Kerri Rawson, the daughter of infamous “BTK” serial killer Dennis Rader and a well-known advocate for crime victims, has been placed under a domestic violence injunction after her ex-husband alleged in court filings that she repeatedly claimed he and their children were at risk of being killed, according to records first reported by the New York Post.
Rawson, who became a bestselling author after her father’s 2005 arrest, has spent years speaking publicly about the trauma of discovering she was the daughter of one of America’s most notorious serial killers and has built a public profile as a victims’ advocate.
A Florida judge approved the injunction after Darian Rawson filed a petition outlining multiple alleged incidents that he said made him fear for his safety and for the safety of the former couple’s two teenage children.
Under the order, Darian Rawson was temporarily granted full custody of the children, while Kerri Rawson’s contact with them was restricted to electronic communication. She was also barred from approaching their home or school and prohibited from having contact with the family’s pets.
Kerri Rawson, daughter of convicted BTK serial killer Dennis Rader, became a bestselling author and victims’ advocate after her father’s 2005 arrest. (Travis Heying/Wichita Eagle/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The petition claimed that on Jan. 5, 2025, Kerri Rawson asked her former husband to meet her at an Altamonte Springs police station, where she allegedly said she had psychic abilities and believed their children were in immediate danger and would be murdered that morning.
According to the filing, Rawson also allegedly told police that people were on their way to harm the family. She later called 911 and reported that shots had been fired, multiple active shooters were at an apartment complex and three people were dead. Responding officers found the family unharmed, the Post reported, citing a police report.
Police later found Rawson at Orlando International Airport and took her to a hospital, where she voluntarily admitted herself, according to the report.
The injunction petition said she was later taken into custody under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows authorities to temporarily detain a person for a mental health examination under certain circumstances.
An incident report obtained by the Post described Rawson as “an individual known to make inaccurate and fabricated statements about incidents that did not actually occur, due to mental health issues.”
Dennis Rader, known as the BTK serial killer, was arrested in 2005 and later pleaded guilty to murdering 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas, area. (Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)
The Post also reported that Darian Rawson later alleged Kerri Rawson violated the injunction by contacting him multiple times despite the no-contact order.
Dennis Rader murdered 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas, area between 1974 and 1991 while living what appeared to be a normal suburban life with his family. His nickname, BTK, stood for “bind, torture, kill.” He pleaded guilty to the murders in 2005 and is serving 10 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Dennis Rader enters court to plead guilty to 10 murders in the Wichita, Kansas, area on June 27, 2005. (Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Rawson published the memoir “A Serial Killer’s Daughter” in 2019 and has appeared in documentaries and television programs discussing her father’s crimes and advocating for victims of violent crime.
A representative for Rawson did not immediately respond to INC News’s request for comment.
