

Wichita police publicly released the information announcing that there was a serial killer in their quiet little town. The writer, apparently angered that his previous work had not been shown, sent a letter claiming responsibility for the murders of the Otero family, Shirley Vian, and Nancy Fox. Early the next year, Rader sent a sarcastic poem on a postcard to the Wichita Eagle newspaper entitled "Shirley Locks," but no one realized the connection until days later when it was followed by a much more serious letter. Although the 911 tape was played repeatedly on the news, no one recognized Dennis Rader's voice. Nancy Fox.That is correct." Rader then walked away from the phone, leaving the receiver dangling. The next morning Rader phoned the police stating,"Yes, you will find a homicide at 843 South Pershing. Detectives later found seminal evidence near the victim. Rader left the children alive in the bathroom. Rader barricaded the children in the bathroom, bound Shirley Vain, and strangled her do death with a cord. Rader proceeded to draw the shades and turn off the television when, suddenly, the mother, 24-year-old Shirley Vain, entered the room in her bathrobe. Rader knocked on the door and was allowed entry by the three children in the home, the oldest of which was 8-years-old. After answering no, Rader tailed the boy back to his house.

Canvassing the neighborhood on foot and posing as a detective, Rader approached a 5-year-old boy and showed him a picture of his own wife. In March of 1977, Rader allegedly cased two different women's homes but found both to be empty. However, he did admit that he had never stopped "trolling" for victims. According to Rader, his life was so busy that he committed no crimes for the next two years.
Serial killers crime scene photos btk code#
The writer stated, "I did it myself with no one's help," and "the code words for 'em will be.Bind them, torture them, kill them, B.T.K."įrom his own testimony, Rader stated that he found steady work in 1974, had his first child in 1975, and was going to school. It was noted that the writer of the note used very poor grammar and spelling, but had obvious knowledge of the crime. There, police found a detailed description of the unsolved Otero murders. The man who took the call told police that the caller informed him that there was a letter hidden in an engineering book at the Wichita Public Library. In October of that year, the Wichita Eagle newspaper got a phone call. Kevin Bright survived the attack, but was left with permanent damage. Kathryn Bright died in the hospital several hours later. He had fled the house on foot to his car parked a few blocks away. He quickly found two men on the street, but when they returned home, Rader was already gone. While Kathyrn was being stabbed, Keven had made his way out of the house and searched for help. Apparently, feeling panicked, Rader did not take his time with Kathryn, but instead delivered deep stab wounds to her abdomen and other areas before fleeing the scene. Kevin fought with Rader, but was shot twice in the head and face during the struggle. Rader tried to strangle Kevin using a stocking, but Keven was able to get loose and grabbed Rader's gun. Her brother Keven was taken to another bedroom and was bound with items found in the room. Using the same methods as before, he bound Kathryn in her bedroom. They were both taken by surprise when a man came out of the room with a gun. She was accompanied by her 19-year-old brother Kevin. He hid in her bedroom until she arrived home at 2:00 PM.

The morning of April 4th, 1974, Rader broke into the home of 21-year-old Kathryn Bright. He claimed to have driven his car back to their residence and retrieved the knife from their yard. A woman later testified that she saw Rader get out of the vehicle "shaking like a leaf." He then threw the keys onto the roof of the market, but realized that he had left a knife at the Otero residence. From there, he drove to a Dillon's supermarket. He also took the Otero's station wagon and nearly got into an accident backing out of the drive. She was left partially naked, and police discovered semen on the pipe behind the young girl.Īfter the brutal murdering, Rader proceeded to clean up and take a few souvenirs with him. Rader had apparently brought a chair into the bedroom to sit and watch the child die.ġ1-year-old Josie Otero was taken to the basement and hung from a noose tied around a sewer pipe. He was found face down on his bedroom floor with a bag over his head. He tried to strangle her with his bare hands, but it took several attempts before he was successful in murdering her.ĩ-year-old Joey Otero was next to die. He then moved to the mother, Julie Otero, age 34. Rader placed a bag over the father's head and used a cord to subdue and kill Joe Otero.
