Rader's daughter, Kerri Rawson, opens up about her relationship with her infamous father in Netflix's new documentary. Where is Dennis Rader now? All about the

Rader's daughter, Kerri Rawson, opens up about her relationship with her infamous father in Netflix's new documentary.

Where is Dennis Rader now? All about the subject of Netflix's My Father, the BTK Killer

Rader's daughter, Kerri Rawson, opens up about her relationship with her infamous father in Netflix's new documentary.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a writer and editor at **. His work has previously appeared on *The A.V. Club, The Guardian, The Ringer*, and many other publications.

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October 10, 2025 6:00 p.m. ET

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Dennis Rader, a.k.a. the BTK Killer, being escorted into the El Dorado Correctional Facility on August 19, 2005 in El Dorado, Kan. Credit:

Larry W. Smith/AFP via Getty

- Dennis Rader, a.k.a. the BTK Killer, confessed to 10 murders in his Kansas community between 1974 and 1991.

- A new Netflix documentary, *My Father, the BTK Killer*, revisits his crimes through the lens of his daughter, Kerri Rawson.

- Rader is still alive and serving out his 10 consecutive life sentences at Kansas' El Dorado Correctional Facility.

Dennis Rader, a.k.a. the BTK Killer, terrorized a Kansas community for decades, committing brutal crimes that went on to inspire numerous books, movies, and TV series.

Now, the killer's legacy is being explored through the eyes of his own daughter, Kerri Rawson, whose perspective helps illustrate the disconnect between Rader's reputation as a wholesome family man and his secret life as a murderer driven by sadistic sexual compulsions. In 2019, Rawson published *A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming, *and she's currently the subject of a new Netflix documentary, *My Father, the BTK Killer*.

Skye Borgman, who recently helmed Netflix's *Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, *directs the documentary, which revisits Rader's crimes and capture as it depicts Rawson's efforts to decipher the journals he left behind.

Below, we dig into who Dennis Rader is, how he was caught, and where he is now.**

Who is Dennis Rader?

Dennis Rader's mugshot, circa February 2005.

Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via Getty

Dennis Rader was born in Wichita, Kan., on March 9, 1945, the eldest of four boys.

According to Katherine Ramsland's 2016 book *Confession of a Serial Killer*, which chronicles the forensic psychologist's years of correspondence with Rader, he admitted to an early fascination with H.H. Holmes, the "Devil in the White City" who confessed to 27 murders in Chicago between 1891 and 1894. He was also titillated by "crime thrillers and true detective-type magazines," saying, "I liked the ones with a 'girl in trouble' on the cover."

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After graduating high school, he joined the Air Force. He married Paula Dietz in 1970 and got a job at Cessna, an aviation company. Speaking with Ramsland, he called it "my ideal job," but added that he was laid off after just nine months. "My world was crushed," he told her. "I went to the Dark Side."

Following the layoff, he said, "hunting and prowling became a habit, much like drugs." And on Jan. 15, 1974, he killed 38-year-old Joseph Otero Sr., 33-year-old Julie Otero, 11-year-old Josie Otero, and 9-year-old Joey Otero. According to the *New York Times*, the family had been strangled to death and bound with "elaborate" knots.

Over the next 30 years, Rader continued to terrorize Kansans and anonymously taunt investigators. During this time, he worked for a security company, ADT, and served as a leader at his church and with the Boy Scouts. He also worked as a compliance officer in Park City, Kan., just outside of Wichita.

How many people did Dennis Rader kill?

A Kansas church, as seen in 'My Father, the BTK Killer'.

Courtesy of Netflix

After he was caught in 2005, Rader confessed to the murders of 10 people. In addition to the Oteros, his victims included 21-year-old Kathryn Bright, 26-year-old Shirley Vian, 25-year-old Nancy Jo Fox, 53-year-old Marine Hedge, 28-year-old Vicki Wegerle, and 62-year-old Dolores Davis.

In *My Father, the BTK Killer*, Rawson expresses her belief that her father may be responsible for other murders. In 2023, the* New York Times* reported that Rader was named the primary suspect in two cold cases, one involving a 16-year-old in who disappeared from Pawhuska, Okla., in 1976, and a 22-year-old whose body was discovered in 1990 in Lanagan, Mo.**

At the time of this writing, no additional murder charges have been filed against Rader.**

Why was Dennis Rader called the BTK Killer?

Kerri Rawson in 'My Father, the BTK Killer'.

Nine months after his murder of the Oteros, Rader sent an anonymous letter to the Wichita Police Department in which he confessed to the murders. He did so using details that "police said only the killer would have known," per the *New York Times*. In that letter, he also coined his own moniker.

The letter ended, "P.S. Since sex criminals do not change their M.O., or by nature cannot do so, I will not change mine. The code words for me will be bind them, torture them, kill them, BTK, [you'll] see he [is] at it again. They will be on the next victim."

From there on out, Rader was referred to by police and the media as the "BTK Killer," a name he himself also used.

How did Dennis Rader get caught?

Rader stopped sending letters in 1979, and the case eventually grew cold. In January 2004, the* Wichita Eagle* published a story about the 30th anniversary of BTK, suggesting that the killer could be dead. Six weeks later, Rader sent his first letter in 25 years, which was followed by several more.

Among the many objects Rader sent to police was the driver's license of Wegerle, who was murdered in 1986. Authorities hadn't previously established her as a victim of BTK. Rader also sent, per the *New York Times*, objects such as "a word puzzle, a doll with a plastic bag over its head, a necklace, [and] a computer disk." It was the disk that led to Rader's capture.

As detailed in *My Father, the BTK Killer*, investigators obtained metadata from the disk that linked it to Christ Lutheran Church, where Rader was president of the church council, and revealed the user's name to be Dennis.

Once police zeroed in on Rader, they discovered he had a daughter who had attended Kansas State University. With a warrant, they tested a pap smear previously taken from Rawson at the university's medical clinic and compared it to DNA found under Wegerle's fingernails. The match proved that the killer was related to Rawson.

"I guess my assurance that I had everything under control overweighed my common sense," Rader later told Rumsland.**** Rader was arrested on Feb. 25, 2005, and charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Though he initially pleaded not guilty, he changed his plea to guilty when the case went to trial that June. In an August hearing, he was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, a minimum of 175 years in prison.**

Where is Dennis Rader now?

'My Father, the BTK Killer'.

Currently, Rader is serving out his sentence at Kansas' El Dorado Correctional Facility.

In 2023, Rawson visited Rader for the first time since he was imprisoned in 2005. She detailed the two visits in both *My Father, the BTK Killer* and a *New York Times* profile from 2023, describing Rader as "frail" and "in a wheelchair."

Rawson said she only visited him to help authorities with cold cases that they think could've been related to BTK. As she reveals in the documentary, he grew angry that she didn't want to "reminisce" about old memories. He also denied any further murders, saying the 10 people he confessed to killing are the only ones.

"He's dodging things, saying he's forgetting things, but then he's got this really sharp memory," says Rawson. "Deny, deny, deny. He's [saying] he's completely innocent, that he's a saint, other than for all the other things he did."

This characterization dovetails with observations made by Ramsland in *Confession of a Serial Killer*. "Rader insists that he is a good person who did some bad things," she writes.**

Where can I watch My Father, the BTK Killer?

Kerri Rawson in 'My Father, the BTK Killer'.

Courtesy of Netflix

*My Father, the BTK Killer* is now streaming on Netflix.

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