The Arrest of the BTK Killer Essay

BTK was one of the most notorious serial killers in the US criminal history. Dennis Rader, known as BTK, have started his crimes in the 1970s but he was arrested only three decades later in 2005, when his crimes were ultimately revealed and new crimes were prevented (Smith, 2006). At the same time, BTK was a reasonable serial killer, who committed his crimes meticulously and prepared them carefully. However, his behavior and frequent attempts to make his crimes known to the public reveal his vanity, which was probably the main driver for his crimes because murders became the major tool through which he attempted to gain the public recognition and a sort of glory. Therefore, the fame was one of his main goals and he used murders to reach this goal, even though it cost the life to his victims.

BTK was apparently a vain but reasonable person. He was looking for the public and media attention, but he made it cautiously. At any rate, in spite of his regular communication with media and public via letters, which he sent, the police have failed to arrest him until 2005. Probably, he needed the media and public attention to satisfy his vanity. At the same time, his letters reveals his attempts to play with the police. In this regard, his decision to resume his letters in 2004 reveal the fact that he felt his superiority, on the one hand, but, on the other hand, he needed to feel the risk of being caught by the police or playing tricks on the police to manifest his superiority. His last crime dated back to 1991 but after more than a decade, in 2004, he resumed sending his letters (Beattie, 2005). In such a way, he needed to play with the police to show his superiority or just to have that feeling of taking risks and avoiding the possible arrest.

Furthermore, BTK did not value human life at all. Instead, he was a cold-blooded serial killer, who was just using his favorite method of murdering, strangling. At this point, it is possible to refer to the murder of Kathryn Bright, whom he had to stab, when she attempted to escape from him. He was angry that he has failed to use his favorite method of strangulation after stabbing her (Davis, 1996). BTK was very meticulous in selection his victims and preparation for the crime. At the same time, he was not a very patient person. For example, one of his victims, Anna Williams, narrowly escaped the death because she returned back home too late and BTK could not wait for her so long. Anyway, he planned every murder carefully and prepared for the crime.

At the same time, BTK preserved items from the crime scenes that reveals his intention to preserve souvenirs of his crimes. In this regard, he was probably a sentimental person in a way because he wanted to preserve memories of his crime. On the other hand, he preserved those items because of his vanity because they were a sort of trophies for him, which he gained by murdering his victims (Douglas, 2007). He also intended to show his superiority by those trophies and he probably satisfied his vanity by those items, which he collected as trophies. The collection of items from crime scenes is another evidence of his meticulous attitude to his crimes and his vanity and strife for fame.

Thus, Dennis Rader, better known as BTK, became a serial killer, who was looking for the fame and publicity. He was a reasonable, meticulous but impatient killer, who enjoyed playing tricks on the police and taking risks by communicating all his crimes to the police. However, his passion for taking risks and his strife for fame resulted ultimately in his arrest and imprisonment.

References:

Beattie, R. (2005). Nightmare In Wichita: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler. New American Library.

Davis, J.M. (1996). The Shadow of Evil: Where Is God in a Violent World?. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

Douglas, J.E. (2007). Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind Thirty Years of Hunting for the Wichita Serial Killer. Jossey Bass Wiley.

Smith, C. (2006). The BTK Murders: Inside the “Bind Torture Kill” Case that Terrified America’s Heartland. St. Martin’s True Crime.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

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freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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