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He and his wife had their first child, a son, in 1975 and a daughter in 1978. On the surface, Rader was reportedly an attentive husband and father. He also made allusions to several other notorious killers, including Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam.” Murder Spree Despite his cat-and-mouse game with authorities, Rader was able to keep the lid on his secret, murderous life. Several weeks later, he sent a letter to a local television station stating that he was responsible for killing Vian, Fox, and another unknown victim. Shortly after Fox’s murder, Rader sent a poem to a local newspaper about the Vian killing in January 1978. On December 8, 1977, he strangled Nancy Fox in her home and then called the police to tell them about the homicide. Rader’s desire for attention led him to report his next crime himself. In March of that year, he tied up and strangled Shirley Vian after locking her children in the bathroom. You probably call me ‘psychotic with sexual perversion hang-up.'” He went on to describe the urge to kill as a monster inside him, but he clearly wanted to control his image: He requested to be called the “BTK Strangler,” explaining that BTK stands for “bind them, torture them, kill them.”Rader’s next known crimes occurred in 1977. Rader wrote, “It’s hard to control myself. The letter ended up with a local newspaper, and the poorly written note gave authorities some idea of who they were dealing with. Desire for Fame In October 1974, Rader sought fame and attention for his crimes, placing a letter in a public library book in which he took responsibility for killing the Oteros. He described Rader as “an average-sized guy, bushy mustache, ‘psychotic’ eyes,” according to a TIME magazine article. Waiting in their apartment on April 4, 1974, Rader killed Kathryn Bright by stabbing and strangling, and attempted to kill her brother, Kevin. The BTK Killer struck again a few months later.
The Oteros’ 15-year-old son, Charlie, came home later that day and discovered the bodies. He also left semen at the scene and later said that he derived sexual pleasure from killing. Strangulation and taking souvenirs would become part of his modus operandi, or pattern of behavior. They died by strangulation, and Rader took a watch and a radio from the home. On January 15, 1974, Rader killed four members of the Otero family in their home-Joseph and Julie Otero and two of their children, Josephine and Joseph Jr. He went to work for ADT Security Services in 1974.That same year, Rader committed his first crime. He married his wife Paula in 1971 and worked for a camping gear company for a few years. There may have been signs of trouble early on as a Los Angeles Times report stated that he used to hang stray cats as a child. In 2005, he was finally caught and revealed to be Dennis Rader, a seemingly average married father of two.The oldest of four sons, Rader grew up in Wichita, Kansas.
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From the 1970s to the 1990s, the “BTK Killer”-which stands for “bind, torture, and kill”-terrorized the Wichita, Kansas area. First Murders Dennis Lynn Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas. He pled guilty and was ordered to serve 10 life sentences in prison. His final crime was in 1991, but he resurfaced in 2004 and again sought media attention. Later that year he began seeking fame for his killings, writing letters and reporting his crimes. Born in 1945 in Pittsburg, Kansas, Dennis Rader committed his first murders in 1974, strangling four members of the Otero family in their home. But 20 years later, tiny traces of DNA left on his first victims could be enough to bring him to justice. The Smithsonian Channel series: Catching Killers have created an informative video to show when BTK started killing, using DNA evidence wasn’t the norm.