SERIAL KILLERS > UNSOLVED CASES

The BTK Story

Courtroom footage is available for this story for license and/or purchase from the IN SESSION archives – click here.

By Marilyn Bardsley, Rachael Bell and David Lohr

Who is Dennis Rader?

Monday, Feb. 28 8:50 a.m. update

After 31-years, the identity of Wichita, Kansas' most notorious serial killer, known as BTK, was made public after the suspect's arrest on February 26, 2005. Dennis L. Rader, 59, of Park City, Kansas was taken into custody after having been stopped at a traffic light near his home on East Kechi Road shortly after noon that day. Even though formal charges have not yet been filed, the authorities said, "they would ask prosecutors to file 10 counts of first degree murder against Rader, including two murders in Park City that had not previously been attributed to the BTK killer," it was reported in a February 26^th MSNBC article.

The question now on everyone's lips is, "Who is Dennis L. Rader?" Relatively little is know about him, especially since prosecutors are reluctant to divulge too much information, which could harm the up-coming trial. What is certain is that Rader spent most of his life in Park City.

Rader was born in 1945 and grew up in Wichita along with three brothers, all of whom graduated from Heights High School in Wichita.

Rader was in the Air Force in Viertnam from 1965 to 1969. Joseph Otero, BTK's victim, was also in the Air Force at the same time.

Rader worked in the meat department for a Park City grocery store and then as an assembler at the Coleman camping gear firm between 1971 and 1973, where he met two of his earlier victims, Mike Brunker reported in a MSNBC article.

He worked at ADT Security Services from 1974 through 1989. In 1989, he also worked for the U.S. Census bureau going door-to-door collecting information. While working in both positions, Rader had access to many area residents’ homes. It is believed that he might have initially encountered some of his victims while on the job. 

At some point in the 1970s, Rader married and he and his wife Paula had two children, a boy and girl. At around the same time, he attended Wichita State University and in 1979 graduated with a degree in Administration of Justice. According to Fox News, Rader "never became an officer but instead went "into code enforcement, or what one critic called "a glorified dog catcher."

In his spare time, Rader lead a Cub Scouts group and was active in his church. No one imagined he was capable of doing any harm to anybody. Many referred to him as a kind of guy who wasn’t very noticeable, one who never really stood out from others. In fact, it was his ability to “blend in” that allowed him to go undetected for so many years.

• Print version
• Email this
• Share

1. Birth of a Serial Killer
2. Dawn
3. Fetish
4. Different Worlds Collide
5. Vanishing Act
6. Ghost Busters
7. The Next Step
8. Cold Case Squad
9. Profile
10. Aftermath
11. BTK Returns
12. Will There Be More?
13. More Clues
14. Name Games
15. Police Power
16. Too Many Clues
17. BTK Suspect Arrested
18. Who is Dennis Rader?
19. New Revelations
20. Exercising Power and Control
21. Rader Court Hearing
22. New Clues
23. BTK Messages Revealed
24. Kerri Rader's DNA
25. Digital Footprints
26. BTK's Signature
27. Those Who Remain
28. Piecing Together the Puzzle
29. Nightmare in Wichita - Book Review
30. Not Guilty
31. Rader Uncovered
32. Creating an Insanity Plea
33. Surprise Confession: Otero Murders
34. Confession: Kathryn Bright
35. Confession: Shirley Vian Relford
36. Confession: Nancy Fox
37. Confession: Marine Hedge
38. Confession: Vicki Wegerle
39. Confession: Dolores Davis
40. The Psychopathic Mind
41. Dennis Rader Speaks
42. Legal Matters: Dennis Rader Update
43. The BTK Tapes
44. In Rader's Own Words
45. Otero Murders' Evidence
46. Mounting Evidence
47. Shirley Vian Relford Case Evidence
48. Nancy Fox and Marine Hedge Case Evidence
49. Vicki Wegerle and Dolores Davis Case Evidence
50. Evil Personified
51. Sentencing
52. Photo Gallery
53. Bibliography