Robert Hansen's house

This is the former home of Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen.

It is situated at 7223 Old Harbor Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska.

Hansen earned the nickname "Butcher Baker" because he owned a bakery on East 9th Avenue. Between 1971 and 1983, he murdered at least 17 women. In one recorded instance, he brought a victim back to this house while his family was away and chained her in the basement.

Hansen often used a small bush plane to transport his victims to a cabin in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Upon arrival, he released them into the wilderness and hunted them down with a knife or a rifle.

Early life and victims

Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa. He moved to Anchorage in 1967, roughly four years before the killings began.

Investigators believe Hansen's first victim may have been 17-year-old Celia "Beth" Van Zanten. The teenager's body was discovered in McHugh Creek State Park on December 25, 1971. She had been assaulted and raped before freezing to death. Gary Zieger, another Anchorage-based serial killer, has also been linked to her murder.

Hansen's first confirmed murder victim is known only as Eklutna Annie. The skeletal remains of the unidentified woman were discovered in a wooded area near Eklutna Lake in July 1980. The victim had been stabbed in the back of the neck with a knife. Based on the decomposition of the remains, authorities believe she went missing sometime in 1979.

Cindy Paulson

Hansen's modus operandi typically involved picking up sex workers and holding them at gunpoint. In June 1983, he imprisoned 17-year-old Cindy Paulson at his house on Old Harbor Avenue. Afterward, he drove her to Merrill Field, a nearby public-use airport.

Upon arrival at the airfield, Hansen parked his vehicle beside his small bush plane and began loading items into the cockpit. Paulson remained handcuffed in the backseat. While Hansen was preoccupied, Paulson lunged into the front seat and escaped via the driver's door.

Hansen attempted to chase Paulson with a gun, but she flagged down a passing truck driver before he could reach her. At her request, the driver dropped her off at the Mush Inn so she could contact the police.

Inside the lobby, Paulson used a phone to call a friend. She then waited to be picked up and taken to the Big Timber Motel, where she was staying at the time.

Although the Big Timber Motel was just around the corner, the frightened teenager refused to venture outside alone. A friend eventually arrived to drive her the short distance. When officers arrived at the Big Timber Motel, Paulson was still in handcuffs.

Investigation

Police questioned Hansen about the incident but initially did not consider him a strong suspect. Authorities perceived him as too meek to commit such crimes despite his history of violence against women. Additionally, a friend had provided Hansen with a fake alibi.

The investigation shifted when FBI agent John Douglas created a criminal profile of the perpetrator. Douglas predicted the killer would be an experienced hunter with low self-esteem and a stutter. The profile also suggested the man would be a successful businessman who kept "trophies" to relive the murders. This description, coupled with Paulson's testimony, convinced police to name Hansen as the lead suspect and issue a search warrant.

During the search, the Anchorage Police Department discovered victims' jewelry in the basement. They also found newspaper clippings about the murders and a map Hansen used to record burial sites.

Although he initially denied involvement, the overwhelming evidence led Hansen to confess to dozens of rapes and murders. In exchange for serving his sentence in a federal prison, the "Butcher Baker" agreed to help authorities locate his victims' bodies.

On February 27, 1984, Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

He died in prison in 2014 at the age of 75.