Why We Love Serial Killers by Scott Bonn

Author:Scott Bonn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

In this first message to authorities, Rader described his uncontrollable urge to kill as a monster that lived inside him. This letter clearly demonstrates how much he wanted to dictate and control his public image as a killer. Although it was unsigned by Rader, in a postscript he requested to be called the “BTK Strangler.” By giving himself a brand name, Rader demonstrated his narcissism, as well as his desire to attain the criminal notoriety of the Zodiac Killer or Jack the Ripper.

In an ironic twist of fate, Rader soon got a job at the Wichita office of ADT Security Services, a home security company. He worked at ADT for fifteen years, between 1974 and 1989. According to the Associated Press, Rader “held positions that allowed him access to customers’ homes, including a role as an installation manager.” A majority of the ten murders committed by BTK occurred during the period that Rader was employed by the company. I believe that he used his position with ADT to seek out potential victims and to gain access to their homes for surveillance and planning purposes. Certainly his training at ADT helped him to break into the homes of his victims without being detected. Many of his customers who employed ADT over the years to stop BTK from entering their homes were completely unaware that the killer himself was installing the alarm systems.

The next crimes attributed to BTK occurred in 1977. In March of that year, he tied up and strangled Shirley Vian, age twenty-four, with a rope after locking her children in the bathroom. Driven by his narcissistic personality and obsessive need for attention, Rader actually reported his next murder to authorities himself. On December 8, 1977, he strangled Nancy Fox, age twenty-five, with a belt in her home and then called the police to tell them about the homicide. In January 1978, shortly after Fox’s murder, BTK sent a poem to the Wichita Eagle about the killing of Shirley Vian. Written in all capital letters it read:

SHIRLEY LOCKS! SHIRLEY LOCKS

WILT THOU BE MINE?

THOU SHALT NOT SCREEM

NOR YET FEE THE LINE

BUT LAY ON CUSHION

AND THINK OF ME AND DEATH

AND HOW ITS GOING TO BE.

B.T.K.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.