Woman in BTK killer’s sick drawing of possibly identified

September 5, 2023

Sick, newly released drawings by BTK serial killer Dennis Rader show a series of terrified bound and gagged women — and cops think they may have identified at least one of them as a known missing woman.

The disturbing images were released as part of a major new drive to examine possible cold cases tied to the ailing 78-year-old who dubbed himself BTK for “bind, torture, kill.”

Two of the sketches show women — including one in a short red dress or blouse — bound with nooses hung around their necks.

The third shows a blonde-haired woman staring with clear fear in her eyes, with her arms and legs bound in rope and a red gag in her mouth.

That woman, wearing a green top, is thought to have been IDed as a southeast Kansas woman who vanished in 1991, Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told CNN.

Another drawing by Rader shows a bound and gagged woman in a red top.

While Virden would not disclose additional details about her identity, he told the outlet his team had “very, very good tips” regarding the drawing and potential victims.

“It’s going to be a busy week,” Virden said of the flow of tips that have “provided more information.”

A third drawing by Rader shows a woman bound in a hay loft.

Rader was sentenced to life in prison in 2005 for a series of 10 grisly murders that terrorized Wichita, Kansas for over two decades.

The newly released drawings were among hundreds secreted away in the suburban dad of two’s possessions at the time of his arrest, CNN explained.

The three images were released in the hopes someone might recognize the scenes, thought to be in barns or silos, Verdin said.

Dennis Rader (center) was arrested in 2005.

“We’re hoping that releasing these, someone might recognize one of these barns or the unique features in them, or the closeness of the silo to the barn or possibly might have even found items that they didn’t know why were there that could be very important in this case,” Virden told CNN.

“Even if the barn’s not there anymore. We would still like that information.”

In the image of the woman in the green shirt, officials believe the black piping behind her may be an important clue.

Rader's 10 official victims. — Rader is serving 10 life sentences for a series of murders in the Wichita area.

“The reason you would have that is if you were moving livestock through there, that those bars would keep the livestock from hitting probably the tin or the wood on the outside of the barn so that if an animal hit it, you know, they wouldn’t go through and dent up the tin or knock the wood off the outside,” Virden told CNN.

“We know from things Dennis said on this exact photograph that it was a drawing he created from an actual barn,” he added.

The woman in the red shirt, Verdin continued, appears to be a wooden space like a tack or feed room.

“That would be a barn that had wood slats. You know, possibly a rounded post but in that area of the barn what would have possibly a wooden floor, you know and a lot of times in tack rooms inside of barns or in feed rooms or storage. They wouldn’t leave a dirt floor because they didn’t have livestock in that area,” Virden explained.

The third drawing, he noted, features a peculiar angle on the staircase that could help identify the actual location.

“The support post appears to have a bracket and then a bolt that bolts through that to hold everything together,” he told CNN.

Law enforcement also recently intercepted some of Rader’s prison communications that indicate there may be evidence hidden in old barns, the sheriff added.

Rader was always fascinated by barns and their surroundings, his daughter, Kerri Rawson, explained to the outlet.

Dennis Rader. — Rader has denied committing any other murders, officials say.

“My father did drafting at our house, he drew up plans for the gardens,” the “A Serial Killer’s Daughter” author recalled.

“And my dad needed to always be outside and be in the air and winter was hard for him. And so we had to find things for him to do because when he got inside and he was too cooped up, he would get all angry,” she continued.

“My father absolutely loves barns and silos. Every time we drove around going camping, fishing, to college, he’d absolutely say this one – like he said, I want to retire here. And he would tease my mom about it.

“And then after he was arrested, we found out later that he had massive fantasies about those specific locations. So now we’re driving around trying to find those by my memory and noting them because we need to go see, is there anybody missing or buried there.”

Earlier this summer, authorities named Rader as a person of interest in the 1976 disappearance of Oklahoma teen Cynthia Dawn Kinney.

Cynthia Dawn Kinney's missing person poster. — Rader is now a “prime suspect” in the disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney.

Officials think Rader may have covertly referenced Kinney’s alleged abduction in his journals, and are also investigating the pantyhose ligature and other troubling items uncovered at a “hidey hole” on Rader’s former Park City, Kansas property.

Osage investigators are now hoping the state and federal agencies will help process any remaining DNA on the ligature and other troubling “trophies,” in addition to those recovered in 2005, CNN said.

“We’re coming up against a man that’s playing lots of games,” Rawson told NewsNation of her devious father’s reaction to the renewed investigation.

As of Monday, however, the FBI’s field officer in Kansas City said they were not aware of the bureau assisting in any BTK-related efforts, CNN reported.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigations has also met with the Osage crew, but did not assist with the property searches, the outlet added.