Crime Pays: Is serial killer Dennis Rader profiting from tragedy?

Editor’s note: This content contains stories of violence, including that of young children.

He spent decades taunting the community with cryptic messages.

Yet, serial killer Dennis Rader continues to stir trouble through the mail, all while in prison.

In August 2005, Rader pleaded guilty to killing 10 people from the 70’s to the 90’s in the Wichita area. Up until his arrest, he would communicate with the media, police and the public, in a cat-and-mouse game.

“Were mistakes made? Maybe. Or, were things overlooked? Maybe,” Rader’s daughter, Kerri Rawson said of prior investigations involving her dad. “But, it also took them 31 years to catch him. He’s not an easy foe. I think he was just continually trying to play his games, and I don’t think they realized that they thought he was done. I think he was just starting new games.”

Those games started nearly 50 years ago, with the first murders taking place in January 1974. This year marks 18 years since Rader was sent to the El Dorado Correctional Facility, where he is serving 10 life sentences.

A NEW LOOK AT RADER

This month, the Kansas Department of Corrections released a new prison photo of Rader. He appears to have aged quite a bit since his last photo, which was taken in 2013. The 78-year-old’s hair is thinner, and he appears to have lost weight. Kerri said her dad now uses a wheelchair and is a fraction of the man she once knew.

It’s a jarring image for Kerri, who hasn’t seen her dad since he was incarcerated.

A RENEWED INVESTIGATION

This summer, she visited her dad for the first time in prison. She had spent time helping an Oklahoma sheriff as a part of a National Cold Case Task Force. The group, comprised of 30 volunteer experts, is investigating cold cases, including the disappearance of Cynthia Kinney, a 16-year-old who vanished from Pawhuska, Okla., in June 1976. The Osage County Oklahoma Sheriff Eddie Virden said Rader is a prime suspect in the case. Kerri went to El Dorado to interview her dad to see if he could help give detectives clues as to what happened to Cynthia. This November, Kerri resigned from the task force but vowed to help with law enforcement as-needed. The investigation is ongoing.

While she hasn’t seen him in person for nearly two decades, Kerri said he is keeping tabs on her.

“He was like cyber stalking me so he was sending like, third-party people to come harass me like on social media and email, and they’re like, ‘What? They’re like, What’s your deal? Your dad’s a really nice guy,’ and I’m like, ‘He’s using you.’”

Kerri, who has become an advocate for crime victims, said some people have harassed and shown up in her community.

“It’s pretty dark, and it’s pretty nasty, and then I will go on Instagram and these people will follow me and then want to collect things,” she said.

A CRIMINAL COLLECTION

She believes people want to use her to get access to her father or to get items to sell online. There have been a number of things, supposedly created by or worn by her dad, that have ended up for sale.

“I found out my dad was knotting old sweatshirts and sweatpants that say ‘Rader’ stamped on them. Shoes were getting out. I heard gold fillings got out from a dentist,” Kerri said. “ When something that massive is getting out of prison, you know, there’s like, some kind of backdoor system going on.”

While Kerri said she has respect for the correctional facility, she knows the staff faces challenges. Between 2019 and 2021, Kerri was notified of items being listed on the Murderabilia black market – websites that sell items connected to violent crimes or criminals. Kerri believes items are getting onto sites like this, and then money is getting back to Rader.

“If he draws it, like art, and he gives it to somebody. They give him money, then they get around the law, because it’s like a gifting system,” Kerri said. “My dad’s profiting. There’s a Son of Sam law that my dad can’t profit off this stuff.”

SON OF SAM LAWS

“Son of Sam” laws keep convicted felons from profiting from their crimes, like by selling their story or making money from their notoriety. It was crafted after serial killer David Berkowitz, who was convicted of killing six people in the mid 1970’s in New York City. When he was arrested, there was intense media coverage and interest in paying him for rights to his story. Not long after, the New York State Legislature created these “Son of Sam” laws to keep Berkowitz from financially benefiting from his story.

Today, the law exists, in various forms, on a federal level and in about 40 states. In most cases, if a convict makes money, those funds go to victims. Though, some experts argue the laws can be a challenge to enforce. It even reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, when the court unanimously voted New York’s Son of Sam law was inconsistent with the First Amendment. 

After he was convicted, Rader was sued by victims over Son of Sam laws. The then-attorney of the victims’ families, James Thompson, said there was an agreement to let psychology expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland to work with Rader on his autobiography: Confession of a Serial Killer. Rader never financially benefited from the sale of the book, Ramsland said.

RADER’S FINANCIALS & DISCIPLINARY ACTION

In 2015, Rader’s prison bank account had nearly $2,000 in it, and Kerri questions how it has this much money in it. KAKE News contacted the Kansas Department of Corrections to get more details on Rader’s account and if he’s ever had legal troubles over Son of Sam laws. KDOC executive assistant Nancy Burghart said “Resident banking information is not public information, it is private just as yours would be.” The only record corrections has is the three disciplinary actions against Rader. These all involve mail:

• 2006 – for a hidden letter inside of outgoing mail
• 2019 – a package contained two teeth and nail clippings
• 2020 – a Ziploc bag with that’s believed to be a lock of his own hair

KAKE News did ask if the KDOC tracks mail – to or from inmates, but Burghart said it’s not something it tracks. Rader is allowed to send letters out, but mail is subject to inspection.

Things keep slipping through the cracks, Kerri said, but nothing prepared her for what she got in 2021.

“I got notified that my dad was signing crime scene photos,” she said. “He had signed one of Josie Otero, like, taken of her after she was deceased. Somebody was sending copies of those in, and he was signing him as BTK.”

Josie Otero, along with her brother Joey, mother Julie and father Joseph, were killed on Jan. 14, 1974. The family was Rader’s first kills. Joey, 9, and Josie, 11, were the youngest. To see Josie’s photo, and then, to see Rader’s signature – like a sense of pride for profit – was too much for Kerri.

Something like that is hard to forget. Kerri contacted victim’s services and created a do not contact order with her dad in March 2021.

“That was like the straw that broke the camel’s back when I saw that photo,” she said. “Because he had maybe signed it a few years before. But, someone had just sent it to me and I said, ‘Dad, I’m done.’”

MURDERABILIA BLACK MARKET

The market for true crime material is huge. KAKE News contacted several websites, but only one owner was willing to share his experience.

Taylor James created Cult Collectibles more than six years ago. Dubbed “Canada’s largest cult and true crime memorabilia site,” he has more than 1,000 items featured on it.

His journey started when he was selling items on eBay, but one day some OJ Simpson pogs, what he dubs a novelty item from the high-profile murder trial. The pogs violated eBay’s policy, so Cult Collectibiles was kicked off the website.

In turn, James founded one of his own so he didn’t have to fight rules on other sites. He understands true crime items may not appeal to everyone and may hurt some feelings. Yet, he considers himself to be a criminal historian.

“I think there’s still a place for it regardless,” he said. “You know, I just I always do my best to try and not offend anybody, not upsetting anybody not trying to be edgy or dark or anything about it and just look at it from a mostly historical viewpoint. Just kind of keep my head down as much as possible, so I’m not upsetting anyone.”

“The way I kind of look at it is like, you know, one of these…a series that goes on to Netflix or a major podcast will make so much more money in advertising from that one piece of media than I think I possibly could selling this stuff for the rest of my life.”

He said, too, that with shows, sometimes material is sensationalize, whereas what he has comes from real life.

Despite the tone of the site, he said, surprisingly, he doesn’t get many complaints about what he does for a living. Also, he has not run into legal trouble like with Son of Sam laws because he’s not in direct contact with inmates. He’s also based in Canada, so he said the U.S. laws do not apply to him.

“I mean, obviously it’s completely legal, but it’s a bit of a gray area morally,” he said. “I just try and be as cautious as possible, even though I think it’s a little unnecessary. Some of the caution that I’m fine with this, but I don’t delve into anything that could be considered you know, sketchy at all just for the sake of being safe with the business.”

James is very meticulous with his work. He said he verifies that the murderabilia material is authentic because one bad sale will ruin a business. It’s become a lifeline for him. What was once a hobby has turned into a full-time job, giving him opportunities to work with documentaries and museums. He travels around the world pursuing work in the true crime community.

On his site, most sales are between $50 to $200. Higher-end clients make up for the rest of what’s featured. Well-known killers, naturally, garner more interest thanks to TV shows and podcasts.

“If you move up to people like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, that gets a lot pricier and you know there’s a lot of variation in what’s worth more when it comes to a signature or a full letter or a painting. But generally, the bigger cases are what are usually the most popular.”

Convicted serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, is among the most popular names on his site. Some items attached to Dahmer’s name are priced into the tens-of-thousands of dollars. The urn of Jeffrey Dahmer will cost a person $250,000.

Rader is popular, too, but his value is far less, as there are 14 listings from Rader. The items include handwritten notes, signed envelopes, photos and artwork, ranging from $150-200. Other sites have Rader content priced into the thousands of dollars.

A bulk of James’ Rader-related material came from a seller about a year ago. The person was pen-pals with him.

“Rader isn’t involved in any way,” James said. “Nothing’s going to him. It’s just somebody has these items that they collected over a certain amount of time, whether it’s they bought them from other dealers, or you know, at auction or wrote the person personally and then just decided, ‘oh, I want to, you know, maybe I’ll make a few dollars and get rid of that stuff I’m not interested in anymore.’”

This kind of market isn’t limited to murderabilia websites. Others like Etsy are a bit of hotbed for true crime merch. It may seem a bit unusual for the site, known for fashion finds and home décor.

KILLER CREATIVITY

A simple search for “true crime” will pull up more than 37,000 listings. When searching for “Dennis Rader” items on there, it pulls up more than 1,500 results. Items include puzzles, artwork, mugs, “cereal killer bowls” and more.

Steve Scotland’s work is among those up for sale on the Kansas serial killer.

How he got there, though, may seem a little unusual to some.

Steve’s journey as a creator blossomed when he retired in 2014. He was working as a data analyst and got to pursue his passion with building 1:87 scale model train items.

One day, a collector asked if he could build what eventually would be known as his miniature “murder houses.” Steve obliged. In the past four years, work has continued at a steady pace. He creates a new structure every month, leading to nearly 400 sales and more than 260 admirers of what he crafts via WiRailFan.

Popular items surround the storylines of Sharon Tate, John Wayne Gacy and Dennis Rader.

He has listings of a miniature home of where Dennis Rader last lived in Park City, Kan. Recently, there has been interest in the property due to an investigation into a cold case. Today, the home is no longer there, and no major violent crime is known to have taken place at the residence.

With the houses he builds, Steve’s partnered with another creator to add lighting to them, if people want to purchase that option. The houses may have other details, like miniature people to help bring the home to life.

“It’s beautifully crafted with painstaking details,” one customer noted of the Sharon Tate murder house, which they reviewed on Nov. 7, 2023.

“Stephen is an AMAZING artist! More importantly, he is a kind, good person. I highly recommend him! Thank you so much, Stephen,” another person, who purchased the same house, said.

Steve prides himself on attention to detail, with the help of his wife, who helps inspect each sale.

His passion has taken him to unexpected places, like the property formerly owned by killer and body snatched Ed Gein. Steve traveled to Plainfield, Wisc. He collected 20 pounds of dirt from the site, which is now a forest. He’s listed the dirt for sale and has even included it in the designs of the murder houses.

There are things Steve said he won’t design: he won’t build tiny houses that replicate murder scenes and there’s certain crimes he’ll distance himself from.

“I haven’t done [Jeffrey] Dahmer yet,” he said. “There is something about that guy that I really don’t want to. [Ed] Gein is bad enough. But you know, this is something that he says you know, it just, it just the creep factor gets in there.”

A customer had also asked him to make a product relating to the Columbine shooting massacre in Littleton, Colo. In April 1999, two students murdered 12 of their peers and one teacher with more than 20 others hurt. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history until it was surpassed by the Parkland High School shooting in February 2018, when 17 people were killed and hurt 17 others.

“It’s too painful for a lot of people,” Steve said referring to Columbine.

He said, in general, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything wrong with his shop.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re people involved, which makes it all the more tragic, which makes it very tragic,” he continued, speaking generally of any tragedy. “A lot of the customers that I have up there, they have a great deal of respect for the victim…If somebody ever came up to me, and says ‘Oh, no, you’re exploiting that.’ I would seriously reevaluate what I’m doing, you know, but I haven’t had that yet.”

EMPOWERING SHOPPERS

Fellow Etsy seller Alyssa Welch said she hasn’t really had pushback either, but her moral compass is strong. She created Real World Design Co. in 2020, and her site has taken off with more than 6,300 in sales and more than 670 admirers of her work.

Of the 452 listings she has, 318 are in the “True Crime & Spooky” genre – something Alyssa said naturally has interested her. She loves listening to true crime podcasts and watching similar programs on television.

She’s found people with similar hobbies in her online store.

“Wore this to CrimeCon 2023! Love Morbid,” one customer wrote in a review in October.

“The hoodie I got is amazing. It’s so soft and warm. The seller is amazing! They’re so friendly and helpful. I will definitely be purchasing from them again,” another customer wrote in mid-November.

Of her true crime items, some do feature murderers. She made serial killer drink coasters in 2020. The six-pack set includes the faces of Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, Israel Keyes, Edmund Kemper, Dennis Rader and Jeffrey Dahmer

As to why Alyssa chose Rader as a part of those on the coasters, she describes him as prolific.

“He’s top 10 for me personally…stories that I’m familiar with, stories that I thought were groundbreaking. To me, he’s kind of up there.”

Shoppers agree.

“Alyssa was AMAZING to work with on this project! I love that she created what I wanted but added her own touches and flare to it,” one reviewer wrote of the coasters in June 2020. “The coasters came out even better than I could imagine! Can’t wait to work with her on future projects.”

These coasters, though, are not a celebration of the murderers. She said the item, as written in the description, is a bit symbolic.

“I really wanted to make sure like we aren’t honoring them,” Alyssa said. “We aren’t promoting them. Like, to me, it was very much that you set your drink on them, right? Like, that’s what they deserve. They don’t deserve notoriety or sort of additional fame, but it was just kind of a novelty item that I noticed people really enjoyed.”

Of her listings, there are not many that are so killer-specific. Her shop is more about sharing a space with people who enjoy listening to compelling stories and learning from them.

“It’s much more of like rallying true crime junkies and sort of statements that are popular in the true crime world that are a little more like either ‘girl power’ or safety,” Alyssa said. “One of my favorite designs is better route than dead. Right? ‘It’s better to be rude to people than to be nice and end up in a bad’ situation. So that’s the direction I typically lean with my products and my designs.”

“I think that the story behind mine is to kind of like make a statement about safety and connecting over that like shared interests and also shared safety,” she continued to share.

Alyssa believes as the true crime community grows, there’s the potential of seeing more good come from it too.

“There are so many, you know, online communities, Facebook groups, Instagram communities, and people really do share about these cases and share updates,” Alyssa said.” Some like web sleuth and people do help investigations, right? It’s just such a big space, and I think if someone, government or otherwise, were to come in and say like, “You can’t sell products that promote true crime.’ It’s kind of like, ‘Well, that’s just their interest. Like, that’s just another interest, another hobby.’

Etsy does prohibit some items from its marketplace.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for prohibited items, particularly those that promote, support or glorify hatred, those that promote, support or glorify violence, or are unlawful,” it shares online. “Sellers deemed to violate this policy can be subject to immediate account suspension or termination, in accordance with our Terms of Use.”

You can read more on Etsy’s policy by clicking here.