"When I Wrestled the Gun from Him": Kevin Bright and Victims' Families at Dennis Rader's Sentencing, 2005

Name: "When I Wrestled the Gun from Him": Kevin Bright and Victims' Families at Dennis Rader's Sentencing, 2005
Uploaded: 2007-06-24T00:00:00Z
Duration: 9 min 35 s
Description: Courtroom footage from Dennis Rader's sentencing in Wichita on August 18, 2005: Kevin Bright, who survived being shot when Rader killed his sister in 1974, describes his injuries, followed by statements from Shirley Vian's son and husband and Nancy Fox's brother.

Courtroom footage from Dennis Rader's sentencing in Wichita on August 18, 2005: Kevin Bright, who survived being shot when Rader killed his sister in 1974, describes his injuries, followed by statements from Shirley Vian's son and husband and Nancy Fox's brother.

Subject: Dennis Lynn Rader
Recorded: August 18, 2005
Runtime: 9:35

Content warning: Concerns murders and a shooting; a survivor describes his injuries, and a relative refers to blood, cigarette burns and broken fingers.

The Interview

This is not an interview, and Dennis Rader does not speak in it. It is unnarrated courtroom footage from his sentencing in Wichita on August 18, 2005, continuing from part 1. After Judge Gregory Waller reminds the court that witnesses need not appear on camera, four men address the court: Kevin Bright, Steve Relford, Rick Vian and Fred Fox.

Historical Context

On April 4, 1974, Rader attacked Kathryn Bright, 21, and her brother Kevin at her Wichita home. He made Kevin tie up his sister, bound him, and shot him; Kevin escaped, and Kathryn was stabbed and died hours later in the hospital. On March 17, 1977, Rader murdered Shirley Vian Relford, 26 (24 in some accounts), after locking her three young children in the bathroom; her son Steven, 5, had met Rader on the street. On December 8, 1977, he murdered Nancy Jo Fox, 25.

Circumstances

About a dozen relatives of victims spoke at the hearing before Rader gave his own statement and was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms. The proceedings were broadcast live from a single pool camera, and the judge asked each speaker to say whether he or she objected to being filmed.

What the Recording Covers

Kevin Bright speaks for his late sister, Kathy, and his late mother, Dorothy. He says Kathy "fought as, quote, as a hellcat", lived about five hours and received more than 20 pints of blood. He says he wishes the gun had gone off when he wrestled it from Rader, and he blames Rader for his mother's decline and death. He describes his own lasting nerve damage, which he says affects his body's regulation of heat and his digestion, and says he is glad he was there that day. He asks for the maximum sentence and isolation, and echoes Charlie Otero's words about judgment before the Lord. Steve Relford, who says he has not prepared a statement, says he wants Rader to suffer for the rest of his life. Rick Vian speaks of his memories of Shirley's death in a statement that is partly inaudible. Fred Fox says his sister Nancy is still in the family's hearts and never had a life, and asks for the worst sentence possible. The judge then calls Beverly Plapp, and the clip ends.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It preserves, in his own words in open court, Kevin Bright's account as the surviving victim of a BTK attack, together with the statements of two other victims' families.

Archival Importance

The footage is unnarrated, so the statements survive as spoken.

Important Caveats

Rader is not heard. The upload is by a third-party site, not the original broadcaster; an official copy should be sought. Kevin Bright's details of the attack and his injuries are his own account. Rick Vian's identity rests on his own words in the recording and has not been checked elsewhere, and much of his statement is unclear. Fred Fox's relationship to Nancy Fox is as he states it. Beverly Plapp's statement is not in this clip. These are victim impact statements, not trial testimony.

Judge Gregory Waller: ...of the, uh, the State Supreme Court say that if a witness does not desire to be on camera, he or she does not have to be.

Speaker Uncertain: [unclear: "Everybody's fine, sir." (Whisper) / "everybody's F" (captions)]

Judge Gregory Waller: All right. I would ask that anyone else who's going to come forward indicate whether or not you want to be placed on camera. The next, uh, person I have is Mr. Kevin Bright.

Kevin Bright: Your Honor, my name is Kevin Bright, and it's fine.

Judge Gregory Waller: All right.

Kevin Bright: And this is a victim impact statement, and I'm here representing my late sister, Kathy, and my mother, Dorothy. And I, I would like to say that, as far as this is, you know, toward his sentencing, that, uh, the pain and suffering that he has caused our family, and the loss of such a beautiful young lady of 21, over 31 years ago. And I, you know, I think about her, you know, and what she'd be doing nowadays, you know, if she could have had a life. Her, her, uh, execution by that monster was, you know... He's got to go on and live his life 31 years now, with raising a family, children and career and everything. And, you know, he snuffed out 10 people's lives that had done nothing.

Kevin Bright: And, uh, my sister, she suffered so much. And this wasn't told in the, as it brought out here, that she, it was brought out that she fought as, quote, as a hellcat, and I'm so proud of her for that, 'cause I knew, you know, she had that in her. And, uh, but she lived on approximately five hours after that, and she received over 20 pints of blood before she lost her battle. And I just think, you know, how much she fought. And I wish, the only thing I wish is different was, uh, that when I wrestled the gun from him, I cut my hand, that it would have gone off, and that would have been [unclear: "the end there" / "in there"]. But, you know, God, God was in control, so, you, I don't second-guess that.

Kevin Bright: But, but for her, and my mother, you know, she, she had to live the rest of her life. She died at the age of 62 of cancer, and losing her daughter and almost losing her son, you know, that just devastated her the rest of her life. And I think it ended, made her life, you know, with the, the, uh, depression and, and all the stress caused, I think that had a lot to do with her. So I really blame Dennis Rader for, you know, causing her death, some, you know, that, that brought that about.

Kevin Bright: And, uh, as far as myself, the damage I received: you don't, if looking at me, you don't see, you know, that much. I have a scar here, [unclear: "some up here" / "it's in my ear"], where he shot me. But, uh, I have, uh, it was reported that I had brain damage, and, you know, permanent brain damage, and I don't have that. But I have permanent, uh, nerve damage, which causes me to suffer with, uh, my body doesn't regulate the heat very well, and humidity, and so I overheat and I, you know, get weak and everything. So that's one thing I suffer with every day. And, uh, then I also have damage, nerve damage, that causes me not to be able to participate in, you know, eating food. My digestive system is, is out of whack, and it's like, we've had these dinners, you know, lunches; I can't participate in anything like that, because I don't know how my body's going to react. It might be okay, but it might not. So, you know, that's one thing I have to live with because of that.

Kevin Bright: And, uh, but what I'd also like to say is, uh, I'm glad that I was there that day, because of what Dennis Rader, in his fantasy world, was going to do to her, probably, if I wasn't there. And I'm just so thankful that I was there and could, you know, prevent him from doing anything like that. And, um, I just also would like, uh, the court to, uh, give him the maximum sentence that he could get, but also that he could, uh, be isolated. I don't know, you know, this is possible, but I'd like to see him just serve the rest of his... I want him... Death penalty doesn't, you know, isn't going to, it's not an option. But like I said, my sister and the other victims, they received their death penalty by his hands.

Kevin Bright: And I would like to see him spend the rest of his life, I hope he lives 40 more years, but I want him to be, you know, aware. Right now, he's not any remorse. No remorse, no compassion. No, he had no mercy. And I think that's what he ought to receive. And I just, you know, pray that he'll get the toughest sentence possible, and that he won't have what, you know, we have, like newspapers and magazines. And, and he, I've heard him talk about he's going to miss pizza and all this kind of stuff. But, you know, like I say, my sister and the other victims, they didn't get to live their lives out. And, uh, I just... It's like Charlie was saying: he's being judged here now, but eternity, when he stands before the Lord for eternity, for his judgment, if he's still in his sins that he's committed here, he will spend it by himself in darkness. And, you know, that's, that's what I'd like to tell him. Thank you for letting me speak.

Judge Gregory Waller: All right. Mr. Steve Relford. Mr. Relford, you may come forward. [06:30 to 06:35: no speech.]

Steve Relford: My name's Steve Relford. [unclear: "I'm Shirley Vian, I'm with my mother" (Whisper) / "Shirley Vian with my mother" (captions); perhaps "Shirley Vian was my mother"]. I haven't, um, prepared for this statement, but, you know, I'd just like for him to suffer for the rest of his life. And, you know, I... [inaudible] So...

Judge Gregory Waller: Mr. Rick Vian. [07:12 to 07:19: no speech.]

Rick Vian: Uh, Richard Vian, Shirley's husband. Uh, I read a little bit of [unclear: "a dictating" (Whisper) / a word masked as profanity in the captions] statement, like, then and now. Back then, he was driving by. [unclear: "I sat on the front porch, wondering if his family ought to live or die" (Whisper) / "I was sitting on the front porch one and his family ought to live and Di" (captions)]. I [unclear: "got faces" (both sources)] now of what I was thinking. It's all coming back. He talks about Shirley throwing up a lot of blood, and that crusty stuff I cleaned up. I mean, I don't know what to say. He talks, [unclear: "he smoked a cigarette" / "she smoked a cigarette"]. I remember cigarette burns and broken fingers. And I know where he's going, but I'm out here, and I'm like that package [unclear: "he wrote" (Whisper) / "you wrapped" (captions)].

Judge Gregory Waller: [unclear: "Fox" (captions only)] Mr. Fox, you may come forward. [08:16 to 08:22: no speech.]

Fred Fox: My name is Fred Fox, the older brother of Nancy Fox. We miss her very much. We love her. She's still in our hearts. This monster took her life. We all have, we're all, the rest of us are married, have kids. They'll never, ever get to meet her. She's never had a life. [08:53 to 08:59: no speech.]

Fred Fox: There was fear in, in my life after she passed away. I don't want to give the monster the right to, to know all that fear, but I hope his sentence is the worst that can be, and that it'll be put away for the rest of his life. Thank you.

Judge Gregory Waller: All right. Thank you very much. Beverly Plapp. [09:32 to 09:35: clip ends.] ---