What do you do when you discover that your loving, Boy Scout leader, ever-supportive and Christian father is a notorious serial killer? Do you disown him? Write a book about him, exposing his dealings. Or support him? Well, read along to find out what Kerri Rawson did (is doing) after she opened the door of her residential home in February 2005 to greet FBI agents who would inform her that her loving father had been arrested for killing scores of innocent residents, including two children aged nine and 11 years.
Who is Kerri Rawson?
Kerri Rawson is an American writer who would become an advocate for victims of abuse, crime, and trauma, after scores of her BTK serial killer father, Dennis Lynn Rader went public. Her father was known for terrorizing and killing ten residents of Wichita, and Park City, Kansas State between January 15, 1974, and January 19, 1991.
Kerri’s father, Dennis Lynn Rader lived a double life of a loving, church president, and Boy Scout leader father, so Kerri Rawson and his family never suspected him of being the BTK strangler who unleashed terrors in their residential state until he was uncovered. In an interview years after the incident, Kerri admitted that the clues had been there but the love they had for her father would not let them connect the dots. And although she still loved her father, Kerri has never supported her father’s actions. Instead, she would become a voice for people who have had to go through abuse, crime or trauma by sharing her journey of healing, hope, faith, and forgiveness through her New York Times Best-selling book, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming.”
That pointed out, I would share facts about Kerri Rawson and other interesting things you probably may want to know about her. Before I continue, let’s take a quick look at her profile summary.
Kerri Rawson Biography
Kerri Rawson was born Kerri Rader in 1978 in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States of America. She is 44 years old and was barely 12 years old when her father, Dennis Lynn Rader, committed his tenth and last murder. Her mother, Paula Dietz, filed for a divorce from her father in 2005 when she (Kerri) was 26 years old after her father was confirmed the BTK serial killer. Her paternal grandparents, William E. Rader, and Dorothea M. Rader, and paternal uncles, Bill Rader, Paul Rader, and Jeff Rader, are other family members related to her.
Kerri Rader (Instagram/Kerrirawson)
Kerri Rawson grew up in the company of her only brother and only sibling, Brian Rader, for whom her childhood years were fun-filled. As a Midwest United States and Kansas State native, Rawson holds American citizenship by birth. She has a white skin color, dark brown long hair, and a pair of aesthetic brown eyes. Looking at reports that confirm her physique and body parameters, Kerri Rader stands five feet five inches above the ground, estimated to be either 165 centimeters or 1.6 meters. She weighs 78 kilograms equivalent to 171 pounds.
Regarding academics and educational backgrounds, Kerri Rawson had her Elementary School and High School education at private schools in Kansas State. She would later enroll at the prestigious Kansas State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree.
Kerri Rawson’s favorite food is Italian and Chinese cuisine. Her favorite destinations are New York City and Paris while her hobbies are reading books, shopping, and traveling. According to her one of her interviews, Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds are her favorite film actors whereas Jennifer Lawrence is the name of her favorite actress.
Kerri Rawson Career & Books
Kerri Rawson is a writer, whose niche in the writing business cuts across true crime, Christian literature, autobiography, and biography. She published her debut book on January 29, 2019, titled “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming.” Now this 366-paged Religion, Christian Living, and Inspirational (biography and autobiography) book were published under the publisher, Thomas Nelson, (2019) following Kerri’s realization that her loving father is a serial killer.
In this book, which has now been named one of the New York Times Best-selling books, Kerri explored her disbelief and horror after finding out that her father was the notorious serial killer who killed residents in Kansas State during her formative years. Kerri Rawson was more particular about giving hope, sanity, and closure to all the persons the incidents broke for decades, including herself.
Although she had since forgiven her father, Kerri Rawson had never supported his actions. She was broken and believed that all her life had been a lie. The year is 2005, afternoon, of February 25, 2005, an FBI walked into Kerri Rawson and asked in precision;
“Is your father Dennis Rader?” “He’s been arrested. Your dad is wanted for murders in Kansas.”
FBI agents to Kerri Rawson on the afternoon of February 25, 2005, after her father was arrested.
Kerri couldn’t believe her eyes and ears because she had loved and looked up to her father, so wasn’t expecting him to be involved in crimes as huge as murder.
During one of her interviews with media outlets, Kerri Rawson would reveal that she does not support her father’s actions but still love him. In her submission, Kerri said in part;
“I still love my father and I wish he had never done any of this, that I just had my dad. I worry about him being alone in prison at times, but at other times, I just can’t, for my own sanity.”
Kerri Rawson speaking about how she loves her father but detests his actions.
Looking at how long this terror lasted, the newsmen would ask Kerri how possible it was to believe that she and her family never suspected nor knew about her father’s dealings. In part, she says;
“My mom and I have both said, early on, if we had known, we would’ve gone screaming out the door, running to the police.” It’s not like you’re going to sit there and make dinner for the guy after finding out he’s murdered 10 people. [We] didn’t know we were living with a psychopath. They’re really good at hiding… I mean, my mom lived with him for 34 years, and 90, 95 percent of the time, he was a good, loving father and husband.”
Kerri Rawson on why she is truthful about not having a clue about her father’s terrorism antecedents.
Although it has been close to a decade and a half since Kerri Rawson and her family got the news of their father’s dealings, she is yet to completely heal from the trauma. Because of this, she is writing a second book about the incident which would be released on October 17, 2023, titled “Breaking Free: Overcoming the Trauma of My Serial Killer Father.” This book is available in Hardcover, and Audible Audiobook, but is currently available for pre-order at $14.99 on all book distribution/selling platforms.
Kerri Rawson Relationship with Dennis Rader (BTK)
Kerri has ceased to associate herself with her father due to the cyberstalking she received from her father’s goons. She revealed this during a session with CrimeCon in 2021. During the interview, Kerri said she was cyberbullied and cyberstalked by her father’s supporters, which made her get a legal cease-contact order after victim services by the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Although none of her family members were physically hurt during the aged-long murder incidents, Kerri Rawson has maintained that she, her mother, Paula Dietz, and her brother, Brian Rader, are victims. She also maintained that her father, Dennis Lynn Rader, took away many things from their lives and humanity. In her words during an interview, she says in part, “I feel like my father imploded my family. We’re not the same and we’ll never be the same.”
Kerri Rawson during an Interview with NewsNation
Confirming this, a report by an online media outlet says in part, thus;
“Her chest frequently grew tight. She couldn’t work, couldn’t sleep. She would burst out crying in restaurants and churches.”
A rreport that confirms Kerri Rawson one of her father’s victims says in part.
Kerri Rawson now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and only decided to write about the incident as a way to heal and move on. In her words in a letter to her father in her book, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming,” Kerri wrote in part;
“Should I tell you that I grew up adoring you, that you were the sunshine of my life? I just wished you were sitting next to me in the theater, sharing a tub of buttered popcorn. But you’re not… You won’t ever have this again. Was it worth it?”
Kerri Rawson in a rhetoric letter she wrote to her serial killer father in her ‘healing mechanism’ book, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming.”
To this day, Kerri Rawson mourns the loss of her dad, and the lives of his victims he cut short, and feels hurt by the pains she has had to endure because of her father’s psychopathic behaviors. According to her, she would often think aloud to herself, thus; “Can’t we go back to how things were? They weren’t really ever that way, kid.”
Away from that, reports say the police were able to track Kerri Rawson’s serial killer father, Dennis Lynn Rader, through her. Accordingly, samples were taken from one of her father’s victim’s fingernails, with which Kerri’s pap smears were accessed and confirmed to be a match. During his arrest on February 25, 2005, Kerri Rawson’s father gave her reassurance that all would be cleared and he would be let go. With a look of hope accomplished with a warm hug, Dennis Lynn Rader said to his then-26 years old daughter, Kerri, “All right, love you. See ya in a while.” In response, Kerri replied, “Yeah, love you, too. See ya in a while.”
Well, Kerri Rawson’s father, Dennis Lynn Rader, wasn’t innocent after all. He was declared guilty to all ten count murder charges leveled against him, for which he bagged a ten consecutive life sentence for crimes equivalent to life imprisonment without parole for 175 years at El Dorado Correctional Facility in June 2005.
Kerri Rawson Husband, Children
Kerri Rawson is married to Darian Rawson, with whom she had been married since 2003. Kerri Rawson and her now-husband, Darian Rawson, met each other for the first time in 1999 and dated for about three years before officiating their marriage. Having been married for two decades and counting, Kerri shares two children with her husband with whom she lives in Florida, in the United States of America — looking at her Twitter location. Her children are Rawson born in 2008 (14 years old) and Ian Rawson born in 2011 (11 years old).
She is active on several social media platforms, including Twitter where she has a verified account @KerriRawson. She joined the forum in April 2015 and has since accumulated over 17.2k thousand followers with over 66.3k thousand tweets and retweets. Her email address is [email protected] and well, she is on Instagram under the username @kerrirawson, where she now has about 5.8k thousand followers. In other news, she is on Facebook under the name, Kerri Rawson and username @kerri.rawson, with 9.7k thousand likes and 10k thousand followers. She joined the forum on November 13, 2009.
Kerri Rawson Net worth
Kerri Rawson does not have an estimated net worth. However, she makes quite a fortune for someone who is a one-time New York Times Best Seller and author.
Since you are still here, please tell me what you think about Kerri Rawson’s personality. What do you think about her stance on her father’s crimes and subsequent sentences? Tell me all about it in the comments section.