Kerry Rawson's father is a serial killer, and he's still her father. In the new Netflix documentary My Father, the BTK Killer from Skye Borgman, Rawson reveals the story of his life to the present day.
In 2005, Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to killing 10 people in Wichita, Kansas, from 1974 to 1991. NBC News reported at the time. That same year, Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences.
Kerry Rawson is one of Rader's two children.
Borgman, who has directed other true-crime documentaries such as “Abducted in Plain Sight” and “Number Unknown,” told TODAY.com that she was inspired by the complexity of Rawson's relationship with her father, especially “the way she can love him or love these moments with him and also not.”
According to Borgman, Rawson may be able to “sort of separate” the two versions of Rader – her father and the killer.
The documentary begins with Rawson recalling a moment she will “never forget”: Rader's arrest in February 2005. At 26, years after she had left Kansas and was living in Michigan, police told Rawson on her doorstep: “Your father is BTK,” she recalls in the documentary.
Here's what you need to know.
Who is Dennis Rader, the BTK killer?
Dennis Rader referred to himself in written letters as the “BTK Killer,” which means “to bind, torture and kill.” The nickname referred to his method of killing victims.
Rader wrote typewritten letters about his crimes and sent them to the media or left them at local spots around Wichita, such as a letter found at the Wichita Public Library in 1981 detailing the 1974 murders of Julie and Joseph Ortero and their two children.
“The writer speaks specifically about the murders, their bodies, their places… there is no doubt that this is the same person who was involved in these murders,” The Wichita Police Department wrote a letter to the FBI in 1981.
Rader admitted to killing 10 people during his 2005 trial.
After the Otero family massacre, Rader killed 21-year-old Katherine Bright and attempted to kill her brother Kevin Bright, also in 1974. Wichita Eagle reported that Kevin Bright is the only Rader victim to survive the attack.
Rader then killed Shirley Vian in March 1977, Nancy Jo Fox in December 1977, Marin Hedge in 1985, Vicki Wegerle in 1986, and Dolores Davis in 1991.
Meanwhile, Rader was married to Paula Dietz for 34 years, with whom he shares children Kerry and Brian.
The former couple married when Rader was arrested in 2005. They divorced that same year. Wichita Eagle reported at the time.
In the documentary, Rawson explained that her parents met at Christ Lutheran Church, where her father was president of the congregation.
Rader is also a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as a Scoutmaster and worked as a compliance officer in the Kansas suburb of Park City. NBC News reports..
How was Dennis Rader caught?
Thirty-one years after the first murders, Rader's constant cryptic messages eventually led to his arrest. NBC News reports..
Law enforcement traced a computer disk sent by BTK Killer to a Wichita television station back to Rader's church. This was one of the key pieces of evidence that led to his arrest.
Where is Dennis Rader now?
Rader pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder in June 2005, avoiding an expected trial. NBC News reported.
Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, with a minimum of 175 years in prison without the possibility of parole – the longest sentence the judge could impose. NBC News reported.
Rader is serving time at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County, police said. Kansas Department of Corrections. The earliest possible date for its release is 2180.
