Victim's Son Talks About Confronting BTK

Aug. 19, 2005 — -- A man who lashed out at Dennis Rader at his sentencing hearing, calling him "a depraved predator," says he felt "some satisfaction" after addressing the confessed BTK killer.

"Certainly the case has been resolved," Jeff Davis told "Good Morning America" today. "They're going to put the animal where an animal belongs, in a cage."

Davis, whose mother, Dolores Davis, was Dennis Rader's 10th and final victim, called Rader "a depraved predator, a rabid animal that has murdered people, poisoned countless lives and terrorized this community for 30 years, all the while relishing every minute of it." Davis was one of several family members of victims who spoke at Thursday's hearing.

"If I were to sink to your level," said Davis, in a calm and steady voice, "I would say that this world would have been much better off had your mother aborted your demon soul before you were unleashed on this world, sparing 10 innocent lives and avoiding untold heartache for this community."

After the two-day hearing, Judge Gregory Walker sentenced Rader, a former church congregation president and Boy Scout leader, to a minimum of 175 years without a chance of parole. The sentence was the longest allowable; Kansas had no death penalty at the time of the murders.

In his speech, Davis mentioned he had been wondering for the last 5,326 days what it would be like to confront his mother's killer.

"He's had it his way all along," Davis said today of Rader, "He's been his own undoing, which I reminded him of, and which I enjoyed reminding him of."

When it was Rader's turn to address the victims' families, Davis and some of the other family members walked out -- a move that they had planned before the hearing.

"Anything that comes out of his mouth is either a lie or self-serving," Davis said. "So I didn't want to dignify that."

"He apologized to my empty chair and I thought that was fitting," Davis added.

Rader's lengthy jail term without any chance of release has given Davis "a little peace of mind," he said.

Davis remembered his mother as someone who "was always a lot more concerned about everyone else than she was her own self." Dolores Davis, 63, was killed in 1991.

Davis pointed out that "now it's been on record for the whole world that she did plead for her life."

"She was more concerned that if that animal did take her life ... what was going to happen to us if she went," he said.