The BTK Story

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The BTK Tapes

By Rachael Bell

In August 2005, Sedgwick County prosecutors made a startling discovery, one that could have significant impact on serial killer Dennis Rader's sentencing hearing. They learned that Harvard neuropsychologist Dr. Robert Mendoza, who was hired by the defense team to evaluate Rader, taped the interview with the self-confessed killer at Sedgwick County Courthouse jail just days before he confessed to the murders in June. Prosecutors only learned about the tapes when NBC began advertising that they were going to publicly air portions of the tapes on August 12^th during the television station's popular nighttime news program Dateline NBC.  According to Hurst Laviana of the Wichita Eagle, the network has been promoting the interview as "the first exclusive look inside the mind of the man."

Prosecutors have since filed a motion with the county court to be granted access to the tapes, if they could get them, in order to evaluate their content before Rader's sentencing hearing on August 17^th. Attorneys for the defense suggested during court proceedings that they also were interested in evaluating the tapes that they supposedly never saw. No one seemed to know for certain exactly how NBC obtained copies of the tapes and the network was unwilling to reveal their source. What was certain was that the tapes held valuable information that could significantly influence Rader's sentencing.

Laviana stated that new information also surfaced concerning a "copy of a release signed by Rader on the day of the interview, which "allows Mendoza and his company to have full use of any materials obtained during the evaluation." The information has led some to question whether Mendoza and the company for which he works handed the tapes over to NBC and if they did, whether they profited financially from the transaction. Thus far, the rumors have been unsubstantiated and Mendoza has not come forward with any information concerning the tapes.

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1. Birth of a Serial Killer
2. Dawn
3. Fetish
4. Different Worlds Collide
5. Vanishing Act
6. Ghost Busters
7. The Next Step
8. Cold Case Squad
9. Profile
10. Aftermath
11. BTK Returns
12. Will There Be More?
13. More Clues
14. Name Games
15. Police Power
16. Too Many Clues
17. BTK Suspect Arrested
18. Who is Dennis Rader?
19. New Revelations
20. Exercising Power and Control
21. Rader Court Hearing
22. New Clues
23. BTK Messages Revealed
24. Kerri Rader's DNA
25. Digital Footprints
26. BTK's Signature
27. Those Who Remain
28. Piecing Together the Puzzle
29. Nightmare in Wichita - Book Review
30. Not Guilty
31. Rader Uncovered
32. Creating an Insanity Plea
33. Surprise Confession: Otero Murders
34. Confession: Kathryn Bright
35. Confession: Shirley Vian Relford
36. Confession: Nancy Fox
37. Confession: Marine Hedge
38. Confession: Vicki Wegerle
39. Confession: Dolores Davis
40. The Psychopathic Mind
41. Dennis Rader Speaks
42. Legal Matters: Dennis Rader Update
43. The BTK Tapes
44. In Rader's Own Words
45. Otero Murders' Evidence
46. Mounting Evidence
47. Shirley Vian Relford Case Evidence
48. Nancy Fox and Marine Hedge Case Evidence
49. Vicki Wegerle and Dolores Davis Case Evidence
50. Evil Personified
51. Sentencing
52. Photo Gallery
53. Bibliography