Table of Biography
Paula Dietz is an American public figure. Paula Dietz gained fame as the ex-wife of the American serial killer, Dennis Rader. At present, she is maintaining a private life and has not been in contact with her ex-husband since his arrest.
Early Life
Paula Dietz was born on May 5, 1948, and her age is currently 75 years old. She hails from Park City, Kansas, USA, and her zodiac sign is Taurus.
There is no information regarding her educational journey. She also has yet to share information regarding her parents, siblings, and other family details.
Relationship Status
Paula married Dennis Rader on May 22, 1971. She and Dennis had two children namely Kerri and Brian.
However, on 26 July 2005, the authorities granted her an “emergency divorce” after her ex-husband’s arrest. They granted her the divorce waiving the normal waiting period.
Caption: Paula Dietz’s ex-husband Dennis and her daughter Kerri Rawson posing for a photo during Kerri’s graduation. Source: Detroit News
Career and Professional Life
Paula is most known for being the ex-wife of Dennis Rader. Dennis is better known as the BTK Strangler or the BTK Killer.
As his nickname gives away, Dennis Rader is an American serial killer and his nickname BTK stands for “bind, torture, kill”.
Between the years 1974 and 1991, her ex-husband Dennis Rader killed ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas. He even sent taunting letters to police and newspapers describing the details of his crimes.
After a decade-long hiatus, her ex-husband resumed sending letters in the year 2004.
This led to Dennis’s arrest in the year 2005 and subsequent guilty plea. Her ex-husband is serving ten consecutive life sentences at El Dorado Correctional Facility in Prospect Township, Butler County, Kansas.
Paula Dietz – Net Worth 2024
Her professional career as a bookkeeper has paid her a hefty amount of money. She has a net worth of $700k as of 2024. However, there is no information about her salary and other asset values.
About Paula’s Ex-husband
Paula Dietz’s ex-husband is from Pittsburg and he served in the United States Air Force from the year 1966 to 1970.
Dennis Rader then relocated to Park City to work at the meat department of a Leekers IGA supermarket.
During this period, Dennis met her. Soon after that, she and Dennis exchanged wedding vows on 22 May 1971.
Likewise, she worked as a bookkeeper, while her then-husband served as an assembler at an outdoor supply company named “Coleman Company”.
Between the years 1974 and 1988, she installed security alarms for the Wichita-based office of ADT Security Services. This allowed Dennis to visit the houses of his potential victims.
Furthermore, Paula and Dennis Rader were upstanding members of their community. Her ex-husband served as the president of the congregation of the local Lutheran church.
On the other hand, she performed in the choir. Her then-husband was also a Cub Scout leader. By all accounts, Dennis was a good husband to her and a good father to their two children.
Caption: Paula Dietz’s ex-husband Dennis enjoying his time with their daughter. Source: ABC News
Details about Paula’s ex-husband’s murder cases
Paula’s ex-husband, Dennis Rader, himself came up with the nickname BTK. It stands for Bind, Torture, Kill. Dennis’s first victims were the Otero family members.
They were Joseph (aged 38), Julie (aged 33), Joseph Otero Jr. (aged 9), and Josephine (aged 11). her ex-husband killed the family on 15 January 1974.
Then in 1985, her ex-husband murdered one of their neighbors, Marine Hedge (aged 53). Dennis’s other known victims were Kathryn Bright (aged 21), Shirley Vian (aged 24), Nancy Fox (aged 25), Vicki Wegerle (aged 28), and Dolores E. Davis (aged 62).
Just like many other serial killers, her ex-husband also kept mementos from the murders at his home.
Dennis Rader wrote down detailed plans of the next kill in small pieces of paper, like a business card, and hid them all over the house.
Moreover, her ex-husband also wrote taunting letters to the police and media, giving details of how he had committed the murders.
Caption: Paula Dietz’s daughter Kerri writing a book about her story of being the daughter of the BTK serial killer. Source: Instagram
Incidents Leading to Paula’s Ex-husband’s Arrest
Paula’s ex-husband, Dennis Rader’s final victim was Dolores E. Davis. Authorities discovered Dolores’s body in the year 1991. By the year 2004, the investigation regarding the BTK killer had been designated as a cold case.
In March of the same year, Dennis Rader resumed communicating with the police and media. Her ex-husband began sending letters, packages, photographs, and other mementos from the murders.
In February 2005, Dennis sent a purple 1.44-megabyte Memorex floppy disk to Fox TV affiliate KSAS-TV in Wichita among other things.
The police analyzed the disk’s metadata and found that it was Dennis Rader’s undoing. At that time, neither of the children – Kerri and Brian – were living with their parents.
The authorities contacted her children after they apprehended her ex-husband. Dietz and Dennis Rader were together for nearly 34 years at the time.
She also had never realized who her husband truly was.
The Aftermath
When Dennis was in jail, Paula and her children corresponded with him through letters. They begged him to plead guilty and they also attempted to comprehend the monster that resided within him.
Caption: Paula Dietz appeared on the news following her divorce from her ex-husband Dennis. Source: Married Wiki
On 23 June, four days before Dennis pleaded guilty to all ten murders, her ex-husband made a phone call to a local television station and spoke about his family.
Dennis mentioned that while Dietz still sent him letters, his children had become busy with their lives.
On 18 August, the authorities gave her ex-husband ten consecutive life sentences, with a minimum of 175 years. Dennis is currently incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Prospect Township, Kansas.
After the arrest, Dietz left Kansas to avoid the media. She and her children never visited Dennis Rader in prison nor attended a court hearing.
She pleaded for an emergency divorce after Dennis pleaded guilty. At some point, she returned to Kansas and her job as a bookkeeper.
Paula Dietz – Body Measurements
She stands tall at a height of 5 feet 5 inches and her weight is around 60 kg. Further, her chest-waist-hip measures are 34-28-37 inches respectively.
Paula Dietz – Social Media
This celebrity ex-wife is not active on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.