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Redemption
During Rader's testimony, Charlie calmed himself by thinking of the people who cared for him, his long-lost family members and the hundreds of strangers who'd written to him after seeing him on television. "I wanted to kill him," he says of Rader, "but I didn't want to hurt them."At Rader's sentencing, Charlie, Danny, and Carmen cried as prosecutors showed photos from the crime scene inside their neat white house. BTK would soon be condemned to ten life terms. But for Charlie, any sense of resolution would have to wait.
During the lunch break, he got a call from his ex-girlfriend Lynette: Their son Joseph, 17 years old, had been hit by a car while riding his bike near his Wisconsin home. He was in a coma, and the doctors didn't know if he'd live.
Parole rules forbade Charlie to travel without permission. He worked the phones, wrangling with the authorities to allow him to fly the next day to Wisconsin. But before leaving one tragedy behind for what could be the beginning of another, he planned to address the court.
The next morning, family members of the victims spoke with restraint and dignity. When it was Charlie's turn, he stood ramrod straight. "Dennis Rader did not ruin my life," he said in a strong, clear voice. "He caused me to challenge my faith, separated me from my loved ones, and changed my future forever … but despite Dennis Rader's efforts to destroy my family, we survive."
Carmen spoke, too, mourning those she had lost. Then the three siblings embraced, and Charlie boarded a plane to meet his son, Joseph Otero Shafer, for the first -- he hoped not the last -- time.
Charlie spent a week at Joe's bedside. He told the boy how much he loved him and promised to take him hunting and fishing as soon as he got better. And while Joe gave no sign of hearing his father, he did not die. He finally emerged from his coma three months later. His mother nursed him back to health at home. Charlie traveled from New Mexico to visit Joe when he could and called him several times a week.
Now, at 20, Joe has some cognitive and memory problems as a result of the accident but has recovered sufficiently to work two part-time jobs. He hopes to go to college someday. And he adores his father. "He's a lovely, caring person," he says. "We talk about everything -- life, work, home. It's great to know he's finally there."
Charlie is determined to right other important relationships. He's working to restore ties with his two daughters, now teenagers, who had been placed in his brother's custody shortly before Charlie went to prison. He has found a nurturing mate in Linda Evans, a Wichita native who attended the trial as part of her job aiding victims' families. "I've seen him blossom" since the trial, she says. "The anger has gone away."
The couple share a house trailer with two small dogs in Albuquerque. They travel occasionally around the country to screenings of a new documentary movie, Feast of the Assumption: The Otero Family Murders -- made by another former Kansan, Marc Levitz. Charlie talks to audiences about his story, hoping it will help others find solace in hard times. He's taking a course to further hone his public speaking skills.
Charlie still believes there's more to the Otero family murders than Rader admitted -- he has never fully let go of his conspiracy theory. But with the killer locked away forever in a maximum security cell, Charlie no longer dreams of death.
Instead, he's busy remaking his life. "If there's a heaven, I want my mom and dad to look down and be proud," he says. "I want my family to know I'm going to make it."
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