Associated Press
A timeline from 1974 to present surrounding the BTK case:
_ Jan. 15, 1974: Joseph Otero, 38, and his wife, Julie, 34, are strangled in their home along with two of their children, Josephine, 11, and Joseph II, 9.
_ April 4, 1974: Kathryn Bright, 21, is stabbed to death in her home. Police later conclude she was a BTK victim.
_ October 1974: The Wichita Eagle-Beacon gets a letter from someone taking responsibility for the Otero family killing. The message included crime scene details.
_ March 17, 1977: Shirley Vian, 24, is found tied up and strangled at her home.
_ Dec. 8, 1977: Nancy Fox, 25, is found tied up and strangled in her home. The killer's voice is captured on tape when he calls a dispatcher to report the crime.
_ Jan. 31, 1978: A poem, referring to the Vian killing, is sent to The Wichita Eagle-Beacon.
_ Feb. 10, 1978: A letter from BTK is sent to KAKE-TV claiming responsibility for the deaths of Vian and Fox, as well as another unnamed victim. Police Chief Richard LaMunyon announces a serial killer is at large and has threatened to strike again.
_ Aug. 15, 1979: Police get more than 100 tips in the first day of radio and TV broadcasts that repeat the voice of the BTK strangler from the 1977 recording.
_ April 28, 1979: BTK waits inside a home, but leaves before the 63-year-old woman who lives there returns. He later sends her a letter letting her know he was there.
_ Mid-1980s: A group known as "The Ghostbusters" takes on the then cold case and during the next three years employs new DNA testing techniques, database searches and psychological profiles.
_ Sept. 16, 1986: Vicki Wegerle, 28, is strangled in her home. The family car is found nearby.
_ March 19, 2004: A letter arrives at The Wichita Eagle containing a photocopy of Wegerle's driver's license and photos of her body. Police link it to BTK.
_ April 2004: Wichita police subpoena information from the Wichita Eagle's BTK Internet discussion board.
_ May 5, 2004: KAKE-TV receives a letter with photocopies of a business identification card of a former Southwestern Bell employee and an ID badge of a former Wichita's public schools employee.
_ June 2004: Wichita police receive a letter describing the 1974 Otero family killings.
_ October 2004: Wichita police obtain a letter dropped in a United Parcel Service Inc. box. The correspondence contained jewelry.
_ Dec. 1, 2004: Wichita police arrested a man on minor charges and test his DNA for a connection to the BTK serial killings. He is later released on bond.
_ December 2004: A package containing the driver's license of Nancy Fox, who was killed in 1977, is found by a Wichita resident in a neighborhood park.
_ Jan. 12, 2005: The man whose DNA was tested in December sues three media organizations, including The Associated Press. The AP is dropped from the defamation lawsuit in early February.
_ Jan. 25, 2005: KAKE-TV receives a postcard that leads police to a suspicious cereal box in a rural area northwest of Wichita, and asks an earlier missing communication. The postcard was from "S Killett" with the address of the Otero family.
_ Feb. 3, 2005: KAKE-TV gets another postcard, this one thanking them for its quick response. Police said they later found the missing communication No. 7.
_ Feb. 16, 2005: A different Wichita TV station, KSAS-TV, receives an apparent BTK message. The manila envelope contained a piece of jewelry and a letter. The letter's return address said "PJ Fox."
_ Feb. 25, 2005: Police and other authorities surround a home in Park City, a Wichita suburb.
_ Feb. 26, 2005: After receiving several more letters, authorities announce the arrest of BTK.
special news release from Christ Lutheran Church, Wichita, KS 2/26/2005
My name is Michael Clark. I am the pastor here at Christ Lutheran Church. I want to say that on my behalf and the behalf of the leaders of this congregation we will cooperate completely in the ongoing investigation of the matter regarding Dennis Rader. We first became aware of this investigation on Friday, February 25, 2005.
Dennis is a member of Christ Lutheran Church. He has held leadership positions here at Christ Lutheran over the course of approximately 30 years as a member.
We are all concerned for Dennis Rader and his family. We lift up our prayers in support of all of them. The members of Christ Lutheran Church are in a state of shock and bewilderment about the turn of events that have unfolded this week.
We lift up our prayers, support and compassion for the victims and family members involved with the BTK murders. We ask for care and compassion of the Wichita community as this congregation deals with this tragic and difficult situation.
Michael G. Clark, Pastor
any news on his motives for these murders?