EP. 228- SERIAL KILLER: BTK (Bind Torture Kill) | Pt. 4: Arrest, Trial & Disturbing Revelations

Pan's Labyrinth is in theaters right now. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Guillermo del Toro's fantasy masterpiece with a brand new 4K restoration or an all-new 3D conversion. Get tickets now to experience Pan's Labyrinth like never before. Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. In our last three episodes, we talked about the life and crimes of Dennis Rader. From 1974 to 1991, he lurked through the city of Wichita, Kansas, stalking, binding, torturing, and killing people. For over three decades, he managed to slip through the cracks, avoiding detection, all while posing as a family man, church member, and community leader. But every once in a while, throughout the years, when he was feeling the need for power and control, he would taunt his city, sending them letters confessing to his crimes and letting everyone know that he was still there, hiding in plain sight. At the turn of the 21st century, after years of lying dormant, Dennis decided to toy with police again, leaving letters in his victim's trophies and locations around Wichita. The cat and mouse game he was playing with investigators gave him a thrill that he had been chasing for his whole life. But in the end, Dennis's own ego and modern technology would be his downfall. In last week's episode, Dennis sent his final letter to police. In it, there was a floppy disc that he was told couldn't be traced, but they could trace it. And it led police right to a man named Dennis Rader. In February of 2005, investigators finally placed him under arrest, putting an end to his 31-year reign of terror. And that is where we left off. So this, part 4, is the final part of our series on serial killer BTK. I'm Courtney Browin, and I'm Colin Browin, and you're listening to Murder in America. [Music] It was February 25th, 2005, and in Detroit, Michigan, 26-year-old Carrie Rossin was certain that someone was watching her. She peered out from behind the curtains of her apartment's window. Her eyes locked on something, someone that shouldn't have been there. It was a rusted maroon car parked in the alley of her building. It wasn't a place that people ever parked. In this car that stuck out against the backdrop of a freshly fallen snow, had been sitting there for quite some time. The man behind the wheel sat still, waiting, watching. Carrie had seen him looking up into their second story windows, and staring intently inside. Her over an hour, Carrie peaked out of her curtains, checking to see if the man was still there, and wondering, with each glance, if she should call the police. But then finally, at around one pm, she looked out the window. The car was still there. The man, however, was not. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She had no idea that that knock was going to change the rest of her life, and marked this day an infamy. In her book, A serial killer's daughter, she calls it, quote, "the day the world dropped out on me," and, quote, "an in every imaginable way." It was. Carrie opened the door of her apartment just enough to peer through the crack. Her dad always taught her this. Never open your door all the way to strangers. Always be alert. Always look for danger, because it's everywhere. So Carrie glanced at the man in front of her, a man who looked like an office worker, which only made what he said, even more strange. "I'm with the FBI. I need to speak with you." The man didn't look like an FBI agent, so just like her dad had taught her, Carrie asked to see his ID, and to her surprise, he pulled out a badge, and once again asked if he could speak with her. Confused, Carrie asked, "What do you want to talk to me about? You have the right person, right?" "Are you Carrie Rossin, maiden named Raider, 26 years old, originally from Wichita, Kansas? Your father is Dennis Raider?" Carrie nodded. Everything he was saying was right, but she couldn't come up with any possible reason why the FBI would be talking to her of all people. Then, the officer asked the unthinkable, "Have you heard of BTK?" Growing up in Wichita, Carrie had heard of him. Her mind immediately went to Dolores Davis, BTK's last known victim. The 62-year-old woman was murdered in the comfort of her home, just down the road from Carrie's childhood house. After her murder, she had been disposed of beneath a bridge. But this was years ago. Had BTK struck again? Pinnocked. Carrie asked the FBI agent as something happened to my grandma. Has my grandma been murdered? "Your grandma?" "No, she's fine. It's your dad." "My dad? What about my dad?" "Your dad has been arrested for the BTK murders." Carrie was dumbfounded to say the least. She still couldn't comprehend what the FBI agent was telling her. Repeatedly, she asked him to clarify. Had her dad killed her mom, her brother? Both were completely unbelievable, but much less so than what he was implying. Had he actually suggested that her father, the man who taught her how to ride a bike, who had patched up her scraped knee and dried her tears, was BTK? Carrie had an alternate explanation. She told the FBI agent that her dad must have been trying to solve the BTK murders. He had always loved reading detective magazines, solving cryptograms and puzzles. He must have been looking into the crimes, trying to figure out who was behind it. And in the process, somehow inadvertently got wrapped up in something he shouldn't have. That must have been why the police had his name. It was all a mistake. As Carrie was certain, and her heart of hearts, that her dad was a good man, and Carrie wasn't the only one facing this shocking revelation. 1,000 miles away on a quiet street in Park City, Kansas, Paula Raider was waiting for her husband to get home. Just like she did every day, she made him lunch and set it out on the table, eager to chat about their day. Time marched on. Dennis was always right on time, so when he didn't show up shortly before 1220, Paula began to worry, but then it came. At 56 years old, her world was about to shatter like it never had before. She opened the door, and standing on her doorstep of her quaint home was not just one officer, but an entire swarm of them. The man in front of her had on an FBI vest, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth were so bizarre, so inconceivable that Paula doesn't believe them. Your husband is BTK. The father of her two children, and the man she had spent the last 34 years with, was a serial killer. The very man who had been murdering people in their community for the past three decades. Again, Paula told police that there had to be a misunderstanding. She said, "Dennis is a good man, and a great father. He would never hurt anyone, but she was about to learn that she did not know the man she married. After giving her this earth-shattering news, the authorities presented a search warrant, and a trove of officers swarmed into her home, carrying empty evidence boxes. Soon enough, those boxes would be filled with trophies that her husband had hidden throughout their home. Dead women's underwear, jewelry, their IDs, photos of his victim's dead bodies, all items that Paula had been living with for years. As the agents began tearing her home apart, they informed Paula that she had to leave the house immediately and come with them to the police station. Perhaps still in shock, Paula scrambled around the kitchen and living room. She said she needed her purse because they contained her medication and inhalers, but the police forced her outside. "We'll grab that stuff for you," they said. "But for now, you have to come with us." On the drive to the police station, Paula kept telling herself that this was all a mistake. Surely, by the end of the day, the officers will realize their mistake and life can go back to normal, which seemed to be the mindset of Dennis' entire family. When Paula finally arrived at the police station downtown, she could hear the familiar and stressed voices of Dennis' mother, Dorothy, and his brothers Bill Paul and Jeff. They were all telling investigators the same thing, that Dennis was not BTK. They had arrested the wrong man. Even Paula's parents had been rounded up and brought to the station. As their adult daughters sat in shock beside them, her parents insisted, "You've got the wrong man. There's no way Dennis would ever have done this." For over four hours, they were forced to sit and listen as the police outlined the massive amount of evidence they had against Dennis. Yet, no one butched. Everyone was steadfast in their belief that Dennis Rader couldn't possibly be BTK. But there was a brief moment. One that told detectives that as the shock faded, the real truth from those closest to him would come out. Paula had looked distant and hazy the whole time she sat in the back room. Then, as detectives spoke about the Otero murders in 1974, her eyes sparked with a look of horrible recognition. She said almost to herself, "Dennis used to drive me to work in 1974 and we'd always pass the Otero house. That was the route he always chose." Moments after she said it, the wall went back up. She shook her head, resolute and insisted, "But you've got the wrong man. But as we know, that wasn't the case. Dennis wasn't arrested because they suspected he was BTK. They had DNA evidence that proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was their man." Earlier that morning, as Dennis was driven to the FBI field office to be questioned, Lieutenant Landwear said, "He looked pleased." As they drove through the neighborhoods that Dennis once terrorized, his gaze was fixed on the helicopters flying overhead. The thought that they were there, just for him, was exciting. Landwear watched Dennis admiring the scene around him. She didn't look like the terrifying killer they'd been hunting, and that's exactly what made him so scary. Landwear asked, "Nice day outside. Good golfing leather. You play golf misterator?" Dennis shook his head. Somehow, that's all it took for the floodgates to open. Dennis had been waiting to get caught, to be recognized all of his life. It was somehow the worst and best moment he had ever had. All wrapped up into this car ride. Dennis started to ramble, content, giddy, like he was talking to an old friend. "No, not much of a golfer. I garden and fish, but it certainly is a nice day. Spring is coming. I made some notes about that just the other day. The flowers are coming up. You know, I saw some robins in the area the other day. Canadian robins, I imagine, probably just passing through the area. I feed the birds, you know, just to keep an eye on them." Landwear had worked endlessly to catch this man. He had seen horrible things that no one should ever witness, all because of this man. And here he was, sitting beside him, craddling on about how he fed the birds. It was unbelievable, even for someone as experienced as him. Now, Landwear knew that he wanted an FBI agent to sit in on their interrogation. After all, it was clear that Dennis loved attention, and he would probably talk more if he flattered him. But after that car ride, after seeing that look on his face, Landwear knew that it was going to be easy to get Dennis to talk. He seemed excited too. In confession of a serial killer, Dennis wrote this, "I knew it was over, but I wanted to play cat and mouse as long as I could." And that's exactly what he did. As Landwear and special agent Bob Morton sat down, they had no idea that they were in for one of the longest and strangest interrogations of their careers. But it started out like any other. They gave Dennis a sprite, read him his Miranda rights and made some small talk. And then finally, after about 30 minutes of chitchat, they asked, "Why do you think we're here?" Dennis shrugged and smiled at the detectives, trying to look cool and calm. "Well, probably for this BTK thing, I assume I'm a suspect at this point in time." "Any reason why we should think that you're BTK?" "Well, I live in Park City, went to WSU, served in the, uh, I'm in that age group, kind of surprised you haven't been knocking on my door before, wanting a swab. I've been a BTK fan for years." For over three hours, the interrogation proubled on just like this. Dennis gave non-answers, alluding to the fact that they had the right guy, but never quite saying it outright. When the Otero murders were brought up, he even quit. "Well, if you take that murder and some of the others, I would say you've got a serial killer loose." On and on, the cat and mouse game continued. Dennis remarked in confession of a serial killer that he was, quote, "having fun." And yet, there was something tugging at him. He knew he was caught, but he didn't understand how that is until detectives brought up DNA. Investigators told Dennis that they had DNA from three of BTK's crime scenes, the Otero murders, the murder of Nancy Fox, and the murder of Vicki Wagerley. And they knew that the same man was responsible for all three. So they needed to test his DNA to see if it was a match. While getting his sample, Dennis choked and said, quote, "I make four thousand and one." He was referencing the four thousand men they had already got samples from over the years, trying to find BTK. Landwear and Morton leaned closer to Dennis and asked, "What will happen when the DNA swaps come back?" Dennis shifted in the seat, before laughing and saying this. It's there. Landwear knew they were close. He looked, Dennis, in the eye and asked, "What do you think brought us to you today?" Dennis shrugged, "You must have something on me." Landwear held up the floppy disk. As Dennis looked at the 39 cent disk, it started to click. That had been his demise. And plainly, Landwear laid out exactly how, telling him, quote, "You know, every time you print or every time you save something, it registers in a header that's hidden that you can't alter. So if we got something like that and it would come from BTK, then we can go in there and we can find out that it came from Christ Lutheran Church. And that's when we came to you." And, quote, "An inside the mind of BTK, which provided us with these transgressive the interrogation, Landwear describes Dennis as, quote, "looking as if he got hit over the head with a golf club," end quote. He sat in silence for a long time before he whispered to himself, "Pretty sharp." The air in the room was thick and suffocating. Everyone, including Dennis, knew that it was almost over. They could only beat around the bush and play this cat and mouse game for so much longer. Landwear focused intently on the suspect, as the silence in the room simmered. Until finally, Dennis met his eye and said, "Give me a pastor." Special Agent Morton rose to his feet, preparing to get the pastor from Dennis' church and route, well, to pretend he was, at least. The pair figured that the idea a pastor was on his way would be enough to push Dennis to confess, and it seemed they were right. The first thing out of Dennis' mouth, after he asked for a pastor, were words that seemed to be, for himself, a revelation. "You guys have got me." But they needed more than that. They knew they had him, but they needed an admission, a full one. So they began to tell Dennis exactly how they knew the DNA was his. "You know, Dennis," they said. "We tested your daughter's DNA against the DNA at the three crime scenes. And you know what it proved? It proved that Carrie is the child of BTK. When Dennis learned this, he was surprised. He would later say, "Once they matched your DNA with Otero Fox and Wagerley, they had me. Three cases, one, two, three." After years of terrorizing women, it was ultimately his daughter's DNA that did him in, and there's a poetic justice to that. One not to this day, Dennis Harbor's anger about. But back at the table in 2005, all he could do was think about how it was really over. Morton gave Dennis a pleading look over the table, and he told him just as much. He said that the pastor was on his way, so he might as well just say who he was. Here is the audio of that exact moment. After three decades of terror, BTK was finally in cuffs. For the first time, he admitted the truth allowed to someone who he couldn't murder. He was BTK. He had killed ten people, and he had been caught all because of a floppy disc. That was a sticking point for Dennis. The detectives had told him in the newspaper ad that floppy discs couldn't be traced. He had thought they were playing a game. He thought they were equals and had a mutual respect for one another. In no world did he imagine that landwear would lie to him, and the fact that he had boiled his blood. Dennis tapped on the floppy disc on the table in front of them, and he said the following. Landwear couldn't believe what Dennis was asking him. An inside the mind of BTK, the author, John Douglas, recounted a conversation he had with Landwear, stating quote, "He told me that he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. Could Raider really be that dense? Was he so hopelessly deluded as to imagine that the past three decades had been nothing more than a big game?" But to Dennis, it was. It had all been a game. And now, with it out in the open, Dennis was finally ready to unleash every bit of information he could think of. Even about how his strange behavior started in childhood. He said this, "It started grade school. I used to make sketches even back then. And that Funicello was my favorite fantasy hit target when she was on the Mousketeers. She was a dream girl for a lot of guys. I had these imaginary stories of how I was going to get her, kidnapper, and do sexual things to her in California." Dennis also admitted to hurting animals when he was younger. "I have. Yeah. I have killed some animals and to get it off, I guess. I would get a cat or a dog and tie them up and strangle them." Dennis said that eventually, he discovered his love for bondage. "Oh, well, I did quite a bit of self bondage when I traveled. When I traveled, I used to do self bondage. I was in a motel by myself and I would get my slick ads out or my fantasy ladies and I would spread them all out. I would do sexual things to objects." Dennis said that he eventually met his wife Paula, and despite his sexual deviancy, he was attracted to her. He enjoyed having sex with his wife, but it never satisfied him the way he wanted. His ideal sexual encounter was taking complete control over someone. "If I have sex, I would rather have the bondage. You know, I could still perform with my wife and everything, but that's the way I like to have sex, because I like to have that person under control." Dennis said that over the years, he started entertaining the idea of kidnapping someone, raping them, and then killing them. She said he would even walk around public places, with a head kit in his car, looking for women to stalk. And before the Otero murders, he had found someone. "I tried the girl at Twin Lakes and she fought me off and I got scared and I ran and hid, got out of there. And, and after my courage got back up, I started trolling other areas of town." Dennis confessed that it was around this time when he spotted Mrs. Otero and her daughter Josie. "I took my wife to work one day and she worked at the VA. She didn't like to drive in the ice and snow, so I'm sure that's what it was. I took her one day. When I was on my way home, either in the red car or the chavette, I saw the Oteros. I saw her in the kids. Yeah, I think they were backing out. I think they were backing out of the driveway. So, and I've always had kind of a, I've always kind of liked Hispanic people, the dark guys and dark hair." Now at this point in the interview, the investigators knew that Dennis was about to reveal the details of his horrific murders. And they couldn't help but notice how delighted he looked. For Dennis, this was cathartic. And he started with his very first one. Here is Dennis speaking about the Otero murders. "First of all, Mr. Otero was strangled or a back foot of his head and strangled. Then I thought he was going down and I went over and strangled Mrs. Otero and I thought she was down. Then I strangled Josephine. She was down and then I went over to junior and put the bag on his head. After that, Mrs. Otero woke back up and you know she was pretty upset what's going on. So I came back and at that point in time strangled her for the death strangled at that time. With your hands or what? No, with a cord, with a rope. And then I think at that point in time, I redid Mr. Otero, put the bag of his head, went over and then to junior. Before that, she asked me to save her son. So I actually had taken a bag off and then I was really upset at that point in time. So basically, Mr. Otero was down. Mrs. Otero was down. I went ahead and took to junior and put it on the bag of his head and took him to the other bedroom at that time. What did you do then? But a bag of his head put a cloth of his head, a t-shirt and bags that didn't care a hole in it and he went away and died from that. And then I went back to Josephine and woke back up. My thicker to the basement and eventually hung her. You hung her in the basement? Yes sir. Did you do anything else at that time? Yes, I had some sexual fantasies. But that was after she was hung. All right. I want to see the house kind of cleaned it up. It's called the right hand, really. Go from room to room. Pick everything up. I think I took Mr. Otero's watch. I guess I took a radio. I forgot about that, but apparently I took a radio. Why did you take these things? I don't know. I have no idea. What happened that? I got to keys the car. In fact, I had the keys I think earlier before that, because I wanted to make sure I had a way of getting out of the house and cleaning the house up a little bit. Make sure everything's packed up and left through the front door. They went over to their car and then drove over to Dylan's left the car there and then eventually walked back to my car. With investigators sitting across the table, Dennis gave a detailed account of how he murdered the Otero family. At one point, he even acted out the murder of 11-year-old Josie by standing up and putting his hands behind his back to show how she had been suspended from the ceiling. He then mocked her cries by yelling out, "Mama, mama, mama." Apparently, he thought this was funny, because he let out a sickening chuckle as the investigators watched and listened and horror. They had only discussed a single home that Dennis terrorized and they were already feeling nauseous listening to this monster, a monster who admitted that following the Otero murders, he began squeezing a rubber bowl to strengthen his hands. Then, he launched into his retelling of the murdering of his next victim, Catherine Bright. I had many, what I called them projects, they were different people in the town that I followed, watched. Capping Bright was one of the next targets I guess I would indicate how did you select her? Just driving by one day and I saw her going to the house with somebody else and I thought that's a possibility. There was many places in the area, Holly Chail had been there all over which to help. Anyway, that was basically a selection process, worked toward it. If it didn't work, I'd just move on to something else. But in my kind of person, stocking and scrolling, you go through the trolling stage and the stocking stage, she was in the stocking stage when this happened. All right, sir. So you identified Catherine Bright as a potential victim. Yes, sir. What did you do here in Cedric County? Pardon? What did you do then here in Cedric County? On this particular day, I broke into the house and waited for her to come home. How did you break into the house? Through the back door on the east side. All right, and you waited for her to come home. Where did you wait? In the house there, probably close to the bedroom. I walked through the house and kind of figured out where I'd be if they came through. Sorry. What happened then? She and Kevin Bright came in. I wasn't expecting him to be there and come find out I guess they were related. That time I approached him and told him I was wanted in California, needed some car. Basically the same thing that I told you, Turtles. kind of eased them to make me feel better and proceeded to I think I had him tie I think I had him tie her up first And then I tied him up or vice versa. I don't remember right now Let me ask you indicated you had some Items to tie these people with you bring these items both your carols end of this okay? Yeah, Charles. I did I'm not really sure on the rights There was some when I had the work with the police. There was some controversy on that Probably more likely I did the If if I had brought my stuff and used my stuff Kevin would probably be dead today All right, I'm not bragging on that. It's just a matter of fact. It's the bonds I wrote a tighting up with it he broke and so All right, and maybe same way with the same with Catherine. It was they got out of got out of hand All right, now you indicated that you believe you had Kevin tie Catherine up and tell me what happened Okay, I moved well after I really can't remember judged whether I had her tie him up or she tied him up But anyway, I moved basically I moved her to another bedroom and he was already secure there by the bed Tidy speak to the bed post on the bed post that he couldn't run Kind of tied her in the other bedroom and then it came back to strangle him and at that time we had a fight Well, you arm with the handgun at that time. Oh, yes, I had a handgun. What happened? I actually had two handguns Well, I started strangling the either of the Burnt broke or he broke his bonds and he jumped up a quick light Oh my god, and quickly shot and hit him in the head. He fell over I could see the blood and as far as I started, you know, I thought he was down and Was out and then went and started to strangle Catherine And then we started fighting because bonds are very good and so back and forth we fought You and Catherine yeah, we fought and I got the best ever and I thought she was going down And then I could hear some movement in the other room so I went back and Kevin No, no, no, I thought she was going down and I went back to the other bedroom when Kevin was at and I tried to Restrangly me at that time and he jumped up and we fought and About at that time about shot me because he got the other pistol that was in my shoulder here. I had my magnum in my shoulder So in a real oyster, hmm, do you have it a shoulder bolt? Yes, and I'm the head and magnum in the shoulder holster the other one was a 22 And we fought at that point time and I thought it was gonna go off. I jammed the gun just like my finger in the And they're jammed it and I think he thought that was the only guy I had because once I either Betty's finger or hitting or something got away and I used the 22 and shot him one more time and I thought he was down We're good at that time. All right, so you shot him a second time. Yes, sir. What happened then? went back to finish the job on Catherine and she was fighting And at that point in time, I've been fighting her. I just and then I heard some I don't know whether I Was basically losing control the strangulation wasn't working on her and I used a knife on her Say you used a knife on her. Yes, what did you do with the knife? I stabbed her And she said you just have two or three times either here or here take you two back here and one here or maybe just two times Here you're pointing to your lower back and you're yeah underneath the ribs and your lower abdomen underneath the ribs So after you stabbed her what happened? Actually, I think At that point in time Well, it's a total mess because I didn't have control on it. She was bleeding and she went down I think I just went back to check on Kevin or at that basically same time I heard him escape It could be one of the two but all of a sudden the front door of the house is open and he was gone and Or oh, I tell you what I thought I thought the police were coming at that time. I heard the door open I thought that's it and I stepped out there and he I can see him running down the street So I quickly cleaned up everything that I could and left Nearly every time Dennis recounts the murder of Catherine Bright and the attempted murder of Kevin He makes sure to mention that it was the bloodiest messiest crime scene of all of them and yet as he continued to tell detectives all the murder He had committed they just seemed to get worse and worse Next he happily told them what he had done to Shirley Vien in front of her innocent children Can you tell me what you did on that? Yes before Lyon was a Actually on that one she was completely random There was actually someone across from Dylan's was a potential target It was called project green. I think I had project numbers and signs of it and that particular day I drove the Dylan's part in the parking lot Watch this particular residence and then got out of the car and walked over to it It's probably the police support the address. I don't remember the address now knock nobody nobody answered it So I was all teed up. So I just Started going to the neighborhood. I've been into the neighborhood before I kind of knew a little bit of the layout of the neighborhood I've been through the back alleys new to some certain people live While I was walking down hydraulic met a young boy and Ask him if the ID some pictures kind of does a rust I guess a ruse you call it and Kind of feel it out and so I'll work he went and I went to another address and knocked in the door Nobody opened the door. So I just noticed work he went and went to that house and we went from there Now you call these projects with these sexual fantasies also potential hits Yeah, in my world. That's what I called it So you win projects hits? All right, and why did you have these potential hits? Is this ratify some sexual interest or yes, sir? I had they're I had a lot of them. So it's just We won didn't work out. It just moved to another one So as I'm to understand it then on the 17th of March 1977 you saw this little boy go into a residence Mm-hmm, and you tried another residence no one was there you tried another residence. No one was there So I went to the residence with a little boy and I watched I watched where he went What happened that after I tried this once the residence and when he came to the door. I went to this house where he went in knocked in the door and Told him I was a private detective Showed him a picture that I had just showed the boy and asked him if they could ID the picture and at that time I had begun here and I just kind of forced myself in I just Walked in this open the door walked in and then pulled the pistol what gun what pistol? 357 Magnum So you only have one gun? Yes, sir. Uh-huh. What happened? I told Mrs display and that I had a problem with the sexual fantasies that was going to tie her up and I might have to tie the kids up and She would cooperate with this cooperate with me at that time. We went back. She was extremely nervous I think she even smoked a cigarette and we went back to One of the back back areas of the porch explained to her that I had done this before and You know, I think she would at that point in time I think she was sick because she had a night robe on and I think of her. Remember right? She was she had been sick and I think I think she came out of the bedroom when I went in the house So anyway, we went back to The her bedroom and I proceeded to tie the kids up and they started crying and got real upset So I said oh, this is not gonna work. So we moved him to the bathroom She helped me and then I tied the door shut. We put some toys and blankets and odds and ends in there for the kids. Make most comfortable as it could tied the we tied one of the bathroom door shut so they couldn't open it and we shoved she went back and helped me shove the bed up against the other bathroom door and Then I proceeded to tie her up and she got sick throughout About our glass of water Offered her a little bit and then what hadn't tied hered up and then put a black on the bag overhead and strangled her All right, was this a plastic bag also? Yes, sir. I think it was but I could be wrong in that Put it in with something. I'm sure it was plastic bag. Yeah, you say you put a bag overhead and strangled it What did you strangle her with? I actually a think on that I had tied a tighter legs to the bed post and worked up with the rope all the way up And then what I had left over a loop over her neck So use this rope to strangle. Yes, I think I think it's the same one that a tighter body with what happened to Well, the kids were really banging on the door hauler screaming and And then the telephone rang and they had talked about earlier that the neighbors were gonna check on them So I cleaned everything up real quick like and got out of there left when back in democard You say you cleaned everything well. I mean put my stuff. I had a briefcase Whatever I had laying around the ropes take cords up through that in there But you know, whatever you know that I had that I brought in the house as you brought that to the ride residence also Now there are some there I think there's the basic stuff that I don't remember bringing Total stuff like I did to some of the others Is this a bit that you had? Now Dennis' next confession was the murder of Nancy Fox. He told investigators that Nancy was his, quote, "favorite kill." An in confession of a serial killer. He repeatedly refers to her as his perfect project. Finally, given the opportunity, Dennis seemed as though he couldn't wait to talk about how he tortured and killed her. Nancy Fox was another one of the projects. When I was trolling the area, I noticed they were going the house one night, sometimes in any way, put her down a potential victim. Let me ask you one thing, Mr. Grader, you used that term when you were trolling the area. What do you mean by that? It's called stalking or trolling. So you were not working in any form or fashion. Well, if you read much about serial killers, they go through that they call the different phases. That's one of the phases they go through as a trolling state. Basically, you're looking for a victim at that time. You could be trolling for months or years, but once you lock in on a certain person, then you become stalking. And that might be several of them, but you really pull me in on that person. They basically become the, that's the victim. That's what you want to do. That's it. Trollers are the team, not trolling. You didn't say, oh, yeah, I said trolling. Oh, okay, all right. No, I wasn't working, sir. All right, you know, this was, you know, this was all all all my hours. All right. So you basically identified Nancy Fox as one of your projects. What happened there? At first, she was spotted. And then I did a little homework. I dropped by once to check the mailbox to see what her name was. Found out where she worked. It's not by their once. Hilseburr kind of sized her up. I, the more I knew about a person, the more I felt comfortable with it. So I did that a couple of times. And then that is selected tonight, which was this particular night to try it. And it worked out. All right. Can you tell me what you did on the night of December 8, 1977? Now, about two or three blocks away, a parking car and walked to that residence, knocked at the, knocked at the door first and make sure to see if anybody's in there is. I knew she arrived home in a particular time from where she worked. Nobody answered the door. So I went around the back of the house, cut the phone lines. I could tell that there wasn't anybody in the North apartment broke in and waited for her to come home in the kitchen. All right. Did she come home? Yes, she did. What happened? I confronted her, told her there. I was a, I had a problem, sexual problems that I would have to tie her up and have sex with her. She was a little upset. We talked for a while. She smoked a cigarette while we smoked a cigarette, went through her purse, identifying some stuff. She finally said, "Well, let's get this over with so I can go call the police." I said, "Okay." And she said, "Can I go to the bathroom?" And I said, "Yes." She went to the bathroom and came and I told her when she came out to make sure that she was undressed. When she came out, I handcuffed her and, you know, really, I remember her, search. You handcuffed her? You had a pair of handcuffs? Yes, sir. What happened? I handcuffed her, had a lay on the bed and then I tied her feet and then I, I was also undressed to a certain degree and then I got on top of her and then I reached, took either, either feet were tied or not tied. Anyway, I took, I think I had a belt, I took the belt and then strangled her with a belt at that time. All right. All right, after I strangled her, what happened to that? Okay. After I strangled her with a belt, I took the belt off and retied that with panting hose, real tight, removed the handcuffs and tied those with panting hose. I can't remember the colors right now. I think I maybe retied her feet or what they had in order. They were probably retied her feet were in that time masturbated, sir. All right. Had you had sexual relations with her? No, no, no, no. I told her I was, but I did not. So you masturbated and then what did you do? Dressed and then went through the house and took some of her personal items and kind of cleaned the house up, went through it, checked everything and then left. After Dennis spent his time recounting the murder of Nancy, he moved on to speak about a victim that detectives hadn't even known was his. As he described the murder of marine hedge, they tried to look on phased, but the reality of what they were telling them was shocking. They hadn't known about marine at all. How many more victims could he possibly have? Well, actually, kind of like the others, she was chosen, went through the different phases, stocking phase, and since she lived down the street from me, I could watch the coming going quite easily. On that particular day, I had a commitment, came back from that commitment, parked my car over at Woodlawn and 21st Street at Bolingalley there at time. Before that, I dressed until I had some other clothes on exchange clothes and went to Bolingalley, went in there as a precense of Boling, called a taxi. Had a taxi take me out to Park City, had my kid with me as a bowling bag. That was Park City and said we counted. Yes, sir. All right, you had the taxi take you to Park City. What happened there? There I asked, I pretended that I was a little drunk. I just took some beer and washed around on my mouth and the guy could probably smell the alcohol on me. I asked told him to let me out so I could get some fresh air and I walked from where the taxi let me out over to her house. All right, where did she live? 62, 42, 54, 62, 54, North Independence. All right, when you walked over there, what happened next? Well, as before, I was going to have sexual fantasies so I brought my hit kit and blow and behold her car was there. She's not supposed to be home. So I very carefully snuck into the house, kind of like a cat burglar and after checking the house, she wasn't there. So about that time, the doors rattled. So it went back to one of the bedrooms and hidden back there on the bedrooms. She came in with a male visitor. They were there for maybe an hour or so. He left and I waited till three hours in the morning and then proceeded to sneak into her bedroom and flip the lights on, looked like, I think the bathroom lights. I just studied when I flipped her lights on and she screamed and jumped on the bed and strangled her manually. All right, now, were you wearing any kind of disguise or mask at this time? No, you know, you indicated this woman lived down the street from you. Did she know you? Okay, actually, we walked by and wave. She liked to work in her yard as well as I like to work. It's just a neighborly type thing. It wasn't anything personal. I mean, just a neighbor. All right, so she was in her bed when you turn on the lights and the bathroom. Yeah, so I get some light in there. What did you do that? I manually strangled her when she started the screen. So you used your hands? Yes, sir. And you strangled her? Did she die? Yes. All right, what did you do that? After that, since I was in the sexual fantasy, I went ahead and stripped her and I probably went ahead and I'm not sure if I tied her up at that point in time. But anyway, she was new and I put her on a blanket, went through her personal items in the house, figured out how I was going to get her out of there. Eventually moved her to the trunk of the car. Took the car over to Christ Newton Church. This is with the older church and fixed in pictures up her. All right, you took some photographs or kind of camera that you used? Poor Lord. Did you keep those photographs? Yes, the police probably had them. All right, what happened to that? That was it. She went through, she was already dead, so I took pictures of her in different forms of bondage and that's probably what got me in trouble with the bondage thing. So anyway, that's the probably the main thing. But anyway, after that, I moved her back out to the car and then we went east on 53rd. All right, what occurred then? Sir? What happened then? Oh, trying to find a place to hide her, hide the body. Did you find it place? Yes, yes it did. Where? I couldn't tell you without looking at the map, but it was on 53rd, Queen Greenwich maybe. Maybe, let's see, I don't think Queen Greenwich. I think the Queen Web and Greenwich, I found a ditch, a low place on the north side of the road and hit her there. All right, you say you hit her there? Well, there were some trees, The conspiracy files is the most explosive show on the internet. I'm your host, Colin Brown, from the Paranormal Files on YouTube, and I'm inviting you to take this twisted journey down the rabbit hole with me. Together we will dive deep into some of the world's most dangerous and disturbing conspiracy theories, from suspicious suicides to hidden pedophile rings and high-profile cover-ups. On my show, no story is off-limits, and no detail will be spared. And trust me, after listening to just one episode, you will never look at the world the same. So, if you like conspiracy's mysteries true crime and chaos, then this is the show for you. Listen to the conspiracy files now on all streaming platforms or wherever you get your podcasts. Vicky's heads were foggy, with all of the information Dennis was giving them, with no shame and no hesitation. He recounted the tiniest details, reliving the moments he had taken the lives of these people, like there were a favorite movie he had watched over and over and over again. This brought him to his ninth known murder, Vicky Waverly. Vicky was another potential victim, I went through those different phases, locked in honor as I would call it, and decided that I would try that date. I used a roost as a telephone repairman to get in their house, drove there in my own personal car around lunchtime, moving lunch hour, or approximately that time, and I was early morning that, and I actually went somewhere else and changed my clothes, what I called my get clothes, and clothes, basically different things that I'd need to get rid of later, not the same kind of clothes that I had on, but I don't know what other better word to use it, crime clothes or get clothes, I just called it get clothes. Anyway, I walked from a car as a telephone repairman. As I walked there, I'd done the telephone helmet, I had a briefcase, went to one other address just to kind of size up the house, I'd walked by a couple of times, but I wanted to check it a little bit more. As I approached it, I could hear a piano sound, and went to this other door, knocked on him and told him I was, we were recently working on telephone repairs in the area, and went to her and knocked on the door and asked her, like, "No, check her telephone lines inside." >> Did she allow you in? >> Yes, she did. >> What happened then? >> Went over and found out where the telephone was, assimilated that I was checking the telephone ahead of, make, believe, instrument, and after she was looking away, I drew a pistol at her and asked her if she'd go back to the bedroom with me. >> This was saying the 357 magazine, do you know? This was a different one, different pistol. >> Are you asked her to go back to the bedroom with you after drawing a pistol on? >> Yes, sir. >> I told her, went back to the bedroom, I told her I was going to have to tie her up. She was very upset, and I think we, I used the material that was in, that's another thing, not sure, but I think I used the material that they had in their bedroom, and after I tied her hands, she broke that and we started fighting, and we fought quite a bit back and forth. >> She was physically fighting you? >> Yes, sir. >> I finally got the hand on her, and got a nylon sock, and started straying one. >> So you wrapped the stocking around her neck? >> Yes. >> I finally gained the, gained on her and put her down, and I thought she was dead, but finally, she wasn't, but after, after she was down, and I'm moving anymore, I, I rearranged her clothes a little bit and took some quick photos, I think three, I will, I remember. And then after that, I was a lot of commotion, she had mentioned something about her husband coming home, so I got out of there pretty quick, the dogs were raising a lot of cane in the back, the doors, the windows were all open to the house, a lot of noise when we were fighting, so I left pretty quickly after that, but everything the briefcase had her, I'd already gone through her purse and got the keys to the car, and use her car for my getaway car. >> All right, now you indicate that you thought that she was dead, you discovered later that she was not dead? >> Yes, I guess the paramedics arrived, and they tried to attempt to relieve her, revive her, and that failed, I don't know if she died there or on the way to hospital or at the hospital, I don't recollect. >> But you later found out that she did die as a result of your strangulation? >> Yes. >> And then, finally, Dennis admitted to the murder of Dolores Davis in 1991, his final victim. >> Mr. Rader, please tell me what you did here in Sedgwick County, Canada, on that day that makes you believe you're good. >> In that particular day, I had some commitments, I left those, went to one place, changed my clothes, went to another place, parked my car, finally made arrangements on my hit kit, my clothes, and then walked to that residence. After spending some time at that residence, it was very cold at night, had reservations about going in. I had tasted the place before, and I really couldn't figure out how to get in, and she was in the house, so I finally just selected a concrete block and threw it through the plate glass window in the east and came on in. >> All right, where is this residence, locally? >> It's on hillside, but I couldn't give you address. I know it's probably 61, probably 62-something, all 62-something. >> North or south? >> North. >> North hillside. >> All right, so you used a concrete block to break the window? >> Mm-hm. >> Plate glass window, patio floor. >> Mm-hm. >> Noise, I just went in. She came out of the bedroom and thought that a car had hit her house, and I told her that I used the roofs of being wanted. I was on the run, any food, car, warm-up, and I asked her a handcuffed her and kind of talked to her, told her that I would like to get some food, get her keys or car, and kind of rest assured, you know, what to talk with her a little bit and calm her down a little bit. And then eventually, I checked, I think she was still handcuffed, I went back and checked out where the car was, simulated getting some food, odds and ends in the house, that all I could was leaving. Then went back and removed her handcuffs and then tied her up and then eventually strangled her. >> Are you saying eventually strangled her? >> Well, after I tied her up and went through some things in the room there and then strangled her. >> Are you saying what through are you looking for something? >> Mm-hm. >> It's a personal items, yes, I take some personal items for there. >> Do you take personal items in every one of these incidents? >> I did on the hedge, I don't remember anything of the victim's plays. The up Charles, we got the watch and the radio, I don't think I did any in Brights, Vions, no, I don't think so. Fox, yes, I think some things in Fox. >> It was hit and miss, it was a controlled situation where I had more time, I took something but if it was a confusion and other things I didn't, I was trying to get out of there. >> All right, so in regard to the Davis matter, you went around the room, took a few personal things, what did you do then? >> Strangled her. >> What did you strangled her with? >> Penny Holtz. >> All right. What happened then? >> I kind of like Mrs. Hedge, I already figured out my, I had a plan on leaving and put her in the blanket and drug her to the car and put her in the trunk of the car. >> So you were able to strangle her to death with these panties? >> Yes, sir. >> All right, you put her in your car. >> In her car? >> In her car. >> In her car? >> In her car. >> In her car? >> In her car. >> I really had a commitment I needed to go to so I moved her to one spot, took her out of her car, this gets complicated. Then the stuff I had, clothes, gun, whatever, I took that to another spot in her car, dump that off, okay, then took her car back to her house, let that, we think now, okay. In the interim, I took her car back to her house, in the interim I realized that I had lost one of my guns, I dropped it somewhere, so I was, we stopped, tried to figure out where my gun was, so I went back in the house, realized I had dropped it when I went in the, when I broke the plate glass window, I dropped it, fell on the floor right there, and I found it right there. So that's all that problem. Anyway, I went back out through the keys, checked the car with my, through the keys up on top of the roof of her house, walked from her car back to my car, took my car, drove it back, and I either dropped more stuff off or I picked her up and put them in my car, and then I drove up north east of Central County and dropped her off underneath the bridge. At this point in the interview, FBI agent Bob Morton asked Dennis if there were any other murders in different states, but he was persistent, saying quote, this is it, I've got 10 people end quote. However, he did admit that there were supposed to be many. many, many more victims over the years. In confession of a serial killer, he relayed that if he had murdered everyone he had planned to, it would have been three or four times the amount of people who he actually killed. The ones he didn't attack, he said, were the lucky ones. The first that he was excited to tell the police about was Project Prairie. Dennis admitted that he had dug a grave for her out in his Kansas, and he anxiously waited for her to get home, but she never came. For some reason, she didn't come home. I got her driver's license and social security number, I still have it, yeah. She would have been, I would have had her if she came to the house. She was very lucky. Investigators were eager to hear more. They wanted every detail that Dennis could give them, hoping that he would slip up and admit to more murders. For Dennis, it was a cathartic release of the evil secrets that had been building up for years, but for detectives. It was an ego that they had to stomach listening to in order to learn the truth. The murderer in front of them prattled on about endless projects. Eventually, they would find a log of them. In that log, they discovered that Dennis had stalked and named over 200 individual projects. His most recent, you referred to, is Project Broadwater. When they eventually asked him about this, Dennis admitted that he planned on breaking into her home, tying her to a chair and strangling her. Then, he said this, "But I thought, I thought, basically, I'm going to take her back to the bedroom and I thought maybe have anus sex with her. I think she has a daughter. I thought, well, maybe I'll get both of them." When asked why he picked this girl in particular, Dennis said this. "I wish she had a routine. People that have routines are trouble with me. That's what I am always looking for, is routines." Dennis told detectives that he could have killed a lot more people over the years, but he felt like he was too connected within the city. He knew a lot of people from his jobs, his position at church, and through his kids' extracurricular activities. And because of that, he couldn't always fully commit to being BTK. My big problem was my social contacts. That was probably my biggest factor. If I was alone wolf, you would have had many more victims. Many more, I can guarantee that. Many more. I had a family. I had a wife. I had to work, you know. I can't. I can't go out. When you live at home with a wife, you can't go out and prowl around until three or four in the morning without your wife being suspicious. So I had to connect this all with school and work and family life. It was difficult, but that's the way I did it, kind of like a spy. Investigators had a lot of the answers that they had been praying about for years, but there were still so many questions. They knew why Dennis had begun killing, and why, and even how. But why did he stop? He claimed that Dolores Davis was his last kill, because he was getting older. He just didn't have it in him anymore. Dennis said that after her, he knew it was time to let go and move on from his dark past. He even said that as fun as it was toying with the police over the past year, with his letters, he was even preparing to close that chapter. He said his plan was to send a few more letters, get rid of all of the evidence he kept in his home, and then slip into obscurity. I'm going to have to start putting this to a closure because of my age, because, you know, I'm reaching 60, I'm going to die one of these days. I don't want to leave all this stuff around for my family to find. So basically I was starting to shut everything down. You guys are very lucky because a couple more chapters, and I was done. In the end, Dennis truly thought that he would take this secret to his grave. He thought he'd help raise his grandchildren, tend to his garden, and sit on a porch, and watch the world go by as he slipped into old age. Dennis thought his obituary would talk about the wonderful man he was, and that the mystery of BTK would haunt this country until the end of time. But as we know, that's not how this story would end. From this day forward, the whole world would know who he is, all because he got cocky. In the end, all it took was a floppy disk to take down the monster who had terrorized Wichita and beyond. As the interrogation reached its end, after nearly 12 hours, Dennis reflected on that floppy disk once more. You know, I thought I would pull it off and retire and have mementos. It didn't happen. You guys outsmarted me. I checked the properties and the other stuff, and there was nothing there, nothing. So you guys had to do something else. And I talked to some other people, they said, "Oh, floppy's can't be traced, floppy's can't be traced." And I thought, "Should I take a gamble?" And I knew I was taking a big gamble. The floppy did me in. And since the police had that evidence, Dennis had no problem with giving them more. Detectives offered him a piece of paper to draw a map of his home. On it, he circled the numerous, hidey holes he had created, to stash photos, trophies, and journals related to his crimes. Dennis seemed to radiate pride, as he talked them through each hiding place. There was a false wall in his shed, hidden packages and suitcases in his closet, and his favorite spot, a false bottom in the cupboard at the end of the hall. According to it on the map, he told them, "Right here is what you call a cupboard where you put all of your dry goods, okay? The bottom drawer you take that out, the bottom one, you'll see a false bottom." Over at his home, when investigators looked in that hiding space, they found marine hedges wedding ring, along with the photos he had taken of her body within the church, a church that he had been elected president of. Alongside photos of her dead body, detectives found self-taken photos of Dennis and bondage. One picture showed Dennis wearing women's lingerie, with heels, a plastic mask he had covered in women's makeup, and a blonde wig. In the photo, he's completely bound with a cloth wrapped around his mouth, and he's hanging himself with a tree using a pulley system. As detectives looked closer, they realized that the slip he was wearing belonged to Julio Tarot. There were clues like this scattered throughout his house, and they found approximately 500 pictures of Dennis engaged in self-bondage, and each photo seemed to somehow be more shocking than the last. Police ended up finding another picture of what appeared to be a woman tied up and buried in a half-dug grave. Was this a victim they didn't know about? Dennis never admitted to burying anyone he killed, but eventually they were able to uncover the truth. It was yet another photo Dennis had taken of himself. This one had actually been taken during a Boy Scout trip, where Dennis slipped away along the dunes of a lake, dressed himself in women's clothing, and buried himself for the picture. Back at Dennis' home next to his bed, detectives found a rubber ball with a motto, "Life is good." It was the same ball he had admitted that he used to strengthen his hands in order to strangle his victims. Coincidentally, the ball happened to be sitting right next to Dennis' church usher badge. In a nearby closet, investigators found a plastic tote filled with pictures of women and children that Dennis had cut out of magazines. He had drawn nooses and bondage onto the twisted collages, and then stowed the tote beneath his wife's clothing. In the back of his car, Dennis stored a lot of camping gear, but investigators also found a number of dolls, similar to the ones he had been sending to the police. And then finally, in a shed in his backyard, they found a number of bondage items in clothing belonging to women he had stalked, and in some cases killed. But surprisingly, some of the most disturbing evidence they found wasn't at his home. It was in his office at City Hall, which was just feet away from the police office that had been hunting him the entire time. When investigators executed that search warrant, they found several three-ring binders. Each was filled with newspaper clippings of his murders. There was an original wanted poster for the 1974 Otero murders that were drawings of women bound and gagged and on various torture devices. And one of the binders, there were handwritten timelines of all the letters and packages BTK had sent to police that previous year. Something Dennis was clearly proud of. There were hand drawn BTK symbols, poems he had written about his victims, photographs of Dennis in bondage, and photographs of Dolores' body under the bridge with that plastic mask. Disturbingly, they also found a notebook that contained the logs of the hundreds of women Dennis had stalked over the years. These women had no idea that a serial killer had been following them, jotting down the tiniest details of their life, and dreaming of what he was going to do to them against their will. As the police flipped through the pages, they couldn't believe the amount of time and effort that went into all this. Every entry was hours, days, sometimes weeks of stalking. Every entry was someone who very narrowly avoided death at the hands of a serial killer. Now, there was so much evidence it took the police over a month to record every item, and the most shocking part was that it had been right there under everyone's noses. Dennis, like many abusers, had taught his wife and children not to question him. When he told them not to look through his things, it became law. And since Dennis was known for being particular about where things were, no one really saw anything unusual about that. To them, it was just their dad being, well, their dad. No one had ever expected that he would be sitting in a police station showing absolutely no remorse for some of the most heinous crimes anyone had ever seen. And while he didn't show any remorse for his victims or their families, he did seem to show some for the effect his crimes would have on his family. In confession of a serial killer, Dennis wrote, "I'm worried about Paula and the kids. I can only imagine what they went through after my arrest. It could not have been good. I broke their hearts. The what if hit hard." And he was right. That day changed his family's lives forever. Back in Detroit, Carrie was spiraling. She couldn't comprehend that her dad was a murderer, let alone BTK. She repeatedly told detectives that it couldn't be true. But at the same time, all across the country, the ripples of Dennis Raider's crimes reverberated, like an earth shattering quake. Dennis son Brian, who was on a submarine-based in Connecticut, also learned of his father's crimes. At the same time that his mother, grandparents, uncles and sister did, when an FBI agent told him what his father was arrested for, he put his head into his hands and shock. He then told the agent, "We had to leave it to be for life. Mom was always at home and dad was doing everything. The scouts, church, helping out at school, every summer we'd go on summer vacations." Now in time, he'd learn the truth. Those scout meetings, those summer vacations, they were all a cover for what his dad was really focused on, his sick fantasies, and out of everyone. It seemed that Brian was the most ready to accept, or at least try to accept, his new reality. Following his interview with the FBI agents, they could eventually see the wheel starting to turn and Brian's head. According to Inside the Mind of BTK, Brian told the agent, "It just doesn't make any sense. The only thing that ever gave me any cause for suspicion happened when I was a little kid and I was going through dad's stuff. I found this drawing. It was of a woman in this horrible position. She was all bound up in ropes. It scared me, I put it away and never looked at his stuff again." And like we mentioned, Dennis' wife Paula had once come across some disturbing stuff as well. She found that poem Dennis had written about Shirley V. Ann's murder. The one where he claimed it was for a school assignment. Then one time, Paula came home to find Dennis dressed head to toe and bondage. And although Paula never suspected that her husband was BTK, Dennis actually told investigators about one comment Paula made that did frighten him. Apparently, when BTK's letters to police were being posted all over the media, Paula said to him, "You know, you spell just like BTK." As we've mentioned, BTK's letters were full of spelling and grammar mistakes. And Paula couldn't help but notice that it was similar to her husband's writing. But to her, the fact that Dennis was BTK was completely out of the realm of possibility to be. This was the man she had dedicated her life to, the father of her children. Now in hindsight, for his family, there were little clues and hints scattered throughout. But at the time, they were all written off. However, in 2005, after seeing the DNA evidence and all of the evidence found within his home and his office, his family had to come to terms with their new reality that they never truly knew the real Dennis Rader. And after coming to this realization, they wanted to confront him. More than anything, Paula, Carrie and Brian wanted to sit down with him and ask him the millions of questions they had running through their minds, but they weren't allowed to. They were also instructed not to speak with the media, which for their families and families of the victims was a monster and of itself. On February 26th, 2005, reporters and photographers filled a room at City Hall for a scheduled news conference. For the last year, they had all been reporting on BTK's communications with police. But this news conference was different. When Lieutenant Lendware stepped up to the podium and announced the arrest of serial killer BTK, the entire room erupted in applause. It was that day when a picture of Dennis Rader flashed across the screen of millions of people around the country. It was the very first look at one of America's most prolific serial killers, and the world was shocked. But it was especially surreal for the people of Wichita. For decades, BTK had been their very own boogie man, the sadistic killer who lurked in the shadows haunting their city. But after so many years of evading arrest, many people thought he would never be found, that he was like the zodiac killer of Kansas. But finally, his reign of terror came to an end. Equally shocking was that the BTK everyone pictured in their heads was much different than Dennis Rader. Over the years, everyone had always imagined that BTK was this rugged criminal. The type of guy where if you saw him walking down the street, you would walk the other direction. But that wasn't the case, in reality, Dennis Rader looked like your typical harmless older man. Because to those who knew him, he was that. He was the guy you'd see in church every Sunday. Bob Smirer, a fellow usher at Christ Lutheran, told Time magazine QUOTE, "If you listed 500 people who were going to be arrested for this, he wouldn't be on that list." And it's easy to see why. People described Dennis as a loving husband and father. He was the neighbor you'd waived to when getting your mail. The type of guy you'd stop to ask for directions if you were lost. But behind that facade, this harmless average looking man was a murderer. And that is part of what made him so terrifying. For the public, the reality that someone evil had been lurking amongst them, blending in so seamlessly, was disorienting. And for the Rader family, it was hard to survive. Because people didn't just blame Dennis. They blamed them. On the day that his mug shot was flashed across news stations around the country, misinformation spread like wildfire. He was admitted in their news conference that Dennis' daughter's DNA sample had been his nail in the coffin. And some reporters took this to mean that Carrie had turned her father in. When in reality, she had no idea her DNA had even been taken. And she had never consented to it. But soon after this reporting, the media started showing up at Carrie's front door, offering her cash for inside information. At the time, Carrie was already struggling with the reality that the life she knew and the father who had raised her wasn't what she thought. And now, she had camera shoved in her face, people accusing her of being an accomplice, and complete stranger showing up at her door and swarming her. It was so overwhelming that Carrie knew she had to leave. She wanted to be with her mother. To on February 28, three days after her world cave den, she made her way to the airport. Now, the neighborhood Carrie grew up in was swarming with media and sightseers. So her family agreed to meet in Kansas City, away from Wichita and away from BTK. Carrie said that as she made her way through the airport, she saw her father's mug shot flash across all of the TVs, along with brutal details of his murders. She felt as though everyone was looking at her, as though everyone knew she was BTK's daughter. She would later say that she kept her head down as she got on the plane. And she felt herself dissociate as it took off. When she finally landed and locked eyes with her mother, the world that had been so loud for the past three days suddenly became quiet. They embraced and retreated to the home of a relative, where they all sat around a table and talked about what they were going through. In her book, A cereal killer's daughter, Carrie recalls that the whole family was sitting around late into the evening, picking at a bucket of KFC. They were all too anxious to be hungry, all talking too much to really eat. Paula remarked that she felt like, quote, "We were at dinner." this is funeral." To them, it was the death of a man that they had known and loved, a man who was very much still living. Over the next few weeks and months, the media was constantly reporting on the story of BTK, and over time, many people who knew Dennis Raider started to come forward. The majority of these people claim that Dennis seemed like any other ordinary man. His father's cousin, Lee Raider, who was resided in Springfield, Missouri, told The New York Times that the Raider family was completely normal. He said, "There is some divorces. I guess that's the worst thing that's gone." But nothing seemed to miss with Dennis during his childhood. He enjoyed reading dime store comic books and novels, playing cops and robbers with his childhood friends, and was always a model student in school. In fact, before his arrest, Dennis submitted the Riverview Roundup, a questionnaire for one of his grade school reunions, where he listed his favorite memories from his youth. Recess, story time, candy store, snowball fights broken up by the principal, last days of school, lunch hour. He ended the questionnaire with some words of wisdom for the new generation, saying, "Do it now. Life is complicated and short, so stay young at heart as long as possible." Now, Dennis' old boss at the security company ADT would later come forward as well. Rick Carr said that Dennis was a hard worker, saying, "He was deeply competent, organized, and good at what he did, but he was a taskmaster. He came with the attitude, you're here to get the job done, and I'm not here to be someone's pal." Dennis' co-workers seemed to say the same thing. They said he could be intimidating, but he was never violent or aggressive. Mike Fitch, who worked with Dennis for years, said that Dennis was a stickler for perfection, and it was obvious that he wanted to keep his customers happy. Everyone knew not to get on Dennis' bad side. He was all work and no play, but occasionally, he would let his guard down and have fun with the guys after work. For instance, both Dennis and Paula attended company pool parties at his boss's house. Rick Carr's former wife, Martha, said that she enjoyed Dennis' company. She said he was polite, courteous, and always looked you in the eye when you spoke to him. She remembered that he often complimented her on the parties and praised how good the food was. Martha also enjoyed interacting with Paula, saying that she was a wonderful cook, and was quiet and sweet. Martha said, "She seemed innocent, not worldly, you know." Other people who came forward were from Dennis' son's Boy Scout group. As you know, Dennis was very involved in his role as a scout leader. Now, the other dad said that he sometimes came off as overbearing and strict. To Dennis, Boy Scouts were held to a high standard, so if he ever saw something he didn't agree with, he had no problem letting the boys know. When it came to handing out badges, he would never give them one unless their skills were perfect. For George Martin, who also volunteered as a scout leader, he was impressed with Dennis' dedication and skill, especially when it came to tying knots. George said, "The sheepshank, the bowline, the half hitch, the monkey fist, Dennis knew them all," end quote. Sadly, he knew them better than anyone could possibly imagine. They had all been used time and time again on his victims. Another scout leader, Bob and Ro, had nothing negative to say about Dennis. Bob said that Dennis had always said a very good example for the Scouts, saying, "He took part in everything we did in scouting and with his son, which was very important in Cub Scouting as you do work with your boys. So I consider him to be a very good parent and very good scout leader at the time of course," end quote. Former Wichita News Director Rob Lowe, instead of the Raider family, their average people making a simple good life together. Boy, you would never pick him out of a crowd. I thought there would be something that would be more evident, but he was just as beige as beige could be. Donna Berry, who had known Dennis and his family for decades, said, "He was generally a really nice gentleman. I've known him since I was probably four or five years old. You know, he was the kind of neighbor that you could go down the road and he would stay up and talk to you and open the door for you and hold a conversation. While the majority of people thought Dennis was your average guy, there were some people that didn't like him. Jason Day had a younger brother that was involved in Dennis' Cub Scout troop and he would go on to say that he always thought there was something off about him, saying, "It was his demeanor. He was so strange." Then there were the people that Dennis pissed off during his time as Park City's compliance officer. When the news of his arrest hit the media, many of those people came forward saying that Dennis Raider was the biggest jerk they had ever met. They said that he was known to park his truck in certain areas, watching houses and taking photographs, just waiting for them to do something wrong so he could hand out a citation. We talked all about the number of women who claimed that Dennis stalked them for years while on the job. He was accused of walking on people's property and letting their dogs out just so he could issue them a citation. Dennis also had people in his own neighborhood that weren't fond of him. His neighbor Jim Reno and his wife Rhonda said that they never trusted Dennis, stating, "There were two people I keep an eye on on this walk and one was him." At one point, Rhonda witnessed Dennis walk onto one of their elderly neighbor's property with the yardstick. Apparently, the neighbor had been ill and was unable to cut their grass. When the grass was measured as being too long, Dennis made sure to send them a citation. Here's that neighbor Jim Reno, speaking with court TV. Uh, I mean, I never did like the guy. I mean, the best information I had probably the best thing ever told my wife was if he ever came up to my front door and ever open it. He could wait until I got home if it was so important. What, you know, it's interesting you say that Jim because every other case, we hear a serial killer is arrested all the neighbors say, "Oh, he was a great guy. We never would have expected anything. I'm not hearing that from you, Jim." Well, that's what, that's why I started speaking out. I heard, "Oh, he was a nice guy. Oh, he's church girl, all that." I knew him as a jerk. What, what was it about him that you didn't like, Jim? The way he treated the women on the neighbor, on the block. I mean, he was quite rude to, he would let your dog out and then write you a ticket for your dog being loose. We'd find him in the neighbor's backyard many times and the neighbor was gone and they were gone at work. Well, wasn't that his job? He was a municipal compliance officer. He took it way out of hand. I mean, I knew his wife. She was sweetest baby. I've never had a crossword with her or the kids. I mean, what's him? There was three times that I almost went to blows with him, but first time he called the police. I mean, the second time he took off in his truck and the third time I couldn't get him to do anything. I called him about every name I could think of. It was right after my neighbor died. It was two days later. He was doing one of the things that he always wrote her up for and I had lost it on him. Now, aside from his family, perhaps the people most shocked by Dennis' arrest were his victim's family members. For decades, they all went without answers, forced to endure the trauma of losing their loved one. But to make matters even worse, many of them watched as BTK taunted investigators for years. They would read the letters and poems he would send, where he gave details accounts of how he murdered their loved one and how much he enjoyed doing it. They saw his arrogance year after year and there was nothing they could do about it. Now just before the news of his arrest went public, detectives went door to door to the homes of the victim's families, delivering the news. For many of them, it was a devastating relief. The investigators wanted the families to know that after three decades, they hadn't been forgotten and they had been working to get justice for all of them. And as relieving as this was, at the same time, the news couldn't bring their loved one back. Charlie O' Tarot told The Wichita Eagle that when he learned his mother, sister, father, and brother's killer had been found, he did feel relief, and yet he "felt burdened by frustration." He knew who had done this, who had taken his world from him, but no explanation of why it happened, whatever healed a wound that had been inflicted upon so many people. And with Dennis' arrest, those wounds just got picked over and over and over again. In the months after Dennis' arrest, his family struggled with their own wounds. It seemed as if the entire world hated them for being related to such an evil monster. People couldn't understand how Paula was with this man for so many years, without ever even suspecting him. But in the end, they were all victims of Dennis' raider as well. His daughter Carrie would later tell 2020, "If we had had an inkling that my father had harmed anyone, let alone murdered anyone, let alone ten, we would have gone screaming out that door to the police station. We were living our normal life. We looked like a normal American family because we were a normal family." And then, everything upended on us. Carrie began to disassociate soon after the news broke. Sometimes she'd find herself in public with absolutely no idea where she was or how she she got there. The night terrors that she had suffered from her whole life intensified to such an extent that she went weeks without a night of peaceful sleep. She could need, couldn't think, couldn't function. The world became a terrifying place, and the people in it became her enemies. Nothing and nowhere was safe. Her childhood memories had a dark cloud over them, and in an instant, her childhood home became a spectacle. Curious people constantly drove by. Eventually, the home was auctioned off for $90,000. From there, Paula ended up taking on all of Dennis's dead, and she had to move into a rental home. At the time of his arrest, Paula only had $7,000 to her name. She had lost her home, her husband, her income, and her privacy. And though many viewed Paula as mild-mannered and a bit of a pushover with her husband, she didn't hesitate to divorce him. Given the situation, a judge granted her an emergency divorce. From marriage, when she thought had been full of love, care, and compassion, was gone in an instant, and she was left wondering if it had ever even been real to begin with. Finally, in June of 2005, Dennis's plea hearing took place, and the whole world was tuning in. Luckily, Dennis Raider pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder. In that day, in front of Judge Gregory Waller, Dennis described in graphic detail how he selected, stalked, and killed each of his victims. He was very matter of fact, void of any emotion. Many of his victims' family members were in the courtroom that day, listening to the man who had destroyed their lives. The sounds of the family's sobbing echoed behind Dennis, as he callously talked about the crimes he had committed, all for a sexual thrill. Charlie O'Taro told ABC, quote, "When Raider described in court how he killed my family, it was the first time I ever heard how they died. When he said my mom's last words were, 'May God forgive you.' It was like breaking my heart again. I could not believe my mom was so beautiful, so gracious in such a traumatic moment." Beverly Fox, Nancy Fox's sister, told ABC, quote, "The detectives had tried to prepare us for what we would hear in the courtroom, but I couldn't keep it together. I just broke down." Nothing could prepare anyone to hear about the horrible things being done to their loved ones. It was tragic and every sense. It was a relief because Dennis pleaded guilty, but it was also a heartbreak because they finally learned the truth. The victim's families were certain that he'd face life in prison, but many were disappointed that the death penalty wasn't an option in Kansas at the time, so life in prison was best case scenario. In August of 2005, everyone piled back into the courtroom for Dennis Raider's sentencing hearing, and it seemed as if the whole world was tuning in to hear Dennis Raider's fate. On the stand, Detective Ray London with the KBI spoke about Dennis' arrogance and lack of remorse during his confession. During Detective Dana Gouge's testimony, she held up the toys that were thrown into Shirley Vien's bathroom to keep her three children occupied while Dennis strangled their mother. The district attorney's goal was to show the court just how evil and arrogant this man truly was. And though it did the trick, it was the families who ultimately got to show the world the damage that Dennis had caused. On the second day, the victim's family members were allowed to address the court. The surviving members of the Otero family confessed that they had struggled in the decade since. Charlie Otero later said, "I think God every day that I didn't find Joey and Josie because I don't know how I could have handled it. PTSD kicked in my first semester of college. I started drinking, using drugs, trying to get the memory out of my head. Just trying to deal with the grief and anger that I had going on inside of me. And that's basically where I stayed for 30 years. But now, as he walked up to the podium, he knew that his family was finally getting the justice they deserved." "My name is Charlie Otero. I am not here to recant the personal loss I have felt for over 30 years, but to speak for all the members of my family, living and dead. Not only my siblings and I, but the entire families of the Oteros and the Budgos suffered from the actions of one Dennis Rader. I would like at this time to stay that the criminal actions of Dennis Rader caused irreparable damage to the very fabric of my blood family, sons, daughters, uncles and cousins, a father and mothers, aunts and grandmothers. All loss to precious moments my family's very existence would have brought them during their lifetimes. Their lost lives are missed yet to this day." Dennis Rader did not ruin my life, though. He caused me to challenge my faith, change my future forever, and separated me from the rest of my loved ones for over 30 years. Yet I have never allowed his actions to send me to the dark side. A son's love for his mother would not allow Dennis Rader to tarnish her memory. The lessons I learned from my father and mother transcend the evildoings of Dennis Rader. No action or sentence bestowed upon Dennis Rader will begin to compare with the reckoning he will endure when his time for judgment comes before the Lord. I truly believe the Lord will pass judgment and sentence as is befitting Dennis Rader's actions and beliefs. No amount of posturing or deception will save him from the eternity he has created for himself with his time here on earth. I only hope that the sentence passed on to him by the judicial system of the state of Kansas denies him the opportunity to spend his remaining days with anyone or anything besides himself, for that is more than he deserves. Despite Dennis Rader's efforts to destroy my family, we survived, stronger and closer now more than ever. Our love for each other was forged with pain and loss. Yet, yes, it took years of straying down different paths, but in the end, we all Danny, Carmen and I have found our ways back to each other with the unity and a love to be proud of. As far as I'm concerned, when it is all done, Dennis Rader has failed in his effort to kill the Oterrals. Thank you. Very much, Mr. Oterral. I'm Carmen Giulio, Oterral, and Toya. Although we have never met, you have seen my face before. It is the same face you murdered over 30 years ago, the face of my mother, Giulio, Oterral. I will not address you as Mr. Rader because Mr. is a word of respect. As a Mr. Can you help me? Not Mr. Are you going to kill me? BTK is how you want to be known and I will not give you that satisfaction. Rader is an appropriate name for you as a one who invades a surprise attack that is nothing to be proud of. Rader, when you took away my mother, you took someone who meant a lot to a lot of people. My mother loved life, her friends, a good laugh, dancing with my dad, and she loved to help people. But most of all, she loved and lived for us, her family. She showed me how to love, to be a good person, to accept others as they are and most of all, to face your fears. I'm sure you saw that in her face. As she fought to live, my mother against your gun, you were such a coward. Since they were children, my father loved my mother more than any kind of love you could ever comprehend. He adored her. To this day, I loved to hear stories of how they were. My father was a hardworking man and we always felt secure. He made sure we had what we needed, but at the same time, we understood there was always someone else more in need. My dad loved to see us having a good time and he never passed on a dance with my mom, even in the commissary. He loved trips to the beach and to the country. We always went with friends and families. Those good times were very important to him. The thing that everyone remembers of my father is that he demanded respect, but that he gave it in return. Everyone knew he didn't mess with Joe's family. I'm sure you could feel his love for his family as you took away his last breath. You're such a coward. My sister, Josie, you should not have had, you should not have the privilege of even saying her name. Such a sweet girl. All she ever wanted was to be happy and successful in school. She had dreams. She was my shadow and at the same time, her own person. When we moved to Wichita, I told her that I hated it because it was so cold and people were so different. She told me you'll get used to it. Give it a chance. That was part of Josie's beauty. She always tried to see the bright side of everything. It's amazing to me that you could be so cruel to sweet, beautiful child. His name was Joey, not Junior, but I guess it really doesn't matter to you. You took away the most lovable, fun, outgoing, friendly, and adorable little brother anyone could ever imagine. He tried so hard to keep up with Charlie and Danny. Joey was a magnet. He attracted people of all ages. He could have done something big with his life, but you took care of that, didn't you? A man with a gun against a little boy. He were definitely a coward. Raider, you not only affected my life, but you took away the joy of the ultimate grandparents and uncle relationship my children deserve. My children, my grandchildren, my nieces and nephews will be told of their family with love. You see, in my world, family is everything not your social obligations. Just recently, I realized that I could not remember my mother's voice. It was a painful discovery. But as I put my thoughts on paper, it comes to me. I am my mother's voice, and I know we've been heard. Today, Charlie Otero remains one of the more vocal family members. He travels around the state of Kansas, speaking at different prisons and jails, sharing his story of what he calls hope and redemption. He admitted that he has found peace regarding what happened, but also that there will never be closure. He has since found joy in surrounding himself with his family. He has several grandchildren who love staying over at his house, a home filled with love and safety, the Charlie has created an honor of the people who raised him. His sister Carmen has largely stayed out of the spotlight, referring to raise her family in peace and privacy. Though the family remains close, Charlie has said regarding the murders, "I can't tell you how they feel about it because we never talk about it. We still can't. It's just too much." The next to give their impact statement was Kevin Bright. The last time Kevin came face-to-face with Dennis Rader was in April of 1974 when he was just 19 years old. On that day, when Dennis broke into his sister Kathy's home, Kevin fought like hell, and somehow managed to survive getting shot in the face two times. And finally, all these years later, he got the chance to confront the man who murdered his sister. Your honor, my name is Kevin Brite, and it's fine. And this is a victim impact statement. And I'm here representing my late sister Kathy and my mother Dorothy. And I would like to say that far as this is toward his sensing that the pain and suffering that he's caused our family and the loss of such a beautiful young lady of 21 or 31 years ago. You know, I beg about her, you know, and what she'd be doing nowadays, you know, she could have had a life. Her execution by that monster was, you know, he's got to go on and live his life 31 years now with raising a family and children and career and everything, and you know, he's stuffed out 10 people's lives that had done nothing. And my sister, she suffered so much, and this wasn't told in the, is it brought out here that she was brought out that she fought as a hell cat. And I'm so proud of her for that, because I knew, you know, she had that in her. And which she lived on approximately five hours after that, and she receded over 20 times of blood before she lost her battle, and I just think, you know, how much she fought, and the only thing I wish is different was that when I wrestled the gun from him, I got my hand, that it would have gone off and that would have been in there, but, you know, God was in control, so, you know, I don't second guess that, but for, and my mother, you know, she had to live the rest of her life, she died at age 62 on cancer, and losing her daughter, and almost losing her son, you know, that just devastated her, the rest of her life, and I think it ended, made her alive, you know, with the, the depression and, and all the stress cause, I think that had a lot to do with her, so I really blame the administrator for, you know, causing her death, so, you know, that, that brought that about and, as far as myself, the damage I received, you don't, look at me, you don't see, you know, that much, I have a scar here, some up here, where he shot me, but, I have, it was reported that I had brain damage, and, you know, permanent brain damage, and I don't have that, but I have permanent nerve damage, which causes me to suffer with, my body doesn't regulate the heat, I'm very well in humidity, and so I overheat, you know, get weak and everything, so, that's one thing I suffer with for every day, and then I also have damage, nerve damage, it causes me not to be able to participate in, you know, eating food, my digestive system is, is out of whack, but what I'd also like to say is, I'm glad that I was there that day, because of what the administrator in his fantasy world is going to do to her, probably, if I wasn't there, you know, I'm just so thankful that I was there, and could, you know, prevent him from doing anything like that, and I just also would like the court to give him the maximum sentence that he could be at, but also that he could be isolated, I don't know, you know, this is possible, but I'd like to see him just serve the rest of his, I want him to, death penalty doesn't, you know, isn't going to, it's not an option, but like I said, my sister and the other victims, they can see their death penalty by his hands, and I'd like to see him spend the rest of his life. I hope he lives 40 more years, but I want him to be, you know, aware, right now he's not any remorse, no remorse, no compassion, no, he had no mercy, and I think that's what he ought to receive, and I just, you know, pray that he'll get the toughest sentence possible and that he won't have what, you know, we have like newspapers and magazines, and he, I've heard him talk about, he's going to miss pizza and all this kind of stuff, but like I say, my sister and the other victims, they didn't get to live their lives out, and I just, it's like Charlie was saying, he's been judged here now, but he turned the, and he stands before the Lord for eternity, for his judgment, if he's still in his sins, that he's committed here, he will spend it by himself in darkness, and you know, that's what I like to tell him. Thank you for, let me speak. Since Dennis Raider's sentencing, Kevin Bright has chosen to stay out of the media. Today, he's in his late 60s, and he's enjoying life with his family, but the aftermath was not easy for Kevin. He has stayed out of the limelight entirely, moving frequently and trying to leave the past in the past. It seems however that he's done well for himself, forging a life in Texas with a wife and children that his sister would be proud of. The next person to give their impact statement was Steve Ralford, Shirley Vien's youngest son. Steve was the little boy who had walked to the grocery store for his mom, back in March of 1977. Here is an interview of Steve speaking about that day with K-A-K-E-TV. The last time he saw Dennis Raider was when he broke into their house, tied him in his siblings up, and then tortured and murdered his mother in front of him. He was only six years old at the time. Now at Dennis' synancing, Steve was 34 years old, and finally looking at the man responsible. Steve hadn't prepared a statement for that day, and he was emotional as he approached the podium, but he did say this. My name is Steve Ralford, Shirley Vien's my mother. I haven't prepared for this statement, but I just like for him to suffer for the rest of his life. Sadly, like Charlie O'Taro, Steve also struggled with drugs and alcohol after the murders. But after learning of Dennis' rest, Charlie and Steve were able to connect with one another. They were both a part of a small handful of people who truly understood what it was like to have a loved one murdered by a serial killer. For the years, Charlie and Steve stayed connected. Every once in a while they would meet up and go fishing, relying on each other when they needed a friend. After his mother's murder, Steve had lived in Oklahoma, but soon after Dennis was convicted, Steve actually moved back to Wichita, something he claimed he would never do, but something that, ultimately, has been incredibly healing for him. He works with motorcycles, a love and passion of his that helps him heal. He has a daughter of his own, and thankfully, despite the struggles, he's been able to watch her blossom and grow in a way his mother was never given the opportunity to. Another person who gave a statement was Nancy Fox's brother Fred. My name is Fred Fox, the older brother of Nancy Fox. We miss her very much, we love her. She's still in our hearts, this monster took her life. We all have, we're all rest of us are married, have kids, they'll never ever get to meet her. She's never had a life, and there was fear in my life after she passed away. I don't want to give the monster the right to know all that fear, but I hope his sentence is the worst it can be, and it'll be put away for the rest of his life, thank you. And here is Nancy's sister Beverly. My name's Beverly Plant, and Nancy Fox is my sister. I cannot begin to explain to you, there are not words to make you understand what losing Nancy has met to me and my family. I lost a friend, a confidant, my children will never have an aunt, and I'll never have another sister. Nancy's death is like a deep wound that will never, ever heal. As far as I'm concerned, Dennis Raider does not deserve to live. I want him to suffer as much as he made his victim suffer. But then, when I think about that, and he has sick perverted way, he'd probably find God is some kind of pleasure or reward. This man needs to be thrown in a deep dark hole and left to rot. He should never ever see the light of day. And I have some afterlife scenarios for him on the day he dies. Nancy and all of his victims will be waiting with God and watching him as he burns in hell. One of their grief, Nancy Fox's family managed to create something incredible. On February 16th, 2007, they established the Nancy Jo Fox Memorial Scholarship. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to one individual, so Nancy's life will never be forgotten. Nancy was never able to fulfill her dreams of one day becoming a teacher. So, the scholarship serves as a way to carry on her passion for education and help others achieve what she was never given the opportunity to. Next up to the podium was Marine Hedges loved ones. Her four children, Tommy, Sammy, Linda, and Carolyn were devastated by the loss of their mother. A trial, they all struggled to keep it together. Carolyn's husband, Rod, would ultimately be the one to deliver their impact statement. My name is Rod Hook, representing the family of Marine Hedges. I would only ask the court to provide the maximum sentence, allowed by law, to this monster that created this. I would also like to thank all the members of the task force for making this possible. And I know in most of our minds, we can't imagine what our family went through. But I respectfully request that the court think of that when you provide Mr. Raider with a sentence he so deserves. Thank you. Today, Marine's children have all passed on. They leave behind several of Marine's grandchildren, who all honor Marine's memory and carry it with them. But at sentencing, notably, Marine's daughter Carolyn expressed empathy that her mother would be proud of her following her death. Carolyn spoke to the public, stating that the money from the sale of Dennis Raider's home should go to Carrie and Brian. Because in her words, quote, "they are victims just like us," end quote. Next, Vicky Wagerley's husband Bill gave his impact statement. As we mentioned throughout the series, Bill had been the suspect in his wife's murder for decades. Throughout that time, he not only had to face the grief of losing her and raising their children on his own, but he also had the stress of being blamed for such a horrific crime. When Vicky was murdered in 1986, Dennis left her two-year-old son Brandon in the living room all alone. But on this day, nearly 20 years later, when Bill stepped up to the podium, Brandon stood behind his father, keeping a comforting hand on his shoulder as Bill tearfully delivered his statement. Here's what he had to say. "Your honor. My name is Bill Wagerley." I'm sorry, Dennis Raider killed my wife in 1986. The past couple days, the courts, the news media, the general public knows what kind of person he is, the vicious, cruel individual he is. It's all in the light now. All we can do, there's no punishment that you can exact upon him that will satisfy our needs. We can just ask the court to bestow upon him the most that you can. And hopefully, we will not have to deal with him or see him or hear from him ever again. Thank you. Next, Vicky's daughter Stephanie spoke. She was just 10 years old when her mother was murdered. Luckily, she wasn't there when it occurred, but the trauma she felt from her loss was palpable. "Man, you are Stephanie, Klein." "Yes, your honor. My name is Stephanie Klein. My mother is Vicky Wagerley. I'm speaking to you today on behalf of myself and my brother Brandon. It's been almost 19 years now that my brother and I had the most important moment in our life taken from us. My brother and I had to go through so many important moments in our lives without her. Every day is a struggle to get through without her. It's not fair that we had so little time with her. I only had 10 years with her. Brandon only had two. Anyone who knew my mom knew how much she left her family. She left her children, her husband, her parents, and her sister. She left her in-laws like they were her own parents, brothers, and sisters. She adored her nieces and nephews. Even her friends were considered family to her. There's nothing she wouldn't do for any one of us. We didn't have enough time with her. It's not fair that her three grandbabies will never get to know her. She doesn't get to see me with her grandchildren and she doesn't see her baby Brandon when it's first child. My mom would so love the fact that that baby girl just like Brandon did when he was little. She would never get to hold them or watch them grow up. She would have loved being a grandma. It's not fair that my four-year-old son has to ask why his mima can't come home. He draws her picture because we should be able to take these to her, but they just sit on the bridge. Even if four, he knows it's not right that she should be with us. What did my baby do? It deserved feeling this way. What did any of us do to deserve this? My mother begged for her life, yet he showed no remorse. He saw that she had a family and a little boy right there in the house with her, yet he continued with his sick plan. I ask you today your honor to show no remorse for him. Don't let this monster have any comforts as he lives out of his remaining years in prison. Vicki may not have been able to see her children grow up, but wherever she is, we know she is proud of them. Her son Brandon has gone on to have a successful career running his own business, wheat state hot rods. He has kids and a family of his own, and his world revolves around them. Her daughter Stephanie also has several kids, and she travels the world helping people with acts of mercy and her national, an organization that provides humanitarian relief in disaster areas and war-torn nations. She recently traveled to Ukraine, where she helps families establish new lives. And then lastly, there's Bill, Vicki's husband. After the trauma of losing his wife and the stress of being blamed for her murder for years, he was finally able to move on and marry a wonderful woman. Together, they foster cats. During the trial, they took in a kitten during a snowstorm who they named Gracie, as they believed that the grace of God sent her to them when they needed her most. All of these impact statements and the journeys these victims have been on are incredible. Some didn't want to speak at the microphone, which is totally understandable. But for Jeff Davis, Dolores Davis's son, it wasn't an option. It was something he had to do for himself and for his beloved mother. "I'm Jeffrey Davis, son of Dolores Davis, BTK victim, January 18, 1991. May it please the court to allow me to express my thoughts and feelings to all the victim survivors here among us today, in the hope that we can leave this courtroom with some sense of peace and legal resolution. For the last 5,326 days, I have wondered what it would be like to confront the walking cesspool that took my mother's precious life. Throughout that time, I always envision this day as being one for avenging the past. I could think of nothing but savoring the bittersweet taste of revenge as justice is served upon this social sewage here before us today. Now that it has arrived, surprisingly, I realize that this day is not just about a vinging-crashed past crimes. Sitting here before us is a depraved predator, a rabid animal that has murdered people, boys and countless lives, and terrorized this community for 30 years, all the while relishing every minute of it. As such, there can be no justice harsh enough for revenge bitter enough in this world at least to cause the pain and suffering which a social malignancy like this has coming. Therefore, I have determined it for the sake of our innocent victims and their loving families and friends with us here today, for me this will be a day of celebration, not retribution. If my focus were hatred, I would stare you down and call you a demon from hell, who defiles this court the very sight of its cancerous presence. If I embrace bitterness, I would remind you that you are nothing but a despicable child murdering cowardly, impotent, unique, and pervert, masquerading as a human being. If I were the animal that you are, I would say that I relish the thought of you being treated to the same despicable brutality, terror, and agony at the hands of your sin to be fellow inmates that you relished inflicting on your defenseless victims. If I were spiteful, I would remind you that it is only fitting that a twisted narcissistic psychopath, obsessed with public attention, will soon have his world reduced to an isolated solitary existence in an eighty square foot cell, doomed the language away the rest of your miserable life alone. If I had your devil nature, I would delight in the fact that your congregation has turned its back on you, that your friends have deserted you, that your wife has divorced you, that your own children have disowned you, and then I would remind you that you will never have any warm, loving, human contact again for the remainder of your twisted existence. If I were cynical, I would remind this court that you would return to your murderous ways in a heartbeat of giving the opportunity, so for the safety of society, you must remain caged forever like any other vicious predatory animal. If I were to sink to your level, I would say that this world would have been much better off, had your mother aborted your demon soul before you were unleashed on this world, sparing ten innocent lives and avoiding untold heartache for this community. If I were vindictive, I would wish you many long, emotionally tortured years in your cage, haunted every night by your victim's hopeless craze from mercy as you played God and pronounced their death sentence as upon them. If I had your sadistic nature, I would delight in the pain you feel now. now and realizing that your own arrogance and ego got you caught, that if you just kept your big mouth shut, you'd still be a free man today, able to eat pizza and walk your dog deadly. If I wanted revenge, I would pray that you develop a lingering illness from which you suffered for many, many years before you ultimately choked to death one lonely night on your own vomit. If I were judgmental, I would call you the most despicable form of hypocrite for profaning Christianity by daring to associate yourself with my faith and for blaspheming God's house with your demonic actions. If I were unforgiving, I would tell you that I would accept any shameful, meaningless attempts on your part to feign remorse by responding that I will grant you forgiveness the same day that health freezes over, although I know that my mother and her Christian grace has already long since forgiven you. But I won't hurl these invictives at you or I won't rain these curses down upon you because you're not smart enough to understand most of the words I would use anyway. And even if you could begin to fathom the depth of my hatred for you, I would still refuse to waste any breath on you because that would once again allow you the satisfaction of being in the limelight and that attention I refuse to allow you. As of today, you no longer exist. Today, the focus finally moves out from under the shadow, and your depraved shadow of health's darkness into the light of your victims and their families. Speaking from my mother with us in spirit, from my own family, and I hope for the entire family of survivors here today, we dedicate this day to the memories of those who cannot be with us. Today we also celebrate with this community, the relief, and knowing that we will never again be terrorized by a monster's demanded fantasies. Today, we will each silently remember a father, a brother, a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a grandmother, all those we love so deeply and miss so dearly still. Today we will quietly reminisce on all that they meant to us. We will smile at all the silly things they did that made us laugh, and we will renew our pride in who they were. Today, we will thank them for shaping our lives, for being there when we needed them. For setting the example of what we should be, for making us who we are, and for allowing us to be their living legacies. From this point on, we declare our independence from the tyranny of your actions. While you begin your slow and painful descent into hell, we will choose to rise above our pain. While you sink into an emotional abyss of hopelessness and despair, we will channel our grief into positive endeavors, those life activities which would please the ones we have lost. While you agonize over the reality that your last victims were ironically your own family, we will embrace the new family we now have, with whom we will always share a common bond forged from the pain of adversity and loss. While your body wastes away in prison, we will renew ourselves by incorporating into our lives those characteristics modeled by our loved ones. Humility, compassion, honor, integrity, kindness, selflessness, and love. Traits which your twisted, cancerous mind cannot comprehend, I realize. While your wretched soul awaits pronouncement of the one true justice, your damn nation to hell for eternity. We will thank God for every day he gives us, realizing as only we can, just how precious life really is. Finally, we want you to know that we who could so easily have succumbed to your quagmire of madness will not give you that satisfaction. Your despicable actions will not defeat us. Our very lives will be testimony that good can triumph over even the most hideous form of evil and perversion. Just as your days are now over, ours are just beginning. In the final analysis, you have to live with the cold reality that while all of us here will overcome your depravity, you have now lost everything and you will forever remain nothing. May that torment you for the rest of your tortured existence. Thank you, Your Honor. Jeffrey Davis' victim impact statement was powerful. He admitted that it took him months to write it. In more recent years, Jeff wrote a book in 2018 titled The Shadow of Evil, Where is God in a Violent World. He dedicated the book to his mother who he described as a gentle soul with a strong faith in God. In the preface of the book, he wrote, "This book is anything but an idealistic attempt to explain why agonizing issues and tormenting questions with happily ever after references to better days ahead. It simply represents the thoughts of one who, just like yourself, struggles every day with the aftermath of crushing adversity in his own life. We've all been marred permanently, emotionally scarred. Well, we've got the road to some hope and some faith and some strength and some sense of purpose and moving up instead of moving down." Now at this point in the hearing, the judge allowed Dennis Rader to address the court. But as he stood and adjusted his tie, the victim's family members also stood and walked out of the courtroom. It was obvious throughout Dennis's life that he liked to have an audience. That's why throughout his time as BTK, he sent out letters taunting police. But today, the victim's family members wanted to send a message that they were not going to be a part of that audience. They had no interest in what he had to say. So then walking out of the courtroom was a powerful move. It even shocked Dennis himself. Seeing them walk out. He turned to the judge and asked if he should continue. And the judge told him to proceed. Now, we tried to clean up this audio, but there are parts that are still a little hard to hear. "And the shortest crime that committed is continuing to be the subject of Canada as a monster. Drop the community, the family, the victims, the son, and there's no, and it's all self-centered." It was a little bit called, I would call it a sexual pediger. "Today is my final judgment. For me, my last information court, presented by the state, the PowerPoint presentation was very powerful. My couple of things I might point out toward the last, but overall, most of that is true. And I think the subject county ought to be proud that they do have a good state that the evidence was there earlier, the DNA, the floppy, there was no way that I was going to get out of this." The most responsibility, the corrections, the concepts of apology. The old knee started whatever it was, Dr. X, the sexual pediger, the volcano was the building of all those years with the Otero, and probably the most devastating, the best setting, let me tell you what it is, the most devastating, I just don't know. I self-centered, very selfish, and exploded on that day, and it did continue off and on. dishonesty, definitely, dishonesty, probably the first thing to the people that I encountered as they trusted me, that I was going to pay them off, take their money, and leave, and then I killed them. That's dishonesty to my family, how live and chief to be self-impressed, to my employers, and to the county. The tax payer's money. The bottom line of the old is a selfish, very disassociated with society, a self-centered for my own purposes, and I take that full burden on my shoulders. There are some notes down, I don't know if this is really proper or not, and a lot of these came out paper because I didn't, I knew the people, you all know why I chose them, but I thought I'd share some things, I'm definitely right, and I hope I don't fail on the media because I didn't use this, some of this from the media because I didn't know this, most of the people. She spent time with grandparents far, and I did too, as a kid, I had many, many, many, a lot of them raised that, and I took that for her. She went to Valley Center, I was at Valley Center High School, her two years there, walked the halls, probably I could say, wine, she heard maybe the same teachers, although they would have been older. She worked at Coleman, just like I did, trying to fill a job that is anybody would, trying to keep in our heads of gold water, and I took it for her. The worst Davis, she loved animals, and I worked as animal control, I realized that there were early years, I probably did have some cruelty handles, I don't think anybody asked, "Hark City" or anything, Davis say, I was always pretty good at animals, I have a great fondness for animals, I have pets, but I know she had it, and I read somewhere, she had her last Christmas with her family, and I did too, that was a wonderful time. I took it from her. Nancy Fox, she was a wonderful person, and I did track her just by the credit of, she was a wonderful young lady, one of our organized, hard worker, and that took her a lot. Annie Hedge, she's a neighbor, I want to walk by way to a gardener, I love to guard flowers. She's in a church, in the same church I've been to with Boy Scales. She was a people town, but then there were courts, I was in there of courts, he was a husband, I was a husband, although I always wanted to be a pilot, I always had a fascination with the aerodynamics, and he was a pilot, and one time he even thought about taking pilot bussiness, and a veteran, I was a veteran, so our cranes are closed. She only had a tarot, but it's a lot like my wife, her loving mother raised kids, and she also worked at Colman, she also think, she lived in a lot of life, my daughter, that age, played with her Barbie dolls, she liked to write 43, I like to write 43, she liked to draw, I like to draw. Someone mentioned that she was like a piece of the heart, and I think that probably comes with a style of equal fee, you can cut that down, give it good to them. So it's over our two, it was just like me at one time, a boy in a dog, and again that comes from people, many memories, now they're like, excuse me. I had a lot of memories as a kid, one of my pets, a boy in a dog is a thing you have to have when you're a kid, surely, she was quiet, mother, probably a very beloved mother, and I took her life, all of the other people I didn't know, I didn't know where much, although I walked by her place and listened to the piano, I appreciate music, that's one thing I always wanted to learn was piano, and I took her life, she was also a little over the other, she's tended to church that I went to once, St. Andrews, now hope I have a little of somebody out on the floor, I think I re-build, and I look at it, basically humbled myself now, the detention center I'm going to, I've tried to realize, work with the place department, work with my defense, and tried to realize my faults, honesty, again I think I cooperated with the police as well, I get eight, I understand there was some smoke law, and that was probably my demise, the problem is I've been losing some of the smoke that now nobody knows the facts of fiction, and that's basically my demise, and I think honesty, people will say, I'm not a Christian, but I could go in, so anyway, I faced up the van itself now, my boss, I think at all most accountability, full responsibility now, and my remorse, well I think it's here, and nobody knows, I think those families will never be able to forgive me, and I hope some will keep down eventually, that will happen, when this happened, I was, what I would say, not at total, in one time, part of me, only the thoughts of compartmentalized, that is probably the state show started to show the day, it was a compartmentalized Asian at me, and that has been my biggest, or I could fit back and forth, and not proud of that, it's just, I, it was escape mechanism, defense mechanism, mechanism, I could switch back and forth fairly fast, I explained to the defense, I was kind of like an 18-liter, either uphill or downhill, I could switch gears very fast, correctly, back and forth, and as I stand here, in this humble way, maybe people think that I've done that, gone back to a Kirk Park Mall, but I know what I'm saying. So anyway, it's given me the faith to see, and today, and not for the past, I knew after I talked to police, the evidence, there wasn't any way I was really going to get out of this, unless we found some way of, some evidence that was just totally out of the, in the trial would have been a long journey off the plea, there was no way that I was ever going to get out of this, but I think the corrections, I'm away from sighting now, I'll do my healing process there, as well as I can, start my new chapter, why. Dennis goes on to ask the court to not make his wife suffer in this, following his arrest, Paula took on Dennis's dead, Dennis said, "There's a lot of defendants that stand up here and don't have any kind of property, I know this is very expensive, and probably the defense is running somewhere 80,000 to 90,000 dollars, I just got the house sold, if we wanted to trial, it would have been in millions in years, so I just basically asked that whoever does that final judgment that they think about that." The other complaint that he had was this, "The other one is not a biggie, it's not this last issue, it's the guidance from a wallet, it's like it keeps some personal pictures out of it, I was hoping that the defense would have a court order, where I leave today, I can go through that wallet and take some payment pictures, but that's not a big issue because I understand to go to that fix the defense, we'll turn that probably over to the family door of my clothes, those are only really complaints, they accept for a PowerPoint, and again I don't want to pick on the law enforcement, they've done a very good job, but I do want to clarify a few things just for the records, because this is basically my final say." He went on to talk about the things that investigators were wrong about during the trial before ending with this. "I can't believe the people of Bill Hill is starting with me, I think they use society half to, even though I'm a criminal, I think you have to appreciate police department, they've done a lot of work, even though it took a long time, they've gathered evidence, they had to work for all those years, it's a great, so I think Cedric County really has a good police force." Pastor Clark, he has been my main man, I come to see him every day, and not every day, excuse me, at least once a week, sometimes twice a week, if anybody on dishonest you, is that man right there? Under the House of God, I've created these things, I did trust his acts, and for him to stay with me remains strong, he's a good man, I appreciate that." He also went with me, we're doing this week with your confession, I said down what they did, and I felt the strengthening of some bonds there at that time, family, the last victims, I don't even start with them, there was Bill's support, he's a little bit of life going on, divorced, she's trying to set an arms way, since my kids are away, I've been there, I don't get much letters or anything, but they're basically supportive, friends, without friends, a person I don't think in this 100 or 176 days, you couldn't survive without friends, if you didn't have family to support you, if you don't have something, if somebody come like Pastor Clark, he'd go down, just mentally he'd go down, so friends have been a very key part of the people in the pod, pod deputies, Sergeant, although they can't have a real friend relationship with your friends, so I got this out this morning, the other day when I was working out, this comes in the day with devotion, it's a Christian book, it's called touch-wise stranger, which is an ordinary. And in the bottom, there's an article. It's by his, there isn't a person named for it. But it's something I could friend with you, and I would appreciate. Like the refreshing rain in the summer, or the gentle breeze in the spring, it's just a little gift of kindness, joy, so one person can rain. With immediate exposure to my family, I basically had to almost just stay away, so I really didn't have any support. It was one person, a one person that stepped up Christina Kassner on it that really helped. And I really appreciate for the support. There's another one that's out on the West Coast, Andy Parshall, he's another Christian, and I really support, where I would have gone that long time to go without their support, so I do want to mention their names. The Christian Bible verse I found, and I think it's helping me, the well-help me, the lady me. This is John H.12. I am a light of the world, he who follows me, shall not walk in darkness, but have light, but light. Now that I confess, put myself out, until I really know what's going on, I expect to feel and have light. And then hopefully someday God will accept me. I think Central County, myself, we speak, but the man is an evil man. The dark side is there, but now I think light is speaking to John. So I appreciate the family, friends, and all I can be thankful for. And I think that will keep me from finally going to the dark side. So, finally, a final apologize to the victims' families. There's no way that I can ever repay them. It's also. This speech has been referred to by many as the Golden Globe speech, due to Dennis thanking the people who caught him. It was yet another look at his narcissism, the very thing that ultimately led to his demise. But with this, on August 18th, 2005, Dennis Rader was finally sentenced to ten consecutive life terms in prison. The judge said, "Dennis Rader murdered with premeditation and deliberation. He killed methodically and systematically uninhibited by any moral concerns or considerations. Dennis Rader killed because he wanted to kill. The evil depravity of his deeds are beyond human comprehension. And from there, he was taken to the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas to spend the rest of his life in an eight by ten cell." Following his sentence, Dennis' family was left to pick up the pieces of his destruction. Clearly, their lives would never be the same. The media continued to hone them for years to come, wanting their side of the story. But there was no story. They had never known the monster BTK. They had just known the family man, husband, father, and provider. Which is what made it all the more devastating for them. For years, his family decided to stay out of the limelight. But Carrie would later say of her dad, quote, "The weight of the absence of this man in our lives settled into my bones. Everything had changed and nothing was ever going to be right again." Carrie said that her life was compartmentalized into two major events, before dad and after dad. And for a while, after being sent off to prison, Dennis kept in touch with his family. He repeatedly wrote letters to his wife Paula, proclaiming his love for her, but Paula never wrote him back. The minute he confessed to his crimes, she severed ties. Carrie has sent remarked that her mother had the luxury of divorcing her dad, officially making him her ex-husband. But Carrie and Brian didn't have that option. Dennis Raider would forever be their father, their blood, whether they liked it or not. Now they did write to their dad on and off. With Brian pinning in a letter soon after his arrest, quote, "You're not right in the head, and people don't understand that," end quote. For the kids, things were incredibly complicated. Carrie said that she wrote to her dad often in the beginning, but soon, she couldn't take it anymore. When she discovered she was pregnant with her own daughter, she completely cut off contact with her dad to protect her baby girl. Carrie wrote, quote, "Seven families were destroyed by my father, never to be the same again. Eight, his family, my family, my family, not his, no longer his," end quote. Now as time progressed, Carrie was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. She admitted that she, her mother Paula and her brother Brian have all done extensive therapy in order to move on, and that their faith helped guide them through the healing process. But for years, Carrie carried the weight of her father's crimes. In the early days, she and her family agreed to remain silent. And to this day, her mother Paula and her brother Brian have never spoken with the media. But around 2014, Carrie decided that it was finally time to share her story with the world, and she began writing a book called A Serial Killer's Daughter. We have referenced it a lot throughout this series. It is truly an incredible read, and it gives a lot more insight into trauma, faith, and Carrie's journey to peace. We highly recommend you read it and support her, because as we'll soon touch on, the book isn't the only good she's doing in the world. Now for the last two decades, Dennis Raider has resided at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County, Kansas, roughly 30 miles east of Wichita. After he was sentenced, Judge Waller ruled that he was not allowed to possess images of humans or animals due to his belief that it would reignite his fantasies. But only one year after his incarceration, Dennis proved himself as a model prisoner, and many of his restrictions were lifted. In 2019, Dennis wrote the Daily Mail and said, "Have TV, radio, hot pot. I can call people, have visitors, just live alone, and can't have contact with other outside myself, unless handcuffed, probably listed as high profile. Work on art, poetry, write a lot of letters, keep record and book on life, exercise when I can. Do call close friends. That's nice to talk to others, and they come and visit me, send me nice letters and cards, or buy books for me to read. I call them my cave family. Been here 13 years and 190 days as I write. After a while, you just get tired of the same thing day after day. But keeping busy helps, also changing one's routine. He also mentions that throughout his time in prison, he has come across many vipers, people who wanted a friendship with him in order to get memorabilia to turn around and so. He wrote, "Vipers are people that make money off inmates getting their letters, art, poetry, and things they give to them. I have now about 42 of them listed, but as I age/down size, there will be more vipers activity. They couldn't wait until I pass away." And though Dennis denounced the so-called vipers, at least in writing, the truth is, he loves them. He is a narcissist, after all. In the years since his arrest, he's signed several letters and photos with his BTK symbol, showing that he has no remorse, and is still basking in the moniker he picked for himself. Not only has he signed letters, but he signed a crime scene photo of Julie Otero with his moniker, and a photo of his own daughter. For two decades, he's been writing the "High of the Crime" he committed. And sadly, there may even be more. In 2023, investigators started looking into more potential victims of Dennis Raider, and his daughter, Carrie, had a hand in that. In several interviews, Carrie has reflected on the fact that her father taught her the very skills she is using to try and make sure all of his victims have been found. And it looks as though there may be a lot more. Investigators actually found nine different cases in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma that they believe could be linked to Dennis Raider. One of these was the death of a 16-year-old girl named Cynthia Kenney. Cynthia disappeared from a laundromat in Oklahoma in 1976. And I think the thing that really had investigators looking at Raider for this crime was that in his notebook in 1976, he wrote about a girl he stalked, called Project Bad Laundry Day. Detectives also found words connected to Cynthia, and the word search that BTK had sent them years and years ago. In the word search, not only did it spell out Cindy, which was her nickname, but it also spelled out Kenny, her last name. In addition, he also listed the street in town that she disappeared from, and the words Laundry Matt. Now, investigators questioned Raider in prison, and he admitted that he had always wanted to kidnap a girl from a laundromat, but he never actually did. And in the end, there was never enough to charge him. Now, disturbingly, it also came out that within Dennis' notes, there was a portion that read "Carry, Bondage, Game", and when his daughter "Carry" read that, with the exact spelling of her name. name. She felt sick to her stomach. And those three words haunted her for years. What did they mean? Had she also been a victim of her father? Was it something she blocked out? Finally, in 2023, after years of not speaking to her father, Carrie decided to visit Dennis in prison, hoping to get answers. One of the first things she asked him was whether or not he was responsible for 16-year-old Cindy Kenney's disappearance. But once again, Dennis denied any involvement. So next, Carrie asked him about the note of his that read, "Carrie Bondage Game. Did you touch me growing up?" She asked him. Now, Carrie didn't know how her father was going to react or what he would say. But it was in that moment where she watched a look of anger fall over his face. Carrie has chillingly recounted it that it was as if her father disappeared, and BTK took his place. Ultimately, Dennis denied ever touching Carrie, and he told her that it was just a fantasy. But he never really elaborated on what exactly that meant. And towards the end of their meeting, Dennis shrugged her off, thoroughly accusing her of "making up stuff to be famous." Later on, once Carrie was out of the room and able to catch her breath, she stated, "He was literally gaslighting me, manipulating me, lying to me, five feet for me. It was like I wasn't talking to my dad. It was like I was talking to a subhuman. What everybody talks about, him being a psychopath, and a narcissist, and not wanting to be around him. I had still been able to find humanity in him. And then, I wasn't able to." Carrie believes that her father could be responsible for more murders, and she has worked tirelessly with law enforcement to try and uncover the full story. She said, "If my father has committed more murders, then we really need to get to the bottom of the truth, and we need to get it before my father passes away." Which could be just around the corner. Today, Dennis Raider is 80 years old. He is frail and confined to a wheelchair. He apparently suffered a stroke, his scoliosis, and struggles with short-term memory loss. Carrie admitted the last time she visited him, it was obvious he was declining. She said, "He's lost like seven inches, and he's in a wheelchair. He's pretty much rotting to his core, so he didn't even necessarily recognize me." Now, as for her mother, Paula, she moved out of the state of Kansas and lived a quiet life. Her brother, Ryan, never married. Sadly, in a recent Netflix documentary titled, "My Father, the BTK Killer," Carrie admitted that she no longer has a relationship with her mother and brother, but she remains hopeful that one day, down the road, they will be close again. In the meantime, Carrie has dedicated her life to helping others, becoming an advocate for victims of crime. But as you've seen throughout this series, Dennis Raider's crimes had a ripple effect of destruction. Not only did he end the lives of ten people, but he destroyed the lives of all who cared for those ten. He subjected their families to trauma. No one should ever have to experience. Several of them are forever stuck with the image of discovering their murdered loved one. For the children he left at the crime scenes, some of their earliest memories were hearing their mother die just feet away from them. For decades, Dennis Raider lurked through Wichita, destroying everything in his path, with zero remorse or regret. To him, it was a fun little game, a secret that made him feel powerful, but in satisfying his own sick desires. And tearing families apart, he ultimately destroyed his own. We don't want you to remember Dennis Raider as BTK. He doesn't deserve the name he's given himself to stroke his own ego. We want you to remember him for what he really is. A man who never grew beyond his childish need to feel important, to selfishly take what he wanted, and to feel as though the world revolved around him. A man who is not as important, relevant, smart, witty, or charming as he'd like to think he is. A man who could have gotten away with his crimes, if it weren't for his own ego. And lastly, a man who will rot in prison until his dying day. Hey everybody, thank you so much for listening to this final episode in our four part BTK series. This has been the most thorough look that we've ever taken at a singular string of crimes. And we do hope that you've enjoyed learning the facts of this case with us going through all of this and above all, learning the stories, not only of the victims, but also of the survivors, which Courtney and I believe our job is to elevate. We are heading into our winter break now, so we will be gone for the next four weeks. Courtney and I take this month off every single year. Courtney and I are both working on different projects that are incredibly exciting that are going to be revealed next year. So it's a very important month for us, but we will be back mid January with brand new episodes of Murder in America. If you're going to miss the show, you can join us on Patreon. There are going to be bonus episodes posted on our Patreon this month. So if you want episodes of MIA, I would highly recommend joining us there because these are full length episodes of the show that will never be posted on our main feed. They're exactly like what you just listened to. And Courtney and I are just as passionate about the stories that go on to Patreon as the ones that we talk about here on the main feed for the show. So if you don't like the ads, you want to listen to the episodes that are really considered joining us on Patreon. If you want the bonus episodes, Patreon is the place to go. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @MurderInAmerica to see photos from every single case that we cover here on the show. And as always, we love hearing from you guys on the reviews. So if you're listening on Spotify, please be sure to leave us a review. If you're listening on Apple podcasts also, please leave us a review wherever you're listening. Please be sure to leave us a five star review. If you've enjoyed all the work that we have put into this show for the last almost five years, it's crazy guys are about to hit our anniversary. Anyways, y'all, thank you so much. Courtney and I wish everybody out there a very, very happy holidays, a Merry Christmas, whatever you celebrate. We hope that you have an absolutely incredible time with your family, with your loved ones, with your husband, your wife, your whatever and whoever. And yeah, we will see you guys in 2026. Thank you so much for being such amazing listeners. We have an amazing listener base and just an amazing murder in America family. Thank you guys for tuning in. And Allah, catch you on the next one.