Robert Hansen “The Alaskan Killer”, Exercises of History

Download Robert Hansen “The Alaskan Killer” and more Exercises History in PDF only on Docsity! Robert Hansen “The Alaskan Killer” Noah Wingdaddy Jaedan Shindaddy Period 3 Ancheta Background ● Robert Christian Hansen (Also known as: Bob, The Alaskan Killer, and The Butcher Baker) ● Date of birth: Feb. 15, 1939 - Estherville, Iowa ● Place and Date of death: August 21, 2014 (aged 75) Anchorage, Alaska Events Leading Up To Crimes ● Arrested for drawing a gun on a Spenard woman at a stoplight (Nov. 1971) ● Arrested for kidnapping and raping an 18 year old prostitute - sentenced to 5 years in jail but got out early; stayed only from March to June. Got assigned to a halfway house in June until November ● First night free from halfway house, he went down to 4th avenue in Anchorage, cruised the area watching prostitutes and fantasizing about capturing them again. ● Since 1980, 6 topless dancers went missing from Anchorage clubs ● September 13, 1982: female body discovered (in shallow grave by Knik River) shot with a .223 caliber bullet (casing found nearby) Details Of The Crimes ● Kidnapped and raped women ● Main target was prostitutes and topless dancers (women) ● He would fly his private plane and take the victims to his cabin in Knik River ● He would then release the women in the wilderness to hunt them, killing them with a hunting knife or a .223 caliber 14 Mini Rifle How He Was Found On June 13, 1983, a prostitute named Cindy Paulson went to the police and identified Robert Hansen as the man who had raped and kidnapped her. Hansen denied the accusations and was not considered a serious suspect. Detective Glenn Flothe from the Alaska State Troopers police contacted the FBI and requested help after a body was found. Roy Hazelwood was brought in to assist the investigation. Hazelwood theorized that the killer would be an experienced hunter with low self-esteem, have a history of being rejected by women and would feel compelled to keep "souvenirs" of his murders. Detective Flothe and the police secured a warrant and searched Hansen's house on October 27, 1983. They uncovered jewelry belonging to the victims, newspaper clippings about the murders and an array of firearms, including a .223-caliber Mini-14 rifle. The Trial The Prosecution - Robert Hanssen was arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, multiple weapons offenses, theft and insurance fraud. When ballistics tests returned a match between bullets found at the crime scenes and Hansen's rifle, he pled guilty to four homicides that the police knew about and gave details about his other victims in return for serving his sentence in a federal prison and no publicity in the press. He showed investigators 17 gravesites in the Knik River Valley, 12 of which were unknown to the police. 11 remains of a probable 21 victims were exhumed by the police and returned to their families. Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison. The Defense - There was no defense since Hansen plead guilty. Our Opinion In our opinion, we find him guilty too because he hunted down women for the fun of it like it was a kind of sick game, and we agree with his sentence because 461 years plus life in prison meant that he was not going to get out. But, what we would have done differently is put him on death row or something.