‘Very lonely’: BTK killer Dennis Rader says he sympathizes with Bryan Kohberger who is in solitary confinement
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently
EL DORADO, KANSAS: BTK serial killer Dennis Rader has sympathized with quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, saying he can understand how he is feeling behind bars. Criminology student Bryan Kohberger, 28, studied under Dr. Katherine Ramsland, the psychologist who wrote a book on the strangler, Dennis Rader.
Kohberger is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death as they slept in an off-campus rental home on November 13. He has been in custody since December 30. BTK's daughter initially speculated that he and the Idaho murders suspect could have been in contact. While the serial killer has denied such claims, he said he understood what Kohberger was going through, sitting in solitary confinement while awaiting his trial.
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'I know how he feels'
"Since I spent from February 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself I know how he feels," Rader, who gave himself the 'Bind, Torture, Kill' nickname, told Fox News. "Very lonely." Rader recalled how he found ways to pass the time with his defense attorney and wanted to examine "everything" prosecutors had on him despite confessing to his crimes on the day of his arrest. "[Rader] was going back and forth between pleading not guilty and guilty. One difference is dad confessed and seemed relieved, versus [Kohberger] has to feel very alone," his daughter Kerri Rawson told Fox News.
Uncanny similarities
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania, where Kohberger was arrested, believe the suspect may have waived his extradition rights out of the "need to know" how investigators established probable cause against him after the crime. Rader remembered how he began receiving several letters and artwork from fans once he was in custody. "And soon letters started to come in," he told Fox News. "[I] read a lot of the Bible and wrote poetry." The murderer's writings during that time include a notorious missive titled 'Black Friday' — possibly referencing his arrest — which he undersigned, 'The Suspect.' Rawson noted, "Dad had fan mail very early, and I’m seeing it being sent to Bryan. And art being made — like women [are] in love with these guys." As mentioned, Kohberger studied for his master's degree in criminal justice at DeSales University under Dr. Katherine Ramsland, who co-authored a book with Rader. What's more? Rader also had a degree in criminal justice like Kohberger.
Rader admitted that criminology students often sent him messages in prison, but he told Fox News that the Idaho murders suspect never tried to reach out to him. Kohberger, after attending DeSales, went on to seek a PhD in the department of criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University, which reportedly has a specialized "Complex Social Interaction Lab" that includes a database of police bodycam footage from more than five departments. Last month, however, a spokesman for the university told Fox News that Kohberger was never granted access to the tapes. Meanwhile, Moscow police said they don't share the footage with the program.