The Otero family home

This is the house where serial killer Dennis Rader (BTK) murdered four members of the Otero family.

It is located at 803 North Edgemoor Street in Wichita, Kansas.

Rader, who was 28 at the time, stalked the family before the attack. In his list of potential "projects," he labeled the Oteros as "PJ Little-Mex," a reference to his primary target, 11-year-old Josephine Otero.

Murders

The Otero family had lived at the property since the fall of 1973. Rader later testified that he selected the family as his first victims.

Because the house sits on a corner lot, he could monitor the residence and access the backyard through a side entrance.

On January 15, 1974, Rader cut the phone lines and entered the house through the back door. When he unexpectedly encountered the father, he produced a gun and told the family he intended to steal their car.

After forcing the Oteros into a bedroom and binding them, he suffocated and strangled Joseph, 38, Julie, 33, and Josephine, 11. He took their 9-year-old son, Joseph Jr., to another bedroom and asphyxiated him by placing a plastic bag over his head. Upon realizing that Josephine had regained consciousness, he took the girl to the basement and hanged her from a pipe.

Following the murders, Rader cleaned the house and fled in the family's tan Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon. Several neighbors noticed unusual activity that day. One witness saw a man aggressively reversing the Vista Cruiser out of the driveway, while another reported a dark-complexioned man in a rumpled hat driving the vehicle.

Rader drove the stolen vehicle to a nearby food store called Dillons at 4801 East Central Avenue. A witness in the parking lot later recalled that he appeared nervous and was shaking.

After parking the Vista Cruiser at the store, Rader walked to his own car and drove away. This strategy minimized the risk of witnesses recording his license plate near the crime scene.

Aftermath

The Oteros' three surviving children—Charlie, Carmen, and Danny—discovered the bodies upon returning from school later that afternoon. Charlie, who was 15 at the time, was the first to find the victims.

The murders remained unsolved for more than three decades.

Police initially theorized that the killings were related to Joseph Otero's business dealings in Panama. At the time, he reportedly had conflicts with several individuals regarding the resale of merchandise.

In 1974, Rader hid a detailed letter about the murders inside a book at the Wichita Public Library. The message rejected theories that multiple perpetrators were involved and provided specific details about the crime scene.

During questioning in 2005, Rader told Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent Raymond Lundin that he selected the family because he "liked a Hispanic-type girl."