Dennis Rader

Dennis Rader

Rader's mugshot at the El Dorado Correctional Facility
Born Dennis Lynn Rader
(1945-03-09) March 9, 1945
Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S.
Other names BTK Killer, BTK Strangler
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 175 years
(10 consecutive life sentences)
Spouse(s) Paula Dietz (m. 1971; div. 2005)
Children 2
Conviction(s) Murder
Killings
Victims 10
Span of killings
 1974–1991
Country United States
State(s) Kansas
Date apprehended
 February 25, 2005

Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County, Kansas between 1974 and 1991.

He is also known as the BTK Killer or the BTK Strangler. "BTK" stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill", which was his infamous signature. He sent letters describing the details of the murders to police and local news outlets before his arrest. After a decade-long hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters in 2004, leading to his 2005 arrest and subsequent guilty plea. He is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences at El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.

Early life and career

Dennis Rader is the oldest of four sons born to Dorothea Mae Rader (née Cook) and William Elvin Rader.[1] Though born in Pittsburg, Kansas, he grew up in Wichita. According to many reports, including his confessions, he tortured animals as a child.[2] He also had a sexual fetish for women's underwear and stole underpants from his victims and wore them himself.[3]

Rader spent 1966–1970 in the United States Air Force.[3] Upon discharge, he moved to Park City, where he worked in the meat department of a Leekers IGA supermarket where his mother was a bookkeeper.[4] He married Paula Dietz on May 22, 1971, and had two children.[5][6] He attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, earning an associate degree in electronics in 1973.[7] He then enrolled at Wichita State University, and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's in administration of justice.

Rader worked as an assembler for the Coleman Company, an outdoor supply company. He worked at the Wichita-based office of ADT Security Services from 1974 to 1988, where he installed security alarms as a part of his job, in many cases for homeowners concerned about the BTK killings.[5][8] Rader was a census field operations supervisor for the Wichita area in 1989, before the 1990 federal census.[9] He became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City.[5][10][11] In this position, neighbors recalled him as being sometimes overzealous and extremely strict. One neighbor complained he euthanized her dog for no reason.[12]

On March 2, 2005, the Park City council terminated Rader's employment for failure to report to work or call in. He had been arrested for the murders five days earlier.[13]

Rader was a member of Christ Lutheran Church and had been elected president of the church council.[5][14] He was also a Cub Scout leader.[5] On July 26, 2005, after Rader's arrest, his wife was granted an immediate divorce.[6][15]

Crimes

Victims

All of Rader's known crimes occurred in Kansas. He killed ten people in total and collected items from each murder scene. He also intended to kill others, notably Anna Williams, 63, who in 1979 escaped death by returning home much later than he expected. Rader explained during his confession that he became obsessed with Williams and was "absolutely livid" when she evaded him. He spent hours waiting at her home but became impatient and left when she did not return home from visiting friends.[16] Two of the women Rader had stalked in the 1980s and one he had stalked in the mid-1990s filed restraining orders against him; one of them also moved away.[17]

Rader admitted in his interrogation that he had been planning to kill again. He had set a date, October 2004, and was stalking his intended victim.[17]

Name Sex Age Date of Death Place of Death Cause of Death Weapon Used
Joseph Otero M 38 January 15, 1974 803 North Edgemoor Street, Wichita Suffocated Plastic bags
Julie Otero F 33 January 15, 1974 803 North Edgemoor Street, Wichita Strangled Rope
Joseph Otero, Jr. M 9 January 15, 1974 803 North Edgemoor Street, Wichita Suffocated Plastic bag
Josephine Otero F 11 January 15, 1974 803 North Edgemoor Street, Wichita Hanged from a drainage pipe Rope
Kathryn Bright F 21 April 4, 1974 3217 East 13th Street North, Wichita

died at Wesley Medical Center.

 Stabbed 11 times in torso and back Knife
Shirley Vian F 24 March 17, 1977 1311 South Hydraulic Street, Wichita Strangled Rope
Nancy Fox F 25 December 8, 1977 843 South Pershing Street, Wichita Strangled Belt
Marine Hedge F 53 April 27, 1985 6254 North Independence Street, Park City Strangled Hand(s)
Vicki Wegerle F 28 September 16, 1986 2404 West 13th Street North, Wichita Strangled Nylon stocking
Dolores E. Davis F 62 January 19, 1991 6226 North Hillside Street, Wichita Strangled Pantyhose

With the exception of Hedge and Davis, all victims' bodies were found on the date and at the location of death. Hedge was found eight days later on May 5, 1985, at East 53rd Street North between North Webb Road and North Greenwich Road in Wichita. Davis was found 13 days later on February 1, 1991, at West 117th Street North and North Meridian Street in Sedgwick.

Case history

Rader was particularly known for sending taunting letters to police and newspapers.[18][19][20] He authored many communications from 1974 to 1979. 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.[9] In early 1978, he sent another letter to television station KAKE in Wichita, claiming responsibility for the murders of the Oteros, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox, and Kathryn Bright.[9] He suggested many possible names for himself, including the one that stuck: BTK. He demanded media attention in this second letter, and it was finally announced that Wichita did indeed have a serial killer at large. A poem was enclosed titled "Oh! Death to Nancy," a parody of the lyrics to the American folk song "O Death."[21][22]

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 where he denied being the perpetrator of this crime. He credited the killer having done "admirable work." It was not proven until 2005 that this letter was in fact written by Rader, and he is not considered by police to have committed this crime.[22]

By 2004, the investigation of the BTK Killer was cold. Then, Rader began a series of 11 communications to the local media that led directly to his arrest in February 2005. In March 2004, The Wichita Eagle received a letter from someone using the return address Bill Thomas Killman. 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.[23] Before this, it was not definitively established that Wegerle was killed by BTK.[23] DNA collected from under Wegerle's fingernails provided police with previously unknown evidence. They then began DNA testing hundreds of men in an effort to find the serial killer.[24] Altogether, over 1300 DNA samples were taken and later destroyed by court order.[25]

In May 2004, a letter with chapter headings for the "BTK Story," fake IDs and a word puzzle were received by television station KAKE, in Wichita.[4] On June 9, 2004, a package was found taped to a stop sign at the corner of First and Kansas in Wichita. It had graphic descriptions of the Otero murders and a sketch labeled "The Sexual Thrill Is My Bill."[26] 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. Chapter One was titled "A Serial Killer Is Born." In July, a package was dropped into the return slot at the downtown public library containing more bizarre material, including the claim that he was responsible for the death of 19-year-old Jake Allen in Argonia, Kansas earlier that month. This claim was false, and the death was ruled a suicide.[27] In October 2004, a manila envelope was dropped into a UPS box in Wichita. It had many cards with images of terror and bondage of children pasted on them, a poem threatening the life of lead investigator Lt. Ken Landwehr, and a false autobiography with many details about Rader's life. These details were later released to the public.

In December 2004, Wichita police received another package from the BTK killer.[28] This time, the package was found in Wichita's Murdock Park. It had the driver's license of Nancy Fox, which was noted as stolen from the crime scene, as well as a doll that was symbolically bound at the hands and feet, and had a plastic bag tied over its head.[27]

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 discarded by the truck's owner. It was later retrieved from the trash after Rader asked what had become of it in a later message. Surveillance tape of the parking lot from that date revealed a distant figure driving a black Jeep Cherokee leaving the box in the pickup. In February, more postcards were sent to KAKE, and another cereal box left at a rural location was found to contain another bound doll, apparently meant to symbolize the murder of 11-year-old Josephine Otero.

In his letters to police, Rader asked if his writings, if put on a floppy disk, could be traced or not. The police answered his question in a newspaper ad posted in the Wichita Eagle saying it would be safe to use the disk. On February 16, 2005, Rader sent a purple 1.44-Megabyte Memorex floppy disk to Fox TV affiliate KSAS-TV in Wichita.[29][30] Also enclosed were a letter, a gold-colored necklace with a large medallion, and a photocopy of the cover of a 1989 novel about a serial killer (Rules of Prey).[30]

Police found metadata embedded in a deleted Microsoft Word document that was, unbeknownst to Rader, on the floppy disk.[31] The metadata contained Christ Lutheran Church, and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis."[32] An internet search determined that a "Dennis Rader" was president of the church council.[29] From the Home Depot incident, the police also knew BTK owned a black Jeep Cherokee. When investigators drove by Rader's house, they noticed a black Jeep Cherokee parked outside.[33]

The police had strong circumstantial evidence against Rader, but they needed more direct evidence to detain him.[34] They obtained a warrant to test the DNA of a pap smear Rader's daughter had taken at the Kansas State University medical clinic when she was a student. The DNA of the pap smear was processed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at their lab in Topeka, and demonstrated a familial match to the DNA of the sample taken from victim Vicki Wegerle's fingernails. This indicated that the killer was closely related to Rader's daughter, and was the evidence the police needed to make an arrest.[35]

Arrest

Rader was arrested while driving near his home in Park City shortly after noon on February 25, 2005.[36] An officer asked, "Mr. Rader, do you know why you're going downtown?"; Rader replied, "Oh, I have suspicions why."[37][38] Wichita police, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 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. The church he attended, his office at City Hall, and the main branch of the Park City library were also searched. At a press conference the next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams announced, "the bottom line: BTK is arrested."[39][40]

On February 28, 2005, Rader was charged with 10 counts of first degree murder.[41] Soon after his arrest, the Associated Press cited an anonymous source alleging Rader had confessed to other murders in addition to those with which he had been connected;[42] the Sedgwick County district attorney denied this but refused to say whether Rader made any confessions or if investigators were looking into Rader's possible involvement in more unsolved killings.[43] 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 other ones.[44]

On March 1, Rader's bail was set at US$10 million, and a public defender was appointed to represent him.[45] On May 3, the judge entered not-guilty pleas on Rader's behalf, as Rader did not speak at his arraignment.[46] However, on June 27, the scheduled trial date, Rader changed his plea to guilty; he described the murders in detail, and made no apologies.[47][48][49]

At Rader's August 18 sentencing, victims' families made statements, after which Rader apologized in a rambling thirty-minute monologue that the prosecutor likened to an Academy Awards acceptance speech.[50] He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences. He will be eligible for parole after 175 years.[51] Kansas had no death penalty at the time of the murders.[50] On August 19, he was moved to the El Dorado Correctional Facility.[52]

According to witnesses, Rader talked about innocuous topics such as the weather during the forty-minute drive to El Dorado, but began to cry when the victims' families' statements from the court proceedings came on the radio. He is now in solitary confinement for his protection (with one hour of exercise per day, and showers three times per week); this will likely continue indefinitely. Beginning 2006, he was allowed access to television and radio, to read magazines, and other privileges for good behavior.[52][53]

Further investigations

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. They particularly focused on cases after 1994, when the death penalty was reinstated in Kansas. Police in surrounding states such as Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas also investigated cold cases that fit Rader's pattern to some extent. The FBI, Civil Air Patrol[54] and local jurisdictions at Rader's former duty stations checked into unsolved cases during Rader's time in the service.

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. 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 victims. This includes one person who was saved when Rader called off his planned attack upon his arrival near the target's home due to the presence of construction and road crews near her home. Rader stated in his police interview that "there are a lot of lucky people," meaning that he had thought about and developed various levels of murder plans for other victims.[7]

Evaluation by Robert Mendoza

Massachusetts psychologist Robert Mendoza was hired by Rader's court-appointed public defenders to conduct a psychological evaluation for Rader, and determine if an insanity-based defense might be viable. He conducted an interview after Rader pleaded guilty on June 27. NBC claimed Rader knew the interview might be on TV, but this was false according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department. Rader mentioned the interview during his sentencing statement. 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. On May 10, 2007, Mendoza settled the case for US$30,000 with no admission of wrongdoing.[55]

In media

Non-fiction

Literature

Music

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ancestry of Dennis Rader". Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Dennis Rader Biography". The Biography Channel. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Sylvester, Ron (March 27, 2012). "Investigators tell of grisly crimes, Rader's delight". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "A Double Life: Dennis Rader lived quietly while killing 10" (PDF). The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 King, Gary C.; Allen, Kevin P. "Criminal Profile: Dennis Lynn Rader". Investigation Discovery. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Raders' divorce granted". The Wichita Eagle. March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Wenzl, Roy; Potter, Tim; Laviana, Hurst; Kelly, L. (May 27, 2008). Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-137395-4. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ Twiddy, David (January 3, 2005). "BTK Suspect's Career in Security Probed"Paid subscription required. Associated Press. Retrieved July 11, 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  9. 1 2 3 McClellan, Janet (May 18, 2010). Erotophonophilia: Investigating Lust Murder. Cambria Press. pp. 157, 173. ISBN 978-1-62196-929-7. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Neighbor: I Watched BTK Suspect Shoot Dog". ABC News. February 27, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ Meadows, Bob; Klise, Kate; Comander, Lauren; Grisby, Lorna; Haederle, Michael (March 21, 2005). "The BTK Case: the Killer Unmasked?". People. 63 (11). Retrieved July 11, 2014. The trait served Rader well in his next job, as a compliance officer for Park City, a Wichita suburb—but his nit-picking won him few friends.
  12. ↑ Interview with Misty King; A&E Documentary Special—The BTK Killer Speaks
  13. ↑ Buselt, Lori O'Toole (Mar 3, 2005). "Park City Council dismisses Rader". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on March 5, 2005. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  14. ↑ "People at CLC – Christ Lutheran Church – Wichita, Kansas". Archived from the original on February 6, 2005.
  15. ↑ "BTK killer's wife granted an emergency divorce". NBC News. Associated Press. July 27, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ Bardsley, Marilyn, Rachael Bell and David Lohr. "The BTK Story – More Clues Revealed". Crime Library. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  17. 1 2 A&E Documentary Special – The BTK Killer Speaks
  18. ↑ Siegel, Larry (January 19, 2012). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies. Cengage Learning. p. 353. ISBN 1-133-71052-2. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  19. ↑ Bauer, Craig P. (March 25, 2013). Secret History: The Story of Cryptology. CRC Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4665-6186-1. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  20. ↑ Hickey, Eric W. (May 10, 2012). Serial Murderers and their Victims. Cengage Learning. p. 254. ISBN 1-285-40168-9. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Transcription of poem "Oh! Death to Nancy"" (PDF). City of Wichita. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  22. 1 2 Douglas, John; Dodd, Johnny (November 3, 2008). Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer. John Wiley & Sons. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-470-43768-1. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  23. 1 2 "BTK Strangler resurfaces after 25 years". The Scotsman. March 28, 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  24. ↑ "'BTK' serial killer caught". The Age. February 27, 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Police destroy 1,326 DNA samples taken in BTK investigation". USA Today. May 31, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  26. ↑ Singular, Stephen (March 27, 2007). Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer. Simon & Schuster. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1-4165-3154-8. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  27. 1 2 Potter, Tim (July 10, 2005). "After 31 years and 10 deaths pieces fall in place". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ Girard, James E. (November 15, 2013). Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime, and Terrorism. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-4496-9180-6. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  29. 1 2 "Cops Make Arrest in BTK Probe". Fox News. February 27, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  30. 1 2 "Camp novel crops up in the BTK case". johnsandford.org, attributed to "StarTribune". March 3, 2005. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  31. ↑ Girard, James E. (November 15, 2013). Criminalistics: Forensic Science, Crime, and Terrorism. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-4496-9180-6. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  32. ↑ BTK Kansas Serial Killer – Full BTK Story – The Crime library Archived 15 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ↑ Potter, Tim (March 14, 2007). "Police tell details of BTK hunt". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Policeman details capture of BTK killer". Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  35. ↑ Nakashima, Ellen (April 21, 2008). "From DNA of Family, a Tool to Make Arrests". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  36. ↑ Nye, Valerie; Barco, Kathy (2012). True Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries. American Library Association. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-8389-1130-3. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  37. ↑ "31 years of the BTK killer". msnbc.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  38. ↑ Fox, James Alan; Levin, Jack (March 14, 2011). Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder. Sage Publications. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4129-8031-9. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  39. ↑ "CNN.com – Report: Daughter of BTK suspect alerted police – Apr 19, 2005". cnn.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  40. ↑ Andy Samuelson (February 27, 2005). "Wichita police: 'BTK is arrested'". LJWorld.com. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  41. ↑ "BTK Serial Killer Suspect's Charges — State of Kansas v. Dennis Rader (page 6)". findlaw.com. February 28, 2005. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  42. ↑ "'BTK' Serial Killer In Custody, Claims Police". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  43. ↑ "BTK Suspect Said to Confess to 6 Slayings". USA Today (AP). February 27, 2005. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  44. ↑ Stan Finger; Tim Potter (March 6, 2005). "Rader has admitted to killings, daily says". Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  45. ↑ "Victim's brother describes killing linked to BTK". CNN. March 2, 2005. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  46. ↑ BTK suspect silent in court 05/04/05
  47. ↑ "Anger, Relief Over BTK Confessions". CBS News. June 28, 2005. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  48. ↑ Hansen, Mark (April 21, 2006). "How the Cops Caught BTK". ABA Journal. American Bar Association. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  49. ↑ "US Serial Killer pleads guilty to ten murders". The World Today. June 28, 2005. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  50. 1 2 "BTK killer sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms". WHO-TV (AP). August 19, 2005. Archived from the original on August 9, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  51. ↑ Coates, Sam (August 19, 2005). "Rader Gets 175 Years For BTK Slayings". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  52. 1 2 "Dennis Rader's listing on the Kansas Department of Corrections Kansas Adult Supervised Population Electronic Repository site". Archived from the original on November 25, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  53. ↑ "BTK Killer Gets Extra Jail Perks". CBS News. April 24, 2006.
  54. ↑ Beattie, Robert (2005). Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt For The BTK Strangler. Penguin Books. p. 138. ISBN 9781101219928. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  55. ↑ "BTK Psychologist to Pay State". WIBW. Associated Press. May 10, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  56. ↑ Ramsland, Katherine M. (2016). Confession of a serial killer: the untold story of Dennis Rader, the BTK killer. ForeEdge. p. 1. ISBN 9781611688412. OCLC 945648889.
  57. ↑ Wenzl, Roy (September 26, 2014). "Daughter of Wichita serial killer BTK: Stephen King 'exploiting my father's 10 victims'". Kansas City Star. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  58. ↑ Beattie, Robert (2005). Nightmare In Wichita. Penguin Books.
  59. ↑ Suffocation: New Audio Interview with Frank Mullen Posted Online – Feb. 7, 2007, Blabbermouth.net.
  60. ↑ "Unsung Melody – The Raven that Refused to Sing. Steven Wilson at Park West Theater in Chicago.". unsungmelody.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  61. ↑ "Church of Misery "Thy Kingdom Scum"". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  62. ↑ "Blood In Blood Out". nuclearblast.de. Retrieved October 19, 2015.

Further reading

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