Disclaimer: The article contains mention of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Serial killer Robert Hansen’s reign of terror lasted from 1972 to 1983. Operating from Anchorage, Alaska, this menacing individual reportedly kidnapped, raped, and murdered at least seventeen women. He was infamously nicknamed Butcher Baker.
An Oxygen True Crime article states that Hansen was born in 1939 and raised in Estherville, Iowa. Furthermore, he was the eldest son of Edna Margret Hansen and Christian “Chris” Hansen. Chris Hansen was said to be a “big old mean guy” and overbearing by nature. To make matters worse, young Robert suffered from severe acne and also strutted. Eventually, he developed an interest in hunting and tracking, which came to use when he began killing females.
Robert Hansen reportedly took a life for the first time in the 1970s. According to the Anchorage Daily News, he assumed that his first victim was a topless dancer or prostitute. At first, he pulled a gun on her and then stabbed her to death. He finally got rid of the body by burying it in a shallow grave. Officials discovered the remains of his first victim in 1980; however, her identity remains a mystery.
Officials finally managed to nab Robert Hansen after he abducted a teenage sex worker named Cindy Paulson. Cindy managed to flee from the serial killer and run straight to authorities. Furthermore, investigators discovered that Hansen’s home had a soundproof room and jewelry belonging to the victims. In addition, they also discovered that his murder weapon was a .223-caliber rifle.
When did Robert Hansen get caught?
According to Murderpedia, officials finally arrested Robert Hansen in June 1983. He furthermore admitted that he assaulted 30 women in the 1970s and 80s. Reports suggest that he would first make his victims submit at gunpoint and proceed to rape them. However, the way he would terminate his victims was vicious. He reportedly flew or drove them to isolated areas, where he released them as prey. He then proceeded to hunt and kill them and ultimately get rid of their bodies.
A 1984 New York Times report stated that Robert Hansen turned to a life of crime because women rejected him off his life. He even once revealed that his acne and stuttering problem was a curse. According to the New York Daily News, he stated, “Going back in my life … I was, I guess what you might call very frustrated. I would see my friends and so forth going out on dates and so forth and had a tremendous desire to do the same thing.”
He further stated, “From the scars and so forth on my face you can probably see. I could see why girls wouldn’t want to get close to me. During my junior high or high school days I could not control my speech at all. I was always so embarrassed and upset with it from people making fun of me that I hated the word school.”
In February 1984, the court sentenced him to 461 years in prison plus life without parole. Furthermore, he helped authorities search for the bodies of his victims, but only 12 of them were recovered. Robert Hansen died on August 21, 2014, aged 75, due to natural causes.
