Dennis Rader

By John Darwin

The BTK Killer

• BTK stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill”• Name was given to him by his own request• Actual name- Dennis Rader• Alias- Ethan Truman• Born March 9th, 1945• Murdered 10 people in Sedgwick County

Early Life

• Had four siblings, all brothers

• Grew up in Wichita

• From self report on childhood:– Cruel to animals– Psychopathic tendency according to the

MacDonald Triad

Personal Life

• Married to Paula Dietz and had two daughters

• Began working at the Coleman camping equipment company, then Cessna

• Became in charge of animal control for Park City

Killings

• Various locations with different gruesome methods

• Left a letter containing a doll with her hands tied behind her back in a chair and a plastic bag over her head

• Victims were either hanged, had a bag put over there head, or some other sort of strangling

• The primary reason for his killing was for sexual relief through the killing

• Victims usually girls younger than him

The letters

• Taunting letters to the police made Rader infamous

• Letters gave detailed accounts of the killings

• He gave himself the name BTK

• Sometimes would give word puzzle

• Letter example

Capture

• He sent a letter asking if a floppy disk could be traced, the police responded with no, enticing him to send a floppy, which later lad to his arrest.

• A surveillance camera captured the black jeep Cherokee of the BTK killer after he dropped a letter off on a cereal box.

Evidence• a. DNA analysis of semen from fingernails of victim Vicki Wegerle match Dennis Rader

• b. A pay phone used to report a murder was only a few blocks away from Rader’s working place

• c. One of the letters was photocopied at the Wichita Public Library, where Rader had attended school

• d. Rader lived near all but one of the victims

• e. Tow of the victims also worked at the Coleman Company Rader worked for

• f. Over 30 hours of tape of confessions with grisly details of 10 murders

• g. Semen found on Josephine Otero matched the DNA of Rader’s daughter

Sentencing

• Because there was no death penalty allowed until 1994, he couldn’t be sentenced to death.

• He was charged with 10 counts of first degree murder

• Is allowed to have parole in 175 years

• Also 10 life sentences