Dennis Rader Essay

1481 Words6 Pages
Dennis Rader and the BTK Killings According to Wikipedia Dennis Rader was born on March 4th, 1954 to Dorothea Mae and William Rader. He was the oldest of four children. In 1971 Dennis married his wife, Paula. Three years into his marriage and one year before his son was born, Dennis Rader committed his first crime, strangling a family of four and taking a radio and watch from the home. A few months later he stabbed and strangled a woman. The young man with her survived being shot twice and provided the first clue to authorities, the assailant was an average man with crazed eyes. After the second crime, Rader wrote a letter confessing to the first murders and referring to himself as the BTK Strangler. He explained that BTK stood for B-bind them, T-torture them, K-kill them. Psychological Studies on Rader have established that even as a young child in grade school he would often fantasize about bondage, controlling and torturing individuals. As he entered puberty these fantasies turned sexual, dreaming of tying females up and having sex with them. Rader also admits to torturing and killing animals when he was young. As a student, Rader was described as quiet, studious and focused. After graduation from high school, Rader spent a year away at college and joined the Air Force in 1966. Rader’s military career provided for domestic and international travels, spending time in Texas, Alabama, Japan, Korea, Greece and Turkey. Rader was known for strangling his victims and taking souvenirs. Semen was also found at his crime scenes. Rader later detailed that he derived a sexual pleasure from committing the murders. Rader was driven by a desire for fame. Thru out his murdering spree he would taunt police, writing letters to the investigating departments, newspapers and television stations detailing his crimes. With his last murder occurring in 1985, Rader

More about Dennis Rader Essay

Open Document