UNITED STATES NEWS

BTK serial killer is in the news again. Here’s why and some background about his case

Aug 24, 2023, 2:37 PM

This photo provided by the Osage County, Kan., Sheriff's Office shows the BTK Killer Dennis Rader’s former Kansas property near Park City, Kan., being searched on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, for clues pertaining to two new potential cases. (Eddie Virden/Osage County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Eddie Virden/Osage County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer whose self-given nickname stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill,” played a cat and mouse game with investigators and reporters for decades before he was caught.

But Rader gradually faded from view after his 2005 arrest, as he served one life term for each of the 10 people he was convicted of killing.

He made headlines again this week, though, because he was named the prime suspect in an Oklahoma teen’s 1976 disappearance and a Missouri woman’s 1990 killing.

Here’s a look at how Rader spread fear and was eventually caught and convicted:

WHAT IS THE LATEST NEWS?

The investigation into whether Rader, 78, was responsible for additional crimes started with the reexamination of the disappearance of Cynthia Kinney, a 16-year-old cheerleader who was last seen at a laundromat in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

Rader worked for ADT Security Systems at the time, and the bank across the street was getting a new security system. Law enforcement has been unable to determine, though, whether Rader was the one who installed it.

Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told KAKE-TV that he decided to investigate a possible link between Rader and Kinney’s disappearance when he learned that Rader had included the phrase “bad laundry day” in his writings.

Undersheriff Gary Upton said the investigation “spiraled out from there” into other unsolved murders and missing persons cases.” They include the the death of 22-year-old Shawna Beth Garber, whose body was discovered in December 1990 in McDonald County, Missouri. An autopsy revealed she had been raped, strangled and restrained with different bindings about two months before her body was found.

As part of the investigation, authorities conducted a dig this week near Rader’s former Kansas property in Park City.

Rader’s attorney, Rob Ridenour, said he had no comment.

WHO WAS BTK?

BTK first struck in 1974 and stoked fears throughout the 1970s in the Wichita area.

The earliest known crimes linked to the BTK strangler date to Jan. 15, 1974, when Joseph Otero, 38, his 34-year-old wife, Julie, and their 11- and 9-year-old children were found dead in their home.

After strangling three other women that decade, he began seeking attention.

“How about some name for me, its time: 7 down and many more to go,″ he wrote in a letter to a TV station.

BTK killed again in 1985, 1986 and 1991, although some of the crimes weren’t linked to him initially. And then suddenly, with no explanation, he fell off the radar and the killings stopped.

HIS REEMERGENCE:

BTK resurfaced in March 2014 — the 30th anniversary of the first crimes — with a letter to The Wichita Eagle that included photos of the 1986 strangulation of Vicki Wegerle and a photocopy of her missing driver’s license.

Her case had not been linked to BTK until then.

Among the materials the BTK killer sent to the media were a cryptic word puzzle mailed to KAKE-TV that included dozens of hidden words, including a grouping of letters spelling “D. Rader,″ the street number of his address, 6220, and the types of jobs that could be used to gain entry into homes.

The break in the case came after a computer disk the killer had sent was traced to Rader’s church.

RADER’S ARREST:

At the time of Rader’s arrest, he was a married father of two, a Boy Scouts leader and active member of a Lutheran church.

The former Air Force sergeant had lived in the Wichita area almost his entire life, earning a criminal justice degree at a local university.

Rader never became a police officer, though, instead going into code enforcement. His job allowed him to issue citations for minor infractions such as unkempt lawns.

THE TRIAL AND AFTERMATH:

When he pleaded guilty, Rader admitted in court that he would “troll” for victims on his off-time, then stalk and kill them.

He said he referred to them as “projects,” telling the court that sexual fantasies drove him to kill. He has not been accused of sexually assaulting his victims, but he admitted that he had masturbated over some of them.

Rader later told KAKE-TV that a “demon” got inside of him at a young age.

“I have a lot of remorse. I’m very sorry for them. It is something I wouldn’t want to happen to my family,” he said.

Kansas didn’t have the death penalty at the time of the killings, so the 10 life terms was the harshest sentence possible.

United States News

Associated Press

Kidnapped teen rescued from Southern California motel room after 4 days of being held hostage

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities rescued a 17-year-old boy in Southern California after he was kidnapped and held hostage for four days by captors who threatened to harm him if his family did not pay a $500,000 ransom. The teen was rescued Friday after law enforcement tracked him and his three kidnappers to a […]

1 hour ago

This Aug. 17, 2021 photo shows Quagga mussels cover the engine of a Bell P-39 Airacobra military pl...

Associated Press

Historians race to find Great Lakes shipwrecks before quagga mussels destroy the sites

An invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region touching eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history.

2 hours ago

A sign marks a roadside rest stop that has been made to look like the historic security gate that a...

Associated Press

Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the top-secret Manhattan Project

Los Alamos was the perfect spot for the U.S. government’s top-secret Manhattan Project.

6 hours ago

Associated Press

Suspect arrested after shooting at the Oklahoma State Fair injures 1, police say

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — One person was injured when shots were fired during an argument between two groups of people at the Oklahoma State Fair on Saturday, sending a crowd of people running for safety, police said. One person was arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon after the evening shooting, Oklahoma […]

7 hours ago

Associated Press

Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles dies after a motorcycle crash in Nashville. He was 29

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles died Saturday after a motorcycle crash in Nashville, according to police. He was 29. The one-time hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks drove his motorcycle through a stop sign early Saturday and hit the driver’s side of an SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Hazing lawsuit filed against University of Alabama fraternity

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A student and his parents have filed a lawsuit against a University of Alabama fraternity, saying he suffered a traumatic brain injury while being hazed as a fraternity pledge earlier this year. The lawsuit filed last week accuses Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and others associated with it of fraud, negligence and […]

8 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Mayo Clinic

Game on! Expert sports physicals focused on you

With tryouts quickly approaching, now is the time for parents to schedule physicals for their student-athlete. The Arizona Interscholastic Association requires that all student-athletes must have a physical exam completed before participating in team practices or competition.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

BTK serial killer is in the news again. Here’s why and some background about his case