Daughter of serial killer BTK speaks out about "American Gothic"

WICHITA -- The daughter of Dennis Rader, the serial killer known as BTK, says she's wary of a new television show loosely inspired by her father's exploits, reports the Wichita Eagle.

The mini-series "American Gothic" airs on Wednesday nights on CBS. It follows a family dealing with the discovery that their recently deceased patriarch was a possible serial killer.

In 2014, Rader's daughter, Kerri Rawson, came forward after a Stephen King novella based on her family was made into a movie. She described in a series of interviews with the Wichita Eagle the horrors she and her family experienced after learning of Rader's murders, and harshly criticized King's work.

In her June 23 interview about "American Gothic," Rawson said, "real life, is a far, far stretch from Hollywood."

"I think it's important to remember that there are actual people who died, 10 people who lost their lives and eight families - that's including mine - that were destroyed and forever separated by my dad's actions," Rawson said. "Hundreds, if not thousands of lives, when you include the community of Wichita, were adversely affected by one person's terrible choices that spanned decades."

Rader killed 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991. The initials "BTK" were used in messages to the press and police in which the serial killer described what he did to victims: Bind, torture and kill.

Rawson said in the interview that she's grown accustomed to the fact that her father and family are referenced in media, and is not as upset about the show as she was about King's novella.