Ep21: SERIAL KILLER DENNIS RADER (a.k.a. BTK)
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on Serial Killer – Dennis Rader (a.k.a. BTK). In this episode, I explore Dennis Rader’s childhood, his 4-years in the Air Force, his initial failed attempts at kidnapping women, and the 1974 Otero Family Murders, where he killed, 38-year old Joseph Otero Senior (retired Air Force Master Sergeant), 34-year old Julie Otero, 11-year old Josephine Otero, and 9-year old Joseph Otero Junior. Margot’s main source of information for this episode was John Douglas’s 2007 book, “Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer.”
The Otero Family
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The Otero Family
Charlie, Danny, Joseph Junior, Carmen, Josephine, Julie, Joseph Senior
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Otero Family Children
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Josephine Otero, 11 years old
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Joseph Otero, Junior, 9-years old
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Dennis Rader, a young boy
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Dennis Rader, a young boy
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Dennis Rader, High School/College Aged
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Dennis Rader, Air Force
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Dennis Rader, 1973
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Episode 21 Resources:
- Douglas, John & Dodd, Johnny, Inside The Mind Of BTK: The True Story Behind The Thirty-Year Hunt For the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer. Jossey-Bass, 2007.
- Snapped: Notorious BTK Serial Killer, Oxygen Network, https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-time/snapped-notorious-btk-serial-killer-premieres-september-2-on-oxygen (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-ap-btk-timeline-story.html
- Potter, Tim, Witchita Eagle, “BTK Describes His Own Crimes,” July 16, 2005, https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/btk/article1003753.html (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Neil, Denise, Wichita Eagle, “BTK Serial Killer Back in the Spotlight With Release of His Daughter’s Memoir,” January 27, 2019, https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/btk/article225077060.html (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Roehrman, Michael, Wichita Eagle, “BTK Serial Killer Dennis Rader’s Testimony Describing How He Killed His Victims,” June 27, 2015, https://www.kansas.com/news/special-reports/btk/article225087595.html (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Schonfeld, Zach, Dallas Morning News, “’I knew right away it was my dad’: How The Daughter of the BTK Killer Faces Her Trauma,” February 17, 2019, https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/02/17/i-knew-right-away-it-was-my-dad-how-the-daughter-of-the-btk-killer-faces-her-trauma/ (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Court Transcript – from Otero Family Murders Through Vian’s Murder, https://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/27/rader.transcript/ (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Miller, Kenneth, Reader’s Digest, “How I Survived the BTK Killer,” https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/surviving-btk-killer/ (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Davey, Monica, New York Times, “Suspect in 10 Kansas Murders Lived an Intensely Ordinary Life,” March 6, 2005, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/us/suspect-in-10-kansas-murders-lived-an-intensely-ordinary-life.html?_r=0 (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Chu, Jeffrey, Time Magazine, “Was the Killer Next Door?” March 6, 2005, http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1034672-1,00.html (20 February 2020).
- Kini, Aditi, Oxygen Network, “Dennis Rader’s Co-Worker Recalls Looking ‘Into The Eyes of BTK,’” September 2, 2018, https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-time/dennis-raders-co-worker-recalls-looking-into-the-eyes-of-btk (last accessed on 20 February 2020).
- Boyle, Louise, DailyMail.com, “Exclusive: Surviving son of Family Killed by BTK Serial Killer Dennis Rader Recalls the Chilling Moment He Came Home From School to Discover His Parents and Two Young Siblings Bound and Strangled at their Home,” February 5, 2019, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6669831/Son-BTK-killers-victims-tells-family-strangled-bound-age-15.html (last accessed on 15 March 2020).
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