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Dennis Radar Outline

Decent Essays

1. Subject's name
Dennis Rader, known as the BTK killer, is an American serial killer (Biography.com Editors, 2015). 2. DOB:
Dennis Radar was born March 9, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Kansas, United States (Biography.com Editors, 2015). 3. Gender:
Dennis Radar is male. 4. Briefly describe childhood home life
Dennis Radar was one of four children born to William and Dorothea Rader. Rader spent most of his childhood in Wichita, Kanas. He had a seemly average life, was a little more revered than most and a below average student. In 1966, Rader joined the Air Force where he went on to attain the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon as well as the National Defence Service Medal. At the age of 26, Rader married …show more content…

First known victim?
Rader’s first victims were the Otero family: Joseph and Julie Otero and two of their children, Josephine and Joseph Jr. (Blanco, n.d.). 7. When did the first known homicide occur? Rader killed the Otero family January 15, 1974. 8. How old was the subject at the time?
Rader was 28 years old when he killed the Otero family. The exact age at which he first started killing animals is not known (Blanco, n.d.). 9. What are the details surrounding the first case?
Rader observed the Otero family for some time, trying to learn their schedule in order to plan his attack. When Rader did make his move, he wasn’t expecting Joseph Otero to be home, but still managed to keep control of the situation. They died by strangulation and suffocation. The daughter, Josephine, revived after Rader’s first attempt to kill her. He later took her into the basement where he bound and hung her and went on to ejaculate onto her dead body. Charlie, the Otero’s 15-year-old son, came home later that day and found the bodies (Early Life, n.d.).
10. Kill alone or in partnership? Rader murdered all of his victims alone.

11. Gender of victims?
Although Rader targeted women, his victims included men, women and …show more content…

Describe the subject’s method of killing the victims (MO).
Rader bound, tortured and killed his victims, representing the name BTK that he chose for himself. The most commonly used method to kill his victims was strangulation, although some were suffocated or hung. Rader would often strangle his victims just to the point where they would pass out, allowing them to regain consciousness many times before he would finally kill them. Rader would become sexually aroused at this process and would masturbate onto the bodies once deceased. Taking souvenirs was also part of Rader’s modus operandi. Rader would steal panties from his victims and later wear them himself (Blanco, n.d.).
15. Did the subject have a signature? If so, what was it?
Rader was known for sending taunting letters to police and newspapers. In his letters he would describe his killings in great detail. In his second letter, Rader demanded media attention. It was after this letter that it was finally announced that Wichita had a serial killer on the loose (Dennis Rader, 2017).

16. Did the killings occur in one place (i.e., one particular city) or many?
All of Rader’s victims were murdered in Wichita, Kanas; Rader’s home town (Dennis Rader,

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