The BTK Killer Got Caught After Making One Careless Mistake With His Clues
"My father just flew under the radar..."
Published Oct. 9 2025, 9:25 a.m. ET
He evaded police for decades, convincing them that the murders he committed were unrelated. That’s how good Dennis Rader, better known as the BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill), was back in his day. He gave police a run for their money, playing a dark cat-and-mouse game where he’d drop clues but still keep his identity concealed.
Rader’s killing spree started in 1974 and ran through 1991.
During that time, he sent taunting letters to local news outlets — souvenirs from his crimes. He was teasing the city of Wichita, Ks., while keeping everyone on edge because no one knew when he’d strike next. That is, until 2005.
It’s easy to assume the BTK Killer enjoyed the attention and the twisted game he created with the media and police. But that same need to be recognized would cost him his freedom and reputation. Here’s how the BTK killer got caught, and how many lives he took.
How did the BTK killer get caught?
After his final murder in 1991, Dennis Rader, aka the BTK Killer, suddenly went quiet. For more than a decade, he stopped communicating with the media and police. But by 2004, the silence may have gotten to him, and he decided to start playing his twisted game again, and that’s what ultimately got him caught.
It all started when BTK dropped a package in the back of a truck at a Wichita Home Depot, according to ABC News. Police recovered it, and inside was a letter titled “Commication,” misspelled, of course, where he asked detectives if a floppy disc could be traced to a computer.
He even told them to “be honest.”
He then instructed them to run an ad in the Wichita Eagle that said, “Rex, it will be OK. " This would signal to him that the floppy disc couldn’t be traced.
Police played along and ran the ad. So, Rader sent them a floppy disc. And that was his biggest mistake. The disc was immediately handed over to a forensics software detective who examined the disc and found metadata linking it to a computer at Christ Lutheran Church, registered to someone named “Dennis.”
A quick Google search led detectives straight to the church’s president, Dennis Rader. Using DNA from Rader’s daughter’s medical records (obtained via warrant), investigators confirmed a match to evidence from the 1974 Otero family murders.
Once the pieces clicked together, over 200 officers joined forces to make the arrest before Rader made it home for lunch from work. When surrounded, he reportedly told police, “Will you let my wife know I won’t be home for lunch? I assume you know where I live.”
The arrest not only stunned Wichita but also had residents breathing sighs of relief. Because not only was Rader the BTK Killer, but he was also a former Cub Scout leader and the president of his church congregation, facts that made the case all the more chilling.
Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms in August 2005 and remains imprisoned at El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.
How many people did BTK serial killer admit to killing?
The BTK Killer not only pleaded guilty to his crimes, but he also openly admitted to killing 10 people to “satisfy his sexual fantasies,” per CNN. In nearly every case, he carefully chose his victims and stalked them before striking.
His murder spree began in 1974 with Kathryn Bright and the Otero family, which included Joseph Otero, his wife Julie, and their two children, Josephine and Joseph Jr.
He went on to kill Shirley Vian and Nancy Fox in 1977, his neighbor, Marine Hedge, in 1985, Vicki Wegerle in 1986, and Dolores Davis in 1991.