On Friday, February 25, 2005 suspected BTK Strangler, Dennis Lynn Rader, was arrested in Park City, Kansas and later charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. The day following his arrest Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams announced in a press conference, "the bottom line is that BTK has been arrested."
Rader's Early Years
Rader was one of four sons to parents William and Dorothea Rader. The family lived in Wichita where Rader attended Wichita Heights High School. After a brief attendance in 1964 to Wichita State University, Rader joined the U.S. Air Force. He spent the next four years as a mechanic for the Air Force and was stationed abroad in South Korea, Turkey, Greece and Okinawa.
Rader Leaves the Air Force
After the Air Force he returned home and began working on obtaining his college degree. He first attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado then transferred to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. In the fall of 1973 he returned to Wichita State University where in 1979 he graduated with a major in Administration of Justice.
A Work History With A Common Thread - Access
Active in Church and a Club Scout Leader
Radar married Paula Dietz in May, 1971 and had two children after the murders began. They had a son in 1975 and a daughter in 1978. For 30 years he was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church and was an elected president of the Congregation Council. He was also a Cub Scout leader and was remembered for teaching how to make secure knots.
The Trail That Led Police To Rader's Door
Enclosed in a padded envelope sent to the KSAS-TV station in Wichita was a purple 1.44-megabyte Memorex computer disk that the FBI was able to trace to Rader. Also during this time a tissue sample of Rader's daughter was seized and submitted for DNA testing. The sample was a familial match to the semen collected at one of the BTK crime scene.
The Arrest of Dennis Rader
On February 25, 2005 Rader was stopped by authorities while in route to his home. At that point several law enforcement agencies converged on Rader's home and began searching for evidence to link Rader to the BTK murders. They also searched the church he belonged to and his office at City Hall. Computers were removed at both his office and his home along with a pair of black pantyhose and a cylindrical container.
Rader is Charged With 10 BTK Murders
On March 1, 2005 Dennis Rader was officially charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and his bond set at $10 million. Rader appeared before Judge Gregory Waller via video conference from his jail cell and listened to the 10 counts of murder read against him, while family members of his victims and some of his neighbors watched from the courtroom.
Sentence
Dennis Rader, the confessed BTK serial killer who terrorized the Wichita, Kansas community for 30 years, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences, a minimum of 175 years without the possibility of parole, the maximum sentenced allowed by law.
Judge Gregory Waller gave the "bind, torture, kill" serial killer, who said during the hearing that he believes that he is a Christian, the toughest sentence possible for the crimes. Kansas did not have a death penalty in effect during the period from 1974 and 1991 when Rader committed his 10 murders. During the two-day hearing, prosecutors presented graphic details of the murders, victims' family members told of the pain Rader caused them, and Rader himself thanked police, offered apologies to the families, and wiped tears away as he said his own family members were his final victims. There were tears from the victims' families also. "Nancy’s death is a like a deep wound that will never, ever heal," Beverly Plapp, sister of Nancy Fox, said. "As far as I’m concerned, Dennis Rader does not deserve to live. I want him to suffer as much as he made his victims suffer. This man needs to be thrown in a deep, dark hole and left to rot,” she said. “He should never, ever see the light of day."
BTK's Pastor Speaks
Prior to its removal, Pastor Michael Clark posted a "special news release" on the web site. The news release said:
My name is Michael Clark. I am the pastor here at Christ Lutheran Church. I want to say that on my behalf and the behalf of the leaders of this congregation we will cooperate completely in the ongoing investigation of the matter regarding Dennis Rader. We first became aware of this investigation on Friday, February 25, 2005. Dennis is a member of Christ Lutheran Church. He has held leadership positions here at Christ Lutheran over the course of approximately 30 years as a member. We are all concerned for Dennis Rader and his family. We lift up our prayers in support of all of them. The members of Christ Lutheran Church are in a state of shock and bewilderment about the turn of events that have unfolded this week. We lift up our prayers, support and compassion for the victims and family members involved with the BTK murders. We ask for care and compassion of the Wichita community as this congregation deals with this tragic and difficult situation.
Michael G. Clark, Pastor
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Rader's Early Years
Rader was one of four sons to parents William and Dorothea Rader. The family lived in Wichita where Rader attended Wichita Heights High School. After a brief attendance in 1964 to Wichita State University, Rader joined the U.S. Air Force. He spent the next four years as a mechanic for the Air Force and was stationed abroad in South Korea, Turkey, Greece and Okinawa.
Rader Leaves the Air Force
After the Air Force he returned home and began working on obtaining his college degree. He first attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado then transferred to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. In the fall of 1973 he returned to Wichita State University where in 1979 he graduated with a major in Administration of Justice.
A Work History With A Common Thread - Access
- While at Wichita State he worked part time in the meat department at an IGA in Park City.
- From 1970 to 1973 he was an assembler at the Coleman Company, assembling camping gear and equipment.
- From November 1974 to July 1988 he worked for a home security company, ADT Security Services, where he had access to homes as an installation manager. It has also been noted that the business increased as community fear of the BTK killer increased.
Active in Church and a Club Scout Leader
Radar married Paula Dietz in May, 1971 and had two children after the murders began. They had a son in 1975 and a daughter in 1978. For 30 years he was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church and was an elected president of the Congregation Council. He was also a Cub Scout leader and was remembered for teaching how to make secure knots.
The Trail That Led Police To Rader's Door
Enclosed in a padded envelope sent to the KSAS-TV station in Wichita was a purple 1.44-megabyte Memorex computer disk that the FBI was able to trace to Rader. Also during this time a tissue sample of Rader's daughter was seized and submitted for DNA testing. The sample was a familial match to the semen collected at one of the BTK crime scene.
The Arrest of Dennis Rader
On February 25, 2005 Rader was stopped by authorities while in route to his home. At that point several law enforcement agencies converged on Rader's home and began searching for evidence to link Rader to the BTK murders. They also searched the church he belonged to and his office at City Hall. Computers were removed at both his office and his home along with a pair of black pantyhose and a cylindrical container.
Rader is Charged With 10 BTK Murders
On March 1, 2005 Dennis Rader was officially charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and his bond set at $10 million. Rader appeared before Judge Gregory Waller via video conference from his jail cell and listened to the 10 counts of murder read against him, while family members of his victims and some of his neighbors watched from the courtroom.
Sentence
Dennis Rader, the confessed BTK serial killer who terrorized the Wichita, Kansas community for 30 years, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences, a minimum of 175 years without the possibility of parole, the maximum sentenced allowed by law.
Judge Gregory Waller gave the "bind, torture, kill" serial killer, who said during the hearing that he believes that he is a Christian, the toughest sentence possible for the crimes. Kansas did not have a death penalty in effect during the period from 1974 and 1991 when Rader committed his 10 murders. During the two-day hearing, prosecutors presented graphic details of the murders, victims' family members told of the pain Rader caused them, and Rader himself thanked police, offered apologies to the families, and wiped tears away as he said his own family members were his final victims. There were tears from the victims' families also. "Nancy’s death is a like a deep wound that will never, ever heal," Beverly Plapp, sister of Nancy Fox, said. "As far as I’m concerned, Dennis Rader does not deserve to live. I want him to suffer as much as he made his victims suffer. This man needs to be thrown in a deep, dark hole and left to rot,” she said. “He should never, ever see the light of day."
BTK's Pastor Speaks
Prior to its removal, Pastor Michael Clark posted a "special news release" on the web site. The news release said:
My name is Michael Clark. I am the pastor here at Christ Lutheran Church. I want to say that on my behalf and the behalf of the leaders of this congregation we will cooperate completely in the ongoing investigation of the matter regarding Dennis Rader. We first became aware of this investigation on Friday, February 25, 2005. Dennis is a member of Christ Lutheran Church. He has held leadership positions here at Christ Lutheran over the course of approximately 30 years as a member. We are all concerned for Dennis Rader and his family. We lift up our prayers in support of all of them. The members of Christ Lutheran Church are in a state of shock and bewilderment about the turn of events that have unfolded this week. We lift up our prayers, support and compassion for the victims and family members involved with the BTK murders. We ask for care and compassion of the Wichita community as this congregation deals with this tragic and difficult situation.
Michael G. Clark, Pastor
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