Morbid - Robert Hansen Part 1

Episode Date: February 6, 2019

This guy somehow flies under the radar a lot but don't be fooled, he is a prolific and brutal serial killer who seemed to have taken his MO directly from the pages of "The Most Dangerous Game"(never confirmed but...come on...). In part 1 of our two part series on this trash human, we will discuss Hansen's teen years, his brushes with the law and take a dive into his first few murders. He's a treat, guys. Strap in. Sources:  https://allthatsinteresting.com/robert-hansen Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer by Walter Gilmore Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is morbid. Very morbid. Super morbid. Yeah, this was it morbid one. Yeah, this is going to be morbid. And this one's kind of fun because I don't see it covered a whole lot.

I've never listened to this case to get covered. I don't think. Yeah, I've just heard, I know last podcast on the left did a great coverage of it, so after you listen to us, you should go check them out. Last podcast on the left. Not on the right. Other than that, maybe a couple have, like, breezed over it, but this is one of those cases, and I'll tell you what it is in a second, that it's actually, like, shocking that this guy is not up there with, like, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wing-Gacy, like, notoriety-wise.

He killed a lot of people. And he was just, like, the whole thing is crazy. So tonight we're going to be covering. Robert Hanson, aka Bob, the butcher. Yeah, the butcher, the butcher baker, bad Bob. And his... Side show Bob.

Just kidding. Someone definitely called him that. But we're going to be doing it in two parts because there's just a lot of information for this one, and we don't want to skip over anything. So we'll give you part one tonight. But, yeah, this one is... He's pretty brutal, and it's just, he's unique, as you'll find out. Yeah, I feel like.

There's a lot of unique things about this. And it takes place in Anchorage, around Anchorage, Alaska. So that's kind of why I think it hasn't become, because it's like in the middle, nowhere. Yeah, because it's like not in the lower 48, you know what I mean? It's like they just get lost in the shuffle when it comes to true crime, I think. So we're going to be covering that today. But first, I just wanted to say how freaking excited I am for Guillermo del Toro's real scary stories to tell in the dark. The name, Giramu is my favorite.

That is a great, great name. Giermo. Germo. But it's coming out, I think, August 9th, maybe. But either way, it's coming out in August this year. And for anybody, which I'm sure a lot of people listening to this grew up with those books, they're sitting right in front of me in my bookshelf right now. And I posted on the Instagram earlier,

some of my favorite illustrations by Stephen Gamal, the guy who illustrated those books. And I just wanted to know everybody else's favorite ones. And it's been fun to see everybody else's like the ones that, like, ruin them as a child. Because I was looking through those books last night and like showing John because I don't think he was as into those books. And I was telling him how excited I am for the movie.

As I would get to like a certain story and a certain illustration, I was like, oh my God, I remember this like ruining me as a kid, like this one picture. I remember we used to bring them to like my after school program and I would be so fucking scared. And then people would make up their own ghost stories about like our town. Oh yeah. And be like, this sounds like what happened in our town. And then I'd be like, what happened in our town? And then I was like, I'm scared, but tell me.

I'm not going to sleep for weeks, but tell me. And then I legitimately did not sleep for weeks. I wonder if kids do that anymore. No, they probably just like read it on their stupid iPhones. Now it's just creepypastas. Like it's not, like that's the, that was like the OG version of creepy pastas. They're actually just on Reddit right now. Yeah, exactly. But I think there's something to be said about like those old books. I was like young. I was like eight. Yeah, I was probably third grade. And I remember getting them and I just remember that was my first introduction to like creepy things.

Those illustrations, the way he has the ink, like dripping, everything looks like festering and just like really wet. And just like everything looks like you're like, oh, like it's just. Even just the cover, like the skull on the cover. Yeah. And there's just a couple of pictures that just stuck in my brain. And I still, they still give me like, wha. I used to like hate when someone would bring the book out because I'd be like, fuck. But then I'd also be like, I can't wait.

Fuck me up, fam. Well, and I had mentioned in one of the things, because this did bother me. I read an article, and it was this woman, because as I'm sure a lot of people know, these books were banned or on the band list forever. Oh, I'm sure. And so recently in the last few years, they replaced the illustrations with somebody else's illustrations that are way tamer, not the same feel at all. But that's stupid.

Fine illustrations, like the illustrator is a good illustrator, but not all. horror illustrator. Right. And it takes away everything from them. So people were like outraged and they went back to them. Yeah, I'd be pretty pissed. But this woman was writing an article saying that she doesn't think they should have gone back to the old ones because the old ones are horrifying and she doesn't understand why kids were allowed to look at them. And I was like, girl, I'm fine. She's wrong. But one of her main things was she pointed out and she used the story, oh, Susanna, which is a scary story. And she said, weird. Why did it get in that book? I know. It's so scary.

It was a scary story. I don't know how it fit in there. That's so strange that they put a scary story. It ended up in there, weirdly enough, and somehow I remember it. I don't know. Weird coincidence. Maybe because it was an outlier. I don't know.

But the visual that goes along with that story is like really abstract, wicked creepy. Yeah. It's like this person in a creepy old wheelchair being led through the sky by this weird eyeball that's like got all this flesh attached. to it. And on top of them is like this weird skull. It's like all abstract and really weird. And she was like, none, this artwork doesn't even have anything to do with the story. It's stupid that like, you know, at least the new artwork like set like has the story in mind. And I was like, no, you just don't know how to interpret it. Right. Just because it's not like literal to the story doesn't mean it

doesn't have anything to do with the story. Yeah, like it's art. And it's amazing art. It's like, No matter what, it made you like, it was jarring. That one picture was like, I don't know what's going on here, but I feel, I want no part of it. But I feel unwell, I feel unsettled, I need an adult, I don't know what's going on. So yeah, that just, I got on nostalgia fest today about it. So I had to chit chat about it with people who would understand this. You get us, guys. Exactly.

Because I ranted about it to my husband last night, and he was like, totally. And he was just trying to be really into it for me because he's wonderful that way. But I was like, yeah. Whenever we talk to him about true crime, it's just like, yeah. And he likes true crime, but he likes it to like a point. Like he only wants the surface level of it. Like when we were talking about Marilyn Monroe's autopsy photo, and he was like, I think it's her. And we were like, no, it's not.

He was like, why are you guys so mad? Why are you upset about this? You don't get it. But yeah, that was my little. little tangent for the, for the night. Oh, I have a little tangent, too. Do you know what I did last weekend? What did you do last weekend? I met M. and Christine from the knots by we drink, and I didn't ship my pants figuratively. No, wait, literally, but I did figuratively. I went to their live show at the Wilbur, and it was so good. I'm so jealous. And I fan-gurled like really, really,

really hard. I love it, though. Annie's the best girlfriend in the whole wide world and she got me tickets to meet them afterwards which I love and M gives like the best hugs like she gave such a good hug and I said like she just gives off that vibe that she just gives good hugs she does she's one of those people and Christine was like so nice and then they were talking really nice and they're so nice they were talking about like Annie's haircut or something like that I forget and I was like we but really quickly and then they didn't hear me because I was probably barely speaking because I was probably just like quick ah and then we like took a picture picture and it was almost over and I was like oh my god Elaine it's going to murder me if I don't say this

and so I said to Christine and she like literally because I was like clearly like so like distraught and I think she like held my hands I think that's what any said and I was like I don't want to be that person but I have a podcast too with my sister and it's like it's pretty good and people people say that we should collab and I would really love to do that and she was like oh my god yeah like send us an email like She was so nice and I was literally like, I'm dead. I'm deceased. I did everything but like throw off on her. It was fine. Which is good. That's the line you want to not, you know, just walk up to. Yeah. And not cross. Yeah. You just do just right up to the vomit line and then just don't cross it. I was so scared. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. And I'm so glad you just like put the little

little earworm in there. I did. And I feel like they're like one of the podcasts that I feel like we would just vibe well with. Mm-hmm. Like, I just feel it in my bones. Me too. And I was just, like, so proud of them being up there. I know, because you look at it in. You, like, see where they came from, and you're like, man. One of our followers, like, answered my story because, like, I posted that I was there. And they were, like, have so much fun.

That's so cool or, like, whatever. And then they were like, that could be you guys someday. Oh. And then I was like, what? Oh, my God. I love that. And I was trying to think of, like, me sitting on the stage at the Wilbur. and then I got even more nauseous, and I disordered another sangria. And I was like, I fully, fully am putting into the universe that that is happening.

I want it to happen, but also, oh, I'm terrified at the thought, but I want it to happen. I'm just going to drool on stage the whole time if that ever happened. I'm just going to let my awkward flag fly just go with it. I'm going to need to be heavily medicated. Oh, so yeah, we're going to put that into the universe. Hopefully. Someday we'll do a live show. Yeah, exactly.

sell it out. They sold out the Wilbur. How crazy is that? We're going to sell out the Wilbur someday. Someday. Someday. When I'm off of low. And in the meantime, we're going to be, we're in the process of kind of getting together our merch to throw up on the website. Merch. We're just getting the last couple of numbers together so we know what to tell you guys. So we're not just throwing up things and being like, just sort of this.

Right. So we are getting that done really quick. So stay tuned for that. We're going to have a meeting soon. We are going to have a meeting soon about it. How fucking legit does that sound? Legit. I've never gone to a meeting. I'm not sure I have.

I was going to say, I feel like you have. I have. And we're also going to be recording a Patreon bonus episode this week, which will be out next week. So Patreon donors, Patronuses, keep a lookout for that next week. We'll let you know when it's going to hit. We're going to be shouting out our Patreon donors, our Patronuses, in our mini-soe this week.

Is your dog okay? If you hear some panting in the background, that is my dog. It's not ash. She has some booty troubles. So she's just scooting around the floor right now. So do with that what you will. Everything's going to be fine. So we'll be, yeah, so we'll be shouting out our patronesses in the minisode this week,

which will be out at the end of this week. And we'll be an ash-centric episode. Ash. And I think on to the show, right? Here we go. So, in 1939, in Iowa, a beautiful little baby was born. And his name was Robert. And he was born to parents, Christian and Edna Hanson.

Oh, that's why his middle name was Christian. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. So, yeah, his dad was a Danish immigrant, and they owned a bakery, the family. So his dad was apparently super strict and made Robert work like super long hours at the bakery. So Rob was apparently like a super skinny kid. He had severe acne and a really bad stutter. That's tough. And so because of that, he was pretty much a loner in high school and didn't date very much, if at all. Bummer. One time he explained in an interview, quote, this quote is sad, but also I think I know which one you're talking about because I was actually like, oh. Well, it's sad, but it made me laugh and I'll talk. you why. So he says, 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 so forth and so forth and so forth. And had a tremendous desire to do the same. 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. And so forth and so forth and so forth. And so on and so forth. He said so forth so many times and I was done. I was done. But also I felt really bad. Sorry, Rob. I know. But like, not sorry. Sorry, but not sorry at all. So he goes on to explain that he couldn't get his stutter under control. And because of all that, he just, like, really hated school. I mean, that's sad. I always feel bad when they start out with, like, something like that because you're

like, you kind of didn't have a quick chance. Yeah, and like, kids are so mean. Yeah, and he was, like, tormented at school, he said. That's rough. Also, weird fact, he was forced to be right-handed. He, like, was supposed to be left-handed. Oh, yeah. I don't know if it was, like,

a normal thing that they used to do back then. They'd force the kid to be right-handed. Well, and I don't know whether or not he went to, like, Catholic or private school or whatever, but I know that a lot of times in Catholic school, they make you right with your right-hand because the left hand is like the devil's hand. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, back then, that was like a very widespread. Oh, yeah.

It was like, we don't want you to be different. But they, he said that the stress of that, like, because imagine how hard that is to, like, you're not supposed to be right-handed. And he said it stressed him up. so much that it made his stutter worse. Oh, I'm sure. Yeah, he was, like, really upset about that, and high school really sucked for him. Yeah. So, two years after graduating, I mean, I feel bad, but I don't at all. Well, I don't feel bad at all. It's like, I feel bad for a minute, then I'm like, oh, wait, but wait, he did some shit. He fucked up shit. Shitty fucked up shit.

shitty fucked up shit. Shitty fucked up shit. Shitty. So in 1960, which was two years after he graduated high school, he convinced a 16-year-old bakery employee to burn down the school bus garage with him. I mean, haven't we all? You know, kids will be kids. So it's fine. So everyone chill out, okay? Calm, notituals. So in his mind, this was really to get back at the town that outcasted him. Like, he was like, you made fun of me in high school, and school was hard, and I had to right with my right hand and I had acne. And so I think it's only fair that I burn down your school bus garage. I'm going to burn down your school bus his house. That's funny, but also not good. Don't do that. But also funny, but tragic. So, yeah, he did that. He did the damn thing.

But the 16-year-old eventually succumbed to a guilty conscience and he turned himself and Robert in for the crime. Well, Robert was probably like, thanks. Thanks a lot. Well, like, that's what you fucking guffert convincing a 16-year-old to do anything with you. You should have done it by yourself if that's what you really wanted to do. You don't involve other people in your shit. Why did he need help? And like he was, I think he was 21. Why do you need a 16-year-old? Yeah, you're asking for trouble. Yeah, you stupid. Idiot. Dumbass. So, he was sentenced to only three years, which like doesn't seem fitting. I know. He successfully burned it down. Yeah, that doesn't seem like a lot. But he was paroleed, actually,

after only 20 months. Oh, shit. He got, as we'll see later, this dude got out of a lot of shit. Don't they always? Oh, this guy had the cops, like, doing backbends to get him out of this shit. That's what they fucking do. They're master manipulators. They really are. So during his stay, his therapist diagnosed him with an infantile personality,

marked by childlike hysteria, volatile emotions, and a clingy fixation on others. That seems like a rough. diagnosis. Totally. Like, basically he wrote, you suck and you fucked. You a little baby man. It's not going to work out for you. No one's ever going to be able to tolerate you. So, good luck. Bye. Also, while he was in jail, his wife divorced him, because apparently he was married. But there's not a lot about his first marriage or his first wife that I found. No, the only thing I found was that her parents really didn't want her to marry him. Well, they must have been pretty young.

Yeah. Because it was only two years after school. And she started divorcing him like the second he got arrested. Like she was like, oh, yeah, no. So he was sentenced to three years. Six months in, she divorced him. But then he was paroled after 20 months, like I said. So after he was paroled, he was married again in 1967. Or I'm not sure if he was married in 1967. No, 63. 63. And then in 1967, the couple moved to Alaska for a fresh start. And they lived. happily ever after and Rob was like totally reformed. Yeah, everything was totally fine after that. And like now the podcast is over. Yeah, part two is just going to be about their life painting, you know, the wilderness landscapes of Alaska. Yeah, they also like kayaking a lot. Yeah. So that's fine. It's not at all what it's going to be. Take it away, Elena. So like Ash said, they got married in 63. They moved to Alaska in 67. And over the next few years, he was just

several more times for petty theft. Good. All like really small jorts. He stole jorts? You know, I would not put that past him. He stole really small jorts. That's all just really small jorts over and over. No.

Every time it was a pretty small jail sentence, like it was just like in and out. But like a lot of these guys, he was a kleptomaniac, and he started with stealing because he was getting the thrill. He was kind of thrown up the middle finger at authority, and this is what these guys like to do. So a lot of them started out as little petty theft fuckers. Yes, that's exactly. That's what they are called. Petty theft fuckers.

Yeah. You are being sentenced for being a petty theft fucker. Wow, I'm surprised you were able to say that that many times. I'm not even going to try. It took like concentration. So I'm glad to happen. So, you know, that was in and out of jail, but nothing too crazy. Now, growing up in Iowa for a while, he had learned one thing that, like, he was actually good at.

Because he wasn't good at a lot of things. Was it weird? No, he was good at hunting and trapping. Because Iowa, you know, what else are you going to do? Yeah. So this skill that he had honed in Iowa actually served him even better in Alaska, because Alaska's just fucking wilderness. Well, that's, like, what you've got to do to live out there. Like, you have to.

So, I mean, he was really good at St. docking game and apparently he had dead eye aim with both a rifle and a bow. Wow. I wonder which hand he used. Yeah, I know. That's a good point. I wonder if he reverted back to a left hand or if he became ambidextrous. Wow. Because don't fuck with someone that's ambidextrous. Do not fucks with ambidextrous people. Don't do it. Ambidextorai. Just don't do it. I don't know. That's a good point. Yeah. So he, apparently his Anchorage House was literally filled with animal trophy mounts. Gross.

He was one of those. He loved to show off his trophies. I mean, if you, like, thought that's your thing. Yeah, like, I'm not going to judge you. I personally don't love hunting, but... It's not for me. I'm not going to tell people they can't do it. So one of his trophy animal mounts actually included a record-breaking doll sheep.

Which are those sheep with, like, those really big, curly horns. Oh, is that? The picture of him posing. I saw that. The picture of him, which, okay, truth, bomb. Not bad looking. He's not bad looking in that picture. I'm glad we both, we were, we were feeling it together. Because when I saw that picture, I was like, hate that you're holding giant animal horns.

Yeah, I don't like that. But like, it's okay. It was very Georgia O'Keefe. I love her as an artist. It just, he, I mean, if he had just, like, got his shit together, like, he wouldn't have been. He looked like a modern day hipster. Like, he wasn't, yeah, he really did. Like, he wasn't a hideous beast on the outside. No, he really wasn't. had like scars from acne and stuff, but like a lot of people. I know shit happens. Yeah. I know plenty of people with scars with acne that are super hot. I'm glad we're both on the same page of that. Also, I think he got his glasses at Warby Parker. He just like to put it out there. He for sure did. Before Warby Parker even existed, he got them there. I knew it. Yeah. Because those were good

glasses. They really were. I'm not trying to give this dude any kind of drops. And he was wearing like a flannel. Yeah. All right, but he, he sucked. He did. He sucked a lot. Yeah. I mean, he had grizzly bears. He had all the things that you, like, trophy. hunters. How do you bring a grizzly bear home? Bragg about killing. So, and in 1969, 1979, 1970, and 71, he had four animals entered into the Pope

and Young record book. What's that? It's apparently like a trophy hunting record book. So it's like if you get entered in, it's like the Guinness records book for hunting. So he had four animals that are apparently record breaking. And his name was

entered into this book. You know, he could have just really not killed people and like, just turned his life around. But the problem is this hunting, you know, actual game was not enough. He did end up earning a decent living by opening up his own small bakery, like, often because, you know, he grew up in a bakery. His dad was a baker. This doesn't turn into a Sweeney Todd situation. It does not, which would have been kind of delightful. But, you know, he ended up opening this bakery and he became, he became known around town as, you know, a really good baker. As Bob dude. The baker.

Bob the baker. And a lot of people went to this bakery. A lot of cops went to this bakery. It was, he was known as respectable around town. Because he did portray an air of respectability. He wasn't walking around like a big weirdo creep being like, like he was just baking stuff and living his life. He was married.

He was married. Maybe that's an endangered species in Alaska. It's a morph species. a hunk gorilla band. People would be like, you are a big weirdo creep. That's not a thing. Yes, it is. But again, he was married.

He had two kids at this point. He was BTK and it up. So people had no idea. So again, even though he was being a super respectable guy on the outside, he was really a super freak. You know, was a business owner. He did have, you know, besides the stutter and all that, he had some quirks and some one might say darker interests as well in killing people not quite yet

but still a little a little on the seedier side so what he didn't have to look too hard to find the women that would eventually become his victims because apparently in the 70s tons of young women were drawn to anchorage Alaska from like the lower 48 because there was a trans alaska pipeline being built. So all these workmen were up there, lots of money up there, lots of dudes with, you know, huge wallets, ready to pay for this stuff. And apparently a road next to this trans-alaska pipeline that was being built was the Dalton Highway. And at this time, Anchorage had an extremely, like, dark district in it called the Tenderloin District. tenderloin.

Yeah. And apparently it was, it was, like, run by a crime boss. I think it was, his name was Frank Colacurcio. Calacurcio? I don't know.

Frank, he did it. Frank. Frank ran the place. And it was, it was centered, it was centered on a place called Fourth Avenue. Fourth Avenue was where

all the dark shit went down. If you were like, I'm gonna go to Fourth Avenue, everyone knew where you were going. Don't. I like that that was, a combo of Australian and British. Listen! This is where all the, all the, uh, quote unquote, dancing clubs were with names, like,

these names are amazing. Wild Cherry. Oh, Arctic Fox. My favorite booby trap. Shut up. And another one, the Great Alaskan Bush Company. Wow. That last one, they weren't even trying to hide it. That last one is still open. It's just in a different location, but it's still there. Arctic fox is a type of hair dye. Oh, really? I believe. It's also an actual animal. So is that. Whoa. I wonder if Bobby Boy hunted an Arctic fox. Bobba Boy. So these were all places where, you know, unfortunately, his type of victim were at the ready. They were chilling. Unfortunately. There was a big oil boom in Anchorage during this time, so the population started rising, people had disposable income, it was like a really good financial time for

them, like, and so there was a lot of women that were making a lot of money. And they said it was like wicked seedy. Like there was clubs, those kind of dancing clubs, there was peep shows, there was magazine stands that had child pornography in them. Oh, God. Like, this place was a scary place. And this also became a part of the, of Anchorage that was like ripe with violence. People just getting beaten and armed robberies, fire bombs, murders. Like, police were pretty busy in this area. Sounds like great. Yeah. Like between 1979 and 1983, police responded 207 times to disturbances at the booby trap alone.

Whoa. Yeah. 207 times. 207 times. Major, yikes. Just at one club. The booby trap. So needless to say, Robert was kind of a regular.

at the strip clubs on 4th Avenue. Which one do you think he liked the Alaskan Bush Company? Do you know that or why you feel that? I just feel it in my bones. He strikes me more as a booby-trap guy. I don't know. Now, since he became irregular at these places, obviously the dancers and escorts and sex workers

began to know who he was. They could spot him. They knew who he was. Hey, it's Bobby Boy. And they all said he had kind of a quirk. They said that they always, always had to make the first move no matter what because it was part of his weird elaborate fantasy to like demean women like you have to ask me for it no thanks yeah and in fact he said quote she had to come out and say we could do it but it's going to cost you some money then she was no longer i guess what you might call a decent girl so the way that he would get these women and the way that he usually ended up later which we'll discuss killing these women was once they transformed from a regular in his eyes a regular girl into a sex worker which he deemed a whore that's when they had to go

because he was like you're no longer human to me but like it's not up to you to play god no it's not you fucker let here's the thing robert hanson was the like one of the original in cells he just was breaking news everybody like because he was frustrated he wasn't getting i mean he had a wife but obviously he's very frustrated. For most of his life, he was not getting a whole lot of ladies. And he wasn't saying and it seems like he almost

takes a little response. Like, I understand why women didn't want to come near me when I was in high school. But now he's like twisting it on its ear and basically being like, these women are the problem. Not me. So I'm going to take them out. So it's like a total in-cell

way of looking at it that it's like they should accept all my grossness and still want to sleep with me, but they don't. So they, now I need to punish them. And it's like gross. Grow up. So girls, however, that talk to police later, some of the girls, a lot of them said at the, right at the beginning of talking to him, they said they always felt pretty safe with him just because of his physical appearance. Because they said, he just looked like a normal dude. They said, quote, he sort of looked like the perfect dork. And they said, they said, quote, he sort of looked like the perfect dork. And

they all described him several times he was described by women like he's a literal like dork like they were like he is the ideal of a dork oh and it's like he kind of was like he like he had the glasses the stutter you know what I mean like he did I wonder if he ever got rid of the stutter I don't know I think he still had it later I think it chilled a little bit but I think it was still that yeah so I think the dorkiness in his like his appearance as like kind of a dork just made them feel a little safe, which is, which worked out really well for him, obviously. Never be thrown off by the dorks. No, don't be. Do not be thrown off by the dorks, man.

Steve Jobs. Exactly. You didn't kill anybody, but... No, but, you know. That we know of. No, I'm just kidding. Let's be smirches, smearly. I'm totally kidding. So, in the mid-70s, at least two sex workers told cops that Hansen was a nut job and had like showed them his rape fantasies, like made it pretty clear to them. Hate that. And they were like, we feel like endangered by him. I'm afraid he's going to do something because this is not normal behavior that we're used to.

Well, the complaints fell on total deaf ears and police were like, you're sex workers. I'm not concerned. Which is so fucking messed up. Which seems to be a pattern throughout this. That every time like any, because most of his victims were sex workers of some kind. whatever they would come forward, somehow it would become his word against theirs, even if there was evidence involved. And they always took his side. Because that's just like the way it was. Because why it was into the woman. So it's like, it's so frustrating. That really is so messed up. So in December

1971 was when Hanson really began his descent into madness, I would say. In December 1971, he followed a female customer from the bakery that he owned back to her, fucking house. When he got there, he, like, crept up on her and asked her for a date. I'd be like, what? And she was like, dude, no. Like, she's like, are you real right now? Like, you just followed me from your fucking bakery.

I'm a customer. And you just followed me home. That's so scary. Like, that's not romantic. That's not a grand gesture. That's stalking. Like, you need to go away. Ask me while you hand me my baguette.

Exactly. That's romantic. She was like, you just followed me to my house, you big creepy weirdo. Yeah, just hand me the carbs and then ask me. Yeah, and then get the fuck out, man. So in the moment, he seemed to take it fine and in stride. But a week later, he returned to her home with a gun and attempted to kidnap her. What the hell?

Luckily, he was arrested in the process of this. Jesus. Basically, this... It didn't get in prison for attempted murder. Well, basically, this incal couldn't handle the fact that a woman did. didn't want him, like that she was like, no, I don't want to. Well, she was probably just like, why did you follow me home? Yeah, psycho. He ended up getting out on bail and tried to do the same exact thing. Was he still married? Yep. Well, like, what did his wife think he was in jail for?

I've no idea. Um, so this one is not confirmed by him. Like, he hasn't admitted to this one, but they're fairly certain that this is him who did this. On Christmas Day, so only a few days after the attempted kidnapping of the female customer. Uh-huh. After, because he got out on bail, like, right away. Of course. The body of Celia Van Zanton in McHugh Creek State Park was found. Oh, no.

Her hands were tied behind her back with speaker wire, and she had been slashed across her chest, like, multiple times. Uh-huh. Which, to me, indicates some little bitch of a dude did it, so that points me to Robert. Yeah. Like, like, cutting up her chest seems to be, something like I'm mad at women.

I'm going to cut up your chest. So I mean like Robert, I'm looking at you because you're a little bitch of a dude. I'm not looking at you because I don't want to look at your face. I'm disgusted. This was not what killed her though. She did not die because it was just slashes. Oh.

It had been negative 5 degrees below zero the previous night. So they found out that she had frozen to death while trying to escape or hiding from her assailant. Oh my God. Which fits his ammo. because as we're going to find out later, let me just drop the bomb on you now. Boom!

Robert Hansen liked to bring his victims after torturing and raping them for whatever amount of time. He would put them on a little bush plane, fly them into the Alaskan wilderness, let them run in the middle of the night in the Alaskan wilderness after he had already weakened them. and then he would hunt them like fucking animals. This is like the most dangerous game. So this fits him out his MO, that she had already been slashed up. She was bound and that she died from trying to hide from her assailant. Jesus Christ. So that he denies that one, but, you know, he's a little fuck, so we don't believe him.

The next kidnapping, which they did officially connect to him after this was, while police were asking local sex workers for any information about who could have kidnapped and murdered Celia, an informant named Robin Patterson told police that she had like a weird slash bad experience with a short guy with acne scars on his face and a stutter. Now, not a lot of guys have that combination. True, true. She then said, for sure, she was kidnapped by Robert Hansen at gun point. When she was kidnapped, because she said he got in his,

car, he immediately pulled a gun, drove her to a motel where he raped her. After this, he put her back in the car, drove her to the Alaskan wilderness, and told her he couldn't let her go. What? But Robin was smart, and she literally talked her way out of it. Oh, how? One thing she said to him was she hated cops, and she was like, look what line of work I'm in. I hate cops. I am not going to talk to the cops. Right. I won't. So Robert went through her purse, she said, found her parents a dress and wrote it down on a piece of paper. Oh my God. And then he told her he'd kill both of them and her if he found out that she went to the cops. He said to her he'd kill her like he did kill all the girls before her. Oh my. And then when he when he dropped her off, he said that he

wished they had met under better circumstances. I'd be like yeah, I wish that we hadn't met at all. Like what the fuck, dude. So apparently I think what she had done is she humanized herself in some way to him. So he was like, ah, bye. Like, that's no fun anymore. Wow. So cops brought him in after this, finally. And they had a handwriting sample from when he signed them into the motel where he raped her.

He used a different name, like an alias, but it was handwriting that they could compare to his. Right. So when they got him in the interview room, they asked him to empty out his wallet for a sample to compare to. Well, what fell out was a scrap of paper with Robin's father's name and a dress on it. Oh, my God. literally confirming what she had told them. Like, boom, right there. How did he get out of this?

One cop suddenly became worried that they needed a search warrant to look in his wallet. This one cop was like, it might not be admissible because we didn't get a search warrant, which I think literally this was their way of just getting him out of this. What the hell? So they let him go. They're like, he makes really good cheese daintiness. Literally, I think they're like he's a good baker. But also, he had a ton of friends, like respectable friends.

around town, like business owners, who would come in and vouch for him. Some of them, and like his wife's friends would come in and vouch for him. And then some of them even would give him fake alibis. Like they'd be like, oh, I was with them. No, you can't do that. Yeah. And later it was found that they really, they were like, yeah, we did not. That's so messed up. And it's because they really believed. It's almost like the Ted Bundy thing. You see some of those people on the Ted Bundy tapes that are like, no, I literally believe there was no way that he did this stuff. Like and rule? Yeah.

And it's like, so these people were like, no, there's no way he did that. So I'm not going to, I'm not worried about it. That's wild. Yeah. In 1972, Hansen was convicted of assault and he was placed on a work release program after serving only six months in prison. In 1973, a school teacher who was living in the lower 48, who was in Alaska because, her side hustle was an exotic dancer.

Okay. Good for you, man. Everybody needs a side hustle. And you don't make that money because you're not making it as a teacher. Sure not. You might as well. So he apparently assaulted her and she reported it. But he got off because the Alaska DA wouldn't let the woman testify through a mediator.

Because she didn't want to testify herself because she was worried she was going to lose her job. If people found out that she was an exotic. Which she would because everything sucks. I feel like I remember. I'm starting to remember this case because I remember that story. Like she wanted to do it through a mediator so that she could get the story out and testify, but not have to show her face. Admit that she was doing this on the side.

Right. So the DA was like, no, you either do it or that's it. And she was like, well, I'm not doing it. My job is important. So he got off once again. Wow. In 1976, he pleaded guilty to larceny after he was caught stealing a chainsaw from an Anchorage department store. Awesome.

him. He was, for that, he was sentenced to five years in prison and was also required to receive um, like psychiatric treatment because he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. What's up with like criminal stealing super incriminating shit? Well, and you know what he said the chainsaw was for? He said he stole it to give to his father for Christmas. But like, why couldn't you just pay for it? Like, why? You have money. Well, that's the thing. So he, and actually he, so he was, um, sentenced to five years, but the Alaska Supreme Court reduced his sentence to 16 months.

That's barely over a year. What the hell? And he was released with time served. That doesn't make any sense. Now, during his confession to this stealing the chainsaw, he basically said that he had a thing about taking things

and he just liked to see if he could get away with it. So he was basically saying, like, I like the thrill of doing something that's bad. And he basically said that he, like, ejaculated his pants when he was able to steal something and get away with it. But I just threw up all over the place and it's time for me to leave now. And then, um... Ew. What the fuck.

Even if that did happen, dude, don't fucking admit to that shit. Right. There are some things that are better left unsaid. O'ie. That is the first one of all. So the first victim that Robert Hanson admitted to murdering was in the summer of 1979. She is currently unidentified still. Oh, that's sad. But she is known as a clutna Annie. Oh. Robert admitted that he drove this woman out to a clutna lake, which is northeast, somewhere

northeast of Anchorage. His truck got stuck in the snow, and he told her that he was going to get it unstuck and just bring her home. She didn't believe him, because he'd already been a big weirdo creep to her. Oh, no. And she got out and ran away. into the night. He chased her, he grabbed her hair, she pulled a knife out of her purse like a fucking badass and tried fighting him. But he got the knife away from her,

knocked her down, and he stabbed her to death. Jesus Christ. Yeah, he admitted to this one. A couple months later, he tried this whole thing again. He tried it in his camper this time, not his truck, but the woman did get away. Police didn't believe this woman, even though she showed up at a house nearby

naked with her hands and feet all cut up from being tied up with guitar strings. Oh, wow. That hurts. I know, doesn't that make, I'm like, yeah, guitar strings are like so. In the scenario, so she shows up naked with guitar strings tied to her arms and like cut up. And these women are not saying like, oh, it's some guy, blah, blah, blah. They're like, it is Robert Hansen. This is who it is.

Like, I can tell you who it is. Every single time the cops are like, it's really just your word against his and we're taking his word. I'd be like, I'm moving away from Alaska. How are all these women just like, are they all just conspiring against the local baker? Like, that doesn't make any sense that they would only take his word. Did the police get into any trouble after this? I don't think so. I don't think a lot happened here. That's so fucked up. But in that scenario, they took Robert's word again that she's crazy. I don't know what you're talking about. I can't even imagine how frustrating that would be. Oh my God, seriously. And terrifying. Yeah. It's like, because you're literally, she's walking out of there being

like, nothing was done about that. Like I just ran away naked, bound with guitar strings, and nothing's being done about it. I know who did it. Yeah, you would literally have to move away because what else are you going to do? Yeah, I mean, that's bonkers. How do you sleep again? So, oh, ugh. But, so six months later, Roxanne Eastland became his second victim, murder victim.

Not victim. Murder victim. She was found by Hansen, actually leading police to her body when he was caught later. I don't know a lot about that, that murder. There's not a lot about each of the murders. There's really only a lot about some of them. She was found in the Alaskan wilderness in the same area, bound, all that terrible stuff. Hanson, again, led police to her body later. What a guy.

The third victim, the third murder victim, was Joanna Messina. She had met Hanson on the docks somewhere, and, like, they met, and then immediately, like, went to dinner together. Like she agreed to go to dinner with him. She kept telling him during the dinner date that like she was looking to make money. She was looking to get some work. Like she was a sex worker. Oh. And she was basically trying to give hints for a while that she just like wasn't really

interested in just a date. She was like, I need to get paid here. So finally she was like, dude, I will have sex with you for money. Like I let me just lay out for you. Like you're not getting it. And he said until this point he wasn't going to kill her. but when that happened, she was no longer, quote, a decent girl. So she was killed on the Kenai Peninsula just because of that.

Like, you don't get to decide that, though. Oh, he's God, man. What is wrong with people? Like, you don't get to decide who stays and who goes. These dudes all think they're God. And she was killed because of that because she was like, I need money. Listen, I'm going to just give me money and I'll sleep with you.

Can you imagine how, like, desperate you'd have to be to do that? Yeah. That's so awful. And then literally. And then this is how it ends. And that's like your biggest fear, too, I'm sure, as a sex worker. Like every single time you have to just take your life in your hands and hope that this isn't the time. It's like it's awful.

Ugh, stresses me out. Now, when investigators found her body, it turned out that a black bear had already begun to eat her. Oh, God. That's the other thing in Alaska. Oh, yeah. That's like, I'm surprised this didn't happen in more of these cases, actually. But this bear actually came back when the investigators were there in a great. aggressively chase them off so he could finish eating her.

Yeah. And black bears are endangered so they couldn't do anything about it. Oh, shit. And it's like, what a sad statement that like they're not helping these women at all. But they're helping black bears. Which I'm like, I don't want them to cheat the black bear either because I mean, he's just doing it. He's just living his life. But it's like, but look at how, like, where are your morals?

Where are your principles standing? Right. you're like, well, this is an endangered species, but actual humans are going to be soon, too. Actual humans, we don't care. Well, you know it's scary? How many people did that happen to and then they didn't even find the remains? Exactly. Like, it was just gone.

That's so scary. Never to be found again. And there are a few women that they haven't found the bodies yet. I'm sure. Now, three months after Joanna Messina was the next victim, Lisa Futrell. I don't know a lot about this murder either. If I can find more about it, I'll talk. about it next week. But basically it was a whole year between Lisa Futrell and the next victim, which is where we are going to take our break. That's interesting that he waited a whole year.

Exactly, which I think it's because he was starting, I don't want to say he's starting slow because these are all horrific, but he hasn't quite got his MO down yet by this point. And I think he's just slowly in the escalating phase, and then he's going to go through that, like, bonkers phase where he just, like, goes cry, cry. Because what he ends up doing is he ends up killing a woman, like, every six months or so, at least in the end. And we're going to get into all that and the rest of his victims and how he was caught in, which how he was caught is a very, uh,

it's a very dramatic story. So, is it satisfying? Um, well, if anybody has seen the movie about this case, because there is one movie about this case called The Frozen Ground. It's got like John Cusack playing him, which he looks just like him. Vanessa Hutchins plays a very important character, which we'll discuss next week. But it also has Nicholas Cage playing like The Investigator. So Frozen Ground is pretty, it's all right. It's like fine. John Cusack looks just like Robert Hanson, so he does a really good job with it. So yeah, if anybody's seen that movie, then you know how he got caught. But don't spoil it for everybody

else. So we'll discuss that next week and we'll shout out our Patreon's on the minisode this week. Again, just so you know you're not being forgotten, you've wonderful, wonderful people. And in the meantime, you can follow us on Instagram at Morbid Podcast. Send us a Gmail. Morbidpodcast at gmail.com. To tweet us. A morbid podcast. Join our Facebook page. Morbid, colon, a true crime podcast and the group. If you are feeling so inclined, you could donate to our Patreon at Patreon.com slash morbid podcast. And while you're at it, why don't you head on over to our website

created by my lovely co-host Elena at morbidpodcast.com. We hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you develop a stutter and start to murder girls just because you feel like you can and move to Alaska and then make people naked with guitar strings and run away. Bye.

I love those. Bye. Thank you.