Inside the Mind of BTK

290 INSIDE THE MIND OF BTK
domination, control of that victim....He can and does the same to law
enforcement....Background of virtually all of them [serial killers] came
from abusive or otherwise severely dysfunctional background, but that
doesn’t excuse what they do. . . . Compelled to commit violent predatory
crime....Sexual predators and child molesters do enjoy their crimes....
Signature aspect—better than MO. MO is what an offender has to do to
accomplish a crime. The signature, on the other hand, [is what the]
offender has to do to fulfill himself emotionally. It’s not needed to successfully
accomplish the crime. But it is the reason he undertakes the particular
crime in the first place. ...Predator in the night and always on
the hunt for victim of opportunity....Voyeurism, which would be consistent
with hunting, getting ready for next assault. . . . Geographic comfort....The
sadistic killer anticipates his crime. In fact, he has perfected
his MO over his criminal career. Fantasy evolves and he gains more experience....Bring
weapon....Torture kit, whip, manacles, etc....Place
to take his victim, not disturbed. Obscure cabin in woods outfitted w/
sound proof....Uses ruse....May take photographs or record the scenes
....Take souvenirs—jewelry,underwear. ...Most often ends in murder....Killing
the victim may be the integral part of the sadistic fantasy
scenario....Sadistic type—white, above-normal intelligence, may be
college educated with good middle class job. He will have a dominant
personality and collect bondage and sadomasochist bondage. He may collect
related items, such as knives, guns, read military, law enforcement or
survivalist literature. He may have a large attack-type dog....Because
of his intelligence and planning, he will be difficult to apprehend.
On each of the next four pages, he created another type of chart,
comparing himself with other serial killers, the ones with whom he
yearned to share equal billing. This was another example of Rader’s
bloated ego at work. His murders made him somebody, although he
seemed to have forgotten that they started out as a secret, something
he wanted no one to know about. But the moment he realized how
much attention his crimes were receiving from the media, he reveled
in the notoriety.
Suddenly he wanted the world to know that the BTK Strangler
was badder than bad and utterly unstoppable. The same thing happened
to David Berkowitz, Ted Kaczynski, and the Zodiac Killer. (This
last case ranks as one of the nation’s major unsolved serial murder
cases.) The rush created by seeing and hearing his name in the media
gave Rader a far better buzz than the one he received from actually
killing another human being.