Dennis Rader (BTK Killer)
Background Born in Pittsburg, Kansas Parents are Dorothea and William Rader Oldest of four sons Graduated from Wichita State University Married to Paula Dietz Had two children Worked for ADT Security
Crimes Crime Date Victim(s) Punishment Murder January 1974 Otero Family 4 Life Sentences April 1974 Kathryn Bright Life Sentence March 1977 Shirley Vian December 1977 Nancy Fox April 1985 Marine Hedge September 1986 Vicki Wegerle January 1991 Dolores E. Davis
Most Recent Crime (1991) Threw a brick through house window Broke into house Handcuffed Woman and strangled to death Took body and placed it underneath a bridge
Sentence Sentenced to life in prison without parole Serving time at El Dorado Correctional Facility
Cultural References Book: Inside the Mind of BTK- The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer
Theory Ritualism sociology theory because Dennis Rader had a normal life and a job that kept him going. He always had the thrill of torturing things in the back of his mind. He always blended into the background in high school. He would hang and kill animals as a kid so he always had a passion for it. That’s why he is Ritualism because that was his ritual. Rader crimes probably came from his childhood with his liking of torturing. Also his father wasn’t really around for his childhood because he was always working.