Full BTK news coverage

By Roxana Hegeman

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas attorney general Tuesday sued two psychologists hired by the state to interview BTK serial killer Dennis Rader, accusing them of profiting from a videotape of a session with him.

Segments of the interview were broadcast by "Dateline NBC" in August, five days before Rader was given consecutive life sentences for 10 killings committed between 1974 and 1991.

"It is unthinkable that anyone would attempt to profit off of the victims of these heinous acts," Attorney General Phill Kline said. "We will do everything within our authority and the power of this office to protect the victims from further exploitation."

The lawsuit seeks a refund of the $57,314 state contract, and damages of more than $75,000.

The lawsuit did not make clear how the psychologists supposedly profited from the videotape. Nor did it suggest that "Dateline" paid the pair for the tape. A spokeswoman for "Dateline" declined to comment.

The psychologists, Robert Mendoza and Tali Walters, work for Cambridge Forensic Consultants in Massachusetts. Their attorney, Steve Cavanaugh, said: "We don't believe all the allegations are accurate and my clients will be filing an appropriate response."

Rader was arrested in February after a killing spree in which he gave himself the nickname BTK, which stands for "bind, torture and kill."

In the taped interview, the 60-year-old former code enforcement officer talked about sexual fantasies that he said motivated him to kill.

"In my dreams, I had what they called torture chambers. And to relieve your sexual fantasies you have to go to the kill," he said.

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