Why We Love Serial Killers (23 page)

His chilling and self-assigned pseudonym of BTK described both his
modus operandi
(bind, kill) and his
signature
(torture). A self-proclaimed student of the killing game, Rader read the accounts and techniques of notorious serial killers that preceded him. He craved the infamy attained by the Zodiac Killer, the Boston Strangler and Jack the Ripper, so he created a brand name for himself that would shock and terrorize society. His creation of a unique BTK symbol (which he hand-draws) to authenticate his communications with the police, while unusual, is similar to David Berkowitz, who drew an occult symbol on one of his Son of Sam letters to the news media.

Following his seventh murder, Rader sent a letter to authorities where he asked, “How many do I have to kill before I get a name in the paper or some national recognition?” This statement indicates just how much he craved attention for himself. He was also fully aware of society’s fascination with the macabre, given the notoriety attained by other serial killers. Rader has said that he knew the public would be riveted by his crimes and would demand to know his motivations. Therefore, he deliberately appealed to society’s appetite for murder. Through his taunting letters and clues, Rader was speaking directly to his public audience. (I provide more insights into the social construction of serial killers gained from my discourse with Rader in chapter 10.)

Another indication of his narcissism is that Rader rejects the classification of serial killer for himself. He sees it as too limiting to encompass the many accomplishments of BTK. Rader has explained to me that unlike most serial killers who target a particular type of victim, such as a young female prostitute, BTK killed men, women, and children with equal pleasure and disdain. He reasons that no one in society could feel safe while he was on the loose because literally anyone could become his next victim. Rader believes that his BTK alter ego was more like an armed terrorist (such as Osama bin Laden) than a serial killer. He also fancies himself a natural born predator who is no more responsible for killing than a venomous snake or a shark (his prison signature). In fact, he attempts to neutralize any responsibility for his murders by claiming that he was compelled to kill by something he calls “Factor X”—that is, an insatiable and undeniable urge to kill that he does not comprehend. Rader is completely unrepentant today and has no remorse or regrets, except for having been caught.

One more compelling example of his narcissism was revealed to me when I received a postcard from Rader that features a colorful and
striking original painting of a floral arrangement. It was a gift to me from Rader that has a fascinating little history. It seems that he received this postcard from a female admirer, Dana Sue Gray, who just happens to be a female serial killer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in California. She apparently is lonely and somewhat smitten with Rader, so she made contact with him through the mail by way of the postcard. Rader, however, is not equally impressed by her. Therefore, he re-gifted the postcard to me and explained that she simply is not in his league. Dana Sue Gray “only” killed three people and wounded another before being caught, Rader contends. Apparently, a prolific serial killer such as Rader needs to have certain minimum standards.

Rader’s narcissism is also manifested in his musings about the cooling off period between his murders. Unlike most serial killers, BTK had a reign of terror that lasted an unusually long time. He started killing in 1974, when he was twenty-nine, and was planning another murder at the time of his arrest in 2005, when he was fifty-nine. What is particularly unusual for a serial killer was the amount of time that passed between his crimes. As former profiler Roy Hazelwood said, “Most serial killers kill far more frequently than he did.” As previously discussed, Rader used autoerotic fantasy and masturbation aided by his “mother lode” of trophies to relive his crimes and satisfy his sexual cravings between murders. As a result of his autoerotic fantasy life, the length of time or cooling off period between BTK’s murders was highly variable and generally much longer than most other serial killers. Incredibly, Rader takes credit for his fantasy rituals and even claims that they saved lives. He has explained to me that he likely would have killed more people if he had not discovered a way to satisfy his urges. In one of his letters to authorities he wrote:

I can’t stop it so, the monster goes on, and hurt me as well as society. Society can be thankful that there are ways for people like me to relieve myself at time by day dreams of some victims being torture and being mine.

In his psychopathic delusions, Rader seems to believe that society owes him a debt of gratitude for not killing more frequently than he did. Such twisted reasoning almost defies comprehension.

I have also gained new insights into the cooling off period between his murders through my correspondence with Rader. It is commonly assumed that the cooling off period is a time of de-escalation of arousal
for a serial killer—almost like a time-out from murder—in which they return to their normal everyday routines. Stated differently, the cooling off period is often compared to coming down from a narcotic high or basking in the glow following sex. However, Rader indicates that for him the cooling off period was actually a time of trolling for the next perfect victim combined with intensive autoerotic fantasy as he followed his intended future prey and planned his abduction strategy. For BTK, the so-called cooling off period was anything but that as he got to know the routines and habits of his intended victim and became increasingly aroused and compelled to kill. In that regard, it was more like a courting ritual or foreplay for BTK. Although this new perspective on the cooling off period may not apply to all serial killers, it certainly contributes to our understanding of the pathology of BTK.

Undone by His Egomania

Perhaps it should not be surprising that Rader was finally undone by his own massive ego and malignant narcissism. By 2004, he had not killed for thirteen years and the investigation of his crimes headed by Wichita Police Lieutenant Ken Landwehr had gone completely cold. Then BTK abruptly resurfaced and he began communicating with the police and media after a local news report speculated that he was either dead or in prison. Rader could not resist the temptation to publicly refute the rumors. Over the next eleven months leading up to his arrest, he sent a total of ten taunting messages to authorities, many of them directly to Ken Landwehr with whom Rader thought he had a special rapport. He asked Landwehr whether he could communicate with him via a floppy disk without it being traced to a particular computer. Landwehr naturally lied and said yes. A few weeks later, a floppy disk from BTK addressed to Landwehr arrived at a local television station. The disk was quickly traced to Rader through a computer at his Lutheran church.

In the book
Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door
, Ken Landwehr, who passed away on January 13, 2014, said he was quite amused that Rader was indignant over his lying to him about not being able to trace the computer floppy disk.
⁸¹
The late Detective Landwehr said:

If he had just quit [killing] and kept his mouth shut, we might never have connected the dots . . . He couldn’t get over the fact that I would lie to him. He could not believe that I did not want this to go on forever.
⁸²

Rader was very disappointed about the perceived betrayal and he expressed shock during his jailhouse interrogation that the police lieutenant would intentionally deceive him. Speaking directly to Landwehr and using the lieutenant’s first name, Rader said, “I need to ask you, Ken, how come you lied to me?” In a matter-of-fact tone, Landwehr coolly replied, “Because I was trying to catch you.”
⁸³
Rader later admitted that the floppy disk “did me in.”

Although it seems inconceivable that Rader would trust Landwehr so completely, it can be attributed to his grandiosity and sense of invulnerability. As noted by Roy Hazelwood, “He apparently believed that Landwehr couldn’t afford to lie to him because he knew if he did, Rader would cut off communications with him.” I have come to believe that Rader felt a strange bond to Ken Landwehr which is suggested by the fact that Rader told him at one point during his interrogation that they were fellow law enforcement officers. Rader had wanted so much to be a real police officer and it exposed a weakness in him. He let down his guard with Landwehr and the savvy detective took advantage of the opening with a knockout punch.

Once Rader realized that he was finally caught, he gave a full confession, recounting every minute detail of the torture and murder of his victims in an unnervingly monotone voice. He basked in the spotlight on his personal stage as he meticulously explained each one of BTK’s murders (or “projects” as he calls them) to his attentive audience. Rader displayed such narcissism during his interview that, according to Ken Landwehr, he seemed to believe that the police were actually his friends. In fact, he got so comfortable during the interview that at one point he told a police officer to “put ‘BTK’ on the lid” of his drinking cup before putting it back into the refrigerator so they would all know which one was his. Yes, the psychopath felt right at home.

Conclusion

In this chapter, I have told the gruesome tale of Dennis Rader and shared my reflections on the serial killer known as BTK from my personal correspondence with him. It is clear that he is totally unremorseful and that he relished in the creation of his own criminal celebrity status while taunting his pursuers over a span of thirty years. Although at times he
claims to be remorseful, his words are cliché and hollow. In many ways, Rader is the poster boy of malignant narcissism and violent psychopathy. He sees himself as a natural born killer and terrorist of society. Mere serial killer status is not sufficiently grandiose for his immense ego. His only regret is in getting caught which, quite appropriately, resulted from his own egomania and narcissism. He resides in his solitary confinement cell like a venomous spider alone in the dark. Completely unrepentant, he is the master of his little universe.

PART 3
THE SOCIOLOGY OF SERIAL MURDER

CHAPTER 8
THE PROFOUND IMPACT OF SERIAL MURDER ON SOCIETY

We have spent the first seven chapters of this book examining the truth about serial homicide in the US and debunking much of the mythology surrounding it. We have focused on the patterns and characteristics of serial killers and explored the tremendous diversity that exists among them in terms of their psychological profiles, motivations,
modus operandi,
and rituals. We have examined criminal profiling in some detail and debunked a number of popular myths about the process and its practitioners. We have also examined the compelling stories of two infamous serial killers who are serving multiple life sentences in prison for their crimes.

In this chapter, we take a departure from analyzing the thoughts and motivations of serial killers to pursue a sociological examination of the meaning and significance of serial homicide in modern society. Why employ sociology? I believe that the science of sociology can offer important insights into the effects of serial homicide on the public consciousness and collective sense of well being. The impact of serial murder on society is an important topic that is rarely, if ever, mentioned in public discussions about serial killers. I argue that the functionalist tradition of sociology and a concept known as “anomie” are particularly relevant to our examination of serial killers. The functionalist concept of anomie refers to a chaotic state in society which results from the presence of conflicting or contradictory social norms and behavioral expectations that are not met. According to the functionalist tradition of sociology, the state of norm confusion that occurs in a society characterized by anomie can lead some of its individual members to engage in deviant behavior, including extreme violence and brutality. An example of this is the anarchy that occurred in French society following the fall of the
monarchy during the French Revolution in the late 1700s. The massive political protests and rioting in the US during the chaotic and dynamic 1960s provides another example. In this chapter I argue that the actions of serial killers and their impact on the social order can be explained in functionalist sociological terms.

What Is Sociology?

Sociologists analyze and attempt to explain the many forms of human behavior that occur in group settings. They seek to explain how society influences people and how people, in turn, influence society. Sociologists develop theoretical perspectives or paradigms which provide them with an orienting framework—that is, a philosophical position—for understanding how a society operates. Sociologists often ask questions about particular problems that may plague society. They might ask why inequality or racism exists in society, for example. The particular theoretical perspective or paradigm employed by a sociologist greatly influences how he or she answers such questions.

There are three primary theoretical perspectives employed by contemporary sociologists:
functionalism
,
conflict
, and
symbolic interactionism
. Functionalism, which is the focus of this chapter, has been a dominant force in sociology since the emergence of the discipline in Europe during the nineteenth century and is based largely on the work of the French social scientist Emile Durkheim. According to the functionalist theoretical perspective, society is held together by social consensus, or cohesion, in which members of society agree upon—and work together to achieve—what is best for all of society.
⁸⁴
Functionalism states that the various institutions of society such as families, education, and the labor market are all interdependent and they collectively contribute to society’s operation as a whole.
⁸⁵
For example, the government or state may provide education and in return, families may pay taxes that the state needs to maintain its operations. Families and the state are thus dependent upon one another to meet their respective needs and to
function
properly as a total, collaborative unit. From a functionalist perspective, families rely on state-provided education to enable their children to secure good jobs and live happy, productive lives. As they grow up and receive an education, children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens who, like their parents, support the state. According to functionalism, the interdependent institutions
of society produce order, stability, and productivity for all. Conversely, if the institutions of society are out of balance or otherwise in conflict with one another, then crime and deviance are to be expected.