Paula Dietz: The untold story of Dennis Rader's ex-wife
Many people are familiar with the BTK murderer, Dennis Rader. However, the story of his ex-wife Paula Dietz goes untold. Dennis Rader murdered ten people while living in the same house with his unsuspecting wife and children. Although the story has been the basis of several books and movies, Paula had to face the horror of living with a serial killer.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Profile summary
- Who is Dennis Rader's ex-wife, Paula Dietz?
- Quick facts about Paula Dietz Rader
When people get married, they hope they have chosen the right person to spend the rest of their lives with. However, what do you do when the love of your life turns out to be a stone-cold killer with absolutely no remorse. This is a tale that can only be told by those who have lived through it. Here is the untold story of Dennis Rader's wife.
Profile summary
| Full name | Paula Dietz Rader |
| Gender | Female |
| Date of birth | 5 May 1948 |
| Age | 76 years old (as of 2024) |
| Zodiac sign | Taurus |
| Place of birth | Park City, Kansas, USA |
| Current residence | Park City, Kansas, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Christian |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Height | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Weight | 143 pounds (65 kgs) |
| Body measurements | 36-28-42 inches (91-71-106 cm) |
| Hair colour | Brown |
| Eye colour | Black |
| Relationship status | Divorced |
| Children | 2 |
| University | National American University of Wichita |
| Profession | Bookkeeper |
Who is Dennis Rader's ex-wife, Paula Dietz?
Paula was a bookkeeper born in a religious home on 5 May 1948 in Park City, Kansas. Her father was an engineer, while her mother was a librarian.
How old is Paula Dietz?
As of 2024, Paula's age is 76 years old. Her zodiac sign is Taurus.
Education
She graduated from high school in 1966 and enrolled at the National American University of Wichita, where she graduated in 1970 with a BA degree in Accounting.
Career
Source: Original
After graduating with her degree, Paula took up a job as a bookkeeper. A position which she maintained her entire working life. However, after her husband was caught and prosecuted for murder, she retired from her job and left Kansas. It was unbearable for her to work or live in her hometown.
How did Dennis Rader and Paula Dietz meet?
The couple met when Rader moved back to Kansas. He had completed his four years in the Air Force and worked at the meat department of a Leekers IGA supermarket.
They had a whirlwind romance that saw them walking down the aisle on 22 May 1971. This was barely a year after they had met. Dennis Rader and Paula Dietz's marriage was blessed with two children, Kerri, born in 1978, and Brian, born on 30 November 1973.
What did Paula Dietz's ex-husband do?
Paula Dietz's ex-husband, Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer, was a serial killer who murdered ten people in Kansas between 1974 and 1991. He landed a job at Coleman Company Inc., where he installed alarm security systems in Wichita.
This job provided the BTK murderer with the perfect excuse to access his victims' homes. He would go on to murder ten people, with his family noticing. His victims mostly included single women who lived alone.
His first victims were four Otero family members, whom he murdered in cold blood in 1974. He broke into the home of Joseph Otero, 38, and his wife Julie, strangling them in front of their children.
He then dragged Josephine, 11, and her brother Joseph, 9, to the basement. He choked young Joseph before hanging her and masturbating while she died. Before escaping, Rader snapped grisly photographs of the incident, which he kept in a lockbox containing keepsakes from his victims, including Josephine's underpants.
His next murderer was Shirleen, who he also killed in the same year. In 1977, he killed Shirley and Nancy and went off the radar for eight years. He resurfaced in 1985 and murdered Marine and later Vicki in 1986. His last victim was Dolores, killed in 1991.
Did Dennis Rader's wife know the BTK killer?
Source: UGC
Paula was not aware of her husband’s secret double life. She once found a poem he had written entitled Shirley Locks. The poem read:
Thou shalt not screem… but lay on cushion and think of me and death.
During this period, Rader was enrolled in college courses, and when asked by his wife, he dismissed the poem as a mere draft for one of his class assignments. In truth, it concealed the details of his sixth victim, the 26-year-old Shirley Vian, and her tragic murder.
Dietz didn't pay much attention to the poem or when her husband added strange notes to newspaper articles about the BTK Killer. She also didn't think much of it when she saw his spelling as bad as the BTK Killer's letters in the news. She made a joke, saying:
You spell just like BTK.
Was BTK killer caught by his wife?
No. Dennis was arrested on 25 February 2005 after letters he sent to the local media detailing his murders were traced to him.
What does BTK stand for?
In his previous murders, he left the words "bind, torture, kill", which led to him being labelled the BTK murderer. He pleaded guilty to all the murders. He is now serving life imprisonment after being sentenced to 175 years.
What happened to the BTK Killer's wife?
After Dennis was arrested, Paula immediately filed for an emergency divorce. The judge granted her the divorce that very same day. She did not wait the mandatory sixty days due to her circumstances.
BTK's wife did not go to any of her ex-husband's hearings and has never written to him or even visited him in prison. She moved out of Kansas to escape the media and has not given any public statement about her husband or his crimes.
Paula's daughter stated that her dad was just a normal dad who took them on vacations and taught them how to fish. It never occurred to them that their dad secretly killed people. In other words, Dennis Rader's family lived a peaceful life and had no idea they were living with such a dangerous man.
Is Paula Dietz Rader still alive?
Details about Paula Dietz Rader's obituary are unavailable as no reports confirm whether she is dead.
Where is Paula Dietz now?
Source: Getty Images
As reported by the Seattle Times, Paula Dietz auctioned off her family home for $90,000 and departed from the town. She completely withdrew from the public eye and lives a very private life. None of Paula Dietz Rader's pictures are available on the internet.
Who is Dennis Rader's daughter?
Dennis Rader and Paula have two kids: Kerri and Brian. Kerri was a former elementary school teacher. Kerri, like her mother and brother, never visited her father in prison. Nonetheless, she is the only one of the three who has repeatedly addressed the matter of her father's wrongdoing.
Paula Dietz's daughter, Kerri Rawson, published a memoir in 2019 entitled A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming. During an interview with Slate, she was asked how her mother's recovery process was, and this is what she said:
She’s sort of dealt with my dad like he died on the day he was arrested. Her emotional way of dealing with it was, like, “He’s gone, he died.” Early on she did write him. After the plea, she didn’t; she never wrote him since then. She went into therapy around the same time I did. As far as I understand, she has PTSD from the events around his arrest.
She currently works as an advocate for persons who have experienced trauma or abuse. In 2003, Kerri married a man named Darian. They have two children.
Where is Dennis Rader today?
Rader was charged with ten charges of first-degree murder and sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms, totalling 175 years in prison. He is presently serving his sentence at El Dorado Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Kansas. He is detained in solitary confinement and has limited access to publications, radio, and television.
Quick facts about Paula Dietz Rader
- Dietz only discovered Rader's true identity when he was caught.
- She met Rader at church.
- Her husband led their son's Cub Scout troop and was a church council president.
- Paula Dietz lived with the BTK killer for 34 years without knowing who he was.
Paula Dietz is the ex-wife of the BTK killer, Dennis Rader. The couple got married in 1971. After over three decades of marriage, Paula discovered that her husband was a serial killer who had murdered over ten people.
Yen.com recently published an article about Nikko Jenkins. He is a serial killer who committed four murders in one month after being released from prison in 2013. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2017.
Nikko Jenkins' run-in with the law began when he was seven after being charged with bringing a gun to school. In 2017, he was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death. He blamed corrections officers for his four murders.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Ann Steffie Ann Steffie is a content creator with 2+ years of working experience in the industry. She graduated from the Technical University of Kenya with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Technology. She lives in Nairobi, Kenya and spends her free time pursuing her interests which include web development, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Email: madigoann@gmail.com
Jackline Wangare (Lifestyle writer) Jackline Simwa is a content writer at Yen.com.gh, where she has worked since mid-2021. She tackles diverse topics, including finance, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. Previously, she worked at The Campanile by Kenyatta University. She has more than five years in writing. Jackline graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (2019) and a Diploma in Marketing (2015) from Kenyatta University. In 2023, Jackline finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques and Google News Initiative course in 2024. Email: simwajackie2022@gmail.com.
