Dennis Rader born on March 9, 1945, infamously known as ‘BTK’ or ‘The BTK Killer’ (which stands for ‘Bind, Torture, Kill’), is an American serial killer who terrorized Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991.
Rader murdered ten people, including men, women, and children, evading capture for over 30 years, while maintaining a seemingly normal life, often taunting police and the media with letters and clues about his crimes. Rader worked as a compliance officer, was an active church leader, and lived with his wife and children—all while hiding his dark secret.
His moniker, BTK, was self-assigned and reflected his modus operandi of binding, torturing, and killing his victims.
NAME: Dennis Lynn Rader
DOB: March 9, 1945
ALIAS: BTK, The BTK Killer
COUNTRY: Kansas, United States
VICTIMS: 10 confirmed
ARREST: February 25, 2005
SENTENCE: 2005 – 10 counts of first-degree murder, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 175 years, 10 consecutive life sentences
PRISON: El Dorado Correctional Facility
SPOUSE: Paula Dietz, May 22, 1971 – July 26, 2005
CHILDREN: 2
Where is Dennis Rader now?
SENTENCE: 10 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole
Dennis Rader is currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.
He is serving 10 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole ensuring he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Rader is reportedly held in solitary confinement, permitted only one hour outside his cell five days a week for exercise and showers. While he is barred from appearing on television or speaking to reporters, he is allowed to send and receive letters. His daughter, Kerri Rawson, disclosed that Rader may have suffered a stroke in 2018, which could have resulted in short-term memory loss and dementia.
- Jan 2019 Kerri Rawson, Dennis Rader’s daughter published a book.
- Jul 21, 2023 Rader wrote a letter to Fox News.
- Aug 25, 2023 Became a suspect in new cold cases.
- Aug 25, 2023 Investigators looking for new evidence in Rader’s former home.
- Mar 2024 Excluded as a suspect of the death of Shawna Beth Garber.
Jan 2019 Kerri Rawson, Dennis Rader’s daughter published a book
Kerri Rawson, Dennis Rader’s daughter published a book in late 2019, titled ‘A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming’.
Jul 21, 2023 Rader wrote a letter to Fox News Digital
Rader has taken an interest in high-profile criminal cases, including the Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island, New York. Following the July 2023 arrest of Rex Heuermann, who has been charged with the killings of seven women, Rader wrote a letter to Fox News Digital, describing Heuermann as a “clone of myself.” Drawing parallels to his own arrest in 2005, Rader emphasized how advancements in technology and DNA evidence were instrumental in helping police identify suspects in such cases. [1]
Aug 25, 2023 Became a suspect in the disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney and the murder of Shawna Beth Garber
In recent years, Rader has been named a suspect in additional cold cases, including the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney.
Investigators were also able to link Rader to the murder of 22-year-old Shawna Beth Garber in McDonald County, Missouri. Garber, whose remains were not identified until 2021, was found dead in December 1990. She had been raped, strangled, and restrained. [2]
Aug 25, 2023 Investigators looking for new evidence in Rader’s former home
New items of interest were recovered from his former home, potentially connecting him to more unsolved crimes. His daughter Kerri Rawson has cooperated with law enforcement, using her childhood memories to help identify possible crime sites linked to her father. [2]
Mar 2024 Excluded as a suspect of the death of Shawna Beth Garber
Investigators have formally excluded Dennis Rader as a potential suspect in the Shawna Beth Garber cold case. She was found dead in December 1990, having been raped, strangled, and restrained.
CRIMES COMMITTED
Rader’s killing spree began in 1974 with the brutal murders of four members of the Otero family. Over the next 17 years, he targeted mostly women, strangling and binding them, often taking personal “trophies” from the crime scenes.
Dennis Rader ‘BTK’ Victims:
The Otero family – January 15, 1974
Joseph and Julie Otero along with their children Joseph Jr. and Josephine were strangled and suffocated in their home, Josephine was hanged in the basement and also strangled.
Kathryn Bright – April 4, 1974
Kathryn Bright was stabbed and strangled, her brother Kevin was shot, but managed to survive.
Shirley Vian Relford – March 17, 1977
Shirley Relford was tied up and strangled. Before killing her, Rader locked her children in the bathroom.
Nancy Jo Fox – December 8, 1977
Nancy Fox was strangled in her home. After that Rader called the police to report the murder.
Marine Hedge – April 27, 1985
Marine Hedge was a Rader’s neighbour. He strangled her and dumped her body in a rural ditch.
Vicki Lynn Wegerle – September 16, 1986
Pretending to be a telephone repairman, Rader gained access to her home and strangled her.
Dolores Davis – January 19, 1991
Dolores Davis was abducted from her home, strangled, and her body was discovered beneath a bridge.
CAPTURE & INVESTIGATION
Motivated by his desire for notoriety, BTK began actively seeking fame. In October 1974, shortly after his first two murders, he left a letter in a public library book, claiming responsibility for the killings of the Otero family. The letter eventually reached a local newspaper, giving authorities their first real insight into the individual they were dealing with.
In January 1978, Rader mailed a poem to a local newspaper referencing the murder of Shirley Vian. A few weeks later, he sent a letter to a local television station, confessing to the deaths of Vian, Nancy Fox, and an additional unidentified victim.
In April 1979, Rader broke into an elderly woman’s home and waited for her, but left before she arrived. He later sent her a letter informing her that BTK had been inside. In an effort to catch him, authorities released a 1977 recording of his phone call to the police, hoping someone might recognize his voice.
For the next several years, BTK appeared to vanish as Rader focused on his career and family life. However, his obsession with fame never waned. In 2004, he resumed sending letters to authorities, often including items tied to his crimes, such as photographs, word puzzles, and cryptic clues.
Rader escalated his efforts in 2005 by delivering a computer disk. By then, technology had advanced significantly, and authorities were able to trace the disk’s metadata to Rader’s church. This breakthrough ultimately led to his arrest on February 25, 2005.
TRIAL & CONVICTIONS
On June 27, 2005, Dennis Rader eventually pleaded guilty to all charges and delivered a chilling, detailed confession in court, displaying no remorse for his actions. He described his methodical process of stalking and binding his victims, referring to his brutal attacks as “hits.”
Conviction:
Rader was ultimately sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
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REFERENCES / CITATIONS:
- Fox News: Serial killer Dennis Rader calls Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann ‘a clone of me’ – July 21, 2023
- USA Today: BTK serial killer Dennis Rader named ‘prime suspect’ in 2 cold cases in Oklahoma, Missouri – August 25, 2023
- Biography: Dennis Rader – January 21, 2025
- ABC News: BTK serial killer’s daughter shares letters he wrote her from behind bars: ‘The dark side took me away’ – July 26, 2019
BOOKS ABOUT Dennis Rader
Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer
In 1974, Dennis Lynn Rader stalked and murdered a family of four in Wichita, Kansas. Since adolescence, he had read about serial killers and imagined becoming one. Soon after killing the family…
A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming
What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer? In 2005, Kerri Rawson opened the door of her apartment to greet an FBI agent who shared the shocking news that her father had been arrested for murdering 10 people…
Stalked and Strangled: Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer: A True Story of Bondage, Torture, and Murder
At the end of the twentieth century, over the span of three decades, the story of the BTK Killer was almost the same as the boogey man. A tale told to frighten women and children about an unknown beast who murdered the innocent….
Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door
For thirty-one years, a monster terrorized the residents of Wichita, Kansas. A bloodthirsty serial killer, self-named “BTK”—for “bind them, torture them, kill them”…
Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer
A dramatic and compelling true-crime psychological thriller. This incredible story shows how John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history…
Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer
Behind a façade of Midwestern normalcy, Dennis Rader hid a life of bloodlust, sadism, and murder beyond imagining. The upstanding family man, Scout leader, and church board president was well liked and trusted by his Wichita community….
TV Shows & documentaries about Dennis Rader
BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer
Features conversations with serial killer Dennis Rader from a Kansas maximum security prison, to examine his crimes and psyche.
TV Mini Series / Documentary | 2022
Born to kill? S4.E6 – Dennis Rader: The Bind and Torture Killer (BTK)
Sexual sadist Dennis Rader killed ten people in Wichita, Kansas, over a seventeen-year span, becoming known to police and media as the BTK Killer.
TV Series / Documentary | 2011
World’s Most Evil Killers S3.E5 – Dennis Rader – BTK
The crimes of the American serial killer Dennis Rader, who murdered 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas area over 17 years and dubbed himself BTK – meaning ‘Bind, Torture, Kill’.
TV Series / Documentary | 2017
Snapped: Notorious S1.E10 – BTK Killer
Under the guise of the “BTK Killer, ” Rader heinously murdered 10 people, over the course of 17 years, all while taunting Wichita police and media before finally being brought to justice, after 30 years of cold cases.
TV Series / Documentary | 2017>
OXYGEN
Murder Made Me Famous – S6.E2 – B.T.K. Killer
Seemingly average husband and father-of-two Dennis Rader lives a double life as a serial killer who terrorizes the Wichita, Kan., area from the 1970s to the ’90s as the self-proclaimed BTK Killer.
TV Series / Documentary | 2015
REELZ
Forty Eight Hours S19.E2 – BTK: Out of the Shadows
The family of Vicki Wegerle – a victim of “BTK Killer” Dennis Rader in 1986 – speak to correspondent Erin Moriarty.
TV Series / Documentary | 1988>
Crimes That Shook the World – S1.E2 – BTK Strangler
This docu-drama follows the hunt for the elusive Kansas serial killer, BTK.
TV Series / Documentary | 2006
YOUTUBE
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MORE ARTICLES ABOUT Dennis Rader
A selection of interesting articles about Dennis Rader, sourced and curated from around the web:
Serial killer Dennis Rader calls Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann ‘a clone of me’
Fox News | Author: Michael Ruiz | July 21, 2023
BTK serial killer Dennis Rader named ‘prime suspect’ in 2 cold cases in Oklahoma, Missouri
USA Today | Author: Eric Lagatta | August 25, 2023
BTK serial killer is in the news again. Here’s why and some background about his case
AP News | Author: Heather Hollingsworth| August 25, 2023
BTK serial killer’s daughter shares letters he wrote her from behind bars: ‘The dark side took me away’
ABC News | Author: John Lucas & Shannon Brown | July 26, 2019
31 years of the BTK killer
NBC News | Author: Edie Magnus | August 13, 2005
The monster of suburbia
The Guardian | Author: Paul Harris | March 6, 2005
BTK’s Daughter Visits Him for First Time in Years, Says He’s “Rotting” as Authorities Probe Possible Links to Even More Murders
Oxygen True Crime | Author: Gina Salamone | March 25, 2023
