Dennis Rader

THE MARSHFIELD MAIL

BTK strangler has local connections By: Alyssa Spradlin, Mail staff writer 03/09/2005

It's the question people around Webster County have wondered about for almost two weeks.

Is the BTK strangler related to our Raders?

The answer is ... sort of.

The Rader community was founded in 1871 by Raders settling here from Tennessee. According to "Centennial of Immanuel Lutheran Church and the Rader Families," Dennis L. Rader, the man arrested almost two weeks ago as the BTK strangler, is the great-great-grandson of Joseph Rader, one of those original Raders.

Dennis Rader's father, William E. Rader, was the son of two Raders, Ruben Rader and Dorthea M. Rader. Dorthea was the daughter of Simeon Rader and Christine B. Kruse (later Rasmussen). Simeon was the son of Joseph Rader and his first wife, Barbara Nease, who died before the family moved to Missouri.

Joseph and Barbara had 11 children, Sarah Catherine Rader Peters, Christene Rader Rader, Adam Frank Rader, Darius Rader, Regina "Sis" Rader Wheeler, Simeon Rader, Maryan "Polly Ann" Rader Popejoy, Philip Rader, Joseph Melanchton Rader and Pernina and Lavina Rader, who were twins. Joseph and Pernina died at a young age.

He and his second wife, Magdalene Renner, had seven children, Alice Eliza Rader Keesling, Otto Rader, Polycarp Rader, Loy Rader, Barney Rader, Ezra Rader and Orpha Rader Saunders. Otto died at a young age.

The Rev. Andrew Rader, Joseph's brother, had 12 children with his wife Catherine Peters. They were Elizabeth Rader Davis, Sarah Rader Renner, Jacob Rader, Albert Jerome Rader, David H. Rader, Hester Rader Rader, Silas Newton Rader, Luther Sylvenus Rader, John E. Rader, Iranaeus W. Rader, Susan C. Rader Fullington and Ida Cordelia Rader Buck. Jacob, David and John died at an early.

Joseph and Andrew Rader are thought to be the heads of the original Rader family settlers. At the time of the book's printing in 1971, there were approximately 4,000 names listed, all direct descendants of the original settlers.

The listing for Dennis Rader's immediate family starts on page 112 of the red Rader book, with the marriage of his grandparents Dorothy and Ruben. It goes on to name their four children, noting the marriage of son William E. Rader to Dorothea M. Cook. It further lists the four sons of William and Dorothea, Dennis L., born in 1945; Paul W., in 1947; William G., in 1949; and Jeffrey D. in 1955. This youngest brother has been interviewed by the media in connection with the eldest brother's arrest.

Dennis L. Rader was arrested on Feb. 25 and charged March 1 with 10 killings dating back to 1974. "BTK" stands for bind, torture and kill, and is how the serial killer referred to himself in notes to media outlets in Wichita, Kan.

Police were able to pinpoint Rader based on DNA evidence taken from his daughter's medical records, according to reports. Since many of the murder victims had a connection to Wichita State University, Rader's alma mater, authorities believe he may have been on authorities' radar during early investigations.

The first four known victims were Joseph Ortero, his wife, Julie, and their children, Josephine and Joseph II, killed in their home in 1974. Kathryn Bright, killed in 1974, Shirley Vian and Nancy Jo Fox, both killed in 1977, and Vicki Wegerle, killed in 1986, were also killed in their homes.

Since Dennis Rader's arrest, two other cases have been tied to BTK. Marine Hedge was abducted from her home in 1985, while Dolores Davis was abducted from her home in 1991.

Both bodies were found later, dumped, showing signs of being bound and strangled.

There seem to be very few commonalties between Dennis Rader and his Webster County kin. Besides the same surname, Dennis Rader was active in his Lutheran church, president of the congregation at the time of his arrest.

The Rader family is historically Lutheran. Dennis Rader's great-great-grandfather Simeon was an elder and leader of the singing class in the early Lutheran church in Rader.

Land that would be considered ancestral for Dennis and his brothers was owned in 1971 by their great-uncle Adam Rader, a brother to their grandmother, Dorthea Rader.
Another of Dorthea's brothers, Hans, had a store built of native rock in 1937, following the destruction of the previous structure by tornado.