BTK serial killer Dennis Rader named 'prime suspect' in 2 cold cases in Oklahoma, Missouri

Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
Convicted BTK killer Dennis Rader listens during a court proceeding in October 2005 in El Dorado, Kan. Authorities in Oklahoma and Missouri said they are investigating whether Rader was responsible for other homicides, with their search leading them to dig on Tuesday near his former Kansas property.
Convicted BTK killer Dennis Rader listens during a court proceeding in October 2005 in El Dorado, Kan. Authorities in Oklahoma and Missouri said they are investigating whether Rader was responsible for other homicides, with their search leading them to dig on Tuesday near his former Kansas property.

New evidence tying the self-styled "BTK" serial killer to at least two more unsolved homicides led authorities this week to dig at the former Kansas home of Dennis Rader, whose infamous killing spree spanned 27 years.

Rader, 78, remains in prison serving 10 consecutive life sentences after he was convicted in 2005 of murdering 10 people from 1974 to 1991.

But this week, the Osage County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma announced Rader is now the "prime suspect" in the disappearances of a woman and a teenager who vanished during the years he was killing.

The primary focus of Tuesday's search was tied to the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Kinney, a 16-year-old cheerleader from Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the sheriff's office said in a news release Wednesday. Kinney has never been found.

Investigators also were able to connect Rader to the slaying of 22-year-old Shawna Beth Garber in McDonald County, Missouri, Osage County Undersheriff Gary Upton told USA TODAY. Garber, whose remains weren't identified until 2021, was found dead in December 1990 having been raped, strangled and restrained.

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Search uncovers 'items of interest'

Convicted BTK killer Dennis Rader listens during a court proceeding in October 2005 in El Dorado, Kan. Authorities in Oklahoma and Missouri said they are investigating whether Rader was responsible for other homicides, with their search leading them to dig on Tuesday near his former Kansas property.
Convicted BTK killer Dennis Rader listens during a court proceeding in October 2005 in El Dorado, Kan. Authorities in Oklahoma and Missouri said they are investigating whether Rader was responsible for other homicides, with their search leading them to dig on Tuesday near his former Kansas property.

The search took place Tuesday in the Kansas suburb of Park City near Wichita at a property that was once Rader's home.

Using shovels, metal detectors and other tools, investigators led by Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden searched the land at Rader's former home for "items of evidentiary value based on specific leads," the sheriff's office said in the news release. Officials in Park City also allowed for city crews to tear up concrete sidewalks poured in the years since Rader has been imprisoned to allow investigators to search underneath, Upton said.

The agency originally had visited the property in April. Upton said a preliminary dig led investigators to find a pantyhose ligature tied in a knot, which would be consistent with someone being bound at the ankles or wrists.

The sheriff's office said the more recent search Tuesday led investigators to find "items of interest," which Upton said appeared to be "personal effects that would belong to a victim." Upton declined to be more specific about what specifically was found during the search.

The sheriff's office said the items would undergo a thorough examination to determine whether they are relevant to the investigation.

Investigation reopened after sheriff interviews Rader at prison

Investigators are working to determine if BTK serial killer Dennis Rader was behind the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Kinney and others who either vanished or were killed during the years of his killing spree.
Investigators are working to determine if BTK serial killer Dennis Rader was behind the 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Kinney and others who either vanished or were killed during the years of his killing spree.

Cynthia Kinney's case was reopened in December after Upton said Virden, the Osage County sheriff, interviewed Rader at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas.

As Virden was leaving the interview after hours of discussion, Upton said the convicted killer made an unsolicited suggestion that he had once abducted a girl from a laundromat. The comment prompted the sheriff to further investigate Kinney's disappearance, who was last seen at a laundromat.

A 1976 entry in one of Rader's journals, obtained by investigators, included the phrase “bad wash day," Upton said. An excerpt of Rader's writings provided to USA TODAY makes mention of a laundromat, which Rader called "a good place to watch victims and dream."

Because Rader was a regional installer for ADT Security Services at the time, Upton said, investigators also believe it's possible Rader was installing security footage at a bank being built across the street from the teen's home, making it easier for him to stalk Kinney.

Closure?

As the sheriff's office reexamines whether Rader was responsible for additional missing-persons cases and unsolved murders, Upton said, Virden remained in Kansas on Thursday to follow up on another investigatory tip. Though the sheriff's office said in the release it was working closely with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, it was unclear just how many other missing person and homicide cases are being reexamined.

Bureau spokeswoman Melissa Underwood confirmed to USA TODAY that the agency has met with the Osage County Sheriff’s Office but that it was not involved in the recent property search.

"Clearly we can't get anything more out of Dennis than what has already been heaped upon him," Upton said. "The best we can hope for is closure for the families and a sense of understanding of what happened."

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Who was the 'BTK Killer?'

Rader was responsible for at least 10 known slayings across 27 years in the Wichita and Park City, Kansas, area.

Giving himself the nickname "BTK" for "“bind, torture and kill," Rader often would send notes to police and media outlets with details of his crimes. After seemingly going silent for 13 years, Rader resurfaced in 2004 when he once again began sending the taunting letters, which led to his arrest in 2005.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Convicted BTK serial killer Dennis Rader 'prime suspect' in 2 cold cases