Pod Insights Murder In America EP. 225- SERIAL KILLER: BTK (Bind Torture Kill) | Pt. 1: The Beginnings About this episode Before he became the nightmare of Wichita, Kansas – the sadistic serial killer who taunted police with letters signed “BTK” – Dennis Rader was just a quiet, unassuming boy growing up in middle America.
In this chilling episode, we go back to the beginning. This is the origin story of one of America’s most infamous serial killers – the story of how Dennis Rader spent decades carefully constructing the perfect mask… This is the making of BTK.
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Transcript 19,945 words · 3 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Colin Brown? 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.
0:11 Courtney Brown? Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
0:18 Colin Brown? This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
0:22 Courtney Brown? The story we have for you today is the beginning of our series about a man that we all know far too well. For decades, the media called him BTK, which stands for Bind, Torture, Kill. He gave himself that name because it's the way in which he ended his victims' lives. BTK was a sadist, a stalker, a pedophile, a killer, and a monster that haunted the city of Wichita, Kansas for over 30 years. Throughout that time, he took the lives of 10 people, somehow managing to stay hidden in the shadows. The identity of BTK
1:03 Courtney Brown? was one of America's greatest mysteries until his arrest in 2005. And that's when the world learned that his real name was Dennis Rader. From the outside, Dennis was a family man, a hard worker, a loving husband, an attentive father, and a dedicated member of his church. So throughout this four-part series, we are going to walk you through his life, his crimes, his eventual capture, and of course, his victims. Now, we know that most people know all about the story of BTK, so I have worked really hard to bring you the most in-depth story we can, leaving no corner untouched. If you're a Patreon member, you can listen
1:47 Courtney Brown? to part two right now, and part three and four will be posted there soon as well. So if you don't want to wait a week between each episode, make sure to subscribe. But with that being said, this is part one of our series of serial killer BTK. I'm Courtney Brown.
2:05 Colin Brown? And I'm Colin Brown.
2:07 Courtney Brown? And you're listening to Murder in America.
3:10 Colin Brown? Our story begins in 1943, at a time where every moment of every day was shrouded by the horrors of World War II. Tens of millions of people had died, and across the world, people lived in fear, mourning, and uncertainty. Yet, in the darkest of moments, there were slivers of light, and promised that one day, life would be okay again. On April 7, 1943, a young, uncertain couple looked into each other's eyes in a small chapel in San Diego, California. They didn't know what the future brought. They didn't know when the war would end, or even if they would ever see each other again. However, they were certain of one thing: They loved each other. In that moment, in that chapel, that was all they had, and all that they needed.
3:55 Colin Brown? Dorothy May Cook was just 17 years old when she said her vows to her fiance, 19-year-old William Alvin Rader. The two had met at their church in Columbus, Kansas, and had fallen head over heels for one another. When William was called to action as a Marine, Dorothy, who was still a senior in high school, knew that she didn't want him going overseas before they exchanged their vows and professed their love to one another. So she hopped on a bus, traveling the exhausting 1,500 mile journey to San Diego to wed him on a military base. And from that moment, until their deaths, they remained a couple, for better or worse, in sickness and in health. They had no idea that their greatest challenge and sorrow in life was going to come from the thing they had wished
4:39 Colin Brown? for the most: a child.
4:42 Courtney Brown? On March 9, 1945, William and Dorothea Rader had their first child, Dennis Lynn Rader. He was born in Pittsburgh, Kansas, a town that appeared as if it was a snapshot out of the American dream. There were cozy family homes with lush gardens, a small downtown area, a scattering of local businesses, and in the center of town, the Pittsburgh Weir Coal Field, which employed the majority of people who called Pittsburgh home. But with the end of the war on the horizon, Dennis was born into a hopeful world with two parents who loved him dearly. After returning from the war shortly after Dennis's birth, his
5:24 Courtney Brown? father William got a job working for Kansas Gas Service, and his mother Dorothea was a bookkeeper at a local supermarket. Dorothea was described as a math whiz, incredibly logical, but also very fun-loving. His father William was said to be strict, intelligent, and a hard-working man. But according to Dennis, his parents weren't home very often, and at times, he felt neglected. Now, the majority of information we're going to give about Dennis's childhood comes from the book, Confessions of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer. It was written by Dr. Catherine Ramsland. But over the course
6:07 Courtney Brown? of several years, she exchanged letters with Dennis Rader and got pretty close to him. Allowing her to essentially write a biography that is, at times, in his own words. Other than that, there is little insight into Dennis's childhood from anyone close to him, largely because none of his family members have spoken to the public. So as we describe Dennis's childhood and his views of his parents, keep in mind that this is his perspective and the stories that he wants the public to know. Dennis, as you will see, is a man who is desperate for control,
6:46 Courtney Brown? a man who is desperate to stay relevant and act as a god over his story and the story of others. Thankfully, author Dr. Ramslin accounted for this. In her book, she allows Dennis to speak in his own words, but she also flings his statements with her own professional opinions of what he is saying. So we will do the same here.
7:10 Colin Brown? When Dennis describes his mother in letters, the very first thing he says is, "She was attractive, a cheerleader." Truly, that alone says a lot about his perspective on what is important about women, even if that woman gave birth to him and raised him. If you asked anyone else about Dorothy, they would likely tell you that she was tough, hardworking, and independent. Not only did she balance her job at the grocery store, but she also raised four sons. Dennis was first in 1945, then Paul in 1947, Bill in 1949, and finally Jeff in 1955. But Dennis is noticeably more critical of his mother than of his father, despite his claims that neither of them were very present in his life.
7:53 Colin Brown? From a young age, he recalls being critical of his mother, believing that she did un-Christian things, like smoking cigarettes and reading or watching TV when he felt she should have been spending time with him and his siblings. In Confession of a Serial Killer, he writes, "My mom did not become a close friend to me." Dennis may have felt lonely as a child, which is something he repeatedly claims, but he was far from alone.
8:17 Courtney Brown? Because it wasn't just Dennis's parents raising him. His paternal and maternal grandparents both owned farms in nearby Wichita where he grew up. On weekends and during the summer, he and his brothers would go to the farm, playing in the barns, running through the fields, and sitting by the fire with their grandparents, who all adored and doted on him. One of his earliest memories is sitting on the porch with his grandmother cook and looking out over the Kansas prairie at a darkened swirling horizon. When thunder rumbled, shaking the house, Dennis began to sob, terrified. But his grandmother quickly scooped him up in her arms, cradling him.
9:00 Courtney Brown? As she rocked back and forth in a chair, breathing in the summer humidity, she told Dennis not to fret. To calm Dennis's nerves, she convinced him that the booming thunder was just a potato truck rumbling by, dropping potatoes on the ground as it made its way down the road. And instantly, Dennis was soothed. By all accounts, both sides of his family loved him with this intensity. At home, his parents would tuck he and his brothers in every night, then say a prayer with them, wishing them a peaceful night of sleep. This is all to say, if there was anything lacking in Dennis's childhood, it wasn't love. In Confessions of a Serial Killer,
9:45 Courtney Brown? Dennis states that he knew something was wrong with him from a young age. In a letter, he wrote, "I first started seeing or thinking of monsters at each three or four. I can often see figures and everyday things. I often wonder if that had something to do with me later. I didn't want to be helpless." Now, helplessness became a recurring theme throughout Dennis's life. But it was also something that simultaneously excited him and something that terrified him more than anything else. When he was four or five years old, he remembered the first time that it excited him. It was when his mother was cleaning.
10:27 Courtney Brown? She caught her wedding ring on the spring of their couch. Dennis remembers the frantic panicked look in his mother's eyes as she turned to him, begging to run and get the neighbor's help. In that moment, Dennis felt what he described as a strange feeling in his groin and a wave of excitement that rushed over him. There was just something about his mother being helpless, trapped, and unable to move that was exhilarating. Of this incident, Dr. Ramsland writes, "He felt the first stirrings of arousal over this. It was exciting to him to see a woman helpless. And it was the beginning of his ideas about women,
11:10 Courtney Brown? that what he wanted from them was to keep them trapped, helpless, and looking to him in terror."
11:18 Colin Brown? Yet, at the same time, he often wanted to be the helpless one. When he was five, a severe ear infection led him to needing a mirengotomy, a procedure where a doctor punctures your ear, allowing trapped fluid to drain out. Nowadays, you're put under anesthesia for that procedure. But in the 1950s, that wasn't the case. Dennis recalls being held down against a table by his mother as a female doctor slid a needle into his ear. It was wildly painful, and yet, he relished the juxtaposition of what he experienced. One moment, he was being held down and forced to experience a horrible sensation. The next, he was comforted, hugged, and kissed. In confession of a serial killer, Dennis writes that he believes this may have been the start of his real fascination with BDSM
12:03 Colin Brown? and his sexual arousal surrounding both being helpless and forcing someone else to experience helplessness.
12:09 Courtney Brown? When you look at Dennis's childhood, there isn't much out of place. He was a member of the Boy Scouts. He went to church every Sunday. He ate dinner at the kitchen table and said his prayers with his family every night. But if people were to have looked closely, if they really paid attention, they would see that beneath his normal boyhood activities, he did things that just weren't right. Trigger warning: This next part involves animal cruelty. But his grandparents' farm became a playground for his troubling budding fantasies. By the time he was in elementary school, Dennis took to killing stray cats at his grandparents' barn.
12:52 Courtney Brown? He said he felt that the cats "had an evil to them." He recalls an early memory of trying to strangle a cat with his bare hands, but he found it impossible because the cats would flail around, scratching him. Still craving a kill, he turned to putting cats in gunny sacks, tying off the tops, and submerging them in buckets of water, drowning them. Dennis would later reflect on this as an adult, telling Dr. Ramsland, "To me, cats are mysterious creatures, a sort of feminine creature. I didn't understand them, and I wanted to control them."
13:33 Courtney Brown? Now if you've ever had a cat, you know that controlling them is next to impossible. So Dennis went the alternate route, killing them by drowning or hanging, and he did this any chance he got. However, he did claim that during this period, he never killed a dog, writing, "I love dogs and wolves. I relate to wolves. I was a lone wolf."
13:58 Colin Brown? As we stated earlier, being alone and feeling lonely are two very different things. By all accounts, Dennis was rarely ever alone. He was surrounded by people who cared for him. He had three brothers and a huge group of cousins and friends that he spent most days playing with. Now, growing up in the 50s, there was one game of make-believe that surpassed all others, Cowboys and Indians. For days and weeks on end, Dennis and his brothers and cousins would pretend to be natives and Indians on his grandparents' farms. During play battles, the losing party or kidnapped members of the other team would be tied up. The first time Dennis was tied up during the game, he wrote, "I was scared, but something felt good." He began to hope that he would be captured, just so he could experience the rush he felt
14:42 Colin Brown? when he was bound. Sometimes the person who was bound would be put in whatever space had been designated jail that day. Often it was a barn, chicken coop, or silo. When it was the silo, Dennis was elated. He loved and feared the helplessness of being at the bottom of the silo. Looking up at a pinprick of blue sky, knowing that if he called, no one would hear him. In time, silos and the idea of creating a dungeon in them would become an obsession of his. And not just that, but an ultimate life goal. After finding that he enjoyed the sensation of being tied up, Dennis began to seek out anything that involved bondage. Now, remember, at this time, Dennis is somewhere between eight and 11 years old, at least in
15:26 Colin Brown? his own recounting of events. But he began looking for pulp fiction featuring women in distress on the covers. In an interview with The Rolling Stone, Dr. Ramsland stated that she believes these magazines only added fuel to the fire. That's when he was forming into a sexual being. He's reading stories about guys who have control over their victims and see the terror on their faces. That was already part of the fantasy, and now he's got the media confirming it. That media confirmation seemed to be all he needed to delve even deeper. And very quickly, it wasn't fake magazine stories that he was fantasizing about. It was his classmates, teachers, and different celebrities. One particular obsession of his was Annette Funicello, an actress who was a Mouseketeer
16:07 Colin Brown? on the original Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show from 1955 to 1958. As an adult, Dennis wrote, "I had fantasized over and over of this female being in bondage, helpless, with me in complete control over her life. Even back in the late 50s, I was nine or 10 when I first saw her." He continued, writing, "Annette Funicello started me on the female stalker road. I became the werewolf to chase her down on a full moon, the Dracula to bite her, my teeth sinking into the wonderful flesh of upcoming womanhood, or the mummy wrapping her up tight, defenseless, at the mercy of me." So as you can see, Dennis clearly likes to envision himself as a bad guy, a villain, or, in his own words, a minotaur.
16:50 Colin Brown? And it seems like this is something that was present as early as he can remember. He enjoyed being the stalker, the creature of a woman's nightmare. And by the time he was in sixth grade, he decided he wanted to try that role out for real, not just as a fantasy, alone in his room or at the bottom of a silo.
17:10 Courtney Brown? Dennis was about 11 years old, sitting in the bushes outside of a woman's home in Wichita, Kansas. He doesn't remember much about when it was, aside from the fact that it was cold and it was late into the evening. But from the darkness of the bushes, he peered in through the window of the home, its light spilling out into the black grass. Inside stood his fifth-grade teacher. It was a woman he had a crush on, a woman he had followed home. But he hadn't just stalked his teacher, he had brought several ropes with him. Dennis would later say that he doesn't know why he brought the ropes, but looking at what happened next, it's pretty clear what his motivation was.
17:55 Courtney Brown? Outside, as he watched his teacher without her knowledge, he bound himself around the midsection, pulling tighter and tighter on the rope. The sensation aroused him so much that there, in the darkness, stalking the adult woman, he experienced his first orgasm. This very moment would create a foundation for a lifelong obsession, one that he took far beyond the norm. And from then on, when he wasn't peeping in the windows of his neighbors and friends at school, he would cut out pictures of women he was attracted to in magazines. He would paste these photos to three-by-five index cards, and then draw nooses and bondage around the women in pen.
18:41 Courtney Brown? Then, when he couldn't have a photo of the woman of his affections, he would often draw them himself. Dennis drew classmates, teachers, and even his own mother in bondage. Then, to satisfy his growing urges, he would sneak into his basement or the creek near his house and masturbate to the photos and drawings. Now Dennis went to great lengths to hide this from his parents. But according to him, one day, his mother found a semen stain on his underwear, and she was furious. Now Dennis would later claim that the stain was actually on his mother's underwear, and that she found it after he had used them to masturbate.
19:24 Courtney Brown? But regardless of whether it was his underwear or his mother's, the end result was the same. Dorothea was angry. She told Dennis that he would go to hell if he masturbated, and she beat him with a belt. But Dennis's reaction to this beating wasn't what you would expect. He would later say, quote, "Sparky liked it." Now Sparky is the nickname that Dennis gave his penis, which you'll hear him say a lot throughout this series. But after getting caught masturbating, Dennis became sexually aroused from his mother spanking him. And there are many points throughout his childhood where Dennis claimed to be sexually aroused by his own mom.
20:08 Courtney Brown? Eventually Dennis said that he did start stealing Dorothea's underwear so he could masturbate into it. He said, quote, "My mom became a fantasy sex symbol to me," end quote. And at some point, he had even hoped that she felt the same towards him. He recalls going to the movies with his mom one day when he was a teenager. But for Dennis, it wasn't a good, fun, wholesome time with his mom. Instead, he later said, quote, "I was an adolescent, but I felt proud to be out with her, an older woman."
20:43 Colin Brown? Dennis's mother seemed to be the first woman he was obsessed with, and there would be many over the years. Throughout his pre-teen and teen years, his obsession flickered from person to person, but the centerpiece of the obsession was almost always the same: bondage and control. The older Dennis got, and the more freedom he was given, the more he began to experiment with bondage. At first, on his own, he took to tying his hands and wrists in the forest to reach climax. Then, he would visit sand pits near his home and completely submerge himself, giving himself the sensation of being buried alive, which would, in turn, help him orgasm. At this point, his sexual needs and exploration began to escalate rapidly.
21:26 Colin Brown? He became fixated on the idea of a woman being tied to railroad tracks and sliced in half as she laid there, helplessly watching the train come. That idea of women being bound and trapped under his control became all-consuming that he started sketching ways to make it happen, beginning with his dream torture chamber, which would be inside a silo. In the documentary "BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer," Dr. Ramsland said, "He had this fantasy: he was going to build this silo of terror. And so, he drew it, and inside were things like the Wheel of Death, where he would chain a victim to it, and there was a train along with a railroad track, because his fantasy was to tie girls to the track and have the train run over them."
22:08 Courtney Brown? But despite these fantasies, Dennis was good at hiding the dark imagery that seemed to be taking over his life. In fact, Dennis was devoutly religious, something he didn't shy away from. Now, in high school, he was always that quiet kid in class that didn't talk much, but he never made people feel uncomfortable, and he could always strike up a conversation when he needed to. Most people thought he was a good guy. However, schooling wasn't his strong suit. His grades allowed him to just scrape by, and in 1963, thanks to the mercy of some of his teachers, he was allowed to graduate from Wichita Heights High School.
22:50 Courtney Brown? In the months after, many of his friends were rushing off to college, but Dennis didn't feel ready. He recalls feeling lost during this period of life. He ended up moving in with a roommate while he worked at a local grocery store, the same grocery store where his mother worked. But it's very clear when listening to Dennis talk about this part of his life that he's painfully insecure. At one point, he admitted that he wanted his roommate to think that he was on a hot date rather than at work. So he walked over to the cosmetic section and he stole some lipstick. After a shift that day, he took the lipstick and applied it to his face and neck, making
23:34 Courtney Brown? it look like a woman had kissed all over him. Surprisingly, it seemed to work. His roommate was impressed, thinking that he had a fiery night with some college girl. But that wasn't the most notable thing about this experience for Dennis. In fact, he later said that when applying the makeup to his face, Dennis became sexually aroused. Crossdressing would end up being a secret hobby of his, one of many that appeared to be compounding year by year.
24:05 Colin Brown? Unhappy with life working at the grocery store, Dennis decided to try his hand at college. But just like high school, he found himself struggling all over again. After just a year in college, he left behind his failing grades to join the Air Force. With the Vietnam War heating up, he wanted to avoid the draft, and joining the Air Force allowed him to make it through the war without seeing any combat. He was given a job in communications, where he primarily fixed satellites and transmission equipment on various bases. For four years, he bounced from base to base. He would later admit that during this time, he took a ton of photos of himself in bondage. At each base, he would make a little collection of all the photos.
24:46 Colin Brown? But every time he learned he was moving to a new base, he would burn that collection and start fresh at the new one. It was a secret he kept to himself, one that excited him. But another hobby he had in the Air Force was peering into women's homes. When his work was done for the day, he would make his way through town, looking for a pretty woman to stalk. When he would find one, he would stand outside their homes and fantasize about binding them and raping them. By the time that Dennis was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, his desires became so strong, he started hiring sex workers. In his mind, he could satisfy his urges by paying women to act out his fantasies. He would often pay extra for the women to hold their hands behind their back or over their heads.
25:30 Colin Brown? In his own words, he said, "I like to see them struggle." But he would later admit that even those women were sometimes frightened of him.
25:37 Courtney Brown? Internally, Dennis Rader was struggling. He had these extremely violent sexual thoughts that he kept to himself. But on the outside, he was trying his best to look like an upstanding guy, on the right path in life, and he did a pretty good job. He had a high school diploma, he served his country for four years, attended church every Sunday, and he even had a good bit of money saved up. By 1970, when he returned home, he appeared to be a confident, hard-working man with a bright future. Upon his return, his parents were eager for their oldest son to settle down and find a good woman. So that's when they introduced him to a woman named Paula Dietz.
26:22 Courtney Brown? Paula was a secretary who attended their church. She had grown up just three miles away from Dennis, and his parents thought she would be the perfect girl for him. According to their daughter Carrie in her book, A Serial Killer's Daughter, it was love at first sight between her mom and dad. From the moment they met, they were inseparable, going on dates all over Wichita and holding hands with one another during church services. Paula had no idea that the man who appeared to be her knight in shining armor was harboring an unfathomable hunger for the destruction of others. And by all accounts, there was no way she could have known.
27:03 Courtney Brown? Dennis treated her well, so well, in fact, that in November of 1971, after just a few short months of dating, the two went on a walk on the frozen banks of the Arkansas River. As they walked through the powdery snow falling from the winter sky, Dennis got down on one knee and proposed. Paula was elated. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, telling him yes. It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale, one of the best moments of Paula's life. But in that moment, she unknowingly agreed to spend the rest of her life with a man she would never really know.
27:45 Colin Brown? On May 22, 1971, Dennis Rader and Paula Dietz became husband and wife. The wedding was joyous and silly in a way that only people madly in love can be with each other. During the vows, Dennis messed up one of his lines, causing Paula to laugh. As the two carried their cake to a table, they nearly tripped, sending cake everywhere. And, as they left after a night of dancing, the two had to sprint through the pouring rain to get into a limo that would whisk them off to their honeymoon. Maybe all those things were signs, the universe screaming at Paula to run in the other direction. But at the time, it only added charm to their marriage. They were imperfect, but in the eyes of those around them, they were perfectly in love.
28:27 Colin Brown? And for quite some time, things seemed to be going well for them. Paula worked as a secretary, serving as the main breadwinner, while Dennis went to a college nearby for electronics and hunted for a good job. Of this time period, Dennis told Dr. Ramsland, "I was lovesick. There was little time to wear a black hat." And by "black hat," he was referring to acting out his violent urges and fantasies. Though they never fully disappeared, this honeymoon phase with his wife seemed to make them grow quieter. Dennis also said that his urges subsided when he was busy with business or when life lacked significant stress. For instance, when Dennis got a job with Cessna in early 1973, he felt useful and in control.
29:10 Colin Brown? When he wasn't working at the job he loved, he was going on dates with his wife. The two loved to go to the movies and get pizza, and though Paula wasn't the one who loved camping, she tagged along with her husband anyway, enjoying spending time by his side. It seemed like they had finally achieved the life they had both dreamed of.
29:27 Courtney Brown? But if life is one thing, it's ever-changing. And in October of 1973, their perfect life together began to crack. Due to rising gas prices and the upcoming economic crisis, Cessna laid off several members of their workforce, and Dennis was let go. In Confessions of a Serial Killer, he wrote, "I was angry. I was ready to act." The very night he was laid off, he snuck out of the home when his wife was away at a musical. For several weeks, he had been mewling over his obsession with control, and him getting laid off was the straw that broke the camel's back.
30:08 Courtney Brown? He decided, right then, to finally make these horrible fantasies that had been swirling around in his brain, a reality. And it began with a home just down the street from his own.
30:22 Courtney Brown? He snuck inside, stealing several small insignificant items: pens, screws, and tools. But it wasn't about the theft for Dennis. It was about the violation, about being somewhere forbidden and having total control over it. When he left there, he felt good. But as the days passed, and his frustration with his lack of control in other areas of his life grew, the breaking and entering just didn't hold the appeal that it needed. He wanted more. And that's when he began what he calls trolling, which meant searching for the perfect woman to attack.
31:02 Colin Brown? First, he began stalking around nearby malls. He would tell his wife that he was at school, working on getting his degree, when in reality, he was hunting for a victim. On one occasion in early 1974, Dennis laid eyes on a woman that he wanted to make his first target. She was a bank teller, a woman he had actually done business with in the past. His plan was to force himself into her car, drive to the silo of an abandoned farm, bind her, torture her, rape her, and then kill her. For over a decade, those thoughts and fantasies had been brewing. And on this cold winter day, he was ready to act. Like clockwork, Dennis waited for the woman to go to her car. As soon as she got inside, he tried to force himself in behind her.
31:45 Colin Brown? But the woman fiercely fought back, something Dennis hadn't expected. Trying to cover his real intentions, he told the bank teller that he was just trying to take a vehicle to flee the area. Quickly, he backed away and disappeared into the chaos of the mall, trying to blend in with the other shoppers. His first attempt at kidnapping had been a failure. But sadly, the bank teller wasn't the only target that he had his eyes on. Following the loss of his job, Dennis was determined to find someone to attack. And his next target wasn't just one person, it was an entire family.
32:18 Courtney Brown? The Otero's were a big family. And there was a lot of love between them. There was Joseph and Julie, the parents, and their five children. Charlie, the oldest, who was 15, then Danny, who was 14, Carmen, who was 13, Josephine, or Josie, who was 11, and then lastly, there was Joey, who was nine. Over the years, the family had moved around a bit due to Joe's job in the US Air Force. But in 1973, after 20 years of service, he was looking for a career change. Now, he still wanted to work on airplanes, but he wanted to find a place to settle down. He wanted stability for his family.
33:02 Courtney Brown? So that's why he decided on Wichita, Kansas. At the time, Wichita was considered the air capital of the world. And at Cook Airfield, right outside of town, they hired Joe to teach flying lessons and work on planes. It was a great opportunity for them. And towards the end of 1973, Joe and Julie started house hunting in Wichita. Eventually, they found a home at 803 North Edgemore Drive. It was quaint, with an unfinished basement, but it seemed like a great fit. And luckily for them, their offer was accepted.
33:41 Courtney Brown? Soon after, their family of seven made their way into town, unloading box after box into their new home. Their oldest son Charlie said that the move wasn't easy. He would later tell the Podcast Monster, BTK, "I left the beautiful tropical island of Puerto Rico and landed in the wheat fields of Kansas in the middle of a snowstorm. We were just getting used to the neighborhood. It was totally different from what I was used to."
34:11 Colin Brown? In addition, the kids had to start at new schools and they didn't know anyone in town. But in spite of the challenges ahead of them, the family knew that they could handle anything together. Julie, the mother, always encouraged her children to embrace where they were while never forgetting where they came from. While still speaking Spanish and being proud of their culture, she also wanted her kids to explore their interests, and she urged them to take that same enthusiasm into every aspect of life. Julie was a devout Catholic woman who never raised her voice, never got angry, and exuded kindness everywhere she went. She was tiny and mild-mannered, but unbelievably strong, which is exactly why Joe had fallen in love with her. He was described as a man who, above all, loved life and worked hard for his family.
34:56 Colin Brown? He had risen to the ranks of a master sergeant before he retired from the Air Force, and in his spare time, he threw himself at any hobby he possibly could. He played the bongos, worked on cars, and collected recipes from all over the world to cook for his family. And it wasn't just his wife who had his heart. His five children were his world.
35:15 Courtney Brown? Which is precisely why Julie and Joseph picked Wichita. They wanted their children to have opportunities in a town that was safe. At the time, Wichita was the kind of city where strangers would lend a helping hand. People would leave their keys in their vehicles, not even considering that someone would steal it. But even with this knowledge, the Otero's weren't naive. After all, Joe was a military man, and he didn't shy away from the fact that there were evil people in the world. In fact, one night, while he and his oldest son Charlie were watching a movie about the Clutter family murders, Charlie turned to his dad and said, "How could anybody do that?" Joe responded,
35:59 Courtney Brown? "Be glad nothing like that has ever happened to you." Joe Otero knew that there was danger, even in the safest of cities. So, they were prepared. Joe was a talented boxer. His wife Julie knew martial arts, something she taught her children. Through these practices, they knew they could defend themselves if they had to. On top of that, just to be safe, the family even adopted a dog named Lucky. And as sweet as he was, Lucky did not like strangers. He was both their companion and their guard dog, all in one. But all of these things are simply precautions, things that we all do to keep our family safe.
36:44 Courtney Brown? However, no one actually believes that there'll ever be a victim of violent crime, especially in a city as safe as Wichita, Kansas. Upon moving into town, the Otero family went about their lives like normal, having no idea that danger was lurking in their very neighborhood.
37:05 Colin Brown? By January of 1974, the Otero's had been living in Wichita, Kansas for two months. There were still boxes to unpack and an unfinished basement to complete, but it was starting to feel like home. They were also finally getting a steady routine. Every morning, Joe would wake up early with his three oldest children, 15-year-old Charlie, 14-year-old Danny, and 13-year-old Carmen. After eating breakfast, he would drop the three of them off at school before heading into work. By eight, he would be clocked in for his shift at the airfield. Meanwhile, Julie would be back at home, waking up the two youngest children, 11-year-old Josie and 9-year-old Joey, to get them ready for school. She would then drop them off and return home to handle all her chores for
37:49 Colin Brown? the day. After a few months of this, the Otero's were adjusting well to this new routine, but unbeknownst to them, someone had been lurking in the shadows, watching that routine, writing it in a notebook, and fantasizing about how he was going to change it forever.
38:04 Courtney Brown? Dennis had first seen the family weeks earlier. He was actually driving his wife to work one morning when he suddenly passed a beautiful woman on Edgemore Drive. It was 34-year-old Julie Otero. But equally as exciting for Dennis was the little girl right next to her, 11-year-old Josie. He had been hunting for victims for a while now, and upon seeing Julie and Josie, he knew that he found his target. In Confessions of a Serial Killer, he wrote about seeing them and planning their demise, saying, quote, "A high, an adrenaline
38:43 Courtney Brown? rush. Something had taken over and was in control," end quote. Dennis also admitted that part of the reason he targeted the Otero's was their race, saying, quote, "I like Hispanic people. The females look sexy to me," end quote. And he even gave them a nickname. It was Project Little Max. And his plan? It began the very moment he saw them. Even with his wife right by his side in the car that day, he thought about the Otero girls for the rest of the ride. He figured they were new to town, as he had never seen them before, but he was determined to learn more. Soon after this first sighting, Dennis parked
39:28 Courtney Brown? his car down the street from the Otero home, hoping to spot Julie and Josie again. But when the garage door opened, he saw a man and three other children. Dennis continued watching. About forty-five minutes later, the garage door opened again, and there they were, the mother and daughter. Except this time, there was a little boy with them. Dennis pulled out a pen and paper and made a note.
39:55 Colin Brown? Mother, father, five children.
39:58 Courtney Brown? Over the next few days, Dennis continued stalking the Otero family, making detailed notes of their morning routine.
40:06 Colin Brown? Father leaves at 8:00 a.m. with the three older children. Mother leaves at 8:45 a.m. with the two youngest.
40:12 Courtney Brown? Dennis watched the family every single morning for weeks. On some days, he would even follow Julie as she dropped her kids off at school, writing the details down in his notebook.
40:24 Colin Brown? Mother typically arrives back home at 8:52 a.m.
40:28 Courtney Brown? Each time Dennis saw the woman and her daughter, he grew more and more obsessed with them. Disturbing thoughts of rape and murder ran through his mind. He had never killed anyone before, but he had always wanted to, and the urge was now stronger than ever. In Confessions of a Serial Killer, Dennis reflected on these urges.
40:49 Colin Brown? Frustration seems to be the key. Either the system or a person not understanding me on the issue surrounding the problem. I believe job loss causes a lot of anger and frustration. Ego is the key. While other people can deal with it, I bury it. It turns to frustration. I want to get even.
41:06 Courtney Brown? But the people that he was targeting had never done anything to him whatsoever, and yet, he mulled over his plan and perfected it for weeks. Or so he thought. Initially, Dennis planned to kidnap Josie and Jolie and take them to an abandoned farm, where he could, quote, "be completely alone and control them," end quote. He was especially thrilled by the idea of hanging one of them, because, in his words, it was, quote, "sexually exciting." Now even to this day, Dennis writes about his actions as though they were a game, and that the women and children were prizes to be won. And all of that was about to come to a head,
41:51 Courtney Brown? which brings us to January 15, 1974.
41:56 Courtney Brown? That morning, Edgemore Drive was dusted with a fresh layer of snow. It would have been pretty peaceful, were it not for the man driving down it shortly after 8:00 a.m. Dennis parked his car several blocks down the street from the Otero home. His pockets were filled with everything he planned to use during the attack. A rope, a blind cord, gags, adhesive tape, a knife, plastic bags, and a 22 caliber gun. Before getting out of the car, he looked at the time. It was just before 8:20. After weeks of stalking, he knew that the father and three oldest children would be gone by now,
42:41 Courtney Brown? meaning his targets were all alone inside the house. Now, he also knew that the youngest son would be home as well. And although he had no interest in the nine-year-old boy, he had no problem taking him out. To Dennis, the boy was simply collateral damage in his pursuit of the woman and her daughter. But no matter how much planning went into this day, no matter how many years he fantasized about it, committing the crime was different. And that day, there was a factor Dennis hadn't accounted for. The father, Joe Otero, was actually home that day.
43:20 Colin Brown? In fact, Joe had recently gotten into a car accident. It was bad enough to where he broke a few ribs and couldn't go to work. So that morning, after taking his three oldest children to school, Joe came back home to rest. But other than that, it was your typical morning in the Otero household. Julie hovered around the kitchen, wearing a blue housecoat to stay warm as she set out dishes for the children's breakfast. She then grabbed some milk and cereal to put in their bowls. Moments later, nine-year-old Joey came out of his room wearing purple trousers and a yellow t-shirt that had been pulled over a white, long-sleeved shirt. Joey was described as a bright light in the family. He was always jovial, rarely in a bad mood, and wanted nothing more than to be like his parents and his older siblings.
44:04 Colin Brown? At an age where kids are starting to find some independence, Joey wanted to embrace the loving family that he had. That morning, as he walked into the kitchen, he rubbed his sleepy brown eyes and greeted his dog Lucky. Soon after, his sister Josie walked out of her bedroom wearing a blue t-shirt. Josie was a lot like her mother, the embodiment of warmth, an old soul with a kind heart and a desire to make those around her happy. She loved to draw and write poems and had a creative mind that she had no problem sharing with others. She rarely fought with her siblings and she adored Lucky, just like her little brother did. Josie was at the age where she still had that childhood innocence, but there were little reminders all around that she was growing up. There were fewer toys of hers lying around the house.
44:49 Colin Brown? She was growing taller and like many girls around this age, she was becoming more aware of her appearance. She wanted to grow her hair out long. She had just asked her parents if she could start wearing a bra for the first time. Right before Joe and Julie's eyes, their kids were growing up. Are you ready to have your mind blown? I want you now to imagine that in front of you was a locked door, symbolizing all that you know, everything you've been taught in your time on earth, the lies your government has fed you. With my podcast, The Conspiracy Files, I now give you the door's key. And, once you've listened to the show, you finally unlock this door and step inside. Beyond the door is another dimension, a dimension of false narratives, a dimension of hidden evidence, a dimension of truth, lies, and murders.
45:34 Colin Brown? You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance of deadly secrets and explosive ideas. You've just crossed over into the conspiracy zone. I'm your host, Colin Brown. Join me now on this journey into the world of secret pedophile rings, government cover-ups, and suspicious suicides on my new show, The Conspiracy Files, available now on all streaming platforms.
45:57 Courtney Brown? That morning, after the kids ate their breakfast, they helped their mother make sandwiches for their school lunch. Julie laid out their coats for the day, and it was just about time for them to leave. Sadly, they would never get the chance. Because as they packed everything to leave, Dennis Rader approached the house through the backyard.
46:20 Courtney Brown? He had his plan in mind, his weapons packed, but as he approached, he saw something that gave him cold feet: paw prints in the snow. He had no idea the family had a dog, and bad brushes with them in the past home invasions made his skin crawl. For a moment, he almost turned back around. However, at the forefront of his mind was 11-year-old Josie, a child with her whole life ahead of her. A child who was going to have that life taken from her, all because of this sick man. And sadly, with the thought of Josie, Dennis continued forward.
47:01 Courtney Brown? Along the way, he noticed that the family's garage door was open, so he stepped inside. He was now just one step away from gaining entry into the house. He quietly approached the back door and grabbed the handle, but when he went to turn the knob, it was locked. However, he was determined to find a way in. As he looked around, he noticed the telephone wires of the house, so he grabbed his knife and cut them. But it was at that very moment, when he suddenly heard the door open. Dennis quickly grabbed his gun, and standing there in front of him was the little boy with his dog. Instantly, Lucky started barking at the stranger.
47:45 Courtney Brown? Dennis would later write, quote, "The back door opened, and my nightmare and theirs became one."
47:53 Colin Brown? After pushing through the threshold, Dennis found himself standing in the kitchen of the Otero home. And staring right back at him was Julie, her children Josie and Joey, and lastly Joe, who he didn't expect to be there. Dennis was panicked, but Joe, at first, thought it was a joke by some of his Air Force buddies. Because, for some reason, Dennis actually decided to wear his Air Force parka that day. Frustrated by Joe's lack of fear, Dennis grabbed him by the collar and shoved the gun in his face. Dennis growled that he was a fugitive who had gone AWOL, and that all he wanted was some money and a car to escape in. He snapped, "If you stay calm and listen to my instructions, I won't hurt you. But this right here is an automatic pistol with hollow point bullets, and I'll use it if I have to."
48:37 Colin Brown? Of course, Dennis had every intention of doing what he went there for: raping and killing Josie and Julie. But his sick philosophy, one he carried throughout all of his crimes, was, "You win if people think they're going to be okay." And sadly, that seemed to ring true with the Otero's. Joe and Julie Otero agreed to comply, thinking that this was just a robbery. But they were utterly terrified. Josie and Joey began to cry. Their dog Lucky continued to bark at the stranger wielding a gun. Dennis quickly put the dog outside, and then forced the family into the primary bedroom. He demanded, "Lie on your stomachs." They all did as they were told.
49:15 Courtney Brown? Dennis told the family that he didn't want them calling the police right after he left, so just to make sure they wouldn't, he was going to tie them up. Then he would leave in their car and be on his way. With the family on the floor, Dennis pulled out all of his supplies. He knew that if any of them tried to fight back or run away, his plan could be ruined. So the first thing he grabbed were the cords from the Venetian blinds. Now these cords are extremely thin and durable, and with the intricate knots Dennis learned from his Boy Scout days, he knew there was no getting out of them. So he walked over to the biggest threat, Joe Otero.
49:59 Courtney Brown? Joe was still lying on his stomach, as Dennis bound the cords tightly around his wrists and ankles. And then he went down the line, finding Julie, Josie, and Joey. The children were inconsolable. Joe and Julie were doing their best to stay strong, but they too were terrified. They just wanted the man to take the car and whatever else he needed and leave. Joe repeatedly told Dennis that he could take whatever he wanted, even telling him where he could find their most expensive belonging, a brand-new typewriter. But after tying the family up, Dennis didn't move. He wasn't running through the house grabbing valuables.
50:42 Courtney Brown? He wasn't asking for their car keys. He was just standing there, watching them. At some point, while still lying face down, Joe turned his head towards Dennis and told him about his recent car accident. He said that he broke a few ribs, so it hurts to lie on his stomach. And surprisingly, Dennis grabbed a nearby coat and placed it under Joe's torso, cushioning his injured ribs. When the family complained about the cords being too tight, Dennis even loosened some of them. In the midst of their fear and panic, I wonder if these small gestures did anything to ease their minds.
51:23 Courtney Brown? Surely, if he's willing to ease our discomfort, then he wouldn't kill us, right? But sadly, that wasn't the case. His footsteps were heavy as he walked over to his supplies. Reaching into his head kit, he grabbed a plastic bag. Dennis later said this:
51:45 Colin Brown? "I thought about leaving them as they were, but something dark told me to murder them. They could identify me. I made a decision to put them down."
51:53 Courtney Brown? Dennis wanted to put them down, like they were wounded animals, like he did it out of mercy. But really, it was all out of his sick, perverted desires and his lack of humanity. Because in front of Joe's children and his wife, Dennis tightened the plastic bag over his head. Watching this, the rest of his family began to scream, thrash, and panic, begging Dennis to stop. But he didn't. Joe was being tortured in front of the people who loved him most in the world. And he too began to panic as well. Joe's heart was beating fast. His breath was rapid and shallow.
52:37 Courtney Brown? His brain was commanding his body to grab the bag off his face. And he tried, but with his wrists and ankles bound, there was nothing he could do. Joe was helpless. A word, a feeling that meant so much to the vile man standing over him. With each inhale, it became harder and harder to breathe. Soon enough, the bag started constricting. When he would gasp for air, the plastic would cling to his skin, only releasing when he would exhale. But Joe wasn't giving up. As he thrashed on the ground desperate for air, he was able to grab the plastic bag between his teeth. He ripped a hole in it, finally feeling the cool oxygen in his lungs.
53:22 Courtney Brown? He laid there for several seconds, breathing it in, as his family screamed and cried all around him. It was a flood of relief, a flood of hope, one that was stopped in an instant by Dennis, who walked over and placed another plastic bag around his head. This time, he tightened it with a belt around Joe's neck. And all Julie could do was watch as the love of her life died beside her. She was more scared than she had ever been, and she knew what was coming next. Lying on the bed, unable to move, she had no doubt that Dennis was about to come after her. But this time, he changed his method.
54:06 Courtney Brown? Instead of suffocating Julie with a bag, he approached her and started tying a cord around her neck. Then, he simply stood back and watched. Julie started thrashing desperate for air. Eventually, the world around her started going black as she drifted into unconsciousness. But then suddenly, she felt a release. In a sick twist, just before she passed out, Dennis cut the cord around her neck. Julie gasped for air, disoriented and desperate for oxygen. When she was able to catch her breath, she did all she could do. She begged Dennis not to kill her children.
54:50 Courtney Brown? She begged him for mercy. But when the look in his eyes told her that that wasn't going to happen, Julie fought like hell. With her wrists and ankles still bound, she mustered up as much strength as she could to fight for her children's lives. Her love, her fierce motherhood, it all came out right there as she fought Dennis, throwing her body at him, even without a single chance of winning. Angered, Dennis repeatedly hit her in the face. Then, as bruises formed on her cheeks and blood poured from her nose, he wrapped the cord around her neck a second time.
55:32 Courtney Brown? According to Dennis, Julie managed to say her final words just before he tightened the cord. "May God have mercy on your soul." Even in her final moments, Julie stood by her beliefs. And in a sad testament to how beautifully she lived her life, the last thing she ever heard was her daughter calling to her, saying, "Mommy, I love you." With Julie and Joe now dead, Dennis focused his attention on nine-year-old Joey. He grabbed him up off the ground and led him to his own bedroom. There were toys on the ground, a bunk bed in the corner, and now, a terrified little boy pleading for his life.
56:16 Courtney Brown? Dennis grabbed two T-shirts that were lying around and put them over Joey's face. One of those T-shirts was from home. A gray shirt with bold, bright letters reading "Puerto Rico", a place that they had just been two months prior, a place so vastly different from where they were now. After tightening the shirt, Dennis secured a plastic bag around Joey's head. He then watched him struggle for a while. It was taking so long. Dennis decided to grab a nearby chair and prop it up right there by Joey's bunk bed, just so he could get a good look at the scene in front of him. He would later say that it took around twenty to thirty minutes for Joey to finally pass.
57:01 Courtney Brown? Then, once he was dead, he walked back to the primary bedroom. Josie was still there, lying alongside her parents' bodies. Disturbingly, this was the moment that Dennis had been waiting for, as Josie was his main target all along. From there, he grabbed her and went down to the basement. The idea of that poor, sweet, intelligent girl, spending her last moments on earth in that basement, is sickening. After bringing her downstairs, Dennis said that he pulled down her pants and underwear and ripped her bra to expose her chest. And as she laid on the dirty ground crying, he asked her if her parents had a camera.
57:46 Courtney Brown? Dennis said that he wanted to take photos of what was about to happen. Crying, Josie said they didn't have a camera. And then she asked what was going on. Dennis responded with this.
58:00 Colin Brown? Well, honey, you're going to be in heaven tonight with the rest of your family.
58:04 Courtney Brown? Josie looked shocked and heartbroken. In Dennis's mind, that was arousing. And he was ready to do what he had planned all along. He tied a noose and fashioned it around a sewer pipe hanging from the ceiling. He then looped it around Josie's neck. And coldly, he hanged her from the pipe. But she wouldn't die a quick death like your typical hanging. In fact, Dennis had specifically tied the noose so that Josie's toes were barely touching the ground, meaning her full weight wasn't on the noose. She struggled at the end of that rope for several minutes as she fought for breath. Dennis watched this eleven-year-old girl with her whole life ahead of her.
58:49 Courtney Brown? An eleven-year-old girl who loved art, music, and drawing. A girl who just wanted her mommy. Who just wanted comfort in her final moments. But instead of stopping her suffering and walking away, Dennis did the unthinkable.
59:08 Courtney Brown? As Josie died, hanging in front of him, he masturbated on her.
59:13 Colin Brown? After murdering four members of the Otero family, Dennis knew it was about time to leave, as he had already spent over an hour inside of the home. But first, he wanted to take some trophies. Over the next few minutes, he rummaged through the family's belongings. He grabbed a small portable radio and a watch off Joe Otero's wrist. In the kitchen, he pulled all of the credit cards out of Joe Otero's wallet, throwing them across the counter. In the living room, he dumped the contents of Julie Otero's purse on the floor. After gathering his trophies, Dennis packed up all of his supplies and then went through the house wiping his fingerprints off the counters and door handles. By the time he was finished, it was nearly 10 a.m. Dennis was ready to leave, but he started to get nervous.
59:57 Colin Brown? What if one of the neighbors saw him walking out of the house? So, from there, he came up with a plan.
1:00:04 Colin Brown? Instead of walking back to his car, he hopped in the family's station wagon parked in the garage. If the neighbors saw the Otero's car leaving the house, they wouldn't think anything of it. Before backing out of the driveway, Dennis popped up the hood of his parka, hiding his face from any potential witnesses. And then, he drove to Dylan's grocery store. His plan was to abandon the car there and then walk back. But on the drive over, Dennis started to panic. The Otero's car was almost completely out of gas. For a second there, he didn't even think he would make it to the store. But somehow, he did. When he finally pulled into a parking spot, he breathed a sigh of relief. And before exiting the vehicle, he adjusted the driver's seat, pushing it closer to the steering wheel.
1:00:47 Colin Brown? That way, when the police eventually found the car, they would think the killer was a lot shorter. Now, by the time Dennis walked back to his car, which was parked a few blocks away from the Otero home, he was proud of himself. He thought he had checked all of the boxes to avoid detection. But just as he was about to drive back home, he realized that he made a mistake. His knife, the one he used to cut the phone lines, was missing. Frantic, he quickly made his way back to the Otero home and found the knife right outside the back door. From there, Dennis quickly drove back to his house, relieved that the whole ordeal was finally over. But after everything, he had a pounding headache, so he took some Tylenol. And he still had a few things to take care of.
1:01:30 Colin Brown? He ended up driving out to a wooded area along the little Arkansas River. It was secluded, quiet, an area he knew well. While out there in nature, Dennis created a little burn pile. In it, he put the rest of the supplies he had brought to the Otero home, and all of his notes that he took while stalking the family. Then he lit a match and set it on fire. Once the evidence was reduced to a pile of ash, Dennis Rader looked at his watch. His wife would be getting home from work soon, so he quickly rushed home just in time. For the remainder of that day, Dennis played the part of a loving husband. It was a role he played very well. So well, that as he kissed his wife and ate dinner at the family table, she didn't notice anything wrong.
1:02:13 Colin Brown? She had no idea that her husband was relishing the details of murdering four members of a family just down the street. She didn't know that that night, like hundreds, thousands of nights afterwards, Dennis would recount the details of the murders, in his own words, "like counting sheep to fall asleep."
1:02:30 Courtney Brown? By late afternoon, the neighborhood was still quiet. The bodies of Joe, Julie, Josie, and Joey had been eerily sitting within the home for hours, undiscovered. But that would soon change. Because around 3pm, Carmen and Danny Otero started their walk home from Robinson Junior High. They didn't know it at the time, but these were the last few minutes of normalcy, before their lives changed forever. When they finally walked up to the house, they almost immediately noticed that something was wrong. The garage door was still open, but the family's car wasn't inside. Their dog Lucky was running around in the backyard by himself.
1:03:13 Courtney Brown? Their parents never left him outside for long, because he didn't handle the cold well, and he was resilient when it came to barking at strangers. But it wasn't until they got inside, that Carmen and Danny really began to panic. In the living room, they saw their mother's purse on the ground, its contents scattered about. In the kitchen, they saw their father's wallet and cards covering the stove top. There was lunch meat and bread still out on the counter. The surviving Otero children would later say that they immediately knew something was wrong, as their mother was a very tidy woman. So from there, they made their way into their parents' bedroom,
1:03:57 Courtney Brown? but nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to see. Upon opening the door, they saw their father on the ground. He was bound with a bag over his head. Their mother was lying motionless on the bed, with a cord wrapped around her neck. Thirteen-year-old Carmen was in such a state of shock, so desperate to get the ropes off her mom's neck, that she ran to her parents' bathroom and grabbed some fingernail clippers. She then began frantically clipping at the cord wrapped around her mom's neck, but it was no use. Julie was long gone, and Carmen was fighting a losing battle. She sobbed as she tried to free her mother, with nothing but a pair of clippers.
1:04:42 Courtney Brown? It's a level of desperation few people will ever experience. A level of desperation this little girl should have never gone through. Carmen and Danny were utterly traumatized, and soon enough, their older brother Charlie would be too.
1:04:58 Colin Brown? Right around this time, Charlie was making his way home from school, and as he walked up to the house, he too noticed some things that were out of place. But all hell would break loose when he stepped inside. Immediately, he heard his brother and sister screaming from his parents' bedroom. He quickly ran over to see what was wrong. He was the oldest brother, the protector, but when he saw what his siblings were screaming about, he knew there was nothing he could do. Charlie would later say, "I ran down the hall, went in their bedroom and saw my mother on the bed, my father on the floor, and my heart just got ripped out of my chest. My life changed instantly. When I looked at my mother, she was tied up. It didn't even look like my mother." Here's what he told the podcast Monster BTK.
1:05:42 Speaker 02 My heart broke.
1:05:45 Speaker 02 It felt like somebody had actually ripped my chest open and pulled my heart out. It was a physical pain. I tried to undo the ropes that were on him. My dad's tongue was half bit off, hanging. The ropes were so tight, there was no way to untie him. To this day, I can smell fear and death. I can smell fear on a person. Because when you walked in the house, you could smell it. You could smell the death in the house.
1:06:13 Colin Brown? From there, Charlie ran into the kitchen and grabbed the knife for protection. Fearing the person who killed his parents was still looming about, he gripped the knife tight and called out, "Whoever's in this house, you're dead." The siblings waited for a sound, but there was no response, no movement within the home, just deafening silence. Too afraid to go searching through the house, they decided to call the police. But that's when they noticed that the phone was dead. The lines had been cut. From there, they ran to a neighbor's house and called for help, but they couldn't truly convey the horror of the scene. Because, really, they didn't even know half of it. They had only discovered their parents.
1:06:52 Courtney Brown? When Officers Robert Bula and Jim Lindberg pulled up to 803 North Edgemore, they were met by three sobbing, distraught teenagers. They told them to stay outside where it was safe as they made their way into the home. Upon entering, Officer Bula and Lindberg saw the common rooms in disarray. There were moving boxes lying around. The family had only lived here for a few months, and they were still settling into their new life. The officers announced their presence and carefully made their way to the primary bedroom, where they saw a man tied up on the floor. As they stepped closer, they saw deep, purple and red bruising around the wrists,
1:07:35 Courtney Brown? where he had clearly been trying to get out of his restraints. On the bed, they saw a woman, with her legs halfway hanging off the edge. They noticed dried blood on her face and significant bruising, proof that she had put up a fight. They also saw multiple ligature marks on her neck, evidence that she had been strangled several times. Immediately, the officers checked for pulses, confirming what they already knew. The couple was dead. Their bodies were already stiff and cold. Realizing this was an obvious homicide, they quickly made their way outside and called for backup. Minutes later, several more officers and detectives pulled up to the scene.
1:08:20 Courtney Brown? Major Bill Cornwell began to go room by room in the eerily quiet home. As he crept open the door of nine-year-old Joey's room, he stumbled upon a scene that he would never be able to forget. Nine-year-old Joey was laying on the ground beside his bunk bed. His room was littered with toys, bits and pieces of his life that served as reminders of his innocence. And he was in the center of it all, with ligature marks around his neck and broken capillaries on his small face. The sight was horrific. And within it, there were clues as to what happened. Bill noticed chair impressions burrowed in the carpet.
1:09:03 Courtney Brown? Immediately, he knew that the killer had put it there to watch the boy suffocate. A chill ran down his spine at the realization of what those four marks in the carpet meant. This wasn't just someone who wanted the family dead. This was someone who took pleasure in watching them die.
1:09:20 Colin Brown? Now, around this same time, Detective Gary Caldwell approached the basement. It was pitch black, and he didn't have a flashlight on him. He began to feel along the walls, desperate to find a light switch so he could clear the basement. He didn't think there would be any evidence downstairs. He was very, very wrong. As he felt along the cool stone walls of the basement, he bumped into something. It swayed in the darkness, wafting stale air. At first, he thought it was a punching bag, the kind that boxers use. But when he finally found the lights, the horrible truth crashed over him. Hanging from the ceiling was Josephine Otero. Her hair was draped across her face, her tongue protruded slightly from her mouth,
1:10:04 Colin Brown? and she had been stripped almost entirely naked. Caldwell later told the Lawrence Journal that it was a sight that gave him nightmares for years and years to come. It's the type of thing that no one can truly recover from or understand. But together detectives knew they had to try.
1:10:20 Courtney Brown? Everyone slowly made their way outside, where they were faced with yet another hurdle. Charlie, Danny, and Carmen were still in the front yard, traumatized. Charlie, a model good brother, told the officers that Josie and Joey should be coming home from school at any moment, and he wanted to make sure they didn't go inside the house. Sadly, the kids had no idea that their siblings were already inside, dead. But before detectives broke that news to them, they asked Charlie a question that still hurts him all these decades later.
1:10:57 Speaker 02 He came back out and looked at me and said, "Could your father have done this?" I knew what he was insinuating right away. He was insinuating that my dad had come home and found my mom with another man, because my dad was dark, dark, dark, almost negro, and my mom was white, white, white, as white as you can be without being see-through. My dad's in there with his hands tied and he's dead. How could he have killed himself and tied himself up? I knew what he was insinuating. I had that knife in my hand when he said that, and I almost stuck it in him. And at that instant, I lost all respect for authority. I hated police. I hated the world at that moment. When I first saw my mother, I lost my religion. Instantly, I hated God.
1:11:41 Speaker 02 We were in a state of shock, and I kept telling the police officer, I said, "I gotta stop Joey and Josie from coming home." He called the station and had a bunch of cops coming. And I told myself, "I do not want Joey and Josie to get here and see all these cops, and I want them here with me now."
1:11:57 Courtney Brown? After snapping at the police, they broke the news to Charlie. In a daze, he was forced to absorb the horrible realization that his little brother and sister were gone. It was just him, Carmen, and Danny now, all alone in the world. As police swarmed the home, Charlie locked down and focused on preserving what remained of his family. He was just fifteen years old. He should have never had that responsibility.
1:12:27 Colin Brown? Soon enough, their entire neighborhood was filled with first responders. First responders who would never be able to wrap their minds around the site in front of them. Police Chief Floyd Hannan told the Wichita Eagle that it was the most bizarre case he had seen in his twenty years leading the homicide department and went on to say, "This borders on a type of execution." District Coroner Robert Daniels went even further stating, "All murders are unpleasant, but this is one of the worst I've ever seen." Major Caldwell told the Lawrence Journal, "It was one of the most blood-curdling scenes I ever worked, and I worked a lot of murders in Wichita." But they still had a job to do. Shoving down the shock of what they had witnessed, officers started going door to door to see if any neighbors saw anything that morning.
1:13:11 Colin Brown? One person said that he actually saw a man outside of the Otero home at around 8:45 a.m. He said it was a white man, tall and slender, and he was wearing a dark coat. Another neighbor said he saw a shorter man, about 5'2", with dark hair and dark skin, which was the exact description of Joe Otero, the father. Now, they also noticed that the family's car was missing. It was later found a half mile away at Dylan's grocery store. And just like the killer intended, they noted that their suspect must be pretty short, considering the position of the driver's seat. So now they have some conflicting information. Was the killer tall and slender, or was he short? Based on these witness accounts, the investigators quickly started working on a composite sketch of their suspect.
1:13:55 Colin Brown? But in the meantime, they turned their attention to the physical evidence at the scene. Something that immediately stood out to them were the bindings around the family's wrists and ankles. These weren't your average knots. In fact, the killer used a variety of knots, including clove hitches, half hitches, slipknots, squareknots, overhandknots, and bloodknots. All were very intricate and effective. They are knots that the average person doesn't know how to do. So, in the beginning, detectives theorized that maybe their killer was a sailor. But the main question running through everyone's mind was, "Why? Why would someone do this?" In the beginning, they wondered whether or not the Oteros had enemies. After all, they had just moved into town, so were they running from someone?
1:14:41 Colin Brown? But the more they learned, the more questions they had. After testing the dried fluid on Josie's thigh, they confirmed it was sperm. But in 1974, there was no DNA testing for bodily fluids, so the sperm couldn't tell them who their killer was. It just gave them some insight into the killer's mind. From what they gathered, they knew their suspect was sexually motivated. He was also sadistic. Many of the victims had several ligature marks on their throats, meaning the killer would strangle them, let them breathe, and then strangle them again. So they weren't just murdered, they were tortured.
1:15:17 Courtney Brown? In a town like Wichita, news spreads fast. That day, Wichita Police Chief Floyd Hannan had no choice but to walk up to the podium and inform the public about the quadruple homicide. It was the first quadruple homicide their city had ever seen. As the cameras flashed before him, he knew that what he was about to say would change his city forever. That sense of security these people once had was about to vanish as soon as the words left his lips. What he didn't know was just how many murders were on the horizon, all from the unknown perpetrator of this crime. It was just the beginning of a 30-year mystery,
1:16:00 Courtney Brown? one that would haunt him and the city for decades to come. When the public learned the details of the Otero murders, they were absolutely horrified. Even scarier was the thought that the killer was still around, walking among them. Immediately after the news hit, there was a ripple of panic. People went out and bought guns. Residents who had lived in Wichita for decades without ever locking their doors were buying alarm systems for their homes. When children would walk home from school, they would walk through the house with knives and baseball bats just to make sure the killer wasn't coming for them next. Overnight, this crime completely changed the makeup of the city,
1:16:45 Courtney Brown? and rightfully so, because the sadistic killer was one of their own.
1:16:50 Colin Brown? But police weren't going to let that killer go silently into the night. In the days after the murders, there were 75 officers and detectives who worked this case for 18 hours a day. They had set up an anonymous tip line and spent days combing through every single one that came in. Throughout their investigation, they spoke with 1,500 residents, hoping to find answers. They also alerted hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the US to see if there were similar crimes, but again, nothing. Eventually, Police Chief Floyd Hannan traveled to Puerto Rico, where the Otero's were from, to see if he could find any leads there. And when that came to a dead end, they even brought in a psychic who claimed that she once helped solve a murder. But like all of the other efforts, nothing came of it.
1:17:35 Colin Brown? And sadly, that was by design. Dennis Rader specifically looked for a family for a victim who had no connections to him. He wiped his fingerprints from the scene. He left conflicting evidence to avoid detection. So, for decades, the mystery persisted. And within that mystery, a family was left suffering.
1:17:55 Courtney Brown? For those who knew the Otero family, they couldn't believe that such great people would be victims of such horrific violence. Back when the family lived in Camden, New Jersey, they owned a little corner store, and everyone in the neighborhood loved them. One neighbor named Ilya Aguilar said, quote, "They always helped everybody. They would not keep track if you were short of money. They were wonderful people. They didn't deserve to die like that." End quote. Now, years prior, in 1969 and again in 1971, several riots broke out in Camden, New Jersey, where a lot of people got hurt. Charlie Otero would later speak out about this, saying, quote, "In Camden, we lived
1:18:39 Courtney Brown? through the riots. We had a candy store. My father turned the store into a triage, taking care of wounded people, gunshot stabbings, burned people." End quote. And I think that goes to show the kind of family this was. The Otero's were good people. Charlie would later say, quote, "My father was really outgoing, jovial kind of guy. And my mom, a very caring, loving Catholic woman. She was a mother first." End quote. The loss of two incredible parents was unimaginable. And Charlie was utterly alone.
1:19:17 Courtney Brown? All he wanted was to break down and cry, to be taken care of. But he had two siblings to care for now, and to him that took priority.
1:19:28 Speaker 02 I kept telling myself, you know, if I came unglued, what would Danny and Carmen do? I had to be that pillar of strength for them to hold on to because we didn't have anything at that point. You gotta remember, we had just spent our whole lives as a family unit, traveling all over. And now there wasn't one. We had no mom. One minute, my mom is bringing orphans and giving them my bedroom for Christmas, and the next minute, I'm the orphan. So I got on the phone, I called my Uncle John. He became my guardian, our guardian. To this day, I'm still very close to them and the family. He was there the next day. I called them, they got in the car and drove straight to Wichita from New Mexico, from Albuquerque.
1:20:10 Speaker 02 And that's when our life turned around again.
1:20:14 Colin Brown? Within days of the murder, Charlie, Danny, and Carmen were set to leave Kansas. They'd only lived there for a few short weeks, but the state of Kansas would forever hold the most painful memory of their lives. But before they left, there was a pressing matter at hand. Yet again, one that young Charlie never should have had to face. What was he going to do with the bodies of his parents and little siblings? Fortunately, due to his father's military history, Charlie swiftly received a call from then Senator Kennedy's office. At the time, he was the chairman of the Armed Forces Committee. The representative asked how they could help Charlie, and Charlie, raved beyond his ears, said that he had four bodies to bury and that he would be damned if he was going to bury his family in Wichita.
1:20:57 Colin Brown? The Armed Forces Committee paid to fly the Otero's remains to Puerto Rico, where they were given an honorable funeral and forever interred in a national military cemetery in Joe Otero's hometown. It was the most fitting place Charlie could think of, and yet, it was crushing. His parents were an ocean away, and his life was forever changed. In the aftermath, he tried to settle into life in Albuquerque with Danny and Carmen. Quickly, his grief turned to PTSD, and he began to experiment with drugs. With the horrors of what he saw and the expectations on his shoulders, it's not surprising that he struggled. Fortunately, he has recovered, and now he serves as an advocate for victims and for healing, but he and his siblings had a long journey ahead of them.
1:21:41 Colin Brown? They'd always hoped that they would get justice for the murders, that the police would find who did this, and they could get some answers. But little did they know that closure wouldn't come for several more decades.
1:21:51 Courtney Brown? In the meantime, everyone in Wichita was closely following the media coverage of the Otero murders, including the killer himself. Every time Dennis Reader saw a report about the case on TV, or read about the murders in the paper, he felt something inside that he had never felt before. It gave him this sense of power and control. He would even walk around town wearing Joe Otero's watch, marveling at the fact that the answer to Wichita's most brutal murders was right there on his wrist, in front of everyone. And only he knew the truth. But on the outside, Dennis continued on with life, like normal. He played the role of an upstanding citizen,
1:22:37 Courtney Brown? a productive member of society, and a good and loving husband. With the same hands that took the lives of four people, he would open the door for his wife. He would greet people at church. And in the weeks after the murders, he even enrolled in spring classes at Wichita State University. His major was Administration of Justice, which allowed him to study the work of police officers, their procedures, and their investigations. He enjoyed his classes. But during this time, his mind was more focused on the Otero murders. Dennis ran through the events of that day over and over again for weeks.
1:23:20 Courtney Brown? He even started cutting out newspaper clippings of the crime, keeping them hidden away in a binder. And then, he decided to write about the murders. Having it on paper meant he could revisit that day whenever he wanted. When his wife noticed him typing away at his computer for hours and hours on end, Dennis told her it was for school. Paula was proud at how dedicated he was to his studies. But in reality, Dennis was writing the most horrific story you can imagine. One that wasn't a story at all. In it, he wrote down everything he could remember about January 15th, 1974.
1:24:04 Courtney Brown? In a lot of his writings, he used code words. He talked about stalking the family, which he referred to as trolling. He wrote about his obsession with Josie, who he called Little Mex. Then of course, he talked all about his methods for that day. How he tied the family up, tortured them, and then killed them. But he also knew that he made some mistakes. Mistakes that he was determined to fix the next time he killed. When he finally typed out every detail of the crime, he signed the bottom of the page with the new name he had given himself. BTK. An acronym which stands for Bind, Torture, Kill.
1:24:46 Colin Brown? Now, in the weeks after the Otero murders, Dennis Rader was on a high. But it didn't take long for that excitement to die down. Soon enough, Dennis was out on the prowl for a new victim. When he wasn't in school, he would drive through the streets of Wichita, his eyes peeled for a woman he was attracted to. At home, his wife went about her duties, believing that her husband was at the library, studying so that they could have a bright future together. In reality, he was outlining his project. Girls and women who he was interested in stalking and murdering. Dennis would follow these girls around town, writing down where they lived and where they worked. But he knew he had to be smart this time around. If he wanted to keep doing this, he had to find the perfect victim.
1:25:28 Colin Brown? So, at night, when the unsuspecting girls would settle down in their homes, Dennis would get out of his car and tiptoe around their property. He would watch the girls through a window as they made dinner or watch TV. Sometimes Dennis would see a large dog sitting on the couch. If it looked intimidating, he would cross the girl off of his list and move on to the next one. If he saw a man pull into the driveway, he would cross that girl off his list. This time around, Dennis couldn't have any surprises. He wanted a girl who lived all by herself, someone who he could easily overpower. And eventually, he thought he found her. Catherine Bright had always been very close to her family. She had three siblings, a younger brother Kevin, and two older siblings, Daryl and Karen.
1:26:12 Colin Brown? In a lot of ways, her siblings were a part of her. They were never far away from one another, and they, along with her cousins, spent their childhood visiting their grandparents' farm in Valley Center. Her upbringing was spent running around the farm making mud pies, riding their donkey, and laying in the freshly cut grass. Her family would let the kids drive an old car around the pasture, even though they could barely reach the pedals. Kathy was an adventurous little girl. She learned to play the ukulele, and she sang in her church's choir. In the spring of 1974, Kathy was 21 years old. Like any 21-year-old, she was still trying to figure her life out. After high school, she had enrolled at the University of Kansas, but after a semester, she was homesick.
1:26:55 Colin Brown? After all, she loved her family more than anything, so she decided to move back. She got a job at Coleman, where her brother, 19-year-old Kevin, also worked, and she moved into a home close to her family. After that semester away, she was thrilled to be surrounded by loved ones again. She had her whole future ahead of her and her siblings and parents to help her navigate it. She was truly destined for great things. Sadly, though, that opportunity was snatched away from her, all beginning with a chance encounter.
1:27:25 Courtney Brown? In early spring of 1974, Dennis Rader decided to treat his wife to a lunch date in town. They were driving down the road when he suddenly spotted Kathy Bright. She was getting her mail in front of a small house at 3217 East 13th Street. He thought she was beautiful, with long blonde hair that Rader described as "dishwater blonde."
1:27:51 Courtney Brown? In Confessions of a Serial Killer, he wrote that upon seeing Kathy, he thought to himself, "Now she's a real possibility." Dennis decided right then, that he was going to move Kathy up to the top of his projects list. And as that thought crossed his mind, he grabbed his wife's hand, and continued driving to the restaurant for their date. Once they arrived, Dennis and Paula sat down, got their food, and as his wife talked across the table, Dennis smiled and nodded his head. But his mind was elsewhere. Throughout the entirety of their lunch, he sat there daydreaming, about all of the horrible things he wanted to do to Kathy.
1:28:36 Courtney Brown? He knew, that if she checked all of his boxes, she would be his next project. And immediately after this, he began stalking her. Like all of the others, he would drive to her home and watch her for hours on end. During this time, he saw that Kathy had no husband, no children, and no scary dogs. She looked like she was in college, and she lived alone, which is exactly what he wanted. Now, he didn't know her at the time, so he referred to her as Project Lights Out. An eerie name for what he had planned for her. Dennis continued stalking Kathy for weeks. And while he sat outside her house, he would squeeze this rubber ball to strengthen his
1:29:21 Courtney Brown? hands. During the Otero murders, he noticed they were weak, making it harder to kill his victims. But not this time around. He also decided that he was going to wear gloves, so he wouldn't leave behind any fingerprints. This kill was going to go more smoothly than the last one. Now as it neared April, Dennis was desperate to kill again. By then, the city was still fearful after the Otero murders, but the panic and chaos seemed to have died down. In fact, at the time, police were convinced that the Oteros were murdered by some sort of drug cartel. So, no one was expecting another murderer. And Dennis started preparing for the attack.
1:30:05 Courtney Brown? His plan was to walk right up and knock on Kathy's door. He knew he didn't look like a scary killer, so upon seeing him, she would likely open the door to see what he wanted. He would later say that he was going to pretend that he was a student at the nearby university and that he was in the neighborhood looking for his tutor. He would use a random name and ask if he was at the right house. Then, once he had her distracted, he would push his way inside and begin his reign of terror. In Dennis's mind, the hard part had been finding the perfect victim. And now that he found her, everything that came after would easily fall into place.
1:30:48 Courtney Brown? But he couldn't have been more wrong. On the afternoon of April 4th, 1974, he made his way over to Kathy's home. It was a Thursday. After weeks of stalking Kathy, he knew that she was usually home on Thursday afternoons. He also knew that most people in her neighborhood were at work, so there likely wouldn't be any witnesses. As he walked up to her house, he put on a pair of gloves, and then he knocked. But after waiting there for a while, no one answered. From there, Dennis slowly crept around the home, looking into the windows. He didn't see any movement inside, so he moved on to Plan B.
1:31:31 Courtney Brown? Instead of rushing his way in, he would now break into her house and then wait for her to come home. Near the back, Dennis smashed open the glass at the back door. He was then able to reach his hand in, unlock it, and walk inside. But as the glass crunched beneath his feet, he realized his mistake. What if the girl came home and saw the glass on the floor? What if she got scared and ran for help? So Dennis quickly cleaned it up the best he could. He then slipped into a back bedroom and waited for her to come home. As he stood there, his heart pounded. After a while, he realized that he needed to have his gun in his hand when he ambushed her.
1:32:14 Courtney Brown? But as he went to pull it out of his waistband, he accidentally pulled the trigger. Dennis jumped at the loud bang. A cloud of gunpowder filled the room. This only made him more anxious. What if the girl smelled the gunpowder when she walked inside? So far, this was not going as planned. A premonition of what was to come.
1:32:35 Colin Brown? Dennis was expecting Kathy to be alone. But Kathy wasn't the type to crave solitude. On April 4th, she had some standard errands to run. She wasn't due at her job until late afternoon, so she invited her brother Kevin to run the errands with her. Kevin wasn't just her younger brother. He was one of her best friends. The two had grown up so close in age that they had run in the same circles. They were so close, they even worked at Coleman together. Kevin was a free spirit, so he worked there on and off, saving up money to go on trips across the country. Once he had enough, he would quit his job, travel, and then when he ran out of money, he'd return, picking up right where he left off. He and Kathy understood one another. They didn't need to be doing anything extravagant
1:33:20 Colin Brown? that disliked being by each other's sides. So, when Kathy invited Kevin to run the errands with her that morning, he didn't hesitate. The two had a wonderful time together, completely unaware of what was to come.
1:33:32 Courtney Brown? Around 1:00 PM, the two made their way back to Kathy's house. As Kathy unlocked the door, she said something that made Kevin bust out laughing. He couldn't remember what it was, just that it was classic Kathy, making him laugh at the simplest of moments. The two stepped over the threshold, laughing. But quickly, that laughter stopped when they suddenly saw a stranger with a gun standing in front of them.
1:34:00 Colin Brown? Hold it right there. I'm a fugitive from California. There are cops out there looking for me, and I need a car to get to New York. That's all I'm here for. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I need to.
1:34:11 Courtney Brown? Kathy and Kevin were frozen in fear. The man before them prattled on, asking if they had any firearms and stating that he needed provisions in order to make a clean getaway. Kevin recalled thinking this was strange, like the man had been plucked out of an old detective movie and was playing a part. But either way, they were terrified. Just like the Otero's, the Bright siblings believed what he said. They thought that if they just complied, he would leave.
1:34:42 Colin Brown? Now, I don't want to do this, but just to make sure you don't call the police on me, I'm gonna tie you up. Go to the back bedroom.
1:34:49 Courtney Brown? It was an excuse that worked for the Otero family, and it seemed to work on them as well, because they immediately did as they were told. But on the way over to the room, Dennis realized another mistake. He didn't bring any cords or rope this time around. When he was initially planning the murder, he thought Kathy would be the only one home. He figured that once he broke in, he would tie her up with her own nylon stockings, changing it up from the last time around. But now, he was wishing he came more prepared. Upon entering the bedroom, Dennis began frantically searching through Kathy's drawers. He then threw Kevin some stockings, before growling the words.
1:35:32 Colin Brown? Tie her up.
1:35:33 Courtney Brown? Kevin tied the stockings around Kathy's wrists. From there, Dennis ordered Kevin to lie face down on the ground. He then bound Kevin's wrists and ankles, and tied his feet to the bedpost. And to play into the whole robbery excuse, Dennis even took three dollars from Kevin's pocket. Then, he brought Kathy into another bedroom. Grabbing another pair of nylon stockings, he bound her to a chair. To calm Kathy down, he reiterated that this was just a robbery. He even asked her where her car keys were located. Both Kathy and Kevin were doing everything the intruder asked of them. They figured that as soon as he took off in the car, they'd call for help,
1:36:18 Courtney Brown? and this nightmare would finally be over. But sadly, after tying them up, Dennis had just completed step one of his three-step method. And after bind, comes torture. Now from the previous murders, Dennis knew that strangling someone was not a quiet process. The victim will struggle. They will cough, gag, gasp for air. Dennis feared that once he started torturing one of them, the other would hear and try to fight back. So to drown out the sounds of strangulation, he decided to turn on some music. In the corner of the room, there was a stereo. He walked over, turned it on, and cranked up the volume.
1:37:02 Courtney Brown? Then, he walked back to Kevin. Like the previous murder, he decided to take out the biggest threat first. When he entered the room, Kevin was still lying on the ground. Dennis grabbed a nylon stocking, threw it around Kevin's neck, and pulled as hard as he could. It was at that very moment when Kevin realized that this was not a robbery, and he knew that if he didn't fight back, he and Kathy were going to die. So with every bit of strength within him, he pulled at the bindings around his ankles, and somehow, he was able to break free. From there, Kevin quickly stood to his feet.
1:37:43 Courtney Brown? His arms were still bound tightly behind his back, but this was his moment. Kevin looked at Dennis Rader right in the eye, and he charged at him. Realizing things were quickly getting out of hand, Dennis pulled out his gun and shot him. Kevin quickly dropped to the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. Then, Dennis ran back to Kathy. Despite the music blaring throughout the house, she heard that gunshot. And when he walked into the room, she was screaming and crying. "What did you do to my brother?" she asked. Up until that point, Dennis thought they were a couple. He had no idea that they were brother and sister, but even in the midst of her panic,
1:38:28 Courtney Brown? he was still trying to calm her down.
1:38:31 Colin Brown? "Don't worry, he'll be okay. He was fighting me, so I had to shoot him, but he'll survive. When I leave here, I'll call the police and they'll get him to a hospital."
1:38:39 Courtney Brown? But Kathy didn't believe him. And to Dennis's dismay, he still heard Kevin moving around in the other room. He quickly ran out to see Kevin on his feet. Somehow, he had even been able to free himself from the bindings around his wrists. And despite being shot in the head, Kevin charged at Dennis yet again. Within the bedroom of the house, the two struggled. At one point, Kevin even got his hands on the gun. The two wrestled over it, and it was at that moment where Dennis figured he was about to die. Kevin was going to shoot him, they would call the police, and the entire world would soon figure out that he was the killer Wichita had been looking for.
1:39:24 Courtney Brown? But as the two continued to struggle, Dennis was able to break free. He stepped backwards and steadied the gun in his hand. And just as Kevin was about to charge at him once more, he pulled the trigger. This time, Kevin was shot directly in the face. Panicking, Dennis ran back to Kathy's bedroom. Somehow, she had also been able to partly untie her restraints. She was still thrashing around, nearly free, when Dennis walked over and punched her, over and over again. But Kathy put up a hell of a fight. Dennis would later say he was actually surprised at how strong she was. However, with each blow, Kathy was growing weaker.
1:40:09 Courtney Brown? At some point, she tried to get up and run away. Dennis thought about grabbing his gun and shooting her, but he was worried that neighbors had already heard the other gunshots. So instead, he grabbed his knife. He approached Kathy from behind and delivered two angry stabs to her back. He then turned her over and stabbed her in the stomach. But to Dennis's shock, she was still fighting. Kathy was able to get up, stumbling around the room, her blood smearing all over the walls. But everywhere she went, Dennis was close behind, stabbing her over and over again. Finally, after eleven stab wounds, Kathy dropped to the ground.
1:40:52 Courtney Brown? Dennis stood up, catching his breath. But when his eyes wandered to the front bedroom, he was horrified to see that it was empty. Kevin was gone. He was even more horrified to see that the front door was wide open. He ran over, hoping that Kevin was just right there. But he was already running down the street, too far away. Dennis looked down at his hands, which were completely covered in Kathy's blood. Behind him, he could still hear her moaning as she bled out. He thought about turning around and shooting her, ending it all right there. But there was no time. Kevin was already out of his line of sight.
1:41:34 Courtney Brown? And soon enough, the entire neighborhood would be filled with police. So instead, Dennis wiped the blood off his hands, ran back to his car, and fled the scene. After leaving her neighborhood, he went straight to his parents' house. They had a shed on their property that they hardly ever used. Once there, Dennis removed all of his bloodstained clothing and hid it in a box within the shed. He also threw his weapons inside. He would come back to burn it all later on. But first, he needed to go home and clean up before anyone suspected him.
1:42:10 Colin Brown? Back at the scene, two of Catherine's neighbors, named William and Edward, were enjoying their Thursday afternoon when all of a sudden they see a young man stumbling over to them. The sight of him immediately put the men on edge. He was covered in blood. Three of his teeth were missing, and there was a nylon rope still wrapped around his neck. As Kevin ran over, he told the neighbors, "A man broke into my sister's house and he shot me. He's in there now, doing a number on my sister. Please help me." Immediately, the neighbors called the police and then drove Kevin to the Wesley Medical Center. But as officers made their way over, they had no idea what to expect. All they knew was that there was a robbery and that someone had been shot. Officers Dennis Landon and Raymond Fletcher were the first to arrive on scene.
1:42:55 Colin Brown? Drawing their weapons, they made their way inside. And there, on the ground, they found Kathy Bright. She was still alive but barely hanging on. Her face had lost all color. Her breathing was shallow, and there was blood everywhere. The officers rushed to her side. "Hang in there," they told her, "we're here to help." The officers lifted her shirt to find where the blood was coming from, but it was coming from everywhere. They did their best to control the bleeding by putting pressure on her wounds and elevating her feet, but it wasn't looking good. Knowing that Kathy was on the brink of death, they asked her a very important question. "Do you know who did this?" Kathy shook her head no. She then whispered to the officers, "I can't breathe." By that point, they had been so focused on controlling the bleeding, they hadn't even
1:43:40 Colin Brown? noticed the restraints all over her body. There were stockings tied around her wrists and ankles. A blue scarf was wrapped around her throat. Officer Landon quickly cut them off her. He tried everything to get information out of Kathy, but she was delirious, in a state of panic and shock. She told responding officers, "My brother is dead and I am dying." Reading that absolutely gutted us. Kathy died believing that her brother had been shot and killed in the room. She had no idea how much he fought for her, for them, and that he was receiving care at the same hospital that she was about to be whisked away to. By the time the ambulance arrived, Kathy was nearly unconscious. She was rushed to surgery for her eleven stab wounds.
1:44:23 Colin Brown? And from there, officers looked at the horrific scene around them. There was blood covering the home, smears of it all over the walls and furniture from where Catherine had tried to run from her attacker. There was blood in the front bedroom where Kevin had been shot in the head. His two teeth were found lying on the ground. The officers also found that glass by the back door. But, other than that, there wasn't a lot of evidence that could lead them to a suspect. Nothing was left behind. No weapons, no blood, no fingerprints.
1:44:54 Courtney Brown? Back at the hospital, while Kathy fought for her life, her brother Kevin spoke to police in the ICU. It was difficult for him to talk, as a bullet had entered his jaw, another that grazed his forehead. But he was able to tell them that he was visiting his sister from Valley Center. He had just spent the night with Cassie the day before, and was supposed to leave that morning, but because it had been snowing, he decided to stay a little longer. He told the police that he didn't know the man that had broken into his sister's house. Kevin was only nineteen years old, about five foot six, one hundred and fifteen pounds. And the attacker was a lot bigger than he was.
1:45:37 Courtney Brown? Kevin estimated the man was around five eleven, one hundred and eighty pounds. Yet despite the size difference, Kevin was able to put up a good fight. So much so, he said that the attacker "sweated a lot." Now in addition to his size, Kevin said that the man had a light complexion, dark hair, and a mustache. He was wearing gloves, a windbreaker, an army coat with fur on the hood, and a yellow and black cap. The same colors as the local Wichita State University. Now Kevin's account would go on to be very important to this story. Because just a few hours after his sister arrived at the hospital, she would succumb to her injuries.
1:46:21 Courtney Brown? So thanks to Kevin, he was able to describe his sister's killer. It should also be said that Kevin completely ruined Dennis Rader's plan. If Kathy would have been home alone, who knows how long and brutal her torture would have been?
1:46:38 Colin Brown? Now, following Kathy Bright's murder, some people within the police department believed her murder was connected to the Otero's. But other people weren't convinced. For one, the composite sketches from the two murders looked completely different. Police believe the Otero killer was Hispanic or Middle Eastern, while Kevin Bright described a white man. And even though, at both scenes, the killer had tied up their victims, there were some differences. The Otero's were tied up with cord. Kathy and Kevin were tied with nylon. The Otero's were strangled, and the Brights were shot and stabbed. For many people, there were too many differences to confidently connect them. But one thing they knew for sure was that Wichita, Kansas was no longer a place where people felt safe.
1:47:22 Courtney Brown? Now in the days and weeks following Kathy's murder, Dennis Rader was terrified that he was going to get caught. But day after day, with no police showing up at his door, that fear turned to arrogance. Dennis felt invincible.
1:47:39 Courtney Brown? And like with the Otero murders, he decided to write a detailed account of everything that happened with Kathy and Kevin Bright. The title of the seven-page-long document was "An April Death." He wrote all about how nothing went according to plan. But even so, he had managed to get away with it. Dennis would spend the next few years basking in the high of this crime, pulling out his binder and reading about it anytime he needed a fix. But soon enough, the summer of 1974 turned to fall, and both of his murders were still unsolved. The police weren't even close to narrowing down a suspect. But in early October, Dennis picked up the local paper.
1:48:24 Courtney Brown? He loved anytime they reported on his crimes. He would often cut out the articles and put them in his collection. But not this time. That morning, the Wichita Eagle newspaper wrote a story about some inmates at the local jail. Apparently, some of the inmates started talking about the murders around Wichita. They claimed to know specific details that only the killer would know. Now, the police looked into these men, and they quickly learned that they were lying. However, the local newspaper had already picked up the story. With this publication, some people in Wichita were relieved that they might finally be getting some answers in these horrific crimes.
1:49:08 Courtney Brown? But when Dennis read this, he was furious that someone else was taking his credit. So it's here, where he decided that he was going to play a little game. If anyone was going to be taking credit for his crimes, revealing information that only the killer would know, then it was going to be him. So Dennis sat down at his computer and typed out a letter. Once he was finished, he printed it out and made his way to the local library. As he casually walked the aisles, he stopped and found a book called "Applied Engineering Mechanics." Dennis slipped the letter inside the book, put it back on the shelf, and then left.
1:49:51 Courtney Brown? Later that day, he placed a call to the Eagle newspaper. A man named Don Granger answered the phone, having no idea just how important this call would be.
1:50:03 Colin Brown? Don Granger. Listen and listen good. I'm only gonna say this once. There is a letter about the Otero case in a book at the public library. You'll find it in the book, "Applied Engineering Mechanics."
1:50:15 Courtney Brown? Now immediately, Don called the police. An officer quickly made his way to the library. And right there, within the book, was a letter. It was riddled with grammar and spelling mistakes, but it read this.
1:50:30 Colin Brown? "I write this letter to you for the sake of the taxpayer as well as your time. Those three dudes you have in custody are just talking to get publicity for the Otero murders. They know nothing at all. I did it by myself and with no one's help. There's been no talk either. Let's put it straight. Josephine, position: hanging by the neck in the northwest part of the basement, dryer or freezer north of her body. Bondage: hand tie with bind cord. Feet and lower knees, upper knees, and waist with clothesline cord, all one length. Garrote: rough hemp rope, one quarter diameter, noose with four or five turns. New. Clothes: dark, bra cut in the middle, sock. Death: strangulation once, hung.
1:51:15 Colin Brown? Comments: rest of her clothes at the bottom of the stairs, green pants and panties, her glasses in the southwest bedroom. I'm sorry this happened to society. They are the ones who suffer the most. It's hard to control myself. You probably call me psychotic with sexual perversion hangup. Where this monster entered my brain, I will never know. But it's here to stay. How does one cure himself? If you ask for help, that you have killed four people, they will laugh or hit the panic button and call the cops. I can't stop it, so the monster goes on. It hurts me as well as society. Society can be thankful that there are ways for people like me to relieve myself, at times by daydreams of some victim being tortured and being mine.
1:52:00 Colin Brown? It's a big, complicated game, my friend. The monster plays by putting victims' number down, follow them, checking up on them, waiting in the dark, waiting, waiting. The pressure is great, and sometimes he runs the game to his liking. Maybe you can stop him." I can't. He has already chosen his next victim or victims. I don't know who they are yet. The next day after I read the paper, I will know, but it's too late. Good luck hunting. Yours, truly guilty. P.S. Since sex criminals do not change their MO, or by nature cannot do so, I will not change mine. The code words for me will be bind them, torture them, kill them. BTK.
1:52:45 Colin Brown? You see, he added, again, they will be on the next victim.
1:52:49 Courtney Brown? Now again, it is full of misspellings and grammar mistakes, which is why some of those sentences sounded a little weird. But as the police read this, they knew that whoever wrote it was indeed their killer. He knew details of the Otero murders that had never been reported on, leaving a sinking feeling in all of their guts. As we mentioned, up until this point, the police believed that the Oteros were killed by some sort of drug cartel or someone from their past. But this letter proved otherwise. Whoever it was, was still in their town, threatening to kill again. But authorities decided to keep this information to themselves.
1:53:33 Courtney Brown? If the public knew that the killer was leaving ominous notes in their local libraries, it would surely create widespread panic. So instead, they decided to play the killer's game. Working with the Eagle newspaper, the police ran a personal ad that read, quote, "BTK. Help is available." Underneath it was a phone number, and it said to call before 10:00 P.M. But they waited and waited, and there was no phone call from BTK.
1:54:06 Colin Brown? Coincidentally, Dennis Rader was busy with his new job. He'd just been hired at a security alarm company called ADT. After the Otero and Bright murders, people all over Wichita were wanting alarms in their homes to protect themselves against this sadistic killer. And Dennis would go to these people's homes and install alarms for them. He would talk to the customers about the rising crime and how important it was to keep their families safe. All the while, the very killer they were so afraid of was standing right there in front of them. The irony of it all gave Dennis a sense of power. But he was still upset that the police never reported on his letter that he left in the library book. He checked the papers every single day, hoping they would talk about his message, but there was nothing.
1:54:50 Colin Brown? So, this time around, he decided to send it directly to the media. By the end of 1974, an employee at the Wichita Sun received an anonymous copy of BTK's letter. And immediately, just like Dennis had hoped, it was published. That day, the people of Wichita learned that there was a murderer in their community, calling himself Bind, Torture, Kill. And just as the police suspected, the city began to panic. People all over town were calling in to report their neighbors, coworkers, and even family members. Everyone was looking over their shoulders, waiting for the killer to strike again, just like he threatened to in his letter.
1:55:31 Courtney Brown? But luckily, Dennis Rader had entered his first cooling-off period. It's a break that killers take in between murders. After the mess he made at Kathy Bright's house, and the risk he took taunting the police with that letter, he figured it was best to lay low for a while. In addition, shortly after writing the letter, Dennis found out his wife was pregnant. He would later say that during this time, he would still go around town trolling different women, but he couldn't spend hours prowling like he used to without his wife getting mad. So instead, he focused on his family, his new career installing security systems, and his schooling at Wichita State University.
1:56:15 Courtney Brown? Soon enough, 1974 turned to 1975. In Confessions of a Serial Killer, Dennis said that his dark side was satiated from the murders he committed in 1974. He was in school, working, and preparing to welcome his first child into the world, a baby boy who he and Paula named Brian. It's notable that during this period of his life, Dennis never refers to himself as happy. He does, however, repeatedly say that he was too busy to indulge in his dark desires. On the outside, he was a husband and father, a college student, and a full-time worker,
1:56:59 Courtney Brown? and he knew that if he couldn't keep up with those roles, the ones that kept him out of trouble, he could never be BTK. So, he focused on his outside persona. On the days where he felt like killing, he would open up his binder where he wrote about his murders, and he would read about them over and over again, reliving all of the details in his head. And for years, this worked. He was able to restrain himself from killing people in his community. However, by 1977, those dark urges were back, and they were stronger than ever before. By that point, many people in Wichita thought they had seen the last
1:57:44 Courtney Brown? of the vicious killer known as BTK. But they were wrong. After years of lying dormant, Dennis Rader was ready to step back into the role, and soon enough, he would find another victim to bind, torture, and kill.
1:58:02 Colin Brown? Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of Murder in America. This is just the first episode of our four-part series about the BTK crimes. There is so much detail here that we have to go through in this story that it only made sense for us to make this our longest, really, serious to date, this four-part, extremely in-depth look at one of America's most notorious serial killers. If you want to support what we do here on the show, please consider joining us on Patreon. On Patreon, you can get early, ad-free access to every episode of the show. So if you don't like the ads and you want to listen to these episodes early, please consider joining us on there. Also, for some of the higher tiers, we have bonus episodes. So if you've already
1:58:45 Colin Brown? listened to every episode of Murder in America and you want more, if you- Sign up for our Patreon. You can immediately get access to an entire library of over 100, I believe 120, full-length episodes of Murder in America. Those bonus episodes are exactly like the episode that you just listened to. They're just exclusive to Patreon and they will only live on Patreon. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram at Murder in America to see photos and videos from every single case that we cover here on the show. And if you loved what you listened to today, please leave us a five-star review wherever you listen to this podcast, whether that be Spotify or Apple Podcasts. We love seeing those five-star reviews and we love hearing from you guys. Anyways, y'all, we will be back with part two of this four-part series next week.
1:59:30 Colin Brown? I hope everybody has a great weekend and I'll catch y'all in the next one.
Previous EP. 224- SERIAL KILLER: The PHANTOM Killer, The MOONLIGHT MURDERS & The Town That Dreaded Sundown Next EP. 226- SERIAL KILLER: BTK (Bind Torture Kill) | Pt. 2: The Murders Page updated November 1, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated