Wichita ? The personal writings, sketches, photographs and other personal items of BTK serial killer Dennis Rader will be inventoried and remain in the custody of sheriff’s deputies until the court determines who should have them, a judge ruled Friday.

District Judge Timothy Lahey granted a request by the victims’ families for an “attachment” on the property, meaning they have an interest in it so it can’t change hands.

The families plan to eventually make a joint recommendation to the judge over their disposition.

Attorney Mark Hutton, who is representing families of three of the victims, said he filed the motion after being tipped off that Rader was about to mail two boxes of items to the mother of a Topeka woman who is writing a book about his life.

Families of his victims want to make sure a third party does not profit from the murders, he said. The families are concerned some crime scene photos of their loved ones and other items belonging to Rader might also be sold over the Internet.

The order covers the items in those two boxes and a third box Rader had in his Sedgwick County jail cell while awaiting trial. It also includes his other personal property, including items held at the district attorney’s office and items seized from his home and the Park City offices where Rader worked as a compliance officer before his arrest.

The personal writings, sketches, photographs and other personal items will be inventoried and remain in the custody of sheriff’s deputies until the court determines who should have them.

Rader, who is representing himself in the lawsuits filed by his victims’ families, appeared at times confused as he tried to follow court proceedings on the telephone line from the El Dorado prison where he is serving 10 consecutive life terms.

Nine lawsuits have been filed against Rader by victim families, court records show.

Rader, who called himself BTK for “bind, torture and kill,” was sentenced Aug. 18 to 10 consecutive life terms for 10 murders committed from 1974 to 1991. Under Kansas law at the time of the killings, Rader would have to serve a minimum of 175 years before he would be eligible for parole. Kansas had no death penalty at the time of the murders.

His wife, Paula Rader, was not in court but is fighting to keep the money she stands to make from selling the couple’s former home.

The Raders’ house sold for $90,000 at a July auction, although the home’s assessed value was just $56,700. Michelle Borin, an exotic dance club owner, has said she knew she overbid but she wanted the proceeds to help Rader’s family.

Since his arrest in February, his wife has won an emergency divorce and ended up with his retirement savings and the family home. The civil suits have put a cloud on the title.

On Friday, Lahey told Rader he was granting his ex-wife’s motion to intervene in the lawsuits filed by the victims’ families after attorneys representing the families did not object.

“Oh, good,” Rader replied.

The attachment granted Friday applies only to Rader’s personal property, not the family home, Hutton said.

Paula Rader’s lawyer, James Walker, asked the court for a protective order that would keep the contents of the inventory of Rader’s personal property confidential. Lahey did not rule on that request.

Lahey set a hearing for Sept. 9 on the request for a default judgment on the first lawsuit against Rader, which was filed by Carolyn Hook in the 1985 death of her mother, Marine Hedge.

At that time, the judge also plans to hear motions of two parties who want to intervene in the lawsuits – Kristin Casarona, a Topeka woman who is writing a book about Rader’s life, and Fidelity Bank.

Casarona’s lawyer, John Val Wachtel, told The Associated Press after the hearing that his client wants the correspondence that Rader mailed to her, including anything else in the jailhouse boxes that belongs to her.

She is also seeking items held by the district attorney’s office that were seized from her during an inquisition conducted for the criminal proceedings. That hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2 before District Judge Gregory Waller.

Kansas has a law that prohibits Rader from profiting from the telling of his story, but similar laws in other states have been found to be unconstitutional. Kansas does not have a law that would ban him from making money from the sale of his memorabilia.