In 1974, Dennis Rader began killing innocent individuals, with majority of his victims being women. Rader as known his motto – “Bind ’em, torture ’em, kill ’em”. In Wichita, Kansas the “BTK Killer” murdered member of the Otero family. It was here that the BTK Killer developed a pattern of behavior found in all his murders over the next 30 years. He would “BTK” his victims and then leave bodily fluids at the crime scenes which highlighted the sexual arousal Rader received from his behaviors.
In 2005, Rader pleaded guilty to all charges in court, including 10 counts of murder. While in court, Rader was able to recite the gruesome details of his murders without a hint of remorse or guilt. HE was send to El Dorado Correctional Facility to serve 10 life sentences.
As well as leaving a horrifying mark on society around his active time, the BTK killer’s crimes also influenced several media projects, including Stephen King’s “A Good Marriage” and Netflix’s “Mindhunter”.
I think that the normalization of true crime and real life murder adaptations has gone too far. People wait for documentaries about court cases in the media to make it into the newest hot topic of discussion. I think that all the media attention in this way minimizes the impact and harm that was done by these individuals. A lot of the time it turns the event into a story of sorts and pulls on the dramatic parts to create “good” media. Though a lot of art is based in real life, I think a question we should also ask is when does it go too far? How many people need to be hurt before art becomes part of the problem? In this case basing characters in movies or shows off an actual murderer is in my opinion too far. We have now minimized the impact of this individuals actions on the victims and their families in order to appeal to the masses and make some money. Where is the empathy? Where is the compassion for these victims?