KANSAS CITY - It was 20 years ago this week that the self-described 'BTK' serial killer, 59-year-old Dennis Rader, was arrested in Park City, Kansas.
On Friday, Feb. 25, 2005, Rader was on his way home for lunch from work, and that's when he Park City compliance officer was taken into custody.
During 34 hours straight of interrogation, Rader admitted to 10 murders; he avoided trial by pleading guilty to all the homicides.
At the time of Rader's arrest, the former Air Force sergeant was a married father of two, a leader in the Boy Scouts organization, and an active member of a Lutheran church.
The death penalty was not a sentencing option when the crimes were committed; families of the victims had to endure gruesome details as Rader described his murderous sprees in the courtroom.
Rader's crimes began in January of 1974 in Wichita at the N. Edgemoor home of Joseph and Julie Otero, where he murdered them and two of their children.
Rader also killed Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox, Marine Hedge, Vicki Wegerle, and Dolores Davis.
Former Wichita Police Department Lt. Ken Landwehr worked to solve the case; he died on Jan. 13, 2014.
Rader was sentenced to consecutive life sentences, which he’s serving at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Butler County.