Biological Criminal Behavior Of Dennis Rader: BTK Killer
Biological Criminal Behavior
CJA/ 314
Monday 19, 2012
Biological Criminal Behavior
Biological Criminal Behavior of Dennis Rader, known as the "BTK Killer" which stands for "bind, torture, and kill". Dennis Rader terrorized the Witchita, Kansas, area from the 1970s to the '90s. Over time, today’s society reflects that genetic and biological factors play an equal role in crimes committed in the criminal justice system ("Bio.", 2014). It is believed that an individual’s environment and state of mind contributed to his or her behavior pattern. According to J. Reid Meloy, antisocial personality disorder affects around 2 percent to 5 percent of the population. Only about 1 percent of the population can be described as having psychopathic …show more content…
Dennis Rader committed his first murders in 1974, strangling four members of the Otero family in their home. Later that year he began seeking fame for his killings, writing letters and reporting his crimes. His final crime was in 1991, but he resurfaced in 2004 and again sought media attention. This eventually led to his arrest. He pled guilty and was ordered to serve 10 life sentences in prison ("Bio.", 2014). In 2005, he was finally caught and revealed to be Dennis Rader, a seemingly average married father of two. The oldest of four sons, Rader grew up in Wichita, Kansas. He was a family man a church leader and a psychopathic murderer. There may have been signs of trouble early on as a Los Angeles Times report stated that he used to hang stray cats as a child. Rader served in the U.S. Air Force from the mid to late 1960s. He married his wife Paula in 1971 and worked for a camping gear company for a few years. He went to work for ADT Security Services in …show more content…
On January 15, 1974, Rader killed four members of the Otero family in their home, Joseph and Julie Otero and two of their children, Josephine and Joseph Jr. They died by strangulation, and Rader took a watch and a radio from the home. Strangulation and taking souvenirs would become part of his modus operandi, or pattern of behavior. He also left semen at the scene and later said that he derived sexual pleasure from killing. The Oteros ' 15-year-old son, Charlie, came home later that day and discovered the bodies ("Bio.", 2014). The BTK Killer struck again a few months later. Waiting in their apartment on April 4, 1974, Rader killed Kathryn Bright by stabbing and strangling, and attempted to kill her brother, Kevin. Kevin was shot twice, but survived. He described Rader as "an average-sized guy, bushy mustache, 'psychotic ' eyes," according to a TIME magazine
CJA/ 314
Monday 19, 2012
Biological Criminal Behavior
Biological Criminal Behavior of Dennis Rader, known as the "BTK Killer" which stands for "bind, torture, and kill". Dennis Rader terrorized the Witchita, Kansas, area from the 1970s to the '90s. Over time, today’s society reflects that genetic and biological factors play an equal role in crimes committed in the criminal justice system ("Bio.", 2014). It is believed that an individual’s environment and state of mind contributed to his or her behavior pattern. According to J. Reid Meloy, antisocial personality disorder affects around 2 percent to 5 percent of the population. Only about 1 percent of the population can be described as having psychopathic …show more content…
Dennis Rader committed his first murders in 1974, strangling four members of the Otero family in their home. Later that year he began seeking fame for his killings, writing letters and reporting his crimes. His final crime was in 1991, but he resurfaced in 2004 and again sought media attention. This eventually led to his arrest. He pled guilty and was ordered to serve 10 life sentences in prison ("Bio.", 2014). In 2005, he was finally caught and revealed to be Dennis Rader, a seemingly average married father of two. The oldest of four sons, Rader grew up in Wichita, Kansas. He was a family man a church leader and a psychopathic murderer. There may have been signs of trouble early on as a Los Angeles Times report stated that he used to hang stray cats as a child. Rader served in the U.S. Air Force from the mid to late 1960s. He married his wife Paula in 1971 and worked for a camping gear company for a few years. He went to work for ADT Security Services in …show more content…
On January 15, 1974, Rader killed four members of the Otero family in their home, Joseph and Julie Otero and two of their children, Josephine and Joseph Jr. They died by strangulation, and Rader took a watch and a radio from the home. Strangulation and taking souvenirs would become part of his modus operandi, or pattern of behavior. He also left semen at the scene and later said that he derived sexual pleasure from killing. The Oteros ' 15-year-old son, Charlie, came home later that day and discovered the bodies ("Bio.", 2014). The BTK Killer struck again a few months later. Waiting in their apartment on April 4, 1974, Rader killed Kathryn Bright by stabbing and strangling, and attempted to kill her brother, Kevin. Kevin was shot twice, but survived. He described Rader as "an average-sized guy, bushy mustache, 'psychotic ' eyes," according to a TIME magazine