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?
Read on; you’ll find out how the daughter of a serial killer handled this type of situation.
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.
That pointed out, I would share facts about Kerri Rawson and other interesting things you need to know about her. Before I continue, let’s look at her profile summary.
Profile summary
| Full name | Kerri Rawson |
| Date of birth | 1978 |
| Age | 46 years |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Marital status | Married |
| Husband | Darian Rawson |
| Known as | Dennis Lynn Rader’s daughter |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Mother | Paula Dietz |
| Father | Dennis Lynn Rader |
Kerri Rawson Biography
Kerri Rawson was born Kerri Rader in 1978 in Wichita, Kansas, United States of America.
She is 46 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 after her father was confirmed the BTK serial killer – Kerri was 26 years old then.
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 grew up with her only brother and sibling, Brian Rader.
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 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, which is equivalent to 171 pounds.
Regarding academics and educational backgrounds, Kerri had her Elementary and High School education at private schools in Kansas State.
She enrolled at the prestigious Kansas State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree.
Kerri’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 one of her interviews, Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds are her favorite film actors, whereas Jennifer Lawrence is 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.”
The 366-page Religion, Christian Living, and Inspirational (biography and autobiography) book was 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 was more particular about giving hope, sanity, and closure to all the persons the incidents broke for decades, including herself.
What is Kerri doing now?
Although she had since forgiven her father, Kerri had never supported his actions. She was broken and believed that all her life had been a lie.
The year is 2005, an afternoon on February 25, 2005, an FBI walked into Kerri and asked;
“Is your father Dennis Rader?” “He’s been arrested. Your dad is wanted for murders in Kansas.”
Kerri couldn’t believe her eyes and ears because she had loved and looked up to her father, so she wasn’t expecting him to be involved in a murder.
During one of her interviews with media outlets, Kerri revealed that she does not support her father’s actions but still loves 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.”
Looking at how long this terror lasted, the newsmen asked 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.”
Although it has been close to a decade and a half since Kerri and her family got the news of their father’s dealings, she has yet to heal from the trauma completely.
Because of this, she is writing a second book about the incident, which will 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 formats. It is currently available for pre-order.
How Kerri Rawson is coping with the news that her father is BTK
Kerri’s father, Dennis Lynn Rader, lived a double life – a killer who doubles as a loving father, church president, and Boy Scout leader, so Kerri and her 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 their love 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 through her New York Times Best-selling book, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming.”
Kerri has ceased associating 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 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.”
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.”
Kerri 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?”
To this day, Kerri 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, “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’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 Rader’s father reassured her 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-year-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.”
Kerri Rawson’s father, Dennis Lynn Rader, wasn’t innocent after all.
He was found 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.
Read up about Dennis Lynn Rader’s crimes here.
Kerri Rawson Husband, Children
Kerri Rawson is married to Darian Rawson, with whom she has been married since 2003. Kerri 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. They live in Florida, in the United States of America — looking at her Twitter location.
Her children are Rawson, born in 2008 (16 years old), and Ian Rawson, born in 2011 (13 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 followers with over 66.3k tweets and retweets.
Her email address is Kerri.Rawson@gmail.com and well, she is on Instagram under the username @kerrirawson, where she now has about 5.8k thousand followers.
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 social media website on November 13, 2009.
Kerri Rawson’s 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.