Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer: Psychology of a Psychopath

Who Was Dennis Rader?

Born March 9th, 1945, Dennis Rader was the eldest of four boys born to William and Dorothea Rader. His father, a U.S. Marine, moved his family to Wichita, Kansas, when Dennis was young.

Dennis Rader seemed to have a normal childhood. He joined the Boy Scouts of America, participated in the church youth group, and maintained a C average throughout his scholastic career.

But he would later admit that from a very young age, he developed fantasies about bondage and torturing women. He also admitted to killing and hanging small animals as a child, a secret which he kept hidden. Those close to Rader described him as "normal," "polite," and "well-mannered."

Dennis graduated high school with mediocre grades. After a year lapse in enrollment, he attended one year of Wesleyan College in Salina, Kansas. In 1966, at 21 years of age, he dropped out of college and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

After four years of service, he was discharged and returned to Wichita, Kansas, where he served two more years as a reservist. Rader married Paula Dietz in May 1971 and moved to Park City, only a short drive from Rader's childhood home.

There, he spent the next several years bouncing from job to job. He tried to go back to college but he could never achieve more than a C average. Rader said that in 1974, he was between jobs. While his wife was at work, he would "troll" for women to look at as he fantasized about torturing and killing them.

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Fantasy Becomes Reality

While Rader was in the Air Force, he "maintained" just as he had throughout school, and only attained the rank of sergeant before retiring from the armed services. He got married within a year of his return, but it seemed that something was missing from his life.

In 1974, Rader was jobless and restless. He continued "trolling," walking around certain neighborhoods and school campuses as he profiled potential victims and fantasized about bondage and violent acts. It wasn't long before fantasizing wasn't enough and he decided to target real people.

Rader began watching a Hispanic family that had moved into his neighborhood. He watched their patterns—when they left home, when they returned, their work schedules, and their activities. He began making plans to break into their home and gathered the tools to do so. Rader's sick mind had moved from fantasy into the realm of reality.

Joe Otero

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The Killings Begin: The Otero Family

Around 8 a.m. on January 15th, Rader snuck around to the back of the Otero house and cut the phone line. He broke in through the back door and found that things were not as he had planned. The entire family of four sat inside, along with a rather vicious family dog.

At gunpoint, Rader ordered the father, Joe Otero, 38, to take the dog into the backyard. He told them that he was a wanted criminal on the run and needed food, money, and a vehicle. Rader directed everyone to lie down in the living room, and then herded them into a bedroom. The Otero family allowed Rader to bind them as they believed all he wanted was money.

But they were mistaken. Rader placed a bag over the father's head and used a cord to subdue and kill Joe Otero. He then moved to the mother, Julie Otero, age 34. He tried to strangle her with his bare hands, but it took several attempts before he was successful in murdering her.

Nine-year-old Joey Otero was next to die. He was found facedown on his bedroom floor with a bag over his head. Rader had apparently brought a chair into the bedroom to sit and watch the child die.

Eleven-year-old Josie Otero was taken to the basement and hung from a noose tied around a sewer pipe. She was left partially naked, and police discovered semen on the pipe behind the young girl.

After the brutal murders, Rader proceeded to clean up and take a few souvenirs with him. He also took the Otero's station wagon and nearly got into an accident backing out of the driveway. From there, he drove to a Dillons supermarket. A woman later testified that she saw Rader get out of the vehicle "shaking like a leaf."

He threw the keys onto the roof of the market, but realized that he had left a knife at the Otero residence, so he drove his car back to their residence and retrieved it.

Rader was unaware that there were three other Otero children who had left for school prior to his arrival. Tragically, Charlie (15), Daniel (14), and Carmen (13) returned home from school that day to the ultimate nightmare.

Kathryn Bright

The morning of April 4th, 1974, Rader broke into the home of 21-year-old Kathryn Bright. He hid in her bedroom until she arrived home at 2 p.m., accompanied by her 19-year-old brother Kevin. They were both taken by surprise when a man came out of the back room with a gun. Using the same methods as before, he bound Kathryn in her bedroom.

Her brother Kevin was taken to another bedroom and bound with items found in the room. Rader tried to strangle Kevin using a stocking, but Kevin was able to get loose and grab Rader's gun. Kevin fought with Rader, but was shot twice in the head and face during the struggle.

Apparently, feeling panicked, Rader did not take his time with Kathryn, but instead delivered deep stab wounds to her abdomen and other areas before fleeing the scene. While Kathryn was being stabbed, Kevin had made his way out of the house and searched for help.

He quickly found two men on the street, but when they returned home, Rader was already gone. He had fled the house on foot to his car parked a few blocks away.

Kathryn Bright died in the hospital several hours later. Kevin Bright survived the attack, but was left with permanent damage.

BTK: "Bind, Torture, Kill"

In October of that year, The Wichita Eagle newspaper got a phone call. The man who took the call told police that the caller informed him there was a letter hidden in an engineering book at the Wichita Public Library. There, police found a detailed description of the unsolved Otero murders.

It was noted that the writer of the note used very poor grammar and spelling, but had obvious knowledge of the crime. The writer stated, "I did it myself with no one's help," and "the code words for 'em will be...Bind them, torture them, kill them, B.T.K."

Shirley Vain

From his own testimony, Rader stated that he found steady work in 1974, had his first child in 1975, and was going to school. According to Rader, his life was so busy that he committed no crimes for the next two years. However, he did admit that he had never stopped "trolling" for victims.

In March 1977, Rader allegedly cased two different women's homes but found both to be empty. Canvassing the neighborhood on foot and posing as a detective, Rader approached a five-year-old boy and showed him a picture of his own wife. He asked the boy if he had seen her. After answering no, Rader tailed the boy back to his house.

Rader knocked on the door and was allowed entry by the three children in the home, the oldest of which was eight years old. Rader proceeded to draw the shades and turn off the television when the kids' mother, 24-year-old Shirley Vain, suddenly entered the room in her bathrobe.

Rader barricaded the children in the bathroom, bound Shirley, and strangled her to death with a cord. Rader left the children alive in the bathroom. Detectives later found seminal evidence near the victim.

Nancy Fox

Later that year in December, Rader also targeted Nancy Fox, a single 25-year-old jewelry store clerk. Rader gained entrance to her empty apartment via the bedroom window. He then severed the phone line and waited for her to arrive home. Nancy Fox entered her apartment to find an armed man inside.