Dennis Rader
“THE BTK KILLER”
BY: MORGAN LANG
“When this monster
entered my brain, I will
never know, but it is here
to stay. How does one
cure himself? I can’t stop
it, the monster goes on,
and hurts me as well as
society. Maybe you can
stop him. I can’t."
Background

Born in Pittsburg, Kansas

Rader joined the U.S. Air Force after attending local high school

Spent the next four years as a mechanic for the Air Force and was
stationed abroad in South Korea, Turkey, Greece and Okinawa.

Attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kansas


Earned Associate’s Degree in electronics
Held two main jobs in his life

Home security specialist

Assembler for Coleman Camping Company

Member of Christ Lutheran Church

Married Paula Dietz

Had two children
Criminal Acts/Offenses

First Offense: Euthanized a dog while working as a dogcatcher for no
reason.

Hired prostitutes

Charged with ten counts of first-degree murder

First murder was the Otero family in 1974

Bond set at $10 million

On June 27, 2005, Dennis Rader plead guilty to 10 counts of firstdegree murder then calmly told the court the chilling details of the
"Bind, Torture, Kill" slayings that terrorized the Wichita, Kansas area
between 1974 and 1991

Ten consecutive life sentences
Crimes Convicted of Committing
-Convictions: Murder of Ten People in Total
• Joseph Otero
•
Male-38-Suffocation
• Julie Otero
Female-33-Strangulation
Joseph Otero, Jr.
• Male-9-Suffocation
•
•
• Josephine Otero
•
Female-11-Hanged from a drain pipe
•
Female-21-Hanged
•
Female-24-Strangled
•
Female-25-Strangled
•
Female-53-Strangled
•
Female-28-Strangled
•
Female-62-Strangled
• Kathryn Bright
• Shirley Vian
• Nancy Fox
• Marine Hedge
• Vicki Wegerle
• Doloros E. Davis
Evidence Towards Being Guilty in
Most Recent Crime

KWCH 12 Eyewitness News correspondent Liz Collins reported that Rader
"told Thomas that it was extremely hard to kill someone by strangulation and
that he'd never done it before on a person but he had strangled cats and
dogs before." (relating to Otero family murders)

Saliva samples from Otero house matched perfectly with Rader’s saliva
samples

Blood samples

DNA evidence

BTK letters to police which proved to match previous handwriting records of
Rader

Surveillance

A computer disk with footage of Rader’s killings found by police at the
Christ Lutheran Church which he attended
*Sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences & bond
set at $10 million*
Dennis Rader Quotes

“I actually think I may be possessed with demons, I was
dropped on my head as a kid.”

“It was this moment that the victim was tied and bound.
He could live in that moment forever.”
• Nickname: Dennis Rader was also known
as the “BTK” killer or Blind, Torture, Kill
Cultural References


Movies inspired by Dennis Rader

“A Good Marriage” –movie by Stephen King

“The Hunt for the BTK Killer”
Books written about the BTK Killer

“Blind, Torture, Kill: The Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door”

“BTK Killer-The Story of Dennis Rader” (Biography)

“A Good Marriage”- written by Stephen King inspired by BTK
*No songs written about Dennis Rader*
Sociological Theory of Deviance

The theory of deviance that best describes Dennis Rader’s criminal history is
the Anomie Theory. The Anomie Theory is defined as when an individual turns
elsewhere when desires cannot be met through legitimate means. He/she
does things that society considers “deviant,” in order to meet goals/desires.
Dennis Radar demonstrates this on often occasions.

Dennis Rader strived for fame and to be well-known. In order to achieve these
desires, he committed acts of deviance, such as murder, to receive the
attention he desired. Some examples of Rader demonstrating the Anomie
Theory are as follows:

In October 1974, Rader sought fame and attention for his crimes, placing a
letter in a public library book in which he took responsibility for killing the
Oteros, (his first murder victims.) Distraught at the lack of publicity, BTK
wrote another letter on February 10, 1978 to a local television station. "How
many do I have to kill," he wrote, "before I get my name in the paper or
some national attention?" At times, he even compared his work with that
of Jack the Ripper, the Hillside Stranglers, and Son of Sam, in order to gain
more publicity.