My experience with a serial killer

Im sorry I will not be posting links or videos of that nature but this topic will be about my experience with Dennis Rader, I listen to a great podcast called swords and scale and they have the best podcasts available about killers anyway, i'll start from my earliest memory and work my way forward.

I was born and raised in Park City Kansas, my mother was a baby sitter, she was like the neighbor hood mom, every kids birthday was a celebration and we went to movies and skating every single weekend. There was at least a dozen of us kids and we would all go down to the creek all the time to play, there was this trail we called the moonlight trail (you can only see it at night if the moon was out) that led us to the creek. Dennis Rader never liked us walking on the trail or at the creek, he would come over to my house and tell my dad to keep us away from and my dad would tell him to leave us alone because there wasn't much else to do in the around town. This was around late 80's to early 90's.

Dennis never liked my dads response, Dennis Rader did a lot of things, he worked for the city as a dog catcher, city services in general, a boy scout leader, the church, so there were some who liked him and some who didn't. so anyway, in retaliation he would go to my house and find the tallest blade of grass above city limits (even after my dad had mowed the lawn) and he would give my dad a citation and give him 3 days to mow it or pay $50 or something along those lines. This went on for awhile.

My next encounter which at this time I never knew the guy or remember him until this very day. I was about 10 years old give or take cant remember exact years, I was walking my bike down to my friends house only a few houses down to fix a flat tire. I have this big row of evergreen trees in front of my house you cant see past from inside my house. There was a blue car (idk what kind, I just remember the color) parked in front of them, I did not see him until I got out in the road and was on my way to my friends house, he was setting in his car and when I walked by he stopped me and asked me what my name was, I told him and he said he had a son that looked just like me that had the same name, I told him I was sorry to hear that (I honestly didn't know how to respond to that) He then asked me to come closer to his car and I refused and told him I can hear him fine from where im at (that is when I started to get weirded out) He sounded a little irritated and continued talking about his son and then asked me again to come closer and I then started to feel really uncomfortable and told him no and right after I said that my friends mom was standing out in the middle of the road and yelled "JASON, GET YOUR A*SS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" I took off running and that guy flipped a bitch and speed off. She asked me who I was talking to and I told her IDK and she chewed me out and told me NEVER to talk to strangers. See, at that time, me nor did any of my friends know there was a serial killer on the lose, all we knew is all the parents in town made the kids stay together and we were all taught to never be alone and not talk to strangers.

I didn't realize who I was talk to that day by my house until the next summer I saw him at my friends house arguing with his parents about their dog, he was a dog catcher as I have mentioned but when I saw him I realized it was that guy in a car in front of my house. He caught my friends dog Friggy who was caught up in a fence at the same time my friends parents found him as well. Dennis Rader wanted to take there dog and they argued with him for about an hour in there living room about keeping there dog. He finally let them keep there dog. Ok, I use to get up, watch some cartoons, eat breakfast and by 10am I was at my friends house around the block and we would hang out until after lunch then go to the pool. The strange thing about this incident is for 2 weeks straight right after it happened some strange guy would call my friends house and ask if his parents were home and he would respond with "Thats none of your business" every time but then he knew I went over to his house everyday, he knew his older brother and after about 2 weeks of this going on he told the guy he was going to call the police and we never heard from him again after that. We were kids, we weren't thinking about serial killers or the guy who argued with his parents about the dog, and again, we are assuming it was Dennis Rader who was calling but we never had proof.

Those were my personal experiences, now when I was older and a teenager we all talked about how we thought the dude was weird and we thought he liked to kill dogs. I have a friend who swore that guy kept trying to sneak into his neighbors back yard to kidnap their dog and one night him and some friends were up late drinking and hanging out and there he was in the middle of the night in his neighbors back yard, my friend grabbed a cheeseburger from earlier that day (BBQ) and chucked it at him and hit him in the face, Dennis then started to stumble and trip over himself while my friend was yelling at him to get the f*uck out of his neighbors backyard. I had a friend that use to do boyscouts with him 2 seperate times he has camped out in the woods with him alone. I had a few friends house near him I use to go to as a child, my grand father lived a couple blocks from him, I had one acquaintance, I wouldnt call a friend but he lived literally right next door to him. My town was small so it was easy to pass his house.

I was living in independence Mo at the time he was arrested but I avoided park city like a plague. there were people from all over the world around his house for weeks, Fans, it was crazy. I went to Iraq in 2006 and became friends with a guy that had to transport him from one prison to another, a lot of inmates want him dead, he said he was like a scared little girl, crying when he thought his life was endanger. Im sure if I think harder I can think of other misc times from other friends and there stories but my two experiences didn't really hit me until he was caught. I was 21 years old when he got caught.

Anybody that visits ATS have any crazy stories or some how knew a serial killer or even had a crazy moment where a friend did something stupid you would have never thought they would do? Please share.

Before he was arrested, I swear I spotted the East Area Rapist prowling in my neighbor's yard. To keep a long story short, I was cooking dinner and went outside to my outdoor freezer for frozen vegetables. However, I happened to see an elderly man who was bald and we locked eyes. For a second we stared each down, but I went back inside and didn't think about it until Joseph DeAngelo's arrest.

My family and I live a few minutes from where he lived in Citrus Heights neighborhood of Sacramento. The neighborhood was nice. Your typical suburban neighborhood you would find anywhere else!

Now learning about the Golden State Killer case, you're expected to find websites which document DeAngelo's multiple attacks: rapes and murders. After reading about the attacks which took place in Sacramento, I was amazed all this went on and no one mentioned it to me until I stumbled upon the information online. Even more amazing was that he lived very close to where multiple of his attacks took place in the 1970's. Basically they were looking for a then unidentified serial killer who lived next door.

originally posted by: SkepticalRogue123
Before he was arrested, I swear I spotted the East Area Rapist prowling in my neighbor's yard. To keep a long story short, I was cooking dinner and went outside to my outdoor freezer for frozen vegetables. However, I happened to see an elderly man who was bald and we locked eyes. For a second we stared each down, but I went back inside and didn't think about it until Joseph DeAngelo's arrest.

My family and I live a few minutes from where he lived in Citrus Heights neighborhood of Sacramento. The neighborhood was nice. Your typical suburban neighborhood you would find anywhere else!

Now learning about the Golden State Killer case, you're expected to find websites which document DeAngelo's multiple attacks: rapes and murders. After reading about the attacks which took place in Sacramento, I was amazed all this went on and no one mentioned it to me until I stumbled upon the information online. Even more amazing was that he lived very close to where multiple of his attacks took place in the 1970's. Basically they were looking for a then unidentified serial killer who lived next door.

Yeah, it's crazy to think about, not knowing until after they get caught then it just kinda gives you chills.

Right. For the longest time I imagined the East Area Rapist was a young man. If you have seen the various police composites, then you'll understand where I'm coming from. Ironically the composite sketch that looked most like DeAngelo was of the Visalia Ransacker. Spot on!

I was a young woman in New York when David Burkowitz had his reign of terror.
My friends and I stopped going to clubs in the city sticking to long island bars instead.

That's as close as I ever want to get to a serial killer.

a reply to: SkepticalRogue123

Was that the guy who was arrested years after his crimes when he was much older?

For the uninformed Dennis Rader was know as The BTK Killer...Bind, Torture, Kill.....sick sonofabitch he is.

a reply to: Sillyolme

Yes, he was in his 70's and was arrested a few months ago. This was the serial killer who's DNA was uploaded to an ancestry site, then checked with items from his trash and car handle to confirm he was the same individual.

a reply to: xBWOMPx

I think someone posted here a few years back that she encountered Ted Bundy back in the 70s, though she didn't realized it until she read a book about him many years later.

originally posted by: openyourmind1262
For the uninformed Dennis Rader was know as The BTK Killer...Bind, Torture, Kill.....sick sonofabitch he is.

Yes, the f*ucked up part about his wife and kids. The owner from a strip club "Michelle's beach house" tried to buy the house and donate the money to her so they can buy a new house but the law enforcement wouldnt allow it. They confiscated the house and demoed it when they were done. Its just a big empty lot now. His wife was left to start over.

Btw, thank you, idk why i didnt think to name him by his other known name, BTK. I was trying to think of my encounters and friends encounters.

originally posted by: starwarsisreal
a reply to: xBWOMPx

I think someone posted here a few years back that she encountered Ted Bundy back in the 70s, though she didn't realized it until she read a book about him many years later.

Wouldnt that be wild huh...

originally posted by: Sillyolme
I was a young woman in New York when David Burkowitz had his reign of terror.
My friends and I stopped going to clubs in the city sticking to long island bars instead.

That's as close as I ever want to get to a serial killer.

Lol, not any closer? Jk jk, i know the feeling

a reply to: openyourmind1262

My sister-in-law grew up and lived in Wichita when BTK was on the loose one of those times. One of her relatives was one of the women he killed in a house there in Wichita. She still freezes up to this day if it gets brought up.

originally posted by: KansasGirl
a reply to: openyourmind1262

My sister-in-law grew up and lived in Wichita when BTK was on the loose one of those times. One of her relatives was one of the women he killed in a house there in Wichita. She still freezes up to this day if it gets brought up.

Small world

As a kid growing up in the far northwest chicago suburb of Barrington Hills, Illinois. we would often go visit my aunt Mildred who lived in Norwood park " Chicago" Illinois. She lived at 8201 West Summerdale Ave, Norwood Park, Illinois. Her neighbor who lived across the street from her at 8213 West Summerdale Ave was none other than John Wayne Gacy. I was only 8 when he was arrested in 1978. I did meet him one time while we visited aunt mil. Was not till later in life and i was almost 20 at a Christmas eve party did aunt mil talk about knowing him and some of her encounters with him. She said is was a very nice man but she always felt there was something off about him. She said his wife at the time I believe her name was carol would often talk to my aunt mil and there was concerns then about his behavior with young men Mr. Gacy employed. This I believe was happening around the 1975-76 time. Personally I am glad that my brother or myself didn't grow up on that street or we could of been a victim. Gacy killed 33+ young boys and men.. a truly sick and deranged man he was.

My wife ran away from home when she was a teenager (mid-1980s). She had a VERY close call with a serial killer... she was hitch-hiking, and he picked her up. She didn't realize she was in trouble, until he pulled off of the highway. He pulled a knife, she fought him off, escaped the vehicle and ran like hell. Her hand was seriously cut up, but she was otherwise unscathed.

She had put the episode behind her, until she saw her attacker on the "Investigation Discovery" channel a few years ago.

My wife is a redhead... she spends her days harvesting souls. When she saw him on TV, she was horribly shaken... a side of her that I had never seen. When she finally opened up to me, I convinced her to contact the authorities in that jurisdiction. He had been executed a few years prior to that contact.

She is still very uncomfortable talking about it, which is why I won't name her attacker.

She was VERY lucky.... she escaped a true sicko.

My ex's dad swears up and down that he picked up a hitchiking Eileen Wuornous in the mid 80s.

It was before she went on her spree, but apparently was still a terrifying nutcase. He told me she would go on nonsensical rants ranging from the president to ufos and men being "the devil".

He got uncomfortable and dumped her off at the first gas station he could find.

a reply to: xBWOMPx

I once let two individuals stand outside to use my cell phone and call AAA towing. Once they left, I realized they either didn't make a call or deleted the number (both actions are highly suspect since AAA number is public knowledge). I took a ride down our road to see if I could locate them or their vehicle (within 10 minutes of them leaving) and found no one including a vehicle.

I have no idea what they were up to, and the neighbors I asked had not seen or heard anything. I held onto our security camera footage for a few months, expecting some type of robbery/home invasion to potentially occur yet none did.

Not sure what they were up to (or if it was just a strange coincidence). Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for prospective crooks) I usually carry around the house and any attack would have been quickly & effectively suppressed. Thankfully it never got anywhere near that point, but I still wonder to this day what they were planning (if anything) or whether it was just a strange coincidence

EDIT: What got me suspicious in the first place was they claimed to be out of gas and I offered them a gas can/gasoline before they asked to make a phone call. When they refused, it struck me as odd since most folks will gladly accept a couple gallons of gasoline and not have to wait 30-45 minutes on a tow truck with a gas can

It's always interesting to read about such things from a personal first hand perspective so thankyou very much for sharing. A good friend of mine once recalled to me the time, when he was much younger, that he used to have sleep overs at the residence of a Mr Bunting of the Snowtown bodies in the barrels infamy. He was school mates with one of the boys that lived with Bunting and amongst other things recalls seeing the barrels in the back of a shed on the property where he stayed, before they where eventually removed to the disused bank vault at Snowtown. Although he himself never felt in danger he recalled Mr Bunting as a very forceful character and of coarse the bathroom of the house at which he stayed was the scene of at least one of the protracted torture/killings which took place. Hearing his take on events I recall the hairs standing up on the back of my neck at the time...
The movie based on the case is disturbing to say the least.

a reply to: xBWOMPx



Wow that's crazy...

I have always been interested in the psychology of serial killers. The things that make them tick, what happened in their lives that triggered their behavior and ability to murder.