(suspenseful music) - [Narrator] It was a typical
day on June 13th, 1983 in Anchorage, Alaska, when a young woman was seen
running barefoot and handcuffed down a main street, fleeing for her life. Though confused onlookers
that know it at the time, this shocking incident
would prove to be a catalyst in exposing a string of
deplorable and barbaric crimes and shedding light on
a hidden serial killer. What is up, EWU Crew? Today we are exploring the case of a prolific serial killer who operated in the
1970s and 80s in Alaska. No one suspected the double life he led or that he could commit such
elaborate and deprived crimes, allowing him to go
uncaught for over a decade. Today we are talking
about The Butcher Baker. Now let's get into it. Robert Hansen was born in
1939 in Estherville, Iowa. Robert had a rather difficult adolescence as he was known to be incredibly shy and suffered from both a
difficult stutter and severe acne which left permanent scars
on his skin as an adult. As he was short, quiet, and awkward, Robert was a loner all
throughout his school years, something which he later
sought revenge for. To cope with his lack of
friends and constant rejection from the girls around him, Robert turned to hunting and
archery as a form of escape. Part of the refuge Robert found
in hunting was fantasizing about hurting the cruel
girls at his school who he grew up to fiercely hate for their constant dismissal of him. In 1960 on December 7th, Robert took his much desired revenge on his loathsome high school by burning down a Pocahontas
County school bus garage. He was arrested for arson and served 20 months of
his three year sentence. He had only just gotten
married in the summer of 1960, but while he was locked up,
the woman filed for divorce. It was while he was in prison that Robert was diagnosed with
manic depressive disorder, what we know today to be bipolar. He also suffered from occasional
schizophrenic episodes. The psychiatrist who diagnosed him also said that he believed Robert had an infantile personality, a disorder which is often characterized by a desire for control and domination through making those he targeted suffer. Robert was obsessed with getting vengeance on the people he believed had wronged him, a twisted preoccupation
that would later lead him down a dark and disturbed path. In 1963, Robert married Darla Hansen who was a devout Christian
woman and teacher. For a while, this
relationship appeared to be a turning point in his life though he was still arrested
a few times for petty theft. The couple eventually
moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where Robert opened and
operated his own bakery, following the same career
as his domineering father who had also worked as a baker. Robert and Darla expanded their family and welcomed two children while they settled into
the Anchorage community. Reportedly, Robert was
popular among his neighbors as he was seen as unassuming and shy, if a bit awkward around women, he became especially well
liked because he thrived among the hunting community there and even set several local records for his hunting achievements. Robert appeared in a hunting
magazine for his prowess, and in 1971, he even
achieved a world record for killing the biggest
doll sheep ever with a bow. Robert's family weren't the
only ones drawn to Alaska in the 1970s, the 800 mile Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline was at the height of its
construction during this time, and it's building drew a
variety of people to the area, prostitutes, exotic dancers,
pimps, and drug dealers were among those who also went to Alaska seeking quick riches among
the construction workers. One such person who moved to Alaska was 17 year old, Cindy Paulson. Cindy had come to Anchorage
with her boyfriend, and to make money working
as a prostitute and dancer. It was in this occupation
that Cindy came across a seemingly tongue tied small
man named Robert Hansen. On June 13th, 1983,
Robert pulled up his car along the side of the
road where Cindy stood. He offered her $200 to get
into the vehicle with him. And though she hesitated knowing better than to trust a strange man wanting to take her somewhere, Cindy eventually got in. But in an instant, Cindy
realized her gut feeling had been right. Robert immediately pulled out a gun and forced her into handcuffs. Under a threat of being
shot, Cindy cooperated as Robert drove her to
his home in Muldoon. Once at the house, Robert
chained Cindy up by her neck in his basement and proceeded
to torture and assault her. To Cindy's further shock,
Robert appeared be so at ease with her kidnapping and assault that he eventually took a
nap on a couch beside her. When he woke, as if unable
to help his need to brag, Robert started to show Cindy some of the many trophies he owned from his hunting exploits. Cindy quickly realized
that if he was allowing her to see his real name,
he planned to kill her. She knew she had to escape, it was only a matter
of getting the chance. Eventually, Robert forced
Cindy back into his vehicle and he took them to the
local Merrill Field Airport where he had his own
plane waiting to take them to his remote cabin on the Knik River. As he loaded the plane,
Robert told Cindy not to move from where he left her in handcuffs and sitting in the front
seat or he would shoot her. But when he turned his back, Cindy realized this was
likely her only chance to escape alive, and so
she took off running, but not before she cleverly
hid her blue sneakers in the car's backseat to prove that she had
been taken in the vehicle. Barefoot and handcuffed, Cindy
ran for the nearest street. Robert chased after, screaming at her and brandishing his gun, but she flagged down a nearby
truck before he caught her. The driver was shocked to see
the disheveled young woman running for her life and
welcomed her into his car. Seeing that Cindy was gone,
Robert ran back to his vehicle, abandoning his planned
flight, and took off. The security guard at the airfield hadn't seen the ordeal with Cindy but did watch Robert speeding away and thought it was rather odd and so he wrote down his license plate. The truck driver tried to convince Cindy to go to the police, but after being in Robert's
clutches for five hours, she was too traumatized. She asked to be dropped
off at the Mush Inn where she begged the clerk at
the desk to call her boyfriend where he was staying at
the Big Timber Motel. Meanwhile, disturbed by the barefoot and handcuffed girl he'd stumbled across, the truck driver called the police shortly after dropping Cindy off to tell them what he had seen. The Anchorage police tracked
Cindy to the Big Timber Motel where they found her alone,
distressed and still handcuffed. Cindy described what had happened to her, told the police that Robert
Hansen had taken her, described his car, house, and gun, and even showed them the plane that Robert had planned to take. Despite all of these specific details, the police were skeptical of her story. They knew Robert, as the local
police frequented his bakery where the small man would offer them free desserts and coffee
any time that they came in. The officers liked Robert. And so even with the
abundance of evidence, they gave him the benefit of doubt. They had contacted Robert
when Cindy identified him but he claimed that she was lying about the extent of what
had happened between them because he had refused to
pay her for her services. With his unassuming shy
demeanor, small stature, and reputation as a family
man and friendly hunter, Robert convinced the
police of his innocence. With no empathy for Cindy at all, likely because of her
occupation, her case went cold. Crimes like the ones Cindy suffered weren't uncommon in the area. In fact, during this period, disappearances and murders
seemed to be rampant. Detective Glenn Flothe,
an Alaskan state trooper was part of an investigating team looking into a string of murders surrounding the Anchorage area. The first body had been found on the side of the Eklutna Road by
construction workers and was later dubbed the Eklutna Annie because her identity was never uncovered. Following this, Joanne
Messina's body was found in a gravel pit, and then a partially buried foot was found near the Knik River, which led police to the hidden body of 23 year old Sherry Morrow. With three bodies, all with
similar injuries from rifles, Flothe believed that
there was a serial killer living in the area, targeting
the most vulnerable women as all of the victims were
prostitutes or dancers. Requiring help to catch the killer, Flothe enlisted the help of the FBI who created a criminal
psychological profile to help him narrow down his suspects. FBI agent John Douglas, the real man behind the
popular show "Mindhunter" wrote a profile which
said that the murderer had to be an experienced killer, someone with low self-esteem,
a hatred for women, and could have a speech
disorder such as stuttering. The profile also assumed that the killer would keep
trophies from his victims. Flothe created a list of suspects who match the FBI profile and worked through it
until he came to Robert and Cindy's testimony against him. Unlike the other police,
Flothe had no problem investigating Robert. And when the man's house
was finally searched, jewelry belonging to some of
the victims was discovered. Furthermore, behind his bed's headboard, the police found an aeronautical chart covered in multiple X marks in more than 20 different places. When the investigators looked closer, they found that some of
the Xs match the spots where the three bodies were found. Investigators went out into the wilderness and searched the other spots on the chart. With each place they checked,
they uncovered more bodies. Four months after he had attacked Cindy, Robert was finally arrested. It was only then that the details of Robert's extensive
crimes came to light. In December, 1971, Robert had been arrested
on two separate occasions. The first was for abducting and attempting to assault a housewife, and the second for the assault of a woman working as a prostitute. He had been sentenced to five years, but only served six months. Following these incidents, Robert began his killing spree in 1972. At first, Robert targeted any woman who caught his attention, but soon he realized he was
living in the perfect place for his dark deeds. Anchorage attracted many runaways most of whom were young women
seeking a place to make money. His targets became young
exotic dancers and prostitutes, usually between 16 and 19 years old. Robert looked for the women
who were hard to track and often weren't noticed
when they went missing. Because Robert worked
long and irregular hours in the bakery as well
as being an avid hunter, his wife, Darla, was never
alarmed by the odd times that he would leave their house. She never once suspected
any of the deplorable deeds her husband got up to while he was out. Robert had long thought
of himself as a hunter. It had been the part of his identity that brought him the most pride. Because of this, he viewed his victims as
the ultimate prey to hunt. He abducted his victims and would force them to remote places. Sometimes Robert would assault them before bringing them back to
Anchorage and letting them go, but only after threatening to kill them if they ever went to the police. But on other occasions, Robert would fulfill the sick fantasy he had been nurturing since he was young. Sometimes Robert would
release the women he abducted into the isolated wilderness such as the Knik River, before he would hunt
them down with a rifle while they tried to escape
before he shot them dead. Robert gained a deranged
sense of satisfaction and domination through
the twisted hunting games he would play with his victims. In his mind, he was hunting these women just like animals in the wild. For over a decade, Robert
went uncaught and unpunished for his horrific crimes. During the investigation, he gained the nickname The Butcher Baker. Under intense interrogation, Robert slowly admitted to each murder, totaling two 17 women, though only 12 bodies were ever found. He refused to admit to a
few of the Xs on his chart and denied being the one
that killed some of the women whose bodies were recovered
from the Xs on the chart. Robert's twisted explanations
and attempted justification for his killings are
disturbing to say the least. He reportedly told authorities
that he only killed bad girls and would never hurt, quote, good women. In a chilling quote from his confession, Robert told officers about
his thoughts on women saying, "Every one of them
become so precious to me "'cause I wanted their... I
wanted their friendship... "I wanted them to like me so much." He also detailed his
bizarre and disgusting selection process for his victims saying that he would go to bars and wait for the dancers
to make the first move. "It's like, it's like it
was a game." He explained. "They had to pitch the
ball before I could bat." Robert said he didn't look
down on dancers, quote, just trying to make a buck. But that once a woman propositioned him, he felt they were no longer a decent girl, and sadly, would choose
them for his next victims with little remorse. Though he admitted to
assaulting at least 30 women and likely killing
between 17 to 21 others, he was only convicted
for four of the murders as part of a deal to
avoid 17 separate trials. The Butcher Baker was
sentenced to serve 461 years plus a life without the
possibility of parole. During Robert's trial, Cindy stayed with a
friend in a safe house. Following his conviction,
Cindy left Anchorage and reportedly went on to get married and have three children. Cindy was the only one of Robert's victims who he intended to kill
that escaped his clutches. Because of her, he was caught. In 2014, Robert died at age 75 from natural health conditions. As Alaska's most notorious serial killer, Robert's savage crimes
were turned into the film "The Frozen Ground" in 2013, which starred Nicolas
Cage and John Cusack. You may also recognize Robert's crimes from an episode of "Criminal Minds" where his abduction and
emo of hunting women was an inspiration for
one of the shows, "Unsubs" in the first season.
