During his confession , he described each of the murders in detail, but he showed little emotion and no remorse Ultimately, Dennis was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences for his crimes. This included a "hard 40," or 40 years without the possibility of parole. It might be awhile before we see this stage of his life in Mindhunter , though, if we ever do — seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix show are set in the late s and early s, when Dennis played in brief vignettes by actor Sonny Valicenti was in the heart of his killing spree and decades from being caught.
In July , Dennis's wife Paula was granted an " emergency divorce " from him, and since then, his family has remained mostly silent on the subject of BTK and his killings. This year though, Dennis's daughter, Kerri Rawson , released a book about her life since finding out her father was serial killer. For can't-miss news, expert beauty advice, genius home solutions, delicious recipes, and lots more, sign up for the Good Housekeeping newsletter.
Subscribe Now. Product Reviews. Home Ideas. United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. The Rise of the Cleanfluencer. Getty Images. Who was Dennis Rader? Dennis Rader at his August sentencing hearing Getty Images. Read Now. He is held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, only being released one hour a day for yard exercise and is allowed three showers a week.
Through good behavior, he has been allowed a few privileges such as access to television, radio, and magazines. He is currently 76 years of age. Rader usually targeted women, though he did kill or attempt to kill men and children on a few occasions.
He would wander through Wichita until he found a potential victim and enter their homes through home invasions. The kills were highly premeditated, as he would stalk them beforehand to know when they would come home and who lived with them, bring various items with him to use for the kill and the break-in, like duct tape, rope, and a screwdriver which he would put in a briefcase or a bowling bag , cut off the phone lines to prevent the victims calling for help, etc.
He did not, however, make a habit of bringing a "hit kit" until after his first few murders, initially using objects from the house. He also wore what he referred to as "hit clothes" to the murders and later dispose of them. Rader would use a. On two occasions, he also masturbated on the victims' bodies. The victims were typically tied up, sometimes using items from their houses, and killed by strangulation, either manual or with a ligature, or suffocation with a plastic bag.
When he strangled his victims, he would do it repeatedly as a form of torture and become sexually aroused from watching them struggle. In the case of his fifth victim, Kathryn Bright, he tried to strangle her but stabbed her with a knife instead when she struggled too much.
He also took souvenirs, such as underwear from his female victims, driver's licenses, and personal possessions. He had a habit of nicknaming his home invasion plans in a manner similar to the way military operations are codenamed; the Kathryn Bright home invasion was called "Project Lights Out" and Vicki Wegerle's murder "Project Piano" because he liked listening to her playing.
It could be assumed, though erroneously, that the pictures, drawings, and memories would be sufficient enough to complete his fantasy. When the BTK killer began communicating again, the BAU developed a strategy to keep him communicating by issuing press releases. BTK took the bait.
Criminal Minds Wiki Explore. The Show. Making Of. Seemingly preoccupied by his day-to-day duties as a Park City compliance officer and father of two, Rader ceases killing and BTK drops off the map.
Three decades after the killer first killed the Oteros, The Wichita Eagle prints an article recalling the terror BTK wielded in the s and suggesting that he had faded from memory after so many years. Rader later admits that this article spurs him to revive his deadly alter ego. The Wichita Eagle receives an envelope from a " Bill Thomas Killman " containing a copy of Vicki Wegerle's missing driver's license , photos of her body and BTK's distinctive signature, a chilling message that links her unsolved murder to BTK and declares the Wichita terror to be very much alive.
BTK's next outreach, mailed to KAKE-TV, includes a phony ID, chapter titles for a BTK biography and a find-the-word letter grid spelling out clues like "prowl" and "fantasies," though investigators note the lack of his usual signature. Puzzle sleuths later realize the letters R-A-D-E-R are grouped around the numbers — the author's street address. After BTK leaves more messages in various public locations, a man walking though Wichita's Murdock Park stumbles on a garbage bag containing Nancy Fox's driver's license and a Barbie doll with a hood over its head and arms tied behind its back.
Acting on instructions from a postcard mailed to KAKE-TV, police find a cereal box on a road outside Wichita containing a graphic description of BTK's first murders and another doll fashioned in a death position. However, it's another section of the postcard, which inquires as to whether his package was found at the local Home Depot , that proves more interesting to authorities. After poking around the store, investigators learn that one employee had found a cereal box in the bed of his pickup truck.
A search of his trash produces the box and a message asking if BTK could communicate via a computer floppy disk without being traced; if so, the police are instructed to run a newspaper ad with the message: "Rex, it will be OK. After an undercover detective makes arrangements with The Wichita Eagle , the paper runs a classified ad that reads: "Rex, it will be ok, Contact me PO Box 1st four ref. A computer disk arriving by mail is relayed to cybercop Randy Stone , who uncovers BTK's message about checking an index card for more information, along with the hidden metadata that reveals the disk to have been used by a "Dennis" at "Christ Lutheran Church" and "Park City Library.
Already armed with DNA evidence carefully preserved by the Ghostbusters, Lieutenant Landwehr and his team learn that Rader's daughter, Kerri, had been in the hospital for a pap smear. Heading home from the office to have lunch with his wife, Rader is pulled over by the line of police cars trailing him and taken into custody. He confesses after being confronted with the DNA evidence, and enjoys what he believes is a bonding session with law-enforcement agents—although he is plainly irritated that Landwehr lied to him about the security of communications via computer disk.
BTK's arrest is announced at Wichita City Hall the following day, drawing applause from the audience gathered. The scheduled hearing ends after a few short minutes, an acknowledgment from the defense that the state possesses enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Two weeks later, a silent Rader has the judge enter a not guilty plea for him. Catching prosecutors off-guard by pleading guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, Rader provides the court with explicit details on how he selected, stalked and finally killed each of his victims. His lawyer later notes that they went with the guilty plea due to overwhelming evidence against their client and the lack of firm legal footing on which to enter an insanity plea.
The two-day sentencing hearing features testimony from investigators who describe Rader's documentation of his torture-fueled sexual fantasies, emotional pleas from the victims' families and an apology from the convicted killer, who expresses hope that the families will one day forgive him.
Having committed his murders before Kansas reintroduced the death penalty in , the BTK Killer received a sentence of 10 consecutive life terms in prison, for a minimum of years without the possibility of parole.
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