The Oteros' 15-year-old son, Charlie, came home later that day and discovered the bodies. [72] His statement has been described as an example of an often-observed phenomenon among psychopaths: their inability to understand the emotional content of language. [64] However, the Sedgwick County district attorney denied the story, yet refused to say whether Rader had made any confessions, or if investigators were looking into Rader's possible involvement in more unsolved killings. Police in Wichita, Park City, and several surrounding cities looked into unsolved cases before, during, and after 1974 and 1991 in cooperation with the state police and the FBI. [19][24][25][26] In this position, neighbors recalled him as being sometimes overzealous and extremely strict, as well as taking special pleasure in bullying and harassing single women. ", The Raven that Refused to Sing Concert Review, B.T.K. According to Jeff, he told the Lawrence World-Journal that he nor his family saw any signs of Rader being a murderer. Over the next several years, BTK dropped off the map as Rader focused on work and family life. [10][11] He also exhibited zoosadism by torturing, killing, and hanging small animals. By the 2000s, the public interest in the BTK killer had faded off to a great extent. They obtained a warrant to test the DNA of a Pap smear Rader's daughter had taken at the Kansas State University medical clinic while she was a student there. [32] The victims were Joseph Otero, age38; Julie Otero, age33; Joseph OteroJr., age9; and Josephine Otero, age11. It was later retrieved from the trash after Rader asked what had become of it in a later message. However, he never stopped stalking potential victims or playing out murderous fantasies in his head. Retired from his serial-killing days, he was living the life of a normal, respectable member of the society. This includes one person who was saved when Rader called off his planned attack upon his arrival near the target's home owing to road construction, and the presence of road crews, near her home. Geni requires JavaScript! An internet search determined that a "Dennis Rader" was president of the church council. He demanded media attention in this second letter, and it was finally announced that Wichita did indeed have a serial killer at large. [41], His final victim, Dolores E. Davis, was found on February1, 1991, at West 117th Street North and North Meridian Street in Park City. Foredge, 2016. with Paula Rader{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula Rader", "gender": "Female" }, View Dennis Rader's Family Tree and History, Ancestry and Genealogy, Dennis Rader's father is William Rader Dennis Rader's mother is Dorothea Rader, Dennis Rader's son is Brian Rader Dennis Rader's daughter is Kerri Rawson, Dennis Rader's former wife is Paula Rader, Dennis Rader's brother is Paul Rader Dennis Rader's brother is Bill Rader Dennis Rader's brother is Jeff Rader, Dennis Rader's son in law is Darian Rawson, Ted Bundy{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Ted Bundy", "gender": "Male" }, John Wayne Gacy{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "John Wayne Gacy", "gender": "Male" }, Angelo Buono{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Angelo Buono", "gender": "Male" }. Rader pleaded guilty to all of the charges on June 27, 2005. The first was a letter that had been stashed inside an engineering book in the Wichita Public Library in October 1974 that described in detail the killing of the Otero family in January of that year. The letter ended up with a local newspaper, and the poorly written note gave authorities some idea of who they were dealing with. Dennis Lynn Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S. to Dorothea Mae Rader (ne Cook) and William Elvin Rader as one of their four sons. Even though they hadnt identified him. Dennis Rader, a bespectacled, balding 59-year-old compliance officer at the time of his arrest, would later to confess to killing 10 victims and share the secret, deviant behavior he'd kept. The last known BTK killing was in 1991, making all known BTK murders ineligible for the death penalty. He's based on a Kansas serial killer", "Mindhunter: Who is the ADT Killer from Kansas? His nickname 'BTK' stood for 'Bind, Torture, Kill' - his modus operandi, and left a number of taunting notes for the police and the media, detailing his crimes. It is believed to be correct at the time of inputting and is presented here in good faith. On June 9, 2004, a package was found taped to a stop sign at the corner of First and Kansas in Wichita, containing graphic descriptions of the Otero murders and a sketch labeled "The Sexual Thrill Is My Bill". In 1985, he struck again. 35 min read. Dennis Rader, 60, pleaded. Dennis is also referred to as the BTK Strangler and the BTK Killer. Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. He then became a dogcatcher and supervisor in the Compliance Department at Park City. The author of the letter claimed that he had murdered Vicki Wegerle on September 16, 1986, and enclosed photographs of the crime scene and a photocopy of her driver's license, which had been stolen at the time of the crime. The victim this time was someone Rader and his wife knew personally: his 53-year-old neighbor Marine Hedge. Beginning in 2006, he was allowed access to television and radio, to read magazines, and other privileges for good behavior.[75][76]. He served in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1970. According to Leary, there were clues, even if no one had found out about Raders animal cruelty, it still points to someone who is engaging in anti-social behavior. It was believed that the killer was dead, or maybe institutionalized. Strangulation and souvenir-taking would become part of his modus operandi, or pattern of behavior. The FBI, Civil Air Patrol, and local jurisdictions at Rader's former duty stations also checked into unsolved cases during Rader's time in the service. This is a nature explanation for Rader's gruesome acts. A poem was enclosed titled "Oh! In the early 1990s, he became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City. He is currently 77 years old as of 2022. Dennis Rader, American serial killer also known as the BTK, was sentenced to 10 life sentences in prison after his trial in 2005. [69][70][71], At Rader's August 18 sentencing, victims' families made statements, after which Rader apologized in a rambling 30-minute monologue that the prosecutor likened to an Academy Awards acceptance speech. Because Rader did not contest his guilt, most evidence was not tested in court. But if its sustained on a regular basis you then end up engaging and incorporating into your behavior repertoire these behaviors more permanently and especially in an early age. Rader worked at Coleman only a short time and not at the same location as the victims. Armed with a gun and some tools, Rader broke into the Otero home one morning, and killed four members of the familyincluding two young children. But for more than 30 years, he also terrorized the area as the BTK killer. Altogether, over 1300 DNA samples were taken and later destroyed by court order. Then everything upended on us', "Charlie Otero finds peace, stability nearly 40 years after BTK murders", "BTK serial killer's victim families to address court", "BTK: 'I took her to the basement andhung her', "Victim's family files suit against Rader", "Transcription of poem "Oh! "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. When a reporter knocked on Dortheas door after Rader was arrested, one of Raders brothers, Jeff answered. Rader was raised in Wichita, Kansas. With a stable job and two children to raise, he did not find time to plan out more murders. He called himself BTK because he bound, tortured, and killed his victims. He would serve two more years in the reserves. He was executed in the electric chair in 1989. He graduated from Wichita Heights High School in 1963. So something awful happened here and we still dont know. On March 5, news sources claimed to have verified by multiple sources that Rader had confessed to the 10 murders he was charged with, but no additional ones. to which he replied, "Oh, I have my suspicions, why?" Donald asks the courts to let him tweet. Powered by. Rader maintained the image of being a good husband and father, and his family had no inkling about his murderous streak. Rader also twice shot her brother, Kevin, though he survived. [20][30], In an interview with ABC News in 2019, Rader's daughter Kerri said she still writes to her father and has now forgiven him, but still struggles to reconcile him with the BTK killer, stating her childhood seemed normal and they were a "normal American family". And may God have mercy on his soul.. The 10 known murders are now believed to be the only murders that Rader is actually responsible for, although Wichita police are fairly certain that Rader stalked and researched a number of other potential future victims. Toole murdered 'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh's son. He had called his plan "Project Cookie". It would be a few more years before the BTK killer would strike again. Soon the detectives were able to pinpoint Rader as the suspected BTK killer and he was arrested on February 25, 2005. He is now in solitary confinement for his protection (with one hour of exercise per day, and showers three times per week). On February16, 2005, Rader sent a purple 1.44-Megabyte Memorex floppy disk to Fox affiliate KSAS-TV in Wichita. In 1979, he sent two identical packages, one to an intended victim who was not at home when he broke into her house and the other to KAKE. Then, in one of his communications with police, Rader asked them if it was possible to trace information from floppy disks. . He married Paula Dietz on May 22, 1971, and they had two children. This would be his last killing. Also enclosed was a chapter list for a proposed book titled "The BTK Story", which mimicked a story written in 1999 by Court TV (now truTV) crime writer David Lohr. Rader replied, "Oh, I have suspicions why. Rader attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, earning an associate degree in electronics in 1973.He then enrolled at Wichita State University and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in administration of justice. He told Ramsland he would fantasize about tying women to train tracks. He described the murders in detail and made no apologies. See FameChain's massive Trump family tree. [35] In early 1978, he sent another letter to television station KAKE in Wichita, claiming responsibility for the murders of the Oteros, Bright, Vian Relford, and Fox. [78], Forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland compiled Confession of a Serial Killer from her five-year correspondence with Rader. was born on 9 March, 1945 in Pittsburg, Kansas, USA, is an Actor. This greatly agitated Dennis Rader, and being the narcissist that he was, he started sending a series of letters to the police once again to revive interest in the BTK murders. [9] He grew up in Wichita. According to Rolling Stones write up on the book, Early on, he started cutting out Slick Ads, female figures from magazine advertisements. But do note that it is not possible to be certain of a person's genealogy without a family's cooperation (and/or DNA testing). He also left semen at the scene and later said that he derived sexual pleasure from killing. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. He later admitted that he was pretending to be his victims as part of a sexual fantasy. Police tape hangs across the street in front of Rader's house, 2005. BTK simply means Blind, Torture, and Kill. Even though he started developing some disturbing habits during his childhood, he managed to keep them hidden from the world. (1965), Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, United States [67] On May 3, the judge entered not guilty pleas on Rader's behalf, as Rader did not speak at his arraignment;[68] however, on June 27, the scheduled trial date, Rader changed his plea to guilty. He then worked for a few months before entering the Kansas Wesleyan College in 1965. He then worked at the Wichita-based office of ADT Security Services from 1974 to 1988, where he installed security alarms as part of his job, in many cases for homeowners concerned about the BTK killings. Serial Killer Dennis Rader became infatuated with binding, torturing, and killing during childhood and lived out those sexual fantasies in adulthood. Currently, he is incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas. Rader, who called himself the BTK Killer because he bound, tortured, and killed his victims, lived a double life, hiding in plain sight with his wife and two children, who were completely unaware of his crimes. One of them also changed her address to avoid him. He started his murdering spree in the mid-1970s, terrorizing the citizens of Kansas for more than 30 years before he was finally arrested. Dennis Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. But I did have a little a little bit of a grudge against Momma.. [72] On August 19, he was moved to the El Dorado Correctional Facility. Then, Rader initiated a series of 11 communications to the local media. These details were later released to the public. [19][20] He attended Butler County Community College in ElDorado, earning an associate degree in electronics in 1973. And so am I. Between 1974 and 1991 Rader murdered 10 people, including four members of the same family. Dennis Rader is a name that will forever be synonymous with terror. Ive always loved her. Dennis Lynn Rader Gender Male Age 73 Date of birth Friday 09 Mar 1945 Birth place Pittsburg, Kansas, USA Occupations US Airforce (1966) Education Wichita Heights High School, Wichita, Kansas, United States Riverview School, Wichita, Kansas, United States Butler County Community College, El Dorado, Kansas, United States It was exciting to him to see a woman helpless, and it was the beginning of his ideas about women that what he wanted from them was to keep them trapped and helpless and looking to him in terror. On May 10, 2007, Mendoza settled the case for US$30,000 with no admission of wrongdoing. At a press conference the next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams announced, "the bottom line: BTK is arrested. Rader sent local media outlets and authorities several letters filled with items related to his crimes, including pictures, a word puzzle and an outline for the "BTK Story." If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Ramsland later wrote the book, Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. "[59][60] Wichita Police, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and ATF agents searched Rader's home and vehicle, seizing evidence including computer equipment, a pair of black pantyhose retrieved from a shed, and a cylindrical container. Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. [48] In December 2004, Wichita police received another package from the BTK killer. In February 2005, more postcards were sent to KAKE, and another cereal box left at a rural location was found to contain another bound doll. Because he committed his crimes before the state's 1994 reinstatement of the death penalty, Rader was sent to El Dorado Correctional Facility to serve his 10 life sentences. The BTK killer's last known communication with the media and police was a padded envelope that arrived at FOX affiliate KSAS-TV in Wichita on February 16, 2005. The police department replied that there was no way of knowing on what computer such a disk had been used, which was in fact not true. Dennis Rader is the oldest of four sons, born to Dorothea Mae (ne Cook) and William Elvin Rader. Family, Parents, Siblings, Education She was born to her father Larry Palmer and her mother Sharon Palmer. Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994. These details were later released to the public. They filed restraining orders against him and one moved away. Dennis Rader tormented his Kansas community with a string of murders and taunted the police who couldn't solve his crimes. His father is an American serial killer known as BTK or the BTK Strangler while his mother is a former bookkeeper. [23], Between the spring of 1974 and winter 1977, Rader killed three more women: Kathryn Bright (April4, 1974), Shirley Vian Relford (March17, 1977), and Nancy Fox (December8, 1977). NBC claimed Rader knew the interview might be televised, but this was false according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office. His father was a member of the US Marine Corps, who later worked for the electric utility KG&E. Police in surrounding states such as Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas also investigated cold cases that fit Rader's pattern to some extent. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S., He holds American citizenship. In 1988, after the murders of three members of the Fager family in Wichita, a letter was received from someone claiming to be the BTK killer in which he denied being the perpetrator of this crime. [57], Rader was arrested while driving near his home in Park City shortly after noon on February 25, 2005. [10], From a young age, Rader harbored sadistic sexual fantasies about torturing "trapped and helpless" women. He also said he was bored, because his children had grown up and he had more time on his hands. On March 2, 2005, the Park City council terminated Rader's employment for failure to report to work or to call in. Who Is Dennis Rader? Also Known As: Dennis Lynn Rader, BTK Killer, BTK Strangler, Spouse/Ex-: Paula Dietz (m. 1971; div. After exhaustive investigations, none of these agencies discovered any further murders attributable to Rader, confirming early suspicions that Rader would have taken credit for any additional murders that he had committed. Explore how the celebrity world connects. On October 25, 2005, the Kansas attorney general filed a petition to sue Mendoza and Tali Waters, co-owners of Cambridge Forensic Consultants, LLC, for breach of contract, claiming that they intended to benefit financially from the use of information obtained through involvement in Rader's defense. The police now had strong circumstantial evidence against Rader, but they needed more direct evidence in order to detain him. Should you have information that conflicts with anything shown please make us aware by email. [77], The videotape of Mendoza's interview ended up being used on NBC's Dateline. Rader did not contest the divorce, and the 34-year marriage was ended. The metadata contained "Christ Lutheran Church", and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis". Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in the United States, He is a citizen of the United States. Born in 1945 in Pittsburg, Kansas, Dennis Rader went on to live a double life: Devoted family and company man by day, he also terrorized the Wichita, Kansas, area as the. It was not proven until 2005 that this letter was, in fact, written by Rader. It was not proven until 2005 that this letter was in fact written by the genuine BTK killer (Rader), and he is not considered by police to have committed this crime. American serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century, known to have killed at least 20 women in the 1970s. However, that ruling was reversed by the United States Supreme Court on June 26, 2006, in the case of Kansas v. Marsh, and the Kansas death penalty statute was upheld. She is now 28 years old and has American nationality. [18] On June9, a package was found taped to a stop sign at the corner of First and Kansas roads in Wichita. David Berkowitz, known as Son of Sam, murdered six people in New York City from 1976 to 1977, claiming he received orders from a demon-possessed dog. With many news stories marking the 30th anniversary of the Otero murders, BTK resurfaced in 2004. Other cold cases in Kansas were reopened to see if Rader's DNA matched crime scenes, but Rader's confession was limited to the 10 known victims, and police and prosecutors do not believe there were any more victims because of the extensive records and memorabilia he kept on each of his victims. After more than one year, Dennis Rader killed again. If Rader felt like he was ignored by his mother, that may have led to his need for attention, according to Leary, which he exemplified by writing letters to the media about his crimes during the years he was committing them, giving himself the moniker BTK which he said stood for bind them, torture them, kill them., Leary said, He also is narcissistic the very very strong need to be recognized. John Wayne Gacy, often called the "Killer Clown," was one of the worst serial killers in U.S. history, murdering at least 33 young male victims. In his police interview, Rader stated that "there are a lot of lucky people", meaning that he had thought about, and developed various levels of planning, the murdering of other victims. He cleverly evaded being identified as a suspect and proceeded to kill several others, taking the final toll of his victims to ten. [4][5][6] After a decade-long hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters in 2004, leading to his 2005 arrest and subsequent guilty plea. His chosen victim was a young mother, Vicki Wegerle. In January 2005, Rader attempted to leave a cereal box in the bed of a pickup truck at a Home Depot in Wichita, but the box was at first discarded by the owner. After a decade-long hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters in 2004, leading to his 2005 arrest and subsequent guilty plea. The fact that he was able to murder small children without any remorse is truly chilling. As an adolescent, he fantasized of tying up and raping girls. Many observers noted that he described the gruesome events without any sign of remorse or emotion. He is known as the BTK killer (or the BTK strangler). Dennis Rader is an American serial killer who is also popular as the BTK "Bind, Torture, Kill" Killer or the BTK Strangler. His gruesome crimes shocked and horrified the community, and his capture in 2005 brought a small measure of closure to the families of his victims. Dennis Rader, known as the BTK killer, was convicted of 10 murders in Wichita and Park City, Kansas in 2005. Following Rader's arrest, police in Wichita, Park City and several surrounding cities looked into unsolved cases with the cooperation of the state police and the FBI. Rader lived on the same street as Marine Hedge, just houses away. He was discharged from active duty in 1970. In other words, the animal instinct inside Rader drove him insane, and urged him to do extreme actions in an attempt to satisfy his hunger to be animalistic. He also made allusions to several other notorious killers, including Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, also known as the "Son of Sam.". On January 15, 1974, Dennis Rader broke into the womans house with some tools and weapons. According to several reports, including his own confessions, as a child he tortured animals. As far as is known, Rader kept his fantasies and his cruelty to animals to himself. However, he was good at hiding his dark side and came across to the outside world as a polite and shy young man. Father of Private and Private He worked for a time in the meat department of Leekers IGA supermarket in Park City alongside his mother, a bookkeeper for the store. I still love her greatly. [49] This time, the package was found in Wichita's Murdock Park. He collected items from the scenes of the murders he committed. There, he photographed her body in various bondage positions. Rolling Stone also reported that according to the book, as a child Rader would get aroused when he was spanked, and when he would see chickens waiting to get slaughtered. Over the course of his tenure he received the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal. Rader was arrested on February 25, 2005, and later charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. In April 1979, Rader waited in an elderly womans home but left before she returned. The poem was titled "Black Friday", an ode to the day he was arrested. It had to have been in the family, or it could be an uncle classically or an aunt. On July 12, 1957 Gloria was united in marriage with Dennis Arnold Rader at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Frazee, Minnesota. [19][22] Rader was a census field operations supervisor for the Wichita area in 1989, before the 1990federal census. "[46] Also enclosed was a chapter list for a proposed book titled The BTK Story, which mimicked a story written in 1999 by Court TV crime writer David Lohr. He is serving 10 consecutive life sentences at El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas, with an earliest possible release date of February 26, 2180. He is not considered by police to have committed this crime. As part of his plea, he gave the horrifying details of his crimes in court. Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas, and grew up in Wichita. The parents couldve behaved very differently toward him than they did the othersIve seen that in cases and the other kids are spared some of the discipline and harsh behavior apparently sometimes.. The Kansas Attorney General's office arranged for the settlement money to be distributed to families of the victims. You probably call me 'psychotic with sexual perversion hang-up.'" On the afternoon of January 15, 1974, 15-year-old Charlie Otero and two of his siblings came home from school to . Its still a puzzle. Police searched Rader's home and vehicle, collecting evidence, including computer equipment, a pair of black pantyhose retrieved from a shed, and a cylindrical container. It is believed that he worked briefly for Cessna, the aircraft manufacturer, in late 1973 or early 1974. His zodiac sign is Pisces and he holds American nationality. Rader struck again a few months later: On April 4, 1974, he waited in the apartment of a young woman named Kathryn Bright, before stabbing and strangling her when she returned home. The murders spanned from 1974 to 1986, in which the majority of those years he was married and raising two children, leading a boy scout troop, and being deeply involved in his church.
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