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Kan. town warns BTK souvenir hunters
2007-01-19
Thieves or souvenir hunters caught with pieces of BTK serial killer Dennis Rader's former home will be prosecuted "with glee", the mayor said. Earlier this month, Park City bought the suburban Wichita house from Rader's ex-wife for a little less than $60,000 with plans to tear it down and build a park access point. Rader and his family lived in the home for 25 years before he pleaded guilty to killing 10 people between 1974 and 1991. He is serving 10 consecutive life terms in prison. Rader called himself BTK for his preferred method of killing, "bind, torture and kill." The city would not disclose when demolition would begin or where the debris would be buried or burned. "This is not meant to be a spectacle," Mayor Dee Stuart said Thursday. On Friday, at least one seller on eBay offered to ship a box full of wood purported to be from the interior walls of Rader's home. The online auction site also had a posted picture of a demolished structure, though Rader's home is still standing. The auction was to end next Wednesday, but eBay posted a notice Friday afternoon that said bidding had ended with no bids received. It was not immediately clear whether eBay or the seller stopped the auction. Catherine England, an eBay spokeswoman, said eBay prohibits auctioning so-called "murderabilia" out of respect for the families of murder victims and as part of its policy on offensive material. Shortly after Rader's arrest in February 2005, people tried to use eBay to sell tickets Rader had written as an animal control officer, Stuart said. The auctions were eventually removed, she said.
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