Dennis Rader, aka the “BTK Killer,” Speaks out for the First Time in Never-Heard-Before Audio on Oxygen’s ‘Snapped’

It was like he wanted to be caught. Dennis Rader, aka the BTK Killer, is remained one of the most mysterious serial killers until 2005, when he was finally caught after the gruesome murders of 10 people. But Dennis is the one who did himself in, since he continued to send clues to police until one clue implicated him and he was finally arrested. But in an upcoming episode, Oxygen’s Snapped will revisit Dennis’ case — and the network will air never-before-heard audio with the serial killer himself.

“How could a guy like me — church member, raised a family — go out and do those sort of things,” Dennis said in the audio clip. “I want the people of Sedgwick County, the United States, and the world to know that I am a serial killer.”

Dennis is known as the “BTK Killer” because BTK is an acronym for his preferred method of murder: bind, torture, kill. After he committed his last murder, it seemed like he was going to get away with it because police could not figure out his identity for 30 years. But he decided to return to the spotlight by writing letters to the local media, almost taunting them in a way by sharing gruesome details about each of his murders.

A journalist had the chance to interview BTK after he went to prison for committing all of those murders, and the journalist said the thing that stood out to him the most during their interview was that he seemed “proud” of what he did all those years ago.

When asked if he had any feelings at all towards the people he killed, Dennis replied, “Yes I do. I guess it’s more of an achievement or sort of more of a high, I guess.”

Be sure to tune in to the Snapped two-hour special, airing Sunday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. on Oxygen.