BTK Killer

CHAPTER I BTK KILLER CHAPTER II DANIS RADER?

It has been for 30 years, Boy Scout troop leader and church council president, and A boy named Dennis Rader who was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg,
looks like the perfect family man. The man was secretly the BTK murderer, and Kansas, and grew up in Wichita. He was the oldest of four sons of the Rader
one of the wanted person. family. He seemed to be enjoyed as the other boys in his childhood. However, he
had reportedly masking such disturbing behavior as hanging stray animals.
The man was the president of his church congregation as well as a loving
husband and father. In the same way, he seemed to be a reliable and responsible In his teenager life, he dropped out of the college and joined the U.S. Air Force in
man to all who knew him. But he was leading a double life. the mid-1960s.When he returned home from duty, he took up work as an
electrician in Wichita. He then met his wife Paula Dietz through church. She
Though not even Rader’s wife, Paula Dietz, had any idea, he had secretly been was a bookkeeper for Snacks convenience store and he proposed after just a few
leading another life as the Park City, Kansas serial killer, better known as the dates. So, he married his wife, Paula, in 1971, and they had 2 kids. He worked
BTK Killer — a man who had tortured and murdered 10 people in and around for an outdoor-supply company for about a year. In 1974, he began a lengthy
Wichita, Kansas. stint as an employee of ADT Security Services. He had left ADT in the late
1980s and started working for the Wichita suburb of Park City as a compliance
When the BTK — which stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill” — was finally caught supervisor in 1991. He was also a Boy Scout troop leader and president of his
in 2005. church council.

INTERESTING INTERESTING
VOCABULARIES VOCABULARIES

Congregation n. an Disturbing adj. upsetting
assembly of persons or disquieting; dismaying
brought together for
common religious worship. Proposed v. to make an
offer or suggestion
Reliable adj. that may be
relied on or trusted Compliance n. the act of
. conforming, acquiescing,
Torture v. the act of or yielding.
inflicting excruciating
pain, as punishment or
revenge, as a means of
getting a confession or
information, or for sheer
cruelty.

CHAPTER III SIGN CHAPTER IV FIRST MURDER

Even as a teen Rader had a violent streak in him. He would allegedly hang and On January 15, 1974, Rader strangled to death four members of the Otero
torture stray animals and as he explained, “When I was in grade school, I sort of family in their Wichita home—parents Joseph and Julie, and two of their
had some problems.” He continued in a 2005 audio interview that he had: children, Josephine and Joseph Jr.—before leaving with a watch and a radio.
Strangulation and souvenir-taking would become part of his modus operandi,
“Sexual, sexual fantasies. Probably more than normal. All males probably go or pattern of behavior. He also left semen at the scene and later said that he
through some kind of, uh, sexual fantasy. Mine was just probably a bit weirder derived sexual pleasure from killing. The Oteros' 15-year-old son, Charlie, came
than other people.” home later that day and discovered the bodies.

Rader went on to describe how he would bind his hands and ankles with rope. He INTERESTING
would also cover his head with a bag — actions he would later employ on his VOCABULARIES
victims.
Strangulation n. The
He cut out photos of women from magazines whom he found arousing act of strangling or
and drew ropes and gags on them. He imagined how he could restrain and strangulating.
control them. Modus operandi n.
mode of operating or
INTERESTING working.
VOCABULARIES Semen n. the viscid,
whitish fluid produced in
Allegedly adv. according the male reproductive
to what is or has been organs, containing
alleged. spermatozoa.

Arousing adj. to stir to
action or strong response;
excite.

CHAPTER V 'BTK' GOES PUBLIC CHAPTER VI LAST MURDER

In October 1974, Rader placed a letter in a public library book in which he took After several years without a known crime, Rader killed his neighbor Marine
responsibility for killing the Oteros. The letter ended up with a local newspaper, Hedge on April 27, 1985. Her body was found days later on the side of the road.
and the poorly written note gave authorities some idea of who they were dealing The following year, he killed Vicki Wegerle in her home. His final known
with. Rader wrote, "It's hard to control myself. You probably call me 'psychotic victim, Dolores Davis, was taken from her home on January 19, 1991. But then,
with sexual perversion hang-up.'" He warned that he would strike again, noting, suddenly, the BTK murders seemed to stop ... and all the related murder cases
"The code words for me will be bind them, torture them, kill them, B.T.K." The went cold.
initials stuck, and the murderer came to be known by variations of the "BTK
killer" moniker, or simply "BTK."

INTERESTING INTERESTING
VOCABULARIES VOCABULARIES

Moniker n. a person's Cold case n. an
name, especially a unsolved criminal
nickname or alias. investigation which
remains open
Initials n. of, relating to, pending the
or occurring at the discovery of new
beginning; first. evidence.

CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VII
A PROUND FATHER GETTING CAUGHT

It has been for 30 years, Boy Scout troop leader and church council president, and In March of that year, he sent a letter to The Wichita Eagle claiming he had
looks like the perfect family man. The man was secretly the BTK murderer, murdered a woman named Vicki Wegerle back in 1986, even providing photos of
Paula was three months pregnant with Rader’s first child when, unknown to her, the crime scene and a copy of her driver's license as proof. So, the police offered
her husband began to advertise his crimes covertly but she knew nothing about him to use a purple floppy disk for further communications. The police were able
him. Dennis Rader’s wife and his daughter Kerri even refused to believe it. “My to find two key clues: the words "Christ Lutheran Church" and the name "Dennis."
dad was the one who taught me my morals,” his daughter would later say. “He A quick internet search led them to Dennis — and after a search warrant allowed
taught me right from wrong.” them to compare DNA from his daughter's recent pap smear to the DNA they had
on file, the police found their man.
She had no idea that for 30 years her father preyed on girls just like her. The
only thing in the past, Dennis Rader’s own children suspected him that his By early afternoon on February 25, 2005, Dennis Rader had been arrested.
daughter, Kerri Rawson, recalled how once her father did angrily grab her brother
by the neck, and she and her mother had to pull him off to save the boy’s life.
However, he still had no suspicion person.
The man was the president of his church congregation as well as a loving
husband and father. In the same way, he seemed to be a reliable and responsible.
man to all who knew him. But he was leading a double life.

INTERESTING INTERESTING
VOCABULARIES VOCABULARIES

Angrily adv. in a manner Smear n. to spread a
resulting from or liquid or a thick substance
betraying anger. over a surface.

Congregation n. a group of Warrant n. to make a
people who have come together particular activity
in a religious building for necessary.
worship and prayer

CHAPTER IX PLEADING GUILTY CHAPTER X BTK TODAY?

Today, Dennis Rader, now 74, continues to live out his sentences in solitary
confinement at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County, Kansas.
In July 2005, 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.

On June 27, 2005 — the day that his trial was scheduled to begin — Dennis INTERESTING
pleaded guilty to all 10 charges of murder filed against him. During his VOCABULARIES
confession, he described each of the murders in detail, but he showed little emotion
and no remorse ... and he offered no apologies. Covertly v. secretly, or
in a hidden way:
Ultimately, Dennis was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences for his crimes. Terrorists have been
This included a "hard 40," or 40 years without the possibility of parole. operating covertly in
England. (Chapter
INTERESTING 7)
VOCABULARIES

Pleaded v. to make an
urgent, emotional
statement or request for
something

Confession n. the act of
admitting that you have
done something wrong or
illegal

Consecutive adj.
Consecutive events, numbers,
follow one after another
without an interruption

References REFERENCE

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For Nearly 30 Years, This Churchgoing Father Got Away With Written by… Puggradshi
Torturing And Murdering His Neighbors. (2021). Retrieved
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rader-btk-killer

Garrett, A. (2021). Everything to Know About Dennis Rader,
AKA the BTK Killer. Retrieved 25 March 2021, from
https://www.distractify.com/fyi/2019/02/07/DIca3V7uq/is-
btk-killer-still-alive

Haney, S. (2021). Daughter of BTK serial killer shares letters he
sent her from prison. Retrieved 25 March 2021, from
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
7291597/Daughter-BTK-serial-killer-shares-letters-
drawings-sent-bars.html