Who Is Paula Dietz, the Woman Who Once Called the BTK Killer Her Husband?
“How do you live with a man for over three decades and never see the monster behind the mask?”
That’s the question people have long asked about Paula Dietz; the quiet, devout Kansas woman who spent 34 years married to Dennis Rader, the man who would later be unmasked as the BTK Killer.
For Paula, life was built around faith, family, and routine. Church on Sundays. Family dinners. Her ‘loving’ husband, a Boy Scout leader and church president, was respected by everyone in Park City. Then, one February morning in 2005, the FBI came knocking; and everything she thought she knew about her life fell apart. She has been living in a lie.
That day, Paula learned that her husband; the man who tucked their children into bed, had murdered ten people.
Where Is Paula Dietz Now in 2025?
As of 2025, Paula Dietz is believed to still be alive, living in an undisclosed location, under a new name she adopted following her divorce from BTK Killer Dennis Rader. She withdrew completely from public life following her husband’s arrest and their subsequent divorce in 2005.
Her daughter, Kerri Rawson, later revealed that her mother has lived with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the arrest, saying:
“My mom dealt with my dad like he died on the day he was arrested.”
A 2021 obituary that briefly circulated online claiming Paula had died turned out to be false; it was a different woman with the same name, Paula Dietz (née Currier), who had died at age 72, was the wife of LeRoy Dietz.
Paula, ex-wife of BTK Killer Dennis Rader, is still very much alive but remains out of the public eye, avoiding interviews and media entirely.
Paula Dietz Biography
Born May 5, 1948, in Park City, Kansas, United States, and now aged 77 years, Paula Dietz grew up in a quiet Midwestern household. Her father was an engineer, and her mother, a librarian; both devout Christians who passed down their faith to their children.
Now, Paula graduated from National American University in Wichita with a degree in Accounting in 1970 at age 22. Friends described her as soft-spoken, intelligent, and deeply committed to her church.
That same year she graduated college; at Christ Lutheran Church, she met a polite young Air Force veteran named Dennis Rader. He was disciplined, well-mannered, and shared her faith. Now, Dennis had just returned to their home state of Kansas after serving four years in the Air Force.
Within a year, they got married on May 22, 1971. Their first child, Brian Howard Rader, was born in 1975. Three years later, in 1978, they welcomed a daughter, Kerri Rawson (née Rader).
To their friends and neighbors, the Rader family seemed like the exact picture of stability; a quiet, God-fearing household. Dennis worked for the city as a compliance officer; Paula kept the books and volunteered at church. They attended every Sunday service together.
No one, not even Paula, suspected that the man she prayed beside each week, the man she lived under a roof with, was also the man terrorizing Wichita under the name “BTK”; Bind, Torture, Kill.
The Moment Everything Fell Apart
On February 25, 2005, FBI agents arrested Dennis Rader at his workplace.
When investigators searched the Rader home, then-57 years old Paula Dietz watched as they unearthed what she would later call “the death of my world”; women’s underwear, victim IDs, photographs, and letters chronicling decades of horror.
She reportedly told officers her husband was a “good man” who “would never hurt anyone.” But that illusion crumbled when Dennis stood in court weeks later and confessed, in calm detail, to ten murders committed between 1974 and 1991.
The betrayal was total. On July 26, 2005, Paula filed for an emergency divorce, citing “extreme emotional distress” as the reason for the filing. The judge granted it that same day. She sold their family home for $90,000, changed her name, and vanished.
She has never visited Dennis in prison. She has never spoken or heard of since her divorce proposal was granted.
Was Paula Dietz Ever a Suspect?
No. Police never found evidence that Paula had any knowledge of, or involvement in, her husband’s crimes.
Detective Tim Relph, who worked on the case, described her as “a good and decent woman,” saying:
“Her only mistake was loving Dennis Rader.”
According to investigators, she had no reason to suspect him; his murders were committed with meticulous secrecy, and his outward persona was that of a loving husband and father.
Family
- Ex-Husband: Dennis Lynn Rader (BTK Killer)
- Children: Brian Rader (b. 1975), Kerri Rawson (b. 1978)
- Parents: Unnamed (father was an engineer, mother a librarian)
- Grandchildren: Emilie and Ian Rawson
After the arrest, Paula cut off all communication with her ex-husband. Her daughter, Kerri Rawson, remains the only family member who has publicly spoken about their experience. Neither Dennis Rader BTK Killer’s son, Brian Rader, nor his three younger brothers, Paul, Bill, Jeff, has ever spoken extensively on him.
Paula Dietz Life After Divorce from BTK Killer Dennis Rader
Following her husband’s arrest and conviction, Paula withdrew entirely from public life. She left Kansas and relocated to another state, reportedly under a new identity.
Friends and former neighbors said she never recovered from the shock, describing her as “a kind woman destroyed by her husband’s secret.”
She has never given an interview, written a memoir, or appeared in any documentary. While her daughter Kerri has spoken about forgiveness and healing, Paula has chosen silence; perhaps the only way she could reclaim peace.
Profile Summary
- Full Name: Paula Dietz
- Date of Birth: May 5, 1948
- Place of Birth: Park City, Kansas, USA
- Age: 77 years old
- Occupation: Former bookkeeper
- Marital Status: Divorced (from Dennis Rader, 2005)
- Children: Brian Rader, Kerri Rawson
- Religion: Christian
- Ethnicity: White (Caucasian)
- Nationality: American
- Current Residence: Undisclosed (believed to have relocated from Kansas)
What is Paula Dietz Net Worth? Paula Dietz sold their Kansas home for $90k thousand back in 2005, but her current net worth is not estimated
A Life in Shadow
For more than three decades, Paula Dietz believed she was living the American ideal; a loving home, a faithful husband, two children, and a strong church community.
But when the truth came out, that world disintegrated overnight.
Today, she lives quietly, far from cameras and headlines. A woman whose life became the footnote to one of America’s darkest stories; not because of what she did, but because of who she loved.
But, maybe, just maybe Paula would, one day, say a thing or two to confirm that she pulled through. For now, her story remains as obscure as her current identity and location. She is 77 years old now.
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