Unlike quiet predators who try to disappear, Rader demanded to be seen. He mailed letters to newspapers. He sent cryptic puzzles. He bragged about murders the public didn’t even know about yet. He signed his crimes with a name designed to shock. BTK wasn’t just committing murder. He was building a brand.

While America obsessed over flashy serial killers, (Gary) Ridgway quietly built one of the highest body counts in U.S. history.

For years, Joel Rifkin blended into suburban Long Island like wallpaper. No criminal record that raised alarms. No obvious red flags. Just a soft-spoken man living in his childhood home, drifting through low-wage jobs, driving alone at night. Behind that quiet routine was one of the most prolific serial killers in New York history.