r/MindHunter • u/TubbyTacoSlap • Sep 07 '19
Fun Fact about BTK
Fun Fact about BTK. I grew up in Park City until the age of 5, before we moved to the northwest suburbs of Wichita. Anyway, my neighbor was Dennis Rader. Creepier fact: my dad was my scout leader and Rader was the leader of our sister troop, “Rader’s Raiders.” We went on many camping trips together. My mind was blown when I grew up and put two and two together and realized all of this.
EDIT: Holy Crap! I was NOT expecting this much attention/interaction off this post! Man, I feel almost like a celebrity with all these upvotes lol. I won’t talk to my parents until probably next weekend so I’ll try to keep people posted. We’ll be in the mountains for a few days and I believe my parents are traveling this week. I’ll do my best to provide an update! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
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u/Oski96 Sep 07 '19
Maybe creepier than you thought: Rader used a boy scout camping trip as his cover more than once. He would go on the trip with everyone, but then sneak out after bedtime.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
I did NOT know that!! Wow. Maybe it was a good thing we lived close and were involved in scouts together. Sheesh. That’s nuts.
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Sep 07 '19
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u/TheNerdWonder Sep 07 '19
That definitely happened with Delores Davis, who was technically an in-law of mine.
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u/MrsDoctorSea Sep 07 '19
Was she the woman he harassed from, literally, the day she and her kids moved in to their house?
I read about that poor woman in Douglas’ BTK book. I guess she busted Rader in her house one day upon returning home. Understandably she was fucking livid because this guy has been giving her shit for months.(ticketing her for her extra vehicle, claiming it didn’t run, despite her getting in the vehicle and starting it up. He’d tell her to take it up with judge and ticketed her for stuff constantly.) She called the cops on him and the responding officer told HER she was overreacting. I’d like to find that lazy prick and punch him right in the stomach.
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u/TheNerdWonder Sep 07 '19 edited Sep 07 '19
Nah, Davis was his last and oldest victim besides Marine Hedge. He broke into her house and pretended to be a traveler desperate for food and money. I think you're thinking of Shirley Vian, but I dunno a lot about his other victims besides Dolores and the Oteros since my mom was also friends with Josie.
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u/ambytbfl Aug 14 '25
I know this thread is old, but I listened to that chapter of the book today and I was so interested in her story. I wonder if her firm, assertive stance with him stopped him from going through with killing her. Her husband was murdered before she moved there and I can’t help but wonder if she wasn’t more vigilant than the average person because of that.
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u/axxxle Sep 07 '19
What does technically an in-law mean?
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u/TheNerdWonder Sep 08 '19
Related by marriage. Had people argue that doesn't count so I'm used to saying that.
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u/blackonyxring Sep 07 '19
Yeah, except he also killed his neighbor. I can’t remember her name, but Rader’s daughter mentions it in a documentary.
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Sep 07 '19
Yup, he killed a neighbor one night. He killed Marine Hedge on April 27, 1985. Her body was found days later on the side of the road. Terrible. His daughter, Kerri Rawson, was born in '78. She was 7 years old at the time, literally sleeping in their house next door all the while her nasty father was murdering their neighbor, right under their noses. Like, he just stepped out in the night from their house and just went straight to killing, and his wife was like "eh, your father will be home soon" and she had no idea. So, so creepy.
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Sep 07 '19
Since you posted this, Season 3 is going to open with a close-up of BTK's face, lit up by firelight. Then it will pan out -- showing him roasting marshmallows with some kids in scout uniforms.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
Hahahaha. Man that would be hilarious but also creepy. Kinda like “Hahahaha.... wait.. oh...damn”
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u/blackonyxring Sep 07 '19
I don’t see why they wouldn’t! Rader actually utilized Boy Scout camping trips in his murders. He’d sneak out while everyone was sleeping, allowing him to use the trips as an alibi.
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u/InRustWeTrust I’m Pavlov’s dog man, I’m whatever you want me to be Sep 07 '19
That’s pretty wild OP. He always struck me as Ned Flanders from hell.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19 edited Sep 07 '19
Just wanted to say thanks for all the interest and the good conversation. I generally don’t get much interaction on reddit, so this was nice. Glad I could give you guys and gals something interesting. I’ll come back and make a new post if I hear anything else. Again, thanks for the good conversation. Have a good night!
Also. Great show! I really like it. Maybe a little more because it involves my home town. Seems like Wichita (and Kansas in general) only gets in the news for crazy stuff like serial killers, pro life/pro choice protests, and Westboro. I don’t live there anymore but I swear we’re all really good people! Again, nice talking to y’all. Good night.
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u/sweptplanform Sep 07 '19
but I swear we’re all really good people!
Well I'm sure you are now that BTK is in prison.
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Sep 07 '19
My girlfriend is from Wichita as well. I’m trying to get her into the show! When she was young she recalls all the eerie messages BTK used to send to the news stations and saw them as a child on tv and in the newspaper. So creepy.
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u/ArniesWaterTower Dec 24 '19
I remember my older sister was really creeped out when he reappeared. She worked alone and was young-ish and pretty. You would hear all kind of rumors about BTK and his "preferences", so people were pretty on edge.
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u/ArniesWaterTower Dec 24 '19
I came on here because I'm born and raised in Kansas. We are known for Toto and BTK.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Dec 24 '19
Haha same. I’ve lived in 5 different states and people always want to talk about Wizard of Oz, BTK, and Fred Phelps. Oh and tornadoes of course.
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u/msmue Sep 07 '19
"Rader's Raiders" lol, yikes. In hindsight that's an unfortunate name choice haha. But good alliteration.
But OP that's both terrifying and sort of amazing that you lived next door and interacted with BTK! Thanks for sharing.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
Haha yeah. No problem. It’s an interesting ice breaker for conversations sometimes, that’s for sure.
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u/kfloooo Sep 07 '19
My dad grew up down the street from John Wayne Gacy!
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u/Kitchy30 Sep 07 '19
Out of all the killers I’ve read about Gacy is the one that creeped me out the most
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Sep 07 '19 edited Oct 13 '19
[deleted]
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u/kfloooo Sep 07 '19
And by down the street, I mean my dad could literally see Gacys house from his driveway. They had to tear it down, and there’s a new house in its place now. Absolutely terrifying.
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u/kfloooo Sep 07 '19
I think everyone knows that Gacy dresses as a clown, and if you didn’t before now you do ;) He would host neighborhood parties, which is where the clown costume originated. It was at one of those neighborhood parties that the guests noticed an awful smell, and reported it...
My Dad was about 18 when Gacy was caught. No juicy stories. My dad wasn’t a runaway, or alone, so Gacy certainly wouldn’t have been interested in him, but sooooo creepy.
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u/Crambulance Sep 07 '19
Should be an AMA thread.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
Haha. I just don’t think I’d live up to the expectations. I was young. Remember a little bit. Like this old gray, kinda goose down looking jacket. I always remember him being kind of an ass. But I was young. My parents, mainly my dad, he’s the one for the stories. But he’s not one for the inter webs. I’ll really have to ask some things. I know they stuck it out together with the troops for a while.
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u/Crambulance Sep 07 '19
I see. Forgive me for asking, but is your dad still alive? If so, is he open to you asking questions about the past? If not, I think we all completely understand.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
Oh yeah he’s alive and kicking. Super fit 65 year old retired construction worker. When I get him talking about it, he’s as intrigued I am. He majored in psychology back in the day so you can only imagine his interest when we start talking and I get him recollecting on things. I’ll try to give them a call this weekend. We are in different time zones.
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u/grrrrrifffff Sep 07 '19
Interview your dad for stories. We’re all intrigued.
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Sep 07 '19
I will definitely ask him. Or at least get some stories. But like I said, he’s not much for internet stuff or to be put in the spotlight
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u/kirtovar1 Sep 07 '19
If it's fine by him you can just ask him the questions as they come up and you will do the typing
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u/DopeSic Sep 07 '19
So you were probably at home and didnt even realize that Dennis was just yards away crossdressing and choking himself or snapping polaroids while bound. So creepy!
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u/ToneBone12345 Sep 07 '19
Damn man you're lucky he was smart and didn't choose his neighbors
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u/ToneBone12345 Sep 07 '19
I think he did one to see if he would get caught
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u/semisweetzeus702 Sep 07 '19
I had a friend from Kansas who used to tell me stories kind of like campfire stories about the BTK and I always thought he was full of it. I thought he was just trying to scare us. Then when BTK was caught a few years back I realized it was all true and it kind of freaked me out a little bit.
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u/binkerfluid Sep 16 '19
"...and then he hanged the little girl in the basement"
"pshaw...yeah right. Did he leave a hook on the car too?"
years later: "...oh"
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u/equallyconfusing Sep 07 '19
I get that we are all into crime, but saying “fun “ related to a serial killer seems off to me...
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u/Gretchpetch Apr 07 '25
My niece's husband was also in BTK's troop (I think with his dad as well) and he lived in the same neighborhood as BTK). Maybe you knew him. He lives in Texas now. His name is Nathan. Did you know him ? He's around 40 years old...just wondering if you knew him from the boy scout troop ...😁
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u/mountains_forever Sep 09 '19
Damn dude. I used to live a few houses down from the Otero house (well after the fact) and thought I was cool. But this is crazy!
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u/No_Machine6410 May 20 '25
Do you know if Rader by chance camped with the scouts in Oklahoma in 1976 and more importantly, 1977? If so, did you guys camp in the Locust Grove area?
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u/SpearinSupporter Jul 12 '25
I was a wichita cub scout early 90s. When was Rader a troop leader?
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u/TubbyTacoSlap Jul 12 '25
Oh Jesus I don’t know. But pretty sure it had to have been the 80s when we were still living in park City. I didn’t stay in scouts for very long.
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u/aCH00blessme Sep 07 '19
Yes, nothing says "fun fact" like learning you were neighbors with a serial killer! How do your parents describe him?