Dennis Rader's Neighbors Describe the Man Accused of Being the BTK Killer

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," Feb. 28, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

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SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Our top story tonight. Authorities in Kansas say this man,
Dennis Rader (search), is in fact the serial killer known as BTK. Rader was arrested on Friday in connection with 10 murders between 1974 and 1991.And according to sources he has already confessed to at least six of the killings.

But who is the man and how did he evade authorities for 30 years while under — he was right under their noses?

Joining us now from Wichita, Kansas, two of Mr. Rader's neighbors, Bill and Tina Lindsay.

Guys, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

Bill, I want to start with you. Tell us your connection to him, your relationship with him, what you knew about him.

BILL LINDSAY, NEIGHBOR: I met Mr. Rader about the latter part of '99. He was an animal control officer. We met him because we were having problems with stray animals. And he furnished a couple of traps to catch them.

And then as the years progressed, he just kept showing up more and more, but our relationship was just basically with him being a compliance officer. And you know, us as citizens of Park City.

HANNITY: What — I mean, from the people that [have described him] this compliance officer, some people thought he was overly aggressive. Did you ever have any — any dealings with him in that capacity?

B. LINDSAY: Yes. We had had some numerous citations like our trash cart was — being visible from the road. I had several years back complained about removing a bunch of trees from my property and was waiting for the Saturday when Park City had their weekend spring cleanup, and he gave me a citation for all these tree limbs being piled up to where we could get to them easily on that Saturday.

And then last summer, I received about five citations from him while I was installing a new engine in our pickup.

HANNITY: Yes. I mean, but this...

B. LINDSAY: He said I couldn't work on my...

HANNITY: Yes. This is just something that everybody, as I understand, grew up with, knowing this BTK Killer was there. This was somebody that was in the minds and hearts of everybody in Wichita. Everyone in the area knew about this.

And then what is it like when you find out that the guy is your neighbor? A guy that you dealt with? A guy that gave you summons, a guy that took pictures of your house, you said, in one interview? A guy that was in your backyard, your home?

B. LINDSAY: It makes you feel real uneasy. A lot of the — a lot of the uneasiness I had at the time that he was really stalking our house was, I was an over-the-road truck driver and my wife and my son were home alone most of the time.

HANNITY: Yes. And, Tina, you feel the same way? What was it like for you?

TINA LINDSAY, NEIGHBOR: It was a very uneasy feeling. I'd walk out to let the dog outside in the morning and — or mid-afternoon, and he'd be there taking pictures or looking around, doing something. And I'd ask him why he was there, and he'd come up with a stupid answer.

And it just made you uneasy. I didn't care for him. The dog didn't care for him one bit.

HANNITY: Dogs know. Did you ever — did you ever suspect, did anybody in your community, your friends — apparently, he was overly aggressive with many people like this. Did you ever suspect, did you ever maybe amongst yourselves have any conjecture that perhaps this guy may be the guy?

T. LINDSAY: No clue whatsoever. It just makes you real uneasy. And — and you stop and think about it now that everything is coming out that, that some of the things that happened in the last year, and start putting the pieces together.

The corner that we live on, the police would be stopping there and walking, walking down through the park and everything else. And you'd go out and ask what was going on, they'd tell you get back in your house.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Tina, Bill, it's Alan Colmes. Good to have you with us. Bill, you had a specific sense that, because he was photographing your house, that he had his sights set on Tina, that she was being stalked by this guy?

B. LINDSAY: I feel that he was. You know, there's times, she would call me and I was, you know, 700 or 800 miles from home on the road and she would, you know, "Dennis is out here again. What do I do?" And the thing is we'd call Park City police.

COLMES: Right.

B. LINDSAY: They would come out and they never would file a report. And that — it's real disturbing that the police department, you know, was kind of covering up for him. We feel that they were covering up for him.

COLMES: As I understand it, you're thinking of filing a suit against the Park City police because of their lack of responsiveness?

B. LINDSAY: Yes, there are several people in the neighborhood that are considering a civil suit against the city.

COLMES: Tina, how was it when you first discovered — when did you finally latch on to the idea that this, indeed, was the BTK Killer? When did that enter your consciousness?

T. LINDSAY: When the DNA came back and they said that it was truly BTK and that he was confessing. It was like, it just really hit home, and it was — with everything that had been happening, it was like, I could finally relax for a little bit and get a good night's sleep, because there for a long time, I wasn't sleeping hardly at all.

COLMES: And because of him specifically?

T. LINDSAY: Yes, because I really didn't trust him, and my dog don't bark very much. And one night, I was sitting at home alone watching TV, and she went off because there was somebody around the house. And I put her on her leash and walked her around the house. I didn't see anybody, but I felt somebody was watching me. I couldn't put my finger on it.

COLMES: Bill, we hear that this was a married father, too...

T. LINDSAY: I just felt really edgy.

COLMES: A Cub Scout leader, active in the Lutheran church, community minded, had a job where he interacted with the public. You're not at all surprised that this could be the BTK person?

B. LINDSAY: No. I've always had a suspicion, because I grew up in the Wichita area, that when he made his first killing with the Oteros, I was 10 years old. And I always had a suspicion it was either — either somebody with — involved in law enforcement or possibly the media, with
the games that he was playing.

COLMES: So you're pretty confident that this is the guy and you — it just kind of made sense to you when the police got him?

B. LINDSAY: Exactly. I mean, you know, Friday, seeing all the extra law — all the extra law enforcement traffic in the area, the Wichita police, the helicopter, and that's not something you see in Park City.

On a usual day you might see a Park City officer in our neighborhood maybe two or three times a day. It's just a real quiet, peaceful neighborhood.

COLMES: Tina, what's the reaction to other neighbors and other people in the neighborhood now? Do they feel pretty much the same way you do?

T. LINDSAY: Yes. They are kind of stunned and just, well, it can't be him. And then other people that have just kind of moved into the neighborhood, they are like, well, we didn't know him.

And I'm like, well, thank God you didn't because, apparently, he was two different personalities, and everybody is asking why and what made him do it?

HANNITY: Guys, we're glad — we're glad for your community and all our friends in Wichita that they got him. And thank you guys for being with us. Appreciate it.

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