Robert Hansen
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| Robert Hansen | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name: | Robert Christian Hansen |
| Born: | February 15, 1939 Estherville, Iowa |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 15 |
| Span of killings: | 1980 through 1983 |
| Country: | U.S. |
| State(s): | Alaska |
| Date apprehended: | June 13, 1983 |
Robert Christian Hansen (born February 15, 1939, in Estherville, Iowa) is an American serial killer.
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[edit] Early life
Throughout childhood and adolescence, Hansen was described as a "loner" with perpetual acne and a severe stutter; growing up, he was often bullied, and had a difficult relationship with his domineering father. [1]
He married in 1960. On December 7 of that year, he was arrested for burning down a local school bus garage, for which he served 20 months in prison. His wife divorced him while he was incarcerated. Over the next few years, he was jailed several times for petty theft. In 1967, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, with his second wife, whom he had married in 1963. There, he was well liked by his neighbors and was famed as a local hunting champion.
In 1977, he was imprisoned for theft, diagnosed with bipolar-affective disorder, and prescribed lithium to control his mood swings. He was never officially ordered to take the medication, however,[2] and was released from prison after serving a year. By now the father of two children, Hansen opened a bakery after his release.
[edit] Murders
He began killing prostitutes around 1980. After paying for their services, he would kidnap and rape them; he would then fly them out to his cabin in the Knik River Valley in his private plane, and stalk and kill them with a hunting knife and a .223-caliber Ruger Mini-14 rifle.
On June 13, 1983, prostitute Cindy Paulson went to the police and identified Hansen as the man who had raped and kidnapped her. [3] Hansen denied the accusations and was not initially considered a serious suspect. Detective Glenn Flothe of the Alaskan State Troopers police contacted the FBI and requested help after another body was found, and profiler John Douglas was brought in to assist the investigation. Douglas theorized that the killer would be an experienced hunter with low self-esteem and a history of being rejected by women, and would feel compelled to keep "souvenirs" of his murders, such as a victim's jewelry or even body parts.[citation needed] Douglas also made a very precise mention that the killer would most likely have a stutter.[citation needed]
[edit] Caught
Flothe and the police secured a warrant and searched Hansen's house on October 27, 1983, uncovering jewelry belonging to the victims, newspaper clippings about the murders and an array of firearms — including a .223-caliber Mini-14 rifle.[4] He was arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, weapons offenses, theft and insurance fraud. When ballistics tests returned a match between bullets found at the crime scenes to Hansen's rifle, he entered into a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to the four homicides the police knew about and provided details about his other victims in return for serving his sentence in a federal prison. He then showed investigators 17 gravesites in the Knik River Valley, 12 of which police were unaware of. 11 remains of a probable 21 victims were exhumed by the police, and returned to their families. He was then sentenced to 461 years in prison plus life.
Upon conviction, Hansen was first sent to the maximum security prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1988, still in custody, he was returned to Alaska. He was one of the first to be incarcerated at the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, where he remains to this day.
[edit] References
- Bernard Du Clos Fair Game ISBN 978-0312929053
- Walter Gilmour, Leland E. Hale Butcher, Baker: A True Account of a Serial Murder ISBN 978-0451402769
