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[Kim]

Welcome, Kim. I see you're a singer/songwriter on your website. Is that you---ie. the same Kimberly Mcgath? BTW feel free to check out my amateur musical offerings on my youtube channel: don zuger.

Hi there Don, I'm gonna check out your channel now, yes and that's me the same person, I write music also

[Kim]

I love acoustic, just subscribed to your channel, kind of a bluegrass sound

[Kim]

EndOfTheWorld wrote:

However, if you think BTK was the Zodiac, you're entitled to your opinion, but where is the evidence?

Probably it is better to read her book first and then ask questions about her evidence or go in debate about it.
Btw I haven't read the book yet so I can't have a good opinion about it.

There is actually a ton of circumstantial evidence connecting Dennis Rader to the Zodiac murders. I'll list a few:

Did you know that both Dennis Rader and the Zodiac took taxis during or to one of their murders?
Zodiac referred to himself as the Red Phantom and Rader the Garote Phantom
They both wore holsters during their crimes
They both told their victims I want your keys, your wallet, and your money..... this is a very specific behavior
There's just a few

[Kim]

EndOfTheWorld wrote:

However, if you think BTK was the Zodiac, you're entitled to your opinion, but where is the evidence?

Probably it is better to read her book first and then ask questions about her evidence or go in debate about it.
Btw I haven't read the book yet so I can't have a good opinion about it.

Thanks Edward,

[Kim]

Well, I got on her book's site on Amazon.com and there were many glowing reviews but nobody said what the book was all about---just that it was a great book. Never seen that before. No I'm not going to read a book about BTK being the Zodiac. YOU read it---then report back to us.

I can give you a general idea. Basically the book is about how I stumbled upon the Zodiac case to begin with. I never intentionally researched Zodiac because I had a lot of my own cold cases that I was actively working on. I attended a cold case seminar and saw a power point presentation in the class. It hit me over the head that BTK and Zodiac were the same person. I conducted research and was stunned at how much I found connecting the two men. Not just basic stuff that all or most serial killers have in common but very specific information. So the rest of the book really just details the specifics including charts, timelines, maps, and images. I also weaved in personal stories which some of my critics don't like which I understand. But I've lived with murder and very dark material for so long, it kind of helps to add a little light to the topic if you know what I mean. j

But if you want more specifics, let me know

[Kim]

However, if you think BTK was the Zodiac, you're entitled to your opinion, but where is the evidence?

Everyone who has a POI seems to have "evidence", but in fact, it's really not or Zodiac would probably have been caught, or at least known.

While I personally believe Radar is far from Zodiac, some people do take an interest in him and prior to Kim's book, some had already thought of this. Hey, I am one to most certainly express my views on something and will honestly voice my opinion, whether I agree or not.

Kim--you are among some people who ONLY study the Zodiac case, therefore, are quite knowledgeable about it. Some people will still throw out "facts" of the case as if they are when they aren't. Lots to read through, but most ruled out D.R. (among others) a long time ago.

Welcome!

Hi there!

It is my understanding that Dennis Rader was ruled out with a "general alibi" in that he was stationed overseas in Okinawa during some of the years the murders occurred. However, I was unable to find that anyone ever found a specific alibi for him, meaning can anyone place him in Japan on an actual day of any of the murders/letters. I don't think any can or has, nor does it seem that anyone tried. Most of the murders occurred within 20 minutes of an Air Force base and of course it would make logical sense that Rader was traveling back and forth from base to base. Also of course the Wingwalker shoes were manufactured in Lackland Air Force Base which Rader was stationed at. There are a lot of military ties between Zodiac and Radar. I also think they may have excluded him with either a partial DNA profile and/or a fingerprint. I spend an entire chapter focusing on the problems with science with cold cases. Often detectives find out later that what they once believed was a suspect profile actually belongs to an innocent person or a lab tech for example.

There are only a few ways that I would be satisfied that Dennis Rader is not BTK: A specific alibi and if there were at least two complete DNA profiles from different crime scenes that did not match Rader's or two matching fingerprints from two different crime scenes that did not match Rader's. That would satisfy me but not the generic alibi or partial DNA profile. That does little to exclude him.

[Kim]

LOL Rader was living on a different continent.

Ah, yes indeed he was but members of the military travel quite often. I found an Air Force map that connects Riverside, an area close to Deer Lodge Montana, Lackland Air Force base (where Rader was stationed), etc. So if I had a prime suspect in a homicide case and discovered he was vacationing in Europe with family, I would still have to do my due diligence and find where he/she was on the date/time of a particular homicide. All that person would have to do is catch a plane back and forth, etc.

[EndOfTheWorld]

Thank you very much for your kind compliment on my music, Kim. I get the impression most of these web-sleuther types are into heavy metal so probably would not be interested in an amateur acoustic song. Well, yes, it's true that some air force personnel travel a lot, but some don't. What was Rader's job? If he was a member of a flight crew on the type of plane that went to CA a lot, then it's more plausible. If he was a fuel specialist or a cook, then he probably stayed at his duty station. But serial killers as a rule kill where they live. Also, Dennis Rader was an extremely cruel sadistic murderer, a textbook sexual sadist who masturbated over the dead body. The Zodiac killed but didn't torture excessively. In his written correspondence, the Zodiac was on a higher intellectual level than BTK.

[Kim]

I am also a heavy metal fan but I like a lot of different types of music. Excellent observations about the zodiac and what you mentioned about Rader being very sadistic. I think there is definitely evidence of sadism in some of the Zodiac murders. For example the stabbing of the couple. Zodiac instructed his male victim to bind the female victim which is precisely what Rader did in a lot of his murders as well. There is also evidence of course of sadism in one of Zodiac letters as he describes the torture of his victims, his slaves as he refers to them. He describes in great detail the things that he wants to do them. I think it is a matter of an evolution of his modus operandi which changed with age and experience and also the circumstances of his life at the time. He did not have a home base as he did in Kansas so to speak. Therefore he didn't have as much time to spend with his victims as Rader did when he switched to home invasion type murders.
I wonder if Rader was involved in civil air patrol or rescue, not sure but he was a sergeant and a mechanic. He could have traveled for work or leave.
Just some thoughts

[EndOfTheWorld]

I would think it's possible to find out whether he went to CA on TDY or not. Right now I haven't seen any evidence that Dennis Rader ever set foot in CA. That would be necessary before I would get interested in him as a Zodiac suspect. BTW I heard you a little on sound cloud. Pretty good singing.