Judge enters not guilty plea for alleged BTK serial killer; prosecutor to seek 40-year term

Rader chose to stand mute during the brief arraignment and asked District Court Judge Gregory Waller to enter the plea for him. Waller entered the not guilty plea and set a trial date for June 27, although most expect the trial date to eventually be pushed back. Rader, 60, a former city compliance officer from suburban Park City, was arrested Feb. 25 and charged in 10 deaths linked to the serial killer known as BTK. The killer, whose nickname stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill," had taunted officials and the public with messages. Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty because the crimes were committed before 1994, when Kansas passed its capital punishment law. "I look forward to a trial of this case because it is important for people to know ... to be able to say it is over," District Attorney Nola Foulston said after the hearing. A defense lawyer said an insanity defense was not likely. In an unusual maneuver, Foulston had formally served papers to Rader during the hearing in the 1991 death of Dolores Davis, the most recent slaying attributed to BTK. Foulston told Rader she would seek a so-called "hard 40" sentence in that case, meaning 40 years without a chance of parole. As Rader was being taken out of the courtroom, one victim relative was heard to say, "Don't worry, you won't last that long." About a dozen family members attended the hearing but left without making any comment. The earliest known crimes linked to the BTK strangler date to Jan. 15, 1974, when Joseph Otero, 38, and his 34-year-old wife, Julie, were found strangled in their home. Also killed were their 11-year-old daughter, Josephine, and 9-year-old son, Joseph. BTK's next three known victims were young women found strangled in their homes: Kathryn Bright, 21, on April 4, 1974; Shirley Vian, 24, on March 17, 1977; and Nancy Fox, 25, on Dec. 8, 1977. After years of silence, the killer resurfaced last year with a letter to The Wichita Eagle that included photos of the Sept. 16, 1986, strangulation of Vicki Wegerle and a photocopy of her missing driver's license. Her case had not been linked to BTK until then. That letter was followed by several other cryptic messages and packages to local news media. The break in the case came after a computer diskette the killer had sent was traced to Rader's church. Rader also is charged with the killings of Marine Hedge, 53, who was abducted from her Park City home on April 27, 1985, and found dead along a dirt road eight days later, and Davis, 62. Davis was abducted from her Park City home on Jan. 19, 1991, and found strangled two weeks later. Neither of those deaths were linked to BTK until after Rader's arrest. In a news conference after Tuesday's hearing, Foulston said Davis' death happened after Kansas law was changed to allow the "hard 40" sentence. The other nine deaths would allow a sentence of life in prison, but would permit parole after 15 years. Public defender Steve Osburn said Rader's defense team is considering seeking a change of venue but had not made a final decision. He said attorneys do not anticipate making Rader's mental competency a part of the defense. "We still have a lot of discovery left," Osburn said. "Most has yet to be seen." With so much evidence to review, a trial is likely more than a year away, Mark Orr, a spokesman for the public defender's office, had said earlier. Recently unsealed documents show prosecutors have listed 247 potential witnesses, including law enforcement officers, relatives of the victims and reporters. Rader waived his right last month to a preliminary hearing, meaning prosecutors will not have to publicly reveal any of their case against Rader until trial.