Serial killings suspect writes to church where he was a leader

PARK CITY, Kan. – The man accused of the BTK serial killings wrote a “very generic, very laid-back” letter to his former congregation, thanking church members for their support and asking for their prayers, the pastor said Friday.

Dennis Rader, 60, has been in custody since his Feb. 25 arrest, and is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder for slayings from 1974 to 1991.

The Rev. Michael Clark of Christ Lutheran Church, who visits Rader in the county jail a couple times a week, said the letter had been posted on the church bulletin board for about a month; he took it down Friday.

“I posted it on the bulletin board where we have all the greetings, all the letters, all the expressions of concern for members of the congregation,” Clark said. “I mentioned in a worship service that I had copies posted on the bulletin board. It’s a very generic, very laid-back letter expressing his appreciation.”

BTK – a self-coined nickname that stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill” – stoked fears throughout the 1970s in Wichita, a manufacturing center about 180 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo.

Rader, a former city codes enforcement supervisor in Park City, has been a member of the church for 30 years, serving as an usher and president of the church council.

Clark said his congregation’s feelings for Rader since his arrest have been mixed, though he said the ordeal has brought some families who had been inactive back to the church.

Rader is expected to enter a plea at his arraignment May 3.