Warning: Graphic Excerpts From Tommy Lynn Sells' Transcripts. This is an analysis by the UIS Downstate Illinois Innocence Project of an interview with convicted serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells.

Suspect Dennis Rader details killings in court

(CNN) -- BTK killings suspect Dennis Rader pleaded guilty on Monday to 10 counts of first-degree murder, and matter-of-factly described how he committed the crimes that terrorized the Wichita, Kansas, area for decades. This is a partial transcript of his court appearance.

Sedgwick County District Judge Greg Waller read each charge to Rader and asked if he understood.

JUDGE WALLER: Asphyxiation, inflicting injuries from which the said Joseph Otero did die on or about January 15, 1974.

Sir, do you understand you're charged with murder in the first degree, class A felony, in count one?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: In count number two, it is claimed that on or about the 15th day of January, 1974, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Julie Otero, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Julie Otero did die on or about January 15,1974.

Do you understand that you are charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony, in count two?

RADER: Yes, your honor.

WALLER: In count three, it is claimed on or about the 15th day of January, 1974, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Josephine Otero, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Josephine Otero did die on or about January 15, 1974.

RADER: Yes, your honor.

WALLER: You understand you are charged with first-degree murder, a class A felony. in count three?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: In count four, it's claimed on or about that same day in 1974 in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Joseph Otero Jr., maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation and/or affixation, inflicting injuries from which the said Joseph Otero Jr. did die on or about January 15,1974.

Sir, do you understand that you're charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony, in count four?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: In count five it is claimed on or about the 4th day of April, 1974, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Kathryn Bright, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation and stabbing, inflicting injuries from which the said Kathryn Bright did die on April 4,1974.

Do you understand that you're charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony. in count five?

RADER: Yes, your honor.

WALLER: In count number six, sir, it is claimed that on or about the 17th day of March, 1977, in the county of Sedgwick, state of Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Shirley Vian, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Shirley Vian did die on March 17,1977.

Do you understand that you are charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony. in count number six?

RADER: Yes, your honor.

WALLER: In count seven it's claimed that on or about the 8th day of December, 1977, in the county of Sedgwick, state of Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Nancy Fox, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Nancy Fox did die on December 8,1977.

Sir, do you understand that you're charged with murder in the first degree in count seven?

RADER: Yes, your honor. Breath of fire 2 gba deutsche bahn.

WALLER: In count number eight, it is claimed that on or about the 27th day of April, 1985, to the 28th of April, 1985, in the county of Sedgwick, state of Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Marine Hedge, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Marine Hedge did die on April 27,1985.

Do you understand that you're charged with murder if the first degree, a class A felony, in count eight?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: Sir, in count number nine, it is claimed that on or about the 16th day of September, 1986, in the county of Sedgwick, state of Kansas, that you did then and there unlawfully kill a human being, that being Vicki Wegerle, maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which the said Vicki Wegerle did die on September 16, 1986.

Do you understand that you are charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony, in count nine?

RADER: Yes, your honor. ..

WALLER: Mr. Rader, before I can accept your plea, there are certain things I need to find out from you and about you. I will do this by asking questions of you, sir. Questions which I will need for you to answer out loud. Should I ask you something which you do not understand, please ask me to explain it or repeat it. Should you need to speak to any of your attorneys, please ask me to let you do so and I will.

All right, sir?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: Mr. Rader, as I understand it, you are 60 years of age, having been born March 9,1945. Is that correct?

RADER: Yes, sir. ..

I had just some thinking on what I was going to do to either Mrs. Otero or Josephine, and basically I broke into the house -- or didn't break into the house but when they came out of the house I came in and confronted the family and then we went from there.

WALLER: All right. Had you planned this beforehand?

RADER: To some degree, yes. After I got in the house, I lost control of it. But it was, you know, in the back of my mind I had some ideas of what I was going to do. But I just -- I basically panicked that first day.

WALLER: Beforehand, did you know who was there in the house?

RADER: I thought Mrs. Otero and the two kids, the two younger kids were in the house. I didn't realize Mr. Otero was going to be there.

WALLER: All right. How did you get in to the house?

RADER: I came through the back door. I cut the phone lines. Waited at the back door. Had reservations about even going or just walking away but pretty soon the door opened and I was in.

WALLER: All right. So the door opened. Was it opened for you or did . . .

RADER: I think one of the kids -- I think the -- Jr. -- or not Jr., yes, the younger, Joseph, opened the door. He probably let the dog out, because the dog was in the house at that time.

WALLER: All right. When you went in to the house, what happened then?

RADER: Well, I confronted the family, pulled a pistol to point at Mr. Otero and asked him to, you know, that I was there to basically -- I wanted -- wanted to get the car. I was hungry, food. I was wanted. And I asked him to lie down in the living room. And at that time I realized that wouldn't be a really good idea. So I finally -- the dog was a real problem, so I asked Mr. Otero, could get the dog out. So he had one of the kids put it out. And then I took him back to the bedroom.

WALLER: You took who back to the bedroom?

RADER: The family to the bedroom. The four members.

WALLER: All right. What happened then?

RADER: At that time I tied them up.

WALLER: While still holding them at gun point?

RADER: Well, in between tying, I guess.

WALLER: All right. After you tied them up, what did do you?

RADER: Well, they started complaining about being tied up. And I re-loosened the bonds a couple of times. I tried to make Mr. Otero as comfortable as I could. Apparently he had a cracked rib from a car accident. So I had him put a pillow down for his head. Had he put a -- I think a parka or a coat underneath him. You know, they talked to me about, you know, giving the car and whatever money. I guess they didn't have very much money. And from there I realized that I was already -- I didn't have a mask on or anything. They already could ID me. And I made a decision to go ahead and put them down, I guess, or strangle them.

WALLER: All right. What did you do to Joseph Otero Senior?

RADER: Joseph Otero?

WALLER: Yes, Joseph Otero Senior. Mr. Otero, the father.

RADER: I put a plastic bag over his head and then some cords and tightened it.

WALLER: This was in the bedroom?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: Did he, in fact, suffocate and die as a result of this?

RADER: Not right away. No, sir, he didn't.

WALLER: What happened?

RADER: Well, after that I did Mrs. Otero. I had never strangled anyone before, so I really don't know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take but . . .

WALLER: Was she also tied up there in the bedroom?

RADER: Yes. Yes, both their hands and their feet were tied up. She was on the bed.

WALLER: Where were the children?

RADER: Well, Josephine was on the bed and Junior was on the floor at this time.

WALLER: So we're talking, first of all, about Joseph Otero. So you put the bag over his head and tied it. And he did not die right away. Can you tell me what happened in regards to Joseph Junior?

RADER: He moved over real quick like and I think tore a hole in the bag. And I could tell that he was having some problems there. That at that time the whole family just went -- they went and panicked on me. So I worked pretty quick. I . . .

WALLER: What did you -- you worked pretty quick. What did you do?

RADER: Well, I mean, I strangled Mrs. Otero and then she went out. She passed out. I thought she was dead. She passed out. And I strangled Josephine. She passed out. I thought she was dead. And then I went over and put bag on Jr.'s head, and then, if I remember right, Mrs. Otero came back. She came back and..

WALLER: Sir, let me ask you about Joseph Otero Sr. He had torn a hole in the bag.

RADER: I think I put either a cloth, or a T-shirt, or something over his head and then a bag.

WALLER: Did he subsequently die?

RADER: Yes. I mean, I didn't just stay there and watch him. I was moving around the room.

WALLER: All right, so you indicated you strangled Mrs. Otero after you had done this, is that correct?

RADER: Yes, I went back and strangled her again, and finally killed her at that time.

WALLER: So this is in regards to count two. You first of all put the bag over Joseph Otero's head, and he tore a hole in the bag, and then you went ahead. Did you strangle Mr. Otero then?

RADER: First of all, Mr. Otero was strangled, a bag put over his head and strangled. And then I thought he was going down. Then I went over and strangled Mrs. Otero, and I thought she was down. Then I strangled Josephine, thought she was down, and they I went over to Junior and put the bag on his head.

After that, Mrs. Otero woke back up, and you know, she was pretty upset, what's going on? So I came back and at that point in time I strangled her with a death strangle at that time.

WALLER: With your hands or what?

RADER: No, with a cork, with a rope. And then I think at that point in time, I redid Mr. Otero, put the bag over his head, went over and then -- before that, she asked me to save her son, so I actually had taken the bag off, and then I was really upset at that point in time. So basically, Mr. Otero was down. Mrs. Otero was down. I went ahead and took Junior, I put another bag over his head and took him to the other bedroom at that time.

WALLER: What did you do then?

RADER: I put bag over his head, put a cloth over his head, a T-shirt and a bag, so he couldn't tear a hole in it. And he subsequently died from that. I then went back and Josephine had woke back up.

WALLER: What did you do then?

RADER: I took her to the basement and eventually hung her.

WALLER: You hung her in the basement?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: Did you do anything else at that time?

RADER: Yes, I had some sexual fantasies. That was after she was hung.

WALLER: All right. What did you do then?

RADER: I went through the house, kind of cleaned it up. It's called the right-hand rule; you go from room to room. I picked everything up. I think I took Mr. Otero's watch. I guess I took a radio. I had forgotten about that, but apparently I took radio.

WALLER: Why did you take these things?

RADER: I don't know. I have no idea.

WALLER: What happened then?

RADER: Got the keys to the car. In fact, I had the keys I think earlier before that, because I wanted to make sure I had a way of getting out of the house. I cleaned the house up a bit, made sure everything was packed up and left through the front door. I went over to their car, and then drove over to Dillon's and left the car there, and then eventually walked back to my car.

WALLER: All right. Sir, from what you have just said I take it that the facts you have told me apply to both counts -- all of counts one, two, three and four, is that correct?

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: What did you do here in Sedgwick County?

RADER: Pardon?

WALLER: What did you do then here in Sedgwick County?

RADER: On this particular day..

WALLER: Yes.

RADER: I broke into the house and waited for her to come home.

WALLER: How did you break into the house?

RADER: Through the backdoor, on the east side.

WALLER: All right. And you waited for her to come home. Where did you wait?

RADER: In the house, probably close to the bedroom. I walked into the house and kind of figured out where I would be if they came through.

WALLER: All right. What happened then?

RADER: She and Kevin Bright came in. I wasn't expecting him to be there, and come to find out I guess they were related. At the time I approached them and told them I was wanted in California, needed some car, basically the same thing that I told the Oteros, kind of eased them to make them feel better and proceeded. I think I had him tie her up first, and then I tied him up, or vice versa. I don't remember right now.

WALLER: Let me ask you. You indicated that you had some items to tie these people with. Did you bring these items, both to the Oteros and to this location?

RADER: The Oteros I did. I'm not really sure on the Brights. There was some -- there was some -- when (inaudible) working with the police, there was some controversy on that. Probably more likely I did. But if I had brought my stuff and used my stuff, Kevin would probably be dead today. I'm not bragging on that. It's just a matter of fact. The bonds I tied him with, he broke them, and maybe the same way with Kathryn. It got out of hand.

WALLER: All right. Now you indicated that you believed you had Kevin tie Kathryn up. Tell me what happened then.

RADER: OK. I moved -- well after. I really can't remember, judge, whether I had her tie him up or she tie him up. Anyway, I moved -- basically I moved her to another bedroom, and he was already secure there by the bed. I tied his feet to the bedpost so he couldn't run. I tied her in the other bedroom, and I came back to strangle him. And at that time we had a fight.

WALLER: Were you armed with a handgun at that time?

RADER: Yes, I had a handgun.

WALLER: What happened when you came back?

RADER: I actually had two handguns.

Well, I started to strangle him, either the (inaudible) broke, or he broke his bonds, and he jumped up real quick like. I pulled my gun and quickly shot him and hit him in the head. He fell over. I could see the blood. And as far as I was concerned, you know, I thought he was down and was out. And then went and started to strangle Kathryn. And then we started fighting because bonds weren't very good, and so back and forth we fought.

WALLER: You and Kathryn?

RADER: Yes, we fought. And I got the best of her, and I thought she was going down, and then I could hear movement in the other room, so I went back and Kevin -- no, I thought she was going down. And I went back to the other bedroom where Kevin was at, and I tried to re-strangle him at that time, and he jumped up, and we fought, and he about at that time about shot me because he got the other pistol that was in my shoulder here. I had my Magnum in my shoulder.

WALLER: Did you have it in a shoulder holster?

RADER: Yes, I had the Magnum in the shoulder holster. The other one was a .22.

And we fought at that point in time, and I thought it was going to go off. I jammed the gun. I stuck my finger in there and jammed it. I think he thought that was the only gun I had, because once, I either bit his finger or hit him or something, got away and used the .22 and shot him one more time. And I thought he was down for good that time.

WALLER: All right, so you shot him a second time.

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: What happened then?

RADER: I went back to finish the job on Kathryn. And she was fighting. And at that point in time, I'd been fighting her and I just -- and then I heard some -- I don't know whether I was basically losing control. The strangulation wasn't working on her and I used a knife on her.

WALLER: You say you used a knife on her. What did you do with the knife?

RADER: I stabbed her -- I either stabbed two or three times, either here or here. Maybe two back here and one here or maybe just two times back here.

WALLER: You pointed to your lower back and your..

RADER: Yes, underneath the ribs.

WALLER: Yes, underneath the ribs.

RADER: Underneath the ribs. Up under the ribs.

WALLER: So after you stabbed her, what happened?

RADER: Actually, I think at that point in time, well, it was total mess, because I didn't have control on it. She was bleeding. She went down. I think I went back to check on Kevin or at that -- basically same time, I heard him escape. It could be one of the two. But all of a sudden, the front door of the house was open and he was gone. And -- or, I tell you what I thought, I thought the police were coming at that time. I heard the door open, I thought, you know, that's it. And I stepped out there. And he -- I could see him running down the street. So I quickly cleaned up everything that I could and left.

WALLER: All right, now, Mr. Rader, you indicated that at the Oteros, you did you not have mask on. Did you have a mask on at the Brights?

RADER: No. No, I didn't.

WALLER: All right. So what happened then?

RADER: I tried -- I already had the keys to the cars. And I thought I had the right key to the right car. I ran out to their car and I think it was a pickup out there and I tried it, it didn't work. And at that point in time, I was -- he was gone, running down the street. I thought, yes, I'm in trouble. So I tried, it didn't work, so I just took off and ran and went down -- went east and then worked back toward the WSU campus where my car was parked.

WALLER: All right. So you had parked your car at the Wichita State University campus?

RADER: Yes, the campus, uh huh.

WALLER: How far away were -- was the Brights' residence?

RADER: Oh, I parked -- was that 13th? And they're -- let's see, they were on 13th. What is it, 17th? Yes. I just about was one block south of 17th, where the car was. There's a park there. I parked at the park, and I walked then to 13th to the Brights residence. So basically ran back.

WALLER: All right. So you were able to get to your car and get away.

RADER: Yes, sir.

WALLER: Now, let's turn to count number six. In that count, they claim on March 17, 1977, in Cedric County, Kansas, that you unlawfully killed Shirley Vian maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and with premediation, by strangulation, inflicting injuries from which she die on March 17, 1977. Can you tell me what you did on that day?

RADER: Yes, before -- Vian was a -- actually, on that one, she was completely random. There was actually someone across from Dillon's was a potential target. It was called Project Green, I think. I had project numbers assigned to it. And that particular day, I drove to Dillon's and parked in the parking lot and watched this particular residence and then got out of the car and walked over to the -- it's probably in the police report, the address. I don't remember the address now. Knocked, nobody answered it.

So I was all keyed up, so I just started going through the neighborhood. I had been through the neighborhood before. I kind of knew a little of the layout of the neighborhood. I'd been through the back alleys and knew where certain people lived. While I was walking down Hydraulic, I met a young boy and asked him if he could I.D. some pictures. Kind was a ruse I guess, a ruse, as you call it. And I had to feel it out and saw where he went. I went to another address, knocked on the door. Nobody opened the door. So I just noticed where he went and went to that house. And we went from there.

WALLER: Now you call these projects. Were these sexual fantasies also?

RADER: Potential hits. In my world, that's what I called them. They were called projects, hits.

WALLER: And why did you have these potential hits? Was this to gratify some sexual interest or..

RADER: Yes, sir. I had a lot of them. So if just -- if one didn't work out, I just moved to another one.

WALLER: So, as I am to understand it, then, on the 17th of March, 1977, you saw this little boy go into a residence and you tried another residence..

RADER: Sir?

WALLER: You tried another residence and no one was there..

RADER: Right, right.

WALLER: .. so you went to the residence where the little boy was?

RADER: Right. And I watched where he went.

WALLER: What happened then?

RADER: After I tried this one residence, nobody came to the door, I went to this house where he had went in, knocked on the door. And told them I was private detective, showed them a picture that I just showed the boy and asked if they could I.D. the picture. And at that the time, I had the gun here and I just kind of forced myself in. I just walked in, just opened the door and walked in and then pulled a pistol.

WALLER: What gun, what pistol?

RADER: .357 Magnum.

WALLER: So you had only one gun?

RADER: Yes, sir, uh huh.

WALLER: What happened then?

RADER: I told Mrs. Vian that I had a problem with sexual fantasies and I was going to tie her up and may that I might have to tie the kids up. And if she would cooperate with us -- cooperate with me at that time. We went back. She was extremely nervous. I think she even smoked a cigarette. And we went back to one of the back areas of the porch, explained that I had done this before. And I think she -- at that point in time, I think she was sick, because she had her night robe on. I think if I remember right, she had been sick. I think she came out of the bedroom when I went in the house.

So anyway, we went back to her bedroom. And I proceeded to tie the kids up and they started crying and got real upset, so I said, oh, this is not going work. So we moved them to the bathroom. She helped me. And then I tied the door shut. We put toys and blankets and odds and ends in there for the kids, to make them as comfortable as we could. We tied the -- we tied one of the bathroom doors shut so they couldn't open it, and we shoved -- she went back to help me shove a bed up against the other bathroom door.

And then I proceeded to tie her up. She got sick and threw up. I got her a glass of water, comforted her a little bit and then I went ahead and tied her up and put a bag over her head and strangled her.

WALLER: All right. Was this a plastic bag also?

RADER: Yes, sir, I think it was. But I could be wrong on that. It was something -- I'm sure it was plastic bag, yes.

WALLER: And you say put bag over her head and strangled her. What did you strangle her with?

RADER: Well, actually I think on that I had tied her legs to the bed post and worked up with the rope all the way up. And then what I had left over, I looped over her neck.

WALLER: So you used this rope to strangle her.

RADER: Yes. I thing it's the same one that I tied her body with.

WALLER: What happened then?

RADER: Well, the kids were really banging on the door, hollering, screaming. And then the telephone rang. And they had talked about earlier that the neighbors were going to check on them, so I cleaned everything up real quick-like and got out of there, left and went into my car.

WALLER: Now, when you say you cleaned everything up..

RADER: Well, I mean, put my stuff -- I had a briefcase. Whatever I had laying around, ropes, tape, cords. I threw that in there. You know, whatever that I had that I brought in the house.

WALLER: That you brought that to the Bright residence, also?

RADER: There is some -- I think it was the basic stuff, but I don't remember bringing total stuff like I did to some of the others.

WALLER: Was this a kit that you had prepared?

RADER: Yes. I call them my hit kit.

WALLER: All right, sir. You left the Vian residence. And had you parked you parked your vehicle near there?

RADER: Yes, still in that same parking lot there at Dillon's, at Hydraulic and what is that? Berry? Lincoln? Lincoln, Lincoln. Lincoln and Hydraulic.