October 14, 2025 • 29 mins
On the cold morning of January 15, 1974, the life of the Otero family in Wichita, Kansas, ended in the most horrific way imaginable. A seemingly ordinary man—a loving husband, father of two children, and exemplary church member—turned out to be a monster who would later be known to the world as BTK: Bind, Torture, Kill. His real name, Dennis Rader, hid a dark obsession with power, control, and human suffering. From the brutal murder of the Otero family to his psychopathic games with law enforcement through mysterious letters and packages, BTK turned terror into pleasure.
In this episode, you will learn how Dennis Rader lived a double life without suspicion for 30 years, how he was finally caught because of one small mistake: a floppy disk containing metadata, and why investigators still believe BTK may have victims who have not yet been found. We will also discuss the psychological side of the killer — from his terrifying sexual fantasies to medical evaluations that reveal him to be a narcissistic predator without empathy.
In this episode, you will learn how Dennis Rader lived a double life without suspicion for 30 years, how he was finally caught because of one small mistake: a floppy disk containing metadata, and why investigators still believe BTK may have victims who have not yet been found. We will also discuss the psychological side of the killer — from his terrifying sexual fantasies to medical evaluations that reveal him to be a narcissistic predator without empathy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I survived the b t K were the words of
Charli Otero, whose life had just turned upside down. January fifteenth,
nineteen seventy four, was a bitterly cold morning in Wichita, Kansas.
At fifteen years old, Charlie Otero had no idea that
as he walked home from school that day with two
of his other siblings, he was stepping into a nightmare,
(00:22):
one that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The first thing Charlie Otero noticed was the dog, Lucky
was outside. That wasn't right. He and his siblings had
just walked home from school, expecting to find their mother waiting,
maybe cooking, their father watching the news, maybe their younger
siblings playing. Instead, Lucky was out in the cold, pacing.
(00:46):
His stomach tightened. Something was wrong. Charlie went straight to
the back door, pushing it open. The house was silent,
too silent. He stepped into the kitchen, and that's when
he saw it. His mother's flipped over on the stove,
The things inside scattered everywhere. His mother was meticulous, She
(01:07):
never left things like this. Is anybody home? He called
out silence, Then one of his siblings voices echoed through
the house. Charlie, come quick, Mom and dad are playing
a bad trick on us. The fear in his chest
turned into something sharp. He ran down the hall, his
(01:27):
heart beat hammering in his ears, and then his world ended.
His father was on the floor, his mother was on
the bed, tied up, unmoving, strangled. It didn't even look
like them. Charlie's eyes darted across the room, trying to
make sense of what he was seeing. His father's head
was wrapped in plastic, a belt twisted around his throat.
(01:51):
His mother's face was frozen in pain, her body tied
up in ropes that penetrated her skin. He didn't realize
he was screaming until his throat burned. They ran out
the door to the neighbor's house, the phone in his
shaking hands, the words pouring out in gasps. Something happened.
They're not moving. We need help. The police came. He
(02:14):
didn't know how long it took. Time didn't feel real anymore.
He was outside when they entered the house, when they
found Joey, his little brother, lifeless in another room. And
then Josie. She wasn't there, not in the bedroom, not
in the hallway, not anywhere. Until they opened the basement door.
Charlie didn't see her. The police wouldn't let him, but
(02:37):
they told him later. Josephine eleven years old, hanging from
a pipe. They took him to the station. That's where
they told him about Joey and Josie. He didn't remember
what he said. He didn't remember if he said anything
at all. I thank god every day that I didn't
find them, he would say later, because I don't know
(02:59):
how I would have handled it. I thank god every
day that I didn't find Joey and Josie, because I
don't know how if Michael would.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Have handled it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
But even then, even in that moment, he knew his
family was gone and someone had done this to them. Normal, polite,
and well mannered, that's how people described Dennis Rader. A
doting husband, a loving father, and an active member of
his community. Raider was just another unassuming neighbor in Wichita, Kansas.
(03:37):
He attended church, worked a stable job, and blended in seamlessly.
But beneath this facade lurked a monster, a predator who
thrived in the thrill of power, control and death. He
was the BTK killer bind torture Kill. Dennis Lynn Raider
(03:57):
was born in nineteen forty five in Pittsburgh, Kansas. He
grew up in Wichita, where he presented himself as an
ordinary boy, but behind the friendly exterior, dark urges simmered.
As a child, Rader took pleasure in torturing and killing
stray animals. He fantasized about power, control and suffering. He
(04:17):
later joined the Air Force, then married Paula Diets in
nineteen seventy one. Together they had two children. By all accounts,
Rader was a normal family man. No one knew that
beneath the surface, he was harboring a desire to kill.
That desire erupted in January nineteen seventy four when he
chose his first victims, the Ottero family. He had been
(04:41):
watching them for weeks, noting Julie's routines, their homes vulnerabilities.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Then, on the.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Morning of January fifteenth, he made his move. Rader cut
the phone lines and waited. Joey, the youngest, opened the
back door to let the dog in, and Rader slipped inside.
He held the otero f family at gunpoint, feeding them
a fabricated story that he was a wanted man from
California who only needed food and money, but his true
(05:09):
intentions were far more ugly than his made up story.
He forced the family into a bedroom, binding each of
them with the ropes he had brought. Joseph Otero Senior
fought back, but Rader overpowered him, securing his wrists and feet.
Then he placed a plastic bag over his head. When
Joseph chewed a hole through it, Rader tightened another bag
(05:31):
over him, watching as he slowly suffocated. Julia Otero's desperate
plea came next. Please save my son, she begged, referring
to Joey. Rader removed the bag for a moment, but
it was a cruel illusion of mercy. Moments later, he
strangled her to death with a rope. Then came Joey.
Rader placed a plastic bag over the nine year old's head,
(05:54):
followed by two T shirts and another bag. He watched
as the child thrashed, gasping for air, until he finally
went still. But the worst was yet to come. Josie Otero,
eleven years old, had witnessed it all. Now Raider led
her to the basement. He tied a noose to a
pipe and slipped it around her neck as he pulled
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the rope. Josie's feet barely touched the ground. Mama, mama,
she cried. Her long hair got in his way as
she struggled, and then she asked a question that still
haunts those who hear it, What will happen to me?
Rader's response was chilling. Well, honey, you're going to be
(06:37):
in heaven tonight with the rest of your family. He
hanged her. He let her toes dangle just above the
floor to prolong her suffering as he watched his achievement
with utmost satisfaction on his face. Then, as her body
went still, he desecrated the scene in the most depraved
way imaginable. Dennis Rader capture for three decades. When he
(07:03):
was finally arrested in two thousand and five, his confession
revealed just how twisted his mind was.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
This particular location. Did you know these people?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Well, that's well, that was part of my I guess,
my witchital fantasy. These people were selected, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So you.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Okay, Well you were engaged in some kind of fantasy
during this period of time, yes, sir, all right. Now,
when you use the term fantasy, is this something you
were doing for your personal.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Pleasure, sexual fantasy, Sir I see.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
During his sentencing, prosecutors presented disturbing evidence, crime scene photos, drawings,
trophies he collected from victims, a macabre stash of keepsakes.
Raider himself provided a recounting of his crimes, very casually
sent chills down the spine of everyone watching, speaking as
though he were discussing a hobby.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
All right, when you went into the house, what happened then?
Speaker 3 (08:11):
But I, like infront of the family, pulled a pistol
in front of mister o Tarol and asked him to
you know that I was there too. Basically, I was wanted.
I wanted to get the car. I was hungry food.
I was wanted and asked him why down in the
(08:32):
living room, And at that time I realized that wouldn't
be a really good idea, so I finally the dog
was a real problem, so I asked mister Tarrell if
he could get the dog out, so he had one
of the kids.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Put it out.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I took him back to the bedroom.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
The family to the bedroom. The four members what happened
to them at that time? I tied him up while
still holding him at gunpoint.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Well in between tying. I yes, well, after that I did,
Missus Oltaro. I had never strangled anyone before, so I
really didn't know how much pressure you had to put
on a person or how long would it take.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But was she also tied up there in the yes?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Uhh yeah, both their hands and their feet were tied up.
She was on the bed. Where were the children, Well,
Josephine was on the bed and Junior was on the floor.
This time, basically when mister Tarot was down, Missus Lilto
was down, I went ahead and took Junior. I put
another bag of his head and.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Took him to the other bedroom. What did you do then?
Put a bag of he said?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I put a cloth over his head, a T shirt
and bags that couldn't tear a hole in it, and
he subsequpefully died from that. And then when I went back,
Josephine had woke back up.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
What did you do then? And I took her to the.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Basement and eventually hung her.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Hung her in the basement. Yes, sir, I should do
anything else at that time.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Yes, I had some sexual fantasies, but.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That was He recalled how he made sure Josie's toes
barely touched the ground so she wouldn't die too quickly.
How he trained his hands with a squeeze ball to
strengthen his grip for strangulation. How he broke into homes
disguised as a phone repair man. How he mocked his
victim's last words, mimicking their desperate pleas as YadA, YadA, YadA.
(10:29):
In a particularly harrowing moment, Rader admitted that he kept
meticulous notes on his victims, listing their roles in his
sick fantasies. Josie, he wrote, was my star, young maiden
that I will teach sext to. The courtroom was silent
except for the sobs of the victim's families. Charlie o'tero,
(10:50):
now an adult, broke down when he saw a photo
of his sister Josie hanging lifeless in the basement where
he had once played as a child. He buried his
face in his hands, unable to bear the sight. Raider
was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms, no parole, no escape,
just to sell where he would rot for the rest
(11:12):
of his miserable life. But for the families of his victims,
there was no true closure.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
I'm Carmen Julio Taro Montoya. Although we have never met,
you have seen my face before. It is the same
face you murdered over thirty years ago, the face of
my mother, Julio Taro. I will not address you as
mister Rader, because mister is a word of respect. As
a mister, can you help me? Not mister are you
(11:41):
going to kill me? Btk is how you want to
be known, and I will not give you that satisfaction.
Raider is an appropriate name for you as a one
who invades a surprise attack. That is nothing to be
proud of. Raider. When you took away my mother, you
took someone who meant a lot to a lot of people.
(12:03):
My mother loved life, her friends, a good laugh, dancing
with my dad, and she loved to help people. But
most of all, she loved and lived for us, her family.
She showed me how to love, to be a good person,
to accept others as they are, and most of all,
to face your fears. I'm sure you saw that in
(12:24):
her face as she fought to live my mother against
your gun. You're such a coward.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
As one victim's son put it, what do you expect
from a demon? The Otero family were not his only victims.
On April fourth, nineteen seventy four, just months after the
Ottero family murders, Raider struck again Catherine Bright, a twenty
one year old woman living in Wichita, had no idea
that a predator was stalking her. Raider had selected her,
(12:55):
watched her, learned her routines when she left her home
that day, he made his move, breaking in through the
screen door, but things didn't go according to plan. He
hadn't expected her nineteen year old brother, Kevin Bright, to
be there. Rader pulled out his gun and forced Kevin
to restrain his sister, handing him a rope he had
(13:16):
brought for this very purpose. Then he took Catherine into
another room. She fought him, struggling so much that his
usual method of strangulation proved ineffective. Frustrated, he grabbed a
knife and stabbed her three times in the back and
lower abdomen. She bled out her body, giving one final
shutterer before going still.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
If if I had brought my stuff and used my stuff,
Kevin would probably be dead today. I'm not bragging on that,
it's just a matter of fact. It's the bonds I
tied him up with he broke him side parts and
maybe the same way with same with Katherine. It was
got out of hand.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Meanwhile, attempted to kill Kevin by strangling him and then
shooting him in the head, but Kevin refused to die.
Clinging to life, he played dead until Rader left, then,
using every ounce of his remaining strength, he managed to escape,
running for his life. Unlike the oteros, Kevin Bright survived.
(14:20):
He lived to tell the tale of the man who
called himself B. T. K. But Dennis Raider wasn't finished yet,
not even close. On March seventeenth, nineteen seventy seven, Shirley
Ruth Ralford, who was twenty five at the time, was
found dead in her Wichita home, the victim of Dennis
Raider's twisted fantasies. Raider had stalked her, following her five
(14:43):
year old son home to discover their residence. Once inside,
he brandished a handgun, the weight of his presence sucking
the air from the room. Fear was instant suffocating. He
confined her three children, tying them up and locking the
them in the bathroom. Their muffled cries and frantic pounding
on the door did nothing to dissuade him with precision
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and what seemed like a lot of practice. He led
Ralford to the bedroom, where sheer terror overwhelmed her, so
much so that she vomited, but he didn't care. He
bound her legs to the bedpost, restraining her with the
cold efficiency of a man who had done this before.
Then came the plastic bag stretched tight over her face,
(15:29):
followed by the rope as he pulled her body writhed
twisting against the bed, her choked sobs mixing with the
muffled screams of her children just down the hall. They
begged for their mother, but the monster inside Dennis would
not listen to the cries and begs for mercy. He
had already decided their fate. He was going to kill
(15:51):
them two, but fate intervened. The children managed to escape
before he could carry out the rest of his plan,
leaving Race with only their mother's lifeless body as his trophy.
And just like that, he disappeared into the night, slipping
back into the mundane world where no one suspected a thing.
He was still just Dennis Raider, the polite neighbor, the churchgoer,
(16:15):
the family man. But behind closed doors bt K lurked
waiting for his next victim. Nancy Joe Fox, who was
also twenty five at the time, was Dennis Raider's next prey.
He had been watching her for weeks, following her routine,
learning her patterns. She lived alone, an ideal target. On
(16:37):
the night of December eighth, nineteen seventy seven, Raider approached
her home, anticipation burning in his veins. He cut the
phone lines before slipping inside, a trick he used for
almost every victim. Then he hid in the shadows of
her kitchen, waiting. When Nancy finally walked through the door,
she had no idea the nightmare lurking within. She barely
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had time to react before he pounced. With a gun
in hand, he forced her into submission, his voice eerily
calm as he ordered her to undress. Fear flickered in
her eyes, but she obeyed. He bound her wrists and ankles,
savoring the control. As she lay helpless on her bed,
Denis tightened a belt around her neck. He squeezed slowly,
(17:22):
prolonging her agony. She struggled, gasped, but her fate had
been sealed the moment she walked through that door. Before
she died, Raider leaned in close, whispering a sick confession
he was the one responsible for the Otero murders. The
following day, he called nine one one from a payphone,
his voice devoid of emotion. You will find a homicide
(17:46):
at eight forty three South Pershing, he said, before hanging up.
Nancy Joe Fox was dead and the monster was still free.
On February tenth, nineteen seventy eight, Raider sent a life
letter to Wichita television station KAKE, claiming responsibility for the murders.
He suggested many possible names for himself, including bt K.
(18:11):
He demanded media attention in this second letter, saying how
many do I have to kill before I get a
name in the paper or some national attention. A poem
was enclosed, titled Oh Death to Nancy, a parody of
the lyrics to the American folk song called Oh Death.
In the letter, Raider claimed to be driven to kill
(18:32):
by what he called Factor X, which he characterized as
a supernatural element that also motivated Jack the Ripper, the
Son of Sam, and the Hillside Stranglers. He also asked
for the police to send him a hidden message in response,
and with the knowledge that the BTK killer watched KKE.
(18:52):
Police decided to flash a subliminal message during one of
the station's evening newscasts for a split second. The message stated,
now call the chief and featured a drawing of an
upside down pair of glasses, which were found at the
Fox crime scene. They hoped the message would influence the
killer to turn himself in, but it was unsuccessful. In
(19:14):
nineteen seventy nine, Denis set his sights on Anna Williams,
a sixty three year old woman he had become obsessed with.
He waited for hours inside her home, growing more impatient
by the minute. When she didn't return home in time,
he was livid his perfect plan ruined. Anna Williams unknowingly
escaped death that night. His later murders grew more refined,
(19:37):
more deliberate. Fifty three year old Marine Hedge was kidnapped
from her home in nineteen eighty five. Dennis Raider took
her lifeless body to the church where he was a
council president, posed her corpse in twisted positions, photographed her,
then dumped her in a ditch. Twenty eight year old
Vicki Weggerley had to go through a similar horror. She
(19:58):
was strangled in nineteen eighty six, lured into a false
sense of security by Dennis posing as a telephone repairman,
and Delores Davis, aged sixty two. His final known victim
was murdered in nineteen ninety one, strangled with pantehose before
being dumped under a bridge. By two thousand and four,
the BTK case had gone cold. Police had no leads,
(20:22):
no new evidence, until Dennis, unable to resist the need
for attention, reignited the game himself. Between March two thousand
and four and February two thousand and five, he sent
eleven cryptic messages to local media, taunting law enforcement and
reliving the times he had made his victims suffer. In
(20:42):
March two thousand and four, the Wichita Eagle received a
letter from a supposed Bill Thomas Killman confessing to the
murder of Vicky Weggerley in the year nineteen eighty six.
Enclosed were photographs of the crime scene and a copy
of Vagerly's stolen driver's licensena testing of evidence from Begerley's
fingernails confirmed the BTK killer was responsible. Police began collecting
(21:07):
DNA from hundreds of men, but no match was found,
Raider continued his sick game, leaving packages at random locations.
One contained a bound doll with a plastic bag over
its head, mimicking Nancy Fox's murder. In one letter, he wrote,
they know nothing at all. I did it by myself
and with no one's help. I can't stop it, so
(21:29):
the monster goes on. Good luck hunting. At the end
of the letter, he suggested his own moniker by signing
off bind them, torture them, kill them b TK. Another
held a poem threatening lead investigator Lieutenant ken Landverr. In
January two thousand and five, he left a serial box
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in a home depot parking lot, hoping it would be found.
When it wasn't, he asked about it in his next message.
This led police to review surveillance foot spotting a man
driving a black Jeep Cherokee, the same vehicle registered to Raider,
but the final mistake his own arrogance. In February two
(22:11):
thousand and five, Raider asked police if a floppy disc
could be traced. They responded via a newspaper ad it
would be safe taking the bait. Raider sent a purple
floppy disc to a news station within minutes, police extracted metadata,
revealing it had last been edited by Dennis at Christ
Lutheran Church. A quick search led them to Dennis Rader,
(22:34):
who was the president of the church council. His jeep
sat outside his house, confirming what police already suspected. A
warrant was issued, but they needed DNA proof. They obtained
a PAP smear from Raider's daughter at a Kansas State
University clinic. The results confirmed a familial match to the
BTK evidence. With this, Dennis Raider was finally arrested. When
(22:59):
officers approached him, one asked, mister Rader, do you know
why you're going downtown without missing a beat. Dennis Rader replied, oh,
I have suspicions why. Law enforcement searched his home, office
and church, seizing computer equipment, black pantyhose, and a cylindrical container.
(23:19):
The next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams stepped before
the cameras and declared the bottom line b t K
is arrested. After his guilty plea, Raider underwent a psychological
evaluation by doctor Robert Mendoza, a forensic psychologist. Mendoza diagnosed
(23:40):
him with narcissistic obsessive, compulsive, and anti social personality disorders.
Raider exhibited a grandiose sense of self, an obsession with
structure and order, a deep need for admiration, and a
total lack of empathy. Raider's delusions of superiority made him
believe he was special, above the law, a mastermind who
(24:04):
had successfully fooled the world. He craved control not just
over his victims, but also in the courtroom, where he
narrated his crimes in gruesome detail, without a hint of remorse.
His interview with Mendoza, intended for court use, was later
broadcasted on NBC's Dateline, igniting controversy. The Kansas Attorney General
(24:26):
sued Mendoza and his firm for breaching confidentiality, eventually settling
the case for thirty thousand dollars. The evaluation confirmed what
the world already knew. Dennis Raider was a remorseless predator,
incapable of understanding the emotional devastation he caused. On February
twenty eight, two thousand and five, Denis Raider was charged
(24:49):
with ten counts of first degree murder. Initially, he entered
a not guilty plea, but on June twenty seven, two
thousand and five, he changed it to guilty, detailing each
murder so proudly like an achievement that must be appreciated
by the world. At his sentencing on August eighteenth, he
(25:10):
delivered a rambling, thirty minute apology, which he described as
an Academy Awards acceptance speech. He was sentenced to ten
consecutive life sentences with a minimum of one hundred and
seventy five years. Kansas did not enforce the death penalty
at the time. On his way to El Dorado Correctional Facility,
(25:31):
he spoke casually with officers about the weather, but began
to cry when victim impacts statements played on the radio.
Now locked away in solitary confinement, he spends his days
in a small cell with minimal privileges, a fate far
kinder than what he inflicted upon his victims. Dennis Raider's
gruesome fantasies and inexplicable crimes has inspired countless works of
(25:54):
fiction and true crime adaptations. Stephen King admitted that his
novel called A Good Marriage, later turned into a film,
was based on Raider's double life. Thomas Harris took inspiration
from BTK for the character Francis dollar Hyde in Red Dragon.
The case has been dissected in episodes of Law and Order, SVU,
(26:17):
Criminal Minds, and Netflix's Catching Killers and mind Hunter. Even
music has explored his crimes, with thrash metal band Exodus
writing bt K for their album Blood In, Blood Out
and Stephen Wilson's haunting track Raider two were all inspired
by the monster's ill desires and the actions he took
(26:38):
to gratify them. But Dennis Raider's crimes do not stop here.
In August twenty twenty three, authorities discovered a possibility that
no one wanted to believe in. Dennis Raider may have
had more victims. Investigators discovered quote unquote possible trophies from
additional unsolved cases while searching his former Partork City home.
(27:01):
The revelations led them to revisit long cold disappearances, including
that of Cynthia don Kinney.
Speaker 7 (27:09):
He confessed to ten murders almost two decades ago. He
was known as BTK, a name he gave himself sure
for bind torture kill. He is currently serving life sentences
at a maximum security facility in Kansas, and now there
is new evidence that may connect the infamous BTK serial
killer to additional murders. Arginkasaras spoke to the killer's daughter
(27:30):
and got exclusive access to some of his diary entries
and drawings.
Speaker 8 (27:35):
Shortly after Kenny's disappearance, the Sheriff's office received an anonymous call.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
That male caller informed them that she was located in
an old barn.
Speaker 8 (27:48):
No evidence that lead was ever looked into. Her body
was never found, but authorities are now looking at this
journal entry by Raider bad wash Day.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
He marked that in nineteen seventy six he had murdered
someone from a laundrymat.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
For the first time, law enforcement is revealing detailed drawings
made by Raider showing young girls tied and bound in barnes.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Cynthia, just sixteen years old, was last seen on June
twenty third, nineteen seventy six, at Osage laundromat in Oklahoma.
Witnesses recalled a faded beige nineteen sixty five Plymouth Belvedere
pulling up before she vanished. Decades later, Sheriff Eddie Verden
connected Raider to the crime after finding an eerie entry
(28:39):
in his writings bad wash Day. It was a seemingly
innocuous phrase until authorities realized that an ADT alarm system
had been installed at a bank across from the laundromat.
The day Cynthia disappeared. Dennis Rader had been in the
area working as an installer. More disturbingly, Dennis had allegedly
(29:03):
confessed in his writings to fantasizing about kidnapping a girl
from a laundromat. Despite mounting circumstantial evidence, Dennis denied involvement,
possibly fearing the death penalty in Oklahoma. The question remains
how many more victims of his nauseating fantasies are still
waiting to be discovered.
I survived the b t K were the words of
Charli Otero, whose life had just turned upside down. January fifteenth,
nineteen seventy four, was a bitterly cold morning in Wichita, Kansas.
At fifteen years old, Charlie Otero had no idea that
as he walked home from school that day with two
of his other siblings, he was stepping into a nightmare,
(00:22):
one that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The first thing Charlie Otero noticed was the dog, Lucky
was outside. That wasn't right. He and his siblings had
just walked home from school, expecting to find their mother waiting,
maybe cooking, their father watching the news, maybe their younger
siblings playing. Instead, Lucky was out in the cold, pacing.
(00:46):
His stomach tightened. Something was wrong. Charlie went straight to
the back door, pushing it open. The house was silent,
too silent. He stepped into the kitchen, and that's when
he saw it. His mother's flipped over on the stove,
The things inside scattered everywhere. His mother was meticulous, She
(01:07):
never left things like this. Is anybody home? He called
out silence, Then one of his siblings voices echoed through
the house. Charlie, come quick, Mom and dad are playing
a bad trick on us. The fear in his chest
turned into something sharp. He ran down the hall, his
(01:27):
heart beat hammering in his ears, and then his world ended.
His father was on the floor, his mother was on
the bed, tied up, unmoving, strangled. It didn't even look
like them. Charlie's eyes darted across the room, trying to
make sense of what he was seeing. His father's head
was wrapped in plastic, a belt twisted around his throat.
(01:51):
His mother's face was frozen in pain, her body tied
up in ropes that penetrated her skin. He didn't realize
he was screaming until his throat burned. They ran out
the door to the neighbor's house, the phone in his
shaking hands, the words pouring out in gasps. Something happened.
They're not moving. We need help. The police came. He
(02:14):
didn't know how long it took. Time didn't feel real anymore.
He was outside when they entered the house, when they
found Joey, his little brother, lifeless in another room. And
then Josie. She wasn't there, not in the bedroom, not
in the hallway, not anywhere. Until they opened the basement door.
Charlie didn't see her. The police wouldn't let him, but
(02:37):
they told him later. Josephine eleven years old, hanging from
a pipe. They took him to the station. That's where
they told him about Joey and Josie. He didn't remember
what he said. He didn't remember if he said anything
at all. I thank god every day that I didn't
find them, he would say later, because I don't know
(02:59):
how I would have handled it. I thank god every
day that I didn't find Joey and Josie, because I
don't know how if Michael would.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Have handled it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
But even then, even in that moment, he knew his
family was gone and someone had done this to them. Normal, polite,
and well mannered, that's how people described Dennis Rader. A
doting husband, a loving father, and an active member of
his community. Raider was just another unassuming neighbor in Wichita, Kansas.
(03:37):
He attended church, worked a stable job, and blended in seamlessly.
But beneath this facade lurked a monster, a predator who
thrived in the thrill of power, control and death. He
was the BTK killer bind torture Kill. Dennis Lynn Raider
(03:57):
was born in nineteen forty five in Pittsburgh, Kansas. He
grew up in Wichita, where he presented himself as an
ordinary boy, but behind the friendly exterior, dark urges simmered.
As a child, Rader took pleasure in torturing and killing
stray animals. He fantasized about power, control and suffering. He
(04:17):
later joined the Air Force, then married Paula Diets in
nineteen seventy one. Together they had two children. By all accounts,
Rader was a normal family man. No one knew that
beneath the surface, he was harboring a desire to kill.
That desire erupted in January nineteen seventy four when he
chose his first victims, the Ottero family. He had been
(04:41):
watching them for weeks, noting Julie's routines, their homes vulnerabilities.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Then, on the.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Morning of January fifteenth, he made his move. Rader cut
the phone lines and waited. Joey, the youngest, opened the
back door to let the dog in, and Rader slipped inside.
He held the otero f family at gunpoint, feeding them
a fabricated story that he was a wanted man from
California who only needed food and money, but his true
(05:09):
intentions were far more ugly than his made up story.
He forced the family into a bedroom, binding each of
them with the ropes he had brought. Joseph Otero Senior
fought back, but Rader overpowered him, securing his wrists and feet.
Then he placed a plastic bag over his head. When
Joseph chewed a hole through it, Rader tightened another bag
(05:31):
over him, watching as he slowly suffocated. Julia Otero's desperate
plea came next. Please save my son, she begged, referring
to Joey. Rader removed the bag for a moment, but
it was a cruel illusion of mercy. Moments later, he
strangled her to death with a rope. Then came Joey.
Rader placed a plastic bag over the nine year old's head,
(05:54):
followed by two T shirts and another bag. He watched
as the child thrashed, gasping for air, until he finally
went still. But the worst was yet to come. Josie Otero,
eleven years old, had witnessed it all. Now Raider led
her to the basement. He tied a noose to a
pipe and slipped it around her neck as he pulled
(06:17):
the rope. Josie's feet barely touched the ground. Mama, mama,
she cried. Her long hair got in his way as
she struggled, and then she asked a question that still
haunts those who hear it, What will happen to me?
Rader's response was chilling. Well, honey, you're going to be
(06:37):
in heaven tonight with the rest of your family. He
hanged her. He let her toes dangle just above the
floor to prolong her suffering as he watched his achievement
with utmost satisfaction on his face. Then, as her body
went still, he desecrated the scene in the most depraved
way imaginable. Dennis Rader capture for three decades. When he
(07:03):
was finally arrested in two thousand and five, his confession
revealed just how twisted his mind was.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
This particular location. Did you know these people?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Well, that's well, that was part of my I guess,
my witchital fantasy. These people were selected, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So you.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Okay, Well you were engaged in some kind of fantasy
during this period of time, yes, sir, all right. Now,
when you use the term fantasy, is this something you
were doing for your personal.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Pleasure, sexual fantasy, Sir I see.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
During his sentencing, prosecutors presented disturbing evidence, crime scene photos, drawings,
trophies he collected from victims, a macabre stash of keepsakes.
Raider himself provided a recounting of his crimes, very casually
sent chills down the spine of everyone watching, speaking as
though he were discussing a hobby.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
All right, when you went into the house, what happened then?
Speaker 3 (08:11):
But I, like infront of the family, pulled a pistol
in front of mister o Tarol and asked him to
you know that I was there too. Basically, I was wanted.
I wanted to get the car. I was hungry food.
I was wanted and asked him why down in the
(08:32):
living room, And at that time I realized that wouldn't
be a really good idea, so I finally the dog
was a real problem, so I asked mister Tarrell if
he could get the dog out, so he had one
of the kids.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Put it out.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I took him back to the bedroom.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
The family to the bedroom. The four members what happened
to them at that time? I tied him up while
still holding him at gunpoint.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Well in between tying. I yes, well, after that I did,
Missus Oltaro. I had never strangled anyone before, so I
really didn't know how much pressure you had to put
on a person or how long would it take.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But was she also tied up there in the yes?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Uhh yeah, both their hands and their feet were tied up.
She was on the bed. Where were the children, Well,
Josephine was on the bed and Junior was on the floor.
This time, basically when mister Tarot was down, Missus Lilto
was down, I went ahead and took Junior. I put
another bag of his head and.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Took him to the other bedroom. What did you do then?
Put a bag of he said?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I put a cloth over his head, a T shirt
and bags that couldn't tear a hole in it, and
he subsequpefully died from that. And then when I went back,
Josephine had woke back up.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
What did you do then? And I took her to the.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Basement and eventually hung her.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Hung her in the basement. Yes, sir, I should do
anything else at that time.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Yes, I had some sexual fantasies, but.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That was He recalled how he made sure Josie's toes
barely touched the ground so she wouldn't die too quickly.
How he trained his hands with a squeeze ball to
strengthen his grip for strangulation. How he broke into homes
disguised as a phone repair man. How he mocked his
victim's last words, mimicking their desperate pleas as YadA, YadA, YadA.
(10:29):
In a particularly harrowing moment, Rader admitted that he kept
meticulous notes on his victims, listing their roles in his
sick fantasies. Josie, he wrote, was my star, young maiden
that I will teach sext to. The courtroom was silent
except for the sobs of the victim's families. Charlie o'tero,
(10:50):
now an adult, broke down when he saw a photo
of his sister Josie hanging lifeless in the basement where
he had once played as a child. He buried his
face in his hands, unable to bear the sight. Raider
was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms, no parole, no escape,
just to sell where he would rot for the rest
(11:12):
of his miserable life. But for the families of his victims,
there was no true closure.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
I'm Carmen Julio Taro Montoya. Although we have never met,
you have seen my face before. It is the same
face you murdered over thirty years ago, the face of
my mother, Julio Taro. I will not address you as
mister Rader, because mister is a word of respect. As
a mister, can you help me? Not mister are you
(11:41):
going to kill me? Btk is how you want to
be known, and I will not give you that satisfaction.
Raider is an appropriate name for you as a one
who invades a surprise attack. That is nothing to be
proud of. Raider. When you took away my mother, you
took someone who meant a lot to a lot of people.
(12:03):
My mother loved life, her friends, a good laugh, dancing
with my dad, and she loved to help people. But
most of all, she loved and lived for us, her family.
She showed me how to love, to be a good person,
to accept others as they are, and most of all,
to face your fears. I'm sure you saw that in
(12:24):
her face as she fought to live my mother against
your gun. You're such a coward.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
As one victim's son put it, what do you expect
from a demon? The Otero family were not his only victims.
On April fourth, nineteen seventy four, just months after the
Ottero family murders, Raider struck again Catherine Bright, a twenty
one year old woman living in Wichita, had no idea
that a predator was stalking her. Raider had selected her,
(12:55):
watched her, learned her routines when she left her home
that day, he made his move, breaking in through the
screen door, but things didn't go according to plan. He
hadn't expected her nineteen year old brother, Kevin Bright, to
be there. Rader pulled out his gun and forced Kevin
to restrain his sister, handing him a rope he had
(13:16):
brought for this very purpose. Then he took Catherine into
another room. She fought him, struggling so much that his
usual method of strangulation proved ineffective. Frustrated, he grabbed a
knife and stabbed her three times in the back and
lower abdomen. She bled out her body, giving one final
shutterer before going still.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
If if I had brought my stuff and used my stuff,
Kevin would probably be dead today. I'm not bragging on that,
it's just a matter of fact. It's the bonds I
tied him up with he broke him side parts and
maybe the same way with same with Katherine. It was
got out of hand.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Meanwhile, attempted to kill Kevin by strangling him and then
shooting him in the head, but Kevin refused to die.
Clinging to life, he played dead until Rader left, then,
using every ounce of his remaining strength, he managed to escape,
running for his life. Unlike the oteros, Kevin Bright survived.
(14:20):
He lived to tell the tale of the man who
called himself B. T. K. But Dennis Raider wasn't finished yet,
not even close. On March seventeenth, nineteen seventy seven, Shirley
Ruth Ralford, who was twenty five at the time, was
found dead in her Wichita home, the victim of Dennis
Raider's twisted fantasies. Raider had stalked her, following her five
(14:43):
year old son home to discover their residence. Once inside,
he brandished a handgun, the weight of his presence sucking
the air from the room. Fear was instant suffocating. He
confined her three children, tying them up and locking the
them in the bathroom. Their muffled cries and frantic pounding
on the door did nothing to dissuade him with precision
(15:07):
and what seemed like a lot of practice. He led
Ralford to the bedroom, where sheer terror overwhelmed her, so
much so that she vomited, but he didn't care. He
bound her legs to the bedpost, restraining her with the
cold efficiency of a man who had done this before.
Then came the plastic bag stretched tight over her face,
(15:29):
followed by the rope as he pulled her body writhed
twisting against the bed, her choked sobs mixing with the
muffled screams of her children just down the hall. They
begged for their mother, but the monster inside Dennis would
not listen to the cries and begs for mercy. He
had already decided their fate. He was going to kill
(15:51):
them two, but fate intervened. The children managed to escape
before he could carry out the rest of his plan,
leaving Race with only their mother's lifeless body as his trophy.
And just like that, he disappeared into the night, slipping
back into the mundane world where no one suspected a thing.
He was still just Dennis Raider, the polite neighbor, the churchgoer,
(16:15):
the family man. But behind closed doors bt K lurked
waiting for his next victim. Nancy Joe Fox, who was
also twenty five at the time, was Dennis Raider's next prey.
He had been watching her for weeks, following her routine,
learning her patterns. She lived alone, an ideal target. On
(16:37):
the night of December eighth, nineteen seventy seven, Raider approached
her home, anticipation burning in his veins. He cut the
phone lines before slipping inside, a trick he used for
almost every victim. Then he hid in the shadows of
her kitchen, waiting. When Nancy finally walked through the door,
she had no idea the nightmare lurking within. She barely
(17:01):
had time to react before he pounced. With a gun
in hand, he forced her into submission, his voice eerily
calm as he ordered her to undress. Fear flickered in
her eyes, but she obeyed. He bound her wrists and ankles,
savoring the control. As she lay helpless on her bed,
Denis tightened a belt around her neck. He squeezed slowly,
(17:22):
prolonging her agony. She struggled, gasped, but her fate had
been sealed the moment she walked through that door. Before
she died, Raider leaned in close, whispering a sick confession
he was the one responsible for the Otero murders. The
following day, he called nine one one from a payphone,
his voice devoid of emotion. You will find a homicide
(17:46):
at eight forty three South Pershing, he said, before hanging up.
Nancy Joe Fox was dead and the monster was still free.
On February tenth, nineteen seventy eight, Raider sent a life
letter to Wichita television station KAKE, claiming responsibility for the murders.
He suggested many possible names for himself, including bt K.
(18:11):
He demanded media attention in this second letter, saying how
many do I have to kill before I get a
name in the paper or some national attention. A poem
was enclosed, titled Oh Death to Nancy, a parody of
the lyrics to the American folk song called Oh Death.
In the letter, Raider claimed to be driven to kill
(18:32):
by what he called Factor X, which he characterized as
a supernatural element that also motivated Jack the Ripper, the
Son of Sam, and the Hillside Stranglers. He also asked
for the police to send him a hidden message in response,
and with the knowledge that the BTK killer watched KKE.
(18:52):
Police decided to flash a subliminal message during one of
the station's evening newscasts for a split second. The message stated,
now call the chief and featured a drawing of an
upside down pair of glasses, which were found at the
Fox crime scene. They hoped the message would influence the
killer to turn himself in, but it was unsuccessful. In
(19:14):
nineteen seventy nine, Denis set his sights on Anna Williams,
a sixty three year old woman he had become obsessed with.
He waited for hours inside her home, growing more impatient
by the minute. When she didn't return home in time,
he was livid his perfect plan ruined. Anna Williams unknowingly
escaped death that night. His later murders grew more refined,
(19:37):
more deliberate. Fifty three year old Marine Hedge was kidnapped
from her home in nineteen eighty five. Dennis Raider took
her lifeless body to the church where he was a
council president, posed her corpse in twisted positions, photographed her,
then dumped her in a ditch. Twenty eight year old
Vicki Weggerley had to go through a similar horror. She
(19:58):
was strangled in nineteen eighty six, lured into a false
sense of security by Dennis posing as a telephone repairman,
and Delores Davis, aged sixty two. His final known victim
was murdered in nineteen ninety one, strangled with pantehose before
being dumped under a bridge. By two thousand and four,
the BTK case had gone cold. Police had no leads,
(20:22):
no new evidence, until Dennis, unable to resist the need
for attention, reignited the game himself. Between March two thousand
and four and February two thousand and five, he sent
eleven cryptic messages to local media, taunting law enforcement and
reliving the times he had made his victims suffer. In
(20:42):
March two thousand and four, the Wichita Eagle received a
letter from a supposed Bill Thomas Killman confessing to the
murder of Vicky Weggerley in the year nineteen eighty six.
Enclosed were photographs of the crime scene and a copy
of Vagerly's stolen driver's licensena testing of evidence from Begerley's
fingernails confirmed the BTK killer was responsible. Police began collecting
(21:07):
DNA from hundreds of men, but no match was found,
Raider continued his sick game, leaving packages at random locations.
One contained a bound doll with a plastic bag over
its head, mimicking Nancy Fox's murder. In one letter, he wrote,
they know nothing at all. I did it by myself
and with no one's help. I can't stop it, so
(21:29):
the monster goes on. Good luck hunting. At the end
of the letter, he suggested his own moniker by signing
off bind them, torture them, kill them b TK. Another
held a poem threatening lead investigator Lieutenant ken Landverr. In
January two thousand and five, he left a serial box
(21:50):
in a home depot parking lot, hoping it would be found.
When it wasn't, he asked about it in his next message.
This led police to review surveillance foot spotting a man
driving a black Jeep Cherokee, the same vehicle registered to Raider,
but the final mistake his own arrogance. In February two
(22:11):
thousand and five, Raider asked police if a floppy disc
could be traced. They responded via a newspaper ad it
would be safe taking the bait. Raider sent a purple
floppy disc to a news station within minutes, police extracted metadata,
revealing it had last been edited by Dennis at Christ
Lutheran Church. A quick search led them to Dennis Rader,
(22:34):
who was the president of the church council. His jeep
sat outside his house, confirming what police already suspected. A
warrant was issued, but they needed DNA proof. They obtained
a PAP smear from Raider's daughter at a Kansas State
University clinic. The results confirmed a familial match to the
BTK evidence. With this, Dennis Raider was finally arrested. When
(22:59):
officers approached him, one asked, mister Rader, do you know
why you're going downtown without missing a beat. Dennis Rader replied, oh,
I have suspicions why. Law enforcement searched his home, office
and church, seizing computer equipment, black pantyhose, and a cylindrical container.
(23:19):
The next morning, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams stepped before
the cameras and declared the bottom line b t K
is arrested. After his guilty plea, Raider underwent a psychological
evaluation by doctor Robert Mendoza, a forensic psychologist. Mendoza diagnosed
(23:40):
him with narcissistic obsessive, compulsive, and anti social personality disorders.
Raider exhibited a grandiose sense of self, an obsession with
structure and order, a deep need for admiration, and a
total lack of empathy. Raider's delusions of superiority made him
believe he was special, above the law, a mastermind who
(24:04):
had successfully fooled the world. He craved control not just
over his victims, but also in the courtroom, where he
narrated his crimes in gruesome detail, without a hint of remorse.
His interview with Mendoza, intended for court use, was later
broadcasted on NBC's Dateline, igniting controversy. The Kansas Attorney General
(24:26):
sued Mendoza and his firm for breaching confidentiality, eventually settling
the case for thirty thousand dollars. The evaluation confirmed what
the world already knew. Dennis Raider was a remorseless predator,
incapable of understanding the emotional devastation he caused. On February
twenty eight, two thousand and five, Denis Raider was charged
(24:49):
with ten counts of first degree murder. Initially, he entered
a not guilty plea, but on June twenty seven, two
thousand and five, he changed it to guilty, detailing each
murder so proudly like an achievement that must be appreciated
by the world. At his sentencing on August eighteenth, he
(25:10):
delivered a rambling, thirty minute apology, which he described as
an Academy Awards acceptance speech. He was sentenced to ten
consecutive life sentences with a minimum of one hundred and
seventy five years. Kansas did not enforce the death penalty
at the time. On his way to El Dorado Correctional Facility,
(25:31):
he spoke casually with officers about the weather, but began
to cry when victim impacts statements played on the radio.
Now locked away in solitary confinement, he spends his days
in a small cell with minimal privileges, a fate far
kinder than what he inflicted upon his victims. Dennis Raider's
gruesome fantasies and inexplicable crimes has inspired countless works of
(25:54):
fiction and true crime adaptations. Stephen King admitted that his
novel called A Good Marriage, later turned into a film,
was based on Raider's double life. Thomas Harris took inspiration
from BTK for the character Francis dollar Hyde in Red Dragon.
The case has been dissected in episodes of Law and Order, SVU,
(26:17):
Criminal Minds, and Netflix's Catching Killers and mind Hunter. Even
music has explored his crimes, with thrash metal band Exodus
writing bt K for their album Blood In, Blood Out
and Stephen Wilson's haunting track Raider two were all inspired
by the monster's ill desires and the actions he took
(26:38):
to gratify them. But Dennis Raider's crimes do not stop here.
In August twenty twenty three, authorities discovered a possibility that
no one wanted to believe in. Dennis Raider may have
had more victims. Investigators discovered quote unquote possible trophies from
additional unsolved cases while searching his former Partork City home.
(27:01):
The revelations led them to revisit long cold disappearances, including
that of Cynthia don Kinney.
Speaker 7 (27:09):
He confessed to ten murders almost two decades ago. He
was known as BTK, a name he gave himself sure
for bind torture kill. He is currently serving life sentences
at a maximum security facility in Kansas, and now there
is new evidence that may connect the infamous BTK serial
killer to additional murders. Arginkasaras spoke to the killer's daughter
(27:30):
and got exclusive access to some of his diary entries
and drawings.
Speaker 8 (27:35):
Shortly after Kenny's disappearance, the Sheriff's office received an anonymous call.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
That male caller informed them that she was located in
an old barn.
Speaker 8 (27:48):
No evidence that lead was ever looked into. Her body
was never found, but authorities are now looking at this
journal entry by Raider bad wash Day.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
He marked that in nineteen seventy six he had murdered
someone from a laundrymat.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
For the first time, law enforcement is revealing detailed drawings
made by Raider showing young girls tied and bound in barnes.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Cynthia, just sixteen years old, was last seen on June
twenty third, nineteen seventy six, at Osage laundromat in Oklahoma.
Witnesses recalled a faded beige nineteen sixty five Plymouth Belvedere
pulling up before she vanished. Decades later, Sheriff Eddie Verden
connected Raider to the crime after finding an eerie entry
(28:39):
in his writings bad wash Day. It was a seemingly
innocuous phrase until authorities realized that an ADT alarm system
had been installed at a bank across from the laundromat.
The day Cynthia disappeared. Dennis Rader had been in the
area working as an installer. More disturbingly, Dennis had allegedly
(29:03):
confessed in his writings to fantasizing about kidnapping a girl
from a laundromat. Despite mounting circumstantial evidence, Dennis denied involvement,
possibly fearing the death penalty in Oklahoma. The question remains
how many more victims of his nauseating fantasies are still
waiting to be discovered.
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