Dennis Rader

Dennis Rader Cleared as a Suspect in 1990 Murder of Shawna Beth Garber

Missouri authorities have officially cleared Dennis Rader, the convicted BTK Killer, of any involvement in the 1990 murder of 22-year-old Shawna Beth Garber. Despite being named as a prime suspect in August 2023, the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 21 that Rader, now 79, is no longer under suspicion for the crime.

Instead, investigators believe Talfey Reeves, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 58, is responsible for Garber’s death. Garber’s remains were found in December 1990 outside an abandoned farmhouse, but her identity was only confirmed in March 2021 through advanced DNA technology. With the case now closed, police suspect Reeves kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and killed Garber by overdose 34 years ago.

Initially, Rader became a suspect after photographs in his journal, which seemed to depict a red blanket linked to Garber, were discovered. However, six witnesses later came forward, providing independent testimony that implicated Reeves as the perpetrator. Lead investigator Lori Howard noted, “Each witness shared their information separately, without knowing what the others had said. This corroboration allowed us to confirm the true events.”

Garber’s case, unsolved for over three decades, has now reached its conclusion with the identification of her killer.

Who Is Dennis Rader?

Dennis Rader is an infamous American serial killer who terrorized the Wichita, Kansas, area between 1974 and 1991. Known as the BTK Killer, an acronym for his method of binding, torturing, and killing his victims, Rader led a double life as a family man and a respected community member. Despite his outward appearance of normalcy, he committed the brutal murders of 10 people during this time. Rader’s reign of terror involved taunting law enforcement and the media with letters and clues, actions that eventually led to his arrest in 2005. He pleaded guilty and is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences.

Early Life, Family, and Career

Dennis Lynn Rader was born on March 9, 1945, in Pittsburg, Kansas, and grew up in Wichita as the eldest of four sons. Though his early life appeared ordinary, reports suggest that he displayed troubling behavior, such as the torture of stray animals, a precursor to his later crimes. Rader briefly attended college before dropping out and joining the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1960s. Upon his return to Kansas, he found work at an outdoor-supply company and later began a long tenure at ADT Security Services in 1974.

In 1971, Rader married Paula Dietz, and the couple had two children—Brian, born in 1975, and Kerri, born in 1978. While his son has remained out of the spotlight, Kerri Rader published a memoir in 2019 titled A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming, in which she reflects on learning of her father’s horrific crimes and how she came to terms with them.

First Victims and Crime Patterns

Rader’s first known murders occurred on January 15, 1974, when he brutally killed four members of the Otero family—Joseph, his wife Julie, and their children Josephine and Joseph Jr.—in their Wichita home. After binding and strangling his victims, Rader took personal items, such as a watch and radio, as souvenirs, a habit that would become characteristic of his crimes. He also left behind evidence of sexual gratification linked to the murders. The Oteros’ eldest son, Charlie, returned home later that day and found the bodies.

Rader continued his killing spree on April 4, 1974, when he attacked Kathryn Bright in her apartment. After waiting for her to return home, he stabbed and strangled her. Rader also shot her brother, Kevin, twice, but he survived and later described his attacker as a man with a bushy mustache and “psychotic” eyes, as detailed in a TIME magazine article.

Rader’s eventual capture and the revelation of his crimes shocked both his family and the community, as few suspected the seemingly ordinary man of living a secret life as a sadistic serial killer.

BTK Goes Public and Commits More Murders

In October 1974, Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, left a letter in a public library book, confessing to the murder of the Otero family. Though poorly written, this letter provided authorities with initial insight into the mind of the killer. Rader wrote, “It’s hard to control myself. You probably call me ‘psychotic with sexual perversion hang-up.’” He warned that he would strike again, signing off with the code words “bind them, torture them, kill them”—from which the infamous BTK moniker was derived.

Rader’s next confirmed crimes occurred in 1977. In March, he strangled Shirley Vian after locking her children in the bathroom. Later that year, in December, he murdered Nancy Fox in her home and called the police to report the crime. By January 1978, Rader sent a poem about the Vian murder to a local newspaper, followed by a letter to a television station confessing to several murders. In his correspondence, he also referenced notorious killers such as Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, continuing his taunting of authorities while maintaining an outwardly normal life. Rader, who graduated from Wichita State University in 1979 with a degree in justice administration, continued his disturbing games and, in April of that year, broke into an elderly woman’s home but left before she returned. He later informed her via a letter that BTK had been there.

Following a brief hiatus, Rader resumed his killings in 1985, murdering his neighbor Marine Hedge. He then killed Vicki Wegerle in 1986 and claimed his final known victim, Dolores Davis, in January 1991.

Resurfacing, Arrest, and Imprisonment

After several years of silence, BTK reemerged in 2004. Rader, now working as a compliance supervisor for Park City, Kansas, sent local media outlets various letters and packages related to his crimes, including photographs, a word puzzle, and an outline of the “BTK Story.” A computer disk he sent ultimately led authorities to his church, and surveillance footage of Rader’s vehicle helped cement the case. DNA from his daughter further confirmed his identity. On February 25, 2005, Rader was arrested and later charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. The community was shocked to learn that the seemingly ordinary man they knew as a church council president and Boy Scout leader was a notorious serial killer.

In court, Rader pleaded guilty and provided chilling details of his crimes without showing any remorse. Since the death penalty was not an option for crimes committed before 1994, he was sentenced to 10 life terms and imprisoned at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.

Gilgo Beach Comparison

In July 2023, Rex Heuermann was arrested in connection with a series of murders in Gilgo Beach, New York, and Rader, from his prison cell, took notice. He described Heuermann as a “clone of myself” in a letter to Fox News Digital, pointing out similarities in how modern technology and DNA evidence had played a pivotal role in solving both cases.

New Suspected Murders

In August 2023, police in Osage County, Oklahoma, named Rader as the prime suspect in two unsolved cases. One case involved the 1976 disappearance of 16-year-old Cynthia Kinney, who went missing while working at a laundromat. Evidence linking Rader to the area and a journal entry titled “Bad Wash Day” raised suspicions. In a letter written from prison, however, Rader denied involvement in the case, stating that any connection was purely coincidental.

Additionally, police connected photographs from Rader’s journals to the 1990 murder of 22-year-old Shawna Beth Garber. A red blanket found with Garber’s body appeared to match one missing from her belongings. However, in March 2024, investigators concluded that Rader was not responsible for her death, identifying another suspect who had since passed away.

In September 2023, authorities believed they had identified a woman depicted in a disturbing drawing taken from Rader in 2005. The woman, bound and gagged inside a barn, was thought to have gone missing in 1991. Additional sketches of women in similar situations hinted at more possible victims in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Police also discovered a “hidey-hole” on Rader’s former property containing bondage materials, further suggesting that he may have committed additional crimes.

Depictions in Pop Culture

Dennis Rader’s story has left a significant mark on pop culture, inspiring various adaptations in literature, film, and television. Notably, Stephen King’s novella A Good Marriage, published in 2010 as part of the Full Dark, No Stars collection, was directly influenced by Rader’s crimes and was later adapted into a feature film. In 2016, forensic psychology professor Katherine Ramsland released Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, which provided further insights into his life, including revelations that he had intended to claim another victim before his arrest.

Rader’s influence also extended to television. Netflix’s critically acclaimed crime drama Mindhunter, released in October 2017, featured a character known as “ADT Man,” inspired by Rader. Additionally, in 2018, the Oxygen Network aired an episode of its Snapped documentary series titled “Notorious: The BTK Serial Killer,” which explored Rader’s case in depth. In a previously unaired interview shown during the episode, Rader disturbingly described his compulsion to kill as “a demon that’s within me” and acknowledged having feelings for his victims.