Writer Steve Singular portrays the BTK killer's religious side
"BTK Unholy Messenger" includes reflections from Dennis Rader's minister
12:10 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, 2006
The video interview with Steve Singular is 6 minutes long and may take a while to download in some browsers.
What's the story behind the story of the BTK killer? 49 News found out in an interview with Steve Singular, New York Times best-selling author and true crime writer.
Writing "BTK Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer" was not Singular's idea.
The Lyndon, Kansas, native, Singular was home visiting his parents and his old high school when his old coach suggested he write a book about the BTK killer.
"No, I really don't want to. Somebody else was probably doing that," Singular remembers thinking.
However, the coach insisted that Singular talk to the officer who threw Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, on the ground and cuffed him during his arrest in Wichita Feb. 25, 2005. That officer was the coach's son-in-law.
About the book and writer
"BTK Unholy Messenger by Steve Singular is the only book about the BTK to examine the connections between religious fundamentalism and violence, and the roles they play in this strange saga. Singular extensively interviewed Dennis Rader's minister and detectives, including one of the arresting officers. He communicated with the murderer through letters, which helped provide information for the book.
Singular has written one novel and 15 nonfiction books, including one about the O.J. Simpson trial and the JonBenet Ramsey homicide. Learn more on stephensingular.com
And so, an impromptu cell phone conversation with an arresting officer sparked Singular's passion and desire to write about this BTK's heinous crimes and his arrest. He later found that faith and childhood behavior played into Rader's decision-making process and into the story he was about to write.
Singular not only interviewed numerous detectives, he also interviewed the minister at the church Rader regularly attended.
The minister was the one person who stood up for Rader after his arrest. The minister and Rader had prayed together for months after his arrest. It was no suprise then that the news about one of his parishioners committing serial murders "was a great blow to him and made him rethink some of his faith," Singular said.
Rader's practice of religion helped give him a clean conscience for all the heinous crimes he'd committed, Singular said.
"He sort of used religion to tell himself that he was okay, that he could do these things and he could go to church and pray and say 'I'm sorry' or ask for forgiveness," Singular said. "And somehow he could rationalize that in his own mind 'God forgives me' or 'Jesus forgives me.' But, these people were still dead."
The book compares and contrasts the minister and Rader, both the same age, same faith and who have strikingly similar physical features. But while the minister helped people and dealt with problems directly, Rader harmed people and used excuses, like "a demon made me do it."
Singular said Rader did begin to show some remorse after many court appearances, but it will be a long time before the reality of the pain he's caused to families and communities sinks in.
Rader's interrogation by police lasted 32 straight hours and involved 8 to 9 detectives rotating in and out.
"Finally he could tell his story," Singular said of a man who had kept secrets all his life.
As a child, Rader was a loner. He drew elaborate pictures of women tied up and killed animals in barns, Singular said.
"Nobody knew about it or saw it," he said. "By the time he was 10 or 12 years old, he'd perfected hiding who he really was."
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