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distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
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phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
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cindy paulson stood alone on the corner of east 4th avenue and denali street in downtown anchorage
00:02:47
eighteen-year-old cindy was a sex worker who frequented the city's infamous tenderloin district
00:02:54
with its array of bars and clubs the area was typically a hotbed of potential clients
00:03:00
but so far the night of sunday june 12 1983 had been a quiet one then shortly before midnight a green
00:03:10
buick sentry pulled up to the curb where cindy stood the male driver peered up at her from
00:03:18
behind a pair of thick rimmed eyeglasses he propositioned cindy and the pair began negotiating
00:03:26
after they'd settled on a price cindy climbed into the car's passenger seat the man drove her to a secluded parking
00:03:34
lot and turned off the engine within seconds he'd produced a wood-handled 357 magnum revolver
00:03:44
aiming it at cindy with one hand he grabbed a pair of handcuffs from under his seat with the other
00:03:51
a smile crept across his pockmarked face as he restrained cindy's wrists where going to my house he told her
00:04:02
he drove east along the glen highway where the city's lights and noise were soon replaced by the dark stillness of
00:04:10
suburbia turning down a cul-de-sac named old harbour avenue they passed several ranch-like family homes before pulling
00:04:20
into a driveway that led to a single-story blue grey weatherboard house a pair of antlers hung above the door of
00:04:29
a two-car garage to its right was the main living area with several windows overlooking the
00:04:37
front lawn no one stirred within the remainder of the spacious property was equally silent and still shadowed by
00:04:48
tall aspen and birch trees dragging cindy inside the house the man took her down some stairs into a
00:04:57
wood-paneled basement what first caught her attention were all the taxidermied animals and hunting
00:05:04
trophies that filled the room game birds mountain goats dull sheep and caribou had been stuffed and mounted
00:05:12
throughout walrus tusks and moose antlers decorated the walls beaver and wolfhides were scattered
00:05:21
about on the floor was a bare-skinned rug in a moment of crystal clear clarity cindy realised that she was trapped in
00:05:33
the lair of a man who liked killing [Music] [Music] retrieving a chain the man wrapped it
00:06:08
around cindy's neck four times before locking it against the wooden support beam
00:06:14
then he raped her before settling down for a nap on a nearby sofa pointing his revolver at cindy he warned
00:06:23
her not to wake him or quote you'll make me mad and you don't want to see me mad
00:06:32
while her captor slapped cindy's mind raced her eyes darted around the basement taking in every detail
00:06:41
there was a pool table and foosball table a television a clock a computer a rack of women's clothing
00:06:50
and all of those dead animals cindy knew with absolute certainty that they hadn't been her captors only
00:06:59
victims she thought about grabbing one of the pool cues and hitting him over the head
00:07:05
but what if he died she'd be trapped down there still chained to the beam with no way of
00:07:11
calling for help or worse she might not hit him hard enough and he would kill her then and there
00:07:20
instead cindy waited in silence until the man stirred awake he unchained her but kept their
00:07:29
handcuffs secured around her wrists under the static lifeless stairs of the animals perched around them he bragged
00:07:38
of his world record hunting success and showed off one of these trophies then he raped cindy again on the bear
00:07:47
skin rug afterwards his conversation took an even more sinister turn the man explained how he had brought
00:07:58
seven other women to his house all of whom he kept captive for a week in an attempt to appeal to his humanity
00:08:08
cindy tearfully begged to be released so she could see her mother again everything's gonna be okay he reassured
00:08:16
her i'm not going to hurt you he said that he'd only brought cindy to his home because he wanted to get his
00:08:27
money's worth but now he liked her so much that he wanted to take her to a remote cabin he
00:08:34
owned where they could quote make love one more time before he let her go he owned a plane that he kept at merrill
00:08:44
field airport so they could fly out from there cindy nodded along pretending to be fine
00:08:52
with his plan yet she knew the only way she was going to survive was if she found a way to
00:09:00
escape the sun hadn't yet risen when cindy was led from the weatherboard house and back
00:09:10
into the buick she was forced to lie down along the back seat where she was covered with an
00:09:16
army blanket as her captor drove cindy remembered that meryl field was right by the motel where she was staying
00:09:25
with her boyfriend if she managed to get away somehow she wouldn't have to run far for help
00:09:35
they arrived at the airport shortly before 5 am private bush planes lined the acres of
00:09:42
quiet dark field cindy's captor pulled up near a blue and white two-seater supercab
00:09:51
he got out and began loading the aircraft with things from the trunk of his car watching from the buick as he walked
00:10:00
back and forth cindy suddenly noticed that he'd left the driver's side door ajar
00:10:07
overcome with nervous energy she delicately removed her high-heeled shoes put them aside and waited
00:10:17
once the man was over by his plane cindy clambered into the front seat and left out the open door
00:10:26
racing bare foot over the gravel runway cindy heard the man shout behind her stop you [ __ ] or i'll kill you
00:10:41
it took a moment for truck driver robert young to register the strange sight before him
00:10:48
a young woman had bolted onto east fifth avenue waving her handcuffed hands in the air and screaming for help
00:10:57
as she sprinted towards robert's truck he leaned over to open the passenger side door
00:11:04
launching herself inside the woman yelled he's going to kill me get me out of here
00:11:13
according to the book fair game robert scanned the airfield where the woman had come from but couldn't see who she was
00:11:21
referring to his distressed passenger begged him to hurry so robert drove onwards
00:11:29
she asked to be taken to a nearby motel and robert obliged pulling over at the mush inn a low-budget motel 450 feet
00:11:39
from merrell field the woman rushed inside bewildered robert continued driving to
00:11:48
work as soon as he got there he called the anchorage police department 10-year police veteran greg baker was
00:12:01
halfway through his shift when he got the call to attend the march inn by the time he arrived the handcuffed
00:12:08
woman had a left in a taxi she was traced to another motel down the road named the big timber
00:12:17
when officer baker got there a front desk clerk directed him to room 110. he knocked on the door and a young woman
00:12:27
answered she was barefoot and her wrists were red and raw from the handcuffs still clasped
00:12:34
around them her name was cindy paulson after hearing of her ordeal officer baker escorted cindy to hospital to
00:12:47
undergo an examination as they drove by meryl field she insisted on showing him her assailant's
00:12:55
aircraft she singled out a blue and white super cub which bore a registration number on
00:13:02
its tail written as small as regulations allowed [Music] upon cross-checking the plane's
00:13:09
registration police discovered it belonged to a man who lived at the old harbour avenue address where cindy said
00:13:17
she had been held captive police rushed to the blue grey weatherboard house only to discover that
00:13:25
no one was home they stood guard over the property and waited shortly before 7 a.m a green buick
00:13:35
sentry pulled into the driveway officers descended on the vehicle and its driver 44 year old robert hanson
00:13:46
originally from iowa hanson had moved to alaska with his wife in 1963. the couple settled in anchorage where
00:13:55
they had two children hanson had followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a baker and owned
00:14:04
the business hanson's bakery a few blocks from downtown anchorage police were very familiar with
00:14:12
robert hansen known locally as bob his bakery wasn't far from the station so they visited often for coffee and
00:14:21
doughnuts hansen was by all accounts a stable and religious family man during his youth he had been enlisted in
00:14:31
the u.s military and he'd since become an active member of the community [Music]
00:14:39
hanson was unarmed when police surrounded his vehicle calmly he asked them what can i do for you officers
00:14:51
cindy paulson had accurately detailed his appearance and even knew of his stutter
00:14:57
a bright green baseball cap and green coat was spotted in his car matching what cindy said he was wearing when he
00:15:04
picked her up her descriptions of his house inside and out were also spot spot-on
00:15:13
hanson signed a waiver allowing police to search his car home and aircraft there was nothing of evidentiary value
00:15:22
in his buick cindy's shoes which she had left behind as evidence of her presence were not in
00:15:29
the vehicle there was nothing to prove she'd been held captive in hanson's house either
00:15:37
the basement full of hunting paraphernalia was just as cindy described but there was no wooden beam
00:15:44
like the one she'd said she was chained to overnight nor was there even a chain also missing were a yellow towel and
00:15:54
washcloth cindy claimed to have used a search of hanson's super cub was equally anticlimactic
00:16:04
hanson was an award-winning trophy hunter who owned an array of pistols rifles and shotguns
00:16:11
but none matched the wood-handled revolver used against cindy [Music] hansen agreed to be interviewed and was
00:16:21
polite and cooperative throughout he denied abducting or raping cindy paulson and had an alibi to prove it
00:16:32
half an hour before cindy was abducted hanson went to the home of a friend named john henning
00:16:39
he remained there all night staying up with john until 5 30 a.m drinking beer and planning a fishing trip
00:16:48
afterwards they headed to merrill field to install a seat in handsome supercab john henning confirmed hanson's
00:16:58
assertions a physical examination of cindy pawson revealed evidence of vaginal penetration
00:17:06
along with the presence of semen but the examining doctor told investigators that cindy only had
00:17:14
abrasions around her wrists not her neck where she said a chain had been lubed despite this cindy maintained her
00:17:24
version of advance with hanson's whereabouts fully accounted for investigators presumed
00:17:32
that cindy was lying in some capacity it was clear from her accurate description of both robert hansen and
00:17:41
his property that cindy knew him in some way likely through her sex work but whatever had happened to her the
00:17:50
previous night that couldn't have been at his hands she likely did meet with a client though
00:17:58
the ordeal she described didn't add up [Music] while hanson was cagey about any history
00:18:06
he might have had with cindy paulson she was adamant that they had met once before
00:18:14
cindy mentioned that hanson had propositioned her previously from his buick as detailed in the book fair game he had
00:18:23
introduced himself using a different name the two arranged to meet the night before her abduction but he was a
00:18:31
no-show this prompted police to wonder whether cindy harbored resentment towards hanson
00:18:39
for standing her up and costing her income was she implicating him in a crime for
00:18:46
revenge skeptical investigators believed that this was a classic case of a sex worker
00:18:53
getting into a disagreement with a client over money what police described as quote
00:19:01
a trick had gone awry cindy was asked to sit a polygraph test she skipped town with her boyfriend the
00:19:10
very next day never taking the test or informing police of her decision this confirmed to their suspicions that
00:19:20
her version of events were heavily fabricated by late june the case was officially
00:19:27
closed a note on its file stipulated that no further action was required despite this greg baker of anchorage
00:19:42
pd's sexual assault unit never wavered in his belief that cindy paulson had been telling the truth about robert
00:19:49
hansen having heard her story first hand and witnessed her obvious distress his instincts told him she was genuine
00:20:00
while his colleagues were quick to dismiss cindy's assertions based on a few uncertain details
00:20:07
there were overlooked or disregarded clues that hinted at hanson's guilt at the time of the attack hanson's wife
00:20:16
and children were vacationing overseas which gave him full reign of the house his alibi had come from one of his
00:20:25
longtime hunting and fishing friends not exactly an unbiased and trustworthy third party
00:20:34
and while most people who faced such serious accusations were outraged or indignant
00:20:40
hanson softly and confidently rebutted the crimes leveled against him then there was a statement given by a
00:20:49
merrellfield security guard on duty the morning cindy said she was taken there he had seen a green buick century
00:20:58
arriving at around 5am and watched it move to a corner of the airfield this correlated with cindy's story
00:21:07
[Music] shortly thereafter a man wearing a green coat and bright green baseball cap ran
00:21:15
out from behind a blue and white supercar plane upon noticing the security guard
00:21:22
observing him the man slowed to a walk returned to the buick got in and sped off along east fifth avenue
00:21:34
sensing robert hanson was his guy officer baker trawled through police records to see what he could uncover
00:21:42
to his surprise hanson's file was extensive he'd spent short stints in prison throughout his life for a range of
00:21:52
offenses in 1960 hanson who was then around 20 years old received his first conviction
00:22:02
he pleaded guilty to arson after setting fire to a bus garage belonging to his former high school
00:22:11
due to hansen's stutter and severe acne his high school experience had been marred with bullying taunts and
00:22:19
rejection this had fueled his desire to seek revenge against the institution quote
00:22:29
i guess i burned down the bus barn because i hated the school with a divine passion
00:22:35
i would do whatever i could think of to get back at that monster school that did
00:22:40
bob hansen a personal wrong hansen was sentenced to three years at a state reformatory where he was diagnosed
00:22:50
with an infantile and antisocial personality this was deemed to be the result of a
00:22:57
strict upbringing and a low self-esteem inflamed by the torment of his peers while incarcerated he spoke of having
00:23:07
vengeful and destructive fantasies some of which featured girls who'd rejected his advances or made fun of him
00:23:17
quote it's hard to explain what it's like to always be wanting to see others go out
00:23:24
on dates i was just seeing everybody else get theirs [Music] hansen soon realized that speaking
00:23:33
honestly about his mental demons only hindered his parole efforts so he started to play the system by
00:23:42
portraying himself as rehabilitated and harmless although he was unable to fully suppress
00:23:50
his infantile personality hansen could hide his anti-social attitudes doing so coupled with his record of good
00:24:00
conduct led to his parole in 1963 yet robert hansen never managed to stay out of trouble for long
00:24:11
after stealing a chainsaw from a shop he was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder
00:24:18
the courts ruled he needed an ongoing routine of medication and therapy to overcome his behavioural problems
00:24:27
but hansen received an either it was a series of crimes hanson committed in late 1971 that really drew
00:24:39
officer greg baker's attention the first was the attempted abduction of a woman from her anchorage apartment
00:24:47
hanson had made eye contact with her at a set of traffic lights and followed her
00:24:52
home to ask her out she rejected him and a week later he confronted her at gunpoint with the
00:24:59
intention of taking her elsewhere his plan was interrupted by the police and hanson was charged with assault with
00:25:07
a deadly weapon he was released on bail during which time he successfully abducted a second
00:25:14
woman from outside an anchorage coffee shop she was driven outside the city by the
00:25:20
gun wielding hanson who kept her bound as he repeatedly assaulted and raped her at one point he spoke of taking her to a
00:25:29
remote cabin though he was unable to reach it due to snow on the road the charges against him in relation to
00:25:38
this case were ultimately dropped but the similarities between this incident and what later happened to
00:25:44
cindy paulson were clear there were many other instances in which hanson had threatened or harmed women
00:25:53
though nothing came of these reports most of his misbehavior centered around the tenderloin district and involved
00:26:01
dancers or sex workers some of his survivors opted not to go to police in fear of retribution from
00:26:09
hansen others were brushed aside by a system mired in victim blaming and discrimination
00:26:19
one night police were called to the great alaskan bush company one of hanson's many regular horns
00:26:26
upon arrival officers found hanson and a dancer judy russell arguing out the front
00:26:34
according to reports judy had jumped off stage mid-performance and began clawing
00:26:39
and kicking at hanson she told attending officers that hanson had recently abducted her at gunpoint
00:26:48
at that time judy worked at a club called embers and hanson had propositioned her for sex in exchange
00:26:55
for money what followed was a harrowing ordeal during which hanson bound judy in his
00:27:03
camper pickup and attempted to drive her out of the city judy was able to escape
00:27:10
but at the time she couldn't recall any key identifying details about her abductor
00:27:19
following this frightening ordeal judy left embers and started dancing at the great alaskan bush company
00:27:27
when robert hansen happened to show up there she immediately recognized his pockmarked bespectacled face and
00:27:34
launched herself at him in anger hansen didn't deny knowing judy but disputed her version of events
00:27:44
he agreed that he had offered her money in exchange for sex acts but denied abducting her
00:27:51
quote she got mad when i wouldn't play ball when she tried to jack up the price hanson had made a similar excuse when a
00:28:01
dancer from the kitkat club accused him of abducting and raping her at gunpoint it was clear that he held dancers and
00:28:10
sex workers in poor regard he once quipped to police quote you can't rape a prostitute
00:28:19
can you despite multiple women having made near-identical allegations against hanson over a 12-year period
00:28:30
they were ignored police trusted hanson who had molded himself into an upstanding citizen
00:28:38
albeit with a penchant for visiting strip clubs and hiring sex workers hanson didn't deny he was unfaithful to
00:28:47
his wife but he didn't want his family to find out the police obliged by not pursuing the
00:28:55
incident with the judy russell any further by the time robert hansen was on officer
00:29:05
greg baker's radar he was a master manipulator who knew how to influence police he made note of what led to his
00:29:14
incarceration in the past and now fully understood the importance of a good reputation the appearance of mental
00:29:21
stability procuring alibis and targeting victims who were unreliable in the eyes
00:29:28
of authority he fostered a successful business and home life presenting himself as a
00:29:35
well-respected community focused every man the last person anyone would suspect of
00:29:42
doing harm but as far as officer baker was concerned hansen wasn't just a serial sex offender
00:29:53
during the cindy paulson investigation hanson's buick had been searched 223 ammunition was located under the
00:30:02
driver's seat and rolled up elastic bandages were spotted on the dashboard baker was aware of the murder of sherry
00:30:12
morrow whose bullet-riddled remains were found the previous year partially buried
00:30:17
in a sandbar spanning the kinect river sherry had been blindfolded with an elastic bandage then shot with a 223
00:30:27
caliber bullet as was paula goulding who was also found in a shallow grave by the kinnick river
00:30:37
[Music] given hanson's keen interest in hunting and his award-winning skill baker was certain he was the serial
00:30:47
killer who had been killing women in the wilderness surrounding anchorage it appeared as though hanson was
00:30:54
carrying out his own fantasy version of the most dangerous game the phrase came from a short story by
00:31:02
richard connell in which a big game hunter grows bored with the pastime and decides to hunt humans instead
00:31:11
the fictional character would release his captives into the wilderness pursue them then gun them down
00:31:21
robert hansen's criminal history showed an escalation in violence and officer baker saw how this trajectory could
00:31:29
result in murder put together a report on everything he had discovered about robert hansen and
00:31:36
delivered it to the alaska state troopers headquarters where it wound up in the hands of sergeant glenn flothey
00:31:45
the sergeant was able to track down cindy paulson for an interview she told him she was certain that robert
00:31:52
hansen had been her abductor and was certain she would have been murdered had she not escaped at meryl field airport
00:32:02
sergeant flothy like greg baker before him firmly believed cindy and the suspect profile of the serial
00:32:11
killer prowling anchorage that had been provided by the fbi's behavioural sciences unit
00:32:17
matched hanson to a t case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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you support case file on october 27 1983 two plainclothes police sergeants arrived at a squat single-story building
00:39:40
on the corner of east to ninth avenue and ingera street in anchorage merrill field was just a few minutes
00:39:48
drive east while the tenderloin district was a short distance west it was approaching 8 30 a.m when the
00:39:56
officers approached a shop front with a sign above it that read hanson's bakery nearby a man in a white baker's uniform
00:40:07
and apron was collecting something from a car the officers approached him and asked
00:40:15
robert hansen hanson turned to face them they asked if he would be willing to talk with them about some cases under
00:40:25
investigation sure hanson replied as detailed in the book butcher baker glenn flothy had gone to a lot of effort
00:40:38
to set up the interview room just so crime scene photos and pictures of the victims were arranged on a desk
00:40:46
alongside stacks of manila folders some of the files were labeled with names of hanson's hunting associates
00:40:56
a large map of the kinnick river valley was pinned to a wall two x marks had been drawn inside a
00:41:04
large circle scrawled in all capital letters next to this were the words hanson identified in this area
00:41:16
after being escorted into the room hanson was left there alone for a little while so he could take it all in
00:41:25
soon glenn flothy strode into the room and began his interrogation although hanson admitted to having a
00:41:34
criminal record he insisted that was all in the past questioning dragged on for hours
00:41:42
covering every aspect of hansen's history from his initial charges of arson and theft to the allegations of abduction
00:41:51
and rape interviewing officers stopped short of mentioning the murders for now they discussed hansen's first known
00:42:02
offense against a woman the botched abduction of an anchorage teenager from her apartment in 1971.
00:42:11
when apprehended for this crime hanson claimed he had blacked out and therefore had no recollection of the event
00:42:20
as he sat before sergeant flothy in an interrogation room adorned with the faces of missing or murdered women
00:42:28
hanson admitted that he had never really suffered any memory blackout in his life
00:42:35
according to the book fair game this admission likely stemmed from hanson knowing he wouldn't face any
00:42:42
consequences for revealing the truth more than a decade later but it did expose him as a liar
00:42:52
soon the line of questioning turned to sherry morrow when shown a photograph of the murdered
00:42:59
23 year old hanson asked who's that he refused to admit any knowledge of her murder or paula
00:43:10
gouldings he did say that he occasionally visited the areas where their bodies were found
00:43:18
before adding i didn't shoot anybody i would not hurt anybody meanwhile police swarmed robert hansen's
00:43:33
home and workplace to execute a search warrant word of their presence quickly spread to
00:43:39
the disbelief of his family and friends they had yet to learn why authorities had honed in on the seemingly stable and
00:43:48
neighborly hansen and couldn't comprehend the idea that he might be in trouble with the law
00:43:56
the police activity soon peaked the interest of joan the wife of hanson's close friend john henning
00:44:05
she wondered whether their efforts related to something her husband had told her several months earlier
00:44:13
shortly after a panicked cindy paulson had run handcuffed and barefoot from merrillfield airport robert hansen made
00:44:21
a phone call it was around 5 30 a.m when john henning picked up the receiver to hear hanson
00:44:29
his longtime friend on the other line hanson asked if they could meet at his bakery right away
00:44:38
john was confused but agreed when john arrived hanson told him how his wife and children were overseas and
00:44:48
in an effort to overcome loneliness he had picked up a sex worker he took her back to his house where they
00:44:56
had sex before she raised the price of her services hanson wouldn't pay and now she was
00:45:04
seeking revenge by falsely accusing him of rape hansen stuttered as he spoke he was clearly very anxious
00:45:15
fearing he might be arrested he told jon he didn't want his family to find out and be hurt by his adultery
00:45:23
he asked if john would give him an alibi for 11 30 pm until 5 30 am the time frame in which cindy paulson
00:45:32
was abducted held captive and taken to the airfield john believed hansen and like many
00:45:41
others he dismissed the incident as a trick gone awry to help his friend john confirmed his
00:45:50
alibi when police came knocking as john was a well-respected local businessman his statement was given
00:45:59
considerable credibility john had told his wife about the favor he'd done for his friend
00:46:08
as described in the book butcher baker when joan heard that hanson's properties were being searched she got in her car
00:46:16
and cruised past hanson's residence upon seeing the heavy police presence and speaking with officers at the scene
00:46:25
she realised it was time for her husband to come clean john henning contacted investigators and
00:46:34
admitted that he'd provided a false alibi for hansen on the night of cindy paulson's abduction and rape
00:46:42
henning thought he'd been looking out for hansen and his family by covering for him
00:46:48
he had no idea how serious the incident had actually been despite now having no alibi for the
00:46:57
night cindy paulson was attacked robert hansen still denied being involved it didn't matter
00:47:06
police had enough evidence now to charge him with cindy's abduction and rape he was remanded on a five hundred
00:47:14
thousand dollar bond hanson's old harbor avenue property was teaming with state troopers searching
00:47:24
for any evidence to link him to other crimes the house's communal rooms were neat and
00:47:31
organized in the living area knickknacks were arranged in tidy rows on shelves and
00:47:38
plaid couches framed a small coffee table family photos lined to the hallway as did a portrait of jesus christ
00:47:49
searching some cupboards officers found elastic bandages and a bag full of cash shotguns and rifles were recovered from
00:47:58
a closet in the living room and a hidden cabinet given that hanson had been previously
00:48:05
convicted of a felony he was forbidden by law to possess any firearms he would be charged accordingly
00:48:14
there was also a strange kit that contained tools for creating disguises including a fake mustache nail polish
00:48:23
and skin adhesive a number of stolen goods were discovered indicating hansen's kleptomania had
00:48:31
never gone away the troopers made their way downstairs to the basement where cindy paulson said
00:48:40
she'd been held captive they made their way around the room carefully pressing against the wood
00:48:47
paneled walls one portion suddenly gave way behind it was a small secret room in its center was the wooden beam cindy
00:49:01
had described to being chained to after hours of meticulous searching there was only one area left unexamined
00:49:11
the attic one trooper offered to climb up into the small cramped space crawling across the beams he found a
00:49:22
stack of animal hides continuing onwards he felt with his hands for anything that might be hidden
00:49:29
there as he pressed into some insulation in one corner it suddenly collapsed beneath it lay several firearms
00:49:40
including a 223 caliber ruger mini 14 rifle there was also a little plastic bag that
00:49:48
contained a number of women's rings watches and necklaces one had an arrow-haired pendant
00:49:59
there was another item found in hanson's house that was particularly noteworthy while examining the bedroom he shared
00:50:08
with his wife troopers uncovered a piece of paper stashed behind the bed head it was an aeronautical chart a type of
00:50:17
map designed to assist pilots in the navigation of aircraft the map depicted a huge sprawling
00:50:26
overview of anchorage and its outskirts there was the kinnick river valley to the north of the city
00:50:33
the kenai peninsula that jutted out below and the port city of seward further south
00:50:41
the map had been marked with many little black asterisks most of them were dotted along the
00:50:48
kinnick river though there were many others drawn further out as glenn flothey studied the map
00:50:58
it suddenly dawned on him hansen had scrawled an asterisk on the exact locations where reclute narani
00:51:06
joanna messina sherry morrow and paula goulding were found in total his map featured 21 such
00:51:16
markings although hanson was still only charged with abducting and raping cindy paulson
00:51:25
the case was already starting to look like the biggest alaska had ever seen investigators had more evidence of the
00:51:34
enormity of his crimes including hanson's ruger rifle which was confirmed to have fired the bullets that killed
00:51:43
sherry morrow and paula goulding furthermore the friends and families of women missing from anchorage's
00:51:52
tenderloin district had been shown the items of jury hidden in hansen's attic many of which were recognized as having
00:51:59
belonged to their loved ones the arrow head pendant was the spitting image of a necklace that cheri morrow
00:52:08
was known to wear every single day business cards that featured the names of some of the missing women were also
00:52:16
discovered in hanson's garage [Music] prior to hanson's arrest a renowned criminal profiler had stated that the
00:52:28
person responsible for the murders would be collecting keepsakes from each of his
00:52:32
victims like a trophy hunter hoarding parts of the animal they had killed as a representation of their success and to
00:52:40
relive their hunt from memory with the evidence against hansen adding up it was believed he could be compelled
00:52:50
to confess after some negotiating a deal was struck with his attorney if hanson pleaded guilty to the murders
00:53:00
of aklutnarani joanna messina sherry morrow and paula goulding then his wife and the children would be
00:53:08
spared the humiliation and pain of a highly publicized trial the case would be wrapped up quickly so
00:53:16
as to receive little attention from the media and hanson could serve out his sentence in a federal penitentiary
00:53:25
on february 22 1984 hanson's attorney escorted him to a meeting with the prosecution team so he
00:53:33
could provide a full confession hanson couldn't provide a clutner annie's true identity but he said she
00:53:45
was his first murder victim he'd picked her up from downtown anchorage and stabbed her to death north
00:53:52
of the city joanna messina from seward was he second hanson killed her upon realizing she was
00:54:02
a sex worker who had no genuine interest in him posing as a high-paying photographer
00:54:09
hanson lured sherry morrow the first woman he took out to his knick river valley hunting grounds
00:54:17
upon reaching the sandbar that spanned the river hanson brought his car to a stop and pulled sherry out
00:54:25
she wasn't cooperating so hanson retrieved his rifle and sat under a tree waiting for her to settle
00:54:33
according to hanson sherry stood over him kicking and screaming which prompted him to point the rifle up
00:54:40
and shoot her this claim contradicted evidence from the crime scene which showed sherry was
00:54:48
blindfolded and had been shot three times in the back after burying sherry in the silt and
00:54:55
sand hanson left with her arrowhead necklace as a keepsake paula goulding suffered a similar fate
00:55:04
in the valley then there was survivor cindy paulson who hanson finally admitted to abducting
00:55:13
and raping he also admitted to the murder of andrea altieri a dancer who had vanished after
00:55:21
meeting a man who was going to take her on a shopping spree andrea wore a custom-made necklace that
00:55:28
featured a pendant in the shape of a fish given to her by a friend it was found among the jewellery stored
00:55:36
in hanson's attic hanson said he abducted andrea just two weeks after he killed sherry morrow
00:55:45
he had driven andrea blindfolded and handcuffed to the kinnick valley area and pulled up to an isolated spot near a
00:55:53
railroad bridge hanson had brought another woman there a week prior and raped her but ultimately
00:56:02
let her go andrea endured a similar experience though hers ended fatally hanson claimed andrea had reached for
00:56:13
his pistol causing them to scuffle hanson pried it from her grasp and as the fight continued andrea put her
00:56:22
fingers behind hanson's glasses and pressed them into his eye sockets in response
00:56:29
hanson shot her dad he filled a duffel bag with gravel and tided around andrea's neck before
00:56:38
pushing her body off the railroad bridge into the kinnick river below after hanson concluded his detailed
00:56:51
confession district attorney victor crum stood in a no-nonsense tone crumb informed
00:56:58
hansen that they knew he hadn't been completely honest with them hansen's aviation map indicated he had
00:57:07
killed many more women the forests were covered with winter snow but as soon as spring arrived and the
00:57:16
ice thawed state troopers would be taking sniffer dogs out to every area marked on the map
00:57:23
until they found the rest of hanson's victims d.a crumb snapped if you think this is the end we're going
00:57:34
to prosecute you on every one of these cases there's going to be a trial for everything
00:57:41
the ordinarily meek and mild-mannered hanson turned bright red he looked furious
00:57:49
in a low voice hanson muttered quote dirty [ __ ] [ __ ] finally the prosecutors were getting a
00:58:02
real look at the man who had attacked and murdered so many women another deal was hastily arranged
00:58:13
if hanson provided further confessions and assisted state troopers in locating his remaining victims
00:58:20
then he would only be charged with the four murders he'd already admitted to he agreed
00:58:28
hanson claimed to have killed 17 women not the 21 investigators suspected due to his map
00:58:37
his victims were always vulnerable women from the tenderloin district whose disappearances would be easily
00:58:44
overlooked or disregarded by authorities this systemic prejudice had ensured that
00:58:52
hanson maintained his killing streak without fear of apprehension hansen liked to big note himself to the
00:59:02
women he abducted sometimes telling them he was a doctor or a lawyer he lured them with large amounts of
00:59:10
money knowing it would be difficult for them to refuse hanson tried to convince those
00:59:17
questioning him that he wasn't the misogynist they thought he was explaining that he only targeted women
00:59:24
who he felt were inferior to him quote i'm not saying that i hate all women i don't
00:59:34
quite to the contrary i guess in my own mind what i'm classifying is a good woman not a
00:59:41
prostitute i'd do everything in my power any way shape or form to do anything for
00:59:48
her and to see that no harm ever came to her but i guess prostitutes are women i'm
00:59:55
putting down as lower than myself he assured his interrogators that he hadn't killed every woman he abducted
01:00:05
as long as they went along with what he wanted he felt fine about letting them live
01:00:12
when they put up a fight or tried to flee he felt the need to kill explaining i guess i wanted to control things
01:00:23
even though hanson couldn't remember many of his murder victims names the sites where they were buried were still
01:00:30
fresh on his mind he was flown to the areas he'd marked on his map and according to the book fair
01:00:38
game hanson became noticeably thrilled and exhilarated traversing his former hunting grounds
01:00:46
he triumphantly pointed out where he had left each victim and quote a couple of times he became so excited
01:00:56
he dropped to his knees to dig in the snow with his hands looking wide-eyed and with a smile on his flushed
01:01:03
pockmarked face those accompanying hansen were disturbed and angered by his behavior
01:01:12
promising themselves this would be the last time the killer would ever step foot in the alaskan wilderness that he
01:01:19
so clearly adored they marked each and every gravesite then waited patiently for spring so that
01:01:28
they could start digging tuesday april 24 1984 marked the first day of the search for robert hanson's
01:01:41
remaining victims with shovels in hand groups of alaska state troopers gathered around the spots
01:01:48
marked on hanson's map or pointed out by him directly and began digging on that day
01:01:57
two bodies were found twenty-two-year-old sue luna was uncovered by a creek on the kinnick
01:02:05
river twenty-eight-year-old malay larsen was in a parking area down river a short
01:02:13
distance from the old kinnick bridge over the next couple of days a further two victims were recovered
01:02:24
the first was an unknown woman found by horseshoe lake further inland and to the
01:02:30
northwest of kinnick river between 17 and 21 years old she had been shot and stabbed
01:02:39
she was white with brown hair and dressed in jeans a sweater a coat scarf and tennis shoes
01:02:48
hanson couldn't recall her name and despite efforts investigators were unable to formally identify her
01:02:57
like a clute narani they named this victim after the area where she was found horseshoe harriet
01:03:08
the second body was that of 24 year old angela fedden scavenging animals had reduced her
01:03:15
remains to just a jawbone three days later twenty-year-old tammy peterson was found on an island in the
01:03:24
middle of the connect river forty-one-year-old lisa fertrell was next on may 9 located south of the old
01:03:33
connect bridge just over one week later 22 year old teresa watson was found at scenic lake
01:03:42
30 miles southwest of anchorage bloodhounds were taken to the remaining gravesites pinpointed by robert hansen
01:03:52
but had no luck finding anything it was believed that if there were indeed bodies there at one point they
01:04:00
might have since been scavenged by animals or swept away by heavy rains in the sand and sealed
01:04:09
in august the following year of 1985 an amateur pilot testing out his aircraft's
01:04:16
new tyres came into land along the sandbar spanning the kinnick river the area was no longer robert hanson's
01:04:25
hunting ground but his presence still remained while there the pilot discovered human
01:04:33
remains two handmade rings found on the body led to an identification it was missing anchorage woman 20 year
01:04:44
old delin frey she would be known as hanson's final victim killed in april 1983 shortly after paula goulding
01:04:59
in the wake of robert hanson's crimes being publicly revealed the media dubbed him the butcher baker
01:05:07
referencing his years of working as an unremarkable baker while secretly slaughtering women the entire time
01:05:17
the courtroom was packed when hanson was sentenced for his crimes on monday february 27 1984
01:05:26
friends and families of the victims made up a large proportion of the spectators
01:05:32
survivor cindy paulson was also there at no time did hanson show any remorse for his actions
01:05:43
assistant district attorney frank rothschild described hansen as an extreme aberration of a human being
01:05:51
then added while he doesn't admit it it's obvious from reading through and looking at
01:05:58
where things started and where the women ended up he hunted them down he let them run a little bit
01:06:06
and then he enjoyed a little hunt just like with his big game animals he toyed with them he wanted to scare
01:06:15
them he got a charge out of all of this rothschild was certain that hanson was beyond rehabilitation
01:06:25
and requested he be given a life sentence and three separate 99-year terms for the four murders he was
01:06:33
charged with for the rape and abduction of cindy paulson he asked for another 129 years
01:06:43
the presiding judge obliged sentencing robert hansen to 461 years in prison the maximum possible
01:06:53
sentence available in alaska for his crimes he noted that even though hanson's history was well known to authorities he
01:07:02
had been able to kill indiscriminately for years by targeting vulnerable victims
01:07:09
quote the court system has failed if ever there was a case in which a man or defendant needed to be surveillanced
01:07:19
for the rest of his life it is this gentleman here and it's been known for many years
01:07:27
here we've turned a person loose several times knowing he had the propensity for
01:07:33
what he did there's absolutely no excuse for it i hope when we leave this courtroom
01:07:42
today that i have to the best of my ability provided this man shall never walk the streets of america or any other
01:07:49
place as a free man including a clute narani joanna messina sherry morrow and paula goulding a total
01:08:02
of 11 of robert hansen's known murder victims have so far been recovered according to hanson's confession
01:08:11
that still leaves six unaccounted for while hanson acknowledged that he had killed 23 year old andrea altheri and 24
01:08:22
year old roxanne eastland they are two of the six victims that were never recovered
01:08:29
to this day all their cases remain open investigators are certain that hanson is
01:08:37
responsible for more murders than he admitted to given there were four markings on his map that he never
01:08:44
addressed one aligned with the location where 18 year old celia beth vanzanten was found
01:08:52
on christmas day 1971. she had disappeared days earlier after walking to a downtown store to buy a
01:09:01
soda beth was stripped bound gagged and raped before being left in the mchugh creek
01:09:09
recreation area where she froze to death the crime has never been solved to many robert hansen seems a likely
01:09:20
suspect especially as beth's ordeal came mere days after hanson attacked two other women
01:09:28
both of whom survived two marks made on the map along resurrection bay in the port city of
01:09:36
seward are also unaccounted for it is believed one represents missing seventeen-year-old megan emmerich
01:09:45
megan was a student at the seward skill center and was last sighted leaving the dormitory laundry room on saturday july
01:09:53
7 1973 she hasn't been seen or heard of since hanson admitted to being in seward on
01:10:03
the day megan vanished but denied crossing paths with her he also said he was ensued on saturday
01:10:13
july 5 1975 when 22 year old mary phil vanished from the city although hanson also denied having any
01:10:23
involvement in mary's disappearance it is speculated the second seward-based asterisk hints at her burial location
01:10:33
both megan emmerich and mary phil's cases remain unsolved robert hansen was incarcerated at a
01:10:43
number of different penitentiaries before serving the majority of his sentence at a correctional center in
01:10:49
seward in 2014 he was transferred back to anchorage to be admitted to alaska regional hospital
01:10:58
as he was battling chronic illness he died on august 21 of that year at the age of 75.
01:11:09
by the time of his death hanson had admitted to carrying out 30 rapes and 17 murders over a 12-year span
01:11:17
though these numbers remained disputed upon learning of hanson's death glenn flothey told the anchorage daily news
01:11:29
on this day we should only remember his many victims and all of their families and my heart goes out to all of them
01:11:37
as far as hanson is concerned this world is better without him in a 2019 interview for amd's real crime
01:11:50
blog former assistant district attorney frank roth's child said that though some
01:11:56
wished hansen could have been given the death penalty spending his final 30 years in prison
01:12:02
had been a fitting end to his life quote here's a guy whose passion in life is going out into the wilderness and
01:12:11
hunting the great alaska wild instead of being able to do that he was put in a cell with no view of anything
01:12:21
forget the mountains with rancid air and horrific people around him that to me is supreme punishment
01:12:44
[Music] [Music] you