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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The man accused of being the BTK serial killer has complained about depression and asked about his family, who have not talked to him since he entered prison, his lawyers say.

Dennis Rader, 60, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder in deaths that have haunted Wichita since 1974, when investigators began looking for a man who called himself the "Bind, Torture, Kill" strangler and taunted police with letters and packages sent to media outlets.

In an interview with Time magazine, Rader's public defenders would not confirm reports that he has confessed to six of the 10 killings in which he is accused.

Along with growing depression, he has complained about sleepless nights, the lawyers said. They said he spends some of his time taking notes and reading a detective novel.

"He has so far been easy to deal with," attorney Sarah McKinnon told Time. "At times he seems weary. But I have seen him smile."

The lawyers have not returned repeated phone calls from The Associated Press since they were appointed to represent him.

They spend as much as five hours a day with Rader at the Sedgwick County jail, where he is being held in lieu of $10 million bail.

Rader asks repeatedly about his wife and children, who haven't spoken to him since his arrest on Feb. 25 and are believed to be in seclusion outside Kansas.

Attorney Steve Osburn said Rader's public defenders will consider asking for a change of venue for his trial. A preliminary hearing is set for March 15 but the district attorney's office said it expects the hearing to be postponed.

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