Who is ‘BTK Killer’? Netflix’s true-crime docu explores Pittsburg man’s chilling crimes through his daughter’s eyes
Netflix has unveiled a chilling new true-crime documentary, but this time, the story doesn’t focus on the notorious killer himself. Instead, it’s told through the eyes of the person who unknowingly lived alongside him for decades: his daughter. Titled ‘My Father, the BTK Killer,’ the documentary comes from acclaimed filmmaker Skye Borgman, the director behind ‘Abducted in Plain Sight’ and ‘Girl in the Picture.’ The film turns its lens toward Kerri Rawson, daughter of Dennis Rader. The man terrorized Kansas for over 30 years under the self-given nickname “BTK,” which stood for Bind, Torture, Kill.
Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Borgman explained that Rawson’s journey was deeply tied to her father’s crimes, yet she has worked to transform that trauma into purpose. Indeed, ‘My Father, the BTK Killer’ explores how Rawson’s life changed when she learned in 2005 that her father (a church leader, Boy Scout volunteer, and devoted family man) was actually one of America’s most methodical serial killers. In the years since, Rawson has assisted investigators in probing whether Rader could be linked to other unsolved crimes, a question that still lingers to this day.
For those unfamiliar with the case, Dennis Rader was born in 1945 in Pittsburg, Kansas, and grew up in Wichita. Outwardly, he lived a quiet, respectable life: serving in the U.S. Air Force, working at ADT Security Services, and raising two children with his wife. Behind closed doors, however, Rader harbored dark, violent fantasies that escalated into murder. Between 1974 and 1991, Rader killed at least ten people in the Wichita area, as per Britannica. His first known victims were the Otero family, four members of whom he strangled in January 1974. He went on to murder several more women, many of whom he stalked for weeks before striking.
Rader’s vanity and cruelty drove him to communicate directly with the media and police, bragging about his crimes and demanding recognition. One of his early letters, left in a library book, gave him the name that would cement his infamy. “P.S. Since s*x criminals do not change their M.O. or by nature cannot do so, I will not change mine. The code word for me will be … Bind them, torture them, kill them, B.T.K., you see he's at it again.” For decades, Rader eluded capture, living as an ordinary family man while secretly chronicling his murders in detailed journals.
Then, in 2004, after years of silence, he began sending messages and “souvenirs” from his crimes to reporters and police. Investigators traced a floppy disk sent by Rader back to his local church computer. From there, DNA evidence provided the final confirmation, thanks to a sample taken from Kerri Rawson’s medical records at Kansas State University. That match was the breakthrough that exposed her father’s monstrous double life. Rader confessed in court in 2005, detailing each murder with chilling precision. He is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.