Wichita ? Defense strategy in the notorious BTK serial killings case, scheduled to go to trial today, has surprised those watching the case.

It was only last month that BTK suspect Dennis Rader stood mute at his arraignment, leaving it up to District Judge Gregory Waller to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.

At the same time, the judge set the trial for the former Park City compliance officer to begin today – a date that nearly everyone expected to be postponed given the complexity of the 10-count, first-degree murder case.

Rader, 60, of Park City, is accused of killing 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991. BTK, which stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill,” taunted media and police with cryptic messages.

Unusually silent

But – aside from an early routine defense motion for discovery of evidence – the court record on the case has been unusually silent.

“It would be very unusual for a jury trial to begin at first setting, but so far everything about this case has been unusual,” said Georgia Cole, spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

All prosecutors know, Cole said, is that some type of court proceeding will be held today.

For their part, Rader’s court-appointed defense team isn’t talking. Their spokesman, Mark Orr, would say only that whatever happens in the case will happen in court.

No typical motions

None of the typical defense strategies have been filed, said Jim Pratt, a Wichita criminal defense attorney who has watched the case.

No motion for a change of venue in this highly publicized case is on record. Neither are any motions to suppress evidence. Not even a motion for a detailed juror questionnaire to find out about prospective jurors has been recorded.

Sedgwick County has an informal process for asking for continuances – usually all it takes is a call to the prosecutors and scheduling clerk rather than a formal motion, Pratt said.

But with arguably the most notorious murder case in Kansas history still on track, the district court has called no additional prospective jurors.

Lack of leaks

Jury clerk Linda Marvin said the usual pool of 120 prospective jurors will be on hand, with the usual 200 more people on call.

That compares to the highly publicized murder trial of the Carr brothers, where 1,000 summons were issued in the hopes of getting a jury pool of 500 prospective jurors, she said.

“It is very strange and I think the strangest thing about it is no information has come out – there haven’t been any leaks and everyone is guessing what is going to happen,” Pratt said.

Orr – who said defense attorneys had not divulged to him what they planned to do and were not taking calls from reporters – said any number of motions could be filed on Monday. There could be a request for a continuance, a change in plea or trial could begin, he said.

No plea deal

Prosecutors insist there has been no plea deal, adding Rader cannot change his plea to “no contest” either without their approval.

Even if Rader changes his plea to guilty, the most the 60-year-old Park City man could face is a life sentence. That is because Kansas had no death penalty statute on the books when the crimes with which Rader is charged were committed.

Because the last killing linked to BTK occurred in 1991 – after Kansas stiffened its murder statutes somewhat – Rader could be sentenced to a so-called hard-40 for that killing. The sentence means Rader would have to serve at least 40 years in prison without a chance of parole if convicted on that count.

‘Control freak’

Wichita attorney Robert Beattie, who has written a book on the BTK killings, said he has suspected all along that Rader and his attorneys have not agreed or communicated well on what to do.

Rader called a Wichita television station last week complaining, among other things, that his attorneys were not showing him all court paperwork.

“It still would not surprise me if he wants to control his own case that he would discharge his attorneys,” Beattie said.

Serial killer Ted Bundy discharged his attorneys and represented himself, Beattie said. Mass murderer Charles Manson also wanted to discharge his attorneys, but the court would not allow it.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in the 1990s that a defendant has an absolute right to defend himself if he so wants, he said.

“He is so arrogant and a control freak that it shouldn’t surprise anybody,” Beattie said.