Inside the Mind of BTK

268 INSIDE THE MIND OF BTK
would need to build an ironclad case against Rader. Deep down,
Landwehr wasn’t worried. He knew it was just a matter of time before
Rader came clean and confessed. But he also knew that getting Rader
to admit that he was BTK was just part of what he needed to do.
More than anything, it was crucial that Rader copped to each of
the ten murders police now suspected he’d committed, especially those
three homicides he’d never publicly claimed responsibility for—Kathy
Bright, Marine Hedge, and Dolores Davis.
But now that they’d sent his saliva off to be tested at a crime lab
in Topeka, Rader also knew it was just a matter of time.
“I thank you for being so forthright,” agent Morton said.
“Well,” Rader replied, “with DNA folks out there, not much I can
do about it. Haven’t really said I’m BTK, but pretty close, I guess.”
“Close?” asked Morton.
“Close,” Rader agreed.
“I think,” Morton said, “you’ll feel better if—”
“Yeah, it’s going to be an emotional drain on me. It’s going to hit
me, starting right now.”
But still Rader didn’t say it, did not confess in a definitive way. So
Landwehr, in an effort to keep things moving, began to explain the
DNA evidence investigators had amassed against him. Rader listened
thoughtfully, then asked, “Isn’t any way you can get out of the DNA,
right?”
“You can’t get out of your DNA unless you have had a total blood
transfer and lost every organ in your body,” Landwehr smiled, slowly
tapping the desk with his index finger.
“Wouldn’t that be a bummer if the BTK copycat confessed and
then it didn’t match?” Rader asked.
Landwehr looked deep into Rader’s eyes. “With the evidence I got,
I know that there’s somebody in your family that knows who BTK is,”
he said. “I knew this before we even walked in here, before I could get
probable cause to arrest you.”
The detective paused for a moment, then added, “I know that BTK
is the father of your children. That’s what brings me to you. That’s why
I know your DNA is going to match BTK’s.”
Morton, who had disappeared from the room a few minutes earlier,
returned and interrupted the two men.
“The preacher is on his way,” he said. “So why don’t you just say it.”
Rader took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. “I guess
you guys got me,” he mumbled. “What else can I say?”