• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
BTK Killer Explains What Life In Prison Is Like In Dark Letters

Home> News

Updated 14:31 11 Jan 2022 GMTPublished 14:27 11 Jan 2022 GMT

BTK Killer Explains What Life In Prison Is Like In Dark Letters

Dennis Rader has spoke about how he feels 'safe' at the El Dorado Correctional Facility and lives 24/7 in his cell

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Featured Image Credit: Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Crime, US News, True Crime

Rebecca Shepherd
Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a thing long before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

X

@RJShepherd94

BTK Killer Dennis Rader has revealed some of his daily routines in letters he sent from prison.

The 76-year-old serial killer murdered 10 people between 1974 and 1991 and sent taunting letters to police and newspapers describing his crimes.

He also named himself the BTK Killer which is an abbreviation for 'bind, torture, kill'.

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Despite being incarcerated since 2005, he manages to keep himself busy in jail and has documented his hobbies and daily routines in letters.

In one of the notes, Rader - who is serving ten consecutive life sentences at a prison in Kansas, US, meaning that he will die there - explained that he is taken care of but is living in segregation.

In a letter sent to the Daily Mail, he said: "Have TV, radio, hot-pot, books, I can call people, have visitors, just live alone and can’t have contact with others outside my cell, unless handcuff, probably listed as ‘high profile'."

He went on to add: "Work on art, poetry, write a lot of letters, keep record and book on life, exercise when I can. 

"Do call close friends, that’s nice to talk to others, and they come and visit me, send me nice letters and cards, or buy books for me to read, I call them my 'Cave Family'."

Victims' families gather for a news conference after BTK serial killer Dennis Rader was sentenced in 2005.
Alamy

In the letter, which was sent in 2019, he said: "Been here 13 years and 190 days as I write, after a while you just get tired of the same thing day after day, but keeping busy helps, also changing one’s routine."

Dr Katherine Ramsland, a professor of Forensic Psychology, has developed a relationship with Rader and spoke about this during a Q&A which was part of a documentary called BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer.

She explained how the pair developed a code system which would mean anyone reading the letters didn't understand what they were talking about.

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

She said: "Rader liked to imagine himself being a spy and this kind of gave him that sense that we were doing spy kinds of things which helped him to become more forthcoming."

She went on to explain that he's an 'outlier' when it comes to the stereotypes of a 'serial killer', adding: "He was a family man, so not a loner. He had a serious full time job, it wasn't just gig work.

"He was married and had kids, he was a churchgoer. He did not want to be caught - that's one of the myths about serial killers is that they secretly want to be caught, they do not.

"Certainly he's not happy that he's sitting in prison for the rest of his life."

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Grandfather of teen accused of murdering mum and stepdad defends 'ideal child'

    Sarah Grace Patrick has been charged with two counts of murder

    News
  • an hour ago

    Woman forced to take down ‘monstrosity’ of new extension on £300,000 house after neighbours complained

    She claimed she didn't know planning permission had been refused

    News
  • an hour ago

    Paralysed patient reveals incredible abilities only using his thoughts after receiving Neuralink chip

    Neuralink's fifth patient has revealed what he's experienced with the brain-implanted chip

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Martin Lewis makes fresh warning to everyone in their 20s but fans aren't convinced

    It comes after rumoured plans to change the allowance for tax-free savings

    News