Kathryn Bright's house

This is the site where Dennis Rader (BTK) murdered Kathryn Bright.

It is at 3217 East 13th Street North in Wichita, Kansas.

Bright's house no longer exists, though a mailbox and driveway outline remain.

Rader said he saw the 21-year-old college student while driving on East 13th Street North. After selecting Bright as a target, he stalked her to learn her routine.

During this period, he nicknamed her "Project Lights Out."

Project Lights Out

On the morning of April 4, 1974, Rader drove to the neighborhood to enact his plan. He left his vehicle near Fairmount Park to prevent it from being spotted near the crime scene:

"I was just about one block south of 17th [Street], where the car was. There's a park there. I parked at the park, and then I walked to 13th, to the Bright residence."

From there, Rader walked approximately half a mile south to his target's home.

Upon reaching the house, Rader broke in and waited for her to return. However, he was surprised when she returned with her younger brother, Kevin.

When the pair entered, Rader confronted them with a gun and claimed he needed to steal their car and money.

He tricked the Brights into submission by framing his intentions as a robbery, a tactic he had first used on the Otero family three months prior.

After calming the siblings down, Rader instructed Kevin to tie Kathryn to a chair in the dining room. He then took Kevin into a bedroom, where he tied his hands behind his back and gagged him with a washcloth.

Once the siblings were separated and restrained, Rader briefly rummaged through the house.

Struggle

A few minutes later, Rader returned to the brother's room and attempted to strangle him with a nylon stocking. However, Kevin broke free and put up a fight.

During the struggle, Rader shot him in the face with a .357 Magnum. Severely wounded and bleeding heavily, Kevin collapsed to the floor and feigned unconsciousness.

Believing Kevin was dead, Rader walked into the dining room and attempted to strangle Kathryn.

Kathryn was also able to fight back, as her bonds were loose.

While trying to control her, Rader heard a noise from the area where he had left Kevin. Startled, he released Kathryn and rushed back into the other bedroom.

Once again, Rader attempted to kill Kevin, and once again, Kevin fought back.

During the second struggle, Kevin grabbed the gun, pointed it at Rader, and pulled the trigger. However, it failed to fire.

At that point, Rader drew a second pistol and shot him again:

"And I think he thought that was the only gun I had because once I either bit his finger or hit him or something and got away, then I used the .22 and shot him one more time. And I thought he was down for good at that time."

After shooting Kevin a second time, Rader resumed his attack on Kathryn.

Feeling he had lost control of the situation, he took out a knife and stabbed her multiple times beneath the ribs.

Following the murder, Rader heard someone opening the front door. He initially believed someone had called the police. However, when he entered the living room, he found it empty.

Puzzled, he approached the front door and saw Kevin running down the street.

Realizing he had little time before the alarm was raised, Rader cleaned up what he could and tried to leave in one of the sibling's pickup trucks. When the vehicle failed to start, he fled the scene on foot:

"I tried it, but it didn't work. At that point in time he was gone, running down the street, and I thought, 'Well, I am in trouble.' So I tried it; it didn't work. So I just took off, ran, went east, and worked back towards the WSU campus where my car was parked."

After the crime, Rader went dormant for nearly three years. He would not murder his next victim, Shirley Relford, until March 1977.