BTK confession – Court Transcript
Dennis Rader known as BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) made a chilling confession of his murders. We post here the court transcript of his confession so you can read it.
In the Eighteenth Judicial District
District Court, Sedgwick County, Kansas
Criminal Department
Case No. 05 – CR498
Transcript of Pleas of Guilty
Proceedings had before the Honorable Gregory L. Waller, Judge of Division 5 of the Eighteenth Judicial District of Kansas, on June 27, 2005.
The Murder of the Otero Family
The Defendant: On January 15th, 1974, I maliciously, intentionally and premeditation killed Joseph Otero. Count Two –
The Court: All right. Mr. Rader, I need to find out more information. On that particular day, the 15th day of January, 1974, can you tell me where you went to kill Mr. Joseph Otero?
The Defendant: Mmm, I think it’s 1834 Edgemoor.
The Court: All right. Can you tell me approximately what time of day you went there?
The Defendant: Somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30.
The Court: This particular location, did you know these people?
The Defendant: No. That’s –
(Off-the-record discussion between the defendant and Ms. McKinnon.) No, that was part of my – I guess my what you call fantasy. These people were selected.
The Court: All right. So you —
(Off-the-record discussion between the defendant and Ms. McKinnon.)
The Court: — you were engaged in some kind of fantasy during this period of time?
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: All right. Now, where you use the term “fantasy,” is this something you were doing for your personal pleasure?
The Defendant: Sexual fantasy, sir.
The Court: I see. So you went to this residence, and what occurred then?
The Defendant: Well, I had – did some thinking on what I was going to do to either Mrs. Otero or Josephine, and basically broke into the house –or didn’t break into the house, but when they came out of the house I came in and confronted the family, and then we went from there.
The Court: All right. Had you planned this beforehand?
The Defendant: To some degree, yes. After I got in the house it – lost control of it, but it – it was – you know, in back of my mind I had some ideas what I was going to do.
The Court: Did you –
The Defendant: But I just – I basically panicked that first day, so –
The Court: Beforehand did you know who was there in the house?
The Defendant: I thought Mrs. Otero and the two kids – the two younger kids were in the house. I didn’t realize Mr. Otero was gonna be there.
The Court: All right. How did you get into the house, Mr. Rader?
The Defendant: I came through the back door, cut the phone lines, waited at the back door, had reservations about even going or just walking away, but pretty soon the door opened, and I was in.
The Court: All right. So the door opened. Was it opened for you, or did someone –
The Defendant: I think one of the kids – I think the Ju – Junior – or not Junior – yes, the – the young girl – Joseph opened the door. He probably let the dog out ‘cause the dog was in the house at the time.
The Court: All right. When you went into the house what happened then?
The Defendant: Well, I confronted the family, pulled the pistol, confronted Mr. Otero and asked him to – you know, that I was there to — basically I was wanted, wanted to get the car. I was hungry, food, I was wanted, and asked him to lie down in the living room. And at that time I realized that wouldn’t be a really good idea, so I finally – The dog was the real problem, so I – I asked Mr. Otero if he could get the dog out. So he had one of the kids put it out, and then I took them back to the bedroom.
The Court: You took who back to the bedroom?
The Defendant: The family, the bedroom – the four members.
The Court: All right. What happened then?
The Defendant: At that time I tied ‘em up.
The Court: While still holding them at gunpoint?
The Defendant: Well, in between tying, I guess, you know.
The Court: All right. After you tied them up what occurred?
The Defendant: Well, they started complaining about being tied up, and I re – re-loosened the bonds a couple of times, tried to make Mr. Otero as comfortable as I could. Apparently he had a cracked rib from a car accident, so I had him put a pillow down on his – for his – for his head, had him put a – I think a parka or a coat underneath him. They – You know, they talked to me about, you know, giving the car whatever money. I guess they didn’t have very much money, and the – from there I realized that, you know, I was already – I didn’t have a mask on or anything. They already could ID me, and made – made a decision to go ahead and – and put ‘em down, I guess or strangle them.
The Court: All right. What did you do to Joseph Otero, Sr.?
The Defendant: Joseph Otero?
The Court: Yeah, Joseph Otero, Sr. Mr. Otero, the father.
The Defendant: Put a plastic bag over his head and then some cords and tightened it.
The Court: This was in the bedroom?
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: All right. Did he in fact suffocate and die as a result of this?
The Defendant: Not right away, no sir, he didn’t.
The Court: What happened?
The Defendant: Well, after that I – I did Mrs. Otero. I had never strangled anyone before, so I really didn’t know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take, but –
The Court: Was she also tied up there in the bedroom?
The Defendant: Yes, uh-huh. Yeah, both their hands and their feet were tied up. She was on the bed.
The Court: Where were the children?
The Defendant: Well, Josephine was on the bed, and Junior was on the floor –
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: — at this time.
The Court: So we’re – we’re talking, first of all, about Joseph Otero. So you had put the bag over his head and tied it.
The Defendant: Mm-hmm.
The Court: And he did not die right away. Can you tell me what happened in regards to Joseph Otero?
The Defendant: He moved over real quick like and I think tore a hole in the bag, and I could tell that he was having some problems there, but at that time the – the whole family just went – they went panicked on me, so I – I – I worked pretty quick. I got Mrs. O –
The Court: All right. What did you – You worked pretty quick. What did you do?
The Defendant: Well, I mean, I – I – I strangled Mrs. Otero, and then she out, or passed out. I thought she was dead. She passed out. Then I strangled Josephine. She passed out, or I thought she was dead. And then I went over and put a – and then put a bag on Junior’s head and – and then, if I remember right, Mrs. Otero came back. She came back and –
The Court: Sir, let me ask you about Joseph Otero, Sr.
The Defendant: Senior
The Court: You indicated he had torn a hole in the bag.
The Defendant: Mm-hmm.
The Court: What did you do with him then?
The Defendant: I put another bag over it – or either that or a – if I recollect, I think I put a – either a cloth or a T-shirt or something over it – over his head, and then a bag, another bag, then tied that down.
The Court: Did he sub – Did he subsequently die?
The Defendant: Well, yes. I mean – I mean, I was – I didn’t just stay there and watch him. I mean, I was moving around the room, but –
The Court: All right. So you indicated you strangled Mrs. Otero after you had done this; is that correct?
The Defendant: Yeah, I went back and strangled her again.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: And that – And that – that finally killed her at that time.
The Court: So this is in regards to Count Two. You had, first of all, put the bag over Joseph Otero’s head.
The Defendant: I don’t know. I have no idea. Just –
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: I got the keys to the car. In fact, I had the keys I think earlier before that, ‘cause I wanted to make sure I had a way of getting out of the house, and cleaned the house up a little bit, made sure everything’s packed up, and left through the front door, and then went there — went over to their car, and then drove to Dillions, left the car there. Then eventually walked back to my car.
The Court: All right. Now, sir, from what you have just said, I take it that the facts you have told me apply to both Counts One all of Counts One, Two, Three, and Four; is that correct?
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: Now, Mr. Rader –
Ms. Parker: Your Honor?
The Court: Yes.
Ms. Parker: There is one thing that needs to be corrected on that record and that is originally I believe he indicated 1834 Edgemoor. The address was actually 803 Edgemoor.
The Court: All right. But I’d asked him if it occurred in Sedgwick County. He’s indicated what had happened. I don’t believe the exact address is important.
(Off-the-record discussions between Mr. Osburn and the defendant.)
The Murder of Kathryn Bright
The Court: All right, Mr. Rader. We will now turn to Count Five. In that count it is claimed that on or about the 4th day of April, 1974, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you unlawfully killed Kathryn Bright, maliciously, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, by strangulation and stabbing, inflicting injuries from which she did die on April 4th, 1974. Can you tell me what happened on that day?
(Off-the-record discussions between Mr. Osburn and the defendant.)
The Defendant: Well, the – I don’t know how to exactly say that. I had many what I call them projects. They were different people in town that I followed, watched. Kathryn Bright was one of the next targets, I guess, as I would indicate.
The Court: How did you select her?
The Defendant: Just driving by one day, and I saw her go in the house with somebody else, and I thought that’s a possibility. There was many, many places in the area, College Hill even. They’re all over Wichita. But anyway, that’s – it just was basically a selection process, worked toward it. If it didn’t work I’d just move on to something else, but in the – in the – my kind of person, stalking and strolling (sic) – You go through the trolling stage and then a stalking stage. She was in the stalking stage when this happened.
The Court: All right, sir. So you identified Kathryn Bright as a potential victim.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: What did you do here in Sedgwick County then?
The Defendant: Pardon?
The Court: What did you do then here in Sedgwick County?
The Defendant: On this particular day?
The Court: Yes.
The Defendant: I broke into the house and waited for her to come home.
The Court: How did you break into the house?
The Defendant: Through the back door on the east side.
The Court: All right. And you waited for her to come home.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: Where did you wait?
The Defendant: In the house there, probably close to the bedroom. I walked through the house and kind of figured out where I’d be if they came through.
The Court: All right. What happened then?
The Defendant: She and Kevin Bright came in. I wasn’t expecting him to be there. And come to find out, I guess they were related. That time I approached them and told them I was wanted in California, needed some car – basically the same thing I told the Oteros. Kind of eased them, make them feel better, and proceeded to – I think I had him tie – I think I had him tie her up first, and then I tied him up, or vice versa. I don’t remember right now at that time.
The Court: Let – Let me ask –
The Defendant: Mm-hmm.
The Court: You indicated that you had some items to tie these people with. Did you bring these items, both the Oteros and to this location?
The Defendant: The Oteros I did. I’m not really sure on the Brights. There were some – I – When I had – In working with the police there was some conserversy (sic) on that. Probably more likely I did, but if – if I had brought my stuff and used my stuff Kevin would probably be dead today.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: I’m not bragging on that. It’s just a matter of fact. It’s the bond had tau – row (sic) – tied him up with that he broke them, so that –
The Court: All right, sir.
The Defendant: It may be same way with — same with Kathryn. It was — They got outta – got outta hand.
The Court: All right. Now, you indicated you believe you had Kevin tie Kathryn up.
The Defendant: Mm-hmm.
The Court: Tell me what happened then.
The Defendant: Okay. I moved – Well, after – I really can’t remember, Judge, whether I had her tie him up or she tied him up; but anyway, I moved basically I moved her to another bedroom, and he as already secure there by the bed. Tied his feet to the bed post – one of the bedposts so that he couldn’t run. Kind of tired her in the other bedroom, and then I came back to strangle him, and at that time we had a fight.
The Court: Were you armed with a handgun at that time also?
The Defendant: Yes, I had a handgun.
The Court: All right. What happened when you came back.
The Defendant: I actually had two handguns.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: Well, when I started strangling, the – either the garrote broke or he broke his bonds, and he jumped up real quick like. I pulled my gun and quickly shot him. It hit him in the head. He fell over. I could see the blood. And as far as I was concerned, he – you know, I thought he was down and was out, and then went and started to strangle Kath – or Kathryn. And then we started fighting, ‘cause the bonds weren’t very good, and so back and forth we fought.
The Court: You and Kathryn?
The Defendant: Yeah, we fought, uh-huh. And I got the best of her, and I thought she was going down, and then I could hear some movement in the other room. So I went back, and Kevin – No. No. I thought she was going down, and I went back to the other bedroom where Kevin was at, and I tried to restrangle him at that time, and He jumped up, and we fought, and – and he about – at that time about shot me, ‘cause he got the other pistol that was in my should here. I had my magnum in my shoulder. So – And really –
The Court: A shoulder holster?
The Defendant: Hmm?
The Court: Did you have it in a shoulder holster?
The Defendant: Yes, mm-hmm. I had the magnum in my shoulder holster. The other one was a .22.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: And we fought at that point in time, and I thought it was gonna go off. I jammed the gun, stuck my finger in the – in there, jammed it; and I think he thought that was the only gun I had ‘cause once I eithr bit his finger or hit him or something, got away, and I used the .22 and shot him one more time, and I thought he was down for good that time.
The Court: All right. So you shot him a second time.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: Went back to finish the job on Kathryn, and she was fighting. And at that point in time I’d been fighting her. I just – And then I heard some – I don’t know wheter I was lose – basically losing control. The strangulation wasn’t working on her, and I used a knife on her.
The Court: You say you used a knife on her.
The Defendant: Yes. Yes.
The Court: What did you do with the knife?
The Defendant: I stabbed her. She was stab – either stabbed two or three times, either here or here, maybe two back here and one here, or maybe just two times back here.
The Court: And you’re — you’re pointing to your lower back and your – your –
The Defendant: Yeah, underneath the ribs.
The Court: — and your lower abdomen.
The Defendant: Yeah, underneath the ribs, up – up under the ribs.
The Court: So after you stabbed her what happened?
The Defendant: Actually I think at that point in time – Well, it’s a total mess ‘cause I didn’t have control on it. She was bleeding. She went down. I think I just went back to check on Kevin, or at that basically same time I heard him escape. It could be one of the two. But all the sudden the front door of the house was open and he was gone, and – Oh, I tell you what I thought. I thought the police were coming at that time. I heard the door open. I thought, you know, that’s it; and I stepped out there, and he – I could see him running down the street. So I quickly cleaned up everything that I could and left.
The Court: All right. Now, Mr. Rader, you indicated that at the Oteros you did not have a mask on. Did you have a mask on at the Bright’s?
The Defendant: No. No I didn’t, huh-uh.
The Court: All right. So what happened then?
The Defendant: I tried – I had –already had the keys to the cars, and I thought I had the right key to the right car. I ran out to their car, what – I think it was a pickup out there. And I tried it, didn’t work; and at that point in time I was – he was gone, running down the street. I thought well, I’m in trouble, so I tried it, didn’t work. So I just took off, ran. I went down – went east and then worked back toward the WSU campus where my car was parked.
The Court: All right. So you had parked your car at the Wichita State University –
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: — campus?
The Defendant: The campus, uh-huh.
The Court: How far away were – was the Brights’ residence?
The Defendant: Oh, I parked – What is that? 13th? And their – I want to say their – I parked by that park, and then I walked to 13th to the Brights’ residence. So I basically ran back.
The Court: All right. So you were able to get to your car and get away.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Murder of Shirley Vian
The Court: Now let’s turn to Count No. Six. In that count they claim on March 17th, 1977, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you unlawfully killed Shirley Vian, maliciously, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which she did die on March 17th, 1977. Can you tell me what you did on that day?
The Defendant: As before, Vian was a – Actually on that one she was completely random. There was actually someone that across from Dillons was potential target. I had project numbers assigned to it. And that particular day I drove to Dillons, parked in the parking lot, watched this particular residence, and then got out of the car and walked over to it. It’s probably in the police report, the address. I don’t remember the address now. Knocked. Nobody – Nobody answered it. So I was all keyed up, so I just started going through the neighborhood. I had been through the neighborhood before. I know of knew a little – little of the layout of the neighborhood. I’d been through the back alleys, knew where some – certain people lived. While I was walking down Hydraulic I met – a young boy and asked him if he would ID some pictures, kind of as a russ (sic), I guess, or ruse as you call it, and kind of feel it out, and saw where he went, and I went to another address, knocked on the door. Nobody opened the door, so I just noticed where he went and went to that house and we went from there.
The Court: Now, you – you call these “projects.” Were these sexual fantasies also?
The Defendant: Potential hits. That – In my world, that’s what I called them.
The Court: All right. So you –
The Defendant: They were called projects, hits.
The Court: All right. And – And why did you have these potential hits? Was this to gratify some sexual interest or –
The Defendant: Yes, sir. I had – There – I had a lot of them, so it’s just – if one didn’t work I’d just move to another one.
The Court: All right. So as I am to understand it then, on the 17th of March, 1977, you saw this little boy go into a residence.
The Defendant: Mm-hmm.
The Court: And you tried another residence?
The Defendant: Sir?
The Court: No one was there? You tried another residence. No on was there, so you –
The Defendant: Right, right, right, right. Yeah.
The Court: — went to the residence with the little boy –
The Defendant: And I watched – I watched where he went.
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: After I tried this once, the residence, nobody came to the door. I went to this house where he went in, knocked on the door and told ‘em I was a private detective, showed ‘em a picture that I had just showed the boy and asked ‘em if they could ID the picture; and that time I – I had the gun here and I just kind of forced myself in. I just, you know, walked in – just opened the door and walked in and then pulled a pistol.
The Defendant: Yes, sir, uh-huh.
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: I told Mrs. – Miss Vian that I had a problem with sexual fantasies, that I was going to tie her up, and that – and I might have to tie the kids up, and that she would cooperate with this – cooperate with me at that time. We went back. She was extremely nervous. Think she even smoked a cigarette. And we went back to the – one of the back – back areas of the porch, explained to her that I had done this before, and, you know, I think she – at that point in time I think she was sick ‘cause she had a night robe on, and I think, if I remember right, she was – she had been sick. I think – I think she came out of the bedroom when I went in the house. So anyway, we went back to the – her bedroom, and I proceeded to tie the kids up, and they started crying and got real upset.
So I said oh, this is not gonna work, so we moved ‘em to the bathroom. She helped me. And then I tied the door shut. We put some toys and blankets and odds and ends in there for the kids, make them as comfortable as we could. Tied the – We tied one of the bathroom doors shut so they couldn’t open it, and we shoved – she went back and helped me shove the bed up against the other bathroom door, and then I proceeded to tie her up. She got sick, threw up. Got her a glass of water, comforted her a little bit, and then went ahead and tied her up and then put a blag (sic) – a bag over her head and strangled her.
The Court: All right. Was this a plastic bag also?
The Defendant: Yes, sir. I think it was.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: But I could be wrong in that.
The Court: You put a bag or –
The Defendant: It was something – I’m sure it was a plastic bag, yeah.
The Court: Now, you say you put a bag over her head and strangled her. What did you strangle her with?
The Defendant: I actually – I think on that I had tied – tied her legs to the bedposts and worked up with the rope all the way up, and then what I had left over I looped over her neck.
The Court: All right. So you used this rope to strangle her?
The Defendant: Yes, uh-huh. I think – I think it was the same one that I tied her body with, mm-hmm.
The Court: All right. What happened then?
The Defendant: Well, the kids were really banging on the door, hollering and screaming, and – and then the telephone rang, and they had talked earlier that the neighbor’s gonna check on ‘em, so I cleaned everything up real quick like, and got out of there, left and went back in – to my car.
The Court: Now, when you say you cleaned everything –
The Defendant: Well, I mean put my stuff – I had a briefcase. Whatever I have laying around, ropes, tape, cords, I threw that in there, my – you know, whatever, you know, that I had that I brought in the house.
The Court: Had you brought that to the Bright residence also or –
The Defendant: Yeah, there is some – There – I – I think there’s some basic stuff, but I don’t remember bringing total stuff like I did to some of the others.
The Court: Was this a kit that you had prepared—
The Defendant: Yeah. I –
The Court: — beforehand?
The Defendant: Yes. I call it my hit kit.
The Court: All right, sir. You left the Vian residence, and had you parked your vehicle near there?
The Defendant: Yeah, still in the same parking lot there at Dillons –
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: — at Hydraulic and – What is that? Harry? Lincoln. Lincoln, yeah. Lincoln and – Lincoln and Hydraulic.
The Murder of Nancy Fox
The Court: All right. In Count Seven it is claimed that on the 8th day of December, 1977, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you unlawfully killed a human being, that being Nancy Fox, maliciously, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Nancy Fox did die on December 8th, 1977. Can you tell me what you did on that day here in Sedgwick County?
The Defendant: Nancy Fox was another one of the projects. When I was trolling the area I noticed her go in the house one night. Sometimes I would – And anyway, I put her down as potential victim.
The Court: Let me ask you one thing, Mr. Rader. You’ve used that term when you were patrolling the area. What do you mean by that?
The Defendant: It’s called stalking or trolling.
The Court: So you were not working in any form or fashion. You were just –
The Defendant: Well, I don’t know, if –, you know, if you read much about serial killers, they go through what they call the different phases. That’s one of the phases they go through is a — as a trolling stage. You’re lay – Basically you’re looking for a victim at that time, and that can either be trolling for months or years. But once you lock in on a certain person then you become stalking, and that might be several of them, but you really home in on that person. They – They basically come the – That’s – That’s the victim, or at least that’s what you want ‘em to be. Ms. Foulston: Excuse me, Your Honor. I think he said “trolling,” with a T, not “patrolling.”
The Court: He did say “trolling” with a T. I thought he said “patrolling.”
The Defendant: Oh, okay.
The Court: All right, sir.
The Defendant: No, no. I wasn’t working sir.
The Court: All right.
The Defendant: No, this was – No, this was off – off – off my hours.
The Court: All right. So you basically identified Nancy Fox as one of your projects. What happened then?
The Defendant: At first she was spotted, and then I did a little homework. I dropped by once to check the mailbox to see what her name was, found out where she worked, stopped by there once at Helzberg, kind of sized her up. I had – The more I know about a person the – the more I felt comfortable with it, so I did that a couple of times; and then I just selected a night, which was this particular night, to try it, and it worked out.
The Court: All right. Can you tell me what you did on the night of December 8th, 1977?
The Defendant: About two or three blocks away I parked my car and walked to that residence. I knocked at the – knocked at the door first to make sure, see if anybody was in there ‘cause I knew she arrived home at a particular time from where she worked. Nobody answered the door, so I went around to the back of the house, cut the phone lines. I could tell that there wasn’t anybody in the north apartment. Broke in and waited for her to come home in the kitchen.
The Court: All right. Did she come home?
The Defendant: Yes, she did.
The Court: What happened?
The Defendant: I confronted her, told here there – I was a – I had a problem, sexual problem, that I would have to tie her up and have sex with her.
The Court: Mm-hmm
The Defendant: She was a little upset. We talked for a while. She smoked a cigarette. While the – While we smoked a cigarette I went through her purse, identifying some stuff, and she finally said, Well, let’s get this over with so I can go call the police. I said, Yes. She went to the bathroom and came – and I told her when she came out to make sure that she was undressed. And when she came out I handcuffed her, and don’t really remember whether I –
The Court: You handcuffed her?
The Defendant: Sir?
The Court: You handcuffed her? You had a pair of handcuffs?
The Defendant: Yes, sir, uh-huh, mm-hmm.
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: Well, anyway, I had her – I handcuffed her, had he lay on the bed, and then I tied her feet, and then I – I – I – was also undressed to a certain degree, and then I got on top of her, and then reached over, took either – either – either her feet were tied or not tied, but anyway, I took – I think I had a belt. I took the belt and then strangled her with the belt at that time.
The Court: All right. All right. After you had strangled her what happened then?
The Defendant: Okay. After I strangled her with the belt I took the belt off and retied that with pantyhose real tight, removed the handcuffs and tied those with – with pantyhose. Can’t remember the colors right now. I think I maybe retied her feet, if they hadn’t already – they were probably already tied, her feet were, and then at that time masturbated, sir.
The Court: All right. Had you had sexual relations with her –
The Defendant: No.
The Court: — before?
The Defendant: No, no. I told her I was, but I did not.
The Court: All right. So you masturbated. Then what did you do?
The Defendant: Dressed and then went through the house, took some personal items, and kind of cleaned the house up, went through and made – checked everything and then left.
The Court: All right. Ms. Foulston: Your Honor, for the record, the address?
The Court: He’s established it was in Sedgwick County. I don’t need an exact address. For purpose of this – It’s in Sedgwick County. Do you remember the address, Mr. Rader?
The Defendant: Oh, the Fox? Nice – 913 or nine oh – 903? No, I – I sure don’t. I know it was on Pershing – South Pershing. That’s all.
The Court: Here in Wichita?
The Defendant: It was nice – It was nine something, sir, but I don’t remember the other numb – digits. Ms. Foulston: It’s 843.
The Court: The address, as I said, is really not important as long as you remember it happened here in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Murder of Marine Hedge
The Court: All right, sir. Let’s turn to Count Eight. In Count Eight it is claimed that on or about the 27th day of April, 1985, to the 28th day of April, 1985, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, it is claimed that you unlawfully killed a human being, Marine Hedge, maliciously, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which Marine Hedge did die on April 27th, 1985. Can you tell me what occurred on that day?
The Defendant: Well, actually, kind of like the others. She was chosen. I went through the different phases, stalking phase, and since she lived down the street from me I could watch the coming and going quite easily. On that particular date I – I had a — a other (sic) commitment. I came back from that commitment. Parked my car over at Woodlawn and 21st. Street at a bowling alley there at the time. Before that I dressed into – I had some other clothes on. I changed clothes. I went to the bowling alley, went in there under the pretense of bowling, called a taxi. Had a taxi take me out to Park City. Had my kit with me. It was a bowling bag.
The Court: All right. Now, is Park City in Sedgwick County, Kansas?
The Defendant: Yes, sir, uh-huh, mm-hmm.
The Court: All right. You had the taxi take you to Park City. What happened then?
The Defendant: There I asked – I – I pretended that I was a little drunk. I just took – I just took some beer and washed it around my mouth, and the guy could probably smell alcohol on me. I asked – told him to let me out so I could get some fresh air, and I walked from where the taxi let me off over to her house.
The Court: All right. Where does she live?
The Defendant: 62 — What is it? – 427 (Off-the-record discussion between the defendant and Ms. Mitchell.)
The Defendant: 54. 62547 6254 –
The Court: All right. What was the –
The Defendant: — North Independence.
The Court: All right. When you walked over there what happened next?
The Defendant: Well, as before, I was going to have sexual fantasies, so I brought my hit kit, and lo and behold, her car was there. I thought gee, she’s not supposed to be home. So I very carefully snuck into the house, she wasn’t there. So about that time the doors rattled, so I went – went back to one of the bedrooms and hid back there in one of the bedrooms. She came in with a male visitor. They were there for maybe an hour or so. Then he left. I waited till wee hours of the morning. I then proceeded to sneak into her bedroom and flip the lights on real quick like, or I think the bathroom lights. I just – I didn’t want to flip her lights on, and she screamed, and I jumped on the bed and strangled her manually.
The Court: All right. Now, were you wearing any kind of disguise or mask at this time?
The Defendant: No. No.
The Court: You indicated this woman lived down the street from you. Did she know you?
The Defendant: Casually. We’d walk by and wave. She – She liked to work in her yard as well as I liked to work, and it’s just a neighborly type thing. It wasn’t anything personal, I mean, just a neighbor.
The Court: All right. So she was in her bed when you turned on the lights in the bathroom?
The Defendant: Yeah, the bathroom, yeah, just to – so I could get some light in there.
The Court: All right. What did you do then?
The Defendant: Oh, I manually strangled her when she started to scream.
The Court: So you used your hands?
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: And you strangled her? Did she die?
The Defendant: Yes.
The Court: All right. What did you do then?
The Defendant: After that, since I was in the sexual fantasy, I went ahead and stripped her and probably went ahead and – I’m not for sure if I tied her up at that point in time, but anyway, she was nude, and I put her on a blanket, went through her purse, some personal items in the house, figured out how I was gonna get her out of there. Eventually moved her to the trunk of the car. Took the car over to Christ Lutheran Church – This is with the older church – and took some pictures of her.
The Court: All right. You took some photographs of her. What kind of camera did you use?
The Defendant: Polaroid.
The Court: All right. Did you keep those photographs?
The Defendant: Yes. The police probably have them.
The Court: All right. All right. What happened then?
The Defendant: That was it. I went – I took – She went through – I tied – She was already dead, so I took pictures of her in different forms of bondage, and that’s probably what got me in trouble is the bondage thing. So anyway – That’s probably the – the main thing. But anyway, after that I moved her back out to the car, and then we went east on 53rd.
The Court: All right. What occurred then?
The Defendant: Sir?
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: Oh, trying to find a place to hide her, hide the body.
The Court: Did you find a place?
The Defendant: Yes. Yes, I did.
The Court: Where?
The Court: Where?
The Defendant: Couldn’t tell you without looking at a map, but it was on 53rd, between Greenwich maybe – maybe – What’s – What’s the other one between Green – Greenwich and Rock?
Mr. Osburn: Webb.
The Defendant: Webb. Between – I think between wed (sic) and – Webb and Greenwich I found a ditch, a low place on the north side of the rode, and hid her there.
The Court: All right. You say you hid her there. Did you –
The Defendant: Well, there were some – there were some trees, some brush, and I laid that over the top of her body.
The Court: All right. So you removed the body from the car, put her in the ditch, then laid some – some brush over the body.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Murder of Dolores E. Davis
The Court: Now, sir, let’s turn to Count Ten. In that count it’s claimed that on or about the 18th day of January, 1991, to the eight – 19th day of January, 1991, in the County of Sedgwick, State of Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Dolores E. Davis, maliciously, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Dolores E. Davis did die on January 19th, 1991. Mr. Rader, please tell me what you did here in Sedgwick County, Kansas, on that day that makes you believe you’re guilty.
The Defendant: That particular day I had some commitments. I left those, went to one place changed my clothes, went to another place, parked my car, finally made arrangements on my hit kit, my clothes, and then walked to that residence. After spending some time at that residence – It was very cold that night. Had reservations about going in ‘cause I – I had cased the place before, and I really couldn’t figure out how to get in, and she was in the house, so I finally just selected a – a concrete block and threw it through the plate glass window on the east and came on in.
The Court: All right. Where is this residence located?
The Defendant: It’s on Hillside, but I couldn’t give the address. I know it’s probably 61 – probably 62 something. I don’t know. 62 something.
The Court: North or South?
The Defendant: North. North Hillside.
The Court: All right. So you used a concrete block to break a window?
The Defendant: Mm-hmm, plate glass window, patio door, mm-hmm.
The Court: All right. What happened then?
The Defendant: Noise. I just went in. She came out of a bedroom and thought a car had hit her house, and I told her that I was – I used a – the ruse of being wanted. I was on the run; I needed food, car, warmth, warm up, and then I asked her – I handcuffed her and kind of talked to her, told her that I would like to get some food, get her keys to her car, and kind of rest assured, you know, walked – talked with her a little bit and calmed her down a little bit. And then eventually I checked – I think she was still handcuffed. I went back and checked out where the car was, simulated getting some food, odds and ends in the house, kind of like I was leaving, then went back and removed her handcuffs and – and then tied her up and then – and then eventually strangled her.
The Court: All right. You say “eventually strangled her.”
The Defendant: Well, after I tied her up. I went through some things in the room there and then – and then strangled her.
The Court: All right. You say you went through. Were you looking for something?
The Defendant: Mm-hmm. Well, some personal items, yes. I took some personal items from there.
The Court: Did you take personal items in every one of these incidents?
The Defendant: I did on the Hedge. I don’t remember anything in Vicki’s place. The Oteros we got the watch and the radio. I don’t think I did any in Bright’s. Vian’s, no, I don’t think so. Fox, yes. I took some things from Fox. It was hit and miss.
The Court: All right. But in regard –
The Defendant: Prob – Probably if it – if it – if it was a controlled situation where I had more time I took something, but if it – if it was a confusion and other things I didn’t ‘cause I was trying to get out of there.
The Court: All right. So in regard to the Davis matter, you went around the room, took a few personal things. What did you do then?
The Defendant: Strangled her.
The Court: What did you strangle her with?
The Defendant: Pantyhose.
The Court: All right. What happened then? Did she die?
The Defendant: Kind of like Mrs. Hedge. I already figured out my – I had a, you know, plan on leaving and put her in a blanket and drug her to the car, put her in the trunk of the car.
The Court: So you were able to strangle her to death with these pantyhose.
The Defendant: Yes, sir.
The Court: All right. You put her in your car.
The Defendant: In her car.
The Court: Or in a car.
The Defendant: Her car.
The Court: Her car or trunk.
The Defendant: Uh-huh, the trunk of her car, uh-huh.
The Court: What happened then?
The Defendant: I really had a commitment I needed to go to, so I moved her to one spot, took her out of her car. This gets complicated. Then the stuff I had, clothes, gun, whatever, I took that to another spot in her car, dumped that off. Okay. Then took her car back to her house. Left that. Let me think now.
(REPORTER’S NOTE: The defendant made a repetitive popping sound with his lips.)
Okay. In the interim – I took her car back to her house. In the interim I realized that I had lost one of my guns. I dropped it somewhere. So I was distraught trying to figure out where my gun was. So I went back in the house, realized I had dropped it when I went in the – when I broke the plate glass window. It dropped. It fell on the floor right there, and I found it right there. So that solved that problem. Anyway, I went back out, threw the keys – checked the car real quick – quick like and threw the keys up on top of the roof of her house, walked from her car back to my car, took my car, drove it back, and I either dropped more stuff off or I picked her up and put ‘em in my car, and then I drove northeast of Sedgwick County and dropped her off underneath a bridge.
The Court: All right. So all of these incidents, these ten counts, occurred because you wanted to satisfy a sexual fantasy; is that correct?
The Defendant: Yes, mm-hmm.
The Court: Does any party desire any further matters to be put on the record at this time?
Mr. Osburn: No, Your Honor.
The Court: All right. You may be seated, Mr. Rader.
(The defendant and his counsel were seated.)
