Robert Hansen

Robert Christian Hansen (February 15, 1939 - August 21, 2014), known in the media as the "Butcher Baker", was an American serial killer.[1]

Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa to Edna and Christian Hansen, who was a Danish immigrant.[1] In 1960, he burned down a bus garage.[1] He was convicted of arson and sent to prison.[1] His wife divorced him when he was in prison.[1] He was assessed as having an infantile personality and released in 1962.[1] He married another woman in 1963.[1] The couple and their two children moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1967.[1] In 1977, he was convicted of theft and sent to prison.[1] He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and in 1978 was released.[1] In 1983, he was charged with assault, kidnapping, firearms offences, theft and deception.[1]

Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, tortured and murdered at least 17 and possibly as many as 21 women in and around Anchorage.[1] He was discovered, arrested, and convicted of four murders in 1984. He was sentenced to 461 years plus a life sentence with no possibility of parole.[2]

Hansen died at the age of 75, at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage on August 21, 2014 due to an illness.[3]