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Bind. Torture. Kill. That was the motto of the BTK killer, a mass murderer who terrorized the city of Wichita in the 1970s and 80s by brutally murdering multiple people.
Directed by Skye Borgman, Netflix’s ‘My Father, the BTK Killer’ revisits the chilling case through Kerri Rawson, daughter of Denis Rader, while interviews with journalists and investigative officers offer a factual chronology of the gruesome murders, the victims, and the years-long lull in the investigation. A churchgoing compliance officer arrested at 59, Rader was ultimately convicted of committing over 10 murders across several years.
‘I don’t know who my father is, what he was hiding. Was he using my family to hide? Was he using us the whole time? It’s hard to know who I am if every moment in my life was a lie.’
The documentary opens with Kerri Rawson recalling the moment police knocked on her door and revealed that her father was the BTK killer. At first, the entire family clung to denial, convinced that the authorities had made a terrible mistake. But the truth soon became undeniable – Denis Rader had been targeting and murdering women to act out his violent, sadistic fantasies.
Photographs of a smiling Kerri with her father, on camping trips, at family gatherings, and even at her wedding, are woven throughout the film, presenting him as an attentive, ordinary family man. It was precisely this carefully curated image that allowed Denis Rader to evade suspicion for so long. When he was finally arrested, the revelation stunned not just his family but the entire community.
Midway through the documentary, Kerri visits the site of her former family home with the film crew. Demolished in 2007, the house once held extensive evidence of Denis Rader’s crimes, including journals, photographs, bondage materials, and even clothing and belongings taken from victims… items he kept for decades. Some of these images were later sent anonymously to the media as he sought attention as the BTK killer. Today, nothing remains on the property, but an irate resident can be heard yelling at Kerri to leave, underscoring the lingering hostility she faces because of her connection to the case.
Because a significant part of the documentary is centered on Kerri’s struggles after her father’s infamy as the BTK killer, no friends or relatives of the murdered victims chose to participate. This absence ultimately leaves the story without a vital perspective from those most directly affected by the crimes.
Ironically, Denis Rader almost escaped justice altogether, living a seemingly stable life with his family while the case went cold. After more than two decades without leads, police began to believe the BTK killer was either dead or had left the country. However, a local newspaper article titled “BTK case unsolved, 30 years later” drew Rader out of hiding, prompting him to resume sending letters to the media, complete with proof that the killer was very much alive. This would be his biggest mistake, leading to his arrest.
For those already familiar with the BTK case, this documentary offers little in the way of new insight or revelation. True-crime viewers encountering the story for the first time may still find it a disturbing and engaging watch, but the narrative is marked by noticeable gaps. It works best as a personal account rather than a comprehensive examination of the crimes.
Watch ‘My Father, the BTK Killer’ on Netflix.
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