He also made allusions to several other notorious killers, including Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, also known as the "Son of Sam.". He graduated from Wichita Heights High School in 1963. He would torture to a large degree his victims all 10 of them intense torture really, really cruel torture and he would get some close to death and then revive them so they could live this horrific experience again, and he would do that simultaneously. 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. 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. He cleverly evaded being identified as a suspect and proceeded to kill several others, taking the final toll of his victims to ten. By 2004, the investigation of the BTK Killer had gone cold. ", The Raven that Refused to Sing Concert Review, B.T.K. But maybe, with me, acceptance is starting to creep in.. When he first lived out the fantasies he started harboring as a child, to bind, torture and kill people, he was 28-years-old. It would be a few more years before the BTK killer would strike again. Ottis Toole confessed to killing more than a hundred people with his partner Henry Lee Lucas. Around this time, he also started killing animals like dogs and cats by torturing and hanging them. The police answered his question in a newspaper ad posted in The Wichita Eagle, saying it would be safe to use the disk. Paula Dietz is best known as the ex-wife of Dennis Rader. [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. Paula Rader said in her divorce petition that her mental and physical condition has been adversely affected by the marriage. Dennis Rader is an American serial killer also known as the BTK "Bind, Torture, Kill" Killer or the BTK Strangler. [37], Two women Rader stalked in the 1980s and one whom he stalked in the mid-1990s filed restraining orders against him. "[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. They filed restraining orders against him and one moved away. [4][5][6] After a decade-long hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters in 2004, leading to his 2005 arrest and subsequent guilty plea. He suggested a number of possible names for himself, including the one that stuck: BTK. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in the United States, He is a citizen of the United States. He measured the height of people's lawns and chased stray animals while toting a tranquilizer gun. Rader told Dr. Katherine Ramsland, who spent six years getting to know Rader through jailhouse interviews and letters after he was convicted, that his sexual fantasies involving tying people up started at a young age. This time, the package was found in Wichita's Murdock Park. In April 1979, Rader waited in an elderly womans home but left before she returned. After returning to Wichita, he married his wife, Paula, in 1971, and worked for an outdoor-supply company for about a year. 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. In 1977, Dennis Rader struck twice. 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. He conducted an interview after Rader had pleaded guilty on June 27, 2005. She is now 28 years old and has American nationality. A search of the church web site turned up Dennis Rader as being president of the congregation council. Upon his return to Wichita, Dennis Rader took up a job at the meat department of an IGA supermarket. While the narrative has been that Rader seemed like a regular kid, the oldest of four brothers raised in a house with stable parents, Leary believes there is more to the story. 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. 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. 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. Dennis Rader's Early Life. 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". The Worlds Most Elusive Serial Killer, Sedgwick County 18th Judicial District collection of legal documents on the Rader case, KAKE Collection of articles and videos on BTK, Dennis Rader's listing on the Kansas Department of Corrections, When your father is the BTK serial killer, forgiveness is not tidy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dennis_Rader&oldid=1133681933, Rader's case is portrayed in Episode 1 of, A character based on Rader played by actor Sonny Valicenti appears in the. [1], Rader was born on March 9, 1945, to Dorothea Mae Rader (ne Cook) and William Elvin Rader, one of four sons. 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. Dennis Rader spent four years on active duty in the Air Force. These letters subsequently led to his arrest in 2005. As part of his plea, he gave the horrifying details of his crimes in court. Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer known as BTK, the BTK Strangler or the BTK Killer. His father was a member of the US Marine Corps, who later worked for the electric utility KG&E. With this promotion came more freedom, and once again he started killing. 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. Then, Rader sent an anonymous letter to the police, claiming responsibility for a killing that had previously not been attributed to him. Strangulation and souvenir-taking would become part of his modus operandi, or pattern of behavior. [73] He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences, with a minimum of 175 years. These featured another poem, "Oh Anna Why Didn't You Appear", a drawing of what he had intended to do to his victim, as well as some small items he had stolen from Williams's home. You could be subject to cruel behavior once or twice or three times. [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. However, the police was unsuccessful in getting any meaningful clues about the killer. Rader also admitted in his interrogation that he was planning to kill again. Serial Killer Dennis Rader became infatuated with binding, torturing, and killing during childhood and lived out those sexual fantasies in adulthood. [19][29] He was also a Cub Scout leader. Table of Biography [ show] Early Life and Childhood Dennis Rader was born on March 9, 1945, and is currently 77 years old. By 2004, the investigation of the BTK Killer was considered a cold case. He was killed in 1994 by a fellow prison inmate. Retired from his serial-killing days, he was living the life of a normal, respectable member of the society. [57], Rader was arrested while driving near his home in Park City shortly after noon on February 25, 2005. [72] On August 19, he was moved to the El Dorado Correctional Facility. 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. Once again he sent letters to the police claiming responsibility for the killings, signing off as the BTK killer.. According to witnesses, while traveling the 40-minute drive from Wichita to El Dorado, Rader talked about innocuous topics such as the weather, but began to cry when the victims' families' statements from the court proceedings came on the radio. Click here to Start FameChaining. He was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, which requires a minimum of 175 years without a chance of parole. Dennis Rader married Paula Dietz on May 22, 1971. Dennis Rader. Then, in one of his communications with police, Rader asked them if it was possible to trace information from floppy disks. Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer and mass murderer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County (in and around Wichita, Kansas), between 1974 and 1991. Convicted of murdering ten victims, he was planning to attack another victim at the time of his arrest. He attended Riverview Elementary School. Rader replied, "Oh, I have suspicions why. He drew ropes and gags on the pictures and pasted them onto 35 index cards that he could carry around with him.. Rader pleaded guilty to all of the charges on June 27, 2005. But I did have a little a little bit of a grudge against Momma.. On January 19, 1991, he broke into the house of an elderly lady, Dolores Davis, strangulated her to death, and then dumped the body under a bridge. [31], On January 15, 1974, four members of the Otero family were murdered in Wichita, Kansas. killed four members of the Otero family, including two children, to fulfill a sexual fantasy. [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. At a press conference the next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams announced, "the bottom line: BTK is arrested. Rader initially worked as an assembler for the Coleman Company, an outdoor supply company. Geni requires JavaScript! He spent hours waiting at her home but became impatient and left when she did not return home from visiting friends. 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. Explore how the celebrity world connects. 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 . 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. In Chilling New Audio, He Explains Why", "BTK serial killer Dennis Rader said 'a demon within me' made him murder", "BTK Serial Killer: What We Learned From Confessional New Book", "Profile of a Serial Killer: Dennis Rader, the BTK Strangler", "The Creepy Bondage Selfies The BTK Took In Between His Murders", "Evolution of a Serial Killer: Dennis Rader, BTK", "Investigators tell of grisly crimes, Rader's delight", "A Double Life: Dennis Rader lived quietly while killing 10", "BTK Suspect's Career in Security Probed", "Neighbor: I Watched BTK Suspect Shoot Dog", "Portrait of Suspect in BTK Cases Emerging", "People at CLC Christ Lutheran Church Wichita, Kansas", "BTK killer's wife granted an emergency divorce", "BTK serial killer's daughter: 'We were living our normal life. And so am I. "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. Finding himself unemployed and in a disturbed state of mind, he delved deeper into the dark fantasies that had haunted his mind from childhood. 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. X27 ; s Early life his plea, he is a citizen of the BTK Killer would again. Later worked for the killings, signing off as the ex-wife of Dennis Rader became infatuated binding. 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