Dennis Rader is an American serial killer who is also popular as the BTK “Bind, Torture, Kill” Killer or the BTK Strangler.
Early Life and Childhood
Dennis Rader was born on March 9, 1945, and is currently 76 years old. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S., He holds American citizenship. Likewise, he follows Christianity and his birth sign is Pisces. Talking about his family, he was born to his father William Elvin Rader, and his mother Dorothea Mae Rader. William is a former member of the US Marine Corps, who later worked for the electric utility KG&E and Dorothea is a cook. Similarly, he has three more brothers named Paul, Bill, and Jeff Rader, with whom he grew up in Wichita.
Education
Regarding his educational details, Dennis completed his schooling at Riverview Elementary School and high schooling at Wichita Heights High School in 1963. Then, he worked for few months before joining the Kansas Wesleyan College in 1965. However, he left the college after two semesters and then joined the US Air Force in 1966.
He worked for four years in the Air Force. During that, he also received the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, and the National Defense Service Medal. Later, he again attended the Butler County Community College in El Dorado and received an Associate’s degree in Electronics in 1973. In the same year, he joined Wichita State University.
In his childhood days, he fantasized about tying up and raping girls. He even started killing animals like dogs and cats by torturing them and then hanging them. However, he kept his dark side hidden from the real world for a long time.
Professional Life
Dennis Rader used to work at the meat department of an IGA supermarket. In the early 1970s, he worked at various places. He also worked for Cessna, the aircraft manufacturer, in late 1973 or early 1974. However, he was soon fired.
He remained unemployed for a while which disturbed his mind. Then, he again developed dark fantasies that had haunted his mind from childhood. In those days, he became troubled with a Hispanic woman, Julie Otero, and her daughter, Josephine, who lived in a nearby locality. Then, he started trolling them, and even binding and torturing them.
On January 15, 1974, he entered their house armed and killed all four who were present there. Then, she started doing the same. On April 4, 1974, he attacked 21-year-old Kathryn Bright and his brother Kevin. She killed Kathryn by stabbing her multiple times and shot Kevin, who, however, managed to survive.
In 1974, he send a series of chilling letters to the police claiming to be the “BTK” aka “Bind, Torture, Kill” murderer. He started focusing on his career as he got a job in a company specializing in the installation of alarm systems.
Moving on, in 1977, he again killed two people: Shirley Vian and Nancy Fox. The 1977 murders shocked Kansas and police advised people to be safer. The increased police activity made Dennis wary and he didn’t kill for a few years.
More Details
Dennis didn’t commit crimes in between the late 1970s and 1980s as he got a job and had a family. However, in 1985, he again killed his neighbor Marine. After a year, he again killed a young mother Vicki. In 1991, he broke into the house of an elderly lady, Dolores Davis, and killed her.
Arrest and Incarceration
After sending many letters to the police, he then sends a floppy disc to the police which was his big mistake. The detectives soon traced the source of the floppy disc and he got arrested on February 25. 2005.
Dennis confessed all his crimes in the interrogation. Then, he received life sentences for his 10 murders. At present, he is kept at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.
Caption: Dennis being arrested (source: Good Housekeeping)
Relationship Status
Dennis is currently single and living his life in prison. He was previously married to Paula Dietz. The couple married each other on May 22, 1971. They even had two children: a son and a daughter. However, he maintained a good profile in his family as a husband and a father. His wife and children had no idea of his murderous streak. When he was arrested in 2005, Paula was shocked and she was granted an immediate divorce. Similarly. his children also cut off contact with him.
Caption: Dennis with his ex-wife Paula (source: Yen.com.gh)
Body Measurements and Social Media
Enhancing his physical appearance, Dennis is 5 feet 11 inches or 1.8 meters tall and weighs around 86 kg or 190 pounds. Similarly, he is half bald and has brown hair on the backside whereas he has light brown eyes. Other than this, his either body measurements are not available.
When it comes to his social media handles, he is not found on any of them. Currently, he is in jail. Before the arrest, he might doesn’t use any social media due to the fear of arrest.
ncG1vNJzZmiamaS0s63PobCmmaOge6S7zGibnqaensBuvsCdnKtn