BTK Defense Shrouded In Mystery

Aside from an early routine defense motion for discovery of evidence, the court record on the case against BTK suspect Dennis Rader has been unusually silent.

BTK stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill." In messages to the press and police, the serial killer used the initials to describe how he treated his victims: Bind them, torture them, kill them.

Despite the scheduled start Monday of what could arguably be the most notorious, well-publicized case in Kansas history, no additional jurors have been requested and defense attorneys have not asked for more time to prepare their case.

In fact, none of the typical defense strategies have been filed, said Jim Pratt, a Wichita criminal defense attorney who has watched the case. No motion for a change of venue is on record and there are no motions to suppress evidence — or even for a detailed juror questionnaire.

The judge set trial to begin Monday, but nearly everyone had expected it to be postponed given the complexity of the 10-count, first-degree murder case. Getting a continuance would have been easy; all it usually takes in Sedgwick County is a call to the prosecutors and scheduling clerk rather than a formal motion, Pratt said.

But Rader's court-appointed attorneys have not been talking. Their spokesman, Mark Orr, would say only that whatever happens in the case will happen in court. Orr said the defense attorneys had not divulged to him what they planned to do and were not taking calls from reporters.

Prosecutors insist no plea deal has been made. Last month when Rader was arraigned, he stood mute as District Judge Gregory Waller entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

If Rader does plead guilty Monday, he is scheduled to be sentenced on August 17, reports CBS News Correspondent Erin Moriarty. He can't get the death penalty, because there wasn't one when he committed these murders, but the prosecutor may try for something known as the "Hard 40." If she can show at sentencing that the Delores Davis murder was a particularly horrific crime, Rader will get 40 years with no chance of parole, guaranteeing a life in prison.
Rader, 60, of Park City, is accused of killing 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991.

He is being tried for Davis' murder, the last one he allegedly committed. The 62-year-old woman was abducted from her home in 1991 and found nearly two weeks later strangled under a bridge.

"It would be very unusual for a jury trial to begin at first setting, but so far everything about this case has been unusual," said Georgia Cole, spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.

All prosecutors know, Cole said, is that some type of court proceeding will be held on Monday.

"Beyond that, I cannot guess," she said.

Jury clerk Linda Marvin said the usual pool of 120 prospective jurors would be on hand Monday, with the usual 200 extra people on call.

Rader was a scout leader well-known in the Wichita area: When caught, he was working as a dog catcher and compliance officer. Before that, he was a census taker and a security system installer.

"Our gut feeling was that he was somebody that hid in plain sight, that he was not somebody that his neighbors would necessarily suspect," former Wichita detective Arlyn Smith, who worked on the case in the late 1970s, told CBS News.

"I'll bet you any amount of money he was in her home chit-chatting," said the victim's son, Jeff Davis.

After Davis' murder, BTK disappeared for 13 years, until last fall when he inexplicably began sending messages again.

"What right did he have to play God with Mom or any of them?" asked Jeff Davis.