PARK CITY, Kan. – The owner of an exotic dance club bought the modest home of BTK killer Dennis Rader (search) for $90,000, saying she knows she overbid but wants the proceeds to help Rader's family.
Michelle Borin (search), well-known in the region through late-night TV commercials for her Michelle's Beach House club, described herself after the auction Monday night as a real estate investor.
She said she had no plans for the home, which had an assessed value of $57,000.
Borin told The Wichita Eagle her only motivation was to help Rader's wife, Paula, and their two grown children because their lives have been shattered.
"I know I overbid on the house," she said.
"I've worked very hard all my life to get where I am today," said Borin, 45. "I couldn't even imagine what she is going through. This is the least I can do."
The auction in the backyard of the three-bedroom ranch, built in 1954, drew 30 to 40 potential buyers. Lonny McCurdy, owner of McCurdy Auction Service, said Borin's bid had been accepted.
Last week a judge ordered that proceeds from the sale be sent to the court clerk. The court will decide whether the money will be used to settle wrongful-death lawsuits filed against Rader by victims' families. At least three such suits were filed as of Monday.
Rader, 60, pleaded guilty last month to killing 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991. In taunting messages to police and news media, he called himself BTK (search), standing for "Bind, Torture, Kill." After long silence, the messages resumed last year, leading to his arrest in February.
Sentencing is set for Aug. 17.
Another bidder, Byron Jones, offered $60,000 before dropping out of the bidding. He said he would have sold the house "inch by inch" on the Internet, and that media attention probably doubled the house's price.
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