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Netflix Debuts 'My Father, the BTK Killer' Centering the Killer’s Daughter

Told through Kerri Rawson’s account, the film foregrounds the evidence that exposed Dennis Rader, emphasizing the enduring human cost.

Overview

  • The documentary premiered on Netflix on October 10 and focuses on Kerri Rawson’s first-person perspective of her father’s crimes and their fallout.
  • Dennis Rader murdered 10 people in the Wichita and Park City, Kansas, area between 1974 and 1991 and is serving 10 consecutive life terms at El Dorado Correctional Facility.
  • Investigators traced a 2004 floppy disk to a computer at Christ Lutheran Church and then used familial DNA from Rawson’s medical records to confirm Rader’s identity ahead of his 2005 arrest.
  • The film builds on Rawson’s 2019 memoir and includes interviews with journalists and law enforcement who covered the case.
  • Rawson describes her trauma and advocacy work and notes limited cooperation with ongoing inquiries into possible additional victims, with no new charges announced.