BTK - and The Redemption Of Charlie Otero # 6

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. Joe gave no sign of hearing his father but did emerge from his coma three months later. His mother nursed him back to health at home. Charlie visited Joe when he could and called him several times a week.

Now, at 20, Joe has some cognitive and memory problem as a result of the accident but has recovered sufficiently to work 2 part-time jobs. He hopes to go to college someday. And he adores his father. "He's 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 2 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."

Charlie and sibling Carmen and Danny..

The couple share a house trailer with 2 small dogs in Albuquerque. They travel at times around the country to screenings of a new documentary movie, The Feast of the Assumption; The Otero Family Murders - made by another former Wichitan, 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 longers dream to death.

Instead, he's busy remaking his life. "If there's heaven, I want my mum and dad to look down and be proud," he says. " I want my family to know O'm going to make it."

Credit : reader digest - By KENNETH MILER.