EAR/ONS and the BTK Killer - Motivations.
Nov 10, 2017 5:51:54 GMT
NaptimeNancy, ElfinEars, and 3 more like this
Post by Nerdfather on Nov 10, 2017 5:51:54 GMT
When people discuss the East Area Rapist, there comes a point that baffles everybody: Why and how did he stop? Typically, he gets compared to Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. The main reason is that of the sudden stop of criminal activity.
Dennis Rader stopped murdering for ten years. Nobody knew why. There was countless speculation. He relocated to another state. Died. Prison. It turned out, the reason he came to a complete halt was due to priorities. He became a father of two, and most of his time was dedicated to his family.
Though Rader seemingly disappeared for ten years, he was finally apprehended in 2005. He told authorities he was planning to kill again and had been stalking his target for quite some time. Thankfully, he didn't have the chance to act out on his fantasy.
When he appeared in court and confessed his crimes on television on June 27, 2005, he went into deep details on each particular murder. As he described the events that unfolded in the home of the Otero family, he made a very intriguing statement.
He told the judge, "I think I took Mr. Otero's watch. I guess I took a radio. I forgot about that, but apparently, I took a radio." The judge asked, "Why did you take these things?" Rader replied, "I don't know. I have no idea. Just uh ... [shruggs his shoulders]."
This statement by Rader fascinated me. We know serial killers often take items from their victims for a trophy. Sometimes there are reasons for the specific items taken, while other times there may not be any significant meaning.
When people examine the items stolen by the East Area Rapist, there is a lot of emphasis on "why." What did he do with these various belongings? Did he sell the jewelry to a street dealer or pawn shop? Was he using the stolen kitchen appliances for his own residence?
The items he had taken did have value. However, perhaps there wasn't any key reason as to why he took what he did. In fact, maybe he didn't know why just as Dennis Rader. It's possible he just did. That's it. He simply wanted to.
To be fair, I have no personal opinion on the matter. That said, we have to ask ourselves: Are we (me included) over-analyzing the East Area Rapists' motivations? Sometimes, especially with this unsolved case, we make things more complicated than they have to be. At the end of the day, there may not be any rhyme or reason, and the terrifying cold-hearted truth could simply be explained by him just wanting to.
Dennis Rader stopped murdering for ten years. Nobody knew why. There was countless speculation. He relocated to another state. Died. Prison. It turned out, the reason he came to a complete halt was due to priorities. He became a father of two, and most of his time was dedicated to his family.
Though Rader seemingly disappeared for ten years, he was finally apprehended in 2005. He told authorities he was planning to kill again and had been stalking his target for quite some time. Thankfully, he didn't have the chance to act out on his fantasy.
When he appeared in court and confessed his crimes on television on June 27, 2005, he went into deep details on each particular murder. As he described the events that unfolded in the home of the Otero family, he made a very intriguing statement.
He told the judge, "I think I took Mr. Otero's watch. I guess I took a radio. I forgot about that, but apparently, I took a radio." The judge asked, "Why did you take these things?" Rader replied, "I don't know. I have no idea. Just uh ... [shruggs his shoulders]."
This statement by Rader fascinated me. We know serial killers often take items from their victims for a trophy. Sometimes there are reasons for the specific items taken, while other times there may not be any significant meaning.
When people examine the items stolen by the East Area Rapist, there is a lot of emphasis on "why." What did he do with these various belongings? Did he sell the jewelry to a street dealer or pawn shop? Was he using the stolen kitchen appliances for his own residence?
The items he had taken did have value. However, perhaps there wasn't any key reason as to why he took what he did. In fact, maybe he didn't know why just as Dennis Rader. It's possible he just did. That's it. He simply wanted to.
To be fair, I have no personal opinion on the matter. That said, we have to ask ourselves: Are we (me included) over-analyzing the East Area Rapists' motivations? Sometimes, especially with this unsolved case, we make things more complicated than they have to be. At the end of the day, there may not be any rhyme or reason, and the terrifying cold-hearted truth could simply be explained by him just wanting to.