For thirty years Wichita, Kansas, suffers at the hands of a faceless and brutal killer who binds, suffocates and strangles his victims. But in 2005 a suspect is arrested. Killer Trials s1e11: Hidden in Plain Sight, 2012
Police find nine-year-old Joe in another bedroom suffocated. They find his eleven-year-old sister Josephine in the basement – she had been hung from pipes. Semen had been found on the floor beside her. ibid.
There’s a serial killer on the loose who calls himself BTK. And he’s threatened to strike again. For the people of Wichita it's terrifying. ibid.
All the victims had been strangled. ibid.
The Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita ... Dennis Radar is president of the church council. ibid.
The DNA is a match. ibid.
On 25th February 2005 Dennis Radar is arrested ... The whole thing is caught on police camera. ibid.
A treasure trove of BTK's memorabilia ... Death and bondage. ibid.
Ten consecutive life terms. ibid.
And so it went on. Project after project. Victim after victim. Ten altogether. Over thirty years. Only recently has the full scope of Dennis Radar’s rampage of death become known. On 27th June 2005 Radar appeared before Judge Gregory Waller and told all. He was the notorious BTK Killer. The BTK Killer Speaks, Crime Channel 2012
He was constantly on the prowl for other victims. ibid.
He started working for a security company and learned all about household alarm systems. At work the killer was a gentleman. ibid.
He masturbated into Shirley Vian’s underwear and left them next to her body before he fled. ibid.
A chilling need to make his victims suffer. ibid.
Gave her a glass of water. Comforted her a little bit. Then went and tied her up. Put a bag over her bed and strangled her. Dennis Rader
I had never strangled anyone before. So I really didn’t know how much pressure you had to put on a person or how long it would take. Dennis Rader
It exploded on January 15 1974 ... I’m not exactly sure why. Dennis Rader
He killed to satisfy himself. He had no personal animosity towards any of the people that he killed. These were simply events or what he called projects that he was able to relieve himself sexually, to gratify himself. Dr Louis B Schlesinger, forensic psychologist
Police are about to confront a chilling scene of torture … What kind of heinous predator are they dealing with? Very Bad Men s3e4: BTK
They managed to trace one letter to a specific copying machine. ibid.
The capture of BTK is headline news. ibid.
November 1974 Wichita Kansas: A serial killer was attacking people in their own homes before Binding, Torturing and ultimately Killing them in pursuit of the thrill. The man behind these gruesome killings was living amongst his victims in the very town he was terrorising. World’s Most Evil Killers s3e6: Dennis Rader, Pick TV 2019
It took over thirty years for authorities to bring him to justice … his last murder taking place in 1991. ibid.
He was finally arrested in 2005 … He revelled in the attention. ibid.
For 30 years Dennis Rader lived as a pillar of the community he was secretly terrorizing; he was a cub scout leader who used the weekend camping trips as convenient alibis. True Crime Recaps: Dennis Rader, Youtube 26.44, 2022
Dennis Rader says he is a good guy who did bad things. ibid.
Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer: Bind, Torture and Kill … 10 victims … in Wichita, Kansas. He’s a pompous narcissistic man … He enjoyed taunting police. True Crime Recaps: 10 Most Terrifying Serial Killer Stories, Youtube 15.20, 2022
Wichita City Hall 22 March 2004: Inside [envelope] was a photocopy of three Polaroid photos of a dead woman. Catching Killers s2e1: Bind. Torture. Kill: BTK, rozzer, Netflix 2023
We used the media to appeal to his narcissistic side. ibid.
We were able to get a DNA profile for BTK. ibid.
‘Cut the phone lines. Broke in. And waited for her to come home.’ Very Scary People s2e3: Denis Radar
The serial killer known as BTK began terrorising the city of Wichita, Kansas, in 1974, stalking and savagely killing his victims in their homes. Then taunting police and reporters. ibid.
‘She was chosen. Since she lived down the street from me I could watch the coming and goings quite easily.’ Very Scary People s2e4: The Taunting
After torturing and killing 7 people, demented serial killer BTK contacted police to boast about his brutal acts. He threatened more victims would follow. ibid.
BTK had disappeared. No sign of him for 10 years. But now he was back. ibid.
‘As far as we can tell, nothing bad every happened to young Dennis Rader.’ ibid. criminologist
RAFAY FAMILY MURDERS: Crime Stories TV - Vancouver Sun - Vancouver Outlook - The Confession Tapes 2017
A quiet suburban town undone by an unspeakable crime. Crime Stories: Twisted Plot
Twenty-year-old Basma Rafay barely alive. Fifty-six-year-old Sultana Rafay is lying dead on the family room floor. ibid.
A baffling triple homicide [inc Dr Tariq Rafay] and two teenagers with a questionable story. ibid.
Burns and Rafay plead not guilty ... Atif and Sebastian are sentenced to three consecutive life terms. ibid.
Rafay and Burns guilty of murder, face life in prison. The Vancouver Sun headline
What’s the next legal move for Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay, the former West Vancouver residents who’ve been behind bars for nearly two decades?
According to their lawyer, David Koch, the plan is to take their case to US federal court.
This comes in the wake of last Thursday’s decision by Washington State’s top court to deny the pair’s petition for a review of their failed bid in appeal court last July to overturn their triple-murder convictions.
In 2004, Burns and Rafay were found guilty of the murders of Rafay’s parents and autistic sister inside their suburban Seattle home in 1994 and sentenced to 99-year life terms. Vancouver Outlook online article 9th March 2013
We found Mrs Rafay face down on the ground; she had blunt force trauma to the head. From that room we went upstairs to Dr Rafay’s room – there was blood spatter, brain matter, the entire room was covered in debris from the murder of Dr Rafay. And then we went into Basma Rafay’s room, the daughter of Dr Rafay, she was still alive, and she later died at the hospital that morning. The two people that found them were Atif, Rafay’s son, and his best friend Sebastian Burns. The Confession Tapes I: True East part 1, rozzer, Netflix 2017
Teen Genius May Have Committed Perfect Murder, Say Cops: He’s been holed up in Canada since his family was brutally slain – and US police can’t touch him! ibid. newspaper headline
The Royal Canadian mounted police developed an undercover investigative technique called the Mr Big technique … The police officers disguise themselves as underworld figures. ibid. commentary