Kriti Mehrotra
Anyone who has been interested in true crime stories knows about Dennis Rader, aka BTK. Active between 1974 and 1991, BTK terrorized the Wichita, Kansas metro area, killing ten individuals, including two children. The story and the details of the infamous serial killer’s life are shown on the ’20/20 On ID Investigates: My Father BTK’ ID special. After 31 years of taunting and eluding the police, family DNA finally brought BTK down.
BTK’s Wife Paula Dietz Was Unaware of His Double Life
Three years before Dennis began his killing spree, on May 22, 1971, he married Paula Dietz. The couple lived together in Park City, a suburb of Wichita, had two kids, and led extremely normal and boring lives. Dennis earned an associate’s degree as well as a bachelor’s degree while he was married to Paula and later on started working stable jobs to provide for his family.
Little did Paula know her husband was leading a double life. Along with being a good man who served in the Air Force, was the president of his church, and was a Boy Scout troop leader, her husband was also a serial killer who lived out his sadistic sexual fantasies by strangling his victims. It was only in 2005, after Dennis had been arrested for all his wrongdoings that Paula and the whole family found out the truth.
In July of the same year, when Dennis was sentenced to spend ten life sentences in prison for first-degree murder, Paula filed for an emergency divorce, which was granted on the same day. After 34 years of marriage, the couple parted ways. In a letter that Dennis wrote to his daughter a few months after he was incarcerated, he conveyed his wishes for Paula to write to him. But alas, whether or not she ever did is not known.
According to News Week, Paula, a bookkeeper, moved to a different state all together after her husband was sentenced “for the seclusion.” She didn’t go to any of her Dennis’ hearings nor has she ever visited him in prison. And because she hasn’t ever spoken to the media since, it’s unclear what she’s up to now or even where she lives.
BTK’s Kids: Brian Rader and Kerri Rawson
Dennis fathered two children – a son, Brian Rader, and a daughter, Kerri Rawson. Like their mother, neither of his children made appearances at any of his hearings, and since Brian has never spoken publicly or has any social media presence right now, we do not have any information about him.
Kerri, on the other hand, has written a memoir called “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming,” where she talks about her experiences and how her life was turned upside down in just a day. And since it was her DNA match that led the police to catch her father ultimately, she also talks about that. Along with this, she agreed to appear on ABC’s 20/20, and, for the first time, she opened up about her relationship with her father. “It was a very long journey. There was a lot of hard work in me, with faith,” she said. “I had gone back to church. I was working on my relationship with God, working on my own heart. I realized I was rotting within. I didn’t just forgive my father for him. I had to do it for myself.”
After forgiving Dennis, she also admitted that although she has never visited him in prison, she does correspond with him via letters. Kerri said that she doesn’t talk to a serial killer or a psychopath, but instead, she talks to her father, a man who was loving and caring, a man who she knew for 26 years. Married to Darian Rawson, Kerri lives in Michigan with her husband and their two kids. (Featured Image Credit: Getty Images)
Read More: Who Were BTK’s Victims?
