Army Reserve Veteran Robert C. Hansen Sentenced to 461 Years Plus Life in Prison, No Parole for Murders of Multiple Women in Alaska (February 28, 1984)

On February 28, 1984August 25, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Scandals, Sexual Assault, VeteransLeave a comment

Robert Hansen was a mild-mannered family man with a passion for hunting. A master at his trade, Hansen sought a more challenging prey – his fellow human. Hansen kidnapped women, set them loose in the Alaskan wilderness, and hunted them down for sport. -Hunting Humans, Ice Cold Killers (S1, E1)

Serial killer and Army Reserves veteran Robert C. Hansen confessed to the murder of 17 women and the kidnapping and rape of another 30 women in Alaska. But the authorities believe there are many more victims and their cases are still open. Hansen was officially charged with the abduction and rape of Cindy Paulson and the murders of Joanna Messina, Sherry Morrow, Paula Goulding, and the unidentified body known as “Eklutna Annie.” On February 28, 1984, Robert Hansen was sentenced to 461 years plus life in prison with no parole. Hansen led the police to 17 grave sites he marked on a map but only 12 of his victims bodies were recovered. Robert Hansen’s health was declining for over a year when he died of natural causes on August 21, 2014 at the age of 75.

In 1982, two off-duty police officers were hunting for wild game. As darkness fell and they headed home, they made a gruesome discovery. They knew enough to back away and dispatched the Alaska State Troopers to the scene. The crime scene investigators unearthed the partial bones of a woman buried in a shallow grave. They also found bones scattered around the surrounding area. In Alaska, wild game won’t hesitate to drag off the evidence. They also found a 223 caliber bullet casing. The victim was bound and blind folded at the time of death, and she was shot three times. She was identified as Sherry Morrow; Sherry was drawn to Alaska for the easy money. She worked as an exotic dancer in a seedy area of Anchorage known as ‘Fourth Avenue’. Police looked to see if anyone else in that community had disappeared under similar circumstances. Before the discovery of Sherry’s body, none of the missing persons reports were linked or suggestive of murder. Morrow’s case inspired police to take a look at the cold case files.

Two years before Morrow’s body was found, construction workers found the partial remains of a woman buried in a shallow grave; her body was desecrated by wild life and her bones were scattered. Police couldn’t make an identification and dubbed their Jane Doe “Eklutna Annie”. Nobody ever came forward with information about Annie. Police were concerned they were dealing with a brutal killer so they started canvassing the area where the dancers spent their time. Sherry’s co-workers feared the worst because a number of women had gone missing and they were never heard from again. Over the next several years, five more dancers went missing. Police suspected Sherry and Annie’s cases were connected. They were all victims from the beginning because everyone preyed on these girls, including the bar owners and pimps. Several dancers reported seeing the same man and provided police with a physical description. Police learned of a third body found in a gravel pit near where Eklutna Annie’s body was found.

The victim was identified as Joanna Messina. She was a canary worker who was last seen leaving the dock with her dog and a red haired man her co-workers couldn’t identify. Messina was shot and killed with a 22, not a 223. Two more women vanished and were never seen or heard from again. The blindfolds at the crime scenes told the police a lot about the killer. He was a sexual sadist who wanted complete control. He derived pleasure from his victim’s fear and pain and disposed of their bodies in isolated areas in Alaska. Nine months later, a truck driver found a frantic hand-cuffed woman running in the road; someone with a gun ducked out of site. The trucker took her to a nearby hotel where she was safe and called the Anchorage police. The police found a 17-year-old woman still in handcuffs and in shock. She told the officers she was a topless dancer down on 4th Avenue; she said she was propositioned by a red haired man in his 40s the night before. She confessed that she accepted the stranger’s offer.

Once inside the man’s car, she said the man pulled a gun on her. He kidnapped her, handcuffed her, and told her if she cooperated and did what he wanted, she wouldn’t be harmed. He took her to a middle class house in Muldoon. He held her hostage in a basement filled with mounted heads of animals. He brutalized her for hours. He chained her to beam in the basement and repeatedly sexually assaulted her. She told the police he was going to fly her to his cabin in the woods, promising to release her if she cooperated. Once at the airport, the kidnapper shoved her in a small plane and began loading supplies. The second he turned his back, she made her escape. Hoping to corroborate her account, investigators took her to the airfield to find the plane. She identified a plane owned by Robert Hansen; he was a 50 year-old avid hunter and local business man. Hansen owned a well established bakery, had lot of friends, and went to church. By all accounts, he was an upstanding member of the community.

When questioned by police, Hansen was outraged and insisted the dancer was lying to extort money from him. He also questioned whether it was even possible to rape a prostitute. He claimed he had an alibi and told investigators his wife and children were in Europe and he spent the night playing poker with friends. When questioned, the two men substantiated his story. Hansen allowed authorities to search his home but they didn’t find evidence of what the victim described. She also refused to take a polygraph and this made the police wonder if she fabricated the story. It was a “he said, she said” case because they had no evidence. Citing a lack of evidence, the prosecutor dropped the case. Three months later, Alaska State Troopers discovered the partially decomposed remains of another woman in a shallow grave. She was identified as a missing dancer from the Fourth Avenue district. Investigators found a blindfold buried among the remains. An autopsy revealed Paula Goulding had also been shot by a 223 caliber bullet.

Initially, the police didn’t link the cases but the use of the 223 caliber bullet helped them realize they were dealing with a serial killer who was targeting exotic dancers in Anchorage. Troopers contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance; agents created a behavioral profile of the serial killer. The killer believed he was invincible because he picked the perfect victims. He chose the dancers on Fourth Ave because he thought no one would care if they were missing. They started looking into Robert Hansen’s past. They learned he was abused as a child and had very low self-esteem. He was always considered small and had few friends; he was often ridiculed by his peers. After graduating from high school, Hansen enlisted in the Army Reserve and went to basic training at Fort Dix. He later received advanced training as a military police officer at Fort Knox. While enlisted in the Army, he was known to frequent prostitutes. He told fellow soldiers, he found them dissatisfying and yearned to take control of the situation.

Despite his strict up bringing and disciplined military structure, the profilers learned Hansen had a number of run-ins with the law. He served time for arson and theft but he appeared to have long since left that life behind. In 1967, he married and moved to Alaska. He was a functioning member of society. They believe his low self-esteem would drive him to live in a place like Alaska. His former neighbor told investigators he loved the thrill of the hunt; and he was always looking for the bigger hunt. He was an avid trophy hunter. Hansen’s weak point was women because he was unsuccessful with them. He hunted where most of the victims were found. “Perhaps Hansen tired of game and turned to more interesting prey like humans.” Humans create a much greater challenge to the hunter. Police deduced he most likely had trophies from his hunts for humans. The killer was a sexual sadist, proficient, and more successful over time. Authorities threatened the two men who alibied him with jail time if they didn’t come clean about the night the dancer was abducted.

Both friends quickly broke down and said they were covering for him because they thought he was a legitimate guy. They believed him when he said he thought the dancers were trying to extort him. The police asked Hansen to come down to the station and executed a search warrant. An officer searched the attic and in the rafters he found a bag of jewelry. And nestled with his bag of trophies, they found IDs belonging to the victims and newspaper clippings. Authorities also found a trophy map with locations of where he killed his victims. Hansen tracked his kills. The most critical find was a 223 caliber mini 14 rifle. The rifle was sent to the crime lab for further analysis. The 223 matched perfectly with the round they found in Eklutna. Robert Hansen was charged with assault and kidnapping. Despite his pleas of innocence, the evidence was mounting against him. The District Attorney agreed to charge Hansen with four murders: Sherry Morrow, Eklutna Annie, Joanna Messina, and Paula Goulding. Hansen accepted a plea deal. Police believe he chose prostitutes because they represent the evil in humans.

Robert Hansen chose prostitutes because they will go anywhere for anything and when they disappear, no one cares. He admitted he controlled the game from the point of abduction. He was the predator and they were they prey. He killed Eklutna Annie first. Then he abducted Sherry Morrow. He took most of his victims to his remote cabin and brutalized them for hours before he stripped them naked, blindfolded them and then released them in the woods. He turned them loose, gave them a head start, and hunted them down. He was a trophy hunter. He then collected things off the girls so he could re-live the events. Robert Hansen’s killing spree lasted twelve years in Alaska. Hansen confessed to 17 killings but it is believed he had many more victims. He eventually lead police to 15 gravesites unknown to investigators. Unfortunately, investigators only recovered 7 bodies likely due to the veracious animal activity in the Alaskan wilderness. Robert Hansen was sentenced to 461 years plus life in prison with no chance of parole.

Source: Hunting Humans, Ice Cold Killers, Investigation Discovery

Victims:
Andrea “Fish” Altiery (disappeared 12/2/81, unknown if body recovered)
Roxanne Easlund, 24 (disappeared 6/28/1980, unknown if body recovered)
Megan Emerick, 17 (suspected abduction on 7/7/73, body never recovered)
Angela Feddern, 24 (disappeared February 1983, body found)
DeLynn “Sugar” Frey (disappeared September 1983, body found)
Lisa “Betty” Futrell, 41 (disappeared 9/7/1980, body found)
Malai Larsen, 28 (disappeared June 1981, body found)
Paula Goulding (disappeared 4/25/83, body found)
Sue Luna, 23 (disappeared 5/16/82, body found)
Joanna Messina (disappeared 5/19/1989, body found)
Sherry Morrow, 23 (disappeared 11/17/81, body found)
Tamara Pederson, 20 (disappeared August 1982, body found)
Mary Kathleen Thill, 23 (suspected abduction on 7/5/75, body never recovered)
Cecelia “Beth” Van Zanten, 17 (suspected abduction on 12/22/71, body found)
Theresa Watson (disappeared 4/29/83, body found)
“Eklutna Annie” (real name unknown, disappeared 11/1979, body found)
Cindy Paulson (abducted & raped on 6/13/1983, escaped & survived)

List compliments of The Frozen Ground.

In the News:

A Killer Among Us: Inside the Hunt for an Alaska Serial Killer (June 11, 2017, KTUU-Channel 2, Anchorage, Alaska)

The Frozen Ground Movie (2012)

THE FROZEN GROUND Official Trailer (2013)

The Frozen Ground – Clip 3 | Lionsgate

The Frozen Ground (2012) – Chained Scene (1/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – The Lucky One Scene (2/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – Pole Dancing Scene (3/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – Hunting Her Scene (4/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – On the Run Scene (5/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – Shock at the Strip Club Scene (6/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – The Interrogation Scene (7/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – From Bad to Worse Scene (8/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – He’s Coming Scene (9/10) | Movieclips

The Frozen Ground (2012) – Truth Comes Out Scene (10/10) | Movieclips

Based on a true story. An Alaskan State Trooper (Nicholas Cage) must partner with a near victim and the only witness to escape the clutches of the serial killer in order to bring the murderer to justice. -The Frozen Ground

Frozen Ground – Examining the Frozen Ground

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.

Air Force TSgt Thomas Bunday Died By Suicide in Texas on Day of Arrest; Bunday Confessed to 5 Murders Near Eielson AFB, Alaska (March 15, 1983)

On March 15, 1983August 25, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Suicide, USAF4 Comments

Thomas Bunday.jpg — TSgt Thomas Richard Bunday, U.S. Air Force (photo: Investigation Discovery)

Honoring the victims:

Glinda Sodemann, 19, Fairbanks, Alaska (August 29, 1979)
Doris Oehring, 11, North Pole, Alaska (June 13, 1980)
Marlene Peters, 21, Tanana, Alaska (January 31, 1981)
Wendy Wilson, 16, Eielson, Alaska (March 5, 1981)
Lori King, 18, Fairbanks, Alaska (May 16, 1981)
Cassandra Goodwin, 22, Henrietta, Texas (never admitted to homicide)

On June 13, 1980, 11-year-old Doris Oehring went missing from North Pole, Alaska; they found her bike in the ditch. Luckily, a witness saw a blue vehicle near the area where the bicycle was found and helped the police create a composite sketch; but no leads were generated. To make matters worse, this was the second known abduction in less than a year. Eight months earlier, on August 29, 1979, a boy hunting in the woods found the decomposing body of 19-year-old Glinda Sodemann; she had been strangled and shot. Nine months after Doris Oehring mysteriously went missing; 16-year-old Wendy Wilson disappeared; her friend last saw her talking to a man in a white truck. Wendy’s body was found three days later; she had been strangled and shot in the head as well. Police wondered if there was more than one predator. As the police scrambled to find leads, another body of a woman turned up dead near Eielson Air Force Base. The victim was identified as 21-year-old Marlene Peters; Marlene was strangled and shot in the head too.

The police were panicking because of the number of murders in one location, and then a fifth woman vanished. Troopers teamed up with military and civilian search teams to find the missing and then one day while soldiers were out hunting, they found the body of Lori King; she too was strangled and shot in the head. Unable to calculate the next move of the serial killer, state troopers tried another tactic. They staked out the killer’s dumping grounds within a 10 mile radius of Eielson AFB. And then the killings stopped. And then in November 1982, troopers received a call from Henrietta, Texas informing them a woman had been murdered in the same fashion as their suspected serial killer. Police worked with the military to see if they couldn’t narrow down the suspects based on who owned a blue car or white pick-up truck. And finally, the police came up with a name: Thomas Richard Bunday was a TSgt in the Air Force who transferred to Sheppard AFB shortly after the murder of the fifth victim in Alaska.

Alaska investigators learned Bunday owned a blue car and a white truck, and he was on the Air Force’s radar list because there were several complaints made about his inappropriate sexual remarks to women in the workplace. Alaska investigators also learned Bunday served in the military for fifteen years and was a married, father of two. On March 7, 1983, Alaska investigators talked to Bunday for three hours about everything but the murders and they did this for several days hoping he would confess; but he refused to talk. Bunday didn’t deny the crimes; but refused to confess. After a week of interrogation, the troopers obtained a search warrant to search Bunday’s property. They found a lot of incriminating evidence that directly tied him to the crime in Alaska but had to obtain an arrest warrant from Alaska. Alaska Troopers had no power to arrest outside of Alaska. The Governor offered a private leer jet to bring Bunday back to Alaska. The arrest was the next day but he failed to show up as promised.

Unfortunately, Thomas Bunday slipped past surveillance on his motorcycle. Instead of meeting with the Alaska investigators again, Bunday instead killed himself. Police learned Bunday died by suicide after he crossed the center line and slammed into a truck at a 100 mph. Police were really hoping they would get more information from him before he died. They wanted to know where Doris’ body was so they could give the family closure. In August 1986, three years after Bunday died, Doris’ skull was found in a remote section of Eielson Air Force Base. It was later learned that Bunday’s job in the Air Force most likely allowed him to view his dump sites via surveillance cameras and relive his sadistic behavior. Bunday was most likely watching investigators at the crime scene. Alaska state investigators are convinced that Thomas Richard Bunday was responsible for the five murders in Alaska. And they believe Bunday denied the murder in Texas to avoid the death penalty before opting instead to kill himself on March 15, 1983.

Source: North Pole Slay Ride, Ice Cold Killers, Investigation Discovery

“From 1979 to 1981, Thomas Richard Bunday, a technical sergeant who was stationed at the Eilson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, murdered four women and an 11-year-old girl. With the help of a psychological profile provided by the FBI and a description from an eyewitness, the authorities were eventually able to close in on Bunday. By the time police identified Bunday as their prime suspect, however, he had already been transferred to another base near Wichita Falls, Texas.

When officials from Alaska traveled to Texas to interview Bunday, he admitted to the killings, but the officers didn’t have the jurisdiction to arrest him. The police from Alaska scrambled to get a warrant, and when they went to apprehend Bunday, his wife informed the officials that he had taken off on his motorcycle. Tragically, the officers learned that on March 16, 1983, just hours after they’d obtained an arrest warrant, Bunday drove his motorcycle into the path of an oncoming truck, ending his life.”

Learn more at Ranker.

Investigation Discovery:

Ice Cold Killers: North Pole Slay Ride from Stephanie Kovac on Vimeo.

The tiny town of North Pole, Alaska is a quiet, safe haven best known for Santa Claus. But when the bodies of young women begin turning up one by one, investigators slowly piece together the clues and discover the unlikeliest of killers. -North Pole Slay Ride, Ice Cold Killers (S1,E4)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

On January 25, 1952October 10, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Suspicious Deaths, VeteransLeave a comment

In 1947, Anjette Lyles and WWII Army veteran Ben Lyles ran a successful restaurant in Macon, Georgia. Anjette’s shining personality and beautiful face kept the customers coming back. One judge remembered his experience at the restaurant and claimed she was just a nice person. One day, Ben decides he’s had enough and sells the family restaurant. He said he was sick of it and Anjette was angry because she wanted to keep the restaurant; they also had just gave birth to another child. Ben wouldn’t relent and he would come to regret that decision. At first, Anjette practiced black magic and wished for harm to come to Ben. Then she stepped it up and started using a form of ant poisoning she conveniently put in Ben’s food. Ben Lyles was sick with rheumatic fever since his time in the service but once he sold the restaurant, he rapidly deteriorated. Ben was experiencing bleeding from the nose and mouth, swelling of the eyes, weeping skin lesions, and acute liver failure. Nobody could figure out what was wrong. Ben’s death was painful and the baffled doctors decided it was encephalitis. Ben Lyles died on January 25, 1952.

The pair argued bitterly over [Ben selling the restaurant], and the arguments only got worse when the Veteran’s Administration decided to cut Ben’s pension to a tenth of what it was as they’d decided he was now fit to work. As if to prove the VA wrong, in December of 1951 Ben Lyles fell ill. The doctors were confused. It wasn’t a recurrence of his rheumatic fever, and in fact they weren’t quite sure what it was that was wrong with him. He had nosebleeds and convulsions, and had to be hospitalised. When he went into a coma in January the doctors decided it was encephalitis, but by then it was too late for effective treatment. He never regained consciousness and died on the 25th of January. –HeadStuff

With the life insurance payout and the proceeds from the sale of the restaurant, Anjette bought back the restaurant and it became even more popular. She met Joe ‘Buddy’ Gabbert in the restaurant; he was a pilot from Texas. As soon as Joe met Anjette, he was captivated by her and courted her very energetically. They were married in just a few months. But Joe would quickly learn his new wife is not as she seems. Within three months of walking down the aisle, Joe Gabbert was dead on December 2, 1955. At this point, it is clear that Anjette was a sociopath with no feelings of empathy or love for anyone. Before she was 30, Anjette was widowed twice because the secret to her misfortune was arsenic poisoning. Her first husband Ben died shortly after selling the family restaurant; her second husband Joe died of a mysterious illness shortly after they were married. But instead of mourning, Anjette was happy and thriving in her restaurant. With another life insurance payout, this time Anjette bought herself a new home. But then a complication arose when her mother-in-law, Julia Lyles, announced she wanted to move in with her.

Julia indeed moved in with her but Anjette found a way to eliminate her problem and make even more money. Anjette learned that Julia had lots of money in savings. She attempted to change Julia’s will but one judge would not touch it because he needed to witness Julia sign the document and he knew it wasn’t Julia’s signature. Anjette forged her mother-in-law’s will and began to speed up her demise. When Julia fell ill and was hospitalized, Anjette brought her favorite foods for her and all the nurses thought she was so nice. Instead, Anjette was feeding Julia arsenic poisoning while she was laying in the hospital bed. Julia Lyles died on September 29, 1957. Anjette learned the best way to handle family problems was to simply get rid of them, by murdering. After Anjette’s mother-in-law was dead, she started turning on her daughter Marcia because she was an accessory Anjette didn’t want anymore. Marcia died of another unexplained illness on April 5, 1958 and it was reported that Anjette stood in the corner of the hospital room laughing while she was in pain. The doctors at the time could find reasons for the deaths of her two husbands but not this healthy little girl.

This time the police wanted an autopsy of Marcia Lyles and the autopsy results revealed that Marcia died of arsenic poisoning. After learning this information, the police exhumed both Ben Lyle’s and Joe Gabbert’s bodies and again they found traces of arsenic. Anjette’s secrets were finally revealed; she was a serial killer with no mercy. People were stunned to learned Anjette poisoned both her husbands and her daughter Marcia. It was described as a complete shock as the community always knew the kind, happy, helpful Anjette in the restaurant. Anjette Lyles was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death in 1958. But she appealed on the grounds of insanity and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Anjette was spared execution and lived out her life in an asylum. She died in 1977 of a heart attack at age 55. And in the end, a lot of people didn’t believe she was evil; they just figured she had some kind of mental quirk. Former FBI Profiler Candice DeLong shared her assessment of the case: “Anjette was a very high functioning, dedicated, driven, successful business women. That is not the definition of a paranoid schizophrenic.”

Source: ‘Secrets and Lies’ Deadly Women, Investigation Discovery

City Confidential:

Anjette Lyles | Macon, Georgia | City Confidential [Full Episode]

Investigation Discovery:

Preview: Anjette Lyles felt the best way to deal with her problematic home life was to poison the people around her. -Secrets and Lies, Deadly Women (S4, E11)

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Serial Killer

Army Reserve Veteran Robert C. Hansen Sentenced to 461 Years Plus Life in Prison, No Parole for Murders of Multiple Women in Alaska (February 28, 1984)

Air Force TSgt Thomas Bunday Died By Suicide in Texas on Day of Arrest; Bunday Confessed to 5 Murders Near Eielson AFB, Alaska (March 15, 1983)

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: