Story map · 1974–1991
Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader killed ten people in and around Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991, and taunted police and the media with letters signed "BTK". He went unidentified for more than 30 years. In 2005 a floppy disk he mailed to a Wichita TV station was traced to his church, Christ Lutheran Church, which led to his arrest. He pleaded guilty to all ten murders and received ten consecutive life sentences.
Scroll to follow the case. Private homes are shown as shaded areas, never exact points.
Crime scene · January 15, 1974
Otero family home
January 15, 1974. Four members of the Otero family were killed in their home in east Wichita. It was the first of ten murders by a man who would later name himself "BTK" in letters to police and the media.
Crime scene · April 4, 1974
Bright home
In April 1974, Kathryn Bright was attacked in her home in northeast Wichita and died in surgery. Her brother Kevin was shot and survived.
Crime scene · March 17, 1977
Vian home
In 1977, Shirley Vian Relford was killed in her home in south Wichita...
Crime scene · December 8, 1977
Fox home
...and that December, Nancy Fox was killed in her home in southeast Wichita. Rader phoned police himself to report where she could be found.
Abduction · April 27, 1985
Hedge home
After years of silence, Marine Hedge was taken from her home in Park City, the suburb north of Wichita where Rader lived, in 1985.
Crime scene · September 16, 1986
Wegerle home
Vicki Wegerle was killed in her home in west Wichita in 1986.
Abduction · January 19, 1991
Davis home
In January 1991, Dolores Davis was taken from her home in north Wichita. She was his last known victim. Rader went unidentified for more than 30 years after the first murders.
Arrest · February 25, 2005
Arrest near his Park City home
In 2005 a floppy disk he mailed to a Wichita TV station was traced to his church. On February 25, 2005, he was stopped and arrested while driving near his Park City home.
Court / trial · June 27, 2005
Sedgwick County Courthouse
At the Sedgwick County Courthouse, Rader pleaded guilty to all ten murders and was sentenced to ten consecutive life terms.
The full record
Victims, every location, and all sources are on the Dennis Rader case page.