Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
The BTK Killer who was later identified as Dennis Rader, was convicted of 10 murders in Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Over these two decades, he stalked, raped, and murdered his victims. He also showed off his murders through encrypted messages to the media and the police. In August 2023, Dennis Rader was named the prime suspect in two more Oklahoma murders.
The Otero family murders were the BTK Killer’s first known murders. Joseph Otero, 38, Julie Otero, 34, and their children, Josephine and Joseph II were found dead in their home on January 25, 1974. 21-year-old Kathryn Bright was killed on April 4, 1974, in her home where her brother was shot but survived. On March 17, 1977, Shirley Vian, 24, was found strangled and dead in her home, according to CBS News.
Nancy Fox, Dennis Rader’s seventh victim was a 25-year-old who was strangled with stockings in her home on December 8, 1977. Vicki Wegerle, 28, was also found strangled on her bed on September 16, 1986. Her two-year-old son was found unharmed. Marine Hedge was found strangled along the road 8 days after she was abducted on April 8, 1986. Dolores Davis, his last confirmed victim, was a 62-year-old woman who was abducted on January 19, 1991. She was then found under a bridge 13 days later, strangled.
In 2023, NBC News reported that Deputies of Osage County, Oklahoma, searched the former property of the BTK Killer in Kansas. This was part of an investigation into two unsolved murders. The victims include Cynthia Kinney who was reported missing from Oklahoma in 1976. Another victim was Shawna Beth Garber, 22, whose body was found in Missouri in 1990.
When was the BTK Killer caught?
In 1977, when he killed Nancy Fox, the BTK Killer called a dispatcher to report the crime, and his voice was recorded on tape. He wrote to KAKE-TV in 1978 and claimed responsibility for the deaths of Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox, and an anonymous victim. In March 2004, Dennis Rader wrote to the Wichita Eagle. He then sent pictures of Vicki Wegerle’s body and her driver’s license. Authorities also received several more letters, according to the Washington Post.
He was arrested in 2005 when a floppy disk he sent to a Kansas TV station was traced to his church in Kansas. He was identified as Dennis Rader who was a 59-year-old municipal worker in Park City. In his letters, Rader identified himself as the BTK Killer. BTK stood for “blind, torture, kill,” the method he allegedly used against his victims. On August 18, 2005, Dennis Rader was convicted of 10 murders and was sentenced to 10 life terms in prison.
He was given the maximum sentence. At the time of the sentencing, the death penalty was also not an option in Kansas. The former church congregation president was 60 when he was sentenced to prison with no chance for parole, NBC News reported. He is currently serving time at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
Very Scary People is a HLN original true-crime series. It explores the crimes of the scariest and most prolific killers in recent times. An episode of the series aired on ID on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It explored the crimes of the BTK Killer and the investigation that went into getting hold of him.
