages at any time and
24 lives could have been spared. But he continued
25 to elude law enforcement officers, continued to
67
1 live in our community with a mask on his
2 personality. And while one might say, you know,
3 I was living a normal life, there was nothing
4 normal about Mr. Rader's existence. There was
5 nothing normal about anything he did. And
6 whatever he did was to -- to lessen the ability
7 to identify him. I mean, nobody would walk down
8 the street and say, look, there's the bogeyman
9 or, gosh, you look just like BTK or, gosh, isn't
10 it strange, you -- you know, I think you're
11 probably BTK. It was not that kind of an
12 identity. This was a man who hid his life and
13 hid his deeds in order to continue his ability
14 to continue his sexual passions. This is a man
15 who might say he's human and not a monster.
16 This is a man who might stand up in court today
17 and -- and act like he has tears in his eyes or
18 crocodile tears. But the fact is, when I saw
19 him on Dateline, maybe I missed something, but
20 this was an individual who loved the media
21 attention, enjoyed being BTK, and said he was a
22 star and seemed to relish the fact that he had
23 committed all these homicides. And today in
24 court, when he faces sentencing, this is a
25 completely wilted flower or crashed meteor. But
68
1 something's different when he's facing the
2 bottom line, than it was when he was being
3 interviewed and talking very proudly about all
4 the things he had done over those 30 years.
5 So I think that we have a better idea of
6 who this person is and know that he's an
7 individual that just hid within the umbrella
8 of -- or under the umbrella of being a husband,
9 a Cub Scout leader, and held positions of
10 respect and authority as a pretty good guise in
11 order to be able to get away with what he was
12 doing. And obviously even today we even get
13 critiqued by someone who wants to be in control
14 as to how our PowerPoint presentations are done,
15 you know. And then we also get the Golden Globe
16 awards with Mr. Rader taking control of the
17 courtroom in order to give his final criminal
18 justice awards of the week.
19 This is not somebody who is -- is acting
20 like a normal criminal defendant. This is an
21 individual who's now facing sentencing, and in
22 taking the sentencing into consideration, we
23 believe that these sentences ought to be
24 boxcarred one after the other until there is no
25 light at the end of the tunnel. And there's a
69
1 good reason for that. Individuals who are
2 predators, who are pedophiles, who are
3 anti-social, who are individuals who have
4 attachment disorders and psychological problems,
5 whose lives are built around sexual perversions,
6 drawing about them, thinking about them, and
7 getting erections over looking at a drawing on a
8 table, just are not built like the rest of us
9 and need to be put somewhere where they don't
10 get crayons and where they don't get paper and
11 where they don't get newspapers so they can clip
12 out pictures of little girls in their underwear
13 so that they can lick the bathing suits off of
14 them for their own sexual pleasures.
15 Now, you know, it's pitiable for Mr. Rader
16 to stand here looking all pale and pasty and say
17 how sorry he is. Well, that's usually the
18 culmination of what happens when defendants go
19 to their last chance in order to convince a
20 judge, you know, gosh, I'm really sorry. Well
21 what else do you say after you killed ten
22 people?
23 He doesn't have the ability to be arrogant
24 today. And you know, this is the first time
25 we've had him say well, golly gee, I'm sorry,
70
1 with tears in his eyes. We passed him tissues.
2 That's the least we could do in this particular
3 case. But the best that we could do is to
4 ensure that when he goes to prison, that we
5 don't have to worry about even the society of
6 prison, that we don't have to worry --
7 THE COURT: I think we're getting a
8 little bit beyond --
9 MS. FOULSTON: No, we're not, Your
10 Honor, and let me --
11 THE COURT: Mrs. Foulston.
12 MS. FOULSTON: I'm sorry, Your Honor.
13 THE COURT: All right. Do you have
14 anything further to say?
15 MS. FOULSTON: Yes, I do. I'm quoting
16 to you from the statute, K.S.A. 4603. This is
17 the KDOC statute for further recommendations to
18 KDOC. And that is where I was going. In our
19 statutes, in the KDOC we have long made
20 recommendations to them about what we would ask
21 to come from our district court, who is and has
22 been privy to all of the information about an
23 individual inmate.
24 THE COURT: I'm well aware of those
25 portions of the statute.
71
1 MS. FOULSTON: That is what we are
2 asking for in our recommendations.
3 In those recommendations, Your Honor, we
4 are asking that this defendant be prohibited
5 from possessing, receiving or creating any
6 visual images of human beings or animals. I
7 have this typed for you. When I read it into
8 the record, Your Honor, I will hand it directly
9 to you, if you intend to include any of those in
10 your findings. We would ask that he cannot
11 possess, receive or create any typed or
12 handwritten or computer-generated documents that
13 describe sexual or murderous fantasies or
14 intent. That he not be able to possess or
15 receive or create inanimate objects that can be
16 used to resemble human or animal forms. That he
17 not be permitted to view or listen or read any
18 media press story or report regarding the
19 murders that are the basis for his conviction.
20 And Your Honor, I believe Ms. Parker
21 earlier gave you and defense counsel a stack of
22 case law supporting each and every one of these
23 recommendations. These are constitutionally
24 permissible requests that are supported by the
25 cases that have been given to you, that he not
72
1 be permitted to, on -- there's certain
2 requirements on video, audio recordings, and
3 that they be done for legitimate law enforcement
4 purposes, and video, audio recordings for
5 legitimate legal purposes are allowed, et
6 cetera. And I'm going to hand those
7 recommendations to the Court, and those were the
8 ones that we wanted to put in for the record,
9 and they are all supported by the cases. And
10 that would be the Pelt (Ph.) case and all of the
11 other constitutional cases that we have given
12 the Court earlier. And we're not asking for any
13 unconstitutional bans or access, and the
14 interest of the media and the press is still
15 protected under those cases. But it all goes to
16 the recommendations we want to assure that DOC
17 knows that the Court has been aware of,
18 specifically on the -- the pedophilic issues and
19 the other drawings and other issues. What?
20 (Sotto voce conversation)
21 MS. PARKER: Your Honor, we would like
22 leave to add those to the journal entry that I
23 believe that the Court may have reviewed a draft
24 of that the State has previously presented. We
25 have had contact with the Secretary of
73
1 Corrections in regards to receipt of any
2 recommendations by this Court, and it is my
3 understanding that they would be willing to
4 accept any recommendations by this Court and
5 consider them in determining how the terms and
6 conditions of Mr. Rader's incarceration will be
7 handled.
8 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
9 Has the defense seen these requested
10 recommendations?
11 MR. OSBURN: I have not, Your Honor.
12 I was handed a pile of cases right at lunch
13 break and, of course, I have not had time to
14 review them. None of them appear to be from our
15 jurisdiction. They're federal cases from all
16 over the country. We are talking about a first
17 amendment issue here, Your Honor. And quite
18 frankly, I think the State should have given us
19 adequate notice that they intended to request
20 this, so that we would have had time to prepare
21 a response. We were not aware that they
22 intended to request this, and I think at this
23 time the Court should not make any
24 recommendations since defense hasn't had
25 adequate notice of this question.
74
1 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
2 Anything further by the State?
3 MS. FOULSTON: Your Honor, those
4 recommendations are in the statute. We
5 discussed them earlier and we gave him the
6 cases. I'm sorry I didn't bring a copy up for
7 you. I'll be happy to get you a copy right
8 away.
9 THE COURT: Anything further?
10 MS. FOULSTON: No, Your Honor.
11 THE COURT: All right. Does anyone
12 know of any legal reason why the Court should
13 not now pronounce sentence?
14 MR. OSBURN: No, Your Honor.
15 THE COURT: All right. Well, I will
16 state for the record the only available sentence
17 in all of these cases is life. The only
18 difference between these various sentences is
19 that in regards to Count Ten, there is available
20 to the Court a sentence referred to commonly as
21 the Hard 40 sentence.
22 In regards to Count One, I would ask that
23 you stand, Mr. Rader. It will be the judgment,
24 order and sentence of the Court that you, Dennis
25 L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of Sedgwick
75
1 County, Kansas, and by him delivered to the
2 custody of the Secretary of Corrections to serve
3 a term of life for the murder, premeditated
4 murder of Joseph Otero.
5 In regards to Count Two, it will be the
6 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
7 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
8 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
9 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
10 serve the term of life for the premeditated
11 murder of Julie Otero.
12 In regards to Count Three, it will be the
13 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
14 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
15 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
16 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
17 serve a term of life for the premeditated murder
18 of Josephine Otero.
19 In regards to Count Four, it will be the
20 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
21 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
22 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
23 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
24 serve a term of life for the premeditated murder
25 of Joseph Otero, Jr.
76
1 In regards to Count Five, it will be the
2 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
3 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
4 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
5 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
6 serve the term of life for the death,
7 premeditated murder of Kathryn Bright.
8 In regards to Count Six, it will be the
9 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
10 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
11 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
12 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
13 serve the term of life for the premeditated
14 murder of Shirley Vian.
15 In regards to Count Seven, it will be the
16 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
17 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
18 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
19 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
20 serve the term of life for the premeditated
21 murder of Nancy Fox.
22 In regards to Count Eight, it will be the
23 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
24 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
25 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
77
1 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
2 serve the term of life for the premeditated
3 murder of Marine Hedge.
4 In regards to Count Nine, it will be the
5 judgment, order and sentence of the Court that
6 you, Dennis L. Rader, be taken by the sheriff of
7 Sedgwick County, Kansas, and by him delivered to
8 the custody of the Secretary of Corrections to
9 serve the term of life for the premeditated
10 murder of Vicki Wegerle.
11 In regards to Count Ten, the State has
12 properly filed with the Court a request to
13 impose sentence pursuant to the Hard 40 statute,
14 as it is commonly required -- referred to,
15 excuse me, that was done on the 27th of --
16 excuse me. That was done actually on or about
17 the 3rd day of May, 2005. There were two
18 allegations of aggravated circumstances. Those
19 being that the defendant committed the crime in
20 order to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest for
21 prosecution. I find that the evidence in this
22 case and also pursuant to State versus
23 Higgenbotham, 264 Kansas 593; State versus
24 Marsh; State versus Bailey, which is a case I
25 prosecuted; State versus Walker, also a case I
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1 prosecuted, and that factor does in fact exist.
2 An additional factor that was the factor of
3 this being especially heinous, cruel -- heinous
4 atrocious or cruel manner that the homicides
5 were committed in, based upon the evidence which
6 I did hear from Deputy Captain Sam Houston, in
7 regards to the fact that the victim, Dolores
8 Davis, in your opinion, knew what was going to
9 happen to her, knew that you were going to kill
10 her, and you took two to three minutes to
11 suffocate her, that that is a homicide committed
12 in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel
13 manner.
14 It will therefore be the judgment, order
15 and sentence of the Court that you, Dennis L.
16 Rader, be taken by the sheriff of Sedgwick
17 County, Kansas, and by him delivered to the
18 custody of the Secretary of Corrections to serve
19 a term of life for which you will not be parole
20 eligible until the expiration of 40 years.
21 MR. O'CONNOR: Your Honor?
22 THE COURT: Yes.
23 MR. O'CONNOR: If I could interrupt.
24 The findings that you've made regarding the
25 aggravating factors, I believe the law says that
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1 you must make a finding that those have been
2 proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
3 THE COURT: I am going to do that.
4 MR. O'CONNOR: Okay. And that they're
5 not outweighed by mitigation.
6 THE COURT: I am going to do that as
7 well. I will pronounce that sentence. As I
8 indicated, you will not be parole eligible for
9 40 years. I have found that those aggravating
10 factors existed, and I will find that those
11 aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt
12 outweigh any mitigating factors and
13 circumstances which exist.
14 I have heard some statements in regards to
15 mitigating factors, but no evidence has been
16 produced. The statements that I've heard in
17 regards to mitigating factors are that you had
18 cooperated with law enforcement and have not in
19 fact taken the case through trial. I do not
20 find that those outweigh the aggravating factors
21 existing herein.
22 I will assess the cost to the defendant.
23 I will give the parties approximately 30 days to
24 make determinations in regards to restitution
25 and miscellaneous court costs. Also, I will
80
1 give the parties 30 days to argue relative to
2 the recommendations of conditions of
3 incarcerations. All the Court can do under the
4 statutes in existence at the time is to make
5 recommendations. It is entirely up to the
6 Secretary of Corrections what they will or will
7 not do.
8 All right. I would suggest that you obtain
9 a date for hearing these particular matters.
10 Please obtain that date from my aide. Is there
11 anything further to put on the record at this
12 time?
13 MS. FOULSTON: Your Honor, only as to
14 the evidence. We'll withdraw --
15 THE COURT: Well, the evidence at this
16 juncture will be held and kept by the court.
17 MS. FOULSTON: Okay.
18 THE COURT: None of that evidence is
19 of intrinsic value, so far as jewelry or money,
20 nor is it of any danger, such as a firearm.
21 MS. FOULSTON: Okay.
22 THE COURT: So I will in fact instruct
23 the reporter to take the items of physical
24 evidence into her custody.
25 MS. FOULSTON: Okay.
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1 THE COURT: Anything further?
2 MS. FOULSTON: Not by the State.
3 MR. OSBURN: Not from the defense,
4 Your Honor.
5 THE COURT: All right. Thank you very
6 much. I would request that counsel join me in
7 chambers.
8 (A brief recess was had, after which
9 the defendant was returned into court
10 and the following proceedings were
11 had.)
12 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Rader is
13 back in the courtroom. In fact, I haven't
14 officially closed the record. The sentences
15 which I imposed will run consecutive, one to the
16 other. The record will now be closed.
17 (END OF PROCEEDINGS)
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1 STATE OF KANSAS )
) ss:
2 COUNTY OF SEDGWICK )
3 C E R T I F I C A T E
4 I, Cindy A. Tozier, a Certified Shorthand
5 Reporter, under and by virtue of the laws of the
6 State of Kansas, and a regularly appointed, qualified
7 and acting official reporter of the Eighteenth
8 Judicial District of the State of Kansas, do hereby
9 certify that as such official reporter, I was present
10 at and reported in machine shorthand the above and
11 foregoing proceedings in Case No. 05 CR 498, heard on
12 August 18, 2005.
13 That thereafter, upon the request of Mr. Tim
14 Rogers with The Wichita Eagle, I personally prepared
15 the foregoing transcript, by means of computer-aided
16 transcription, and that said transcript is a true and
17 correct copy of my shorthand notes, all to the best
18 of my knowledge and ability.
19 SIGNED, OFFICIALLY SEALED, and DELIVERED, this
20 18th day of August, 2005.
21
22 _______________________________
Cindy A. Tozier, CSR, RPR
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