Encore: Dennis Rader: BTK

Killer Psyche

Wondery | Treefort Media

Exhibit C, True Crime

4.6 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this encore episode, retired FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong explores the case of Dennis Rader, also known as BTK. Over 17 years, Rader tortured and murdered 10 people, while playing a game of cat and mouse with law enforcement and the media. Candice digs into how one of the most infamous killers in history, was able to mask himself as loving father, church group president, and a government worker until his arrest in 2005.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi listeners, intrigued by the psychology behind the crime,
0:04.7	Wondery Plus gives you early access, exclusive episodes, and add free listening.
0:10.9	Start your free trial of Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts now.
0:18.5	A listener note, this episode contains adult content and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised.
0:30.6	In November 1973, the simple act of pulling out of a driveway sealed the fate of the Otero family of Wichita, Kansas.
0:45.1	The driver, 34-year-old Julie Otero and her 11-year-old daughter, Josephine, were leaving their home in the family station wagon when a man named
0:55.6	Dennis Raider spotted them. The 28-year-old Raider had recently been fired from what he described
1:02.8	as his dream job and had been driving the streets for hours, almost as if he was looking for something to distract him. And Julie
1:14.0	and Josephine Otero were exactly the distraction that Raider had been looking for. The Oteros
1:22.4	had recently moved to Kansas from New York. Julie's husband, Joseph, had recently retired after 20 years in the Air Force and chose to
1:32.3	relocate to Wichita so that he could continue working in the aviation industry as a plane
1:38.5	mechanic and flight instructor.
1:41.6	The family of seven had only been in their new home for six weeks when
1:47.0	Raider fixated on them. Raider followed Julie for a month studying her routine. He learned when her
1:55.8	husband went to work and when she returned from taking the youngest children to school. Their predictable schedule
2:02.3	gave him confidence to move forward with his plan. On the morning of January 15, 1974,
2:12.9	Rader drove to the Otero's neighborhood and parked a few blocks away from their small corner house.
2:19.9	He was dressed in his old Air Force parka with the coat pocket stuffed with what he called his
2:26.3	kit kit, which included rope, tape, plastic bags, knives, and a gun.
2:35.0	At 8.20 a.m., he approached the Otero's house after taking note that only Julie's station wagon was there.
2:43.0	He snuck into the backyard and cut the phone line.
2:47.0	Suddenly, the back door opened and the Otero's nine-year-old son, Joey, walked out. Raider pointed
	...

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