Police: BTK Planned To Kill Again

As Dennis Rader begins serving his sentence, questions remain whether there are other unsolved murders he could have committed to which he never confessed, perhaps after the death penalty was reinstated in Kansas in 1994.

Authorities said Friday they can connect 10 murders to the BTK killer, although they have evidence that Rader was involved in other burglaries.

But they also acknowledged they never linked Rader to two Park City murders until he confessed to them after his capture. Rader had planned to kill again, and had even set a date: Oct. 22, 2004, Police Chief Norman Williams said Friday.

Williams declined to identify the victim, who lived near Wichita.

FBI special agent Kevin Stafford said investigators believe a person with Rader's personality type would have told police about additional murders. Kansas Bureau of Investigation director Larry Welch said that during Rader's interrogations, authorities "couldn't shut him up."

"If there are any additional, he would have told us," Williams said.

Authorities said there is also no evidence pointing to him in any unsolved cold cases.

Rader, 60, was transported Friday to the maximum-security El Dorado Correctional Facility. He got the stiffest sentence the law allowed: 10 consecutive life terms with no chance of parole for 175 years. Kansas had no death penalty at the times of his crimes.

Authorities said on the ride to the prison, Rader inserted himself in conversation, commenting on the scenery and media coverage of his case. At one point, a radio station played the emotional testimony of victims' family members from his sentencing, Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said.

"He stared out the window," Steed said. "And when he turned and looked at me he had tears in his eyes."

It is uncertain whether Rader will spend the rest of his life at El Dorado. He'll undergo a two-week screening to determine if he is best fit to remain there or be transferred to one of the state's other maximum-security prisons.

"Public safety is our primary mission," said Ray Roberts, the El Dorado warden.

Rader will be held in an 80-square-foot cell with a concrete slab bunk, metal shelving and chair, a sink and a plastic trash can. He'll be issued a brown jumpsuit and blue slip-on shoes.

At least initially, Rader will have no television or radio and limited access to reading materials, except his own legal documents. His meals will be delivered through an opening in his cell door.

He will be allowed three brief showers and five one-hour recreation periods each week. During the free time, he'll be kept in restraints and escorted to a 10-foot-by-10-foot outdoor pen surrounded on the sides and top by chain link.

More restrictions could be placed on Rader; they are the subject of a hearing likely to be held in about a month.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston recommended the killer be barred from seeing or listening to news reports regarding his murders, prohibited from possessing anything with which he could draw or write about his sexual fantasies, and disallowed from making audio or visual recordings other than for law enforcement purposes.

All the requested restrictions come from a prosecution desire to take away anything that could help Rader relive his crimes.

Defense attorney Steve Osburn said he was surprised by the request and said it brought up First Amendment issues.

During his nearly six-month stay at the Sedgwick County jail while awaiting trial, Rader received 436 letters, with another 34 items of mail returned because of contraband such as cash or stamps. He also got 66 media requests. Steed said he would not characterize any of the letters as fan mail.

Rader sent out more than 300 letters to 43 cities in 12 states and the Netherlands.