WICHITA, Kan. – BTK (search) serial killer Dennis Rader (search) plans to act as his own lawyer in wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of his 10 victims.
Rader filed a notice of his intention Thursday to represent himself "pro se," a legal term that means he plans to go to court without a lawyer. Mark Hutton (search), a lawyer for two relatives of the victims, said it appeared Rader was getting legal advice in prison.
"I've got to tell you, the legal pleading he's setting forth is picture perfect," Hutton said. "Either there's an attorney incarcerated over there or a hotshot paralegal."
In a courtroom confession last month, Rader, 60, said sexual fantasies drove him to kill 10 people in the Wichita (search) area between 1974 and 1991. As BTK — his own moniker, which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill" — he taunted media and police in communications that eventually led to his arrest. His sentencing is set for Aug. 17.
His wife, Paula, was granted a divorce on Tuesday after a judge waived the usual 60-day waiting period.
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