[1], Rader was born on March 9, 1945, to Dorothea Mae Rader (ne Cook) and William Elvin Rader, one of four sons. He suggested a number of possible names for himself, including the one that stuck: BTK. 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. In April 1979, Rader waited in an elderly womans home but left before she returned. Rader dropped out of college and joined the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1960s. Mendoza diagnosed Rader with narcissistic, antisocial and obsessivecompulsive personality disorders: He observed that Rader has a grandiose sense of self, a belief that he is "special" and therefore entitled to special treatment; a pathological need for attention and admiration; a preoccupation with maintaining rigid order and structure; and a complete lack of empathy. AMERICAN serial killer Dennis Rader known as BTK, killed 10 people, including two children, over a 17-year period. killed four members of the Otero family, including two children, to fulfill a sexual fantasy. What makes me think so is the frequency of the cruel behavior. [52], Police found metadata embedded in a deleted Microsoft Word document that was, unknown to Rader, still stored on the floppy disk. Between 1974 and 1991, he killed ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, and sent taunting letters to police and media outlets describing the details of his crimes. Currently, he is serving ten consecutive life sentences at El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas. Rader also sent trophies to police in his letters, and others were discovered in his office. On February 26, 2005, The Wichita Police Department announced in a press conference that they were holding Rader as the prime suspect in the BTK killings. Shes still very much in denial. The church he attended, his office at City Hall, and the main branch of the Park City library were also searched. Rader was a census field operations supervisor for the Wichita area in 1989, prior to the 1990 federal census. BTK simply means Blind, Torture, and Kill. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Semen found on Josephine Otero or near the bodies of his victims Josephine Otero, Shirley Vian, and Nancy Fox was critical evidence linking Rader to the crimes, and DNA obtained from fingernail scrapings of Vicki Wegerle's left hand matched Rader's DNA, eliminating any doubt that he was her murderer. Surveillance tape of the parking lot from that date revealed a distant figure driving a black Jeep Cherokee leaving the box in the pickup. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas, and grew up in Wichita. His final known victim, Dolores Davis, was taken from her home on January 19, 1991. The FBI and local jurisdictions at Rader's former duty stations checked into unsolved cases during Rader's time in the service. From online or printed sources and from publicly accessible databases. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. Police in surrounding states such as Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas also were thought to have investigated cold cases that fit Rader's pattern to one extent or another. In October 1974, Rader started sending a series of chilling letters to the police, outlining the gruesome details of the murders he had committed and claimed to be the BTK aka Bind, Torture, Kill murderer. Space-X continues to reach for the stars. The police now had strong circumstantial evidence against Rader, but they needed more direct evidence in order to detain him. Convicted of murdering ten victims, he was planning to attack another victim at the time of his arrest. Death to Nancy", "City's 'BTK Strangler' claims he's killed 7", "BTK took body to church, says investigator", "BTK Strangler resurfaces after 25 years", "Police destroy 1,326 DNA samples taken in BTK investigation", "After 31 years and 10 deaths pieces fall in place", "How vanity and a rogue Microsoft Word document led to the capture of evil 'BTK' serial killer", "How the Cops Caught BTK: Playing to a serial killer's ego helped crack the case", "BTK Kansas Serial Killer Full BTK Story", "Policeman details capture of BTK killer", "From DNA of Family, a Tool to Make Arrests", "CNN.com Report: Daughter of BTK suspect alerted police Apr 19, 2005", "BTK Serial Killer Suspect's Charges State of Kansas v. Dennis Rader (page 6)", "BTK Suspect Said to Confess to 6 Slayings", "Rader has admitted to killings, daily says", "Victim's brother describes killing linked to BTK", "Families of BTK victims prepare to wait", "US Serial Killer pleads guilty to ten murders", "BTK killer sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms", "Dennis Rader's listing on the Kansas Department of Corrections, "Everything You Need To Know About BTK, The Disturbing Killer Shown In 'Mindhunter', "Daughter of Wichita serial killer BTK; Stephen King 'exploiting my father's 10 victims', "Ahead of the Season 22 Premiere, We Ranked the 30 Best Law & Order: SVU Episodes Ever", "11 episodes of 'Criminal Minds' that were likely inspired by real-life crimes", "That creepy ADT guy on 'Mindhunter'? He changed his job in 1972 and joined Coleman Co., a manufacturer of camping supplies. 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. Dennis Rader was born on month day 1908, at birth place, West Virginia, to Howard Rader and Mary Ella Rader. Then, Rader initiated a series of 11 communications to the local media. Her body was found a few days later. Brian Rader Family, Parents, Siblings. He was also a member of Christ Lutheran Church and had been elected president of the church council. 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. [10], From a young age, Rader harbored sadistic sexual fantasies about torturing "trapped and helpless" women. "BTK" stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill", which was his infamous signature. Then, in one of his communications with police, Rader asked them if it was possible to trace information from floppy disks. According to reports, Rader took pleasure in exerting his limited authority over his neighbors and other members of the community. This claim was found to be false and the death had been ruled a suicide. The victims' families disagreed with this decision. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. [10][11] He also exhibited zoosadism by torturing, killing, and hanging small animals. Once again he sent letters to the police claiming responsibility for the killings, signing off as the BTK killer.. He demanded media attention in this second letter, and it was finally announced that Wichita did indeed have a serial killer at large. Finding himself unemployed and in a disturbed state of mind, he delved deeper into the dark fantasies that had haunted his mind from childhood. His zodiac sign is Pisces and he holds American nationality. Investigators also noticed his Jeep on security tapes of some of the package drop-off areas, and cemented their case by obtaininga DNA sample from Rader's daughter. He is currently serving 10 consecutive life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility. Rader explained during his confession that he became obsessed with Williams and was "absolutely livid" when she evaded him. How did Robert Hansens Wife & 2 Kids Have No Idea He Was a Serial Killer. [47], After his capture, Rader admitted in his interrogation that he had been planning to kill again and he had set a date, October 2004, and was stalking his intended victim. Rader's father's name is William E. Rader and his mother's name is Dorothea M. Rader. His children too have cut off contacts from him since then. Around this time, he also started killing animals like dogs and cats by torturing and hanging them. [53] The metadata contained the words "Christ Lutheran Church", and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis". He married Paula Dietz on May 22, 1971, and they had two children. Two of the victims (Julie Otero and Kathryn Bright) worked at the Coleman Company, though not during the same period that Rader worked there. (1973), Paul Rader{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Rader", "gender": "Male" }, Bill Rader{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Rader", "gender": "Male" }, Jeff Rader{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeff Rader", "gender": "Male" }, Brian Rader{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Rader", "gender": "Male" }, born 1975, age 42 "[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. According to Oxygen, Rader told Ramsland, I got along real well with Dad, but Mom wasnt always so happy. An internet search determined that a "Dennis Rader" was president of the church council. [44] Altogether, more than 1,300DNA samples were taken and later destroyed by court order. He's based on a Kansas serial killer", "Mindhunter: Who is the ADT Killer from Kansas? 35 min read. Should you have information that conflicts with anything shown please make us aware by email. He measured the height of people's lawns and chased stray animals while toting a tranquilizer gun. Also enclosed were a letter, a photocopy of the cover of a 1989 novel about a serial killer (Rules of Prey), and a gold-colored necklace with a large medallion. [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". Dennis Rader married Paula Dietz on May 22, 1971. The police also knew BTK owned a black Jeep Cherokee. In the early 1990s, he became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City. According to several reports, including his own confessions, as a child he tortured animals. He spent hours waiting at her home but became impatient and left when she did not return home from visiting friends. The fact that he was able to murder small children without any remorse is truly chilling. 2 Dennis Rader brutally murdered ten people, including two children, over a 17-year stretch However, the police was unsuccessful in getting any meaningful clues about the killer. The following year, he killed Vicki Wegerle in her home. [57], Rader was arrested while driving near his home in Park City shortly after noon on February 25, 2005. In March2004, The Wichita Eagle received a letter from someone using the name Bill Thomas Killman. He was convicted of ten murders and received ten consecutive life sentences. Massachusetts psychologist Robert Mendoza, who had been hired by Rader's court-appointed public defenders to conduct the psychological evaluation earlier in the case to determine if an insanity-based defense might be viable, conducted an interview after Rader pled guilty on June 27. Rader killed her on January 19.[42]. Serial Killers that Charmed Their Victims. The murders shook the Kansas police and the citizens alike. They filed restraining orders against him and one moved away. 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. Apparently, Rader had waited for several hours inside the home of Anna Williams but left when she still had not returned hours later. Known as a shy and studious boy, he had a darker side to his persona even as a teenagerhe used to kill dogs and cats in secret. He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, which requires a minimum of 175 years without a chance of parole. He also engaged in mutilations of some degree. 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. He graduated from Wichita Heights High School in 1963. READ NEXT: How did Robert Hansens Wife & 2 Kids Have No Idea He Was a Serial Killer? The increased police vigilance made Rader a bit wary and he did not kill again for a few years. [78], Forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland compiled Confession of a Serial Killer from her five-year correspondence with Rader. He broke into her home on April 27, 1985, killed her, undressed the body, and loaded it into her car. Dennis Rader is an American serial killer also known as the BTK "Bind, Torture, Kill" Killer or the BTK Strangler. Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansas, United States, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, United States. [56], Police obtained a warrant to test a pap smear taken from Rader's daughter at the Kansas State University medical clinic. Rader did not contest the divorce, and the 34-year marriage was ended. As an adolescent, he fantasized of tying up and raping girls. Dennis grew up with three siblings - Jeff, Paul and Bill. It would be a few more years before the BTK killer would strike again. By the 2000s, the public interest in the BTK killer had faded off to a great extent. Even though they hadnt identified him. I still love her greatly. [32] The victims were Joseph Otero, age38; Julie Otero, age33; Joseph OteroJr., age9; and Josephine Otero, age11. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S., He holds American citizenship. He had called his plan "Project Cookie". Toole murdered 'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh's son. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Prior to this, it had not been definitively established that Wegerle was killed by BTK (Rader). The Eerie Moment From Dennis Rader's Childhood That Predicted His Future As The BTK Killer A "quiet and unassuming" boy, Dennis Rader later fantasized about "trapped and helpless" women. Dennis Rader's Early Life. Son of William Elvin Rader and Dorothea Mae Cooke Rader worked at Coleman only a short time and not at the same location as the victims. He is known as the BTK killer (or the BTK strangler). She apparently was terrified and told him to go get help. On the Oxygen Networks, Snapped: Notorious, episode on the BTK killer, Rader biographer and forensic scientist Ramsland said that Raders father worked long hours and wasnt around a lot and his mom was often preoccupied reading and watching TV, leaving some of the raising of the boys to the grandparents. He gained entry into her house posing as a telephone repairman and then strangled her to death. In March of that year, he tied up and strangled Shirley Vian, after locking her children in the bathroom. He is known as the BTK killer (or the BTK strangler). He was finally caught in February 2005 and was given 10 consecutive life sentences . Paula Dietz is best known as the ex-wife of Dennis Rader. Brother of Private; Private and Private. Upon his return to Wichita, Dennis Rader took up a job at the meat department of an IGA supermarket. 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. 2005), education: Wichita State University, Butler County Community College, See the events in life of Dennis Rader (BTK Killer) in Chronological Order, http://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/btk/article10809929.html, http://www.hngn.com/articles/44918/20141006/btk-dennis-rader-letter-media-serial-killer-murder.htm. Rader also admitted in his interrogation that he was planning to kill again. Even though all the murders committed by Dennis Rader were equally gruesome, the Otero family murders he committed in 1974 were probably the most shocking. Though born in Pittsburg, Kansas, he grew up in Wichita. 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. The DNA of the Pap smear was processed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at their laboratory in Topeka which provided a familial match to the DNA of the sample taken from the victim's fingernails, indicating that the killer was closely related to Rader's daughter. Beginning in 2006, he was allowed access to television and radio, to read magazines, and other privileges for good behavior.[75][76]. NBC claimed Rader knew the interview might be on TV, but that was a false statement according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department. "BTK" stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill", which was his infamous signature. Shortly afterward, in January 1978, Rader sent a poem to a local newspaper about the Vian killing. [48] In December 2004, Wichita police received another package from the BTK killer. After sending many letters to the police, Rader sent them a floppy disc. He studied for only two semesters there and joined the US Air Force in 1966. 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. He has three siblings named Bill Rader, Paul Rader, and Jeff Rader. The 1977 murders sent shock waves once again throughout Kansas and the police issued a public warning to the citizens, advising them to be more cautious as a serial killer was on the prowl. He described the murders in detail and made no apologies. In 1974, he began a lengthy stint as an employee ofADT Security Services. The ten known murders are now believed to be the only murders for which Rader is actually responsible, although Wichita police are fairly certain that Rader stalked and researched a number of other potential victims. Victims' families made statements, followed by Rader, who apologized for the crimes in a rambling, bizarre 30-minute monologue that District Attorney Nola Foulston likened to an Academy Awards thank you speech. Leary told Heavy: He was terribly to cruel to animals. They then began DNA testing hundreds of men in an effort to find the serial killer. Dennis Rader, American serial killer also known as the BTK, was sentenced to 10 life sentences in prison after his trial in 2005. A poem was enclosed titled "Oh! Serial killer Dennis Rader stands before Sedgwick County District Court Judge Greg Waller as sentencing is read Aug. 18, 2005, in Wichita, Kan. Rader was sentenced to nine life terms and a "hard . Kevin later described Rader as "an average-sized guy, bushy mustache, 'psychotic' eyes," according to a TIME magazine article. According to a 2005 Lawrence World-Journal article, one of Raders brothers said he and their mother, Dorthea Mae Rader were struggling to believe the BTK killer was their own brother and son. Dennis Rader. Between 1974 and 1991, he killed ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, and sent taunting letters to police and media outlets describing the details of his crimes. 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. On July 22, 2005, a controversy erupted on CNN's Nancy Grace show over a poem that Dennis Rader had written that was passed on to someone who then sold it on an auction site that specializes in serial killer memorabilia. This time, the package was found in Wichita's Murdock Park. He is currently 77 years old as of 2022. He is confined to the cell 23 hours a day with the exception of voluntary solo one-hour exercise yard time and access to the shower three times a week. These details were later released to the public. The author credited the killer with having done "admirable work." But he blew his own cover through an insatiable desire for attention.. Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. 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. Their marriage was blessed with 5 children: Larry, Deanna, Donna, Dale and Scott. Brian Rader is an American famous youth who is known as the son of an American serial killer or BTK strangler, Dennis Lynn Rader. During the sentencing, victims' families spoke about the effect. This activity led directly to his arrest in February 2005. It had graphic descriptions of the Otero murders and a sketch labeled "The Sexual Thrill Is My Bill. Married with children by now, he now focused more on his career and rose to the position of installation supervisor. From a nurture standpoint, one must start at childhood. Geni requires JavaScript! [75], Rader talked about innocuous topics such as the weather during the 40-minute drive to El Dorado, but began to cry when the victims' families' statements from the court proceedings came on the radio. On August 18, 2005, he was sentenced to serve 10 consecutive life sentences, one life sentence per murder victim. On June 27, the scheduled trial date, Rader changed his plea to guilty. This was strong circumstantial evidence against Rader, but they needed more direct evidence to detain him. Shortly after Rader was arrested in 2005, his shocked wife was granted an immediate divorce. He unemotionally described the murders in detail and made no apologies. Currently, he is incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas. [23], In May 1991, Rader became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City. He sent her a letter to let her know that BTK had been there. NBC claimed Rader knew the interview might be televised, but this was false according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office. It was later retrieved from the trash after Rader himself asked what had become of it in a later message. In November 1974, Dennis Rader found a job with ADT Security, a company specializing in the installation of alarm systems.

Gawler Ranges National Park Fees, Tamara Hood Johnson Photos, Articles D