How The Infamous BTK Killer Got His Name, Plus Where His Daughter Is Now – Blavity
It’s easy to see why My Father: The BTK Killer landed among Netflix’s top releases so far this month. The documentary offers a deeply personal, behind-the-scenes look at the daughter of one of America’s most notorious serial killers. It explores how she’s had to reckon with individual identity and the weight of public memory because of her dad’s decisions. Rather than only focusing on Dennis Rader’s shocking crimes, the film dives into the emotional fallout, damaged family dynamics and attempts to make sense of how someone so seemingly average could hide such a dark secret.
As Tudum notes, the documentary traces his daughter’s journey to reconcile the loving father she knew with the brutal killer he became. Given how saturated the true crime genre is, My Father: The BTK Killer has really stood out for the way it reframes the narrative. My Father: The BTK Killer stands out by shifting the focus from “what did he do?” to “what did this do to those left behind?” Here’s what to know about the facts behind the haunting name.
Who was the BTK Killer?
The man who is now known as the BTK Killer was Dennis Lynn Rader. He was born in Pittsburg, Kansas on Mar. 9, 1945, as Biography reports. And unbeknownst to his friends and family, he had committed at least ten murders in Wichita and Park City, Kansas between the years 1974 and 1991. As investigators discovered, Rader’s crimes were extremely methodological. He often stalked victims, would break into their homes, restrain and torture them and then kill them. He did keep detailed journals and files too, where he would refer to his victims as “projects.”
One of the most twisted parts of Rader’s crimes was that he maintained a family friendly image outside of his murders. Despite the brutality of his secret life and sexually motivated violent crimes, he had a pretty outwardly benign lifestyle. He was a husband, father, church volunteer, Cub Scout leader and even became president of his church council. This facade helped him to avoid suspicion for decades. But he was eventually sentenced for multiple murders.
His first known murder occurred on Jan. 15, 1974, when he killed four members of the Otero family, per Biography. But over the years he murdered more victims including Kathryn Bright (1974), Shirley Ruth Relford (1977) and Nancy Fox (1977). He’s even been considered as a suspect in some other cold cases, but no additional charges have been filed.
When did the BTK Killer get caught?
Rader wasn’t actually captured for decades because many of his crimes were thought to be independent and not the actions of one person. Yet it was his own correspondence (and basically, taunting) with law enforcement and news outlets that ultimately led to him getting caught, per LAD Bible. He sent letters, sketches, poems and puzzles with details of his crimes, which were partially confessional but also a way to play a psychological game. After a period of sending those communications and the cases not being cracked, Rader ceased communication. That is, until 2004 when he made a fateful mistake.
As People reports, he resurfaced as BTK and sent a floppy disk to a media outlet, then investigators traced metadata from the disk to the church that Rader volunteered at. But that wasn’t the end-all-be-all of Rader’s arrest. One thing that was stopping investigators from linking him to the crimes was that they did not have his DNA.
To obtain a sample, authorities took a creative approach through legally obtaining DNA from BTK’s daughter, Kerri Rawson’s medical records. This allowed them to finally confirm his connection to the crime scenes. On Feb. 25, 2005, he was arrested and ultimately waived his right to a trial. Rader pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first degree murder in June 2005, resulting in 10 consecutive life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.
Where is Kerri Rawson now?
Rader’s daughter Kerri Rawson is central to the Netflix documentary, but this isn’t her first time reckoning with her father’s crimes. When Rader was arrested in 2005, Rawson was married and expecting her first child. She was under the impression that her father was a normal, caring man with nothing to hide. When he was arrested, her whole life turned upside down. The revelation that her father was the BTK Killer forced her into a traumatic healing journey that has included years of therapy and a lasting reckoning with her past.
In the years since, she has written a memoir, A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love and Overcoming. Rawson has also become a public speaker and advocated for victims’ families. For a short time she even cooperated with law enforcement on cold case leads that might implicate her father in other crimes. As Time reports, she has stated, “If my father has committed more murders, then we really do need to get to the bottom of the truth, and we need to get to it before my father passes away.”
However, despite this commitment to justice, in the documentary Rawson asserts that this will likely be the final time that she publicly addresses her father’s crimes. So she has stepped back from taking part in investigations and is now focusing on her own inner healing. Aside from that, she did visit her father in prison in 2023 to press him about unsolved crimes. She even confronted him about a journal entry she found after his arrest. This entry mentioned her name in a bathtub bondage game, which implied that he had molested her as a child (or at least fantasized about it), per Time. But even that visit and their letters did not help to unpack their strained relationship.
Rawson has since kept Rader at arm’s length and attempted to live her life outside the shadow of infamy. And as People reports, she still struggles with the mental and emotional impacts of her father’s violent crimes. In fact, she went through seven years of therapy. She also has attempted to raise her children and reclaim her identity separate from her father’s crimes. The new documentary gives her a chance to share her unique story and point of view with the world.
‘My Father: The BTK Killer’ review
As Decider points out, the new documentary offers a compelling and emotionally raw entry into the true crime canon. It is more so built around Rawson’s voice and lived experience. But it still stitches together archival footage, law enforcement interviews and unsettling records of Rader’s own communications. Rather than just retelling the story of the BTK Killer’s murders, it explores the conflicted heart of a daughter who was forced to confront both love and terror.
Rawson discusses her memories of her father, wrestles with guilt and shame and sets boundaries where she must in her life. Although the documentary is a difficult watch it is worthwhile. That is especially true for viewers interested in a fresh angle on the familiar question, what did the BTK Killer do? And it reminds us that behind every headline is real pain that echoes through generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “BTK Killer” stand for?
The moniker “BTK” is an acronym that Rader adopted due to his grim mode of operating during his crimes. He would bind, torture and kill his victims, per Tudum.
When did My Father: The BTK Killer arrive on Netflix?
This Netflix documentary special was released on Oct. 10, 2025 via the streaming platform.
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