WICHITA, Kansas -- Dennis Rader appeared in Sedgwick County Court Monday morning and waived his right to a trial by jury by pleading guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, admitting that he is the BTK serial killer that terrorized Wichita for 30 years.

Judge Gregory Waller read each of the 10 counts to Dennis Rader and asked him to plead to each. Rader plead guilty to all 10 counts of murder.

Judge Waller then reminded Rader that he was entitled to a trial and that he was not required to prove his innocence. It was the state’s responsibility to prove his guilt. Rader acknowledged that he understood.

Waller, to ascertain Rader’s guilt, asked him to explain "in your own words" what he did in each of the 10 murders.

Rader then went on to describe, in graphic detail, the 10 murders attributed to the BTK serial killer.

After Rader had finished, Judge Waller told him the court would find that he "knowingly, intelligently and competently" waived his rights and entered a plea of guilty.

Waller then found Rader guilty of first-degree murder in all 10 cases.

He then scheduled sentencing for the first nine counts for August 17th at 9:00 a.m. He said he would schedule sentencing for the 10th case at that time. The 10th case is the only one that qualifies for the "Hard 40" sentence due to legislation enacted before that crime was committed.

After court, Rader’s defense team said the guilty plea was Dennis Rader’s decision alone.

"He basically wanted to take responsibility for his actions early on," said attorney, Steve Osburn. "There was a confession right after his arrest."

"We looked into all possible defenses and that includes the insanity defense," said Osburn. "We retained the Cambridge forensic consultants who are associated with Harvard University. They spent many hours with Mr. Rader, several sessions and thorough testing. After that evaluation and conference with both the psychologists and Mr. Rader, we determined there was no viable insanity defense."

"We at no time urged Mr. Rader to do anything. It was his choice. He chose to step up to the plate and take responsibility for his actions. Our job as his attorney’s was to make sure he was well-informed in his decision making process and we believe that he was," said Sarah McKinnon, a member of Rader’s defense team.