BTK Serial Killer Dennis Rader
The BTK Killer who we later learned was Dennis Lynn Rader was born March 9th 1945. BTK stands for Bind, Torture, and Kill which is what Rader did to his 10 victims from 1974 through 1991. He was known for writing long boastful letters to the police , FBI , and local news papers and TV stations during the time of his killings. He included small items from his victims to prove it was really him and not a copycat doing the writing.
He stopped corresponding for a long time at the end of the 1990s but resumed his letters in 2004 and it was this that led to his capture. He is credited with killing 10 victims from 1974 - 1991 though there are several more victims in the area that match up with his profile though he has never been charged or convicted of those murders.
According to his own confessions and the memories of other people who were around at the time of his childhood he tortured and killed animals while he was growing up. This has been seen with many other serial killers.
After he was captured Rader admitted he was already stalking his next victim and getting ready to kill again. However on February 25th 2005 Police arrested Rader near his home in Park City Kansas. It was at a Press Conference the next morning that Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams said we have him. We have the BTK Killer in custody.
Rader plead guilty to his crimes on June 27th 2005 giving graphic details of each crime. Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences meaning he would be eligible for parole after serving 175 years. He did not get the death penalty because Kansas did not have a death penalty during the time Rader committed his murders.
Below is a complete video series of the trial and story of Dennis Rader for everyone to watch. He however does give a complete detailed gruesome account of his murders.
On February 26th 2005 the Wichita Police Department made the announcement that they had the BTK Killer in custody. Rader was formally charged with the murders on February 28th.
On August 19th Rader was moved from the Sedgwick County Jail to the El Dorado Correctional Facility which is a Kansas State Prison. He began serving his life sentence as inmate #0083707 and his earliest possible parole date is February 28 2180 meaning he will never be a free man again.
Police in cities all over Kansas and surrounding states are looking into related similar murders to see if Rader possibly committed more than the 10 murders he is credited with. Several local police agencies believe he may have committed far more than 10 murders.
Rader has been a model prisoner and he has now been allowed to purchase a TV , a Radio and magazines. He is however in solitary confinement for his own protection. He is locked up 23 hours a day and he is allowed access to a shower three times weekly.
As of June 2009 no other murders have been found that Rader can be charged with though local police and the FBI continue their investigation into cold cases hoping to one day charge Rader with a murder that will result in the death penalty for Rader.
