The Floppy Disk That Caught a Serial Killer (Part 4/4) | Forensic Files

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testa.rtf properties created Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 6:05 p.m. modified Monday, February 14, 2005 at
2:47 p.m. pages one paragraphs one lines one words 18 characters 68 title Christ Lutheran Church
author Christ Lutheran Church company Park City Community Public Library last saved by
Dennis For as long as Dennis Rader could remember, he had what he referred to as
a little monster inside his brain. He said it featured heavily throughout his childhood memories, appearing in
many frightening forms. Rader visualized the monster in shadows, wallpapers, rugs, wood grains, clouds,
trees, and buildings. Seeing it filled him with fear, but he also experienced another stranger
sensation, a tightness in his crotch. In Rader's words, those moments imprinted onto his adulthood like the
programming of a computer chip. Dennis Rader was born in March 1945, the first of four boys to high school
sweethearts who married young. Although his mother was at times distant and neglectful, partly due to untreated
postpartum depression, Rader was surrounded by the love and support of his extended family, community, and
friends. His strict but decent father worked hard to provide the family with a stable home
in Wichita, while fostering their strong connection to the Christian faith. Rader routinely attended church and
Sunday school and participated in Bible study and prayer. Once during mass, Dennis Rader
experienced what he believed to be a moment of enlightenment. He said he felt the Holy Spirit moving
through him, compelling him toward a noble pursuit such as community service and personal development.
He became an altar boy and he joined the Boy Scouts, maintaining an outward appearance of goodness throughout his
youth by abstaining from cussing, alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity. His religious devotion was so deeply
ingrained that hearing other boys take a God's name in vain brought him to tears.
Though he tried to nurture his so-called Holy Spirit, the little monster within Rader never went away.
One of his earliest memories of its presence was when his mother became stuck after her wedding ring caught on a
sofa spring. Seeing her in distress excited Rader, producing the strange erotic sensation
in the pit of his stomach and groin. The same troubling feeling resurfaced when his mother started panicking at the
top of a Ferris wheel. Rader's mother inadvertently played a pivotal role in his sexual development
as he came to realize that he found the idea of people being trapped and helpless thrilling.
Through the Boy Scouts, he became skilled at tying a variety of knots with the clove hitch being his favorite.
He experimented with tying his wrists and ankles together with all manner of bindings, including string, tape, twine,
ropes, cords, straps, leather belts, and chains. He restrained himself to beds, doors,
clothes racks, beams, and trees, tried out gags and nooses, and even put a plastic bag over his head, all for the
purpose of sexual gratification. Rader claimed that his mother's infrequent use of corporal punishment
aroused him further, forming his belief that violence and sex go hand in hand. Her comfort and affection whenever Rader
experienced pain or distress resulted in another one of his sexual obsessions, sadomasochism.
He also discovered that he enjoyed wearing women's clothing when he started pleasuring himself while dressed in his
mother's nightclothes and underwear. Rader described a complex relationship with his mother.
He insisted he loved her, yet blamed her for much of the trauma he carried throughout his life.
One day, when she mistakenly accused him of stealing, the humiliation and shame he felt marked the beginning of his
impulse problem. Rader became easily provoked when stressed or frustrated and couldn't
control his temper. His eruptions were so explosive they left him drenched in sweat.
Any criticism, especially when he considered it unjustified, stoked a deep-seated resentments and a craving
for retribution. This led Rader to focus more on action than on consequences and learn to keep
secrets rather than face repercussions. Lies became a defensive strategy he relied on to maintain control while
feeding him a smug sense of superiority. Over time, Dennis Rader's behavior escalated to include spying on people,
peeping through windows, and breaking into houses. In his opinion, the little monster went
too far when it compelled him to start a fire that threatened nearby homes. Though Rader managed to extinguish the
flames before anyone was harmed, the sense of grave danger both terrified and excited him.
He reproduced the feeling by torturing animals, mostly cats, finding it exhilarating to exert complete control
over a powerless creature. For Rader, the power to command life and death was the ultimate pleasure.
When Rader heard the real-life story of a man who had strangled his girlfriend to death, he felt sexually aroused.
It led him to consume and collect crime thrillers, horror films, and detective magazines as a form of pornography and
he grew to idolize serial killers. Anything that depicted women being stalked, frightened, and harmed was his
favorite content. He drew sketches of girls and women he knew tightly bound and designed dungeons
where he imagined torturing them. One of his creations involved sealing a woman in a box that was partially filled
with water. Rader would increase the box's temperature causing the woman to sweat
and urinate profusely until she inevitably drowned in her own fluids. He hid his depraved art, pornography
collection, bondage equipment, and mother's soiled clothing in secret places he called his hidey holes.
He had many hidey holes. Some were close by like the attic of his home. Others were in remote or abandoned
locations throughout Wichita. As time went on, Rader's fantasies grew increasingly deranged.
One of his favorites involved a victim being tied to a railroad track as a train approached.
He reveled in their torment in the face of impending death. The violent fantasies the little monster
conjured were like a book Rader could open and read repeatedly in his mind. They served as a form of disassociation
intensifying whenever he felt unsatisfied in real life and shielding him from negative feelings and
experiences. To Rader, the monster existed in another world, a make-believe realm he called
his dark side. He found it difficult to put this part of himself into words. He referred to the intense feeling it
evoked as factor X and believed anyone capable of willfully harming others possessed some form of it.
But because Rader had convinced himself that he wasn't actually hurting other people, he avoided feelings of remorse,
self-hate, or shame. While Rader knew that what he was doing was wrong, he insisted he was unable to
rid himself of the little monster inside him. He claimed that he was too embarrassed
to ask for help, and although there were warning signs, no one in his life suspected anything was seriously wrong.
Dennis Rader was awkward, shy, and a slow learner, but other than that, he came across as a relatively normal young
man. Rader referred to his ability to switch between the different sides of himself
as cubing. He reasoned that a cube can have one side fully visible face on, while all
others remain completely hidden. Cubing came easily to him. It felt as natural as breathing, like
changing hats on his head, or shifting gears in a car. It allowed him to attend school, date
girls, and work a part-time job without arousing any suspicion that something was wrong in his mind.
Rader liked to believe that each side of his cube existed independently, with none affecting the others.
He described it as though multiple different people were living inside his body.
In the early days, he didn't act out his sexual fantasies with anyone, nor did he
tell anyone about the little monster. As far as he was concerned, it was safely locked away in a secret
compartment within him, and he felt completely in control. Rader claimed the origin of the little
monster was a mystery to him. He wondered if it was because of his mother's smoking habit or the fact that
she'd fallen off a horse while pregnant with him. Or could it be because he had a low
glucose and glycogen levels which caused nervousness and irritability? Perhaps it was worsened by a head injury
he sustained in a car accident when he was 17. Maybe there was always something fundamentally wrong with his brain,
possibly with the neurotransmitter dopamine associated with pleasure, motivation, and focus.
Rader was adamant that he hadn't endured sexual trauma or abuse, and those closest to him corroborated that
account. Whatever the cause, he often wondered whether the monster would one day lead
him down a dark path. After graduating high school, Rader worked briefly before serving a 4-year
tour of duty with the Air Force. Photography became a hobby and he learned how to develop film.
By 1970, he was back in Wichita studying electronics at community college. He embarked on a whirlwind romance with
a woman named Paula, marrying her the following year, and moving to Park City, where they became youth sponsors at the
local Christ Lutheran Church. During these times, when Rader displayed the good side of his cube, he was
primarily seen as friendly, caring, and hospitable. At worst, he struck people as humorless.
He maintained normal sexual relations with his wife and felt no urge to act on his violent tendencies.
Rader said that when life was going well, the little monster inside him seemed to disappear entirely.
However, as he approached midlife, he began to sense a shift. Although the monster felt gratified, it
was never fully satisfied. One day, Paula was hospitalized following a car accident.
During a visit, Rader stopped at a corner drug store and was drawn to the magazine display, where he began
flipping through detective magazines. Suddenly, the little monster reemerged, and Rader found himself once again
consuming crime content for sexual pleasure. He created new hidey holes in his attic,
crawl spaces, and shed, as well as at his parents' home and the local Christ Lutheran Church building.
He spied on young women undressing in their homes while fantasizing about kidnapping them.
He assembled what he called his hit kit, a collection of items that would help him carry out an abduction, including
tools, bindings, knives, and handguns. He drove around in search of abandoned and remote locations where he imagined
himself carrying out torture. Despite these urges, Rader managed to avoid the temptation to act on them.
It wasn't until the economy faltered in late 1973 that he said the little monster took
full control. At age 28, crushed by the loss of his job, Rader finally, quote, went to the dark side.
Weeks later, in January 1974, Dennis Rader murdered Joe, Julie, Josie, and to Joey Otero.
He didn't expect Joe to be home and intended to quote quickly dispatch Joey before taking his time with the Julie
and the Josie. Although events had didn't unfold exactly as Rader intended, he said he
was proud of what he'd managed to accomplish. Afterwards, he described feeling as
though his brain was on fire, like his head was caught in a tightening vise. He destroyed all of the items he used in
the killings except for the blood stained Air Force parka he had worn and the wristwatch he'd taken from Joe
Otero, fully expecting the police to show up and arrest him at any moment. But Rader soon realized that he had
somehow gotten away with it. He journaled about the experience and began clipping newspaper articles about
the crime, storing them alongside the blood stained parka in one of his hidey holes.
Rader resized the Joe's watch to fit his wrist and wore it occasionally, justifying it to himself by thinking he
needed a new one anyway, before finally throwing it into a creek. With little improvement in Rader's daily
life, the little monster craved the rush of killing again. Rader said his good side tried to
dissuade him, urging him to consider the Otero murders as quote just a bad day and move on with his life.
But in Rader's words, the other part of me overrode the good sense. He told his wife that he was working
late on personal projects or visiting the library while instead driving around stalking potential victims.
On several occasions, he prepared to carry out another attack only to have his plans thwarted at the last minute.
Three months after the Otero killings, Rader murdered Kathryn Bright. This time, he felt neither pride nor
sexual gratification during or after the crime. It was his first, {quote} close call, an
unmitigated disaster that left him completely rattled. Although he had felt prepared
beforehand, the attack was riddled with critical mistakes, including the unexpected presence of Kathryn's
brother, Kevin. While Rader intended to rape Catherine and had no plans to stab anyone,
he said he lost control, calling it a {quote} total mess. When Kevin escaped, Rader was certain
this would be the moment that led to his arrest. He fled home, washed up, hid Catherine's
stolen driver's license in one of his hidey holes, and waited for the police. But days, weeks, and months passed
without any visits. Kevin Bright had provided a fairly accurate description of Rader,
but the side of the cube that people knew, his good side, didn't match Catherine's killer, so no one suspected
him. Rader continued his ritual of documenting his crimes and collecting relevant newspaper articles, relieved to
have evaded capture yet again. As his good side, Rader said he prayed repeatedly, pleading for the Lord's help
and asking, "Why me?" But the hesitation was fleeting, and he ultimately lost no sleep over his
actions. He viewed his victims as mere objects, existing only to fulfill roles in his
twisted fantasies. Rader was plotting his next strike when his plans were unexpectedly disrupted by
three men who falsely confessed to the Otero killings. Although this presented Rader with the
rare opportunity to wash his hands of the crime entirely by letting others take the fall, he couldn't shake the
thought. I wanted credit, not someone else. Sitting at his typewriter, he drafted a
detailed confession letter. Although he was fully aware that its release could lead to his capture, his
desire for recognition outweighed any instinct for self-preservation. After much deliberation, he settled on a
moniker, one that he felt conveyed power and instilled terror. Bind them, torture them, kill them. BTK.
To Rader, the name wasn't entirely accurate. He felt the T was somewhat misleading
since he didn't believe he had truly tortured anyone. In his view, bondage didn't count as
torture, and when he decided to kill, he said he aimed to make it quick, despite
evidence proving otherwise. According to Rader, the K in BTK was also largely irrelevant.
He claimed that he killed his victims solely to eliminate them as witnesses to avoid punishment.
Only the B mattered to him. In his journals, Rader described binding his victims as a moment he, quote, could
live in for years. Rader was elated when the police responded to BTK through the papers, but
he chose not to reply suspecting it was a trap. Meanwhile, he kept blending effortlessly
into the community. As Wichitans grappled with the horror of BTK's brutal murders and began
protecting themselves and their families, Rader spotted an opportunity. Ironically, he took a job installing
security alarms and giving him access to people's homes and the chance to study potential targets up close.
He also enrolled in an administration of justice course at Wichita State University where he learned a great deal
including how to cover his tracks. He was delighted when the forensic pathologist who had autopsied BTK's
victims spoke as a guest lecturer. In late 1974, Rader found out he was going to be a
father. He was overjoyed by the news and his dark side went into remission as a result.
Over the next 3 years, he was too busy parenting, working, and studying to act out again.
Even so, he said the little monster never truly went away. Although Rader didn't commit any murders
during this time, he remained on the prowl aware that he wasn't completely done with killing.
By 1977, Rader had become a father for a second time. He said the little monster was growing
restless, but nothing came to fruition until March. That month, he visited the home of a
woman he had met at university intending to kill her only to find out that she wasn't home.
Going against everything had learned from the botched murder of Kathryn Bright, Rader impulsively decided to
visit a nearby house where Shirley Vianne lived with her three young children. As expected, with no plan in place,
things quickly went awry. Rader said he had to rush to kill Shirley to secure his escape and
reluctantly left her children alive as witnesses. He braced for the moment he would be
placed in handcuffs, but the police didn't even connect Shirley's murder to BTK.
Rader considered himself lucky to have gotten away with all his murders so far given that none of them had gone
according to his plan. His luck almost ran out when his wife discovered a draft version of the
Shirley Locks poem that he intended to send to the press as a confession to Shirley Vianne's murder.
Thinking quickly, Rader claimed it was part of a university project on the BTK murders.
His wife seemingly accepted his explanation. Despite having murdered six victims at
this point, Rader said he was disappointed in himself. He vowed that his next kill would be
meticulous, leaving no room for error, interruptions, distractions, or witnesses.
In December 1977, he targeted Nancy Fox. In Rader's view, absolutely nothing went
wrong. He had finally carried out what he considered to be the perfect murder. After that, Rader enjoyed Christmas with
his family. Then in early 1978, he recommenced to BTK's cat and mouse game with the police by writing poems
confessing to the Vianne and Fox murders. His decision to include poems in his correspondence was a nod to childhood
memories of his beloved grandmother reading poetry to him. Rader stopped short of openly admitting
to Kathryn Bright's murder, needing to distance himself from Kevin Bright's witness account.
Vague allusions to it were enough to provide the recognition he craved. Communicating as BTK became an addictive
power rush for Rader, like walking on a knife's edge. He sought more than mere notoriety. He
wanted to turn BTK into a timeless, mythical legend, like a werewolf. His fantasies became more grandiose and
egocentric as he visualized his victims becoming his slaves in the afterlife. Rader continued cubing in his day-to-day
life while the little monster simmered inside him like a dormant volcano. When the feelings of factor X took over,
he went back to stalking women, breaking into homes, and sketching lewd and violent art.
He donned feminine clothing and handmade masks, asphyxiating himself and rigging
himself in bondage, sometimes in the clothes and lingerie he had stolen from his victims.
Occasionally, he documented these acts with his camera. One day, Rader's wife, Paula, returned
home unannounced to find him in front of a mirror tied up in one of his contraptions while observing a woman who
lived across the street. This was only one of two times Paula saw the dark side of her husband.
The second time, she accidentally walked in on him in bondage and exploded into a
fury. Embarrassed and ashamed, Rader slept on the couch as Paula contemplated separation.
Her greatest concern was their children, but she also worried about the reaction
of their local community. Rader was seen as the epitome of a Wichitan citizen, a proud church-going
family man and helpful neighbor who was also by that point a dedicated Boy Scout
leader. If his private interests became public, the Rader family's carefully cultivated
reputation would be irreparably damaged. After seeking guidance from a professional and reading a self-help
book on sexuality, Paula gradually became more understanding. While she eventually accepted Rader's
fetish, they never spoke of it aside from her warning that if she ever caught him again, she would file for divorce.
Rader learned to keep his fetishes out of the family home. Sometimes he used hotel rooms to test
out various autoeroticasphyxiation devices he built. He would also drive to the rural
outskirts of Wichita, dig holes resembling graves, and then lower himself into them wrapped head to toe in
plastic. The danger of accidentally killing himself while performing these inherently unsafe acts was all part of
the thrill. In April 1979, Rader failed to kill his next intended target, Anna Williams.
Yet, he made the most of the incident by sending a chilling poem about it to both
Anna and the press. Everyday life inevitably got in the way, and he didn't strike again until April
1984 when he made what he considered a bold move. So far, Dennis Rader had confined his
murders to a particular area of Wichita. It was a strategic choice to prevent police from tracing them back to him
further north in Park City. But, emboldened by the challenge of committing a murder closer to home, he
targeted Marine Hedge, who lived just a few doors away. It was a risky endeavor, contradicting
everything Rader knew about how a serial killer should operate. Marine knew him personally, and if he
slipped up, she could easily identify him. Even if the attack went according to his
plan, the investigation would encompass those closest to Marine, including her neighbors.
But, Rader was confident in his abilities. After all, he had gotten away with everything so far, despite making some
significant mistakes. Rader timed the murder to coincide with a camping trip he was taking with the
Boy Scouts. He arrived at the site, helped with setup, and by nightfall complained of a
headache, ostensibly retiring to his tent to rest. Instead, he slipped away to Marine's
house. She wasn't home, so he broke in, hid in a closet, and waited. To Rader's frustration, Marine arrived
with a friend. Determined to avoid a repeat of the Kathryn Bright murder, Rader remained
hidden until the friend left at around 1:00 a.m. After Marine went to bed, Rader crept
into her room and flicked on the light, jolting her awake. The plan he had for her were the same
he'd imagined for earlier victims that never came to fruition. He intended to abduct Marine, take her
somewhere secluded, string her up in bondage, and take photos of her before killing her.
Part of Rader's strategy was to keep his victims calm by lulling them into a false sense of security.
He pretended to be nothing more than a harmless burglar, assuring them that if they cooperated, they would be okay.
It was all designed to prevent a struggle and keep him in control. But he couldn't stop Marine Hedge from
screaming. Raider knew he was losing control over the situation. Once again, nothing had gone according
to his plan. Still, after murdering Marine, Raider was determined to get his pictures.
He stripped and bound Marine's body before wrapping her in a blanket and placing her in the back of her car.
He collected her driver's license, some of her underwear, and a few other souvenirs, then drove her to the dark,
quiet Christ Lutheran Church building where he, his family, and their community worshipped.
After breaking in, he covered the windows with large sheets of black plastic he had prepared beforehand.
He then set about arranging Marine's body in different bondings, capturing each pose on camera.
According to Raider, using the sanctity of a church for such unholy acts made him feel a troubling guilt.
He claimed he respected God enough not to involve the altar in his photo shoot. As dawn approached, Raider cleaned up
the church and drove Marine's body to a remote area to dispose of it. He continued on, tossing her handbag out
the window along the way before abandoning her car in a shopping center parking lot.
He then made his way back to the scout camp, presenting himself to the group as though he had been there the whole
night. The murder of Marine Hedge was driven solely by Rader's desire to obtain photographs of a victim in bondage.
He saw no need for BTK to claim credit, knowing it was smarter not to. In fact, he distanced the BTK from the
crime by deviating from his pattern of targeting victims whose home addresses featured the number three, a digit he
considered mystical due to its recurring significance in his life and its prominence in Christian symbolism.
Rader remained on his good side in the years following Marine's murder. Then, in September 1986, he posed as a
telephone repairman to gain entry to the home of Vicki Wegerle, where he launched
an attack. Rader was dismayed to learn that Vicki's husband, Bill, was due home for lunch at
any minute, meaning he would once again have to rush. Vicki fought back, scratching Rader on
the nose and face, but he eventually overpowered her. He rifled through her clothes and took
photos of her body before fleeing in her car, coincidentally passing Bill Wegerle
along the way. Rader drove around for a while, then returned to the area, abandoning the car
nearby. Once again, BTK wasn't linked to the murder, and Rader didn't feel compelled
to confess to it at the time. Rader claimed that the wrongful suspicion of Bill Wegerle in Vicki's
murder filled his good side with guilt. He said he went around town asserting that Bill was innocent hoping to sway
public opinion. Yet, he didn't feel bad enough to entirely stop the rumors by fessing up.
Rader was so detached from the devastation his crimes caused that he genuinely considered himself to be an
ideal candidate for the police force. He applied for a job, but his application was rejected which he
attributed to being aged in his 40s. Instead, he accepted a position as a compliance officer in Park City
enforcing local laws, state and federal regulations, and council policies. The role allowed him to wear a uniform,
uphold the law, and serve the community, and he was eventually appointed to the county animal control advisory board.
But, even when on the clock, he was plotting away. While out on the road, he scouted for
victims or photo shoot locations. Back in his office at City Hall, he drafted many of the communications he
sent as BTK, and even created a hidey-hole there. Four months after Vicki Wegerle's
murder, Rader killed again. Like Marine Hedge, Dolores Davis was a high-risk target. She also lived in Park
City, and while Rader didn't know her personally, he had noticed her outside her home.
He began watching her obsessively. On one occasion, while peering through her bedroom window, he startled her cats
and narrowly avoided being caught. It wasn't until January 1991 when Rader's personal life had quieted that
he found the opportunity to act. Once again, he timed the attack to coincide with a scout camping trip.
This time, he fabricated a reason to return to town, but instead went to Dolores' house.
Through a window, he saw her reading. He planned to abduct her, take her to the church, photograph her, and kill
her. Rader had wanted to break in silently, but when no suitable entry presented
itself, he made another bold move. He threw a cinder block he found in the backyard through a sliding glass door.
Startled, Dolores rushed outside, where Rader confronted her. He led her back inside, only to be
thwarted yet again when Dolores revealed that she was expecting someone. Leaving her handcuffed in the bedroom,
Rader began rifling through the house, collecting items to keep. With Dolores' guest potentially arriving
at any moment, he returned to the bedroom and began his bondage ritual, using pantyhose from her dresser drawer
to tie her feet to her hands. He then murdered her. Pressed for time, Rader left Dolores'
body in bushes a short distance away, planning to return later to complete the photo shoot.
As the night wore on, he grew concerned that she was too exposed, so he returned
and moved her further into the countryside, placing her underneath a rural bridge.
He visited again soon after, covering her face with one of his handmade feminine masks and taking several
photographs. He was unable to return a third time, as her body had already been discovered.
For the same reasons he stayed silent about Marine Hedge's murder, Rader never confessed to Dolores Davis' killing in
any BTK correspondence. He did, however, journal about it, noting that it must be kept secret
forever. He saved the photos he had taken of both women, yet he said the little monster
inside him remained unfulfilled. By the early 2000s, Dennis Rader was in his 50s and had accepted that his days
as BTK were behind him. The little monster was still there, but he had decided that murder was best left
to the younger, stronger version of himself. He focused his attention on his family,
work, and church, where fellow parishioners had elected him president of the congregation.
Furthermore, advances in DNA testing and forensic technology were leading to arrests in cold cases across the
country, and police already had a Rader's DNA from the Otero, Fox, and Wagler crime scenes.
Feeling uneasy, Rader destroyed most of the evidence relating to his murders that he'd hoarded, though he kept some
items. He didn't want his crimes to remain unsolved forever. Rader's plan was to reveal his full
identity with proof on a CD or floppy disk, which he would then put in a safe deposit box hidden within his home.
After he died and the house was sold, he hoped someone would eventually discover
the box and realize they had uncovered BTK. Obsessed with his legacy, Rader longed
for the world to eventually learn who he really was, but only on his terms, after
he was beyond reproach. In January 2004, the Wichita Eagle published an article marking the 30th
anniversary of the Otero murders. To Rader's dismay, the article made it painfully clear that BTK had left no
lasting mark on Wichita. The legacy he'd hoped would endure long after his death simply did not exist.
His reign of terror had faded from memory, meaning there was little chance BTK would be named alongside the
notorious killers Rader had once admired. Left with nothing more than a bruised ego, the article reignited Rader's
craving for attention, control, and validation. For the first time in over a decade, he
sent a letter as BTK. Intent on making a dramatic return, he revealed his responsibility for Vicki
Wegerle's murder. Stepping back into the spotlight exhilarated him. Where his earlier communications had
been intended to guide investigators, now Rader simply wanted to stir the pot. He falsely confessed to the murder of
Kansas teen Jake Allen and began turning over trophies stored in his hiding holes, including his victims' driver's
licenses and to jewelry, as well as his sketches and photographs. Rader compared his actions during this
time to a game of chess, finding enjoyment in creating increasingly elaborate packages and cryptic puzzles
for the police to discover and solve. To ensure that his story, and ultimately his legacy, would be told in the exact
way he wanted, Rader began releasing a serialized autobiography. While the retellings of his crimes were
mostly accurate, his backstory mixed truthful details with outright fabrications.
To Rader, his comeback was originally meant to be just for fun. But, as he basked in the renewed
attention, he found himself on the hunt for the first time in years. Almost a year passed, and while Rader
hadn't yet claimed another life, it wasn't for not trying. And though he hadn't succeeded, neither
had the police. By this point, Rader had eluded them for more than three decades.
He watched their news conferences with amusement as they hopelessly begged BTK to communicate with them again.
Rader had come to believe that he was simply too smart to get caught. Psychologists refer to this line of
belief as a narcissistic immunity, a trait Rader shared with other infamous serial killers, including Ted Bundy, H.
H. Holmes, and Harvey Glatman. As detailed in the book Confession of a Serial Killer by Katherine Ramsland,
narcissistic immunity often shows up in the most audacious and predatory people,
repeat offenders who take significant risks. They have a talent for rebounding from
setbacks because they're so certain of their invulnerability, even when the evidence is clearly against them.
The peculiar resilience of narcissistic immunity derives from arrogance, a sense
of entitlement, and disdain. Such killers believe they have a special destiny and that they are smarter than
anyone investigating them. They pride themselves on their modes of deception and manipulation.
However, they need others to affirm their superiority. In addition, they can get defensive and
needy, which damages their inflated sense of self. When they retaliate over slights or
criticism, the results can be deadly to their victims. But, such actions can also expose the
killers more than they realize. The narcissist's addiction to self can be his greatest strength in some
contexts, but also his greatest weakness. February 2005 marked a little over 31 years since BTK first terrorized Wichita
with the Otero murders. Dennis Rader had released only a few chapters of the BTK story so far,
detailing the Otero and Fox killings. He was preparing another communication featuring the full detailed account of
Shirley Vian's murder, accompanied by a doll he'd mocked up to represent her. He intended to put the doll in a
miniature coffin wired to look like a bomb. At 12:15 p.m. on Friday, February 25,
Rader drove home in his work truck for lunch, a daily routine executed like clockwork.
That day, however, a car sped up behind him. Rader was startled by the sound of sirens blaring and red and blue lights
flashing. He pulled over, stepping out with an irritated expression. He thought he must have been caught
committing a minor infraction, like running a stop sign. Within seconds, however, multiple
undercover police vehicles converged and boxed in his truck. Officers in body armor with guns drawn
leaped out and surrounded him, shouting, "Don't move. Keep your hands where I can
see them." Rader froze, stunned by the chaos erupting around him. Everything happened so fast that he
barely had time to react. He offered no resistance as an officer forced him to the pavement, though he
sputtered in confusion, "What did I do?" and "What's this all about?" Beneath the shock, a faint trace of
resignation was visible on his face. As Rader was lifted to his feet, he asked officers to call his wife, saying
that she was expecting him for lunch. "I assume you know where I live," he added, aware that the scale of the
operation could only mean one thing. The jig was up. He was led to a police vehicle, where a
detective was waiting in the backseat. Immediately recognizing the man, Rader said politely, "Hello, Mr. Landwehr."
The detective casually replied, "Hello, Mr. Rader." Senior homicide detective Lieutenant
Kenneth Landwehr was the commander of the Ghostbusters, the task force responsible for investigating BTK.
Known as a dedicated and compassionate investigator, he'd been part of the unit since its inception in 1984 and was the
last remaining member when it was unceremoniously disbanded 3 years later. When BTK reemerged in 2004, Landwehr
spearheaded the task force's reactivation, persuading veteran members to return and recruiting new detectives
to assist. Credited with keeping the long cold investigation alive, Landwehr became the
public face of the case, regularly appearing in the media to provide updates, appeal directly to BTK, and
build a rapport with the killer. When the case languished, public discourse questioned Landwehr's
suitability for the job, but his superiors felt that replacing him would send a bad message.
To their mind, no one knew the case better than Kenneth Landwehr. Among the many strategies he helped
engineer, Landwehr was instrumental in the plan to trick BTK into sending police a floppy disk, the pivotal
breakthrough that ultimately led them to uncover three crucial clues about the killer.
The Park City Community Public Library, the Christ Lutheran Church, and most significantly,
the name Dennis. The Ghostbusters Task Force had hastily searched online for the Christ Lutheran
Church in Park City and located its website. They discovered that the congregation's
president was listed as a local man named Dennis Rader. Although records showed that Rader
didn't own a Jeep Cherokee SUV, the vehicle seen on CCTV when BTK left a package in a Home Depot parking lot,
they confirmed that he lived on North Independence Street in Park City, just a few doors down from unconfirmed BTK
victim Marine Hedge. Investigators scrambled to their cars and sped towards Park City.
Although energized by these latest developments, they also harbored nagging concerns that BTK might be orchestrating
a long con, possibly setting up a Dennis Rader who might be an innocent man. On paper, there was nothing about Rader
that suggested he could be a serial killer. The 59-year-old had no prior history
with the police. As a long-time Wichitan and married father of two, he had embedded himself
in the local community as a trusted and valued member. Not only was he highly active in his
church, he was also a Boy Scout leader. And professionally, Rader was on the side of law and order as a compliance
officer. Rader's official employee portrait depicted a smiling white man in uniform.
He was slightly stocky with dark hair that was balding on top, thin-framed eyeglasses, and a thick mustache.
He bore a resemblance to the fictional character George Costanza from the popular television sitcom Seinfeld.
In other words, he was as ordinary and unassuming as they came. It was around at noon when the
Ghostbusters descended on North Independence Street and pulled up at Rader's home address.
To their surprise, a black Jeep Cherokee was parked in the driveway. A check of the vehicle's registration
revealed it belonged to Rader's adult son. The presence of the Jeep heightened the
officers' excitement. Realizing that a convoy of identical unmarked vehicles packed with men in
suits staring intensely at his home might alert Rader, the officers moved half a block away to plan their next
move. In his most recent communications, BTK had warned that his house had been rigged to explode if the police tried to
breach it. Driven by adrenaline, the Ghostbusters were willing to take the risk.
But, as they waited for the order to move in, the instruction came to return to base and carefully plan their next
steps. "We are not going to do this now," they were told. Despite the pressure to act, their
superiors insisted on doing things right. They didn't want to risk another Roger
Valadez situation. And they were acutely aware that they were on the back foot. BTK had spent more than 30 years
preparing for this very moment. The task force investigated Dennis Rader's background further, discovering
that he was an Air Force veteran who had graduated from Wichita State University
in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Administration of Justice. Both institutions had been linked to
BTK. A check with the pastor of the Christ Lutheran Church confirmed that Rader had
used their computer, and an examination of the device's hard drive revealed a smoking gun.
BTK's recent messages. There was now little doubt, but the Ghostbusters needed objective proof.
They conducted extensive discussions about the best course of action, including placing tracking devices on
Rader's vehicle or using FBI surveillance planes to monitor him from above. These options were deemed too
complicated and offered no guarantee of results. The Ghostbusters wanted something
simpler, something concrete. They decided the most effective plan was to compare Rader's DNA with BTK's.
However, approaching Rader directly or indirectly for a sample might alert him to the investigation and give him time
to react. Investigators had gone to great lengths to avoid tipping him off that they were
closing in, even holding press conferences to implore BTK to communicate with them again as though
they weren't making any progress. After a vigorous debate on the ethics of the plan, investigators decided the
safest way to test Rader's DNA was to avoid obtaining it from him at all. Instead, they subpoenaed a DNA sample of
Rader's adult daughter from an old pap smear in her medical records. The sample, containing cells collected
during the routine cervical screening, could be tested alongside BTK's DNA for a familial match.
Investigators were fully aware that Rader's daughter had done nothing wrong and that their method was highly
personal, invasive, and embarrassing, but it was legally permissible and did not violate her privacy rights.
The sample was obtained without her knowledge and compared to carefully preserved seminal fluid left by BTK at
his crime scenes, as well as skin scrapings recovered underneath Vicki Wegerle's fingernails.
The results confirmed a familial match. The exhausted but elated members of the Ghostbusters Task Force shared emotional
high fives and hugs as one of them exclaimed to joyfully, "It's over, baby." Dennis Rader claimed that if he'd had
time to react during his arrest, he would have brandished a gun, shot his way out, and escaped, quote, "like a
movie superhero." Reality instead placed him in the backseat of a police car next to
Lieutenant Kenneth Landwehr. Rader recognized him from the BTK news conferences.
While he'd felt a stronger rapport with the previous head of the case, former Wichita police chief Richard LaMunyon,
he still trusted Landwehr. Landwehr worked to maintain that trust. He loosened Rader's handcuffs when he
complained they were too tight, engaged him in friendly conversation, offered him a soda, and allowed him to use the
restroom. For Landwehr, treating Rader with courtesy and respect was a calculated
tactic to ensure his cooperation. Rader appeared to respond positively in response, and willingly answered
questions, though he avoided providing meaningful answers, and often spoke in the third person, as if Dennis Rader was
someone else. At no point did he inquire as to why he had been arrested, prompting Landwehr to
finally ask after 3 hours of talking, "Why do you think we're here?" Rader presumed they wanted to talk to
him about BTK. When asked if he had followed the investigation, Rader replied, "Yeah, I've been a BTK fan for years,
watching it. I assume I'm a main suspect." He proceeded to crack jokes about the
case, but avoided addressing it directly. Lieutenant Landwehr pressed on. "Do you remember anything about the
Otero murders?" Rader said he did, recalling what he had read in a newspaper, a man, his wife,
and their two young children. "It was pretty brutal," he remarked. "Why do you think the Oteros were
murdered?" Landwehr asked. "Well," Rader said, "if you take that murder and some of the
others, I'd say you've got a serial killer loose." Prior to the interrogation, Rader had
agreed to be swabbed for DNA. He was surprisingly upbeat about it. Landwehr wanted to know what Rader
thought would happen if his DNA matched to BTK's. Rader nodded and replied, "I guess that might be it then."
When shown the purple floppy disk BTK had sent to police, Rader's demeanor changed.
"There's no way I can weasel out of that or lie," he said defeatedly. He asked about prison, then expressed
the desire to speak with his pastor. "I really need help," he insisted, appearing on the verge of breaking down.
Landwehr agreed on one condition. "First," he said, "you need to talk." Rader expressed concern about how his
children would react to his arrest and how it would affect the wider Park City community.
He asked what would happen to BTK's house. "We'd tear it up looking for evidence
unless we know where to find it," Landwehr replied. Rader winced. "You guys have got me," he said.
"How can I get out of it?" Resting his elbow on the table and his chin in the palm of his hands, he
wondered aloud whether there was any way to escape the DNA results. Fed up with the Rader's stalling, an FBI
profiler observing the interrogation cut in sharply. "Enough. Enough. You've got to say it.
Just say who you are." Rader replied simply, "I'm BTK." Investigators took turns questioning
Dennis Rader as he confessed to each of BTK's 10 known murders: Joe, Julie, Josie, and Joey Otero,
Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vianne, Nancy Fox, Marine Hedge, Vicki Wegerle, and Dolores Davis.
Rader tried to project a cool, cavalier persona throughout the process, making wisecracks, insulting detectives, and
mocking his victims. Investigators noted that while BTK had emerged as a terrifying and formidable
figure, the man behind the mask was something else entirely. Stripped of mystery, Dennis Rader
appeared far more pathetic than powerful. In their words, he was nothing more than
a dork. A search of Rader's home didn't uncover any explosives, but it revealed plenty
of other significant items. In the attic were detective magazines, as predicted, as well as pornographic
magazines focused on bondage. A storage area at the rear of the house and a metal shed in the backyard
contained bondage equipment. Rader had told investigators about a cupboard with a false bottom,
encouraging them to look beneath it. When they did, they found Marine Hedge's wedding ring along with photographs of
her dead body taken inside the Christ Lutheran Church. The church was searched, as well as the
Park City Community Public Library. In Rader's City Hall office, investigators discovered his hit kit, as
well as one of his handguns. In the bottom drawer of a cream-colored filing cabinet lay what Rader referred
to as his mother lode, seven three-ring binders and more than 25 hanging file folders that contained a staggering
array of material. They included newspaper clippings into journals about BTK's crimes, sketches of
his victims, computer disks labeled according to the chapters of BTK's autobiography, and the original versions
of the letters and poems Rader had sent to both the press and police. They found the photographs he'd taken of
Vicki Wegerle and Dolores Davis, along with the IDs and the jewelry he'd stolen from each crime scene.
There was also a large number of disturbing photographs showing Rader engaging in extreme self-bondage,
sometimes wearing clothing or lingerie stolen from his victims. In several photos, he wore the
hand-painted mask left near Dolores Davis's body. Meticulous records kept by Rader
confirmed his 10 victims and revealed he had stalked hundreds more. Also found was the original note in
which BTK asked whether a computer disk could be traced and a newspaper clipping
of the ad police used to respond. Back in the interrogation room, Rader tapped on the floppy disk that led to
his capture and asked, "How come you lied to me?" referring to the fact that police had led him to believe the disk
could not be traced. "Because," Lieutenant Kenneth Landwehr replied, "I was trying to catch you."
Rader admitted that he had been hesitant to send the disk. He had personally checked it for any
identifying information and even consulted acquaintances who were knowledgeable about computer technology.
All of them assured him that floppy disks couldn't be traced. Feeling betrayed, he lamented,
"You guys know more about computers than I do. Unlucky for me, lucky for you. I thought I would pull it off, retire,
and keep mementos. It didn't happen. You guys outsmarted me." The more detectives spoke with Rader,
the more they realized that outsmarting him was hardly an achievement. In fact, they were embarrassed by how
unintelligent he seemed. When questioned about the undeciphered string of 23 stenciled letters he'd
placed at the top of the Wiegand confession letter, Rader treated Lieutenant Landwehr like he was an
idiot. "It's a code," Rader insisted, "a German fractional code he claimed to have
learned in the Air Force, to be specific." He was stunned that investigators had
not cracked it. When asked what the code meant, Rader answered, "Let Beaty know for his book," referring
to author Robert Beaty, who was preparing to publish a book about BTK. Landwehr was confused.
He asked Rader to demonstrate how he had converted that sentence into the string
of letters and numbers in the code. Rader tried, but he could not replicate his own method.
In that moment, it became clear. Rader had evaded capture for decades, not because he was a criminal
mastermind, but because of sheer luck. Over the course of 2 days, Rader spoke for 33 hours about his crimes,
confessing that he would have had more victims if his personal life had not gotten in the way.
"My big problem was my social contacts," he admitted. "If I was a lone wolf, you would have
had many more victims, many more. I guarantee that. Many more. When you live at home with a wife, you
can't go out and prowl around till 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning without your wife
being suspicious. So, I had to connect this all with school and work and family life.
It was difficult, but that's the way I did it. Kind of like a spy. He also admitted that during his 2004
resurgence, he had targeted an 11th victim as his final curtain call. He said, "She had a perfect pattern. I could
almost time it within 5 minutes of when she was going to be home. Perfect. She didn't change her routine.
In my business, people that have routines were in bad shape. The woman had a daughter and Rader was
willing to kill them both, but reconsidered when he arrived at her house and noticed road workers nearby.
He was genuinely disappointed when detectives had heard enough and ended the interview, remarking that he had
loved helping them work the cases. The press conference announcing the capture of BTK was described by the
Ghostbusters as a comedy. Random government officials, politicians, law enforcement officers,
and prosecuting attorneys uninvolved in the case seized the podium to seek credit and adulation.
The task force watched in disappointment as the speakers self-congratulated while
failing to acknowledge the work of the team or the loved ones of BTK's victims in attendance.
Finally, after 39 minutes, Lieutenant Kenneth Landwehr approached the podium. He hadn't intended to thank anyone, but
witnessing the spectacle before him prompted him to deviate from his planned speech.
"I want to thank the families of the victims who gave us their trust and stood behind us," he said.
"I want to thank the families of our task force who stood behind them." He then personally thanked every member
of law enforcement who had worked on the case and even named and thanked civilians who had provided tangible
assistance. In total, Landwehr named and thanked 42 people off the top of his head.
By this point, the name of the person in custody still hadn't been announced. It was clear that everyone was still
wary after the prior wrongful announcement implicating Roger Valadez. Landwehr finally declared Dennis Rader's
arrest for the BTK murders, choking up as he read out the names of the youngest victims, Josie and Joey Otero.
And with that, after 31 years, the mystique of BTK was gone. Any trace of the satisfaction Rader had
felt during his lengthy police interview vanished when it came time for his jail
booking photo, in which his face was utterly sullen. This same attitude was reflected in a
questionnaire he completed to assess his mental state. When asked if he felt shame or
embarrassment, Rader wrote, "Yes, because I got caught." There was a palpable sense of relief in
Wichita following Dennis Rader's arrest. Women could finally go about their lives
without the fear of BTK. But those who knew Rader personally, including his family, were left in
shock. Many struggled to reconcile BTK with the so-called regular guy they'd known as
nice and friendly, who was respectful towards women and devoted to his wife. For others, Rader had barely registered
at all. He'd lived such a low-key life that many who had encountered him over the years,
from former colleagues to university instructors, didn't even remember him. Still, a few recalled a glimpses of what
they later interpreted as his dark side, describing him as a by-the-numbers control freak who could be arrogant and
confrontational. The most vocal member of Rader's family was his daughter, Kerri, whose DNA
ultimately helped investigators identify him. Kerri later described her experience of
being raised by BTK in her book, A Serial Killer's Daughter. To her, Rader had been a normal, loving
father who built her a tree house and taught her how to fish. He warned her to be wary of strangers,
advised her to hold her keys between her fingers when walking alone at night, and
told her to ask for identification from anyone who came to the door because they can pretend to be somebody else.
Reflecting on this, Kerri said, "He was trying really hard to protect us, but we realized he was also trying
to protect us from somebody like him." In June 2005, Rader appeared in court for his plea hearing.
The highly anticipated proceedings were live-streamed to a global audience as speculation intensified over what plea
he would enter. Although he had already fully confessed, Rader had long established himself as
someone who thrived on attention, control, notoriety, and the hope of leaving a lasting legacy.
A lengthy trial would offer him the perverse satisfaction of reliving his crimes through the testimony of others,
perhaps even himself, and inflict one final layer of pain on his victims by forcing their loved ones to endure it
all. Surprisingly, Rader made the decision that BTK story had reached its conclusion and announced a guilty plea
to all 10 counts of murder. In his typically callous tone, he gave a detailed account of each killing,
claiming that his motivation in every case was rooted in his sexual fantasy. At times, he got basic but important
details wrong, such as the Otero family's house number. He stumbled over words, lost his train
of thought, and expressed uncertainty on specifics. Given that he'd been such a meticulous,
obsessive, and detail-oriented record keeper, many suspected his thoughtlessness was just one final
mocking. Police found Rader's courtroom performance so embarrassing that Lieutenant Kenneth Landwehr muttered
breath, "Jesus, you stupid son of a [ __ ] Can you look any goddamn stupider? You'll make anybody watching think that
anyone could have caught you at any time." Landwehr's remark was not unwarranted.
Wichita police faced significant criticism when BTK was finally unmasked, with many questioning how he had alluded
capture for so long. Rader had even left clues to his identity in the word search puzzle he
sent as BTK in 2004, including the words lost pet and officer, referencing his animal control work as a compliance
officer. Landwehr was willing to hear and accept the criticism, but the truth was that
when people kill at random, they often get away with it. At Rader's sentencing hearing, the
victims' family and friends were given the chance to speak in the order that their loved ones had fallen victim to
BTK. First was Carmen Otero, who had been a teenager when she discovered her parents' bound lifeless bodies.
Carmen spoke directly to Rader on behalf of herself and her two brothers, Danny and Charlie, who had also witnessed the
harrowing scene. She said, "Although we have never met, you have seen my face before.
It is the same face you murdered over 30 years ago, the face of my mother, Julie
Otero. Rader, when you took away my mother, you took someone who meant a lot to a lot of
people. My mother loved life, her friends, a good laugh, dancing with my dad, and she
loved to help people. But most of all, she loved and lived for us, her family. She showed me how to love, to be a good
person, to accept others as they are, and most of all, to face your fears. I'm sure you saw that in her face as she
fought to live." Carmen went on to describe the deep adoration her parents had for one
another, having known each other since childhood. She remembered her father, Joe, as a
hard-working man who ensured his family always felt secure. Quote, "The thing that everyone remembers of my
father is that he demanded respect, but that he gave it in return. Everyone knew you didn't mess with the
Joe's family. I'm sure you could feel his love for his family as you took away his last
breath." Speaking of her sister, Josie, Carmen said, "You should not have the privilege of
even saying her name. Such a sweet girl. All she ever wanted was to be happy and successful in
school. She had dreams. She was my shadow and at the same time her own person. She always tried to see the bright side
of everything. It's amazing to me that you could be so cruel to a sweet, beautiful child."
And finally, Carmen spoke about her brother, Joey, whom Raider had repeatedly referred to as merely Junior.
"His name was Joey, not Junior," she stated. "But I guess it really doesn't matter to
you. You took away the most lovable son, outgoing, friendly, and adorable little
brother anyone could ever imagine. Joey was a magnet. He attracted people of all ages.
He could have done something big with his life, but you took care of that, didn't you?
A man with a gun against a little boy. You are definitely a coward." Carmen concluded,
"Just recently I realized that I could not remember my mother's voice. It was a painful discovery, but as I put
my thoughts on paper, it comes to me. I am my mother's voice, and I know we've been heard.
Despite having more than half of his family murdered by BTK, Charlie Otero said,
"When it's all said and done, Dennis Rader has failed in his attempts to kill the Otero family."
Kevin Bright spoke next. Kevin, who survived being shot twice in the head by BTK, revealed that he
suffered permanent nerve damage as a result. He described the lingering anguish over
every decision he made during the attack, wishing he had managed to wrestle the gun from Rader and end him
then and there. Despite his ongoing trauma, Kevin explained, "I'm glad I was there that day because
of what Dennis Rader and his fantasy world was going to do to Kathryn if I wasn't.
I'm glad that I was preventing him from doing anything like that." Speaking of his older sister as a
beautiful young woman, Kevin expressed pride after learning that Rader had told authorities she had fought like a
hellcat. He added, "I'm so proud of her for that because I knew she had that in her."
Despite having been just 6 years old at the time, Steven Relford carried lifelong guilt for opening the door that
allowed BTK into his home to murder his mother, Shirley Vianne. Though he did not prepare a formal
statement for the court, he nevertheless had something to say. Wiping away tears, he said,
"I'd adjust to like for him to suffer for the rest of his life. That's all." Nancy Fox's sister, Beverly, told the
court, "There are no words to make you understand what losing Nancy has meant to me and my family.
I lost a friend, a confidant. My children will never have an aunt, and I'll never have another sister.
Nancy's death is like a deep wound that will never, ever heal. As far as I'm concerned, Dennis Rader
does not deserve to live. I want him to suffer as much as he made his victims suffer.
But then, when I think about that, in his sick, perverted way, he would probably find that as some kind of
pleasure or reward. This man needs to be thrown in a deep, dark hole and left to rot.
He should never, ever see the light of day." In reference to Rader's fantasies about
his victims serving him in the afterlife, Beverly offered her own scenario. "Nancy and all of his victims will be
waiting with God and watching him burn in hell." A spokesperson provided a succinct
statement on behalf of the loved ones of Marine Hedge. They thanked all the members of the
Ghostbusters Task Force for making that day possible, while urging the court to impose the maximum sentence allowed by
the law on the monster responsible. For almost 20 years, Bill Wegerle had faced painful accusations that he had
killed his wife, Vicki, until DNA tests implicated BTK in the crime. Calling Rader vicious and cruel, Bill
told the court, "It's all in the light now. There's no punishment you can exact upon
him that will satisfy our needs. We can just ask the court to bestow upon him the most that you can.
And hopefully, we will not have to deal with him or see him or hear from him ever again.
Vicki's daughter, Stephanie, described every day being a struggle without her mother.
Adding, "It's not fair that we had so little with her. I only had 10 years with her, and my
brother Brandon only had two. Anyone who knew my mom knew how much she loved her family.
There's nothing she wouldn't do for any of us. My mother begged for her life, yet he
showed no remorse. He saw that she had a family and a little boy right there in the house with
her, yet he continued with his sick plan. I ask today, your honor, to show no remorse for him.
He isn't worthy." In a speech deemed deserving of a standing ovation if the court had
permitted it, Dolores Davis's son, Jeffrey, delivered a lengthy, passionate address that read in part,
"For the last 5,326 days, I have wondered what it would be like to confront the walking cesspool
that took my mother's precious life. Throughout that time, I always envisioned this day as being one for
avenging the past. I could think of nothing but savoring the bittersweet taste of revenge as
justice is served upon this social sewage here before us today. Now that it has arrived, surprisingly, I
realized that this day is not just about avenging past crimes. Sitting here before us is a depraved
predator, a rabid animal that has murdered people, poisoned countless lives, and terrorized this community for
30 years, all the while relishing every minute of it. As such, there can be no justice harsh
enough or revenge bitter enough, in this world at least, to cause the pain and suffering a social malignancy like this
has caused. Therefore, I have determined that, for the sake of our innocent victims and
their loving families and friends with us here today, for me, this will be a day of celebration,
not retribution. If my focus were hatred, I would stare you down and call you a demon from hell
who defiles this court at the very sight of its cancerous presence. If I embrace bitterness, I would remind
you that you are nothing but a despicable child-murdering, cowardly, impotent, unique, and pervert
masquerading as a human being. If I were spiteful, I would remind you that it is only fitting that a twisted,
narcissistic psychopath obsessed with public attention will soon have his world reduced to an isolated, solitary
existence in an 80-square-foot cell, doomed to languish away the rest of your miserable life alone.
If I had your devil nature, I would delight in the fact that your congregation has turned its back on you,
that your friends have deserted you, that your wife has divorced you, that your own children have disowned
you. And then, I would remind you you'll never have any warm, loving human contact again for the remainder of your
twisted existence. If I had your sadistic nature, I would delight in the pain you feel now in
realizing that your own arrogance and ego got you caught. That if you just kept your big mouth shut, you'd still be
able to be a free man today. If I were judgmental, I would call you the most despicable form of hypocrite
for profaning Christianity by daring to associate yourself with my faith and for
blaspheming in God's house with your demonic actions. But I won't hurl these invectives at you
or I won't rain these curses down upon you because you're not smart enough to understand most of the words I would use
anyway. And even if you could fathom the depth of my hatred for you, I would still
refuse to waste any breath on you because that would once again allow you the satisfaction of being in the
limelight and that attention I refuse to allow you. As of today, you no longer exist.
From this point on, we declare our independence from the tyranny of your actions.
While your body wastes away in prison, we will renew ourselves by incorporating into our lives those characteristics
modeled by our loved ones. Humility, compassion, honor, integrity, kindness, selflessness, and love.
Your despicable actions will not defeat us. Our very lives will be testimony that
good can triumph over even the most hideous form of evil and perversion. Just as your days are over, ours are
just beginning. In the final analysis, you have to live with the cold reality that while all of
us here will overcome your depravity, you have now lost everything and you will forever remain nothing.
May that torment you for the rest of your tortured existence. Rader was accused of shedding crocodile
tears during the victims' family statements. Then, in a rambling and at times incoherent 20-minute speech, he offered
an apology to them all. But, they had deliberately left the courtroom beforehand, so they wouldn't have to
hear any of it. In the end, it made no difference. Those who witnessed Rader's supposed
remorse didn't believe that a word of it was genuine. Because Rader's crimes had occurred
during years when Kansas had no death penalty, he did not face execution. Instead, he was given the maximum
sentence available, 10 consecutive life terms, one for each murder. Dennis Rader, who was 60 years old,
would die in prison long before becoming eligible for parole. Although there has been speculation
about other potential BTK victims, exhaustive investigations have failed to uncover any proof that Rader is
responsible for any other killings other than the 10 he confessed to. Although Rader did not pursue an
insanity defense, some struggled to reconcile that his crimes could have been carried out by a sane person.
Since his arrest, he has spoken willingly about his crimes to anyone prepared to listen, from pen pals to
psychologists, repeating the same stories about the so-called little monster in his head, his good and dark
sides, factor X, and cubing. While Rader is not the first serial killer to attribute his actions to some
kind of mystical or mental influence. His manipulative and self-serving nature means his words should be taken with
caution. He has been officially diagnosed with narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and
antisocial personality disorders, but has never received a formal diagnosis of psychopathy.
While many in law enforcement, including FBI profilers, use this label to describe him, psychopathy researchers
are less definitive in their opinions, though they acknowledge that Rader exhibits several of its core traits.
One detective who had initially accepted the idea of Rader having a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like personality came
away with an entirely different impression after interviewing him. To the detective, Rader's lack of
genuine remorse suggested little real division in his mind. That his good side never truly existed, and was only ever
an act. In his opinion, Rader was and has always been the little monster. Another observer described Rader as the
closest thing he had ever encountered to a human being without a soul. For the detectives who ultimately
captured Dennis Rader, all of his explanations were just excuses to shift the blame onto anything or anyone but
himself. To them, his motive was simple. Cold-blooded egocentrism. As Lieutenant Kenneth Landwehr put it in
Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Next Door by Roy Wenzl,
"It boils down to this. We all make choices. Rader made his, and 10 people died."

[Part 4 of 4] As police closed in on the elusive B.T.K, they received a floppy disk that contained some stunning information – including the name: Dennis…

CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Production & music – Mike Migas Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

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Brief Summary

Dennis Rader's life as BTK reveals a chilling transformation from family man to serial killer, driven by deep psychological issues and violent fantasies.

Key points

The Emergence of the Monster. Dennis Rader describes the 'little monster' inside him that compels his dark urges.
The First Kill. Rader's first murder leads him to a sense of pride and a rush of adrenaline.
The Close Call. Rader's botched attempt at murder leaves him rattled and fearful of capture.
Rader's Dark Fantasies. Dennis Rader's fantasies grew grandiose, envisioning his victims as slaves in the afterlife.
The Thrill of Danger. Rader engaged in dangerous acts, finding excitement in the risk of self-harm.
The Arrest of Dennis Rader. In a shocking turn, Rader was arrested during a routine lunch break.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The other part of me overrode the good sense.

Rader's struggle between his good side and the monster within.

16:55WatchMar 28, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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