Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945), also known by his pseudonym BTK (for "bind, torture, kill"), is an American serial killer and mass murderer who killed at least ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Although he occasionally killed or attempted to kill men and children, Rader typically targeted women. His victims were often attacked in their homes and then bound, sometimes with objects from their homes, and either suffocated with a plastic bag or manually strangled with a ligature.
In a series of crimes that terrorized Wichita in the mid-to-late 1970s, Rader also initiated a series of taunting letters sent to police and media outlets, describing his crimes in detail and referring to himself as "BTK". In addition, he stole keepsakes from his female victims, including underwear, driver's licenses and personal items. In 1979, BTK suddenly went quiet, and despite an exhaustive investigation, the case grew into one of the most infamous cold cases in American history. Rader would later confess to killing three further victims between 1985 and 1991 that were not initially linked to BTK but were confirmed to be his doing through DNA and items found in his possession.Cohen, Sharon (March 4, 2005). Police followed trail as details piled up. Lexington Herald-Leader. Associated Press. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
In 2004, after a thirteen-year hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters, where he hinted at committing further crimes. Based on items he mailed to law enforcement, he was identified and arrested in February 2005, pleading guilty to his crimes months later and receiving ten consecutive life sentences. Rader is currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.
Early life Childhood Dennis Lynn Rader was born in Pittsburg, Kansas, on March 9, 1945, the oldest of four sons.Dorothea and William Rader. The Wichita Eagle. April 1, 1993. Retrieved July 14, 2025. His parents were Dorothea Mae Rader (), a bookkeeper; and William Elvin Rader, a former United States Marine and Kansas Gas Service worker.William E. "Bill" Rader Obituary. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 15, 2025.Dorothea Mae Rader Obituary. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 15, 2025. Rader's parents were members of the Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsburg, where Rader was baptized.Readers still want answers on BTK. The Wichita Eagle. July 3, 2005. p.5. Retrieved July 16, 2025. Both parents worked long hours and paid little attention to their children at home, and in later years Rader said he felt neglected. Rader's father was described as strict and God-fearing, but not abusive.Wenzl, Ron (March 1, 2005). Brother told police: 'You got the wrong guy'. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
Growing up in Wichita, Rader had normal interests in novels, comic books, fishing, and cub scouting.Davey, Monica (March 6, 2005). For BTK serial suspect, a life of strictest mores. The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2025. From a young age, however, he also harbored sadistic sexual fantasies about torturing "trapped and helpless" women. Rader exhibited zoosadism by torturing, killing, and hanging small animals. He acted out sexual fetishes for voyeurism, autoerotic asphyxiation and cross-dressing, often spying on female neighbors while dressed in women's clothing, including women's underwear that he had stolen. Rader also masturbated with ropes or other bindings around his arms and neck.
Whilst studying at Wichita Heights High School, Rader spent most of his out-of-school time working as a bag boy and shelf stocker for a local grocery store to earn money for a motor vehicle. After graduating in 1963, Rader attended Kansas Wesleyan University, where he received mediocre grades and dropped out after one year.
Early adulthood Rader joined the United States Air Force in June 1966.Potter, Tim (March 16, 2005). Rader's tour of duty. The Wichita Eagle. p.5. Retrieved July 13, 2025.Air Force Recruits 28 in Area. The Wichita Eagle. September 15, 1966. Retrieved July 10, 2025. He completed basic training and technical school in Texas before being stationed at Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Alabama, where he worked as an antenna installer and maintenance specialist.BTK suspect earned good conduct medal while in Air Force. The Goldsboro News-Argus. March 17, 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2025.Colquitt, Ron (March 16, 2005). Military records place suspected serial killer BTK in Mobile. Press-Register. Retrieved July 10, 2025. After being stationed for assignments in Turkey, Greece, and South Korea, Rader was transferred to Japan in January 1968, where he spent six months stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa followed by twenty-five months stationed at Tachikawa Airfield in Tokyo. He earned a medal for good conduct and a ribbon for marksmanship; he also earned a National Defense Service Medal because his service coincided with the military being under a state of emergency due to the Vietnam War.A double life. The Wichita Eagle. June 27, 2005. Retrieved July 10, 2025. Rader later credited the Air Force for teaching him about sex.Sylvester, Ron (August 19, 2005). Rader gets 10 life terms; families get their say. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
Rader received an honorable discharge on August 12, 1970, at the rank of staff sergeant.Hegeman, Roxana (March 19, 2005). Serial Killer Suspect 'Clean-Cut' In Military. The Tampa Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved July 15, 2025. He subsequently served in the Air Force Reserve Command until June 20, 1972, around the time he was hired by the Coleman Company, an outdoor recreational equipment manufacturer. A year after his discharge, Rader purchased a home in Park City, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita. He enrolled at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, earning an associate degree in electronics engineering in 1973. He then attended Wichita State University (WSU) and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in administration of justice.Funk, Josh (February 27, 2005). College connection had been suspected. The Kansas City Star. The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
Rader initially worked in the meat department of an IGA supermarket where his mother was employed as a bookkeeper. From mid-1972 to mid-1973, he worked as an assembler for Coleman, where two of his victims (Julie Otero and Kathryn Bright) also worked.Simon, Stephanie, Simon; Huffstutter, P.J. (March 7, 2005). Friend, neighbor ... suspected serial killer. Portland Press Herald. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 15, 2025. From 1974 to 1988, Rader worked at the local Wichita office of ADT Security Services, where he installed security alarms. Ironically, many of his clients were concerned homeowners seeking security from his own killings as BTK. At ADT, Rader was nicknamed "blue book man" for overzealously following office rules and scolding coworkers when they failed to follow them.Simon, Stephanie; Huffstutter, P.J. (March 7, 2005). Family man and serial killer?. The Ann Arbor News. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
Marriage On May 22, 1971, Rader married Paula Dietz, a secretary for the American Legion, in a ceremony held at Christ Lutheran Church.Paula Dietz, Dennis Rader. The Wichita Eagle. May 25, 1971. Retrieved July 10, 2025. They had two children, Kerri and Brian. On July 26, 2005, several months after Rader's arrest, Dietz was granted an emergency divorce, waiving the normal sixty-day waiting period. All of the crimes were committed while Rader was married, although neither Dietz nor her children suspected his involvement in the BTK killings.Effron, Lauren; Smith, Jennifer (July 25, 2019). 'BTK' serial killer's daughter says she, her family are 'embracing a new start' since memoir release. ABC News. Retrieved July 25, 2025. The family's former Park City residence was demolished in March 2007.Former BTK home demolished. WIS. March 7, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
BTK crimes Murder of the Otero family
On January 15, 1974, Rader murdered four members of the Otero family in Wichita: Joseph Sr. (38), Julie (33), Joseph II (9) and Josephine (11). Their bodies were discovered by the family's three older children, who had been at school at the time of the killings. After his 2005 arrest, Rader claimed that he first targeted the family two months prior, when he spotted Julie leaving to take her children to school, and stalked them for two to three weeks.
On the morning of the murders, Rader parked his car and walked to the Otero residence, where he scaled a fence and cut the phone lines in the backyard. It was after this that Joey let out the family's dog through the back door, where Rader confronted him and forced his way into the home at gunpoint. Initially, the Otero family thought he was pulling a prank; Rader asserted that he wasn't and clarified that he had a .22 caliber pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets. Rader told the family that he was wanted in California before ordering them at gunpoint to lie on the living room floor. Then, he led the family into a bedroom and bound them with rope he had prepared ahead of time. Joseph and Joey were laid out on the floor, while Julie and Josie were laid out on the bed.
After being bound, the family began complaining of problems related to poor blood circulation, according to Rader. Joseph complained of a cracked rib, which he had sustained from a previous car accident, so Rader put a pillow under him. Rader later stated that it was around this time that he decided to kill them. Rader covered Joseph's head with a plastic bag, which he then secured with ropes. After Joseph chewed a hole in the bag, Rader replaced it, causing him to slowly suffocate. Rader then strangled Julie with a rope. At one point she regained consciousness and pleaded for mercy for her children, prompting Rader to kill her. Rader then placed another plastic bag, followed by two T-shirts and an additional bag, over Joey's head. Rader watched him struggle from a chair set up in the bedroom.
After he murdered the rest of the family, Rader took Josephine down to the basement, where he undressed the girl and tied a noose around a sewage pipe. Rader asked Josephine if she had a camera so he could take pictures, to which she responded no. When she asked what was going to happen to her, Rader replied: "Well, honey, you're going to be in heaven with the rest of your family." Rader proceeded to hang the girl in the basement and masturbated as he watched her struggle on the rope. Leaving the house, he got in the Otero family car and drove it to the parking lot of a Dillons grocery store. Realizing that he had dropped a knife in the backyard of the Otero home, he drove the car back to the house to retrieve it.
Murder of Kathryn Bright Less than three months after the Otero murders, Rader selected Kathryn Bright (21) as his next victim after spotting her entering her house with a friend, referring to the planned murder of Bright as "Project Lights Out". He had no knowledge of her younger brother Kevin (19) staying over, which might have dissuaded him from targeting her, as he was trying to "stay away from the males as much as possible" to make the killings easier.