Paula Dietz is the former wife of Dennis Rader, the convicted serial killer known as BTK. She was married to him for 34 years and had two children with him, but there is no credible evidence that she knew about his crimes. After his arrest and confession in 2005, Dietz obtained an emergency divorce on July 26 and withdrew from public life.
Interest in Dietz continues because people want to understand how Rader concealed his crimes from the family living with him. However, Paula has never turned her experience into a public career. Most reliable information about her response comes from contemporary news reports, the divorce proceedings and accounts given by her daughter, Kerri Rawson.
Paula Dietz Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Paula Dietz |
| Married name | Paula Rader |
| Reported year of birth | Around 1948 |
| Estimated age | About 77–78 in 2026, if the reported birth year is correct |
| Birthplace | Kansas, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Not publicly confirmed |
| Occupation | Reported to have worked as a bookkeeper |
| Known for | Being the former wife of Dennis Rader |
| Former husband | Dennis Lynn Rader |
| Marriage date | May 22, 1971 |
| Divorce date | July 26, 2005 |
| Length of marriage | Approximately 34 years |
| Children | Brian Rader and Kerri Rawson |
| Current residence | Not publicly confirmed |
| Current relationship status | Not publicly known |
Who Is Paula Dietz?
Paula Dietz is an American woman whose name became internationally known after authorities identified her husband, Dennis Rader, as the BTK killer. Before that discovery, she lived a largely ordinary life in the Wichita area and raised two children with him.
Rader murdered ten people between 1974 and 1991 while presenting himself publicly as a husband, father, church member and city employee. The contrast between his public image and secret crimes caused many people to question what his family knew. Available reporting and statements from the couple’s daughter consistently indicate that Paula and the children did not know.
Paula should therefore be understood as a person whose life was devastated by Rader’s deception, not as someone responsible for his actions.
Early Life
Paula Dietz is reported to have been born in Kansas around 1948. Her childhood is much less thoroughly documented than the events surrounding her husband’s arrest. She was a private person before the BTK investigation brought her family into the news.
Her parents’ identities, their occupations and details about her siblings have not been reliably established in the sources reviewed. Accounts that give a detailed picture of her childhood without explaining their evidence should be treated cautiously.
Education
Paula’s education is not firmly established in the reliable reporting reviewed for this article. An alumni website for Wichita Heights High School’s Class of 1966 lists the name Paula Dietz, but that listing alone is not enough to independently confirm her identity and graduation history.
Claims that she earned a particular accounting degree also lack dependable supporting records. Her reported work as a bookkeeper does not, by itself, prove that she completed a university qualification.
Paula Dietz’s Age and Birthday
Many biographies give 1948 as Paula’s birth year. If correct, that would make her 77 or 78 in 2026, depending on her birthday. This is an estimate based on a reported year, rather than an independently verified current age.
The more specific date of May 5, 1948, is widely repeated online, but a strong original source for it was not established during this review. Her exact birthday therefore remains unconfirmed.
Nationality
Paula Dietz is American. She was born in Kansas and spent most of her publicly documented married life in the Wichita and Park City area.
Ethnicity
Paula Dietz has not publicly documented her ethnicity in the sources reviewed. Her surname alone does not establish her ancestry, and her American nationality should not be confused with an ethnic background.
Career and Work
Published reporting describes Paula as a bookkeeper. Beyond that, there is limited dependable information about her employers, the dates she worked or her later professional life.
Her occupation is often mentioned briefly in reports about the family. It is not a basis for assuming her educational qualifications, salary, retirement date or present income.
How Paula Dietz Met Dennis Rader
Rader returned to Kansas after serving in the United States Air Force and married Paula in 1971. Accounts of their relationship commonly connect their meeting with the local church community, although the exact circumstances are not consistently documented.
Their wedding took place before the first murders for which Rader was later convicted. Paula entered the marriage without knowing the secret life he would develop.
Marriage to Dennis Rader
Paula Dietz and Dennis Rader married on May 22, 1971. Rader was 26; Paula’s precise age at the wedding is less firmly documented. Their wedding took place several years before his first known murders.
The couple remained married for about 34 years. During that time, Rader maintained the appearance of a conventional family life. He worked in several jobs, participated in church activities and became involved with the Boy Scouts.
To neighbors and relatives, the Rader household appeared ordinary. That appearance later became one of the most disturbing parts of the case: Dennis was committing crimes while continuing to behave publicly as a husband, father and community member.
Family Life in Park City
Paula and Dennis raised their family in Park City, near Wichita, Kansas. Their household included church activities, holidays and the everyday responsibilities of raising children. Later accounts from Kerri describe the difficult contrast between those family memories and the crimes revealed in 2005.
Her recollections also include anger and troubling behaviour at home. Describing the family as entirely happy or free of problems would flatten a more complicated experience. However, recognising a relative’s temper is very different from knowing that person is committing murders.
Public reporting has not established that Paula helped Rader commit crimes or knowingly concealed them. The responsibility for the killings belongs to him.
Paula Dietz Children
Paula Dietz and Dennis Rader had two children: Brian Rader and Kerri Rawson.
| Child | Year of birth | Public information |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Rader | 1975 | Has largely remained outside public life |
| Kerri Rawson | 1978 | Author, speaker and advocate for crime victims and affected families |
Both children were adults when their father was arrested. Like their mother, they were forced to process the fact that a close family member had maintained a violent secret life for decades.
Who Is Brian Rader?
Brian Rader is Paula and Dennis’s son, generally reported to have been born in 1975. He has maintained a much lower public profile than his sister, Kerri, and dependable information about his adult life is limited.
Established reporting identifies him as Brian Rader. His employment, relationships and current location are not necessary to explain Paula’s story, and there is no credible public evidence that he knew about his father’s crimes before the arrest.
Who Is Kerri Rawson?
Kerri Rawson is Paula Dietz’s daughter and the family member who has spoken most publicly about the case. She was born in 1978 and learned about her father’s arrest when an FBI agent contacted her in 2005.
Kerri later wrote A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming. She has discussed trauma, forgiveness, victims’ rights and the difficulties faced by relatives of violent offenders.
Her experiences are also explored in the 2025 Netflix documentary My Father, the BTK Killer. Kerri’s public account does not establish her mother’s current location or daily circumstances.
Did Paula Dietz Know Dennis Rader Was the BTK Killer?
No credible public evidence establishes that Paula knew her husband was BTK. She was not charged in connection with his murders, and Kerri Rawson has repeatedly said that the family was unaware of his crimes before his arrest.
In a 2014 Wichita Eagle report, Kerri defended her mother and brother against public suspicion. Her account places the family’s discovery in February 2005, when investigators identified Rader. Later reporting describes Paula’s shock when his confession was confirmed.
Questions about how a spouse could miss a secret life are understandable, but they are not evidence of involvement. It is important to distinguish what investigators established from speculation based on the length of the marriage.
How Paula Learned About Dennis Rader’s Crimes
Authorities arrested Rader on February 25, 2005. A later Wichita Eagle account, based on Kerri’s recollections, describes Paula waiting for him to come home for lunch that day. The arrest abruptly changed the family’s understanding of his life.
The same report describes a decisive conversation after the family’s pastor, Mike Clark, visited Rader in jail. When Clark called Paula afterward, Kerri watched her mother write down that he was confessing. This account is a recollection shared by Kerri, rather than a direct public interview with Paula.
That early confession should be distinguished from Rader’s formal guilty plea on June 27, 2005. The arrest, private admissions, guilty plea, divorce and sentencing were separate events over several months.
How Investigators Identified BTK
Paula did not solve the case or turn Rader in. The FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory annual report describes how a floppy disk sent to a Wichita television station in February 2005 contained information linking its user to Dennis and Christ Lutheran Church. Investigators followed that digital trail and used additional evidence to identify him.
DNA evidence also helped establish the connection. Reporting explains that investigators obtained a stored medical sample from Kerri without her prior knowledge. Her biological relationship to Rader helped the investigation; it did not mean she had knowingly participated in identifying him beforehand.
This explains why the family’s discovery came as a shock. Investigators developed their case before approaching family members, rather than relying on Paula having recognised her husband as the offender.
Paula Dietz’s Emergency Divorce
Paula obtained her divorce on July 26, 2005, approximately one month after Rader pleaded guilty. UPI’s contemporaneous report says Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Yost waived the usual 60-day waiting period and approved the request immediately.
The request cited emotional distress, and reporting on the petition described harm to her mental and physical condition. Rader did not contest the divorce. The decision ended their approximately 34-year marriage before his August sentencing.
Some accounts give July 27 because that was the date the news was published. The report’s reference to the divorce being granted on Tuesday places the court action on July 26. Separating the event date from the publication date prevents a common timeline error.
Paula Dietz Family Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 22, 1971 | Paula and Dennis Rader married. |
| 1975 | Their son, Brian, was born, according to published biographical accounts. |
| 1978 | Their daughter, Kerri, was born. |
| February 25, 2005 | Rader was arrested; his family learned he was suspected of being BTK. |
| June 27, 2005 | Rader pleaded guilty to ten murders. |
| July 26, 2005 | Paula received an immediate divorce. |
| August 18, 2005 | Rader received ten consecutive life sentences. |
| March 2007 | The former family home was demolished. |
| 2019 | Kerri published her memoir, A Serial Killer’s Daughter. |
| October 10, 2025 | Netflix released My Father, the BTK Killer. |
What Happened to the Family Home?
The family’s former home received a $90,000 winning bid at auction in 2005, but that sale fell through. Reporting at the time described legal disputes that prevented the title from being transferred. It is therefore misleading to say Paula simply sold the house for $90,000 and received that amount.
A later Wichita Eagle report, reprinted by the Kansas County Appraisers Association, explained that Park City subsequently bought the property for a little under $60,000, using money from an anonymous donor. The city then removed the house.
The Wichita Eagle documented its demolition in March 2007. The cleared site was intended to provide access to a nearby park. This later reporting completes the story that early auction headlines left unfinished.
Did Paula Remain in Contact With Dennis Rader?
According to Kerri’s account in the Wichita Eagle’s 2015 reporting, Paula stopped seeing, writing to and speaking with Rader after learning that his confession was genuine. No reliable report reviewed for this update establishes a later reconciliation.
Kerri’s own history of corresponding with or visiting her father is separate. Her decisions should not be attributed to her mother: different family members have handled the aftermath in different ways.
Where Is Paula Dietz Now?
Paula Dietz’s current residence and day-to-day life are not publicly confirmed. Reporting in 2025 continued to describe her as living privately after the divorce, with accounts suggesting she had left Kansas.
No direct, reliable 2026 update establishing her location was found during this review. Stories naming a specific city, a new husband or a changed identity should not be treated as confirmed without dependable evidence. Public profiles belonging to someone with the same name are also insufficient to identify her.
Is Paula Dietz Still Alive?
As of this review on September 29, 2026, no reliable report confirming the death of Dennis Rader’s former wife was found. That is different from independently verifying her present health or circumstances, which remain private.
Search engines return obituaries for other women named Paula Dietz. For example, a 2014 Indianapolis Star notice concerns a woman born in 1920 who married Clifford Dietz and had three daughters. Those details do not match Rader’s former wife.
A matching name is therefore not enough to establish a death. There is no verified cause of death or obituary to include for the Paula Dietz discussed in this article.
Life Away From Public Attention
Paula has not publicly explained all her reasons for avoiding publicity. The documented aftermath nevertheless includes a sudden divorce, intense interest in her family and the burden of being associated with crimes she was not accused of committing.
In 2014 reporting, Kerri said that she and her mother had sought counselling. That provides a limited, attributed account of support after the discovery; it does not establish a current diagnosis or treatment history for Paula.
Her silence should not be interpreted as evidence of guilt, an invitation to locate her or proof that she has recovered. It marks a boundary between the public case and a private person’s life.
Did Paula Dietz Ever Give an Interview?
No widely verified, detailed interview with Paula following Rader’s arrest is publicly available. Most descriptions of her response come from court records, contemporary reporting, statements by her lawyer and later accounts from Kerri Rawson.
Videos, quotations or social-media posts attributed to Paula should be checked carefully. Her appearance in archival footage or photographs does not mean she participated in a new documentary interview.
Paula Dietz Net Worth
Paula Dietz’s net worth is not publicly known. The available reporting does not provide a complete account of her assets, debts, income or retirement arrangements.
Websites that publish exact estimates generally do not explain how those numbers were calculated. The divorce reportedly transferred family property and retirement interests to Paula, but that does not provide enough information to calculate her present wealth.
| Possible financial factor | What is publicly known |
|---|---|
| Employment income | She reportedly worked as a bookkeeper |
| Family home | The $90,000 auction sale failed; Park City later bought the property |
| Divorce settlement | Rader reportedly did not contest the transfer of family assets |
| Current income | Not publicly available |
| Reliable net-worth estimate | None |
For this reason, any exact Paula Dietz net-worth figure should be treated as speculation.
Paula Dietz in Documentaries and Popular Culture
Netflix released My Father, the BTK Killer on October 10, 2025. Directed by Skye Borgman, it follows Kerri Rawson’s efforts to understand her father’s crimes and their continuing effect on her life. Netflix describes a film combining her perspective with investigator interviews and archival material.
The documentary is centred on Kerri. It should not be promoted as Paula’s first interview, a memoir written by Paula or an independently verified update on Paula’s current circumstances. Kerri also authored the 2019 book A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming.
Fiction creates another source of confusion. Stephen King’s A Good Marriage drew attention because of its connection to the idea of a wife discovering a husband’s hidden crimes; Kerri publicly criticised the adaptation in 2014. Its characters and invented events are not a factual account of Paula’s marriage.
Lesser-Known Facts About Paula Dietz
- Two surnames appear in reporting. She is commonly called Paula Dietz, while contemporary reports on the divorce use Paula Rader.
- Her divorce preceded sentencing. The marriage ended in July 2005; Rader was sentenced the following month.
- The $90,000 house sale was not completed. Park City later acquired and demolished the property.
- Her daughter’s memoir is not her own testimony. It provides Kerri’s perspective on the family’s experience.
- Contact with Rader differed within the family. Reports of Kerri’s correspondence do not establish contact by Paula.
- An obituary under her name may concern someone else. Family relationships and dates must match before it can be linked to her.
What Remains Unconfirmed?
The gaps in Paula’s public biography are specific. Her exact birthday, confirmed education history, height, weight, current residence, remarriage and present finances remain insufficiently documented.
These uncertainties do not weaken the central facts of the story: she was married to Rader, had two children with him and obtained a divorce after his crimes were exposed. They simply limit what can responsibly be said about her personal life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Paula Dietz?
Paula Dietz is the former wife of Dennis Rader, the convicted serial killer known as BTK. They were married from 1971 until their emergency divorce in 2005.
How old is Paula Dietz?
Her reported birth year is around 1948, which would make her approximately 77 or 78 in 2026. Her exact date of birth is not independently confirmed.
Is Paula Dietz still alive?
No reliable report confirming her death was found as of September 29, 2026. Her present health and circumstances have not been independently verified.
Where is Paula Dietz now?
Her current residence is not publicly confirmed. Reporting describes a private life after her divorce, but no verified 2026 location update was found.
Did Paula Dietz know Dennis Rader was BTK?
No credible public evidence establishes that she knew. Kerri Rawson has said that she, her mother and her brother were unaware before the arrest.
How long were Paula Dietz and Dennis Rader married?
They were married for approximately 34 years, from May 22, 1971, until July 26, 2005.
Why did Paula receive an emergency divorce?
A judge waived the normal waiting period because of the severe emotional circumstances created by Rader’s arrest and confession. Rader did not contest the divorce.
How many children does Paula Dietz have?
She has two children: a son named Brian Rader and a daughter named Kerri Rawson.
Did Paula Dietz ever speak publicly about Dennis Rader?
No widely verified post-arrest interview with Paula is available. Most public information about her response comes from legal reporting and statements made by Kerri Rawson.
Did Paula Dietz turn Dennis Rader in?
No. Investigators identified Rader using digital clues and DNA evidence. The public account does not credit Paula with reporting him as BTK.
Did Paula Dietz remarry?
There is no reliable public confirmation that she remarried. Her current relationship status remains private.
What is Paula Dietz’s net worth?
Her net worth is unknown. Exact amounts published by celebrity websites are speculative and are not supported by public financial records.
Final Thoughts
Paula Dietz public story centres on a 34-year marriage, the discovery of her husband’s crimes and her decision to end that marriage. Available reporting does not establish that she knew Rader was BTK or helped him commit his murders.
Her experience deserves an accurate account without invented private details. The known timeline explains what happened to her family; the unknown details of her later life belong to her. Neither should distract from the people Rader murdered and the families who continue to live with those losses.
