How the BTK Killer got caught as Netflix fans in amazement over specific documentary detail
Netflix viewers have been left stunned by the ‘stupid’ mistake that led BTK Killer Dennis Rader to give himself away.
The streamer's latest true crime offering focuses on Rader's heinous crimes, from the perspective of his daughter, Kerri Rawson.
Rader, a former Church congregation president, tormented and brutally murdered at least 10 people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991.
He would stalk, bind, torture and then murder his victims, giving himself the moniker 'Blind, Torture, Kill,' or BTK.
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He was responsible for killing four members of the Otero family - two of them young children - and a 63-year-old neighbor, among others.
From the director of Unknown Number: The Highschool Catfish, Skye Borgman, the new documentary, My Father, The BTK Killer, revisits the case and explores its impact on Rader's daughter, who is now 47-years-old.
She was 26 when her father's double life was exposed following his 2005 arrest, a day she would 'never forget.'
Rader, a former Cub Scout leader, taunted law enforcement for years by sending letters and packages containing crime scene items.
For years, Rader remained silent - until 'boredom' and a 30th-anniversary article about the Otero family murders drew him back into the spotlight.
Rader then went on to make a major misstep which enabled police to track him down.
But it was ultimately Rawsons' own DNA that enabled her father to be arrested.
How did the BTK Killer get caught?
In one of his letters, Rader asked authorities if a floppy disk could be traced, pleading with them to 'be honest'.
Officers responded via a newspaper advert, reassuring him 'it will be ok'.
Believing it was safe, Rader sent a purple 1.44-megabyte Memorex floppy disk to local TV station, KSAS-TV.
Investigators found hidden metadata on the disk; a deleted Microsoft Word file of a Christ Lutheran Church meeting agenda, last modified by someone named Dennis.
A quick search revealed Rader was the president of that church council, but this wasn't enough evidence to arrest him.
So police obtained a warrant to DNA test Rawson's pap smear tests from Kansas State University medical clinic.
It matched DNA found under one of Rader's victim’s fingernails, confirming Rader as the BTK Killer and leading to his arrest.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Netflix viewers were quick to respond to the blunder.
"BTK thinking the police would 'be honest' and tell him whether they would be able to trace him with the floppy disk, and then actually believing them when they said they couldn't, is top tier stupidity," one social media user said.
"The B in BTK killer stands for Boomer," a second quipped. "He asked the police if they could track him if he mailed in a floppy disk, and they told him no. They then tracked him with the floppy disk."
"That's like some Three Stooges ass comedy right there," a third said of how it all played out.
Where is the BTK Killer now?
Rader was sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences in August 2005 with a minimum of 175 years, which was the longest sentence the judge could impose.
He is currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County, Kansas.
My Father: The BTK Killer is streaming now on Netflix.
Topics: True crime, Crime, Film and TV, Streaming, Netflix
Ellie Kemp